Anime Festival Asia 2024 (AFA 2024) has recently concluded over the past weekends, and as expected, the crowds came in droves as the anime and manga fan community arrived at Suntec Convention Centre to support their favourite media.
Truth be told, this year’s event was not as exciting as it was previously. But that’s not to say that there wasn’t anything of note. Join us in reliving what went down at AFA 2024!
Creators Hub
As always, the Creators Hub is the life of the event, with visitors flocking over to spend their hard-earned cash to support artists and creators.
There were 156 exhibitors showcasing their wares at this year’s AFA – a huge number, with a good mixture of both local and international artists too. Of course, that meant a big selection of merchandise to get as well. Proudly displayed on the booths were art prints galore, alongside other items like stickers, keychains, t-shirts, bookmarks, and so much more.
Even with the large number of exhibitors at the event, there was tons of style varieties that were displayed. One that caught the attention of my colleague was an artist who specialised in classic shoujo art. There really was something for everyone’s taste!
While understandably, lots of the focus was on popular media (I lost count of the sheer number of HoYoverse, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Frieren merch), I was still pleasantly surprised by what some exhibitors had. Who would have thought that gothic BL Hannibal and Will Graham prints were on the menu?
The Crunchyroll Booth
Crunchyroll made quite the impression when they had their debut at last year’s AFA. Jujutsu Kaisen was all the rage during that period and at their booth, Crunchyroll had a whole dome dedicated to Gojo Satoru’s mesmerising blue eyes and Domain Expansion.
The dome returns for AFA 2024, though this time, the anime in focus is Solo Leveling. Ahead of the show’s Season 2 premiere in January next year, Crunchyroll brings visitors to where it all started for Jin-woo – the cursed double dungeon. Visitors undergo the same trials, making this a highly interactive experience.
The experience lasted roughly five minutes or so, but that’s not all! Once you exit out of the dome, visitors get a nifty collectable Solo Leveling acrylic keychain as a keepsake.
Also at the Crunchyroll booth was a One Piece Wanted! Photo Op. Fans can snap pictures of themselves on the iconic wanted poster from the series, as though they are part of the One Piece universe. That was it from the booth, but we can’t wait to see what Crunchyroll has in store for next year!
Special Guests
AFA 2024 brought a host of special guests to the event. Several big names appeared on the Day Stage – both Taichi Ichikawa and Saori Hayami represented Tower of God, with the show’s second season currently airing.
Meanwhile, after the recent conclusion of the second season as well as the manga, both Takeo Otsuka and Yurie Igoma, who played both Aqua and Ruby respectively, were on stage to discuss【OSHI NO KO】– perhaps an indication that Season 3 is coming sooner than expected?
But the best part was that fans got to get up close with their favourite seiyuu (voice actor) through the various meet-and-greet sessions. In addition to the aforementioned Taichi Ichikawa, other VAs like Junya Enoki (Yuji Itadori in Jujutsu Kaisen) and Yusuke Kobayashi (Subaru Natsuki in Re:ZERO) also got busy with Q&As and autograph sessions with fans!
Concerts
And finally, amidst all the cosplays and merch, AFA 2024 also brought in the energy and vibes from its various concert offerings!
One of the headliners was Aqua Timez, whom old-school anime would remember fondly, having sung songs for many of the biggest shows at the time, like Bleach, Gintama, and Naruto. It’s extra sweet to see the band arrive here in Singapore, considering that they initially broke up in 2018, but they are now active again with a new single on the way.
And perhaps the biggest turnout was for hololive STAGE World Tour ’24 Soar! Featuring many from the hololive lineup like AZKI, Kobo Kanaeru, and Takanashi Kiara, fans got together to wave their lightsticks while hyped up by men in fox masks.
That was all the big stuff that happened at AFA 2024, our shopping bags and hearts were full—we can’t wait to see what is in store for next year’s event.
As we start looking forward to AFA 2025, it’s good to keep updated on the news from Anime Festival Asia by checking their socials on Facebook and Instagram.
Photos by Brandon Chew and Grace Lee of the DANAMIC Team.
