Sailor Moon August Tidbits!

¤ Toms River Library will be holding it's annual Bookfest on September 27th! This year's theme is "Something's Cooking at the Ocean County Library: The Bookfest with Literary Taste" and will feature authors whose works had something to do with food! For a list of authors attending, click here! The festival's Kitchen Sensei will be serving a bunch of anime inspired snacks, including some that take after Sailor Moon. We'd love to know what they are, if any of you are attending please let us know what they served!

¤ Variety just posted an article outlining the History of Anime. They mention Sailor Moon as the highlight of 1995 : "Sailor Moon" airs in the U.S. Since much of the audience are young girls, it helps expand the image of anime from being a male-oriented media to something both sexes can enjoy. 1995 also saw Cosplay's beginnings in North America! It's a good article, but we'd have liked to have seen something about anime's distribution. It's one thing to talk about what titles were hot, but not the struggles that have had to been overcome when releasing anime to stores. Our Japanese readers can check out the story in their own language here -をクリックしてください!

¤ This NPR article talks about the rise of American Mangaka. We particularly liked the lines at the end : "It was inevitable that talented children would grow up and turn their beloved comic books and Saturday-morning cartoons into treasure — sweet revenge for all those times they were told to put Sailor Moon away and turn the television off. These kids aren't just all right — they're brilliant.". Though, Sailor Moon has inspired lots of people in all walks of life, that's why we've got our Special People reports!

Vote Michael Kulas!

Hey Moonies, I have a little time with my temporary solution to the laptop woes, so I'm going to draw your attention to this quickly! Recently, Canadian fans may have heard of CBC losing the rights to use the original Hockey Night in Canada theme song to CTV. The CBC still has a program to air, and has taken a novel approach to finding a new theme: let the fans create their own, and let everyone vote for their favorite! Michael Kulas is Katie Griffin's (Sailor Mars #1) husband and has supported this site in the past. He is well-known in Toronto's indie music scene for his work with the legendary band James, and also for his solo tunes. He also produced Katie's first album in 2003, Kiss Me Chaos (it's really good, every reader should check it out!). He has entered a few tunes in the contest, and it's up to fans to rate them high so hopefully CBC will pick one of them as a finalist! The winner of the contest will receive $100,000 , and half of the royalties. The other half will go to supporting those aspiring hockey stars in the minor leagues! For those of our fans who have been following the Anthem Challenge, please consider Michael's tunes! Here come the links!

Hockey Night Forever
Hockey Night Forever: The Score
Every Day is Hockey Night (30 seconds)
Every Day is Hockey Night (Full Version)
The Enforcer

BREAKING NEWS: Flashpoint Equipment Stolen?!

And blogging on this site reaches new heights: from a hotel computer -_-'. I just read in this morning's Globe and Mail that a truck carrying some important and expensive video equipment used for Flashpoint was stolen! You guys can read the story here. This is truly sad, and if any of our readers in the Toronto area see a big truck with some video equipment, please call the authorities! This show holds a special place in all our readers' thoughts because of the connection to Sailor Moon, and it's truly sad to see something like this happen after four years of hard work to get this show on the air!

BREAKING NEWS: Flashpoint Picked Up For Second Season in Canada!

OT: Moonies, I was able to find the time to work on 2 short posts in under an hour (a new record!) so this week is not entirely lost! Now onto the big news...

Flashpoint has just been picked up for a second season by it's Canadian network, CTV! In a press release this morning, the network announced it had ordered another 13 episodes to go into production in early 2009! We really hope the cast and crew gets a break after the first season ends - they have all worked really hard to make this show the hit that it is! It has consistently scored over 1 million viewers each episode in Canada, and even survived the Olympics! This release came out just days after the first season wrapped shooting! Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, at CTV Inc. commented "Viewers have embraced Flashpoint and we are answering their call for more. The cast and creative team have delivered a series that not only entertains with high-intensity drama but with heart as well." In a joint statement, executive producers Anne Marie La Traverse and Bill Mustos said "We're extremely proud to have this opportunity to bring more of our homegrown stories to viewers in Canada and around the world." We knew right from the start that this could have been something big - and we continue to be so proud of everything Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and her husband Mark Ellis have achieved with their creation! Here's to many more! As of this writing, there has been no word if CBS has picked it up for a second season. We will keep you posted once we find out!

EDIT: (Tuesday) The Globe and Mail is reporting CBS greenlighted the second season, however we're a little skeptical as no one else has reported this.

Sailor Moon Music Sightings!

We have a couple Sailor Moon sightings in music to present to you all!

The first one comes to us all the way from South Korea. Drunken Tiger is the most popular hip-hop group in the country, and has built up their own crew of many different artists. I first caught wind of this band while listening to Pop Goes Asia many years ago. Their music combines so many different styles, including R&B, and Reggae, and in my opinion I think the majority of their songs put a lot of current rap hits in North America to shame. The song Mission Impossible, was a collaborative effort between a few members of their hip hop crew, The Movement (think like Eminem and D12) and was featured on a collaborative rap album, 1999's DaeHanMinGook. This album is very difficult to find nowadays. The members featured on this track are Tiger JK (the frontman of Drunken Tiger), DJ Shine (then co-frontman of Drunken Tiger), Thanos (formerly of rival group Uptown), Tasha (Korea's leading lady of Hip Hop and Tiger's Wife), Carlos Galvan and Steve Kim (of rival group Uptown), and rapper HeeSung. Thanos referred to Sailor Moon in his part of the song, and we have uploaded a short clip of his verse for you. Keep your ears open and listen for "leavin' ya whole paltoon lookin' cartoon like sailor moon you need to sail on we wail on wack emcees that trail on". For those of you who do find this song, there's a bit of language in it that's been left out of the lyrics, so don't listen to it if you're not old enough ^_^. Rest assured, the clip we have posted is clean. Drunken Tiger and the Movement are still around, their 7th album Sky is the Limit was released last year, and Tasha released her third album Yoon Mi Rae after a long hiatus also last year. Tiger and Tasha were also married in secret last year and had their first son, Jordan earlier this year. I recommend readers give this band a listen if they want to hear something different, and they do rap a lot in English so it's okay if you don't understand Korean. To listen to the clip we have uploaded, click here.


We also decided that after the Matsuricongoers got to have a listen to Toru "ToFu" Furuya's (Tuxedo Kamen) song, that we'd stop leaving the rest of you all in suspense. We uploaded the first verse up until the end of the chorus for you all to listen to from his song about Tuxedo Kamen's eternal love for Sailor Moon, Everlasting My Love. Click here to check it out!

Caption This: Shigeru Miyamoto Edition!

And now, we present to you a special edition of Caption This! We read a story on Kotaku that gave us a good laugh. Nintendo has apparently forbidden Shigeru Miyamato (creator of many well loved Nintendo characters and Senior Managing Director of Nintendo) from talking about his interests. However the Times of London made some interesting connections from some hobbies he has admitted to and a few popular titles. Shigeru likes to exercise, and we have Wii Fit. He took up music lessons, and Wii Music was born. He loves puzzles, and Brain Age was created. So now, we open the floor to you guys! If you were Shigeru and you had a hobby, what game would reflect that?

