News From The Other Side Of The Pond #13!

Toru Furuya Reprises Role in A Ramen Commercial?

Some say it was bound to happen. The Nissin Freedom Project reminded us a lot of other anime series, mainly Gundam, Evangelion and Eureka 7. Now we have learned of a new crossover between Nissin and the Gundam series, wherein Gundam characters revel at the sight of a bowl of noodles after being starved from fighting their battles. The noodles are inserted into memorable scenes from the first-ever Mobile Suit Gundam series. Toru Furuya (Tuxedo Kamen) reprises his role as Ray Amuro, who can be seen here (left side) joyously relieved after seeing a floating bowl of noodles in space, before his delusion causes him to fall out of his spaceship. Banjou Ginga also reprises his role as Gihren Zabi in the commercials (on the same page as above, but on the right). We find it funny the lengths some Japanese companies will go through to have their products appeal to the masses - we couldn’t help but laugh at the randomness of the noodles that floated in space.

Ai Nonaka Inspired by Megumi Ogata

Ai Nonaka is 26 years old, but has dreamed of being an actress since she was very young. In high school, she was the head of the drama club and dreamed of playing the male roles in the famous Takarazuka Revue. However she was not tall enough for an audition there, and turned to radio acting school. Today she is both a singer and a Seiyuu, and sat down with Famitsu for an interview. She revealed that she was inspired by the performances of Megumi Ogata (Sailor Uranus) who typically plays roles of women who are tomboyish, sometimes playing even boys and men. She even got to meet Megumi Ogata when she was a guest star on one of the radio shows that she was acting in, and stayed behind so that she could meet her idol. Ai says that while she is happy to have achieved her dream, she has very little time to herself. She has just added aromatherapy to her daily regiment to help relieve all the stress from being an actress and singing! Ai Nonaka is famous for such roles as Shima Katase in Stellvia of the Universe, Konoka Konoe in Mahou Sensei Negima, and most recently, Fuko Ibuki in Clannad.

New Gackt Album Inspired by Gundam!

Japanese Rocker Gackt released a new album of covers from 0079-0088 Gundam Series on December 21st. Entitled 0079-0088 , the limited edition features narration from none other than Toru Furuya and Shuichi Ikeda. There was a party held that day in Kinokuniya to commemorate the album’s release, and Keiko Han (Luna and Queen Beryl) was in attendance. She once played the role of Lalah Sune on the series. A video message was also shown from Toru Furuya, who was in China for a cultural exchange on that day. Fans looking to purchase either narrated version (Toru’s or Shuichi’s) or the normal version can click the links to find them on YesAsia.com.

Jadeite and Artemis in Upcoming Anime!

Masaya Onosaka (Jadeite) is set to voice the character Jade “J.D.” in an anime to debut this April, Neo Angelique Abyss. There will also be a video game out for Sony’s PlayStation 2 at around the same time. This one is a romantic, magical girl anime which continues from the previous series, Angelique. Angelique is now a Queen and must defend her kingdom from Thanatos, which has consumed many other societies around her in darkness. The show also stars Kappei Yamaguchi (PGSM Artemis) in the role of René. Jade is on Angelique’s side and wants to help so he can see lots of people smiling, however René is a very gloomy and devilish person. The series was created by Koei and is expected to be a big hit.

Aya Sugimoto Takes On New Role...

As a producer! Aya, who is famous to us for playing Queen Beryl in PGSM , and to others for her "modelling", produced a Kabuki show in Japan on the 23rd of December. She attended one of the classes to learn Kabuki, and found that it took a lot of energy ! She found the restrictive movements difficult, and admired the 12 women for their grace and persistence in the art. For those of our readers who are unaware what Kabuki is, it is a style of dance drama that is usually performed by females, though in recent history some men perform it as well. They are usually short comedic plays based on stories along the walk of life. The performers always wear fancy kimonos and a lot of makeup when they perform these on stage.

Mika Kanai Soldiers on!

Mika Kanai (Mimete) put on quite the show at the Suchi Pie Christmas Special December 16th! Despite recent news of her divorce, she sang alongside several maids and put on a very successful concert along with the rest of the cast of Suchi Pie. When she came to perform, not many people knew that it was her, since she rarely appears in public, let alone even to sing. She sang You And Me , the second ending to the most recent video game of the series, Idol Sparrow Suchi Pie IV. Mika also serves as the voice of a character in this game, Misaki Kyoko. Rika Fukami (Sailor Venus) plays the role of Nanjou Rie, but she was not at this event. Mika was supported by a chorus of girls dressed up as café maids, which serve as the premise of this game. She came dressed in a cute black elf costume and sang with lots of enthusiasm! This game is unique because it was formatted for the home market, and is based on the popular Asian matching game of Mahjong. Fans can check out some more information about the series here. As of this writing, we have not heard if this game will be released here.

