seiyuu3

Some of you might have noticed the buttons on the side for awhile now, Sega is again running a campagin for one of their games Senjou no Valkyria (I want those signed prizes!). Thanks to Senjou no Valkyria (I refuse to call it by the English name), my Playstation 3 had got dusted off for reasons other than playing Blu-ray disks.

A brief background on the game - Senjou no Valkyria is a strategy game developed by Sega. The game quickly caught the attention of the gaming world due to its unique graphic style and Sega themselves drummed up this point - that despite being fully rendered in 3D polygons, it has a hand-drawn, water-coloured like quality which the industry had never seen before. Coupled with the fact that the game was handled by the team that brought us the infamous Sakura Taisen series, this game seems to have the ingredients to be a winner. So the big question is - did it manage to deliver on the premise and live up to the expectations?

Set in a fictional alternate 1930s Europe where war broke out between the Atlantic Federation and the East European Imperial Alliance, the game focuses on a small independent country named Gallia confronted with invasion by the East European Imperial Alliance for Gallia’s rich deposit of a mineral called Ragnite - which is your typical miracle energy source in works of fiction. The hero of the story is Welkin Gunther, a 22-year old university biology student aiming to become a teacher that just happened to be caught in the heat when his hometown was invaded and he ended up enlisting in the militia in order to bring his hometown back to peace. It’s your overused cliché heroic war story setting, but just like the Sakura Taisen series, where the story lacks originality it more than makes up for the deficit in its near flawless presentation.

Hero and heroine - Welkin and Alicia

The story is unfolded in a retrospective story book fashion - the narration told the player straight up that this is a chronology of the miraculous triumph of Gallia over the evil invaders and how the militia fought a brave war over a 7 month period, so immediately they subtly conditions you to the right mindset - to expect a straight forward good triumph over evil storyline. The main characters are easy to like - Welkin is a bright young man with a love for nature and peace, Alicia Melchiott - the heroine who is strong, caring, capable and responsible, Largo Potter - your typical big guy with a big heart, Brigotte “Rosie” Stark - flamboyant with both her looks and personality, and Isara Guther - Welkin’s adopted sister who’s a gentle and intelligent engineer. All these presented in the unique graphic style and you can’t help but be immediately sucked into the illustrated children book like atmosphere. The story of Senjou no Valkyria is totally linear and there is no renai element to it - unlike the Sakura Taisen series, and nothing in the story is ground breaking and is quite predictable - but again, because of the way they presented the overall package, you can just let go of your inner cynical side for a bit and let yourself be immersed in the simple story.

It really does look like this.

On the gameplay side, the semi-realtime battle engine lends itself to some pretty in-depth strategic, though in times frustrating, battles. Borrowing heavily from Sakura Taisen 3’s ARMS gridless, action point-based system, Welkin has at his disposal a small platoon of infantry of 5 different functions - fast moving and far reaching scouts, assault troops carrying machine gun, bazooka wielding anti-tank troops, fix-it-all engineers, and long range snipers - and finally a tank for good measure. You have a limited amount of “command points” which you spend 1 point at a time to move a unit, or 2 points to move the tank, and each unit has its own “action points” which determines how far you can move. For each time you move a unit you can also select to perform a particular action once - to attack, heal, or do nothing. Each troop, individually chosen by the player, has their own buddies and potentials which affects their effectiveness. Buddies means that some troops performs better when placed in close proximity of other characters he/she likes, and potentials are special status modifiers which triggers randomly or under special conditions. Some are your standard attack up/defence up, while others are more specific such as “lone wolf” (gets status boost when working alone), “panic” (opposite of lone wolf), and some are comical/bizarre like status boost when surrounded by the opposite sex, or even the same sex for that matter. After each successful battle you earn a certain amount of money and experience depending on how well you did, which is rated by a rank between S to D. The experience points are then spent on levelling up your troops while the money is used to upgrade your weapons and tank. There are also extra goodies in the form of side episodes to unlock outside of the 18 main chapters etc but I won’t go into the details. When you beat the game you can also use the cleared save data to restart the game from the beginning where you inherit all your troops level and weapon research to encourage the player to play a second run, and since you won’t be able to unlock everything the first time round it’s worth playing again. The map designs are fairly challenging in that it will punish you for mistakes and that you are likely going to be replaying some stages a few times before you can pass it, but it’s also not impossibly hard such that it disheartens you to the point of throwing the controller on the ground and stop playing the game. If you’re on the second run with all the upgraded weapons and high level troops at your command then you can try to better your score or try different tactics - and what’s good is that the game is actually fun enough that you are quite likely to play it through a second run.