Sailordees:

Shigeru: "I like spending time with my wife!"
Nintendo: Wii Marriage! Create and spend time with your own virtual spouse!

Shigeru: "I like to take naps!"
Nintendo: Wii Sleep! Monitor your sleep patterns and work on making them more regular! Also comes with special Wii headband with electrode to analyze brain waves and monitor your sleep levels!

Just For All You Alisa Durbrow Fans...

We've uncovered some very old Alisa Durbrow (Kuroki Mio in PGSM) videos! We're not sure how old some of these are, but they are from a variety show where kids would sing Japanese covers of English Hits! We think you will all enjoy these!

Alisa sings Van Halen's Jump

Alisa sings Michael Jackson's Thriller

Alisa sings Billy Joel's For the Longest Time

Alisa sings Big Smile Babies (we think this is an original Japanese tune)

As for what Alisa is up to nowadays, in mid-july she modeled some wedding dresses for a bridal magazine.

When Japanese Artists Collaborate With American Artists....

Yes, this qualifies as an OT post but I'm technically on hiatus and this is one of the many posts I have set to go off until I return. Read more after the jump!



First of all, I'm not against artists from Japan collaborating with American ones - in fact I think it needs to be done more often. There's a lot of talent over there and if these collaborations were released on our side of the pond, it would definitely get them noticed more here! As I was sorting through commercials last weekend I noticed a clip whir by with the name "Fergie". I thought to myself, THE FERGIE? Of the Black Eyed Peas?! No matter what anyone says, I've seen her live and damn she can sing! So I backtracked and learned that Kumi Koda released a summer single in collaboration with her. I'm not a huge fan of Koda, but I liked a few of her songs. I was a little offended this year when she made headlines for her asinine comments. Nonetheless, I tracked down the video and... it wasn't that great. Koda really sounded out of place - but maybe it's because I haven't heard her sing a lot of music like this before. I'm used to hearing this style more from Fergie. Koda doesn't seem to be enjoying herself much in this video and seemed a little stiff. The song did do well in Japan but we're not so sure it would do so well here. Nonetheless, I'm sure we have some Koda fans reading this so here ya go. The whole song is in English so those of you who don't understand Japanese can understand this one!

No Flashpoint Summary/Ratings Today or Tomorrow

Hey Moonies - I have to be out of town till the end of the week so I am unable to do the summary or the ratings reporting until Sunday night at the very latest. Technically I'm out for the whole week, and thanks to the magic of timed posts it seems like I've been here a lot this week! For those of you fans in other countries who have been following our Flashpoint coverage very well, I won't keep you in the dark , I will have something up by Monday - I'm as addicted to the show as you are, and as long as my PVR doesn't fail there will be something. For those of you fans who are able to watch the show and would like to post a quickie summary , feel free to do so in the comments!

Rina Koike Reprises Role in Upcoming Kamen Rider Movie!

On August 9th, the new Kamen Rider movie based on the Kamen Rider Kiva series was released. Kamen Rider Kiva: King of the Castle in the Demon World features Rina Koike (Sailor Luna in PGSM) reprising her role as Shizuka Nomura. There was a press conference along with a concert in Tokyo on August 7th, and Rina attended as well as the rest of the cast. The conference also confirmed that many cast members from Kamen Rider Den-O would be making cameos in the film. The cutest part we read in this article had to do with the movie's theme song chanteuse, Nanase Aikawa of the band Crimson-FANG. She has a 6-year-old son who over the lunch hour at school tells all the other kids proudly that his mom sings the theme song. He is a fan of Kamen Rider but an even bigger fan of his mother! A reporter asked Ms. Aikawa why her son wanted to see the movie to hear her song rather than to see the heroes, and she responded with a laugh saying "That's always a good thing!" Hey, if any of our moms were popstars and singing the theme song to a movie, we wouldn't care about the stars either! We don't know much about this movie except that our heroes are facing Kamen Rider Arc, the alter ego of a Death Row inmate. He is aided by minions from the Legendorga and the Kamen Rider crew is in for the fight of their lives! We know we have a lot of Toku fans out there so if any of you happen to read more about the plot, please let us know!

Shoko Nakagawa on Sailor Moon

Hey Moonies - quick update! Go check out ANN's interview with Shoko Nakagawa! It's GIZA subtitled and around 4 minutes she starts to talk about how much she loves Sailor Moon. The interview was conducted last month when she appeared at Anime Expo! Later she talks about how much she likes to cosplay as Sailor Moon and how she was influenced by the manga. Some of her blog entries are also translated in English and they are now posted here! For her original blog, click here.

Behind the Music of Flashpoint

We here at Moon Chase think that it's really awesome that Stephanie Morgenstern's (Sailor Venus #1) Flashpoint is showcasing a lot of indie talent by playing their songs during the montages at the end of the episodes. CTV has a great page that has the names of the songs used and links to all the bands. But did you know that two of the cast members are indie rockers themselves?Amy Jo Johnson, who plays Sargent Julianna "Jules" Callaghan, has released a few CDs of her own, original music over the past few years. She has even played a singer in a made for TV movie, we recommend all readers to check out the movie Sweetwater: A True Rock Story if they can - her performance in that movie was so perfect! I actually have her rendition of Motherless Child on my Zen Micro. Last week's episode, Attention Shopper featured her song Dancing in Between. It's an older song, and was released on her album imperfect in 2005.

Hugh Dillon, who plays lead sniper Ed Lane on the show, was once a staple of Canadian radio with his former band, the Headstones. They broke up in 2003, and Dillon formed a new band, the Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir in 2005. Their upcoming album, Works Well With Others hasn't had a confirmed release date yet, but we can tell you that Paul Langois of The Tragically Hip recorded some tracks with them. Hugh wrote a song especially for Flashpoint called Lost at Sea, and it will be featured on next week's episode (#8), Kissed a Girl.

Did You Spot A Catsy in Last Week's Flashpoint?

Wow! We ALMOST missed this one, and we wouldn't have caught it unless we didn't catch the episode streaming on the internet (because the creds are too tiny to read on the TV screen)! Flashpoint's episode last week had a second connection to Sailor Moon! Playing a young mother, trying to assist the SRU in identifying the teenagers of the Winchester Gang, was none other than Alice Poon! She played the villian Catsy in Sailor Moon R! We pulled a screengrab off CTV's site so you could all see her in action! We will keep you posted should any other VAs appear on the show!

BREAKING NEWS: Chieko Kawabe Marries Producer!

