よろしくお願いします！

For many stupid ass wotas, it is the closest they will ever come to physical contact with another female human being: the idol handshake. More than a CD, or a DVD, or photocards, or a photobook, or a concert, it’s the way to engage one’s fandom on a truly personal level. It is the one piece of merch no one can ever take away from you, a personal memory unlike anyone else’s, crafted not by a corporation but by whatever it is you choose to do at that moment. (Yet it seems that, faced with the prospect of a handshake, we almost all choose to embarrass ourselves.)

Recent J-pop history has somewhat cheapened the value of the handshake; it seems that you cannot swing a lightstick around these days without hitting some handshake event or another. Maybe it’s some girl promoting her new photobook, or a sub-unit doing a mini-live for their newest single, or simply just another publicity event for publicity’s sake. Yet ironically, as these events become more prolific, they have also become ridiculously labyrinthine to get into, like you have to buy the Special Edition, Limited Edition and Collector’s Edition variant covers of so-and-so’s photobook to get a ticket, but then you can get extra tickets for extra go-arounds if you buy more photobooks, and if you collect all the versions of the randomly distributed posters and subscribe to so-and-so’s mobile phone service and do a mystical rain dance and recite the prefectures of Japan and the capital of Assyria and show up 4 hours early you get a CHANCE to enter the Super Special Private Handshake a month from now that is being held ONLY! at some store that’s two hours away from where you live. By shinkansen.

By comparison, it is almost retardedly easy to get J-celeb autographs and handshakes IN AMERICA. Find the convention with the guests you’re interested in, get the passes and tickets you need, and just freakin’ line up. Of course, the oversimplicity of the system also leads to some grave injustices, like a good two-thirds (or four-fifths, possibly) of Morning Musume’s fanbase at Anime Expo never even getting within sniffing distance of autographs. (Not that Eri Kamei would particularly appreciate you sniffing her, anyway.) There was also the grave injustice of having to be up by 6 am just to even think of getting a ticket to AKB48’s autograph session at NYAF (unless, of course, you are me).

The other catch, of course, is that such events IN AMERICA are far rarer. But at the same time, that rarity is part of what makes them special: the guests are always genuinely thrilled to be in a foreign country and to discover that they have fans there. This is, like, the ONLY! thing I have ever found to be a universal truth about every convention guest from Japan. Doesn’t matter if it’s an animu director or a seiyuu or a manga artist or a pop singer or a game developer or a toy designer or a studio executive or the nightshift janitor who works at TV Tokyo. They just cannot believe they are in this awesome and exciting country, meeting fans who can barely speak their language but love everything they do. And the fans, of course, are just as equally thrilled, sometimes having waited years for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

That is why I distinctly remember ever idol handshake I’ve ever had.

Right, I know, remembering two specific events in one’s life isn’t very hard. But it’s the detail and the quality of those memories that make them what they are. XD

Shoko Nakagawa

The thing about Shokotan is that, like so many other Japanese people, she turned out smaller in person than I imagined. Of course, I knew her from TV appearances and gravure photoshoots and her wacky-ass blog, but with little contextual information aside from those images, I always figured that she was somewhere around my height. Actually, she’s a couple of inches shorter. But she is still incredibly cute.

I distinctly recall that I was 2nd in Shokotan’s autograph line at Anime Expo 2008, and that’s only because I was too shy to go first, having arrived at the autograph line about 5 minutes before everyone else after figuring out a shortcut from the panel room to the autograph area. See, it was AX’s first year at the L.A. Convention Center, and everyone else was still taking the long way around the building.

I came up to her for the autograph, and in a panic I had just purchased and unwrapped a copy of her album Big Bang! in case she was only allowed to sign “official merchandise.” But my #1 choice was my August 2008 copy of UTB, which I had purchased just days before when it arrived at my local J-bookstore, thinking “Well if I get into Shokotan’s autograph session at AX it would be pretty neat.”

It was pretty neat.

srsly.

Shokotan signed her name and doodled a cat face on the cover—after all, when you’re 2nd in the autograph line, they’re not tired yet, and are happy to do fun stuff like that. And then she totally caught me off guard with the handshake, because I was still clutching the shrinkwrap from the CD, so I did this kind of awkward semi-clenched fist as we did a traditional two-handed idol handshake.

I didn’t even know it was customary. I thought she was just gonna sign that shit and move on. XD

Her hands were soft and small, and slightly cool to the touch.

Minami Takahashi

Fast forward to September 2009. Yes, I know you’re all tired of hearing about this shit by now, but there’s still so much that I’ve never even written about. As I have mentioned before, my private interview with AKB48 ended with the girls coming up to me to gift me with CDs. I am surprised that I was able to think and behave lucidly throughout most of this. And the one thing I was thinking was: all right, having learned the lessons from meeting Shokotan, I am going to get what is entitled to me as a stupid ass wota. As soon as I put the CD down, I am going to do the gutsy American thing and take the initiative with a firm, friendly handshake!

