I woke up this morning and was somewhat surprised to find a good four inches or so of snow on the ground, I mean it’s December and I live in New England so I shouldn’t be surprised but I wasn’t expecting it all. I am just now coming to realization that Christmas is barely over two weeks away and that I had better start shopping soon. To put myself in the holiday spirit I decided the subject of today’s photo would be Santa Asuka from Evangelion by Amie Grand. If memory serves I actually bought this off of ebay years ago from someone I knew on Pinky Street forum for pretty cheap maybe around $25 or less. Besides being one of the few holiday figures I own, it’s kind of an interesting figure because it comes with a bunch of different option parts so it is pretty versatile.

I find that I tend to buy things in waves, one month I might be focused on my anime figures the next my doll collection. Last month I was very dolly-centric and I had a lot of new additions to my doll collection 13 pullip/dals/taeyangs, 2 blythes and a bjd to be exact. This month it seems is devoted to anime figures as I kind of  started buying anime figures again ^^;

I took advantage of HLJ’s Black Friday sale and bought the 1/4 Fate T. Harlaown Swimsuit Figure from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha by Good Smile Company-Link as well as 1/7 Sakura Swimsuit Figure from Fate Stay/ Night by Griffon Enterprises Link . HLJ shipped the package via Fed EX :/ which I was not exactly happy with they are scheduled to be ditched unceremoniously on my porch on or around the 10th. I ended up doing another order on HLJ last night for a bunch of cute lesser figures including the Lucky Star OVA EX Figures: Konata and Kagami Figures by Sega Prize- Link / Link, Neon Genesis Evangelion- Seat of Soul- Asuka and Rei figures by Sega Prize Link /Link and a key chain figure of Klan Klang from Macross Frontier by Bandai- Link.

I also managed to liberate some of my stuff from Toyslogic, they were my main preordering site but unfortunately I had a change in circumstances plus I kind of lost interest in anime figures in general temporarily so I ended up canceling a lot of my orders with them ^^; . I am currently expecting the following items from them Shining Wind- Kureha Nendoroid by Good Smile Company – Link, Vocaloid- 1/8 Kagamine Rin Figure – Link, Vocaloid- 1/8 Kagamine Len Figure- Link, Kannagi- Zange-chan Nendoroid by Good Smile Company – Link, Prism Ark- Priecia Nendoroid by Good Smile Company- Link, Ikki Tousen- Sonsaku Figma by Max Factory Link and a set of Gurren Lagann sheet set (Yoko and Nia).

I am also still waiting on a Nurse Witch Komugi figure by Wave and a mystery figure for Christmas (I have been given a few clues- it is extremely limited and pink but that is all I have to go on at the moment).

Even though I seem to be centering my attention squarely on anime figures this month I am actually awaiting a few more dolls as well. I am awaiting shipping notification on Comic-con exclusive pullip Lala- Link and I just bought taeyang Richt- for myself last night.

This is perhaps one of the best made cosplay plug suit I ever seen with fitting cosplayer who look alike with it’s anime counterpart. I don’t want to look like I praise them too much but the details to their outfit are superior. I wonder how much effort and time have been in the making of it.

Others cosplay can be view in this pool of photos here.

The new movie Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance is definitely one of the biggest and most anticipated Anime movies of the year. When I heard that Singapore would be screening the movie, I couldn’t wait to see unadulterated EVA awesomeness on the big screen.

…and now that I have watched it, here are my thoughts, feelings and analysis of the movie.

Of course, there will be SPOILERS!!! For my spoiler free review click here.

So where do I begin? Well, instead of going for the chronological review, I’ll be organizing my review by the points that I would like to address instead. Masugu GO!

- Animation

First of all, the Animation. Fluid 2D animation combined flawlessly with gorgeous CGI really gave a whole new life to the series. The first movie already showed off the quality of the CGI, this movie really used it to its full potential, especially with the Angels and the fight scenes which I’ll talk about later. However, let me just say that the epic fight sequence at the beginning with Mari and the Angel just blew my mind and set the tone for the entire movie. Another thing that I thought was a nice touch that was also seen in the first movie is the usage of CGI models in the NERV displays.

With regards to the character designs, I’m not too fussy, so no complaints or comments about them.

- Characters

- Asuka

Asuka was the first character that I was really looking forward to seeing when I first heard about this new movie series. Being one of my favorite characters, hearing her say ‘Anta Baka?’ in the Cinema was simply too awesome for words. As for her character, she’s the same fiery red headed tsundere that we all know and love despite her change of name from Sohryu to Shikinami. Her characterization was really well done and I dare say much more well handled than the TV series, mainly because they hint in greater detail and display her ‘I don’t need anyone else’ more explicitly. This is best shown in the fight scene with the Eighth Angel (Sahaquiel). Her confidence in herself and stubbornness nearly backfires when her first shot at the Angel core misses its mark. She only makes it with the help of Unit 00.

Asuka’s relationship with Shinji was explored even further in the movie. We see her try to cook a meal for Shinji, getting jealous of Rei. Exceedingly moe/kawaii. Sadly she was MIA in the second half of the movie, but oh, well.

Yes, yes… I’m all for the TEST plug suit.

- Rei

What a big improvement. She actually has some personality this time! Keeping her cool, quiet and composed persona, Rei shows numerous instances of emotions and independence. Her attempts to make a meal for Shinji were cute and the little scenes where Shinji interacted with her really helped to bring out the best in Rei. Something that I loved was when we found out that Rei was a vegetarian. Although this was stated in her bio, I don’t think it was mentioned in the TV series. Once again, a nice detail that fleshed out her character even more. Whatever the case, her determination to make a bento for Shinji and to organize a dinner to get Shinji closer to his father showed off her caring and, dare I say, moe side that was seriously lacking in the TV series. One final touch that showed how much she cared for Shinji (‘loved’ as Asuka put it) was when she kept Shinji’s tape player by her side. Rei did sacrifice herself in the original TV series, but this time, it was so much more poignant and obvious that Rei felt something for Shinji. I actually felt for her. Had she been portrayed this way in the TV series, she might have become my favorite character instead of Asuka!

She even defended herself from Asuka’s slap this time round, instead of taking it face on like she did in episode 22. This little scene encapsulates her character change/evolution from the original series so well in such a short time.

- Shinji

…and that brings us to Shinji. Shinji is well known as the gutless, spineless and possibly most well known pussy in Anime history. NOT ANY MORE! It surprised me greatly to see that in the final battle, he decided to risk his life, and through his own determination and will, save Rei. Nice to see his character evolve and grow instead of staying the same. Once again, the relationship that Shinji and Rei have for each other is so much deeper and well fleshed out. Other than that, Shinji was pretty much Shinji in the rest of the movie.

- Mari

She’s the new character that everyone has been talking about. I found her to be a very amusing character that I suppose will play a bigger role in the future films. I felt that she was the happy go lucky genki girl. At first, I was slightly skeptical of her character, but at the end, she warmed up to me so much that I will even go as far as to say that she is now up there along with Asuka and Rei as an Honored Eva Girl. Her personality really shined at the end with her stepping in brazenly using Eva 02 and becoming all bestial. After that, I was all for Mari. Again, there hasn’t really been enough of her for me to fully get a grasp of her personality, though from what I’ve seen, Mari is definitely all right in my books and might be even my favorite new character from the movie series. (Yeah, well… She’s the only one so…) What really surprised me was how well she fit in with the rest of the characters. Knowing that Asuka, Rei and Shinji are characters from the 80s and Mari from the 21st century, she didn’t feel out of place at all.

More on her actual role in the plot. From what I gather, she’s from the US Nerv HQ going to Tokyo’s Nerv HQ for reasons still not revealed. The world of Evangelion was again expanded as we got to see the American Nerv HQ. This goes back to the whole basis of the movie, adapting and expanding the Evangelion Universe.

…and she says ‘Nyaa’. Come on. That’s epic.

- Kaworu

Last but not least, the mysterious Bishonen, Kaworu. Still, nothing much from him, except some shots of him on the moon, looking beautiful. I suppose he pilots Eva 06 as well. Can’t wait to see him play his part in the next movie.

- Side Characters

For the side characters llike Touiji, Misato, Ritsuko, Gendou, etc… I don’t really have much to say about them. To me, nothing really significant has changed with their characterization. However, it is possible that there are some details I have missed. I’ve only seen the movie once after all. (^.^;)

They also weren’t featured all that much in this movie either nor were any histories really explored or revealed, except for Misato’s past which was briefly shown and hinted at through an abstract interpretation of the Second impact. I don’t mind at all as I suppose more time will be devoted to them in the following movies, as did the original series.

- The Evangelion Units

The titular cyborgs of the movie, the Evangelion units never looked this good… Or kicked that much ASS! Let’s go through them one by one:

- Unit 00

Well, nothing much to say regarding 00, except that it gets EATEN. Its blue color scheme was never used either. In my opinion, this is for the better as that translates to one less figure I’ll have to buy. (^.^;)

- Unit 01

The star Evangelion unit of the movie. One of my first observations when it came to Eva 01 was that Yui was never mentioned explicitly to be residing in the Evangelion unit. While it was hinted at by Ritsuko, in the final battle, instead of Yui saving Shinji, he enabled Eva 01’s Awakened State by himself, though his seat did turn into blue flame. I kinda liked the original’s idea of ‘Yui is protecting Shinji’ but I like the movie’s portrayal as well. Hopefully, this will be discussed and explored further in the later movies.

A parallel to to Episode 19’s Beserk Mode (Synchro Ratio 400%), the Awakened State = Neo’s awakening from the Matrix. Invincibility (super powerful AT Field), the power to fly and project energy blasts from its eyes. Unit 01 even had the ability to generate an arm out of pure energy and materialize energy blocks. All this coupled together with a sweet neon orange highlights and Angel Halo and you’ve got the definition of epic staring you in the face. I absolutely love the whole Awakened State and believe that it did the original Berserk mode justice and kept the feeling of ‘Eva’s Awakened. Pwnage now’. However, this time, since Shinji was in control, the Eva’s actions were more controlled as well. Gone is the bestial carnage of the original. That brings us to Unit 02.

- Unit 02

The updated look of Unit 02 is great. Some people didn’t like the ornamental piece on its head, but I do. To me, the head piece gives Unit 02 a more regal and menacing look that enhances and improves on the original design. It was great to see the Unit 02’s new weapons and tech such as the dual Progressive Knives, Jet Pack and Cross Bow, but what really left the greatest impression on me, and I suppose everyone else, is the introduction of Eva 02’s Beast Mode.

Completely out of left field, I’d say that 02’s Beast mode is the closest thing to Eva 01’s Synchro Ratio 400% Beserk Mode from the original series. As said above, Unit 01’s Awakened mode was far more controlled. In contrast, Eva 02’s beast mode was well, beastly. Great job by the animators/director in conveying the raw, unbridled fury of Eva 02 through the limiter pylons exploding from its body and the whole Venom (Marvel) esque mouth & teeth.

One other thing that I absolutely adored about the whole beast mode was that it showed the closeness of the bond that the Evangelion unit and its pilot shares. In the original series, sure we knew that the Nerve Clips, LCL and plug suit made the pilot synchronize with the Eva unit to enable the pilot to control and execute fine movements through the Evas. This connection is so close that the pilots feel the pain of the Evas. However, in this whole scene, Mari’s every movement was mirrored by the Eva. We could also see the corruption of Mari through the fantastic little tweaks to her facial expression. Great scene that was wonderfully executed.

…and just because this picture is so cute.

- Unit 03

Eva 03 served exactly the same role it did in the original TV series, however, this time, it was piloted by Asuka. I’ll get into that later on, but the only major difference is that it’s ‘corruption’ nature was expanded with it growing extra appendages to make it look more inhuman and alien than it already was. Of course, it also started to corrupt Eva 01, which it didn’t do in the original series (It only corrupted Eva 00’s Arm).