This was completely unexpected news to us! One of the hits on our radar just a few hours ago came from a tabloid article that briefly mentioned about the reunion all the PGSM stars had recently at Ayaka's 23rd birthday party. It didn't mention anything that we had already told you in our post, but at the end there was a kicker. The tabloid tried to jab the bunch to make it look like they left out Chieco Kawabe (Naru Osaka) who recently married TV producer Masato Ochi. We immediately read that saying "Are you kidding?" and quickly researched what we could. It's true! Chieco married a TV producer who is 21 years older than her (twice her age as some tabloids report). We have a feeling they met in 2005 when Chieco appeared on the after school variety show Gakkou e Ikou! (Groovy Times After School!) which he was producing for the channel TBS. We are really busy behind the scenes, but fans can check out in more detail the announcements each of them made on their blogs (hers and his). They were married on 08/08/08 because it was a very lucky date for them, and they stand by each other despite their age difference (which means nothing to them). Both said that they think so much alike that they are almost like twins, and that they hope to be a creative couple and work together on many things. Chieco also said that he is the only one for her (awwh!). Her entry is also partially written in very good English for you all to understand! Congratulations to Chieco and Masato and we wish you the best of luck in this new phase of your lives!

RIP Carlos Meglia

Sad news to report this morning. Famed Cybersix* creator Carlos Meglia passed away at the age of 50 last Friday in Spain. World news agencies report he was suffering from heart problems for the last few years, and they are in disagreement over what it was exactly that caused his death. Some say it was an aneurysm, others say it was a stroke, and another says he died on the operating table during heart surgery. Update (Sunday Evening): We have just learned that it was in fact a heart attack after a second operation for a heart ailment which took his life. Carlos made his debut in 1974 as an illustrator for children's books in Argentina. From 1983-1986, he worked in animation on the cartoons The Smurfs, The Flintstones, and Scooby Doo. He had even worked in drawing the layouts for Batman: The Animated Series. In 1987 he teamed up with another artist, Carlos Trillo, and created some of the most memorable Argentinian comics ever, including Irish Coffee about a detective with supernatural powers, and of course Cybersix - the story of a renegade cyborg with enough humanity left within her to stop an evil scientist from destroying more lives. After Cybersix ended, he settled in Spain and began working for the US market, collaborating with Dark Horse, DC, and Marvel on many titles including Star Wars: Underworld, Adventures of Superman, and Elektra. In 2005, he created the popular series Canari along with the Belgian comic artist Didier Crisse. There is a very warm tribute to him posted by one of his friends on his official blog.

Cybersix was by far his most well known work. The comic lasted for 6 years in Argentina, and spawned a live action version in 1995 starring one of the hottest models at the time, Carolina Peleritti. An animated series also debuted in 1999, and was dubbed in English, French, Japanese, Malaysian, Polish, South American, and Thai. The cartoon was a hybrid anime, as it was produced and dubbed in Canada, and animated in Japan by Telecom Animation Film (a subsidiary of Tokyo Movie Shinsha) and it literally bought his artistic style to life. You could watch it alongside a typical anime and never know the two were animated in Japan! In an interview we were able to find, he told of how the series came to be. After the live action version was canceled, a friend of Carlos' named Alejandro had animated a pilot on his computer. A few months later, another friend tells him of a Canadian who is looking for animation projects, and Carlos told him of Alejandro's Cybersix pilot. A week after the pilot and some scripts had been sent to this Canadian, he flew to Buenos Aires to sign a contract. He had also been in talks with TMS to animate the project, and they had gained worldwide fame as being the animators behind the legendary Akira. Carlos called Carlos Trillo, and he was also happy about this deal and agreed. It took a year after that for the 13-episode series to be completed. He loved the cartoon, and though the first season ended on a cliffhanger , he never heard back from the producers. Even if he did, he said he wouldn't have known how to continue because Adrian (and Cybersix's) companion Lucas had discovered their true identity. Though fans are still hungry for a second season, the show was never picked up again. It starred Cathy Weseluck (best known for playing Kagome's mother in InuYasha) in the dual role as Adrian Siedelman and Cybersix. The cartoon also won the Special Mention for the Best Science Fiction Program at the Pulcinella Awards in 2000. Carlos also noted in the interview that this was one of the first times Japan had produced something for the world market - usually Japan produces work for the Japanese market and then it is adapted for the world. An Argentinian fan had told him once that the only thing they had seen from Japan before Cybersix was Studio Ghibli's Porco Rosso, and Cybersix was more beautiful than it.

We send our deepest condolences to Meglia's family, friends, and colleagues. He was a great talent and he will be missed.


*A lot of you may be wondering, why report about Cybersix on a Sailor Moon site? The two cartoons had one very big thing in common - gender bending superheroes. The Sailor Star Lights were men by day and women by night, and Cybersix was a female cyborg by night, and a male English teacher (Adrian Siedelman) by day. Cybersix aired uncensored on Canada's Teletoon during the late evenings, and a censored version was shown during the day on both Fox Kids. This was proof enough that if Sailor Stars aired late at night, and unedited, it could have thrived on television and kept the fans happy, while a censored version would have been just fine for those parents concerned about what their kids are watching. Carlos mentioned at the end of the interview that this was the same conflict they had when they were discussing how to market the cartoon. If they had left in all the adult scenes, it would have sold but the market would have been reduced. This was the best solution to stick with most of the integrity of the original and yet to make it marketable to countries around the world. For more information, go visit CyberSeries 5000, the best Cybersix fansite on the web! The series is one to watch, and it was only released in limited quantities on VHS in Canada. We're pretty sure that the episodes can be found somewhere and we recommend every reader of this site watches it!

A Short History of Girls Novels in Japan

Naoko in the News (But Only Briefly)!

We came across an article about girls novels that was published a little under a month ago (but our news source decided to take notice of it now). This article was written by Mariko Nakamura, who is a mangaka in Japan, and she chronicles girls (shoujo) manga, from how it began to what it is like today. One of the first shoujo novels ever created was Hana Monogatari (Flower Story), an anthology of 52 stories about romance. Some had happy endings, some didn’t, and not all the stories were about boy-girl relationships! The story was largely based on women from the Meiji period, and was created by legendary mangaka Nobuko Yoshiya (pictured around 1930, courtesy of Wikipedia). Nobuko’s first chapter was published in 1916 in a women’s magazine supplement called Shouji Yogahou. This was during a time where largely men were being educated, and this magazine was a sister supplement to men’s magazine. In 1943, when women in Japan got more rights, there was an increase of more magazines aimed for women (and not just supplements). Three volumes of Flower Story were published, and they were re-released in 1995. Mariko was on a mission to change the image of women from a foe to a friend, and didn’t see writing as a punishment (like many had thought in her day).

This lead to shoujo novels that portrayed free women. Women no longer kept their mouths shut in a male dominated world, and were so much more than the good housewife and mother that society had made them be. They were brave, wore western clothing, and cut their hair into bobs (it was a norm back then for Japanese women to have long hair). Wearing western-style clothing was akin to Japanese women dressing like women from the United States who were thought to be strong characters. This continued when Nobuko in 1925 took a big leap and moved away from the supplement and published her own magazine for the next 8 months, Kuroshoubi (Black Rose).

