SOS Voice Actor Discussion and Appreciation

[NoSanninWa]

It seems that the voice actors for this show have done a lot of great work and garnered many fans who wish to show their appreciation and discuss them and about the way the voice-over works.

I have to admit that looking through the list of Seiyu at ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6430) certainly reveals a lot of respect-worthy talent. Just as a warm up, here are the two main seiyu. I'm sure that there are many others that people would like to discuss.

Aya Hirano as Haruhi Suzumiya
Angel Tales (TV) as Saru no Momo (Monkey)
Bakuten Shoot Beyblade G Revolution (TV) as MingMing
Canvas2 ~Niji-iro no Sketch~ (TV) as Sumire Misaki
Eyeshield 21 (TV) as Mamori
Galaxy Angel II (TV) as Kahlua / Tequila Majoram
Himawari! (TV) as Shikimi
Itsudatte My Santa (OAV) as Mai
Kiddy Grade (TV) as Lumiere
NANA (TV) as Reira Serizawa
Tenshi no Shippo Chu! (TV) as Monkey Momo
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) as Haruhi Suzumiya

Tomokazu Sugita as Kyon
Bakuten Shoot Beyblade G Revolution (TV) as Sergei
BASToF Syndrome (Korean TV) as Moraato
Beyblade (TV) as Sergei (Spencer)
Bleach (TV) as Nova
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo (TV) as OVER
Ceres, Celestial Legend (TV) as Kagami Mikage
Chibits (special) as Hideki Motosuwa
Chobits (TV) as Hideki Motosuwa
Dragon Drive (TV) as Kyoji Tachibana
Full Metal Panic! (TV) as Lian Shaopin (ep 18, 21)
Ghost Talker's Daydream (OAV) as Kadotake Souichiro
Gintama (OAV) as Sakata Gintoki
Gintama (TV) as Sakata Gintoki
Honey and Clover (TV) as Takumi Mayama
Inu Yasha (TV) as Monk Musou (ep 69); Renkotsu
Kaleido Star (TV) as Z Leader (ep 22)
Karin (TV) as Alfred (eps. 16-17)
Legend of Duo (TV) as Zieg
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's (TV) as Chrono Haraoun (6 years later)
Metropolis (movie)
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny (TV) as Miller (ep 4); Youlant Kent
Onegai Friends (Drama CD TV sidestory) as Masaomi Yamada
Pani Poni Dash! (TV) as Alien(Subordinate)
Please Teacher! (TV) as Masaomi Yamada
Please Twins! (TV) as Masaomi Yamada
Rockman.EXE Beast (TV) as Slashman
Saint Beast (TV) as Ryusei no Kira
Samurai Gun (TV) as Wagashira
Seraphim Call (TV) as male student B (ep 4)
Seven of Seven (TV) as Onlooker 1
Shiawase Sou no Okojo-san (TV) as Kagaku
Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars (TV) as Moriguchi Kyoichi
Shootfighter Tekken (OAV) as Hidemitsu Kuroda
Shuffle! (TV) as Rin Tsuchimi
Sousei no Aquarion (TV) as Sirius De Alisia
Super Robot Wars Original Generation - The Animation (OAV) as Brooklyn "Bullet" Luckfield
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) as Kyon
The Twelve Kingdoms (TV) as Officer 3 (Ep 8); Soldier 1 (Ep 6)
X (TV) as Subaru Sumeragi
X OAV as Subaru Sumeragi

[Kaoru Chujo]

Add to the list the seiyuus for Mikuru (Gotou Yuuko (http://hashihime.atspace.com/Hashi_seiyuus.html#gotouyuuko)) and Yuki (Chihara Minori (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=22271)).

The wonderful and hilarious Gotou-san was Nanami in Lamune and Kaede in Shuffle, is the tiny princess Rein in Fushigiboshi no Futagohime, and has been in numerous ero-games (http://iweb.sakuranet.or.jp/~haruno-c/gameplaza/va_memo3/system/vadb.cgi?action=view_ind&value=00062&namecode=1&sortcont=hard). I am fascinated by the pictures of her drinking in the photos section of her website (http://homepage3.nifty.com/gotu_web/), and the fact that she says there she likes drinking, motorcycles and watching fighting sports. That always seemed quite a contrast to the roles she plays.

Chihara-san is a comparatively new voice, most recently having done the difficult voice of Erika (a foreigner) in the underrated (IMO) Lemon Angel Project. Minorin debuted in 2004 as Natsume Aya in Tenjo Tenge. Her blog, Minorhythm (http://minorhythm.jugem.jp/), is good enough to have been published recently in book form (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4344807294/jugem-22/250-3784539-8102651). There's a day-in-the-life feature on her in the May issue of Seiyuu Grand Prix magazine. She sings well, too, as do Gotou-san and Hirano-san. Last Sunday, she gave a one-woman performance -- just her and her guitar -- in Akihabara (pics in her blog).

Here is a picture of the three women on a recent photo shoot for Voice Newtype. (l-r) Gotou Yuuko, Hirano Aya, Chihara Minori. Hirano-san is 18, Chihara-san is 25, and Gotou-san doesn't tell her age, but she's probably around 30 (according to a detailed investigation on 2channel, lol):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/suzuharuvas1.jpg

Gotou Yuuko 後藤邑子
Staff in:
Fushigiboshi no Futagohime (TV) : Theme Song Performance (ED1)
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) : Theme Song Performance (OP1 & ED)
Cast in:
Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime Gyu! (TV) as Rein
Fushigiboshi no Futagohime (TV) as Rain
I''s Pure (OAV) as Yuka Morisaki
Iketeru Futari (TV) as Kaneto Sakurai
Kujibiki Unbalance (OAV) as Kaoruko Yamada
Lamune (TV) as Nanami Konoe
Mizuiro (OAV 2) as Hiyori Hayasaka
Naruto (TV) as Futaba (ep 56)
Nekojiru Gekijou (TV) as Nyansuke
Shuffle! (TV) as Kaede Fuyou
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) as Mikuru Asahina
The World of Narue (TV) as Yuki Kashiwazaki; [+ unlisted credits]

Chihara Minori 茅原実里
Staff in:
Lemon Angel Project (TV) : Theme Song Performance (OP) (eps 5, 13)
Samurai Gun (TV) : Theme Song Performance (ED2)
Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight (OAV) : Theme Song Performance
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) : Theme Song Performance (ED)
Cast in:
Kyou no Go no Ni (OAV) as Tsubasa Kawai
Lemon Angel Project (TV) as Erika Campbell
Samurai Gun (TV) as Ohana
Skelter+Heaven (OAV) as Ayaka Matsumoto
Tenjho Tenge (TV) as Aya Natsume (debut)
Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight (OAV) as Aya Natsume
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) as Yuki Nagato

[DannoHung]

Gotou's ears mesmerize me...

They're kind of like stabilizer winglets on a Lear jet.

[Shiroth]

I'll have to admit that Tomokazu Sugita really does make the show a hell of a lot better for me. A lot of people are just gonna see him as Rin from Shuffle!, but his voice just adds so much more to the character.. god i love Kyon.

[Pakxenon]

Hmmm... I never knew that before, that Tomokazu did Nova from Bleach (wow wtf lol) and the guy from Chobits (saw first episode, male lead was clearly whimpy). Yes, all I knew was that he did Rin for SHUFFLE!.

[Vexx]

Gotou is just an escaped wood elf .... so cute.

Whatever I think about the Shuffle! character Rin ... his VA, Sugita, is really mesmerizing to listen to. In Shuffle's first 10 episodes (deh phunny), his dialog delivery when sparring with Itsuki or the Kings was hilarious. He's bringing that dry wit style to Kyon and its beautiful.

[Shiroth]

Daisuke Ono has been my fav' VA, ever since his work as Yukito in Air - and from what i seen from him as Itsuki in episode 01.. i hope that we'll get more of him.. everything about Itsuki reminds me of Yukito.. must be the hair. ^^;

[Radiosity]

I'll have to admit that Tomokazu Sugita really does make the show a hell of a lot better for me. A lot of people are just gonna see him as Rin from Shuffle!, but his voice just adds so much more to the character.. god i love Kyon.

+1 He does indeed rock. He had a brilliant role in Paniponi as well of course as the captain's sarcastic second officer (or whatever his rank was supposed to be). Just something about his voice really brings out whatever character he plays.

