Hiyori Hime by PUFFY (OP of Genji Monogatari)

Title: Hiyori Hime
Artiste: PUFFY
Catalog number: KSCL-1343
Number of discs: 2 (1 DVD comes with the limited edition)
Date of release: 25 Feb 2009
Price: 1,575 yen

Antique Clear File

Title: Antique Clear File
Price: 315 yen (inclusive of tax)
Specifications: Black base with pictures of the desserts on the front and back
JAN Code: 4539829129006
Available at: FujiTV Shop and Animate stores

Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen Mongoose Mug

Title: Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen Mongoose Mug
Price: 1680 yen (inclusive of tax)
JAN Code: 4560107990667
Material: Ceramic
Available at: FujiTV Shop

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 26 Jan 09

1) Hayate no Gotoku Vol 18 (170,171)

2) Kekkaishi Vol 23 (121,781)

3) Hotaru no Hikari Vol 13 (80,318)

4) Kami Nomizo Shiru Sekai Vol 3 (50,552)

5) 7SEEDS Vol 14 (45,957)

6) Honma ni Kanjani 8 Vol 4 (42,029)

7) Yamamoto Zenjirou to Moushimasu Vol 4 (41,715)

8) Kimi no Iru Machi Vol 3 (38,833)

9) Pacman Vol 1 (38,176)

10) Eyeshield 21 Vol 33 (34,708)

Top 10 animes rating ranking (11 Jan 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 16.9%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 11.4%

3) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.4%

4) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 9.8%

5) One Piece (FujiTV) 7.7%

6) Anime Major (NHK Education) 7.0%

7) Gegege no Kitaro (FujiTV) 6.9%

8) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 5.4%

9) Kido Senshi Gundam 00 (TBS) 5.3%

10) Yes! Puri Kyua 5 GoGo! (TV Asahi) 4.8%

Mushishi Complex Box Set in Blu-ray Format

Mushishi's Blu-Ray Disc BOX will be released on 27 March 09 at the price of 34,650 yen. All 26 episodes of the anime will be included in this release. In addition, the sound aspect will be presented in Dolby-True HD 5.1ch.

Specifications:
1) Specially-made collection box
2) 32-page colour booklet containing premiums like character design illustrations and a description of each episode's story
3) All episodes presented in Dolby-True HD 5.1ch
4) 5 discs

Contents:
Disc 1: Episodes 1 to 7 / Premium: Non-credits OP
Disc 2: Episodes 8 to 13 / Premium: Non-credits OP
Disc 3: Episodes 14 to 20 / Premium: Non-credits OP
Disc 4: Episodes 21 to 26 / Premium: Non-credits OP
Special Disc: 8 interviews between the producer, voice actors and production crew & behind-the-scenes footage shot by the producer

Nodame's author, Ninomiya Tomoko suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome

Nodame Cantabile's author, Ninomiya Tomoko revealed on her blog entry dated 20 Jan that she is suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. This disease causes the patient to experience abnormalities in the fingers as well as numbness and pain in the middle of the night. According to Ninomiya, the illness could have been brought about by her pregnancy. She gave birth to her first son on 24 Oct last year and started to experience numbness in her hands one month after delivery. At first, this only happened when she was writing but it gradually escalated into numbness in both hands no matter what she was doing. It also developed into a state where she couldn't even clench her fists in the morning due to the numbness. After the diagnosis by the doctor, she was told that she is suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. Luckily, Ninomiya started to feel better after the injections to her wrists and expressed relief at her improved condition since she needed her hands very much as a manga author. As such, she apologized for the delay in returning to work and mentioned that she was trying her best to juggle work and her parenting duties at the same time.

For more information on this condition, please go here.

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 19 Jan 09

1) Eyeshield 21 Vol 33 (170,926)

2) Natsume Yuujin Chou Vol 7 (163,565)

3) To LOVE ru - Toraburu - Vol 12 (157,865)

4) Packman Vol 1 (154,675)

5) Nurarihyon no Mago Vol 3 (109,289)

6) Shichigatsu no Mahou Tsukai (62,393)

7) Chotto Edo Made Vol 1 (59,132)

8) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi Vol 21 (54,437)

9) SKET DANCE Vol 6 (50,977)

10) Koukou Debut Vol 13 (46,726)

Top 10 animes ranking (4 Jan 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 19.5%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 15.3%

3) New Year's Eve Doraemon Saraba Nezumi Toshi! Rainen wa mou 30 shuunen dayo SP (TV Asahi) 8.7%

