Since we were too tired on the first day (and I fell asleep on the night of the second), I’ll take the liberty of starting off with coverage from both days.
On the first day, when Fariz and I arrived, the queue had already formed from the ticketing booth. And by queue I do not mean 20-40 people. By queue I mean about 100-200 people. It stretched till it blocked the view of the AFA entrance, and we only knew where it was thanks to e-jump, who happened to be wandering nearby.
We found out there was a second queue forming from the AFA entrance, and it was almost as long(if not almost as long) as the ticketing one.
And then a third one formed.
As this new queue was only meant for concert goers, Fariz and I sat near the front. Eventually Danny Choo popped up, and lo and behold we ended up grinning in his post.
Yes, there was a Zerg rush, sort of. No, no one tripped or got hurt (mostly thanks to the AFA crew shouting at everyone not to run). Yes, Fariz got something for his trouble. What that is…we’ll leave for another post, though those of you that met us should already know about it.
Thankfully, there wasn’t anything like this on the second day (though there was an entrance queue…not as long though), so we were able to get in easy. But enough about the outside world.
KKNM (Kareshi Kanojyo no Mise) seemed to have a queue at any time of either day. They even had “End of Queue” and “Start of Queue” signs prepared. I didn’t really care for it though; there was little to see at KKNM that wasn’t already at their Bencoolen branch.
Nearby, the Moe Moe Kyun cafe stood ready, pink in all its glory. Strangely enough at the beginning of both days it was freakin’ empty; no one actually went there to gander at the maids before anyone else did. And from what I’ve heard, the food is expensive (though I guess when you’re Singaporean or a spendthrift everything is) and the maids do little other than serve you the food.
Apart from the usual suspects KKNM and Latendo, there were about one or two other booths selling figures, and Nanopulp somehow took it upon himself to acquire not one, but 4 figmas. That’s impulse spending for you. I had planned to buy the orange guitar figure accessory (I can’t recall the exact name and brand, though I do recall Latendo selling them at SGD10 each), but they didn’t sell it at AFA. =(
BANDAI had a huge booth showcasing all their models from past to present. Was this what they meant with the terms “time tunnel”? To be frank, when they announced it, I had thought they would put up a special booth filled with information and concept art and whatnot about the older pre-SEED series (none of which I’ve watched, btw). Slightly disappointed…though I guess it’s my fault for misinterpreting the announcement.
There was a Tokyo Figure Show booth (aptly named TFS Singapore), though compared to the BANDAI one, it was really tiny. It did have figures for first-timers to get a good look at, as well as an up-close-and-personal preview of the further delayed BRS and World Is Mine figures. And yes, the Mirai figma was there, along with Kodomut’s custom itachari.
And speaking of Mirai Suenaga, Danny Choo definitely had a presence there lol. I could tell he was friggen’ tired just by looking. Have a great rest man.
Some studios also had booths set up. Production I.G. had art and continuously looping trailers for several animated films. Since I was moving about I didn’t have time to wait for the titles to appear, but the animations looked awesome. The 3D animated one had an American feel to it for some reason. If someone can help me identify the name again, that would be great.
And nearby, Tatsunoko Productions was looping a clip from the Yatterman remake. I only know about the anime due to the epic Obama-kun and Hilary-chan. You will crap bricks after clicking those two links, I assure you.
Once again, art circles like Imaginary Friends and Collateral Damage made an appearance, showcasing their art alongside those of independent artists. Not really much to say here; it’s just the same old awesome art to point your eyes at, really.
Though occasionally you’ll find a nice surprise.
They also had projectors mirroring their computer screen as they turned their digital scribbles into pure art. I would try it…but I have far too little time to have any dedication.
There was also an art corner in the back selling large posters and canbadges. If I recall, this one was done by AlexiusSana. Too bad Rin & Len aren’t showing their faces, though.
Also, the autograph sessions (actually just referring to the Shoko Nakagawa one). Apparently, apart from winning the contest, you could buy her CDs from the conveniently-placed AFA Shop and be entitled to an autograph on said CD. Money-minded much? I think a lot of people wouldn’t have minded if this little detail was actually announced at least a day before.
And no, they didn’t announce it was happening before the concert, either.
There were also appearances by Kaname and the K-ON! seiyuus on the second day, but we don’t have any pictures of those, sorry! The seiyuus were awesome. Ayana Taketatsu actually did her “nya-nyan~” on-stage LOL.
And the concert. Oh the concert.
I suppose you expect me to rage over the Miku performance that was treated as filler content between Shoko-tan’s and Ichirou Mizuki’s. But no, I’ve raged enough on that micro-blogging platform.
While the Miku performance could definitely have been longer (and rendered on a much more powerful machine), it did have one good point though: it wasn’t a carbon copy of the Miku performance at Animelo. It actually started off with Miku appearing like the way she transformed in Project DIVA’s opening sequence, and her greeting Singapore. And then cue the copy-pasted dance moves from the game.
I could go on, but I’ll spare you the fanboy-ism. Maybe for a more dedicated post in which I’m not trying to rush the typing.
That’s not to say Shoko-tan’s performance wasn’t good, though. She sang Sorairo Days and A Cruel Angel’s Thesis. Other than that, my memory fails me. XD
I thoroughly enjoyed Ichirou Mizuki’s performance more than I thought I would. He really does a good job of engaging the audience, something which I had missed during last year’s AFA. I recognize none of his songs though, since I didn’t watch any of the older mecha series.
The duet between the both of them was a nice surprise, though. I bet they actually rehearsed the performance (as opposed to “doing it for the first time”), but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
I don’t have anything to say about May’N or Yoshiki Fukuyama since I didn’t watch it though. There was a duet again between the both of them though.
And nope, no kowtow men this year. Guess you’ll have to look elsewhere for your dorama.
I also met a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time (and some new faces, too), but were it not for the fact that I’m in a hurry, I would post their names here. Truly sorry guys! T_T
Anyway, here’s a taste of what’s to come. For now, oyasumi, as I close this post, head to bed and get ready for my job attachment all over again ohayo gozaimasu, as I close this post and run off to work. ^_^;
7 Responses to “AFA ‘09, Both Days Back-to-Back”
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I get figmas to help add to the content of here said place and you accuse me of impulsing.
WHAT IS THIS. Fariz spent even more!
(If you don’t count the canbadges. :/)
wow
that was a most blatant lie if i ever saw one
chibihien´s last blog ..very WOLS, but here’s more NANA awesomeness
You have no right to comment cuz you didn’t go.
Even Fei went. Shame on you!
OH YOU SO DON”T WANT TO GO DOWN THIS SLIPPERY SLOPE.
chibihien´s last blog ..WOOHOO!! NANA comfirmed to be on Red Team in Kohaku
Nice meeting you there! Hahah! Really has been a longggg while!
Was a pleasure meeting you too Fuzzy.
AK´s last blog ..A Dancing Stormtrooper!
[...] blog about the event itself due to National Service.. All thanks to my brother Fuzzy on doing the event coverage, I have to say he did a good job on it.. [...]