Japanese Anime Festival

The Japanese Anime Festival was held at the Japan Information & Culture Centre on Saturday, 5th October 2013. Anime, which basically refers to Japanese animation, is an integral part of modern Japanese Culture. The Japanese Anime Festival attracted over 250 participants.

During the Anime Festival, three Japanese animations were shown. These were ‘5 Centimetres per Second’, ‘The Place Promised in our Early Days’ and ‘Miyori in the Sacred Forest’. Both ‘5 Centimetres per Second’ and ‘The Place Promised in our Early Days’ were directed by Makoto Shinkai while ‘Miyori in the Sacred Forest’ was directed by Yamamoto Nizo.

In addition to the movie screenings, there was also a manga display by Kenyan manga artist Shin Kyouketsuki. Manga refers to illustrated publications in comic book format. There was also a fact sheet display on modern Japanese culture which touched on anime and manga, among other things.

Some participants came dressed as characters from different manga and anime. This is referred to as cosplay in Japanese. Members of the audience voted for those who they thought had the most creative cosplay. The winners of the competition were awarded gifts as a token of appreciation for their creativity.