What has always made shoujo novels special is how the bonds between the girl characters are portrayed. This was especially true in the 80's when publishers finally began to support shoujo manga. This allowed readers to really see girls for what they were, instead of just basing their opinions on the outside. All of these stories were inspired by Nobuko’s work, and provided a great mass of support for girls growing up in Japan at the time. In the 80s, the format of these novels also changed to mangas, and of course, this paved the way for many of the titles we see today. Later, the friendships between girls became more important than love, as evident in the series NANA by Ai Yazawa. Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon was a brilliant example of the power of friendship overcoming everything (when all the senshi fought together, they were unstoppable)! To all the girls who read these manga, every character is strong and brave for who they are in their personalities, and they inspire every girl to be true to themselves and to have a good heart.

While the mention of Naoko Takeuchi in this article was brief, we’re really glad that Mariko remembered it when she wrote about shoujo novels. Sailor Moon was really a legendary series, and though it has pretty much disappeared, it’s influence and story still lives on. When we redid the layout, I ditched the old slogan "Chasing Sailor Moon News All Over!" in favor of "The Legend Lives On" for that reason. The actors and crew have all come so far since then , and the story still lives on as a big influence and part of Japanese manga and anime history today. Sadly, Nobuko (who was born in 1896) is no longer with us today, she passed away at the age of 77 in 1973 of colon cancer. This was definitely one of the hardest articles we’ve ever had to translate and summarize for this site, but it was worth it. It didn’t really go deep into the evolution of shoujo novels, but it did at least give you all a taste of it’s roots up until now.

Flashpoint Ratings: August 14th

The ratings are just trickling in for the US, but very slowly. Flashpoint scored 6.31 million viewers (of course, beaten by NBC's Olympics coverage) with a 1.6/4 among 18-49 year olds and a 4.4/7 for CBS overall during that hour. Hopefully there will be more released soon, so watch this space. As usual, we still don't have last week's Canadian ratings.

EDIT: It seems we got everything! Hurrah! Flashpoint continues to get more viewers than CSI!

EDIT 2: Hot off the presses are last week's Canadian ratings!

EDIT 3: Flashpoint scored 1.186 million viewers, and was the third program watched overall in the country that week behind CBC's The National and The Olympics!

Flashpoint in a Flash: Episode 4

This was the best episode of Flashpoint we've seen so far! Full Summary after the jump! This episode did have a lot of skin so for those of you chibi-Moonies up too late at night, please don't sneak around and watch this episode, okay? ^_^


Attention Shoppers
We begin with shots of Toronto at night, and closing in on Eaton Centre... ahh the home of Richtree, the best eatery in Toronto! Gregory Parker’s voice is heard over the intercom as we see shoppers sitting down in a line in the floor of the mall, being searched before they are escorted out. And lurking in the fitting room of a store, is a trembling girl who dials her telephone. Her name is Tasha and she confesses to her mom she killed a girl, and tells her mom she is sorry... and REWIND! Jules leads the SRU to their locker rooms as they chat about music and steaks and get into their gear (warning, you see a little too much of Amy Jo Johnson so don’t watch younger chibi-Moonies!) Now we are at Tasha’s home, where she tries to get her depressed mom out of bed. She seems like a nice girl. She walks out of her grungy apartment to find insults spray painted all over the front. As she walks, she is teased by some other girls which she ignores. Back at the SRU, Ed answers the phone and it’s for Jules from Scott Scarlatti who wants to know if she’s free for a date tonight. It’s a very awkward situation and Jules just nods her head without speaking. The SRU practice dragging Ed around the room. At the mall, Tasha talks with her boss about why she hasn’t been herself lately, and she avoids answering the question saying it’s just her usual stresses. Tasha is confronted by the other girls in the restroom, and we learn that she confessed something to the cops. The gang leader slams her against a stall door, and pushes her around. She’s on the floor being beat up and her hair is being cut by the leader... girls can be so mean! Another girl shows her a gun as the leader threatens her, somehow the gun is dropped, Tasha picks it up and fires it, shooting one of the members. She runs off , and the gang members run after her to seek revenge. THEME SONG! Oh boy, this looks like it’s going to be an intense episode. Commercials! Macy is having a 1 day sale and it’s nice to know everyone can enjoy Oreos! The SRU drives to the mall , and they find out that the girl who was shot was a gang member with a tattoo on her arm. The SRU goes up the glass elevator and realizes they have a tough task ahead of them. Tasha is sobbing as she walks through the mall and looks at her kiosk. The SRU starts questioning shoppers, and they learn that there are teenagers running around the mall. Greg says not to control the shoppers just yet, and they learn that they are all part of the Winchester Crew. Jules sees the hair on the floor and senses there was a forced makeover. She suspects that there’s another victim and that it’s a little personal. And we are taken to the beginning of the episode, where Greg makes his announcement to get all the shoppers out of the stores. The mall is in lockdown. The girls pledge to kill Tasha. Jules finds her backpack and narrows down the high school. Through the security tapes, the SRU identifies the shooter and everyone goes looking for her. Tasha sees the SRU with their dogs and runs. She is spotted and cornered. One of the other gang members spots her and fires the gun, sending the shoppers in a panic and Tasha escapes. OH @#$%! Commercials! Oh who cares about Swiffers and Tropic Thunder... we wanna see how this all ends! The SRU runs through the mall and Wordy gets a gang member. The other two are on the loose, and Tasha is hiding in a fitting room. She is crying, can’t stand the sight of her hair, and takes the gun out from her pocket. The girl lies Tasha is the crazy one and says she is shot in the arm, Ed pulls up her sleeve and sees the gang number. She is now forced to tell the truth about the gang members. Jules uses a thermal scanner to locate two people under a table... not their suspects, but they tell them to put the cameras back. The girls steal some clothes from a store to change their appearance and split up. The SRU is at an advantage because Jules knows how girls work and how they can get revenge! The SRU puts the pieces together and find out who Tasha confessed to the cops about. Tasha is in the fitting room leaving a message for her mother. Luria is outside Tasha’s apartment, and sees the graffitti. She walks inside, to Tasha’s room, which looks just like any normal, happy, girl’s room. Sadly, it’s the tidiest place in the house. One of the girls trips an alarm in the mall, and soon they are both led off by SRU. Tasha’s boss calls her cell phone, she says she is sorry but she won’t say where she is. Tasha holds a gun to her head. As the SRU moves into the store she is hiding in, she pulls the gun to her chest. Commercial! Crystal Light will pump up your water and that guy in the Arby’s ad reminds me of the Nanny from Kevin Hill. More members of the SRU move into the store. Jules and Braddock move into the fitting room, and they find the gun, but Tasha is gone. She escaped through a vent. Ed Lane tries to get some more words out of the girls. Jules is the only one who can fit through the vent. Tasha’s boss tries to say Tasha is a good girl, despite where she lives. Jules catches up with Tasha who is moving towards the roof of the mall. I’ll bet anyone who has been to this mall hasn’t seen it in this way before! Tasha makes her way outside and is ready to jump off the ledge. Future Shop is in the background! Jules learns that she was raped, and drops her gun to try to talk to her. She remarks that she has never seen someone who is ready to die put up an awesome fight. She asks what happened today, and she moves in next to Tasha. Jules talks her through it... I’m not going to say too much more because this really was a great moment in the series and every reader needs to watch this episode! So Tasha agrees not to jump and moves to give her hand to Jules, but she slips! Of course, this is when the trailer ended and we all thought she was going to die... but Jules saves her, and the SRU pulls her up. Commercials! KFC has a value menu, and Papa Murphy’s Pizza looks good. It’s a new day in Toronto, and we hear a piano play the Flashpoint theme song. Tasha is sitting on a stretcher, and Jules talks to her. Tasha asks why Jules did that for her, and she says that she doesn’t go down without a fight, just like her. She leaves her with the paramedics, and walks towards the rest of the SRU, and finally Amy’s song begins to play! Tasha’s boss gives her a hug, the SRU packs up back at headquarters. Braddock walks in on Jules clad in a towel, and he says he was worried about her. He looks at her bruised shoulder, and asks her out to the diner for breakfast, and she agrees. Fade to black... Next week’s episode is about a Military School student who is kicked out and he turns the guns on his high-pressure family.

