Taka-san gets married!

It isn't exactly Taka-san who got married but rather the seiyuu who plays him i.e. Kawamoto Naru has married actress Haga Kayo on 7 August which happened to be his wife's birthday. The couple is five years apart and started dating three years ago through working on a stage play. Kawamoto reportedly proposed during a trip to Okinawa in January this year. They are expected to hold their wedding next spring.

Source: Nikkansports

Good news again from the Seigaku seiyuu camp since Tezuka-bucchou's marriage earlier this year!

I'm not doing anything related to Tenipuri of late other than occasionally rewatching old episodes of the anime or listening to the CDs when I feel like it so this explains the lack of updates here. I'm still keeping the blog active because the previous posts may have things which are of interest to Tenipuri fans. Besides, who knows if I may have anything related to Tenipuri to post in future so keeping this space for like-minded people will be good.

Tezuka bucchou gets married?!

I simply had to post this because our Tezuka bucchou has gotten married! Oh well, not exactly, it's the seiyuu who plays Tezuka that got married. Okiayu Ryotaro announced his marriage to fellow seiyuu Maeda Ai on 27 Jan through his blog while Maeda also commented on this via her Twitter. Apparently, they used to attend the same seiyuu academy (although in different years) and are both under the same agency now. There weren't any details on how long they've dated etc though. Maybe it's because they prefer to keep this as low-key as possible but hey, not many news related to seiyuu gets reported in the major entertainment papers so this shows to a certain extent how prominent Okiayu and Maeda are in this industry.

Just wondering aloud though, Bucchou's ex-wife is also a seiyuu...maybe it's easier to find someone within the same industry since the seiyuus are bound to cross paths one day and may work together for an extended period of time especially if they are doing a long-running series? Anyway, it's great news that he's finally found someone and hope that all goes well for the newlyweds!

Just another thought though, how would Tezuka look like if he gets married? ^__^

Shin Tennis no Oujisama DVD & Blu-ray Vol 1 release

The DVD and Blu-Ray versions of "Shin Tennis no Oujisama" Vol 1 will be released on 20 April. The DVD will contain Ep 1 of the new anime series and 1 OVA depicting how the players spend the night before they join the U-17 National Representatives Training Camp. There will also be original illustrations in the package and screen commentary by seiyuus such as Minagawa Junko, Okiayu Ryoutarou, Kaida Yuki, Suwabe Junichi, Kusunoki Taiten.

-------------------------------------------------------

It's been such a long time since I posted anything on Tenipuri. Not that I had the intention to abandon the blog but it was difficult to continue looking for fresh content to put up here. No doubt that there's the new anime and the ongoing manga, I think I'm still pretty much reluctant to continue reading the "Shin Tenipuri" series. I have very fond memories of the main series and somehow, I detested the idea of seeing Ryoma win every single thing just because he's the lead. It makes people like Tezuka, Atobe, Sanada and Yukimura look like a big joke when they are supposed to be at the top of their game and they always lose out to this kid. If there are further updates to new releases, I'll try my best to post them on the blog.

Jump Festa 2009 Special Premium Presentation Event

Jump Festa 2009 Special Premium Presentation Event
Date: 20th (Sat) and 21st (Sun) December 2008
Venue: Makuhari Messe (Exhibition Hall 1-8) - Jump Festa 2009 Showa Note Booth

Meet your favourite seiyuus at this event!

20th Dec 08 (Sat)
Session 1: Masuda Yuuki (Niou Masaharu) & Tsuda Eisuke (Yagyuu Hiroshi)
Session 2: Kaida Yuki (Fuji Shuusuke) & Kusuda Toshiyuki (Shishido Ryo)
Session 3: Suwabe Junichi (Atobe Keigo) & Shingaki Tarusuke (Kite Eishirou)

21st Dec 08 (Sun)
Session 1: Hosoya Yoshimasa (Shiraishi Kuranosuke) & Oosuga Jun (Chitose Senri)
Session 2: Kiuchi Hidenobu (Oshitari Yuushi) & Kusunoki Taiten (Sanada Genichirou)
Session 3: Minagawa Junko (Echizen Ryoma) & Nagai Sachiko (Yukimura Seiichi)

For details on how to enroll for these events, please visit Showa Note.

