Moribito DVD #3 In Stock - At Last!

For those of you who have been enduring the painfully long wait for Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit DVD Volume #3, I am happy to report that our copies finally arrived from Media Blasters earlier today. All pre-orders for it that did not have payment processing problems shipped out today, so most of you should have it in hand by this weekend. All in all it was about 6 weeks late getting released, so no one is happier than me that it's finally in stock. :-)

And since a lot of people have asked, Vol #3 and #4 do come in the unique clear 'door tray' type case that matches Vol #1 & 2, so if you want to complete your art box set you can either purchase volume #3 now, and Vol #4 in June, or you can wait for the Vol #3-4 bundle in June. Either way, everything will match up.

Moribito DVD Vol #3 Synopsis: Balsa decides the best way to hide from the empire's Hunters is in plain sight. She creates a simple home for herself and Chagum in an old mill, and hopes to live with him in peace. The boy prince must learn to live among the commoners, but intelligence and sense of justice make him stand out. Balsa's new start is halted when she asks a local sword smith to fix her damaged spear. He knows who she is, and the emperor's Hunters are also his clients. Balsa and Chagum are locked in a back room as the smith meets with the Hunters just a few feet away.

Oricon: Beautiful Lips

Spring is the season for new colors and Oricon asked 600 men between 10 and 50 men which female celebrity has the most "beautiful lips". She has the most beautiful, full and sexy lips, Inoue Waka (28) got the 1st place among the voters.

The whole top 10:

01 - Inoue Waka (28) - "Her thick lips are very sexy."
02 - Ueto Aya (23) - "The shapes of her upper and lower lips are out of this world."
03 - Ishihara Satomi (22) - "Such an underlip and such a face, how devilish."
04 - Ebihara Yuri (29) - "Her lips are just as beautiful and cute as herself."
05 - Itou Misaki (31) - "They are very full and pretty."
06 - Angelina Jolie (33) - "The most beautiful lips in the world."
07 - Kitagawa Keiko (22) - "She has very sexy lips."
08 - Igawa Haruka (32) - "They seem so soft and yet so elastical."
09 - Ayase Haruka (23) - "They look so pretty in her commercials."
10 - Hirosue Ryoko (28) - "Her clean skin and beautiful lips are very attractive."
10 - Horikita Maki (20) - "She has very pretty and lovely lips."

Best Good Luck Retirement Suicide Laughtime Hour

I'm not one much for either Colbert or Jon Stewart, mostly because I have better things to watch when I'm looking for a diversion, but when Colbert calls for Bank CEO's to be put on the Japanese game show 'Best Good Luck Retirement Suicide Laughtime Hour', you really can't help but take notice:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Keeping Our Heads
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

HEH.

Pre-Order Sword of the Stranger and get an Exclusive Japanese Movie Program!

Pre-order Sword of the Stranger on Blu-ray or DVD from The Anime Corner Store and we'll send you a Sword of the Stranger Japanese collectors movie program along with the DVD!

These 30 page full color programs were previously sold at Japanese movie theaters that screened the film and include promotional artwork, screenshots, character designs, concept art and more (Japanese text). This offer is currently limited to the first 200 pre-orders we receive, so get your order in now to ensure you don't miss out!

And don't worry about us having enough programs to include these with the first 200 orders - we already have them in the warehouse and they are ready to go as soon as the disks come in! :-)

Anime Insider Magazine Goes the Way of the Dodo...

In another sign of the times, ANN Reports tonight that Anime Insider Magazine, which started out 8 years ago as Anime Invasion, will cease publication and has laid off all editorial staff. Anime Insider was the last US Anime themed magazine still in print being published as a monthly. From ANN:

Rob Bricken, a former editor of Anime Insider magazine, reports that Wizard Entertainment is ending publication of the North American anime and manga periodical. The editorial staff has been laid off. The magazine began in 2001 as a one-shot special publication under the name Anime Invasion, but soon changed its name to avoid trademark infringement with another company's brand. Anime Insider was a quarterly magazine during its early years, and it eventually turned into a monthly magazine and remained on that schedule for the last half of its eight-year history. Wizard touted the magazine as the "#1 anime and manga magazine in America" in circulation. The 67th issue shipped earlier this month.

