Sera Myu Fall 2010 Update (Part 1): Heroes and Enemies!

Only 7 actors from the beloved musicals are moving and shaking in Japan, so here comes your first of two updates!

First, we'll start with the heroes!

Anza Ooyama Continues to Rock!

Anza Ooyama (Sailor Moon from 1993-1998) continued to rock all through Japan with her band HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT this summer. On their recent "Fuse the Soul" tour across the country, one of their featured openers came from this side of the pond! That band was Canada's Domenica, another metal band fronted by a female singer (Bekki). The band commended HPP on their facebook page, telling their fans to check out the band and that "they are definitely a live show to be reckoned with." On the last day of this tour (September 12th), Anza wore a gold bustier with a brown skirt that was a little hard to see in the dark, and she addressed the audience a lot.The writer of this article also noted that Anza has definitely improved on her emotional expression skills and provokes the audience to feel a whole range of different emotions during her concerts. At the end of the show, she wanted a photo of her band with the audience, and even invited Domenica to join them on stage as well! On September 19th, they also played at another event called "Abstinence's Door", which was organized by another Japanese metal band called D'erlanger. The band released a statement to the press saying that they were deeply and greatly moved to be joining such a renowned rock band on stage, and that they had hoped to connect with other bands that are pulling the rock scene in Japan with all of their sounds to have a great time! HPP also just released their latest album Pobl Lliw on September 3rd, and fans can listen to tracks from the album via the band's official MySpace.


Manna in New Horror Film!

Many fans probably remember Kasumi Suzuki as the cute Manna from Tanjou! Ankoku no Princess Black Lady. Well, she has grown up! She is now starring in a horror movie called Kai-Ki: Tales of Terror From Tokyo. The movie's world premiere was in Los Angeles last July, and has since been going around the indie circuit. The horror movie is the last of 3 movies based on the TV show of the same name, all telling different horror stories. This movie in particular has two stories in it, "Possessed" and "Nozomi", both starring Japanese idol Erina Mano (but our Kasumi stars right alongside her). "Possessed" is a story about a hiccuping epidemic among college students turning them into enraged, murderous, monsters. "Nozomi" is about a young girl that is haunted by a ghost that may hold the key to a dark family secret. All of the press surrounding this movie is surrounding Erina's debut, but we're pretty sure that this is Kasumi's first time starring in a Japanese movie that is making it big across the globe. While we couldn't find any comments from her in the press, we were able to find a photo of her from the Japanese premiere in Shibuya on September 4th! She is in the front row on the left... see how Manna has grown?

Kimi no Todoke Premiere Makes Waves in Japan (and Moves Sailor Star Healer to Tears)!

The highly anticipated Kimi no Todoke (From Me to You) live-action movie finally premiered in Japan last week. Mikako Tabe (Yaten Kou/Sailor Star Healer from 2003-2004) plays the leading role of Sawako in this film alongside Haruma Miura who plays Shota (the guy she falls in love with). The press has been featuring stories about this movie for the last few weeks, and both have said that they were really proud of their work and this film, and hoped that the public would also be able to enjoy it. Mikako was also worried that she wouldn't be able to play the role, since after she saw the anime she wondered if any human could actually play these roles. At a test screening last week, both of them were asked what types of people they would like to fall in love with, and Mikako said she prefers guys that who have an abundance of knowledge, where Haruma said that he likes girls who are just like Sawako - black hair, with the motto to do one good deed every day. This screening was done for teenagers, and set in a classroom much like the one used in the movie, and everyone loved it! At the end of the screening, Mikako was moved to tears by the movie feeling touched by the music, and by the support so many had for her character. Mikako and Haruma were moved to tears again at the movie's premiere on September 25th at the TOHO Cinemas in Roppongi Hills! Mikako's eyes were red and swollen as she told the audience “I appreciate it all” in gratitude for the audience's support. We wish this movie continued success in Japan (and abroad too, since these movies are sometimes licensed for distribution here)! The movie's theme song "Reaching You" is performed by Japanese rockband Flumpool, and the single was just released a few days ago in Japan.

Tae Kimura Helps Out Some Very Special Causes (While Still Finding Time to Play a Rock Star)!

Tae Kimura (Fisheye) is still receiving a lot of buzz surrounding her movie from last summer, Tokyo Island (we covered this earlier here). And, she is also appearing at some events for some very special causes. On October 1st the famous manicure hotspot Nail Art Collection in Omotesando Hills, opened up a special auction as part of its pink ribbon campaign for breast cancer. Tae's nails are one of many celebrity nail works by the manicurist with all proceeds going towards breast cancer research. From November 26th-December 3rd, there will be a special Disability Film Festival which will feature her as a guest. Many Ghibli movies will be a part of this festival including Whisper of the Heart and The Cat Returns. Audience members will also be encouraged to express sound effects that are displayed in the subtitles!

