Commercials Corner #6

Moon Chase! once again brings you a selection of Japanese Commercials!

☼Cameron Diaz endorses Cell Phones with Xanadu!
☼Gourmet Bread Chips!
☼Some sort of coffee-flavored pudding!
☼Gatsby Deodorant Spray!
☼Koda Kumi Honda Commercial!
☼Hajime no Ippo for the Wii!
☼Japanese KFC Commercial!
☼Another The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass commercial!
☼Yet another figure preaches about a Job Listings Magazine!
☼Ganriki Training for the DS!
☼10th Anniversary Nissan Elgrand Commercial!
☼Match your Tea with a T-shirt!

Editorial: It’s about time they came back!

Hey Moonies! I had tried my hardest to restrain my excitement from pouring out onto this newsblog as this is hardly Sailor Moon related, but I failed! And hey, it’s my newsblog so I’ll post what I want :p (Just kidding. I am on topic most of the time!)

By now, most of you have probably heard the Spice Girls have reunited and are staging a comeback ! They will be doing a short set of concerts around the world, and there will be a Greatest Hits album. There will also be a documentary too! I think I speak for every fan who has stuck with them for years when I say "THANK YOU!" (huge shout outs to the fans at DenDen!) While I am happy that they are finally getting back together, there’s another reason why I think that they really needed to be back in the spotlight.

The stars of today just aren’t being good role models to teenage girls. You barely go one week without hearing about Britney Spears’ club escapades, or Lindsay Lohan being completely whacked out on drugs, or Paris Hilton getting out of almost everything because of who she is - with her money. Where are the positive, female, role models in this world? They seem so few and far between in pop culture these days. It's a shame that the ones that should be looked up to are barely mentioned by anyone at all! I often worry when I see younger girls wherever I am - especially the ones I see that dress like the "idols" of today. I have seen girls under the age of 10 think that Paris Hilton is the greatest thing since sliced bread and they romp around in mini-skirts holding toy chihuahuas in ballerina outfits. I think the only scandalous thing the Spice Girls were guilty of were their fashion choices (and the odd bizarre antic in public). But they were out on a mission , to let girls everywhere know that they had a place in this world and they could do anything. As ridiculous as it sounds, they were an influence on who I was as a teenager, and who I continue to be. And now that they are older and a bit wiser, it’s about darn time they rekindled their message to the world. It’s not like Sailor Moon is around as much as it used to be for this generation.

So, I’m elated and ecstatic to hear that they are back. I hope for a moment, even though it’s very short, that they can use their time in the spotlight to make the positive impact they had a decade ago on today’s young girls. Ginger, Posh, Scary, Sporty, and Baby, may your Girl Power be stronger than ever!

Just for kicks, here’s the short (and slightly cheezy!) featurette they put together announcing the tour.

Quick Ebay Finds!

Hey Moonies- this week has been particularly hard for Sailordees as not one, but two computers broke (when it rains, it pours)! But the good news is I have fixed my "Plan C" Computer to be somewhat up to par with one of them! So I will be bringing you a short eBay update today and a few commercials within the next couple days. We still are working to resolve the issues with the cut links appearing where they shouldn't be.

But for now though, here are nine notable items!

☼Sailor Moon Stars Coasters!
☼Eternal Sailor Moon Toothbrush!
☼Rare Kodansha Usagi and Chibi-Usa Plush Set!
☼Sailor Moon Perfume Bottles!
☼Sailor Senshi Glass Mug!
☼Sailor Moon handkerchief from Nakayoshi Magazine!
☼An older Sailor Moon T-shirt that is good as new!
☼Sailor Moon Puzzles lot!

And the Big Kahuna of them all...
☼A Jun-Jun Doll!

BREAKING NEWS: G4 Tech TV Canada to Add Six New Titles to Anime Current!

For all you Canucks who subscribe to G4 TechTV Canada, prepare to be blown away! Currently they are burning off their episodes of Lupin the Third, but starting July 21st, the network will be adding six more Geneon Titles to their Anime Current block (big round of applause)! And the best part is, all of these series are recent!

On July 21st, check your local evening listings for two hits from anime masterminds Yoshitoshi ABe and Yasuyuki Ueda. Serial Experiments Lain and Texhnolyze will be having their Canadian Premiere! Serial Experiments Lain is one of Moon Chase's top anime picks - the series takes a look at the definition of reality through the eyes of the lonely Lain Iwakura. Watch this series if you can get the channel! Texhnolyze is a darker anime that deals with Armageddon and self-identity and might bode well with our older readers. If Saturdays are for "thinking anime" then Sundays are definitely for action anime! On July 26th, look out for Last Exile and Tokyo Underground- two adventure animes with wars, spells, comedy, romance and everything in between! Beginning July 26th is the cult suspense-hit Ergo Proxy, and July 27th is Paranoia Agent.

We're really looking forward to the changes that G4 TechTV Canada is bringing to their schedule and we hope it will be a hit!

Panchanne Ends :(

It seems Toku-Comedy hit Panchanne was only destined to last for no more than 13 episodes - and we are sad to see Masataka Takamaru's show go! The very last episode, Calm Last Time aired Tuesday evening in Japan. Albeit it was very cheezy , but it was a good parody of Toku elements from the 60's until today! Fans though can enjoy the series over and over again as the DVDs will be released in August. Volumes 1 & 2 will be released on August 27th in Japan and each will contain bromide cards and postcards. Volume 1 will contain the first two episodes, a creditless opening and ending, and a special interview with the production staff about the creation of this series. Volume 2 will only contain the photos and episodes 3 and 4. The singles of the opening and the ending have also been released. And for those of our readers who love to cosplay, Cospatio (A Cosplay Tailor in Japan) has put up the Panchanne costume for sale! Cospatio was featured in the series for creating the costumes that Haruna Yabuki and Himawari Kitayama wore, and the series was so popular that they will tailor this costume to suit you!