Well, if I get to choose, I'll go for the session which I highlighted in blue. ^__^

Tennis no Oujisama 100 Kyoku Marathon テニスの王子様１００曲マラソン

This post marks my return to blogging after a very long absence. Being tied up with work and study commitments, I thought that I should write something about this DVD release since I have some time now while recuperating at home. Maybe I should do more of this on a regular basis as a form of stress relief. ^__^ Be warned, this post is going to be lengthy as I have lots of things to write about.

Frankly speaking, I have mixed feelings about this DVD. On one hand, I'm happy to see the seiyuus back in action but there are significant areas which I'm unhappy about. Let's start off with the good points first:

1) Seeing my favourite seiyuus
For those who have been following my blog, you may know by now who my top 3 favourite characters are so it's easy to guess whom I'm particularly excited to be seeing in this DVD i.e. Okiayu Ryutaro, Kusunoki Taiten and Suwabe Junichi. Especially for fans of Suwabe Junichi or should I say Atobe Keigo, you will be thrilled to see a 5-song solo medley by him and this does not include other appearances with fellow Hyotei members. I was hoping for more of Tezuka-buccho and Sanada-fukubuccho though.

2) Hearing familiar and favourite character songs
For fans who have been following character songs, most of the prolific or should I say representative songs from various characters are featured.

3) Backstage footage
This is included in the special disc and offers footage of the rehearsals and practice sessions. It sure is a big project to produce this concert given the number of seiyuus involved especially when it comes to coordinating their schedules. And it is fun to see how the seiyuus interact among themselves and you can make some interesting observations about who are buddies and who tend to keep to themselves.

Now...here comes the "grievances" I have about this DVD or should I say about the concert itself:

1) Not "fan-friendly" enough
Given the huge number of characters in the series and the fact that some of the seiyuus especially those who play characters from Higa and Shitenhouji have not appeared in past DVD releases, it is somewhat difficult to link a face to the name of the character he or she is playing. I would say I can identify most seiyuus from Seigaku and Hyotei (some from Rikkaidai) BUT it was a chore trying to refer to the track list sheet and guess who is who. It would be nice to show the name of the character and the seiyuu in the DVD especially for those who are not familiar with the seiyuu lineup. Showing the song name is simply not enough.

2) Significant absences from the lineup
Other than Seigaku which is featuring its full cast, the rest of the schools have incomplete lineups. What stuck out most significantly was the total absence of Fudoumine. Hello, they have been around since the start of the series and can be said to be the longtime rival of Seigaku. Just where have they gone? St. Rudolph isn't around too. I am particularly disappointed with the absence of Ueda Yuji who plays Akutagawa Jirou. Just too bad. I guess it must be a logistics challenge to get an extensive lineup but the incompleteness of the cast is a big disappointment. And Ueda's absence meant a lot to me.

3) Incomplete songs
100 songs is a lot. More than 2 hours plus the encores. It is ridiculous to expect full versions of each song but surely, some songs should have been given more emphasis. For example, Atobe Keigo's hit single, "Riyuu" which had the highest position on the Oricon singles chart among all Tenipuri releases or even Megane's final single since they announced the decision to disband during the concert. And the connection between some of the songs didn't mesh well at all so the mood built up over a few songs suddenly dipped drastically at a few points.

4) Unsatisfactory sound effects
Well, seiyuus are not professional singers so some of them don't sound too good live on stage. However, even for those who sing reasonably well, I couldn't hear them very clearly at times. Was it because they held their mikes too far away or the sound effects left much to be desired? I'm not a sound engineer so I can't conclude on the cause but then, I thought the sound factor should be of utmost importance when it comes to a concert. If the lyrics were shown, it might have been better so that I can make out what they are singing.

5) No OPs and EDs featured
I feel that OPs and EDs are very important to an anime series and it's very disappointing to see only the first OP being performed. Was it impossible to get the original singers to perform the OPs and EDs over the years? This would have brought back many nice memories though. As such, the title of the DVD should be changed to 100 Character Song Marathon.

Last but not least, here's my list of favourite songs or segments during this concert (not in order of preference):

1) Track 24: Charm Point wa Nakibokuro by Atobe Keigo and Hyotei members
Flashy Atobe at his best...hahaha...It was hillarious to see how the Hyotei members and Atobe perform in this segment but it was too short. I still can't forget that feathery scarf...^__^

2) Track 35: Ometto Samba by Cap to Bin
With Onosaka-san (Momoshiro) and Takahashi Hiroki (Kikumaru) at their usual hyperactive best, this was entertaining and a big boost to the atmosphere at the concert.

