#not exactly at taiki but to the audience

[banqanas]

Oh and also earlier during momoiro uta gessen before they went on stage, the MC asked if they have any “unfinished/unachieved work” from the past year and Taiki said, “I tried thinking about it, but I don’t think we have any. It was an eventful year for Fantastics we had our arena concert. Even for individual works, we had members appearing on dramas or tv shows and even anime seiyuu work. We’ve did our best.” (not word by word)

Taiki……good job….👍 sasuga fanta’s leader i guess you do have times when you act as leader appropriately wwww

#banantxt #fanta txt #thank you taiki for being the one to recognise sekai san work!!!!! #afterwards sekai bowed really deeply #not exactly at taiki but to the audience #as if saying yes i was the one mentioned to be given a chance to do seiyuu work #thank you very much for the opportunity #bc thats just how sekai san is in front of audience #he is the most shakaijin when in the presence of outsiders #<- vocabulary lacking even more than usual #but i also would like to think that he appreciates taiki saying that #hehehe sekatai crumbs kn the new year #<- lack of sleep delulu talking

[hana-bean]

Close to you (1/7)

Hi everyone! Happy SeiUsa Week 2021! Please enjoy this seven-chapter installment in celebration of the ultimate OTP!

~~~

Everyone walks on To meet just one person someday

---

“Boo! You suck!”

Seiya ducked to the side to avoid an oncoming empty beer bottle flying his way, shattering as it hit the stage floor. He scowled as he grabbed the microphone with the other hand still on his guitar neck.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Get off the stage!” Another bottle started flying, this time in between him and the second guitar player, Yaten.

The bar owner soon sprinted toward the musicians and on the stage, trying to avoid various other objects projecting through the air in the meantime.

“Guys, you got any other songs to play?”

Taiki, who was standing in the back at a keyboard, walked up to join the conversation. “What other songs? This is all we know.” He explained while kicking off a half-eaten chicken wing that landed on his shoe.

“You play the same set every night. They want something fresh.”

“Well, maybe you need to get more patrons instead of the same ones every night,” Yaten growled with a lime green twitchy eye. “It’s not our fault your regulars live here.”

“Listen,” the owner paused to grimace in figurative pain as he felt something wet hit his back. “You need to mix it up.”

“We can’t,” Seiya replied firmly. “We need to play these songs.”

“Then pack it up. The show’s over.”

Yaten released his guitar in order to gesture to drive his point across, letting it hang on his neck. “No! You need to let us play!”

“Not a chance, Napoleon. You’ll drive away my tenants!” The owner glared.

That was it—and not that it usually took very much anyway—Yaten was over the edge. He lifted the strap over his head and tossed his instrument to Taiki before tackling the owner to the stage floor with his standard flying squirrel technique.

“Yaten, what the fuck?!” Seiya removed his guitar and went to work trying to pry his bandmate from atop the owner, or at least he tried; Yaten had the grip strength of a coconut crab despite being the smallest of the three of them.

But that was all the patrons needed as a reason to get in on the action. They stormed the stage with their rage and beer bottles ready, even turning on one another and the instruments. Some who didn’t choose violence for a Tuesday night contacted authorities on their crystal cell phones as they made their exit; the other portion used them to record the melee from their tables.

Seiya soon felt the weight of three men come at him at all sides; his only instinct to protect his head before the four-person clump of testosterone toppled two feet down and off the stage. Immediately, he felt a pain shoot from his knee all the way up to his hip as something heavy and drunk landed on his leg. Seiya wriggled and scooted as much as possible to free himself, but since his body was the one that absorbed most of the impact, the attacking men had the advantage to quickly begin their beatdown.

He managed to curl up in the fetal position as feet and fists made contact with every part of his exposed body. But then, allowing himself to only feel like a failure for a few seconds, he made a quick decision and reached within his jacket for his headset.

“Fighter Star Power, Make Up!”

As the transformation alone knocked the three men on their backs, their world was forever rocked when they looked upon a leather-clad woman standing in place of the male musician once the music and sparkles had faded.

“He’s a guardian?!” One yelled, completely stupefied.

Sailor Star Fighter cocked an eyebrow as she smirked, her Star Yell ready in hand.

“Remind me again: what do you think of my songs?”

By then, three police officers had come through the entrance. Their hands floated above their holstered guns on their hips as they were visibly surprised and uneasy.

“Guardian! Put your weapon down!”

“It’s the cops! Run!” A voice shouted. The chaos simply transformed from scuffle to stampede as people began to book it for any exit they could find.

The authorities were soon knocked down from the rush, however one was able to take out her radio and plead into it, “Ten-seventy-five! We need guardians! Get us guardians!” until it was kicked out of her hand from an escaping patron.

Taiki and Yaten came up behind Star Fighter—donning a few scratches, cuts, and tousled hair—all the while still moving pretty well.

“Seiya, you dumbfuck, why’d you transform?” Yaten chastised.

“I’m the dumbfuck?” Fighter gave her crazy eyes. “They were going to kill me!” For a split second, she forgot about her leg and put weight on it while yelling back. However, the appendage was quick to remind her that something was wrong. She winced and seethed in a breath as she fell on Taiki for support.

“Let’s get out of here,” Taiki suggested calmly as he wrapped Fighter’s arm around his neck. Yaten followed suit on the other side.

They only had to contend with navigating through a few scattered stragglers before the three made their way toward the emergency exit by the stage. Taiki kicked the door open only to be met with two obstacles standing in their way, both clad in Milky Way guardian uniforms. One was in a dark blue and yellow color combination with short blonde hair, the other in dark blue and teal with medium-length teal hair.

“Not so fast.”

---

Seiya sighed as he dropped his head on the headrest in the backseat of the police car. The authorities were escorting him from a hospital where his wounds were attended to, and he was now alone. Or rather, separated from Taiki and Yaten. His only company was the two guardians from the bar—whom he was squished in between—and a uniformed officer at the wheel.

He cleared his throat to get attention from anyone. “What did you do with my friends?”

“They’re at a detention center.” The blonde guardian answered, void of emotion, keeping her focus out the window.

“A detention center? Why?”

“Because they’re here illegally. You all are. You should be there, too.”

Fuck, that’s not good. That’s not good at all… But it still didn’t explain… “So where are you taking me then?”

“The queen would like an audience with you.” The teal-headed one answered while busy on her crystal smartphone, having removed a glove for her screen to sense the natural heat of her thumb. A half-filled plastic grocery bag also sat on her lap.

“The queen?” Seiya tried to use his hands to emphasize his confusion, however, his handcuffs clanked in protest. “What does she want with me?”

“It doesn’t matter what she wants—she calls, you come.” The blonde turned her head to look at him with stern blue eyes.

He knew there was no use prying anymore. The blonde had already knocked him around a few times before getting to the hospital, so he knew he risked further physical punishment if he did so. Any other day he would find the pain worth it if it meant annoying her, but his body was already unbearably sore in places he didn’t realize he had.

Meeting with the queen also had him a bit concerned for his well-being. He figured it had something to do with being a guardian, but what exactly does she plan to do with him and that information? He had heard she was a kind and just ruler, albeit young, but from his years of intergalactic travel before ending up in Crystal Tokyo, it could very well be propaganda.

He guessed he was about to find out.

Once the car made it to the bridge that led to the palace, one needed two hands to count all the checkpoints. The palace seemed to be built specifically to reflect the moonlight, producing a daytime-like glow once they were on royal grounds. However, the car parked in front of an inconspicuous building behind a row of trees a couple of minutes shy of the actual palace, and then the blonde dragged Seiya out of the vehicle by his handcuff chains, causing his shiny black cane to drop on the ground. Diagnosed with a temporary disability from his hurt leg, the doctors issued the walking aid to help with his mobility for the next couple of weeks, but the blonde didn't care.

“Haruka, be gentle.” The teal-headed guardian chided.

“Why?”

“You know how handcuffs can hurt if you’re too rough.”

“And you will know, too… once we’re done tonight.”

Seiya raised an eyebrow, wondering if they knew their whispering wasn’t really whispering; he even caught the driver looking back with a nosy eye. Feeling a sense of dread of being transported to a second location, he limped along slowly, following the driver inside the building while trailed by the guardians.

He was led to a room that was comfortably simple and aesthetically feminine—its motif included ribbons, swirls, and florals in a combination of white and pink colors. And a small white round table sat in the middle of the space with four plush boudoir chairs surrounding it. Seiya even picked up on the scent of stargazer lilies before he noticed them sitting on a side table by the door.

But apparently, there was no time to take in his surroundings as he felt a shove on his back, forcing him to keep his balance with his bad leg. He turned around to glare at the blonde guardian.

“Hurry up!” She pointed inside the room with irritation emanating from her whole body. “The queen is on her way!”

Seiya grumbled and hobbled over to take his place in a chair, releasing a tired sigh. All he wanted was to get this over with and back to his mission. He hated how his only hope rested within the hands of the queen; it made him feel helpless and idle.

It wasn’t much later when he heard the front door of the building open, followed by both guardians bowing on the other side of the threshold at an unseen presence. Assuming the queen herself had arrived, Seiya pulled himself to his feet with the aid of his cane and the table.

"Uranus! Neptune!"

“Neo-Queen Serenity.”

---

---

If you would like to follow this story, I will be updating the rest of the chapters under the tag: hana-bean close to you and other iterations of the spacing. I love you all!

#seiusaweek2021 #hana-bean close to you #hana bean close to you #hanabean close to you #hanabeanclosetoyou #seiya x usagi fanfiction #seiya usagi fanfiction #seiya kou fanfiction #seiya x usagi #seiya kou

[thosekidswhohuntmonsters]

Playing With Fire

Summary: Sure Tom is twice the readers age, but she's tired of being treated as some naive little thing. When she finally confronts Tom she soon finds out that she's playing with fire.

Word Count: 2780

Rating: v spicy, deff 18+

Authors note: almost finished reposting all my tom stories! woohoo! 

♡if you enjoy this fic you’re welcome to leave a reblog/like/comment! feedback is not only welcomed but encouraged!♡

The interviewer was nearly beaming, “So in the last trailer, there was quite the scene between you and Tom”. Instantly you smiled, knowing exactly what scene she was referencing. Without answering the question you teased, “That was in there for like a split second, how did you all pick up on it?”.

Anthony intervened, “Because it was you and Hiddleston getting it on...that’s all the world could ask for!”. The crowd ate up Anthony’s response, cheering wildly for him. Finally Tom spoke up, “I didn’t know our kiss had the ability to save an entire planet (y/n)”.

Turning to him you nodded your head, “I don’t know, it was a pretty good kiss”. While Tom tried to hide a blush, all the fans went wild again. Unable to resist you added, “I mean..am I wrong here or?”.

That caused you and all of your castmates to erupt with laughter. Evans shimmied a little bit, “Ohh (y/n) I think his inability to answer the question means it was”. You didn’t know who was more excited, the audience or the interviewer.

Quickly she added, “ I think the chemistry between your characters is quite prevolevent, we see sort of a build up in the last film and now it seems to be exploding”. Hoping you weren’t alone with the millions of dirty jokes filling your mind you turned to Sebastian, and the look on his face made you realize you weren’t the only one.