The battle screen

Now how would this game impression be complete (and worthy of being mentioned on this blog) without a mentioning of the cast? Sega knows full well the attraction of having famous seiyuu in their games, and for this game the main draw comes in the form of Inoue Marina playing the heroine Alicia. The character of Alicia can be said to be going against some of the common traits designed to induce the moe feeling of which a lot of us had became used to in the recent anime/manga/game entertainment world - as she doesn’t have any sort of personality short-comings or quirks, she’s not clumsy, airheaded, dreamy, short-tempered, preachy, tsundere (despite having twintails and Sega claiming her to be on several occasions), bad at cooking etc. Alicia just has her feet firmly planted on the ground and does the right things at the right time. In some ways you could even say that she’s boring, but being normal in an entertainment world currently so full of abnormalities can just be the right quality to make her stand out, which is probably why Alicia is so easily likeable since she won’t be hitting on any sensitive nerves. By this Inoue Marina, probably thanks to her own level-headed personality (despite her trying so hard to not be), is a perfect fit for the character of Alicia. From displaying Alicia’s gentler feminie but not overtly girly side when away from the battlefield, to portraying a capable and responsible soldier looking to protect her homeland, all delivered in just the right normal voice pitch without any sort of peculiarity.

There are other big names in the game such as Kuwashima Houko playing as the quiet Isara, Toyoguchi Megumi as Rosie, and even Noto Mamiko as Princess Cordelia of Gallia. But arguably the other big attraction - or LULZ factor, depending on your view point which I’ll get to now - comes in the form of Fukuyama Jun playing as Maximilian, the prince of the East European Imperial Alliance who leads the invasion. Maximilian is reminisce of Lelouch in so many ways that you can’t help but think that the people at Sega had probably watched a little too much Code Geass in their spare time and hired Fukuyama Jun just to satisfy their inner otaku. Even us here at seiyuu3 can’t help but dish out a few “Yes! Your Highness!” whenever Maximilian issues a command in the cut scenes.

In conclusion, Senjou no Valkyria is a highly polished game that you can spend many fun hours on. Highly recommended.

Omake: The TGS event on nico nico douga.

We have a special guest writer this time! Insomniac, who took my lucky spot while I was away *sob* for this particular event presents to you the “The Tower of Druaga Animation x Online RPG” event.

On March 9 there was an event for Gonzo’s upcoming anime x online RPG project called the “The Tower of Druaga”. The anime has the subtitle “the Aegis of URUK” and features some really good names in the cast such as Orikasa Fumiko, Ishida Akira, Horie Yui and Chihara Minori, while the game is called “the Recovery of BABYLIM”. The event was held in 大学生協会館 (Daigakusei Kyoukaikan) at Higashi-Koenji. I met up with sent at Shinjuku where we then proceeded to take the Marunouchi line to the venue. We arrived pretty early; about an hour ahead of the starting time.

The event started 5 minutes off 14:30. The lights were dimmed and a preview of the game started showing on the screen on stage. After the screening, the MC Maeda Harikenzu came onstage and thanked the attendees for coming, commenting on how the attendees of such events were usually male but there was a surprising large number of female attendees this time. He then proceeded to gush about how cute KENN was as well as how he used itterashaimase (usually used by females) instead of the usual itterashai. Next up he commented on Orikasa Fumiko – or Oririn - and her new hairstyle giving it 100 points.

The guests then came onstage; KENN, (which they made small talk about him saying itterashaimase) Oririn (which KENN too gave her hairstyle 100 points to which she promptly thanked and said it was worth 200 points) and the anime producer Hashimoto.

Next off was the usual self-introductions where KENN introduced himself as Jil - the main character of the anime - instead of himself inducing much laughter from the crowd.

A PV of the anime was then screened. From an anime fan’s point of view, I would say the animation looked pretty fluid and the fighting scenes looked pretty good. I quite liked the CG + effects as well.

The cast were then asked about their opinion about the PV which KENN said it looked fantastic while Oririn said it looked exciting. Producer Hashimoto then proceeded to give a brief introduction on the history of the game and overlay of the anime as well as a brief introduction of the characters appearing in the game. Upon reaching the intro for one of the characters, Utoo, the MC remarked that this character was used by Fullmetal Alchemist (due to the fact that the character was similar to Alphonse in that they were both completely dressed in armour) which drew plenty of laughs.