Fans will need a region free player to watch these DVDs and they can be purchased at:
Vol. 1 - yesasia.com
Vol. 2 - yesasia.com
Vol. 1 - CD Japan
Vol. 2 - CD Japan

The singles are available at CD Japan:
Happiness and Tenderness - Opening
Fellow - Ending

We will keep readers posted when we know the release dates of the other volumes! Both stores ship around the world - however we've only had experience with yesasia.com. We really like their online store (even during Christmas their packages have arrived within 2 weeks from Hong Kong!) and if you order two qualifying items you can get a free gashapon/capsule figure! And for all you Sailor Moon Collectors, we totally recommend this Special Edition Sailor Moon Figure. It comes with a magazine that shows every Sailor Moon Gashapon ever created and the detail on the special edition figure is astounding! It's worth the ridiculous price, trust us :).

In the meantime, we invite fans to be the judge again as we show you the major highlight of this episode! Two episodes ago, Panchanne and Panchanne Mini encountered the Super Evil Devil - who bore an eerie resemblance to Tuxedo Kamen! Panchanne was swept away romantically by the Super Evil Devil, but Panchanne Mini began to cry because she didn't want her family to break apart. Panchanne Mini ran away , and was later found by her mother and the two fought for Panchanne Mini to come home. And then they were approached by the Devil, making Panchanne Mini angry and sad. Lo and behold , this very last episode (spoilers ahead!) revealed the identity of the Devil. We will now show you some images along with a few captions. Again, you be the judge - we think Super Evil Devil is very reminiscent of Tuxedo Mask!

Wanna See Some New VA Ventures?

Tune into Teletoon June 29th!

Canadian Moonies should tune into Teletoon beginning at 4PM ET/PT to catch sneak peeks of two new cartoon shows (maybe more?) featuring Sailor Moon VAs! The internet has been mum about the other shows on the previews that day - so we will be watching (and will keep you posted if we see any other actors)! Tell your friends to watch too!

Emilie-Claire Barlow (Sailor Venus #2, Sailor Mars #2) will be playing Courtney on Total Drama Island. This Flash-animated cartoon is like the popular reality show Survivor but there’s a twist: it’s played with 22 teenagers at a camp in Northern Ontario! This show will have it’s official double-episode premiere on July 8th at 8PM, and then will play at its regular time slot Sundays and Thursdays at 8:30 PM. Total Drama Island is the brainchild of 6teen creators Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch - fans may recall Emilie-Claire played Chrissy, the manager of the Khaki barn in that show! The show’s official production blog has put up a lot of animation masters and other goodies for fans to check out before the show hits the airwaves.

Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island will finally have it’s long-awaited Canadian network premiere on July 2nd! This one is about a coconut named Fred who can materialize anything he thinks about. Fred’s imagination knows no bounds, and he takes his friends (who are also different fruits) on the strange adventures he conjures! And it looks like video gamers could get something out of this as they are dressed up as some well-known characters in an episode. Tracey Moore (Sailor Moon #1) plays the scaredycat Bingo Cherry! This show will air Monday through Friday at 10AM ET/PT, and then on Saturdays at 7AM ET/PT. The other thing about this show is that it is not a newer cartoon - it was once part of Kids WB’s schedule from 2005-2006.

A Winner of a Gracie Award is...

One other production involving a VA also won a Gracie! Why I Wore Lipstick to my Mastectomy won the Gracie for Outstanding Drama-Special. This made-for-TV movie starred Harvey Atkin (various Monsters of the Day) in the supporting role as Harvey. Congratulations to Lifetime Television on this win!


Hey Viz, Where’s Mirmo?

Mirumo de Pon! (or rather its English Title, Mirmo!) was a 172 episode behemoth of an anime that aired in Japan from 2002-2006. The anime, based on the popular manga of the same name, is about Kaede Minami, a typical, teenaged girl who is shy around boys and finds it difficult to date them. One day while coming home from school, she picks up a blue mug from a mysterious store. When she gets back home, engraved in the bottom of the cup is a message that reads "if you read this message aloud while pouring hot cocoa into the mug, a love fairy ("muglox") will appear and grant your every wish." She doesn’t believe this message, but tries it anyway. Lo and behold, a fairy named Mirmo appears, and he grants Katie’s wishes! Later we find out that there are hundreds of Muglox, some good, and some downright evil! The English cast for this show is huge featuring a few VA’s. Terri Hawkes (Sailor Moon #2) plays Anna, Mirmo’s classmate and the smartest fairy of the fairy school, Stephanie Beard (Rini #2) plays Momo Umezono (Kaede’s rival) , and Loretta Jafelice (Diana and Eudial) plays Rirumu, Mirmo’s fiancee. There’s lots of other famous voice talent in this show, including Veronica Taylor, Monica Rial, Wendee Lee, Brian Drummond, Tiffany Grant, and Nancy Cartwright (better known as Bart Simpson)! With all this talent, we have to wonder why Viz hasn’t released this popular series on DVD yet - or why the show isn’t on Kids WB anymore. The WB turned into the CW in fall of 2006, and considering that the anime ended in Japan in 2006, we doubt the series was shown in entirety on Kids WB since many things changed with the network. We encourage fans who want to see this show in more markets or on DVD to contact Viz!

A Technical Note

Hey Moonies! As you can see we have implemented yet another script! This one allows us to make expandable posts on this blog (and this was one of the easier mods to make). However the script is showing up on each and every post. For every article except for the one posted below this entry, clicking "Click Here To Read If You're Ready!" will not take you to a longer post. We are trying to fix this problem so that it only shows up on posts that specifically need it- please bear with us!

EDIT: due to even more technical difficulties beyond our control , there will probably not be a commercials or an ebay post this week. apologies to all our faithful readers - I will try to post something smaller later this week .

Breaking News: Japanese Cartoon Society Holds Meeting!

The Short of It? News Media Isn't Reporting the Whole Story!
This Article for Mature Readers Only.