Anthony was more blunt, “Y’all are getting very creative with phrasing nowadays…”. The interviewer smiled, and she was nearly blushing herself. You laughed a little, “I was afraid I’d been the only one picking up on the double meanings here”.

Reeling you all back in as if you were children Tom finally spoke up. His voice was soft, “No other character has had an immediate effect on Loki in the way (y/n)’s character has. I think Taiki did a wonderful job in the last film not only introducing her, but almost showing her through Loki’s eyes at some points”.

He finished his sentence with a warm smile as he held your gaze. You smiled too, “Working with Taiki was amazing, I think he’s the reason why my character was able to flourish in the way she did. The response I’ve gotten from fans is just incredible”.

Evans made a face, “That was sweet, but neither of you answered the question. Let’s be real, Loki wants to smash”. Once again the entire room, the stage included, was filled with laughter.

Chris patted Tom’s shoulder, “I mean sorry bro but I’m right aren’t I?”. As if on cue the entire audience shouted back “yes” to Chris, only encouraging him. An eager hush fell over the room as everyone waited to see how you and Tom would respond.

Tom adjusted his glasses, “I mean..that’s one way to put it Chris. I’d much prefer to say that the desire from Loki’s side  is definitely there, but he’s trying to keep it hidden. It’s another internal battle Loki has with himself; to indulge in his feelings or remain closed off”.

Chris rolled his eyes at Tom’s nearly poetic response, but soon found himself smiling. All eyes turned to you, waiting to see your take on things. You saw hundreds of phones in the audience, all recording your next words.

“While I feel that my character is complex, and still developing on screen, I think she has more freedom. While she shares having a rough past with Loki, she uses hers as motivation to not waste any of her present. Chris put it beautifully, she wants to smash”.

It was so entertaining to see everyone's faces during your heartfelt answer, and the watch their reactions change completely. Tom was shaking his head but there was a clear smirk across his face.

The panel went on and you and your castmates continued to enjoy yourselves. With the movie coming out in a couple days, everyone was less stressed about having to keep secrets. You loved teasing Tom Holland about his spoiling, but you could relate to his stress.

After the panel had finally finished you were all moved to a waiting room. Instantly Evans asked, “So what are we all doing later?”. Everyone began throwing out different plans, naming certain bars and clubs, but Tom was silent.

Quietly you asked, “Are you seriously not going out with the group?”. He laughed softly before turning his head towards you. He whispered back, “Love I hate to disappoint but-”. Maybe it was because of his last breakup, but he’d been in a funk.

You didn’t even let him continue, “Fine if you’re not going out then I’m at least not letting you stay in alone”. Before he could protest Chris repeated over the final plans for tonight, the group reaching their consensus.

You smiled, “I’d love to see what drunk shenanigans you all get into, especially you Chris, but I think I’m tapping out tonight. Rain Check on making horrible decisions we’ll all regret in the morning?”.

Chris raised one of his eyebrows as he tried to figure out why you’d say no, sure you weren’t the biggest drinker but you’d always been down to come along. After finally putting things together he grinned, “Sure thing kid, I have a feeling you’re gonna enjoy yourself anyways”.

While the group continued to talk about what tonight would entail, you continued to hold Chris’s gaze. When he knew no one else was looking he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and mouthed, “finally”.

Knowing exactly what he’d meant you rolled your eyes overdramatically mouthing back, “Fuck off”. Chris laughed it off, knowing full well that you were just joking. He was one of your closest friends, and he knew nearly everything about you.

Mundane things like your favorite color and time of the year, but more interesting things like your turn offs’ and ons’, and especially the fact that you had a major crush on Tom Hiddleston.

Preparing for tonight everyone went their separate ways, different security guards escorting everyone to their rooms and such. As the room became empty Tom turned to you, “Love are you sure you don’t want to go out with the rest of the group?”.

You smiled, “One can always get drunk, but spending a night discovering what the Tom Hiddleston thinks is fun is a once in a lifetime opportunity”. Once again he tried to hold back a smirk, but couldn’t.

“Hate to disappoint but my night is going to begin in my hotel room”. You didn’t back down, infact Tom had no idea how that was all you’d ever wanted to hear. Boldly you teased, “Normally that's where a night ends”.

It felt good to see him laugh, especially if it was from something you’d said. As the guards let you both to the elevators he softly said, “Darling you are trouble”. You watched him bite his lip, and you thought you were going to explode right then and there.

Within a minute or two you were in his room, a huge fucking bundle of nerves but trying to mask it. As he closed the door you asked, “So let me guess, we start the night off with some tea?”.

He chuckled softly, “I was thinking wine”. You gasped while placing a hand over your heart, causing him to laugh once again from your teasing. Tom sat down on the bed and began calling room service.

While you waited you continued to look around the room, well really it was more of like a mini apartment. Something you’d never get used to was the rooms marvel put you all up in, it was much more luxurious than needed.

Tom’s drink choice only made your nerves only worse. He’d been acting as if this was going to be some boring night, but here you were dressed to the nines in his hotel room about to order a bottle of wine.

After you heard him hang up the phone you turned back around to face him. With fake casualness you asked, “What's next on the agenda?”. You were starting to think you had no idea where this night was going to go.

Tom began taking off his tie, “First I’m getting out of this bloody suit”. For a moment you blinked, pretty sure you were just dreaming at this point. After realizing you were staring you nodded your head.

“Oh you don’t know the half of it hun”. With that you stepped out of your heels and began taking off your jewelry. By now his button up was hanging loosely from his body, “Well you look ravishing”.

You were leaning against one of the bureaus, while he still sat down on the bed. You felt lighter now with most of your outfit off, “I’m on to you Tom, and your whole gentleman act”. He raised his eyebrows at you, still playing dumb.

“Anything leaving that pretty mouth of yours is trouble, but the word ravishing? Makes a girl feel all kinds of things”.

Slowly Tom’s tongue ran over his lips, before he bit his bottom lip altogether. You heard a knock on the door but before you answered it you repeated, “Trouble”. Tom never felt more connected to Loki than in this exact moment.

He was having his own internal struggle right now; to finally let you know how he feels, or to fight back the most intense feelings of desire he’s ever experienced. Throughout this entire night he’d slowly been losing; inviting you up to his room, ordering wine for you both, eyeing you like you were a meal, but he couldn’t help himself.

It didn’t help either that you’d been teasing him nonstop, it was like you were begging him to make a move. Leaning forward while taking off your shoes giving him a perfect look at your cleavage, teasing him about where a good night ends, it was all getting to him.

After tipping the hotel staff you entered back into the room, “Alright Hiddleston, let’s get down to it”. You’d pulled him out of his thoughts, causing him to finally look back up at you. Walking towards him you placed down the two glasses on the nightstand, still holding the bottle in your hands.

Tom was apprehensive, “And what exactly is it?”. You wiggled your eyebrows making him smile. After you both laughed you got serious, “This funk you’ve been in. Is it because your last rela-”.

He shook his head, his ex was the last thing he’d been thinking about. She’s left his mind months ago, and hadn’t entered his thoughts since. You on the other hand had nearly consumed him.

The only thing that stopped him was that he was nearly twice your age, you were only twenty-three. You were young, playful, a complete tease, but the worst part was that your qualities weren’t just skin deep.

You were also everything he’d ever wanted emotionally; always so concerned about your friends well being, empathetic, incredibly funny, so wonderful to your fans, and somehow much wiser than most people his age.

Getting up from the bed you began to pour yourself a glass, “Look, you can get tipsy and tell me what’s wrong or you can tell me when you’re sober and skip all the awkwardness of the morning after”. He shook his head, if you wanted honesty he’d give it to you.

“You sure you want the truth (y/n)?”. You nearly spit out your wine, was he being serious? Sarcastically you asked, “What can I not handle the truth?”. Your reaction caused Tom to shake his head.

“Darling, I think you’re being a little naive. You still have some-”. You couldn’t believe what you were hearing, he was playing the age card. Sure you were younger, but hey you were older than Tom Holland!

You shook your head, “Oh so I’m too young and innocent now? What could you possibly have to say that my fragile little ears can’t handle?”. You could feel the moment escalating, especially with the look in his eyes.

His voice was sultry, “Oh love you’d be surprised”. You wanted to doubt him but the current look on his face sent shivers down your spine. Trying to regain your confidence you said, “Then surprise me”.

Tom got off of the bed completely, and started walking around the room. His tie had been loosely hanging around his neck but now he’d gripped it in his hands. It was like a prop, “For starters, you’re too seductive for your own good”.

God how did he make sex sound like shakespeare? Your eyes widened, “Tom what does that even mean?”. Sighing he ran his hands through his hair, he was trying to find the words. He looked to you again, “Do you have any idea of your affect on me? How flustered you make me in front of thousands?”.

As he continued he groaned, “God it just makes me want too-”. He stopped himself mid-sentence, knowing that he was going to shift the entire mood if he continued. By now he was standing in front of you, only inches away physically by a sea away mentally.

You looked up at him, “Makes you want to want? What does it make you want to do to me?”. He’d told you that you were playing with fire but you were calling his bluff. His voice was deeper now, “Little girls shouldn't play with fire”.

That sentence went right to your core. The thing was that Tom looked like he was enjoying himself while saying it, it was the most blissful he’d been in months. You licked your lips, “Are you afraid you’re going to take advantage of me somehow? I’m twenty-three years old Tom”.

As you continued you let one of your hands trail up your body, “You treat me like I’m some innocent fragile little girl, but I’m not as vanilla as you think”. Your response only seemed to amuse him more.

“Have you ever considered that I like that you’re older than me? I don’t want some little boy, I want a man. I want someone to take control, and satisfy my needs”.

His breathing was deeper now, any control he’d been clinging on to had now vanished. Leaning forward he placed his hands on either side of you, almost trapping your body. His voice was much deeper now, “Why don’t you really tell me what you want me to do”.

You leaned forward, “What? That I want you to fuck me like a real man? Pin me down and take me? I don’t know Tom, I’m so fragile and innocent I might break”. Your smirk was the largest it had been all night.

He let his hand trail softly down your cheek before gripping your chin tightly. Tom used his grip to tilt your head up and hold it firmly in place, “You little minx”. You licked your lips, you desire showing now more than ever.

“Look at you now, licking your lips inches from my throbbing cock. Is that what you want love, my cock wrapped around those pretty lips?”.

You nodded your head, convinced that if you tried to speak you’d just moan. Shaking his head he groaned again, he couldn’t believe how beautiful you looked. He’d never had someone look up at him so intoxicated before, and he imagined he’d been looking the same way at you.

Tom was letting himself go, finally indulging in ways he’d wanted too ever since your first scene together. He clicked his tongue, “As much as I’d love to see that, I think some payback is in order”.

To your surprise Tom got down on his knees before you, his face now level with yours. Slowly his hands ran up your thighs and pushed back your skirt, “Well darling, let’s hope you’re not this quiete for much longer”.

As you watched the smirk form upon his lips you knew his whole gentlemen act had finally been through completely out the door. You started to pull your dress off completely, “Be careful what you wish for babe”.

Using his grip on your thighs he pulled you closer to his mouth. His tongue darted out of his mouth and swept across his bottom lip, “And I’m trouble?”. Together you laughed for a moment, thankful for how effortless this all felt.

