The AFA Present: Spring Taikai or the Spring Meet will be bringing along 3 exceptionally beautiful looking men from Japan together with a presentation of 2 local bands, OVA.Hito and

The 3 good looking men are,

KANAME☆!!
Cosplay extraordinaire~

Without a doubt, he should be Singapore’s most famous Japanese Cosplayer. And he will be back to showcase his art.

I’m really looking forward to see what he has install for us~

GERO and Dasoku
Nico Nico Superstars!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IKdT7_XT1Q

Both Gero and Dasoku are singers and got famous via the Video sharing site, Nico Nico Douga.

They are backed up by their powerful voice and awesome looks. And have since been part of a few compilation albums. Below are some of their covers of popular songs.

In my humble opinion, they are good~

Just Be Friends
Gero cover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWo2ZzxWKf4

LOVE IS WAR
Gero Cover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVvXUnQsuXA

Utate Mitai
Gero

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIdgmPxbOFc

LOVE IS WAR, Kaito Ver.
Dasoku Cover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx7pyhd14Zc

Magnet
Dasoku X Clear Ver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyiTMLYfJR8

アンチクロロベンゼン
Dasoku

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NehfIkRO5R0

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3. 2011 Spring Anime List

Coming this March, the transformers will be touching down in Singapore at the Resort World Sentosa.

The TRANSFORMERS CYBERTRON CON is the first in the region and will be featuring many exhibits like 25 years worth of items from Hasbro, original designs, 3D dioramas and the 22 ft tall Optimus Prime Character statue.

Special Guest include the leader designer of Transformer Toys at Takara Tomy, Mr. Hideki Yoke. He will be present to host a special panel with the fans of the transformer series.

There will also be drawing classes by Hasbro artist, to teach drawing of transformers.

If you haven’t visited RWS or the Universal Studio Singapore… Maybe this will be a good time~

Press Release: English

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2. May’n Asia Tour 2011 「UNITE!!」Singapore!!!
3. Sora No Otoshimono Season 2, Con…

Copyright: vanGrafique (Ivan Lee)

Yesterday, Nick, our shadow contributor and I went down to take part in the Real Escape Game in Singapore Volume 1 at CHIJMEs.

The game consist of about 15 brain twisting super indirect hints and quizzes. We were join by 1 of the Winner of our Giveaway and 2 other SMU students. So in a way, our team is actually quite smart… … XD

But the reality is that, we didn’t make it out of the cathedral… Like the many who participated in Vol. 1, we were hindered by very last clue.

“>

Copyright: vanGrafique (Ivan Lee)

What is it? Well… We can’t tell~

What we can tell you though, is that we very much enjoyed our time held captive~ The MC is a bit over the top, but adds drama to the seemingly boring setting, coupled with the constant reminder of how much time we had, and that heart trotting bgm…

It’s a good game indeed! No wonder many of the sessions actually managed to get sold out.

Thus it’s also good to report that, a 2nd Volume has been decided!

It will be held at *SCAPE in May. If you didn’t take part in Volume 1, please miss volume 2. It’s really very interesting~ I had fun~

Event Details Name: Real Escape Game in Singapore Vol.1 Date: 27(Fri), 28(Sat) and 29(Sun) January 2012 Time: Varies, Please choose session during ticket purchase Location: CHIJMES Hall, Singapore Ticket Price: SG$20 *extended Earlybird* SG$25, Regular SG$30, Purchase at Gate Ticketing: Gatecrash Booth at SCAPE *Check Facebook Page* At the gate Website: Real Escape Game in Singapore Vol.1 Facebook Page

“>

PS: Did I mention that only 1 team managed to escape in my session?

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On the website of L’Arc En Ciel world tour, the location for the Singapore and Indonesia round of the Tour is decided along with a date.

“>28th April 2012 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and Lapanfan D Senayan OUTDOOR Field in Jakarta Indonesia on the 2nd of May 2012.

Ticketing information is to be announced.

It’s also a surprise for fan in Indonesia as there is previously no mention of such an item. With the addition of the 2 location, the tour now consist of 10 location with 3 in South East Asia, namely Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore.

The location of the New York show has also been decided and it will be held at the Madison Square Garde, making them the first Japanese Band to Headline there.

Congratulations! Looks like this is going to be a very memorable 20th Anniversary~

Source: L’Arc En Ciel World Tour 2012 site

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Update: The first 2 pair of tickets are now gone~ But we received 2 more pairs to give away! However can you find and solve the quiz?

Update: Last pair to go~ Good luck!

In Japan, there is a live action game created by SCRAP in Japan. To date it’s played by over 100,000 participants but the winning rate is low.

So what is it?

Real Escape Game is created by SCRAP, and first played in Kyoto.

