Otanjoubi Omedetou, Kaida Yuki-san!

Today's the birthday of Fuji Shuusuke's seiyuu, Kaida Yuki-san! As mentioned in my previous post for Minagawa Junko-san's birthday, Kaida is one of the birthday babies in Nov including Bucchou, Okiayu-san. Minagawa mentioned in her online diary that Kaida gave her a birthday present while they were out shopping in early Nov and it seems that they meet up pretty often outside of work. Kaida's hometown is in Tokyo and her family used to operate a tuition school. However, due to a fire some years ago, they stopped operating the school. Kaida has an elder brother, Yoshimi whom she addresses as Tsukkun Onisama affectionately. Her pet dogs are named Ron and Vivi. Kaida likes carrots, Japanese traditional items like kimono, dogs, music from QUEEN, listening to rakugo as well as guys who can eat more than her. Besides Tenipuri, the only other anime where I've heard Kaida's voice is in Suzuka where she plays Yamato's aunt, Ayano-san. I didn't realise it until I saw the credits since she sounded so different from Fuji Shuusuke and there's no way I could have linked both characters' voices to the same seiyuu. That just goes to show how versatile Kaida can be when doing roles of both sexes. By the way, she also takes on the role of Fuji Yumiko who is Shuusuke's elder sister in Tenipuri. Under Fuji Shuusuke's name, Kaida has released a total of 3 solo singles and 1 solo album. In addition, she has taken part in a number of the group singles like Aozu which includes Tezuka, Echizen and Oishi as well as Ao to Bin to Can which is made up of members from the Senbatsu team. Kaida also writes lyrics for some of the Fuji Shuusuke solo songs in these CDs.

Kaida went to the US after senior high school graduation and majored in musicals during her 4-year course in America International University's Arts Faculty (San Diego). As such, her command of English should be reasonably good thus explaining why she has a tendency to speak the language at times during the Rajipuri sessions. Her pronunciation just seems so perfect as compared to the heavily Japanese-accented English we hear most of the time so I was kind of puzzled initially why she sounded different. Kaida is also involved in 2 groups with other seiyuus. The first is Takada Hiroyuki which consists of her and Takahashi Hiroki who plays Kikumaru Eiji in Tenipuri. The reunion of the 3-6 combi? And the other unit, AZU consists of her, Minagawa Junko and Takeuchi Junko. Personally, I find her potrayal of Fuji Shuusuke simply fascinating. She just sounds so different in real life thus I'm convinced that she can change the tone and pitch of her voice easily to suit each role she plays. In reality, when I first saw how she looked from the Tenipuri movie DVD, she gave me the impression that she's like a friendly big sister whom you can warm up to immediately. Well, she would most likely appear for the OVA involving Higa so I'm looking forward to hear her say one of Fuji's famous lines i.e. "Boku ni katsu no wa mada hayai yo." ^__^

Tenipuri's new Christmas events

There are a number of events titled "Interchannel presents On The Talk" held by NEC Interchannel before Christmas where the seiyuus will meet fans at various locations.

First of all, Vol 1 is held in Aoze Shimin Centre at 12.30pm on 23 Dec where Minagawa Junko (Echizen), Okiayu Ryotaro (Tezuka), Onosaka Masaya (Momo), Kawamoto Naru (Taka-san) and Kiyasu Kohei will make appearances during the talk event. In order to qualify for the lucky draw, you would need to buy at least 2000 yen worth of Tenipuri CDs released so far which does not include the game and musical soundtracks though. For me, I have bought more than that amount to date ^__^ but I get the idea from their website that you will get the lucky draw coupon if you start to buy some of the CDs now since the promotion will only be held in Animate shops located at Ikebukuro, Shibuya, Kichijoji, Yokohama and Omiya. And if you happen to have pre-ordered CDs to be released after 27 Nov, I think you would have to present your receipts to get the coupon.

Vol 2 is held on the same day at the same venue at 5pm where Minagawa, Okiayu, Onosaka, Kawamoto and Kaida Yuki (Fuji Shuusuke) will make appearances. It will be a talk event for the audience.