While many of you were either asleep or awake in the late hours of the day Monday, we were busy Moon Chasing ™! (Because, it’s what we do!) And we came across a very interesting article from the Mainichi Shimbun, Japan’s largest newspaper! Now, while our stats tell us wonderful things about where our visitors are coming from, they don’t tell us the age demographic. So, a bit of a warning: this article is aimed for an older teenage audience and up. Click the link to jump to the article.



Manga and Anime has been rising in popularity all over the world, and so has a passion to discuss and study it academically. These art forms are becoming a big part of culture! In Japan, a society called the Japan Society for Studies in Cartoon and Comics was formed in 2001. It is a collective of academics from a range of fields who try to answer the questions: what has manga meant to us in the past, what is it to us now, what will it become in the future? They held their International Manga Symposium in Kyoto this past weekend, and the theme was "Circumstances of Japanese Manga All Around the World". They looked at the differences of manga and anime in other countries compared to Japan, including series such as Dragonball, Naruto, and Sailor Moon. There were sessions from looking at the differences in portrayals of death, to a survey done in France that looked at popular cartoons with youth in France.

One specific session looked at the circumstances in Europe and the United States, and some reps from Tokyopop and Viz attended. We aren’t sure who led this session but we are hoping that something turns up in a few days on the Society’s Official Site. The session talked about the rise of manga in other countries , and different publication reps from all over the world shared their stories and experiences in acceptance of the genre to the current state of it. But the audience went wild when someone said, and this is a rough translation: "Sailor Moon is reported as turning people homosexual". The article then goes on to talk about the special case of Italy, where the translators’ salaries were very low and there was not an accurate translation of the series. The news story ends here abruptly, and we wish that there could have been some mention by the writer who said what, or just what else was said. Or even the whole context of that statement!

When we read that , we were offended. Of all the crazy reasons for the censors and cuts made all over the world, this has to be the most ridiculous. I’m sure many readers and fans alike know plenty of men of any age who watched Sailor Moon and haven’t changed their orientation! In fact, several major Sailor Moon news sites past and present for the most part are run by men! Still though, why and where was Sailor Moon reported to turn viewers gay, and who said this? This was mentioned absolutely nowhere in the article, so we set out to investigate. First though, we navigated our way through the society's site to find out who presented this session. The Chairman was Tagayayo Ono, a famous movie critic and comic researcher. Speaking on behalf of Europe were: Takashi Uno, Chairman of the French Company Tonkam (anime/manga/merchandise distributor), Emilio Gallego Zambrano a translator from Spain, and current lecturer at Rikkyo University , and Federico Colpi, a supervisor, translator, and producer from Italy.


From what we have read, the Italians were as sensitive as the North Americans when they were making their cuts to the idea of homosexuality. Haruka(Heles) and Michiru (Milenia) were portrayed in the series as being "just friends". Again, contrary to the original where they were lovers, but maybe the lesser of evils compared to other markets where they were sisters or cousins. We were not completely surprised when we heard of this change. However, this still didn't explain the reason behind the comment the article mentioned.


But, we eventually found the answer to why this comment was made. In 1997, a psychologist named Vera Slepoy made her opinion public. She thought the transformation of the Three Lights to the Star Lights had the potential to turn young boys gay, and this resulted in the transformation phrase being altered to something to the effect of "Sailor Star (Healer/Fighter/Maker), Come to Me"! It then appeared as if the Starlights would magically appear when this phrase was called. Vera also thought that the fact that the females were the dominant superheroes confused a lot of people (she refers to them as dominatrici or oppressors). It seems some people still think that cartoons should be patriarchal! We also learned that that Vera Slepoy is the Jack Thompson of Italy. It seems that a lot of people spoke out against this series too - and perhaps we will dig into this for a future article. We couldn’t find any sign of the manga on the web. We would really love to hear from fans who have seen or read Sailor Moon in Italian to know how she was portrayed - please contact us! Despite all of this calamity, Italy must have done something right, as they were able to get the entire series with only one episode being cut (#89), the specials, and the movies. That's more than so many other markets in the world!

We are really disappointed that a major Japanese Newspaper failed to describe the entire context of that statement, and indirectly blamed the translators for it. They made no mention of who mentioned it at the session, nor any other highlights or discussion surrounding it. Clearly , it was not the translators' fault, but rather the fault of the producers for taking the sides of these bogus commentators and diverging the story from its original intention. There was no mention of what was said at the American session - which was presented by reps from Viz and Tokyopop, as well as Matt Thorn, a cultural anthropologist who researches and teaches about comics. Cartoons and censorship are always a hot topic of debate - and while we understand why fans can be dismayed with some cuts that are made, the other side of the coin-- cultural differences and intended audiences-- often create viable reasons to alter or censor content. We'll be keeping our eye out on the Society's site for the next little while, in the hopes that a report from this session will be posted.

Moon Chase New Music Review: The Very Thought of You!

The New Album From Emilie-Claire Barlow!

So....funny story! I was wandering my local mall searching for a Father’s Day gift last Friday and decided on the spur of the moment to pay HMV a visit. Veered to their anime section and was still mighty disappointed that anime still costed an arm and leg - though it’s nice to see some Manga Entertainment re-releases going 2 for $25. Then a little voice in my head reminded me, "Hey! Emilie-Claire Barlow’s album is out next week ! You should go reserve a copy !" I proceeded to the checkout to ask if they would have it on Tuesday, and to my surprise they told me it had been out since last Tuesday and there it was, sitting in a stack of unfiled CDs at the back! I was a little disappointed and thought I had posted the wrong release date as I purchased the CD. As I got home though, turns out June 19th was the release date, and I got very, very lucky! And then I thought wouldn’t it be cool to have our review go up the night before the release? Well, it is now the night before the release and here comes Moon Chase’s review of the muchly anticipated The Very Thought of You!

