A “sports car”, made popular from the manga Initial D has been involved in a near fatal accident in Tochigi prefecture yesterday, according to FNN News

The accident involving the iconic Toyota Trueno 86 and a small truck happened on a road in Utsunomiya city around noon. Both drivers were injured but not dead. Police was quoted saying that the really straight road there might be the reason that the Trueno driver was speeding, and an Initial D manga found in his car might mean that he was trying to emulate the character in the series (not at a mountain touge? WTF).

Malaysian cosplay fans rejoice! In addition to Tasha, another Spiral Cats member has been announced for Anime Festival Asia Malaysia! The highly talented Miyuko will also join her fellow Korean cosplayer as well this June! Now wonder where is Tomia…

AFA Malaysia will be held on the 9th and 10th June at PWTC

We sure did not expect this. Exit Tunes, a popular Japanese music label decided that they TOO wants a voicaloid, and during their 10th anniversary event in Saitama on Sunday introduced one. Enter Mayu, the latest personification of the popular singing synthesizer software, which in every sense of the way, looks normal but for her gothic style clothing. But behind that smiling facade, lies something far more sinister

The picture above is from it’s official website. Apparently when you hover your mouse over her face, Mayu’s sweet smile turns into this dark demonic face (oh god why?!). Designed by Hidari, Mayu is supposed to be a Yandere character. Currently there is no info who is voicing Mayu, or why the hell she is a Yandere. But we sure know that there is some fucked up people up there in Exit Tunes who just want to see the world burn.

Apparently Exit Tunes has also given the green light for people to create doujin without their consent, so we are prepared to have a deluge of doujinshis involving death and/or sliced penis during the upcoming comicket.

You were warned

Source: Anime News Network

You have read their interview, now meet Spiral Cat’s Tasha in person after she was confirmed as Anime Festival Asia Malaysia (AFA MY)’s latest addition to their guest list. Famous for her good looks and awesome cosplay, Tasha will be appearing at PWTC this June! So don’t miss this chance.

Coming this 23-27th of May, Sasuke Malaysia will be holding a very special Japan Fest at Hari Belia 2012!
In addition to its various games and competitions, they have invited two very special guests for the weekend – Momoiro Clover Z (MCZ) and the famous cat eating idol, Shoko Nakagawa (Shokotan)!

First off on the 26th will be Momoiro Clover Z’s (MCZ). This visit will be their debut in South East Asia and they will be having a live event in Malaysia!
Shokotan will be taking the center stage on the 27th, where in addition to a live stage concert, she will be guest judging the cosplay competition organized by SAYS Youth Society.

Both celebrities will be performing a very special one-day-only FREE concert at the Hari Belia 2012.
This is MCZ’s first show outside of Japan, and Shokotan’s first visit to Malaysia!

Event venue : Persiaran Perdana, Putrajaya
Event date : 26th May 2012 (MCZ), 27th May 2012 (Shokotan)

Sauce: Comic Fiesta

AFA Malaysia finally completed their Super Anisong Genki (part of I <3 Anisong) artist line up when they revealed Aimi as the last artist for the 2 days, 6 hour anime song concert extravaganza.

Aimi, who was part of the group Tenshi no Clover, has had a good solo career, with her songs featuring in animes such as "Card Fight!! Vanguard" and "Ben-To!". Other than being a singer, Aimi is also a seiyuu as well.

Super Anisong Genki will be part of the inaugural Anime Festival Asia Malaysia this 9th and 10th June at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur.

Aimi Profile @ AFA MY

We nearly forgot about it but here is KANAME☆’s interview during his appearance for AFA Malaysia’s press conference

We are sorry for the off focus video as for whatever reason NO ONE thought of looking at the camera’s LCD screen during the interview itself (we set the focus to where KANAME☆ was at when he was seating, which was further back than he was when he was talking) orz

Note: We know that the video lacks subtitles, as we just realised the subtitle file was not loaded during encoding. We will close caption the video later. In the meantime, this is the PERFECT time to learn Japanese!

Brace yourself. Comic Fiesta 2012 has been announced! And it’s slated for 22nd and 23rd of December 2012 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre!

>inb4 “oh noess bad crowd control”
>inb4 “noess KLCC sucks!”
>inb4 “Why KL?”

Honestly you guys need to visit comicket

Btw the Comic Fiesta website is down currently so you won’t find anything good going there right now.

Edit: We have information that this time it will be 4 halls instead of 3! The confirmed halls are Hall 2, 3 (mini hall), 4 and 5. So more room for you to go in and mingle with everyone, that is if the cosplayers does not conquer the hall first.

