Sailor Moon Anime Seiyuu and Staff Update Spring 2010 - Part 5!

Akira Ishida Likes to Watch a Travel Show, and Starring in New Animes!

Akira Ishida (Fisheye) in a recent radio interview spent 20 minutes professing his love for Roque Roque Roque Roque Mitsu, a Travel show in Japan. Most specifically, he loves when they show different parts of Kansai. The show is hosted by cosplay idol Saki Inagaki, and has a very interesting concept behind it. Fans can check out the interview in Japanese here! Akira is in 2 different anime on the air as we speak in Japan. The first is an anime adaptation of Sengoku Basara (which we will tell you more about in a future PGSM article), and he will be playing the major role of Hanbee Takenaka. He will also be playing the leading role of upperclassman Komugi Musashi in the anime adaptation of Hen-Zemi, a manga about an abnormal physiology class.

Sakura Tange Continues RPG Streak!

We told you in the last big update that Sakura Tange (Miharu Akiyama) is a voice in two RPGs. Well, we can add a third to that list! KoiKen is a dating RPG played thorugh Mobage Town, one of Japan's largest Mobile-only social networks. KoiKen 2 will be released this summer, and the new heroine will be a character named Hotaru Yamabuki, and she will be played by Sakura! Also joining her will be Akira Ishida (Fisheye), who will play Mr. Sekiguchi, a 26 year old physics teacher at Hotaru's school who has a photography hobby. We couldn't find too much else about this RPG, but we hope that Sakura will return to anime too. A few screenshots have also just been released for Love Plus, another RPG that Sakura is voicing a character in. She also joins Yuko Minaguchi (Sailor Saturn) as Nene Anegasaki. The game features new enhancements in the stay and evolution systems, and character design. For fans who want to hear what she sounds like in the upcoming Fate Extra RPG for PSP, the official site now has a trailer up where she narrates as her character, Saber! Sakura is also joining Megumi Ogata (Sailor Uranus) in hosting NHK's Anisong program on the radio. Megumi will host the first half, and Sakura will host the second half.



Megumi Hayashibara Narrating New Emotional Anime

Megumi Hayashibara (Himeko) is serving as the narrator in an anime that is hailed to be just as popular as Death Note is in Japan, in time. Rainbow - Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin (The Seven Boys of Dorm 2, Room 6) is set in the 1950s, and is centered around the recovery of 7 juvenile delinquents and their relationship with their mentor at a reform school. This series was a challenge for everyone to record, including Megumi who seems to have the simplest role of all. The series is based on the manga of the same name by George Abe and Masasumi Kakizaki which was a prize winner at the 51st Shogakukan Manga Awards. The show has been in development since 2006 and finally premiered on April 6th of this year.


In a Distant Time 3 Features Many Sailor Moon Seiyuu (But the New Anime Only Has One)!

The female-friendly RPG In a Distant Time 3 (Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3) features four Seiyuu well-known to Sailor Moon fans. This RPG is about three friends who meet a strange boy who transports them to a different world. They learn, that they have special powers to seal off an evil force tearing this world apart, and return back to their own. Akira Ishida (Fisheye) plays Ridvan, a sword instructor for two of the kids, and the role of Hakuryu is split among Ryotaro Okiayu (Tiger's Eye, Yuuji, Achiral, and George) and Ikue Otani (U-Chouten and Sailor Tin Nyanko/Nyanko Suzu) . Ikue plays the child form and Ryotaro plays the adult form. Hakuryu is a being that summoned the children from the other world, and grows into his own during the game. And finally, Maria Kawamura (Eudial) plays Masako Hojo, the wife of a clan member who has alterior motives. The games were released a long time ago, but a new anime adaptation only retains Maria in the new cast (pictured third from left in front row). The anime began in January, and Maria was very vocal about the cast changes, saying that she wished that everyone could be back together again. Back then, they all got along really well and would laugh a lot, and this recording cast doesn't feel the same to her.

Ys: The Oath in Felghana Fans Get Interviews Included on New Drama CD!