This in my opinion was the best episode so far of the season - it’s too bad it was aired out of order. You can tell at the end when Jules realizes she has feelings for Braddock. It was a very hard hitting plot and given how bullying has become such a HUGE issue in schools these days all over North America, it was nice to see that there is always a way out of these gangs, no matter how ugly the situation becomes.

Emilie-Claire Barlow In Concert!

Hey everyone: just a quick update to remind you all of Emilie-Claire Barlow's (Sailor Mars #2, Sailor Venus #2) upcoming concerts until the end of September. Emilie-Claire has been very busy this summer with her concerts in Eastern Canada, her summer veggie patch, and of course, voicing cartoon characters! She just finished wrapping up the English dub of the Korean cartoon Z-Squad, and is working on Season 3 of 6Teen and Season 2 of Total Drama Island which is now called Total Drama Action. I guess this is a pretty big hint that her character Courtney, is returning! Check out a picture of her in action at A Totally Dramatic Production Blog! Emilie-Claire is also planning a new album!

For those of you who are in Eastern Canada (Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick to be more specific), here's where you can catch Emilie-Claire in concert!

Aug. 16 2008: Bracebridge, ON 8:00pm Rene M. Caisse Memorial Theatre
Box Office: 705 645 8400

Sept. 1 2008: Mont Tremblant, QC 12:30pm & 2:00pm Place St-Bernard - La Féerie Musicale de Tremblant
Free Concert

Sept. 9 2008: Fredericton, NB 8:00pm The Fredirecton Playhouse
Box Office: 1-866-884-5800

Sept. 10 2008: Sackville, NB 8:00pm Sackville United Church
Box Office: 1-866-908-9090

Sept. 20 2008: Port Hope, ON 8:00pm Memorial Park - Port Hope All-Canadian Jazz Festival
Box Office: (905) 885-1938

BREAKING NEWS: Anime, is all but dead on Canadian Television

Unfortunately, this article’s title is the sad truth. Last year this was not a problem as YTV’s Bionix lineup had shows like Bleach, Naruto, Death Note, Full Metal Alchemist, and Eureka Seven. This year, it seems the Bionix block has been revamped to air more kid friendly programming, leaving anime for older audiences to air in the wee hours of the morning. Fridays have a new block too: Big Fun Fridays (okay, seriously, YTV is that the best name you could think of for a block?). BFF will have a lot of family friendly programming, including their kids reality show, The Next Star along with a family friendly movie. We’ve noticed in the last 2-3 years YTV isn’t catering to kids exclusively as much as it used to, but has added shows for the whole family to enjoy such as Malcolm in the Middle and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Reading this story, it truly is a sad day in Canadian Television. In the last few years it has gotten a lot easier to find anime in Canadian stores, and YTV was the channel to watch because it had such great series on it like Ghost in the Shell, InuYasha and Witch Hunter Robin. So far, only Dinosaur King and Blue Dragon have been confirmed. And these are both anime aimed for younger audiences, with Dinosaur King already airing on Fox (hey, it’s a 4Kids property -_-) and Blue Dragon on Toonami Jetstream (Saturday Mornings). The glory of what used to be anime on Canadian TV has all been left in the past, it seems. Canadians are pretty limited now, with Space which shows Robotech, IFC which shows anime movies on occasion, ditto for Movie Central, and TCM, Super Channel which has Noein and Tokko, and Razer... oh wait, that channel was rebranded recently to MTV 2. Whatever are we going to do without the guilty pleasure that was Shin-Chan?

This is truly a sad day. We have to wonder where this leaves the status of YTV’s proposed anime channel.

Motoki's Turtle Returns!

While seeing what was hot in Japan on the music charts, we came across a music video by a band called Aladdin. Hi wa, Mata Noboru (The Sun Will Rise Again) is a call to tired, frustrated, salarymen and women who see nothing great about their jobs. Something caught our eye about this video as we fast-forwarded through it (it was too genki, even for us). Those turtles that the men were holding near the end of the video looked very familiar. And then we remembered Masaya Kikawada's act of bravery in wearing that turtle suit that was probably one of the most memorable moments of PGSM in episode 25. We dug up the episode, and we were in fact correct. The two were using the same brand of turtle (although the Aladdin video has a baby turtle to go along with it). Don't believe us? Here are some comparison screenshots. Motoki is on the right, and Aladdin is on the left.



Curious fans who want to check out this video can click here and they can even find a translation of the song. If any of our fans happen to know which toy manufacturer makes this turtle, we'd love to feature it on this site! The turtles make their appearance twice in this video, at 3:07 and 4:10.

aladdin - hi wa、mata noboru
by mugen-pv

NA VA News (Part Two)

Rino Romano in Spaceballs?!

The 80's movie Spaceballs was a parody of Star Wars. It wasn't very popular in theaters, but gained more popularity when it was released on home video (and subsequently DVD). The movie also poked fun at tons of other Sci-Fi productions that were popular during the day. Fast forward to this year, and there is an animated series in the works. The series was due to start in June on G4 but has since been postponed with no premiere date as of this writing. In Canada though, the series airs on Super Channel. Playing the leading role of Captain Lone Starr is none other than Rino Romano (Tuxedo Mask #1). Captain Lone Starr is a combination of the personalities of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. He has a companion, a half-man, half-dog (mawg) named "Barf" (short for Barfolomew) which is a parody of Chewbacca. Fans awaiting the series can check out a trailer here!

Robert Tinkler in New Movie!

Set to premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival is Cooper's Camera! This one is about a family's Christmas celebration in 1985 that becomes horribly dysfunctional when an estranged uncle shows up. The story is told through the Cooper family's youngest son Teddy's "eyes" - aka his Christmas present, a second-hand video camera. Robert Tinkler (Rubeus) plays the supporting role of Officer Malette alongside The Daily Show's Samantha Bee and Canadian comedian Dave Foley. This looks hilarious from what we have read and we hope to hear more about this soon!