- Unit 05

The provisional unit with the most unique look out of all the Eva Units. Ever since I saw it in Revoltech form, I was pretty curious. While the movie did do the Evangelion Unit justice in terms of action sequences, it was destroyed and never seen again after the first battle, ala Demolishor from Transformers ROTF. Not really sure how I feel about its destruction, but I didn’t care much for it from the start anyways.

- Unit 06

First seen in the trailer at the end of Evangelion 1.0, it’s appearance was just as brief. Seeing only glimpses of it as it was being built on the moon, Eva 06 made a full appearance only after the credits rolled to stop the third impact by impaling Eva 01 with the Lance of Longinus.

- The Angels

Following in the footsteps of the Evangelions, the Angels themselves received a significant overhaul in terms of design, function and bad-assery.

- Third Angel – Skeleton Thing

The first completely new Angel we see. Since it appeared in the first scene of the movie, it really set the tone for the rest of the film, assuring the viewers that they were in for a completely new ride, while keeping elements same as the original. This is definitely more evident with the later Angels, but it was really refreshing to see a new Angel. Great design that complements the other-worldly and bizarre look of the other Angels of the series. Do note that Sachiel, the Third Angel of the original series, is now the fourth, as mentioned in the first movie.

- Seventh Angel – Spider Clock Thing

The spider like look is definitely carried over from the Ninth Angel, Matariel, of the original series. Other than that, it is once again a completely new angel that seems to have a very mechanical, clockwork design, what with it’s ticking bird mask and pendulum bob. The addition of the bird like mask was another nice touch. Destruction wise, it did a great job of being very imposing and threatening mainly due to the expressionless and emotionless nature of the Angel. CGI wise, there’s nothing more to say other than, good. The mechanical structure was presented very well, especially when it reconstructed itself.

- Eighth Angel – Space Bomb Thing

Based on the tenth Angel, Sahaquiel, the movie’s interpretation of Sahaquiel has it become more menacing and imposing than it was, as hard as that is to believe. This was helped tremendously by the CGI, adding a level of intricacy, bizarreness and mystique to the Angel that the original lacked. Talking about intricacy, the entire scene also had much more detail and fuss as to how they were going to ‘catch’ the Angel. Overall, this contributed to the sense of scale that was lacking in the original. Other than changing its design, a face with hands was added to make Shinji’s/Eva Unit 01’s job of holding the Angel up harder than it already was. Turning in to Lance of Longinus esque things, the Angel really did a number on Unit 01’s hands. I do believe that because it was made of a mystical weapon the Angel was able to hurt the pilot physically, instead of just causing pain (ala Asuka’s injuries in the End of Evangelion).

- Ninth Angel – Corruption Type Thing

Everything I said about Eva 03 applies here as well, as they are pretty much one and the same.

- Tenth Angel – Thing of Utter Pwnage

My absolute favorite Angel of the series, I’m happy to say, get’s the best movie treatment. Zeruel’s original design was great and I’m so glad that it was the Angel in this movie that most closely resembled its original counterpart, the changes that were made to its design only added to its awesomeness. It now has entire body made out of steel fiber arms, allowing it to be more ghostly, deathly and soulless. In terms of powers, aside from the eye blasts and steel body, it now has the ability to project super-strong AT Fields. Yup, not just one, but layers upon layers of them. One’s not enough for the Angel of Pwnage. Elements of End of Evangelion’s Lilith were incorporated into its design as well, but I’ll talk more about that later on in this review.

- Action Scenes

What more can I say that hasn’t been already conveyed in words in the previous sections? Amazing, magnificent, outstandingly, well done action scene after scene that kept me on the edge of my seat. Again, scale is the key word here. What the original series had, this movie kicked up 10 notches. Well, also, since they are action scenes, you really have to see them for yourself. It is a visual media after all.

- Interesting Observations

Now, I would like to take some time to talk a little about some of the plot points of the movie. While I have already discussed some of these above in previous sections, there are some really interesting little observations that I would like to point out and bring up for discussion, especially with regards to the differences between the movie and the original TV series.

- Improvements and Homages

The first movie was, frankly speaking, nothing more than a re-do of the first. Sure it was flashy, pretty and a fantastic fan-wank that got everyone interested in Evangelion again. This movie, however, delivered on director Hideaki Anno’s promise of being a bold new re-imagining of the franchise. Indeed a re-imagining. Many things from the original series were re-used, but aspects were changed and new elements were brought in to keep the most ardent Evangelion fan delighted.

- Asuka X Beer Cans

A nice little scene that had absolutely no need to be included, but I’m so glad they did. Remember how in the original series and the first movie, we had the little comedic scent where Misato removed the beer can that was covering Shinji’s privates? Well, the same scene was repeated, this time with a straw covering Asuka’s naughty bits. EPIC WIN.

Will it be Mari’s turn next movie?

- Re-Shuffled Scenes

Many other scenes were straight from the TV series, such as Misato overlooking a flirting KajiXRitsuko and Gendou and Shinji visiting Yui’s grave were in the movie as well, but they were shuffled around. For instance, the Gendou and Shinji scene was in Episode 15 of the original series, but was one of the first scenes in the movie.

- Notable Scenes

I did mention this above in Rei’s section, but the slapping scene between Asuka and Rei in the lift was perfect as while being a scene taken straight from the original series, it changed it slightly. But this change was great in illustrating the differences and bold steps that the movie takes away from the TV series.

The last improved scene I would like to mention is Shinji’s temper tantrum after the battle with Unit 03. Instead of sitting idly in the cage, Shinji actually takes the Evangelion unit and stomps on the GeoFront, King Kong style. Originally, Shinji didn’t feel like much of a threat, but in this movie, he actually used the Eva to stomp on the building, increasing his credibility and the overall tension and seriousness of the moment. I do believe that this is one of the few times that we see any of the Children do what they want to do with the Eva and not for the sake of Nerv.

Continuing on, Unit 01 was actually seen physically resisting the Dummy Plug as it strained in the holding cage. Just another little touch that had so much more visual impact.

- Original Music

Another thing that the movie didn’t disappoint in was re-using the kick-ass music from the original movie. Imagine my delight when ‘Normal Blood’ (you know, Dum dum, dum dum dum, dum dum, dum dummmmm…) was used when Evangelion Unit 01 Awakened. The buzz that came off me was simply immense. Not only was ‘Normal Blood’ my absolute favorite BGM from the original, the fact that they used it at the climax instead of during all of the instances the Evangelion went beserk heightened the awesomness, impact and anticipation. I shed a tear. Seriously. A MANLY TEAR.

During Asuka’s introduction, music that sounded like ‘Both of You Dance Like You Want To Win’ played in the background. Very apt.

- Battles

The battles, especially the one with the Bomb Angel, again was a great homage to the battles in the original series. As discussed above, nothing was really completely changed, but simply improved and expanded.

However, this movie knew when to be nostalgic. The battle with the Tenth Angel was kept, nearly frame by frame, identical to the original series including the Eva 01 heroically stepping in to save everyone and Gendou getting sprayed with the blood of Unit 01.

- The Red Sea

A huge addition to the new movie series that was only hinted on, but blatantly pointed out in this one, is the Red Sea. Having read a number of opinions and discussions about the Red Sea, I’m inclined to agree with the theory of the ‘Circle of Life’ in that life repeats itself.

We’ve seen this before in shows like Megazone Part 3, but it would be really interesting to see how it is all tied together. If you are still unsure as to what I’m talking about, let me explain:

This whole Movie-Verse could be a continuation or ‘re-set’ of the Evangelion world after the events of ‘The End of Evangelion’.

Red Sea from 'End of Evangelion'

Not only does the Red Sea hint of this, but other things do as well. For instance this outline in the ground:

could possibly be one of the MP Evas that fell back to earth, judging from the elongated head and posture. What do you think?

MP Evas from 'End of Evangelion'

- Asuka, Unit 03, Mind Rape and The Dummy System

A whole new spin was taken on the battle with Unit 03. Instead of going out together with Asuka and Rei, Shinji is all that stands between Nerv and Unit 03. Speaking of Asuka, she’s the pilot of Unit 03 this time. Many details from the original were re-worked into this one particular battle. Eva 01 gets corrupted instead of 00 and Asuka’s mind rape happens during the corruption of Eva 03 instead of later on in the series. It was a clever way to rework Asuka’s mind rape earlier into the series, but boy was I surprised.

The Dummy System was modified as well to physically ‘take over’ the pilot in the more literal sense of the word. A device covers Shinji and obscures his view and ‘hands’ take the controls. This adds more to the visual aesthetic of the Dummy System and intensifies the inhuman nature of the system. However, the one thing that I kept wondering about is how did Shinji know what was going on?

Green and black is a great new look for the Dummy Plug.

- Elements of ‘The End of Evangelion’ (Rei, The Tenth Angel, Unit 01’s Awakening and the Third Impact)

I’ve talked about how elements were reworked and scenes combined with other scenes for the new movie. Well, the end of the final battle was one big homage to the End of Evangelion, what with the Tenth Angel’s Lilith-like assimilation of Rei and Unit 01’s Awakening. Did I forget to mention that Unit 01’s Awakening was the beginning of the Third Impact? It really perplexed me at first as I kept asking myself how it would progress from here. If the world ended, what was there left to cover in the subsequent films?

All my doubts were answered by my favorite weapon of the series, The Lance of Longinus (I think). Descending from the heavens above, Unit 06 impales Unit 01 to stop the Third Impact in its tracks. Biggest anti-climax of all time? Yes. Was it annoying? Hell no. It was definitely stunning, but for some reason, it all just seemed to flow and I had absolutely no qualms about it. I thought it was much better than waiting for 2 – 3 years to find out what happened.

- Music

I’m not a music aficionado by any standards, but I did immensely enjoy the soundtrack to the movie. What stood out to me the most was the music at pivotal scenes of the movie. Soft, cheerful, childish music played during the climactic battles (Dummy Plug/03 and the Final Battle). The juxtaposition was simply too overwhelming. Not only were the scenes made more poignant, the music actually increased the visual impact of the scenes and made them seem more horrific, grotesque and creepy than they already were.

- Problems With the Movie

Now. Why wait until the end of the review to talk about the failings of the movie? Well, simply because there isn’t any. Really. This movie was just that good. If I had to go out of my way to nitpick some issues, I’ll say that the main issue I had with the movie was its pacing.

The Evangelion movie was based on a TV Series, thus, the movie felt episodic in nature. It was Battle, Character Development, Battle, Character Development, Battle, Character Development and Battle. It wasn’t as jarring or deal-breaking as it sounds here, but it is an inherent problem with movies that adapt themselves from TV series and this was evident in the first movie as well. Nothing much can be done here I suppose.

Another possible drawback is that the movie definitely has an appeal to Evangelion and Anime fans. I don’t think it will go over so well with soft-core fans or those who are new to Anime. Tons of little details and nuances could and would possibly fly over their heads. If you want to take someone who is new to the series to this movie, make sure he/she watches the original, or at least the first movie, first.

- Third Movie Trailer

As with the first movie, the trailer for the next film was placed at the end of the end credits in a classic ‘Next Episode’ fashion, music and Misato’s narration and all. I won’t talk about it too much, but boy, does it get me hyped up for the next movie.

‘Service-su, service-su!’

———

In conclusion, I really want you to know that while I tried to deal with as many things as possible during the course of this review, I have barely scratched the surface of the movie. There is so much more depth to it that can only be conveyed via watching the film. Character interactions, voice acting, scenery, settings and more, all were just done inexplicably well.

Overall, I say that the movie is a superb and solid addition to the Evangelion franchise that, contrary to many fan’s original worries, does justice to the original series. But hey, even if you are one of the few out there that actually disliked the movie for whatever reason(s), you’ll still have the original, so don’t fret too much. As for the rest of us, Evangelion 2.0 is a solid Anime film that shows just what Anime is capable of. Telling a story using the most absorbing, influential and impressive medium of them all, visual media.

