So is the Kaname and -aira- thing.

Actually, that’s because I just stop and ogle whenever -aira- photos pop up. :3c

So… Day 2 cosplay!

Situation first. So Zone 3 was cleared of debris and the peasant folk began to emigrate from the cargo hull of Error 404. Also, Suntec/AFAX management kinda got eco-friendly and left almost all the lights of 404 dead. I think Suntec did it. So lightning inside SUCKS.

Wait: OH WAIT OH WAIT THERE’S HATSU-NEWS TO BE SAID SO AFK THIS POST.

Back.

So… Wall of photogs already spawning…

Another Freyr from Chobits. Not sure if its Day 1′s.

Right. These must be Kingdom Heart Mask Riders! -shot-

This one… Something cool-looking. orz

Mashup

Unknown maid

World Embryo’s version of an Anbu. 8D

Some characters.

Madame Red?

Another Sandplay Luka. YES GUYS, I KNOW THERE’S WAY TO MANY VOCALOID COSPLAYS. BELIEVE ME, I KNOW.

Some angel thing.

Armor dude who sadly did not stay still for much so I got blurred shots due to slowpokenano

Went back in and saw DannyChoo for the bazillionth time and he was having pictures taken. Is this considered cosplay? It doesn’t look ninja IMO, more like Japanese houseservant. :/ Ignore that DC fanboy. They just kept posing with him for shots.

Deathnote’s Misa

MonitorOnHeadDJMan – I think it’s Airgear

Iunno.

BRS

Samurai girl thing

Saber Lily

Mr ANBU is crying because he’s not Mr ANBU.

Alice in Wonderland thing?

League of Generally Unknown – I have an inkling that it’s Granado Espada. Pirate Adeline & Default Musketeer?

KISS X SIS!!! orz-point: I only realised when I noticed the bandaid on one of their faces

Some Narutoos playing rock-paper-scissors

Defense Devil cosplay – They are Singapore’s representatives for the Cosplay Competition. Pretty cool duo.

That Roaring Guy From Sengoku Basara dude.

Nuclear Meltdown Rin (Is it Nuclear? Or just Meltdown. I wanna listen to Meltdown -headphones-)

Misa again

Here, a child wonders WTF Mr ANBU is

Went into the 404 chamber after that. At the later parts of AFAX, the people started to lose their inhibitions and began orgies. o_o

There was this strange wave after wave of yaoi pairings and everyone just ran in and out like the tides

SIMCA. OH GOD, WHY IS THAT PINK THING IN THERE DAMNIT. ARGH

NO IDEA. I THOUGHT IT WAS TETO. ORZ

Beato and Virgilia from When the Seagulls Cry. Or was it Sigh? Wait, is it even seagulls? Maybe it’s crows. Uhhh… Cross-check please?

Misa AGEN.

Like, the one Touhou cosplay I wanted to take photos off. MARISA-ALICE SHIPPERS UNITE!

Actually, I prefer Sakuya X Marisa more but there’s less of that. And there’s Yukari X Reimu and Yuyuko X Youmu. Haha, Nano is YuriBoy. :9

Not cosplay but this is what the queue (or lack of) for the Free-Standing Concert goers was like. WTF GAIS.

We end with MisaBookHammer

Well, does anyone want the Kaname -aira- or Cosplay Competion posts? And which one takes priority if so?

The stickmens WILL be up by… TOMORROW FOR SURE. PROMISE. I SWEAR THIS ON… FUZZY’S FUR.

I will be NON COMMUNIQUE from Friday till Monday so even if I’m doing the Kaname post, it would be next week. Sorry.

P.S. Moe tag for the Misa

Please comment in… ALL OF THEM. PLEASE. I NEED THIS. ;A;

This is a Hunter. This is like, :/. This is why I wonder people even bother to waste money on L4D when SC2 is to be had.

Anyway, my photos are TERRIBLE. I have no control over what I was doing so I hoped things turned out ok. If you don’t mind, tell me what on earth happened and how I can correct myself because I’m now blur as F-

“Wai you get LX3-chan and then screw up like that Nano? You had an old camera right?”
“Yeah, I wrecked all the batteries.”

Right. So for Day 1, there was no Ground 3 for the cosplayers. Rather this strange trailer park was opened for the hobos to enter. Oh, did I say hobos? I meant cosplayers. Whoops. :9

Nano just learnt, “White-Balance!”

Honestly though, this year is… unspectacular. I had to forcefully put on my “GAWDTHAT’SAWESOME” GOOGLES to feel like I saw looking at something cool.

There was this RinLen cosplay. Nameitwillyou.

Because this was like, my first photo, it was blurred and dark like FUCK. I’m sorry. This was one of the nicer cosplays and I goof’d. ;A;

Also, I’m terrible to the point that I’m so slow at taking a photo. 1 NanoShot = 3 NormalShots Or >9000 HexLordShots or something.

@TheFuzzy commented: “This Miku is very anger because of you Nano.” Me: “OxOlll”

I have no idea who.

@TheFuzzy was like, “Hey, Nano! Uihara!” Me: “WHERE WHAR WHA- Oh.” -snap and sob sob sob- I’m sorry! It’s just that… -sob-

This is a cosplayer.

