明けまして、おめでとうございます！Happy New Year!

2006 is coming to an end and it's been a very busy time for me especially in the second half of the year. That's why I've not been keeping up with the updates on this site for as much as I would have wanted to do thus leading to queries from visitors as to whether I'm still maintaining this site. Rest assured that although the updates are slower than before, I will try to clear the backlog of stuff which I want to post at a comfortable pace. As such, I can only hope for your continued support and patience while I try to strike a balance.

I will be posting a recap on the anime/manga which I've enjoyed and disliked in the year 2006 so please keep a lookout for this feature which should appear within the next few days.

See you in 2007 and may you have a great year ahead!

NANA 2 real-life movie trailer

The trailer of the NANA 2 movie can now be viewed via its official website.

Although I enjoyed watching the first movie (unexpectedly), I'm not that thrilled about the sequel. The issue which bothers me most is the change in cast members. It's not that I have something against Ichikawa Yui but getting used to seeing Miyazaki Aoi as Hachi means that it's more difficult to picture Ichikawa in the same role. Likewise, Hongo Kanata taking on the role of Shin is totally unimaginable especially if the movie touches on his relationship with Reira played by Ito Yuna. I can't imagine those two doing a bed scene although Hongo does look closer to the Shin in the manga due to his age. To think I was looking forward to seeing Matsuyama Kenichi and Ito together on screen all the while! Last but not least, although I don't fancy Matsuda Ryuhei as Ren, it just feels awkward to see Kyo Nobuo taking his place. Well, that's the problem with being replacements for the original cast in sequels, they can't avoid being compared and criticised by viewers. And I happen to prefer that everything stays status quo unless the replacement can do a much better job.

My enthusiasm level for the movie is rather low but as to whether the sequel would turn out to be better than the first in terms of quality, I'll only pass judgement when I've watched it.

Romaji lyrics of "Hitoiro" by NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA

Title: Hitohiro
Sung by: NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA
Lyrics: AI YAZAWA
Melody: TAKURO

mata hitohira hanabira ga chikireru
kaze wo tomeru chikara wa nai
mukou kishi de naki kusureru kimi ni
semete mono hanamuke ni nare
ano hi no yakusoku wa waserete ii yo

tada hito ashi nori sugoshita ai ga
naze konna ni subete hikisaku
mata hitosuji hoshi kusu ga nagareru
toki wo tomeru chikara nante nai kara
inori wo sasage na yo hitotsu de ii yo
jibun no shiawase wo negaeba ii yo

onaji iro no itami wo yurushi atte
chigau iro no ayamachi wo semeta
onaji iro no akari wo tomoshi atte
chigau iro no tobira wo kakushita

ima kimi no tame ni iro aseta hana ga chiru
ima kimi no tame ni iro aseta hoshi ga chiru
sono yume no naka de oyasumi

ato hitosaji ire sokoneta ai ga
naze konna ni subete kuruwasu
mou hitoware kisou na machikado
kizu wo kabau kasa nante nai kara
deguchi wo mitsuke na yo hitotsu de ii yo
jibun no shiawase wo sagaseba ii yo

onaji iro no rizumu wo kizami atte
chigau iro no ashiato keshita
onaji iro no keshiki wo egaki atte
chigau iro no kisetsu wo tozashita

ima kimi no tame ni iro aseta yoru ga chiru
ima kimi no tame ni iro tsuita asa ga kuru
sono yume no naka de oyasumi

SWEET DREAMS, BABY
SWEET DREAMS, BABY

doko ka de itsu ka mata deaetara
yari naoseru kana? tsuzuki wa aru no?
risetto dekinai jikan ni oikosarete shimau
nakanai de yasashisa to yowasa wa chigau yo ne

onaji iro no itami wo yurushi atte
chigau iro no ayamachi wo semeta
onaji iro no akari wo tomoshi atte
chigau iro no tobira wo kakushita

ima kimi no tame ni iro tsuita hana ga saku
ima kimi no tame ni iro tsuita hoshi ga furu
sono yume no naka de oyasumi
SWEET DREAMS, BABY
SWEET DREAMS, BABY

Death Note new real-life movie sequel + Matsuyama Kenichi in anime as guest seiyuu

There will be a new Death Note real-life movie to be screened in 2008 where L becomes the lead for the first time. Matsuyama Kenichi, who has played the character L for both of the Death Note real-life movies shown this year, will continue to take on the role of this genius who pits his wits against Yagami Light (Fujiwara Tatsuya). What is known about this project would be the fact that the story is an original creation and the time setting is before Light gets hold of the Death Note. At the moment, the cast and exact storyline including whether Light will appear in this spin-off movie are not decided as yet. The 2-part Death Note movies have grossed 2.85 billion yen and close to 4 billion yen respectively. The manga has also sold more than 2.3 million copies to date.