The movie felt longer than it was. This effect is usually attributed to a bad movie, however, Evangelion 2.0 was just so engaging, so enthralling and so mind-blowing that time/space seemed to stop as I was thrown into the wondrous world of Tokyo-3.

With a rich plot, gorgeous animation, kick-ass action sequences and savory fan-wanks, this movie is a masterpiece of animation that must be seen by all Evangelion fans, new and old. I can’t wait for the next one.

Will it turn out like this:

Only time will tell. But I’m SO looking forward to it.

———

Plot: 4.5/5
Animation: 5/5
Action: 5/5
Voice-Acting: 5/5
Presentation: 5/5
Music:5/5

Total (Not an Average): 5/5

———

Well, this has been a long review. If you have seen it, do feel free to post your thoughts on the movie, my review and whether you agree or disagree with me. (^.^)

———

All pictures sourced from Gelbooru.

Aki Koubou’s first single tracklist is out.

01. Seishun Bus Guide

02. Rival

03. Member Introductions

Delicious Eva-flavored Doritos

In honor of the first Rebuild of Evangelion movie being released on DVD in the U.S., I thought I’d post my thoughts of the dub. My dub review comes from a theatrical viewing of the dub a few months ago, and is not representative of the DVD. But they should be identical anyway.

First of all, I completely loathed the original Evangelion dub (and I hated the original movie dubs even more). It had one of the worst assembled casts of all time. Worse than the people in “Manos: The Hands of Fate.” Not to mention one of the shittiest directors, Matt Greenfield, ever. Basically, he just cast a bunch of his no-talent friends, and had them ham it up. The original dub is on par with what you’d find in a middle school drama class. It is fucking awful. A testament to why you should never watch a dub. And just in case any of you think I “hate all dubs,” let me explain something else. There are some anime dubs that I loved, and watch those shows exclusively in English (e.g. Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Outlaw Star, and Fullmetal Alchemist — just to name a few). Anyway, my expectations for the Rebuild of Evangelion dub were extremely low. I was expecting a turd on celluloid. So, how did it hold up?

Shinji – Spike Spencer performed much better than he ever did in the TV series. It seems like he has grown quite a lot as an actor. His line delivery was spot on almost all of the time. He embodied the role quite well, and was very convincing. The only complaint I have is that his screams are somewhat comical, and when Eva-01 got blasted by Ramiel, his screams were so ridiculous they actually made me laugh out loud. I don’t think the other theater-goers were very happy with me.

Misato – Allison Keith-Shipp did a good job, too. While I still think her acting can be a little weak, and her voice shrill, for the most part she was fine. She had the proper amount of gravity during dramatic scenes, and the right amount of lightheartedness in the fun scenes. She was probably the person I hated the most in the original dub, and I expected her to ruin the entire movie. Fortunately, she has improved a lot as an actor since her original performance in the TV series. Not bad, not bad at all.

Rei – Her voice actress was excellent. She was able to be quiet and solemn, without sounding fake and hoarse like Amanda Winn-Lee (the original english Rei). She doesn’t have that many lines, but her delivery for all of them was perfect. Without a doubt, she was one of the highlights of the dub.

Rei getting her Rick James on.

Gendo – Why is Crispin Freeman* not voicing this character? Gendo was all right, but not too memorable. He came off as more of a bastard than the previous dub actor, which is definitely a good thing. Still, there was something lacking in his performance. Maybe he came across as too emotionally involved, where Gendo should seem detached. Again, a good performance, but not amazing.     *Rumor has it that Robin Williams, a self-proclaimed Evangelion fan, also auditioned for the role of Gendo. While it might have been odd hearing a big star on an anime dub, I think he would have been much better than the person they went with. At least he would have sounded different than the actor who played Fuyutsuki.

Fuyutsuki – He sounds too much like Gendo, and sometimes it can be hard to tell which character is speaking. I’m apathetic to his performance as he does not have much of a presence in this movie.

Ritsuko – Sort of flat sounding. She had more of the detached voice that Gendo should have had. I think her actress, while good, could have been better. There’s just something about her voice that doesn’t quite fit the character.

Toji – The best Toji so far. At first I didn’t like his voice, but it grew on me. By the end, I thought he fit the role well.

Kensuke – I think that Greg Ayres did an awesome job. Even though he is omnipresent in anime these days, he did fine. His higher pitched, almost puberty-cracking voice was perfect for the role. He had the right amount of enthusiasm and nerdiness to make Kensuke memorable.

Keel – Although he only shows up in Monolith form, his voice is menacing as hell. Great choice.

Kaworu – He seemed all right, but his part was too brief to make any real judgment.

Bridge Bunnies – They sort of just blend into the scenes, and nobody stood apart from the others.

While I don’t think this cast will ever surpass the original Japanese actors, Funimation did a damn good job. This time they had a real director instead of motherfucking Matt Greenfield, and that payed off in spades. Spike and Allison have had years to improve their skills, and with a competent director, were able to turn in great performances. Overall, the dub was good, and I can entertain the idea of watching it again in the future. While the original Japanese is still the best, this English dub is a vast improvement over the ADV dub.

And also, it rocked watching Evangelion in a movie theater, on the big screen.

Verdict: Good

Ever wonder what or where the service Misato promises at the end of every preview is? Anyways, just collected my tickets for tomorrow’s showing of Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance! I will be watching the Friday 11.40pm showing at Cineleisure Orchard.

To commemorate the event, let’s take a look at all the Evangelion Related Magazine Exclusives that I have acquired so far.

Asuka from Young Ace Vol. 2

Mari from NewType Magazine

Mari Plugsuit Ver. from Young Ace Vol.1

Yes, this Mari figure does have an exchangeable head with her helmet off, but I forgot to take a picture. (^.^;)

Overall, for Magazine exclusives, they have superb detail and are exceedingly well crafted. Won’t miss out on the Rei figure that will be released with Young Ace Vol. 3! Ah, as for the revoltech miniature, I’m sure you’ve seen my review by now. (^.^)

Anyone seeing the movie at the same time and place as me?

Yesterday, about 11:30am, a package arrived. Twas my Asuka Langley headphones I’d backordered a few months ago from Otacute. (I assure you all preorders were made prior to getting to Uni. Those who I’m talking to know who they are.)

Censor-baby returns.

(This time omitting something much less lewd, my current address lol.)

At about 7-8pm that evening, two more arrived, both from Otacute, but one for me, one for my friend. We’d both pre-ordered Figma Aegis before we even moved into this accomodation I believe, and they musta been shipped the same day, as we did pay for them the same day I spose… it was just so… EPIC! After getting the smaller package containing the headphones I never expected Aegis to turn up the same day!!! More pics after the cut!!

7 days, shipped on the 4th, arrived on the 11th, thats DAMN good for SAL shipping I think you’ll agree.

Aswell as the usual epic freebie, (Prism Arc chara's this time), we also got...

...Mini figure-advertising posters! A4 size, got two with the headphones and 3 with Aegis lol.

They're just so cool....

I’m not generally a fan of the skull-candy-esque, in-ear headphones, the ones that really stick in, but they have a great range, very bassy when they have to be, and sooooooooooo purdy!!!!!!

Annnnnnnnnd Aegis!!!!!!!

The other freebie I got with Aegis, also from Prism Arc.

She's soooooo purdyful!!!!!

AND because she’s not wearing a skirt, she’s got tons more posability in the upper legs. Means she can sit like Drossel can. She came with 3 faces, that one, a cute side-glance one, and a battle ready looking one. 4 extra pairs of hands, so 5 total lol. One with holes in for all kind of fun stuff. Loituma. Hehehehe. She also came with a bigass pirate-glove-fist lol, and her ammo-bits that go on the sides of her wrists. She’s wearing em in the pic above. But not the pic below.

Saluting. So cute!!!!!!!!

I will most likely do a proper review thing, as I’ve got the next….:counts: 4 days free! :woooooooop: I’ll wait till the light is better, cause as you can guess, these were taken using only indoor lights…

She’s petite compared to alot of Figma, but mainly due to the fact her head isn’t as big, its tricking people into thinking she’s smaller. She’s in proportion, like my Koto Aegis figure, comparitivly small head to the rest of my figures of the same scale. More realistically human I spose lol. Aegis is super elegant. Love those leggies. And the little plastic bits on her feet help her stand up on her own. My friend was able to do it, but she always wobbles over when I try lol.

Quality is awesome. Some people are having issues with the paintwork on her headgear apparantly, but seems fine to me. I wouldn’t be gutted if I won another one lol. Then I’d have one to take around with me, and one to display hehe.

Hobby: Shopping & Listening to Music.
Special skill: Knowledge of Historic Events.
Strong point: Cheering People up.
Weak point: Being too galliable & Spelling.
Habit: Rubbling my eyes & nose too much.
Favorite color: Purple, Pink, Green & Red.
Favorite flower: Carnations & Tulips.
Disliked thing to do: Waking up early.
Scared of: Snakes & Being in the dark.
Favorite movie: Wall-E & Spirited Away.
Favorite book: Twilight Saga & I love reading Mangas!
Favorite word: Happiness & Lovely.
Favorite season: Autumn.
Favorite food: Pasta & Sweets.
Least favorite food: Pickles & Tomatoes.
Favorite song: Go Girl! ~ Koi no Victory & Scramble (Maki Goto).
Charm point: My Smile!

La gente de animenewsnetwork estará rifando 5 dvds de Evangelion 1.01 You’re not alone antes de que salga a la venta en USA, la  pelicula es muy buena y el sorteo esta abierto a gente de todo el mundo asi que la chance de ganar es mínima, pero bueno no pierden nada con inscribirse y capaz les toca un lechazo y se lo ganan ;P

P.D. Hay chance de inscribirse hasta el 10 de Noviembre, activense.

I love this picture! Just look at their facial expressions. So bad ass.

Yup, the title does not lie. Singaporeans are going to be given a treat in the form of a screening of the motion picture epic: Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.

The movie will be screened at Cathay Cineplexes starting November 12th.

I am stoked. There’s no other way to describe it. This event will also be my first time seeing an Anime on the big screen. Finally, I will get to see the new spin that this retelling will put on the original (EVA-05, Mari, etc…) and what the difference is between Mari’s Pink and Green plugsuit.

Can't wait to see these two get it on!

Here’s a question. Will there be an Evangelion gathering before one of the movies? Sadly, I won’t be able to addend the first screening as I have my Math A Level paper to study for but will be there on the 13th. Would love to get together with some other Eva fans so do stop and talk if you see me!

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(Should have stocked up on Evangelion apparel…)

As a bonus, here are all my EVA-related Video reviews to commemorate this occasion!

———

Pictures are from Gelbooru.

Si aun no has perdido la visión por tan atroces imagenes, te felicito!!!, ya puedes ir a una convención en México como “LA MOLE” o la “TNT”, donde podras seguir viendo imagenes tan horripilantes como estas solo que en vivo. JEJE.

Como pueden ver ningun icono japones se salva, ya sea el trio de Evangelion, los Hermanos de Nintendo, la pobre G Force o Fuerza (que en este caso es “Gordo” Force), Lum, Cloud Strife (Mai Shiranui) y el icono del momento Haruhi. Nos vemos luego, tengo que lavarme los ojos.

MoMo

La gran i famosa coplayer Kipi! I la veritat es que es tant mona… Els seus vestits són una monada, i ja ha rebut més d’un premi de la millor copslayer del planeta. I vosaltres que en penseu?

Yoko – Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Suzumiya Haruhi – Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu

Misa – Death Note

Hatsune Miku – Vocaloid2

Tenma Tsukamoto – School Rumble

Asuka Langley Soryu- Neo Genesis Evangelion

Shana – Shakugan no Shana

Le tome 3 introduisait cette réflexion de M. Ishii, au cœur de la problématique de l’Ikigami : « Ne pourrait-on pas comprendre la valeur de la vie sans l’Ikigami ? Le plus horrible n’est-il pas qu’une société ait un jour été poussée à penser ça ? » La loi de sauvegarde de la prospérité nationale repose en effet sur un principe quelque peu absurde : en quoi la mort d’une personne sur mille permettrait-elle aux autres de mieux apprécier la vie ? Comment pourrait-elle avoir des effets sur l’économie et la puissance d’un pays ? Comment saurait-elle abolir la criminalité chez les jeunes ?