Tom was amazed how you could so easily flow from making him smile and laugh to wanting to rip your clothes off and pin you against the nearest wall. He decided that he didn’t want to waste anymore time thinking, and finally start doing.

♡ thank you for taking the time to read this, you’re a babe♡

Forever tags: aka some amazing people: @moonlessnight14 @sexyvixen7 @angieptt​ @painkiller80 @becca-dolan @team-heichou @thatpeachybandgirl​ @allthesesonsobitches @buckybarneshairpullingkink @couldabeenamermaid​ @taeeemin@littleredstarfish @nali67​ @only4wakingup​ @mcenziehughes​

*if there is a line through your name that means that for some reason it won’t allow me to tag you*

*forever tags are always open*

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston smut #tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddleston fic

[aion-rsa]

What Makes Eden Netflix’s First “Japanese Original Anime”?

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Earlier this week, Netflix re-released the promising trailer for Eden, a science fiction anime series coming to the streamer in May 2021. The four-episode, Japanese-language series is set thousands of years in the future in a robot city known as “Eden 3.” When two farming robots accidentally awaken a human baby girl from stasis during a routine assignment, they begin to question everything they thought they knew about the myth of humanity and decide to raise the child secretly on their own.

Great premise, right? Well, the production has some great creative talent to drive it too. Eden comes from director Yasuhiro Irie, who also did Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and boasts Toshihiro Kawamoto, best known as character designer and animation director for Cowboy Bebop, as a concept designer. Hopefully, Eden is good; regardless, it is a notable series in the history of Netflix, as Eden is being billed as “the first Netflix Japanese Original Anime.”

What does that mean exactly? If you’re at all familiar with Netflix, then you know the phrase “Netflix Original” can mean a lot of different things. Broadly, it means a TV show or film that is exclusive to Netflix (in the consumer’s specific market) and has not been made available elsewhere previously (in that market). More specifically, for TV series, it can refer to: 1) a show commissioned and produced by Netflix (e.g. Stranger Things), 2) a show for which Netflix has licensed exclusive international streaming rights (e.g. The Fall), 3) a show Netflix has co-produced with a partner from another country (e.g. Dracula, commissioned alongside BBC), or 4) a show picked up by Netflix for further seasons after being canceled by another network (e.g. You). From the production standpoint, a show can be a “Netflix Original” without Netflix actually having had a creative or financial hand in making it, such as with The Fall. Or, Netflix can have been involved in the production process since day one, such as with Stranger Things.

So where does Eden fall in this system of categorization? It’s a #1—or, as Japanese production company Qubic Pictures, who makes the series, puts it: Eden is Netflix’s “first wholly owned anime original title.” The series is based on a pitch from Qubic, but it was commissioned by Netflix and the streamer has a voice in the production process. Per the Qubic site: “Working closely with the creative team at Netflix,  Qubic managed all aspects of the production and assembled an international group of anime industry all-stars to help contribute to the project.” The fact that this series is being created in Japan by (mostly) Japanese creators in the Japanese language makes it “Japanese,” and the fact that it is commissioned and owned by Netflix for distribution on Netflix makes it a “Netflix Original.”

(Note: I’m unclear why Dragon’s Dogma, which was a “production line partnership” with Japanese production company Sublimation, is not considered Netflix’s first “Japanese Original Anime”—maybe because it was bad?)

Netflix expanded into Japan as a streaming service in 2015, but its expansion into Japan as a production partner has been more recent. While Eden is Netflix’s first “Japanese Original Anime,” the company is already in the process of making more. Just last week, Netflix announced partnerships with three production houses in Japan (and one in Korea), bringing its number of total content deals in those two countries to nine. Each deal is a non-exclusive “production line partnership” with the larger aim for Netflix “to create the best content for the global anime community.” As part of the partnership, Netflix will “provide support in every stage of production to create the best content for the global anime community.”

“In just four years, we’ve built a dedicated team based in Tokyo that serves to entertain the global anime community through new and aspirational storytelling,” said Taiki Sakurai, who serves as Anime Chief Producer for Netflix, in a press release. “With these additional partnerships with industry trailblazers who do amazing work, often marrying the latest technologies and traditional hand-drawn animation, we’re excited to bring fans a greater variety of even more amazing stories.”

Currently (via ABC News), Netflix only has 5 million Japanese subscribers, a fraction of its total 193 million global subscriber base. Netflix needs to grow its subscriber base, but with 73% of American households estimated to have Netflix, that growth is probably going to have to come in international markets. While international markets will and do watch English-language, American-made television, audiences tend to prefer watching television in their native language about the country they live in. Because of this, Netflix’s role as a producer and co-producer of international TV—animated and live-action, scripted and unscripted—will no doubt only grow in the coming years.

“In just four short years since launching our creative team in Tokyo, Netflix has expanded the reach and overall audience of anime – a category conventionally seen as niche,” said Sakurai, during last week’s Netflix Anime Festival 2020 livestream out of Japan (via Deadline). “Given the success of shows such as Seven Deadly Sins and Baki, we are excited now more than ever to challenge ourselves to expand our aspirational anime programming for fans around the world.”

Eden may be Netflix’s first “Japanese Original Anime,” but it surely won’t be its last.

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from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3e21jKt

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[ai-da-ice]

[DanceFact] Hayate Spotlight

Dance and vocal group Da-iCE’s Hayate Wada. While being the youngest of the members, his dance history has already reached 20 years, and he has a strong career and skill level. What is the root of his dancing, which is said to be "a dance like a song"? We unveiled the real face of this up-and-coming dancer who is tearing up the charts.

- First of all, let's look back a little at your story, Hayate-kun. When did you first start dancing?

Perhaps I was about 3 or 4 years old. The chance arose because my neighborhood friends wanted to learn dance. Since our parents were friends, I was supposed to go as well. So, when I tried it, I thought it was a lot of fun. When I was in elementary school, I’d usually go to a dance lesson when school was over, every day. So I was dancing a lot, since I went daily except Sunday.  - What about it was so fun? I don’t know what exactly I enjoyed about it. (Laughs) I'm not good at things that tire me out, and never have been. It started with basketball when I was a little kid, and because I had to run around the gym for 30 laps, I quit quickly. There was a time when I could not dance for a month because I cracked my little toe when I was five. During my break, my face filled out with baby fat so quickly! Originally, I have the kind of personality that hates muscle training and doing things to build my body, but I have continued on with dancing all this time because somehow I don’t find it painful at all. And it was fun. - Did you transition into different kinds of dance?

First I worked on hip-hop and started learning break dancing when I was as young as four. From there, I entered junior high school and started jazz, house and pop. The best for me was break dancing. It’s so cool, isn’t it? It always gets audiences cheering like crazy. At the time I started learning, I worked on my handstands every day... I think I stopped growing taller because of that (laughs) - At the age of 12, you passed the avex audition 2006 and was a student at the academy. Who was your dancing hero at that age? Since I entered avex, I was taught by NAOTO-san of J Soul Brothers, so NAOTO-san was someone I looked at in the sense of a hero. I thought it would be so cool to be like him. Also, I remember seeing the image of Chris Brown on my iPod while riding the Ginza line and wanting to dance like that (laughs).  

- At that time you were traveling from Gunma right? Since I came to Tokyo to live at the age of 20, I had been traveling from my hometown until that time. When I was performing a live with Da-iCE, I planned to take a train to Shibuya at the end of school. But, because of a rain delay on the train, as soon as we arrived at the station, I had to run with all my might to VUENOS [the venue]. I had a quick change of clothes, rushed to the side of the stage, and it felt like I was going to collapse. When I caught my breath and got into standing position, I thought I was going to throw up (laughs).  

- It's a nostalgic period.  I had been focused only dancing all the time, and my parents told me on the day of my major debut, "We were worried that you would never know how to do anything else". To tell the truth, unless I was able to debut with avex before graduating from high school, my parents wanted me to give up dancing and go to college. I was told I was going to be in Da-iCE before the deadline came, so it gave me a strange feeling that the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. - For Hayate-kun, what is dance? It’s me, if you take dance from me, you won’t have anything left. As long as I can, I want to keep dancing forever - Nicely said. It was, if I can say so myself (laughs) - Could you give a me message to teenage dancers? I hope you never learn to hate dance or forget the feelings you enjoy about it, because if you strive only for perfection, it will be very boring. I am always having fun while I’m performing, and I think it would be the worst if that feeling was gone. So when you are dancing, please enjoy it better than anyone else.

- Da -iCE has a new song, "Kimi Iro" that will be released on the 30th of August. We’ve listened to it, and felt the melody was totally different from the summer songs of Da-iCE so far. Who was in charge of choreography? 

S ** t kingz' s oguri-san and NOPPO-san. When you listen to the warm and longing feeling of this song, those are the names that come to mind, right? - Da - iCE works often with s ** t kingz on their songs, correct? When thinking of our singles, they were involved with every one but “Koigokoro”. S**t kingz are awesome when it comes to composition. They have ideas that can’t be thought of by ordinary people. As a dancer, I definitely want people to be aware of the brilliance of their composition. Their choreography is really special to us. When you look at it, you’ll definitely see Da-iCE’s color in it. - What do you think of as “Da-iCE’s choreography”? Well, I guess it's our way of expressing the lyrics in our dance, because rather than simply dancing, we want to express each line of the song perfectly. That’s Da-iCE’s style - How do you interpret lyrics? Rather than interpreting the lyrics, I focus more on the images that come to my mind when listening to the song. In terms of "Kimi Iro", I thought of the heart pangs of a painful love (Laughs).  - In that sense, your dance part is also influenced by the singing of Sota-kun and Yudai-kun?

Very much so. Those two also put their thoughts into the song, and we performers deliver those thoughts in our movements. It's not Da-iCE without the voices of Sota-kun and Yudai-kun. - Do you also communicate with Toru-kun and Taiki-kun while dancing? Although we share the standard arrangement of the song, we basically want to deliver our individual feelings as well, so while we watch and match each other closely, each of us absolutely shows a different style. Even if we’re expressing the same emotion, like pain, someone might dance while showing a tearful face, someone else might show an attempted smile through the pain, and I think there’s pleasure in comparing such differences and enjoying them.  - What is the most important thing in expression? It’s a huge part of meaning, but I in fact was someone who thought expression wasn’t very important up until we assembled Da-iCE. After starting my activities with the group, my way of thinking changed drastically.When we go live, it’s something that’s hugely visible to the audience, and I treat it very seriously. - What changed your mind? I’m not sure when exactly it happened, but one big thing may have been that the stages where we perform got bigger and bigger and there are plenty of visitors who are sitting on the second floor. I realized then that I had to show my emotions enough that even people in the distance could feel them. - You’ve been dancing in front of audiences since your indies era, and it seems you’ve become more mature! It's frustrating to think about me in the past (laughs). It was fun to dance, and I was only focused on having fun like a little idiot, not being concerned about the future or worrying about anything (laughs).

#da-ice #hayate #hayate wada #interview #translation

[furederiko]

"I won't let you... suffer the pain alone!" Kyuranger's 28th episode, conveys the tale of broken bond, and lost friendship...

