The Organizers of Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2022 (AFASG22) have shared a series of key updates today on its festival line-up.

Details on key highlights that visitors can look forward to were unveiled which will be held physically from the 25th to the 27th of November 2022 at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. The program revealed a star-studded Day Stage Line-up, a refreshed Creators’ Hub, J-Dance Competition, and Meet & Greet Sessions. Additions to AFA Night LIVE!, the festival’s evening showcase segment, and details of the AFAVerse visitor experience were also shown.

“For the past 3 years, we have been waiting for this moment to come. We are happy and excited to bring the AFA experience back to fans in Singapore Southeast Asia and beyond. While fan-favorite segments will remain, we are constantly looking into ways to enhance the experience and bring it to new heights. We hope that the variety of experiences will offer memorable moments for everyone, whether you are a returning AFA supporter or new to the ACG scene. We will be making all ticket tiers available for purchase online as well so that fans will have a longer lead time to plan ahead for their festival experience,” said Shawn Chin, Founder of SOZO and organizer of AFASG22.

Day Stage Highlights

The AFA Day Stage, located at Hall 405, will play host to a series of screenings, guest talk shows, and more over 25 – 27 November. Highlights include:

25th of November:

• A virtual guest appearance and talk show with V-tuber Fulgur Ovid from Nijisanji EN,
• PRISM Project will host an epic face-off battle of improv between two groups of virtual talent, with prompts chosen live by audiences
• A talk show featuring Vtubers based in different countries, featuring Luna Amane of NHOT BOT, Maya Ichimonji from GEMS COMPANY, Nox from VirtuaReal, and Lilrya Prisvielle from VReverie
• An appearance and performance by Miura Ayme and Satoshi Kada from Obey Me!, an otome game of the “Shall we date?” series!
• And a special guest appearance by celebrity cosplayer Hakken.

26th of November:

• Screening of the first 2 episodes of Arknights: Prelude to Dawn, the anime adaptation of the popular mobile game, featuring a recorded message from the Japanese voice actress for Amiya and a recorded interview with the production staff from the anime production house, Yostar Pictures.
• Appearances by Junta Terashima and Ryota Takeuchi, who voice and sing as characters from the group The Cat’s Whiskers in the Paradox Live multimedia franchise, ahead of the upcoming anime series coming in 2023
• Lycoris Recoil, one of the most popular titles from the July 2022 anime season, will be featured through a talk show on stage. Guests coming for this stage event will be announced separately.

27th of November:

• A special panel from MAPPA, an animation studio that will be talking about the current and upcoming projects of the studio, with hit titles like Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan The Final Season, Hell’s Paradise, and Vinland Saga Season 2.
• Special DJ performances by D4DJ, a media mix project from Bushiroad that revolves around content including anime, games, and live concerts performed by voice actresses.
• A guest appearance and talk show with voice actor Yuki Ono

AFA Night Live

Fans can enjoy the 10th Anniversary Event Premiere Screening of Sword Art Online Fulldive – on 25 November, 7:30 pm, at AFA Night Live.

This adds to earlier announcements shared on AFA Night Live which features a stellar cast of virtual YouTubers (VTubers) and artists. Held over three nights, AFA Night LIVE includes Hololive Meet, an interactive live talk show, and a Meet & Greet session with some of the world’s most celebrated VTubers like Mori Calliope, Gawr Gura, and Moona Hoshinova, on 26 November, as well as I Love Anisong, a fan-favorite music event, on 27 November.

Creators’ Hub x Pixiv

For the first time, AFA will partner with Pixiv, Japan’s largest online art community, to present the largest-ever Creators Hub. On Pixiv, people share illustrations, manga, and novels, with close to 20,000 works from 230 different regions worldwide posted daily.

Pixiv is also hosting an Illustration Contest, where the winning entry will receive these amazing prizes:

• 200,000 JPY in cash (approx. SGD 2000)
• A free Creators Hub booth at AFASG 2023
• A chance to display an original artwork at the Pixiv display area in the Creators Hub

Featured Creators

With over 150 participating creators this year from 15 countries and regions, organizers shared that 28 Featured Creators have been selected to showcase their work at the festival grounds.

They include:

• Self-taught illustrator Rachta Lin, whose travels and experiences influence her creations;
• Sarah Thursday creates illustrations inspired by dark alternative subcultures with a deeply personal twist; and
• Digital artist Raiko, paints characters from games and anime usually in a semi-realistic style.

AFA Singapore 2022 will also collaborate with Sarah Thursday to release a limited-edition capsule collection! Featuring an exclusive t-shirt, tote bag, and sticker, check them out at AFA Shop.

Competitions

A new J-Dance Asia competition will be held, with the Finals on 26 November at Akiba Stage on the festival grounds. Groups of 2 to 10 pax will have the opportunity to highlight their choreography based on a Japanese song track in front of the crowd. Renowned dancers from Singapore and Japan will stand as judges, and also get to strut their stuff in a special dance showcase. Participants in J-Dance Asia stand a chance to win cash prizes of up to S$1,000. Registration is open from now till the 11th of November 2022using this link.

The Cosplay Singles showcase competition will return to AFASG22. Cosplayers can take this chance to show off their costumes on a regional stage and stand a chance to win up to $500 cash. Registration is underway from now till 06 November 2022 through this link.

Exhibitor Highlights

Organizers shared some of the exhibitor highlights as well. They include Anime Metaverse, Bandai, Bushiroad, Conan, Genshin Impact, Good Smile Company, Hakken!, Kotobukiya, Nissin, Valiant Force, and more. Showcases will range from exclusive merchandise to offers.

Meet & Greet Sessions

Fans who want to meet AFA’s celebrity guests can look forward to Meet & Greet sessions. Sessions will be available with celebrity cosplayers Hakken, Charess, and Ely. Tickets are on sale now. Check the website for more details.

The Afaverse Visitor Experience

For the first time, visitors will enjoy a game-like experience from the moment they step into the festival grounds. Visitors will get a specially-designed NFC-enabled band to earn AFA Hero XP, AFA Coins, instant discounts, and unlock virtual easter eggs. They can also design their own Seika (festival mascot) AFA-tar, unlock special skins from AFA-Pitstops, or exchange for limited-edition accessories with AFA-Coins.

More details are available in on the official website.

Anime Festival Asia 2022 is a ticketed event. Fans will be able to purchase all ticket tiers, from General Admission 1-Day Exhibition to 1-Day VIP tickets online from today. Tickets start from S$21 / Day for the Exhibition.