Anime Festival Asia 2010 Singapore

Usman | Nov 13, 2010 | Comments 0

Anime Festival Asia 2010 Singapore:Remember when being a fan of anime and J-pop culture was just about being a fan because you loved it, even though no one knew what the hell you were talking about?

Well, it now looks like the sub-genre is going the way of “Star Wars,” “The Phantom Menace” and becoming quite the pop culture cash cow.

Thank the Internet and social networking sites that have contributed to the anime and J-culture boom in the last 10 years. Things Japanese are now everywhere in Singapore, from stores to comics, videos to tabletop games.

Even Hollywood has taken notice and is churning out anime remakes of “Astro Boy,” “Dragonball Evolution” and “Speed Racer,” with the latest being 1988′s “Akira.” It’s rumored that Zac Efron and Morgan Freeman will be cast.

And here in Singapore it has generated such a strong following that the Anime Festival Asia 2010 is back for its third year.

Anime Festival Asia 2010 Singapore

This year’s festival will attract more than 70,000 people, a 40 percent increase from the previous year’s attendance. The event’s Facebook page has just under 90,000 fans, many of whom contributed to the estimated S$5 million takings from 2009′s two-day event.

This year, one can expect everything anime and J-poppy in the form of movie screenings, Cosplay, collectible toys, figurines and a cafe where waitresses in Japanese schoolgirl outfits serve you food and drink.

One big highlight will be the debut concert by Japan’s hottest idol group, AKB48 and the “I Love Anisong Concert” where fans have forked out S$118 for a VIP ticket to watch performances by Japanese artistes May’n and JAM project.

Expect screaming fans waving their light batons and backlit mobile phones when May’n plays the end-credit song to “Macross Frontier,” the latest anime series based on the popular Macross universe. She’ll also perform one of her new songs from the movie soundtrack of “Phonic Nation.”

Anime and J-pop culture may never go back to those halcyon days when it was cool and niche and you hungrily devoured your “Evangelion” VCD on your cathode ray tube television with your geeky bespectacled friend. But who cares. It’s great fun, so go to the festival now while you can.

The Anime Festival Asia will take place on November 13 and 14 at Suntec City Exhibition Halls 401-402 (Level 4) from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Tickets from S$8 a day.