This honestly should come as no surprise since it's been clear that the publisher Wizard Entertainment has been having financial trouble for some months. Between the Anime market shrinkage over the past couple of years and the shift to Internet content the demand for Anime print publications has been waining - especially in the ranks of the more 'mainstream' fans.

Insider, unlike the two remaining Anime publications (Otaku USA and Protoculture Addicts), had an editorial slant more towards mainstream or mass market (perhaps 'casual' would be the better term) type Anime fans, which is why it was the only Anime publication RACS never cut an ad deal with. Noemi never felt that Insider was targeted enough towards core Anime fans to justify the high ad rates, and of course, studio ad revenue can't be looking great right now either. That said, Insider was a very high quality publication and though it's content quality probably peaked around 2006, it will still be missed by many.

For our part we will continue to support both Otaku USA and Protoculture Addicts for as long as they find a viable market for Anime print publications. I'd probably have more to say regarding this but it's late and I'm pretty tired. Perhaps in the newsletter tomorrow...

Nozomi Finally Schedules Gakuen Alice

After almost a year of waiting and several delays, Nozomi has finally scheduled the release of the Gakuen Alice Complete Collection. It will be released June 30th.

Synopsis: In a small country school, Sakura Mikan and Imai Hotaru are classmates and best friends - in their own way. Ditzy, emotional Mikan seems ill-matched with aloof, emotionless Hotaru, yet they are together all the time... until Hotaru gets called away to study at the strange and forbidding Alice Academy. In her anguish at being left behind, Mikan finally decides to follow her friend - and doing so, she makes a strange discovery. Young Mikan Sakura is a girl from a Japanese countryside. optimistic, playful Mikan enjoys life to the lees. but suddenly one day, she is thrown in a state of utter dilemma and sadness when her best friend, the brilliant, cool and quite opposite natured Hotaru Imai leaves the country school to join some mysterious Alice Academy. Determined to be reunited with her best friend, mikan goes on an uncertain journey to Alice Academy. Eventually, she finds out that she is also an alice, a candidate eligible to enter the academy. Thus her new life begins...

Price Reduction on Upcoming Murder Princess Box

Hey, a little good news this morning! Funimation just called us to let us know that they are reducing the MSRP on the upcoming six episode Murder Princess DVD boxed set from $39.98 to $29.98, which means we will automatically be reducing our standard price from $28.98 to $21.98.

We will also automatically adjust the price for all customers who already have this title on pre-order. Street date remains unchanged for May 12th.

Synopsis: In the kingdom of Forland - the stronghold of an ancient and powerful magic - a bloody coup led by Dr. Akamashi and his supernatural cyborg minions pushes the royal family to the brink of extinction. Forced to flee in the hopes of preserving her noble bloodline, Princess Alita crosses paths with the infamous bounty hunter Falis - a collision of souls that will alter the course of their lives forever.

Apocalypse Meow (aka Cat Shit One)

Only really hard core manga fans who like the military/war genre (um, I'm one of those...) have probably ever read the US release of Motofumi Kobayashi's Cat Shit One titled Apocalypse Meow. It was published for a short time in the US by (who else?) ADV, before their manga division went belly up, so it's been out of print for for some time.

While it was never more than an obscure title, it was a great manga and a really serious war drama set during Vietnam. The only thing that 'outsiders' felt was odd about it is that it characterized the US Troops as cute bunny rabbits, and the NVA troops as evil cats. It was the sort of manga that you will love and find extremely compelling, but you'll never tell your non-manga friends you ever read - much less actually show them a copy lest you get branded as one of those really bizzaro Otaku.

Anyway, word has been out for awhile that Anima is going to produce an Anime version of Cat Shit One (I just love repeating that title by the way...), but this time the Bunny's and Cats (or is that Camels?) are going to be fighting each other in Iraq. For some strange reason, this release is getting a lot of attention from folks outside of the Anime sphere, leading Steven Den Beste to write:

Suddenly I'm seeing posts about Cat Shit 1 all over the place on non-anime websites... ... It's kind of spooky, really. What are they doing playing in our yard?

Indeed, I smell a right wing conspiracy brewing already...