Tae is also starring in a new drama special on WOWOW in Japan called Nazekimi. The first part aired on September 25th. Tae also has an upcoming movie next year where she plays an oddball divorcee who forms a rockband with 3 other moms at her kids' school! The movie is called Utahime☆ and the band will play "Smoke on the Water" at a school festival. Everyone had a lot of fun learning how to rock for this movie - and it looks like it will be a hit next summer!




Part Two features all men who have played the same role! It will be posted later this week. Who do you think is the character and which actors are we going to tell you about? Make your guesses below!

Sera Myu Update - June 2010 (3 of 3)

Kenji Urai Appears During Former Takarazuka Star's Concerts!

Kei Aran had an almost 20 year career with Japan's Takarazuka Revue before she retired last year to pursue other interests. She went on to star in Aida, and also performed her own concerts too. Running through the month of June was a new series of personal concerts by Kei, called Kei Aran Live 2010. The show featured her singing songs, dancing, and performing short dramatic pieces in grand costumes, accompanied by actors Shinji Takeda on the Saxophone and Kenji Urai (Tuxedo Kamen from 2001-2002) who sang duets with her. Kenji and Kei wore very classy black outfits and sang a variety of old jazz songs. The last concert was on June 19th.


Mikako Tabe's New Films A Hit!

Mikako Tabe has two new movies in Japan right now. The first one is Kenta to Jun to Kayo-chan no Kuni (A Crowd of Three). It is a movie about two men named Kenta & Jun, who lived at a children's facility and grew up as almost brothers. Now they work as part of a demolition crew but they are not happy with their jobs. They then decide to take a road trip to visit Kenta's brother who is currently in prison. Mikako plays the supporting role of Yumika in this one. This movie had its world premiere at TOKYO FILMeX last November, and was released to theaters in Japan on June 12th. In February, the movie was also shown at the Berlin International Film Festival, to warm reviews. Mikako is also in the upcoming live action adaptation of the popular manga Kimi ni Todoke, starring as the lead character Sawako. The movie's trailers were just released, and the last day of filming was on June 8th. On that day, the stars gave interviews to the press, and Mikako revealed that she was a little nervous about her ability to portray the different emotions of her character. The images that we have seen so far really look like they have bought the manga and the anime to life, and we hope that this one will be as good as it looks!

Sailor Moon Anime Seiyuu and Staff Update Spring 2010 - Part 2!

ARIA the Origination has a Fiery Presence!

Michie Tomizawa (Sailor Mars) can be heard on the upcoming drama CD release which accompanies the popular Aria the Origination series. She plays the character Akamatsu and as of this writing it seems that she only appears on this drama CD and not in the anime. There will be two side stories about the futuristic gondoliers on this release, "Traghetto no Suteki" (Translation: The Nice Traghetto or Ferry) and "Ai Chanto Gondora" (Translation: Ai's Perfect Gondola). These are described as "nice, tender stories". The first one is about a visit from an aunt, and the second one is a day trip to take a gondola in for some maintenance. The drama CD will have a limited release on May 26th.

Toru Furuya Narrating a Show and Helping Out a Subway Line; His Old Show Being Released Too!

One of Toru Furuya's (Tuxedo Kamen) earlier roles was that of Hoshi Hyuuma in the baseball anime Star of the Giants. Today over 30 years later, all 4 movies are being released in a complete collection. On June 23rd, the "Star of the Giants Complete BOX" will be released and will cost approximately 15,920 Yen (or 169.33 USD). Toru's vpoce is also narrating Car Graphic TV, a weekly program comparing new cars in Japan. Car Graphic TV is currently being offered as part of TV Asahi's VOD package through USEN's N-NEXT service. And finally, Toru's voice is being used in special cartoons for the Sendai Subway Line! The Subway line has produced some anime shorts to show to children to get them used to the subway and how to use it.


See Artemis Represent Russia with an Iron Paw!

Well, not really. He is Artemis after all! Yasuhiro Takato reprises his role as Ivan Braginski, the Representative of Russia in the just-released Hetalia video game for the PSP, Gakuen Hetalia Portable. This is a lighthearted RPG that features a new character representing Seychelles, and her quest to put together the perfect party. As of this writing, it is unknown if this game will come here, but we know that the anime is on its way and our readers will be able to hear Yasuhiro's voice. FUNImation announced a license for Hetalia earlier this year.

Shin-Chan Keeps Moving Along With New Movie!

Out in Japanese theaters right now is the brand new Crayon Shin-Chan movie, Super-Dimmension! The Storm Called My Bride. Reprising her role as Misae Nohara, the mother of Shin-Chan is Miki Narahashi, better known to Sailor Moon fans as several one-off characters in the show. She played Gigaros in episode 52 (R), Chagama in episode 104 (S), Kotaro in episode 154 (SuperS) and Sonoko Ijuuin in episode 187 (Stars). At the premiere of this movie, much fun was had since Shin-chan is shown to be crashing a wedding in the trailers, and there is also a small army of brides shown. One of those brides, is played by newhalf model Ai Haruna, and she showed up with the other stars at the premiere wearing a wedding dress! Miki is spotted in this picture with the Shin-Chan kirigumi in the orchid-colored dress and white boots. We hope that in the wake of Yoshito Usui's death that the show does continue to live on - The Me and I have caught several of the most recent episodes and they strike a great balance between charming and silly.