Think this is MikuLoard’s friend. She cosplayed really nicely. :9

Honestly, if that cannon fired, that BRS would be like HRS. HeadReallyShot.

Troll on a Spy on a Troll on a Spy on a Troll on a Spy on a…

Normal RinLen. D’awwww…

Someone we don’t know cosplaying something we don’t know too. But -whistle-.

This one I know! I-It’s… uhh… WhiteMiku! (SnowMiku) Oh yeah, just stating but her skirt nearly like, exposed her at the back. o////o

RinLen in some tribal kitsune mask thingamabob

Bayonetta X Dante crossover? Sorry for the bad light. orz

I KNOW THIS ONE FOR SURE! THE WHITE ONE IS CHI AND THE BLACK ONE IS TAI (No, it’s Freyr). YEAH! 8D

LED SnowMikus/Mikuos

Hot hot action here.

Sandplay Luka!

And bareback too! oDo

Dunno who this character is but it’s nice.

So then, there was Panty & Stockings and there was a wall of air raep.

Think I really messed it up. Also, sgAmirul quietly said: “But old leh… :<”

Rin in (?)

Kaito, also (?) Gosh, I need to get more info! orz

A Len is reinforce!

Saihate Rin

Haku and Luka in that one I keep seeing but never put a name on… orz

OH GOD I’M TERRIBLE AT PHOTOS AND NAMING THEM OH GOSH.

Please help name them under the comments, greatly appreciated!

That’s all for this night. More tomorrow!

Because we all have been goofed.

Right. So I’m sorry I can’t provide pictures for now. The procession is too long and I need downtime. So do you, so read and scramble.

–

AFAX! Woke up past the alarm time, yelped and ran out.

Reaching there, the first sight, a queue that has gone all the way over to the third floor from the fourth. OMFGG. Turns out to be ticketing, so… Meh. ADVANCE CORPS ARE ADVANCED.

In we go!

Uhhhh… Ok. Here the amazing thing happens.

I bought the least things ever in this blog-clan. (As compared to highest spender for last year.) Fuzzy started buying lots of stuff and Fei’s like… Not Fei.

-shudder at the thought of sight of Fei with VIP pass and tons of loot-

Well, Fariz played the Project Diva Arcade machines. Twice I think. WAI NOT MOAR MIKULOARD, you yell. Because each time you want to play once, you have to queue for 60 mins AT LEAST!?!?!?!?!?!

Fuzzy started his path down senseless spending with a dingy magazine with one nice Vocaloids poster of Rin and Miku (I think it’s like the Sega official art style?) and one undesirable (To Fuzzy) Clannad poster.

Fei disappeared in a sea of money and receipts.

I just wandered around everywhere. To be honest, I actually sold an artbook there which offset the AFAX ticket costs. Harhar!

Met with… Salanos, sgAmirul, uhh uhh… people people people. If you want, I can do a stickmens of the whole thing LATER IN A FEW DAYS. Tomorrow at fastest.

Heck, I’m actually sketch-ploting with a pen now. =.=

MOVIETIEM! Gundam 00: Awakening of the Trailblazer. Yay. Fuzzy kept telling how he watched it WITHOUT ME, and how there was an outing organised WITHOUT ME and how he knows all the trolololololols WITHOUT ME. ;A;

But yeah, nice movie. Lousy quality though and… AKIRA DVD PLAYER!?!?!?! ARE THEY THAT POOR? -orz crater-

But the show was kinda touching. In a super-huge humanity view.

Out we went after the movie screening and more wandering.

ZANEEDS was there, nice music BUT THE NEARBY KTV REALLY BOMBED IT. UGH. I would have bought like, all the CDs and the vinyl if that allowed me to blow out the KTV but no.

I nearly convinced Fuzzy to buy their really cool retro vinyl and then waste more money because he needs a record player to use it then. But actually, the vinyl is for signing on. Truth.

WAI CHIBI NOT THAR TO SING INSTEAD?

More wandering, the maid cafe was… interesting? I guess so. We peered in like scientists peering into the strange and wild world of… Jupiter. Yes.

We did not manage to find the Butler Cafe. I suspect there is a filter installed in all humans.

Finally, cosplay!

Ok, I won’t say much because that’s main coverage area. I reckon you can find the pictures on SGCAFE in day or two.

But maybe AFAX management isn’t that bad, because they got an empty hall opened to let cosplayers go into it. Just like Tokyo Big Sight has areas for cosplays, only we were smaller. Neat. But lighting for cameras were claimed to be abysmal. Well, I suck at it anyway so… -shrug-

Much good-average cosplays. No Gundams. Panty-Stockings spotted. But to quote sgAmirul, “Old lah…” XD

Concert entry started to happen around 6. Not a really bad rush I think. Because tickets controlled even the standing viewers. Clever filter.

Here I retired into the night, having realised I have effectively became an eunuch or something to AFAX, having been of zero profit potential AT ALL. So sad.

Nano Nano and the Indefinite Sadness. (Kudos if you get the reference)

Oh, I also met @kazearashiP! But I’m sorry I had to go off and never came back. Sorry!