Masaya Kikawada to Appear in Chronic Complainer!

Chronic Complainers is a short TV Movie that is set to air January the 6th on Fuji’s Tokai TV. It is about life in a department store, specifically the complaints that are received at the returns counter. The department store is 140 years old, and has an aging management that has to deal with a variety of occurrences at the store, such as a drunk person who passes out while shopping, and not wanting to have to reimburse a customer for a faulty piece of kitchenware - that should be the manufacturer’s job! It looks like it will be a heartwarming comedy about the skills needed to cope with such a job, as well as the relationships among the workers. Masaya Kikawada (PGSM Motoki) plays Eren Tatsuya, a clerk at the store.

And thus ends our last article of the year! Thanks for a great 2007!

For Those Of You Looking For A Very Stunning Keiko Kitagawa...

A while ago we told you that Keiko Kitagawa (PGSM Sailor Mars) had been chosen to be one of the models in the new Kanebo Cosmetics Coffret D'Or commercial. We have finally come across it, and sadly though we can't put a rip up on our commercials channel, we can at least share a link where you can watch them on their official site. Click any one of the copper buttons to watch a variant of the commercial. Keiko is the second girl to come up and talk in a silky white, ruffled dress. There's an interview here, but unfortunately our translator is on vacation so we can't translate it for the timebeing.

We know you fans are wondering where our Mop Girl synopses have gone. We haven't had the time to watch any episodes since the fourth one, and unfortunately the series has ended after 10 episodes. Which is both good and bad news, because we only have 6 episodes left to catch up on! But sadly, we enjoyed the series and are sad to see it go.

Go Catch Naz Edwards in Souvenir !

We reported way back in May that Naz Edwards (Queen Beryl) had a leading role in the play Souvenir in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Performance Network just announced dates for the show which begin on January 10th and end a month later. But wait, there's more! According to Naz Edwards' official website, the play will make it's way to the Boards Head Theater in Lansing on March 19th! We will let you know as soon as we can where fans can get tickets to the Lansing show. This looks like it will be hit, as Naz, who is renowned for her singing, plays the role of a singer who cannot carry a tune at all! It's based on the true story of the legendary New York socialite Florence Foster Jenkins, a dynamic woman who thought she could sing, though giving earaches to everyone around her. She may have been the first 'Diva' ever, as her stages were almost always covered in flowers to "arabesque with her voice". Good luck on the performance Naz!

Merry Christmas!

From all of us to you readers, we wish you the warmest of wishes for this holiday! We got the greatest Christmas present of all a couple weeks ago - Google has finally started to index our pages more frequently than they did before and now more people are reading the site! We'd like to thank all of the readers, and websites, who have helped to spread the word about this place. We wouldn't be here without your support, and it's really appreciated! 2007 was a very big first year, and we hope to make the site bigger and better in 2008! And thanks to the few fans who have written to us on how we can improve or what they'd like to see on the site, or just to drop us a line to tell us how they liked reading some of our stories. It helps us decide what to look for and write on this site.

A very special thank you goes to all of the Sailor Moon Voice Actors who have supported and read the site. You all continue to inspire us each time when we see how far you have come since the show! Here's to greater success in 2008! We've seen everything from production and direction ventures, to musical endeavours, cartoon work, and of course a potential Oscar nomination! We wish you the best of luck in the coming New Year, and we'll be here to report it!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 1!

On the 1st Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:
1 International License for the Anime, Live Action, Movies, Musicals and Music!

Therefore, I finally had a good night's worth of sleep because I no longer had to live without Sailor Moon!

2 Tickets to go see a Space Launch!
Three Cats, One Black, One White, and One Grey!
4 Sets of Sailor Moon Stationary to write Christmas Notes to my friends and family!
The Witches 5 For The Doing of My Dastardly Deeds!
6 Sailor Moon Wands!
7 Sets of PGSM DVDs for my friends and I!
8 Sailor Moon Electronic Novelties!
9 Sailor Senshi Dolls!
10 Memorial Music Box Sets of 10 Discs Each!
11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!


For the Depraved Sailor Moon Fan:

☼ First Edition Singles of Geneon's release of Sailor Moon S!
☼ Sailor Moon SuperS Boxset!
☼ ADV's boxset release of Sailor Moon R!
☼ADV's boxset release of Sailor Moon (first season)!
☼ Return of the Doom Tree!

VA Sightings December 2007!