They then proceeded to talk about the recording where Oririn commented that they had just started on the recording (about 2 episodes to date). The MC then asked who was the mood maker in the entire recording session where KENN commented that it had to be the voice actor who voiced Utoo. Oririn then commented that there was talk that KENN’s childlike qualities helped create the mood for everyone. KENN then proceeded to comment on how there was a period of time where he was addicted to tibbits and couldn’t kick the habit which led to quite a big uproar among the cast. To which the MC commented on how it seemed like more of a young girl’s problem.

We were then treated to a PV screening of the game after which the guests were asked about whether they played online games or not. Both said they didn’t have much experience but expressed delight in being able to play with everyone online today.

KENN and Oririn then took their places behind the computers set up onstage. I thought the setup was very poorly done due to the computers being set on the table. It totally blocked the audiences’ view. Luckily we were sitting on the side that Oririn was so I could get a rather clear view but KENN was completely hidden by the computer and the monitor. There was some fumbling with the mic stand at KENN’s end as the mic kept dropping down to a weird angle. Oririn on the other hand seemed to have some problems with her computer but it was only till they switched the projector to Oririn’s computer that they realized she didn’t know where the game was (it was just the desktop that was being displayed). It was quite cute actually though it kinda made her seem really computer illiterate as the game was the only program that was running (it was just minimized onto the taskbar). In the end a technician came up and solved the problem quite easily.

Rules were explained and KENN and Oririn got to choose the 3 players that were to play with them. The game started and it was quite cute watching Oririn trying to reply to the players in the online chat. She seemed quite unfamiliar with the game (not surprising) and it was amusing when she thought her character Kaaya (in the game) seemed too far behind the others and made her character run forward as well as the time when she suddenly used her power to ‘heal’ (or so I think that was it) another character for which she was promptly scolded by the MC for randomly wasting her power. Her answer? That she thought the other character looked abit out of sorts. なんだか かわいい～♥ w *me in fangirl mode*

They had some fun fooling around with the characters reactions and stuff before getting to the main point of the game that was to get rid of the slimy blobs that kept appearing. Oririn actually seemed to have quite some problems maneuvering her game character while KENN seemed to get used to it rather quickly.

KENN’s character Jil was to enter the tower while Oririn’s Kaaya was to stay outside. They projected the scenes on the monitor at the back but it was an either or thing so we couldn’t see both of their plays at the same time which was kind of disappointing since both their characters were to be at different places in the game.

One thing I can say is Oririn sure wasn’t much of a player. That and maybe the blobs were out of control. She kept getting surrounded and attacked by them. It was really quite hilarious. The MC kept asking her to attack the blobs and she commented that everyone was helping her do the killing. On the other hand KENN seemed ok or maybe because there really weren’t that many blobs in the tower. KENN’s character later left the tower to help save Oririn’s. It was quite funny when she kept saying “help~ help~” and KENN went “sorry, I’m late.”. In the end all’s well that ends well and that was the end of the online game session.

There was lucky draw session where the prizes were a poster and pin set to be given to 3 lucky winners. KENN drew two numbers while Oririn drew one. It was quite interesting as the 2 winners that KENN drew were actually consecutive seat numbers. There was then another drawing for 2 autographed boards by both KENN and Oririn. The first drawing came up to a no show to which KENN remarked that if there was no one claiming he would claim it. Apparently he wanted it because it had Oririn’s autograph on it. sent and I were wanting it for the exact same reasons as well…

The redraw came up to the consecutive seat and the second drawing by Oririn went to the person sitting one seat away from the person she picked for the poster and pins giveaway. Really makes me wonder if the drawings were rigged…

Next up was a video by the group ムラマサ☆ (Muramasa) which sang the OP for the anime. It was really funny that there were so many people in the video but only 2 spoke. It was kinda like “What happened to the rest?!”. After the video KENN was asked to comment a little on the ED which he’s in charge of. He followed up from his comment with a live performance of the song. The singing wasn’t bad but the music was a tad bit loud for my ears. Plus the fact that he seemed like he was trying to carry off an attitude during the performance (my opinion) but failed miserably (my opinion too). The event then ended with KENN, Oririn and Producer Hashimoto plugging the game and anime.

Overall it was a pretty good event except for the computer setup glitch as well as the MC. He got a bit irritating after time.

I know exactly what the other unnamed seiyuu whom auditioned for the role of Housaka feels when he said to Ono-D that Ono-D is definitely getting the role of Housaka. Watching this little clip and you know the guy is perfect for the role.