- Let's get this right off the bat: POOR Balance!!! T_T... He wasn't around when Naga first succumbed into the darkness, so imagine his utter shock upon witnessing how his partner-in-crime (we'll get to this later) has become an evil, ruthless, brutal, and plain messed up person. Dark-Naga is completely different from his regular self, and this is the first time we get to see Balance gets deeply depressed. Even more so than that stolen-Birthday story... - Sure, the episode starts in a carefree and casual way. We see Balance utilizing the #43 Camelopardalis Kyu Globe to become a 'mechanical giraffe' and scout the area, while Dark-Naga is having fun with his newly found emotions through a practice fight with the Indavers (again, the actor is definitely having a blast). I also personally enjoy seeing Akyanba and Kukulga get along with one another, mirroring the bond between Ikagen and Madako nicely. But everything turns sour just 4 minutes in, and the cheerful mood has completely dissolves into a somber and melancholic tome. - Balance clearly arrives on scene with a belief that he could easily persuade Naga to the good side. That's how they've always been, right? But nope. If this is another show, the whole 'turning into evil' trope would be done and over with in just two episodes. This is Kyuranger we're talking about, and that's NOT how the show works. After declaring that the BN Thieves has now been disbanded, Dark-Naga doesn't pull any punches on his (former?) friends. He shoots Balance on the spot, intentionally injures his left thigh, and then tortures him with sheer glee. Balance refuses to react, resulting in an abusive scene that... well, rather disturbing to watch. I wonder how TV Asahi even allows this on a morning show? - It's a neatly choreograph, but devastatingly desperate fight scene. Once again, Dark-Naga is soooo close on killing the other Kyurangers with his 'Dark Galaxy' attack. This time around, a mysterious woman steps in to save the day. And it's a... female Naga! Hold on, I mean, a Naga-esque female individual from the Ophiucus system. She introduces herself as Echidna (obviously portrayed by Taiki Yamazaki, voiced by Ayumi Tsunematsu), and reveals more details about the same-faced inhabitants of her system. Trivia: In Greek mythology (nope, not the ant-eater one, nor... Sonic the Hedghehog's rival) Echidna is a half-woman half-snake 'She-Viper'. She's the mother of many mythical monsters such as Orthrus (that gave birth to Sphinx and Nemean Lion), Cerberus, Hydra, and possibly Chimaera. There's a 'mother angle' in her story. So can we assume this is just pure coincidence? Or is she actually Naga's mother? Hmmm... - Echidna's appearance is... well, a bit awkward to watch. Not because of the female voice coming out of Naga's lips, but mainly because it looks a bit out of sync. This is a common occurence in Tokusatsu, but I wonder why they don't just alter his actual voice with a sound editor? Also, design-wise, I think the production team made a minor miscalculation. IMO, they should've enclothed a 'female Naga' with a high-neck dress that fully covers the neck area. At least, give him a choker or something. The actor is what many generally calls 'pretty boy', so he CAN look and showcase Echidna's feminity just right. Yet it's also clear his adam's apple is still immediately noticeable in this dress style, and that would likely attract questions from audience. Especially observant nitpickers like yours truly LOL. With that said, her inclusion is still a much appreciated decision. It gives a good excuse to keep Naga's actor among the non-suit ones, without the need to hire a new artist. And similar to Dark-Naga's messed-up sassy gestures (that is always a delight to see), he's able to make us believe that Echidna's an entirely different character. - Echidna's exposition, leads to a deeper backstory for both Balance and Naga. And that's good. We FINALLY get to see how Balance met Naga for the first time! True to his trickster reputation, not only Balance ran into Naga when he was stealing a treasure from his planet, he also made use of Naga's pure desire for emotions to get away. On a whim! Yep, turns out things didn't actually start out in 'real' good terms for them. Back then, Balance was merely using Naga, turning him into a partner for his own selfish benefit. Not unlike Akyanba, huh? Nevertheless, it's a fated meeting that managed to change him for the better. Balance now actually cares for him and others in general! That's why Dark-Naga's berserking frenzy isn't just hurting Balance physically, but also scars him emotionally (if not all of us in general, of course). Balance is going to do anything to bring his BFF back, even if it forces him to engage in an intense heartbreaking duel with him. We've seen it teased in the preview, right? - I was initially pretty disappointed when Akyanba revealed that the key to bring Dark-Naga back to his senses, is to hurt him so badly. I admit, it IS a common thing for a Tokusatsu antagonist to foolishly state their Achilles heel. Even Kyuranger have done it before with a lesser MotW. I guess, I kind of expected more from this cunning villainess. Turns out, more is certainly what I'm getting. Televi's scans have already spoiled about this 'solution' before, along with the Gold-Silver fight, and Echidna's arrival. But what a pleasant surprise when those report (probably... intentionally?) left out the powerful twists that come as part of the actual package. - Contrary to popular assumption, Echidna isn't here to help Naga. She is sent to... eliminate him. Apparently, obtaining emotions is considered a massive threat in the law of Ophiucus system. OUCH!!! Echidna also blames Balance for 'swaying' him out of his planet. This is what I meant earlier by 'turning him as partner-in-crime'. Second, the Gold-Silver fight? Intense, but heartbreaking. I expected a Mexican Standoff-esque battle, but nope... Libra Gold doesn't want his BFF to suffer alone. So when he launches that rain of arrows using the #35 Sagittarius Kyu Globe, he's taking the fall WITH HIM. Aaaaawwww, the chills!!! But the episode saves the biggest twist of all. Hurting Naga badly to save him? LIES. That was nothing but lies. It's all Akyanba's trick to pit the Kyurangers against each other. She's merely toying with her enemy, trying to make them hurt one another. So disappointment is gone, because Akyanba IS a dangerous antagonist INDEED. - Worse thing is... according to her, Dark-Naga is beyond help. There's NO way he can be cleansed from darkness once he gains back his emotions. That means...? Aaaaaw!!!! T_T. I can already hear those devastated outcries reverberating throughout the Naga fanbase. Not to mention, Naga have always wanted emotions to make Balance happy! Putting the burden and guild on the Golden robot even more. If I didn't know any better, it seems the only ways to save Naga now are: defeat Akyanba to remove her curse/spells that unlocked Naga's emotions, and seal back the emotions he's been longing to have all these time. Those are NOT easy feats! Things aren't looking good in the present time. Fun fact: Can't believe it took me this long to realize one thing. Naga Ray's name is clearly a pun for either the Japanese word 'Nagare' which means 'to flow/washed away', explaining why he's easily persuaded; and also 'Nagareboshi' which means 'Shooting Star'. And we know how a meteor is called a shooting star, right? When it FALLS down on Earth. Suffice to say, Naga's fall to darkness has been written on his name. This character was already doomed from the get-go. And that rain of arrows is another really good metaphor to this too... - What's happening in the past doesn't fare better! 'Time Travel' team exits the time hole (healing Commander's Xiao's back in the process), and goes directly to witness Tsurugi's final fight against Don Armage. And it plays out exactly like Tsurugi's story, confirming several things: One, Tsurugi has been telling an honest truth all these time. As in, he's not dreaming or seeing illusions or alternate reality like some fans have theorized. Two, Kuervo sacrifices himself to protect Tsurugi from Don Armage's blow. So yeah, I think he's genuinely really dead, as we can only see Orion (who now has a face, more on this later) carrying Tsurugi to safety afterwards. Three, Don Armage is defeated... for REAL. Phoenix Soldier strikes him down (here's hoping we get to see that cool flaming winged attack again soon), blowing up his planet along the way. So HOW is Don Armage still alive till the present time? That side of truth is still shrouded in mystery. As if that's not enough, all of a sudden the ORION is under mysterious heavy attacks! Forcing Raptor to quickly warp off towards Earth. With Don Armage gone, WHO is attacking them then? - Before you dismiss that this time travel side is removed or unrelated, do remember one thing. Kyuranger had always run several plots in parallel, but they generally still share the same theme (examples: Stinger's route of vengeance crosses path with Champ, and the brotherhood parallel between Scorpio and Kotarou). Considering the current theme is about heroes/good person turning to the dark side, could it be foreshadowing the true identity of the new Don Armage? If we observe how Naga is Balance's best friend, we can see there's a parallel running in the past: Orion or Kuervo are Tsurugi's closest comrades too! Who do you want to bet as the real Don Armage, then? - Anyway, we're back in the present time. Akyanba walks away with a severely wounded Dark-Naga, leaving the fight to the giant Indavers. Since Ursa Minor SkyBlue has to tend for Balance, Leo Red uses Gemini Kyu Globe to duplicate Lupus Blue and Chamaelleon Green, so they can form a three-colored RGB Kyuren-Oh. What a NEAT trick! Even SkyBlue is surprised to see that this is possible. I don't think we actually need a mecha battle, but at least it's unpredictable. - Despite Echidna's firm statement that the only option to the Ophiucus Metal situation is to eliminate Naga, obviously 'Save Naga' team isn't going to give up just like that. Balance personally refuses to obey, and will do anything to rescue Naga. Even if he has to face Echidna for that. But that's when something unexpected comes up. Well, duh? This IS Kyuranger, so obviously it's one thing after another. Our present team senses an odd surge of time-paradox, and notices a distress beacon from the ORION. Has the spaceship really returned? - This is where the two time-crossed storylines come together in a shivering and shocking way. Because what Lucky and friends see, is NOT the ORION they've known all these time. It's a broken and aged ruins of the spaceship! Dang it, the goosebumps. Don't forget, there's a price for trying to break the rule of nature. A small alteration in the past will affect the flow of time and reality in its future... and this must be one! Does this mean, the real one is destroyed in the past?! Oh good heave, I hope not! But the scene that slowly shifted back in time... only confirms that concern. ORION has indeed crashed down on Earth, and its passengers are on the ground, wounded and unconscious. And standing in front of them, is none other than... Sir Orion!!! Fun fact: Orion is played by actor Kai Shishido, who is the son of legendary actor Joe Shishido. He's not new to Tokusatsu, having played DASH Captain Shigeru Hijikata in the 2005's "Ultraman Max". Looks like Shishido was added to the cast later on, because I don't think he was the actor we saw in Eris's story. That one was younger, smaller in figure, and has much lighter skin! Something that obviously a nitpicker like me would've noticed... LOL. It's a tad disappointing, because having felt familiar with his face, I've been really curious about that mysterious 'temporary' actor. Guess I won't be getting my answer anytime soon. But at the same time, I'm not complaining about Shishido. He DOES has a powerful presence worthy of an important character. Beside, if my theory of Orion being Lucky's biological father pans out, his surname would make for a perfect pun! The kanji means another, but 'Shishi' is 'Lion' in Japanese, right?

Overall: Oh wow, one surprise after another huh? Thank goodness we got a lighter episode last week, otherwise I don't think my heart is ready for such intensity to come every week. This episode left me with a bitter taste, which was both sad but good. Realizing that Naga can't actually be saved, felt like swallowing a bitter pill that refuses to go down the throat. It made me feel... hopeless. But such uneasiness could only land if audience deeply cares about him and Balance as characters, which is a really good thing. So call me hypocrite, but I'm glad the Dark-Naga arc isn't resolved too quickly. Otherwise I'd be quite disappointed. Thumbs up to the writers this time for a strong focus episode for Balance. Much needed praises also goes to the sound department, because once again, GREAT use of fitting BGM to amplify the scenes. The melancholic ones during Naga and Balance's heartbreaking moments worked gorgeously by adding shade and tint of sadness. I might have some minor nitpicks about this episode that affects my score, but overall, a truly excellent episode... Next week: Orion, oh ORION... PS: We're back to "Kyutama Dancing" as the ending theme, but this time Tsurugi has been added to the equation. Also, alongside teaser for the first Bluray Box set, the official trailer for V-Cinema "Episode of Stinger" has been aired. It's available online if you're curious about it.

