ANIME FESTIVAL ASIA SINGAPORE 2016 I LOVE ANISONG CONCERT
AN INTRODUCTION
It’s that time of the year again, where we head to AFASG2016 for its annual highlight event – the I Love Anisong Concert!
The line-up for the first day of the AFASG 2016 I Love Anisong Concert is sure to incite plenty of excitement and nostalgia! With established names such as Home Made Kazoku, KOTOKO and T.M.Revolution, this year’s concert will definitely open with a bang!
HOME MADE KAZOKU
Home Made Kazoku is a Hip hop trio consisting of Micro, Kuro and DJ U-Ichi. The trio – who met during college in Aichi – formed the group in 1996, but only settled on their current name in 2001. After touring Japan in 2004 and gaining most of their Japanese fan base, they made their debut with Ki/oon Records.
After signing on, they released their debut album, Home Sweet Home, which contained what may be arguably their signature song – Home Sweet Home. The group then made their foray into anisongs, where several of their songs were used as music themes for anime series. Songs such as – “Thank You!!” the second ending theme for Bleach and “Shonen Heart”, the second opening for Eureka Seven – became instant hits and helped the band to reach more fans.
In 2009, they achieved their dream of having a successful tour of Japan – including a sold-out show at the prestigious Budokan! The group then proceeded to bring their music and upbeat performances overseas – with successful shows at Otakon 2010 and 2013 (USA) and Taiwan. This year, the 6th edition of KAZOKU FES – their version of a large outdoor music festival – was held successfully!
Having celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2014, the group, unfortunately, announced an indefinite hiatus from December this year. However, the group will be releasing their final compilation – LAST FOREVER BEST ~Mirai e to Tsunagu FAMILY SELECTION~’ – a fan-selected compilation of their best songs, which will be out on November 30! In addition, they will be having one last tour of Japan, covering Aichi, Tokyo and Osaka on December 21, 27 and 29, respectively.
This will be their first time performing in Singapore – finally fulfilling their wish to do so! They believe that even if they and the fans are not related by blood, we can all become a family through music! For their live here, they really hope to accomplish that!
This could also be their last live overseas, so if you would like to catch them for the last time, head down to AFA and become a part of their family!
KOTOKO
KOTOKO, a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter, started out her career as a vocalist of “I’ve” – a music production team from Hokkaido in 2000. She debuted in 2004, and her first album “-hane-” peaked at 7th on the Oricon charts. In 2014, KOTOKO celebrated her 10th year anniversary since debuting with a nationwide tour.
She’s no stranger to the anime scene, having sung many songs for various series – notably “Hayate no Gotoku!” for the Hayate no Gotoku series, “being” for the Shakugan no Shana series and “–>unfinished–>” for the Accel World series. Not only that, she has also lent her voice to both games and movies – such as the BlazBlue video game series and Real Onigokko – respectively. Her latest single, “Plasmic Fire”, is in collaboration with the band, Altima.
A talented songwriter, she wrote lyrics for many songs, both with I’ve and solo. She has written lyrics for several songs which she did not perform, such as “SHOOT!” – the opening theme for Ro-Kyu-Bu!, and “sign” – the opening theme for Ano Natsu De Matteru.
This will be her first time visiting and performing in Singapore and she will be bringing her usual band members to perform with her! With strong vocals and fast-paced songs, you can definitely expect the usual rocking and aggressive performances from the one and only, KOTOKO!
T. M. REVOLUTION
Takanori Nishikawa, born in Shiga Prefecture in 1970, debuted with the name, T. M. Revolution in 1996 with the release of his first single – “Dokusai –monopolize-“. Since his debut, he has established a reputation with catchy tunes and captivating live performances.
With so many albums and singles under his belt, the singer has also contributed songs for animations – mostly for Mobile Suit Gundam Seed but more recently, Kakumeiki Valvrave as well as a theme song performance in ReLIFE.
A global fan base as well as a strong reputation with fans of Japan-animation meant that T. M. Revolution was often invited to perform overseas, and has done so in the United States, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia. That’s not all; his albums have been released worldwide, which is quite an achievement!