[Shiroth]

Yeah, he's good as the green alien in PPD - mainly for his slow/soft voice used in that show.

[Riker]

Tomokazu Sugita does indeed bring his character, Kyon, to life. But I'm most impressed with Gotou Yuuko.
OMG TeH Squeal~ Ahhhhhhh~~~ *Melts*

And don't think she can only do cutesy roles, her voice can be scary too. (à la Shuffle episode 19) ;)

[Shiroth]

Gotou stole my heart in Lamune, though her role in Haruhi is pretty special.

[sophismata]

Very happy with Tomokazu Sugita as Kyon myself; it's nigh-on perfect. Just wanted to voice that; the nuances (the way, for example, he speeds over aliens, timetravelers, espers, etc in subsequent mentions), cynical, and bored tone really serve to make the character.

Angelsama, you say you love Kyon... prove it! Convert to Haruhiism and adopt Kyon as an avatar!

[Shiroth]

Angelsama, you say you love Kyon... prove it! Convert to Haruhiism and adopt Kyon as an avatar!
Sorry, but i don't need to change my avatar just to prove how much i love a character.

[sophismata]

Sorry, but i don't need to change my avatar just to prove how much i love a character.
Oh, but you do.

[melange]

Sorry, but i don't need to change my avatar just to prove how much i love a character.
Then why do you even have Saber-chan as your avatar if not to prove you love her? :D

[monir]

Add to the list the seiyuus for Mikuru (Gotou Yuuko (http://hashihime.atspace.com/Hashi_seiyuus.html#gotouyuuko)) and Yuki (Chihara Minori (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=22271)).

The wonderful and hilarious Gotou-san was Nanami in Lamune and Kaede in Shuffle, is the tiny princess Rein in Fushigiboshi no Futagohime, and has been in numerous ero-games (http://iweb.sakuranet.or.jp/%7Eharuno-c/gameplaza/va_memo3/system/vadb.cgi?action=view_ind&value=00062&namecode=1&sortcont=hard). I am fascinated by the pictures of her drinking in the photos section of her website (http://homepage3.nifty.com/gotu_web/), and the fact that she says there she likes drinking, motorcycles and watching fighting sports. That always seemed quite a contrast to the roles she plays.

Chihara-san is a comparatively new voice, most recently having done the difficult voice of Erika (a foreigner) in the underrated (IMO) Lemon Angel Project. Minorin debuted in 2004 as Natsume Aya in Tenjo Tenge. Her blog, Minorhythm (http://minorhythm.jugem.jp/), is good enough to have been published recently in book form (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4344807294/jugem-22/250-3784539-8102651). There's a day-in-the-life feature on her in the May issue of Seiyuu Grand Prix magazine. She sings well, too, as do Gotou-san and Hirano-san. Last Sunday, she gave a one-woman performance -- just her and her guitar -- in Akihabara (pics in her blog).

Here is a picture of the three women on a recent photo shoot for Voice Newtype. (l-r) Gotou Yuuko, Hirano Aya, Chihara Minori. Hirano-san is 18, Chihara-san is 25, and Gotou-san doesn't tell her age, but she's probably around 30 (according to a detailed investigation on 2channel, lol):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/suzuharuvas1.jpg

Gotou Yuuko 後藤邑子
Staff in:
Fushigiboshi no Futagohime (TV) : Theme Song Performance (ED1)
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) : Theme Song Performance (OP1 & ED)
Cast in:
Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime Gyu! (TV) as Rein
Fushigiboshi no Futagohime (TV) as Rain
I''s Pure (OAV) as Yuka Morisaki
Iketeru Futari (TV) as Kaneto Sakurai
Kujibiki Unbalance (OAV) as Kaoruko Yamada
Lamune (TV) as Nanami Konoe
Mizuiro (OAV 2) as Hiyori Hayasaka
Naruto (TV) as Futaba (ep 56)
Nekojiru Gekijou (TV) as Nyansuke
Shuffle! (TV) as Kaede Fuyou
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) as Mikuru Asahina
The World of Narue (TV) as Yuki Kashiwazaki; [+ unlisted credits]

Chihara Minori 茅原実里
Staff in:
Lemon Angel Project (TV) : Theme Song Performance (OP) (eps 5, 13)
Samurai Gun (TV) : Theme Song Performance (ED2)
Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight (OAV) : Theme Song Performance
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) : Theme Song Performance (ED)
Cast in:
Kyou no Go no Ni (OAV) as Tsubasa Kawai
Lemon Angel Project (TV) as Erika Campbell
Samurai Gun (TV) as Ohana
Skelter+Heaven (OAV) as Ayaka Matsumoto
Tenjho Tenge (TV) as Aya Natsume (debut)
Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight (OAV) as Aya Natsume
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) as Yuki Nagato I have a request for Kaoru Choujo which might be a bit unusual. I read your post whenever I see one with your name on it, so I couldn't help but notice that you appreciate seiyuus and that you like to mention you appreciation for the seiyuus in your sig and avy which, for some reason, doesn't extend further than the female voices. I was wondering if you could make an exception and pay homage to Tomokazu Sugita who is a male. :D After Shuffle, Honey & Clover, and now this, I say he is worthy of the honor of being mentioned by you and have momentary recognition by your sig + aviator. He is worth the attention and I'm sure you know it as well.:D

[sophismata]

An additional question; who does the voice for Shamisen? That's also done very well.

[Maids! Maids! Maids!]

Then why do you even have Saber-chan as your avatar if not to prove you love her? :D
I think she's his king. Heck, I wish she was my king.

[Shirobane]

Then why do you even have Saber-chan as your avatar if not to prove you love her? :D
Mindyou I still haven't changed my sig to a more haruhiistic sig :p Partially because KiNa did a bang up job on it, but mostly because Saber-chan is almost as kickass as Haruhi :D

Ah well, maybe I'll throw a small "S.O.S. member" bug on it whenever I'm not so busy...


On Topic:
I don't think Haruhii would be Haruhii without the voice of Hirano-san, it just fits so perfectly. KyoAni definately casted the every voice actors/actresses in the show masterfully.

[Shiroth]

Then why do you even have Saber-chan as your avatar if not to prove you love her? :D

I think she's his king. Heck, I wish she was my king.
Yeah.. she's my king & my number one love. ^^

[Onizuka-GTO]

oh Chihara Minori is 25? do you know the exactly day and month? i had to create a wiki page on her, so if you have any thing else to add, please do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minori_Chihara

:)

[Burner of Anime]

oh Chihara Minori is 25? do you know the exactly day and month? i had to create a wiki page on her, so if you have any thing else to add, please do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minori_Chihara

:)

Comment on seiyuu growth and ability.

Aya Natsume: Fail for pedestrian reading of her lines. :uhoh:

Yuki Nagato: Win for deadpan moe. :cool:

[Kaoru Chujo]

I have a request for Kaoru Choujo which might be a bit unusual. I read your post whenever I see one with your name on it, so I couldn't help but notice that you appreciate seiyuus and that you like to mention you appreciation for the seiyuus in your sig and avy which, for some reason, doesn't extend further than the female voices. I was wondering if you could make an exception and pay homage to Tomokazu Sugita who is a male. :D After Shuffle, Honey & Clover, and now this, I say he is worthy of the honor of being mentioned by you and have momentary recognition by your sig + aviator. He is worth the attention and I'm sure you know it as well.:D Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking of including him as the first male in the hashihime seiyuu gallery (http://hashihime.atspace.com/Hashi_seiyuusC.html#sugitomo), and you convinced me, so he's now there. Mayama and Kyon are both great performances. You'll find Hirano Aya (Haruhi) on the same page of the gallery.

I'm going to stick with Gotou Yuuko as my avatar/sig homage to the SOS-dan, however. I switched to her within hours of the first episode's first broadcast, finally able to honor a seiyuu I've loved for a while.

As for why I concentrate on female seiyuus, it's because they were the first to engage my attention, and there is so much to know about even them that I am hesitant to spread myself too thin. Anyway, I have to admit that my interest is not pure: I'm not just interested in female seiyuus as voice performers, but also as personalities in the entertainment world in Japan.

Here are some caps from the talk on a Honey & Clover DVD between Sugita-san (Mayama) and Takahashi Mikako (Yamada). Sugita-san is long and lean (5'10", 125 lb.), has done Shaolin martial arts, and loves his Honda Steed 400VLX (http://www.honda.co.jp/ACCESS/motorcycles/old_models/STEED400VLX/). Everyone please feel free to use these caps however you like:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/sugita8a.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/sugita3s.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/sugiat9cc.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/sugitamikako1siz2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/sugita3a.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/sugita8b.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/sugiat9cv.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/sugita3v.jpg

[DannoHung]

Holy crap... it's like Rivers Cuomo's Japanese twin!