Ys: The Oath in Felghana is a PC RPG where two heroes have to save their hometown from evil. Bin Shimada (Yuichiro Kumada) plays the Bishop Nicholas Garland, the governor of Felghana. He reprised his role in the accompanying drama CD released alongside the latest release for the PSP, which also came with a bonus - cast interviews! Of the drama CD, he says that listening to the CD will make the player really feel like they are in the 3D world of Felghana, and can't wait for the fans to play the game and hear the drama CD. The game was released for PSP on April 22nd.


Akira Kamiya May Be Out of Latest Detective Conan Film, but Wakana Yamazaki is in it for the Long Haul!

The latest (and 14th) Detective Conan movie, Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky premiered in Japan on April 7th. This movie marks the first in which Akira Kamiya will not be playing the character Kogoro Mouri (he left the role last Fall), however Wakana Yamazaki (Koan, Child Queen Nehellenia) continues to play the role of his daughter Ran. She jokingly said that she wondered if this was the last movie at the premiere, but there are more on the way as the 15th movie was previewed at the end! Once again, she thought that the movie had the perfect balance of action, suspense, and of course love! She also thanked the fans for braving the cold weather to come to the premiere. In this movie, Conan faces his rival Kid the Phantom Thief, aboard the Bell 3, the largest airship in the world. There's a little problem though, before Kid can even get on the ship it is hijacked by terrorists, and Conan and his comrades are also on the ship! There were plenty of jokes made connecting this to 24, as the new voice of Kogoro Rikiya Koyama, is also the Japanese dubbing voice of 24's Jack Bauer! The movie has been met with resounding success in Japan, but as of this writing it is unknown if the movie will ever make it to the English market.


New Anime Adaptation of Manga Features Sailor Moon Animator!

Lily Hoshino's manga Otame Yokai Zakuro (Demon Maiden Zakuro), is getting an anime adaptation. This manga is about a different universe where Japanese society includes both humans and demons. There is a special Ministry that deals with conflicts between the two, and it is comprised of human and demon representatives, and one very special representative. Zakuro, is a half-human, half-demon girl, who faces challenges every day when her demonic tendencies collide with her human sensibilities. She is a fox-maiden paired up with a human who has been traumatized by demons! Days ago, the staff for the anime adaptation was announced, and Shinya Hasegawa will be in charge of character design. Shinya was a key animator and an animation director through the R movie, S, SuperS, and the S movie.

Mamoru Hosoda Wins Award!

Mamoru Hosoda has sure come a long way since his days as a key animator on Sailor Stars and the SuperS movie! Summer Wars was a big hit last summer in Japan, and has won a few awards worldwide. One more can be added to that list - and that is a Best Director Award at the 19th Japanese Film Professional Awards! The movie was also #2 on the top ten list of best work. The awards will be handed out on May 15th at a special ceremony at Ikekuburo's Shin-Bungeiza, and will also feature some screenings and appearances by the award winners. As of this writing, only an English-language license has been announced by Manga Entertainment UK.

Sailor Moon Seiyuu Sightings January and February 2010 (Part 2)

Tales of Festival Tickets are On Sale!

For those of you planning to be in Japan on June 5th and 6th of this year, you could have the opportunity to see Masaya Onosaka (Jadeite, pictured left) and Hikaru Midorikawa (Fiore, Ail/Alan, pictured right)! Tales of Festival 2010 tickets are now on sale, and those two seiyuu will be among a handful of stars from Bandai-Namco's Tales RPG series appearing at the special 2 day concert. Hikaru played the characters Lion Magnus in Tales of Destiny, and Judas in Tales of Destiny 2. Masaya played Zelos Wilder in Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. Tickets went on sale earlier this month and are going for anywhere from 4800 Yen to 7800 Yen ($53-86 USD). There aren't too many details out about this event yet, but it looks like it will be a lot of fun for Tales fans!

Queen Nehelenia Turns Nice in Cobra: The Animation!

Yoshiko Sakakibara (Queen Nehelenia) reprised her role as Armaroid Lady, Cobra’s android sidekick, in a two episode Cobra: The Animation OVA which aired on Japanese TV just weeks ago. The entire Cobra: The Animation series which stretches all the way back to the 80s, is finally being released on Blu-Ray beginning this April in honor of Cobra’s 30th anniversary! Fans can learn more about the OVA from Mania.com, and also watch subtitled episodes on Crunchyroll!

Some Seiyuu Involved in Ghoulish ParaPara?!