Popular as well in Japan, he has been appointed the Cultural Ambassador of Shiga and has been hosting the Inazuma Rock Festival, its first outdoor annual music festival. Furthermore, he has participated in the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, a popular annual music show, for 5 times already, cementing his status as a popular artiste in Japan.
In 2013, his collaboration with Nana Mizuki resulted in much interest and hype in the community, as it was seen as one of the most powerful collaboration in the industry.
Currently, T. M. Revolution is celebrating his 20th anniversary with a nationwide tour and will be stopping off at Singapore for the I Love Anisong Concert! He has also released a compilation album to celebrate his second decade – the -T.M.Revolution All Time Best- compilation album! This will be his third time performing in Singapore and he is very excited to meet his fans in this region – as he doesn’t get to meet often!
AFASG2016 I LOVE ANISONG – THE NEXT ACT
Day 1 is all about the classic acts. Day 2, on the other hand, offers the best of both worlds – a mixture of the old and the new! Partnering established names with relatively newer stars, the second day of the concert is sure to be both exciting and intriguing! With a line-up consisting of JAM Project, Minori Chihara, Konomi Suzuki and Wake Up, Girls!, there’s certainly something for everyone!
JAM PROJECT
JAM Project is an Anisong super group founded in 2000 with the aim of representing the Anisong industry. The group consists of well-known and powerful singers from the industry – Hironobu Kageyama, Masaaki Endoh, Hiroshi Kitadani, Masami Okui and Yoshiki Fukuyama. Back then, the group came together as they wanted to create theme songs fitting of the quality of the advancing Japanese animation.
Currently, whenever the group does a theme song, they would be both the producer and the performer. Each member of the group would be involved in the entire process – firstly, by meeting with the animation producers and directors. Uniquely, all of the group members are also active on their own, which allow the group to stimulate and draw ideas from one another. They believe that when their members have so many different characteristics, they are able to produce one-of-a-kind theme songs.
JAM Project has over 15 years of experience and have released over 200 songs – with many songs for Super Robot Wars, Garo and of course “THE HERO !! ~Okoreru Kobushi ni Hi wo Tsukero~”, the opening theme for One Punch Man!
In 2008, they had their first world tour, “No Border”, held across 10 cities in 8 countries (Taiwan, Brazil, USA, China, Mexico, Hong Kong, France and Spain). Their popularity worldwide skyrocketed after the tour, where they were invited to perform in countries such as Thailand, San Marino and Germany! In 2012, they held a South American tour across Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Chile, bringing their own exclusive band to perform at all 4 shows!
They are also extremely popular back home in Japan, where they had a sold-out show at the Nippon Budokan in 2009. A nationwide tour was then held, where they performed at prestigious venues – such as Osaka-Jo Hall, Yokohama Arena and once again, the Budokan.
JAM Project has been to Singapore a couple of times – the first being at AFAX, where they had a lot of fun performing karaoke-style on stage, sans band. They were also here to perform last year for the Lantis Festival! They have been touring worldwide this year, under the tour title “Area Z”, where they will soon stop of at Singapore for the AFASG2016 concert – with their entire band! So if you are looking for a real concert experience, please look forward to their performances on stage!
KONOMI SUZUKI
Just 20 this year, Konomi Suzuki burst into the music industry after winning the Animax Anisong Grand Prix competition at just 14 years of age! She then made her debut with her first single – “Choir Jail”, a song which lyrics were produced by Aki Hata.
She already has 11 singles and counting, with the more popular ones being “Days of Dash” – the first ending for TV Anime, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo and “This Game” – the opening theme of No Game No Life, which achieved 2nd place on the Billboard Japan Hot Animation charts!
For her 8th single, she actually collaborated with Masami Okui, whom many consider a legend in the Anisong industry! Her latest single, “Redo”, was used as the opening theme for popular anime, Re: Zero!