Unshou Ishizuka Inspires Shoko Nakagawa With Role in Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood!

Unshou Ishizuka (Tetsuro Yoshinogawa/Sailor Chef) once again plays the role of Hohenheim, the father of Edward and Alphonse Elric in the new Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood series, but did you know that a certain idol was very inspired by his portrayal of a father to write the show's current ending theme? She was very excited to finally have the chance to write a song for a show she has been a huge fan of since the day it began, and she also has a special role in the 55th episode airing om May 2nd (right before her birthday on the 5th)! In a new interview, Shoko Nakagawa explains how she wrote the song "Ray of Light" all by herself. She was inspired especially by the relationship that Hohenheim maintained with his sons, even after he had left them for so many years. She also found a similarity in this relationship with another relationship she misses, having her own father around. He passed away when she was only 9 of cancer, and drew a lot from that experience. You can hear it in the song, which we think is one of the most powerful and emotional songs ever written by Shoko. Fans can check out the official music video and the lyrics here.


And Another Unshou Sighting With A Hint of Ryotaro!

Unshou is also playing the role of Craig Bernstein in the latest Vassalord Drama CD being released. Called Vassalord: The Misery of Addie. Vassalord is a manga about two very eccentric vampires named Charley and Rayflo. Charley can't control his appetite for blood, and Rayflo is quite the player when solving crimes, stopping at nothing to seduce anyone for information. The two of them fight with each other along with other vampires as they work to solve crimes for the Vatican. Craig is known to be an angry and ruthless man with no respect for the law, he will smoke and use a cell phone wherever he wants. He is even able to talk to the dead! Also playing the leading role of Charley is another Seiyuu, Ryotaro Okaiyu (Tiger's Eye, Yuuji, Achiral, and George)! This particular drama is based on two chapters of the manga, Chapters 5 & 6 (Misery of Addie and The Trial of Seth) along with two original minidramas, Date at Night and Small Trouble. The manga is in print by Tokyopop, and the drama CD was released on April 21st.

And speaking of Ryotaro, he is also going to be the only guy in the room in a brand new video game. In an attempt to appeal to girls, Capcom is launching a special tutorial for Monster Hunter Frontier. The "Frontier Girls" are four actresses that are going to teach Ryotaro how to play the game. There will be a total of 8 of these tutorial episodes that will serve as a guide for beginners, but those who are renowned players will also find these videos funny!

Sera Myu Sightings - Late March and April

More Connections to Sera Myu in Minky Momo Musical!

Two actors involved with Sera Myu have just been confirmed to be a part of the 30th anniversary Minky Momo musical! Yoshiya Yukimura (many characters from 2000-2004) and Takayo Ooyama (Sailor Neptune 2004-2005) will be starring as Mocha the Monkey (middle) and Pipil the Bird (right) in the musical. The two of them starred in only one musical together, and we wonder if they spent any time reminiscing about Sera Myu in rehearsals. Along with Sindbook the dog, the three of these animals serve as Minky Momo's companions. And to remind you, the show is produced by Toshiyuki Takezawa, who produced the Sera Myu musicals and also worked as a producer on PGSM. Yoshiya and Takayo were revealed at a special performance and talk show that took place at the Tokyo Anime Fair on March 28th. They were not there, but images were shown. The other big piece of news about this series at the TAF? There's a new anime series in the works! Perhaps this is something we can look forward to from Sailor Moon in another ten years?

A New Movie for Mikako Tabe!

Way back in January, it was announced that popular manga title Kimi ni Todoke was going to get a live action movie adaptation. KnT is a shojo romance about a girl named Sawako who unfortunately earns the nickname Sadako because of her resemblance to the character of the same name from the popular movie, The Ring. Everyone at school thinks that Sawako can also speak to the dead and see ghosts. Sawako feels so alone, until she meets the very popular Kazehaya, and the two of them fall in love. Mikako Tabe (Yaten Kou/Sailor Star Healer) will be playing the role of Sawako, alongside the very popular Haruma Miura as Kazehaya. The film is set to open on September 25th in Japan.

Fumina Hara Appears with Salaryman!

On April 8th, NHK began to rebroadcast season 5 of the popular Japanese sketch comedy show, Salaryman Neo. Fumina Hara (Sailor Moon from 1998-1999) appears on the show, and also appeared at a promotional event at the NHK Broadcast Center on March 30th. Here she is posing with the rest of the cast - don't you hear her saying "I am the business-suited pretty soldier of love and justice, formerly known as Sailor Moon!" At the event, NHK revealed that there is going to be an addition to this rebroadcast - each episode will have a new short story. It makes mention of a skit where Aki Nakada dresses up like a member of the Takarazuka Revue, and played her role very convincingly.

Tae Kimura Gets Fashionable and Controls Men in New Movie (and has a new book too)!