The last event is "Interchannel presents 2005 Merry Christmas Baby - Seinaru Yoru ni Kuchibue Fuite" (Whistle on the holy night) held on Christmas eve. The venue will be at Aoze Shimin Centre and the event will be held from 5pm. Members to appear include Minagawa Junko (Echizen), Oura Fuyuka (Osakada Tomoka), Kimura Akiko (Tachibana An), Kusuda Toshiyuki (Shishido Ryo), Takahashi Mikako (Ryuuzaki Sakuno) plus singers like Shinbori Saori, UZA and Shioya Asakou. Besides the talk event, there will also be singing performances.

By the way, the price of the 30.5 illustration fanbook has been reduced to 1800 yen from the initial price of 2000 yen. The release date is this Friday so I'm really looking forward to receiving it with the Vol 31 manga soon!

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Eiji!

Today is Seigaku Golden Pair's Kikumaru Eiji's birthday! Well, Eiji always looks energetic and cheerful but there are times when he puts on a serious or sad experession too. For example, when Oishi was unable to make it to the Hyotei match during the Kantou tournament, the apprehension on Eiji's face was unmistakable. Another time was when he got upset about losing to St Rudolph during a doubles match where he and Oishi promised that they would not lose again. These scenes showed the emotional of Eiji although he may give the impression that nothing bothers him at all.

On the other hand, his vitality tends to rub off to others where he is like the moodmaker in the team. And he's kind of similar to Momo where the both of them fool around, joke and make fun of others readily. Eiji keeps teasing Echizen for being short since he's the only one who calls him "o-chibi". Of course, there are people who can't stand his hyper behaviour like Oshitari who had wished that Eiji would tone down during their match in the Senbatsu arc. However, I think everyone tends to accept Eiji as he is towards the end since there is always good about this trait of his. Well, the person who seems to be most accustomed to Eiji's temperament is his buddy, Oishi. It's quite hard to imagine two people of vastly different characters to form a good team and cooperate well. Personally, I feel that it's tough to play doubles so it takes a lot of understanding and spending time together to establish that bond. Besides, Oishi helps to control Eiji's active streak while Eiji keeps Oishi motivated through his cheery nature. What more can you ask for in such a combination?

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Lucky Sengoku!

Today's the birthday of Sengoku Kiyosumi, the lucky guy from Yamabuki! His pet phrase is "Lucky" especially when he manages to finish a shot according to his expectation or something goes his way. However, his luck doesn't seem to extend to his matches in Tenipuri since he has either lost or drew his games which goes against his reputation of being the top player in Yamabuki and a member of the Senbatsu camp for consecutive years. The first time, he lost to Momo during the Tokyo finals and the next time, he lost to Kamio in the Kantou quarter-finals. Momo and Kamio happen to be rivals too, be it on the courts or in love i.e. for Tachibana An's affections. That's such an uncanny coincidence! As for the Senbatsu Singles 3 match against Bobby Max, it's a pity that it ended in a draw due to exhaustion for both players or Sengoku could have won a match for the first time in the anime. Oh, there's a match he did win against Momo during the Senbatsu camp but that wasn't official.

Although he may seem like a frivolous guy who never conceals his liking for the company of the opposite sex, he's actually using it to hide his true self. It may look as if he's not concerned about winning or he is not particular about playing tennis. However, when he lost to a junior for the second time after the Kamio match, this led him to rethink what he has to do in order to win so he took up boxing to train his reflexes and build up his physical strength. Nobody expected Sengoku to be so serious about winning so he gave everyone a surprise when he showed off his new physique and skills during the Senbatsu camp. And he is the only guy in the anime who shows a deep interest in girls as compared to the characters who are head-over-heels in love with tennis which in turn makes him stand out from the rest. ^__^

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Minagawa Junko-san!