[lavielove]

The way she danced in the Itsudatte My Santa ED song ,"Kimi Kara Onegai" music video is very much similar to the dancing sequence in the anime.IMO

[Kaoru Chujo]

oh Chihara Minori is 25? do you know the exactly day and month? i had to create a wiki page on her, so if you have any thing else to add, please do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minori_Chihara :) I added some stuff from the Japanese Wikipedia page (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8C%85%E5%8E%9F%E5%AE%9F%E9%87%8C): birth info, astrological sign, nickname, CDs, links. And put a long "u" on seiyu, to match other places in Wikipedia.

[monir]

Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking of including him as the first male in the hashihime seiyuu gallery (http://hashihime.atspace.com/Hashi_seiyuusC.html#sugitomo), and you convinced me, so he's now there. Mayama and Kyon are both great performances. You'll find Hirano Aya (Haruhi) on the same page of the gallery.

I'm going to stick with Gotou Yuuko as my avatar/sig homage to the SOS-dan, however. I switched to her within hours of the first episode's first broadcast, finally able to honor a seiyuu I've loved for a while.

As for why I concentrate on female seiyuus, it's because they were the first to engage my attention, and there is so much to know about even them that I am hesitant to spread myself too thin. Anyway, I have to admit that my interest is not pure: I'm not just interested in female seiyuus as voice performers, but also as personalities in the entertainment world in Japan.

Here are some caps from the talk on a Honey & Clover DVD between Sugita-san (Mayama) and Takahashi Mikako (Yamada). Sugita-san is long and lean (5'10", 125 lb.), has done Shaolin martial arts, and loves his Honda Steed 400VLX (http://www.honda.co.jp/ACCESS/motorcycles/old_models/STEED400VLX/). Everyone please feel free to use these caps however you like:
Dude's a hunk! :heh: And that's a nice bike. I became a fan of Gotou after episode 19 of Shuffle and then Lamune convinced me that she is special. Sugita's voice acting for Rin what kept me interested in Shuffle though Rin (Rin deserved his harem) is hated by so many Kaede-fans. His role in Honey & Clover is one of the reason why that show is amusing. Kyon is another replica of his detached, bored role which can make a show interesting. Anyway, if you ever decide to include a male seiyuu for your sig-of-appreciation, start with him. :D

Nice website btw!

[Kinny Riddle]

Sugita is just perfect as Kyon.

I first noticed his performance as Hideki in Chobits, Hideki, like Rin from Shuffle!, has to make do with all sorts of fanservicey situations. But Sugita handled them well, his voice is neither too pretentious, nor is it too subtle, thus making Hideki/Rin more believable as characters.

Plus his deep tone is perfect for carrying the occasional witty remark Hideki/Rin makes in those series.

Kyo-Ani has picked the best man for the male lead.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Sugita is just perfect as Kyon.... I just saw the first episode of Gintama, and he's good in that, too.

Hirano Aya (http://hashihime.atspace.com/Hashi_seiyuusC.html#hiranaya), Haruhi's VA:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/amorpsyche/hirano_aya.jpg

She's 18, had her first role at 15 as Monkey Momo in Tenshi no Shippo, is in four animes this spring (Haruhi, MagiPoka, NANA, and Himawari), actually sang the classical pieces her character sang in Canvas2, and is a first-year university student.

I apologize for cross-posting this with the ep3 discussion, but I thought it belonged here.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Seiyuu-related post (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=544510&postcount=265) in the ep 4 thread. Gives various details about Gotou Yuko, and says how she, Hirano Aya and Chihara Minori are all comparatively intellectual.

[C.A.]

I'm starting to really like hirano aya, i saw this video on youtube, she was in this entertainment show.

Shes really sweet and appears to be very talented. I love her singing voice and she made haruhi such a great character.

Also its rare to find a VA thats actually younger than me, i just turned 19 last week lol

[raphaël]

Yup, she's cute AND talented indeed, but I don't know why my vote goes to Kyon. ^^
I got worried, recently, as I realized I'm more attracted by male voices than female voices. How do you think I chose my avvie? :p

[eggplant]

Here (mms://oricon.hvod.nefficient.jp/oricon/anime/news/harehareyukai_500k.wmv) is a videoclip of the three female protagonists (from left: Chihara Minori (Yuki), Hirano Aya (Haruhi), and Gotou Yuuko (Mikuru), expressing their thanks for having the ending song Hare Hare Yukai reach number 5 on the Oricon charts.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Thanks, eggplant. What a great chance to see all three of them together.

But wait, there's more: on datorrents and tokyotosho there's now a video of Hirano Aya (http://hashihime.atspace.com/Hashi_seiyuusC.html#hiranaya) (Haruhi) in a photo session as a traditional Japanese archer. Shown on Voice NewType TV 2006.05.10. The master tells her about the Japanese bow's 2000-year history, and praises her for learning as much as she did in such a short time. She is strong, but self-deprecatory, and the bow hurts her hand.

She seems like a very nervous and controlled person to me. Maybe that's just the appearance given by normally extreme Japanese formal politeness. But she gives me the impression of being a driven achiever: she's a classically-trained singer as well as (supposedly) a university student, and she has been working as a seiyuu and pop singer since the age of 15 (she's 18 now). Whatever the case, the smooth, sharp strength of her voice as Haruhi, and its ability to turn expressively, is really wonderful.

Just as an aside, watching the Oricon video, I could just about see the three seiyuus' ages: Hirano Aya is 18. Chihara Minori is 25. And Gotou Yuuko is probably 30 or so (she apparently keeps it secret). In a blog post about a previous NewType photo shoot in a school, Gotou-san said that the three of them looked like two students and a teacher.

[eggplant]

She seems like a very nervous and controlled person to me. Maybe that's just the appearance given by normally extreme Japanese formal politeness. But she gives me the impression of being a driven achiever: she's a classically-trained singer as well as (supposedly) a university student, and she has been working as a seiyuu and pop singer since the age of 15 (she's 18 now). Whatever the case, the smooth, sharp strength of her voice as Haruhi, and its ability to turn expressively, is really wonderful.

Hirano Aya also enjoys playing the piano and tap dancing, not to mention her impeccable penmanship, as can be seen from this photo (http://www.broccoli.co.jp/radio/ga2/pr_hirano.html) for her role in the upcoming game, Galaxy Angel II.

By the way, she is an university student, currently attending Tamagawa University, a rather presitigious school, known for taking in students that have lived abroad, which she did as a child. Makes you wonder how her English speaking skills are.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Hirano Aya also enjoys playing the piano and tap dancing, not to mention her impeccable penmanship, as can be seen from this photo (http://www.broccoli.co.jp/radio/ga2/pr_hirano.html) for her role in the upcoming game, Galaxy Angel II. By the way, she is an university student, currently attending Tamagawa University, a rather presitigious school, known for taking in students that have lived abroad, which she did as a child. Makes you wonder how her English speaking skills are. Thanks for the great info. Did she say on the Galaxy Angel page that her special talent was precognition?

[eggplant]

Thanks for the great info. Did she say on the Galaxy Angel page that her special talent was precognition?

Right it says予知, which would be clairvoyance, typical of Haruhi, haha.

And her comments regarding her measurements as 宇宙規模, which would be galactic proportions:heh:

[Kaioshin Sama]

Contrary to popular belief Aya Hirano was not in 1985's SPT Layzner as most sights seem to say, she wasn't even born at the time.

[eggplant]

Contrary to popular belief Aya Hirano was not in 1985's SPT Layzner as most sights seem to say, she wasn't even born at the time.

Right, that was played by Hirano Fumi, whose name in kanji 平野文, can be read Aya as well, causing the mishap.

Of course, Hirano Fumi is best known for playing the role of Lum in the 80s anime Urusei Yatsura, based on Takahashi Rumiko's breakthough manga, but she also has a successuful career as a disk jockey, essayist, and narrator.
I have met her on several occassions a long time ago, and she is such a wonderful person.

Coincidentally, both Hiranos have attended Tamagawa University.