Episode 28 Score: 8,3 out of 10

Visit THIS LINK to view a continuously updated listing of the Kyutama / Kyu Globes. Last Updated: September 5th, 2017 - Version 2.13. (WARNING: It might contain spoilers for future episodes)

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

#tokusatsu #SuperSentai #kyuranger #uchu sentai kyuranger #uchuu sentai kyuranger #review #melancholymoments #friendship

[jsuki]

Jsuki; DIABOLIK LOVERS Stage Play "-re:requiem-" DVD

I was so psyched about this that I really wanted to review it as quickly as I possibly could. Got my hands on the second and latest DiaLovers stage play DVD~! Titled, "-re:requiem-", this stage play is basically a replay of the first original stage play, except with a different stage and a couple of new members in the cast. Most of the main characters, excluding Kanato's actor, is played by the original casting. My DVD was the first-press edition.

For anyone who has gotten the first stage play DVD (~or you can read my review HERE), then this really won't be that new to you. The plot is exactly the same, most of the dialogue remains, and so there's nothing new there. The only more obvious change would the 360-degree stage, so some of the cast will come in from other openings, but I actually preferred the first stage setting to this one. It feels like the first one had better space to put props, whereas this round stage can't. Things like the dining table, that were present in the first play, is now entirely gone, so the cast has to play the dining scene without even props at all (I was wondering what they were doing at first...then it's like, 'OHH, they're eating.)

The performance scenes remained the same too, with the cast singing and dancing to songs like, 'Gin no Bara' and 'Mr.SADISTIC NIGHT' once more. They also sang to one more new song, which I think is an exclusive to this play because I've never heard this song by the Sakamaki family before.

What's the best and more interesting for me in the DVD wasn't even the main show (altho yes, I still enjoyed the show for sure), but was the making-of and after-event scenes! They introduced special after-events for each show, so that's something new for repeat viewers! For the 'special photography session', the boys all came out in their 'MORE, BLOOD' casual clothes, and posed for fans to take photos. They'd changed their spots here and there, and pair up with different brothers to produce a fresh new atmosphere. My favourite after-event would have to be the 'Shuffle Dining Edition' though; All the members would basically re-enact the dining scene, but as another character (Yui is included in the line-up XD). The characters were picked via Kuji style, and 2 of the shuffle events were included in the DVD. Subaru became Yui for the first one, and Laito became Yui in the second one. I thought it was super hilarious! Asato Yuya (Shu) looked sooo good as Reiji. And Doi Kazumi (Subaru) was the funniest Yui ever. During one of the shuffle events, Takamune Ayumi (Yui), who played Ayato, had to close the show, and her MC completely looked like something Taiki would do, LOL. She even tried ending it with, 'Oi, Chichinashi!', and the other members went, 'Just end it like normal!" XD

Enjoyed the making-of as well! While the first DVD had interviews with all of the cast members, this one only included an interview by Yamazaki Taiki (Ayato). The rest of the time, you can see the members backstage, fooling around, getting ready, rehearsing quietly, interacting with one another... it was actually quite entertaining to watch! They also have the curtain call of the final show, where Taiki was the most repetitive, rubbishy MC ever (LOL), but he's still really cute and funny in his own way, and I think he truly makes the perfect stage show Ayato. In fact, all the members did so well, I feel so proud of this cast.

I know usually for stage shows, especially one like DiaLovers that is adapted from an Otome game and that caters to a very specific audience, they don't usually get the best reviews. But seeing the cast and team grow from the first show to this second one, I feel so happy to see that. They've all improved from the first time, and I think it's prove that this series and the show was well-received, that it spun a second stage show. I also gained new appreciation for theatrical play actors! There's a little bit of a hint for 3rd stage show at the end, but of course, it is unconfirmed (the show closed with a voice saying, 'Eve...', and Yui suddenly having an apple appear in her hand, before she walks away). I'd be so thrilled if we could get one for MB tho, with the Mukamis. It could potentially be very interesting.

Overall, super happy that I got this. I've been a DL fan for at least 3 years now I think (maybe more?), and seeing this stage play brought me back to the early days. While I'm unclear how the DL series is going to continue steering, I hope that more people can like and appreciate this Otome game series.

For more of my DL unboxing posts, do click HERE.

You can order this DVD HERE @ CDJ. Personally got mine via amiami tho, but it's the same.

#DIABOLIK LOVERS #sakamaki ayato #sakamaki shu #sakamaki subaru #sakamaki kanato #sakamaki reiji #sakamaki laito #komori yui #yamazaki taiki #asato yuya #stage play #DVD

[sapphic-senshi]

Chapters: 10/? Fandom: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Neo-Queen Serenity/Sailor Pluto, King Endymion/Neo-Queen Serenity, Tsukino Usagi/Meiou Setsuna, Chiba Mamoru/Meiou Setsuna/Tsukino Usagi, Chiba Mamoru/Meiou Setsuna, Seiya Kou/Tsukino Usagi, Chiba Mamoru/Fiore, Princess Serenity/ Sailor Venus, Prince Endymion/Princess Serenity, Chiba Mamoru/Tsukino Usagi, Chibiusa/Tomoe Hotaru, Chibiusa/Helios, Chibiusa/Helios/Tomoe Hotaru, Chibiusa/Peruru Characters: Neo-Queen Serenity, Meiou Setsuna | Sailor Pluto, Tsukino Usagi | Sailor Moon, Chibiusa | Sailor Chibi Moon, Chiba Mamoru | Tuxedo Kamen, King Endymion, Seiya Kou, Yaten Kou, Taiki Kou Additional Tags: Bisexual setsuna, Bisexual Usagi, polyamorous senshi, Angst, Time Travel, Crying, coming to terms with yourself, Polysexual Mamoru, the starlights are all sapphic, No one is cis and het, Everyone Is Gay, most of them are poly Series: Part 3 of Bisexual Senshi Sailor Moon Summary:

When Sailor Pluto met with her queen, she did not know exactly what she was asking for. Happiness? Completion? The destruction of Crystal Tokyo?

Fortunately for the time guardian, Serenity is well aware of both Setsuna and Usagi’s feelings, but are either of them willing to sacrifice the utopia they fought for? Is Chibiusa? Are Usagi and Mamoru?

#bishoujo senshi sailor moon #sailor moon #polyamory #my writing #seiusa #usamamo #setsusa #setsusamamo #usagi tsukino #seiya kou #chibiusa #setsuna meiou #this is what I've been doing #raine

[ai-da-ice]

[Fan Account] ai-da-ice at the MOVIX Kimi Iro Release Event

[For general info on how the event is run, check out my account from my first release event]

After the Tonikaku HEY event in May, I learned three very valuable lessons: 1) Arrive at the event well ahead of the 9:00 starting time 2) BRING LOTS OF SUNSCREEN and 3) Eat breakfast and take a snack with me. When I woke up in the morning, it was overcast and looking ready to storm, so I also opted to bring an umbrella and windbreaker. This time I was not going to be as unprepared and sun burnt as last time.

I left about one hour earlier than I had last time, but it seems like next time I’ll have to leave even earlier because the line was already pretty long by time I arrived. However, the Tonikaku HEY event was during Golden Week– a Japanese holiday where people have a lot of free time to travel around the country–so back in May it was incredibly crowded with people visiting from other prefectures. This event was a little less swamped in comparison, especially since Da-iCE had already had a Tokyo release event at Odaiba. I started a lot higher in line and was able to get my CD order in around 10:40, so I was only in line about 1 hour and 40 minutes, compared to 3 hours like last time.

I was aiming to either handshake with Sota or Toru this time, but once again Sota sold out before I reached the CD tent. Last time, he sold out 2 hours before I reached the tent, but this time it was only about 20 minutes or so– so hopefully if I arrive earlier next time, I’ll finally get a shot at his ticket. I was more than happy to snag Toru, though, as well as a ticket to do a quick handshake with every member of the group.

Last time, I missed out on the priority standing tickets, but this time I was able to try and get one.TRY being the key word– it’s a lottery system: you reach in a box and pull out random numbers which determine your standing position. I thought if you made it to the box before tickets ran out, you would be guaranteed a spot in the priority section… so imagine my surprise when I pulled out my ticket and it said “NOPE” on it instead of a number. So once again, I missed out on standing close to the stage. However, just like last time, the areas away from the priority standing area aren’t THAT far away, so it wasn’t too big of a deal. I’m used to pulling bad lottery tickets at this point.

And so, I settled in for the wait for the 2 PM starting time for the show. Unfortunately, my condition wasn’t very good this time around. For one, the humidity was LETHAL, and every five seconds I had to wipe down with my Paradive towel. On top of that, I was experiencing head congestion which was making it very hard for me to hear. I was worried that I was going to have trouble hearing the show or Toru when I shook hands with him.

Ahead of the 2 PM start time, Sota and Yudai came out for a mic test with a short, practice version of Tonikaku HEY. Thankfully, their mics were set to a volume where I could hear them pretty well in spite of my hearing issue. After the mic test, they went backstage, then returned after a few minutes in their Kimi Iro costumes with the full group to perform Tonikaku HEY in full!

Tonikaku HEY is one of my favorite live songs, and they did an amazing job with it as always (though there seemed to be a near collision between Toru and Sota during the dance routine, they played it off cutely). I love how they went with a simpler choreography during the chorus so the audience can do it with them, just like with Hush Hush.

After the performance, there was an MC. Since they were speaking at a normal volume, unlike when they were singing, it was very hard for me to hear with my head condition going on. They seemed to be mostly talking about Sota’s birthday from the parts I could catch, and from just watching the body language, I could tell Sota was being severely trolled during parts of the conversation, but that’s a given. They also asked the audience questions like last time, but the audience was even harder to hear than the group, so I have no idea what any of them said (quality fan account, I know!). However, I was healthy enough to enjoy the feast for the eyes– Yudai and Toru took off the floral jackets right away, and were wearing muscle shirts underneath.

They ended with a performance of new single Kimi Iro. I seriously love the choreography paired with the costume this time– their movements just look so fluid and elegant, and it’s such a suitable song for summer. Even without it being officially released, it’s constantly stuck in my head all the time.

Before the group handshake started, I went over to the present boxes and dropped off everyone’s contributions to the fan project! The boxes were divided by member, so I picked Yudai at random for the group pics– hopefully he’ll share the pictures with the rest of the members!

When I had taken care of that, the members came out for handshakes in their day clothes– Sota won for the cutest with his overalls and Captain America shirt, but Taiki also deserves credit for his adorable hound dog T-Shirt.

Unfortunately, my head fuzziness and hearing issues hadn’t lessened in time for the high five, so I’m not sure if the members said anything to me when I was handshaking with them T^T Still, their big smiles are a good enough memory to carry with me. Even when I’m not in top form, I’m just happy I can be there to rep international fans and remind them that we’re out there!

Next was my longer handshake with Toru. I had prepared a conversation in Japanese, just like I had last time with Yudai: I was going to talk about how amazing having them in San Jose was, and that their international fans love them and hope to have the chance to see them, too. However, it didn’t exactly go as planned… one, because the exact moment I went up to Toru, my ears popped and the sudden improvement to my hearing all at once out of nowhere kind of struck me speechless for a moment ON TOP OF THE FACT that I was staring into Toru’s eyes and I was overwhelmed by that, too. So, because I was kind of caught off guard in the moment, Toru was able to step in and lead the conversation. He also seemed to want to talk to me in English, because when I spoke to him in Japanese, he answered in English instead. Which certainly wasn’t bad, though I am so sorry I couldn’t give them the message I’d intended. I’ll do it next time, or at least give it to them in written form!