3) Track 51: Brand New Days by Shishido Ryo and Ootori Choutarou
I've always liked this song since their voices blended quite well. However, at the beginning stage, Ootori's (Namikawa Daisuke) voice couldn't be heard clearly at all. A little disappointment here.

4) Track 56 - 58: Valentine Kiss (Atobe, Sanada and Oshitari versions performed together)
Just like Charm Point wa Nakibokuro, this is the type of song which usually sets the crowd wild with the flashy performance. Kabaji singing! And Sanada dancing like Atobe...this is really fun to watch.

5) Track 84 - 86: Oshitari Yuushi's solo medley

6) Track 87 - 91: Atobe Keigo's solo medley
Atobe-sama at his best. Simple as that.

7) The Megane's medley (in two parts)
Memorable because of their costumes, dancing as well as the fact that they are now officially disbanded.
According to Oshitari (Kiuchi Hidenobu), the leader of the group, since he was the one who came up with the idea of this group, his original intention was to disband the group after 5 song releases. He had actually toyed with the idea of making a fake disband annoucement during the morning session of the concert and re-form the group in the evening but decided to stick to his original decision at the end.

8) Track 99: Gather by the Senbatsu team members (Echizen, Fuji, Kikumaru, Atobe, Oshitari, Sanada and Kirihara)

9) Track 101 (Encore No.1): Flower by GIGS
My top 3 favourites are in this group, what more can I say?

In conclusion, although there are some areas which I'm not entirely satisfied with, I wouldn't say that I am extremely disappointed too. Given the price of this DVD, I can only say that it somehow doesn't provide enough content to match the monetary value. For entry-level fans and those who want the full versions of the songs rather than wanting to watch the concert itself, I think the CD version of the concert might suit you better. Be warned though that the CD box set of 8 CDs is almost double of the DVD's price.

Jump Festa 2007 Tenipuri Special Tokuten Owatashikai

During the Jump Festa 2007 to be held at Chiba's Makuhari Messe (Hall 1-8), there will be a Tenipuri goodie bag presentation session on 16th and 17th Dec where the anime seiyuus will be there to pass the items to fans who submit their applications in advance.

On 16 Dec, there will be two sessions. Kaida Yuki, Okiayu Ryoutarou and Kusuda Toshiyuki who play Fuji Shuusuke, Tezuka Kunimitsu and Shishido Ryou, will be there for the first session from 10.30am to 11.30am. Following this, Kiuchi Hidenobu, Suwabe Junichi and Hosotani Yoshimasa who play Oshitari Yuushi, Atobe Keigo and Shiraishi Kuranosuke will be there from 1pm to 2pm.

On 17 Dec, Minagawa Junko, Kusunoki Taiten and Yoshino Hiroyuki who play Echizen Ryoma, Sanada Genichirou and Hiragoba Rin will be there from 10.30am.

For those who want to apply for the 900 places up for grabs (each seiyuu will attend to 100 fans), they will have to submit postcards containing their personal particulars to the address listed on Showa Note's website. Applications close on 17 Nov.

The goodie bags which cost 5000 yen each (tax inclusive) will contain the following items:

1) Dog Tag pendant bearing the character's image (1000 yen)
2) Mini Towel - 3 different designs (500 yen)
3) Shitajiki (300 yen)
4) Poster (500 yen)
5) Clear File (350 yen)
6) Deluxe Memo (500 yen)
7) Imagawa Yaki (500 yen)
8) Postcard - 2 pieces (400 yen)

Rajipuri Aug 2006 Ep 176

The hosts for Aug's Rajipuri will be Minagawa Junko and Ueda Yoji who play Echizen Ryoma and Tanishi Kei respectively. Doesn't it feel strange for them to be paired up even though they had played against each other in the OVA?

The guest for Ep 176 is Kusuda Toshiyuki who plays Shishido Ryo.

As for the theme songs of August, the OP will be COSMOS by Tanishi Kei while the ED is Michishirube by Chinen Hiroshi.

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".

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Ueda Yuuji-san!

Today is the 39th birthday of Ueda Yuuji-san who plays Akutagawa Jirou in Tenipuri! Ueda-san comes from Fukuoka Prefecture and graduated from Tamagawa University. Previously, he was in Arts Vision and left it on 1 July 2004 to manage his career personally. As a result of this change, he started to use his name in the hiragana form instead of the original kanji characters. Subsequently, he joined Osawa Jimusho on 1 Apr 2005 where fellow Tenipuri seiyuu Kosugi Juurouta (Sakaki) is also from the same agency. Sakaki and Jirou in the same agency? Isn't this such a coincidence? ^__^ Ueda-san's blood group is A and he is rumoured to be married to seiyuu Minami Omi although both of them have never confirmed this. According to the information from Animedia's 2006 Voice Actor and Actresses Perfect Guide which I have scanned here, his hobbies/special talents include playing the violin, photography and music.