Jeff Lumby Featured in New Red Green Special and Book!

I'm sneaking in this quick edit this morning! Meg Ruffman is an actress who has an interesting hobby - carpentry! She has even written a few books about simple how-to projects for beginners. She is nearly finished writing a book called We're All In This Together, a biography on Steve Smith. Last week she was featured as a Special Guest Co-host on Jeff Lumby's (Professor Tomoe, Kakeru, Mischa) radio show, Lumby in the Morning. While she was there, she also shot an interview to be aired on The Comedy Network in October as part of We're All In This Together: The Red Green Story a tribute to Red Green. The show definitely ranks up there with long-running Canadian TV shows and we were sad to see it go when it did. We look forward to watching this special and hopefully we'll see a few "brilliant" moments from Jeff's character, Winston Rothschild III of Rothschild's Sewage and Septic Sucking Services. Picture courtesy of SOS, pointing out our favorite evil professor in court (of course, not for his monster engineering).

PGSM Stars Reunite!

Ayaka Komatsu (PGSM Sailor Venus) turned 22 on July 23rd, but didn't have her birthday party until last Thursday! Joining her were her other four costars from PGSM, Miyuu Sawai (Sailor Moon), Rika Izumi (Sailor Mercury), Keiko Kitagawa (Sailor Mars) and Mew Azama (Sailor Jupiter). Three of them blogged about it and all featured this picture that they took at a restaurant with Ayaka's amazing birthday pastries (we hope they tasted as good as they looked). Our birthday girl remarked on her blog that it had been a long time since she had seen her costars, and that they are so strong when they are together. She couldn't believe that they have known each other for five years already! Keiko had invited them for a preview and press conference for her upcoming movie, Handsome Suits and Ayaka (while looking forward to Keiko's movie) also put in a quick plug about her own movie, Pandemic which will be out in theaters shortly in Japan. Ayaka was also lucky enough to be given a bottle of champagne that was personalized! Mew says that she is a little scared of turning 22, and she will be there in a few months. She wrote that the time really flew from her PGSM days until now, but she was glad to see everyone and that the party could not have been great unless all five of them were there! Keiko blogged that at the press conference, she wore a very trendy Donna Karan pink spangled dress. Her character in the movie wore clothes that weren't very fashionable and with light makeup so she wanted to show up at this conference with a bang! She had invited all her PGSM costars to come, but Miyuu Sawai couldn't make it because she had to work. At Ayaka's birthday party the day after, she wrote that they were told a lot by the crew that when the 5 girls would get together that they would fight a lot. But it still isn't true, the 5 of them are still the best of friends years later. They talk a lot about their auditions and the 14 months they spent together on PGSM. They will all be friends for life, she says! She also thinks her acting in PGSM was so horrible for her own debut that she doesn't want to watch it anymore, but she is so glad she met the other actresses! She hopes that they can get together again for her birthday party, and ended her entry with some old PGSM pictures for old times' sake!

In other PGSM news, Mew Azama is now part of an elite group of models whose blogs on Ameblo have been fused with idol magazine CanCam. This new portal will also allow users of Ameblo to access some pretty cool features, including the same skins that the models use on their blogs. Mew sure seems to be doing a lot these days with the cyber world, in our last update we learned that she is now a special celebrity answerer with MSN's Questionbox. Rika Izumi is now a model with Sun Music Brain, and has posed for photos with Ray Magazine. Ayaka Komatsu's movie Pandemic has something to do with the world being hit with some kind of superbug and will be out in January. Keiko Kitagawa's Handsome Suits is a comedy about a man who is a horrible Italian Chef, but who one day has a change of heart in his career and opts to work at a men's fine clothing store! This one will be released sometime in November. Aya Sugimoto (Queen Beryl) achieved tabloid notoriety again when Jason Lewis (who played Smith Jerrod in the Sex and the City Movie) appeared for a promotional event ahead of the movie's release in Japan. Aya appeared on the stage and he swept her off her feet with a typical Hollywood kiss (and that's what we've got pictured). As of this writing, we're not entirely sure if she had a dubbing role with the movie in Japanese or if she was just at the premiere because of her celebrity status.

World Cosplay Summit 2008: Sightings and Winners

Last weekend was the sixth annual World Cosplay Summit, held in Nagoya this year. Reprising his role from previous years, Toru Furuya (Tuxedo Mask) was one of three guest commentators from the world of anime and manga this year. 14 groups, representing 13 countries, took part in the competition and Sailor Moon characters made a showing in nearly half of the participating countries.

Two countries took Sailor Moon cosplayers to the final round of the competition. Germany brought both Sailors Moon and Chibi Moon (and Chibi Moon was the taller of the two ;D), while Singapore went the royal route with Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion!

Before the final competition took place, other participants gathered for the parade in Osu and the moonies were not going to be left out. Sailors Saturn and Uranus in their Super form from Sailor Stars were represented from the Denmark delegation and from the US, Chibiusa and Elios made an appearance!

Others made their appearances in the preliminary rounds in each country. Japan's Osaka venue entertained Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, while Korea was a small convention in itself with one full set of nine Senshi, another group as the initial trio from the anime (Moon, Mercury and Mars) yet another lone Sailor Moon and even the Amazon Trio as a foil for the fully assembled team. And, while Mexico didn't have (or didn't supply pictures of) and Sailor Moon cosplayers, they did have an impressive display of figurines and toys, and front and center in this display was Odango herself!

The championship was held in front of 12,000 fans at Oasis 21 in Nagoya and here are the results:
Brazil took the top spot for the second time, having also won in 2006! Cosplayers Jessica Moreira Rocha Campos and Gabriel Niemietz Braz played Joe and Jango from "Angel's Adolescence".
Second place went to China and Zhao Chin and Zhang Li as Nouhime and Kasuga from "Sengoku Basara".
The "brother" prize went to Japan's Osaka venue competitors Yui and Mino as Lelouch Lamperouge and Kururugi Suzaku from "Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion".
Even though neither of the Sailor Moon groups won, we're sure they tried their best and we wish them luck in the future!

The photo galleries for all the participating countries can be found here.

Flashpoint Ratings: August 7th

Good news readers, BBM finally released last week's Canadian Flashpoint viewer ratings - go check them out here!

We have some very exciting news out of the US to report this morning with respect to the show's ratings from last night. Flashpoint was the second highest rated show last night, behind the two-hour finale of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. The show scored 7.17 million viewers, and for the first time since it's rescheduling to Thursday nights, it had garnered 260,000 more viewers than the CSI encore which preceded it! Congratulations to the cast and crew of Flashpoint! The show also scored 2.1/6 with viewers 18-49. We don't expect to hear from BBM with Canadian ratings until at least next week.

EDIT: BBM finally posted the ratings on Friday, August 15th! Flashpoint is #3 in Canada behind So You Think You Can Dance's finale. The show scored 1.3 million viewers across the country!