The bonus footages on the first Minamike DVD was LOLZ in the non-sensical Minamike way. Ono-D of course steals the spotlight. On the other hand Inoue Marina trying to appeal with her non-existing dojikko-ness somehow makes her image overlap with that of Kana’s (Is Kana really stupid? Or she’s just trying to do stupid things to get attention?). Marina making a big fuss by telling everyone that she dropped her mobile phone into the toilet, yet somehow seem proud of it all looks like something Kana would do. Heck that’s almost a Minamike gag right there.

Let’s get the bad bits out of the way first:

The video is bad, as in “zomg I see pixels”. Packaging leaves much to be desired as well for the full price. But get over it.

The sound is still linear PCM Stereo. OK, not 5.1, but the mixing is good and consequently the awesome songs are still awesome.

Rewatching all the songs, the awesome feeling is still there.

Multi-angle for the duets and last encore is epic win. They’ve finally discovered the DVD spec.

Must see acts: Suara, Jyukai, Nana (of course), all the duets, JAM Project, move, Takahashi Youko, Okui Masami. (Actually it’s really hard to leave people out of this list.)

Skippable: Bouken Desho Desho ~ Punk Desho version.

Major disappointment: They took out Dekaranger.

Verdict: Buy (Better with discount)

Link: Amazon.jp / CD Japan

Ah you’ve all been waiting for this, including me. Yes, the Animelo Summer Live 2007 DVD will be released this November. It’s a bit pricey at 8,900 yen but you do get three discs and there’s a good chance they’ll get it right this time. It’s still cheaper that last year’s debacle that’s for sure.

Anipara happened to do a quick recap of the event which I’ve embedded below. Enjoy!

Getting tickets to Animelo 2007 proved to be a much more difficult task than last year. With none of the fan clubs getting any allocation and the tickets in general moving to a tiered pricing system, competition was hot at the ticket box and internet sales. So auctions it was, but I must say it was a great score bettering the great tickets we got for the first Animelo.

This was the second time at Budokan and I hope the last. While Budokan has a cozy atmosphere almost akin to a live house, Animelo really demands a bigger venue. As usual the place was packed by the time we got there and the goods this year looked pretty enticing. I ended up getting a t-shirt since I didn’t have enough cash for the suede hat they had.

Things were looking up after getting inside. This year’s stage setup had a centre extension out into the arena. They also retained most of the side stages although there were not as long as last years. The arena people would definitely get a good show. Sure, we weren’t able to see what was going on from in front, but I think we were in for a much better treat. Now on with the show!

After a short introduction where all the artists were plugged accompanied by some dazzling lights and graphics, Okui Masami burst on to the stage with 「輪舞-revolution」 (Rinbu revolution). And wait she’s singing duet with someone, who is it? It’s Mizuki Nana! Rinbu was already a great song and in duet form with Makkun and Nana-chan live, it was a phenomenal opening number.

A short MC followed with Makkun and Nana talking about how great it was to be doing Animelo again, stuff about the duet… to be honest I don’t remember much of it clearly since I was still reeling from the how fantastic the opening was. Nana then made to leave the stage and as we hoped started heading in our direction. We called out to her but she headed straight down the stairs and our attention turned back to Okui Masami at centre stage.

Makkun then performed her set, 「-w-」 and 「空にかける橋」 (Sora ni kakeru Hashi) from Tales of Eternia. Okui Masami has really come a long way, establishing her own independent label and becoming just an excellent live artist. She definitely seemed at ease and in her own element at Animelo.

Next up was Momoi Halko with her set, 「Romantic Summer」and 「WONDER MOMO-i」. I’ll admit I’m not a Momoi fan but as a live artist she is pretty damn good and the crowd really ate it all up. She was singing with her famous dempa style and doing a great job. Recently at houkoholic’s suggestion, I’ve listened to her cover album, which is actually pretty good. Her cover of 「ゆずれない願い」 and 「God knows…」 is damn good and I kind of wished she would sing like that more often. Unfortunately Momoi left the stage on the other side so we didn’t get to wave at her.

Some violinists had been gathering at the stairs during Momoi’s performance and there had been some speculation who would be appearing next. As we’d hoped Chihara Minori entered the stage from the centre lift to perform 「 純白サンクチュアリィ」(Junpaku Sanctuary) and 「君がくれたあの日」(Kimi ga Kureta Ano Hi). Her performance on 「Junpaku Century」 seemed a bit weak but Minorin picked it up for an excellent 「Kimi ga Kureta Ano Hi」. We had been expecting to hear this one live and it was a complete thrill to hear it performed flawlessly.

