Upcoming Echizen Ryoma & Atobe Keigo CD releases

In conjunction with Jump Fest 2007, there will be 2 Tenipuri character singles to be released on 16 Dec 2006:

Title: Undecided
Artiste: Echizen Ryoma
Date of release: 16 Dec 2006
Catalog number: NECM-10056
Price: 1000 yen

Title: Undecided
Artiste: Atobe Keigo
Date of release: 16 Dec 2006
Catalog number: NECM-10057
Price: 1000 yen

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Yagyuu Hiroshi!

Name: Yagyuu Hiroshi
School: Rikkaidai Fuzoku Chuu Year 3
Date of Birth: 19 Oct
Zodiac Sign: Libra
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 64 kg
Blood Type: A
Play-style: Right-handed, Serve-and-volley
Favourite shoes: DUNLOP PRS-300DG (ADFORCE)
Favourite racket: DUNLOP ADFORCE M1 TOUR
Favourite food: Tokoro-ten
Hobbies: Reading mystery novels
Family members: Grandfather, parents and younger sister
Father's occupation: Doctor
Subjects good at: All subjects
Favourite colour: Moss green
Favourite type of girl: Innocent and pure

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Oshitari Yuushi!

Name: Oshitari Yuushi
School: Hyotei Gakuen Chuu Year 3
Date of Birth: 15 Oct
Zodiac Sign: Libra
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 64 kg
Blood Type: A
Playstyle: Right-handed, all-rounder
Favourite shoes: MIZUNO Web Gist JP
Favourite racket: BRIDGESTONE Wing Boom S65
Specialty technique: Drop Shot, Higuma Otoshi
Favourite food: Kasu-jiru, Sagoshiki Zushi
Hobbies: Watching romance movies
Family members: Parents and elder sister
Father's occupation: Doctor at an university hospital
Subjects good at: Maths, chemistry and technical studies
Favourite type of girl: Those with beautiful legs

Tennis no Oujisama Best Actor Series 006 - Amane & Kurobane

Title: Musical [Tennis no Oujisama] Best Actor Series 006
Artistes: IRE as Amane Hikaru & Shindou Manabu as Kurobane Harukaze
First press premium: Photocard 006 IRE & Shindou Manabu
Catalog number: NECA-23006
Date of release: 16 Dec 2006
Price: 2300 yen
Published by: Index Music
Distributed by: King Record

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Tezuka Kunimitsu!

Today's the birthday of Tezuka Kunimitsu, the stern and cool bucchou from Seigaku! In 2006 so far, he has not released any solo CDs but has been involved in group projects like MEGANES' and GIGS. Unlike last year when he released a birthday single, it has been a relatively quiet year for Tezuka in terms of CD projects so I'm hoping that he can release a solo CD soon. Meanwhile, on the OVA front, Tezuka is featured prominently on Vol 4's cover and can be seen in the Hyotei arc again where he faces off with Kabaji. As such, there will be more chances to see Tezuka in action after the long period of absence due to his shoulder injury and recuperation.

Name: Tezuka Kunimitsu
School: Seishun Gakuen Chuutoubu Year 3 Class 1
Date of birth: 7 Oct
Zodiac sign: Libra
Height: 179 cm
Weight: 58 kg
Blood Group: O
Play-style: Left-handed, all-rounder
Favourite shoes: MIZUNO WAVE DUAL LIGHT (6K93009)
Favourite racket: MIZUNO PRO LIGHT S90
Specialty technique: Zero-shiki Drop shot
Favourite food: Una-cha
Hobbies: Mountain-climbing, camping, fishing
Family members: Parents and grandfather
Father's occupation: Company employee
Subjects good at: World History
Favourite colour: Green and blue
Favourite type of girl: One who works hard for everything

Tennis no Oujisama Best Actor Series 005 - Echizen Ryoma

The 5th CD release under the Musical "Tennis no Oujisama" Best Actor Series will be from Echizen Ryoma i.e. Sakurada Dori. Details as follows:

Title: Musical [Tennis no Oujisama] Best Actor Series 005 Sakurada Dori as Echizen Ryoma
First press premium: Photocard 005 Sakurada Dori
Catalog number: NECA-23005
Date of Release: 16 Dec 2006
Price: 2300 yen
Produced by: IndexMusic
Distribution by: King Record

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Atobe Keigo!

Today's the birthday of one of my favourite Top 3 i.e. Atobe Keigo, the charismatic and egoistic bucchou from Hyotei Gakuen! Seems like he has a larger-scale birthday celebration this year as compared to last year since there's a long-awaited birthday birthday on 4 Oct and a series of activities featuring his seiyuu, Suwabe Junichi in conjunction with the launch. As of today, I've yet to receive his album, "The Ultimate Hard Worker" so I'll just provide his official profile from fanbook 20.5 on this special day and follow up with a review of the album as soon as I can.