Robert Tinkler Appears on Season Two of Notes From The Underbelly!
Season two of ABC’s hit pregnancy comedy, Notes From The Underbelly began on November 26th, in the wake of the still looming Writers Guild Of America Strike. Robert Tinkler (Rubeus) appeared as Cooper’s (played by Rachel Harris) assistant on the second episode of the season, The Blackout. During a blackout, Julie (Melanie Deanne Moore) reveals that she has a video blog on the internet, dedicated to her newborn son. Cooper learns from her boss that her coworkers, or "cubicle drones" are quitting because she is just too rude to them. She is told that if another one quits because of her, she will lose her bonus. So in an attempt to get to chummy with her coworkers, she calls on Ben, or rather their "King". She learns that the coworkers were all enjoying a movie about babies acting stupid, and mentions Julie’s blog to them in an attempt to socialize. Eventually Cooper becomes popular with the crowd, even inviting them into her office to watch the blog. She even brings in Julie (their newly found idol) for a couple visits! But her plan falters when she snaps at one when she quits to move with her husband to another town. Cooper thought she was quitting because of her! Nonetheless, we hope to see more of Robert Tinkler this season than we did in the last one - we really like seeing him in comedy! Robert is the one holding the can on the right side, seated on the floor next to Cooper on the sofa.


Liza Balkan Is Directing All Around Ontario’s Theater Circuit!

Liza Balkan (Sailor Mercury #2) just finished directing the Waterloo Entertainment Centre’s production of Bunnicula and it was met with rave reviews. It was based on the popular children’s book series by James Howe about a rabbit that sucks the juice out of vegetables. If only they really existed, then every child wouldn’t have to eat their dinners! She thought she was going to play Chester the Cat, and was initially disappointed that she was asked to direct. But later she was thrilled to do it! The show implored a puppeteer who manipulated the bunny, and a cast of six talented actors. Though seemingly aimed for children, it entertained all ages, even having a few adult references for humor. She described it as "a wonderful mix of Bugs Bunny, the Far Side, a little bit of the Marx Brothers and lots of music." Liza will next be directing Opera on the Rocks, on January 8th and 9th . This is an opera that takes place amidst a bar, where the singers are sitting among others, and singing about love, life, and loss. It will be taking place at the Pauper’s Pub in the heart of downtown Toronto! If any of our readers have attended any of her productions we would love to hear from you!

We Find Something Old And Something New About Stephanie Beard!

We really wish we could tell you lot hanging out in the cold of Stephanie Sugar Lyn Beard’s official forums what she’s been up to - and we really hope to hear something big soon. In the meantime, we discovered something old and something new. Before Stephanie broke out into the world of voice acting with her role as Rini in Sailor Moon S, she was a radio DJ for former radio station KISS FM in Toronto. On the side, she also did a show with DJ Smylz called SugaSmylz Radio, where they would showcase whatever music they felt in the groove for! We stumbled upon a few lost episodes on podcasts at Red Monkey Radio and on Smylz' official website. We don’t hear her voice, but fans can get a look at the very diverse taste Stephanie has in music! And now for the something new, we stumbled upon Stephanie’s page at Voice123, a website where voices are for hire! Fans can see her credits, what she can do, and hear a demo. We’ve never heard her do any European accents and we’d love to hear that on a demo! We've heard about sites just like this on the news and that they are the first place a business will turn to if they need a voice for their advertisements as they don't have to deal with the hassle of going through a talent agency. They can here the voices here for themselves and hire them "on the spot". We’ll caution fans though that unless they have a serious, paying voice job for Stephanie, don’t contact her through this website. It’s never a good idea to send fanmail to a business site. You’re probably better off catching her by leaving a comment on her MySpace.

Konnichiwa from Emilie-Claire Barlow!

Picture Credit: Official Site. Official Site.

Emilie-Claire Barlow (Sailors Mars & Venus #2) is having a great time in Japan! She is going around to different cities and performing Christmas shows! She has been chronicling her adventures on her blog, and fans can read about her shows, sightseeing, and a few clips here. We really love the shots of the strange signs she’s seen when she’s out and about! We wonder if she payed homage to Sailor Mars by visiting the Hikawa Shrine when she went to Tokyo? For those who want to listen to some of her excellent renditions of Christmas tunes, click here for the iTunes link to last year’s Winter Wonderland - which we reviewed here. It’s a really good album and all of you should check it out! For more of Emilie-Claire’s tunes, click here.

Late-Breaking News: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Licensed!

This one almost slipped under our radar. At the New York Anime Festival earlier this month, Bandai announced that they have the license for Mamoru Hosoda’s The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Finally, the wait is over for this award winner! We have been covering this one for a long time and we’re happy to hear the news. The movie will have a limited theatrical release before a DVD comes out in 2008. The first screenings will likely be announced soon, and will probably take place in Los Angeles or New York. There may be a dub of the movie but it’s unknown who the cast is or if this will be the version shown in theaters. We will keep our eyes on the situation and let you know as soon as we find out! In the meantime though, check out this trailer!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 2!

On the 2nd Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:
2 Tickets to go see a Space Launch!