Today's also the birthday of Minagawa Junko-san, the seiyuu who plays Echizen Ryoma in Tenipuri! What a coincidence, she shares the same birthday as Amane Hikaru. First of all, let me start by sharing some information on her. She was born on 22 Nov 1970 in Ibaragi Prefecture's Tsuchiura City. Frankly speaking, I think she looks too young to be 35. She graduated from the Ibaragi Kenritsu Tsuchiura Daisan Koutou Gakkou and her blood type is A. She was the ace player in her junior high volleyball team and joined the basketball team when she was in senior high. Apparently, she's someone who's good at sports and also has a Level 2 cert in mental abacus. Momotarou (Momo for short) is the name of her dog which is constantly mentioned in the diary of her official website. Minagawa-san used to be an OL but she took up lessons in voice acting and made her debut after graduation. As her voice is quite low and husky, most of her roles are male characters. It is mentioned on Wikipedia that her close friends include Park Romi, the seiyuu for Edward Elric in FMA and Saiga Mitsuki, the seiyuu for Maria Ross also in FMA. However, I see from her online diary and some of the special footage on Tenipuri DVDs that she seems to be very chummy with Kaida Yuki who plays Fuji Shuusuke and it seems like there's a tradition between them and Okiayu Ryotarou to exchange birthday presents every year since they are all born in Nov. By the way, she's in the same agency i.e. Tokyo Haiyuu Seikatsu Kyoudougumiai (Haikyou for short) as the following seiyuus who also appear in Tenipuri e.g. Suwabe Junichi (Atobe Keigo), Kondou Takayuki (Oishi Shuuichiro) and Namikawa Daisuke (Ootori Choutarou).

I've not seen any of the other animes which Minagawa-san has appeared in like NARUTO, LOVELESS (I think she plays one of the leads in this) and Aria. As such, my impression of her is strictly restricted to Echizen Ryoma. Personally, I think that she has done a very good job to play a guy who is much younger than her. In addition, she has to show the cool side of Echizen without losing the charm of a child's innocence. And seeing how she interacts with her fellow cast members gives me the idea that she's someone who's very warm and friendly so everyone calls her Junko-chan or Jun-chan which is usually what you would call a close friend. Here's wishing her a happy birthday and hope that she can continue to impress everyone in the future Tenipuri anime OVAs and movies to come!

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Davide!

Today is the birthday of Amane Hikaru aka Davide, the dajare-king! Well, some of his jokes are really silly but you can't help laughing at times. I mean, laugh at Davide himself instead of the joke. ^__^ Although he constantly gets whacked by Bane-san for the dajare, if you look at it from another perspective, he can be said to be very observant. At least he would need to pay attention to the words said and things around him in order to come with the dajare in an instant. That could be why he seems to have a sharp instinct despite his joker appearance.

I've only seen Davide play 2 double matches before i.e. at the Rokkaku arc against the power duo, Momo and Taka-san and the other at the Senbatsu camp where he teamed up with Oshitari against Ibu and Shinjou. Davide is said to be the hyakunin-kiri of Hyotei and I think his fast reflexes made him live up to his reputation. Besides, his ability to manipulate the long wooden racquet says a lot about how he has to adjust his playing style to bring out the best from the racquet. That is why I think he's a thinker although most people would not feel that way. Anyway, his combination with Oshitari left a deep impression on me and they really feel like a manzai duo to me. Imagine talking like that during the match and managing to win it! Those two are really something. Last but not least, it's a pity that Davide is not featured in the new calendar. I guess that's because Rokkaku did not appear much both in the anime and manga this year. It will be difficult to see him again since Rokkaku lost in the first round of the Nationals.

Tenipuri Calendar received

I received the TRY-X calendar today despite it being shipped from CD Japan last Friday. The weekend caused the delay or I would have got it by last Saturday which was the release date. Anyway, I won't be scanning the pictures here since they won't fit into my scanner but I'll give a description about this item.

Firstly, the cover is Ryoma which I have posted the picture before on the blog. It may be worth noting that a number of characters have been removed from the 2006 edition including Davide, Bane-san, Sakaki-sensei, Dan Taiichi and Tachibana Kiipei. At the same time, there are new additions like Wakashi Hiyoshi, Taki Haginosuke and Kisarazu brothers. As compared to the jumbled combinations of the 2 versions from 2005, this year's calendar is more organised and even has themes for each of the 6 pictures. Except for the Rikkai squad and the first picture, everyone is dressed in their uniforms/jerseys.

For the months of Jan and Feb, Inui, Momo, Kaidou and Ryoma appear at a snow-filled place where they have made a snowman which resembles Tezuka and Inui is about to slip and fall as he tries to hold on to the head of another bigger snowman. The title of this picture is "Who is this snowman?". Well, this is so simple that everyone can spot it at first glance.

Next for Mar and Apr, there are 5 guys standing under the cherry blossom trees namely Ibu, Kamio, Saeki, Sengoku and Akutsu and the picture is titled "Row of cherry blossoms". They are wearing the winter version of their uniforms where Fudomine and Rokkaku's are very similar to what Seigaku has. Yamabuki's uniform is in white though.