Anyways, this is the jist of the conversation:

Me: (suddenly gets my hearing back the moment I look at Toru, and starts gaping and possibly saying something half-English-half-Japanese while taking his hand) Toru: (in English) Hello! Me: Hello! (Uncontainable fan girl noise) (in Japanese) Do you remember meeting in San Jose last year!? Toru: (in English) America fan! You came to Japan? Me: (Gives up and speaks in English) Yes, this year! Toru: (still in English) Why? Me: To teach English! Toru: Here? In Tokyo? Me: Yes! Toru (dramatic shocked face): Wow! Thank you for that! -Staff says time is up-  Toru: (Finally in Japanese) Good luck with your teaching!

After my traditional fan girl cool down time, I realized that the rain clouds were getting worse and since I had run out of water a few hours ago, I seriously needed to hydrate. I went to the train station, and as soon as I was inside, there was a huge clap of thunder and it started POURING. There was luckily an overhang covering the place where the handshake event was happening, but I hope all the a-i still at the event stayed dry!

So that’s my second handshake event! Even though my health could have been better, I still had a great time, and I’m happy I could talk to Toru (though I wish I had invited him to my English lessons)! Next time I’ll aim for a new fan project and hopefully a handshake with Sota, Taiki, or Hayate!

#da-ice #fan account

[ai-da-ice]

[Fan Account] ai-da-ice at Tokyo’s Tonikaku HEY Pre-release Event/Handshake Meeting

So, previously I wrote a guide to attending in-store-lives after going to FlowBack’s for their single “Booyah!”, but a pre-release in-store or live event is a slightly different beast since you can’t just buy a physical copy at the store and receive a lottery ticket. I went into this experience of going to a pre-release event for Tonikaku HEY a little blind, not really understanding how it would work but praying I would figure it out as I went along. Still, since I’ve had a bit of bad luck attending events such as missing the priority seating ticketing (Da-iCE’s Stickyle event), getting the worst lottery number and missing the autograph session (FlowBack’s in-store), and getting on the wrong train and blowing some of my shopping money on taxi fare (Chiruran), I was actually expecting for things to go wrong, but I think it went incredibly smoothly, so I’m a little shocked!

These were the basics I knew before the event: at 9, the venue (in this case, a pretty decently sized stage near the movie theater MOVIX at a shopping village in Akishima) would begin opening preorders for Tonikaku HEY as well as the handshake tickets, which vary from order to order. Basically, if you pre-ordered one album, you could get a ticket to have a brief handshake with all the members. If you pre-ordered all three versions, you could get an extra ticket for a longer handshake with an individual member. At 10, you could start participating in the priority seating lottery (sticking your hand in a mystery box and pulling out a ticket to determine how close to the stage you will be) after you secured your pre-order receipt. At 2 PM, the mini-live would begin.

Naturally, I was wondering about the huge gap between drawing the lottery at 10 and the actual performance starting at 2, so I was thinking I would have a lot of extra free time in Akishima. I even skipped breakfast, thinking I’d grab something when I was there. Also, since most of the events I had been to in Japan thus far hadn’t been big on letting people line up too early, I decided to arrive exactly at 9 for the preorders.

This wound up being kind of a mistake, although it wasn’t one with as many consequences as I had thought. When I arrived at the venue, the line was snaking all over the place and was looooooong. I arrived at 9, but didn’t even reach the pre-order tent until closer to 12. Naturally, I severely regretted skipping breakfast. Luckily, they played Da-iCE’s “Next Phase” album to keep us entertained, but it was still a long wait. Here’s an idea of what the line was like:

(PS I FAILED ART LOL)

There were a few downsides to this other than just waiting a long time and starving, though, like I said, nothing wound up being too big of a deal in the end. One was that we were allowed to choose which member we wanted to do the individual handshake with, and they had a limited number of tickets for each member, to keep everyone from all going to the exact same person and having one member with a gazilion more visitors than another. Sota’s tickets ran out pretty early into my wait, and Taiki ran out about an hour later, and so on. Also the priority seating tickets were also a limited number, so I was pretty convinced I’d miss out on both since I was so far back in the line.

As I finally got close to the pre-order booth, I received a form to fill out to let the staff know which albums I wanted. At that point, the all-member handshake tickets were available and Toru and Yudai hadn’t sold out yet, so I opted to pre-order all three versions and go for the individual member handshake if it was still available. Toru and Yudai are about equal in popularity, so I wasn’t sure which would run out first, and I didn’t mind handshaking with either because I love them both, so I waited to see which tickets were left before writing down which handshake I wanted. The form was fairly simple Japanese, so I was able to understand most of it-- you could choose whether you wanted the albums shipped to you or if you wanted to pick them up in Akishima. The shipping cost was actually cheaper than a round ticket back to Akishima for me, so I decided to have them shipped.

When I arrived at the pre-order booth, I was relieved that both the member handshake and individual handshake tickets were still available. Phew! I wound up with Yudai’s individual ticket, which I was very excited about. Unfortunately, the priority seating tickets were all gone (the bad luck finally strikes!), but the venue was set up in such a way that even people outside of the priority area were close, and when we actually got into the mini-live, the members looked at our area to the side frequently.

By time all this was finished, it was already around 12:30, so I made a break for the vending area so I could finally get something to drink and eat. I was a bit short on money, so I wound up getting an ice cream cone from the 17 Ice machine (the company Da-iCE/AAA/TRF rep for-- Hayate was on the vending machine), which also was kind of a mistake since it was very hot and promptly melted all over my hands. But since I got the handshake tickets I wanted, nothing could bother me. (Naturally, I washed my hands right away after finishing my messy ice cream out of respect for the members haha)

Around 1ish, the priority people started being admitted, and at a little after 1:30ish, guess who appeared a bit early...Sota and Yudai!! The two did a mic test and rehearsed Tonikaku HEY and Paradive right in front of us! Of course, this was just to check their mics and make sure the speakers were positioned correctly, so it wasn’t a full vocal performance, but it was still amazing to see them a little extra! They even had a little bit of audience participation by having us sing the songs when they were adjusting their sound sets.

At promptly two, the full group came onstage to kick off with Tonikaku HEY... or at least they tried to, but there was a slight technical difficulty in the intro, and they had to stand on stage for a second waiting for the music to come back on. Then it was off to showcasing their new single. It’s definitely a song suited to live performance like all their summer releases, and calls for several instances of audience participation through chanting the “HEY!” part along with them and mimicking the choreo during the chorus. I think it’s a really fun release which blends retro and modern music and am looking forward to the full release.

After, the five members had an MC about several subjects including the recently wrapped up Chiruran performances and Golden Week, the holiday going on in Japan right now which is one of the reasons the stage was so crowded--students are out of school, and a lot of adults are also off of work. They also did a brief Q&A, which I’d normally love to translate, but i‘m not quite sure what the audience members said because of the high levels of wind during the performance. I have a feeling there was something about ideal types and something about food based on Da-iCE’s responses. Da-iCE also went through and asked what areas of Japan we all came from. Since it was Golden Week, several people had come from quite far since they had the vacation time.

With the MC finished, they moved on to their final song, their hit from last summer “Paradive”! This song is truly a fan favorite for several reasons, but mainly because there is a lot of fan participation from the towel twirling during the chorus to the “HEY!” fan chants during the “come on and feel the heat...” breakdown. The energy whenever “Paradive” is performed at an event is crazy.

Since it was a mini-live, there were only those two songs, but thanks to the hand-shake event, there was still plenty to do afterwards. The group handshake was first, and went by pretty quickly-- I would say you have about time enough to say one quick thing to the members before being pushed along. I decided just to go for “ganbarimashita”-- “You did a great job”--since it’s short and to the point.

If I’m remembering correctly, the handshake order went Taiki-Toru-Yudai-Hayate-Sota. Though it was brief, it was a legit handshake where they clasped your hand in both of their hands while make eye contact. 3/5 members said “Thank you for coming” to me in English (Taiki, Toru, and Sota), while Hayate and Yudai said “arigatou”. Toru and Sota seemed to remember me from Chiruran since they both said “Thanks for coming again” T^T. For both Toru and Sota, I responded coolly with “Oh, it’s no problem,” but YES, it was a problem, because I felt ready to die of happiness~

I was naturally freaking out, but had to run back to the other side of the venue where everyone was lining up for individual handshakes. How this worked was after the group handshakes were over, the members went backstage to change out of their Tonikaku costumes, and the staff set up queues using partitions in front of the place each member would be standing. We lined up behind the signs of whatever member we had a ticket for. If people ordered A LOT of albums, they could potentially have multiple tickets, but they were advised to line up in the longest line first, and if there was enough time, to go back to another line to handshake with a second member. However, there was a cut off point for the event so the members wouldn’t be there all day (once again, it was quite hot).

Since I always blank out when speaking to idols, this time I spent some time practicing the general idea of what I would say depending on which member I was shaking hands with. I had to wait in Yudai’s queue for about twenty minutes before reaching him, so I felt like I was ready by time I reached him. Of course my heart was fluttering like crazy, but I stepped up, and he took both of my hands, and the following conversation occurred (in Japanese):

Yudai: Hello again, do you speak any Japanese? Me: Yes, a little. I met you last year in California. Yudai: Oh, that was [he couldn’t remember the name of which city]... Me: San Jose Yudai: Yes! Waaa, you came so far Me: I'm really happy I got to meet you again Yudai-kun! Yudai: Yes, me too me too (in English) me too 😃

Unfortunately, since my Japanese is so slow, that’s all we were able to say, but just having a longer length conversation with him made me so happy. Yudai, I’ll work harder next time!

After that, I was about ready to pass out from lack of food, so I had to hurry home. But overall, this was one of my most special experiences with Da-iCE. They’ve been so kind by greeting me in English all the time, but I’m going to improve my Japanese more so I can be more confident next time!!

#spoiler: I had a longer convo with yudai in Japanese! #da-ice #fan account

[ai-da-ice]

[Natalie Music] Da-iCE’s NEXT PHASE

First, let’s take a look back to 2016 when the first Budokan one-man was announced as a surprise during your concert in January

Taiki: Is it such a long time already?

Yudai: At that time when it was announced I was really surprised, I collapsed on the stage.

Hayate: The moment that it was announced, I was nothing but happy. After that, I thought calmly and said “Isn’t this incredible?”, since it was a goal we had been holding on to for a long time, and that’s when I started crying.

Taiki: But then, we had a chance to stand at the Budokan in the beginning of December for the “Act Against AIDS 2016 THE VARIETY 24~” music festival

Yudai: It was like we were getting used to it

Taiki: Right, right. As I actually stood on the stage, it seemed like “We can definitely do a one-man here”. The timing was nice

How was the scenery from the stage?

Toru: High ceilings!

Yudai: Even so, the feeling during a one-man performance has to be different from a festival performance

Before that, there was the first national hall tour “Da-iCE HALL TOUR 2016 - PHASE 5 -”, so the impression was that Da-iCE was doing lives all throughout 2016

Yudai: That impression is not wrong.

Hayate: No doubt (laughs).

