Category: Manga

  • Fandom Crossover: Nodame Cantabile + Yu Aoi

    I haven’t read the Nodame manga series, but I sure am waiting for the last two movies, because I loved the live action adaptation. Also, Juri Ueno is the perfect Nodame!

    Anyway, I’ll let Kawaii Joyuu do the explaining~

    Actress Aoi Yu (24) or at least her voice is going to appear in the second “Nodame Cantabile” movie that is opening soon. They announced today that she is going to dub the young Hungarian woman Jadwi. Jadwi’s actual name is Jadwiga, meaning “mysterious sleeping beauty” and is a popular character in the original manga. She becomes a close friend of Nodame (Ueno Juri) and therefore one of the key characters in the second movie. Both of them meet at the music school they attend in Paris. Jadwi can play the theremin, the first ever electronic music instrument in the world. Her unique character and unique instrument eventually helps Nodame enjoying music again, after she got separated from her beloved piano.

    Jadwi has a very fluffy personality. Aoi actually would be the perfect actress for the role, even Ueno already noticed that. “She has a fairy-like, very mysterious aura surrounding her, almost like Aoi Yuu,” she said. There were plans to transform Aoi into a foreign girl with the help of make-up, but who knows how that would look like in the end. Now they have a French actress playing that role and Aoi dubbing her in Japanese. “There would be no better person for this,” Ueno commented after hearing that Aoi got confirmed for the voice cast.

    I have often talked about Yu’s voice acting, and her different voices. She’s got her regular voice lower and sort of as-a-matter-of-fact, and then there’s also her sponsoring voice which is high and chirpy. But she’s also done a lot of cute voice, and you also know I prefer Yu when she’s not cute… even though I can’t deny that she’s cute, and that makes you smile nonetheless. This is why Juri’s remarks on Yu’s fairy-like qualities is fascinating.

    Anyway, for those Yu Aoi fans that have not seen Nodame Cantabile – it’s just a blast. I mean, the first couple of episodes are something to get used to for the wacky and over-the-top qualities [mind you, I had just gotten into J-entertainment back then], but once you get into it, it’s so SO funny. Part of the funny behind the casting of Yu as the dubbing for a Hungarian character is hilariously and bluntly pointed out on the first Nodame Europe Special.

    Now there’s more reason to watch Nodame Cantabile Movie 2! xD

  • More Juri and Nodame!!

    December 19!!!

    Of course I will have to wait a little for it… with luck, it won’t be too long.

    Nodame Movie 2009

    GYABO!!! xD

    btw, sounds like a very fun European tour…

    Last month on the 16th, they already started filming in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. They continued in Brno, the Czech Republic and after that they arrived in Vienna, Austria. After Vienna, they went back to Brno also filmed a few scenes Prague. Right now they are in France and about to start filming in Paris.

    More photos and videos via the Juri LJ Comm xD

    Chiaki-sempai!!!! Gyabo~~~ xD
    Oh, man~ I love Nodame-chan xD – Onara Taisou!!

  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Tekkonkinkreet

    Let’s start with what the film is about:
    Tekkon Kinkreet is an animated film adaptation of the Black and White manga series by Taiyou Matsumoto, directed by Michael Arias (Animatrix). The name of the film is a pun on “Tekkin Concrete”, the Japanese term for reinforced concrete. It tells the story of two street kids, tough Kuro (Black) and innocent Shiro (White) living in a fictional city known as Treasure Town, a city that is filled with crooks and the yakuza.

    Genre: Animation, Drama, Comedy, Action with violence.
    With the voices of: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yu Aoi, Yusuke Iseya, Kankuro Kudo
    Duration: nearly 2hrs

    Spoilers ahead! Of the film and manga~~~

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Mushishi – Bugmaster

    Now, let’s see… I wrote this review a long while ago. So long ago that I ended up watching the anime series xP

    I’ve re-checked this review to try and have a balance between someone who didn’t know anything about Mushishi, and someone who saw the anime, and I think this review serves its purpose. Many of the things I felt weren’t properly built up, are in fact because the anime is very episode-based, and not much of a series… which I liked by the way. The anime is really REALLY great, so if you’re thinking of watching it after (or before) the film, go watch it.

    Anyway… here we go~~

    Something about the film:
    (from Wikipedia)
    This is a 2006 Live Action adaptation of the Manga series by Yuki Urushibara, featuring ubiquitous creatures called Mushi, which most humans are incapable of perceiving. However, there are few who possess the ability to see and interact with them, one of them is Ginko who refers to himself as a Mushishi (or Bugmaster), traveling from place to place to research Mushi and help people suffering from problems caused by them.

    The film corresponds to chapters 2, 7, 9 and 15 of the Manga.

    Genre: Fantasy
    Starring: Joe Odagiri, Nao Omori, Makiko Esumi, Yu Aoi
    Duration: +2hrs

    You know the drill. Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

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  • Please, scanlate Osen!!

    Over this past weekend, I decided to look for the Osen manga again… I had tried times before, but ended up in nothing. However, this past weekend… THIS PAST WEEKEND! I found a group that are scanlating Osen!

    Thank you Kotonoha!

    Osen is a 12 volume (and ongoing) manga series, which gave way to Yu Aoi’s Osen NTV adaptation this year. And I liked the series, so I wanted to read the manga… Kotonoha has only uploaded the first two chapters of the first volume, but I am already liking it. MangaOsen is different to JDramaOsen… at first I had an issue with how skanky MangaOsen looked on the cover, but she already has me after the 2nd chapter xD

    So I am hoping they continue releasing scanlations for this one, because I wanna continue reading.

  • Fart Exercise with Juri Ueno and Nodame!

    Hahaha, the reason we love Nodame Cantabile is because Juri Ueno as lovable Nodame. Now, if you don’t know the series, you will still love this behind the scene of Juri Ueno singing Nodame’s Fart Exercise song.

    It turns out that the song was so popular, Juri recorded a small album with kids songs. You can find the lyrics in Japanese, Romaji and English translation of the funnyness in here. (also includes imeem link)

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  • Last Friends – Prologue – 001

    Apparently there’s a manga based on Fuji TV’s Last Friends, it’s set before the show… so I suggest watching the show before this. Anyway, ^Yuuki made some lovely scans (but I won’t post those because they are in Japanese), and suketeru (who also makes the subs for the show uploads, DOMO!) made a translation for it. I took the liberty to make some nice text inclusion, and some changes in phrasing. I think it looks pretty good, almost like it’s real. Take a look yourself! (more…)