Reflection on 2005 & Hopes for 2006

This is the final day of the year and it's been more than 1 year since I started this blog on Tenipuri. Well, I decided to create this website once I got hooked on the anime which was recommended by a friend. To be frank, I never expected myself to be that obsessed with Tenipuri. Even though the anime had ended in March this year (what a "wonderful" birthday present!), I find myself still going wild over various items released be it the DVDs, CDs or manga. As long as the manga is continuing, Interchannel releases more character CDs and there are more anime OVAs coming my way, I'm sure I'll have sufficient material to carry on with this blog. And that means more money to spend on Tenipuri too. Anyway, I know very well that there are lots of things I can cover but due to the lack of time, I tend to miss out these items. Over time, there's a lot of backlog and available resources to tap on so I'm not worried over running out of stuff to post.

In 2005, besides buying the monthly DVD releases which ended in Oct, I found myself buying a lot of Tenipuri-related items too:

1) Love Game Fan Disc DVD (Feb) - Lots of Rikkai-goodness!
2) DVD Vol 37 (Feb)
3) DVD Vol 38 (Mar)
4) DVD Vol 39 (Apr)
5) DVD Vol 40 (May)
6) All volumes of the manga up till Vol 31 (Dec)
7) DVD Vol 41 (Jun)
8) Movie DVDs (Jul) - All 3 editions
9) DVD Vol 42 (Jul)
10) with by Tezuka Kunimitsu (Jul) - album was released in Jan but I only made up my mind to buy it after hearing some of the songs on Rajipuri.
11) Movie's soundtrack (Jul)
12) Gather by Ao to Bin to Can (Jul) - single by Senbatsu members for movie
13) DVD Vol 43 (Aug) - Hyotei cover
14) Rajipuri CD - Atobe & Tezuka (Aug)
15) Rajipuri CD - Sanada & Tezuka (Aug)
16) DVD Vol 44 (Sep) - Rikkai cover
17) Keep on Going by Sanada Genichirou (Sep)
18) DVD Vol 45 (Oct) - Seigaku cover
19) Shueisha Tenipuri 2006 Calendar (Oct)
20) Dakishimete Shimaisousa by Tezuka Kunimitsu (Oct)
21) Try-X Tenipuri 2006 Calendar (Nov)
22) Go! Go! Megane's by Megane's (Dec)
23) Best and Brightest Remix Fan Disc (Dec)
24) 30.5 Illustration Book (Dec)

It's scary to see how much money I have spent on Tenipuri-items this year but I think I'll probably spend lesser next year since I don't have to buy the anime DVD on a monthly basis. I'm still not done with the whole set of the DVDs though as I need to get the earlier volumes from No.1 to No.19. There's also the OVA DVD in March to look forward to plus the Atobe and Oshitari Valentine Kiss singles in Feb. The manga will be released once every two months so this will free up resources for other things.

As I've said before, I will not want to watch the real-life movie because I know it will spoil my wonderful image of the series. I simply cannot fathom what the casting director is thinking so spare me from the misery of criticising the movie. I really hope to see more ANIME movies and OVAs in future instead of doing such real-life projects. It's hard to find anyone who looks like the characters and after seeing an old pimple-faced Tezuka wannabe and Atobe-imposter in the cast, I am just hoping and praying that they will leave my dearest Genichirou alone. This movie must be the only thing in Tenipuri which I'm not looking forward to in the new year.

Some surprises this year would be:
- The release of Sanada's second single
- The release of Tezuka's first birthday single
- The release of 2 fan discs within a span of 1 year
- Seeing Tsuda Kenjirou in Hana Yori Dango
- The release of the Rajipuri CDs

My wishlist for 2006:
- Another Tenipuri ANIME movie / OVA DVD release
- Sanada Genichirou's solo album
- Atobe-sama to release another single/ full album
- Tezuka-bucchou's new album/ single
- A collaboration single/album among my Top 3 favourites of Sanada, Atobe and Tezuka. Group name...the Kings?!
- More money to buy Tenipuri stuff

Here's wishing all those who are reading this a happy new year!

