Finally after a 3-year wait, Southeast Asia’s biggest and most prestigious Japanese Pop Culture event - Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2022 (#AFASG22) is back, and here are some of the key updates of the festival line-up. Held physically from 25 to 27 November 2022 at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, there will be tons for anime fans to indulge in. While fan-favourite segments remain, there are also new experiences too! There's the star-studded Day Stage Line-up, a refreshed Creators’ Hub, J-Dance Competition, Meet & Greet Sessions, AFA Night LIVE! and also an all-new AFAVerse visitor experience too!
Day Stage Highlights
25 November
- A virtual guest appearance and talk show with V-tuber Fulgur Ovid from NIJISANJI EN,
- PRISM Project will host an epic face-off battle of improv between two groups of virtual talent, with prompts chosen live by audiences
- A talk show featuring Vtubers based in different countries, featuring Luna Amane of NHOT BOT, Maya Ichimonji from GEMS COMPANY, Nox from VirtuaReal, and Lilrya Prisvielle from VReverie
- An appearance and performance by Miura Ayme and Satoshi Kada from Obey Me!, an otome game of the "Shall we date?" series!
- And a special guest appearance by celebrity cosplayer Hakken.
26 November
- Screening of the first 2 episodes of ARKNIGHTS: Prelude to Dawn, the anime adaptation of the popular mobile game, featuring a recorded message from the Japanese voice actress for Amiya and a recorded interview with the production staff from the anime production house, Yostar Pictures.
- Appearances by Junta Terashima and Ryota Takeuchi, who voice and sing as characters from the group The Cat’s Whiskers in the Paradox Live multimedia franchise, ahead of the upcoming anime series coming in 2023.
- Lycoris Recoil, one of the most popular titles from the July 2022 anime season, will be featured through a talk show on stage. Guests coming for this stage event will be announced separately.
27 November
- A special panel from MAPPA, an animation studio that will be talking about the current and upcoming projects of the studio, with hit titles like Chainsaw Man, “ATTACK ON TITAN” The Final Season, Hell’s Paradise, and VINLAND SAGA SEASON 2.
- Special DJ performances by D4DJ, a media mix project from Bushiroad that revolves around content including anime, games, and live concerts performed by the voice actresses.
- A guest appearance and talk show with voice actor Yuki Ono.
AFA Night LIVE!
Fans can enjoy the 10th Anniversary Event Premiere Screening of Sword Art Online - FULLDIVE on 25 November, 7.30pm, at AFA Night LIVE! This adds to earlier announcements shared on AFA Night LIVE!, which features a stellar cast of virtual YouTubers (VTubers) and artistes. Held over three nights, AFA Night LIVE includes hololive Meet, an interactive live talk show and Meet & Greet session with some of the world’s most celebrated VTubers, on 26 November, as well as I Love Anisong, a fan-favourite music event, on 27 November.
Creators’ Hub x pixivFor the first time, AFA will partner with pixiv, Japan's largest online art community, to present the largest-ever Creators Hub. On pixiv, people share illustrations, manga, and novels, with close to 20,000 works from 230 different regions worldwide posted daily.
pixiv is also hosting an Illustration Contest, where the winning entry will receive these amazing prizes:
- 200,000 JPY in cash (approx. SGD 2000)
- A free Creators Hub booth at AFASG 2023
- A chance to display an original artwork at the pixiv display area in the Creators Hub
With over 150 participating creators this year from 15 countries and regions, organizers shared that 28 Featured Creators have been selected to showcase their work at the festival grounds. AFA Singapore 2022 will also collaborate with Sarah Thursday to release a limited-edition capsule collection! Featuring an exclusive t-shirt, tote bag, and sticker, check them out at AFA SHOP and AFASHOP.CO!
They include:
- Rachta Lin - self-taught illustrator whose travels and experiences influence her creations
- Sarah Thursday - creates illustrations inspired by dark alternative subcultures with a profoundly personal twist
- Digital artist Raiko- paints characters from games and anime usually in a semi-realistic style.
Competitions
A new J-Dance Asia competition will be held, with the Finals on 26 November at Akiba Stage on the festival grounds. Groups of 2 to 10 pax will be able to highlight their choreography based on a Japanese song track in front of the crowd. Renowned dancers from Singapore and Japan will stand as judges, and also get to strut their stuff in a special dance showcase. Participants to J-Dance Asia stand a chance to win cash prizes of up to S$1,000. Registration is open from now till 11 November 2022 at bit.ly/AFASG22JDance.
The Cosplay Singles showcase competition will return to AFASG22. Cosplayers can take this chance to show off their costumes on a regional stage and stand a chance to win up to $500 cash. Registration is underway from now till 06 November 2022 at bit.ly/AFASG22CosplaySingles.
Exhibitor Highlights
It will include Anime Metaverse, Bandai, Bushiroad, Conan, Genshin Impact. Good Smile Company, Hakkaen!, Kotobukiya, Nissin, Valiant Force and more. Showcases will range from exclusive merchandise to offers.
Meet & Greet Sessions
Fans who want to meet AFA’s celebrity guests can look forward to Meet & Greet sessions. Sessions will be available with celebrity cosplayers Hakken, Charess and Ely. Tickets are on sale now. Check the website for more details.
The AFAVERSE Visitor Experience
For the first time, visitors will enjoy a game-like experience from the moment they step into the festival grounds. You will get a specially-designed NFC-enabled band to earn AFA Hero XP, AFA Coins, instant discounts, and unlock virtual easter eggs. And you can also design your own Seika AFA-tar, unlock special skins from AFA-Pitstops, or exchange for limited-edition accessories with AFA-Coins.
More details are available at animefestival.asia/afaverse.
#AFASG22 is a ticketed event. Fans will be able to purchase all ticket tiers, from General Admission 1-Day Exhibition to 1-Day VIP tickets online from today. Tickets start from S$21 / Day for the Exhibition.
Stay tuned to the official site or connect on social media for the latest updates on the festival.
More details are available at animefestival.asia/singapore2022.
Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2022
Dates: 25 - 27 November 2022
Location: Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre (L3 & L4)
Exhibition Timing: 10 AM ~ 8 PM
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