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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.

 恋する天使アンジェリーク ～心のめざめる時～ キャラクターCD

Regardless of the quality of Angelique TV, this new set of Maxi CDs are really making the day of most Angelique fans — at least it made mine after listening to the first 4 CDs. Randy, Marcel and Luva’s songs are all very nice, but I wouldn’t comment on Zephel’s song… maybe just not the type i like. XD The three songs I adore all give a nice fuzzy feeling, makes your heart feel all sweet and warm inside. IMHO this is exactly what Angelique songs are supposed to be strong at, and what differentiates Angelique from the style of the  rest of the Neoromance series.

Thoughts on the individual songs:

Vol 2. Randy (Canna Nobutoshi 神奈延年) - Simple Dimple Smile Very happy to hear another Randy song. Though I feel Canna Nobutoshi-san voice is a little different than usual. *is worried*

Vol 3. Marcel (Yuuki Hiro 結城比呂) - Kimi ga ireba daijoubu 君がいれば大丈夫  Sometimes Marcel’s songs gets “overdozed sugar”, this time it’s just right for me. ^^ Though I would have expected Marcel to sound a little bit older by now.

Vol 4. Luva (Seki Toshihiko 関俊彦) - Saudaji ~kyoushuu~ サウダージ ~郷愁~  Despite the title has “Nostalgic” in it, this song is light and cheerful  and…. remarkably good. I could almost feel the warm desert wind breezing through and it really made me want to visit the place described in the song - Luva-sama’s hometown. ^^ Seki Toshihiko-san used a very beautiful voice to sing this song in addition to the usual gentle Luva voice. The mini drama series in each CD is only 2-3 minutes long, but the story is funny nevertheless. Looking forward to the rest of the series. ^_^

Animelo Summer Live is establishing itself to be the premiere anime event of the summer. With a star-studded line up of artists this has to be one of the largest collaborative efforts the industry puts together to make this event possible. Kudos has to go to 奥井雅美 Okui Masami who, I believe, is the real driving force behind the Animelo Summer event. Last year concert was a success claiming over 7500 in attendance. This year at 日本武道館 Nippon Budokan, reportedly 10,000 anime fans turned up to witness the spectacle and spectacular it was.

Waiting around in line is never really fun so here is a shot for the sake of atmosphere and let’s get to the main event.

The stage setup was impressive. Jammed into the north end of Budokan, an array of guitars, keyboards and no less than 4 drum sets littered the stage in a setup that was designed to maximise the amount of seating available as possible. We were up on the 2nd tier on the South West side with a fairly clear view of the centre stage. But damn, it would have been great to have arena tickets again.

The night kicked off at 17:00 with a dazzling opening light show as the artists entered the stage in spectacular pro-wrestling-style. The concert that followed would be filled with old favourites and new releases in what was to be a huge 39 song set list.

奥井雅美 and 栗林みな実 Kuribayashi Minami, started off in duet with 「Mask」 the 爆れつハンター Sorcerer Hunter ending theme. Kuribayashi Minami then continued on with her set of 「Rumbling Hearts」　（君が望む永遠 Game OP） and 「Crystal Energy」 from 舞-乙HiME. 石田耀子 Ishida Yoko followed with 「幸せの色」 （あぁっ女神さまっ それぞれの翼 OP） and 「紅の静寂」 the 2nd 灼眼のシャナ ending theme.

Girly screaming then erupted around the stadium as 高橋直純 Takahashi Naozumi made his entrance and performed his set of 「電光石火の恋」 from 遙かなる時空の中で３, a new release 「無敵なsmile」 the 無敵看板娘ED and 「OK!」. I have to say despite being obviously biased to the female sector of the vocal arts, TakaNao is undoubtly a good performer.

Up next was the first of only two medleys of the night. Performed by 米倉千尋 Yonekura Chihiro, Ishida Yoko, Kurabayashi Minami and 松本梨香 Matsumoto Rica, it was a nostalgic collection of 嵐の中で輝いて (機動戦士ガンダム第08MS小隊), 乙女のポリシー (美少女戦士セーラムーンＲ）, Shining☆Days (舞-HiME) and ポケモンマスター (ポケモン).

Special guests 平野綾 Hirano Aya, 茅原実里 Chihara Minori and 後藤邑子 Goto Yuko then burst on to stage dancing furiously to ハレ晴レユカイ Hare Hare Yukai. There was much cheering and excitement but I have to say the choreography was a little too energetic.