Fuzzy said the Miku concert messed up AGEN. :/ Hello I am Surprise.

–

What I think:

Well, anyone could tell you, AFAX is in many ways a lot better but also a lot more sedate. The KKnM rush was larger than ever but the overall of stores were… meh. Artist corner was desperately under-tenanted and SEGA was so stingy with two machines.

However, AFAX did have a lot less hullaboos really. The cosplay areas were effectively controlled without much conflict, save for a few sunlight buggers. The Miku concert probably bombed but if anyone really considered the whole thing, Miku would be just filler to AFAX (Mikulord yells, BLASPHEMY!) so it’s expected.

Well, I had fun on Day 1 and I’m sure Day 2 would be good too.

So, if you’re going tomorrow, get some sleep NOW and get your dying fighting spirit out!

Or your wallet. Whichever is nearer.

–

Twitter Rips: Stuff from the Fuzz and the MikuLaord. Loard. Lard. Lrd. L. L’D. LLLLULLLLZ.

Left. So first up. During the BRS’S MATO’S SEIYUU WHOSE NAME IS – TO ME panel, they ANNOUNCED THERE WAS TO BE A BRS 2 MOVIE.

Duh. The first movie just stopped THERE.

Second in, huke will be coming to AFA next year! YAYYYYYY, yells Fariz as he rips open the cotton stuffing in his BRAND NEW BRS PLUSHIE by accident.

Fuzzy says the sound control for the concert sucks. I agree. The Gundam 00 movie moved my heart LITERALLY at times and I swear I could have died if not for the fact that the killer noise also gave me CPR.

Fariz DOES NOT TWIT USEFUL.

You can also follow me Twitter but I don’t tweet instantly because I has a no-internets phone line.

As for how we look like, I will release upon the OK from said person’s face. Mine is No-Go.

Nano is a shadow ninja!

I swear that what that X stands for.

Well, regardless, who’s ready for AFAXXXXXX?

Edit: Anyone who sees this, please pray/ritual/dance for Fuzzy because he REALLY wants to go but can’t. Ok, don’t dance unless you cosplay Vocaloids sekushii-ly. :3c

Well… I’m not. orz

I mean, I woke up a few days ago and someone tweeted, “9 moar dahhsss ta AFAX!”

Aside from the momentary pause of “WTF did that just say?”, I kinda just screamed “OHSHITIFORGOT -hairrip.mp4-”

Disclaimer: From this part on, try not to read the STRIKETHROUGH if you suck at jokes and think a playful punch in the shoulder means a fistbrawl.

–

Oh yeah, shameless advert but I’m selling my Alter Nanoha A’s Fate Testarossa and Alter’s 1/7 Shin Sonic Fate from Nanoha’s StrikerS. Please help ;A;

–

Let’s get to the basics!

AFAX stands for Anime Festival Asia Xpensive! Actually, no one knows what the X is for. Some say it’s Xperience, some laugh that the AFA committee has failed their Roman numbering and some cringe in the Xplicit display of Xpensiveness.

(Too bad it doesn’t mean Xplicit -shot-)

So this is one of Singapore’s largest Anime Conventions. Us peons here used to be happy with CosFest, EoY and SoY, but no longer! This is big! Maid cafes, Bulter cafes, Ripoff anime merchandisers, blah blah blah.

Oh and cosplay. More on that later.

So… AFAX has NOT Xpanded (Puns) its size. Well, it’s more like the space is once again more organised. With AFA08 having a stage being messed up by lack of partitioning to herd the sheeple, AFA 09 with the partitioned stage area suffering from Baneling campers, AFAX offers a revolutionary way of organisation!

… By charging us even more for just mere ticketing. orz

Festival, Stage and Concert.

These three ticket types allow in the Festival area, Stage area and the Concert zone.

The Concert zone is in a different hall from the Stage BTW, so… Yay. you can’t get anymore VIP tickets, too bad. Not sure on standing tickets. I’m sure you can buy SOME on the spot there for RIPOFF prices AGAIN. (This is the one thing consistent for AFA)

Edit: VIP tickets are still there but at this time, the seats you get will make you feel very unimportant. Mingle with the peons!

For Festival and Stage, the tickets are sold separately PER DAY. Horror. There are Festival-only @$8, Festival+Stage @$15 and there’s Upgrade +Stage @$10 where you pay extra 3 bucks for being an indecisive cow who only bought Festival-only.

Advance tickets WERE released, but a tsunami of humans swept them away. I am CURRENTLY fishing for some.

That Day(s):

AFAX OPENS ITS DOORS AT 9AM. 8AM WILL BE TICKET-SALES START. QUEUES WILL BE FAGGOTTISHLY EARLY. EXPECT 6AM ZERGLINGS. BUY ME SC2.

–

“So Nano, why are we even going to AFAX”

“Because we are worthless sheeple peons.”

Right. So what would you expect at AFAX this time?

Atelier Royale Butler Cafe

Ever felt bad that you males get to go false-ogle at meidos who will serve you very little cakes and omurice with Meido♥U while secretly cursing at your bloodline for giving birth to pig disgusting you while the ronery ronery (not) girls just stand outside not really wanting to join in? Of course not. But just in case one of you saints (all white, lol) ever do feel that way, FEAR NO MORE! The Butlers are here!

