Furu Anime Panikku

Day 1 of AFA08 had crazy queues, mainly the entrance ticketing booth. And so, I patiently queued up with my sister to get our normal tickets.

Speaking of tickets, I was only told by those who had media passes that my name was on the media pass list after I paid for my ticket and entered. I didn’t expect my name to be registered, since I submitted my application merely 3 days prior to the event and didn’t receive a reply of any sort. So, I wasted 8 dollars for nothing LOL. I ended up giving my ticket away to someone who might want it, since there it isn’t of any use to me anymore.

Anyway, the first thing I did when I entered the convention hall was to head over to the IFS booth and grab a copy of the Pepper Project. If there was only one thing I could purchase at the AFA, there wouldn’t be any doubt as to the IFS Artbook being it. Costing a rather painful 68 dollars for the wallet, it does justify it’s price with the delicious artwork compiled within. I highly recommend purchasing a copy of it, especially for those who can afford it. You’ll also receive a free Pepper art print, as well as an autograph for Artgem. We even got Kai to sign his art too. How awesome is that?

Artgem signing a copy of Pepper Project

After my purchase was done, I wandered around randomly snapping shots. First up was Graphite.

Artgem giving a short speech before the prize presentation

In the late afternoon, there was a prize presentation ceremony for the winners in the various categories. Most of the winners were females, so I’m guessing that the XX-chromosomes have more artistic flair as compared to their XY counterparts?

While the main purchase highlight for the AFA08 is supposed to be the Gundam model kits, I’m no Gunpla hobbyist. Therefore, my wallet was kept safe from the evil money-siphering V-crowned mechas. The figurine displays didn’t really impress either, since most of the stuff was what I could see currently displayed in stores, or older goods. It would have been great if there was actually more exclusive figurines and stuff that actually elude the exclusive feel.

For the manga lovers, there were tons of manga sold by Chuangyi. I didn’t really pay much attention to the manga booths since I stopped collecting Chinese manga, but my sister apparently spent more than what I did at the IFS booth just on manga. I wonder how spent the whole day lugging that much manga around the hall.

Compared to the STCC earlier in June, the AFA has a much better layout. At least there’s more space between the booths, and there were no human congestion. Thumbs up to the organisers for such an efficient floor plan.

Still, there were frightening queues. More like a frightening queue.

KKnM had a queue that was literally a monstrous serpent. The otaku chain stringed all the way from the booth to somewhere near the entrance. For almost the entire day, the queue remained at that length. You can never doubt the resilience of anime fans. They will queue as long as it takes just to get their beloved merchandise.

Other than the merchandise, there were also quite a number of cosplayers lingering around. Looking for them wasn’t as easy as I thought. Most were scathered around the area, and without a designated area for cosplayers, quite a bit of time was spent trying to get some shots. The cosplay on Day 1 wasn’t what you would describe as impressive, so I’m guessing there might be better ones tomorrow due to Day 2’s cosplay contest.

Even with Impz, we just couldn’t figure out who she was cosplaying as

WTF Number 1

WTF Number 2

Not cosplay, but WTF Number 3

One thing I liked about the AFA was the autograph sessions. You could meet and greet the ones whom you show an appreciation for and get stuff like posters or books signed. It would be really awesome if more autograph sessions are to be held the following AFA.

Soejima Yasufumi autographing a LaMB poster

Morimoto Kouji autographing a fan’s book

The main stage highlight for today would definitely have to be Mizuki Ichirou’s anison performance. I shall refer to him as Mizuki-san, rather than the usual “Aniki” that his fans affectionately call him by, since I’ve only heard his songs for the very first time today.

The awesome towel

The crowd was huge, much larger than I had expected. It seems that he does have his healthy share of fans. One thing that impressive me was his stage presence. He had a rather GAR aura overflowing, despite his age. During his entire performance, it felt as though there was a youthful energetic young man perfoming with all his might on the stage, sweating buckets of perspiration while he’s at it. While I’m no fan of his songs, this is one of the live performances I’ve been to that leave an impression.

On a whole, Day 1 was enjoyable for me, though there is an amount of room for improvement. For starters, it would have been better if booths such as Shonen Jump had more intricate displays, or even limited edition goods to sell. It was a pity to see the absence of Eyeshield 21, my current favourite sports manga.

Before I end off, here are some random images.

Darkmirage wasn’t there. Dark Space Mirage was

This owns all your media passes

Day 2 begins soon, and so will May’n’s live concert that many fans have been longing for. Get some rest, recharge your mana pool, and get high at the grand finale of this year’s AFA tomorrow!