OVA Vol 4 Storyline

Ep 6: Koroshiya to Yobareru Otoko (The Man Who's Called The Killer)
It is now the final match in the 2nd matches against Higa Junior High where Seigaku's captain Tezuka Kunimitsu finally makes his appearance. He is drawn into a battle of pride with Higa's captain, Kite Eishirou who uses his physique, body balance and "Sokuchihou" to his advantage. Kite goes to extreme measures and even resorts to dirty tricks so as to win which leads Tezuka to enter into the region of "Muga no Kyouchi" and use the techniques of Kite's Higa teammates against him. As Kite is forced into a corner, he tries again to turn the game to his favour by resorting to underhanded means...

Ep 7: Beach Volley no Oujisama!?
After a tough match against Higa, the members of Seigaku prepare for the next match by heading to the beach for a training camp. They happen to meet Rokkaku there and both teams decide to hold an impromptu volleyball tournament with their elderly coaches joining in too. The duo who loses will have to drink Inui's new creation, "Iwashimizu" which makes everyone try very hard to avoid this terrible punishment...

Atobe Keigo's 8th single, "Charm Point wa Nakibokuro"

Here are more details of Atobe Keigo's 8th single, "Charm Point wa Nakibokuro" which is going to be released on 2 Aug after a break of 1 year and 5 months since his last CD release.

Title: Charm Point wa Nakibokuro
Artiste: Atobe Keigo
Guests: Akutagawa Jirou, Ootori Choutarou, Oshitari Yuushi, Kabaji Munehiro, Shishido Ryo, Hiyoshi Wakashi and Mukahi Gakuto
Release Date: 2 Aug 2006
Catalog number: NECM-13001
Price: 1300 yen

Track List
1) Charm Point wa Nakibokuro
2) Charm Point wa Nakibokuro ~ Oresama ni Narikitte Utaina ~ (Original Karaoke)
3) Charm Point wa Nakibokuro ~ Oresama tachi ni Narikitte Utaina ~ (Original Karaoke)

Atobe Keigo's 2nd album to be released on 4 Oct

Atobe Keigo i.e. Suwabe Junichi will be releasing his 2nd album on his birthday on 4 Oct. This is also going to be the 158th CD release under the Tenipuri series. The catalog number is NECA-30174 and the price is 3000 yen.

If I didn't remember wrongly, the 100th CD release was from Atobe-sama too which was Riyuu/E-kimochi which got an all-time highest record (No.9)on the Oricon weekly singles chart among the Tenipuri CD series releases. Coincidentally, the new single from Atobe to be released next Wed happens to be the 150th CD release.

Now that Atobe-sama is going to release a birthday album, will Tezuka do the same?! If that's going to happen, this year's going to be very memorable for me since my Top 3 favourite characters would have released birthday albums within the same year!

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Momoshiro Takeshi!

Today's the birthday of Momoshiro Takeshi, the hot-headed guy from Seigaku who never fails to provide comical relief especially when the atmosphere gets very tense. Being a person who always wears his heart on his sleeve, one would think that it's easy to see through Momo but as Inui puts it, Momo has a strong ability to observe the situation and his opponents which allows him to react in his best interests. Nevertheless, he has yet to realise his strength in this respect but he's definitely not the type who would want to put on an act in front of others as he's the straightforward sort.

When Momo's not playing the fool and get serious, it's better not to underestimate him. In this sense, he's somewhat similar to Fuji who may be smiling all the time and has a pleasant personality but flares up when anyone antagonises him especially when it involves his loved ones. However, Momo is quite different in this sense since he usually gets heated-up because of his desire to win.

