Just got back from Singapore over the weekend. It’s been a blast over at the AFAX. This year’s event is definitely bigger than the last with many more cosplayers around this time. The crowd is just simply overwhelming and everywhere was just swarming with visitors and photographers snapping away at some of the really impressive cosplays. I’m still going through the thousands of photos that I’ve taken and hope to post them up shortly along with my experiences at this year’s AFA, be sure to check back soon ^_^.

It’s back ! The Anime Festival Asia 2010 will be held on the 13 and 14th November 2010 at the Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Hall, Singapore. No other details have been released so far but rest assured that I will be updating this space as soon as new information emerges. Hope to see you folks there !

Source
Anime Festival Asia 2010 Facebook Page
Anime Festival Asia 2010 Official Website

Finally completed my first custom color mod of Gundam Seed Destiny’s Strike Freedom Gundam. The color scheme was inspired by a Japanese modeler by the name of Keita whose original design can be seen here. As usual I prefer to keep panel lines and decals to a minimum for a cleaner look but I also found that its harder to do panel lining with Gundam markers when you’re using acrylic paint. Not much of a fancy mod except for the new sprayed surfaces and the metallic body frame. Special thanks to Kien Yit for loaning me his airbrush kit to complete my mod.

View the complete gallery here.
Specifications:
Model number: ZGMF-X20A
Code name: Strike Freedom Gundam
Unit type: prototype assault mobile suit
Manufacturer: Three Ships Alliance (based on a design by ZAFT)
Dimensions: overall height 18.88 meters
Weight: max gross weight 80.09 metric tons
Pilot: Kira Yamato
Original mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara

Full gallery

Danny Choo made an appearance later in the same day to give a talk about his life and experiences as an otaku blogger in Japan. He was also here to promote his Otacool book which showcases some of the most impressive otaku rooms from around the world.
Anime Festival Asia 2009 Danny Choo Appearance Gallery

Kaname, a renowned Japanese cosplayer, was invited as a judge for the Regional Cosplay Championship and also conducted a Cosplay tips and interview session. Kaname cosplayed as Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7 and Kamina of the popular Gurren Lagann anime series during the two day event.
Anime Festival Asia 2009 Kaname Appearance Gallery

And lastly we have photos of the booths around the exhibition area. Above is the Moe Moe Kyun Maid Cafe where waitresses dressed up as super kawaii maids serve the guests. Sadly no photography were allowed in their premises but as a customer I was allowed to have a picture taken with one of the maids. You can check out more Moe Moe photos from Danny Choo’s site.
Anime Festival Asia 2009 Exhibition Booths Gallery

AFA 09 was a huge success ! May’N and Shoko Tan rocks ! I wasn’t able to post updates during the event because it was a pretty hectic schedule and lugging all my gear around was quite a hassle. Nevertheless I took quite a number of photos during the 2 day event and I’m still halfway through processing them. I’m still pretty excited over the whole event and it was definitely worth every dollar of the admission fee. I will DEFINITELY return for AFA’10 next year ! Be sure to check back soon for the pics and a write up on the event.

Flight tickets. Checked. Hotel bookings. Checked. 2 Day ‘I Love Anisong’ AFA 09 Concert Passes… definitely checked ! With only 5 more days to go I just can’t wait till the event starts.

I got myself a new DSLR camera to capture the full AFA’09 experience. DSLRs don’t come cheap but they’re certainly a worthy investment if you ever wanted to capture high quality photos in challenging environments. I’ll be sharing a bit more on my new found hobby in future posts . Along with the camera, I will be bringing my trusty ol’ Macbook and will try to provide as much real time coverage as possible during the event but this really depends on how the events are scheduled on that day itself.

So anyone else out there as crazy and excited as myself attending the AFA this year ?

Via CEN.TAKU.ME via SRW Hotnews

Found the trailer for the upcoming Gundam Unicorn OVA which will be released in February 2010 on BluRay and PlayStation Network. The trailer features several of the main characters from the novel and you get to catch glimpse of the Unicorn Gundam as well as the Kshatriya but no sight of Sinanju. The English dubbed version will be released sometime on March 12 and will include several subtitles as well. I’m a big fan of the original Universal Century Gundam timeline so Unicorn is definitely on my must watch list.

Source:
Centakume – Gundam Unicorn Preview

Via DannyChoo.com, technabob

When I first saw the title, I thought Bandai had introduced a new line of Gundam markers for avid Gunpla modellers. Unfortunately these Gundam inspired pens houses a regular ballpoint ink pen which..well writes on paper. Released as part of their 30th Anniversary of the series, you can get your hands on these limited edition pens for ¥990(approx USD 10) at StrapyaWorld. They definitely look very attractive but I wonder if they’re actually made to scale for Perfect Grade gundams, now that would be REALLY awesome.

Source:
technabob – gundam gun ballpoint pens might blast a hole in your paper

IT’S BACK ! ! One of the most highly anticipated anime event of the region, the Anime Festival Asia 2009 will be held from 21st – 22nd November at the Singapore Suntec Convention Center. Among the highlights this year are the great artists invited to perform the I Love Anisong Concert, featuring May’N, Shoko Nakagawa, Ichiro Mizuki, Yoshiki Fukuyama AND Hatsune Miku! Celebrity Otaku blogger Danny Choo will also be making an appearance this year and will most likely introduce some of his merchandise during the event. Other activities held during the event includes the Bandai World Gunpla Modeling Competition as well as the Regional Cosplay Championship 2009 and lots of other features.

Anime Festival Asia 2009 Official Site

Manufacturer: Strategic Naval Research Institute
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
Dimensions: Head height 15.2 meters
Weight: Empty 7.2 metric tons; max gross 19.9 metric tons
Pilot(s): Seabook Arno, Harrison Martin, Bergh Scred
Original mechanical designer(s): Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (principal design), Kunio Okawara (cleanup)

MAHQ – Gundam F91