In May and June which is named "midafternoon tea time", it's mainly made up of St Rudolph members i.e. Mizuki, Akazawa, Fuji Yuuta sitting in the comfort of indoors and enjoying biscuits and tea. The Kisarazu brothers are standing outside with an umbrella and looking at them. Well, it just seems kind of weird to see Kisarazu Ryo to appear among the St Rudolph squad but I like to see him with his brother.

And during the summer holiday season of Jul & Aug titled "happy vacation", we have the whole Hyotei squad on a train going to somewhere. Yes, all 9 members i.e. Atobe, Oshitari, Jirou, Kabaji, Shishido, Ootori, Gakuto, Wakashi and Hagi appear together where some of them seems to be busy with homework. I would wish to see them in casual clothes though instead of the Hyotei uniform. Besides that, the only complaint I have is that Atobe-sama is only featured on his side-view!

For Sep and Oct, there's the whole Rikkai team i.e. Sanada, Yukimura, Yanagi, Niou, Yagyuu, Marui, Jackal and Kirihara at a karaoke lounge. The two captains are singing while Kirihara and Jackal are playing instruments. And yes, everyone is in casual clothing. Actually, I don't mind seeing them in uniforms too since I like that too. Before I forget, the title is "K.A.R.A.O.KE!" to match the venue shown in the picture.

Last but not least, we have the 5 remaining members of the Seigaku team and they are all 3rd year students in this picture named "believed tomorrow". They are Tezuka, Oishi, Taka-san, Eiji and Fuji wearing their jerseys with the beautiful nightscene and a ferris wheel in the background. I'm swooning over this picture because Bucchou and Fuji look very cool here. I like the Seigaku jersey but I thought it might be more interesting to see them in casual clothes.

On the whole, I'm quite satisfied with this calendar and am glad that I bought it. However, I wonder if there will be a new version for 2007 now that the anime has ended. Oh, since there's the OVA in Mar 06, I guess that increases the chance that Try-X will publish a calendar for Tenipuri.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Kisarazu Kyoudai!

It's the birthdays of the Kisarazu Kyoudai - Ryo and Atsushi! They are the only twin brothers combination in Tenipuri with the other group being the Fuji brothers. As such, we know that Ryo and Atsushi look exactly the same and that resulted in Mizuki getting the wrong guy to join St Rudolph. In order to distinguish them, Ryo being the elder brother wears a cap and has long hair while Atsushi has short hair and wears a headband. I wonder what Mizuki was thinking of when he got Atsushi to wear that red headband. Doesn't that get into the way when playing tennis? Well, Atsushi has more airtime as compared to his brother where we saw him during the St Ruldoph arc doubles 2 match with Yanagisawa against Momo and Kaidou. That match was stopped halfway because Momo knocked Yanagisawa out. Other than that, there were snippets of his other matches at times. As for Ryo, he didn't get a chance to appear during the Rokkaku arc so it was only until the Senbatsu arc when he had a short match with Atsushi. Thus, it's hard to guess who is actually superior among them. Although there is a sense of rivalry between them, they seem to be closer than the Fuji brothers who were initially not on speaking terms due to Yuuta's inferior complex. At least, they don't feel the extreme need to outdo each other. Now that Rokkaku has been knocked out in the Nationals and St Rudolph is not in the competition, I doubt the twins will appear again in the manga.

Tenipuri anime OVA & real-life movie

According to the latest issue of Jump, the anime OVA will be out on 24 Mar. However, the scanlation I was looking at didn't state whether this is to be shown on TV or to be released on DVD. Well, the scanlation was in colour and it seems like it was in glossy format so I can't read some of the words. I'm actually hoping that it will be out on DVD because it means that we will get it in March. If it's to be shown on TV then subsequently released on DVD, it may be at least 6 months later before I can obtain it.

As for the real life movie, they announced the cast which I believe should be the musical's cast. I'm not too interested in them though but since it's a Tenipuri movie, I might still want to watch it. Anyway, Konomi-sensei is said to be appearing in it too and more details on the movie will be released in the New Year edition of Jump.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Taka-san!