Besides Tenipuri, Ueda-san's voice can be heard in animes like Hachimitsu to Clover (Morita Shinobu), Jigoku Shoujo (Shibata Hajime), Mushishi (Adashino-sensei), Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Kimbly), Ouran Koukou Host Club (Nekozawa Umehito), Love Hina (Urashima Keitarou) and Emma (Hakim) which I have watched or still watching. Other animes where he can be heard include ARIA THE ANIMATION, Inuyasha, Ichigo 100%, Juunikokuki, Tantei Gakuen Q, BLEACH, ONE PIECE, Meitantei Conan and Rurounin Kenshin.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Tsuda Kenjirou-san!

Today's the birthday of Tsuda Kenjirou-san who plays Seigaku's brains, Inui Sadaharu in the anime! He was born on 11 June 1971 so this will be his 35th birthday. Currently, he doesn't belong to any agency and handles his career matters personally but he has an alliance with Tokyo Haiyuu Seikatsu Kyoudoukumiai (short-form Haikyou) where they do promotional work for him to get assignments. Tsuda-san's hometown is in Osaka and he graduated from Meiji University's Faculty of Literature where he majored in theatre studies. According to his official website, his height is 170cm, he weighs 53kg and his shoe size is 25.0cm. Tsuda-san counts computing, Osaka-ben and tennis as his strengths. Besides Tenipuri, Tsuda-san's voice can also be heard in animes like Air Gear, H2, Kochikame, SPEED GRAPHER, Yu-Gi-Oh, BECK, Rurounin Kenshin and Meine Liebe Weider. Other than work as a seiyuu, Tsuda-san is an actor who can be seen in movies, dramas and stage plays. I've spotted him in the drama version of Hana Yori Dango last autumn where he talked to the lead Tsukushi played by Inoue Mao. Although it wasn't a close-up shot which showed his face (only his side-view), his unique voice was enough to let me identify him.

As Inui Sadaharu, Tsuda-san has released 2 solo singles, "YOU GET THE POWER" and "DISTANCE", 1 solo album "e=mc2" and a group single "GO! GO! Megane's! with Tezuka Kunimitsu and Oshitari Yuushi as the unit Meganes.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Kondou Takayuki-san!

Today's the 28th birthday of Kondou Takayuki who plays Ooishi Shuuichirou in Tenipuri! His hometown is in Tottori and he is under the management of Haikyo where he counts fellow Tenipuri seiyuus like Suwabe Junichi (Atobe Keigo), Namikawa Daisuke (Ootori Choutarou), Ooyura Fuyuka (Osakada Tomoka) and Minagawa Junko (Echizen Ryoma) as his colleagues. His blood group is A while his height and weight are 173cm and 69kg respectively. As he's the youngest seiyuu among the Seigaku team, he's affectionately called Kon-chan (name + the word "chan" is usually used for children or people younger than you). Besides his official website at Haikyo, Kondou-san also has a website which he made by himself. As Kondou-san claims to be a greenhorn at IT, the design of the site is rather simple and focuses more on the content. Other than his profile, there are photos of his family members and places he's been to, a BBS where he answers questions or problems raised by fans and a diary of the happenings in his life.

Other than Tenipuri, Kondou-san's voice can also be heard in other animes like Yu Gi Ou, Starship Operators, NARUTO, Shakugan no Shana and Kochikame. As for CD releases under Ooishi's name, the solo singles include "Piece by Piece", "TWO" and "Hontou no Kimochi" plus "On The Radio" series CDs for June 03 (with Kaida Yuki - Fuji Shuusuke) and October 2003 (with Tsuda Kenjirou - Inui Sadaharu). In addition, since Ooishi is part of Aozu and Seigaku, Kondou-san can also heard in CDs like "Yakusoku - We Love Seigaku", "Departures", "Birthday - Aruki Hajimeta Hi", "Don't Look Back" and "White Line".

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Hoshi Souichirou!