(Two-handed, of course. Stupid ass wota style.)

Takamina hands me a copy of “Iiwake Maybe,” I put my gutsy American plan into action, and you know, I don’t think I’ve shaken a smaller pair of hands in my life. XD

I mean, I knew she was tiny, but I didn’t realize just how tiny until right then.

Atsuko Maeda

I think this is the one point where being an AMERICAN J-pop fan living IN AMERICA really has its benefits. I mean, you try being a Japanese person living IN JAPANLAND and hoping to get a handshake with Acchan. Better line up with the 3,000 other people at Yomiuri Land, buster. And of course she gets tired after the first 1,000, or the staff decide it’s time to close down, so you never had a chance anyway (like the stupid “standby autograph” line for MM@AX).

Anyway, the point is, the frickin’ Face of AKB comes up to me next with a copy of Team A 5th Stage and I’m like, kthx (どうもありがとう), and her hands are kind of warm and … fleshy? I know that sounds inappropriate, but what I mean is, she’s one of those people who naturally has a lot of blood circulation to their hands, so it’s always warm and comforting to the touch. Also, great for kneading bread.

Yuko Oshima

By now I was starting to recall a nugget of conventional wisdom that you can gauge a person’s body type by the shape and feel of their hands. But first things first, and that meant accepting a copy of Team K 5th Stage (how very appropriate) from Oshima. Her handshake was perhaps the most distinctive of the four—not quite as small as Takamina’s hands, but definitely the skinniest. And also the lowest body temperature.

But about that conventional wisdom. I direct you to look at this photo of Yuko and Acchan standing next to each other in bikinis. (And really, who wouldn’t.) Now, after having held Yuko’s hands, drooling looking at pictures like these and thinking it over, I realize that it all points to Yuko being highly athletic (she was AKB Sports Fest MVP, after all), and most likely having a very low body fat percentage. Although of course when the girls are this hot, body fat percentage becomes a diminishingly useless variable.

Haruna Kojima

And now we go from small, skinny girls to MY (other) WAIFU. I am pleased (and relieved) to report that Haruna is not taller than me, but exactly the same height. (I was always so worried about this because everytime I watched AKBingo! I noticed she was one of the taller ones in the group). From her I got a copy of B4 and a very soft, cushion-y handshake. Her hands are definitely the fleshy type, and actually you can tell from her swimsuit photos because she’s the one with all the curves.

I think once I got to that point I had to be guided out of the interview room because I was completely in a daze. I don’t remember much else besides gathering the CDs and my stationery together, and the staff person saying “You’re a very lucky guy.”

Okay, I guess that’s the one time I would consider myself a lucky bastard. Anywhere else, in their home country, or in any other convention, I’d have to get in a freakin’ hundred-person line to even think of getting close to those girls. And the staff would be rushing me through and they’d forget who I was 5 people later and never be seen again as I disappeared into the crowd.

But the point of an idol handshake, of course, is to build a special memory just for yourself. And that’s why I say, I remember every single idol handshake I’ve ever had. Even if the number is embarrassingly low. But if I were one of those crazies who lived in Japan and jumped through every single hoop just to get to an event that’s two hours away by shinkansen, and went to stuff like this every week?

I know I’d still remember every single one.

Congratulations Shokotan!

Akiba idol Shokotan announces and celebrates her third nation-wide tour today (yesterday in Japan) at JCB Hall. Shoko Nakagawa will start her third nation-wide tour next year called “Shoko Nakagawa Concert Tour 2010.”

This year she started her 14 city tour called “Shoko Nakagawa Magical Tour 2009” overseas in Hong Kong. Then on 10/24 her wish came true when she performed at Nippon Budokan, which was a huge success.

For her third tour in 2010, she will start off in Saitama and Misato city on 4/1 making pit stops in Nagoya, Sendai, Hiroshima, Kobe, Sapporo, Fukuoka (2-days), Tokyo (2-days), Osaka and Yokohama.

When she makes her stop in Tokyo, she will not only be performing but also celebrating her 25th birthday on May 5. This year she celebrated her birthday at JCB Hall.

Shoko’s official website ‘Shokotan Net’ has announced a fanclub only event called “Giza Pink!” Tickets will be available on 11/23 at 13:00 and ending on 12/8 at 23:00. Based on a first come first serve basis.

source: natalie

This is the second edition of Anime Festival Asia in Singapore
(AFA09). The event started in 2008 and successfully creates a new
communication platform for anime industry in this region. It is an
exhibition of figurine, anime products and subculture that goes along
with. This year edition has added anime song concert perform by May’n,
Shoko Nakagawa, Ichirou Mizuki and Yoshiki Fukuyama.