[ApathyEcstasy]

Dude's a hunk! :heh: And that's a nice bike. I became a fan of Gotou after episode 19 of Shuffle and then Lamune convinced me that she is special. Sugita's voice acting for Rin what kept me interested in Shuffle though Rin (Rin deserved his harem) is hated by so many Kaede-fans. His role in Honey & Clover is one of the reason why that show is amusing. Kyon is another replica of his detached, bored role which can make a show interesting. Anyway, if you ever decide to include a male seiyuu for your sig-of-appreciation, start with him. :D

Nice website btw!

jeeze louise...5'10" and only 125 pounds? god damn! that's not lean and long, that's like a human pocky!!

[Anime Online]

Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IESCsruLAiE&search=%E6%B6%BC%E5%AE%AE%E3%83%8F%E3%83%AB%E3%83% 92) of a TV interview of Chihara Minori (Yuki's VA) and Aya Hirano (Haruhi's VA) for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. In case you are wondering, Minori-san is the one wearing jean jacket on the left and Hirano-san is the one wearing a dark jacket on the right.

[Kaoru Chujo]

My feelings about the voice actors shifted over the series. At first, I was just totally captivated by Gotou Yuuko. The hic-squeak when she was dragged into the club room was just amazing.

Then Sugita Tomokazu as Kyon emerged as the glue that held the show together. His perfect dry tone of voice and pretended indifference were wonderful from beginning to end.

But finally it was Hirano Aya's show. As Haruhi became more serious and more varied in her emotions, Hirano-san just shone. If you haven't seen it, prepare to be overwhelmed by the new interview (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1Vc7bjCojo) on Youtube, broadcast in Japan on Monday. When she dips from her own high excessively-polite-Japanese-girl voice suddenly to a lower register, it just sends chills down your spine.

The interview confirms that she started in show business at 9, as a seiyuu at 14, and is now a university student, at 18. And it reminds us that she has had three songs in the top ten in the past three months. The insert song is now at #5, as the ED was before. Do you think she has a future? I look forward to her becoming a hot commodity and getting bigger and more serious roles like this one.

I'm not forgetting Chiharu Minori, who did a great job as Yuki. But the voice was not such an important part of creating that character. Ono Daisuke as Itsuki was so good he annoyed me whenever he spoke. But the big three were the big three.

With the season, and the series, now over, I've changed my avatar/sig from Gotou Yuuko to Kuwashima Houko. Bai-bai, Yuuko-san. I'm watching for your next role. Maybe I'll try to find one of your several dozen ero-games.

[HeartNana]

Aya Hirano is one of the main reasons why this series is so great IMO. I cannot see Haruhi's voice done any better than the way it is, and what really captured me was how awesome of a singer she is. From Bouken Desho Desho to God Knows, i love all of her stuff. I just ordered any Haruhi CD's with her in it, and her debut single off cdjapan to show my loyalness to my new favorite VA/Singer (besides from my all time favorite Nana Mizuki)

[LCeh]

I definitely echo what you guys are saying.

At some point during the middle of the series, when we get to see the more emotional side of Haruhi, I just thought to myself that, when this anime gets licensed and dubbed, it will be a very tall task for the english VA to do what Hirano Aya did. I think it took a lot of skills to give life to a character as emotional and complex as Haruhi, and Hirano Aya did a splendid job. I just hope they can at least do a decent job, but I doubt it will be anywhere near as satisfying and spectacular as Hirano Aya's acting.

[C.A.]

I'm not sure but I was kinda drawn by Haruhi's ecstatic voice at the end of episode 1 lol

Then after episode 2 and 3 and several youtube videos of Hirano Aya, I knew she's going to be my favourite VA/Singer for a long time. Now I see her as the Holy Incarnation of Haruhi-sama herself.

[eggplant]

Anyone able to watch this (http://www.doing.tv/content/detail.aspx?ContentsID=993) videoclip of the three protagonists from a shooting session for the Voice Newtype magazine? I've completed registration, but can't seem to make the playback client work on my OSX (which I know isn't the standard for these kind of things, e.g., Animate video streams).

On another note, here (http://mantanweb.mainichi.co.jp/web/2006/08/post_216.html) are some nice pictures of the three as well.

:topicoff: DVD covers for Volume 2 (limited edition and standard edition, respectively)
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/8366/haruhidvd02limon4.th.jpg (http://img124.imageshack.us/my.php?image=haruhidvd02limon4.jpg)http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2175/haruhidvd02regzy5.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=haruhidvd02regzy5.jpg)

[Vexx]

And once again, I'm reminded of just how cute Gotou is with those elvish ears and features.... meh.. all three of the VAs are cute.

[C.A.]

I guess I don't go for mature women lol, between them, Aya-chan is outstanding for me :D

But it can also be my extreme biasness towards Haruhi-sama.

All three are great at voice acting and singing.

[arias]

I guess I don't go for mature women lol, between them, Aya-chan is outstanding for me :D

But it can also be my extreme biasness towards Haruhi-sama.


It's probably your bias towards Haruhi, but then again I don't really find any of the three really attractive.. o_o Haruhi's supposed live-action actress had that one incredible picture, though :D

Hirano's voice acting is pretty incredible. Breathed utter life into the Haruhi character.. I think Yuki's would be the hardest to evaluate because of the lack of speech, but it still suited things to a T. I'll be curious to see Hirano's future works, I want to see whether I can watch her other characters without thinking "Ha.. Haruhi?!"

[C.A.]

It could be, but Aya-chan definitely looks cute in many ways lol

And by outstanding, I meant she's outstanding compared to Chihara and Yuko in not just looks but also singing and voice acting. At least for this show.

I acknowledge that all 3 are great, to express in numbers:

If Aya-chan = 1.1
Chihara and Yuko = 1.0 each

[IchiKyo]

Anyone able to watch this (http://www.doing.tv/content/detail.aspx?ContentsID=993) videoclip of the three protagonists from a shooting session for the Voice Newtype magazine? I've completed registration, but can't seem to make the playback client work on my OSX (which I know isn't the standard for these kind of things, e.g., Animate video streams).

On another note, here (http://mantanweb.mainichi.co.jp/web/2006/08/post_216.html) are some nice pictures of the three as well.

:topicoff: DVD covers for Volume 2 (limited edition and standard edition, respectively)
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/8366/haruhidvd02limon4.th.jpg (http://img124.imageshack.us/my.php?image=haruhidvd02limon4.jpg)http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2175/haruhidvd02regzy5.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=haruhidvd02regzy5.jpg)

it's not soon to spoil with those Asakura with Knifes even i love her seiyuu voice :D?

[Vexx]

It's probably your bias towards Haruhi, but then again I don't really find any of the three really attractive.. o_o Haruhi's supposed live-action actress had that one incredible picture, though :D

Hirano's voice acting is pretty incredible. Breathed utter life into the Haruhi character.. I think Yuki's would be the hardest to evaluate because of the lack of speech, but it still suited things to a T. I'll be curious to see Hirano's future works, I want to see whether I can watch her other characters without thinking "Ha.. Haruhi?!"

I thought the clip was interesting because Yuki's VA actually used it to show some of her talented range. I counted 3 or 4 voice styles from her in that clip.

Yeah, we haven't heard anything else Hirano can do (though I supposed her high pitched "natural" voice counts as another) ... hope she's not a "one voice talent" for her sake.

[Zappster]

Well having seen three other shows(Eyeshield 21, Magipoka and Himawari) that she has done some VA work in, IMO she's got enough range to not be seen as a one trick pony(or should that be one voice pony...) Not to mention that clip of her on that Japanese TV show that is floating around on youtube where in the middle of her interview she changes from her high pitched squeaky voice to a much deeper voice where she sounds alot older and more mature. Her voice in Himawari, I'd say is a step down from that, in that it's maybe not as deep but still different enough to her energetic Haruhi voice.

[Shirobane]

Yeah, we haven't heard anything else Hirano can do (though I supposed her high pitched "natural" voice counts as another) ... hope she's not a "one voice talent" for her sake.
Don't forget though that she's still pretty young, there's plenty of time to develop her voice. That said, single-pitch voice actors/actresses aren't necessarily a bad thing (in fact some VAs garner a lot of fame for just a single pitch), it all boils down to how well their lines are delivered. A good example of this is Kikuko Inoue where you could instantly tell her voice from any series she's in because her voice is more or less the same, but she's still really good at delivering her lines.