Today's the birthday of Taka-san, Mr. Burning of Seigaku! Normally, Taka-san looks very gentle and kind but whenever he holds his racket, he will become a different person. He has a special preference to say English expressions with "Burning" being his catchphrase. And when he plays tennis, he can get really aggressive which suits his play style, aggressive baseliner. Being a person with 2 entirely different personalities, Taka-san provides much comical relief especially when he goes into burning mode. In addition, he's also someone who thinks a lot about his teammates and is prepared to go to extremes for Seigaku's victory. Just look at how he was prepared to sacrifice his arm when he was playing Kabaji during the Kantou tournament. There are a number of times when Taka-san was on reserve e.g. the Rikkai arc and he usually plays doubles with Fuji. Singles-wise, I think the Kabaji match was one of the few when he played alone. The only exception for the doubles match was his pairing with Momo during the Rokkaku arc when they played Davide and Bane-san. His friendship with Akutsu is also something worth noting as one is so gentle while the other is so aggressive yet they can become good pals. Taka-san is someone who can get along with everyone and I don't even remember him flaring up at anyone. It must be fun to have a senior like him around but I certainly do not want to antagonise him while he's in burning mode. ^__^

New Year CDs & Calendar

Took a look at the CD Japan pre-order anime CD charts and the New Year CDs and Ryoma's mini album are all there. Seems like a lot of people are ordering them. Meganes' single is at No.1, Ryoma's album at No.3, 3 Guava Trio (Jiro, Marui and Aoi) at No.6 and the Seigaku Trio at No.10. Well, I expected that the Meganes' single will do very well since the three of them are very popular. According to the website, there are two guests who will appear on the Seigaku Trio CD but details are not announced yet. The NEC Interchannel website has no information on that too.

The calendar from Try-X will be released this Saturday and if it follows past instances, the earliest I can expect to get it will be next Monday. The problem is that it is too big to fit into my scanner so I don't think I can get any pictures to be put up here. I can't wait to see how the calendar looks like and what combinations will be shown on the various months.

The Meganes' single on New Year 06

I've finally placed my order for the Meganes' single i.e. Inui, Tezuka and Oshitari which will be released on New Year's Day 2006. After giving it some thought, I think I will not buy the other 2 New Year trio releases since I'm not too interested in the Seigaku trio and the other combination of Marui, Jiro and Aoi just doesn't seem to be my cup of tea. As such, I'm sticking to my three megane characters even though I have no idea what the title of their single is and if there are any freebies. Judging from the price of the single, it seems like it will be somewhat like the character singles released of late where there is only one song and no special premiums sealed within the package. Well, as long as there's a nice picture of the trio on the cover and they add in a few more pictures in the CD sleeve, I can't complain too much. Of course, if there's a picture CD plus a chat session among the three of them, that would be a very nice New Year gift and a perfect way to start 2006. ^__^

Ordered Vol 31 & Illustration book 30.5

After looking for the items daily on Amazon Japan, I just couldn't see the illustration book 30.5 being listed. When I emailed them, the response was that they couldn't guarantee that this item will be sold from the website. As such, I tried my luck on HMV Japan and managed to place my order for the items. It's only 20-plus days to the release date on 2 Dec so you can imagine how anxious I was to obtain the books especially the illustration book. My only concern is how long they would take to deliver the books to me. I simply hope that it would not take as long as the calendars last year which took close to 1 month for its delivery after its release date. Now, I have to think of what I should order together with the Meganes' single on 1 Jan while waiting for the Tenipuri Try-X calendar to be released next Saturday...

Updates on events and releases - 9 Nov 05

There are a number of updates on the NEC Interchannel website about some events and new releases of Tenipuri-related items so I'm posting them here.

First of all, the event to mark the launch of Echizen's first birthday mini-album on Christmas eve will be held on the day of release itself where Minagawa Junko will hold a talk show and shake hands with fans in Aoze Shimin Centre. The title of the event is quite long i.e. "Ryoma Echizen HAPPY BIRTHDAY and MERRY CHRISTMAS PROGRESS Special Memorial Event". Apparently, you would have to make a pre-order of the album at 4 Animate stores before you head to the venue for the giveaway of the tickets at 10.30am that morning. I guess there's a receipt or something to exchange for the tickets so you don't have to buy the album or collect it from the store in advance. Anyway, there's a limit to how early you can be since stores don't open that early and the exchange of tickets is in the morning. The event will begin at noon and tickets are given out on a first-come-first-served basis.