4) Anime Major (NHK Education) 5.1%

5) Anime Major (NHK Education) 5.0%

6) Anime Major (NHK Education) 4.9%

7) Anime Major (NHK Education) 4.3%

8) Anime Major (NHK Education) 4.2%

9) Anime Major (TV Tokyo) / Inazuma Eleven (NHK Education) 4.0%

Natsume Yuujin Chou - Natsume Hand Towel

Title: Natsume Hand Towel
Date of release: Early March 2009
Specifications: 20cm x 20cm / 100% cotton
Price: 630 yen (inclusive of tax)

Natsume Yuujin Chou - Nyanko-sensei Hand Towel

Title: Nyanko-sensei Hand Towel
Date of release: Early March 2009
Specifications: 20cm x 20cm / 100% cotton
Price: 630 yen (inclusive of tax)

Natsume Yuujin Chou Nyanko-sensei Pass Case

Title: Nyanko-sensei Pass Case
Date of release: Early March 2009
Specifications: 11cm x 7cm / 100% cotton surface / Synthetic leather on the inside
Price: 1260 yen (inclusive of tax)

Natsume Yuujin Chou Official Fanbook

Title: Natsume Yuujin Chou Official Fanbook
Publisher: Hakusensha
Author: Midorikawa Yuki
ISBN: 9784592186960
Price: 680 yen (inclusive of tax)
Date of release: 5 Jan 2009

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 12 Jan 09

1) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi Vol 21 (825,026)

2) Moyashimon Vol 7 (300,206)

3) Koukou Debut Vol 13 (243,051)

4) Initial D Vol 38 (209,054)

5) Ooku Vol 4 (186,801)

6) Kido Senshi Gundam The Origin Vol 18 (163,896)

7) Iryuu Vol 19 (149,341)

8) Higurashi no naku koro ni Kai Minnagoroshi Hen Vol 1 (137,632)

9) Higurashi no naku koro ni Kai Matsuri Bayashi Hen Vol 1 (135,413)

10) Clover Vol 21 (129,816)

Top 10 animes rating ranking (28 Dec 08)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 19.6%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 15.9%

3) Anime 7 (NTV) 9.4%

4) Anime 7 One Piece (FujiTV) 6.8%

5) Gegege no Kitaro (FujiTV) 5.6%

6) Anime Major (NHK Education) 5.4%

7) Kido Senshi Gundam 00 (TBS) 5.2%

8) Anime Major (NHK Education) 4.9%

9) BLEACH (TV Tokyo) 4.6%

10) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 4.4%

Top 20 bestselling manga on Mangazenkan

1) 20th Century Boys

2) ROOKIES (manga version)

3) SLAM DUNK

4) ONE PIECE

5) Cross

6) Hana no Keiji

7) ROOKIES (novel version)

8) Nodame Cantabile

9) SLAM DUNK (new complete version)

10) Dragon Ball (new version)

11) Cross Gaiden Set

12) WORST

13) Kinniku-man (novel)

14) NARUTO

15) Hana no Keiji (novel)

16) Kami no Shizuku

17) ONE OUTS

18) BLEACH

19) Gintama

20) Hana Yori Dango

Tsukihana by Kitade Nana (OP of Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae)

Title: Tsukihana
Artiste: Kitade Nana
Catalog number: SECL-737
Produced by: Sony Music Entertainment
Number of discs: 2
Date of release: 4 Feb 2009
Price: 2000 yen (inclusive of tax)
Limited edition includes a straw doll.

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae DVD Vol 2

Title: Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae DVD Vol 2
Catalog number: ANSB-2483
Produced by: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 28 Jan 2009
Price: 5775 yen (inclusive of tax)
Contains: Episodes 4 to 6
Total run time: 74 minutes

Itazura Na Kiss DVD Vol 7

Title: Itazura Na Kiss DVD Vol 7
Catalog number: BVBH-81057
Produced by: BMG Japan
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 3 Dec 2008
Price: 5,040 yen
First press premium: Itazura Na Kiss playing cards

Itazura Na Kiss DVD Vol 6

Title: Itazura Na Kiss DVD Vol 6
Catalog number: BVBH-81056
Produced by: BMG Japan
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 5 Nov 2008
Price: 5,040 yen (inclusive of tax)
Contains: Episodes 14 to 16

