(Sorry guys, the media aren’t allowed to take pics of the event, so you’ll have to content yourself with these instead until we get the official pics)

Saturday night at AFA ‘09 ended with a surge of musical greatness as Shoko Nakagawa, digital idol Hatsune Miku, and Ichirou “Aniki” Mizuki sang their hearts out to fans in Singapore in the first part of the I Love Anisong concert that took place after 7pm.

A pic from Shokotan's blog about her Singapore adventures

First up was a red-and-white-dress-with-a-feather-on-her-head Shoko Nakagawa, who performed covers of famous OP/ED songs from Neon Genesis Evangelion (Zankoku Na Tenshi No) and Rurouni Kenshin (1/2) and a few Gurren Lagann songs. To say that the crowd was pumped and hyper was an understatement. No sooner than Shokotan (her preferred on-stage nickname) pumped her fist in the air to the beginning and intervals of “Sky-Blue Days” (Sorae no Days i.e: the OP track for Gurren Lagann), the stage floors rumbled because of the resonance caused by the enthusiasm of fans. Shokotan also brought in her own brand of Engrish, saying things like “Are you enjoy?” and “We are best friend forever!” as well as mimicking Pichu’s voice from Pokemon.

Next was Hatsune Miku, who performed on the big screen and sang a couple of her own numbers from her Project DIVA album (which is actually a music game for the PSP). She is definitely an acquired taste, but it’s hard to argue when fans were still jumping up and down listening to her synthesized crooning. The digital idol ended her act with a literal bang, with confetti flying down in the midst of her last song and fireworks lighting up at the end of it.

Finally, Ichirou “Aniki” Mizuki came on stage with a silver robe, singing to the stage with thunderous applause. Not only was he singing tunes from the Mazinger series, Captain Harlock, Gekki Rangers and Shin Getta Robo, but he also added in his own side project tracks like “Tornado” and another song from his JAM project collaboration.

Another pic from her blog, where she does the famous duet with "Aniki"

As an encore that will be remembered by all of Singapore, he teamed up with Shoko Nakagawa to perform a triple-threat of musical endeavor. “Genki Shonen Ryu Ga Yuku” was sung first, and just happens to be the very first song Ichirou Mizuki sang for the first-ever sentai show in the history of Japan. “Cross Fight” was next, a theme from Dangaioh which happens to be one of Shokotan’s favorite songs. The night ended with a duet of the first Mazinger Z opening theme, filled with both the cheering of fans and the enthusiasm of both singers yelling out the chorus. Truly it was an epic night for anime fans who attended the concert.The best part is that it’s not over yet: Yoshiki Fukuyama and May’N will be performing the second half of I Love Anisong later, starting at 6.30pm. Better get your seats, people, if the awesomeness of Saturday was a precursor of things to come.