The search for this year's nation-wide J-Pop and anime singing idols came to an exciting and upbeat conclusion with the Grand Final of the 2 nd J-Pop Anime Singing Contest held at the Cyberzone Activity Center of SM North EDSA on Saturday, July 24, 2010.
The group Himitsu from Manila emerged as the best group from among the ten finalists in the Grand Final followed closely by the group Anibeat Rocks!. Landing the third place in the contest is the group XOR from Cebu. Himitsu likewise went home with the HERO's Choice Award and the TOEI's Favorite Award. Joining the roster of winners of the Contest are the groups ProjectM Band, A.J.A., Morning Star, and 4 th Edition Family Band which secured the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh place respectively.
The ten finalist groups, eight coming from Manila, one representing the Visayas region and one representing Mindanao, pulled the audience in and had them cheering with their enthusiastic and youthful performances. The ten finalists were judged according to the following criteria: Voice quality – 30%, Diction and pronunciation – 30%, Interpretation – 20%, Stage Presence – 10% and Audience Impact – 10% for a total of 100%.
The top three winning groups received Japanese language scholarships from the Nihongo Center Foundation and singing lesson scholarships from the Center for Pop Music as well as the certificates from the Embassy of Japan. The top seven groups received attractive gadgets and gizmos from Canon, Panasonic, Sony and Toshiba as well as lunch/dinner vouchers from Heritage Hotel . HERO TV handed a gift bag to the group which best performed a song from an anime title recently and currently aired o n their channel while TOEI presented rare toys to the group of its choice . All the finalists received gift products from Ajinomoto and Yakult.
The “Name the Cat” winners were also announced and awarded during the Grand Final. Mr. Von Carlo Lasam whose entry “Torara” was chosen as the best name for the orange cat mascot of the J-Pop Anime Singing Contest. Ms. Laarnie Marilao's entry “Popcat” and Mr. Francis Ian Quito's entry “Torenji” won second and third place, respectively. The winners each received Doraemon items from Animation International Licensing.
Aside from the performance of the ten competing groups, the audience was also treated to an anime-making demonstration by TOEI, anime-showing at the HERO TV booth and got the chance to have their pictures taken with Doraemon and cosplayers.
This event, geared towards the youth and the young-at-heart who appreciate Japanese popular culture and music, was co-organized by the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation Manila with the cooperation of SM Supermalls, SM North EDSA, 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 and MAX FM 103.5 as media partners as part of this year's Philippines-Japan Friendship Month Celebration.