KENN with The NaB’s then followed with 「Wake Up Your Heart」 （遊戯王デュエルモンスターズGX） and savage genius with 「Forever…」 （エレメンタルジェレイドＯＰ） and 「祈りの詩」 （Simoun ＥＤ）.　嘉陽愛子 Kayo Aiko was next with 「愛してね♥もっと」 （天上天下ＥＤ and one of my favourites） and 「瞳の中の迷宮」 （ヤミと帽子と本の旅人ＯＰ）. Yonekura Chisa then performed 「WILL」 （仙界伝封神演義ＯＰ） and her new offering 「青空とキミへ」.

The second medley headed up by 影山ヒロノブ Kageyama Hironobu with 福山芳樹 Fukuyama Yoshiki, きただにひろし Kitadani Hiroshi and 遠藤正明 Endo Masaaki. 「CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA」 (Dragon Ball Z), 「PLANET DANCE」 (Macross 7), 「We Are!」 （One Piece） and 「勇者王ガオガイガー」 (you guessed it, Gaogaigar) and 「SOLDIER DREAM」 (Saint Seiya).

Kageyama then introduced for the first time live, Okui Masami and Yonekura Chihiro unit, r.o.r/s as they performed 「Candy Lie」. Okui Masami continued with her set, 「SECOND IMPACT」, 「WILD SPICE」 (無敵看板娘OP) and 「zero-G-」 from RAY THE ANIMATION. It was great to see Okui Masami perform. She looked good and sang brilliantly. Definitely a high point of the night.

三枝夕夏 in db, U-ka saegusa in db, followed with 「君と約束した優しいあの場所まで」 (名探偵コナン） and 「Everybody Jump」 (格闘美神　武龍). 愛内里菜 Aiuchi Rina joined her for their duet of 「100もの扉」 （名探偵コナン）. Aiuchi Rina then rounded of her set with 「GLORIOUS」 (Another Century’s Episode 2) and 「MIRACLE」 (メルヘヴン) before ALI PROJECT made their dramatic entrance. ALI PROJECT started off with 「聖少女領域」 (Rozen Maiden Traumend) and finished with their Oricon Top 10 hit 「亡國覚醒カタルシス」 (.hack//Roots) making a similarly spectacular exit.

JAM Project then came blasting on to stage with 「GONG」 (第3次スーパーロボット大戦α) followed by 「牙狼~SAVIOR IN THE DARK」 (牙狼） and 「SKILL」 (第2次スーパーロボット大戦α).

石川智晶 Ishikawa Chiaki then took the stage with 「美しければそれでいい」 （シムーンＯＰ）. And then in another highlight of the night, Chiaki performed, one of my favourites of See-Saw, 「あんなに一緒だったのに」 from 機動戦士Gundam Seed.

Finally, with the longest entrance of the night, the artist no doubt most of the audience tonight had come to see, with the loudest of cheers from the crowd, 水樹奈々 Mizuki Nana arrived. She swung straight into 「Super Generation」 and followed with 「Innocent Starter」 (魔法少女リリカルなのは）. The Basilisk ending 「ヒメムラサキ」 was next and the night would not be complete without 「ETERNAL BLAZE」 (魔法少女リリカルなのはA’s). Nana’s performance was flawless and there’s little doubt why she gets top billing.

As tradition now, the last song of the night is the Animelo theme song. And this year, it is 「OUTRIDE」. All the artists gathered on the stage for finale of the night. Everyone is encouraged to sing as the lyrics are displayed on the big screen. With much cheering and whooping and plenty of emotion in the room (Hirano Aya was moved to tears), the concert ended. Leaving us with the teaser, “See you again on DVD”, it was a good night to be an anime fan.

More images at Mizuki Nana’s blog and Chihara Minori’s blog and of course the official site.

續上年初次舉行而大獲好評, 今年再一次由奧井雅美的帶領下集合了一群歌唱實力高超的動畫歌手和聲優歌手來舉行的第二次Animelo Summer 2006 -Outride- 終於於上星期六在日本武道館留下了歷史性的一頁. 在這一天, 一萬名的觀眾欣賞了這個長達四小時一共演釋了四十首歌的演唱會.

雖然說我個人最在意的當然是奈奈, 但不代表我不喜歡其他的歌手. 有出席去年的Animelo的我知道有JAM Project出場就已經是一個保證, 其次還有栗林みな実和石田燿子, 甚至雖然我對男聲優沒太大興趣但又無可否認是相當出色的聲優歌手高橋直純等的演出者在同一個演唱會中出現, 這個演唱會簡直可以說是超值. 加上今年還有在最後才發表的特別家賓 - 平野綾, 茅原実里, 後藤邑子所組成的S.O.S.團, 未看也知道熱鬧非常 - 而我的期望也沒有落空.