Emilie-Claire Barlow not only sings on this album , but she has arranged and produced every song on this album! Also, she wrote the string arrangements for four of the songs - which is no easy task in jazz music! She also accompanies her wonderful ensemble with the occasional triangle and shaker. Emilie-Claire’s liner notes feature short notes about what the songs mean to her, or the stories behind them. Not many artists do that these days, and it was cool to read them!

Chibi Sailor V and Sailor Venus couldn't wait for this album!

She sings beautifully in three different languages, English, French, and Spanish - once again giving listeners a musical treat from around the world! The album features softer jazz moments in its emotional ballads, such as The Very Thought of You, My Time of Day, and the French song, Les Yeux Ouverts. All feature piano and bass with very little percussion (if any), and My Time of Day has a dreamy sort of float to it with the backing violins. Emilie-Claire’s alluring voice really shines out in these pieces! We enjoyed the scat singing in Almost Like Being in Love as it was synchronized to the piano. Even we couldn’t tell by the brightness of De Conversa Em Conversa that it was a breakup song!

There’s so many great things about this album but we’d have you here all day telling you about them, so we’ll just tell you which ones are our favorite tracks on the album! We like the upbeat What a Little Moonlight Can Do (and Emilie-Claire’s signature vocalese), O Pato (The Duck), which is a fun tune about a duck, a goose, and a swan doing the samba, and Pennies from Heaven! We'd love to see a video of O Pato performed live! We think everyone can find something to enjoy on this album whether they are familiar with jazz music or not! The album is in stores tomorrow (or today if you are reading this on Tuesday) across Canada, and tracks can be purchased on iTunes or on Snocap via Emilie-Claire’s official MySpace!

Breaking News: The Girl who Leapt Through Time Wins Honorable Mention!

It was only a few days ago that we mentioned Mamoru Hosoda's recent hit, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (The Girl who Leapt Through Time) that was quietly getting a lot of buzz all over the world. Mamoru sure has come a very long way from being a key animator on the SuperS Movie! The 2007 Annecy International Animated Film Festival was held from June 11-16 in Annecy, France. For 6 days, the world's best picks in animated features, shorts, TV and internet features, and student films were shown in and out of competition. The film won Mention Spéciale (Special Distinction or Honorable Mention) in the Feature Films category, to our surprise beating Paprika! 30 animated works were selected from Asia, and out of all of those , Toki wo Kakeru Shojo was the only one to win a prize! This is a huge accomplishment and we congratulate Mamoru Hosoda as well as the cast and crew on their win!

Commercials Corner #5!

We came across so many today that we just had to upload them for your viewing pleasure. And some continue to get stranger, pushing the envelope of conventional advertising!

Today's 14 "winners" are:

☼Harry Potter Chess Commercial!
☼Paul McCartney seemingly happy surrounded by ghosts!
☼Mobile Game Service Commercial!
☼Julius Caesar endorses employment mag!
☼Japanese Game Show Commercial!
☼The weirdest Intel Core 2 Duo Commercial we have ever seen!
☼A Coke Zero commercial featuring men not wearing full suits!
☼Japanese cleaning wipes heroine!
☼Two men sing about bad breath and mints!
☼Two very excited Japanese girls at a travel agent!
☼A commercial for a Japanese fast food restaurant with 'live cooking'!
☼Japanese Pretzel Snack!
☼Japanese Cola Commercial!
☼Suntory relaxing beer commercial!

5000 Hits!

Yesterday morning, we surpassed our 6-month goal by months and had our 5,000th visitor! I want to take this time to thank all of the visitors to this site, every site that has linked us, and every person who has by some way or another told others about this place. This is a huge milestone and we couldn't have done it without you! I would also like to thank all of the VAs who have visited this site - I hope to continue to let fans know of your whereabouts and to update with whatever news I can find on the series! To every staff member and friend who has supported this site in any way they could, words cannot express my thanks for everything you have done (even when the going got tough)! So here's to more Moon Chasing for many more moons to come!

eBay Wrangle #7

It seems to have been a long time since we've done one of these!

Most Expensive Items:
☼Transformation wands for Sailors Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus!
☼Eternal Sailor Moon and Starlights Figures!

Best Bargains:
☼PGSM Sailor Venus Cosplay Hair Kit!
☼Artemis Plush!
☼Sailor Moon Magnets!
☼Lunchbox, Binder, and Keychain!

Other Neat Finds:
☼Rare set of Neo-Queen Serenity and Black Lady keychains!
☼Sailor Moon ink stampers!
☼Two rare foil cards!
☼11 Foil Cards!
☼Fuchsia T-shirt!
☼Sailor Moon Candles!
☼Sailor Jupiter Necklace!
☼Sailor Moon Viewmaster Reels!
☼Chibi-Usa's Time Key!
☼Sailor Moon Nail Polish Toy!
☼PGSM cutlery set!
☼Another ink stamper set!
☼A cute Sailor Moon dress for little girls!
☼Play-a-Sound Storybook!
☼Sailor Moon Sticker Albums!
☼Lot including Valentines!
☼Sailor Moon plastic drawstring bag!
☼Sailor Moon clothing and toy lot!
☼Sailor Moon drinking glasses!
☼Child's Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi-Moon tank top!
☼Sailor Moon stationary!
☼Sailor Moon bandages!
☼Long-sleeved Sailor Moon shirt!
☼Sailor Moon Watch!
☼Sailor Stars tote!
☼Sailor Moon bedding!
☼Sailor Moon Jewelry Box!
☼Moon Princess resin kit!
☼Jewelry boxes for Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus!

Sailor Moon Cast & Staff Movie Related News!

Hey Moonies! Two movies featuring people related to Sailor Moon have been garnering a lot of buzz lately!

Paprika Opens Finally in North America!