Yudai: I’m remembering 108 performances in 2016?

It was so much.

Taiki: But we’re grateful. The main part of our activities is having lives, so it is really nice to have that goal realized.

What was your first hall tour like?

Taiki: It was fun. The range of what we could show also expanded and we could see the faces in the audience very well. It was such a fresh discovery that I was able to produce different things that I could not do at the small live houses and put together a stage set where I could say “I’m doing a lot of interesting things here”.

What exactly where you able to do?

Yudai: In the live house tours we’ve done before, we’re producing the show with a limited stage size. Besides, the size of the venue was also disjointed from one house to the next, so we had to check the positions of the speakers each time and repeatedly make adjustments, but when it is a hall tour, the size of the stage is almost always the same, and we can use the same direction for all the songs from stop to stop.

I see. So, what else did you change about your performance from live houses to hall venues?

Hayate: Since the height of where the audience is watching the stage is different, I’m now very conscious of the eyes watching me. I learned a lot about carrying myself with more firmness than before.

Toru: Also, the choreo changed. As the stage got wider, I was able to express myself more skillfully using the stage through my dancing. That consciousness increased more and more with each performance.

Hayate: I think  above all we learned about coming up with new ideas for production

Taiki: That’s very true.

How about the two vocals?

Yudai: The hall tour was our first time using an earpiece with our microphone. This change was so big that I think that even if I aim for a live performance at a bigger venue in the future, I’ll know I’ve learned a lot. In the beginning, it was difficult to listen to the audience’s voices, so we removed it during the MC, and there were some unfamiliar things to get used to when we began singing (laughs).

Sota: I was grateful for the opportunity to sing while using the earpiece to get a clear sound. Up until now, when depending on the equipment of the venue, it was sometimes hard for me or Yudai-kun to sing, so it is special for us that we could have the sound tailored nicely. Especially for Yudai-kun.

Yudai: For me and Sota, I think the best environment is one where we can focus on the condition of our voices. When elements such as “equipment, echoes, etc” come in, singing becomes complicated. We like to have as stable an environment as possible.

Sota: So it was completely different this time. It was really easy to sing.

There was also a single release event between tours. I think you’ve been energetically circling around the country, but do you feel like “The name of Da-iCE has spread?”

Taiki: It depends on the situation and time (laughs).

Sota: We appeared as a secret guest at a school festival for Fukui School. I was really nervous with the feeling of being secret, and I was anxiously thinking “Is this okay…?”

Yudai: Being a secret guest is not the worst, it’s just when you’re still an unknown secret to people when you’re standing in front of them onstage

Toru: Ahahahaha (laughs).

Sota: Right, right. But because the audience was kind, they cheered for a long time. I couldn’t really hear people saying “Who?” I was happy to think that “Ah, they actually knew us!”

Indeed, the opportunity to hear the name of Da-iCE is increasing more and more. But how do you feel about it yourself? I am concerned.

Yudai: The five of us, when we walk around Shibuya…

Yes?

Yudai: Well, we can walk around normally

Taiki: We can walk without any problem.

Yudai: It’s comfortable! There’s no inconvenience.

Taiki: We can shop and eat

Sota: But sometimes I want to be surrounded so much that I can say “I can’t move!”

Yudai: You think when you go out, “Ah, I can’t be seen”… but no one notices very often!

Reflecting on that, a sub phrase of ” unrequited love ikemen “ has recently been added to the familiar catchphrase "facial deviation value of 75”.

Yudai: It is a phrase that reflects our true abilities

Sota: Ha~ I want to sell a lot!

So from here on we’ll talk about the story of the album “NEXT PHASE”. This will be your third album, following the album “EVERY SEASON” released in January 2016.

Taiki: I think we’ve delivered our biggest album so far this time. There are also a lot of challenging songs and songs that are well-developed to suit the colors unique to Da-iCE, so even those who have supported us for a long time will have the chance to enjoy us anew from who we were in the beginning.

What kind of thoughts are included in the title “NEXT PHASE”?

Taiki: It’s the wish “I want to proceed to the next phase”. Also, we have strong feelings for the word “PHASE”. “PHASE ½/3 ……” has been attached to all our live performance tours, so for us the word is like a key. The release timing is also one week after the Budokan performance, and I think the title “NEXT PHASE” fits our feelings.

Yudai: In 2016, it was a year where we had a lot of new challenges such as doing hall tours. So, when thinking “What shall we do next?”, in 2017 we wanted to reflect what we had experienced so far and what new things we wanted to challenge in addition to that . The title “NEXT PHASE” is also a manifestation of that will.

Interesting. And the title song “NEXT PHASE” is a song that the fans will be surprised with when listening to. The titles of Da-iCE’s songs appear everywhere.

Yudai: A miracle happened!

Taiki: Isn’t that what we were aiming for? Hanamura -kun tried hard when he wrote it, didn’t he?

Sota: Yes, as I wrote, I expressed Da-iCE’s existence so far and our future in the lyrics. Thinking about expressing our thoughts going ahead while also looking back, I decided to put all the titles of the singles and albums released since our major debut.

I think the titles of the songs feel comfortable in context, rather than appearing one right after the other. As I was listening, the lyrics moved so smoothly I forgot for a moment they were past song titles.

Sota: That’s what I aimed for. I think that fans will be able to enjoy finding each song title, but if they do not make sense in context when listening to the song, it’s no good. I thought they couldn’t be used as lyrics by just sticking them in there anywhere, so I used a lot of trial and error.

Taiki: It is very fitting, isn’t it? It is a summary of who we are so far and I think that the timing of the lyrics is perfect. It is truly the core of the album.

Incidentally, is there already choreography?

Taiki: There is. I think we can express ourselves very well through dance in this song. It’s a song designed for dancing.

Sota: As soon as you see the performance of this song, you’ll know that “This is Da-iCE!”. I hope I can perform this song in a way that surpasses even our “strong songs” like “FIGHT BACK”.

It looks like it’s a killer tune similar to “FIGHT BACK”.

Sota: We want it to take over :FIGHT BACK”. Until now, for example, when we decided “We need impact” in a live event, “FIGHT BACK” was the first item listed on the set list, so “NEXT PHASE” I think will rob that position, especially with the choreography.

Toru: For sure

Sota: I want to prepare for it as soon as possible.

As Taiki-san said, the range of the tunes recorded for the album is wide. For example, “Chocolate Sympathy” has a very adult sense which is made striking by the differences in vocal tone between Yudai-san and Sota-san, which is very impressive.

Sota: This song is a fashionable and sexy song, and I tried to express my feelings with a sense of scope. We are getting pretty old, but still tend to be impatient for things (laughs), so I tried to give myself the sense of scope of an adult who does not feel that impatience. There are a lot of forward-looking lyrics in Da-iCE songs along the lines of “Do your best to fight firmly for your dreams” but “Chocolate Sympathy” is the opposite? It’s a song I’m grateful I could sing to show that my range of expression has expanded. I like the feeling that I can go fiercely into a song and can change my personality depending on the song I sing.

“FANTASY,” the 6th song, is a refreshing up-beat tune which somewhat contrasts with “Chocolate Sympathy”.

Taiki: It was written with the feelings of a “refreshing, romantic hearted boy.” It’s a little different from what we usually do. It reminds me of “Takaneno Hanakosan” (laughs).

Hayate: By our semapi (Back Number) (laughs).

Toru: I like really like ‘BOND’. It’s talking about bonds with friends, but when listening, I always get energetic and have a lot of fun. So I anticipate that it will be a song that is even more exciting live.

The lyrics have a lot of parts that cheerfully encourage downtrodden friends.

Toru: I think when you’re depressed about something, it’s important to experience that kind of encouragement. Therefore, I think it’s easy to relate to in that sense

And, "TWO AS ONE,” which was recorded next to “BOND,” is a ballad used as the theme song of for the upcoming Ultraman movie!

Yudai: I  like the simple melody of this song, and how it slowly develops to become more and more spectacular. Besides, the lyrics are something that depicts our relationship with the fans who are always supporting us. If we can go further ahead and increase the size of our live venues, I wonder if the magnificence of this song will grow to match our live performances? It’s a song I think we’ll have a lot of fun with in the future.

So we talked about Sota-san writing the lyrics on “NEXT PHASE”, but Taiki-san also wrote lyrics for the album, on “Free Falling”.

Hayate: Yes, they are Taiki-kun’s lyrics. A lot of Da-iCE’s singles have bright and catchy lyrics, but this song is completely the reverse of those songs.

From the beginning there are the lines “It’s no good just to keep running forward with stereotypical positive-thinking thoughts baby ”.

Hayate: I think the meaning is a realistic…but it’s a very negative idea

Everyone: Ahahahaha

Taiki: Yeah, a minus is a minus

Hayate: But I think everyone has harbored feelings like those in the lyrics at least once

Taiki: At the production stage, I was thinking “I want to write lyrics you don’t hear in everyday songs,” so rather than writing something like “Let’s push forward for our dreams,” I thought about writing from the perspective of that not always being possible. Ordinary people don’t always feel as if they can push forward, and sometimes think “Ah, I feel this other way instead”. I’m happy if you can understand that people have muddier sides, not always glittering, but can still head forward in their lives.

Taiki-san, you’ve also written music for other artists, so do you think there will be be more opportunities for the members to be featured in the group’s productions?

Taiki: I feel that 2016 was especially big for me. I also did lyrics with Sota for the first time. There have been a lot of new challenges.

Sota: From now on I’d like to try more combinations . I want to write lyrics with Yudai-kun again. The two of us wrote the lyrics of the song “Boku no Kiseki”, but that was six years ago …. it was right at the beginning of Da-iCE’s formation, so the five of us hadn’t even gathered together yet. I want to see more lyrics by Yudai-kun, so I want that to happen in 2017.

Yudai: Right. I’ll absolutely try for it in 2017. I’d really like to join in creating songs.

Sota: It’s fun to express ourselves.

I’d like to return to talking about the Budokan. When I interviewed the group about BILLION DREAMS, Taiki-san talked about his admiration for the Budokan . He was really impressed by Perfume’s live at the Budokan, so he wanted to perform on the stage as well.

Taiki: That’s right. I was really emotional when I thought about it. I was in the audience crying as I thought about being onstage.

You said you started crying at  "Dream Fighter".

Taiki: Yeah, I cried.

I think that achieving your big goal was an incredible thing.

Taiki: That’s right. We are not “staircase skipping” group so far, and we have a feeling of steadily rising step by step. At the beginning when the live at Budokan was announced, I was thinking “Will this be okay?”, but after that I realized that we were progressing, so I think we’re ready to see the scene at the Budokan ahead of us. So now I’m shifting my mind in such a direction, I’m ready to enjoy myself.

Each activity leads to your growth in confidence.

Taiki: That’s right. Especially during the lives in 2016, I had a lot of stages on the bigger venues and I got to experience those places properly, so it helped me feel ready to stand at the Budokan

Toru: That’s right

Da-iCE had a very big stage for a live in 2016 for your “HALLOWEEN LIVE 2016” which was held at the Tokyo / National Yoyogi Stadium 1st Gymnasium in October. You posed in superhero suits with boots and became “Da-iCE Rangers!” for your performance of FIGHT BACK….