Three Cats, One Black, One White, and One Grey!
4 Sets of Sailor Moon Stationary to write Christmas Notes to my friends and family!
The Witches 5 For The Doing of My Dastardly Deeds!
6 Sailor Moon Wands!
7 Sets of PGSM DVDs for my friends and I!
8 Sailor Moon Electronic Novelties!
9 Sailor Senshi Dolls!
10 Memorial Music Box Sets of 10 Discs Each!
11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!


For the Fan Who Is A Sailor Moon Geek:

☼ Prince Diamond Cel!
☼ Sailor Moon Group Cel!
☼ Rare cel of Usagi and Rei with background!
☼ Sailor Moon Star Locket!
☼ Sailor Moon Artbook!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 3!

On the 3rd Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:

Three Cats, One Black, One White, and One Grey!


4 Sets of Sailor Moon Stationary to write Christmas Notes to my friends and family!
The Witches 5 For The Doing of My Dastardly Deeds!
6 Sailor Moon Wands!
7 Sets of PGSM DVDs for my friends and I!
8 Sailor Moon Electronic Novelties!
9 Sailor Senshi Dolls!
10 Memorial Music Box Sets of 10 Discs Each!
11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!


For the Fan Who Can't Get Enough Of Those Lunar Felines:

☼ Rare Nakayoshi Luna Keychain!
☼ Artemis Plush!
☼ PGSM Luna and Artemis, and Sailor Luna Magnets!
☼ Rare Sailor Venus and Artemis Magnet!
☼ Sailor Stars Luna Cel!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 4!

On the 4th Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:

4 Sets of Sailor Moon Stationary to write Christmas Notes to my friends and family!



The Witches 5 For The Doing of My Dastardly Deeds!
6 Sailor Moon Wands!
7 Sets of PGSM DVDs for my friends and I!
8 Sailor Moon Electronic Novelties!
9 Sailor Senshi Dolls!
10 Memorial Music Box Sets of 10 Discs Each!
11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!


For the Fan Who Likes Sailor Moon Stationary:

☼ Sailor Moon Ring Notepad!
☼ Round Sailor Stars Notepad from Korea!
☼ Sailor Moon School Supplies and Other Goodies!
☼ Sailor Moon R Datebook!
☼ Fake (but some items look almost real) Study Set!

Wii Call YesAsia's Bluff

It's December 20th, and we at Moon Chase agree that the Sailor Moon Game for the Nintendo Wii will not be coming out in 11 days as stated on YesAsia's online store. We have spent the last few weeks scouring pages in both English and Japanese finding nothing. We also tried to contact various companies involved but did not hear back from them. YesAsia is still sending out emails that are saying almost exactly what they were saying back in March, that this is the date that it is likely to be released by their supplier. The only talk about it in Japan that we could find were on blogs that pointed back to English news stories posted here, on Genvid, and on Powet.TV. There isn't even a mention anywhere on the official Sailor Moon Channel. The game could be in development, but unless we can hire some spies to wander around Namco's development division in Japan, we have no way we can prove it since no one in Japan seems to be talking about it seriously. Just in case you missed it, there is no Sailor Moon Wii Game, and the cover you see pictured above is what happens when we can't find a good enough image to use and have too much time on our hands ;).

EDIT: It appears that as of yesterday (December 21st, 2007) YesAsia has pulled the page from their listings. No amount of searching on the website for Sailor Moon and Wii can find it. We have saved an image of the listing from a cache.

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 5!

On the 5th Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:

The Witches 5 For The Doing of My Dastardly Deeds!

6 Sailor Moon Wands!

7 Sets of PGSM DVDs for my friends and I
8 Sailor Moon Electronic Novelties!
9 Sailor Senshi Dolls!
10 Memorial Music Box Sets of 10 Discs Each!
11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!


For the Witches 5 Enthusiast:

☼ Irwin "Kaori Night" Doll!
☼ Eudial Pin!
☼ Mimete Pin!
☼ Mimete Cel!
☼ Cel of Hotaru Being Served By Kaori Knight!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 6!

On the 6th Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:

6 Sailor Moon Wands!


7 Sets of PGSM DVDs for my friends and I
8 Sailor Moon Electronic Novelties!
9 Sailor Senshi Dolls!
10 Memorial Music Box Sets of 10 Discs Each!
11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!


For the Wand Collector:

☼ Wand from PGSM!
☼ Sailor Moon S Wand!
☼ R Scepter!
☼ Sailor Moon SS Wand!
☼ Interchangeable Inner Senshi Transformation Wand!

*Picture courtesy of MangaStyle.net

Japanese Rockstar Writes Sentiments on Hunter X Hunter Hiatus

For once, we don’t begin a post about Yoshihiro Togashi using that ridiculous picture we have of him! In the news today in Japan, was a blog of note from Eiji Wentz (pictured), who has seemingly joined the myriads of other bloggers who have an opinion about the recent Hunter X Hunter hiatus. Eiji is one-half of Indie J-Rock Guitar Duo WaT. Titled Lost, he writes:

I wasn’t sure if I should write this or not.