Today's the birthday of Hoshi Souichirou who plays Mukahi Gakuto in Tenipuri! He was born on 30 May 1972 and today marks his 34th birthday. His hometown is Fukushima Prefecture's Kaitsu Wakamatsu City and his blood group is B. He graduted from the Nippon Narration Engikenkyuujou and is now under the management of Arts Vision. Due to his surname, he's sometimes called Hoshi which means star or by his nickname Hosshi. After watching the anime "Majou no Takukyuubin", Hoshi made up his mind to be a seiyuu. Under the name of Mukahi, he has released a solo single, "DA.DA.DA." and made guest appearances in the solo albums of Oshitari Yuushi (Kiuchi Hidenobu) and Kikumaru Eiji (Takahashi Hiroki). Besides Tenipuri, Hoshi-san's voice can also be heard in other animes like Ao yori Aoshi, Ueki no Housoku, H2, Onegai Teacher, Onegai Twins, Kido Senshi Gundam SEED, Meine Liebe, Meine Liebe Wieder, Crayon Shin-chan, Saiyuuki RELOAD, Xenosaga THE ANIMATION, Tenjou Tenge, To Heart, NARUTO, Haruka naru toki no naka ni and Meitantei Conan.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Takahashi Mikako!

Today's the birthday of Takahashi Mikako, the seiyuu who plays Ryuuzaki Sakuno! She was born on 29 May 1980 and comes from Chiba Prefecture. Takahashi-san graduated from Teikyo Heisei Tanki Daigaku (Teikyo Heisei Short-Term University) and belongs to I'm Enterprise. Actually, Takahashi-san took part in the idol nurturing programme, Ebitai before making her debut under the agency Murals. She formed a duo named Excel Girls with Kobayashi Yumiko but when the company was dissolved, this also marked an end to the partnership since Kobayashi joined a different agency i.e. Arts Vision. Besides Tenipuri, Takahashi's voice can also be heard in animes like Hachimitsu to Clover (Yamada Ayumi), Karin, Ichigo 100%, Gindama, Joushikousei GIRLS' HIGH, Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora (Akiba Rika), Mai Oto-HIME and Maria-sama ga Miteru.

Well, I must admit that I didn't like Takahashi-san's voice when I first heard her in Tenipuri. I guess it has much to do with the fact that I dislike female characters who seem so weak, shy and without a character of their own. It irked me to hear her saying "Ryoma-kun" all the time. I am also the type who has some issues with high pitched and saccharine-sweet voices so you can guess how receptive I was towards this seiyuu.

However, everything changed when I watched Hachikuro. I must say that it is partly related to the fact that Takahashi-san played Yamada so well that the sweet voice didn't get on my nerves as compared to Sakuno and there was more depth in this character too. That's why I grew to like her more as time went by. As for the rest of her works, I've only watched Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora but I didn't like her character Rika though. Maybe the characters she plays has a strong influence as to whether I like her performance so the moment I see a cutesy-type of girl plus Takahashi-san's voice, my reaction tends to be rather adverse. Could this be an allergy to the "kawaii-girl" in animes?

With the on-going OVA series, one would have expected that Takahashi would get to appear in this but so far, I've not heard her voice in the 2 volumes of DVDs. She may appear in any of the remaining 5 volumes though although chances may be low. I guess there is too much content to cover so that leaves very little room for Sakuno and her noisy buddy, Tomoka to speak a single line. As such, fans of Takahashi may be disappointed to find her conspicuously missing from the seiyuu list and her pet phrase, "Ryoma-kun" feeling like a thing of the past.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Toriumi Kousuke-san!

Today's the 33rd birthday of Toriumi Kousuke-san who plays Sengoku Kiyosumi from Yamabuki! His hometown is in Chikasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture and his blood type is O. Currently, he's under the management of Arts Vision and had graduated from Nippon Narration Engi Kenkyuujou. According to his official website, his hobbies are singing, cooking and fashion. Toriumi-san is part of two different groups i.e. STA*MEN helmed by Suwabe Junichi as well as P.K.O with Suzuki Chihiro and Saeki Tomo. For P.K.O, Toriumi-san is the leader. Due to the fact that Saeki is taking a rest from work due to health reasons, P.K.O is now reduced to a duo.

Besides Tenipuri, Toriumi-san's voice can also be heard in animes like Captain Tsubasa, Shin Shirahime Densetsu, Spiral, tactics, To Heart 2, NARUTO, PAPUWA, PEACEMAKER, Princess Princess, ONE PIECE, Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru and Yakitate Japan.