Next would be the Jump Festa 2006 Tennis no Oujisama held on 17th and 18th Dec at Makuhari Messe, Chiba. There will be a Showa Note booth and Tenipuri seiyuus will make appearances. Kaida Yuki (Fuji Shuusuke), Suwabe Junichi (Atobe Keigo) and Nagai Sachiko (Yukimura Seiichi) will appear on the 17th while Minagawa Junko (Echizen Ryoma), Takahashi Hiroki (Kikumaru Eiji) and Takahashi Naozumi (Marui Bunta) appear on the 18th. The talk show event will begin at 2pm and takes about 1 hour for each session. There is a limit of 300 fans for each session where they get a specially signed goods set worth 3000 yen. How I wish I could head to Chiba at that time! Personally, I'm more interested in the first day's session because I prefer the combination of seiyuus. According to the Showa Note website, they will sell Tenipuri mini pen pouches, shitajiki, postcards, poker cards whereby the postcards will be signed by the seiyuus who are making appearances.

Last but not least, manga Vol 31's release date is set on 2 Dec, the same day as illustration fanbook 30.5 BUT I simply don't understand why Amazon Japan has not listed it yet. I'm dying to buy these two books...

Seigaku Regulars' Seminar: Self-Intro

The special content in the last volume of the DVD series consists of the Seigaku Regulars' Seminar and the compilation of 7 OPs and EDs among the various songs the anime featured over 178 episodes. Firstly, the 9 seiyuus begin with their self-introductions and what Tenipuri means to them. We begin with Tezuka Kunimitsu, the bucchou so Okiayu-san says that although this is the longest anime he has been involved in (3.5 years), he did not take part in the voice acting for close to 1 year since Tezuka-bucchou was away in Germany for treatment of his shoulder after the Hyotei arc. As usual, he was grumbling about how little he appeared in the anime. ^__^ By the way, Okiayu-san seems to have put on a little weight as compared to what I saw in the movie's DVD because he was quite slim then and I couldn't recognise him at first. I heard on Rajipuri (Aug 04) before that he was going on a diet with Sanada's seiyuu, Kusunoki Taiten and it seemed Okiayu-san was doing quite well in this area. Since the anime's DVD was released in June and he appeared during the screening of the movie in Jan this year, I can't comprehend how he could have looked so different. Of course, I'm not sure when the regulars' seminar footage was recorded so it could have been made much earlier, maybe before the movie screening in Jan.

Next is Oishi Shuichiro, the fuku-bucchou played by Kondo Takayuki. He says that initially, he felt that Oishi seemed to be quite different from him but over the past 178 episodes, his distance with Oishi has narrowed and he feels that the character has become a part of him. Kondo-kun, being the youngest seiyuu among the regulars is always so polite and not as outspoken and everyone calls him Kondo-kun affectionately.

We have Inui Sadaharu's seiyuu, Tsuda Kenjirou next where he said things similar to what Kondo-kun had mentioned. Well, I admit that I have a soft spot for Tsuda-san especially after seeing his face for the first time in the movie's DVD which strengthened my liking for Inui too. I was pratically going wild when I saw him in Hana Yori Dango's Ep 2 and thought I was seeing things. Following that is Fuji Shuusuke's seiyuu, Kaida Yuki and she was comparing Fuji to something in an analogy. I couldn't really understand what she was getting at though. Currently, I'm hearing Kaida-san's voice in the anime, Suzuka but I just cannot reconcile that voice to what I hear from Fuji. I really have to hand it to the seiyuus for being able to change their voices to suit the roles but some of the seiyuus' voices are so distinct that it's hard not to notice like Suwabe Junichi, Okiayu-san, Tsuda-san or Onosaka-san.

Kikumaru Eiji appears next where Takahashi Hiroki said that Eiji seemed to be someone from another planet to him when he began playing this role but he has become a part of him. Well, looking at Takahashi-san, he seems quite different from Eiji where he looks quite demure and quiet. Eiji is forever full of energy and cannot keep still so that's why Takahashi-san feels that he's very different from Eiji.

The last 3rd year member is Kawamura Takashi played by Kawamoto Naru who said that he feels like a professional actor when he introduced himself and their surnames are quite similar. The most enjoyable thing he finds about starring in Tenipuri would be showing the 2 contrasting sides of Taka-san because he's gentle and nice by nature but he becomes aggressive and quite talkative (likes to speak English) when he holds the racquet. However, he mentions that these two contrasting traits are essential since they are both reflective of Taka-san. Personally, I think that Kawamoto-san sings pretty well and I like his song, "Asobi ni Ikanai?" which I heard from Rajipuri. Maybe I'll think of buying his album after buying the 30.5 illustration book and Vol 31 of the manga.