Today is a big day for Satoshi Kon’s Paprika in North America! Today the film is opening in several cities across North America, including for the first time ever, Canada! There are three stars in this movie who previously worked on Sailor Moon : Megumi Hayashibara (Himeko Nayatake in the S movie) , Toru Furuya (Tuxedo Kamen) , and Daisuke Sakaguchi (The Dummy in the SuperS special Haruka Michiru Futatabi! Bourei Ningyougeki.). Once again we'll remind fans that this is the subtitled version that has been released. No word as of this writing whether or not the movie will be dubbed in English.

If you are in the United States and want to check out your local movie listings for this film, click here!

If you are in Canada and want to check out your local movie listings for this film, click here!

If your cinema of choice is not listed in here, if you are in the United States tell the cinema's management to contact Sony Pictures Classics or in Canada to contact Mongrel Media.

The Girl Who Conquered Time Hailed as Masterpiece!

While Studio Ghibli is noted all over the world for being masters of Japanese Animation, other, lesser known, films are comparable. One film that has been quietly garnering attention all over the world for the last year is Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo (Translation: The Girl Who Conquered Time or The Girl who Leaped Through Time depending on where you look). The film tells the story of Makoto Konno, a 17 year old girl who gains the power to go back in time in her sleep, after a train accident. While at first, she is impressed and indulges in her new ability, she soon realizes that altering the past alters the future, and things are not as simple as they seem. While the movie did not do well in Japan, it has fared well in festivals all over the world, won some awards, and is set to open in South Korea very soon. The movie is directed by Mamoru Hosoda, who was a key animator with the SuperS Movie. We encourage fans if they see this film pop up in a listing near them to definitely go see it!

Commercials Corner #4

Moon Chase! once again brings you Japanese Commercials!
Click here for our second set of commercial finds!

For fans who didn't know, Suntory's Let's Diet Water was not the only commercial Keiko Kitagawa filmed! She is also part of a new commercial campaign for NTT DoCoMo (Japan's most popular mobile phone carrier). She can be seen in a series of shorts, commercials, and making-ofs on the site. One of last week's commercials featured her at near the 14 second mark, simply saying "Hai" in a pink outfit.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

This week, we have a second one, and she is the shy one in the white bermuda shorts and red, pink and white floral top! What's even more astounding is how this phone works almost like a Wiimote!


Online Videos by Veoh.com

Also in these commercials is popular J-pop superstar Anna Tsuchiya, who we see here in a commercial for a karaoke service called Premier DAM.

And the rest...

☼Daikin Industries (which makes Air Conditioners and other chemical and hydraulic products in Japan), presents an environmentally friendly commercial!
☼When we see commercials like this, we wonder why we can't find cooler phones in North America.
☼This chocolate is supposed to be "mind-relaxing"!
☼The scary pandas are back, this time with a scantily clad drummer!
☼A bank commercial with a very smart and verbose dog!
☼An old man with a blonde mohawk talks about sake!
☼A girl plays Ninja Gaiden 3 on the PS3!
☼Pringles Gourmet - the perfect snack for any musician!
☼Nissin anime OVA commercial!
☼Japanese Lemon Drink Commercial with a Pirates theme!
☼A classy Toyota commercial!

EDIT: Today (June 15th) we came across some more!
☼Pea beer!
☼Low Calorie Ice Cream!
☼Suujin Taisen (Nintendo DS)
☼The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass!
☼Pocari Sweat's new Eco-Bottle!
☼Wandering Kitty advertises travel site!
☼Austin Powers-esque Beer Commercial!
☼One whacked-out banana commercial!
☼A car commercial with a token Hello Kitty at the end?!
☼Buy a Toyota because they are Kawaii!
☼Convenience Store Shopping!

A Very Old Terri Hawkes Interview

Hi Moonies! We found this old gem lurking on an internet archive and we think that in the interest of preserving these things before they are "gone for good" we're going to post it here for your reading pleasure!

If my memory serves me right... they were either in an Eaton's or a Bay in the toy section where a large pink and navy blue Sailor Moon display of toys had been set up. Then host of YTV's the Zone, Paul Maguire conducted the interview.

Without further ado, straight from YTV's archives from nearly ten years ago...

An Interview with Terri Hawkes
The Voice of Sailor Moon! (Episodes 12-82)

Paul: All right, there you go. Sailor Moon the display, Sailor Moon the doll, Sailor Moon the voice, Terri Hawkes - the voice of Sailor Moon.

Terri: Hi.

Paul: How are you?

Terri: I'm great. How are you Paul?

Paul: Good. Now, first question that is going to be out of my mouth is the first question I get asked in letters we get at YTV all the time...

Terri: What's that?

Paul: What is going on with the new episodes?

Terri: New episodes or Sailor Moon? Well, as you know, there are a number of episodes in Japanese (versions) that we are hoping to be able to adapt to English speaking audiences. It's in the works. The producers are working very hard on it, but nothing is definite, so we will let you know as soon as we know.

Paul: Is it a lot of fun for you? Is it something that you jump right back into?

Terri: Yeah, it's great fun! I mean it's such a great group of people... all the other Sailor Scouts are great to work with, and we have a lot of fun. And we've seen each other at various events - occasionally there are Anime conferences and appearances that we go to - and we really have fun spending time together. Working together is just a joy, we really enjoy it.

Paul: Now you talk about the Anime conferences and stuff like that - is this a part of culture that you weren't exposed to before working on Sailor Moon?

Terri: Absolutely. It's really... (laughs and holds up a Tuxedo Mask doll) ... now here I am holding Tuxedo Mask - whenever I get an opportunity to get close to this guy! (laughs and hugs doll)... Yeah, the Anime conferences are really interesting because there's a real broad spectrum of people that go these conferences. They're mostly adults, so they're people who have been following the history of animation, the development of animation, people who are much more familiar it seems with the Japanese version than we are and can tell us what happens in future episodes, so it's really quite educational as well... people who are just really into the art of animation, studying, and some of them are involved in working in animation themselves. So it's really an interesting experience, for sure. There's a big group of people out there who are interested in this - I had no idea.

Paul: It's a pretty advanced form of animation as well, it's not just a regular cartoon, you know, Anime in general.