Tae Kimura (Fisheye) has a leading role in the upcoming movie Tokyo-Jima (Toyko Island). She plays Kiyoko, a 43-year-old housewife that suddenly finds herself in an icky situation when she is the only woman of 24 people stranded on an uninhabited island. Her character is tough, and she uses her charms as well as her body to control the men of the island. Even with all of the accolades that Tae has received in the last few years, this must be a challenging role for her to play! In the movie, she cooks for everyone and even caught a sea snake. She told everyone at a recent promotional event that she didn't worry, because she likes snakes! Tae thinks that the women in the audience will sympathize but isn't sure what the men in the audience will think. She hopes that everyone will wonder just what they are at the end of the movie. This movie also has a nice bit of a Haute Couture edge to it - French Luxury brand Hermes is the brand of choice for many of the cast members, and is featured prominently. Kiyoko wraps herself in a Hermes scarf during the movie. Japanese women who want the same scarf can purchase it in Hermes stores in Japan for the "affordable" price of ¥48300 (just shy of $520 USD). Fans can check out the R-rated Trailer at the official site (don't watch it if you are under 18).

Tae also just released a new book of essays about her life as an actress, a daughter, a wife, a mother, and other personas. Entitled Kakato (Translation: Heel), these essays highlight many of her ups and downs in life from her career to her family. She isn't much of a computer user, but really used it a lot to put this book together, staying up all night in hotel rooms just to get her thoughts written out. But, that isn't to say that she didn't write anything in longhand - in fact just to get the right meanings for the words, for some of her essays she wrote them out first. Despite her hardships, she knows that acting is her dream job and she is happy to be an actress, even though she is known as a very emotional and dramatic actress in Japan. As far as the title goes, there's a very interesting reason why she chose it. It is a symbol of a part of the body that is often neglected to people, so she thinks. We kind of understand it since she feels that she has to show a lot of herself to the public and is always on her feet, never really having the time to lie down and reflect on life. This book is available from Kodansha and costs ¥1350 (or $14 USD).


Yuu Shirota to Dub Voice of Popular Dorama!

IRIS aired from last October to December in South Korea (information in English here), and was a huge hit. So much so, that TBS decided to purchase the dorama for broadcast. IRIS is about best friends Hyun Joon Kim and Seung Hee Choi, who are brought in to work for the NSS, an intelligence organization. The two of them fall in love, but things take a wicked turn when Hyun is sent to Hungary for a solo mission, and he learns that Vick, an assassin from a top secret spy organization known as IRIS, is looking for him. As this mysterious and unpredictable series progresses, Hyun Joon learns what IRIS is. This show has shot episodes all over the world, including the United States, China, Japan, and Russia! Yuu Shirota (Tuxedo Kamen from 2003-2004), will be dubbing the voice of Hyun Joon Kim in Japanese. IRIS will start on TBS on April 21st, and run for approximately 6 months. This show has been renewed for a second season in South Korea, however the actor that plays Hyun Joon Kim (Lee Byung Hun) is unable to return to his role.


Yuu was also featured in another article about singer Jin Akanishi, who just announced that he will be playing two concerts in LA this June. Everyone knows that Jin and Yuu are best friends, but did you know that Yuu considers Jin to be like an older brother to him? The rest of the article goes into other friends of Jin and how they have been caught partying by the tabloids.

Kousei Amano Starts Nightclub Tour!

Hot on the heels of the success of Tough Times at Club Indigo, Kousei Amano (Tuxedo Mask in 1999) is joining some cast members in a special night club tour of 22 Japanese cities to promote the show. They are going to also serve as the club hosts! The first of these party dates happened on March 31st at the Shinjuku Kabukicho Host Club called Club Acqua. By the way, if you are trying to spot him in the photo, he is second from the right in the gray suit. The boys of the Indigo Club sure looked sharp that night, as they partied with clubgoers and poured champagne. Kousei was quoted, saying that he only hopes that he can work hard to please everyone at these 22 cities, and that he understands how hard these hosts have to work to please everyone at the club. Here's one last picture for all you fangirls to see these "dream hosts".


Maki Aizawa Represents the Typical Resident of Niigata Prefecture in Japanese Variety Show!

Himitsu no Kenmin Show (Translation: Secrets of the Character of Prefectural Residents
). This show aims to find out what makes the residents of each prefecture in Japan different from one another by looking at these local customs and attitudes in depth. On April 22nd, Maki Aizawa (Loof Merrow in 2004), appeared on the show representing Niigata prefecture. We couldn't find any more about Maki's involvement in the show, but did learn a little bit about the episode's features. There is a new way to enjoy Soba in Toshigi, every February 1st, the people of Aomori look forward to a day of bargain sales, and in Sapporo, the 1972 Olympics inspired a large part of their population to take up the Bobsled! To learn even more about the show and the products seen, visit the other official site of the show here.


And for our Anza Ooyama (Sailor Moon from 1993-1998) fans, she is currently touring in Brazil with her band Head Phones President. Head to SOSMP BR for more, including a video of her band performing a moving, acoustic version of their hit song "Chain"!

Hollywood Sailor Sightings!