Announcements on Interchannel - 29 Dec

First of all, from the Oricon 2005 Single Best 500, 4 character CDs made it into this list as follows:

Atobe Keigo - Riyuu/E-kimochi No.365
Aozu + Cap + Bin - DEPARTURES No. 403
Oshitari Yuushi with Hyotei Gakuen - Valentine Kiss No. 425
Oshitari Yuushi - Te~ Tsunago No.477

Just too bad that none of the albums made it to the Best 500 chart though. However, from the results, it seems that Hyotei-related character singles are very popular. All 4 titles are related to Hyotei characters where Atobe and Oshitari took part in the DEPARTURES single released by the Senbatsu members. And Atobe-sama should really think of releasing a new single since I bet everyone must be waiting for ages to see a new title from him. In fact, I'm also waiting for it too.

Atobe-sama is due to release a new Valentine's single on the same day as Oshitari BUT this is not a new recording. My guess is that they will use the past version of Valentine Kiss they released but the package is different. Since the price is less than 1000 yen, I have a hunch that they will be like the recent singles where there's only one song, one karaoke version and a very short chat session. Frankly speaking, I don't mind paying the normal price of a maxi single for more content. I just think one song and a serious lack of photos do drive me nuts at times especially for the Tezuka and Sanada singles I bought this year. Hey, they are my top 3 favourites and all I get is the jacket cover photo?!

Next month's radio personalities will be TK vs TK i.e Kondo Takayuki (Oishi) and Kusuda Toshiyuki (Shishido) while the first guest of the year will be Tsuda Kenjirou (another TK?!) who plays Inui. This is a pretty interesting combination...

Last but not least, this announcement gave me such a shock when I saw it. I'm not surprised at Ibu Shinji releasing his second character single on 15 March but Kuki Kiichi?! I had to think very hard before I vaguely remembered that he's the guy from Kakinoki who tried to grab Tezuka's arm and taunt him before his team was due to meet Fudomine during the district matches. Of course, this Kakinoki lost to unknown Fudomine in straight sets thus leading to them meeting Seigaku in the district finals. Why on earth is this guy releasing a single?! He didn't even appear for one full episode! After I did some research, I found that his seiyuu is Takemoto Eishi who also plays Yanagi Renji from Rikkai. Well, I dislike the sight of the guy so there's no way I'm going to buy it even though I may be listening to Renji's voice which may be conditioned to resemble how Kuki speaks. As for Ibu...I'm quite neutral towards him so I'll probably give it a miss.

Megane's single - Go! Go! Megane's

Received the Megane's single today which is actually 3 days earlier than the release date on 1 Jan. Well, the CD was sent yesterday so I'm very surprised that HMV Japan managed to get this at such an early stage. Anyway, I have no grouses about receiving this before the start of the New Year. The cover is so nice and I could go on ranting about it. All of them are wearing casual clothing with Oshitari in the middle. I have an extremely soft spot for Tezuka since he's one of my Top 3 favourite characters so it's natural that I'll say he looks the best on the cover. I think he has a tendency of wearing purple so I wonder if it's due to the work of the anime staff. And he looks extremely stylish with the chain hanging at the side of his pants. Oshitari's pose is so sexy and the way he sits is just so appealing. I bet the Oshitari fan girls will be drooling over him. In fact, I find that I'm also quite taken by his pose. As for Inui, he seems to pale in comparison since he wears a plain T-shirt with jeans only. I thought it would be good to include Yagyuu too since his exclusion is quite obvious in the lineup of spectacles-wearing characters. Anyway, there's no point harping on this since the CD has been released. The focus of this CD seems to be on Oshitari because Kiuchi Hidenobu, the seiyuu for Oshitari wrote the song. No wonder he is put in the centre of the trio which usually enjoys the most attention.

Talking about the song itself, it is a rock-style number with a tinge of retro style. In the lyrics, the word "megane" (spectacles) is repeated so frequently as if to emphasize the theme that this song is sung by three guys who wear spectacles. The content is addressed to a girl and talking about how you will fall in love with the guy who wears spectacles. There is also mention of real and intense passion beyond those lenses. Evidently, this is a love song which tells people how appealing these guys in spectacles are and it's better to take them seriously since you will be "swallowed" by their seriousness and love once you look at their eyes. The fast tempo makes this song very easy to remember. I'm already swooning after listening to it twice.

