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C3 AFA Singapore to Host Violet Evergarden, Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Anime Cast, Staff

The Anime Festival Asia convention revealed on Monday and Wednesday that it will host voice actresses Yui Ishikawa and Minori Chihara, animators Akiko Takase and Haruka Fujita, voice actor Yūsuke Kobayashi, and producer Kohei Kawase as guests.

Ishikawa, Chihara, Takase, and Fujita will attend the event along with singer TRUE as part of the event's premiere of the first episode of Kyoto Animation's Violet Evergarden anime. Ishikawa voices the titular Violet Evergarden, and Chihara voices Erica Brown in the show. Takase and Fujita are both animators at Kyoto Animation, and Takase illustrated and drew the character designs for the original Violet Evergarden novel by Kana Akatsuki.

Kyoto Animation held the world premiere of the anime's first episode at Anime Expo in the United States in July, and also premiered the first two episodes last Sunday in Japan. The anime will premiere in January, with Netflix streaming the show worldwide in spring 2018.

Kyoto Animation's KA Esuma Bunko label published the novel series' two volumes in Japan in December 2015 and December 2016.

Kobayashi and Kawase will attend the convention as part of its hosting of the Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens anime as a featured anime title. Kobayashi is voicing the character Saitoh in the show, and Kawase is the show's producer.

The anime is based on Chiaki Kisaki and Hako Ichiiro's light novel series of the same name. The anime will premiere in January. Kenji Yasuda (Arata The Legend, Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth - The Animation) is directing the anime at Satelight.

Kisaki and Ichiiro launched the novel series in 2014, and Kadokawa published the seventh novel on July 25. The novel series also has a collaboration novel with Ryohgo Narita's Durarara!! novel series.

C3 AFA Singapore is one of five in content company Sotsu Co., Ltd. and Singaporean events and marketing agency Sozo Pte. Ltd.'s "C3 AFA" joint events that bring together their C3 and Anime Festival Asia events. Aside from Singapore, the events have also run in Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan, and will also have an event in Hong Kong in February 2018.

The convention will take place at the Suntec Singapore Exhibition & Convention Center on November 24-26. Other musical guests include ClariS, FLOW, fripSide, Luce Twinkle Wink☆, May'n, Shiena Nishizawa, Tomohisa Sakō, Konomi Suzuki, Moso Calibration, TRUE, Mashiro Ayano, Iris, Nano, and Nogizaka46. The event will screen an exhibition by musical group EGOIST. The event will also host voice actors Toshiyuki Toyonaga and Tetsuya Kakihara, as well as voice actresses Kiyono Yasuno, Narumi Kaho, Hibiku Yamamura, and Rika Abe.