Anne Zhang

zhangy49@gmail.com

CARTOON enthusiasts will enjoy a feast at the 4th Shenzhen Cartoon and Animation Festival (SCAF) this week.

The five-day event, held at Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center from Wednesday to Sunday, features five animation-related competitions, more than 270 cartoon and animation enterprises, and more than 20 well-known Chinese cartoonists.

This year’s festival features a lot of internationally renowned animation brands and enterprises.

Visitors will get a closer look at the Angry Bird from Finland and One Piece from Japan. In the international exhibition area, cartoon and animation professionals from Disney and companies, such as Toei and Pony Canyon Artists from Japan, and Kendu Films from the United States, will showcase their work and products.

Famous Japanese cartoon singers, such as Daisy x Daisy and Kotone Mai, will perform at the festival and interact with their fans by selling cartoon products with their signatures.

Many domestically well-known cartoon and animation enterprises will also participate in the festival, including Shenzhen Huaqiang Holdings Limited, the Comic Fans magazine, Puzzle Animation Studio Ltd. and Hangzhou Oracle Technology Co. Ltd.

During the event, people will get a chance to meet their favorite cartoonists, such as Huang Weiming who created the popular “Xiyangyang Sheep” cartoon image, Xu Jingru and Zhu Bin among others, and to experience the 5D films. A variety of animation products will be on sale at an animation bazzar, which covers a wide range of self-made dolls, badges and fashionable goods.

Besides four tournaments that include a cosplay match, a street dancing competition, a photograph contest and an original cartoon painting competition, the Tougeki-Super Battle Opera, an international fighting video game tournament, will be held for the first time at the SCAF.

Tougeki-Super Battle Opera, also known as the Arcadia Cup Tournament, was initiated by the Japanese magazine Arcadia in 2002 and has been recognized as one of the most prestigious video game tournaments in the world for its strict entry requirements and impeccable gaming system.

In collaboration with a local video game software and accessories company, the SCAF organizing committee has won the opportunity to hold the Super Street Fighter 4AE. The winning teams will represent China to enter the final tournament held in Tokyo next month.

An award ceremony for the 3rd China’s Top 10 Cartoon Images will also be held during the festival.

The Shenzhen Cartoon and Animation Festival is an annual summer event since it was initiated in 2009. The festival enriches the summer holiday of students and offers an exhibition and communication platform for animation enterprises.