AFA09 is my first visit to anime or figurine exhibition. IT is very
overwhelming and crowded. I took 30 minutes to queue for ticket. More
than 300 people are line up anytime to enter AFA09. I still see huge
crowd by the time I was leaving. The ticket is SGD15 for one day entry
and SGD25 for two days. Many fans dress in cosplay mode and enjoying
them self since morning. I saw the same cosplay gang in lobby from 2pm
till 7pm. It is kind of anime worship festival to me

More than 100 booths locate in exhibition hall. The biggest one would
be Ban Dai where many toys character products can be found here like
Tamagotchi, Ben10, Gundam, Mameshiba and so on. Japan blogger Danny
Choo booth run a Tokyo Figurine Show where many beautiful artworks are
being display. The Moe Moe Kyun Maid Café waitress is all in maid
dressing but no photography is allowed. They aren’t dressing sexy but
very cute as Japan manga character. The main attraction in this area
would be shopping and taking pictures with cosplay. There is also fans
art display area.

There were events running on main stage range from speech, fashion
show, cosplay competition, karaoke and concert. All are free entrance
but the concert has ticket seating. AFA09 visitor can still view it
from open area which is about 30m from the stage.

Overall the event is good and interesting especially it get full
support from Japan sponsor and artist. I think it needs a bigger hall
next year to accommodate more crowd and activity place.

Naruto cosplay. They have been there whole day and still energetic to post for camera.

This is scary and horror.

Your toy is your signature.

Crowded ticketing booth.

This one my favourite… because I already know this, the rest of the anime I am few light years behind.

kawaiiiiiiii

You cannot miss the vending machine!

Ban Dai user hands on corner.

This eneloop bateery tester will show you the battery charge. I want to buy it because of cute.

The Gundam win Regional Cosplay Championship. Many were shock!

This is real person and not doll.

Another cosplay group.

One more cosplay finalist.

See you next year if you want to compete in cosplay!

But the Gundam has difficulty walking down stair… Can it fly??

Danny Choo time! Storm Trooper dance!!

Danny Choo and Miracle Mirai (pronounce mi-ra-cel)

Danny Choo fans in Tokyo.

This is the biggest model in expo.

Take it!!

My childhood memory. Expensive hobby.

Kids corner.

Family time.

Kamen Rider and AFA showgirl.

Cool stuff. Making cartoon is interesting nowdays.

Danny Choo.

Beautiful Alodia.

Sorry, you can’t eat this.

Young fashion designer start from here.

NEWS de hoje com covers feitos por Shoko Nakagawa e Masami Okui! Baixem tudo aqui. (Cadastro grátis e bem rápido )

Tracks:

1. “Arigatou no Egao” (「ありがとうの笑顔」)

2. rainbow forecast

3. Ame ni Kiss no Hanataba wo (雨にキッスの花束を)

4. “Arigatou no Egao” -Instrumental-

“Arigatou no Egao” is Shoko Nakagawa’s 10th single and it was released on October 14th, 2009. This single reached #6 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 14,746 copies. rainbow forecast was used as the theme song for the Japanese version of the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Shoko Nakagawa is on a roll with these slower songs. “Arigatou no Egao” is the more reserved A-side of Nakagawa’s third era and she really shows some emotion in this sad, yet lighthearted ballad. While I will admit, I’m a bit bored with this song, it’s nice to see that she’s spicing things up, since she has a great voice for ballads. I liked the quiet beat during the verse (which are also quiet), and when the chorus comes along it makes everything brighter with it’s uplifting strings and percussion line. Alright Shokotan, we’ve what a rock song, an upbeat ballad, and a sad ballad… what’s next?

rainbow forecast was originally the title for this single, but it was put as a B-side for some reason. This song is almost like a continuation of the A-side, since it has a similar melody. This song is pure pop and it sounds like something straight off her 2nd album Magic Time. I like this song a little more, since to the trumpets throughout the song.

Track 3 is a cover of Miki Imai’s Ame ni Kiss no Hanataba wo which was used as the opening theme for the anime YAWARA! years back. Both Nakagawa’s and Imai’s songs sound similar, so I guess Shokotan wanted to stay true to the original. I definitely like this version better since it’s faster and the vocals sound a lot better. This song uses a lot of 90s synth, so if you’ve heard the original, you can get a general idea of the sound.

Overall Grade:

Artist: Shoko Nakagawa
Release Date: August 6, 2008
Label: Sony Records
Personal Rating: 2.5/5

1. Shiny GATE
2. To Be Free
3. Sekidou Komachi DOKII
4. Shiny GATE (Instrumental)
———————————————————————————————–
It has been a really, really long time since I’ve last reviewed Shoko Nakagawa…On another note, Shokotan looks a bit weird in this picture. What the heck is shoe pointing at?

Anyways, Shiny GATE attempts to sound futuristic but just doesn’t cut it. Why? Shokotan’s vocals are still very uncontrolled and it totally does not mix in with the robot voice and synch. Plus throwing an electric guitar in made the song even more sloppy! Just when things were sounding better! D:

To Be Free sounds a LOT better then Shiny GATE but is still missing a lot of musical elements. No chorus development, lacking emotions in vocals, cliche arrangement, etc.

