The one you didn’t see coming.

Well, not unless you follow me on Twitter, that is.

So for you poor unfortunate souls, here it is: I went to the AKB48 concert at Webster Hall about… 7 hours ago as I type this. (That’s right, it’s midnight and a half.)

I know. I haven’t updated in almost 4 months and this is what I come back with? You are in horror. Kimi, you cry, what is this? Where are the Johnny’s we have come to know you for?

Yeeeeeeeah, about that.

It’s a funny thing, going to a concert when you’re not a fan.

Funnier when fans terrify you. No, really. You deal with Arashi fangirls bordering on obsessive-delusional, and then tack on all the stories of how fanatical wota can be. It’s probably a bad idea to go to the concert knowing only one song.

And the situation becomes funniest when you go with a newly-bought copy of Coming Century’s mini-album Hello-Goodbye in your bag. Huh. Lucky the wota didn’t see that.

But for whatever stupid reason, despite not bringing along a notebook/writing utensil, the blogger in me would not let me go and I ended up jotting the setlist into a text message draft on my cell phone in the midst of what had to have ben at least 60 roaring people. So have a concert report from what is probably an interesting perspective! And then some.

BECK: The Movie. Too bad it doesn’t sound as dramatic as it’ll be.

I’ve been gone about a month and a half, through no one’s fault but my own. And in fact, this little tidbit is just about a week and a half old too. But what the heck, I adored the BECK anime series when it was still running, and so this warrants a post even as I’m working on the other ones I can’t seem to finish.

BECK: Monogolian Chop Squad ran in 2004, with the manga finishing just a year ago, and featured the packed-with-musical-influences-and-bad-Engrish (mis)adventures of an indies band trying to make it into the big leagues. (The band is originally called BECK, after a dog, but is named “Mongolian Chop Squad” for their American releases because of the trademark by the singer Beck.) Along the way, they obviously run into more than their fair share of troubles, including a rival band with a grudge that does get signed, band spats, and Koyuki running through the problems that plague the average teenager – or is falling in love with the younger sister of your tough band leader not quite an average problem?

You may be wondering what this has to do with Japanese pop – in fact, it has loads. BEAT CRUSADERS took charge of the musical direction, bringing along indies punk band Husking Bee’s vocalist to provide the singing voice of main character Koyuki. A number of their songs (BEAT CRUSADERS’, that is) were also used in or covered in the series, as well as that of other indie bands. The ending theme, done in series by the supposed rock band-to-end-all-rock bands The Dying Breed, was actually provided by meister, the brainchild of Do As Infinity’s guitarist Owatari Ryo. (The B-side of the single, while never showing up in the series, features Bonnie Pink.) And pop vocalist Sowelu provided the singing voice of Minami Maho, the aforementioned younger sister. There are even two soundtracks – one of the songs as they are, supposedly performed by the bands and characters in the series; the other containing the original songs as done by their indie bands and more new songs. 5 years later, it’s still amongst my favorite anime, and still a source of some fun music.

5 years later, also, we get our tie in to the other half of this blog – actors and Japanese dramas. BECK is now getting turned into a live-action film (a considerably easier adaptation than, say, Yatterman, I’d think. With the exception of the patchwork dogs), starring Mizushima Hiro (Mei-chan no Shitsuji, Hanakimi, Zettai Kareshi) as band leader Minami Ryusuke “Ray”. They also dredged up an all-star cast – as far as manga adaptations go – for the rest of the band, including Sato Takeru (ROOKIES, Mei-chan no Shitsuji, Princess Princess D, BLOODY MONDAY) as vocalist/guitarist Tanaka Yukio “Koyuki”, Nakamura Aoi (Q.E.D., Shinigami no Ballad) as Koyuki’s eventual best friend and the band’s drummer Sakurai Yuji “Saku”, Kiritani Kenta (ROOKIES, Crows ZERO, but probably best known on this blog as the Post-It guy from Ryusei no Kizuna) as the ramen shop worker by day/tough-as-nails-with-an-afro rapper by night Chiba Tsunemi, and Mukai Osamu (Hachimitsu to CLOVER, Mei-chan no Shitsuji, also showed up in Nodame Cantabile, Osen, and Bambi~no!) as the smokingly attractive (look who casted correctly) bleached bassist Taira Yoshiyuki. It will be directed by Tsutsumi Yukihiko, also no stranger to manga/anime adaptations as he directed the Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo season starring Domoto Tsuyoshi and Tomosaka Rie, H2, Psychometer Eiji, and most recently 20th Century Boys. Oh, and for the Arashi fans, he directed PIKANCHI. Nope, no lack of star power here.