“B-B-B-But Nano! I don’t like males!”

Shush boys, this is actually because females have more money by average so AFAX needs to CASH IN on that.

Not forgetting all the lovely ladies in the house (because on average, females have more money than males), and by popular request(Kuroshitsuji), Atelier Royale Café will be making its debut at AFA X this year. Atelier Royale is a butler café (執事喫茶 shitsuji kissa), a themed restaurant with well-dressed male employees in waiter’s uniform or even a tuxedo. And we have specially selected a team of highly dedicated butlers to wait on you and serve a host of delectable light treats and refreshments at your fancy. Come with your friends and be spoilt (they already are? ) like a princess for a day or two by our league of (Not Extraordinary) gentlemen, only at AFA X.

What he said.

Moe Moe Kyun Cafe: Don’t Be Late

This year… They are going for schoolgirls. Uhhh… Sorry. Can I just go watch Hoot by SNSD? PLEASE? ;A;

NewsFlash: At 11.30PM of 08 November, this very moment, I learnt that all Day 01 Advance Tickets are swept away FOR GOOD. The horror. I don’t want to write this post anymore. ;A; But I will because I love you guys so little that I must keep false-trolling.

Back to MMK:

Creepy. 2Creeped2Edit

Your cosy companions from Moe Moe Kyun Maid Café are back to melt your troubles away. And this year at AFA X, we’ve got a sweet surprise for you. Our lovely maids will raise your heartbeat with a special theme – School Days! Dressed in moe school uniforms, these kawaii kouhais will be serving you delicious finger foods and scrumptious desserts, tantalising your taste buds while delighting your senses with the warmest hospitality. Come to Moe Moe Kyun Maid Café and experience the best day in shcool ever.

AkibaTown and AkibaStage

Main work horse of Festival Area, expect no electronics and only ripoff anime stuff you missed from years ago. KKnM will be there, GSC will be there displaying their UNTOUCHABLE wares and assorted smaller retailers.

I WILL NOT BUY ANYTHING. PROMISE.

Oh, and there will be a stage there making noise. Please don’t mind.

KKnM and Hakurei Jinjya

So… KKnM will in AkibaTown. We know that. WHAT WILL THEY HAVE? Old stock and new stock. Some figurines at 30% to 70% discount. Le gasp.

Bawl your eyes out.

Touhou Girls are selling, Please Buy Hotly.

They will be here. Somewhere.

P.S. Notice a typo in the linked pages and win a laugh. You suck if you don’t get it. Or maybe you don’t twitter with us enough.

Personal thoughts: Not worth it. I will know. I rush-queued AFA09 and then… They just had what they have at the store. Maybe it’s cheaper but iunno. IF YOU WANT IT PAY FOR IT.

Regional Cosplay Competition 2010

Finally! Cosplay! you shout. No. This is the competition. I don’t know what to expect but it’s in very limited amounts. Very high-class probably but very little.

AFA X will once again host its wildly anticipated Regional Cosplay Championship! The top cosplay team from each participating South East Asian country will be sponsored by AFA X to compete in the Regional Cosplay Championship during the two-day anime festival where they will perform and be judged by a panel of distinguished guests from Japan and around the region, which includes internationally renowned cosplayer KANAME.

INB4KANAME☆FANGIRLS.

I♥ANISONG

Not.

5 Artists – 6 Hours – Over 2 Days!

If you thought last year’s concerts were amazing, wait till you experience Anime Festival Asia 2010 (AFA X)! We’re back, this time only bigger, better and louder! AFA X presents three new electrifying artistes to the line-up. JAM Project, SCANDAL and angela will make their debut for the first time ever in Southeast Asia! And to the delight of our loyal fans, both Ichirou Mizuki and May’n are returning for their third consecutive AFA performance. Get ready to be entertained by five artistes for a total of six hours over two days

“What if I did not think they rocked?”

-May’N raegfan psionic storm-

(Personally, Mizuki rocked but other than that… ;A;)

At the Stage area there will also be movies. Gundam 00 movie on Day 1, Disappearance of Endless Haruhi on Day 2.

No, I lied. No Endless. Phew~

(At this part, the Safari browser crashed and I screamed in fright. Thank god the backup worked.)

–

So… Oh yeah.

That was all INSIDE AFAX.

What about outside?

Cosplay

The bulk of cosplayers would be too poor/inconvenienced to enter while in costume so they tend to wander around the 3rd floor. By wander I mean flood it like a Zerg Spawning Pool. Head there with camera and snap away. With no flash-bang grenades please.

Meetups

I’m gonna leech some folks so avoid me like the plague if you’re a loner. Haha, not. I’m not sure but I know the usual Teamblue-Ex meetup will happen. TheFuzzy will seek me out for my guts for posting this and FarizAsuka will back his six. DFC or @PettanPettan will be avoiding me because I desperately need to see his private face for the sake of it and Feidamu will… be walking. Normally. Heh.

Chibihien is too poor to be recognise. D:

You should come drop by and scold us for not posting!