Penelope Cruz Bears Striking Resemblance to... Sailor Pluto?!


Pedro Almodovar's Los Abrazos Rotos (or better known in English as Broken Embraces) is making waves around the world, and just recently closed the New York Film Festival. An Italian fan named Federica Bernasconi was reading the November issue of Ciak, and noticed something familiar in a still from the film. More specifically, the dress that the film's star, Penelope Cruz is wearing. Sailor Pluto fans might recognize the dress too! The Guardian of Time was drawn wearing a dress that seems to have been re-created in this film almost perfectly! All Penelope is missing are those crystal earrings, and that champagne flute for an extra touch of class! One article had the nerve to say that "Cosplay Mania" is starting to infect the cinema! All fearful symmetry aside, there's another facet to this interesting choice of costume; it is rumored that costume designer Sonia Grande may be a fan of Sailor Moon. Was this a coincidence or could this have been planned?

Often Imitated, But Never Quite Duplicated!

These next two sightings are somehow assumed to look like Sailor Moon... but, we have to disagree. The first one comes from Project Runway. In this season's 10th episode, Michael Kors came to the remaining designers with his "inspiraton challenge". Designers had to pick a location and use it as inspiration for their outfit. Designer Logan Neitzel picked Hollywood, and didn't quite design anything great. What we can't understand is how this blogger with the Daily Loaf thinks that the outfit resembled Sailor Moon. Seriously? When was the last time Sailor Moon wore something that tacky? Asian Model + sailor-type ropey neckline + suspenders ≠ Sailor Moon.The second one comes from the hit FOX TV show, Glee. Never seen this show, but it seems that one character's cute outfit was reminiscent of Sailor Moon. In the 5th episode The Rhodes Not Taken, Rachel was spotted during the bowling scene by this blogger wearing a shirt that had a half-blue, half-red, collar and scarf painted directly on it, and a short blue skirt. She tries more to look something like Minako in her school uniform, but we're not diggin' the red and blue split sides too much. That skirt's a little too bright to be considered Sailor Moon fare too. But, if she was trying to pull off the Sailor Moon schoolgirl look, we think she deserves an E for effort. Next time, try wearing something with a real collar??

Keiko Kitagawa : Finding Fame in Her Own Way!

Real Sports Web posted an interesting editorial about Keiko Kitagawa, and how her clean past is keeping her with her agency, Stardust Promotion. The agency recently dropped one of its "breadwinner" stars, Erika Sawajiri over allegations of drug abuse. Given the recent arrests of many stars in Japan for drug abuse, Stardust is axing any star with even the slightest hint of a drug problem. The article then talked about how Keiko is now playing many leading roles, such as the recent TV Drama Buzzer Beat, and in her very first Japanese period movie, Hana no Ato. We have a beautiful shot of her from this movie featured today (more can be found here)! Keiko will be featured next in the movie Elevator To The Gallows. She has been called a starlet who is "a step ahead of today's generation". Originally, she had been a local model, but later transitioned to drama. Playing Sailor Mars in PGSM was her first role, however in recent times her agency has tried to keep knowledge of that at bay. Keiko has never been one to show very much of her body, and the article makes special mention that she is the only star of PGSM who has not turned to the world of gravure idols (and makes specific mention of Miyuu Sawaii in this context). However, because there were a few shots of her bloomers, this has somewhat taken away from her wholesome image. However, now that Keiko has a more "developed figure" and that she is now a more respected model, this isn't a huge deal anymore (though some still think that PGSM is an obscure credit). The writer ends the article hoping that Keiko tries more, and that she also cosplays a bit in the future.

In Japanese society though, gravure idols aren't seen as being "dirty" like they are perceived in North American culture. For many girls in fact, the only way for them to really get their start in the industry most times is to get into gravure modeling. We have to admire Keiko Kitagawa for avoiding these things largely and becoming a respected star in Japan. Fans, what are your thoughts on this? Do you think Keiko necessarily made the wrong decision in not pursuing a gravure career after PGSM ended?

Kotono Mitsuishi's Latest Anime Movie Role!

We just had to share this with you all! Kotono Mitsuishi (Sailor Moon) has a new role in an upcoming anime movie, which looks like it might be a good one to watch. Buddha Saitan (The Rebirth of Buddha) is set to be released in theaters on October 17th. This tells the story of 17-year-old Tianhe Sayoko, a sophomore in high school who aspires to be a journalist. When a journalist that he looks up to commits suicide, he wonders about ghosts and life beyond the grave, and what life is worth in the present. Kotono plays Tianhe's crush, 28-year-old actress Mari Kimura. We think you fans will be pleasantly surprised when you see this promotional video we found of the actors and crew! Fast forward to about 1:10 (look who's infamous line makes an appearance!). The neat thing about this production is that it looks like the animation was a joint collaboration between Americans and Japanese - perhaps we might even see this movie here? Part 1 of the video can be seen here, and there's a short intro to her character around 4:40-4:45. We look forward to watching this retelling of the story of Buddha and we hope to see it soon!

Triple Dose of Sugar!