[Skane]

Kyon's VA, Sugita Tomokazu, voiced a pantsu-stealing master in Ep20 of Inukami!. I have mixed thoughts about this, but mostly on the humour side. :D

[katakami]

OH MY GOD!! Hirano plays REIRA!!! :O :O From Nana!!! Gonna be aaaaaaweeesoooomeee ><;;;;

I didn't know. T__T hahaha.. sorry if I sound like I've been living under a rock... actually I have... >>;;

[Samatarou]

I just heard that Aya Hirano was hospitalised as an emergency case two weeks ago (5th November), does anyone have info on this? Google doesn't reveal any news to me on this and her website doesn't seem to have been updated since 12th. Is this the curse of Death Note (her current series)?

[eggplant]

I just heard that Aya Hirano was hospitalised as an emergency case two weeks ago (5th November), does anyone have info on this? Google doesn't reveal any news to me on this and her website doesn't seem to have been updated since 12th. Is this the curse of Death Note (her current series)?

Yes, you heard right.
Hirano Aya collapsed and was hospitalized during a voice dubbing recording session for DEATH NOTE on November 3rd, and was forced to cancel her appearance at the Waseda University event on the 5th and all subsequent work.

She had a high fever and collapsed from overwork, and since then has been recuperating at home, although she has yet to return to work as of today, including her scheduled performance today at the 11th Annual Kobe Animation Awards ceremony, which Hare Hare Yukai won the category for best song (incidently, the presentation will be shown live by net streaming between 12:30-5:30 PM JST today here (http://www.broadcast-neo.tv/seebit/title_list.php?b=64&d=1) in which Gotou Yuuko and Chihara Minori is scheduled to appear).

The main reason she collapsed was her busy work schedule including 7 anime roles (DEATH NOTE, Sumomomo, Busou Renkin, Galaxy Angel II, NANA, Himawari!!, and Manabi Straight) and 3 radio programs at the time she was hospitalized, along with her daily life as a university student.

Although Aya is partly to blame for failing to condition herself 100% as a professional seiyuu, her agency is at fault for cramming so much work, although they probably didn't expect her to win so many role auditions a few months ago.

Then again, seeing seiyuu interviews and blogs where they mention drinking and doing karaoke all night along, I wonder if they are taking care of themsleves, especially their voices.

Seems like Aya's near convalescent, so she should be back working soon.

[LCeh]

Thanks a lot for the update eggplant. Hope she gets better soon. :(

[FatPianoBoy]

Definitely. Poor kid; she's only a few months older than I am. Hopefully her and her agency learn from this and write some R&R into her agenda from now on. And not in pencil, either. Get better soon, Aya-chan :(

[Noppapana]

poor Aya chan
she looked so happy when she did the interviews and on Newtype voice (on you tube) i hope she will get better soon

but by lookin at the extras on the DVDs the 3 girls look so happy together
the i wonder how is their relation with male seyiuus ?

[IchiKyo]

Aya Hirano T_T
Desu T_T

Hope she will get better
Managing in japan were so Strict?
After all she have School and Seiyuu Cast...

[Noppapana]

hey now i listen to the weekly Radio Shibu
there are only Yuko and Minori

[Cloudy]

Hope Aya will get well soon.

[Vexx]

Sounds like Hirano's VA manager should get their ass kicked around. Not only for not maintaining Hirano but for the impact on all those schedules she's hooked into. There are good business reasons for not overworking your employees as well as just not being an idiot. :)

[USB500]

I'm surprised that Hirano-san was the seiyuu responsible for bringing Lumiere's character to life <3 (side note: hope you will get well soon, Hirano-san! :) )

And I'm also surprised that Goto Yuko is also responsible for Sakura (F/SN) that I once joked with my friend that Mikuru and Sakura have something Kaede doesn't:

breasts! :heh:

Well, I'm not surprised at Tomokazu Sugita. He's done his part very well (I was first introduced to him through Chobits; Hideki rocks!)

[Maxon]

Well, I'm not surprised at Tomokazu Sugita. He's done his part very well (I was first introduced to him through Chobits; Hideki rocks!)
From what I've seen (or heard as it were), he does all his parts very well. I still think he was at his best in Chobits, mainly because he was goofy and shy. I still think he was awesome as Kyon though.

Everytime I see Yuuichi from Kanon I keep thinking "Kyon. Oh wait...". :heh:

[moyism]

And I'm also surprised that Goto Yuko is also responsible for Sakura (F/SN) that I once joked with my friend that Mikuru and Sakura have something Kaede doesn't:

breasts! :heh: Goto Yuko was never in Fate/Stay Night, unless you're talking about some other Sakura in a anime that's initials are F/SN. Noriko Shitaya (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=9810) was the one who voiced Sakura in Fate/Stay Night and more notably, Himeko Kurusegawa of Kannazuki no Miko fame.

[Noppapana]

hey a member on other forum posted this
magazine scans of Aya Hirano
http://datorrents.com/download.asp?id=16460&name=%5Bseiyuu_photos%5D%20Hirano%20Aya%20%5B30%20 large-format%20jpgs%5D.torrent

[FatPianoBoy]

What's the latest word on poor Aya-chan's health? :(

[Noppapana]

well listening to this week radio shibu
its only minori and yuko
it probably means that Aya is still ill

[eggplant]

What's the latest word on poor Aya-chan's health? :(

She has returned to work from Tuesday, the 21st.
However, due to her hiatus, she has a lot of catching up to do.
This photo is what she had to do in one day!
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/6599/ayayr3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Her management agency better take good care of her this time for sure.

[FatPianoBoy]

:blink:
Wow... poor girl. Take a vacation, and you pay for it when you get back :(


Her management agency better take good care of her this time for sure.

Indeed. Else they begin recieving e-mail from angry otakus in broken Japanese :frustrated:

[Cloudy]

Can't they get a subsitute seiyuu that sounds like her?

May I know what does her fellow seiyuus have to comment about her condition?

[eggplant]

Can't they get a subsitute seiyuu that sounds like her?
Substitutes for continuing anime series don't happen unless the said seiyuu cannot act for an extended time due to reasons such as accidents (Kamiya Hiroshi for the final episode of Honey And Clover II) and maternity leave (Inoue Kikuko, Hayashibara Megumi, Ohtani Ikue).
There are cases in which a character for a sequel or spin-off series is replaced due to various reasons, from marriage/retirement (Ohsawa Chiaki as Chao in Negima) to a conflict of schedule (Nanri Yuuka as Ichijou in School rumble).
Aya was out for two weeks, which only backlogged her schedule, but did not affect any episode airings, so a replacement was not necessary.

May I know what does her fellow seiyuus have to comment about her condition?

Aya's co-workers in Suzumiya Haruhi, Gotou Yuuko and Chihara Minori expressed their concern over her state during the Kobe Awards presentation speech, and I'm sure all of her fellow seiyuus feel the same. That is, what other comment is there to make?

[Samatarou]

They should have said, "Work harder, or you shall not go to the Ball!"
and then cackled like the evil old crones they are (comparatively).

[MakubeX2]

「早大でしょでしょ？」振替イベントで平野綾が意味深な発言を連発した
http://blog.livedoor.jp/blur66430/archives/50656294.html

「これが最後に歌うイベントになるのかな」
「これから色々あるんですよ」
「私は演技をやっていきたいし絶対に歌は歌っていきたい」
「（病気は）一生かかる」
「今治しておかないと将来が怖い」
「またライブとかあったら来て下さいね」
事務所に無断で髪を切ったなどの気になる発言があったらしい

http://www.hiranoaya.com/cgi-bin/diary/sfs6_diary/

Combine this entry with those from the 3rd, she makes it sounds like she'll be gone on a long haitus....

[MakubeX2]

Transcript of the entire event :-
http://pocari.s33.xrea.com/cgi-bin/che.cgi#20061203_001

あ、入院はまだ…ここで言うようなことでもないんですけど、ちょっと治りにくい病気で。なので通院して…そ んな大変な、再起不能とかじゃないんですけど。
"I didn't really get admitted into the hosiptal, I can't comment much here. But this ailment requires me to go for regular checkups. It's not something life threatening though."

次歌ったら終わりになっちゃうんですけど…これを歌えるのは今日が最後になるかも知れないので…詳しくは言 えないんですけど。最後に歌うならこれにしたいと思いました
The next song will be my last for the day. Perhaps this will be the last time I'll be singing this, I can't say much now. But I really want to make this title my last song, if it's really the final time I'll be singing.