I would!

Oh and there’s this late dinner at the end of AFA if you’re a prominent SGAniBlogger. I’m not. I suck. Boohoo. ;A;

Tips:

-Be polite. Don’t be like… Nano. Yeah. That’s only for Nano to do.

-Bring water. Suntec is a desert and the Fountain of Wealth is there to make you thirsty only, not give you water.

-Take photos but don’t hog. Else someone will flame-bash you.

-Bathe. JESUS!

-Shake hands with Ichirou Mizuki if you spot him in the toilet with you ONLY AFTER you both wash your hands. Ok, he may opt to shake with HIS unwashed hands.

-Do. Not. Stalk. Anything. Not the meidos, not the butlers, not May’N, Scandal, JAM or any cosplayer. NOT THE LOLIES.

-Experience dictates there will be lolies. Eat pedo-suppressor stimpacks.

-Bring cash. NETS works at times but in panicked situations, it is scientifically proven by Nano that counting notes is more calming than mentally calculating the remainder of your bank account.

-Bring LOTS of cash. This is not a flea market.

-If wanting to photograph a cosplayer who isn’t being taken, approach, ask nicely and take photo. Offer thanks and praise their cosplay and leave. DO NOT huff and pant.

-If there is a swarm, try to fit in but don’t hammer people out of the way. Having 2 million dollar diamond lensed DSLR means nothing here.  Take your turn.

-If something does not fit your eyes, avert eyes. Use industrial bleach. Do not take photos just to flame him later. That’s stupid and we have enough stupid in the local community.

-If cosplayer, be ready to be tired. You should expect to be bombarded. Usually, one photographer will bring two more and two will bring eight and… if you’re BRS in a bikini everyone will air-raep you.

-Have a kareshi (boyfriend) to box the perverts away. Do not look for one at AFA. Bad idea.

-Mind your props. Mind your litter. Lost items will turn up sometimes at forums. Try to look for the lost item if you lose something but do not kick up a fuss. It would serve no one any good. Try to discreetly ask passers-by, they tend to help. Don’t ask Nano, he can’t find nuts.

-If tired and needing to rest, yet being asked for a photo, you may decline them. But do it nicely and offer to let them take later if you are up to it.

-PLEASE DON’T SHADOW WOLF THANK YOU.

-You won’t get your girlfriends here! Go home if you’re wishing to hook a girl! Yumeno has covered all their bases and they belongz to himz.

–

Well… I guess that’s all I have. I’ll let Fuzzy and gang add more but do comment on who’s going! Enjoy your AFAX and Xpect Everything and Nothing!

Nano nano nano~

Right after the bloggers’ party, I was invited to attend the official press conference yesterday, too.

The press conference was a little more direct, though; it was held at the venue of the festival’s launch: *SCAPE. This time, though, the conference was aimed at the press people (and bigwigs), so namecard exchanging was had.

…yeah, I really should get namecards made for the blog. ( =3=)

Anyway, apart from the juicy information (scroll past if you’re impatient), a few event trailers were screened, and the organisers presented tokens of appreciation (beach flip-flops framed in a glass panel) to their sponsors.

Also, the belly-dancing segment caught me completely off guard. >_>

And now for the juicy information!

COSMO Youth Parade

The COSMO Youth Parade is a parade, organised by Mascot Parade Limited, in which anyone can take part. It’s pretty much a continuation of last year’s Mascot Parade, so you know the drill: march from point A (*SCAPE Playspace) to point B (Mandarin Gallery). You don’t have to wear a costume to join in (though it’s encouraged).

The parade will be held on the launch day of the whole festival, which is the 3rd of July this year.

There are other non-parade highlights too, such as the following:

• Moe Moe Kyun Maid Cafe – Yep, it’s making a comeback from its AFA debut. I can’t say any more though; go poke oOgA or something.
• Bushiroad Card Game Tournament – I’d imagine Weiβ Schwarz players are looking forward to this.
• Gundam Caravan
• COSMO Bazaar – “Key retailers” will be setting up shop and selling products, attire and collectibles aimed at cosplayers and costumers.
• COSMO Costume Competition – A costume competition for everyone. There will be 4 categories to participate in:
  • Anime & Manga
  • Comics & Cartoons
  • PC & Console Games
  • Movies & TV Shows

  The top 3 winners for each category will win cash prizes ($500, $300 and $100 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places respectively), and the top winners for each category will stand a chance to win a pair of tickets to Japan.

  Participants will also get a chance to talk to and learn from famous cosplayers such as Alodia, her sister Ashley, Reno, and Clive.

  You can find out more here (or at the SGCafe thread), or register by clicking the contest image below.

  

• Night Concert – Local anime and J-Rock bands will also make their debut while the moon is up. It’ll probably be like Street Festival previously.

Speaking of Street Festival…

U@SHINE

U@SHINE, organised by Singapore Street Festival, will be held from the 25th of June to the 11th of July at The Cathay and Plaza Singapura. It’s a little early for a festival event, but sure, okay.