Terri: That's true. That's true. The technology kind of comes up with advancements in that area everyday so...

Paul: So does the magnitude of Sailor Moon kind of freak you out?

Terri:- Well, you know, when we started, we had no idea what a phenomenon it would become, we just really enjoyed the show, we really liked the characters, we really had fun doing it, and then when it started airing, as you know, people, especially Canadians, really keyed into this program. The response has been really warm, we really appreciate it because we think it's a nice show for everyone, but for kids in general it offers some pretty good roll models for young people because we have girls who are super hero's but usually it's boys, you know? But in this case, the girls become empowered and they fight for rights and they fight the Negaverse, and not only are they super heroes, but they're human as well, and they have human weaknesses. You know, Sailor Moon is klutzy and a little bit boy crazy and it's all part of who she is. And what she learns is how to draw on that strength in herself and to really fight for what she believes in. And she and the Sailor Scouts really learn lessons in every story. I think that's great and if people are having fun with it too, then, what could be better?

Paul: As an actor, is voice work a lot different? Do you need a different energy for voice work? Sitting in a studio talking into a microphone... obviously it's very different from acting on a stage or acting in film or in television. Is it a totally different thing?

Terri: Well, everybody has a different technique. For me, when I'm working in a studio, it's not just my voice, I'm in front of a microphone, and we have what's called a rhythma-band, which teaches us how to synch up the words with the picture, because we're dubbing form another language,... so we're kind of watching this rhythma-band with the words, and the picture with all the characters, and we're behind the microphone, I just kind of get into it, and when she does you know, MOON PRISM POWER (yelling), I'm there doing exactly what she does, because it affects your voice, but it gives you the energy that she does, because I really relate to her when I watch her on the screen, you know she's (in a high Sailor Moon voice) "tripping over things", "tripping over things because she's late for school".... (normal voice) kind of like this... because I want to get into her as much as possible... so if you sat in the studio and you watched me doing the voice you'd see me recreating everything Sailor Moon does, so it's not just the vocal energy, it's the whole physical energy that goes with it. And at the end of the day, I'm as bagged as she is because I had a rough day at school.

Paul: But you actually do have a huge background in studying as well.

Terri: In studying acting?

Paul: Yeah.

Terri: I do, yeah. I went to the University of Calgary. I have a minor in drama from the University of Calgary, then I started in acting in theatre, and I moved to Toronto and started acting in television, film, and radio drama, and then I moved to New York and I studied there some more, and worked in theatre a lot. Then I moved to Los Angeles, and I've been doing more film and television and then I went back to school. I went back to UCLA and got my masters in fine arts in play writing actually, and along the way I've taken lots of different acting courses and workshops, and whenever I'm not working, I like to keep learning, along the way, so as much as possible, I go to school - take classes. I think it's important. Not just for actors, but kind of for any craft, 'cause there are always new things to learn and people that you can be learning new things from, and it all kind of works together to help you to become the best crafts person you can.

Paul: And it probably keeps you interested in doing what you do, as well.

Terri: Yeah.

Paul: It renews your interest every now and then.

Terri: That's true. That's a good way of looking at it.

Paul: Some actors, I think , you read interviews with some people and they just do it, they're not into it, they show up and they just seem to be personalities, not actors. Then there are people who have the personality as well, but they have the training, like yourself. You discover that you'd like to direct. And that you get a little bit more involved in the production side of things as well. Is it all interesting?

Terri: Very much so. The directing interestingly enough, partly came out of Sailor Moon. I've been doing some theatre directing and some videos, and Sailor Moon. A company called Optimum Productions , who produces this (Sailor Moon) for DIC in LA gave me the opportunity to co-direct a little with the director for the show, so (they) showed confidence in me, and (they) were really generous in teaching me what (they) knew and all of a sudden I was directing a show and really loved it. So I've done some more voice directing since then, and I'm looking towards directing in the future, in perhaps television and film, that kind of thing. And yeah, it all kind of plays together. You're learning about storytelling, really. If you start learning about it as an actor then you've read a lot of scripts, then when I went into writing, I was writing my own scripts, and then directing is interpreting those scripts, based on what the writer wants to tell, and so it's all kind of inter related. Hopefully, all of those crafts make you better at what you do just by learning little bits about what every body else does, you know? It works together.

Paul: It seems to me to ask you what you do in your spare time would be a silly question because all your spare time is taken up with this stuff. You obviously would do it if you weren't getting paid for it...

Terri: Yeah, and often I don't get paid for it! (laughing) You know those occasions where we do workshops or productions for people who are in student programs or benefits or that kind of thing - you don't always get paid for what you do - but if you love what you do and you think it's for a good cause, it's not that important. It is very nice to be able to pay the rent and put food on the table that's important (laughs). But yeah, it keeps me very busy. I do have a personal life as well, so I have time for sports and reading, family, friends and loved ones... it keeps me busy, and challenged, and rewarded.

Paul: Is a day in the Sailor Moon Studio really tough on your voice?

Terri: It depends on how long the day is... I think probably the most shows I've done in a day is 4 shows (in a day) if we're really pressed for time. That's a little tough because Sailor Moon goes into a high range of my voice a lot and (in a high Serena voice) she screams a lot and she's late for school a lot... (normally) so yeah, it gives me a good work out, for sure! That can be a long day.

Paul: The herbal tea and everything?

Terri: Herbal tea, and you know, well, I cheat a little because Sailor Moon eats a fair amount so I take in little goodies to the studio and I really eat (laughing) when I'm in front of the microphone, so I have her drinking and munching on apples and whatever she munches on. So that kind of soothes the throat too.

Paul: So you've done "Traders" here, some episodes of "Beverly Hills 90210"...

Terri: I have.

Paul: You're in LA, in Toronto. Canada to the States. Do you find the transition pretty easy?