It’s a trap room escape game, in real life. The game has gotten quite a cult following with sessions conducted in dome halls with themes like the Sengoku period for the very recent one in Tokyo.

The game so far have gone all the way to the United States. And for the first time coming to Singapore shores.

The story goes that, you are trap in a room with maybe 75 others, and you are given a clue card that will lead to your freedom. The objective is to find and solve the puzzles inside a room to gain your freedom. In short if you are a person who like answering riddles, solving complex puzzles or just general smart, and you are looking for a challenge, it’s here!

Will you give up about 1.5 hour of your freedom to challenge this difficult game?

Did I mention low winning rate?

Yes I did, on average only 5% of all participants managed to solve and clear the game within the available time based on the previous games and events.

Apparently the game is so difficult that out of 150 participants in an average round only 6 managed to clear it and within it most are returning players for the game. Hint some puzzles are just not as straight forward as it seems.

Now that it has come to Singapore, and will be setup at Chijms Hall on the 27^th, 28^th and 29^th of January 2012, with all new quiz and puzzles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiiDSC9PrsA

Will the rate of wining be higher in Singapore? I strongly doubt it… thou it will be good to try~

The tickets are now on sale at Gatecrash* at $20 or you can get it at the gate for $30.

Tickets to be won if you can really are smart enough >.<

I am happy to announce that I have 2 pair of tickets for the Sunday 1:30pm round to give-away courtesy of the local organisers Vivid Creations.

How to win? Well you will have to find it, solve it and get BACK to us on facebook~ The first 2 to get the correct answer will win a pair of tickets each.

Good luck!

PS: As you can clearly see, Chiya is very excited to attend the puzzle solving event. She even took out her detective wear~

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L’Arc en Ciel Coming to Singapore, soon!

L’ Arc en Ciel will be coming to Singapore soon, presumingly as part of their world tour. The news broke via an advertisement placed on the Singapore Press Holding’s, Strait Times, news paper.

More Code Geass ahead~“>The event will be handled by Lushington Entertainments, a well established concert event company. In the same advertisement boost the name of well know artist like Duran Duran, Evanescence, Roxette, Olivia Newton-John and CHARICE.

Credits to http://larcenciel.livejournal.com/1397904.html for spotting the advert this morning.

More Code Geass ahead~

Bandai today revealed that the featured film Code Geass: Bokoku no Akito (Akito the Exile) will be on 10 screen around Japan this coming summer. They have as well announced the seiyuu for the main cast,

Hyuuga Akito – Irino Miyu (入野自由)
Marukaru Reira – Maaya Sakamoto (坂本真綾)

Updated: with a trailer of Akito and added more information

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMP8czTf3Wo

The theme song for the Movie will be sang by Mayaa Sakamoto and composed by Yoko Kanno.

Code Geass: Bokoku no Akito webpage: http://www.geass.jp/akito/

PS: I should have made a post for Code Geass… … Haiz…

A stage play is also in the works, related to the story of the first series.

Additionally, a straight to DVD/Bluray OVA titled Code Geass: Nunnally in Wonderland is announced and is planned for a 2012 release.

Updated: A screencap of what is a Nunnally In Wonderland trailer from Otanews

Code Geass: Nunnally in Wonderland website: http://www.geass.jp/nunnally/

Just 1 more, “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion” will be getting a  movie! This is a separate movie from Akito and will be based on the original series.

Source: ANN via Mantan Web

Nogizaka46′s debut single is Guruguru Curtain

After the revelation of the Senbatsu members for the idol group’s début single, it’s announced today that their single will be titled Guruguru Curtain. The song is also the CM song for Meiji’s Milk Chocolate.

The single will be released on the 22nd of February but the advertisement will start to air on the 14th of January.

The girls from Nogizaka 46 will also be meeting their official rival on the same stage at the recording for Feb 6th edition of Music Japan.

Fyi, the senbatsu members for Guruguru Curtain are,

Ikuta Erika
Ikoma Rina
Ichiki Rena
Inoue Sayuri
Kawamura Mahiro
Saito Asuka
Saito Yuri
Sakurai Reika
Shiraishi Mai
Takayama Kazumi
Nakada Kana
Nishino Nanase
Noujo Ami
Hashimoto Nanami
Hoshino Minami
Matsumura Sayuri

With the 7 bolded being the Shifuku 7, NGZ46′s Kami 7 equivalent.

You can get their single at CDJapan, available in 4 types.

Source: Natelie via MELOSnoMichi Twitter

Singapore AKB48 Theater first show dates announced!

Volume 11 of Singapore AKB48 Theater at *SCAPE have been announced for the 28th of January.

It will be a AKB48 Stage with 2 shows at 2 and 6PM.

More details will be announced soon.

AKB48 SG Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/akb48singapore

Singapore: AFA SPRING TAIKAI!