Minorin then introduced the next act, Cy-Rim rev. The lead singer ,miru, came out with this lightsaber of a microphone stand. There was a short bit of banter with Minorin who pointed out that miru’s glasses didn’t have lenses in them. Cy-Rim rev. then performed 「恋のDice☆教えて」(Koi no Dice Oshiete). I had never heard this song before but they did a pretty good job of it.

After that, the stage stayed dark as the long intro for the next song was played. It was Takarano Arika of ALI PROJECT and Nana(!) singing the Rozen Maiden Träumend opening theme 「聖少女領域」 (Seishoujou Ryouiki). It was an awesome duet topped off with complementing goth outfits, Arika in white and Nana in black.

Another short MC followed with Nana-chan saying it was a great experience singing one of ALI PROJECT’s song in a duet, and Arika said that she would like to sing one of Nana-chan’s songs and perhaps next time they can sing one together, and the crowd errupted into an enourmous cheer. Nana-chan followed the crowd’s reaction turning it into something of a promise. So maybe we will get to hear them singing together at the next Animelo.

Next up was Takahashi Naozumi. While I’m not particularly interested in his songs, there’s no denying he’s a great performer. He did his set of 「てのひら」(Tenohira) and 「君に会えてよかった」 (Kimi ni Aete Yokatta) with a great gusto, though to be honest I think his selection last year was more interesting, at least for me.

Kuribayashi Minami came out next with 「Yell！」 the ending theme Super Robot Wars OG and 「翼はPleasure Line」 (Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line) the opening for Chrno Crusade. The crowd loved this and made me regret for the second time that I hadn’t gotten around to watching it.

Suara then took the stage as we waved excitedly at Minami as she went passed us. While I had heard 「夢想歌」 (Musouka) a few times, it left a fairly ordinary impression. However, live, was another story as Suara earned plenty of respect, especially when she sang 「キミガタメ」 (Kimigatame) and really nailed the performance. It was something to behold.

Following Suara was Oumi Tomoe. Tomoe made her first appearance at the first Animelo back in 2005. She’s actually signed on to Makkun’s label and Makkun produced her first single. She performed 「Float～空の彼方で～」 (Float ~ Sora no Kanate e ~) the ending theme for SoltyRei which incidentally she was cast as a seiyuu. Tomoe then sang a cover of 「ロックリバーへ」 (Rock river e) which was cute. She seemed to have quite a few fans in the crowd judging by the reaction she got and overall she’s not bad.

Next up was the duet with Kuribayashi Minami and Momoi Halko. Momoi was dressed in her famous school uniform brandishing her keytar. Minami also wore a school uniform as they sang 「うしろゆびさされ組」(Ushiro Yubi Sasaregumi) which is actually by a unit of the same name made up of two Onyanko Club members, Takai Mamiko and Iwai Yukiko (Yuuyu). I didn’t really know the song but it was cute and prompt some back stage antics from m.o.v.e rapper, motsu.

While Minami and Momoi were on stage, I noticed the m.o.v.e guys had come out to check out the stage as they were coming up next. motsu was already getting in the mood pumping his hand in the hard, then he started mimicking the girls dancing on stage while t-kimura checked over his 6 keyboard setup. It looked like they were getting pretty hyper and they didn’t disappoint!

The m.o.v.e set was one of the high points of the concert. I hadn’t seen them live before but, damn, they were good. yuri is just as good live as in the studio and motsu is just crazy hyper. Whatever’s he’s on, I want it. How t-kimura could keep playing without missing a beat while motsu destroyed his keyboard stands is still amazing. They performed their new single 「Systematic Fantasy」 and then rocked the house with 「Gamble Rumble」 from Initial D: Third Stage. Awesome? You betcha.

The first of the special guests, Yabeno Hikomaru (Denchu) & Kotohime (MOMOEIKA), were up next with 「レッツゴー！陰陽師」 (Let’s Go! Onmyouji). You might have seen the video clip before on niconico douga or youtube and it’s just as funny live. The audience really got into too, singing along with the chorus.

Then it was Psychic Lover with the Dekaranger theme song 「特捜戦隊デカレンジャー」(Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger) and 「XTC」 the Witchblade opening. They guys had great energy and worked the crowd really well. Everyone was singing along with the Dekaranger theme song.

Jyukai then took the stage with a change of pace that was just perfect. Manami’s live rendition of the Fate/stay night ending 「あなたがいた森」(Anata ga ita Mori) was something to behold. But she was not done yet as she then topped that with an awesome performance of 「咲かせてはいけない花」 (Sakasete wa Ikenai Hana) which I hadn’t heard before but I really want now.