Because I don’t understand the whole story.

Hard to understand the story from the comics.
Hunter X Hunter.
Do you know of it?

I think it is an interesting one in the world of comics.
It was not published when I went to France.
It has not been released in a book form, Weekly Shonen Jump to read every day.
(We think he means that he wants to see the new chapters in a book and read it day after day).

The next part is a little difficult to translate. We think he’s trying to say something to the effect of that while he really loved reading the new chapters, he felt sorry for the "blood shed" or effort that the author had to probably put in to get these chapters done. He feels bad for having to write this, as well as for Yoshihiro Togashi.

He ends with "However, this one is my favorite".

Eventually, this series has to end and the plots need resolution. We’re reading reports now that Jump magazine had planned it this way, for new chapters to only be released for 10 weeks. And looking at how much interest and hype there was upon the return, we would not be surprised if the editors tried to pull another stunt and extend the "hiatus" for a lengthy period of time. Either way, the fans of this manga have been through too much. We personally think it would be a lot easier if Yoshihiro could work for a few months to finish this story and then take a hiatus for however long he wants - just get this manga finished already!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 7!

On the 7th Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:

7 Sets of PGSM DVDs for my friends and I

8 Sailor Moon Electronic Novelties!
9 Sailor Senshi Dolls!
10 Memorial Music Box Sets of 10 Discs Each!
11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!


For the PGSM fan:

☼PGSM Dolls!
☼PGSM Jewelry and Hair Accessories!
☼Usagi's Playhouse!
☼Dear My Friend OST!
☼PGSM Episode Guide!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 8!

On the 8th Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:

8 Sailor Moon Electronic Novelties!

9 Sailor Senshi Dolls!
10 Memorial Music Box Sets of 10 Discs Each!
11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!

For the Sailor Moon Technophile:

☼Sailor Moon Computer Game!
☼Sailor Moon Motorcycle from SS!
☼Sailor Moon Super Famicom Soundtrack!
☼Sailor Moon R Pocket Game!
☼Sailor Moon S Crystal Toy Screen Projector!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 9!

On the 9th Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:

9 Sailor Senshi Dolls!
10 Memorial Music Box Sets of 10 Discs Each!
11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!


For the Sailor Moon Doll Collector:

☼ Sailor Moon S Fuku!
☼ Rei Hino Doll!
☼ Serena's Bedroom!
☼ Outer Senshi!
☼ Set of 12 Irwin Dolls!

BREAKING NEWS: For all you Anza Oyama fans...

Yesterday, a review of Head Phones President's concert at the Pacific Media Expo was posted to Asia Pacific Arts. Head Phones President is described as a band that is experimental/rock, but after hearing some of their music we'd almost compare them to Evanescence. They've got that dark, emotional, rock aspect to their music.

We'd never imagined someone who grew up in the idol industry completely go in a different direction from what they started with. Anza Oyama, the lead singer of the group, is best known for appearing in 13 Sera Myu (Sailor Moon Musicals) playing Sailor Moon. Later she appeared in Japanese productions of Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, When Harry Met Sally, Mr. Holland's Opus, and Three Sisters. In 2000, Head Phones Presidents was formed, and since then they have released a few maxi-singles, mini-albums, two albums and a DVD. Anza last year released a single, Kanata e which was used as the second ending for the anime, Glass Feet.

The reviewer described the show as intense, with each of the band members in their own zone for the whole concert. They were really able to project their feelings of pain and trauma towards the audience - so much so that the band collapsed to the floor at the end because it was emotionally and physically exhausting. But backstage, they were really friendly and ordinary compared to the personas they have on the stage! The article goes on to mention how the songs are written from personal experience, Anza had a rough time during her teenage years and kept a diary, which influences a lot of her music. Anza is half South-African, and would always get teased and harassed at school.

For more information on Head Phones President, go visit their official site or MySpace page!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 10!

On the 10th Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:

10 Memorial Music Box Sets of 10 Discs Each!
11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!

For the fan who likes music from the Series:

☼German Release of All The Hits in Japanese!
☼Sailor Stars Opening Single!
☼Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Music Collection!
☼Moon Revenge Single!
☼Full Moon Collection!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style - Day 11!

On the 11th Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:



11 Sera-Myu Musical DVDs!
12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!

For the Sera-Myu fan on your list (from YesAsia.com):
☼Anza Oyama Boxset!
☼Fumina Hara Boxset!
☼10th Anniversary Special - Ai no Sanctuary!
☼Winter 1998 - Eien Densetsu!
☼2005 Winter Musical - Shin Kaguya Shima Densetsu!