Much like a treat for the girls, AFA will be holding the Spring Taikai on the 5th of February at *SCAPE bringing big name pretty boy cosplayers, GERODasoku (蛇足),  and KANAME.

More details will be announced soon.

Incidentally,  AFA facebook also posted a video of Iruma Rioka, asking if you know her…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRThbu1QadI

AFA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/animefestivalasia

I think that is all the major news today. I think.

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Touhou lotus destiny english edition was released in October 2011 and can be seen at CDS‘s booth during major events like AFA11, or the EOY.

This dojinshi is about the famous series Touhou, or rather a possible prequel to it. Following Byakuran Hijiri, the founder and head nun of the Myourenji.

Beginning the story is a flashback of how she acquired her magic powers and her journey towards enlightenment.

However a common theme found within the plot is greed and selfishness within a human as well a the yearning for family.

Storywise, it has proven to be a good read especially for one that don’t have in-depth or with no knowledge of the game it’s based on, like me.

But I think the story could be improved on further, because of the many lucky coincidences, like how the scroll land in Japan or how a storm flew a Yamato class warship into the past and etc. Perhaps this maybe be a premise of another book.

Art on the average, is good with many stunning scenes like the one above, but marred a little by the fact how non-characters like the neighbors, Yokai A or B, officers and even Hijiri’s brother Myoune, was drawn is unimpressive.

Not pretty… This is a bit of a nagging but it’s really nothing much.

Overall:  The art is good, the story is better and I see many chance for a sequel for this title. So do check it out the next time you saw this title at Collateral Damages Studio‘s Booth.

2nd Opinion? Sure, Check Cypher’s view on this,

It’s local produce!

I wonder how many doujin circles are there in SG, but (besides the editor) this is a one man work!

Lotus Destiny is somewhere between Shonen and Seinen, however if I have 3 votes I’d pass 2 to Seinen.
For those who are new to Touhou, trying to grasp the ‘when and where’ is understandable, but I believe that the story covering this doujinshi does not require much knowledge about the timeline of Touhou. Why is that so? It is very much focused on the life of the protagonist, Byakuren.

I find the story enjoyable, not just it being different from other doujinshi which depicts Byakuren as something else. The proportions of the drawings are within my preference range, and humor is well-balanced and appropriately used alongside with the serious tone of the story. What’s new to me is the appearance of a Japanese WWII Imperial Navy battleship in Touhou fan-fiction. It was originally a large sail ship in both the official series and fandom, and the side-character on it was originally never from the future.

Good thing there is an English version of it.

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We just exit the canon C300 event held at VIVO city GV and I must say i’m very impressed by it as well as Ani-Culture.net’s videographer makoto-sato.

More than that we actually to hear from Vincent Laforet, a professional Photographer, film director and a pioneer in dslr videography.

We were treated with a screening of his latest short film MOBIUS shot using the canon C300 as well as a trailer for a few of the other films also shot using the camera.

As well a chance to get some insights from the Vincent himself on photography and videography.

Overall it was really fun and meaningful event. Great job Canon! I even got to see a Canon 1DX, nice~

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Now the management of AFA have setup shop at *SCAPE to further push anime, with stylist furnishing and a convincing range of goods, just like during the event itself.

“>Currently thou they are offering shoppers a second chance to get the AFA11 exclusive merchandise like the MMK Maid Café Meido photosets, “I Love Ani-Songs” Iphone 4S Covers, T-Shirts, or the many other event exclusive items, while stock last!!

Also available are the CDs of some of the Artist whom participated in “I Love Ani-Songs!” concert, Figurines and anime novelty goods.

It even have a COOL JAPAN corner where information on cool stuffs in Japan can be obtained.

“>But the shop itself as an extension of the AFA will not be a generic Anime shop selling only figurines and CDs, but planning to work with Japanese rights owners to bring in exclusive merchandises like those found in AFA.

A short talk with SOZO, also revealed that they are planning events like mini music festivals, special visits and etc, to further spice up the anime scene in Singapore. A hint dropped at us, is to expect a taster within the next 2 to 3 months, which might see the return of some very special guests~

Other plans from them include, having the shop in themes according to the season, and a frequent refresh of their offerings.

So Anime Fans, especially those in Singapore, do get ready for an even more interesting year ahead!

2012 might be very interesting! Yah?

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At the EOY we have many new dojin artists and the one that I want to feature is Tofu Doll, a 15 year old lady that if you didn’t ask… would have thought to be a bit younger.

Her style is more of a adding on to the stick figure, giving it the missing substances and the subject character yet remains the simple feel.

Here is a sample of her work drawing Chiya,

Isn’t Chiya cute?~ of cos Tofu doll have more works than this and she is selling them at the EOY11, So you have missed it~

But well Tofu doll has now setup her new facebook page, so you can track her movement and maybe even get to buy some of her stuff in the next event.

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