With a smoke filled entrance and men dancing in drag, ALI PROJECT returned with one of the songs we’d been waiting to hear all night. The Code Geass ending theme 「勇侠青春謳」 (Yuukyou Seishunka). At this point I’m starting to run out of synonyms for “awesome” but it was simply that. 「暗黒天国」 (Ankoku Tengoku) and 「跪いて足をお嘗め」 (Hizamazuite Ashi o Oname) were great as well but Yuukyou Seishunka took the cake.

Then something unexpected happened. A familiar opening started playing. It was 「魂のルフラン」 (Tamashii no Refrain) and Takahashi Youko appeared. The crowd too hadn’t expected this but immediately started cheering. Takahashi Youko went on to complete what turned out to be a medley with 「残酷な天使のテーゼ」 (Zankoku na Tenshi no These). I knew I always thought she was an awesome vocalist and to finally hear her live is just mind-blowing. I was a little surprised that she immediately and quickly left the stage as soon as she finished. I guess her duties for the Eva hype machine were done.

Next was the last of the special guests. There were some technical difficulties with her guitarist unable to get sound and she’d been standing there in the dark for a while. I was tempted to call out to her but I wasn’t sure. But no one else is that thin, so it had to be, and it was Hirano Aya. I’ll be honest, it took me a good 30 seconds and houkoholic yelling the song name at me before I realised it was a heavily mangled grunge remix of 「冒険でしょでしょ？」 (Bouken Desho Desho?). Unfortunately, this was not a good mix. The new electric guitar heavy version doesn’t suit what is now a famous anime-pop theme at all. Aya was practically shouting most of the song and the crowd didn’t know what was going on at the time. No one could really get into since this version hasn’t had the exposure of the original and definitely not as catchy. Poor Aya-chan, between bad remixes and technical difficulties, nothing seems to put her in a good light for live performances and this doesn’t come close to living up to Episode 11 「God knows…」and 「Lost my music」 awesomeness even though that was faux live.

But not to be derailed, JAM Project stormed on stage next with three crowd-busting songs in the form of 「Break Out」 (the SRWOG anime opening theme), 「VICTORY」(SRWMX PS2 opening theme) and, of course, 「SKILL」. JAM Project is truly one of the best live acts. There’s just so much energy when they take the stage. 「SKILL」 is pretty much something they have to sing every time as the audience is completely swept up in it. This time is was super long extended with the “I can fly” chorus with the audience joining in lasting for a good 3 minutes on its own. Their set was fantastic, especially since houkoholic called out to Fukuyama-san while he was waiting to go on stage. He kept coming back over to our section of the stage because our entire section was going crazy. With the crowd all pumped again, it was time for our favourite act of the night.

Nana-chan returned to the stage with 「Justice to Believe」and 「Secret Ambition」and the energy just hit the roof. 「Secret Ambition」 was totally expected as it’s the Nanoha StrikerS opening and hearing it live for the second time raises it’s enjoyment immensely. There was a short MC next where Nana-chan announced she was going to sing something live for the first time. When she mentioned it was from a PS2 game, we were already cheering. And then she revealed it was Shining Wind and we knew it was the song we’d been hoping to hear her sing live, 「Heart-shaped chant」. I pretty much lost it at this point. 「Heart shaped-chant」 is already an awesome song that really shows off Nana’s vocal ability. Hearing it performed live, well, it’s beyond words. Everything melted together at that point and I was transported to a sea of swaying lights as Animelo reached it’s climax.

Makkun joined Nana on stage and called out the artists for the final song, Animelo Summer Live 2007’s theme song, 「Generation-A」. On it’s own 「Generation-A」 is fairly plain and I’m thinking last year’s theme song, 「OUTRIDE」, is still a better song. But what made it on the night was when motsu from m.o.v.e started rapping in the middle of the song and suddenly it leapt from being ordinary to something I really wanted. It’s too bad that I’ll have to wait for the DVD to get it since I don’t think they’ll be clued in enough to re-release the single with the live version on it.

After that they waved to everyone and started leaving the stage with all of them heading towards our stage exit. Of course, we didn’t let this opportunity slip by and called out to everyone who we could remember the names of. And this time, Nana-chan finally turned and acknowledged us with a wave.