Ace notes uncomfortably on his blog:

Will Hollywood ever make a heroic movie about Iraq? Probably not. But the Japanese have. Trouble is -- this being Japan -- it stars animated bunnies fighting terrorist cats.

They have a trailer out now, and when you see it you'll understand why Anime fans are wondering what the big deal is, and non-Anime fans are wondering what's wrong with Anime fans:

Hell yeah!!! Those non-Anime people will just never understand... -_^

Media Blasters June 2009 Release Schedule Posted + Sky Crawlers!

We're still at it, so we've got back to back updates for you tonight. We just finished posting Media Blasters June release schedule, and here's what we've got:

Ah My Buddha (Amaenaideyo!!) Vol #3 DVD
Genshiken 2 - The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, Vol #1, Full Circle
Genshiken 2 - The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, Vol #1, Full Circle w/ Art Box
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit DVD #4 (Eps #11-13)
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit DVD Bundle #2 (DVD #3&4 - Eps #8-13)
Simoun Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set
Twelve Kingdoms Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-45)

We also posted the upcoming Sky Crawlers (DVD and BLURAY) being published by Columbia for pre-order. It's due to street on May 26th and should look INCREDIBLE on BluRay!

Sky Crawlers DVD
Sky Crawlers DVD [BLURAY]

That's it for tonight. We're headed home, but we'll be back at it in the morning...

Funimation's June 2009 Release Schedule Posted

We got ahold of Funimation's June release schedule earlier this afternoon, and we just completed building all the items on the store site for pre-order. I'm pretty excited as it's well rounded and has something for everyone. Here's what it looks like:

Aquarion Season 1 Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-26)
Baccano!, Vol #4 DVD
Black Cat Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Viridian Collection)
Blade of the Phantom Master DVD (Re-Release)
D.Gray-man Season #1 Part #2 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #14-26)
Darker Than Black, Vol #5 DVD
Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie, the Conquerer of Shambala DVD (New Lower Price!)
Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie, the Conquerer of Shambala DVD (Limited Edition) (New Lower Price!)
Heroic Age Collection DVD Boxed Set #2 (Eps #14-26)
Kaze no Stigma Season #1 Part #1 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12)
Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple Season #1 Part #2 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #14-26)
King of Bandit Jing in Seventh Heaven OVA DVD
Kyo Kara Maoh Season 1 Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Re-Release)
Law of Ueki Complete Series Collection DVD Boxed Set
Moeyo Ken DVD (Re-Release)
One Piece Season 2 Part 1 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #53-65) (Uncut)
Origin: Spirits of the Past the Movie DVD [BLURAY]
Romeo X Juliet Collection Part #1 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12)
Samurai Champloo Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-26)
Venus Versus Virus Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set

In addition to lots of series continuations and welcome re-releases (like Kyo Kara Maoh Season 1, Samurai Champloo, and the first Venus Versus Virus boxed set) we are also getting the first half of two new series - Kaze no Stigma and Romeo X Juliet (which I for one have eagerly been waiting for!). In case you have been in a coma for the last 3 years and are not familiar with either series, here are the synopsis:

Kaze no Stigma Season #1 Part #1 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12)

Ayano is the heir to the house of Kannagi, a house with ties to the spirit of fire, whose members are all fire users. All except for her cousin, Kazuma. After he was defeated by Ayano, his father banished him from the house in disgrace. Kazuma ran off and changed his surname to Yagami. He formed a contract with the spirit of wind and becomes a powerful wind user. Four years later, he returned. Four years ago, Kazuma Kannagi was defeated by his cousin Ayano Kannagi for the right to be the successor of Enraiha, a sword passed down in the Kannagi family. His defeat, along with his lack of talent for En-Jutsu, the fire arts, the Kannagis' specialty, resulted in his banishment from the family. Now, Kazuma returns as Kazuma Yagami, a skilled master of Fu-Jutsu, the wind arts.