I would probably say the same with Sekidou Komachi DOKII since it’s a mixture of the flop A-side and the boring B-side…

Personal Rating: 2.5/5

Track Listing

1. “Arigatou no Egao”
2. rainbow forecast
3. Ame ni Kiss no Hanataba wo
4. “Arigatou no Egao” -Instrumental-

1. “Arigatou no Egao”

Shoko goes back down to a slow ballad tune for the 3rd A-side of the era and “Arigatou no Egao” isn’t as good as the previous ballad of the era.  It has the usual fare of what makes a ballad.  I do like Shoko’s ballads though because they show off her vocals nicely and it does here very well.  The verses are probably the low point because it’s rather meh, but this is a nice ballad I guess.

2. rainbow forecast

The B-sides are actually what made the single good though.  rainbow forecast is a rather happy tune and even moreso since its tie-in is “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”.  So going from that this song is quite interesting and stands out on her discography.  Shoko is at the right amont of cute as well, so this is surprisingly good.  <3 it.

3. Ame ni Kiss no Hanataba wo

The other B-side is actually a cover of Miki Imai’s track of the same name.  It’s a bit more random than the other two tracks as it feels like an 80’s tune with bunches of synths and a dance beat to hold it together.  I’ve never heard the original, but this sounds good for a cover IMO.

If she’s going on a release spree, I’m expecting the album to be right around her last album was released.  “Arigatou no Egao” is actually on par with her last single.  I did think the title track could’ve had more done and made it more grand.  rainbow forecast & Ame ni Kiss no Hanataba wo were great danceable tracks and showcased Shoko’s cute side nicely.  Good single.

A cantora Shoko Nakagawa, ou simplesmente Shokotan como é conhecia pelos fãs, lançará no dia 14 de outubro seu 10º single, intitulado “Arigatou no Egao”. Esse single era para ter sido lançado em setembro, mas sua data foi adiada para outubro.

2008 foi um ano muito bom para Shokotan, pois foi a primeira vez que ela fez um concerto no lendário Nippon Budokan em outubro do ano passado. A diva dos animes também está indo muito bem nas vendas, os últimos 7 singles dela marcou presença no top10 do oricon semanal.

Voltando a falar do single, a b-side “rainbow forecast” será usada como música-tema da versão japonesa do filme animado “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”. A segunda b-side “Ame ni Kiss no Hanataba wo” é um cover de mesmo nome da cantora Imai Maki, a música foi usada como segundo tema de abertura do anime “YAWARA!”.

Além das duas b-sides mencionadas acima, o single também incluirá a versão instrumental de “Arigatou no Egao”, num total de 4 faixas. O single estará disponível em duas versões: regular e limitada, cada uma virá com um photobook diferente, sendo que a limitada CD+DVD incluirá cenas de Hong Kong da apresentação de Shokotan.

Versão Regular CD

Versão Limitada CD + DVD

CD Tracklist

1. “Arigatou no Egao” (「ありがとうの笑顔」; A Thank You Smile)
2. rainbow forecast
3. Ame ni Kiss no Hanataba wo (雨にキッスの花束を; Rain-Kissed Bouquet)
4. “Arigatou no Egao” ‒Instrumental- (「ありがとうの笑顔」 ‒Instrumental-)

DVD (Versão Limitada)

1. Nakagawa Shoko-teki Honkonchou Donyoku Taizaiki (中川翔子的香港超貪欲滞在記)

A b-side “rainbow forecast” como foi dito acima, será usado na versão japonesa do filme “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”. A música na minha opinião é melhor que “Arigatou no Egao”, achei ela bem mais no estilo Shokotan de ser, bem animada e bobinha, mas confesso que achei legal a música. O PV dele parece que foi feito para divulgar o filme, mostra muitas cenas do filme e a Shokotan faz uma dancinha bem legal e bobinha xD, até que gostei do clipe, dou nota 3/5.

Fonte: J-Music Revolution

Créditos: Jstation

Here they are.  Arigato no Egao and rainbow forecast pvs for your enjoyment.  Both of these songs will be featured in the “Arigato no Egao” single set to be released on Oct 14.

Song review for PV1:  Shoko starts the song off with her vocals which take a softer tone and soft synths.  The whole song is real easy on the ears and Shoko’s vocals are nice to listen to, not going into the seiyuu voice, and even in the chorus she rises volume just slightly but keeps the rhythm gentle.  The melody aside from the synths feature strings and percussion that make this number more emotional and right to the end keeps a nice feeling to it/

Song review for PV2:  Having a more upbeat rhythm compared to “Arigato no Egao”, this song showcases Shoko’s seiyuu voice but luckily with this melody they work.  Shoko stills keeps control over her notes and seems to be in a happy tone throughout which fits the emotion perfectly.  The instrumental starts off with upbeat synths and goes into an orchestral field with brass and strings and this shines in the chorus later bringing guitars creating more energy, a plus.

