NKDS

I did not take much photos, so this official banner will have to do for now.

AFA X is in a word, fabulous. The organizers managed to include so many programs into the event that most event attendees will feel like a kid at a candy shop once they step into the event hall. For example, it is actually possible to stay glued at the main stage throughout the entire two day of the event, as there was that many interesting programs happening almost back-to-back with each other. And that was just the main stage. There was a mini stage in the main event hall, and that stage enjoyed its fair share of attention too, with events such as a karaoke competition that was graced with the presence of SCANDAL.

For the anime merchandise shopper, there was no shortage of ways to lighten your wallet in Akiba Town. Brands such as Bandai, Bushiroad, Cospa, Good Smile Company and Nitroplus were there in full force, alongside landmark anime stores such as KKnM and La Tendo. Suffice to say that Akiba Town offered a dizzying array of merchandise that would cater to literally any anime fan of any type.

Sadly, I was not able to visit the maid and butler cafe, so I am unable to comment on them. However, judging from the long queues that snaked in front of both attractions, I can assume that the cafes are a hit with the event attendees. I also had fun with the Joysound booth that was showcasing the company’s karaoke machines, as well as the Miku arcade machines.

Now, let’s talk about the I Love Anisong concert. Or more specifically, let’s talk about Day 1 of the I Love Anisong concert. The day when the anisong gods known as JAM Project and Ichirou Mizuki descended upon our blessed little island, and the day my soul received a hot-blooded power boost from this beautiful thing called Anime Songs.

The concert started off with Hatsune Miku, but unfortunately I missed part of the Miku segment. So I just went to my assigned seat, sat down and waited for JAM Project to start off. When JAM Project appeared, before I knew it I was up on my feet and waving my lightstick like a raving lunatic, and that went on for a couple of hours or so. I don’t know. I lost track of time.

There is no earthly way to properly describe the JAM Project and Aniki concert. Of course, I could always use mere words such as “awesome”, “inspiring”, “orgasmic”, “epic” to describe the concert, in an attempt to communicate to you, my readers, on how excellent the concert really was. Unfortunately, that would be a vain attempt. Heck, I am genuinely struggling to write this portion of this article. My brain is still trying to come to grabs with what I have seen during the concert, and so far it is making no progress.

How does one describe a force of nature? How does one give details on a personal experience that one has been looking forward to ever since 2001, when Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden was released? The spoken and written language can only convey a small fraction of the emotion, feeling and satisfaction that I felt when years of anticipation are finally fulfilled in a single night of hot-blooded performance. It’s like trying to describe a divine experience, a religious experience. I suspect this condition is going to repeat itself when I finally get to fly to Japan to attend a Nana Mizuki concert live.

When SKILL was sung, I jumped like I’ve never jumped before in my life. When Aniki appeared and sang STORM with JAM Project, I cheered like I’ve never cheered before, hoarse throat and all. When the first few notes of Hagane no Messiah were sung by Aniki and JAM Project, I could feel tears in my eyes. The tears appeared again when Aniki belted out the Mazinger Medley, a long song singing of the strength and courage of my childhood hero, Mazinger Z.

Grown men cried that night, in Hall 402 of Suntec City.

I’ve run out of things to say for now, so I will hand over the AFA X coverage to my fellow writers Bjorn, Hakuro and Zel. They will be able to share a lot more details than I am able to, so please look forward to their articles.

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.