Romeo X Juliet Collection Part #1 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12)

This is a story of a young and tragic love, set in the aerial city of Neo Verona. Tyranny rules this island in the sky after the Montague family took control 14 years prior. The disparity among the wealthy and poor is apparent in the present state, the earth dries and water stagnates. The sky itself is wrapped in a deep dense fog. Both Romeo and Juliet's lineages are of present and past ruling families of Neo Verona. Romeo is the son of the current Montague dictator, Juliet (a beautiful woman) masquerades as a man (Odin), she's the last descendant of Capulet the previous rulers who were killed by an assassin's dagger 14 years ago. Her true background is not to be revealed to her until her 16th birthday. The cruel hands of fate introduces 2 people who will become "Star Crossed Lovers"...

Bleach Uncut Box #3 Available for Pre-Order At Last!

You Guys can stop writing in every week to ask, Viz gave me the word today that they have scheduled the 3rd Uncut Bleach Boxed Set. The box will contain the next 20 uncut episodes, be released as a regular and special edition, and will street on July 14th:

Synopsis: The day of Rukia's execution draws ever closer, and to save her, Ichigo and his loyal comrades must navigate the madness of a Soul Society on the brink of collapse. Ichigo and Renji face the most difficult training of their Soul Reaper careers as they struggle to achieve bankai, without which they have no hope against the most powerful captain of the Seireitei--Byakuya Kuchiki. While all the players converge at the site of Rukia's imminent execution, in the background, a group of Soul Reapers slowly uncover an unimaginable betrayal at the hands of one of their own--a betrayal that will shake the Soul Society to its very core.

Special edition extra's will be announced shortly. We have them both available for pre-order now!

Funimation Inks R1 Deal With Gonzo

Funimation announced on Friday that they have cut a deal with studio Gonzo for pretty much exclusive R1 distribution rights for their stuff:

FUNimation® Entertainment and Japanese producer GDH have entered into an
agreement to broadcast GDH's current and future hit series via online media
distribution and to collaborate on each series DVD launch in the US.

This really comes as no surprise considering all the Gonzo licences they have announced over the last two months. The good news is that it means we'll almost certainly see Romeo × Juliet, Strike Witches, and Rosario + Vampire released here in the US at some point in the near future. It also will help solidify Funi's position as the top R1 Anime studio.

UPDATE (3/24): Funimation has announced the first half season box of Romeo X Juliet for release on June 23rd, and Kaze No Stigma for June 30th. We will also be getting a re-release of the first season of Kyo Kara Maoh and Samurai Champloo in June. We should have all Funi's June releases posted to the site by 8 or 9pm tonight.

Keiko Kitagawa in Voce Magazine ~April 2009~

Keiko Kitagawa in Voce Magazine ~April 2009~

Horikita in new CM with Odagiri and Mizushima

Suntory announced their commercials for their new product, canned shochu with tonic water called "Horoyoi" that's going on sale on the 17th. Actress Horikita Maki (20) and the two actors Odagiri Joe (32) and Mizushima Hiro (24) will be in the commercials and attended the PR event. In the CM each of them is at their own home and chat with each other about various things while drinking "Horoyoi."



"Horoyoi" only has 3% alcohol, 4% less than your typical shochu with tonic water and also comes with a nice sweet and fruity taste. The target group for the new drink are youths around the age of 20. A 350 milliliter can costs 141 yen (USD 1.50). Suntory aims to sell more than 3 million of those drinks in 2009.



Last October Horikita turned 20 and now she has her first ever commercial for an alcoholic drink. "I often drink with my parents, too." She revealed on stage. "It just has the right amount of alcohol to give you a good feeling and it has a nice sweet taste. I can recommend it to all the girls who just started drinking like me." Recently young men also tend to prefer sweet liquor, as Mizushima seems to proof. "It's fun to drink with some company after work, but I also like to drink alone. I definitely won't miss to stock my refrigerator with Horoyoi."



Odagiri Joe is a regular drinker as well. "I drink every day and Horoyoi just seems to have the perfect amount of alcohol. I'd like to drink one right now."

The highlight of the commercials is that you can see their drinking faces.

GIRLS LOCKS! "Just my Idol"

..just when opening the door to the girls class, it's playing the song "Just my Idol" by Juvenile Bouto.