Final thought:  Nice of Shoko to come out with a soft number in “Arigato no Egao” and rainbow forecast balanced out the single with a strong upbeat number.  I will say I like the first track because it stands out from her other A-sides of this era and rainbow forecast is like Kokoro na Antenna, just more stroger, still Namida no Tane, Egao no Hana is still fave song of the era.  Hopefully will get Shoko new album next.

Shoko Nakagawa terá exposição em Akihabara. A cantora e mangaka Shoko Nakagawa acabou chamando atenção recentemente, pelo lançamento do seu primeiro mangá, o Nouko no Koi. Agora foi anunciado que seu mangá ganhara uma exposição na loja Yurindo em Akihabara durante os dias 3 a 12 de outubro. Shokotan estará presente distribuindo autógrafos.

Tendo iniciado sua publicação em 2007, na revista “Hon´nin”, Nouko no Koi é sobre Noriko,uma menina mal amada que se sente desprezada por todos. Noriko quando se apaixona descobre o motivo de ninguém gostar dela.

A estratégia de lançamento do Nouko no Koi é bastante inusitada, já que sua capa é nada menos que uma capa da sua desenhista. Sim, Shoko Nakagawa só desenha o mangá, nos roteiros quem assume é o Noboru Iguti, especialista em filmes B.

O mangá mesmo parecendo um romance tem suas bizarrices, tendo uma indicação do autor Hirohiko Araki, criador de Jojo Bizarre Adventure.

Fonte: Comic Natalie com informações do XIL

Créditos:  J-WAVE

I have a lot of light to shine on some things so lets get to it:

abingdon boys school have announced that a new song “From Dusk Till Dawn” will be used as the ED theme for the new Darker than Black series, so new single on the way and the album so far away (hopefully early 2010).

Speaking of Darker than Black, Stereopony’s new single “Tsukiakari no Michi Shirube” will be used as the OP theme and is set for release in Nov 4.

Again speaking of anime, Lil’B will be releasing a new single titled “Tsunaida Te” on Nov 11 and is the ED theme for Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Sukima Switch’s “Golden Time Lover” is the OP theme coming out Oct 14.

SEAMO will be releasing a best of album titled “Best of SEAMO”.  It comes in three editions (Limited A and B, regular) and the main disc contains 16 tracks, including recently released “My ANSWER” and “Fukeiki Nante Buttobase!!”.

NICO Touches the Walls has announced a new single for a Nov 4 release.  The only thing that’s known about it is will be featured in a drama called “Bouchou Mania 09″.

Ken Hirai will have a song featured in a live movie called “Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu”.  The song is titled “Boku wa Kimi ni Koi wo Suru”.  Also, “Hitori janai” will be used as the ED theme for the animated “The Return of the Musketeers” that will air in Oct.  Expect these songs to be released in the near future.

FLOW is coming out with a compilation album titled “Coupling Collection” that will be featuring19 songs, 15 of which were chosen by votes from fans and is to be released Nov 4.

Shoko Nakagawa’s new single titled “Arigato no Egao” is set for Oct 14 and contains “rainbow forecast”, the theme song for the movie “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”.

Nami Tamaki will release her new single titled “Moshimo Negai ga…” on Oct 14 and is feature on the video game “Valhallla Knights” for Wii.

whew, that’s a lot to take in.  As always I will update on any changes so stay posted.  Also expect me to get the pvs for the songs i mentioned in this post soon.

Holy crap get out of the way.

In 2009, Michael Jackson’s corpse crashed into the World Trade Center, causing a massive tsunami that wiped out hundreds of thousands of stupid ass wotas standing on the beach. Actually, the real cause of this tsunami was a sudden influx of female East Asian pop vocalists, commonly known as “idols,” who were arriving in the New World for the first time after satellite reconnaissance had showed that crossing the Pacific Ocean would NOT cause you to fall over the edge of the Earth and be swallowed by fire-breathing dragons.

Rather, crossing the Pacific Ocean causes you to be ogled by stink-breathing middle-aged men.

For years, the conventional wisdom had been that the Asian entertainment world and the American entertainment world lived in two mutually exclusive bubbles, and never the twain shall meet except through imports, bootlegging and teh Internettes. “Morning Musume will never come to America because they are already sustained by a market of creepy-ass NEETs and salarymen.” “AKB48 will never come to America because how the fuck do you fit 48 girls on a plane.” And Korea … well, Korea’s major exports up to this point had been cars, electronics, and level-grinding online RPGs.

Wearing a bikini: you're doing it wrong.