An extremely talented performer, since her debut in 2012, she has been invited each year – a total of 5 times – to perform at the largest Anisong event, the Animelo Summer Live! Currently, she is in the midst of her second tour, culminating with her birthday live!
Did you know that the first overseas performance she attended – as a fan – was AFA2010?! Now she’s back to perform on stage at AFA2016! At just 20, Konomi Suzuki definitely has the potential and the talent to continue producing chart-topping songs!
MINORI CHIHARA
Minori Chihara, a bubbly and cheerful Japanese voice actress and singer, made her voice acting debut in 2014 with the role of Aya Natsume in the anime, Tenjho Tenge. That same year, she also made her singing debut by releasing her first album, Heroine!
Her voice acting career took off with the role of Yuki Nagato – in the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya – where she gained the reputation of voicing emotionless characters as well as gained plenty of interest and support. Since then, she has voiced plenty of characters in numerous TV animations, with notable roles being Chiaki Minami from Minami-ke, Mitsuki Nase from Kyoukai no Kanata and Izayoi Miku from Date a Live II. She also pushed her singing career to new heights by signing with Lantis, a powerhouse in the music industry. She has released over 20 singles, 20 character singles and 7 albums, the latest one being Innocent Age, which was released this year.
Uniquely, she has made it a point to update her blog on a daily basis to connect with her fans, since the inception of her blog way back in 2004. Her personality often shines through her posts, allowing her fans to get to know her better!
She is also no stranger to live performances – having performed in multiples venues throughout her career. She has performed for 7 years (2006-2012) in a row at the Animelo Summer Live, firstly at the Nippon Budokan, then at the Saitama Super Arena! Furthermore, she has performed numerous times overseas – in the United States, Taiwan and even here in Singapore last year, for the Anisong World Tour ~ LANTIS Festival.
For those that did not manage to catch her last year, please do go down to give her your support – she’s really looking forward to it!
WAKE UP, GIRLS!
Wake Up, Girls!, the idol project that begun with a movie as well as its own TV Anime in 2014, is also a voice actress unit. The unit consists of 7 members, namely – Mayu Yoshioka, Airi Eino, Minami Tanaka, Yoshino Aoyama, Nanami Yamashita, Kaya Okuno and Miyu Takagi.
On the year of their debut, the group actually managed to perform at Animelo Summer Live – the biggest Anisong festival in the world!
Continuing of their success, two movies were produced and aired in 2015. Having their third anniversary this year, they held their 3rd live tour, performing in 7 cities across Japan! This will be their first time performing in Singapore, so please do support them!
AFASG2016 I LOVE ANISONG – THE CLIMAX
Not to be looked down upon by Day 1 and 2’s outstanding line-up, the last day promises exciting performances by relatively up-and-coming stars, anchored by the one-and-only May’n! With a line-up consisting of Aimer, Alisa Takigawa, Ami Wajima, Honeyworks with Chico and May’n, day 3 offers a glimpse of what is to come for the Anisong industry!
AIMER
Aimer – which means love in French – is a talented singer, songwriter and musician. Exposed to music when she was young, she is accomplished at playing the piano and has learnt how to play the classical guitar. She first partnered the Agehasprings group and in 2011, released her first cover album, Your Favourite Things. It contained many popular works of various genres, such as “Poker Face” and “Viva la Vida”, as well as showcased the versatility of Aimer’s voice to sing numerous genres.
In 2011, she made her major debut with Defstar Records, with the single, “Rokutosei no Yoru”, which was selected to be the ending theme for the anime series, No.6. She then proceeded to write and sing several singles for various anime such as Bleach, Natsuyuki Rendezvous and Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.
Her first album, Sleepless Night, peaked at No.5 on the Oricon charts. In 2014, Aimer released her second album, Midnight Sun, as well as UnChild – a collaboration album with the acclaimed Sawano Hiroyuki! Both albums breached the Top 10 rankings of the Oricon charts. Hot off a successful collaboration, she again collaborated with another musical powerhouse, Kanno Yoko, to create the mini album, Dare ka, Umi wo. Her third album, DAWN, made it to 4th position on the Oricon charts.