Under the name of Sengoku Kiyosumi, he has released 2 solo singles and 2 group singles in the units Ao to Bin to Kan (Gather) and Pull Tab to Kan (Wonderful Days).

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Nagai Sachiko!

Today's the birthday of Nagai Sachiko who plays Yukimura Seiichi from Rikkai! Nagai-san maintains her own blog titled Sachin Blog. She belongs to the theatre group Bulldog Headlog which also counts fellow Tenipuri seiyuu, Kiyasu Kohei as one of the members. As Nagai-san is active mainly in stage productions, her participation in Tenipuri marked her debut as a voice actor. Under Yukimura's name, Nagai-san had released a CD single Shinjitsu on 19 May 2004. She also dabbles in illustration work where she counts i-mode's content site and its year 2000 information site in her portfolio. According to Bulldog Headlog's official website, Nagai-san is 163cm tall and comes from Kagoshima Prefecture. Her latest stage appearance listed on the site was in Otsumami "Tsumande Tataite Hippatte" written and produced by Kiyasu Kohei last Dec.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Namikawa Daisuke-san!

Last but not least, we have Namikawa Daisuke-san who plays Ootori Choutarou from Hyotei celebrating his 30th birthday today! Well, although he may be only 30, he actually started out as a voice actor from the age of 9 when he joined the theatre group Gekidan Komadori. Besides being a seiyuu, he also does dubbing work for foreign language movies especially Hollywood productions. As seen from the Wikipedia profile, he has such a long list of works to his name that it would be impossible for me to list everything. However, I'll just mention some of his anime works which includes Okusama wa Joushikousei, Garasu no Kamen, Kyou kara Maou, Saiyuki RELOAD, NARUTO, Hachimitsu to Clover, BECK, Boukaku no Sora, Black Lagoon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Sailormoon, Tsubasa Chronicle, GANTZ, Gundam, Utawareru Mono, Fullmetal Panic and he will appear in the upcoming spring anime, RAY THE ANIMATION. Currently, he is in Haikyo which he joined in 2003 and his fellow colleagues who also appear in Tenipuri include Suwabe Junichi and Minagawa Junko.

Namikawa-san has the nickname of "Oscar seiyuu" because many of the films he has done dubbing for won many titles in the Academy Awards. If you are interested to hear a voice sample of him, you can access his official website which has a voice sample facility. It also appears as if Namikawa-san does not think he has good vocals so he tries very hard to reject singing assignments. There was once when his manager accepted one such project for him and he got so angry about it. Well, personally, I think he sings pretty well judging from his duet with Kusuda Toshiyuki in the single of Shishido & Ootori.

As for his personal details, his height is 173cm and weight is 60.5kg. He comes from Tokyo and has a 10-year-older brother and a 8-year-older sister. His hobbies include Japanese chess, table tennis and snowboarding. Namikawa-san had attained titles like the Best 8 title for the national table-tennis tournament, elementary level for aikido and took part in the national contest for handball. Last but not least, he is already married.

For those who are interested in finding out more on Namikawa-san, you can visit the following fansite.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Matsuyama Takashi-san!

We have quite a number of Tenipuri-related personnel celebrating their birthdays today and the second to be featured is Matsuyama Takashi-san who plays Echizen Nanjirou!

Matsuyama-san was born in 1960 at Tokyo and also works as an actor besides being a seiyuu. Some of his anime works include Eyeshield 21, Kyou kara Maou, Kochikame, SAMURAI DEEPER KYO, HUNTERxHUNTER, Mushishi and PEACEMAKER. As for his movie and drama projects, Matsuyama-san can be seen in projects like KILLERS [CANDY], Talking Pet, Keruberosu Jigoku no Banken, Abunai Deka, Aibo, Hana no Ran, Juon, Kamen Rider Cougar and Tokugawa Yoshinobu. According to the profile on Yahoo Japan, Matsuyama-san's height and weight are 173cm and 65kg respectively and his blood type is B. It is also said that he is good at volleyball. He was previously from Meiji University's Faculty of Political Economics but left before graduation. For more detailed information on Matsuyama-san, you may also visit the following website.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Suwabe Junichi-san!

Today's the 34th birthday of Suwabae Junichi who plays the charismatic captain of Hyotei Gakuen, Atobe Keigo! His hometown is Tokyo, blood type A and his agency is Tokyo Haiyuu Seikatsu Kyoudoukumiai or Haikyou for short. By the way, fellow Tenipuri seiyuus who also come from the same agency include Kondo Takayuki (Oishi), Namikawa Daisuke (Ootori) and Minagawa Junko (Echizen). For your information, the picture which I've provided in this feature was scanned from the latest issue of Seiyuu AniMedia where he had an interview with another seiyuu for the anime Fate / stay Night.