Wataru Takagi (Rubeus, an MC, and Kobayashi), Daisuke Sakaguchi (various supporting roles), and Machiko Toyoshima (Palla-Palla and various supporting characters) are part of an enormous cast doing something special for popular Japanese ghost story franchise, GeGeGe no Kitaro. The cast happily volunteered for a special CD filled with their singing, and dancing - they are all going to be doing GeGeGe-themed Para-Para! They are all featured on the cover next to a monster with a giant eyeball for a head. This will be released on February 19th and looks like it will be a lot of fun!

New RPG Gives Characters the Chance to Have the Voice of Ryotaro Okiayu!

Square Enix's Concerto Gate Forte, a sequel to the hugely popular MMORPGs Cross Gate and Concerto Gate, has a very special item in it that players can collect. For two weeks as part of a special lottery, players could collect the "Power of Words Candy" and their character would be able to speak with the voice of one of 3 seiyuus. One of those is Ryotaro Okiayu (Tiger's Eye and various other supporting characters). The other two voices that fans could win are Jun Fukuyama (best known as Lelouch Lamperouge from Code Geass) and J-pop singer Nana Mizuki. Concerto Gate Forte has proven to be popular among Japanese game players for its very interesting art style: it combines 3D characters and maps with hand drawn map elements!

New Doraemon CD Features An Old Favorite...

Mitsuko Horie (Sailor Galaxia) is featured on a special Doraemon movie theme album! To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first Doraemon movie, a special 2CD album is being released with the best-loved theme songs. Mitsuko Horie's "Aozora-tte Iina" from 1988 is featured on the compilation. To hear the song, click here!

..As Does a New Gundam Album!


Or rather, old favorites! On February 24th, a limited edition boxset with 145 Gundam songs will be released as a nice touch to the 30th anniversary celebrations which began last year. Chieko Honda (Tellu) and Megumi Hayashibara (Himeko) will be singing Tokyo Boogie Night on Disc 10: Another Story. The Boxset also comes with a 272 page book with a Gundam timeline, interviews, and comments on the music. This is quickly selling out on many online stores so Gundam fans who want a copy of this should go find it quickly!

And To End, Lots of Kikuko Inoue!

Kikuko Inoue (Princess Rubina, Reiko Aya/Sailor Aluminum Siren) is sure up to a lot these days! On February 2rd, she will be appearing at a special "Kodansha Comics Afternoon Festival" for a radio interview that will later be streamed online through NicoVideo. For more information on this event hit the Afternoon Festival blog here! Kikuko's voice can also be heard in a dating sim: Vector's Book Of Love. Kikuko plays a high school student in this dating sim for men. This is a dating sim built just for the mobile market, and men who want to play this game can try it for free. We can't find too much more about the nature of this game (if there is any hentai/ecchi themes involved). The last place that you can hear Kikuko this month is on a CD of music to accompany the popular Zero na Tsukaima series called Nemurenai Fantasy. This CD is full of character songs and dialogues, and is a must for any ZnT fans!

Sailor Moon Seiyuu Sightings January and February 2010 (Part 1)

Senshi Minus One Reunite With Naoko!

Naoko Takeuchi invited Kotono Mitsuishi, Aya Hisakawa, Michie Tomizawa, and Rika Fukami to her house for a New Years’ lunch. Emi Shinohara was probably also invited but wasn’t there. She posted a photo of everyone enjoying champagne and wine! From left to right in this photo: Rika Fukami, Naoko Takeuchi, Aya Hisakawa, Michie Tomizawa, and Kotono Mitsuishi. She writes:

Super Gorgeous!

This is a New Years Party at the house of the original author of Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi~

Aya Hisakawa, Rika-chan Fukami, Michie Tomizawa and I had a wonderful lunch with Naoko Takeuchi!

It was too fun!

It was too delicious!

Do we ever get tired of talking about Sailor Moon?
Mitsuishi was in the best spirits after all that champagne and wine!

Kotono is so cute – and this is definitely a rare look inside Naoko Takeuchi’s house! It sure looks pretty regal to us – we wonder if she themed her house to be Princess Naoko’s palace? Did Yoshihiro Togashi take this photo?

The Seiyuu Also Invaded a Shopping Arcade!