L’Ikigami est le reflet d’une société totalitaire. Et pourtant, rien ne dirige véritablement le peuple au sommet de la hiérarchie : la loi semble le produit d’un consensus obtenu par la peur. Les réfractaires ne connaîtront-ils pas le sort des victimes du système ? On apprend dans ce volume que M. Ishii manifestait contre la mise en place de l’Ikigami dans sa jeunesse. S’il accepte désormais le principe, c’est par facilité plus qu’en raison de convictions personnelles. Les réflexions de Fujimoto permettent de s’interroger : y a-t-il quelqu’un qui croie sincèrement au bien-fondé du système ? J’aimerais beaucoup que le manga mette en scène la « machine » qui a mis en place une telle loi pour que l’on sache comment la société en est venue à accepter le principe. Venons-en aux récits.

La « Dernière leçon » nous plonge dans le monde de l’enseignement pour nous montrer une nouvelle fois que l’attente d’une mort certaine ne peut qu’inciter à régler nos comptes avec la société. L’histoire esquisse surtout les relations étriquées qu’entretient un prof avec un élève et pour une fois, l’Ikigami intervient au moment où le condamné vient de sombrer dans une horrible dépression. La haine face à la mort vient alors s’ajouter à la haine qui découle du piège dans lequel est tombé l’enseignant. La mort n’est alors plus que libération.

« Un endroit tranquille » est moins violent mais bien plus intéressant comme récit. On s’aperçoit qu’il est impossible aux enfants qui n’ont pas été vaccinés de fuir le pays pour échapper à leur sort. La population serait ainsi en quelque sorte prisonnière de l’Etat ? C’est en tout cas la première fois que l’idée est émise et on assiste à l’échec total de l’entreprise de la mère de Mina qui semble plus inquiète de la survie de son enfant que de son destin. La perte de Naoko incite son mari à reprendre sa vie en main. L’Ikigami n’est-il pas en train de faire son effet ?

Un grand chapeau à l’auteur qui a imaginé le canevas car je pense que le filon peut s’avérer très riches. Il permet d’une part d’esquisser une infinité de tranches de vie toutes aussi marquantes les unes que les autres mais surtout de réfléchir à un système vraiment ambigu et à ses effets sur le fonctionnement de la société. Plus on avance, plus on en apprend sur l’intérêt et l’ambiguïté de l’Ikigami. On est aussi appelé à se positionner devant le système et on se retrouve surpris car la mort apparaît parfois comme une libération ou la solution à une situation délicate. Et une question pour la fin : qu’est-ce qui se trame autour de Mlle Kubo?

Today I’ll be looking at the Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon concert.  It’s a favorite of mine, so I don’t have all that many bad things to say about it.

Click the pictures for the review, or you can read it all below!

MC

Today’s concert is actually done outside!  This is AKB’s first major outdoor concert, and the idea of a summer festival is present with the lanterns decorated by AKB48 members.  Also, this is AKB’s first actual concert using all three Teams.  Shibuya AX doesn’t count in my opinion.

To start off the show, Nacchinon comes on stage to talk about… whatever they’re talking about, and then they count down for the (live) overture!

Overture

This is the second time the vocalist of ‘Overture’ comes on stage for us.  The first being in AX08.  That time, I don’t think he had ever listened to the overture since he recorded it.  Luckily this time he was better: probably because he heard the overture only eight months ago.  Very little progress was made, despite his wearing of a rainbow purse and a towel over his head.  He even ended his own lyrics with “Are.”  I mean, at least finish the sentence if you decide to start it.  Oh well… On to the short skirts!

Dear My Teacher

Team A does their instructor-pleasing shuffle on stage non-nonchalantly and the concert begins!

My favorite parts of the song are the opening lines with Mai and Rina and then we they come back closer to the start of the chorus.

As you can see, it’s already raining!  I wonder if that’s the reason why there hasn’t been another large-scale concert outside…

What!?  Why are they moving?  Oh wait, does this mean what I think it means: they’re going to sing the second verse!?  Yes.  Yes, it does!

If you listen super closely, during and after the above three’s trio line, you can hear the Team K fans chant “1 + 2 = N-Nacchi.”  I love it.  Best chant ever.

Since so many girls have graduated and/or been added, the second verse has a few new additions like Mariko, Amina, and Fujie.

I definitely forgot that Acchan had lines in this song.  I need to watch A1 again, I think.

As you can see, it’s already raining!  I wonder if that’s the reason why there hasn’t been another large-scale concert outside…

Saishuu Beru ga Naru

Next up is Team K’s fourth Stage’s title song, which happens to be a new favorite in the time period of the concert.  Team K fist pumps out on stage, but with the now damp floor, it seems to be slippery as evidence of Sayaka tripping during the transition.

Natsuki’s back with an awesome hair-do!  Yay!

Please note the water on the camera lens.

I love when they get to perform all the verses of a song.  It gives the whole Team their original parts, and usually is the half of the song that my favorite member sings in.

I love how they had that whole ‘Amai Kokansetsu’ single and one of the reasons for it was the part of the stage that Ohori would often be in during songs due to her popularity.  They said that she was often in the back corner, all the while showing video of ‘Saishuu Beru ga Naru.’  What the viewer doesn’t see is that she mirrors Natsuki during the majority of the song and Natsuki is in the other corner, and that the duo get to be front and center in the first chorus and part of the bridge.

Shounichi

Team B’s most popular song gets presented for the first time here.  I used to dislike how they didn’t get to do their prayer, but in reality, that’s really not part of the song, but it’s more like it’s the intro to B3 and is just associated with the song because it’s similar in concept and immediately before the song when it was performed in the theater.

Just a little earlier that month Sasshi had been promoted, and only a little over a week before this concert, Ayarin was fired.  This kind of shows how Sasshi was given Team B front girl status immediately after she was given a full position.

Look!  A camera!

Aitakatta

Now the entire AKB gets to be on stage at the same time!  Who would have ever thought?

Natsuki gets the first real close-up.  That makes me happy inside.

Team K took off the removable raggedy parts of their costumes like in K4… if you care.

Moeno also was promoted a little while before the concert.  Since they probably only have sixteen ‘Shounichi’ costumes, she’s stuck with the ‘Boku no Sakura’ uniform that the RS wear here.  Also interesting to note: Inoue Naru has yet to graduate.

The current RS join in during the last chorus.  I find it funny that the first time I saw this concert, I had no clue who any of them were, yet now all I can think is about how I love a ton of them!

Nagisa no CHERRY

One of the perfect summer songs actually got a spot here.  I love when they perform seasonal songs in the right season.  Here, Mayuyu takes Acchan’s spot as she’s performed it the most recently.

Harugon, Haachan, and Rabutan get stuck with the back-dancing.  Nakagawa actually seems to out-dance her fellow Haruka despite her side position.

Namida no Shounen

Another fitting A2 song.  We even get a multi-Team cast!

CinDy takes Orii Ayumi’s lines as she does in B2.  It’s nice to see her with her old Team’s members.  She looks less old compared to them than she does with Team B!

Each time I watch this performance I always wonder about how Mai’s hair stays so styled dispite the humidity and rain that’s currently pouring.  I know that I should wonder this about all of the girls, but it’s only Mai’s hair that makes me wonder this.

Nage KISSU de Uchi Otose

Acchan’s unit for the night is her cowboy-costumed one from A3.  It seems like this is the wota fall-back favorite next to ‘Nagisa no CHERRY’ when it comes to Acchan.

Fujie has taken over Masuyama Kayano’s position… this is a very fitting selection.  It just sucks that I like both of them, so I never know which I’d prefer to see in this song at AX.

I love these costumes.  They’re so colorful.  And sparkly.

Gomen ne Jewel

I’ve always felt that these costumes looked a lot like ‘Nage KISSU de Uchi Otose’ and so having them right next to each other in a concert’s set list helps me confirm that they really do look similar and it may very well be on purpose.

The RS’s outfits look even more ‘Nage KISSU’-like…

I’ve heard many people complain about how they don’t like how Asuka and Yuka don’t get solos during the dance break.  While yes, that isn’t very great for them, we must remember that the other half of the unit at the time was the two most popular members of Team K and that Mocchi and Masuda got the same amount of solo lines (albeit in worse positions), so they had to loose something, which ended up being contrasting colors on their costumes and they share a dance part.  Good for them, regardless.

The stage seems to be getting even slicker.  Suzuki definitely took a tumble here.  Speaking of which, Nakanishi Yuka, Hatayama Arisa, Suzuki Nae, Oya Shizuka, Nakatsuka Tomomi, and Arima Yuka (I think) back dance here.  I might be wrong on the last two.

Glass no I LOVE YOU

I like how this song’s opening positions always tend to be sort of interesting.  Going back to the A2 roots, two girls appear on stage and the other two appear on speakers on the outside of the stage.  Very original and cute.

Why does Akimoto do this to me?  Rie, Moeno, and Sasshi are grouped so often.  I seem to always find them together.  It’s almost lucky that they will all be in different Teams soon.  But then I wonder if during a shuffle performance they’ll just take each other’s units.  Oh, and Myao’s here, too.  She gets to lead.

Junai no CRESCENDO

This is especially fitting in this concert.  I’m pretty sure the lyrics might mention rain.  And it’s raining.  Awesome.

I love how the setting matches their costumes so much.  I’m serious, this all works so well that I think it’s perfectly epic.  The blue, the pink, the rhinestones.  Sexy.

No3b looks like an actual music group here.

And again, suburb lighting.  Lovely.

Ame
no Doubutsuen

Ruining the mood like it always does comes the original song about rain.  And a zoo.

I love how dispite how unpopular Kana might be now, she still gets her part whenever Team K performs this song.  Oh, and that’s the lineless camel by Naruse in the background there.

Such coincidence.  Wonderful.

Ah!  The French revolutionaries are coming!  Quick, animals, go back to your cages!

Kagami no Naka no Jean de Arc

The choice to show this unit song so close to the time that its leader left AKB is a curious one.  They most likely had time to choose a different one or just cut it out since Ayarin had stopped regularly performing about three weeks previous to the concert, yet they decided to keep it in the set list.  Was it a diss at the original performer, or was it simply a push of it’s new one?  Maybe one day we’ll get to see Ayarin on stage with her flag.

I love Rumi’s spot in this song.  Everything about it.  She gets the same amount of lines as the center in the first verse (Ayarin/Sasshi get one solo in the second) and has the best outfit.  And she’s a perfect fit here, too.

CinDy gets to rev the audience up.

Despite the flag only really being used at the start and end of the performance, it’s so intense whenever the lead grabs it.

Blue Rose

‘Blue Rose’ half-shuffled version.  Here, Kashiwagi takes Yuka’s spot since she performed in ‘Gomen ne Jewel’ and Mika takes Ohori’s position because she’s about to have a unit song.  I love how they pushed Mikachi all of the time.

I think they chose the ‘Temodemo no Namida’ duo to substitute in just because they wanted to add in their unit, but they already filled the set list.  ‘Temodemo’ would look so amazing here, though.  I’m going to take a moment to imagine it… and yeah, it would be great.

Fog much?  I’m pretty sure that even Memolist mentioned there being a ton.  I guess that they don’t have very much practice with using it outside, let alone with rain there to contain it on stage.

Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou

One of the more famous versions of this song is here.

It used to be that there were often costume changes for ‘Oshibe to Meshibe,’ but they kind of slowed down after this time.  Off-hand I remember that there were variations like teacher/student, office ladies, gangsters, Middle Eastern-wear, and a lingerie version.  On the second to last night of K4, they performed a version wearing the ‘Kinjirareta Futari’ costumes and an ‘Original Mix’ of the instrumental featuring a melody that sounded similar to a music box and like ‘Kinjirareta.’