今日は泣かないよ？泣かないって決めたから。…頑張ります。今後ライブとかあったらよろしくお願いします。 復帰のライブなのに、なんだかお別れみたいだね」
Will I cry. Not today now. I'm trying my best(not to). I hope everyone will support me if there's any more Live Event in the future. This is suppose to be a live annoucing my return, but it seems like I'm saying goodbye here.

She seems determind to get her break here....we'll just have to wait till the official announcement.

Haruhi without Hirano, what will it be like ?

[Noppapana]

^^
no one can replace aya-chan ... :(
but does she mean she gonna stop singing ?

[MakubeX2]

She's a kid under lots of stress that's for sure. Clear indication includes making such statements during a live, comments on her Blog ("何からも自由でありたいと思いました") and her recent change of hairstyle and dyeing of her hair.

She needs a very very long break to catch on her studies and her social life. Might interfer with her recordings so she might not be back for Haruhi 2. Not a major problem here, lots of other people can do Haruhi's voice, but fans might disagree.

So an important question here :-
"Does a film makes an artist ? Or an artist makes a film ?"

[Noppapana]

yeah thats right .. sometimes i forget she is just 19

[Kaoru Chujo]

There is a video on the 6th DVD that anyone interested in this thread absolutely has to look around for. It's little behind-the-scenes clips -- some by Sugita Tomokazu, it appears -- of Hirano Aya at events around the country in support of her CD releases in April and May. The moments are totally wonderful. And there is one in Tokyo where she cries at the support people give her. A hint of things to come, unfortunately, although it is a great scene at the time.

I am hoping that "the last time" just means the last time for a while. And that it just refers to the singing, and not to the voice work. I see diary entries for a Death Note live on Dec. 16th, anyway. And I read elsewhere that she did several live events in December.

I don't know how you could possibly do college and a singing career at the same time, anyway. Celebrity is amazing: you dye your hair and it's a national issue.

As for getting a replacement seiyuu: no way. No-one sounds like her. No-one. She has a particular sharp, energetic quality that is unique. Perhaps it relates to her own evidently high-strung nature. Everything she does in what we see of "real life" seems a bit forced. And she has been in show business since she was 11. Normal life? What normal life?

EDIT: And as for whether a film makes an artist or an artist makes a film, the answer, as with all other such questions, is "both." The importance of each varies from case to case. In this case, it's about equal, and both Haruhi and Aaya are at a very high level. (note: I read that Hirano Aya's nickname is Aaya.)

[Kaoru Chujo]

As you can see, I've changed my avatar and sig to Hirano Aya (for the next few months, at least). And I've put together a longish piece on my blog (http://hashihime.blogspot.com/2007/01/fragile-strength-of-hirano-aya.html) about her, with photos, bio, links to YouTube videos, etc. At least one of the videos I mentioned in my last post is now on YouTube.

She seems to be back recording anime and even doing some events. And she posts to her blog (http://www.hiranoaya.com/html/diary-top.html) at least once a day, with photos. She may have cut back, but maybe just on events and not on anime roles. She's in the new shows Manabi Straight and Himawari, and still in NANA and Death Note. But she's not the main star in any of them, and I haven't seen a new CD since September.

[Noppapana]

zomg aya-chan does the sumomomo radio and the radio shibu
btw in her blog from no.217-218 she was in a karaoke bar or something
is she singing the opening of evangelion ?

[Kaoru Chujo]

zomg aya-chan does the sumomomo radio and the radio shibu. btw in her blog from no.217-218 she was in a karaoke bar or something. is she singing the opening of evangelion ?Yes, I think so. There was some talk about it in the thread about her on 2channel (http://anime.2ch.net/voiceactor/subback.html), where fans are in a white heat, analyzing her blog every day, and making around a thousand posts a week.

BTW, for anyone here who didn't see it, I have a post in the General thread (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=801546&postcount=2274) about an upcoming live with the whole cast.

And I'm going to answer Noppapana's question about her hair color here: yes, she changed it in November. There are pics in her blog (http://www.hiranoaya.com/html/diary-top.html) of her making it even redder this month. I talked about some background to the hair-color change in the long piece about her in my blog (http://hashihime.blogspot.com/2007/01/fragile-strength-of-hirano-aya.html).

The Sumomo radio show (http://www.bandaivisual.co.jp/dbeat/netradio/sumomo.php) can be cute: Aaya, Miyazaki Ui, and Kano Yui. I give an example at the end of the blog piece.

[Vexx]

Kind of a funny "ayu" moment in one pic on her blog with her new reddish hair and a chomping a big taiyaki .... heh.
Too bad her pics are all micro-sized images.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Kind of a funny "ayu" moment in one pic on her blog with her new reddish hair and a chomping a big taiyaki .... heh. Too bad her pics are all micro-sized images.Have you clicked on them? They are more mini than micro, I'd say. I think for that pic she says she's a Dora-neko (Doraemon cat?).

[Vexx]

yeah... the results are not much bigger than avvie sized, saves bandwidth for her but not exactly "posterizable" :)
ah well.. just hope she keeps her feet on the ground and is able to put some money away.

[Kaoru Chujo]

I just found that Gotou Yuuko has a new blog that she can put little videos in. Details in the Hidamari Sketch thread (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=802669&postcount=35).

Vexx, you're right about the "feet on the ground." And I'm not sure. I don't think seiyuu work is that well-paying, so Aaya has to become a "personality," and/or a more general entertainer, to make a bundle. Her very active blog is part of becoming a personality, I suppose. I get the sense that she is determined to be popular and famous. We'll see how it goes for her: fame can taste like ashes. She's been in show business so long that I guess she has some idea how to handle it -- or else she is so buried in it that she can't be normal.

I find the humorous little things on her blog a promising indication that she doesn't take herself too seriously. As someone said, these are not exactly the kinds of images her PR people put out. And at least she has a life at college outside of show business. But she seems to be working so much right now that I'm not sure how she can study, too. She did say on her blog that she can memorize things quite quickly -- things that she enjoys, at least.

I just noticed that a 2channel poster saw the same resemblance you did, Vexx, and referred to that pic of her eating taiyaki as "Hirano Ayu."

EDIT: One more thing. There is an announcement (http://www.haruhi.tv/fanclub/goods_cd.html#drama) on the SOS-Dan site that a drama CD will be coming out on 24 January in which Haruhi and the band decide to do more music together. And there will be a new song on the CD to go with God Knows and Lost My Music: "First Good Bye." She does not play guitar on it, lol.

[Noppapana]

^^

minori has also her cd released on 24
cant wait till that day

[Kaoru Chujo]

A post on 2channel directed me to this video of Hirano Aya (http://stage6.divx.com/members/64748/videos/2218) made about a year and a half ago. I think her voice is more natural in the interview than I've heard it. And about three minutes in, she plays guitar, doing part of an Avril Lavigne song. Then there's a video of a Voice Newtype photo shoot. Asked what she does on Sundays, she answers: sleep, and practice guitar. I think she does need the practice, but it's okay. What is her interest: reading. What does she like to eat: anything, but just then especially apple pie.

The site is stage6.com, which is a DivX site allowing free download (or viewing) of full-size good quality videos, a lot better than YouTube's. You have to download software to use the site, but it hasn't caused me any problems (yet).

[Noppapana]

http://img314.imageshack.us/img314/4222/29018vb.jpg

*faints* .....soo kawaiii :p

[Samatarou]

Kind of a funny "ayu" moment in one pic on her blog with her new reddish hair

It seems she dyed her hair to match her favourite horse:
http://www.hiranoaya.com/cgi-bin/diary/sfs6_diary/320_1.jpg

In fact even their jackets match!

[Kaoru Chujo]

Tickets to the live event in March, which have a face value of ¥4500 (~US$37), are now going for ¥66000 (~$540) on Yahoo auctions (http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m37160372). News article (http://www.new-akiba.com/archives/2007/01/66000.html) (Japanese). 2channel has been full of people crowing about how they got their tickets.

The event (http://www.animate.co.jp/animate/event/ticket0318.html)will be a full concert presentation featuring all the main seiyuu from SHnY: Hirano Aya, Gotou Yuuko, Chihara Minori, Sugita Tomokazu, etc.

The live event is probably a good sign that a second season of the anime is on the way. I do not believe Hirano Aya has any real health problems. Posts on her blog seem to indicate she is working almost every day: Death Note, Sumomo mo Momo mo, Manabi Straight, photo sessions, radio, etc. No mention of the college courses she is supposedly taking, too. But she has drastically cut back the number of live events she does. I believe there has only been one so far this year, if that.