The Shinmachi Shopping Arcade to be exact! The Machi★Asobi Vol 2. Exhibit opened in the arcade in January, featuring all sorts of anime and manga memorabilia from drawings, to autographs, and costumes. Some of the seiyuu involved with Sailor Moon had autographs that were featured in this exhibit, and they included: Michie Tomizawa, Rika Fukami, Mika Doi (Queen Serenity), Emi Shinohara, the late Kaneto Shiozawa (Prince Diamond), and Megumi Hayashibara (Himeko). Some Sailor Moon movie posters were also featured as part of the exhibit. To see more pictures, click here!

Going back to Kotono…

Kotono also appeared at a special press event for Kokkeko-san a little over two weeks ago with the entire cast of the show (she is front row and center, holding the Kokkeko-san doll). This article features an interview with them, and Kotono had a lot to say about her role! She spoke about how Kokkeko-san is a lovely mother who just wants the best of her kids, and just like many other mothers, has to deal with a husband who doesn’t always help her. She thinks that this is a great cartoon for mothers and children to bond to watching it together. She enjoyed and sympathized with this role, being a mother just like Kokkeko-san! All of the cast also wished that they had moms like Kokkeko-san! Kotono ended the interview saying how much she loved the arts, and asked for all mothers to watch it with their children.

Emi Shinohara Plays Piano For Peace!

Besides using the power of thunder to save the world, did you also know that Sailor Jupiter plays the piano? This is one of many talents listed on her official agency profile, and we were a little surprised to learn of this sighting! There is a piano that has traveled all over Japan, and is known for being a symbol of peace. This piano survived the bombing at Hiroshima, and has a very interesting story behind it (and we can even share it with you in English)! On January 23rd, a special concert was held at the Cultural Information Center in Hanoura, Anan City, in Tokushima, Japan. The piano still holds small amounts of radiation and shards of glass throughout its lacquer, but the piano tuner who restored it (Mitsunori Yagawa) commented that those who hear how good the piano sounds, they cannot tell that it was part of such a horrific event. Emi Shinohara accompanied singers at this concert which played to an audience of 300. This piano is one of four pianos which survived the bombing, and a different one that Yagawa has restored will be making its way to New York City later this year to mark the 9th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and International Day of Peace. There was even a special part of the concert where some very talented 7th graders played the piano as well. We have featured an image of Emi Shinohara accompanying soprano Miki Furumoto above.

Hear Sakura Tange in Video Games!


Sakura Tange is probably most famous for playing Sakura in Card Captor Sakura, and well known for singing that show's theme song. She also had a small role as Miharu Akiyama in episode 139 of Sailor Moon SuperS. Fans of Sakura can hear her voice in two video games this month! The first is Fate/Extra, where she plays Saber, the lead female warrior. This was not met without controversy as she is playing a role once played by Ayako Kawasumi. Fate/Extra is the fourth game based on the popular Fate/Stay Night series. The second game that fans can hear her in is Konami's Love Plus Valentine, which was just released last week. She plays Rinko Kobayakawa, a first year high school student. This game is a dating sim that is all about being in love when you are in high school!

Part Two will be posted a little later this week!

New Slayers is Really Good!

We saw the new episode of Slayers Revolution last night and it was just like nothing had changed for any of the characters. Lina was still explosive, Gourry was still an airhead, Amelia still had her long justice speeches, and Zelgadis is still always the last piece of the puzzle who can crack even the hardest of situations. Fans of the old series will not be disappointed! Every blog review we have read was positive so we think that this will be a big hit. No word yet as of this writing if Funimation has considered to pick up this series. A brief summary since we anticipate most of you will go hunting for fansubs very soon (SPOILER ALERT AFTER THE JUMP).

Congratulations to Megumi Hayashibara and Hikaru Midorikawa on their success with the return of Slayers!