We come to the 2nd year students now with Momoshiro Takeshi i.e. Onosaka Masaya-san starting the ball rolling. He says that he did not deliberately act in a certain way when he plays Momo since he is just like a part of Onosaka-san's character. I agree with this statement totally. It seems as if Onosaka-san and Momo are the same person and I think he's very suitable for this role. In addition, Onosaka-san said that working on Tenipuri feels like he's in a club with like-minded friends instead of a extra-curricular activity as shown in the anime. That's his way of saying how much he enjoys working on Tenipuri.

Kaidou Kaoru played by Kiyasu Kohei is next and he says that he likes Kaidou for being a nice person and behaves in a cool manner which is something he says that he can't do. It feels good to him when he's playing this character. Somehow, Kiyasu-san is kind of subdued for this session since he was quite hyper during the movie's screening and celebration party as shown in the DVD. I guess he could have been feeling under the weather that day so he sees quite tired.

Last but not least, the main character Echizen Ryoma played by Minagawa Junko who says that she felt Ryoma was very different from her right from the start but when she finished the series after more than 3 years, she has sensed that the distance between her real persona and Ryoma has reduced tremendously. It is the first time she has felt that she is playing a 12-year-old character.

I'll post the remaining contents of the seminar in a few days' time since it's probably going to be an extremely long post based on the notes I took while watching the discussion segment for the 3rd time.

DVD Vol 45's first press edition photos

Here are the photos given away in the first press edition of Vol 45's DVD package. First, there's Echizen in tears after the match with Tezuka in the final episode where he comes back specially just to challenge Bucchou. Well, I didn't like the idea of Tezuka losing to Echizen but this can't be helped since the latter is the main character in the series. However, it just seems kind of weird that Echizen has become so invincible in a matter of months when he has beaten Tezuka (the undefeatable captain of Seigaku), Sanada (the No.1 in junior high tennis) and almost came close to defeating Atobe while they were in Karuizawa. I'm thankful that they did not let it happen or it would have been too illogical and obviously out to place Echizen on a pedestal.

Next up is the dear Atobe-sama while he tells the team to follow him to the Nationals when the announcement is made that Hyotei will be going there after all. I was kind of surprised to see Atobe in the final episode and he definitely made me swoon with his casual clothing, that bathrobe and of course this cool pose in the photo. It's just too bad that in the Nationals arc so far, Atobe did not get to play against Tezuka because the latter was put into Singles 2 where he faced Kabaji. When will that be released in the tankouban? Vol 30 is still on the Higa arc so there's still at least another 2 or 3 volumes before I can see it. Meanwhile, I can only track the progress of the Hyotei matches in the Nationals arc through scanlations of Jump.

Last but not least, the full-length photo of Tezuka when he finishes the match with Echizen. Most if not all of the photos given in the first press editions of the DVDs are usually in horizontal format and this is the first I've seen so far which shows a full-body shot. With the sunset as the background and a very kakkoii Tezuka, I must say that this is one of my favourite photos from the DVDs. I was really looking forward to a repeat of the Tezuka vs Atobe match in the Nationals but Konomi-sensei actually put Tezuka in Singles 2 to face the copy genius, Kabaji. That really dashed my hopes of seeing a bucchou taiketsu... I can only pin my hopes of seeing Rikkai vs Seigaku again hopefully in the Nationals final so that Tezuka can have a match with Sanada or Yukimura. I really don't see any team posing a major threat to Rikkai so if there are no accidents midway, the possibility of Seigaku moving on to meet Rikkai is very high. It just doesn't make sense for Hyotei to beat Seigaku at this juncture and move on to the semi-finals since the main team is still Seigaku. Well, this will be twice unlucky for Hyotei. In Jump, they are already at Doubles 1 where Shishido/Ootori will be representing Hyotei. Seigaku's lineup has not been announced yet but it looks like the Golden Pair will get a chance to challenge them and see which combination is better.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Ibu-kun & Jackal!

Today's the birthday of Ibu Shinji from Fudoumine and Jackal Kuwahara from Rikkai and they are one of the few characters whose birthdays fall on the same day. Let me begin with Ibu-kun first who appeared earlier than Jackal in the anime.