Besides the song, there is a 2-minute plus chat session among the characters. Well, I wouldn't say that it classifies as a chat since they were talking about unrelated things. Oshitari starts off first by talking about the recording where Inui and Tezuka appear and tell Oshitari that they are in a train carriage meant for people who wears spectacles. The Seigaku guys then poke fun at Oshitari and give him something to choose. I didn't catch what they were choosing but the clip ended with them getting off the train and Oshitari grumbling that he was given the yellow item while the two got blue and red. Well, what exactly are they talking about?

Frankly speaking, I thought it would be better if Interchannel puts a longer clip or includes more songs on these character CDs. Otherwise, paying 700 plus yen for such 1-song CDs seems to be less worthwhile than past singles which cost more than 1000 yen but offers more content.

Fan Disc: The Best and the Brightest Remix

Received the DVD on Saturday even though I was expecting it earlier. I think the delivery was delayed due to the public holiday in Japan on 23 Dec. Anyway, this is the final DVD release of the year under the Tenipuri series and I'm happy to get it before Christmas. I was rather worried about this delivery dragging beyond the long weekend but my worries were unfounded. Well, the title of this DVD is The Best and Brightest so this is an apt description for the Senbatsu team members who are the cream of the crop. Personally, I think that with the absence of Yukimura, Tezuka and Tachibana, the team is far from complete but looking at the candidates available for selection, I can't deny that these 8 guys are indeed the best in one way or another. The bulk of this DVD consists of highlights from the practice matches during the Senbatsu Camp and the US-Japan friendly matches. The Sanada-Echizen match from the Kantou Tournament wasn't included in the previous fan disc released during Feb so made its way into this title. For the Camp, the focus was on 3 doubles matches but I don't understand why they didn't include the Atobe-Sanada match which was rather exciting. Maybe it's because that match was unfinished? As for the friendly matches, only 3 sets were featured i.e. Doubles 2 (Atobe & Sanada), Singles 3 (Sengoku) and Singles 1 (Kirihara/Echizen). Thank goodness they didn't leave out Kirihara in Singles 1 or people would grumble about them favouring Echizen just because he's the lead. I didn't have time to watch every single match so I only chose the three doubles matches in the Camp and Atobe & Sanada's Hametsu e no Tango match to watch. No matter how many times I watch the collaboration between those two captains, I get the kick seeing them cooperating with each other despite being at "loggerheads". I think they appreciate each other's talents deep down but they are not the type to praise their rivals. ^__^ Besides, Sanada dislikes Atobe's desire to attract attention while Atobe feels that Sanada is too boring.

The special contents for this fan disc would be the Tezuka feature in conjunction with his recovery and return to Seigaku. The scenes include those from the time he was having a chat with Fuji in the locker room after the latter had a match with Echizen in the rain until the part when he finally announced his return to the team. Wow, it is great to see Tezuka basking in the limelight after being MIA for a long time and this should satisfy all Tezuka fans including me! Other than that, the DVD also includes ending images of each episode in the anime whereby some of them were not shown because 2 episodes were shown at one go. There is this particular image of Atobe leading his Hyotei army for Episode 177 which was so hillarious. Since Episode 177 was shown with Episode 178, no wonder I did not get to see this.

Something worth mentioning is the Seigaku seiyuu chat session where they talked about the chibi characters in the Tenipuri family. Onosaka-san was being teased for having to play the female version of Momo i.e. Momoko while Kiyasu-san mentioned that it was tough to say fshuu all the time since Kaidou was a baby. Takahashi-san also said that he was in a similar situation like Kiyasu-san because Eiji became the cat Kikumaru. At the end of the chat, there was a compilation of clips from various chibi character episodes AND it ended with Sanada pushing Yukimura on a wheelchair along a corridor where Ryoma and Momo bumped into them. This caused Yukimura to be flung from the wheelchair and Sanada held him while shouting his name. This scene was so funny and provided a humourous ending to the compilation.

I'll scan the poster and the three free photos given in the first press on another day.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Echizen Ryoma!

Today's Christmas Eve as well as the birthday of Echizen Ryoma, our Prince of Tennis! Well, I plan to upload the picture of his new mini album released today so until I get hold of it, I'll just have to leave this post as it is for the time being.