Caption This #4

Today's crossover comes from loyal reader CyCyn who runs her own blog, Sailor Moon Obsession! When we heard of her fanart, we knew we just had to see it given our new layout! It seems our favorite superhero has given up her sailor style fuku for one fashioned after the Dark Knight himself.

EDIT: It seems Blogger has mysteriously made the image disappear?! Here it is!


Sailordees
Sailor Moon: This outfit makes me look way cooler standing on the roof! I wonder if the Kevlar can deflect Ki blasts from the Negaverse?

The Me
Sailor Moon: A new Dark Moon Clan will rise!

Flashpoint in a Flash: Episode 6

Sorry it's a bit late - I just came back from our translator, White Tiger King's wedding reception. On behalf of the readers and staff, congrats Tiger! And thank technology for PVR's! Summary can be found after the jump!


We begin with a shot of Toronto's financial district on Bay Street, and eventually focus on a bank. Ed Lane is ready to shoot and we see a robber, clad in black exit the bank with a female hostage. Gregory Parker shouts to the robber not to do it, as he with his gun forces the hostage to her knees. Greg wonders what to do next... and REWIND! 2 hours earlier. Braddock is learning how to negotiate in a parking lot in a hypothetical scenario being played by the other SRU members. He fails to resolve the situation, and pretend gunman Ed Lane pretend kills a hostage. Greg tries to help Sam learn what he did wrong, but he avoids it. Next we are taken to a man talking on his cell phone in a car, asking for a few more days to get something done, but eventually he relents and says he will have it tonight. He loads up a gun and puts on a mask. This is our bank robber! Back at SRU headquarters, Greg tries to teach Braddock a thing or two about negotiating. Now we're at the bank, which is celebrating it's rise to the 2nd best performing branch in the downtown core from it's last place position. The bank's manager hands out some employee awards and everyone gets back to work. She takes aside a worker named Paul, and says he has to pull his own weight despite his personal troubles. Paul moves back to his work, and the manager makes mention of an error code with the door in the morning. She retreats to her office, and there's our gunman waiting for her. He demands $500,000, and he wants her to withdraw it and bring it back up to her office. He will leave, and no one gets hurt. She leaves to get the money as he moves to a window to watch. The manager calmly tells a teller there's danger, and the teller gets the message that there is a robbery. Another sounds the alarms, and people pilfer out the door... some don't make it as the robber heads down to the floor and takes the manager hostage at gunpoint. ROLL CREDITS! Hmm. It seems Kohl's is sponsoring Flashpoint now (but without that horrible Avril line plzplz) Worst Week looks a little stale. Back to the show - the SRU is called into action and heads to the bank. We learn our robber , the Monday Morning Bandit, had an override code and cut the video and audio security, and that he knew tellers were trained to be quiet and hand over the cash. They are dealing with a pro here. Greg assigns positions, but Braddock wants a higher one. Jules tells him to wait, he's not ready. The group gets into position, as we go to the inside of the bank where all the hostage are sitting up against the bank's counters with their hands behind their heads. Greg gets on the phone with the Bandit, who demands that the team get him a car by noon so he can escape. He gets the bank manager on the phone who pleads that they do what he says or they will all be killed.
Ed talks to another officer who reveals something about how these robbers work and use the subway to escape. Greg works with Braddock on negotiating, and he calls the Bandit again. Greg says that he will have what he wants if he cooperates and gives up the hostages. Greg realizes that he doesn't fit the typical antisocial profile, and the SRU has to change their plan of action. The hostages worry in the bank. The manager gets up and says she has to go to the bathroom and she tries to bargain with him. The bandit makes her sit back down again. Some SRU members head down to the subway. Greg notifies the Bandit that the alarm is going to go off again and that he should stay calm. Jules sets off the alarm and the team sets off a bomb in the subway that leads to the bank's basement. Greg realizes that this is not our Monday Morning Bandit, and the bank manager starts off a frenzy when she tries to get help for an asthmatic teller. The team is now face to face with the robber, who fires some shots in the air. Some team members get some hostages out, but the robber still holds the manager. They ask him repeatedly to put the gun down, and he won't. The SRU moves closer, but the robber drags the manager upstairs and reveals his face... It's GEORGE! Commercials! J.C. Penney is having a sale and who knows if Spray 'N' Wash is really that strong... Back to the show! The SRU now has feed from the security cameras but n sound. They find the unmasked George talking to the manager... a security guard tells Greg he was a former head of security until he was fired 2 months ago. Greg gets a file of information about him, and the forensic psychologist lets him know what to look for in the robber's psyche. Another teller tells Jules that the manager is a horrible boss, and a lot of people hate her for how she turned the bank around. Greg goes off to negotiate with George, and Braddock goes with Lane. George gets mad and says the team has half an hour to meet his demands or else the manager dies. He gives them an account number and that the manager is going to take him to a computer to verify the money has been received. Greg tries to take his mind off the manager, but it is futile and he hangs up. He tells the manager that it's not looking good for her... Commercials! Sears is having a sale and Harold and Kumar's latest hijinks are on DVD! Jules learns he has a wife, and another SRU member learns that the money is going to some business. Greg is on the phone with George again, and the psychologist heads to a nursing home for more info. The manager shows a different side to her ruthlessness and talks about how she doesn't like to fire people. She worked hard to only have to fire 7 people over 62. George hangs up and says "no more talking". He gags the manager, and Greg tells the SRU to prepare to act. Ed gives Braddock more guidance on the job behind the rifle. The psychologist calls Greg and we learn George's wife has Alzheimer's and will be kicked out of her care home because she does not have the money to stay there. We have a motive for the robbery now. Greg uses this to empathize with George, and it looks like he is ready to listen and give in. He asks to talk to his wife, and Greg doesn't know if he should or not. Greg allows it, and Mary and George start talking. Mary tells George she doesn't like to be alone and she feels like she is at fault. George says he has to go , and they tell each other they love them. He lets the manager go free, but she doesn't want to go. She wants to help him with his wife's situation. He puts on his mask and heads out with her out of the bank. Greg runs out of the truck to the front of the bank and the team materializes... Commercials! Kiefer is on Letterman and Swingtown looks creepy. And we are taken back to where the episode started. Greg talks to him to put the gun down and let the manager go. George stands up and points the gun to Greg. Lane tells Braddock to shoot, and George falls to the ground. Greg is stunned, the manager is left in tears as some soft, sad, and harrowing vocal music plays in the background. Braddock is stunned, and Greg walks over to unmask George. The psychologist tries to tell Mary that George is dead, but she does not understand. Back at HQ, Ed Lane tells Braddock it's all procedure when he was questioned. The attack may have been planned as George's insurance did not cover suicide, but did pay out if his death was caused by a third party. Greg asks Braddock if he is okay, and Greg himself is confused because he doesn't know where he lost the connection. Braddock offers to help, and Greg takes it as they go through the log together. End Episode! Next week is Episode #4 Attention Shopper - a woman with a gun has run astray in a shopping mall.