Terri: Yeah, I do. You know, I've wrapped up a few aero-mile points so that's kind of nice! I love Canada - it's my home. I've been working in the States for a number of years now, and I really like the opportunities that are available there. And I love working here. So it's great to have the best of both worlds. I learn a lot from people in both places. They're very different industries. Canada's industry is growing all the time, which is really nice to see and it's nice to be a part of that. Apparently we have the second largest television industry in the world right now, which is really amazing. I've seen a big progression in television in this country since I started, so it's really nice to be able to go back and forth. I feel very fortunate.

Paul: The Sailor Moon gang... have you guys become good friends? Do you have a good time when you're recording?

Terri: We do have a good time, and occasionally we see each other. We all have pretty busy lives. Everybody's involved in a lot of different things so we don't get together frequently, but when we do we really enjoy it. It's a good group of people.

Paul: And if some of the fans out there wanted to know where they could see you in the near future?

Terri: The near future?

Paul: Or in the far future?

Terri later appeared in the flesh in Cube Zero! She played the doomed Jellico.

Terri: In the far future? Hmm, well, hopefully there will be more Sailor Moon episodes, so that will be fun. You can watch for "Traders" re-runs on another network, that shall remain nameless at this point (laughing). There's another animated series that I'm involved in... I can't tell you too much about now, but it's an interesting story about a princess from Austria and I'll tell you more about that another time (Moon Chase adds: This was a cartoon called Princess Sissi!) . (I have) a film coming out on video which is for adults called "Paper Trail". It's kind of a deep, dark story and it's very different from Sailor Moon. And let's see... I just directed a translation of a Quebec film from French into English called "Carmina" - originally directed by Gabrielle Peltier - and it's a beautiful film. It's really fun. It's a fun story about vampires who move to Montreal, so you can catch that in your video stores. And that's got my plate full at the moment. I'm writing, and I'll keep you informed.

Paul: That sounds good. Some last advice we can end with for people out there who would love to follow in your footsteps?

Terri: Wow. You know, the things that really stands out well in this field? It's a really tough field. If anybody wants to follow in my footsteps, my advice would be : don't do it unless you absolutely have to - and you can't do anything else. It's a really tough business, but if you really want to do it, it's wonderfully rewarding. But go to school first. Going to school, then university, for me, has given me a lot of options, and I'm able to do other things, and especially, at first, that's really important. To be able to do other things. To earn a living and then, when you want to expand into different areas... An education is really important. So that's what I'd say.

Paul: And continue to educate yourself.

Terri: Absolutely. In any way possible. Forever and ever.

Paul: That's great. There you go. Can you believe it? Thank you very much.

Terri: A pleasure. Nice to meet you.

Paul: Nice to meet you.


Terri: MOON PRISM POWER!!!!

Cosplay, Anyone?

Originally, this was supposed to be a story about MTAC's Sailor Moon cosplayers. However, I not only lost my camera with all the pictures on it, but I have lost my notebook full of interviews. ;_; I am terribly sorry to all those cosplayers that I'd promised to make famous on the internet...

While going around the internet, however, I found a cool little Sailor Moon wig tutorial. If your hair isn't long enough to put into odangos, but you have some extra cash, you can see how to make yourself a nice wig! (Detailed tutorials for the individual parts can be found on Katie Bair's website.)If you're still not up to it, Charmed Seed Cosplay has opened for commissions. She likes Sailor Moon wigs especially, so if you have the money and want a good-quality wig, check her out! All of her costumes look lovely and accurate.

I hope to address more Sailor Moon cosplay in the future...if you've cosplayed, send us pictures and tell us a bit about your experience!

News From the Other Side of the Pond #3!

Hey Moonies! Before we begin we’d like to extend a huge thanks to TV in Japan for linking us yesterday and helping to increase awareness of our corner of the internets! We really appreciate it and we have linked the site on our links sidebar!

There hasn’t been much news on what the stars are up to lately; though if you are interested in seeing Paprika (which stars two former Sailor Moon Seiyuu) we suggest you click here to see where the premieres are. Indie cinemagoers, now is a great time to start begging the management with this article in hand (for the distributors are listed!) to bring this movie to your own hometown!

Panchanne Destined to Have a Connection to Sailor Moon?

We were lurking around several Japanese pages when we learned of something very interesting! As we all know already, current Tokusatsu Comedy hit Bishoujo Celeb Panchanne is based on an earlier Toku series from the 90's called Bishoujo Kamen Poitrine. Poitrine was a superhero much like Panchanne except that she had a flying car, as well as a much older and scarier Kami-Sama who would turn her into a frog. The creator of Sailor Moon, “Princess” Naoko Takeuchi has stated a few times that Potrine served as her inspiration for Sailor Moon. And oh, the irony! The director of PGSM, Masataka Takamaru, is directing Panchanne! Yuuko Hanashima, who played Poitrine, starred in this week’s Panchanne! She played a woman who has the hots for Kensuke Shinjo, aka Panchanne’s alter ego’s husband. What a circle we have here! We have to wonder if Naoko will pen an episode or perhaps appear on the show considering all these connections to Sailor Moon!
EDIT: We also just learned of a news story where Haruna Yabuki admits that playing Panchanne is like a dream come true for her, because little girls look up to her! Much in the same way she looked up to none other than Sailor Moon when she was growing up!

Maybe This is the Reason for that Sailor Sighting in War of the Worlds?

The summer 2005 hit War of the Worlds to some Otaku is more than seeing Steven Spielberg direct megastars like Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning. This movie features a small Sailor Sighting. Dakota Fanning’s character watches our favorite superhero trash a youma using Moon Gorgeous Meditation. What was even more surprising was the credit that appeared at the end of the film which left everyone guessing why the sighting was there and how they were able to get permission from TOEI. Steven was recently interviewed about the Transformers Movie in Japan, and confessed the missing piece of the puzzle! Turns out his 11 year old daughter loves Sailor Moon, though we are unsure whether he is speaking of Mikaela or Destry (the article makes no mention). Later he also mentions that his daughters wishes sometimes have priority over his own. We wonder if this is the reason for that Sailor Sighting in War of the Worlds? He also talks about his admiration for Japanese animation, having taken his first plunge with Spirited Away.