Speaking of which, last summer this 4-piece band won the special jury award for their live performance at the SOL teenage rock festival "Senkou Riot"! On stage the singer expressed his feelings for Horikita Maki through a love letter before enthusiastically singing their (stalker-ish) love song for her on the stage~

Horikita Maki listened to the song many times already, of course....
She also listened to the live recording from Senkou Riot here at Girls Locks!....
And she even knows him in person, as he already normally lined up for an autograph session and normally received his autograph on her photo book! (lol)

It's amazing how many fans of Horikita throughout Japan followed his lead and made songs for her...

And now it's been decided, that...
Juvenile Bouto is going to release a mini album under the Senkou Record Label on the 25th!!!!!!



The title of the album is "First Kiss" and they absolutely wanted Horikita Maki to listen to it first!
They sent her a sample version of the mini album and there was a letter inside! Oh the suspense!!!

Let's read it.



Dear Miss Horikita Maki

I would first like to wish you great health and prosperity.
Good evening! It's been a long time!

I'm Kyunou Takayuki, the 19-years-old vocalist of Juvenile Bouto who came to Tokyo to go to a university
and was born in Hakodate, the birthplace of Neo-Visual Kei bands like Kitajima Saburou, GLAY and YUKI.
How are you doing?
I'm so happy that since recently I'm able to see the VIP corner of Sweet Power Mobile called "Sweet Room"!

Well, so our 1st album "First Kiss" will go on sale on March 25! Yaaay!!
On that occasion I intended to write you this letter.
It turned out pretty long, so please throw it away, if you become tired of reading it! (smile)
Ah, by the way, my phone number is 080-xxxx-xxxx. (smile)

First of all, I want to write something about the song "Just my Idol"!
I wrote this song while watching you in "Seito Shokun!" the year before last when I was in my 3rd year of senior high school. When I listen to the song, I always remember, how my teacher never noticed when I looked through your photo books during class. (I perfectly do my class work.) (smile)
That Horikita Maki herself is listening to this song makes me so happy that I could die right now. If this would have happened right after I composed it in senior high, I probably wouldn't have had a long life.
Please help me somehow, because recently I really can't differentiate anymore what's a dream and what's reality!!

So, the next thing is about last year's getsu9 dorama "Innocent Love" where you performed along with the leader of Yuzu, Kitagawa Yuujin.
I was really, really happy!!
You know, I'm a great admirer of Yuzu's music, their music is what made me start to learn to play the guitar! I've been their fan since I've been little and I went to see 10 or 20 concerts of them, so you can imagine how happy I've been!
Doesn't it make you happy when two of your favorite people appear together and become friends?
I've been soooooooooooooooo happy. (smile)
I think I've said "happy" too often.

I'm sorry that this letter is so long. (smile)
By the way, my phone number is 080-xxxx-xxxx. (smile)

Now let me use my last words for our upcoming album!
It's strange for me as the composer and singer to say this, but it really became an interesting album. You can listen to it as many times you want, because of all the scattered meanings. I'm sorry, but I can't really explain this well, just listen to it whenever you have some free time, please!!

Thanks for reading the letter until the end!
I'll watch "Chance! Kanojo ga seiko shita riyu"!!!!
And your new Tuesday dorama at 9pm, too!!!!
Good luck with your role as an homeless!!!!
I'll support your for the rest of my life!!!!

Ah, pardon. Please listen to the last song. (smile)
This is the song I want you to listen to the most from this album.
It's a powerful ballade.
Please listen to it and sorry that it's not as good as EXILE's "Michi".
The song is called "Utakata no Gogo".
I'm dedicating this song to you!!

From now on we'll do our best to someday be able to appear as guests in Horikita Maki's "GIRLS LOCKS!"
Whenever we are invited as guests, we have to sing EXILE's "Lovers Again" together, okay?!

PS: On March 10th and 17th we have a live performance in Shibuya LUSH.
Everyone who says, "I heard this on Girls Locks!", gets a discount on their tickets!!
Horikita Maki, you would get in for free, of course!!!!
I've put you on the guest list just in case. (smile)
Please try to come~
And reply to this letter, if that's okay with you.

Itabashiku xxxxxx xxxxxx-Apartment no. xxx Kyunou Takayuki

---

It came in a light blue envelope, ...on 4 sheets (lol) and even contained a couple of fully crossed out characters, and still, it's filled with pure love for Maki.

