Category Archives: Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

September 9, 2006

Fifteen Seconds of Obscurity Is Fifteen Seconds Too Many

By omo

KOTOKO - Glass no Kaze Tour 2005

Ever appeared in a film, TV show, commercial, or a news segment? Or even radio? Ok, yeah, Youtube and its ilk do not count.

Appearently the very first one that featured my ugly mug was a KOTOKO DVD. I kid you not.

What is funnier is how KOTOKO made the comment about American concert types rock however they want to, where as the Japanese do so as if they’re in school, complete with the class prez leading the hand motion, uniformly.

And gah, it’s just so embarrassing seeing yourself cheering like that.

The (other) funny thing is I remember finding out about this late last year, when someone ripped and distributed the said DVD. It isn’t a typical distributed-by-Geneon kind of a deal so it was rather hard to buy. In fact, due to one thing or another, I finally got the physical copy today.

It does feature some big crowd shots at Anime Expo 2005, so a lot of American fanboys and fangirls probably got their arms or legs in! Too bad I’m not sure if you can still get it today, but it definitely warrants a watch. It’s just me, but I’d like to have a copy of all the commercially produced material that has me in it, so.

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7 comments | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Popular Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

September 3, 2006

What Music Means to Me?

By omo

Dir En Grey, 9/1/2006

I was trying to figure out a way to do some housekeeping without just blatantly pouring out a list of unconnected things aside from a glorified version of “what I did this past weekend.” TJ was an inspiration to this solution, so props to his strange list. The irony is here that I’m going to get way more intimate than his little list will ever do to tell us about TJ_han.

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3 comments | posted in Christian Living, Conventions and Concerts, Modern Visual Culture, Popular Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

September 1, 2006

Rika Morinaga and the Gothic Visual Surprise

By omo

Okay, so we know there are people like Yukarin, who lights up her fans with gothloli gear while doing a typical routines during her concerts on stage. Some of us even like that. Seeing Nana Kitade in real life, for instance, was a bit of a LOL I didn’t know they’re like this for real. But “WHAT THE HELL” was my reaction when I stumbled upon Rika Morinaga’s various web pages. And Function Code.

OMG. Just look at that. “She’s gone visual kei?” What have I been missing? Well, on one hand, not a whole lot. I was never a big Bjork fan, for starters (ok sorry that’s a low blow). Check out Function Code’s MySpace for some samples. See for yourself what sort of thing they are. If you’re even more adventurous, try out SPEED-id’s myspace, which is the band Morinaga latched on to.

OTOH what I have been missing is sort of “the exception” to the norm. First off, Morinaga is also a model and “underground” stage actress (think Takarazuka Revue-type) on top of her voice acting and musician roles. And Function Code, when I first saw that, it struck me as “Hey, that reads like dempa. But it looks like Visual. And it sounds really weird.” It’s so weird, in fact, and honestly influenced by sources so atypical to the seiyuu-idol-pop concept that is bizarre.

It’s so unique, that it has to be something she was into before she broke open onto the fast track to seiyuu fame-dom. She’s not famous by any means today, but seeing her live in a couple DVD extras makes me think she could go pretty far, if that’s what she wants to do. I’m not sure the details how Function Code is going about, if it’s going to stay in a “lol we’re produced and maybe we’re in indie music limbo, maybe not” kind of a thing, but it’s bound to be interesting. At least, if the image galleries on her site are of any importance.

Right now, however, I’ll just lay back and enjoy the fun roles she’s taking up: Souseiseki, Yu-ri, Mamiina, Matsuri-chan, and what have you. I’m sure soon we’ll actually have something even more wonderful.

Leave a comment | posted in Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

August 24, 2006

Nanamania

By omo

Nana Mizuki ftw!

Nana Mizuki

Honestly speaking she wasn’t really much of a blip on my radar at the beginning. I noticed her first solo album garnered some attention and I enjoyed it. It left a lasting impression, although in its far-from-perfect form. I thought she has potential and it would have worked out better with a different production style. But even less notable, for me, was her voice acting work.