She continued to write and sing songs for animations and games, such as, “broKen NIGHT” and “holLow wORlD” – which were both used as theme songs for the game Fate/hollow ataraxia – as well as “Brave Shine” – her 8th single, for the anime Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works 2nd Season.
2016 is proving to be an incredibly successful collaboration year for Aimer, where she has collaborated with artistes such as Taka (ONE OK ROCK), Yojiro Noda (RADWIMPS), TK (Ling toshite Shigure), chelly (EGOiST) and Sawano Hiroyuki! She has already released 3 collaboration singles this year, with a mix of the songs being collated in her special 4th studio album – daydream.
A strong performer with strong vocals, her unique husky tone and immense stage presence, Aimer received great feedback during her performance as a supporting role in the ONE OK ROCK 2015 “35xxxv” concert! After the release of daydream, Aimer then proceeded with a nationwide tour, where she performed at 10 locations across Japan!
Having already performed in Singapore last year during AFASG2015, we cannot wait to see what kind of performance Aimer will present this year!
ALISA TAKIGAWA
Alisa Takigawa was born in 1991 and is a singer-songwriter from Tokyo. Her career began back way before her debut, where she joined a light music club in junior high and created a band, providing the vocals and playing the guitar. The band did covers at first but slowly progressed to singing their original songs. Even though they disbanded in 2012, Alisa was determined to connect people through music and thus, continued on as a solo artist.
In March 2015, Alisa Takigawa debuted with “Season”, the ending theme for the anime series, Nanatsu no Taizai! She followed it up by releasing two more singles – “Natsu no Hana” and “Sayonara no Yukue” – with the latter being used as the ending theme in Owarimonogatari.
She ended her 2015 by having her first one-man live at TSUTAYA O-nest in November, where tickets were sold out on the same day it was released! Her successful debutant year eventually led to her winning the ‘30th Japan Golden Disc Award’ Newcomer Prize!
In February 2016, she held her second one-man live at the Harajuku Astro Hall, which sold out on the first day as well! Not afraid to experiment, she released her fourth single in April, which was her first time singing a ballad. Her latest single, Iroasenai Hitomi, was used as the ending theme for Nanatsu no Taizai: Seisen no Shirushi.
She recently held her first one-man live tour, where she had successful shows at Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo and notably, at the famed Ebisu LIQUIDROOM! Her highly anticipated first album, at film, has been released on the 2nd of November, just before her performance at AFASG2016 – her first in Singapore!
Also, if you are going to attend her concert, she would really like it if you listen to her songs beforehand!
AMI WAJIMA
Ami Wajima is an up-and-coming singer from Hokkaido. Since young, she has always had a complex about her distinctive and unique voice, which gradually resulted in her having a strong desire to become a singer. After graduation from middle school, she moved to Sapporo, where she did both her studies as well as vocal training.
At the HoriPro × PONY CANYON Jisedai Anisong Singer Audition 2016, she managed to win the grand prix out of 10,041 applicants! She then made her major debut with Pony Canyon, with the single, “Gensou Drive” – the opening theme for Mayoiga. Her second single, “Eien Loop”, was released in August this year and was used as the ending theme for the anime series, Kuromukuro.
Even though she just started her debut this year, she has already attended various events in Japan as well as overseas. This will be her first time performing in Singapore at the AFASG2016 concert!
HONEYWORKS WITH CHICO
HoneyWorks is a creator unit that has garnered over 200 million views on websites such as Nico Nico Douga and Youtube. The group comprises of composers Gom and shito, illustrator Yamako, and supporting members – guitarist Oji, pianist cake, drummer Atsuyuk!, illustrators Rokoru and Mogelatte, and Video Producer ziro.
Their music style centres on positive rock music, where their music is mostly love-related and brimming with youthful energies. Songs that represents the group include – “SukiKirai”, “Hatsukoi no E Hon” and “Kokuhaku Yokou Renshuu”.