Name: Atobe Keigo
School: Hyotei Gakuen Year 3
Date of birth: 4 Oct
Zodiac Sign: :Libra
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 62 kg
Blood Group: A
Play-style: Right-handed, all-rounder
Favourite shoes: HEAD C.Tech 1000OM
Favourite racket: HEAD PREMIER TOUR 600
Specialty technique: Hametsu no Rondo, Insight
Favourite food: Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding
Hobbies: Fly-fishing, reading
Family members: Grandparents and parents
Father's occupation: Employee at a securities firm
Subjects good at: All (especially Greek)
Favourite colours: Gold and black
Favourite type of girl: One who hates to lose

Atobe Keigo on first reversible cover for manga Vol 35

Although Vol 35 of the manga was released last month, I've been so busy that I haven't started reading this. Well, since I've read the latest developments from Shonen Jump (now we are at Shitenbouji with Fuji vs Shiraishi), I don't have the same level of urgency to finish reading the separate volumes as before but I still grab the first press editions from the bookstore and remember the release dates by heart.

What distinguishes this volume from the rest so far is the introduction of the reversible cover which is the first for all Shonen Jump comics. To put it simply, a colour cover is printed on both sides of the cover sleeve so that you can choose whichever side you want as the cover. Not only it offers a choice to fans to decide which cover they prefer, it also allows for two contrasting images to be provided at the same time.

Due to the fact that Atobe Keigo had the "misfortune" of having his crowning glory snipped by that brat Echizen Ryoma after their match in the Hyotei Nationals arc, this double cover shows Atobe's before-and-after shot as a result of this "ordeal". Well, as a fan of Atobe, I don't like the idea of him losing to Echizen just because the latter is the lead in the manga and having to suffer at his hands in such an humiliating manner. This hurts even more than what I felt for Sanada during the Kantou finals. And to show his new hairstyle in such a manner, this just feels like rubbing salt to injury although some may find it amusing. Come to think of it, does anyone feel that Atobe's new hairstyle seems quite similar to Tachibana Kippei?

And to show "remorse" for making Atobe lose his hair, Konomi-sensei also cut his hair and showed off his before-and-after shot on the double cover. Just what purpose does this serve? He should never have allowed Atobe to lose which would mean that he doesn't have to do this in the first place. This move just seems redundant to me and frankly speaking, I'm not really amused to see this.

Review of Charm Point wa Nakibokuro - Atobe Keigo

As a celebration countdown to Atobe Keigo's birthday on 4 Oct, you will be seeing a series of posts over the next few days related to this charismatic and egoistic bucchou from Hyotei Gakuen. To start the ball rolling, here's an overdue review of Atobe Keigo's single, "Charm Point wa Nakibokuro". Given the fact that the size of the LP jacket is simply too big to fit into the scanner, I used my handphone's camera to capture the images so I apologise for the low resolution of the shots since I did some editing to prevent the likelihood of taking ages for the pictures to load.

First of all, the front cover shows Atobe in a suit with a hat and doing the thumbs-up sign. In this type of setting, it's quite easy to guess the style of the song in this single i.e. retro-disco. Frankly speaking, I think the design of the cover is rather appealing but Atobe's smile seems kind of unnatural to me though.

True to Atobe's image of a gorgeous guy, the back cover is decorated with roses while his name is splashed across diagonally. With regards to this, I simply find it quite amusing that IndexMusic will go to that extent to satisfy the fangirls. Considering the fact that Atobe is still a junior high student in the manga, I think many would get the impression that this CD is from an anime character who is more than 20 years old rather than a 15-year-old. I don't mean to say that Atobe looks more mature than his age but then some things need to be toned down or else it deviates too much from the original setting and causes some disturbance to those who may not like to see this.

Here's the lyrics sheet for this single. Given its size, it's not feasible for me to scan it but I'll provide the romaji version and if possible, the translated version if time permits. For the moment, all I can say is that this is a rather cheeky song and the lyrics will make you laugh as long as you understand what is said and are familiar with some of the character traits of Atobe. As the title of the single suggests, the song has much to do with Atobe's nakibokuro i.e. the mole below his right eye so you may do some guessing about the content along this line. In addition, the melody of the song makes it quite catchy and easy to remember so I believe you should have a deep impression of at least the chorus section even with just one listening.

Last but not least, there's the picture of the CD itself. To be honest, I felt that the selling point of this single has much to do with the packaging rather than the CD or even the song itself. As such, it was a little disappointing to see such an extravagant package and yet the CD is simply pasted on a white sheet without more attention paid to the casing of the most essential item in this product. Nevertheless, I'm not regretting the decision to buy this CD and it's probably best that you try out the song for yourself to pass your own judgement. Of course, for those who are big fans of Atobe like me, I guess the aesthetics will be enough to send you hitting the purchase button online. ^__^

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Saeki Kojirou!

Name: Saeki Kojirou
School: Rokkaku-chuu Year 3
Date of Birth: 1 Oct
Zodiac Sign: Libra
Height: 174 cm
Weight: 61 kg
Blood Group: O
Play-style: Left-handed, serve and volley
Favourite shoes: NIKE Air Court Improtion MID (F302228 041)
Favourite racket: Wooden racket made by Oji
Specialty technique: Marking motion vision
Favourite food: Okara, yaki-uni (half-cooked)
Hobbies: Playing by the sea
Family members: Parents and elder sister
Father's occupation: Engineer
Subjects good at: Social studies and Japanese
Favourite colours: White and beige
Favourite type of girl: Someone who would tie him down (because it will be bad to let him have freedom)