Itazura Na Kiss DVD Vol 5

Title: Itazura Na Kiss DVD Vol 5
Catalog number: BVBH-81055
Produced by: BMG Japan
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 8 Oct 2008
Price: 5,040 yen (inclusive of tax)
First press premium: Itazura Na Kiss playing cards

Itazura Na Kiss DVD Vol 4

Title: Itazura Na Kiss DVD Vol 4
Catalog numberL BVBH-81054
Produced by: BMG Japan
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 3 Sep 2008
Price: 5,040 yen (inclusive of tax)
Contains: Episodes 8 to 10 plus bonus "Kinnosuke no Hitorigoto" feature
First press premium: Itazura Na Kiss playing cards and pictured-labeled disc
Total run time: 70 minutes

Madara Japanese Tea Cup - Natsume Yuujin Chou

Title: Madara Japanese Tea Cup
Date of release: 20 February 2009
Produced by: COSPA
Price: 840 yen (inclusive of tax)
Material: Ceramic
Dimensions: H10cm x D7cm

Nyanko Sensei Japanese Tea Cup - Natsume Yuujin Chou

Title: Nyanko Sensei Japanese Tea Cup
Date of release: 20 February 2009
Produced by: COSPA
Price: 840 yen (inclusive of tax)
Material: Ceramic
Dimensions: H10cm x D7cm

Mouryou no Hako DVD Vol 2

Title: Mouryou no Hako DVD Vol 2
Catalog number: VPBY-13257
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 21 Jan 2009
Price: 3,150 yen (inclusive of tax)
Contains: Episodes 3 & 4
Total run time: 47 minutes

Top 10 most interesting manga of 2008 (Oricon)

Figures in brackets indicate the percentage of votes.

1) ONE PIECE (45.9%)

2) Nodame Cantabile (38.8%)

3) NANA (32.5%)

4) NARUTO (23.6%)

5) HUNTER x HUNTER (23.1%)

6) BLEACH (18.8%)

7) Kuroshitsuji (17.0%)

8) Black Monday (16.5%)

9) Kimi ni Todoke (15.5%)

10) Sei Oniisan (11.2%)

Itazura Na Kiss DVD Vol 3

Title: Itazura Na Kiss DVD Vol 3
Catalog number: BVBH-81053
Produced by: BMG Japan
Contains: Episodes 5 to 7
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 6 Aug 08
Price: 5,040 yen (inclusive of tax)

Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen DVD Vol 2

Title: Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen DVD Vol 2
Catalog number: ACBA-10644
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 28 Jan 09
Price: 4,935 yen (inclusive of tax)
First press premium: 3D jacket, booklet and original sticker

Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen OST

Title: Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen OST
Catalog number: ESCL-3138
Produced by: Sony Music Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 26 Nov 08
Price: 3,059 yen (inclusive of tax)

Sky High by The Gospellers (OP of Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen)

Title: Sky High
Artiste: The Gospellers
Catalog number: KSCL-1312
Produced by: Sony Music Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 12 Nov 2008
Price: 1,020 yen (inclusive of tax)

Tokyo et Paris by Miyamoto Emiri & solita (ED of Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen) - French lyrics

As the lyrics of the song is in French, I will be providing the original lyrics. Please note that there are signs on the words which I'm unable to key in.





Title: Tokyo et Paris
Lyrics: solita
Melody / Arrangement: Ookawa Shigenobu
Performed by: Miyamoto Emiri (Violin) / solita (vocals)

Tokyo et Paris
Paris et Tokyo
Et puis toujours la musique
A Paris nou etudierons
En bonne harmonie

On se connait depuis l' enfance
On allait au cours de piano a cote
En face du grand marche
On jouait au square du quartier
A la marelle et au ballon prisonnier
Puis c etait le gouter

C etait la nos plus belles annees
Qu aucun souci ne pouvait alterer

Tokyo et Paris
Paris et Tokyo
Et puis toujours la musique
Tokyo et Paris
Paris et Tokyo
Et puis toujours la musique
A Paris nous etudierons
En bonne ensemble

(Interlude)

On s' est aime depuis toujours
Plein d' apprehension avant nos auditions
A la tombee du jour
Concerts prives tour les etest
Dans la grande salle aux immenses baies vitrees
Un ete enchante

C' etait la nos plus belles annees
Qu' aucun souci ne pouvait alterer

Tokyo et Paris
Paris et Tokyo
Et puis toujours la musique
Tokyo et Paris
Paris et Tokyo
Et puis toujours la musique, musique, musique
A Paris nous etudierons
En bonne ensemble...