It’s basically a mish-mash of urban culture performances which include the following:

• WORDS! Rap Competition
• Asia Global Bellydance Competition – I can imagine the wall of photographers.
• WOW! Band Competition
• J-Rock Band Performances
• Yo-yo Performances

The Big Groove 2010 – Year of the Champions

The Big Groove, organised by O School Limited and held at 7.30PM at the Singapore Expo on the 11th of July, is Asia’s most awaited hip-hop dance convention, and will showcase performances of Quest Crew, WCO (Wrecking Crew Orchestra), Hilty and Bosch, Joyce and the Boys, and more.

Quest Crew are the winners of the third season of America’s Best Dance Crew, while WCO and Hilty and Bosch are the winners of Japan Dance Delight. Joyce and the Boys are a local dance crew who won the inaugural Singapore Dance Delight and came in 3rd at the World Hip-Hop Championships at Las Vegas.

Specialty dance workshops will also be held from the 8th to the 10th of July at O School Studios in *Scape. Guest instructors, such as Lee (who won a Special Award from Japan Dance Delight) and Dominique from WCO, will be invited to teach anyone interested.

Community Service Projects by SMU

SMU will be taking on 4 community service projects during (and beyond) the Youth Festival. While the majority of you readers may not be interested (especially since you can’t exactly participate in all of them), I figured I’d just describe what they’re up to, just in case:

• starringSMU’10 – A carwash project held on the 24th and 25th of July at Holland Village. Tickets are priced at $8 each, and proceeds will go towards helping My Buona Vista Place.
• SMU Gives Back – This one’s an island-wide initiative to allow SMU students to help the needy at over 10 beneficiaries.
• !nspirar – Students will set out to organise a city trail along the Singapore River on the 1st of August. Funds raised will go towards the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Singapore.
• Ballooning Bliss 2 – A gigantic balloon sculpture will be erected and put on display at the Jurong Point Shopping Center on the 24th of July. Tickets will be priced at $2 each and proceeds will go towards En Community Services Society.
• Rolling Good Times – Volunteers from all the afore-mentioned projects will pool their resources and organise a fund-raising fun fair on SMU campus grounds on the 8th of August. Tickets are priced at $10 each (including a complimentary Happy Meal), and proceeds will go towards the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charity.

Well, that’s pretty much it. You’ll also be getting a special pass at the event, and if you get 2 stamps on it (one from the COSMO Youth Parade, one from the Urban Beach Games, both on the same day), you’ll get to redeem a free movie pass. If you’re among the first 5,000, that is. Just dropping a tip here. ;D

Oh, and the official end date of the SHINE Youth Festival is on the 24th of July.

I’ll be posting the event schedule of the entire festival in part 3…right after I take care of a few news posts. Stay tuned!

I was invited to attend a bloggers’ party (along with nutcase and oOgA) for the event a couple of days ago.

The event was held in a Starbucks, and was a rather informal presentation on youth lifestyle and some coverage on the festival.

They showcased some home-made videos too, but I fail to recall what they were about, actually. >_<

After the talk and video presentation, the organisers let all the attendees try out dancing and cosplay. Pretty basic stuff, really.

There was a video camera set up too, so attendees could spend half a minute voicing out their views about the festival, or anything else if they didn’t feel like talking about the festival in particular.

To be honest and totally frank, there wasn’t much to see at the party. However, if you take into account that the event was targeted towards the typical casual teen and aimed to get them to enjoy trying out culture possibly alien to them, they did a good job at that. =D

The attendees (including yours truly) didn’t leave empty handed, though. They handed us a goodie bag with (get this) beach wear to go along with the “Urban Beach” event held during the launch of the festival on the 3rd of July.

I’ll elaborate on the event later (heck I’ll post the entire event schedule) in a later post, fret not. =3

You can check out The Banzai! Effect’s coverage of the event; it’s a lot less wordy and a lot more image-spammy.

I headed down to Plaza Singapura last weekend to gander at the cosplayers.

When I got there (late), the event was already in full swing.

Flickr

Flickr

I met up with TP, Feidamu, Kazearashi, malzias, yumeno, Hexlord and the rest of The Banzai! Effect team. TP was kind enough to lend me his DSLR to snap some photos, so there won’t be any iPhone bokehs in this post.

Shot by TP (Flickr)

 
Shot by TP (Flickr)

While I didn’t give the J-Rock performances much attention, they didn’t sound bad at all. A semi-large crowd formed in front of the stage (not all of them were photographers, mind you), and if the performances could drag the attendees away from the cosplayers, they must be doing pretty well.

I didn’t pay any attention to the rest of the stage events, though. I did hear a cover of Fuwa Fuwa Time by a couple of K-ON! cosplayers, and admittedly it almost made my ears bleed.

Shot by TP (Flickr)

Shot by TP (Flickr)

Fariz was at the event too, but he went roaming away from the event venue to do his own private photoshoots, leaving his poor little brother alone. =(

Shot by TP (Flickr)

Overall, the event turned out pretty well, mainly because there was ample space for the cosplayers to roam around. Even the photos here were taken at and around the event venue.