Being the lead of this series, Ryoma gets to enjoy lots of attention and airtime/feature. Personally, I find that he does look good but I feel towards him like a younger brother so my liking for him is not as strong as my Top 3 i.e. Sanada, Tezuka and Atobe. Maybe the only thing which I don't like would be that he always wins in the anime, regardless of whether I think it is logical or not. I admit that I'm still sore about Sanada losing to him in the Kantou finals but this can't be helped since Seigaku would not have won the title if Ryoma had lost.

Minagawa Junko plays the role of Ryoma and I got a surprise when I saw her photo. She's so feminine-looking with a bubbly personality and yet she manages to fit into the role of a arrogant yet arrogant tennis prodigy with her low and husky voice. I've done a feature about Minagawa-san during her birthday last month so in case you are interested, you may refer to it.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Aoi Kentarou!

Today's the birthday of Rokkaku's 1st year bucchou, Aoi Kentarou! Well, the reason why he was made the captain really made me laugh when I first saw it in the anime. Trust Oji to do such a thing! And Saeki was made the vice captain just because he was asking Oji about who he wanted to choose. Anyway, Aoi-kun is quite a promising lad though so he deserves the title of the captain even though Saeki clearly enjoys a higher profile than he does. I'm just not used to his loud voice and over-enthusiasm at times so his passionate side is something which I can't handle very well. Then again, if he isn't an enthusiastic guy, this would not be the Aoi we know anyway.

To me, I feel that Aoi is the exact opposite of Echizen thus the latter is awkward as to how he should repond to Aoi's behaviour. Echizen does not show his real feelings on the surface while Aoi is always smiling and wears his emotions on his sleeve. Echizen puts on a cool face but Aoi seems to be like fire where his passion can rub onto you and get you heated up at the same time. Maybe that's why the anime arranged for the two of them to play a match together during the Kantou semi-finals instead of the arrangement in the manga so as to show the contrast. On the other hand, Aoi's stubbornness in trying to get Echizen hyped up over the match is similar to the latter's refusal to admit defeat even when the odds are stacked against him. Even though Echizen said that he doesn't want to play with Aoi again, I guess he must have enjoyed their match very much since it satisfied his desire to go all out for victory.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Kosugi Juurota-san!

Today's the birthday of Kosugi Juurota-san who is the seiyuu for the charismatic Hyotei coach, Sakaki! Kosugi-san also works as a narrator other than being a seiyuu and I've also heard his voice in Yakitate Japan where he plays the role of the King of Monaco. Looking at his photo, I don't get the feel that he was born in 1957 which makes him 48 this year. Maybe it's got to do with his youthful appearance. And the low tone of his voice makes it even harder for me to reconcile this with his looks.

Kosugi-san's hometown is in Kanagawa Prefecture's Yokohama City and his interests include golf and playing the guitar. His blood type is B and he graduated from Nihon University's broadcasting division under Faculty of Arts. He's married with a son and worked as a salaryman for 5 years in Shochiku's drive-in theatre before making his debut as a seiyuu.

Apparently, Kosugi-san also appeared in animes like Gankutsuou (Fernando Mortcerf), Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo (Kenmochi Isamu) and BLOOD+ (David). I've watched Kindaichi before but I didn't know about this until I did my research. As for Gankutsuou, I am only a few episodes into it so I didn't pay attention too. As for BLOOD+, I have yet to watch it yet. Besides these animes which I'm familiar with, he also appeared in others like NARUTO, Ueki no Housoku, Gundam, Saiyuki RELOAD, Conan, ONE PIECE, Rekka no Honou and Yu Yu Hakusho.

As Sakaki Taro in Tenipuri whose pet phrase is "Itteyoshi" (it's OK for you to go) and that signature pose of 2 fingers, he released a single titled, "Shosha no Seori" on 3 Nov 04. This makes him the only "coach/teacher" character to release a single where not even Ryuuzaki Sumire of Seigaku has achieved this. Well, Sakaki can be said to be the most popular teacher character among his peers. Even though he doesn't appear frequently, a lot of the fans are very much smitten with his mannerisms. I tend to giggle when I see his usual poses and can't help but shake my head when he wears suits all the time regardless of the weather. Doesn't he sweat at all in the heat while watching those matches?! Anyway, the most interesting thing about Sakaki could be the fact that he's actually a music teacher in Hyotei. Somehow, this just seems quite different from what you would expect from someone who dresses in this manner. And since Sakaki is not someone who talks a lot, the most repeated line by Kosugi-san should be "Itteyoshi". ^__^

Jump #296 - Who's going to lose his hair?