今年最滿意的改變首先要選栗林みな実的選曲. 去年因為選了的歌比較小眾, 很多人聽著都燃燒不起來令氣氛大打折扣. 但今年終於都選了首本名曲”Rumbling Hearts”和舞乙:HiMe的兩首OP這些熱門曲, 實在是很明智的選擇.

其次, 奈奈今年也被看重, 再一次被編排到最後才演出, 而且還是唯一一位表演多達四首歌的出演者. 一共唱了”Super Generation”, “innocent starter”, “ヒメムラサキ”和”Eternal Blaze”的奈奈不負眾望最後把氣氛推上最高潮, 足夠證明奈奈的人氣和實力.

最後, 最具話題性的S.O.S.團當然也是仍合眾fans的期望表演了”ハレ晴レユカイ”和其全程的舞步. 對S.O.S團這個表演環節唯一有不滿的是全程舞步動作過於花巧和大, 有幾個地方和歌不太合得來. 還有可能動作太大的關係, S.O.S.團的表演不是現場唱而是播碟的, 不過看在她們最後才趕緊地被邀請和據她們自己說根本連一起採排的時間都沒有的份上就原諒她們吧. 反正也真的看得很開心. (笑)

最後, 奈奈, 茅原実里和後藤邑子都有在她們的個人blog上談這個演唱會.

水樹奈奈的blog 奈奈的衣裝很美 *o*

茅原実里的blog 有說到她自己和平野綾都哭了 (平野綾哭我有看到) [小聲: 最近覺得茅原実里也很萌 (逃)]

後藤邑子的blog 寫的都是比較輕鬆有趣的感想 (被人懷疑會跳不動 XD)

And it will be out on DVD!

在察看安琪莉可TV時才發現，8月份出的劇場版竟然9月份要出PS2遊戲。官網已經出來了，但是還沒有放出太多實質性内容。（只能看到一些一代的人設和新CG，還有小史的語音“そなたに、きっと会えると思うていた。”） 在此正式歡迎櫻井孝弘さん加盟Neoromance的豪華聲優陣容~~ \=O=/
官網：http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/ps2/maihitoyo/

Ange的TV版這邊，也終于快要盼到開播了。除了固定的守護聖大人們，也很期待主役Ange的本名陽子小姐的表現。在宮崎駿影片《側耳傾聽》(Whisper of the Heart) 中擔任主役的她，會帶來一個什麽樣的Ange呢？在官網的日記裏，提到似乎是很自然感性的聲音。與過去三石琴乃小姐的Ange對比會大不同吧。

雖然人物頁只有介紹神鳥的九大守護聖，但既然是4代安琪的故事，應該是神鳥與聖獸的守護聖都會登場吧，也就是說會有20位以上的人物…… 又是一場聲音盛宴。唯一殘念的是，鹽澤兼人先生不能復生 ——對安琪莉可的FANS來説是永遠的遺憾了。

官網：

Thank you sent for my introduction, みんな、よろしくね~

The release date for the Haruka movie - 劇場版「遥かなる時空の中で～舞一夜」 「Haruka naru toki no naka de ~ Maihitoyo」  is now on the movie’s official site.  Set to roadshow on August 19,  the movie will actually premiere on the first day at ｢ネオロマンス・フェスタ 遙か祭 2006｣,  Harukasai 2006, on the August 12.

The official site features a full theatrical trailer as well as the previous short teaser trailer.  Art and production values it seems to be quite OK.  The new theme song is nice, though I cannot give compliments on background song they chose for the teaser.  The theatrical trailer gives out hints about a mysterious young man who Miko falls in love with and is possibly going to be whom Hachiyou 八葉 and Miko will fight in the end. ^^;  The Amayadori scene strangely reminds me of one of the Tomomori event from Haruka 3 ~ Izayoiki 十六夜記. Maybe it’s the hair style and the dress. ^^;

The entire cast of the Hachiyou and main character played by 川上とも子, Kawakami Tomoko will be present at the premiere together with guest 櫻井孝宏, Sakurai Takahiro, who voices the new character 多季史, Oono Suefumi, in the movie. However I don’t see any sign of 置鮎龍太郎, Okiayu Ryoutaro or 大谷育江, Ootani Ikue which is a pity. Also, Ishida Akira will only be there for the second day’s event. The last Harukasai was very successful. Let’s hope this will be a good one too.

Before the release of movie, the Making of Maihitoyo DVD is due for release on the 28th of July, a set of Maihitoyo dolls (Hachiyo + Suefumi) on sale from the 27th, a drama CD on the 9th of August which consists of a new story based on the Maihitoyo, the full version of image song and selected BGM of the movie.