It's a surprising that he started to play the guitar because of his love for Yuzu and all, but.... did he have to write his phone number everywhere!!?
However, RADWIMPS visited the live broadcast class room today, so there was no time and she... wasn't able to call him again! (lol)

Anyway, it's a special day today and so I think we could play this one song he absolutely wanted her to listen to, it's called "Utakata no Gogo"!
(Isn't that great, Kyunou-kun!?)



The release of Juvenile Bouto's mini album is very soon and you all should definitely check it out!
If this CD sells well, then they definitely might be able to come to her girls class as guest someday.... (lol)

Kyunou-kun, thanks!
And good luck to everyone from Juvenile Bouto!!!

03/10 GIRLS LOCKS! "Books Club Book Sommelier"

[...]
This is a new corner since February where they select one person from the board who can then introduce one or more books to the listeners. If you still didn't notice or are new to Girls Locks!, Horikita Maki is the head of the books club. She's responsible for everything regarding literature.
Last time they talked a lot about the mystery genre and it really was a big success among the listeners.
That's why they are continuing this corner.. that's all of the introduction you need, I guess.
[...]



As response to your active writing in the board...
Let's call the "2nd Book Sommelier" !!!

"Hello!? I'm the head of School of Locks book club, Horikita Maki!"

"I'm 3rd-year junior high school student Red-Girl from Aichi!"

That's right, today's book sommelier is Red-Girl from Aichi.
What genre and books will she talk about with us today?



Maki: "Let's get straight to the point, what's your favorite genre?"

Red-Girl: "......new publications!"

Maki: "Oh! New publications!! So you often go to bookstores?"

Red-Girl: "No, I always check the corner for new books in our school library."

Maki: "I see~ About how fast are you reading the books?"

Red-Girl: "I read about 100 books per year."

Maki: "Woooow, amazing!!! You really like books, don't you! There are a lot of new books, how do you chose which one you are going to read next?"

Red-Girl: "First I look at the binding. If I like the mood of it, I read the first 2-3 pages. If it's interesting, I continue to read it right there."

Maki: "I see. Do you also check new books from olden days?"

Red-Girl: "Nope. As junior high school student I started to come to the library a lot of times and the fascination of the new publications just got me the most..."

Maki: "Oh, their fascination?"

Red-Girl: "Their clear binding..., the sparking and shining white paper, simply the fact that not many have read it yet! I could even be the first to read it! That's what is so fascinating to me."

Maki: "I know what you mean! By the way, what's your favorite writer?"

Red-Girl: "Ishida Ira, especially the "Ikebukuro West Gate Park" series!"

Maki: "Hey, I like his works, too! And what are you reading right now?"

Red-Girl: "The new book of Hyakuta Naoki. It got released around last October and is called "Box!" It's a story about a senior high school student who is boxing. The world of boxing is completely new to me, but I thought that it's an interesting sport."



Maki: "So it really shows you a new world. Then, what is it that you like about reading books?"

Red-Girl: "I guess it's exactly that I'm able to get to know those different worlds and that I'm able to spread out to those."

Maki: "That's right. Okay! We've talked a lot today and... I've made my decision! By today Red-Girl is our official book sommelier for new publications!!! From now on she'll introduce some of the books she picks up to read and introduces them to you in the board, so please check out her topic whenever you are unsure about a certain new book! Red-Girl, I'm looking forward to it!"

Red-Girl: "Me too, and thanks a lot!!"

And so we have our 2nd book sommelier!
By the way, Maki is also seems to be someone who likes to check out the new publications.
That conversation just now brought back some memories.

"When I go back to my school time, then I remember that I also always requested the new publications in the school library. It was a lot of fun to read them, because you were one of the first people who ever read it. The feeling of being the first is really great~"

GIRLS LOCKS! "Letters from Listeners"

In charge for the 2nd week every month and attending after 1 month of absence, Horikita Maki~

Today, "March 9th" is finally the day of Remioromen's live broadcast again! I guess you all know this anyway, but Horikita Maki appeared in the PV of their famous song "March 9th". (Note: 1 Liter of Tears) She was still a junior high school student when they filmed it. "How nostalgic~ Lot's of memories come up when hearing that song," she said.

