NKDS

Images taken from 1999.co.jp, product by Cospa

So the Kanden Yamaneko plushie does exist, and its made by Cospa no less. Its not fair, I was just about to do some planning for my upcoming budget and Bjorn has to show me this. I can either get the Fate plushie or this, but a voice in my head keeps saying “both, both, both”. And worse of all, the voice sounds like Nana.

Shit, I am hearing Yukarin’s voice too. And it sounds like Seppuku Kurousagi.

I’m so screwed.

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

 Picture heavily related to this post.

So I have recently fallen into the addictive trading card game that is Weiβ Schwarz, otherwise known as WS. I can’t help it, it is just about the only game that allows me to use an entire deck full of Fate Testarossa cards, and kick ass with her. It’s a fun game, and I’ve fought the temptation for ages only to be done in by the recent release of  the Nanoha Movie 1st expansion pack. Loli Feito is just too moe to resist.

Anyways, if you are in Singapore and you want to try out or learn the game, feel free to drop by TCG, a shop that specializes in games such as WS, Chaos and Victory Spark. That’s where our group of friends play regularly, and the address is 91 Bencoolen Street Sunshine Plaza #01-77. Or you can drop by WS@NK-DS, which is a WS information site set-up some time back by Mycstea.

I think between my regular anime purchases, WS and the upcoming Warhammer 40K release of the Blood Angels codex in April, I won’t have any money left for anything but the most basic of necessities. T_T

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

Well, I am sort of jumping the gun since I did not watch the movie, but I thought I might as well post about the info I read around the Net. Spoilers ahead, so be warned.

EDIT: Updated with more new spoilers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nana-chan and her PV production team has always made good PVs, but its been a while since they made something that really blew my mind away. That drought has ended now; Nana’s Silent Bible PV is probably her most impressive PV to date. My favourite Nana PV was DISCOTHEQUE, but I think Silent Bible might have seized the throne, at least for now.  

 I have no idea how much King Records spent on this PV, but damn it looks good. And I like Silent Bible. Time to learn how to sing it at the karaoke…

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

The Eternal Diva, now younger!

Happy birthday to Nana-chan, the light and love of our lives! Now that she has turned 17 years old, she has joined the exclusive clique of eternally 17 year old ladies, a sacred sisterhood which includes luminaries such as Kikuko Inoue and Yukari Tamura. Though one can argue Yukarin is eternally 7 years old rather than 17…

Nana is now of the same age as Alexander the Great when he conquered pretty damn near the entirety of the known world in his days. Similarly, Nana has achieved all that she could conceivably achieve in Japan; she has performed in the Dome to an audience of more than 30 thousand, she has performed in Kohaku, and she has achieved Oricon #1 in singles, albums, music DVDs and Music Blurays. Anison-wise, there is really not much else that she can achieve in Japan, except for the expansion of her legions of fans. However, any artiste will have an upper limit in the number of fans she can draw in her home country, which is an unpleasant fact that her and her management must face. So what is the solution?

Alexander tried to solve his problem by expanding the boundaries of the known world, literally entering the unknown in order to conquer it. Therein lies the solution… Nana and King Records need to recognize that there is a ready market for her outside of Japan, and people WILL pay good money to attend her concerts if she performs overseas.  Long story short, like Alexander, Nana needs to take the plunge into the unknown, to go forth and try her hand in other countries. Besides, what’s the risk? The support of cities like Shanghai, and countries like Taiwan and Hong Kong are practically confirmed. Hold a concert in Singapore and it is guaranteed that fans from all around Asia will flock here like bees to honey, thanks to the ease of travelling to Singapore. Not to mention Singapore is building an excellent track record of hosting anison artistes, as proven in the past two years of AFA and last year’s EOY. Plus we have the infrastructure and logistics in place to hold a truly memorable concert for Nana, something that May’N, Yoshiki Fukuyama, Shoko-tan and Ichirou Mizuki can readily attest to.

If Singapore can achieve this much for anison in a space of two years, it goes without saying that Shanghai, Taipei and Hong Kong will be much better equipped for Nana. After all, they had a decade ahead of us, literally. JAM Project regularly holds concert tours in these countries, and I believe that fact speaks for itself.

