Anime Festival Asia

Anime Festival Asia
Photo: animefestival.asia
Anime Festival Asia (AFA) is the largest anime convention in the Southeast Asian region. Basically, it is a series of conventions with the flagship event held in Singapore in mid- or late November. Satellite conventions have been held over the years in Indonesia (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), Malaysia (2012) and Thailand (2015).

The inaugural edition of Anime Festival Asia was held on November 22–23, 2008 at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre. The event attracted over 29,000 anime fans, which is quite impressive for the first edition of any convention. The first Anime Festival Asia featured special guests including Japanese mechanical designer Kunio Okawara, Japanese anime director Kōji Morimoto, Japanese J-Pop artist May’n, and Japanese singer, voice actor and actor Ichirou Mizuki. The event has grown over the years, with the attendance exceeding 100,000.

The program of Anime Festival Asia is similar to that of other fan conventions which focus on Japanese popular culture. It features panels, autograph sessions and photo-ops with celebrity guests, cosplay competitions, anime screenings, etc. The convention has a large exhibitor area where attendees can buy manga, DVDs, official merchandise, souvenirs, and many more. Many industry companies use Anime Festival Asia as a platform for promoting their new products and projects because Southeast Asia’s largest anime convention attracts thousands of interested fans.

As we’ve already mentioned, the flagship convention is held in Singapore. Anime Festival Asia launched its first spin-off event in 2012. Smaller conventions take place in other countries of the Southeast Asia region including Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. AFA has become a household name to J-Pop culture fans in the region. The convention’s organizers also help to manage other events dedicated to Japanese pop culture such Japan Pop-Culture Week Singapore, music festivals and concerts featuring popular Japanese musicians, etc.

Anime Festival Asia

Photo: mothership.sg



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