Although 2009 is clearly a banner year in the history of East-West idol-pop relations, it is not a phenomenon that miraculously happened overnight. It is not as if Koharu “Miracle” Kusumi floated down from Mt. Fuji bathed in a glow of holy light and said, “Let there be idols,” and there were idols. The roots of this movement can be traced back to at least Anime Expo 2007, a.k.a The Long Beach Fiasco, which brought voice actress Aya Hirano to the United States. At the time, Hirano was still known mostly as “the voice of Haruhi Suzumiya” and was yet to become my future wife launch her gravure career where she would famously wear a bikini the wrong way round. Simply by being there, Hirano was already paving the first stones of a bridge between the world of “otaku” entertainment (animation, comics and games) and the world of idol entertainment, or celebrities in general. What was so pivotal about Hirano’s guest appearance is that she is one of those personalities who becomes famous for a non-looks-based skill (how many seiyuu can YOU identify by face?), but by virtue of also being hot, gets to appear in lots of babe magazines, TV shows, and photobooks anyway.

Kitty wants milk.

The wave continued to grow in 2008 with Anime Expo nabbing Shoko Nakagawa, who in a way is even more niche—her initial claim to fame was as a celebrity blogger with extreme otaku tendencies—but in another way is even more mass-market, because she was able to parlay her good looks and idiosyncratic personality into gravure photoshoots, TV appearances, and a recording career. Basically, you could have gone to see Shokotan at AX under the pretense of her being the singer of the Gurren Lagann theme song, as well as being a frequent cosplayer and eater of cats, OR you could just have gone because she’s hot and you remember fapping to one of her photo sets. In that sense, Shokotan laid down the final keystone of the bridge that Hirano had begun building, allowing the gap between the otaku world and the celeb world to be traversed by walking (aruiteru), and who should come strolling across but …

Wait for it …

Here comes Koharu floating down from the heights of Mt. Fuji …

AIKA. HAIR EXTENSIONS. OH GOD YES.

These girls.

You could have also seen it coming from the H!P/UFA perspective, where the push for international outreach began in 2007 with “Blah Blah Blah Sakura Mankai Ripoff Ballad Song MY ASIA,” followed by tour events in places like Korea and Taiwan, and inviting two pandas to join the group so everyone could make fun of their bad Japanese. But I think maybe the biggest catalyst for an overseas push may have been the great economic crash of September/October 2008, which hit Japan especially hard and made management realize that they could no longer rely on the support of salarymen alone. Because many of these salarymen were now unemployed. Thus you started seeing stuff pop up for legal download on non-Japanese sites, and Morning Musume got their own Myspace (WHICH IS SO 2005 but that’s a topic for another time), and basically H!P finally figured out how to use the Internet about a decade after their overseas fans did.

IN AMERICA

By the way, as far as Anime Expo goes: it only makes sense that, as a major institution of Japanese pop culture, Morning Musume would appear at the biggest Japanese pop culture event IN AMERICA. [Bandit Keith quote] This logical fact should at least ward off those dingbat “music experts” at certain “forums” who think MM should tour with Miley Cyrus or some retarded crap simply because “oh they both sing girly funky pop songs and I want them to be as famous as the big American stars so that my friends will stop making fun of my taste in music.” That line of thinking can go straight to hell.

I want nobody nobody but j00

Also riding the international idol wave is AKB48, and being the daughters of new media, they got their shit together at lot faster and as a result will be hitting Paris, New York and Cannes all in the space of one year. Then there’s Korea’s Wonder Girls, who are currently wrapping up a tour with the Jonas Brothers, and since I know bug-all about Korean culture I’m not really sure what to say about this other than that [INCOMING GROSS GENERALIZATION] Koreans seem to adapt to foreign cultures better than the Japanese do, because when your country has a history of GETTING INVADED ALL THE TIME, you learn to get along with others real fast.

Momo on a tricycle ftw!

The question that remains, then, is whether this wave of cute Asian girl singers washing up on American shores is a sustainable force of nature, or if they will be carried back out to sea just as quickly as they arrived. The music fans among AX and NYAF’s organizers may be all patting themselves on the back and throwing high fives like “YEAH WE FINALLY GOT MORNING MUSUME!” and “YEAH WE FINALLY GOT AKB48!”, but for the idol wave to persist, there must be continued support from year to year, bringing over a blend of headliners and second-tier acts (Buono!, for example, is practically an anime theme song group and therefore a no-brainer for almost any decently organized con *coughStockholmJapanExpoFAILcough*).

One fact that must be accepted about the idol wave is that, in the West, they will probably always be treated as niche/novelty/genre acts. One cannot reasonably expect them to reach the media saturation level of reality TV, superhero movies, that goddamn Coldplay song, Ashton Kutcher’s tweets, and why would you want to anyway. Speaking as an “American” (even though I was only naturalized as a citizen in 2008), I think one of the special things about East Asian idol pop is that it IS a niche, an acquired taste, that these are “our girls” and they’re not being hounded by the same creeps who want to snap scuzzy pictures of Lindsay Lohan.