12 Days of Christmas - Moon Chase Style!

We decided to do something a little fun leading up to Christmas. We were originally going to have snowflakes float down the page and change the banner, but we’ve been so crazy busy that we barely had any time to even plan a Christmasy logo. And the page takes long enough to load already and the snowflakes would have probably lagged you all even more! So instead, we thought "What if we knew Naoko Takeuchi? What would she give us for Christmas?" And lo and behold, every day from now to the 25th, we will present to you our version of the 12 Days of Christmas. Now they may not fit with the song, but it’s all in the name of good fun! We’re even going to post some eBay links (by popular demand) that relate to the gifts! We’re going to work backwards though, and you’ll see at the end why this is being done. We’ll keep a running tally through all the entries ... without further ado...

On the 12th Day Before Christmas, Naoko Takeuchi Surprised Me With:

12 Sailor Senshi Cosplay Costumes To Last Me The Convention Season!

For that Special Cosplayer:
☼Sailor Moon S Cosplay Set!
☼Fan-Made Sailor Saturn's Glaive!
☼Sailor Jupiter's Henshin Wand!
☼Fan-Made Sailor Pluto Earrings!
☼PGSM Sailor Venus Cosplay Set!

News From The Other Side Of The Pond #12!

Sae Featured on Radio Drama!

Aurora Squadron Prism Knights is a popular radio drama in Japan that revolves around magical girls. In an alternate reality, the Earth Queen’s successor must be found. The successor is a Crystal Master, and is protected by the Prism Knights, a squadron of magical girls of which each has a special talent. They return to the galaxy to find the new Queen and protect the galaxy from evil and keep the peace! By day, they work as housemaids. When we read this, we thought immediately, why is this not a manga or an anime? It sounds exciting enough to be one of those and we doubt that it’s getting the exposure it deserves as a radio drama - which are huge in Japan from what we hear, but still we think an anime or a manga would be a better choice! Sae, who is better known as the singer of the OP of PGSM Kirari*Sailor Dream!, sings the OP of this drama, titled Double Rainbow. Sae recently changed her name to Nanami Yumihara, and we nearly missed this sighting. The single was released in limited quantities on December 8th, and was muchly anticipated by the public. The drama also has another connection to Sailor Moon, Norio Wakamoto plays Mirage. Norio played Yuusuke Amade in episode six.

Italian Translates Japanese Manga!

We bring you yet another addition to our Special People tag. A journalist in Japan had heard that Japanese cartoons were very popular in Italy, but he wanted to know more. And then he met a translator - Stefania Da Pont. She lives in Japan now and translates manga into Italian. She has been a fan of Japanese cartoons since she was a small child of barely 3-years-old, remembering a Gundam Series, Heidi of the Alps, and Grendizer among her first anime she had ever seen. As a teenager she enjoyed watching Sailor Moon but disagreed with the edits and how different it was from the original comic book. We reported on some of these differences in an earlier article. She also said that the comics were very expensive and children would really have to save to be able to afford them. Being a translator wasn't her dream job, but she was very interested in Japanese language and culture, and pursued it through high school and university, even going to a special high school that specialized in the instruction of foreign languages. Later she decided that she wanted to be a translator, and attended The Ca' Foscari University of Venice. She graduated in 2005 having studied Japanese Language and Culture. Now she lives in Japan and works to translate cartoons and comics in Italian. She moved there so that she could be near the culture she loved, as well as experience cutting-edge technology. She finds the sentence structures of both languages hard in some cases when she has to translate, but she loves doing what she does. She also keeps a blog in Italian about her adventures in Japan.

Mixed Feelings on the State of Anime

Lastly, we came across this article from Japan that reported on last weekend's inaugural New York Anime Fest (NYAF). NYAF also played host to the ICv2 Conference on Anime and Manga, which brought together members from all over the industry to discuss anime and manga. We're not going to summarize this article as it pretty much has the same details ANN has covered in their coverage of the event, so we'll point you to their coverage which even has some video footage. And there's this article that was just posted today from an exec who better emphasizes the problems with the industry. This opinion piece was written by CNET Japan's Yuuzi Mori, his title roughly translates to "Japanese Content has dug its own grave. Cartoon Industry Talks in North America". He presents some figures on the second page, the top being for manga and the bottom being for anime. We're going to provide a quick translation of the table for you here so you can see what the figures are saying:

For Manga:

Profits (below) Year (>>)	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Market Share	$60 Million	$100 Million	$135 Million	$175 Million	$200 Million	-
Compared With Previous Year	-	67%	35%	30%	40%	-
Number of Titles	-	-	-	1088	1288	1468*

For Anime:

Profits (below) Year (>>)	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Market Share	$500 Million	$550 Million	$500 Million	$450 Million	$400 Million	-
Compared With Previous Year	-	10%	0%	10%	11%	-
Number of Titles	400	562	727	733	759	617*

*indicates estimates as of the beginning of December.