On 29th January 2014, they made their major debut with the release of their Vocaloid Best Album Zutto Mae Kara Suki Deshita, which reached 4th spot on the Oricon Weekly Charts! In May that year, HoneyWorks partnered with CHiCO to form “CHiCO with HoneyWorks”. Their second album – Boku Jya Dame Desuka? – was released in November 2014, and reached 2nd place on the Oricon Daily Charts.
During the first half of 2015, they were awarded the first prize for the Amazon Rankings Award 2015 (Animation Music)! Their long-awaited third album, Suki Ni Naru Sono Shunkan wo, was released in July 2015, which featured guest vocals by sana.
In April 2016, their songs were used in the original anime movie – Zutto Mae Kara Suki Deshita.: Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai – which was shown in theatres all over Japan. Its first week premiere received 8th place in the Movie Box Office Rankings and the sequel is scheduled for release in December.
YoutubeCHiCO is the winner of the Vocaloid and Anisong audition Utakatsu!, which was organised by Sony Music. Shortly after, CHiCO collaborated with HoneyWorks to form the group, CHiCO with HoneyWorks.
The group debuted with the single, “Sekai wa Koi ni Ochiteiru”, which was used as the opening theme for the anime series, Ao Haru Ride. Their next single, “Ai no Scenario”, was used as the second opening theme for Magic Kaito 1412 and their third, “Pride Kakumei”, was used as the second opening theme for Gintama°.
With over 100 million views on their videos across multiple websites, the group released their first album, Sekai wa i ni Michiteiru, in November 2015. The album was well-received by their fans and became extremely popular!
Their 4th single, “Koiiro ni Sake”, was released simultaneously with the movie Zutto Mae Kara Suki Deshita.: Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai, and was also used as the movie’s opening theme. Their fifth single, “Canele and Wolf”, was released on 14th September 2016.
In June 2016, they had their first hall one-man live at the Nakano Sun Plaza, where tickets were sold out in a day! Shortly after, they successfully toured several live houses in Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Tokyo. They also made their first appearance in the music festival, Summer Sonic 2016!
Having performed in so many places as well as at AFASG2015 last year, we warmly welcome them back to Singapore!
MAY’N
Although the name “May’n” was derived from her real name, its meaning is really more about her heart’s desire to sing songs that can become everybody’s main theme. With that goal, she has continued mesmerising audiences from around the world as well as released 4 studio albums and 13 singles!
A veteran in the Anisong industry, she has contributed numerous pieces to various anime series – notably “Diamond Crevasse” for Macross Frontier, “Scarlet Ballet” for Hidan no Aria, “Chase the world” for Accel World and more recently, “Belief” for Taboo Tattoo.
With countless live tours in Japan and currently 4 successful overseas tours, May’n is definitely one hell of a performer! Her first acoustic tour was held in May 2013, whereas her largest tour yet started on February 2014 – she had 70 performances across 47 prefectures in Japan as well as venues overseas!
Last year, May’n celebrated her 10th anniversary by holding a special 10th anniversary live at the prestigious and famous Budokan – her fourth. Simultaneously, she also released her first best album, Powers of Voice, which peaked at No.6 on the Oricon charts!
May’n made her international debut here in Singapore at AFAX and found herself in a unique position – being the only artiste to perform in each and every single AFA since 2008! This will be her 9th year performing in Singapore, where she has picked up a little Singlish after all these years and calls Singapore her second home!
One year into her second decade, May’n isn’t stopping anytime soon! Her 14th single, “Hikari Aru Basho e”, will be released on 23 November 2016! She will also kick off 2017 with her 5th overseas tour – May’n ASIA TOUR 2017 「OVER∞EASY」in January!
With sure a stellar line-up of artistes across all 3 days, we can’t help but feel excited for the I Love Anisong Concert! Please do look out for more updates on the Official AFA Facebook as well as their website – Official AFA Website
For those looking to purchase tickets, you can head here – AFA ticketing information
AFA SINGAPORE 2016
25, 26, 27 November 2016
Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Center