I wonder how it feels for them to perform with bare feet.  I’ve heard that since everyone was slippery, Nacchan came up with a great idea to save them: pouring some sort of cola soft drink on the ground, placing a towel over it, and then stepping on it.  This made their shoes a bit stickier so they could hold on to the ground a bit better.  With these two rolling around on the wet, now sticky surface, I wonder if it was a bit uncomfortable.

Romance, Irane!

After an MC (shown on the second disc), comes
AKB’s most recent original single that was distributed traditionally.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this song.  The costumes, the lyrics, the choreography, the epic-ness…

They get to do two verses again, and so we get to see Natsuki singing in the very middle of the stage.  Aren’t we lucky?

So gosh-darned cool.

RUN RUN RUN

Usually, ‘RUN RUN RUN’’s opening consists of the girls taking off their vests and running to put them on the sides of the stage before proceeding to sing.  Here, the girls who just performed get to dance about for a moment before going back.

The Team performing this song and ‘Romance’ are modified Himawari-gumi Teams.  ‘Romance, Irane!’ had H2 Team 1, minus Sae and Yuka and adding Fujie and Chikano, and ‘RUN RUN RUN’ has H1 Team 2, minus Kayano, Yukarin, and Deguchi and adding Rina, Sae, and Yuka.

It’s always interesting how they use new costumes.  Since K4 was the newest Stage at the time.  They were pimping-out the ‘Shamu Neko’ uniforms.  These girls get to wear them here, and in an important performance of Baby! Baby! Baby!, the participating girls (Team A, I think) got to wear them.  It’s a shame that I’m not really all to fond of them.

By the way, for consistency, both verses were sung here.  It seems like every Team (A, K, B, 1, and 2)gets to perform one song by themselves with two verses.

Wasshoi B!

Ah!  ‘Wasshoi B!’ and some of my favorite costumes!  Yay.

This is one of the only nearly-full-member ‘Wasshoi B!’’s I’ve seen.  I think that the 3D show that featured some B3 Team songs may have had the full Team, but I’m not sure.  At least Naru is here, though!

I found Natsuki’s lantern!  I had never seen it before, but I just caught a glimpse of something that looked like an ‘N,’ and sure enough: it was!  I had always figured that that’s what Natsuki would have done with hers, but I never had proof.  Now I do.  Of course, I technically have no clue if it’s actually hers or someone else’s, but ‘N’ is kind of her thing, so it would have to be Natsuki’s or Mikipomu’s, as she’s a Natsuki fan.

I remember the first ‘Wasshoi B!’ I saw in that 3D show.  I couldn’t figure out why a couple of the girls didn’t have microphones for a moment and then were given some a little while later.  I think I kind of studied this for half an hour before seeing that they had given them up to lift another girl.  I was so impressed by myself for noticing it!

I love Team B.  The original, the new recruits, and the New Team B.

Gokimen Naname na Mermaid

I love this song.  Why on earth did it not get into AX09?  What is wrong with the world?  The rest of B3 got in!

In B3, the first verse and chorus is done by only half of Team B, as they left during ‘Hissatsu Teleport.’  Here, they give the other half of the girls choreography and present it as though everyone is usually on stage.  Also, they’ve added a few RS for no apparent reason.

Except, they do have at least three very good performers up there: Chiichan, Sara, and Chunchun!

Korogaru ishi ni Nare

Team K pops out for their anthem wearing the red Kouhaku fringe costumes.

Yay for Natsuki!

As you can see, some how my favorite lost her amazing costume from the last time she performed in it.  She used to have the best out of the three: the shorts.  Now, she’s stuck with the conservative one.  I’m guessing Sae is wearing hers, as Sae’s was white, and they put all of Team K in red for this.

Melos no Michi

Okay, the video of the very start of the song, the battle of Sae versus Nonti, is terrible.  You can’t see a thing.  I don’t know if they thought it’d be cool or what, but it just looks bad.

See, if Natsuki had her costume, she could look as awesome (even better, probably) than Sae.

The only reason I really like this song is because of N’s placement.  Her group has very, very similar voices, and you can hear hers pretty well.   It’s also nice that it’s one of the first two groups, which have the longer lines in the first verse.

At some point, some Kenkyuusei come in the back with the blue Stage-version ‘Skirt, Hirari’ costumes on.  I’ve never understood why there are so many versions of these costumes.  I’ve only seen the blue variations here in one (small) video and one picture.  They’re just not very attractive.

And they definitely don’t match.  They could have put the RS in the white Kouhaku outfits or something instead.  Those would match Team K and the Research Students’ costumes from the Team B Research Students’ costumes.

Only Today

This is another one of my favorite songs.  It’s so catchy and cute with a nice poppy instrumental.  And the girls get to wear the ‘Ato 1cm’ outfits!  I love these so much.  Almost as much as the ‘Romance, Irane!’ costumes.  The large amount of girls in Team A makes me wonder how many costumes they have per set for Himawari-gumi.  Since there are so many girls that have weird sizes, they must have more than sixteen and closer to twenty.

I found the lantern again!  I didn’t even have to try this time!

Normal-sized hair accessories on normal-sized girls…

And Takamina-sized hair accessories on Takamina-sized girls.

Skirt, Hirari

When I first read about this performance, I was super-excited because it was Team A-only, and I heard that it put the “SukaHira Seven” in their rightful places.

Too bad this is actually an encore version of the audio, as it has the single version with added Team A voices so you hear a lot of whoever is singing, but also everyone else simultaneously.

Who is that behind Amina?  Creepy.

Only a portion of the girls are actually wearing skirts.  And those skirts can’t flutter.  The irony.

Team A sang two songs without RS in the back?  It’s almost like they’re favored.  I guess they’re shuffling Teams for a good reason.

Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008

For the last song of the night, they sing their first single.  Team A is in front for the first half.

Then Team K pops up to form a line dancing with a forward-backward motion.

And then they go into ‘Nounai Paradise’-mode and add in some of that choreography.

Team B’s turn means they bring in the thumbs up and jumping motions of ‘B! B! B! Wasshoi!’ from ‘Wasshoi B!’

Team A has no characteristics, so they just act as though they are all good buddies and rock side-to-side and then pose and wave ‘Aitakatta’-like.

Pretty…

And this is the cover of the DVD and the PB to go along with it for this concert.

(Kenkyuusei Dance)

Yay!  I love this one.  It’s short, meaningless, but a transition, and I count it as a song.  I want a studio version!

The RS get to wear Team A, K, and B t-shirts.  I wonder how many got onto the Team that their t-shirt said.  And oh look, Chiichan!

Takajo Aki gets to introduce the encore.  One would think that it would be Oya’s job since she was the un-official Kenkyuusei leader, but I guess not.

Virgin Love (Research Students ver.)

I always think that ‘Virgin Love’ is just an okay song, but since I love just about every single performance I see of it, I think I actually really do enjoy it.

Who is this?  I have no clue.  Please fill me in.

Takajo is all over in this performance.  They were pushing her before she even joined Team A.

Yuka gets to perform with SKE48 tonight, too!  She’s busy.

By the end of the song, Team A starts coming out and the ‘Virgin Love’’s start sounding better.

Baby! Baby! Baby! (Team A ver.)

For whatever reason, Team A gets to sing an extra single.  Again, they’re just that special.

All three Teams performed ‘Baby! Baby! Baby!’ as part of their Stages (A4R, K4, and B3) for a little while when it was first released, so I guess they didn’t have to stage a new version or anything.  I just wish they would have just used the selected members or something.  Maybe without Ayarin.I usually really like short over-alls, but the ones that Hiichan and Acchan are wearing aren’t very attractive.  I feel sorry for them.

And I totally love seeing Fujie and Rina on the same stage.  Yes, I’m aware that Fujie is not in this screen capture.

Also, more talk of the costumes: I usually don’t like encore costumes like these from AKB, but I really like them here.  I think that it’s because the tops are light and seem more effortless and since it’s outside, it seems more fun-friendly instead of how I always expect to be awed by concert hall performances.

The lighting during the bridge alternates side-to-side.  I’m not sure if I like it.

Kojiharu definitely just shot someone.

PARTY ga Hajimaru yo (SKE48 ver.)

SKE48 performs ‘PARTY.’  It’s of course super-interesting since I’m not that big of a fan of the song, and I can’t tell the difference between a bunch of them at this point.  They hadn’t gotten their makeovers yet.

But there’s my Rikako!

Boku no Taiyou

For the third all-AKB song of the night, we have a single that hadn’t been performed in a real concert yet, and one of their better selling due to a one-of-a-kind photo included with each CD.  Here, a double-Team Himawari-gumi performance is given with Team B in the back.

Yay!  My girls are together!

Seriously, I’m loving this hair.  If only she dyed it back…

Team A and Team B get to wear denim shorts/skirts/pants/overalls, while Team K gets to wear white bottoms, similar to the RS.

Natsuki!  You are my sun!

Ohori’s recently-published memoir mentions that her grandmother passed away shortly before this performance.  Meetan had never had much support from her parents but her grandmother was a big part of her life.  In the book, Megumi says that this is one of the songs that she really sang her heart out in remembrance of her.

AKB48

AKB48’s fight song!

Team K starts in the front row, so that means it’s an instant N attack!

And it’s still raining…

The RS jump on stage at some point.  Now, where is SKE?

BINGO!

Takamina announces this one as usual.  I don’t know if anyone other than her and Ohe have ever done so.

It’s another modified Himawari-gumi performance with the less popular girls and RS in the back.  Natsuki’s in front and she gets her usual lines.  It’s wonderful.

The audience get their little strands of metallic tape.  Soon they’ll be flashier than the AKB members!

Natsuki!

Guess who’s pretty much dead center for bows?  Yup, that’s right.  No need to ask where she for this one.

And that’s Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon in just under five hours.  I made sure to be really quick with this one for whatever reason.  Next stop: Budokan!

Kirin Hobby is now accepting preorders for Marvel’s Scarlet Witch from Kotobukiya, designed by Shunya Yamashita. Also coming up from Koto is the Asuka You Can Not Advance figure from the new Eva movies, plus new figures of Clalaclan and Celestia from the Shining series and the re-release of the Inu Yasha statues — Inu Yasha, Kagome & Shippo, Sesshomaru. Last but definitely not least are the exciting new releases from the Figma line of action figures from Max Factory featuring the Requiem for the Phantom Ein and Canaan!

New in stock is the World of Warcraft (WoW) Illidan Demon form and the Ame Comi Batgirl and Catwoman statues from DC Direct. More Marvel Minimates goodness with restock of series 14, 23, and 26.