Let me tell you MY wish.

So, while there will probably never be yearly Hello! Project concerts across America or a NYC48 branch theater, the doors have been opened at last for idol acts to perform in distant lands where black is not the dominant hair color, to maybe show up every few years or so, constantly evolving with each new (girls’) generation.* And then when we are old, and the music of the day makes no damn sense anymore, we will fondly look back on simpler times when a half-black half-white man was president and cellphones were still used mainly as personal minicomputers, and we’ll remember that amazing summer of 2009, the Summer of Idols, when that first great wave of all-singing all-dancing cute girls from across the ocean came crashing on the shore … and changed the world forever.

*GEE I wonder if that’s a hint.

Track Listing

1. Shiny GATE
2. To Be Free
3. Sekidou Komachi Doki
4. Shiny GATE -Instrumental-

1. Shiny GATE

Oh god…Shiny GATE is downright the worst A-side of the entire era already.  I mean alright it does have a pop/rock sound to it which was what made “Sorairo Days” a pretty big hit as it is already.  It’s just that Shoko to me does not sound at all good in this song.  It’s like she’s trying to be cute for the song, but it doesn’t seem to call for it, nor it doesn’t help she’s almost channeling her seiyuu.  Yeah this is the “Strawberry melody” of the era.

2. To Be Free

Why is that whenever I listen to this song, it makes me want to think this should’ve been on “snow tears”.  The arrangement is a lot more cuter, but Shoko’s vocals are a bit more mature sounding which is quite nice.  I don’t know why but this song is just giddy and I like it alot….why wasn’t this on “Magic Time”?

3. Sekidou Komachi Doki

I don’t know what to think of the 2nd B-side of the single.  I wanna say it’s a cute song as well, but there’s something about it that isn’t so cute about it and the futuristic sound of the song is quite cool.  I do dislike the ~doki, doki~ parts but otherwise it’s another solid B-side from Shokotan.

Shoko’s first single for the “Magic Time” era has a terrible A-side.  Shiny GATE should have been a B-side and let To Be Free be the A-side instead.  I really don’t when she acts cute for songs that sound like it should be more serious.  Sekidou Komachi Doki is the eponymous random track, but it’s still nice otherwise.

Aqua Timez will be releasing a best-of album on Oct. 14.  Titled “The BEST of Aqua Timez”, it’s likely to contain all their singles including Plumeria ~Hana Uta~ and an unreleased track.

Crystal Kay will also be releasing a best-of album on Sept. 2.  Titled “BEST of CRYSTAL KAY”, the will contain 36 tracks on 3 discs, featuring mostly singles will include the songs Girlfriend feat. BoA, Over and Over,and Step by Step.

In other news, Shoko Nakagawa will be releasing a new single on Sept. 30.  Though currently untitled, it will be used as a theme song for a family CG movie.

On all of this and more I’ll keep you updated.

Tracks:

1. Kokoro no Antenna

2. Senode Koi Shichae_●

3a. Garasu no Prism

3b. Moe yo Gizamimi Pichu! / Gizamimi Pichu Edition

4. Kokoro no Antenna -Haruomi Hosono Original Mix-

Kokoro no Antenna is Shoko Nakagawa’s 9th single and it was released on July 15th, 2009. It reached #8 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and has sold 16,652 copies. The title track was used as the ending theme for the movie Gekijouban Pocket Monsters Diamond and Pearl: Arceus Choukoku no Jikuu e.

It’s about time Shokotan did a happy song. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE her rock, but it’s nice to tone things down every once in a while, which is exactly what she did with Kokoro no Antenna, a beautiful, yet upbeat ballad. When it comes to pop, Nakagawa usually nails it (unless it’s uber-seiyuu sounding.) But this time, she does a nice pop/ballad song with light percussion and a… guitar solo!? The thing I like most about this song is the uplifting strings, during the chorus and other parts of the song. It really gives it that extra oomph the song needed. Nakagawa sings with affection and her voice is perfect with this song.

Senode Koi Shichae_● kicks things up a notch. Speaking of rock, this song has a more upbeat pop/rock sound, still keeping the strings, but adding bass, guitar, and more percussion. The chorus is probably my favourite part. Nakagawa’s vocals are perfect and the instrumental is quite catchy. This is probably one of her best B-sides in a while.

On the normal edition of the single, you get another B-side called Garasu no Prism. I wasn’t really feeling this track as I was the other two songs and overall I thought this weird synthy tune was boring.

On the Gizamimi Pichu Edition, Moe yo Gizamimi Pichu! replaces Garasu no Prism. At first I couldn’t STAND this song. This song is full of 8-bit synth and random outbursts from Nakagawa. Speaking of 8-bit, that’s pretty much all the song is. It doesn’t really have a structure so I can’t really tell where the chorus is… Moving on.