Sota: Da-iCE Rangers had an even more elaborate formation than we did

Taiki: It seems so (laughs).

Wasn’t it difficult dancing with rubber boots? I wondered while watching you perform

Sota: You have to practice your grip to be able to dance

Yudai: “It’s surprisingly easy,” I thought (laughs).

Taiki: “Work boots are amazing!”

That’s right (laughs). And during your MC you said that “This is Da-iCE’s first time doing costumes like this!” Your shows bring a comedic element into your overall harmonious atmosphere, but when you’re actually performing, you’re very serious.

Taiki: It’s our chance to show what Da-iCE is like on an everyday basis on stage (laughs). That live was the first attempt at such a stage. But I also want to do it by all means again in 2017.

By the way, is there anything that you think “we cannot yield here” about in terms of your performance as Da -iCE?

Taiki: We don’t … right?

Yudai: In other words, it’s already not in our natures to give way

Taiki: We’re always natural about ourselves and don’t try to turn ourselves into characters. I guess that is how we can keep on doing what we do, because none of us fake ourselves.

Okay. Finally, please tell me about the “NEXT PHASE” of Da-iCE. If you have a goal, what kind of place do you see yourself heading towards now?

Taiki: Because the next hall tour is already decided, we’re putting that first. We want to express how the experiences of the first hall tour influenced us and what the five of us have chosen to input through what we learned. I want to do a hall tour showing that we’ve leveled up.

Yudai: After all, our destination is always lives

Taiki: At the end of the day, the places we come back to are live venues.

#da-ice #interview #translation #this came out before i left for japan but finally translating it!

[furederiko]

The 2nd episode of Kyuranger paves way for an intriguing Duo of Thieves!

- Our episode opens with "The Space Shogunate, Jark Matter has designated the insurgent force Rebellion's Kyurangers..." Wow. Looks like the Shogunate is controlling the media as well, because the news comes up really quick. LOL at that bounty photos. Even Lucky is showing a "For real?" expression on his headshot. Hahaha. - As hinted last week, we get to see two more core characters of this show. Namely, the golden-colored robot(?) Balance (VA: Yuuki Ono, whose image song as Wen Yang in "Dynasty Warriors" series is to-die-for), and the silver-haired humanoid Naga Rei (Taiki Yamazaki) whose name might be derived from 'Nagareboshi' that means 'Shooting Star' in Japanese. Gold and Silver? Yep, that's a bit on-the-nose, eh? Both of them are already introduced in the opening, so not really a surprise. This duo is located in an industrial planet called Planet Jigama, and are inhibiting contrasting personalities. Hmmm... - Hooo... interesting! Raptor is briefing Lucky and Garu about the Jark Matter's... pyramid organizational structure! We actually always had this in past titles, but I think this is the first time it's been charted so... neatly. Above the cannon fodd... er I mean Combatants, there are Malisters (Daikaan in Japanese) who are essentially the MotWs. In higher rank, there are Menasters (Karo) who represents the 88 constellation systems (That's A LOT). And on top is Don Armage himself as the Shogun. I think the more important part would be that top-left part, the "Lecture by Raptor 283", because she IS acting like a lecturer. A strict one at that. I told you last week that her personality would clash with Hammy's, and well... it's happening already. LOL. We need more of this internal conflicts! By the way, Over-Time has changed Dorado Yellow's naming from Sparda into Spada (as well as Planet Jagama into Jigama, and Malicestrate into Menasters), which might be more appropriate. So I'll be following suit in my reviews. - Updated opening sequence! Lucky and Garu are in it now. Judging from the preview and the pattern so far, we're going to get the complete (9 Kyurangers) version come episode 5! Hey, I just noticed the sequence actually includes scenes from this episode too. Hope this trend continues. Oh, and yeah, the Lacerta Kyu Globe (Tokage/Lizard) has also debuted in this episode! During the CM that is (Kyuranger Choco!!!)... LOL. - Dumb Lucky is trusting people TOO easily. I'm considering to call him Dumb-Luck from now on. In case you're wondering why Balance and Naga call themselves as BN Thieves, that's simply their initials put together. All those colored-skinned aliens reminds me of "Guardians of the Galaxy", but this diner scene also easily reminds me of Star Wars' Mos Eisley. Does this mean the BN Thieves are nods to Han Solo (or should I say, Duo)? I used to think that way last week, in that Naga might be serving as a Han-esque figure, while Balance as his Chewbacca. But it seems I might have been inaccurate. In fact, Naga's lack of emotion might be a nod to a particular Marvel's movie character instead: Drax the Destroyer! Then again, he also has that lack of social knowledge, that makes him feels like... a robot? A clone? Okay, hold that thought. Turns out everyone in his silver-haired planet also LOOKS the same. Creepy. Like, "Children of the Corn"-level creepy. By the way, Naga's actor looks so MUCH better without that silver wig. It's amazing the effect of make up to people, right? - Dumb-Luck is also very naive, isn't he? Or perhaps, too... optimistic? But that's why I can't hate him, because he's basically acting like a little brat. Speaking of personality, Balance is VERY lively. And he's sleazy too. I LOVE HIM already LOL. He reminds me of Hondo Ohnaka from "Star Wars REBELS". The fansub might not reflect it, but he has a habit of spouting slang and/or making wordplay in his speech. Like that line "Nice to meetcha!"? In Japanese he actually uses the word 'Shiku-yoro' instead of the spelling-correct 'Yoroshiku'. Perhaps, this is his character's signature style? He makes a fun pair with Naga though. One half who doesn't know how to express emotions (and longs to obtain ones), the other is expressing a little too much (without caring for other's emotions). There's a hint that Balance is just using Naga though, so I can't help but wonder how the two of them get together in the first place? Hmmm... - We have a big cast, and that's a fact. Which is probably why, the transformation and stylish roll calls are incorporated in the battle. I like this approach. Of course, this goes for the Kyurangers who are not taking the spotlight. In this case, it's the other Kyurangers beside Lucky, who plot-wise, are put to the side. That's both the advantage and disadvantage of having a big cast. - Our MotW is Malistrate Gammetsui, who seems to be based on... a turtle? Salamander? He's the boss of Jigama, and he's interested about the Kyuranger's 50 million bounty. But the team is divided into two, so which one will he target? Lucky for him, it's Dumb-Luck's team. What about the other team? Eridron (who shoots arrows, obviously, since he's from Sagittarius) himself deals with Spada and the rest. This is just episode 2, but already a Menaster is on the front line? And forcing our heroes to run for their life? NICE. After all, it's 9 Kyurangers against... the galaxy *sigh*. - Great Gawd, Dumb-Luck triggers the alarm on purpose, and calls it LUCK *smh*. He sees the good in everything, doesn't he? Holy twist, Balance actually SELLS OUT Lucky to Gammetsui. That's 'GOI-SU'!! (FYI, 'Sugoi' means 'Awesome', but you've probably known that already). All for the sake of the blue-colored treasure he's trying to steal. Technically, he's acting like the episode's 2nd MotW, much to Naga's dismay. Hence, the part where Naga chooses to be a 'friend' for Lucky and betrays him, gives Balance the shock of his life. Worse that that, Lucky actually believes that all these are merely Balance's plan? He IS that naive, eh? Wait till he knows the truth... - Which won't happen. LOL. Of course, Balance's conscience wins over him, thus he chooses to rescue Naga. It seems they are connected with a bond that's stronger than... wait a sec?! Why do they remind me of... C3PO and R2D2?!! OvO... Anyways, thanks to this rescue, we get to know who, or WHAT exactly Balance is. He's a machine organism who has the ability to control other machines. Basically, like the antagonists of "Chouriki Sentai Ohranger". Hmm... it'd be great if he is from one, right? Because that would make both series canon. Naga on the other hand, has the ability to freeze enemies just by glaring at them with his glowing green eyes. A neat nod to Greek Myth's Medusa, perhaps? - Balance wants to team up with Lucky to get loots, and also emotions for Naga. So definitely NOT in this to play a hero. He blatantly says this goal outloud, and Lucky's okay with it! I think it's good that these 2 new members have their own 'selfish' goals to be part of the Rebellion. In fact, we need more heroes who function in grey-areas like these. And nothing's wrong with that, because hey, they have awaken their Libra and Ophiucus Kyu Globes JUST because of that. Random trivia: in the recent 13 Zodiacs concept, Ophiucus is also a horoscope sign just like Libra. It's closely aligned after Scorpio, which will have a representation in this show very soon. - Yep, Balance and Naga are the focus characters, so they have the rights for a full transformation and roll call sequence. #4 The Trick-Star Libra Gold and #6 The Silent Star Ophiucus Silver make their debut! Before you complain that Leo Red is tagging along, do remember one thing for the sake of being fair: he hasn't had the chance to do these properly last week! XD. And yes, though many might be annoyed with it, I'm loving Libra Gold's dandy atttitude and attention-seeker poses too. It makes him stands out and... unique. At least audience would be worried that Naga might be in some bad company! Hahaha. Also... LOL at that not-so-subtle Kyu the Weapon's sales promotion. But never mind that, because the cool group finisher "All-Star Crash" is genuinely cool. - First 'earth'-based mecha battle and also first shot of the enlargement method for the show's MotW. Looks like all Jark Matters have the ability to do this, with the help of that weird Empire's symbol. I'm liking how Libra Voyager and Ophiucus Voyager have two forms, the spaceship one and humanoid. And the way the two practically kicks Chamaeleon Green and Dorado Yellow out of Kyuren-Oh? LOL to that. They even have their own finisher, the yo-yo slam "Kyuren-Oh! Trick Break! Super Galaxy". Due to the limb-changing concept, looks like TOEI can't rely on stock footage for the mecha's transformation and final moves this season. I hope this means we'll be getting a variety of new combination every week. - Since they have officially joined the team, Naga wears the Rebellion's uniform, while Balance? He gets a new paint-job. The best part of this closing scene, is already we're seeing personality clashes. The easy friction between Hammy's manner of speech with Balance, or how Balance and Spada seems to be on the same 'dandy' page. Whoops, that's not the closing scene. We get a quick glimpse of the next Kyuranger. This mysterious man (seriously? XD) has an Orange Kyu Globe, but his pendulum looks like a Kyu Globe too, and it's colored... Blue? Hmmm... intriguing! - Ending sequence is obviously updated as well. The BN Thieves are now included, and put center stage. It looks even crowded now, and we still have two more! At least the dance is fun, right?

Overall: This episode introduced two more characters, and more importantly two more different types of personalities. It's going to be interesting to see how they interact with the previous six members (including Raptor). The dynamic of Balance and Naga Rei was more than just intriguing or fun to watch, it evoked questions and mysteries as well. These are great potentials that are prime to be explored in future episodes, and I sincerely hope that will indeed be the case. After all, opportunities to dish out and develop every characters are just too good to ignore. On a side note, we're only in episode 2, and we already have seven Kyurangers. Do you think the plot is moving too fast? I mean, they could've simply made the BN Thieves intro into a 2-parter, right? If the show gathers all its core heroes in just 5 episodes, I wonder how the story will play out in the episodes that follow? Hmmm... Next week: Meet the Dragon Commander! Also, beware the sting of... Dopplegangers?

Episode 02 Score: 8 out of 10

Visit THIS LINK to view a continuously updated listing of the Kyutama / Kyu Globes. Last Updated: February 19th, 2017 - Version 04. (WARNING: It might contain spoilers for future episodes)

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

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