Enjoy!
Edward

Shining Wind: Clalaclan (Waitress ver) [Figure] by Kotobukiya
Shining Wind: Celestia [Figure] by Kotobukiya
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Asuka Plug Suit You Can (Not) Advance [Figure] by Kotobukiya
Marvel Bishojo Collection: Scarlet Witch (Shunya Yamashita) [Figure] by Kotobukiya
Inu Yasha: Sesshomaru Ani-Statue [Figure] by Kotobukiya
Inu Yasha: Kagome & Shippo Ani-Statue [Figure] by Kotobukiya
Inu Yasha: Inu Yasha Ani-Statue [Figure] by Kotobukiya
Lucky Star OVA EX: Kagami (Miku) & Konata (Yuki) Cosplay ver. Set of 2 [Figure] by Sega
Nendoroid Requiem for the Phantom: Ein [Action Figure] by Good Smile Company
Figma # 054 Requiem for the Phantom: Ein [Action Figure] by Max Factory
Figma # 053 Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS: Nanoha Takamachi The Movie 1st ver. [Action Figure] by Max Factory
Figma # 052 Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS: Vita (Knight clothes ver.) [Action Figure[ by Max Factory
Figma # 048 Canaan: Canaan [Action Figure] by Max Factory
Figma # 003 Fate/Stay Night: Saber (Armor version) [Action Figure] by Max Factory
Figma # 002 Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi: Suzumiya Haruhi (School Uniform ver) [Action Figure] by Max Factory
Figma # 001 Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi: Yuki Nagato (School Uniform ver) [Action Figure] by Max Factory
World of Warcraft WoW Series 5: Illidan (Demon Form) [Figure] by DC Unlimited
Ame-Comi Catwoman v.2 [Figure] by DC Direct
Ame-Comi Batgirl v.2 [Figure] by DC Direct
Minimates Marvel Villains: Dr. Doom, Magneto, Green Goblin, Red Skull Box Set [Action Figure] by Diamond Select
Minimates Marvel Series 26: X-Men Origins Wolverine Set of 4 [Action Figure] by Diamond Select
Minimates Marvel Series 23: Set of 4 [Action Figure] by Diamond Select
Minimates Marvel Series 14: X3 Set of 4 [Action Figure] by Diamond Select
Minimates Marvel Secret Invasion: Phoenix, Beast, Wolverine, Jewel Box Set [Action Figure] by Diamond Select
Minimates Marvel Punisher War Zone: Civilian Frank Castle, Jigsaw, Thug, Assault Punisher Box Set [Action Figure] by Diamond Select
Minimates Marvel Invaders: Captain America, Bucky, Sub Mariner, Human Torch Box Set [Action Figure] by Diamond Select
Minimates Marvel Heroes: Spider-Man, Captain America. The Hulk, Wolverine Box Set [Action Figure] by Diamond Select

In preparation for the next set of DVDs, I’ve decided to go through a few older concerts, this time it’s JCB Hall from December 21st, 2008.

Full-length text-only review below…

Overture

The concert begins with a completely blank stage that looks to be the same one used in the NHK Hall concert that same fall.  One interesting difference in the set here is that instead of having a screen in the middle of the backdrop, they have decided to leave that area blank and just put monitors on either side of the Stage.  I’m guessing that JCB Hall has slightly different proportions compared to a standard theater that allowed them to do this.

While I do like the idea of keeping monitors off the stage (and since I’m not watching the concert live, I really don’t ever need the monitors thanks to close-up shots on DVDs), I don’t like them here.  I feel like the lack of an on-stage screen gives the stage a really bland, warehouse-like, cheaper-than-Shibuya-AX-concerts look.

The good thing about having no monitors on stage is that it is (for me at the very least) a more visually-appealing and natural set.  Now, I really start to get irked when the girls come out.  I would prefer that they would just stand there…. but no.

The have to walk around casually and kill the possibility of epic-ness that couple possibly start the concert.  And there’s a fish-eye camera.  Who decided on that one?  Bad.

Oogoe Diamond

The first song performed is ‘Oogoe Diamond.’  I had previously not liked this placement (and you know, the fact that they still haven’t performed this school-themed single in school uniforms in a concert yet), but upon this viewing of the concert, I concur with it’s concept.

The most recent time AKB48 had all been together was at the NHK Hall 2009 concert in which they performed ‘Oogoe’ and wore these same encore party dresses.  This time, I feel like they’re echoing that last performance, but without the recent Team A graduates, SKE48, and the AKB48 Kenkyuusei.  Maybe it’s kind of a way to show solidarity and how the current AKB can totally stand on it’s own two feet?  I just wish that could be said of the King Records singles’ senbatsu…

Anyway, it’s a pretty similar performance to the NHK Hall one, just subtract the aforementioned parties.  In this one, I think Mika might actually get a solo line, or at least her voice is featured a little bit more since Jurina is gone.  I think it’s kind of nice how there are so many different versions of that can be performed of this song: Team A, Team K, Team B, RS, Team S, senbatsu members, and the AKB48 version.

Essentially, with the AKB48 version they take a bunch of girls that aren’t featured in the single like Saeki, Nonti, and Asuka, and throw them into the mix.  It adds much more of a concert-only feeling.  On the topic of Nonti, please notice how she’s not holding a microphone.  She had hurt her left hand during what I believe to be rehearsals for this concert.  I remember watching LODs near this time period and we were perplexed as to why she was wearing a headset.  I was thinking that maybe they wanted to try to have the girls do a few K4 songs without hand microphones and they were using Kayo to see which song(s) could be done with head sets, but alas, she had just hurt her hand.

Romance, Irane!

Okay, first off, besides one of my high school art teachers, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who liked pictures using a fish-eye lens.  This being said, why would anyone want a video that uses it?  And on idols at that!  It’s just weird.

While I love these costumes being used to perform this song, I really dislike how they added all of the straps for all of the strapless dresses.  They looked better as tube tops.

They look to be using a modified Himawari-gumi set-up with Team B and the non-Team 1 girls in the back.  I’m pleased that while yes, they are not really included in the performance, they’re still at least near the action and not ostracized like they are so often when Himawari-gumi songs are performed..

Tonight’s ‘Romance, Irane!’ seems to be rather bland compared to others.  Nothing really caught my eye at all.  Except for Natsuki and the aforementioned proximity of the girls, of course.

They did a great job capturing this part of the bridge for the DVD.  It’s one of the spots where the view has to be pretty much dead-on.

For a while I was lost because I couldn’t figure out why Naruse was in the front so much.  Then I remembered that even though she shares a birthday with Sae and has a hair style, and body type similar to Sae’s, she’s Sayaka’s sub, not Sae’s.

AKB Sanjou!

Next up is the new AKB48 fight song!  It looks pretty flashy (get it, they’re sporting flashlights?) here in their fluorescent dresses, but it still gets the point across: AKB is powered up to the “max.”

I love how throughout the song they alternate the lighting between the usual stage lights and the girls’ flashlights.  They match with the audience’s glowsticks well.

Kana somehow secured Yuko’s position next to Acchan for the night since she’s gone, but she was fidgeting with her hat most of the time.  Poor Kana…

I love it when Natsuki gets lines (or just gets to be near) Chiichan.  I like when I can hear/see my favorites in the same line.

They end the performance by spelling out their Team names.  In this performance at least, it looks like Team B has the most girls present and Team A has the least.  As usual.

In the following MC which wasn’t included on the DVD, it was announced that Natsuki had gotten into Waseda University!  That is a huge accomplishment and worthy of this kind of recognition, as it is one of Japan’s top six colleges.

Skirt, Hirari

So, this performance is apparently the seven-girl version.  Now, I’ve never seen the seven-girl Stage version from the A1 days, as the DVD shows the five-girl version (A1 was shuffled mid-way through), but I’ve heard the seven-girl Stage version from the A1 CD, which features the shuffled units.  Now, interesting to point out: it’s the same line distribution as the single.  Also interesting to point out: whenever a seven-girl version of Skirt, Hirari appears on stage in concerts these days, they use the five-girl version’s line distribution, leaving two girls without solo lines.  Boo.

Takamina looses her lines and takes Mai’s.  I’m not sure if that’s a promotion here or a demotion, but it’s nice to hear her do something different.  Jurina takes Takamina’s old lines and pretends that she’s in AKB… again.

Oh, you Team K girls… Little do you know you’ll be lineless in this performance…  (For completion, Haruna keeps her lines (and takes Rina’s) in the choruses and Mayu takes Risa’s (and Itano’s).  Acchan keeps her own.  Except, now she sounds and looks much different than a puberty-stricken teenage boy.

Goodness!  How close can a camera get to Acchan’s head before she flinches?  At least she’s having a good hair day.

Nage KISSU de Uchi Otose

With Rie, Moeno, and Miho leading (and Koaru, Gussan, and Harugon) dancing, you can tell this is a unit thrown in to push the first three.

This unit just looks really weird to me since I’ve never been accustomed to seeing Rie as the center.  Here, I almost feel as if there isn’t a single front girl.

Why did they slide the scrunchies up past their elbows?  It looks fine, but is there a specific reason?  Is it the popular thing to do?  Are they trying to make fun of the original performers and non-verbally communicate that those girls’ wrists are too fat and they stretched them out or something.  I don’t know why, but this instance of a small change in the costume confused me greatly.

It’s the RS-to-Team side… who get solo lines…

And it’s the unpopular original member side… who don’t get solo lines.

See, this is what I don’t like about the background.  It’s so drab.  I would almost say that if they got rid of the lighting and metal poles back there, it would make it seem like they wanted a simple backdrop, but then it would look even more plain and cheaper.  At this point it looks like a warehouse…. and no one wants to see that.

Junai no CRESCENDO

The fan-favorite No3b unit has been shuffled for the the first time in this concert.  I used to be really confused as to who lead the unit, as Takamina’s part actually gets less lines than the other two.  But hey, she does get the dress that dips down the back instead of on either side, so Takamina had to be the center.

Kasai’s work here actually fits in well, even though I would have thought they’d have put her in Miichan’s place.  She sounds consistently… Kasai-like… the whole song and it gives a little extra dimension to the piece.  Sae seems like a really random replacement for Haruna, but they both have a similarly nasal voice and her great dancing really complement the unit.

What is up with the boots here?  Does no one have Takamina-sized feet or something?  I don’t like that they decided to still use the original ‘Junai’ shoes, and wish they would just use the ‘Renai Kinshi Jourei’/'Oogoe Diamond’ pairs.  It looks messy like this.

Kashiyuki’s last solo line was the best I’ve heard in that position.  It was truly magnificent.  Her other solo lines here were fine, I mean, it’s her, she’s always been a pretty good vocalist, but this one was spot on.

Fans must have really liked Kasai shuffled into this song because she took the same spot in the NHK09 concert series.  Well, either that or whoever was supposed to take that spot ended up being sick or hurt, as that tends to happen.

Seneka Kara Dakishimete

Seeing this on the set list was just pure joy for me.  It’s one of my favorite AKB songs, and putting some new girls in it is great.  I hope they shuffle this up again.  Maybe a Team K-only version, since that’s never been done before?

I love Mariko as the lead because she has such a deep voice.  It’s not necessarily a really good voice, but it gets the job done and has character.

Asuka fits Maeda’s part well, too.  She adds talent and performance energy, which the original lacks a bit of.

Yuka is pretty much amazing here.  She took what seems to be a cutesy part and suddenly amped up the epic-ness.  In the build-up of vocals repeating the first chorus, she is crazy strong and ten times better than I would imagine.  I’m impressed to say the least.

The second verse would have contained Nozofisu, Yukarin, Haachan, and Kobayashi if it were to be performed.

About the costumes: I’m not sure what I think of them.  They used the Team A ‘Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru’ senbatsu costumes for Team A and B and the Team K non-senbatsu costumes for Team K from the First Concert Aitakatta series and added the B2 accessories and then wings, feathers, bows, and pom-poms.  Maybe with-out the pom-poms?  They’re just odd here.

And it looks like Nozofisu grabbed Itano’s addition in the build-up.  Interesting… I would have thought it’d be Haachan.  Anyway, lovely shuffle.

7ji 12fun no Hatsukoi

And Acchan’s A4 unit is shuffled to the Acchan of Team B, Mayuyu.  One thing I love about this unit is that while it’s not a particularly wonderful nor memorable song, it has the prettiest, most addictive chorus.  Now, ever since I became an AKB fan, I’ve never been a big fan of Mayu, but once I saw B1, I understood her so much better.  She’s not an amazing singer, but she can dance pretty darn well.  The thing that really works for her is how genuine she is: you know this this what she wants to do.  One of my favorite AKB theories is my “Acchan Series,” which goes Acchan, Erena, Mayu, Fujie, Jurina, and I guess that KII girl that I’ve probably never watched perform.  These are the five/six girls that were the first to perform the first near-solo song, ‘Nagisa no CHERRY’ and have been pushed by AKS.  I’m not sure about the sixth girl, but I’ve been impressed with the generations starting at the third.

Now, if this were a true shuffle, I think a less popular girl would get Ohe’s spot… but I guess they had to put Sasshi somewhere!  I love her to pieces, and it is kind of fun to see her in a cute song instead of her usual kick-butt unit.  Maybe this side of her will be used on the new Team A?  That way she’d fit my assumed image of the new Team.  (At this point, I want Moeno and Sasshi to switch…)

See, Mayu knows what she’d doing!  I’m glad Nacchan got picked as one of the back-up dancers.  It’s kind of fitting since I bet that’s probably what position she would have gotten if she stayed in Team A past the third Stage.  And you can tell how much she is enjoying this almost-cheesy song about first love on a train.

