Luna Haruna

Looks like the events scene in the country has gotten hotter and hotter by the minute.

With more than four months before they open their doors, Primetrade Asia, the organizers of the highly-popular event The Best of Anime, has announced that J-music artistes Luna Haruna and INKT are performing at the seventh installment of the Japanese culture convention.

Also announced are the first wave of cosplay guests for their event, Reika, Jun Kaise and Sara-Tousa Bao.

 

Luna Haruna is a Japanese singer and model who sung “Overfly” and “Startear”, which were used as ending themes songs of the hit anime show Sword Art Online, as well as “Kimi-iro Signal”, which was used as the opening theme for Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend. She has also contributed songs for Fate/Zero and Mekakucity Actors. As of 2016, she has released two full albums, “Oversky” and “Candy Lips”, and nine singles in her young career.

Haruna is also a model, having graced the cover of KERA magazine. She has also graced different pop culture events across the globe, having made appearances in Anime Expo in Los Angeles, and is also a regular guest of the “I Love Anisong” concerts of Anime Festival Asia.

Details on her performance dates, as well as meet and greet schedule, will be announced in the coming months.

 

INKT, meanwhile, is headed by vocalist Koki Tanaka, who was a former member of the KAT-TUN idol group, alongside guitarist Kei, drummer Sassy and bassist mACKAz. They have released two digital albums, a self-titled debut in 2014 and “Saisarisu” in 2015.

According to the official fanpage, INKT will perform at the event on September 18, Sunday, from 05:30 to 07:00pm at Function Room 2, while their meet and greet will be held on September 17, Saturday from 04:30 to 05:30 pm at the SMX Meeting Room 10.

 

In the cosplay front, Reika’s guesting at The Best of Anime 2016 will be her first outing in a Manila-based event since 2014 and will also be her sixth time in the Philippines. In February 2016, she, alongside another Japanese cosplayer, Cheru, graced the Mindanao Cosplay Summit in SM City Davao. She has been a guest of Cosplay Mania for three consecutive installments from 2012 to 2014 and also graced UP Anime and Manga Enthusiasts’ AME 1UP event in 2013.

Sara Tousa Bao of Singapore, on the other hand, has graced The Best of Anime last year and is poised to return to the first anime event that he attended in the Philippines. Jun Kaise, also from Japan, completes the initial lineup of Cosplayer guests.

 

Previous guests of the event included Joe Inoue, Starmarie, heidi., Uchusentai NOIZ, and Eir Aoi. More guests, and official ticketing information, will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Best of Anime 2016 is happening on September 17 and 18, 2016 at Function Rooms 2-4 of SMX Convention Center – Manila at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City. For more information, you can check out their website at thebestofanime.com and their official Facebook page.