Shoko Nakagawa Strikes Again!

Japan’s MTV held their Video Music Awards this past May 25th. Popular idol and Sailor Moon fan Shoko Nakagawa appeared on the red carpet, striking this very familiar pose! Many asked her about her obsession with Sailor Moon and she said it was just a hobby- while they remarked it was something much deeper. And it probably is considering that Sailor Moon characters are among her favourites to cosplay and model, as well as naming her cat after Luna.


NEC to Offer Sailor Moon Episodes For Free!

Those of our Japanese readers who have access to NEC’s BIGLOBE service are in for a bit of a surprise! From June 7th - July 5th, the service will be offering streaming anime for free! Sailor Moon is part of this promotion, as are other TOEI titles such as Galaxy Express 999 , Gun Frontier, and Fist of the North Star. We would love to hear from fans who try out this service!

Survey Shows Sailor Moon Initiated Many Otaku!

We also learned of a very interesting study which was conducted recently in Japan to learn more about Otaku - we’re going to summarize the results as best we can. This was a questionnaire to determine the basis of the interests of Otaku - were they video games? Comics? Anime? Of 601 people surveyed, 68% were male and 32% were female. 10.1% were teenagers, 30% were between the ages of 20-25, 22.8% were between the ages of 26-29, 21.1 % were between the ages of 30-35, 12.3% were between the ages of 36-40 and 3% were over 40. They were later asked at what age they started their fandom, and 1/3 people got interested in it during junior high. Then these were asked what anime sparked their interest, and 3.7% attributed to Gundam, 2.7% said Neon Genesis Evangelion, 1.0% said Final Fantasy, 0.9% said Sailor Moon, 0.9% said Tokimeki Memorial, 0.9% said Space Battleship Yamato, and 0.9% said Yu Yu Hakusho. While we always knew in North America, for some people Sailor Moon was the start, we didn’t think it would be one of the top answers in a survey in Japan! If we get a copy of the full report, we will definitely post more of it here!


An Addenda to TOEI Creates In-house Licencing Division!

We also managed to find this very interesting analysts’s perspective on the recent announcement from TOEI. This article discusses how TOEI is in a bit of a pinch considering that one of their three largest properties in North America , DragonBall Z, is lying mostly in the hands of Funimation. The article goes on to suggest that they should make use of their bigger properties aside from Digimon, such as One Piece... and Sailor Moon! We agree with their perspective that if TOEI really wants to make it big, they should also work with their other properties. Digimon isn’t as big as Pokemon in North America and while the dub of One Piece may not be very popular, the original Japanese version is very popular with North American Otaku. And more importantly, there is a huge amount of demand for Sailor Moon in North America. Fans want good quality DVDs with decent video transfers (if not like the remastered ones in Japan) and clear audio - things that currently only exist in a fan’s dream. Fans want more merchandise from translated versions of the manga re-release to goodies only found in Japanese stores. And of course, everyone wants Stars!

And with that, we bring this News from Across the Pond update to a close.

Japanese Commercials Bonanza!

Hey Moonies!

Our feature took a little hiatus due to our sources going AWOL on us, but luckily we were able to find a new source and we can now bring them back! And even better, we found so many this time around that we have a whopping 38 commercials for your enjoyment! (Caveat: future updates may or may not be this large.) In an effort to save your bandwidth, we will not be embedding all of them, but linking them.

We'd first like to congratulate one of our older uploads, Keiko Kitagawa's commercial for Let's Diet Water!


Online Videos by Veoh.com

We were shocked to see that this video had been linked to so many blogs and other sites that there have been over 20,000 views (we wonder if that's close to meme status). One site pulled in nearly 12,000 of them and we were sad that the bloggers of that site haven't even bothered to link us, the uploaders. What we wouldn't give for a fraction of those hits ;_;... but we digress...
EDIT: Sadly our YouTube Account was suspended due to one of our earlier coffee commercials. We're not sure what causes this commercial to be different from the thousands of other Japanese commercials on YouTube, but we have moved on to Veoh , a higher-quality video sharing service. We even have an entire channel dedicated to Japanese Commercials!

Anyway, here they come!
☼Wii Polls in Japan!
☼Parco Credit Card!
☼Shiseido Mother's Milk!
☼Aidem Job Recruiting!
☼Chocola!
☼Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village (Nintendo DS)!
☼Japanese iPod Commercial!
☼Cell Phone Party! ** Keiko Kitagawa can also be seen near the end of this one in a pink outfit saying 'Hai'!
☼Uga Karaoke!
☼Glico Donburi!
☼Sake in a Carton!
☼Trusty Bell for the XBOX 360!
☼Ramen Restaurant Advertisement!
☼Genki Girls and their Seiyuu sing praises for bug traps!
☼Recruit Agent Trapeze!
☼Crystal Kay Coffee Commercial!
☼Nissin Ramen with a Kitsune?!
☼Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (Nintendo DS)!
☼Japanese Red Bull Commercial!
☼Naive Skin Cleansers!
☼Madonna Endorses Apartment Buildings!
☼Ice Cream!
☼Cat Kibbles!
☼Cell Phone Cookie Magic!
☼Ayumi Hamasaki's newest single featured in a kiwi commercial!
☼GPS Security Device!
☼Asahi Draft Beer!
☼Polar Bears in an Air Conditioning Commercial!
☼Yebisu the Hops Beer!
☼Garlic Sports Drink!
☼Apple Mango Parfait from Mini Stop!
☼Curry Paste!
☼Suzuki Wit!
☼Japanese Pirates of the Caribbean Commercial!
☼Roots Simba Wind Coffee!
☼Japanese Volvic Commercial!
☼A commercial for a travel site featuring a cute cat!
☼All Saints' Rock Steady featured in a water commercial!