Aika is in the back, too.  Quite frankly, this weirds me out as she is perfect for the song and in my mind might take Sasshi’s current spot.  Maybe Sasshi was a little more popular than Aika at this point or something?  Maybe they wanted to push Sasshi a bit more since she’d be getting her own unit three-or-so months later and Aika wouldn’t?  Lastly, Oku is an interesting choice in this unit.  She’s rather out of place as the rest of the girls are Team B.  For some reason I was thinking that she was wearing Kayano’s costume, but I think it must be Risa’s considering how it fits!

Nagisa no CHERRY

Oops, I guess I spoke to soon: This is where Jurina is an Acchan.  I guess this is what happens when you decide to review the concert so long after seeing it!  One thing that’s great about ‘Nagisa’ is that one doesn’t need good vocals to sing this one… at all.  Jurina isn’t really impaired there, but her dancing is top-notch, which is one thing that might help in this situation.

In blue are Gussan, Nakayan, and Kaorin.  Nakayan, another great dancer, gets the center for the bridge, naturally.  Please note, Gussan and Kaorin already performed a unit in this concert as back-dancers, but they’re here, too.  I don’t know whether that’s a good thing for them or a bad thing… but at least we get to see more of them.  There are a few girls who didn’t get units at JCB, that probably could have grabbed these spots, though….

It would suck when the pretty bubbles get more screen time than you do, wouldn’t it?

I wonder if she thinks it’s a little weird that she’s singing about being seventeen in past tense, yet at the time of this concert, she was definitely eleven.  I know that Acchan started singing this when she was turning fifteen, so it’s still odd, but it’s definitely not a six-year age gap.

MARIA

I think the majority of AKB’s fans were hoping for this: Takamina in ‘MARIA.’  And we all got it.  With any luck, we’ll see two more girls perform the song if it’s included in the new Musical Infinity script and it’s shown on DVD (let us pray…)

Takamina of course takes over the song.  With ‘Higurashi no Koi’ we learned that Team A’s low register leader’s voice is quite a bit higher than Team K’s, but now we see that they’re just different.  While Yuka has a huge range, as can be heard in any fun or cute song she’s in, Takamina has a pretty set selection of notes she can hit… but she can hit them darn well.

First off, I love the sparkly microphone holders.  They’re so blinged-out.  Now, Miichan also did a superb job here.  I love when she is put in more hardcore units because those work with her personality a bit more.  Here she even gets a better part than Itano which is pretty exciting.  Somehow she’s also able to put on a bit lower and gravely tone in her voice which echos Ohori’s version of her part well.  The one thing I don’t like is that she’s paired with Takamina again.  This is done too much.  I am glad that she’s with Itano, though.  I love that pair together.

Itano sings her usual way, which is so similar to Kasai’s voice but so different at the same time.  It’s lower and looses the innocence of Kasai’s vocals but retains the girlishness.

Fog… I love it.  It covers the stage nicely.  And I just thought of something: it must not be fun for the audience when the girls sing units from the back of the stage because they end up being pretty far back there.  At least on DVD it looks nice.

See!  Look at that ugly set!  It’s so plain!

Okay, so sometimes it can look nice… but most ugly things look better in the dark…

Faint

A performance of the Hana song so quickly after she left?  Wow.  Remembering back to when this concert just happened, I really liked the selection of girls for the song.  An unpopular one (Umeda/Nozofisu), a fairly popular one to lead (Miho/Itano), and one that is getting more popular quickly (Aki/Hana).  Here, Umeda puts out an incredible performance with her usual great dancing and singing and Miho uses her youth to put this unit in a different league than that of Itano’s.  I’m a little unsure of Aki in the song.  Yes, her voice is somewhat similar to the original’s, but it lacks the same drive that Hana’s did here.  I guess I’ll credit it to her new-ness to the AKB world, since she was new to Team A (I think she had just gotten in recently) and she wasn’t a research student all that long.  And you know, they’re pushing her a lot lately.

It looks like Miho must not have fit in Tomo-chin’s shorts, so she got a ruffly skirt made.  And she has that pretty garter.  That might be old, though.

I swear, that fish-eye lense needs to be smashed.

Glass no I LOVE YOU

‘Glass no I LOVE YOU’ seems to be in almost every concert.  I think the only DVD-friendly ones it hasn’t been in are NHK07 and the Budokan series.  Anyway, here it’s presented by my aforementioned Acchan 2, Acchan 3, Acchan 4, and Rabutan.  An excellent line-up, if I do say so myself.  Everyone sounds just like they usually do, so I can’t really say much about their vocal prowess.

Fujie is lovely.  I want you all to know that.

Are the pink frilly trunks new?  I seem to remember them wearing their usual black shorts under these costumes… maybe I’m thinking of the ‘Nageki no Figure’ ones, though.  They’re similarly pretty.

I’m not really sure who likes this more: the wota or the girls.  For the wota, it’s a quartet of cute girls in cute costumes singing a cute song cutely.  For the girls, it’s about pink, shiny, sparkly, ruffle-y, glorious costumes.  The girls win.

This walking section gets me everytime in any song it’s done in (examples include ‘Idol no Yobanaide’ and ‘Nage Kissu de Uchi Otose’.)

I love how Mayu gets to bask in her awesomeness.

Kimi wa Pegasus

Wow, Akimoto.  Do you work at a meat counter?  Because you just butchered this song.  I’m not impressed at all.  I don’t care that it’s a great song: putting front girls in a song that they’re not ready for won’t turn out well.  This Team A version didn’t go over very well with me.

Acchan subs for Sayaka.  Yup.  That happened.  Not saying anything else.

Rie (who for the longest time I thought was Sasshi), doesn’t fit well here.  She has a perfectly okay voice, but it’s just way too high for this kind of song… or something.  It just doesn’t fit.

Haruna was the only one who improved the vocals in this song.  Sae lacks a bit in her voice, but as mentioned earlier, makes up for it in her dancing.  Haruna’s dancing isn’t quite as good, but it does get the job done.  I’d recommend her for Natsuki’s position, as they often shared lines in Himawari-gumi.  It’s kind of cute how Haruna and Sae switched parts in this shuffle concert, though.

Noro Kayo’s spot was taken by Miichan and rightfully so.  Miichan is getting better and better lately and what better way to show it off than in Nonti’s lines in this unit?  This was a successful casting.

And then we hear the choruses again and it goes down hill.  Acchan doesn’t have a very loud or powrful voice from what I’ve heard, yet you can hear it a ton in the group lines, which suggests they turned up her vocals from the recording.  Anyway, as a unit, this doesn’t work.  If Haruna switched to blue and Rie and Acchan left, this might turn out well.  From Team A, I’d suggest… Mai for Sayaka… and… Chiichan for Sae?  I think that might work better.

Junjou Shugi

Awesome shuffle right here.  Just awesome.  Maybe I just love the song, though.  Regardless, I’m happy.

Tomo-chin is Team A’s sexy member.  With ‘FAINT,’ ‘Itoshisa no defense,’ ‘Confession,’ and her everyday assortment of clothing to be scantily-clad, Tomochin ranks up there with Ohori in the sex appeal department.  Haachan is Team B’s closest thing, and she’s also kind of an amazing singer, too.  In this performance, we have the strong vocals replaced by Itano’s sultry ones, and it gives it a nice flavor overall.  Somewhat off-topic, but whoever designed that dress needs a raise… and needs to make more AKB costumes.

Amina and Sae work well here, too.  Amina’s usually bouncy voice sounds so amazing with the vocoder atop it.  I would love a techno-inspired song with that sound from her.  Sae matches a bit too much with Amina, but that’s fine.  I think I’m just too used to the difference between Matsuyuki and Inoue/Nakayan/Moeno.  Oh, and the RS back there are dancing their butts off, so great job to them, too.  Yay.  I love good shuffles… especially if they use the NHK07-like Mr Kissman glitter-y strands in the background.

Namida no Shounen

Finally.  A shuffle song with Natsuki solo lines.  I’ve been waiting and I’m very glad it’s finally happening.  The line-up is pretty good, too.

Yuko, who has recently became my new favorite front girl, takes Ayumi’s lines and of course does a great job with them.  What I love about her is that even though she’s an experienced idol, she’s really trained her voice and she’s ready for anything, be it a youthful song, or a more mature unit like this one.  And I love how short she is in comparision to the other girls, especially being right next to Natsuki.

And then my oshimen executes Mariko’s lines perfectly.  When it was first posted that Natsuki was in this unit, I only knew that Saeki got to lead, and the list of performers, so I went through every show I could find with this song in it (A2, B2, AX08, and Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon) trying to figure out which spot she’d get.  I knew Yuko would get the other lead, so I ranked the order of the other spots, and Mariko’s was the lowest in my rank.  Oh well.  I’m just glad she got something in this concert!

Natsumi’s next and I am impressed by her work here.  I expected a higher voice like we heard in the previous concert’s ‘Kagami no Jean de Arc,’ but she went quite a bit lower and it sounded much, much better.

Mikachi grabs Mai’s part, the unit’s center.  I’ve always wondered if Akimoto wanted Mika to become a popular girl in Team B, as he always seemed to push her.  She has that certain quality about her that is really likable and she’s superb at singing.  There’s reason she was put in a duet with Kashiyuki.  Just watching her here makes me smile.

Another yay, Chiichan is in this unit!  My top two are right here!  I love it.  And she’s perfect.  We all know that, though.  I can’t wait to see the Budokan Team A concert DVD in Nagoya.  She’s leading two units and partially leading a third.  It’s going to be epic.

One great thing about the positions my girls got is that they get duet lines in the chorus against the other three.  They sound impeccable together.  I could gush, but I’m not going to.  In conclusion: I’m happy again.  (Oh, and notice the decorated mic stands?)

Blue Rose

When I began working on this review, I noticed something interesting: the three true unit songs in K2/B1 are included in the same order as they would be in the original Stages.  I’m assuming they did it on purpose, but I think it’s rather interesting.  This means that next up is ‘Blue Rose.’

The two most popular girls outside of the AKB fandom Mariko and Mai lead the song’s vocals.  Mariko is a natural choice here and I think she performed it in the shuffle version of the Aitakatta concert, but that might have been Mai.  One of them at least.

Next to Mariko’s deeper voice, Mai seems even more feminine and, with the help of her charm with a mic stand, sensual.  Any performance that includes Mai and a stick-like object in front of her tend to be great, and this one is no exception.

On the sides we have Kasai and Kohara, both rather unlikely choices for this type of song.  We’re used to seeing them in high-pitched songs thanks to their own characteristics, but I guess they really wanted to mix it up.  Considering they share a duet line, we can’t really hear them all that accurately, so I’m not going to really note their work here.

In the bridge is a very famous kicking-of-the-mic-stand.  This is done by the girl grabbing the cord attached to it and kicking it so it looks like it’ll fall into the audience, but then pulling the cord back so the girl gets it back.  Usually this works out fine, but it looks like Tomomi-chan kicked too low and the bottom nearly fell into the audience, which really wasn’t supposed to happen at all.  With a little bit of pulling and the help of a backstage guy, she ends up getting it’s legs back on stage and she’s back to her usual self.  That was a cute blooper, though.

Kinjirareta Futari

I think it’s safe to assume that Yuko’s spot in this song was supposed to go to Sayaka.  Sayaka’s the only front girl who didn’t get a unit, and Kashiyuki already performed this song for all of B1.  I think I’d prefer it if that would have happened as it’d be a compete Team K shuffle.  And it would possibly have a completely different dynamic.

Erena does a great job in Kasai’s place.  Not much to say there.  She must say something funny during the MC portion, but I’m clueless as to what it was.