So our tale begins on the high seas, and there's these pirates that have a huge mountain of treasure on their ship. Lina crashes their celebration over their victory by casting a fireball, and along with Gourry, they move with their ship towards the pirates and kick their butts. Amelia, Zelgadis, and Wizer are on another ship, and they eventually join in the fighting. The fish-lady from seasons past has returned and tells the pirates that Lina has destroyed villages aplenty. Of course, that ticks Lina off and she blasts the ship to oblivion (no Dragon Slave T_T). Lina and Gourry feast at an Inn, and wait for Amelia and Zelgadis to arrive... along with a mysterious new character named Wizer, who is there to arrest Lina Inverse just for being herself. The gang manages to escape Wizer, but only to be confronted with a tank/turtle and an army. They are left with no choice but to fight, and at the end of the episode, the final blow is handed down by a little green monster who uses... DRAGON SLAVE?! But that's Lina's Attack?! Lina freaks out at the end of the episode wondering what just happened. Ahh, we can only wait and see what this new season brings! Fans can check out a fuller summary with pictures here.

New Slayers Revolution News!

As we speak, the new Slayers series, Slayers Revolution, is airing on Japan's TV Tokyo. When we first heard about this news months ago, we were really excited. Slayers ranks right up there with Sailor Moon among our favorite anime. It has been 7 years since we last heard from our favorite sorceress and her friends... it gives us a little hope that after some time, perhaps even Sailor Moon could make a comeback (hey, anything is possible?). Megumi Hayashibara (Himeko Nayakotake in the S Movie) returns in her title role as Lina Inverse, as does Hikaru Midorikawa (Ail, Fiore in R Movie) as Zelgadiss Graywords! In this series, Lina and Gourry travel to find a replacement weapon after the Sword of Light was lost in the last battle they had fought. Of course, nothing is ever easy with the Slayers, and expect some troubles and hardships (along with humorous filler episodes) along the way! We will be following the blogs today for initial reaction and we will keep you posted all about the new series!

News From The Other Side Of The Pond #8!

Megumi Ogata Shares Her Love of Macs With Japan!


Broadband Watch is a website in Japan that caters to the technological crowd kind of like what CNET is to us. They are currently running a special where they are featuring 100 desktops of celebrities in Japan, and #38 comes from Megumi Ogata, who we all know as Sailor Uranus. Broadband Watch conducted an interview with her and here are the highlights! Megumi has been a loyal Mac user for 20 years, since the days of the Classic II (our older readers may remember those computers!). At home she uses the 17-inch model and she doesn't change her desktop frequently (pictured here, with a censored sticky). She does use the stickies on her Mac a lot though, from writing simple memos, to reminding her of passwords for sites she likes to use. Her husband 20 years ago was a programmer and that's how she got started on first the black and white Mac Classic II, and then moved on to the color model. Her first game was called Makigame and she played it when she wasn't doing housework, and remembers a screensaver with a flying toaster. Her private office uses a Windows Machine but she is happy that she can use Word and Excel on her Mac. She hates Internet Explorer and Netscape, but uses Safari on her Mac, and her only gripe with it is that it deletes her browsing history quickly. She uses Microsoft Entourage along with a memory stick for her email, and she is currently learning how to use Garage Band. We would have expected Toru Furuya to give this kind of interview as he is often seen at many tech events, and never expected to see Megumi Ogata for something like this! It's an interesting read, and fnas should definitely go check it out. She also likes to blog, and fans can read her blog here.

Mitsuishi Kotono Narrates Commercial for Popular Tour

We found a tiny mention of Mitsuishi Kotono (Sailor Moon) with regards to a tour. Mitsuhiro Oikawa is a current heartthrob in Japan, having appeared in many dramas and live action movies. Starting in December, he is going to tour Japan singing on his very own tour, Ichaicha: Cherie, Tu Es Moi (Honey, You Have Me). Kotono Mitsuishi is doing the narration for the TV spots advertising the tour, and she is also impressed by Mitsuhiro. The article also mentions that many of his fans call him "Chest-Kun" because he is often shirtless.


Paprika Wins Another Award!

In 1996, the Animation Kobe awards were created for the promotion of anime and other Japanese visual media. This year marked the 12th anniversary of the awards, and critically acclaimed director Satoshi Kon has another reason to smile as Paprika won the Feature Film Award! The interesting thing is that last year's winner(Mamoru Hosoda's The Girl Who Lept Through Time), was released just a few months ahead of Paprika, but both of these exceptional films were able to win this award because of a technicality in the rules. The Girl Who Lept Through Time was released in July of 2006, and Paprika that November. August was the cutoff date for the 2006 awards. This is Satoshi Kon's second win in this category, his film Millennium Actress won the same award in 2003. On November 12th, there will be an event showcasing the works of all the winners in Kobe, and other winners this year included one of Moon Chase's favorite directors, Isao Takahata, and one of this years hottest OVAs, Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society.