As expected, Singles 1 is between Atobe and Echizen BUT the biggest surprise here is that they made a bet to shave their hair off if they lose. Atobe was the one who suggested this so Echizen agreed to this condition. Well, I feel that Atobe is in a more precarious situation since such matches are usually skewed in the lead character's favour and both sides have to win in order to progress to the semi-finals. Surely Konomi-sensei doesn't intend to drag this quarterfinal arc to the reserve player match? Which means that Atobe has to shave his head?! That's simply too horrible to imagine! Actually, if Echizen loses his hair, he still has a cap to cover up but I don't like this idea too. Why on earth did Konomi-sensei put such a development for this round? To make it more interesting? I simply shudder to think who will lose his hair at the end of this match. Why can't they bet on something else?! The best would be for this match to end in a draw so everyone remains as he is but this possibility seems remote...Is there a satisfactory way to end this match in a draw? By the way, Atobe commented that Echizen is not even near Tezuka's class so I hope he can teach this haughty brat a good lesson. Well, I don't dislike Echizen but I think he's been getting kind of arrogant these days. He even stole Atobe's pet phrase during the Hyotei cheer so...it'll be good for him to learn that there's always someone better around.

Manga Vol 31 - Kisaku!? Kikumaru no Singles

This volume completes the Higa arc at long last so that we can finally move on to the Hyotei arc in the Nationals! I must say that Higa gets on my nerves even more than Jousei Shonan which did not appear in the manga. I'm quite neutral towards Jousei actually but Higa makes my blood boil. They appear as barbarians on court and I think they really lack the grace of sportsmen by using tennis balls to hit people as and when they like. I guess Konomi-sensei might receive some backlash from Okinawan people since Higa is from Okinawa but I don't think he actually meant that people there behave like those bunch of idiots of Higa. Surely the school must belong to some place so it just happened that he chose that place...Anyway, this is simply my conjecture though so I don't know how Konomi-sensei actually came up with the plot. To be frank, other than Hirakoba Rin who gets into my good books, the rest of the members simply put me off. The captain, Kite Eishirou gives me the impression that he is just a pretender and I can't stand him looking like a sukebe ojisan when he should be a junior high student. I can't comprehend why Konomi-sensei gave him half opaque spectacles too so this makes Kite look even weirder. Their coach resembles that bald guy during the Karuizawa OVA and is such a scumbag. I'm just glad that we are finally done with this school and I certainly do not hope to see them again.

As for the matches, there's Singles 3 where Kikumaru took part in his first singles match against Kai Yuujirou. Kikumaru was having the upper hand initially since he had improved his stamina and used acrobatics play to his advantage. However, when Kai used Viking Horn (I couldn't see what he was trying to do and can't be bothered to examine the move), things started to change so Kikumaru did a doubles style' singles play which stunned everyone. And he won by a stroke of luck during the tiebreaker at 7-6. Doubles 2 wasn't explored in detail since Inui and Kaidou won pretty easily by 6-3. As for Singles 1, Tezuka makes his comeback against Kite and won by 6-4. That oyaji was said to be a koroshiya (yeah, right!) but against the mighty Tezuka who simply turned invincible immediately through this state of Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami which seems to be more powerful than Muga no Kyochi, Kite was powerless to do anything. Actually, from what it seems, Tezuka reacted by instinct and this makes him very powerful by counter-using the opponent's moves with increased power and precision. Anyway, there's no reason for our dearest bucchou to lose after being out of action for so long. I look forward to seeing this match in the OVA DVD to be released in March.

Another happy thing for me besides Tezuka winning his match was to see Rikkai again! OK, their matches were not featured though but seeing Genichirou and gang plus Yukimura back in the limelight is simply thrilling. Based on the match schedule, it will be no surprise that Rikkai will head to the finals to meet Seigaku since their block doesn't have any notable opponents.