Hey Moonies! We've got three big pieces of Sugar news! Stephanie Beard (Rini #2) is making it big on the silver screen, as well as youtube!

Our first dose: Pineapple?! For those of our readers who are into R-rated stoner flicks, you may be surprised that she appears briefly in one. Sug can be seen in the beginning of Pineapple Express, walking around an office with a ton of files in her hand behind Seth Rogen. It's a little hard to catch since this scene flies by pretty quickly. We're not going to say much else about this movie except that our readers shouldn't watch this - it's more than earned its 'R' rating. This screenshot comes from Emily, and you can see Sug just behind Seth!

Second dose: funny has a serious side! I finally saw Funny People last week, and having seen a few "typical" Seth Rogen comedies (and others like it), I have to say this one was pretty good. The potty humor was a bit overused in places, but once anyone can get past that, it was a pretty good film. Sugar is featured in a Thanksgiving dinner scene, and you hear her laugh a lot during George Simmons' (Adam Sandler) toast. She is sitting right next to him! I was hoping to see her in some other scenes but I guess that wasn't meant to be. Nonetheless it was nice to see her on the silver screen - when she came on I pointed her out to the friend I had gone with :). Once again, this movie is a little mature, but it is one to go see. It isn't as bad as some of the critics are saying it is!


Third dose: A generous helping of Sugar on YouTube! Stephanie posted a video on youtube at the beginning of this month, which she not only stars in, but she produced! The Sad Street Performer features her in a tiger costume, performing almost anything for a dollar. Then she meets a donkey...and "de-donkeys" him... Sug takes most of the credit for this short, silent, film, and it looks like some of her friends helped her shoot this at Venice Beach. We've got it below for you all to see!

SUG ON THE SILVER SCREEN TODAY!

Hey Moonies! Why not celebrate the return of Sailor Moon by supporting one of the most well-loved voices of the Engish version today? Judd Apatow's Funny People is in theaters today and Stephanie Beard (Rini #2) is featured in a Thanksgiving dinner scene. From what we have heard, she can be seen and heard laughing louder than Adam Sandler! This small appearance is huge news for us Sailor Moon fans since this has been a big year for Sugar. After what seemed like an eternity without seeing her anywhere, she voiced a special character on an entire episode of King of the Hill, and now we get to see a glimpse of her on the silver screen. Congrats, Sug! And we totally know you will rock your next audition!

North American VA Update: July 2009!

Hi Moonies! We've got another North American VA exclusive for you all at the end (we always save the best things for last)!

The Death of Alice Blue to Finally Have Canadian Premiere!

A movie we have been following for a very long time is finally going to premiere in its home country! The Death of Alice Blue (part I - The Bloodsucking Vampires of Advertising) has been invited for its Canadian premiere to the Montreal World Film Festival. This one runs from August 27th to September 7th, and we'd tell you more except that as of this writing none of the films showing this year have been announced on the site. We wonder if any of the VAs in this one (Barbara Radecki, Katie Griffin and her husband Michael Kulas) are going to attend? Congratulations to Park Bench and Alex Appel for finally getting this movie a premiere in Canada and here's hoping it gets a distributor so the rest of us can see it soon!

A Sapphire Shines Again!

Lyon Smith (Prince Sapphire) shared some news and stories with us! He has his own official site now which we encourage fans to go visit - he posts a lot of really cool links to his works too! While his time on Sailor Moon wasn't as pleasant as many fans may think it might have been, he is also excited about a possible redub and if he was given the chance he would do it again! Hey FUNImation, are you reading this? Consider Canada for a re-dub! This is our second official VA that has confirmed to be interested in reprising their role for a re-dub of Sailor Moon (this is great news for Operation Moonrise)! Some fans may not know this behind-the-scenes story, but when Lyon was first cast he was called in to replace Tuxedo Mask. It was his first series that he had landed as a regular! At the time though, production was too intense (and we've heard similar stories from other actors from those first years). But the show did launch his voice career, and since then he has voiced memorable roles in other anime, cartoons and video games! He played Pythias in Mythic Warriors: Guardians of Legend, the Mysterious Guy in Biohazard 0, Kevin and Michael in Beyblade, Ed in Get Ed, Magma in Spider Riders, and he is currently appearing in Bakugan Battle Brawlers which has been a huge hit with the kids all over North America! In the first season he played Masquerade, and in the second season (which is recording right now) he plays Prince Hydron. And this prince's voice is based on none other, but the Japanese voice of Prince Diamond! We really admire Lyon Smith for watching episodes of Sailor Moon in Japanese - we're not sure how many others have (we know Roland Parliament did for sure). He will be reprising his role as Masquerade for the upcoming Bakugan video game. And there's even more Lyon to be heard in CBC's Magi-Nation - he plays the hero, Tony Jones! In another awesome coincidence, Lyon was also a student of Roland's!