Name: Momoshiro Takeshi
Date of birth: 23 July
Zodiac Sign: Leo
Height: 170cm
Weight: 58kg
Blood Type: O
Play Style: Right-handed, Aggressive Baseliner
Favourite Shoes: PUMA Aspiration PT 0631 0020
Favourite Racket: Mizuno PROLIGHT P10 Ti Hyper
Special Technique: Dunk Smash and Jack Knife
Favourite Food: Ebi-Katsu Fry, Berry Berry Cocca Parfe
Hobbies: Listening to music and sports games
Family: Parents, younger brother and younger sister
Father's Occupation: Civil Servant
Subject which he is good at: Maths
Favourite Colour: Red
Favourite type of girl: Someone who likes sports

OVA Vol 4 Cover (Sale Version)

Here's the cover of OVA Vol 4 as shown on the official websitewhere Tezuka takes centrestage while Kite, Saeki and Aoi are featured in the background. It's been a long time since Tezuka hogs the limelight since he's been M.I.A. for a very long time due to the treatment of his shoulder injuries. For me, since Tezuka is one of my Top 3 favourites, you can imagine how excited I am to see him on the cover.

On the other hand, I'm not particularly thrilled to see Kite on the cover. Frankly speaking, I think he looks much older than any of the "mature-looking" characters like Tezuka or Sanada. That hairstyle makes Kite look more like an ojisan! I don't mind if a character looks more mature than the actual age but Konomi-sensei should really avoid drawing characters like Kite which stand out like a sore thumb among the bishonens he's been dishing out so far. ^__^

As for Aoi and Saeki, I believe their appearances are largely to do with the volleyball match with Rokkaku. Well, I'm OK with Saeki but I'm not that receptive towards Aoi who gets too loud and passionate at times.

The translation of the storyline for OVA Vol 4's 2 episodes will follow in my next post.

Guest List for Atobe Keigo's new single

The official guest list for Atobe Keigo's new single, "Charm Point wa Nakibokuro" due to be released on 2 Aug, includes Akutagawa Jirou, Ootori Choutarou, Oshitari Yuushi, Kabaji Munehiro, Shishido Ryo, Hiyoshi Wakashi and Mukahi Gakuto. In essence, it means that the entire regulars' team will be participating in their bucchou's single but Sakaki Tarou and Taki Haginosuke (the guy who was dropped from the regulars) will not be included in the lineup.

OVA Vol 3 Sale & Rental Versions

Here are the covers for the sale and rental version of OVA Vol 3 which will be available at the end of this month. The featured character for both versions is Kikumaru Eiji but the backgrounds and Eiji's poses are presented in different ways. In addition, the audio commentary by Shishido and Ootori from Hyotei on Ep 4 which is the Singles 2 match between Eiji and Kai Yujirou from Higa will only be available in the sale version. Last but not least, there's also the 2 photos given away in the first press of the sale version. For those who are interested in finding out more on this title, please visit the website concerned.

Tenipuri Shueisha Calendar 2007 Information

Pre-orders for the Shueisha 2007 Comic Calendars are now accepted via the Mekke! website which ships orders to addresses in Japan only. As such, for people like me who do not reside there, you would have to wait for websites like CD Japan, Amazon Japan and HMV Japan to list the item so that you can get the calendar too.

Last year, I bought both the Shueisha desktop calendar (which can also be hung) as well as the large poster-size made by another company which is based on the anime images. For the upcoming 2007 Tenipuri calendar by Shueisha, the dimensions are the same i.e. A5 and the dates are arranged on a weekly basis. The main difference lies in the fact that basic data of the main characters will be printed on the weekly pages instead of the famous lines by the characters for the 2006 version.

However, I wasn't particularly thrilled to see the image of Rikiya who appeared in the real-life movie as an original character. What does this mean? That characters from the real-life movie and their images will be included in the 2007 calendar? If that's the case, my enthsiasm for this item will cool down to a certain extent because for those who have been following this blog closely, you should know how I feel towards that movie.

This calendar costs 2000 yen, the release date is on 20 Oct and the ISBN number is 4-08-908047-9. Based on past years' experience, you should be able to order this item at least 2 months before the release date via the websites I mentioned above. I will also keep all informed after I place my order so that you can check out the respective sites.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Kawamoto Naru-san!