The writer of this opinion made mention that a lot of titles that get released don't make as much profits as others who have a run on cable television in North America, and this is one of the biggest reasons for the downfall in anime-related profits this year. The second biggest reason being the distribution of fansubs online. The same trends are being seen in Europe, but they are on a much bigger scale given all of the different languages that pop up on fansub. In fact he thinks that the anime industry in North America could reach a standstill since the Japanese companies are likely to increase the licensing fee in the future if this trend continues. But then at the same time, if it wasn't for this internet exposure, a lot of fans wouldn't be aware of certain titles, and many titles are a lot popular even before a license is announced in North America. Bleach and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya are probably the biggest prime examples where this holds true of recent years. And of course, he makes mention of Geneon's pullout, and he reveals that they were responsible for a sizeable 20% chunk of the North American Industry. We agree with the opinion of the editor that some internet exposure is needed for these series since the majority of them don't air on television, but at the same time we think that there needs to be something done about fansubs after they are licensed.

Hunter X Hunter on Hiatus Again!

We have some sad news for all you Hunter X Hunter fans. Over the weekend, an announcement appeared in Japan’s Jump Magazine on the table of contents page. It was written by Yoshihiro Togashi, and said the following:

The manga will return shortly.
I will be back as soon as I can.
Please hold on, all my best.


Of course, this was further reinforced from the irony of one character’s line, or specifically, the last line of the chapter published in this issue. Silva Zaoldyeck, better known as the father of Killua, the best friend of the main character Gon, said "I think our most important job is to wait". Once again, no reason from Yoshihiro, or from the editors was given for this hiatus. Of course, all the news articles that we have read haven’t stopped speculating what might be going on. Some think it’s a ploy from Yoshihiro and the editors to grab attention to the manga, and noted how ecstatic and excited the general public was when the manga made it’s return last October. Others are speculating that his illness has returned -though none go far enough to say what it might be. But one of the most interesting facts to notice is what the editors are saying. Shueisha’s office of Public Relations released this comment:

The manga was initially going to return for only ten weeks.
Whether it will restart again has been undecided.


Some are speculating that the Editors knew Togashi was going to put the manga on hiatus after these ten weeks after reading this comment. If this is true, then the staff really needs to get their act together. It really doesn't make sense to agree for ten chapters to get published, and then let it go on hiatus for who knows how long, and then agree to another limited run... on and on the cycle goes. Plots need to end, conflicts need resolution, and it shouldn't take this long! None of our staff is particularly familiar with this title in particular, but from what we have read, once again the fans were left hanging when the story hit a cliffhanger. As anyone could predict, Japanese bloggers are extremely angered over this and are rampant with their rage. One of our favorite entries we read featured a rather hilarious avatar and the caption on this blog! It pretty much summed up the situation. We know we would be too if our favorite manga had been "resurrected" from the dead only to be here for barely a couple of months before it disappeared again. At the time of this writing, we have not seen if such a petition is around to find out what the holdup is again with this manga, but we will keep you posted on any further developments that we find.

Stay Tuned...

Hey Moonies, it's winding down to the end of the year and we have some changes for this upcoming busy holiday season for us staff. I just got back from a trip to Vegas to see the Spice Girls and sorry to be going OT here but those of you who are waiting to see them, you will not be disappointed :). And those who want to go, GO! Alas, I need a day or two to recover before I start updating this site again...

First off, we're not going to post any new commercials until the new year, but we will collect them and have a giant commercialspalooza in January. This is because there's a lot of old ones that we have to backup onto imeem within a span of under two weeks and it would save us a lot of time if we only had to upload the new ones to the new service, rather than upload to Veoh when we are going to trash it anyway. Fans can look forward to seeing a couple special pieces with a Christmas theme and that should be starting in a few days. Forums should be up and running by the end of January - apologies for the wait. In the meantime feel free to send us an email at Moonchasers @ gmail DOT com to let us know what you'd like to see on the forums (or on this blog). Due to lack of staff the eBay links were nixed, but if there is enough interest from the fans, we can try to bring it back again. We are still looking for writers and if you are interested or have any questions feel free to contact us!

News From The Other Side Of The Pond #11!

Beware of Fake Rika Izumi aka Chisaki Hama Blog!

Ahh,Rika Izumi, or better known by a stage name of years passed, Chisaki Hama (Sailor Mercury in PGSM). Her whereabouts since last year have only been documented in blogs from the other actresses of PGSM when they have hung out. This year saw something different though, a resurrection! But wait, it's probably not her. It all started last October when someone posted some pretty grainy cell phone videos of Rika Izumi - or so they say. It could be her, but we really doubt the authenticity of this channel. Besides, the only "stars" we know that would post private videos are usually aiming for a different audience. And some of these "private videos" show Rika in situations that look scripted. We don't think that this is Rika and that this channel is probably fake. Late last month, we learned of this website, which features a blog translated by her roommate "Michiko". We thought it was a little shady since it appeared to be a community of all the PGSM actresses, and featured very little of their work outside of the show. We also learned that the English parts of the blog are some poorly translated entries, that are supposedly posted by the stars themselves. Some of the stars though, notably Ayaka Komatsu, have their own blogs elsewhere, and to be able to post comments, you have to pay a fee to be a member of their fan club. Then you can post all the comments you like! We highly doubt they would also run a free site on the side. We're sure if her management knew about how her entries were being copied and frauded around like this something would be done. We have reason to believe that this site is also fake as Jay Navok of Genvid has pointed out that the Japanese probably isn't correct either. We have tried our hardest to contact as many of the talent agents of the other stars, to warn them that content is being stolen, however as of this writing it appears none of them have done anything about it.