In case you wonder if I'm practising favouritism because this birthday feature is unusually detailed as compared to the other seiyuus, it's just that there's more information on Suwabe-san. If I had the same amount of data for my other favourite seiyuus like Kusunoki Taiten or Okiayu Ryoutarou, I will do the same. Of course, I do admit that I have a soft spot for Suwabe-san...^__^

Actually, Suwabe-san became a seiyuu cum narrator after going through a number of jobs since his university graduation. He has a significant number of projects under his name considering that his career is relatively short compared to the veterans. I've heard his voice in other animes like Fullmetal Alchemist (Greed is so charming!). Besides this, he also appears in Karin, Gundam, Gokujo Seitokai, GTO, Shakugan no Shana, Tenjou Tenge, Peacemaker and BLOOD+. Suwabe-san's latest project would be in the upcoming spring anime, NANA where he takes on the role Takakura Kyosuke. No doubt it may not be a major role, I'm still looking forward to hearing his voice in the anime. As for his narrator projects, you can hear his voice in programmes like Shin Docchi no Ryoori Show, Hello! Morning, Hustle Hustle and Sky PerfecTV! promotion channel.

As Atobe Keigo, Suwabe-san has released 8 singles, 1 album and had a guest appearance in the Seigaku Trio single, "Bokutachi no Shippai". Among these CDs, he holds the title of having the highest ranking single under the Tenipuri CD series as the 100th title, "Riyuu/E-kimochi" debuted at No.9 on the Oricon weekly singles chart dated 11 April 2005. He will also be teaming up with Okiayu Ryoutarou (Tezuka), Kusunoki Taiten (Sanada) and Minagawa Junko (Echizen) in the new unit GIGS for the single cum OP for the OVA series, "FLOWER~Sakuranka" due to be released on 31 May.

Suwabe-san is known to be a car-maniac and owns 3 European cars and 2 motorbikes. Besides that, he is also enthusiastic about his sneakers collection and has a pet chihuahua by the name of Zero. The photos on his official website are all taken by himself. Refer below to more of Suwabe-san's interesting little facts about himself according to what he has provided on his profile page:

- He doesn't like to be told whether someone looks like him or he looks like some celebrity.

- Height = 173cm, Weight = 60 kg (deviation of 2 to 3 kg most of the time)

- Shoe size = 26.5cm (same as me...yes, my shoe size is considered quite big for females but it runs in the family...^___^ I can't help it anyway.)

- Hobbies: cars, motorbikes, movies, music, collecting sneakers, soccer, cooking and drinking alcohol

- He doesn't smoke and hates smoking. (Understandable for someone who needs his voice to make a living...I'm also an anti-smoking person.)

- He uses DoCoMo FOMA P900iV as his mobile phone.


- Traits he likes in a girl: Likes to laugh, enjoys eating, similar views on finances, independent in many ways, ability to recover from disappointment/problems and someone who has everything that he doesn't have.

- He likes all types of food and is especially fond of stewed food of late.

- He dislikes natou, cucumber and Japanese desserts especially those which come with a filling. (Hmm...I don't really like sweet stuff too...)

- Favourite drinks include most alcoholic beverages especially beer, shochuu and bourbon.

- He dislikes drinks which are supposed to be fruit juices but are artificially made without real juices as well as coffee which has sugar or milk added to it. (I don't drink coffee and I understand his annoyance with those "half-baked" fruit juices because I don't like those stuff too.)

- Favourite TV programmes are mainly documentaries like "Jounetsu Tairiku", "Sekai Issan", news programmes like "World Business Satellite" and soccer-related shows.

- There are too many favourite movies to name but the most recent movie he watched was "Brothers Grimm" which he gave 3 stars out of 5.

- He likes books by Edogawa Ranpou.

- Favourite sports = soccer & motor sports like F1, WGP, WRC

- He has no particular preference when it comes to music.

- Favourite brands include SOPH., STUSSY, PRADA SPORT and NIKE.

- Favourite flowers include roses, sakura and osmanthus. (Roses do suit the image of Atobe-sama. ^__^ No wonder Suwabe-san is perfect for the role of Atobe Keigo!)

