On March 11th 2011, a massive earthquake measuring 8.9 struck off the east coast of Japan. This triggered a deadly tsunami pummeling the eastern coast causing great devastation in its wake. With the great losses in lives and destruction as well as the environmental threat of a potential nuclear meltdown, Japan is facing a national crisis and could use every little help that we can offer.

Here are some ways that you can contribute to support the disaster relief efforts of the those affected in this tragic event:
Malaysian Red Crescent Society
Mercy Malaysia
GroupOn Malaysia – Red Crescent Society
Milk A Deal – Red Crescent Society

Other international efforts:
American Red Cross
Causes – Help Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami Victims
Google Crisis Response – 2011 Japan Crisis
globalgiving.org
Yahoo – Japan Earthquake and Tsunami How To Help
Twitter Japan Official Blog

To the people of Japan, our prayers are with you…

きみでいて　ぶじでいて – Yoko Kanno

Wishing everyone a Prosperous and Healthy Chinese New Year ! May the Year of the Rabbit bring you lots of happiness and increased “productivity” throughout the year !

It’s been an interesting and exciting year for me with plenty of ups and downs along the way. For a start, I’ve tried a number of things which I’ve never done before but I’m glad I did.

I’m a huge fan of Japanese animation and the otaku culture for years but it’s only in the past few months that I’ve decided to enroll in Japanese classes. The classes are still on-going and currently covering the basics and so far it’s been fun.

I’ve also started running marathons and took up swimming. So contrary to popular believe, otakus DO get out in the sun once in a while. Never learnt to swim while I was young, so this is something new to me. My progress ? I can actually sink faster than a rock T_T

Went nuts over Anisong concerts this year. Attended May’N’s concert in KL and Mikuni Shimokawa’s one in Singapore and of course I would never miss the Anime Festival Asia 2010 concerts. It was a blast !

So what’s in store next year ? I don’t know but I’m sure it’ll be another one heck of a year ahead.

Happy New Year Everyone !

This event kinda slipped under my radar. I was having a pretty busy week and I only managed to check out the Comic Fiesta held at Berjaya Times Square around the evening. Admission was RM 15 but since I was already running late I decided to just hang around the lobby area and snapped the cosplayers chilling outside the main exhibition hall. Check out the full gallery here !

Comic Fiesta 2010 @ Berjaya Times Square Gallery

Peace On Earth and best wishes throughout the New Year !

It’s been a very busy month for me but I’ve finally uploaded the rest of the Cosplay photos from Day 2 of the AFA 2010. There are still figurine photos which I’ve yet to process but I’ll take my time with those, so the meantime enjoy the rest of the Cosplay gallery here.

Cosplay photos from Day 1 of my Anime Festival Asia 2010 trip is up ! Check it out here.

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 ^_^.

Had a great time at Mikuni Shimokawa’s Asia Lovers “Replay” Concert Tour at the St James Power Station, Singapore. The concert was a blast with her belting out classic anime theme songs hits such as Sore Ga Ai Deshou(FMP), Tomorrow(FMP), Minami Kaze (FMP), Alone (Saiyuki) and covers from animes such as Hare Hare Yukai (Haruhi), Ai Oboeta Imasuka(Macross), Platinum(Cardcaptor Sakura) and also from her latest single from the anime Fairy Tail.

The fans went wild when she returned for her encore performance with the ever popular Evangelion theme song, Zankoku na Tenshi no Tēze (A Cruel Angel’s Thesis). After the concert, we were treated to a handshaking and autograph session with Mikuni herself. I was actually a little surprised by the rather low turn out despite having over a thousand fans on the official Facebook page but let’s hope despite these minor setbacks the organizers will continue to bring in more Anisong artists to this region ! View the rest of the gallery here !

Mikuni Shimokawa ASIAN LOVERS TOUR 22 August 2010 Gallery

Soundtrack – Replay! Mikuni Shimokawa Seishun Anison Cover III [CD+DVD] (Mikuni Shimokawa) at Play-Asia.com
Soundtrack – Kimi Ga Irukara [CD+DVD] (Mikuni Shimokawa) at Play-Asia.com

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