Mop Girl Only The Latest In A Growing Trend

Keiko Kitagawa's (Sailor Mars in PGSM) new late-night drama Mop Girl is only the latest in a recent trend in Japanese Television. 10 years ago, "midnight dramas" were not really in existence, and Japanese people were not likely to watch television late at night. This time slot attracts the youth especially and is almost becoming the new primetime for that demographic. Mop Girl is especially popular with viewers aged 20-24.

Phone Girls is out on DVD!

Rina Koike (Sailor Luna in PGSM) continues her ascent in the idol world, and her new series called Phone Girls / Keitai Shoujo was released on DVD November 26th in Japan. It's about schoolgirls who love to talk and use their cell phones! The show has an animated RPG component, as well as a live action drama about a phone girl falling in love on a class trip. Last week all the idols of the show did a live show which will be released on DVD in February. They all played instruments and this was the first time Rina performed the drums for an audience! We were smitten with cute when we saw this picture, Rina is such a darling!!

Megumi Ogata Holds Concert Celebrating 15 Years in Anime!

Yesterday, Megumi Ogata (Sailor Uranus) held a concert in Shibuya O-EAST celebrating her 15 years in the Anime industry. She sang a whopping 38 songs , and opening the show was Moonlight Densetsu, better known as the opening theme of the first four seasons of Sailor Moon! And there cheering her on was none other than frequent co-stars Aya Hisakawa (Sailor Mercury) and Kikuko Inoue (Sailor Aluminum Siren)! She sang hits from all her work, including Cruel Angel's Thesis from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Congratulations Emi and here's to more years of hearing your voice in anime! Fans may be interested to know that Jamiroquai Frontman Jay Kay is a producer of one of the floors at Shibuya O-EAST where fans can enjoy a fine meal while they are at a concert.

In Other Concert News...

Yoko Ishida will also be performing a concert December 24th, to thank her fans. Coincidentally, she is also celebrating 15 years in the industry! Her first hit was Otome no Policy from Sailor Moon R in 1993. The concert begins at 5:30 PM and tickets are ¥4000. For those of our fans who are in Japan and can attend Thankful X'mas, they can find out more information from the venue, Eggman.


Toru Furuya Appears at Yet Another Intel Event!

Toru Furuya (Tuxedo Kamen) is such a technophile! He has made yet another appearance at an Intel event November 25th to promote Intel's processors. This time he appeared at the Special Stage of Intel in Osaka 2007. He joked that the new Core 2 Quad processor has 5x as much power as a Gundam! He did voices of his most famous characters at the event to get the audience's attention, including Tuxedo Kamen! He said something to the effect of not standing for men who break an elegant girl's heart. We wonder why Intel hasn't bothered to hire Vince Corazza to make Sailor Mon fans everywhere swoon enough to buy Intel Processors! Nonetheless, we absolutely love this shot of Toru holding the processor box in his hands!

Mika Kanai And Her Husband Get Divorced :(

Last week, several Japanese news outlets covered the sad news that Mika Kanai (Mimete) and her husband, Kouichi Yamadera have been divorced for over a year. They divorced after around 12 years of marriage in spring of 2006, but this has only come to light now. The two are long-time veterans of voice, with Kouichi being the Japanese dub voice of such hollywood heavyweights like Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey. He proposed to her in 1994 after they had gotten to know each other from co-starring together in a radio drama. His proposal was infamous as he had popped the question to her while standing on a mailbox! Though the cause of the split is unknown, many are speculating that their busy schedules over the last few years was likely the cause. They probably barely had time to spend with each other after their careers.

The two had worked together on many series, such as the children’s favorite Anpanman, Ranma ½, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig, and Pokemon. They even worked together on the dub of Tiny Toons Adventures , playing Shirley McLoon and Plucky Duck. While this may come to a shock to us now, friends of the couple say that they had been discussing divorce for several years repeatedly. Mika is now living in the three-story house they once shared, and Kouichi is living in an apartment in Tokyo. The two still remain friends, and neither wishes to speak about the divorce saying that this is a private matter and they will not comment. Mika can be seen next in a sold-out concert December 16th. She and other seiyuu from the popular OVA Suchie Pai will be performing a Christmas special at Live Inn Magic in Tokyo.