Heiki Band giving their best J-Pop performance yet.
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The top five winners gamely pose for the camera with Dir. Takeuchi of JICC, Embassy of Japan, Dir. Shuji Takatori of JFM, contest judges and event partners
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Third place winner Mr. Robert Bunales reminding the audience how much
they love the anime Voltes V
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The Embassy of Japan's “No Plan Band”
wowing the audience with their performance
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Min. Kato delivering a short message to
the participants and audience
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Doraemon's appearance brought excitement to the crowd
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This year's Philippines-Japan Friendship Day was celebrated with an upbeat tempo and youthful spirit as nine finalists vied to be this year's top winners of the J-Pop Anime Singing Contest Grand Finals held at the SM Megamall Events Center on July 23, 2011.
The band Heiki (composed of members Ms. Rose Ann Sandig, Mr. Alex Artillero, Mr. Ric Caruncho, Mr. Jordan Alava, and Ms. Mel Mayuga) emerged as the runaway winner of this year's J-Pop Anime Singing Contest followed by Ms. Sylvia Patrice Gomez. Placing third among the panel of judges' list of top five performers is crowd favorite, Mr. Robert Bunales who sung a rendition of “ Chichi wo Motomete ,” a song popularized in the classic anime from the 70s, Voltes V.
The band Sugoi (composed of Ms. April Joyce Bondoc, Mr. Ralph Lawrence Amparo, Mr. Leo Sabelle, Mr. Emmar Perdiz and Mr. Eric Domantay) received the fourth highest mark while March and May (composed of Ms. Meriam Esmenda and Ms. Deborah Psalm de Perio) landed the fifth spot. Heiki also took home both the Hero's Choice Award and Toei's Favorite Award.
Heiki performed the song “Piece of My Wish” by Ms. Miki Imai while second place winner Ms. Sylvia Patrice Gomez sung “Kisses” by Stephanie.
The nine finalists were judge according to the following criteria: Diction and pronunciation – 35%; Voice Quality – 25%; Interpretation – 20%; Visual Presentation – 10%; and Audience Impact – 10%, for a total of 100%.
The top three winners received Japanese language scholarships from the Nihongo Center Foundation and singing lesson scholarships from the Center for Pop Music as well as certificates from the Embassy of Japan. The top five groups took home gadgets and gizmos from Canon, Panasonic and Toshiba as well gift certificates from Heritage Hotel. Hero TV and Toei Animation Philippines also gave prizes to the contestants of their picking. All the finalists received gift products from Ajinomoto and Yakult.
Deputy Chief of Mission Minister Motohiko Kato delivered a short message to the audience and participants and joined in the awarding of the top winners. In his short message, Minister Kato expressed appreciation to the Filipino and Japanese companies who have supported and cooperated with the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation, Manila in making this event possible, saying “Your cooperation in making this event successful is also symbolic as this reflects the longstanding cooperation that our two countries have cultivated over the years.”
Minister Kato added, “The decades-long friendship between our two countries extend to our cultural exchange. I am pleased that Japanese pop culture, particularly anime, is popular here in the Philippines.”
The winners for the “Torara Manga Making Mini Contest” were also announced and awarded during the J-Pop Anime Singing Contest Grand Finals. Ms. Midori Decena Matsui won first prize in Category A of the manga making contest for her manga “Torara no Uta (Song of Torara)” while Ms. Danielle delos Santos' entry “Torara's A Friendship to Remember” secured the first prize in Category B. The winners each received Doraemon items and merchandise from Animation International Licensing Philippines and interesting cultural items from the Embassy of Japan.
Aside from the performance of the finalists, the audience were also wowed by the performance of “No Plan Band” which is composed of diplomats from the Embassy of Japan and previous year's J-Pop Anime Singing Contest top winner, Himitsu. The audience also got to read the top manga winners of the “Torara Manga Making Mini Contest” and witnessed how animes are made at the Toei Animation Philippines' booth. Hero TV brought with them a Daimos cosplayer in their booth. Similarly, the audience had the opportunity to have their pictures taken with Doraemon and other colorfully-garbed cosplayers.
This event, geared towards promoting friendship and the Japanese language through love for music, was co-organized by the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation Manila with the cooperation of SM Supermalls, SM Megamall, SM Cyberzone, Toei Animation Philippines, Nihongo Center Foundation, Center for Pop Music, Yoshinoya, Animation International Licensing, Ajinomoto, Canon, Heritage Hotel, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Yakult and HERO TV as media partner.
Speech of Minister Motohiko Kato