Today is the 32nd birthday of Kawamoto Naru-san who plays Kawamura Takashi in Tenipuri! To be frank, I remembered his name quite easily when I started watching Tenipuri because his surname sounds quite similar to his character. And when I saw his face for the first time, it left a pretty deep impression on me since he has that unexplainable power to amuse me just as how I feel whenever Taka-san goes into burning mode. ^__^

Kawamoto-san was born in Tottori Prefecture's Tottori City and graduated from Chiba's Hachiyo Higashi Senior High School. His blood group is O, shoe size is 26.5cm and according to his official website, his height is 168cm and he weighs 58 kg. His hobbies include playing musical instruments, collecting antique clothing, shopping, watching pro-wrestling matches and basketball. Kawamoto-san counts writing songs, playing the guitar, dancing and playing games as his talents. In April 1991, Kawamoto-san entered Hagimoto Kinichi's theatre group as the pioneer batch and formed a comedian duo "Asarido" with Horiguchi Fumihiro in Jan 1994. Subsequently, in Oct that year, they became the 9th generation Youth Team for the long-running variety programme, "Waratte Iitomo" until March 1997. Since then, he has also worked as a regular in the programme, "Ousama no Brunch", seiyuu in animes and acted in stage plays and musicals. Kawamoto-san has also taken part in the 27th Honolulu Marathon on 12 Dec 1999 with a record of 6 hours 22 minutes and 19 seconds.

As Taka-san, Kawamoto-san has released 3 CDs so far i.e. 2 singles and 1 full-length album namely, "Burning Heart", "Asobi ni Ikanai ka?" and "Greatest Over". He will be releasing his first solo single, "Sora no Mukou no Mukou" on 26 July 2006 (NECM-12132) as the second OP for the anime, "Wan Wan Celeb".

OVA Vol 4 Information

Here's the information for the OVA's Vol 4 from Bandai Visual's website:-

Release Date: 22 Sept 2006
Catalogue Number: BCBA-2464
Price: 5250 yen
First-press freebie: 2 photos
Audio Commentatory done by: Atobe Keigo & Oshitari Yuushi

Includes 2 eps:
- Ep 6 Koroshiya to Yobareru Otoko (The Man who is called the Killer)
The Singles 1 match between Tezuka and Kite Eishiro from Higa.

- Ep 7 Beach Volley no Oujisama (The Prince of Beach Volleyball)
Seigaku heading to the beach for a training camp and meeting Rokkaku there by chance where they have a beach volleyball match

For these episodes, there are some differences in content between the OVA and the manga. The beach volleyball match involving Seigaku and Rokkaku was actually held before the Nationals in the manga where they had a joint training camp. The OVA shifts it to somewhere after the Higa arc which seems quite ridiculous because Rokkaku has already lost in the Nationals and it doesn't look logical for them to be training now. Likewise in the Singles 1 match, it is mentioned in the synopsis that Kite actually antagonises Tezuka by aiming a stone at the latter with the use of the tennis ball which I don't remember it being in the manga. As such, I don't really like the idea of this because the purpose of this development gives the idea that they are trying to show Tezuka retalliating with response to the antics of the rival although his image suggests otherwise. Can they not try anything funny with Tezuka?!

Anyway, I'm just glad that we are approaching the end of the Higa arc but that leaves barely 3 volumes for Hyotei if there are only 7 volumes in this OVA series. We should know that the Hyotei-Nationals arc stretches much longer than Higa so I'm hoping that they do not end the OVA without finishing with Hyotei. Subsequently for Shitenbouji and most likely Rikkai who is going to be Seigaku's rival in the finals, I doubt the OVA series will cover them unless Bandai Visual decides to continue with the releases until the entire manga is wrapped up.

Something to look forward in Vol 4 would be hearing the voices of Atobe and Oshitari. It should be fun to hear these two characters with sexy voices talking crap in the OVA. ^__^

Rajipuri July 2006 Ep 171

The hosts for July's Rajipuri will be Kiyasu Kohei and Tsuda Eiyuu who play Kaidou Kaoru and Yagyuu Hiroshi respectively. For the 171st episode, Kawamoto Naru who plays Kawamura Takashi will be their guest. As for the Rajipuri themes, the OP will be Flower-Sakuranka- sung by IKUO instead of GIGS and the ED is Kaze ni Nokkatte by Kondou Kaoru. For those who are interested in writing to the radio programme, you may send your emails to tenipuri@joqr.net .