The other block's competition will be stiffer since Fudomine will face Shitenhouji in the quarterfinals while Seigaku will face competition from Hyotei, their longtime arch rival. Well, I feel sorry for Hyotei since there's no reason Konomi-sensei will let Seigaku lose at this stage. The latest issue of Jump was just done with Doubles 1 where Shishido and Ootori won against Oishi and Kikumaru so that leaves Singles 1 which should involve Atobe vs Echizen. To think that I was looking forward to a repeat of Tezuka vs Atobe again...

With regards to Fudomine and Shitenhouji, for novelty's sake, Shitenhouji might face Seigaku in the semi-finals but if Konomi-sensei wants Fudomine to get a chance to face Seigaku again, the reverse might happen. I feel that Shitenhouji's chances are higher simply because they are a new rival school in the series and a lot of attention has been put on them. I doubt Konomi-sensei is just introducing them for the fun of it especially with regards to that 1st year Kinta who should face Echizen. Actually, I think Oshitari Yuushi facing his cousin in Shitenhouji might be a fun match too but the condition is that Hyotei must beat Seigaku or else both schools won't be playing each other. By the looks of it, this seems impossible.

In the end, we might just see a Seigaku vs Rikkai final which actually suits me perfectly. Either Genichirou or Yukimura vs Tezuka will be like a wish come true for me. I've been dying to see these guys playing against each other. I can only wait since the quarterfinals arc are not completed yet. Who knows how long the Atobe match is going to take? I like Atobe-sama but...the Hyotei arc has been dragging for too long though. Maybe it's time to move on.

New Tenipuri Events on Christmas

Another two events to be held on Christmas Day itself at the same venue as the previously announced events. It's just that the lineup is mainly made up of rival school seiyuus and they happen to be my favourites too. Too bad that I can't get to see them in person. Anyway, the seiyuus to appear on 25 Dec at 12.30pm and 5pm are Suwabe Junichi (Atobe), Kusunoki Taiten (Sanada), Kusuda Toshiyuki (Shishido), Tsuda Kenjirou (Inui), Nagai Sachiko (Yukimura) - only for the earlier session and Takahashi Hiroki (Kikumaru) - only for the 5pm session. How I wish I could go for these events...

Tenipuri Illustration Fanbook 30.5

Here's the cover of the illustration fanbook 30.5 as scanned above. It comes in a cardboard box to put the book into and features a picture of Seigaku members on the front and reverse. As for the book cover itself, it's white in colour with a logo at the top left hand corner. However, it is not entirely plain as there are silouhettes of various characters on both sides. As such, fans can actually try to guess which silouhette is for which character. I've identified a number of them but there are some which resemble that of a number of characters so I will have to take a closer look first. As my scanner could not capture the silouhettes, the image turns out to be a plain white sheet so I decided against putting the cover here. That is why only the box's images are posted.

As mentioned previously, a number of the pictures are actually old images but the new drawings towards the end of the book can be considered as the highlights of this title. For example, seeing Atobe Keigo in a white shirt with pants AND baring part of his chest since the shirt is unbuttoned should set a lot of fangirls drooling. My personal favourite is a picture of my favourite Genichirou in the formal Rikkai uniform (the winter version, not the summer type we see in the anime) sitting in class and Yagyuu also being featured in the same picture. Are they supposed to be in the same class? Anyway, anything with my favourite three which also includes Tezuka is enough to get me hyped up. Although I thought I had been taken for a ride when I saw familiar pictures in the beginning, I started to think that this is really worth buying when I saw the new pictures although I would have preferred the whole book to contain new images only.

I've finished Vol 31 of the manga which completes the Higa arc and will probably post my review within the next few days. Tezuka seems to be transformed into a god overnight...and Eiji is simply too fantastic to be described in a few words. ^__^

Rajipuri Dec personalities and theme songs

As announced on NEC Interchannel, the monthly personalities for Dec are Minagawa Junko (Echizen Ryoma) and Kusunoki Taiten (Sanada Genichirou)! Wow, Sanada and Echizen...this is quite an interesting combination. And to sweeten the deal further, the first guest in Dec is Okiayu Ryotaro (Tezuka Kunimitsu)! I've really got to find this episode somewhere since it's rare that these three characters can come together again. I remember that in Aug last year, Kusunoki-san and Okiayu-san were the monthly personalities and Minagawa was the guest so this time round, the formation is changed.