While the series focused on Koyuki’s story – there’s even a period where Ryusuke goes missing – the movie will focus on Ryusuke’s side. No word yet on who Minami Maho will be portrayed by, or if she’ll even be a part of the movie, as her role in the series does center on her part as Koyuki’s love interest.

Supposedly 30 original songs are being written for the actors to play after a month of intensive training – not unlike and perhaps even better than the movie adaptations of Nana, for which the vocalists (Nana starring Nakashima Mika and Reira starring Ito Yuna) were the key point.

Also, rather amusingly, this will be the third link between Mizushima Hiro and Sato Takeru, both of who were once Kamen Riders and worked together in Mei-chan no Shitsuji as siblings vying for the love of Eikura Nana’s Mei-chan role. And I suppose if you really wanted to push it, Sato will show up in the fourth episode of MR. BRAIN, Mizushima’s current drama. This aside, though, I’ve already got a movie to see in 2010. How about you?

Sources: Sports Hochi, Tokyograph, Anime News Network (but they all got it from Sports Hochi anyways)

HIMEKA may not have a meaning, but she had a goal

HIMEKA, also known as Catherine St. Onge, is a success story that goes beyond the tales of other “overseas talent breaking into the Japanese music industry” tales.

For one thing, as far as we know, she’s not Japanese. (Everyone else has been raised in Japan – Crystal Kay – or partially East Asian. Even JERO had some of the blood… somewhere.) She’s Canadian. And while we’re on it, her Japanese skills aren’t that great either. She’s admitted as much herself.

For another, she’s 27. I don’t mean to be pointing out her age, but the Japanese business is renowned for the overall younger-is-better attitude they seem to have. Leah Dizon was 20 – or 19 – when she got her contract and moved to Japan.

And last, she wasn’t so much discovered sitting around in Canada with whatever overseas/international auditions were being held; she moved to Japan and won her chance in the Second Annual Animax Anison Grand Prix.

The result of this, a contract with SONY. So between you, me, and at least a hundred others according to her facebook fangroup… yeah, I’d say she’s done pretty well for herself.

Her first single, 明日へのキズナ [Asu he no KIZUNA], isn’t released until May 27th, but you can currently hear it as the opening to the anime series Valkryia Chronicles, or a short clip in the commercial for the single above. You can also find more videos of her performing and singing thanks to the YouTube fan user HIMEKAMediaArchive. While some may denounce her as an anime song artist and less “legit” than someone in the business without the anime tie-ins (Here’s looking at you, Raid!) – it’s what she wanted to do, and she made it. She sounds great doing it, too – her stage moniker, HIMEKA, doesn’t have an actual meaning beyond being the name of a character she once wrote, but you could easily substitute the characters 姫歌 (princess+song) and it wouldn’t be far off from the image she’s got now. Hint, hint to her marketers.

While this is obviously belated – congratulations, Ms. St. Onge! Or HIMEKA, as may be the case now. Girls with a similar dream are no doubt waiting for you to wow the world. You’ve wowed me already, at the least.

JPTV Spring 2009 Season

It’s already that time of year again, when you all whip out your wallets and donate $5 to the cause of Kimi’s Early Christmas.

Okay, okay, I kid. But with April around the corner, it’s already time for a new season of Japanese TV, which also means it’s time for me to name-drop like Armageddon’s here. As always, all summaries from DramaWiki, because I’m a lazy, lazy blogger who can’t be bothered to translate unless absolutely necessary.