Nature threatened to drench everyone with a slight drizzle, but fortunately, it didn’t rain in the end. I’m sure the more daring photographers might have experimented with the droplets of water. =3

Shot by TP (Flickr)

Credit goes to Feidamu for this one; I’m not very good with posing other people. >_>

Shot by TP (Flickr)

Note that not all of the shots in this post are mine; TP took most of the shots. You can check out his Flickr photo set. Protip: if my name isn’t in the description, it isn’t my shot.

It was a great event, and it was great meeting everyone again. I personally think it turned out better than STARFEST. I still have a long way to go in my photography skills though; my photos are still too blurry. >_<

You can check out more coverage by The Banzai! Effect (and nutcase’s Evangelion photoshoot), and Kazearashi.

Also, if you feel that any of these shots shouldn’t be in the post, do speak up.

I’ve been to both of these events in the last few weekends, and I felt I should write about them before covering Street Fest which occurred only last weekend.

They’re not getting dedicated posts though since they were actually pretty meh, more on that later.

Licence2Play

Licence2Play was held from the 28th to the 30th of May. It’s a local gaming convention held annually, and this year it was held at the Expo.

I’ll be completely honest though. I went to the Expo for one reason (and one reason only):

No %^$#, GameAxis.

The StarCraft 2 beta is actually pretty cool; you can pull a lot more “stunts” with all the new abilities and units Blizzard put into the game. I mean, Supply Depots that double as gates? Whoa.

…of course being terrible at RTSes, I got trashed in both my online matches. ^_^;

The other thing I tried was Samsung’s 3D LED TV technology. On paper, adding a 3rd dimension you can actually see (i.e. depth) to your 2-dimensional games sounds good and all, but I found it’s rather disorienting me after a while. Looking straight down into the ground (in-game) somehow also causes it to look unnaturally uneven.

Moving on, the rest of the booths were either:

• Online gaming
• Technology (including unrelated stuff like printers, etc), taking up about half the entire hall
• Competition areas

There’s really nothing else noteworthy; I didn’t stick around long enough to watch any of the, except for NLB which somehow managed to earn itself a booth there. You could actually borrow books from the booth (which is kinda digressing from the point of a gaming convention).

I had hoped the event would have at least wow-ed me, but it actually felt more boring than last year. Now that I think about it, there wasn’t much of a crowd at this year’s event too.

STARFEST

STARFEST is an anime/toy fair organized by the Singapore Cosplay Club, and it was held between the 31st of May to the 6th of June. Despite partly being an anime fair, the fair held a cosplay event only on the 5th of June. In fact, all the “good stuff” (maid cafe photoshoot, doujinshi booths) all coincided on that day, so (naturally) I went to take a look on that day.

Before I continue, I must confess that the quality of the photos absolutely suck, thanks to the fabulous combination my shaky hands and an iPhone camera. I won’t be held responsible, though, if your eyes bleed from the blurriness and/or pixelation.

The “toy” part involved several exhibitors putting up their items on sale. There were Alice88th, selling their jointed dolls, and Black Tactical, showcasing their replica weapon series.

Custom Workz was also there, selling their load of Masked Rider merchandise, and showing scenes from the net spinoffs of the All Riders vs. Great Shocker movie. I really should get around to watching that.

There was a small booth showcasing some remote-controlled model itasha. Fortunately (for me), they weren’t being driven around, so I could take this clear shot of the Miku-themed ones. Why no Rin love? ( *A*)

Anyway, yes, there was a maid cafe photoshoot booth. It was just a promotion for a maid cafe, officially named “Cawaii Koohii Maid Cafe”, that will open in September this year, on the fifth floor of Funan. Yeah, very “Akihabara”, I know. >_>

And yes, I know it’s supposed to be spelt “Kawaii Koohii”, unless there’s some deep meaning behind the ‘C’ that I haven’t quite grasped.

The cosplay event was actually a series of performances held by the semi-finalists of the World Cosplay Summit. While their outfits were accurate (as far as I could tell), their performances felt really lacking and a little rushed. It wasn’t until much later when I found out that they weren’t doing their best that day; they did way better during the actual competition in Korea.

Also, there was apparently no space for a backstage area, so the organisers had little choice but to have the performing cosplayers set themselves up out in front of the stage. This also meant photographers had to squeeze into a small section in front of the stage to snap photos. Someone obviously didn’t think this one through.

That’s not to say the performers were the only ones cosplaying though; there were a lot more cosplayers roaming around that day. Once again, apologies for the crappy quality.

All in all, cosplay aside, this event was okay, but felt a little…lacking. Hearing that the performers weren’t exactly doing their best was also a major turnoff. The toy booths didn’t really appeal to me either. The cosplayers didn’t have much room to work with in the mall; it was impossible to take a clear photo without any interference whatsoever (i.e. people in the background).

While I did mention there were supposed to be doujinshi booths that day, I failed to see any of them. Did anyone else who attended see them and their merchandise? Just curious.

You can also check out additional coverage at The Banzai! Effect.

Street Festival is an annual event aimed at promoting local culture among youths, and this year it’s taking place in 4 different locations on different days.