Of course, it wasn’t over yet. With the lights still dimmed, the requisite 「An-ko-re」 (encore) chanting started. It was probably a good 5 minutes before everyone returned to the stage for last year’s theme 「OUTRIDE」. The rest of the band members were then called out and everyone was introduced. Then each artist got to say their thank yous and a short comment to the audience before they finished with 「Generation-A」 one more time. motsu once again rapping to the beat and getting the crowd involved this time with “Everybody say Ho~oh!”. A grand finale with a shower of silver streamers and ticker tape. All the artists took a tour of the stage to wave to all sections of the audience and for the second time everyone left using our stage exit and so we called and waved to everyone again picking a few more names missed the first time around. And then it was over.

This year’s Animelo was such a rush. An unforgettable experience, with many, many awesome moments. Last year’s DVD was a bit of a mess but there’s no doubt that I want this year’s on DVD. Here’s hoping for a 5.1 soundtrack. There were certainly enough mics setup for it! Maybe even HD! (OK, I’m getting carried away.)

For more pics go to seiyunews.com. I’d steal his pics but hey.

Yeah, I’m almost done. Here’s the set list first. It’s a long one.

• ～Opening～
• 01　Rinbu-revolution / Okui Masami, Mizuki Nana
• ～MC～
• 02　-w- / Okui Masami
• 03　Sora ni kakeru hashi / Okui Masami
• 04　Romantic summer / Momoi Halko
• 05　WONDER MOMO-i / Momoi Halko
• 06　Junpaku Sanctuary / Chihara Minori
• 07　Kimi ga Kureta Ano Hi / Chihara Minori
• 08　Koi no Dice Oshiete / Cy-Rim rev.
• 09　Seishoujou Ryouiki / Takarano Arika, Mizuki Nana
• ～MC～
• 10　Tenohira / Takahashi Naozumi
• 11　Kimi ni Aete Yokatta / Takahashi Naozumi
• 12　Yell！ / Kuribayashi Minami
• 13　Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line / Kuribayashi Minami
• 14　Musouka / Suara
• 15　Kimigatame / Suara
• 16　Float～Sora no Kanata e～/ Oumi Tomoe
• 17　Rock River e / Oumi Tomoe
• 18　Ushiroyubisasaregumi / Kuribayashi Minami, Momoi Halko
• ～MC～
• 19　Systematic Fantasy / m.o.v.e
• 20　Gamble Rumble / m.o.v.e
• 21　Let’s Go! Onmyouji / Yabeno Hikomaru (Denchu) & Kotohime (MOMOEIKA) with Bouzu Dancers
• 22　Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger / PSYCHIC LOVER
• 23　XTC / PSYCHIC LOVER
• 24　Anata ga ita Mori / Jyukai
• 25　Sakasete wa Ikenai Hana / Jyukai
• 26　Yuukyou Seishunka / ALI PROJECT
• 27　Ankoku Tengoku / ALI PROJECT
• 28　Hizamazuite Ashi o Oname / ALI PROJECT
• 29　Tamashii no Refrain, Zankoku na Tenshi no These / Takahashi Youko
• 30　Bouken Desho Desho? / Hirano Aya
• 31　Break Out / JAM Project
• 32　VICTORY / JAM Project
• 33　SKILL / JAM Project
• 34　Justice to Believe / Mizuki Nana
• 35　SECRET AMBITION / Mizuki Nana
• ～MC～
• 36　Heart-shaped chant / Mizuki Nana
• 37　Generation-A
• ～Encore～
• EN-1　OUTRIDE
• EN-2　Generation-A / All artists and band members

Sega’s latest addition to the “Shining” series - Shining Wind - just went on sale on Thursday last week. Some of you probably also know that there is currently an anime in the spring season line up called Shining Tears X Wind, the names are no coincidence as the two titles are in fact closely related. While the anime tells the story from the point of view of the hot-blooded Souma (Hoshi Souichiro), the game tells the story from the slightly more timid Kiriya (Ishida Akira). Although some minor execution of the story from the different perspectives do not entirely agree in continuity, the two do seem to be designed from the ground up to compliment each other in painting the entire scope of the plot. While these types of simultaneous cross-media promotion had always happened in the forms of anime/manga/drama CD, a cross promotion between anime and game is an interesting evolution to this formula as no doubt they have realised that there is major cross-over between the two demographic of anime watchers and gamers. It’s a hook that worked on us at seiyuu3, as we have found ourselves putting the mediocre anime back on our watch list, and finding the experience much more enjoyable then when the two works were taken separately.