Matsuyama Kenichi will also make his debut as a voice actor (seiyuu) in the Death Note anime currently showing via NTV. He will not play the role of L though. During the recording session on 30 Nov, it was disclosed that Matsuyama will play Jealous, the Death God who died for Amane Misa by sacrificing his life to save her from the attack of a stalker. His appearance will be in the 26 Dec episode.

Yes, more Death Note and more of L or rather Matsuyama Kenichi! ^__^ That's why I'm so excited to read about this piece of news. However, I don't understand why they have to wait until 2008 to screen the movie. It would be better to take advantage of the Death Note boom and try to show it before summer next year. Anyway, if it's something worth waiting for, it would be better for the production crew to take their own sweet time.

Since the story is going to be focusing on L, this would probably mean that Light will not appear after all since his contact with L stems from his acquisition of the Death Note. I wonder if the story would be linked to the Los Angeles BBS murder case featured in the novel version...which means Misora Naomi gets to return to life? Or they might create a new story to show how clever L is? In any case, as long as I get to see more of L and the story is exciting to watch, that would be great!

And the anime...it's a pity that Matsuyama only gets to appear in one episode since Jealous makes a very brief appearance in the story. Given that he's quite busy with a lot of movies, I guess he won't have the time to do regular recordings for the anime. Can't wait for the 26 Dec episode!

Romaji lyrics of "Truth" by REIRA starring YUNA ITO

Title: Truth
Sung by: REIRA starring YUNA ITO
Lyrics: Mami Takubo & Narumi Yamamoto
Melody: Koji Goto

Let me stay with you
kizutsuke au no ni
naze konna ni motemete shimau no
Don't you know my heart
sunao ni narezu ni ita no
tada hitotsu no ai ga hoshii no ni...

meguri aeta kiseki wo shinjite
kanadete yukitai anata e no melody
moshimo subete wo nakushite shimatte mo
kono omoi wa eien na no
It's my Truth

Believe in yourself
tsumazuita toki mo aruite kita namida wo fuite
Open up your heart
omoide no saki ni kitto ashita to iu kibou ga aru kara

Give me your loneliness
and I'll give you my Tenderness
wasurenaide ite ano hi mita yume mo
hanarete itemo kono mune ni itsudemo
kanjiteru anata dake wo
It's my Truth

chirabararu hoshi ga sasayaki kakeru
tomadou kokoro wo terashi nagara
deai to wakare hito wa sagasu no
itsu ka musubi aeru tsuyoi kizuna wo

sekai chuu no kanashimi wo subete
uketomete mo ii anata no tame nara
sekai chuu kara okizari ni saretemo
sono hitomi wo shinjiteiru
It's my Truth

Hitoiro - NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA

This song is the theme of NANA 2 where the lyrics are written by Yazawa Ai, the manga's author and the melody composed by GLAY's Takuro. As compared to the insert song by Ito Yuna, this is more on the rock side but not as groovy as "GLAMOROUS SKY" though. The melody is much more mellow and slower. However, it does show Nakashima Mika's vocal ability to a certain extent especially the parts where the lyrics have to be sung at a faster pace which I'm glad to see as a form of improvement on her part.

In tune with the title, "Hitoiro" i.e. monochrome, you will see only black-and-white images in this PV except for the scenes in the movie which is in colour. This is rather different from Ito Yuna's PV which has a lot of beautiful scenery from Scotland. And you don't get to see scenes from the movie in Ito's PV. Another significant difference was the fact that the Trapnest members appeared in Ito's PV but none of the Black Stones members made a live appearance in the Hitoiro PV. It was more of a one-man show from Nakashima right till the end.

One issue I have with the PV is the shiny crumpled dress she was wearing while she's walking on the road. Personally, I cannot appreciate this outfit at all and thinks Nakashima looks quite awful in that. Somehow, I remember seeing this type of style before but I can't remember who had worn a similar outfit in the past.

As the "Truth" PV was done in an elaborate fashion, the "Hitoiro" PV pales in comparison in terms of the packaging but it has a certain edge over its rival because it featured scenes from the PV. However, it's quite evident that there was a difference in the budgets for both productions and Nakashima's PV had a strong sense of her personal style. In essence, it felt more like a song from Oosaki Nana rather than from Black Stones.

I can't say that I really like the song right from the start but this grows on you over time. However, given that it's not easy to take to this song easily, this may have an impact on the sales figures especially when compared to "Truth" which can be easily accepted by the mass market due to its ballad style. We'll see how the sales go from now on...