After months of waiting, Anime Festival Asia Malaysia (AFAMY) was officially confirmed yesterday. And while AFAMY might be just a satellite event of the original Anime Festival Asia in Singapore, they have lined up a lot of exciting goodies for anime fans in Malaysia and at a very affordable price! More after the jump

(L-R) Shawn Chin (Exec Director, Sozo), Abe Foong (Director, Mochiro), Gaku Shinoda (V-Pres, Dentsu), Representative from Federal Hotel and Lowyat Group

With a modest target of 40k visitors in the three day event starting on the 8th of June 2012, AFAMY will showcase Japan anisong (anime songs), famous names from the animation industry, cosplayers and also quite a lot more. They will also be able to purchase exclusive merchandises, attend movie screenings, fun filled activities, maid and butler cafes, and a whole lot more

And how much you have to pay to experience all this? For as low as RM15 a day. Not bad for an event of this scale. Mr Shawn Chin, Festival Director and also the Executive Director of Sozo has stated that if the reception for the event is good, AFAMY will be a yearly event, and it’s hard for us to see it any other way really.

Also announced at the event was the participation of the Low Yat Group as one of the sponsors for the event. Naming the famous Low Yat Plaza as Malaysia’s own Akihabara, Mr Shawn also revealed that the tickets for the event will be sold at Low Yat Plaza, meaning fans don’t have to worry about the first day online ticketing blues that usually plague tickets sales.

So what does the fans can look forward to at the event?
How about guests that includes names such as Ishikawa Mitsuhisa, the boss of Production IG. Yes folks! The studio behind titles such as GITS and Guilty Crown is coming down! And he is bringing with him some news. Also coming is renowned cosplayer Kaname. Famous around Japan and a staple at AFA, he will be judging the Regional Cosplay Competition Preliminary round here. And what’s an event is without a host? Thus we have Mr Danny Choo, famous Japanese celebrity and a local son (technically) who will be hosting the event!

For the event area, visitors can visit places such as the Good Smile Racing Team special corner! GSR, who is also in Malaysia for the Super GT 3rd round race in Sepang at the same weekend will be bringing in a lot of their stuffs there. And who knows, you might even bump into their race queens!

Still not convinced? Then you can also attend the “Anisong Genki” concert, featuring artist such as Flow, Sea☆A, Kotoko, Maon Kurosaki and Kalafina right here in Malaysia for two straight days! With a starting price of RM88, it’s sure to be selling like hot cakes. So get ready for it!

For more information about the event, you can visit the official AFAMY website, or check out our AFAMY special page section, which also includes guides on going to PWTC. We will be meeting you guys there!

The upcoming Malaysian Comic and Gaming Convention (MGCCON) has a slew of guest lineup that visitors can look forward to meeting during the event. One of them is Billy Tan, a local boy that went on to become a comic artist and drawing in comics that is published by Image Comics and even Marvel. Thanks to the people at MGCCON, we managed to get in touch with Billy for him to answer us some questions. More after the jump!

Anime Shrine: Can you tell us how you got started into drawing?

Billy Tan: I have been drawing ever since I could remember. When I was young, I was very inspired by the black and white cartoon and shows like the Ultra man.

AS: How did you became involved with Image/Marvel?

BT: Back in 1994, Top Cow advertised for a Talent Search. I sent in my portfolio and was contacted by Top Cow‘s Editor David Whol. David let me draw a couple trading cards before he asked me to go to Top Cow‘s studio in San Diego (at that time) as a try out. I was lucky and grateful that Top Cow let me stay after that. I was with Top Cow for 10 years before moving to Marvel.

AS: How was the working environment in the US?

BT: I was quite happy while working in Homage and Top Cow‘s in house studio. It was a real humbling experiance to be with so many increadible artist around you. To name a few, there were Jeff Scott Campbell, Travis Cherest, Jim Lee, Whilce Potacio… March Silvestri was a really cool boss. He was down to earth and very humourous. If anything, it felt like working with a friend than a superior. Working for Marvel is different as they don’t have an inhouse studio for artist. So I just work from home. There are a lot of advantage working from home but it needs displine. The home environment could sometime be challenging when you have a 2 year old running around. Hahah..

AS: Is it hard being an artist? As in how frequently you need to submit your works, deadlines and your pay for it

BT: Comic book field is the only one I have been in so far. So I can’t speak for other artists in different field. For me, it has been a pretty smooth ride and I feel very lucky to be a comic artist. I think if you work hard and meet you dead line, you will be fine and if your style is what the fans and editors like, then you are in a better place. Normally I was given 5 to 6 weeks to do a book. The pay depend on your popularity and ability. If you are good at both, then you can make a very good living doing comics.

AS: What is your favourite work that you have drawn?

BT: Probably some Uncanny X-Force issues. There were lots of details and my first pencil directly to colors issues.

AS: Who are your favourite comic artists?

BT: There are many. To name a few- Frank Quitely, Olivier coipel, Brian Hitch, Travis Charest…

AS: Your favourite comic title of all time?

BT: I think it could be the Hong Kong Comics-Tian Ha. I remember eagerly waiting for the new issue every 2 weeks.

AS: What do you think of the comic scene locally, in terms of the local artists and also the local consumers.

BT: I have been overseas for almost 2 decades now. I am not familiar with local artists but I do know there are a lot of enthusiastic fans.

AS: Do you think that one day Malaysia can have it’s own comic identity/style?

BT: I think we do. Don’t we? We have more of the humourous approach to the media like Gila gila and Lat. But to create another genre and style is possible as well.

AS: Any messages to your local fans?

BT: See you guys at MGCC! Malaysia Boleh!