The lovely horse pics were from a photo session on Sunday for Voice Newtype.She said it was her first time on a horse, but she loved it. She said she envied one horse its long eyelashes. I think it was pure chance that her hair matched the horse. Or else they chose the horses to match it, lol. On the other hand, she did dye her hair a little redder a couple of weeks ago....

[Kaoru Chujo]

Kadokawa Shoten, the publishers of the novels, had their annual private thank-you party last night, and Sugita Tomokazu and Hirano Aya were the star attractions. Aaya has numerous photos on her blog, and I've made a blog post of my own (http://hashihime.blogspot.com/2007/02/haruhi-and-kyon-live-last-night.html) showing some of them.

I also had a post yesterday (http://hashihime.blogspot.com/2007/01/hirano-ayas-january.html) using photos from Aaya's blog to show how she spent January.

[Noppapana]

IIRC Sugita is much older then Aya-chan, right ?

http://bp0.blogger.com/_Zg1R9ioNR1s/RcJZ9WRjuDI/AAAAAAAAAcg/QCcZo5lU4PE/s1600-h/341_1.jpg
LOL Hare Hare Yukai dance ??

[Kaoru Chujo]

He's 26 and she's 19. He apparently finished college, working at the same time, as far as I can tell from Wikipedia. Also as far as I can tell, they first worked together in Beyblade, in 2003, which would have been when she was 15.

Yes, I think they did the dance for the event, which appears to have been in a hotel somewhere.

He's got a nice website (http://zangetsu.cool.ne.jp/index2.html), too, but no mention of this event yet. His website is called "Zangetsu," which means the moon as seen after dawn, with the slogan (in English): "The moon shines with sunlight. And I shine with moonlight."

[aegismode]

I thought it was pretty interesting that Aya-chan became so huge while if you honestly look at the 3 seiyuus for the leads, both Goto Yuuko and Chihara Minori are hotter than her. But she's got some qualities that's unique to her and I guess now she's a seiyuu super-star, even though there's plenty of hot girls with pretty voices. I mean I don't remember another seiyuu who went on Hey!x3 and performed live; I guess that woudl be every seiyuu-singer's dream.

[Samatarou]

She's been in show business so long that I guess she has some idea how to handle it -- or else she is so buried in it that she can't be normal.

She’s not in the business, she is the business.


http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/565/rachaelqp6.jpg

[Kaoru Chujo]

You may have seen it, but I have a post over in the General Anime Voice Actor thread (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=16601) showing nominations for a new Seiyuu Awards competition. Aaya is nominated in four different categories: lead female, supporting female, new female, and singer. Maybe she is the business. There's a discussion there of who should be on the list, and whether or not Aaya is worthy.

And I found (via 2channel) an interesting post (http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/kaikeishi/diary/200702010000/) by a guy who attended the Kadokawa event. He and his wife shook hands with Aaya. He said she was terribly thin, and his wife said that she never imagined anyone could have such thin hands. He included a pic of them together. He is Yamada Shinya (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B1%B1%E7%94%B0%E7%9C%9F%E5%93%89), a 29-year-old accountant and short-story writer.

[Noppapana]

she sure looks thin in that pic
damn those lucky japanese ..... :(
*cries in the corner*

[FatPianoBoy]

She looks too thin, you mean. I'd be concerned about her health and consider the possibility of *gasp* an eating disorder :(

[Question]

Am i the only one who thinks that Kunikida sounds exactly like Haruhi from Ouran Host Club? Its like they have the same seiyuu speaking in the same style.

[eggplant]

Went to the Wonder Festival Winter 07 today, and among many things, saw the Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu stage featuring Chihara Minori (Minorin, who voiced Yuki).

The show started off with her singing Yuki's SHnY character song Yuki, Muon, Madobe Nite. Although this event was dubbed as a SHnY one, Minorin was dressed normally, which dampened the mood, but then again, I suppose it would be asking too much for her to cosplay as Yuki (although I'm looking forward for everybody to dress accordingly for the March 18th concert).

Since the Wonder Festival is a trade show dealing with figurines, the stage commemorated the release of the figurines for the SHnY girls, which Minorin was quite impressed with the finished product. She requested a figurine of her real-life self, to which Magnum Watanabe, president of Max Factory, complied (I remember Hirano Aya asking him the same thing last summer).

Hm, no wonder Minorin was in street clothes. She then proceeded to sing her latest single Junpaku Sanctuary and its coupling song Peace of mind ~Ningyo no Sasayaki~. It seems like Minorin is getting better and better at singing, and her looks are improving everytime I see her.

What was disappointing was that Minorin didn't sing the Yuki version of Hare Hare Yukai, something I'm sure the people attending the event were expecting.

This event, being a 30 minute stage showcasing figurines, it was more than obvious no announcements regarding the second season of SHnY was made, something I'm confident will take place either during the March 18th concert or at the Tokyo Anime Fair on the 25th (which I'm going to both and will report as well).

On a completely off-topic note (not that there was any appropriate thread to discuss it), the stage featuring the new figurine+drama cd+configuration book title Shuraki looked impressive, something that's bound to be animated in the future. I received a complimentary promotion CD containing a short version of the songs by the main characters played by Koshimizu Ami (Nadja, Nina in Mai-Otome, Tenko in Kamisama Kazoku, Karen on Code Geass) and Iizuka Mayumi (Kasumi=Misty in Pokemon, Makoto in Kanon).
By clicking, you can listen to the respective songs End of the Destiny (http://strange.drive.ne.jp/stored/dvup9752.mp3) and Kakegaenai Mono. (http://strange.drive.ne.jp/stored/dvup9753.mp3).

[Kaoru Chujo]

Thanks, eggplant, for the report from Wonder Festival. I remember seeing some pics of Minorin all alone with her guitar singing on the street about a year ago. Your comment about her looking better every time you see her tallies with what I see in photos. Quietly, quietly, she climbs the ladder. I first noticed her in Lemon Angel Project one year ago, with that foreign voice she herself described in an interview as hard to do.

I really look forward to your report from the big show on the 18th. Aaya has been posting pics of herself practicing the guitar....

[Noppapana]

wanna guess who the kanon cosplayer is ?
the first who guessed it, gets a cookie from me :D

http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/603/1173189192171bw8.jpg

[Dagger]

It says Tomokazu Sugita's name on the picture, so... :heh:

[FatPianoBoy]

It says Tomokazu Sugita's name on the picture, so... :heh:

Beat me to it :p

[Samatarou]

You know, he looks just like Aya in that pic.....

[Skane]

Okay... that was just traumatising.

:upset:

[Kaoru Chujo]

Photos from last Wednesday's rehearsal/costume fitting for the Suzumiya Haruhi live event later this week. Hirano Aya in aqua, Chihara Minori in purple shirt, Sugita Tomokazu in black. Possibly Ono Daisuke in jeans and Gotouza-sama a la meido:

http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/8113/20070313505bh0.th.jpg (http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/8113/20070313505bh0.jpg) http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/4586/20070313506zm4.th.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/4586/20070313506zm4.jpg)

Photos from Akiba Blog (http://www.akibablog.net/archives/2007/03/etc_tablier_070312.html). Faces obscured because it's an unofficial shot.

Here are some shots from Aya's blog: (l-r) Aya ready for rehearsal, rehearsal hall Saturday, Aya tired out from rehearsing, Aya with stomach medicine:

http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2659/5871so1.th.jpg (http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2659/5871so1.jpg) http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5332/5981sg1.th.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5332/5981sg1.jpg) http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6503/5991tf6.th.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6503/5991tf6.jpg) http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4287/6001jv1.th.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4287/6001jv1.jpg)

Of course everyone expects they're going to announce the new Suzumiya Haruhi season at the event, probably for the fall.

[Noppapana]

i still dont understand why kind of show they are going to perform
is it a dance , singing or talk show ?

[Kaoru Chujo]

i still dont understand why kind of show they are going to perform. is it a dance , singing or talk show?All of the above, I believe. It will likely have dance and music production numbers, skits, and talk. It's going to last 2-3 hours or so and will be in a hall that holds 2500 people. Almost the entire main cast -- ten people or so in total -- will be involved, along with musicians.

They're going to do a live version of Hare Hare Yukai, it is reported, and I expect they will also do God Knows, with Aya and Chihara Minori playing guitar.