This episode was a little complex, and maybe because I'm a little tired I can't quite wrap my head around everything that happened. Next week's episode finally features cast member and former Power Ranger Amy Jo Johnson's Dancing in Between playing at the end.

Commercials Corner #28 - Mega Commercial Blowout Edition!

Hey, Moonies! Commercials are finally back on track. It's been a wild ride. We're rewarding you all for your patience this week with TONS OF COMMERCIALS! Up first is all the new stuff I've been promising and below that you can relive the moments that were posted before.

-- New Stuff --

First up is a really weird commercial for a lottery game tied into a bicycle marathon:

Sushi on bikes!

And DoCoMo has some cute commercials as well, two of them with a cover of The Beatles' "All you need is love":

☼ And the other.

All the rest:
☼ DoCoMo Douga double header!
☼ Match Soda!
☼ Round 1 Sports and Entertainment Center!
☼ Fumakilla Mosquito Repellent w/ TOKIO!
☼ Regain Energy Drink!
☼ Rohto Lycee Eyedrops!
☼ Sekisuiheim Real Estate!
☼ Kirin Fire Beer!
☼ Tokyo Disney!
☼ MGS4!
☼ Glico Watering Kissmint Gum!

-- Older stuff --

Only one feature so far, in the hopes that the next batch will contain something really good: Marionettes and Axe Body Spray!


Best of the Rest:

☼ Hitachi WOOO HD TVs!
☼ Super Autobacs Tires!
☼ Epson Colorio Printer!
☼ Schick Intuition Plus razor!
☼ The Hunting Party Trailer!
☼ Asahi Draft Beer!
☼ Mazda Premacy!
☼ Minute Maid Banana Juice!
☼ AFLAC!

Sailordees' Bunch!

Hi everyone! I desperately searched for a commercial for The Dark Knight in honor of this site's new layout but I couldn't find one anywhere. I have been told by one of our translators, White Tiger King (who's getting married today!) that there are commercials on the air, but I suspect that the commercials will air more frequently soon as the movie is officially released on the 9th of August. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it, you will not be disappointed! I plan on seeing it a third time in a few weeks.

I have a few feature commercials this time around!

Keiko Kitagawa (PGSM Sailor Mars)for Glico Pallitte ice cream and Breo breath mints!





And I also found a commercial for Shaolin Girl. This movie features Miyuu Sawai but I don't spot her anywhere in the trailer (unless she's somewhere behind the main characters).



And this one is my pick for weirdest commercial. It's mostly in English, so you will all be able to understand what everyone is saying. This is supposed to be a commercial about wind power, but the mechanical whale flying out of the water is just odd.



And now for the rest:

# Asahi Super Dry!
# Aquarius Freestyle!
# Chicks Fighting For Chocolate Covered Almonds (1 + 2)!
# Ajinomoto MSG!
# Aeon Mizugi Magic!
# Aya Kamiki Summer Memories!
* Black Boss Beer Commercial!
* Best of Detective Conan 3!
* Beauteen Hair Color!
* Eyeful Home!
* AU Southern All Stars on Lismo!
* Aube Eyeshadow!
* AU Fields and Spades!
* Kao Asience!
* Aquarius Zero!
* Asahi Beer!
* Nissin Cup Noodle (1 + 2)!
* Maruchan Ramen!
* Crystal Kay - Color Change!
* Coke Zero Soccer!
* Japanese Coca Cola Olympics Commercial!
* Boy Band Ramen Commercial!
* Blaune Hair Color!
* Panasonic Foma!
* Fanta Zero!
* Kyocera "La Bamba"!
* Tokyo Girls Collection Hair Extensions (1, 2, + 3)!
* Evian 6 Week Challenge!
* Eneos Dr. Drive!
* Eheya Apartment Rentals!
* Mister Donut!
* Itoen Juice (1, 2, +3)!
* 923923 Insurance Commercial!
* 2634 Insurance Commercial!
* Hythiol-C!
* The Incredible Hulk!
* Honda Airwave and Stream!
* Xylitol Gummi!
* McDonald's Green Tea Oreo Flurry and Pork and Cheese Cutlet!
* Glico Papico!
* Fruite Creamy Fruity Dessert!
# Kao Pyuora Toothpaste!
# Kao Liese and Asience!
# Kao Beach Bubble Cool!
# JT Green Tea!
# JR Trains
# Japan Dream Baseball!
# Suntory Iyemon (1 + 2)!
* Face Care!
* Koda Kumi for Gillette Venus Breeze!
* Kobayashi Breath Care and Easy Fiber!
* KFC Red Hot Summer!
* Kirin Zero Beer!
* Henshin Phone!
* Lismo Video!
* Kanebo Kate!
* Karada Meguricha!
* Kao Sofina!
* Naifu - Take The Wave!
* Muscle Relief Pain Patches!
* Lux Hair Products!
* Lucky Cider with Kirakira Sparkle!
* Lotte Coolish and Gyu Gyu!
* Lotte Plus X Featuring Kat-Tun!
* Lotte Big Watermelon Popsicle!
* Kao Liese!
* Quick Wiper!
* Nissin U.F.O. Ramen!
* Nissan X-Trail!
* Nissay Life You May Dream with Ai Otsuka!
* Nissan Note!
* Nissan Dualis!
* NEC Cell Phone Ad!
* Namie Amuro - Vidal Sassoon 80's!
* Natchan Orange Juice!
* Kirin Namacha (1 + 2)!
* PSP Yakyu Baseball (1, 2, + 3)!
* Metal Gear Solid 4 (1 + 2)!
* Ponds Skincare!
* Pocari Sweat!
* Pizza-La with Cheese Sauce!(1 + 2)!
* Pepsi Nex!
* SK-II Facial Treatment Essence!
* Sharp Cell Phone!
* Shaolin Girl Trailer!
* Rising Sun Rock Festival!
* Remix Speed!
* Honda Zest w/ Koda Kumi!
* Quicksilver!
* Quick Wiper!
* Puffy - My Story!
* Softbank Runaway!
* Softbank en Francais!
* Softbank The Premium Waterproof with Cameron Diaz (1 + 2)!
* Softbank Pantone Slide with Cameron Diaz (1 + 2)!
* Softbank Tropical!
* Softbank Tennis!
* SMAP vs Family Pocari Sweat Commercial!
* A New SMAP Lip Gloss Commercial!
* Vitamin Water!
* V6 VIBES!
* Visa Pig Plushie!
* Ururucha!
* UGA Karaoke Party Station!
* Tokyo Star Bank!
* Tama Home!
* Genki Suzuki Motorcycles!
* Soken Bicha!
* Lotte Soh Ice Cream!
* Zespri Golden Kiwis!
* Xylitol Neo Gum!
* Star Ocean - The Last Hope XBox 360!
* Ninja Gaiden 2 for the XBox 360 (1 + 2)!
* Wii + FLETS!
* What Happens in Vegas!
* Mineral Jelly!
* Kose Visee with Koda Kumi!
* Watering Kissmint with Yui!