- Owns 3 cars and likes English & Latin-style models. 2 motorbikes i.e. a Racer and Big Star.

- Favourite animal: dog

- He would catch up on sleep during his off days and loves to cook dishes which take up a lot of time while sipping his alcohol.

- He wants to have time and a strong heart as well as aspires to do work which will bring satisfaction.

- He treats work as play and vice versa so he enjoys himself so much that he doesn't have the need to find a special place to have fun.

- The first CD he bought with his pocket money was Tahara Toshihiko's "Kimi ni Bara Bara" (Giving you roses) and he couldn't remember why he chose this.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Kusunoki Taiten!

Today's the 39th birthday of Kusunoki Taiten-san who plays Sanada Genichirou, one of my favourite Top 3 characters! Taiten-san was born in 1969 at Tokyo and his real-name is Fukuda Taiten. According to his official website, his height is 173cm and weight is 65kg. Apparently, his weight does fluctuate quite a bit and he was discussing dieting methods with Okiayu Ryoutaro-san who plays Tezuka during Rajipuri in Aug 04. His blood group is the same as me i.e. B and another similarity between us would be having our birthdays in the same month. Besides Tenipuri, I've also heard Kusunoki-san's voice in animes like Yakitate Japan (the Monaco King) and Meine Liebe (the principal of Rosenstolz Academy). Other than that, he also appears in productions like Eyeshield, Gunslinger Girl, NARUTO, Xenosaga THE ANIMATION, Rupan Sansei, Yuu Gi Ou, Gundam and Kochikame.

As Sanada, he has released 2 solo singles (Meisei and Keep Going On!)and 2 group singles, "Wonderful Days" from Pull Tab to Can" and "Gather" from Ao to Bin to Kan. Kusunoki-san has also appeared regularly on Rajipuri as the monthly personality or guest. The months when he was one of the main personalities were Aug 04 with Okiayu-san (Tezuka) and Dec 2005 with Minagawa Junko (Echizen Ryoma). It was quite funny to hear him being "bullied" by the other seiyuus like Okiayu-san and Kiuchi Hidenobu (Oshitari Yuushi) for being an o-ssan (old man) and making silly mistakes during the radio show. The photo I've provided at the side is the cover for the Rajipuri Aug 2004 CD which I bought last year.

Before I forget, Sanada i.e. Kusunoki-san is due to release his first solo album soon and I expect it to be out by his birthday on 21 May which happens to be a Sunday. CDs are usually released on Wednesdays so I'm hoping NEC Interchannel can make an exception to release it on Sanada's birthday itself to make it a memorable item. Of course, I will be dying to get my hands on this title as soon as possible and I hope that there would be lots of kakkoii pictures of my dear Sanada! ^__^ You can't imagine how long I've prayed for the release of Sanada's album and when I read the news, I was going wild with joy so I'm eagerly counting down to Sanada's birthday in another 2 months.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Takemoto Eiji-san!

Today's the birthday of Takemoto Eiji-san who plays Yanagi Renji, the master of Rikkai! Takemoto-san was born in 1973 at Yamaguchi Prefecture so he turns 33 today. He used to belong to the agency Lovelife but he's now affiliated to Aoni Production where some of his colleagues who also take part in Tenipuri include Okiayu Ryoutarou (Tezuka) and Onosaka Masaya (Momo). Takemoto-san got married in 2003 as mentioned on his personal website titled, it's my life and has a blog named it's my life on EZ Web. Do check it out to find out more about Takemoto-san whose nickname is Takepon! Besides the role of Yanagi Renji, Takemoto-san also plays Kuki Kiichi who appeared briefly at the beginning of the series as a loser who tried to taunt Tezuka. Takemoto-san will be releasing a single on 15 March using the name of Kuki which is the same day as Ibu Shinji from Fudoumine. More details on this release when NEC Interchannel has updated the information.

Other than Tenipuri, Takemoto-san also participates in animes like Eyeshield 21, Ueki no Housoku, Kinniku-Man, HUNTERxHUNTER, Kochikame, Yu-Gi-Ou, Rurounin Kenshi and ONE PIECE. Sad to say, I've never watched these titles before so my knowledge of Takemoto-san's voice is restricted to Tenipuri. However, I like the unique tone of his voice especially when Yanagi and Inui appear together and talk because these two guys are childhood friends and know each other so far. It's easy to distinguish Takemoto-san's voice just like Tsuda Kenjirou-san's voice so in a sense, they can be said to be made for each other. ^__^