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Doraemon Diplomacy
Last Thursday (7 Sep 06), I was at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) for the opening of the exhibition “Japan Anime Now In Singapore” (what an imaginative title…). NAFA collaborated with the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) to fly in 48 Japanese animators to Singapore. The exhibition was held in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Japan and Singapore .
Japan Anime Now In Singapore
Doraemon was the defacto ambassador for the event.
Ambassador Doraemon
いらっしゃいませ！！
In the recent years, there had been a number of anime related exhibitions in Singapore. Some were conventions organised by the local anime interest groups, while some were exhibitions put up by the Singapore government (i.e. Media Development Authority, National Heritage Board) to promote ‘awareness’ of this ‘new medium’. That’s because the animation, comics, games (ACG) media has spawned a multi-billion dollar industry that’s associated with Japan’s economic recovery (revival?). If it makes money, the Singapore government will be interested (well, it’s for the well being of the economy).
Exhibits
This show is meant to be ‘educational’ – other than the usual exhibits of posters, celluloid, and concept sketches, there’s also exhibits showing the production process of an animated film. Most of these came from Toei Studios. IG Productions and Tatsunoko Productions also had things to show. A video showing the making of the movie Jin-Roh attempted to fill in the rest of the production process – such as background painting, creating special effects etc.
Celluloid
Videos
Doujinshi and Cosplay form the core fan activities – to some limit, the Ota-culture is a prosumer culture. The fan community’s contribution in terms of fan fiction and role-playing activities had created an industry within an industry.
Cosplay Couture
The Tokyo Anime Center also put up a section encapsulating Akiba culture – a table strewn with flyers distributed at the exits of Akihabara station and magazines dedicated to Ota-culture.
Akiba Culture
There’s freebies for those who turned up at the opening. A Gundam Seed Destiny poster sponsored by the syndicated english manga anthology “Co-co” and also a Doraemon key-ring.
Freebies
Inflatables
Interactive Animation
Future Manga-ka?
Mr Choo Thiam Siew, the president of NAFA, presented the opening address. The opening of exhibition saw dignitaries from the Japan embassy and representatives from the Japanese animation industry.
Mr Choo Thiam Siew, President of NAFA, delivering the opening address
Smartly dressed Japanese. Me in slippers
Guests listening to the delivery from Mr Hirofumi Morikawa, the Director of Japan Information & Culture Centre in Singapore
Mr Hirofumi Morikawa, the Director of Japan Information & Culture Centre in Singapore, addressing the guests
Mr Hirofumi Morikawa, the Director of Japan Information & Culture Centre, banged the gong to mark the opening of the exhibition.
Token of Appreciation
Cultural Exchange – Chili Crab X Doraemon
The young Otakus had it easy, as compared to my time when I was much younger. They’ve got better access to their hobby – made possible by a thriving anime,comics, games and collectibles retail industry and also the Internet. There’s two locally published animation magazines: Rogue M.A.G.E. and even a game magazine (GameAxis). This generation has benefited from the government’s thrust to develop the multimedia and creative industries. Now it’s no longer taboo to attend art school or aspire to be a creative.
When I was younger, one of my dreams was to become a comics artist or an animator. I’d wanted to go to the School of Visual Arts in New York. Or to study film in New York University. But it’s an aspiration that the parents could not support. And I wasn’t talented enough to land a scholarship. I hadn’t got any portfolio to convince art school officials to take me as a student. Graphitti inside my exercise books and the pages of the textbooks didn’t count.
I’ve got a younger cousin who made his dream of being an animator come true. When he was with the Airforce, he rejected his promotion from a Lieutenant to Captain so that he could quit his job to pursue his dreams. Now he’s rubbing shoulders with animators who’d been involved in the production of Dragonball Z and also business partners from Toei studios. I met him during my grandmother’s 80th birthday celebrations. How envious I was.