Nana can retire now and already be considered an anison legend in her home country, but I am certain that is not what she wants. She would not reach such heights without ambition, drive and sheer capability. If only Nana and her management would turn that ambition overseas… she may be the biggest seiyuu-singer in Japan right now, but she has the potential to make anison history in an entire continent. After that.. well, lets cross that bridge when we reach it.   

So once again, Happy 17th Birthday, Nana-chan. Have a good one, and may your star shine ever brighter.

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

History being made.

The title of this post says it all.

I…. dammit. I have not felt so emotional for a while. Happiness and pride are what I feel, and I am drinking up the last of my plum wine in honour of Nana-chan’s achievement right now. This is probably the best birthday present that she can receive. The ultimate Oricon glory for the ultimate seiyuu-singer. The cherished dream of Oricon #1 in the weekly singles chart achieved. The curse of being #2 finally broken.

A seiyuu seizing #1 in the Oricon weekly charts for singles. I bet the old farts at those mainstream J-pop companies are spinning in their seats right now.   

Damn, it feels good to support Nana. It feels good to support a winner.

Ok, that’s it for now. I shall continue my rampant Nana fanboyism in Nana’s birthday post, which is coming soon. Very soon.

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

Source: ANN, Oricon

The list of items available to lighten your wallet has been released at the official Nanoha website. Just click on the link and click on “Goods”, and plan your budget from there.

I really want to just go for the whole set and be done with it, but nah, resources are tight this month. Since that’s the case, I will likely go for the Fate Testarossa T-shirt or mug. And at the same time I will pretend I never read the weird engrish sentences on both the Nanoha and Fate T-shirts.

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

Yep, May’n will be holding a series of concerts outside of Japan after her Budokan concert! The tour will have three stops, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The cities and dates are as follows

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: March 7th

Hong Kong: March 19th

Taipei, Taiwan: March 21st

Pity she won’t be stopping by Singapore this time round. But heck, we’ve seen her last year with Yoshiki Fukuyama (Dynamite Explosion’s still very fresh in my mind) so that more than makes up for it.

More details will be released at a later date.

Official site: www.mayn.asia

Wonder if I should make the trip up….

 Love at first sight.

I prayed, I went down on my knees to beg Fate, to give us a plushie of herself, something that we can hug and cuddle when we go to sleep. Finally, my prayers have been answered!  

See? Faith can move mountains, but apparently a hardcore fanaticism for Fate-chan can do more than that. So all of us should love Fate and Nanoha more, by buying more of their merchandise! Then there will be more supply of Fate and Nanoha items and we can all be happy! Ah, the beauty of capitalism…

Here are more details from AmiAmi. The plushie will be arriving on this April, and will retail for 3150 yen. Time to save up!

And yes, I should be getting two of this. One to put on my bed along with Yui and Mugi, and one more for the collection.

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

What we did last year

Another winter, another Nana tour around Japan.

For thise year’s tour, there would be a stop at Nana’s home town of Niihama on the 20th of Febuary. Like last year, we were thinking of sending flowers to that specific event, rather than the last stop or the Yokahama Arena events. Some, we were thinking that performing in her hometown would be something significant and thought that it that sending the flowers there would have the most impact.

Tentatively, we are looking at these arrangements. However, we are only limited to 115029, as it is the only one that can be sent to Ehime. It would cost 15,750 yen, inclusive of shipping and handling. The cost will be split evenly amongst those who contributes. For the message, I think we can go with the same on we had for Live Diamond last year.

Currently, I have about 14 people whom I have gathered interest from, mainly from Facebook. Those who are interested, please send a mail to our e-mail address with the title ‘I love Nana and I want to send her flowers!‘. Please include your name, e-mail address and contact number. The collection place would most likely be a gathering at a central location, though I don’t mind hosting a viewing of Fever and Diamond at my home (near Pasir Ris) at the same time. Alternative payment methods can also be made. Please e-mail me even if you have expressed interest via Facebook.

Closing date would be the interested parties would be on the 31st of January at 11.59.pm. The gathering would tentatively be held on the 6th of February. Also, we would be opening this to Singapore and Malaysian fans only.

So, what are you waiting for. E MAIL US NOW!