There's a scene where her older sister in that PV has a wedding reception banquet and they really went through the whole ceremony from the beginning to the end without skipping anything. In another scene the older sister reads out a letter and you can't tell by watching the PV, but she really read out loud that very touching letter during that scene! The final PV isn't longer than a couple of minutes, but the actual filming took quite a while... you definitely should check it out.



Remioromen's "March 9th" is one of the standard songs for the graduation season... I think that a lot of our SOL students who faced their graduation this year also listened to that song. There should also be a lot of students who begin their new lives as of this spring, right?

This is a mail from one of those.

From Orange-kun (male, 17, Chiba)
Hello Horikita Maki-chan.
I'll be an university students as from April.
And I'm going to live alone!
I'm looking forward to live alone, but it's a completely new thing for me and I'm also a bit anxious about it.
You moved into the dorm of your agency, right?
How was it for you back then?
It would be great, if you could give me some advice!

Maki-chan:
I see, you are anxious about living alone. I lived in the dorm and so there were the other girls from the agency and the people from the staff. It never got lonely and yet I still often went back to my parent's home (laughs). However, all the things my mother always did for me... like cleaning, the laundry or cooking, I had to do them all by myself! Orange-kun! You'll make it! You might start to feel lonely sometime, but if you keep yourself busy with studying, a part-time job and hanging out with friends that feeling will definitely go away!!



That's right.
You can make a lot of friends and invite them to your home, start cooking, arrange everything the way you want.. There will definitely be a lot of "firsts" for you, but I think that it's also fun to live "all by yourself!" All of you who start living alone as of Spring, you can count on our support!!

[...] Skipping the next parts of the summary, as it's only about that literary award and has no interesting quotes from the show. [...]

Oricon : Ideal Type of Daughter

In celebration of Hinamatsuri on March 3rd, Oricon asked 900 men and women (between their twenties and their forties) what type of girl they would want to raise their daughter like, if they had one.

Talento Becky was ranked #1 overall and among the women surveyed. #2 was actress Aoi Miyazaki, who ranked first among the men surveyed.

1. Becky
2. Aoi Miyazaki
3. Nanako Matsushima
4. Aya Ueto
5. Norika Fujiwara
6. Yukie Nakama
7. Miho Kanno
8. Masami Nagasawa
9. Maki Horikita
10. Yui Aragaki

Horikita Maki - Nat's Space Adventure 3

Horikita Maki worked as voice actress for the 3D animated movie "Nat's Space Adventure 3D" (also known as "Fly Me to the Moon") and on Thursday was the preview screening for the said movie. Her role is that of the male fly Nat who goes on a great space adventure. "I started to like flies and now I have problems even just holding a fly swatter." Maki said with a laugh.



The director Ben Stassen arrived in Japan just at the same day and didn't have a lot of time to get to know her, but due to her great voice he already offered he the voice role for his next project. "I just met Maki, but she possesses a beautiful and amazing voice. I'd like her to do the more sexy voice of the sea turtle for my next movie 'Umigame' (also known as "Around the World in 50 Years 3D") as well."

Horikita Maki at Fujisankei Awards

On Wednesday was the time for the 38th Fujisankei-Group Advertisement Awards in the Grand Prince Hotel in Tokyo. The biggest prize of the night went to Toshiba for their fluorescence light bulb lamps "Neoball Z Real" and the LED light bulb lamp "E-Core" and the whole campaign behind it. Concerned about the environmental problems, they tried to think towards the form of light bulbs and their low electricity consumption.

Over 1400 people from the industry and reporters gathered at the award presentation. Actress Horikita Maki had the honor to hand over the trophy to Toshiba's company president Nonaka Hisatsugu. Nonaka about the award, "It's an honor to receive this award. Japan's thinking towards light bulbs is already strong, but our thinking about environmental problems still needs to become stronger. From now on we will continue to try everything to create goods concerning the environment."

This award is the biggest advertisement contest of Japan in all aspects. It gets covered by newspapers, TV, radio and magazines, and honors people's affinity, creativity and popularity.