Lyon Smith is also a budding musician - he writes his own music and also helps out with sound design for plays in Toronto. He currently composed music and worked sound design for the play A Singularity of Being, which is loosely based on the life of Steven Hawking. Lyon's music is really worth checking out if you're into alternative rock! He covered the song You Believe in Rock and Roll for a David Bowie tribute album (2.CONTAMINATE) which is on iTunes. He has his own site for fans to check out his music - and altrock fans will take a liking! There's even a bit of experimental and mashing in there too. And best of all, all the music is free! He is also on MySpace as well. We once again encourage all our readers to check out his music.

Special thanks to Lyon and best of luck on your upcoming works!

Breaking News: McG Influenced by Sailor Moon!

First Steven Spielberg, and now McG. The press is buzzing about Terminator: Salvation's esteemed director, McG, and his comments about which anime have influenced him! On June 4th, McG, along with the film's other main cast of Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Moon Bloodgood, appeared at a promotional event for the movie. He revealed that he was influenced b what was regarded by many who were there, an odd couple of the Japanese entertainment world: Sailor Moon and Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. He said those series were considered to be Japanese subculture and also admitted a love for Akihabara! He answered this in response to a question from a fan with a straight face, later giggling! The audience was also either laughing or surprised upon hearing of those two together! McG also surmised that if there was to be another Terminator movie, he would want to shoot it in Shinjuku and Shibuya. He also spoke of how himself and Quentin Tarantino were influenced by works from Japan since they were children. It's always nice to hear of Sailor Moon's influence in Hollywood (hey Toei, are you listening? Just think of how much MORE impact a re-release could have?). The picture we have shown you above is McG in a pose the press has dubbed the "came from the future" pose.

Spot a Dash of Sugar!

Looks like her scene was kept in the movie! Stephanie "Sugar" Beard (Rini #2) can be seen in a new TV spot for the movie Funny People! She told us earlier all about her scene and we're really in awe now that we can see her sitting next to Adam Sandler - even if it is only for a fraction of a second! We put Sailor Mini-Moon hovering over her head, so you know where to look! The movie opens on July 31st and tells the story of the lonely comedian George Simmons ( played by Adam Sandler), who learns he is dying of an incurable blood disorder. One night, he meets another lonely comedian, Ira Wright (played by Seth Rogen). The two become close friends as George struggles to come to terms with what he has left of his life. George eventually beats his disorder, and really learns about what everything means in life. We'll be there when this comes out, will you? Click here for the official movie website, and under Video, pick TV-Common (at the bottom) to spot Sug!

And for those of you in Florida, don't forget Sug will make an appearance at Florida Supercon this weekend!

North American VA Sightings March 2009 - Part 1!

Vampires, Kiddie Music, VAs Reuniting on a Daring New Cartoon, and A Dash of Sugar!

Hey Moonies! I have a feeling this is going to have to be broken into at least 2 parts, but we have EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS that I just couldn’t wait to share with you all. So far this week is shaping up to be pretty big - yesterday we heard from one of the voice actors on Pretty Cure, Will Wood, today, we heard from someone we haven’t heard from in a really long time... who knows what else this week will bring? We on staff can’t remember the last time we’ve had so many consecutive exciting events happen on this site! By the way, our favicon was replaced with something else last night - what do you guys think? Our old one was craptacular, and our old host disappeared off the web so I had to create a new one.

Alice Blue Screening All Around North America!

We’re really happy that a movie that’s been followed since the SOS days is finally moving up in the cinema circuit. Vampire flick The Death of Alice Blue (Part I - The Bloodsucking Vampires of Advertising) is going to be screened at film festivals all over North America in the next few months! This film features Katie Griffin (Sailor Mars #1) and Barbara Radecki (Sailor Neptune, Serena’s Mom) in the supporting roles of Katie and Sherry respectively. There are also songs featured in the film from Katie’s indie rockstar husband, Michael Kulas! The film will be screened at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York to screen as part of CANADA FRONT: NEW FILMS showcase on March 20th and March 22nd , The Kent Film Festival in Kent, Connecticut on March 28th, The Atlanta Film Festival in Atlanta, Georgia sometime between April 16th and 25th, and WorldFest Houston in Houston, Texas sometime between April 17th and 26th. For more information, check out the official website and group on Facebook! Best of luck to the film at all of these festivals!

Jen Gould’s Music Soup Continues to Warm!

Jen Gould (Sailor Saturn) has a career that is completely the opposite of her character in Sailor Moon - she is a children’s entertainer, and released a CD last year entitled Music Soup. The CD won a Juno for Best Children’s Album in 2008 and she has performed many concerts in the Toronto area. More recently, one of our readers Amanda P. learned of an appearance at a children’s Purim party at Leo Baeck Day School on February 22nd! We listened to a few samples of her songs and we have to say, they are definitely creative and would be a hit to any children under the age of 7! You guys can check out videos of her performing on YouTube here, here, here, here and here!

Breaking News: SPOT SUGAR IN FUNNY PEOPLE!