The Haruomi Hosono Original Mix of Kokoro no Antenna is… as you could tell, the original version. I was completely bored with this 8-bit original and it pretty much goes nowhere. I much prefer the newer version. On a side note, the instrumentation was made by, none other than Haruomi Hosono from the first ever electropop group Yellow Magic Orchestra. Interesting, huh?

Overall Grade:

Track Listing

1. Kokoro no Antenna
2. Senode Koi Shichae_●
3. Garasu no Prism (Regular Edition only)
4. Moe yo Gizamimi Pichu! (Pichu Edition only)
5. Kokoro no Antenna -Haruomi Hosono Original Mix-
6. Kokoro no Antenna -Haruomi Hosono Original Mix- (Instrumental) (Pichu Version only)

1. Kokoro no Antenna

After the nice and calm “Namida no Tane, Egao no Hana”, Shoko decides to release something that’s a bit more upbeat.  It does sadden me that the song isn’t really nothing too special considering it’s tie-in to the Pokemon series.  Shoko does sound pretty good, but the arrangement seems too plain and the chorus does drag a bit…I just think the only redeeming quality of the song was the PV, which is so strange….meh.

 2. Senode Koi Shichae_●

Our first B-side is of course is a bit more energetic sounding.  Now, it sounds more like something that would’ve been more of a ending theme to the Pokemon movie.  The bouncy pop/rock sound brought out Shoko better than in “Kokoro no Antenna”. still it’s a pretty fun sounding track.

3. Garasu no Prism

The next track only appears on the regular editions of the single.  It sounds a bit more like a mix of the previous two tracks with the pop/rock sound, but mixed with the cuteness that the first track had.  I’m not enjoying the fact that is sounds boring, but Shoko tries her best to sound in the mood, but I’m not feeling this song much.

4. Moe yo Gizamimi Pichu!

Only featured on the Pichu edition, it’s kind of a funny track.  Easily based on Pokemon, you’ll expect it to be something uber cheesy, but it’s actually the best track off the single since it’s got a pretty cool 8-bit sound to it.  I love Shoko’s energy here and her sporadic singing works so good.  There’s places that the harmonization is a bit strange, but the song is so funny.  “Pokemon Narikiri Sundae” anyone?

5. Kokoro no Antenna -Haruomi Hosono Original Mix-

If you don’t know who Haruomi Hosono is then you should be shot in the arm.  He’s 1/3 of the founding members of Yellow Magic Orchestra or I like to call (the first huge Electropop group).  Now he’s take on this song is a bit more different, having a more clicky synth instead of the various instruments that was in the original.  I actually prefer this to the original as it doesn’t feel as dragged on as normal and is a lot more cuter as well. 

Shoko’s 2nd of the era, Kokoro no Antenna is the “Strawberry melody”/”Shiny GATE” of the era.  What I mean is that the A-side sucked hard, while the other tracks on the single took over.  I do actually think the rearranged version was to make up for that though.  Garasu no Prism was also not that good of a song since that was dragging a bit for me.  Senode Koi Shichae_● & Moe yo Gizamimi Pichu! were the shiners of the single.  This is the kind of Shoko I really like, but at the same time, I’m missing the more serious Shoko from her last single.

Tras el lanzamiento de Namida no Tane, Egao no Hana se anunció la salida de un nuevo single para el 15 de julio, el nuevo single lleva por titulo  Kokoro no Antenna y será el tema del ending de la película Pokémon: Arceus, hacia la superación del Espacio-Tiempo, algo en común entre este single y el anterior es que estará disponible en tres versiones con difirente contenido: la versión CD Only tendrá 4 temas diferentes sin ninguna versión intrumental; la versión con carátula limitada incluirá 5 temas, de los cuales dos son diferentes a la versión normal; y la versión CD+DVD tendrá el mismo contenido que la versión CD Only, y el DVD tendrá un videoclip y su respectivo making of del tema central.

CD Tracklist (Regular Edition)
01.心のアンテナ (Kokoro no Antenna)
02.せーので恋しちゃえ (se node koishi cha e)
03.硝子のプリズム (garasu no purizumu)
04.心のアンテナ (Kokoro no Antenna) -Haruomi Hosono Original Mix-

CD Tracklist  (Limited Pressing)
01.心のアンテナ (Kokoro no Antenna)
02.せーので恋しちゃえ (se node koishi cha e)
03.もえよ ギザみみピチュー! (うた: ギザみみピチュー starring しょこたん)
04.心のアンテナ (Kokoro no Antenna)
05.心のアンテナ(Kokoro no Antenna) -Haruomi Hosono Original Mix- ~Instrumental~

DVD Tracklist
01.Kokoro no Antenna -Music Video-
02.Kokoro no Antenna -Making Of…

Shoko Nakagawa- Kokoro no Antenna (PV)

Pokémon: Arceus, hacia la superación del Espacio-Tiempo (Trailer)