As for the opening theme of this month, it's Echizen's song, "Kaze ni Notte katte" which should be from the birthday cum Christmas mini album. The ending theme is "BRAND NEW DAY" by 3 Guava Trio i.e. Aoi Kentarou, Marui Bunta and Akutagawa Jiro.

Does this mean that the theme songs for next month are likely to be from the Meganes and Seigaku Ichinen Trio? I can't wait to receive the Meganes single next month...Oh, before that, there's the much-awaited fan disc to be released before Christmas! ^__^

Received Vol 31 and Fanbook 30.5 today

At long last, I've finally received the above titles from Amazon Japan. Although I ordered them from HMV Japan initially, they were still unable to ship it 2 days past the release date so I decided to cancel the order and find them on Amazon since they could ship it within 24 hours. The shipping was much more expensive though so I think I'll probably refrain from buying books from them unless I can't find them from other sources. The cost savings they offer on DVDs though is sufficient to cover the additional shipping so it's still cheaper on the whole. I can't say the same for books though. I thought express shipping will result in better treatment of my stuff but this is just like what happened to my last order of the fanbooks 10.5 and 20.5 which were shipped by sea shipping. The packaging is spoilt yet again and it's evident that the box was opened in the first place. I wonder if it happened due to wear and tear during the shipping process or it was actually opened for checking at customs. Otherwise, I simply do not understand how a box made of stiff cardboard material can appear so rundown with dents at the edges and a depression on the top. I certainly hope that this will not happen to my DVDs as I don't expect such service after paying so much for it to be shipped by DHL.

I will finish the manga first before doing a feature. As for the Fanbook, I flipped through it and was pleasantly surprised to find some nice photos of my favourite trio i.e. Sanada, Tezuka and Atobe. Since this is an illustration book, there is nothing written in it except for lots of pictures. I've seen quite a number of them but there are also many new pictures in this book. And the packaging is quite nice so I'll probably scan it later on.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Niou-kun!

Today's the birthday of Niou Masaharu, the betenshi from Rikkai who is famous for his trickery on court. In the manga, he actually switched identities with Yagyuu during the Kantou final but this wasn't shown in the anime. I guess it must be quite difficult to project this in the anime series since that might create unnecessary confusion. As such, the focus was on Niou's ability to spot Eiji's weakness instantly and Yagyuu's laser-beam shot. He's the only character with long hair among the characters where his hair colour is ash grey. Considering that Rikkai is a famous school which should emphasize on rules, I just find it amusing that he can keep long hair in that fashion. Of course, colours in the anime may be quite different from what Konomi-sensei had meant to convey in the manga. Although he seems like someone who is unlikely to tell the truth most of the time, he's quite nice to Akaya when he actually spent time with the latter to practice the Phantom Shot at night. He's probably someone who hides his true self and will show his concern for others through subtle gestures unlike characters like Oishi and Taka-san who are very straightforward when it comes to caring for others. I guess he will appear soon in the manga since I can't imagine the thought of Rikkai losing before the finals. As such, I think that there might be a chance Niou will be up to more antics if Rikkai gets to play with Seigaku which should get into the finals, barring unforseen circumstances.

Upcoming Shishido, Atobe & Oshitari CDs

Wow, this comes as a big surprise to me during my daily visits to the NEC Interchannel website. Shishido Ryo is the 9th character to release a solo album and the 3rd from Hyotei to do so after Atobe and Oshitari. Frankly speaking, I was expecting Jirou or Ootori to be likely candidates from Hyotei for solo album releases so I got a shock when I saw Shishido's name. It's not that I think Shishido is not popular though. I guess his recent single release must have done so well to show Interchannel that there's a strong fanbase for him. The album will be released on 8 Feb but no further details are revealed at the moment except for the price which is 3000 yen. This leaves me to wonder yet again, when will I ever see a solo album release from Mr Sanada Genichirou?!

In addition, Atobe and Oshitari will be releasing their Valentine Kiss CDs again but this is seemingly different from the original versions since the catalog numbers are different. However, according to the website, these are not new recordings so the tracks should be the same as the old CDs. Maybe they are planning to launch them with new packages. I doubt there will be special premiums though given that the price of the singles are only 777 yen. More details are expected on the Interchannel website and the release date will be 1 Feb.