Tell me something I don’t know

I’ve listened to Japanese music for probably 9/10 years now. They didn’t get the brainwashing in too early, but it’s there all the same.

I’ve actively considered myself a fan of various artists for 6/7 years. It’s a bit of a scary thought.

But there are still some things I can’t wrap my head around.

JPTV Winter 2008 Season

I don’t think I even have the right to be making this post, because there’s so much from 2007 that I have yet to finish watching (or start, even). But, whatever, forging on ahead because this post has been sitting on the back burner, but it’ll be overcooked if I leave it too long. (Yes, the lack of food dramas this season has gotten to me.) Here are the highlights of the current winter 2008 season of Japanese dramas and anime for me.

Eternal Sunshine of the Naked Mind

It’s official. The Otakon AAA posts have been undeniably the most read posts I have typed up… ever. Between this blog and the old version of it (with all its downloads) combined. People are still searching them up, never mind incoming from other sites for those three posts alone. And clearly anything else I may have to say won’t attract nearly as much attention. But let’s try it anyways.

If you haven’t realized it by now, I’m also an anime fan. Not closet, just casual. I used to be focused on it much like I’m focused on J-Pop (Culture) now, but one of my favorite things about that particular industry has always been the voice actors.

Oh yes, the seiyuu. Seki Tomokazu was my favorite of them all. So when he was announced as a guest for Otakon, I was immensely pleased too. Unfortunately, in my AAA frenzy, the only Seki-related event I did make while at Otakon was half of his panel in the Main Hall on Saturday, but he is still undeniably a funny and talented man. Not the handsomest, not the smoothest, and that he smokes is a turn-off, but he’s still funny and talented with a voice that makes me melt.

Okay, enough singing praises. Seki, like most seiyuu, makes a living off his voice, and got around to releasing 3 actual albums where he was singing as himself, unaffiliated with anything anime or tokusatsu, with a general titular theme of “Mind”. (I’m conveniently ignoring the Kamen Rider cover album.) Surprisingly, the first of these, Naked Mind, was with avex back in 2000, and even more surprisingly, it was (executive) produced by the same “Max” Matsuura Masato that brought Hamasaki Ayumi to fame.

Gravure Idol Puts Love in your Ears

中川翔子 [Nakagawa Shoko] is not quite a rising star yet. But she’s certainly not falling either, and thanks to one episode of Arashi no Shukudai-kun, she’s definitely rising in my books. (The girls in the audience were probably thinking many derogatory thoughts, between her otaku-ness and that she got to be up there with Arashi – but Shoko-tan was blissfully imitating Ayanami Rei. That takes amazing amounts of ignorance or plain I-don’t-care-why-should-you attitude, and either way it only makes Shoko-tan better.)

I think it’s pretty safe to say Shoko-tan, being the massive otaku she is, will be doing a number of anime cover albums yet. In that case, I have a plea – give me better titles to work with. しょこたん☆かばー×2 ～アニソンに愛を込めて!!～ [Shoko-tan Cover x2 ~ANISON ni Ai wo Komete!!~] is… well… not fun.

JPTV Autumn 2007 Season

Belated? Why yes. Considering the season’s already started.

But despite that and the fact that I’m still trying to catch up on Summer’s shows, let’s get this on anyways. Here’s what I’m looking forward to watching from Japanese airwaves this season.

What A Beautiful World

I think I once remarked here that I didn’t listen to Utada Hikaru’s last single, Flavor of Life, until several months after it’d been released. But let’s be honest – the truth is, I didn’t listen to it until August, when the ballad version video happened to play on MTV Asia as I sat in my Beijing hotel room in utter boredom. Then I remembered that it was sitting stagnant on my MP3 Player, promptly brought up the single, and decided it wasn’t bad. Shame it took several months for me to discover that.

This time, thanks to varying factors like running out of space on my laptop (due to more rotting music videos, of course), I’m not pulling the same stunt with her latest, Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry. A very good thing indeed, because the first track has me utterly captivated.