I guess that they shortened the skirt for her, and in AX09, they forgot to lengthen it back to Kasai’s size, so she wore a super mini-dress for the Top 100.

Ame no Doubutsuen

The famous animal song pops up next with Jurina and Rena leading and Rumi, Nakayan, Miku, Kumi, Nakatsuka, and Naruse being the rest of the zoo.  It’s weird to have an SKE48-led unit in an AKB48 concert, but I guess we’ll have to get used to it.  I’m glad that in this show they used all eight animals, as I hate it when they use less and some girls don’t get a single part in the concert.  Now, I know there are a few who didn’t get spots in this one, but at least they’re using up all availible costumes for the units they do end up doing.

Tonari no Banana

Great shuffle.  Awesome choice of girls.  Simply wonderful.  In the last concert, this unit was done by Mayu and Aika, so this is a welcome change.  And considering their experience in AKB, this is a great boost in for their popularity.

Ohori gets the first lines and sings just like a little girl, which could be argued is the complete opposite of herself.  I love it.  Now, Megumi’s gotten funnier as time has progressed, especially with Nonti in the area.

I’m not sure what the flower-ing branch is doing, but I saw it poke up for a moment in Blue Rose, so they must be singing about it or something and it’s not a random fan’s.

On the topic of Kayo, she goes another route.  She begins her lines with her apparently booming deep voice and finishes it with the squeaky grace of the original unit.  This versitality is wonderful.  Long live the Nonti!

Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou

The crown jewel of the JCB concert is the front-girl version of ‘Oshibe Meshibe’ with two leads of Team A.  I’m not a fan of this personally, as it’s another unit of them just grabbing popular girls and putting them into positions that don’t fit well.  Neither have the natural sexiness or innocence of the original duo.

One thing about the costumes: they do not fit.  Kojiharu is a bit too large for Ohori’s outfit and Acchan is too small for Kasai’s.  I would usually say to just switch them, but then I think this performance might get worse as that’d be even farther from their personalities.

Okay, that just looks like an awkward hug.

Anata to Christmas Eve
‘
Considering the proximity of this concert’s date to Christmas, this was a very nice, unexpected touch.  I like how they saved two of the front girls who can actually sing this song to perform it.  It makes me feel like AKS does have some standards.

And there’s snow!  I love getting excited about little things like this.

And pretty lights.  Yay.

Overture (SKE48 ver.)

And SKE48 infiltrates the stage!  I just wish they would keep to themselves a bit more.  I mean, they have their own concerts and a single, so what’s the need to take over AKB set lists, too?  At least I love this ‘Overture.’  The music is almost the same as the AKB48 ‘Overture,’ but the “lyrics” are about SKE’s location in Nagoya.  The cool part of this one is that they have an actual dance to go along with it.  I think SKE might focus a bit more on dancing, as they’re audition to become a member vs. an RS concentrates on dancing.  And I like how they make the letters that go into making their name.

Doku Ringo wo Tabesasete

This is an odd song to be performed in concert like this.  It’s not very popular and it’s very old, but I guess this i a way to sort of prove that they are in fact performing A1/K1/S1 in their theater.  It certainly doesn’t stand out here, but the girls do a good job in its performance.  And I like the red and green colors used for lighting, as they match the image of an apple like in the song.

SKE48

I like how Jurina gets to lead the MC immediately before this.  It’s almost as though she’s being thrust at us.

They get to sing both verses of this song, too… why is it that SKE gets to sing the entirety of some of their (old) songs, while the Teams can’t in these sorts of concerts?  We miss out on hearing/seeing so many girls’ lines in this format.  Bleh.

And what’s with these uniforms?  Are they from something?  Are they the S2 ballad costumes?  They just seem out of place.

Tanjoubi no Yoru

I don’t see why this song is so popular… it’s about birthdays and it’s not really all that interesting.  Oh well.

This version is with Team A including it’s new members and a Kenkyuusei or two to fill up the remaining positions.  They get to wear the amazing ‘109′ (‘Marukyu’) costumes.  I love those.  We need more similar to them.

I’ve always thought that the concept within AKB that the RS-to-Team girls get to take graduated members’ spots is weird.  I mean, shouldn’t the remaining Team memembers pick those up if they’re more popular.  It ends up being that whenever a Stage is made, the girls keep their spots for all eternity, regardless of their shift in popularity.  RS-to-Team members featured in these songs always get a boost.  Lucky them.  I understand that it’s easier for the girls to learn if they already know their position in the song from past performances, but it’s all kind of off to me.  At least Chiichan and Fujie are near the front quite a bit.

Mirai no Kajitsu

Team A seems to have gotten possession of all of the Himawari-gumi songs.  Here they get what was an image song for a water campaign or something when it first came out.  (Let me add that Natsuki was one of the selected members for this.)  I honestly think the song is kind of bland, and so I think it’s a poor choice for the show.  I guess it fits with the previous song, so I’ll let it slide a little.  Just this once, though.  Team A has so many great songs in its repertory, so why choose a boring one?  Especially in those costumes, why don’t they ‘Switch’ it up a bit?

Two Years Later

For some reason, I’ve never really cared for ‘Two Years Later.’  It’s kind of monotonous and seems as though its concept was a darker-toned filler song.  I love how there are so many great solo parts in the verses, but the chorus seems to just go on and on.  Maybe it’s too slow for me or something?  Also, the costumes don’t really help the performance here.  I love those A5 opener dresses, but they just don’t belong.

Shounichi

I really dislike how everytime Team B gets to perform a song, it’s always ‘Shounichi.’  I mean, it’s a great song and it matches Team B in general so well, but it’s just over-done now.  Why not just save it for Shibuya AX?

For a moment I was all confused when I saw Chikano as I didn’t know who was missing, then I realized that I hadn’t seen CinDy in a while and (since I’m too lazy to look it up) I’ve decided that she must have not been at this concert.  I love how I’ve started to refuse to research (and spell-check) my concert reviews…

Yay for Tanamin.  She looks particularly gorgeous in green.

Again, bad costume choice.  It works better here, but still.  They should have just gone with the JK school uniforms that go overtop of these.  They’d have matched both songs much better.

I was definitely anticipating ‘Hissatsu Teleport’ to be next.  That’s how used to the B3 order I am!

Shamu Neko

I remember this performance.  I was super excited when I saw the girls pounce on stage in the white fringe outfits from their ‘Nante Tatte Idol’ performance with Nakagawa Shoko and Leah Dizon.  I happen to love them, and the fact that they’re all wearing white instead of the red from Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon is even better.

As this is a bigger concert, they only perform the first verse, which means no Natsuki solo lines.  We do however get Nonti and a special appearance by Umeda!  I seem to always treat Umechan in these concerts as a guest because she’s missed so many over the years for various reasons.

The first time I watched the chorus from this DVD I let out the biggest wide-eyed gasp ever.  Suddenly I saw Natsuki.  And not just any Natsuki: instead of putting her in one of the empire-waisted dresses like she’s been put in ever since Kouhaku ended, she got one of the slinkiest out of the two-piece variations.  And she looks phenomenal.  She just blew my mind.

See, she’s just phenomenal.

Where’s my PB?

I’m running out of things to say…

But I just have to post these caps.

Korogaru Ishi ni Nare

And we’re back to Team anthems.  Similar to ‘Shounichi,’ I’m done with this one.  I’m hoping that since the Teams are being shuffled, I’ll only have to hear this one at Shibuya AX.

Natsuki slid up to the front line during the chorus…. I believe that’s different from usual, but I may be wrong.

See, look at that boring background.  Yes, I’m still angry about it.

Natsuki!  Be a rolling rock!

Nonti totally wins with best ending pose.

Baby! Baby! Baby!

All of a sudden the entirety of AKB comes on stage to perform their digital single.  To me, this looks ridiculous to have all of the girls crammed on such a small area.  They could have used the steps in the back at the very least!

Mayu looks a bit out of place with her colors.  You’d think they could have put Team B in the ‘JESUS’ costumes or something equally gold to match the other two Teams, but of course they needed to be randomly colorful.  Right behind Mayu and Mai is Natsuki!

She even gets to sing her usual set of lines.  I wonder if this is because of the Team K absences?  That’d make the most sense to me.  The set-up of the girls seems to be the most popular girls in the center doing the singing, while the less popular girls surround them on the sides dancing.

Dear My Teacher

Yay!  I’ve been waiting for an all-Team version of this for a while now!  The girls move into their Teams and basically do three performances at the same time.  It’s neat to see the different line-ups of girls.  Here I made the realization that anyone in AKB who has originally gotten Nakanishi Rina’s lines has had a break during their AKB career.  Rina was out for something like six months during H1 and H2, Kikuchi had her boyfriend scandal for B3 and B4, and Umeda was injured for K3, H1, and H2.  I wonder who got those lines in S1.  I have yet to see the DVD.  And does Team KII perform the song in KII1?

Nonti fidgets with her microphone.  Those headsets seem to be a lot of trouble.  Everyone seems to have to mess with them whenever they (rarely) wear them.

Have I ever mentioned that this is Natsuki’s favorite song?

BINGO!

The last song of the non-encore section of the concert is ‘BINGO!’  This one seems to be a heavily-modified Himawari-gumi format with mostly Team 1 and the more popular members of Team B taking part in the actual singing.  The rest are on the sides or risers, with the RS in the back.

Natsuki gets her usual lines with Sae, as I’ll bet that Sayaka’s absence gave her a spot.  Good for her!  She tends to fill in often.

The steps moved during the bridge.  It was quite cool.  I wish that there was a better camera angle for it, though.

(Kenkyuusei Dance)

The new RS make a special appearance in the ‘PARTY ga Hajimaru yo’ uniforms.  Takamina talks over the music and sort of introduces them.  Notably, Kikuchi is in there, but I couldn’t really spot her.

Hikouki Gumo

And a newer concert song (and now part of the ‘RIVER’ single) starts off the encore!  Team B keeps getting shoved to the back…

Midway through this performance I noticed that there was a lot of screen time for Yuko… and then I realized that she wasn’t in the rest of it, and understood what was going on.  Glad to have her back on stage.

The start of the chorus brings in the more experienced Kenkyuusei.  I hate how I actually had to work to figure out if they were either SKE48 members, old RS, or new RS.

Aitakatta

Gasp!  I would have never thought they would perform this song!  Just kidding.  It’s over-done, too, but I’m fine with it.  As long it’s all of AKB performing.  And the stage is moving again.  It’s these little things that make me excited.

This angle makes the stage look like it was made in a video game for some reason…

Natsuki!  Yay.  She got to sing in the second verse… as usual.

I love these three in the same shot.  They’re all very similar in my book.

Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka?

Finally, the seemingly long lost single makes its way into a concert!  ‘Yuuhi’ has been released for over a year, but it’s just now getting it’s large-scale debut.  I feel like this performance wasn’t as heart-warming as I would have liked.  I think they needed to make a big line across the front of the stage like they do in the H1 version.

It ends with SKE48 and all of the RS getting on stage in positions for ‘Oogoe Diamond’ with pretty lighting that evokes the image of the title’s setting sun.

Oogoe Diamond

And the gimmick of the night: a 89(-ish)-girl version of ‘Oogoe Diamond.’  I know what you’re thinking: They already performed this in this concert!  You’re wrong.  They just almost doubled the girls.  That means it’s a totally different song.  Duh.

The dynamic triangular formation is lost when so many girls are on stage…

Oh, and look!  Natsuki… stuck on the side again.  Oh well.

Yup, Ayarin’s back in town.

Go get her, Mikachi!  I believe in you!  Don’t let a child steal your spot light!

And more Natsuki!

See, just look at how many girls are on stage.  It’s getting to be a bit much, right?

And it’s over.  Yay.  Okay concert.  I’m still not a huge fan of it, but now after finally reviewing it, I feel like it was at least a little bit better put together than I originally did.

Part 4 of the random galleries. XD

now here we have…..

Asuka Langley Soryu of NGE(neon genesis evangelion)