Ibu is one of the two 2nd-year aces in Fudoumine along with Kamio. While the latter is more outspoken and rash, Ibu seems calmer and collected but he has a habit of rambling and grumbling to himself which gets on the nerves of others. In fact, during his first match with Echizen during the district finals, Ibu was reprimanded by Echizen for his rambling as he wanted to finish the match as soon as possible. Subsequently, he appeared in other matches too although not featured in full like those with Yamabuki and Rikkai where his doubles partner is usually Kamio. He has long hair which he never ties up during matches and I wonder why he doesn't feel hot after all that exercise. Anyway, the most interesting trait of Ibu should be his excessive rambling which provides comical relief and yet gets long-winded at times.

Now, for Jackal, he's only been featured in the Kantou final for Doubles 2 against Momo and Kaidou so far but I'm not sure whether he will be in the Nationals arc though unless Rikkai meets Seigaku in the final. Talking about Jackal, his partner Marui Bunta should also be mentioned since he seems to be the one covering Marui's faults or should I say blind points because there are certain shots whch Marui avoids but he knows there's always Jackal at the back to cover up for him. There is a strong trust relationship between the two of them who managed to get to where they are through hard work. Jackal used to live in Brazil and is of mixed heritage so his name is not in Japanese characters. He's the only skinhead in the series and he maintains this hairstyle to remind himself of a senior who helped him a lot in tennis when he was still in Brazil. He's nicknamed the steel wall because of the fact that no shots can get past him.

Tsuda Kenjirou in Hana Yori Dango Ep 2

Actually, this is not really Tenipuri-related but I got a pleasant surprise when I watched the second episode of Hana Yori Dango. Tsuda Kenjirou, Inui's seiyuu was in it as a cameo role when he talked to Tsukushi (Inoue Mao) while she was gorging herself with food at Toudou Shizuka's party. I thought it was my imagination when I saw that because the camera didn't show Tsuda's face but only his side view. However, hearing his voice made me convinced that it must be him. I checked the opening credits and saw that his name was there so it's not my hallucination due to the absence of the Tenipuri anime. I remember reading from Tsuda's official website that he also appears in dramas and stage productions besides seiyuu work but this is the first time I've actually spotted a seiyuu in a drama myself. It's just that the correlation seems kind of funny i.e. Inui Sadaharu in Hana Yori Dango and talking to Makino Tsukushi? ^__^

New Tenipuri CDs in 2006 & Echizen's mini-album

More details on Echizen's mini album and three CD singles coming our way on 1 Jan 2006!

First of all, Echizen's mini album, "PROGRESS" consists of 4 songs and will be released on his birthday i.e. Christmas Eve. Konomi-sensei will appear as a special guest and sing together in one of the titles. As for the first press premium, it is a picture disc of Echizen so I guess there won't be any normal press versions since this is a limited release.

As for 2006, there are 3 singles sung by trios to be released on 1 Jan 2006. First of all, the group named 3 Guava Trio made up of Aoi Kentarou, Akutagawa Jirou and Marui Bunta will sing a song, "Brand New Day" and their single is the cheapest at 555 yen. I can't see the link between Aoi and Jirou and Marui though and don't have any idea why they have this name. Anyway, I feel that Jirou and Marui might be more suitable to release a single under the name of the "serve-and-volley tensais".

Next is the one which I'm definitely going to buy! Meganes (Spectacles) is made up of the three characters who wear spectacles i.e. Oshitari Yuushi, Tezuka Kunimitsu and Inui Sadaharu. Their single's title is undecided yet and the cost is 800 yen. Actually, there's also Yagyuu Hiroshi who wears spectacles too but I guess since the trio is already well-known as the main Tenipuri megane-kyara, that could be why Yagyuu was left out. This is such a mouth-watering combination of three guys who have deep voices...

Last but not least, the Seigaku Ichinen Trio made up by Horio, Katsuo and Kachiro and their single turns out to be the most expensive at 1300 yen. Title is undecided yet too.

Besides the CD releases, the 30.5 illustration book is expected to be out on 2 Dec which costs 2200 yen and has 128 pages. Amazon Japan has not listed this item yet and Vol 31 of the manga is still not available for ordering too. I'll continue to check the website for the updates and place my order once I see them.