Paprika will be coming out on DVD November 27th, so only a month and a bit before all our readers can finally see this film! On a side note, we'd really like to thank Mongrel Media for the terrible job they have done with the distribution of this movie in Canada. The movie spent most of it's summer run in a single theater in Toronto, and is now being shown for barely a few nights in theaters all over the country. Considering how popular this movie was among the critics and how it was hailed to be a hit, unfortunately the distributor thought it would be better to let the movie sit for a long time in one theater and skip across the country. Even Ghibli films don't get this kind of treatment. We know of several fans all over who were waiting in anticipation to see this movie on the big screen and have heard too many stories of disappointment, and that the United States did not experience these kinds of problems in most states.

Glass Rabbit Is Up For Grabs!

During the beginning of November, the American Film Market(AFM) is set to take place in Santa Monica, California. We told you not too long ago about The Glass Rabbit, which is currently making it's way through Canada through special features from the Japanese Consulate. The Glass Rabbit is now going to be included as part of the AFM, where companies showcase films in the hopes that they will be picked up for production and/or distribution. We're really hoping that it gets picked up - this movie did remind me a lot of the epicGrave of the Fireflies and it does hold potential to be a hit of close to that magnitude. We have since learned that this heartbreaking film is actually based on the real story of the author Toshiko Takagi. All of the performances were very good in this movie - especially of the young girl who played Toshiko, Rina Mogami. Taeko Kawata (Momoko Momohara) played the innocent role of Mitsuko, one of the younger sisters of the main characters. It was an exceptional film and we recommend fans go see this one if they can!

This film is making it's way across Eastern Canada, and we recommend fans keep checking these links below for information when these films will be playing near them. Side Note: They were all good, but Hotel Hibiscus was a little mediocre.

For Ottawa, click here.

For Toronto, click here or here.

For Montreal, click here.

Paprika Finally Gets a Release Date!

It was just a few days ago when we were longing to hear news of a release date, and it came today! Paprika is going to be released on both Blu-Ray and Standard DVD on November 27th. As if you haven't read it on this blog already a hundred times, this movie stars two Seiyuu of Sailor Moon in leading roles - Megumi Hayashibara (Himeko) plays Dr. Atsuko Chiba, and Toru Furuya (Tuxedo Kamen) as Dr. Kosaku Tokita. And it looks like some of the extras that are on the Japanese release are coming as extras here too. There is a half-hour behind-the-scenes commentary that looks at the film and staff, A Conversation About The Dream, which features the cast and the director, Satoshi Kon, speaking about the film in the style of a talk show, along with another commentary. It's nice to see this film released on the newer, higher definition Blu-Ray DVD format. This is great news as now Paprika fans don't have to go to great lengths just to get the Blu-Ray from Japan!

News From The Other Side Of The Pond #7

It's been a while since we've had a few news stories about the Japanese Seiyuu, so here we come with two short news updates!

Megumi Ogata To Release New CD!


Megumi Ogata (Sailor Uranus) is celebrating her 15th anniversary in the acting business by releasing a CD of covers of songs from anime that she has been in. Animeg is coming out on October 3rd, and will feature theme songs from Galaxy Express 999, City Hunter, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Magic Knights Rayearth, and of course Moonlight Legend from Sailor Moon. The CD is currently available for pre-order from Amazon Japan, YesAsia, and CDJapan. Sadly, the news release just announced it without comment from Megumi herself.

Paprika Coming to CinemaNow VOD Site!

Internationally acclaimed hit Paprika, was released on DVD in Japan in May, and is now coming to a VOD site in a limited run. For ¥420 ($3.70), users of Japan's CinemaNow service can watch the movie as many times as they want for 48 hours. The movie will be offered only until December 5th. This psychological drama stars two Seiyuu that were involved in Sailor Moon, Megumi Hayashibara (Himeko in the S Movie) and Toru Furuya (Tuxedo Kamen). Still no word yet on a DVD release date for North America, but we are really hoping that the Blu-Ray DVD makes it's way over here alongside the standard DVD format release.

New Evangelion Tetralogy To Feature Four Former Seiyuu

Some of you hardcore Evangelion fans may have heard of a new tetralogy (four) of movies - of which the first opens a month from now in Japan. The tetralogy is called Rebuild of Evangelion, and will be an alternate retelling of the entire series and ending with something completely different than the original. Fans can read a translation of his rationale for a revamp here. The reaction of the fans to this is pretty mixed, some are happy, some are sad, and some just have no idea what to expect (like our translator.

The first movie , Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone will open September 1st in Japan. This movie is a prequel, and details about what exactly is going to happen in this movie have been kept mum. The creator, Hideki Anno, wrote the story and has a huge role in the production of the others. The theme song Beautiful World will be performed by popular J-pop star Utada Hikaru , and the popular endings song Fly Me to the Moon will have a brand new remix just for this incarnation. Fly Me to the Moon is sung by Megumi Hayashibara, best known for playing Lina Inverse in Slayers, and known to us as Himeko Nayotake in the S Movie. She will also appear in the movie reprising her role as teenager Rei Ayanami. Megumi Ogata (Sailor Uranus) will also be reprising her role as Shinji Ikari - and to some fans who don't know, her voice is very tomboyish and husky so she is often selected to play male roles. Kotono Mitsuishi (Sailor Moon) is also returning to her role as Captain Misato Katsuragi and Akira Ishida (Fisheye) also reprises his role as Kaworu Nagisa.

Breaking News: New Kamen Rider-Crayon Shin-Chan Crossover Special!

We Bring it to You First!

A few hours ago, a news story broke in Japan, and we are probably the first English site to bring this to you all. Crayon Shin-Chan is a popular, long-running, anime which has made its way over to North America in recent years. The animation style is very primitive and looks like it has been drawn with crayons - hence the name. Shin-Chan is Shinosuke Nohara, a pesky 5 year old who lives his life very unusually, with his inappropriate behaviours and misuse of language. Sailor Moon fans if they watched episode 104 of the S series might have noticed Chibi-Usa picking up a Crayon Shin-chan mini-UFO doll (pictured). Sailor Moon was probably the only external production to feature Shin-chan, even though it was so small. It seems that the producers of Kamen Rider are going to make some kind of hour-long, animated crossover special with Crayon Shin-chan. The release will coincide with the release of the Kamen Rider Den-Omovie which will be released in Japanese Theaters August 4th. The feature will be called Den-O vs. Shin-chan King Storm Special!, and marks Kamen Rider’s first foray into televised anime in it’s 36 year history! The special will air on TV Asahi on August 3rd at 7 PM. They don’t go a lot into the plot (except for mentioning Shin-chan's snot attack) , but featured a comment from Rina Akiyama who will play a Queen in the movie. She simply said, that Shin-chan’s transformation "looks good". Since we could barely find any Japanese sites on this special, we are unaware of who will be in it. In the past though, several stars of Sailor Moon have been involved in both series. Shibue Jyoji (PGSM Tuxedo Mask) appeared in Kamen Rider Hibiki as Iori Izumi, and Masaya Kikawada (PGSM Motoki) plays Takeshi Hongo in the new movies. And many seiyuu from the anime appeared in Crayon Shin-chan over the years: Michie Tomizawa (Sailor Mars) as Matsuzaka-sensei, Aya Hisakawa (Sailor Mercury) as Sailor Iyaan, Emi Shinohara (Sailor Jupiter) as Sailor Bakaan, Kae Araki (Sailor Chibi-Moon) as Sailor Muffoon, Kazuyuki Sogabe (Nephrite) as James, Mitsuishi Kotono (Sailor Moon) as Ageo-Sensei, Megumi Hayashibara (Himeko) as Chris Evert, and Megumi Ogata (Sailor Uranus) as Yoko!

Special thanks once again to our special Toku Correspondent UltraMatt for all his help!

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!

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.

News From the Other Side of the Pond #2!

Junichi Sato to Supervise Animation of New Series!