We’re only going to focus on the cosplay aspect though (hehe). There will be a cosplay competition held at Plaza Singapura tomorrow, so we’ll drop by to check it out! There’ll also be lots of J-Rock performances too, for those of you who are interested. =3

The event will occur from 2PM to 9PM, and the tentative schedule is up on SGCafe as follows:

Yeah, I realize that the cosplay segments are seriously dwarfed by the J-Rock performances. Oh well. >_>

Will you be heading down there too?

It’s finally done! Thank god. (; ^_^)

I have to apologize in advance, though; most of the pictures didn’t make it because they ended up blurry (some here still are, actually), though they looked pretty sharp on the camera screen. orz

SOY’B, which apparently stands for “Start of Year Cosplay” (don’t ask), occured on the 30th of January (last week) at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. SOY’B marks the third time SOY has been held, and we’ve already covered last year’s event as well.

The event was held in and around a lecture theatre, with the various competitions occuring within the lecture theatre itself, and booths selling art (as well as odds ‘n ends) were lined along the corridors around the lecture theatre.

This was pretty much the scene outside the event entrance for most of the day. It’s likely that some people didn’t bother paying the $5 entrance fee (or $3, if you pre-ordered, are a student or applied as a blogger) since most of the cosplay action was outside.

It may or may not have been intended by the organizers, but it’s pretty much impossible to perform proper cosplay in the corridors, especially with the booths taking up half the space.

Sadly enough, I only recall a familiar face, though the art sold at the rest of the booths wasn’t disappointing either. I was almost tempted to get a Rin/Len bookmark. >_>

By the time I got to the lecture theatre though, it was almost full, with people crowding the back area. I stuck around long enough to watch the emcees cosplay and imitate characters from Ouran High School Host Club as they welcomed other cosplayers on-stage for the singles competition.

There was a mini-cafe outside the exit (a “Tofu Cafe” to be exact), though I couldn’t find anyone else who wanted to go and have a look. I believe they served simple pastries and bottled drinks, and it wasn’t a complete bank-breaker like the Moe Moe Kyun~<3 cafe was, thankfully.

There was an entire team of BRS-themed cosplayers, probably based on the other BRS PV variations you can find on Nico Nico Douga. There was a Rin, Len, Meiko, Kaito and IBRS (!!!). Thankfully, their choice of weaponry appeared to differ, since it’d be pretty weird if everyone wielded a gun and a single blade.

Here’s a solo shot of BRS, Rin-version. I like. <3

Here’s an actual Masked Rider Kiva cosplayer who has paid very close attention to detail to the Emperor Form with the Zanvat Sword (along with the Wake Up Fuestle) to boot. I didn’t actually watch the series though. :/

I hung out with some WLNF (We Love Nendoroids and Figmas) mates, and some of them were taking pictures of their figmas and dolls outside, I snapped this one who was aiming for me but missed. ^_^;

Also, anyone know what these people were doing? I was told they’re doing a school project, but I cannot possibly fathom what sort of project would have you shooting scenes at a cosplay event.

I saw the full costume later; apparently it also had a dragon-like helmet. Does anyone know whether it’s real cosplay, or just something completely made-up?

My photography has improved, but not by leaps and bounds; for some reason this shot turned out relatively sharper than the rest, but I completely screwed up the composition by blocking BRS (Meiko version)’s face. Aaaargh.

P.S. IBRS needs more…insane look. Also, thanks Hirito for lending me your camera to use!

Finally, here’s a Miku (World is Mine version) by Joy. You may have already seen this one in the preview post, so here’s some more to satisfy you:

World is Mine Under Construction

Naturally enough it wasn’t long before everyone was camera-whoring her (though I kinda started the whole thing). Eventually some bugger decided to ask her to wear her shoes to satisfy his shoe fetish, and this was the result:

On an unrelated note, do visit Kodomut’s blog. Also, sorry dude, didn’t recognize you without the beanie hat. >_<

Here’s Rin and Len, done by Snowi and Revive respectively. Note that this shoot was more personal and was done after SOY’B, so there was actually a lot more room to breathe and shoot. Also, kudos to both of them for letting me shoot them, and let me tell you, shooting cosplayers personally is a totally different experience compared to shooting them during an event.

They were cosplaying the twins from this particular song named 夢桜 (Yume Sakura, above), and though I had no clue about the song, they quickly filled me on the details. Thankfully they didn’t need to explain about the whole VOCALOID thing. XD

Source: Pixiv by yucco

I tried my best to recreate some scenes from the PV, though taking a photo at night with no tripod is a recipe for disaster. For some reason though, the above photo made it out okay, with the help of a diffuser for my built-in flash provided by Snowi herself.

Coincidentally, the above photo was the very last one I shot, after multiple pleas for “just one more shot”. Thanks for putting up with me, you two.

Returning to SOY’B, it was a fairly alright event, with a decent amount of management. Excluding the competition though (which was exclusive to the small lecture theatre), the event turned into a simple cosplay meet-up, and I was hoping for more than that, actually.

It was also a great chance to meet up with friends (since I don’t go out much myself), and though I came sleepy and returned exhausted, I had a great time. Looking forward to next year’s SOY, guys!

You can check out additional coverage by our friends:

• The Banzai Effect!: [1], [2] and [3]
• Kodomut

And a final question: did you visit this post just to see Joy’s photos? =P