This afternoon we heard from none other than Stephanie Beard (Rini #2) and we can confirm the rumors are true! Stephanie appears in a non-speaking role in Adam Sandler’s latest movie, Funny People. She revealed to us exclusively: "It's true!!! i don't have any lines, but you can catch me sitting beside Adam Sandler in the Thanksgiving dinner scene!!" The film will be released on July 12th, 2009, and we will definitely try to see it as soon as it is out to spot Sug, and we hope that our readers will too! She isn’t sure if the scene was kept, and tells us “but i do know this; it was so exciting to be on set with such amazing comedians!!” We only hope Sug will continue to conquer Hollywood - we can only surmise what is going to come next!

And for last, we have to hide this next sighting behind the jump. Four VAs are reuniting for a new cartoon that is definitely for older readers only!



The Dating Guy to Premiere Soon on Teletoon’s Detour!
Emilie-Claire Barlow (Sailor Mars #2, Sailor Venus #2), Julie Lemieux (Sammy, Young Darien, Peruru), Kathleen Laskey (Birdie) and Jill Frappier (Luna) are all playing various roles in a new Canadian Adult Comedy called The Dating Guy , all about 4 guys and their conquests for women. Yes, this show is about those scuzzy guys you find at the bar every weekend looking to score a one night stand! Each episode promises to take the viewers through an extreme aspect of the twenty-something dating scene. The show also plans to have an interactive aspect to it, with a play on social networking on their website called "Blackbook". This sounds very exciting and we’re looking forward to hearing all of our VAs on this show to see what their characters are like! It’s not common to see them doing shows aimed for adults! The show will premiere later this year on Teletoon's Detour block.

BREAKING NEWS: Two Lost Souls Have Returned!

In the last few days, two very important people involved with Sailor Moon have finally returned to our radar!

Sailor Moon R II: The Promise of Naoko

Forgive us for the Sailor Moon Return pun :p. For the last few years, pretty much the only news we had heard of Princess Naoko came from people who had been around her, from students in 2004, to more recently, Naoko's own husband. On New Years' Day of this year, it looks like Princess Naoko's Room has returned in a much different form to the official Sailor Moon Website. And, we were lucky enough to get a picture of Naoko (even if it is from last October). In Shizuoka City, lies Bandai's Hobby Center, which is their main toy factory. The toy factory has a showroom, and also aspires to be the first green toy factory with zero emissions, and wants to be a pioneer in plastics recycling. Naoko visited the Bandai Hobby Center in October, and had the opportunity to check out some Gundam plastic models (known as "Gunpura") and has joined the ranks of other mangaka in drawing their characters in a Gundam style (it is Gundam's 30th anniversary after all!). Naoko says that this is a drawing of Usagi in a Hobby Center Uniform. The entry hints that there may be more updates from Naoko to come in 2009! To check out a full translation, go visit here! We are so happy to finally have a new picture and some words from Naoko in many years! Naoko, please continue to update your site - we miss you!

Rika Izumi Makes a New Splash!

Rika Izumi (otherwise known as Chisaki Hama) is well-known for playing Sailor Mercury in PGSM. After the show wrapped in 2004, she disappeared altogether, and castmates were rumored not to be allowed to talk about her on their blogs or post pictures. Last summer, she made her return modelling in magazines, and she even got a role in the movie Clearness playing the character Reiko. She appeared in 3 scenes in the film, the last of which we have pictured here for you with an arrow. The movie is a romance based on a keitai shosetsu (mobile phone novel), about love in the sex trade. More recently, she has appeared in a noodle commercial as the beautiful Kimono Girl of a lonely boy's dreams (played by SMAP's Masahiro Nakai). This morning, we read an article all about her "re-debut"! Rika confirms that she gave her school the priority after PGSM ended, and that she graduated with a literature degree from Meiji University in 2007. Shortly afterwards , she took up modeling again! She wants to do more acting, and she hopes to be able to express herself as sexy and as lovely as Marilyn Monroe did. She wants to costar with everyone that she can, and she is still good friends with her former costars of PGSM. The article makes special mention of her friendships with Keiko Kitagawa and Mew Azama (Sailors Mars and Jupiter). When she was ready to return to the entertainment business, she sent her own shots around to agencies before she was signed. The article also features a brand new photo shoot, along with a few shots from her noodle commercial. Click here to see! Fans can also go to A Fruitful Spring to check out her most recent magazine appearances!

The Death of Alice Blue Wins Some Awards!

But Does This Mean The Film Is Any Closer To A Wider Release?

Well, it finally looks like a movie that was shot years ago involving two VAs is finally on a roll. Vampire flick The Death of Alice Blue won three awards at The Accolade Competition! The movie won an Award of Excellence for Leading Actress (Alex Appel), as well as two Honorable Mentions. One for direction (Park Bench) and the other for Feature Film. The movie features Barbara Radecki (Sailor Neptune, Serena's Mom, Queen Serenity) as Sherry, and Katie Griffin (Sailor Mars #1) as Katie. Katie's husband, Michael Kulas, also composed music for the movie. The official Facebook group still says that the movie is being submitted to different festivals, but no word yet on which festivals it has been accepted to as of this writing, or if there has been a distribution deal. We will keep you posted as soon as we find out more!

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!

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.