Yet in the space of a few year’s time it has all changed for the better. A recent variety entertainment show did a piece of voice actress idols in Japan from the very early Hayashibara days starting with Sailor Moon up to Aya Hirano from Suzumiya Haruhi, hitting a few others in between. You can watch the 7-minute program off YouTube. Nana Mizuki is the hottest one out there today.

The following of Nana Mizuki is international. Just like every other seiyuu idol we foreign fans, immune to direct marketing from Japan, catches glimpses of their glory from both their video releases and, obviously, from their voice works. I think all my friends who knows what anime is has watched Full Metal Alchemist and/or Naruto in part, and those more serious about it probably has seen Nana in some of her more popular roles already.

Sure, her appeal goes to seiyuu fanboys, people who realizes she is Ichiro Mizuki‘s daughter, and people weaboo enough like myself to pay attention to the people who makes anime. Maybe her appeals go beyond that? I’m not sure. But somewhere behind all the hype and well-produced CDs and oricon rankings, is she really that entertaining?

Take me for an example. In the space of a year and half ago I bought about 2 of her CDs and watched 2 of her DVDs (which is not a lot). Even in that little bit of time things grew to the extent that if she sets foot within a $600 radius of me I will probably fly and go see her, if I can work out the schedule. I don’t think I could do that except for my most adored artists. Perhaps I am easily influenced given that I live up in this media crap, and I think that probably does play a part. My friends involve some Nana fans, and for the most part I do acknowledge with them in her virtues and values as an entertainer. Yet, I don’t think I like her stuff that much; that explains why I don’t have her entire back catalogue. It also explain why I’m writing this piece of viral marketing with a lot of hesitation.

But can she take it farther and further? Seiyuu3, what do you say? I’m ready to become her fan. That documentary on YouTube, while meant to be a crash course in seiyuu-idol-ness, is a bit of a telescoping lense through time and history as well. If you don’t know who she is or what kind of entertainer she is, find out. It might just be worth your while.

6 comments | posted in English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

August 19, 2006

Summer in Neo Venezia

By omo

Aria is the name of my friends’ newborn (well, she’s a month old now). Isn’t that something? Now every time I visit them it’ll remind me of … Aria. Or even when I get their voicemail.

Subs Are Voiceovers!

This summer, life isn’t as peachy as a hazy day living at a watery planet’s clone of Venice on planet Earth. To me Aria is a mood piece. It’s like The Brilliant Green’s older CDs. I just can’t quite get into the groove unless I’ve spent a hard day doing hard work. YMMV, of course, but that’s how it is for me. It’s super-duper good at destressing.

But summer for me is often a time where I am not stressed. It’s not to say the pressure isn’t on (it is especially on this year for a variety of reasons) for me but I just spent too much time watching anime, going to cons, writing about watching anime and going to cons, and dwelling on thoughts about writing or watching or going to anime and/or cons. Work was not so exciting nor productive. All that…dwelling and thinking and going and watching took the edge off.

I mean, I’m buzzed on not just Simoun, but stuff like all the crap coming out of C70. Like Eufonius @ Narcissu 2nd, IOSYS’s craaazy Touhou album, or the new DJ Sharpnel’s PRETTY GREEN ONIONS. Well, all these things can be enjoyed while being buzzed in the head I suppose. (I haven’t tried it, that said.) Now that STC’s crew is back on track with those Aria fansubs, I’ve been so derailed from not watching them that I have a hard time sitting down and watching through an episode.

So, yep, we heat it up, but we also get down. Hottest Otakon Ever. Someone should do an Aria watertaxi cosplay/reenactment next year.

This blog entry is brought to you by Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai Hourai Hourai Hourai Hourai (check the crossmix sample mp3 from IOSYS’s page)~

Leave a comment | posted in Aria, Bishoujo Gaming, Conventions and Concerts, English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop