For the fifth year, the Best of Anime is back to to bring the culture, art, and entertainment of Japan to Filipinos across the metro. Set on Sept. 20 and 21, at Function Rooms 3 & 4 at the SMX Convention Center, The Best of Anime 2014 will be filled with fun activities that otakus and con-goers will love.

American-raised Japanese performer Joe Inoue will be the main highlights of this year’s Best of Anime as he performs his hit songs and host the event as well.

Visual kei band Heidi (stylized as heidi.), will regale the Filipino audience at a concert set on Sept 21, with their well-loved songs such as “Yokan” and “Loop” used as ending songs for the anime Kaichou wa Maid Sama!  The four-member band is composed of vocalist Yoshiko, guitarist Nao, bassist Kohsuke, and drummer Kiri.

STARMARIE

Onnies

Kaika

Joe Inoue

Heidi

Japanese pop idol group Starmarie will also be performing at the event once more, with their new members. Nonchan (Nozomi Kinoshita) and Shino (Shino Takamori) to be joined by Hi-chan (Hiroka Matsuzaki), Monya (Motoko Nakane), and Kae-chan (Kanade Watanabe). The idol group is set to perform in the upcoming JAM Expo by MTV 81.

International cosplayers to join Best of Anime are Thailand-based cosplayer Onnies, and Singapore-based blogger/cosplayer Kaika. They will be judging the BoA Inter-school Cosplay Competition and All-Star Cosplay Competition, and will conduct workshops and a meet and greet sessions.

The Best of Anime is part of the biggest book fair in the country, The Manila International Book Fair where it has continued to provide literature for academics and leisure. The MIBF is slated on September 17 to 21. Another event taking place is the first ever DigiTech Manila Conference and Expo where it will be the largest gathering of digital technology leaders, experts, and practitioners in education. DigiTech is slated on September 19 to 20. For details, call 896-0661 or 896-0682, or e-mail bookfair@primetradeasia.com.