Junichi Sato (Director of the first season and the Doom Tree/Makaiju Saga) is set to supervise the animation of Rental Magica based on a shounen light novel (made for boys) of the same name. From what we have read, it’s a story about a student of the secondary school Italy Garden who becomes the president of the second generation of a well known agency of magicians. These magicians lend all sorts of magic to each other like divination, Celt magic, dark magic, and astrology. The author of this 9-part series is Makoto Sanda, who has also written a light novel series called Scar/Edge, which supplemented a tabletop RPG called Double Cross. Makoto will be editing the scripts along with Fruits Basket writer Mamiko Ikeda.

Aya Hisakawa in New Anime!

Aya Hisakawa (Sailor Mercury) can be heard in El Cazador de la Bruja (The Witch Hunter) which is on the air in Japan as we speak! She plays Jody Hayward aka Blue Eyes, a woman who works in accounting at the CIA. She wears a special Philosopher Stone around her neck which may be important later. This series tells the story of Ellis, a girl who is suspected of murdering a prominent physicist. She is on the run when she is discovered by the bounty hunter Nadi, who instead of turning her in, takes her on a journey to find clues to her past! The Bee Train show is the third and last member of director Koichi Mashimo’s “Girls with Guns Trilogy” (the others are Noir and Madlax) and is turning out to be a hit!

Blockbuster Paprika to hit North American Cinemas soon!

Satoshi Kon’s Paprika is the latest anime to be garnering a lot of buzz from critics in Hollywood! The feature is about 29 year-old Dr. Atsuko Chiba, a psychiatrist who uses her 18 year-old alter ego Paprika to enter the dreams of her patients to discover the roots of their anxieties or neuroses. At her lab, a new technology device has been developed to allow a person to enter the dreams of another - however if misused, an entire personality can be wiped out and changed while they are asleep! One of these four devices has been stolen and it is up to Paprika to find it before people are destroyed! Once again there is a blend between reality and the dream world, much like what we had seen in Kon’s earlier masterpiece, Perfect Blue. This movie is based on the groundbreaking novel of the same name by Yasutaka Tsutsui. Sailor Moon fans are treated to not one but two seiyuu in this film! Megumi Hayashibara (Himeko Nayotake) plays the starring role of Atsuko Chiba/Paprika, and Toru Furuya (Tuxedo Mask) plays Dr. Tokita Kohsaku, a colleague who is a nerdy, overweight genius!

So far the release is limited and has popped up at a few film festivals in the USA, but as with all limited release anime, we suggest fans wanting to see this go pester their local indie cinemas to bring this film to their city. In our experience, we’ve found most times management is really receptive if the movie is popular!

Jedite Heard in Fighting Game!

A popular title for the PS2 in Japan is Musou Orochi , a crossover between Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. This was released March 21st of this year. The evil demon Orochi has disrupted time and space, and the heroes of these two games unite to defeat the demon and restore the universe! The game has four stages set in the Three Kingdoms Period of China , each stage based on a force (Shu, Wei, Wu, Sengoku). Masaya Onosaka (Jedite) plays Chouun and Shokatsuryou in this game. Koei is set to release this for the PS2 and XBOX 360 sometime in Fall of 2007, and the game may be titled Orochi Warriors.

Sailor Venus is Everyone’s Favorite Viera Warrior!

Okay, this sighting is a little old but we thought we’d mention it anyway since there are probably a lot of Final Fantasy XII geeks who read this site! The next time you’re at a gaming party and you feel like making connections between games you play and Sailor Moon, mention this: Rika Fukami (Sailor Venus) plays the scantily-clad, Viera (Bunny) Warrior, Fran in the Japanese version. Two of us have played the game and we’ve really enjoyed it, and recommend it to any gamers who haven’t tried it already! The graphics are to die for and the gameplay (though a bit different compared to other Final Fantasy games) is amazing! We were able to find a few clips of the Japanese version for fans wanting to hear a very different , lower, Rika Fukami here and here

In Cross-Cultural News:

And to close, A book called Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World has just been released outlining the influence of Japanese toys (such as those popular gashapon figures) on toys around the world! The book goes into the history of the influence, from dolls and figures to toys given out with meals at fast food restaurants. Editors of the book say: "Plastic Culture explores the world of toys: why we love them, what they represent, and why there is a growing market for "designer" and "art" toys aimed at adults".