For the gameplay, the real time action-based battle system of the game is fairly straight forward and is easy enough to not punish the casual players, which is a logical move as the point of the game is really about moving the plot forward rather than dwelling in the RPG battle mechanics. There is a visual novel like element which let the player engage in unlocking mini story-arcs of the characters in the team in order to level up the character’s “Soul Blade”, which are said to be a materialisation of the owner’s emotions. The mini-arcs are not even limited to females, so some fangirls who are into pairings will no doubt get a kick out of it as well (though I’m bothered by the beastialities). It’s not an entirely new concept game design wise mixing strategy with adventure, personally I find it like they took some Langrisser and tone down the battle system and topped it off with a little Sakura Taisen. The result is a game that’s neither hardcore battle nor hardcore adventure.

Of course, this franchise first came on the seiyuu3 radar in no small part due to the extravagant seiyuu cast. Practically all of our top favourite names are here – Mizuki Nana, Horie Yui, Kawasumi Ayako, Kuwashima Houko, etc., the list goes on and on. The opening theme song Heart-shaped Chant by Nana-chan (available on the Secret Ambition single), a great song as it is, had now found a permanent spot on the daily playlist. It had also became a ritual to sit through the opening animation whenever the game is fired up for play.

For those wondering about the banner art, it’s a campaign run by Sega which gives sites hosting the banner art a chance to win some seiyuu goodies. Yes, we want those, badly. ;)

Official page is now up.

The date is 7th July, again in Budoukan.

Artists list is not finalised yet but the usual suspects like Makkun, JAM Project, Nana-chan, Kuribayashi Minami and Takahashi Naozomi will all be back.  Halko (Momoi Haruko) is going to make her first Animelo appearance this year.

After 10 years, the Sakura Taisen Musical closed it’s curtains for the final time early last week. I was very glad to be a part of the final performance for this cast in their capacity as the Hanagumi members. Yet the day is also one of sadness that there is no more to come after this.

サクラ大戦 Sakura Taisen has to be one of the most successful game franchises that has graced several platforms from it’s beginnings on the Sega Saturn to the Dreamcast and now PS2 and even PC. 

Making the transition to a musical is not one every game franchise can achieve and much credit has to go to 広井王子 Hiroi Ouji for his clever game design. For the サクラ大戦・歌謡ショウ Sakura Taisen Kayou Show itself, 10 years is magnificent achievement.

In this last production, サクラ大戦・歌謡ショウ ファイナル公演　『新・愛ゆえに』, nine of the original seiyuu cast appeared on stage for the final farewell to the Kayou Show. This of course included 横山智佐 Yokoyama Chisa as Shinguuji Sakura, 高乃麗 Takano Urara as Maria Tachibana, 西原久美子 Nishihara Kumiko as Iris, 渕崎ゆり子 Fuchizaki Yuriko as Li Kouran, 田中真弓 Tanaka Mayumi as Kirishima Kanna, 伊倉一恵 Ikura Kazue as Reni Milchstrasse, 折笠愛 Orikasa Ai as Fujieda Kaede and 陶山章央 Suyama Akio as the ever present Oogami Ichiro. 富沢美智恵 Tomizawa Michie also returned out of retirement to reprise her role of Kanzaki Sumire to the delight of the her fans. As well as numerous other seiyuu fulfilling many of perhipheral characters in the show. I recognised Hikami Kyoko, Yao Kazuki and Chiba Shigeru just to name a few.

The production values of the Kayou Show is most impressive. You can see it in the performance of the actors, the setup of the stage and over execution and direction of the stage show. It is par excellence. It is in this capacity that the Kayou Show has been able to attract an audience far outside the demographic of the game. You have parents bringing their children, elderly couples coming for the song and dance extravaganza as well as the regular game and anime fans in attendance. A truly diverse audience.

The performances were excellent. Over the many years, the cast have become multi-talented allowing them to successfully crossover to stage acting and many of them are continuing in this direction in their career. There were light moments and there was drama and everything you’d expect in a good musical production. And with 田中公平 Tanaka Kouhei conducting in the pit with live band (not quite an orchestra) performing new and old favourites, nothing could stop that wave of nostalgia from sweeping the audience. Especially when everyone stood up to sing 「檄！帝国華撃団」　Geki! Teikokukagekidan. It was a genuinely, very special event.

The DVD will never quite capture the magical atmosphere of these kinds of events. Nonetheless I recommend getting it to those who missed out (and maybe some of the previous ones too) since there won’t be another Kayou Show for the Hanagumi. さらばよ、花組。

Photos from Famitsu and Impress Watch.