For a Galaxy Angelune show in February, Aya and the five or so other members of that cast did several music/dance numbers, both separately and together. You can see some of that by searching YouTube for "galaxy angel-tai". Too many members of that cast couldn't stay on key, however, so it was sometimes painful. Not that the assembled otaku seemed to mind. I enjoyed the happy atmosphere in the hall. We do know that Aya, Sugita, Minorin and Gotouza-sama can all sing on key. And I expect the Suzumiya Haruhi show will have a somewhat more collected atmosphere than the zany Galaxy Angel style.

[Kaoru Chujo]

The show is later today (Sunday) and there is a busy thread on 2channel where people are discussing it. For anyone who reads Japanese, the thread is here (http://anime2.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/voice/1174184814/). When this thread is filled (it is already the 18th on the topic, a total of over 17,000 posts, and posts are showing up every few seconds), a link to the new thread will be posted in the current thread.

Hirano Aya just posted a picture of a little bell she got in Bali (recent photo-shoot there) and had tied to her cell-phone. She was in the train going to the event and the bell fell off, and she was trying to figure out what kind of omen that was.

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/2280/6211zm0.th.jpg (http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/2280/6211zm0.jpg)

This (http://mup.vip2ch.com/up/vipper9060.jpeg) is supposedly a photo of boards in the lobby with messages from the performers.

Here (http://vista.crap.jp/img/vi7419421680.jpg) is a pic of a Haruhi hand-puppet being sold on the way to the venue.

The line-up (http://mup.vip2ch.com/up/vipper9061.jpeg) waiting to get in.

One post shows a photo of the display at the venue, saying that doors will open at 3 pm (a few minutes ago), the show will start at 4, and will go to 8 pm.

Photo (http://www.vipper.org/vip467948.jpg) inside the hall.

[eggplant]

I just came back from the Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou Live Event held at the Omiya Sonic Center(capacity 2,500 seats) in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

Aside from the Animelo Summer Ride Outride concert held last summer, where the three Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (SHnY) protagonists appeared as a guest artist, this was the first SHnY based public event. The hype for this one time concert was astounding from the time of its announcement, where thousands of desperate people clamored frantically for tickets, making it a premium item on Yahoo! Auctions. I was fortunate enough to procure one ticket online, listening to the SHnY songs as well as practicing the Hare Hare Yukai choreography from the ending clip from DVD Vol. 7.

The gate for today's event opened from 3 PM, but the souvenir vendors were open from 12 noon, and available to the public. I purchased a program of today's event (cover below), but hordes of people who buying up everything from T-shirts to figurines.
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/1002/gekisouam1.th.jpg (http://img455.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gekisouam1.jpg)

The curtain raised at 4PM, where the first half of the event was a talk session with the cast. Today's MC was Shiraishi Minoru, who played Taniguchi, and Mastumoto Megumi, who played Kunikida. All of the important cast members were present, where the three men, Taniguchi, Sugita Tomokazu (Kyon), and Ono Daisuke (Koizumi) were in charge of the slapstick comedy.

The first corner consisted of looking back at each character's best moments. Director Ishihara Tatsuya and Character Designer/ Animation Director Ikeda Shouko participated as guests, where Ishihara selected each character's best scenes from SHnY. Here's a brief summary:
Kyon: Ponytail moe
Suzumiya Haruhi: Self introduction speech; "God knows..." stage
Asahina Mikuru: The Adventures of Asahina Mikuru; baseball fielding practice
Nagato Yuki: Battle scene with Asakura Ryouko; PC mouse and typing scene
Koizumi Itsuki: Battle with insect; battle with the Shinjin
Tsuruya: Laughing scene in ep. 1 (ep. 00); maid cafe scene
Asakura Ryouko: Taniguchi and Kunikida's comments on how impeccable she is (Bloomers scene); Battle with Yuki
Kimidori Emiri: Consultation scene with Haruhi
Kyon's Sister: Loli in a bag; scene with Shamisen (Ishihara was booed by the fans for not selecting the scissors scene)
Taniguchi: Falling into the pond with Mikuru; imposing on Kyon and Yuki's suggestive scene
Kunikida: Explaining Haruhi's eccentricity to Kyon

The next corner consisted of a short play, in which there was no substantial plot, where the guys were dropping references such as Dragon Quest, Ojamajo Doremi, and Hikaru no Go. The highlight scene was when the SOS Brigade members played their randomly selected instruments, churning out nothing but noise.

After a 30 minute intermission, the second half was the live stage, the set list consisting of:
1. Koi no Mikuru Densetsu (Asahina Mikuru)
2. Bouken Desho Desho? (Hirano Aya)
3. Kazeyomi Ribbon (")
4. Yuki, Muon, Madobe nite. (Nagato Yuki)
5. SELECT? (")
6. Parallel Days (Suzumiya Haruhi)
7. Mitsukete Happy Life (Asahina Mikuru)
8. Seishun Iijanaika (Tsuruya-san)
9. COOL EDITION (Asakura Ryouko)
10. God knows... (Suzumiya Haruhi)
11. Lost my music (")
12. Magare↓Spectacle (Koizumi Itsuki)
13. Kentai Life Returns! (Kyon)
14. Saikyou Pare Parade (Hirano Aya, Chihara Minori, Gotou Yuuko)
15. Welcome UNKNOWN (")
16. Hare Hare Yukai (")
Encore. Hare Hare Yukai (TV Version) (SOS Dan)

Some notable scenes worth mentioning:
Gotou Yuuko was fully dressed in her Mikuru maid outfit (this was the fourth time I saw her this year, and she gets better each time).
"God Knows..." and "Lost my music" was played with a live band (ENOZ), with Hirano Aya playing guitar.
Aya was dancing pretty aggressively, considering her skimpy attire. I think the DVD will cut out the flashing her pantsu scenes (for my eyes only).
Aya sang background vocals on Kyon's song.
Kimidori Emiri and Kyon's Sister did not sing (Boo!).
Kuwatani Natsuko (Asakura Ryouko) practiced "Koyubi de Gyu!" in vain, because she was told to perform COOL EDITION only a week before.
Everybody was dancing and moving, a lot of hard work involved.
Aya broke down in tears at the ending, she was really moved.

All in all, a worthwhile and enjoyable 4 hours of pure Haruhi fun. I am priviledged to be able to witness this commemorative event first hand, but this will be sold on DVD subsequently, so Haruhi fans all over the world will be able to experience the same feeling.

Unfortunately, no announcement about a second season was made, although I'm not dismissing the possibility of some kind of news at next week's Tokyo Anime Fair.

[milKirbi]

Do anyone know where do this pic. come from?
http://yaplog.jp/cv/milkirbi/img/59/a3636_p.jpg
i want a higher resolution and more in this dressing (if there are)

[Mitheor]

Any photos/videos of the event?

[Joojoobees]

All in all, a worthwhile and enjoyable 4 hours of pure Haruhi fun. I am priviledged to be able to witness this commemorative event first hand, but this will be sold on DVD subsequently, so Haruhi fans all over the world will be able to experience the same feeling.

Unfortunately, no announcement about a second season was made, although I'm not dismissing the possibility of some kind of news at next week's Tokyo Anime Fair.

Thank you for this information! I have been waiting for a report on this event for what seems like forever. I'm glad to hear the details of the festivities, since I couldn't be there to witness it in person.

Damned shame about there being no 2nd season announcement, though. I was really hoping that there would be one. :(

[Kaoru Chujo]

Thanks, eggplant! Great description. You said you'd report, and you did it within hours of the event. Many thanks.

What you say certainly tallies with what's being written on 2channel. Most people seem to have loved the show (and loved those glimpses of Aya's pants - she knows what she's doing). One blogger said it was the best event he'd ever been at. Another said it was great and rated it an 85. Some people found the first half less interesting, some people found it hilarious. In her blog, Chihara Minori talked about being on stage as silent Yuki trying not to laugh at Ono Daisuke and Sugita Tomokazu's ad libs.

One person felt Aya tried too hard in her singing. Someone else thought it was great she had turned from being a poor singer to a good rocker. Personally, I like her singing better when it's more melodic. How was her guitar-playing?

I haven't seen any photos of the event itself yet. It appears people were told not to shoot it and they didn't. But there are some fan-made recordings around. And here are a few shots from backstage or before the event:

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/6466/b00439521154922uz3.th.jpg (http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/6466/b00439521154922uz3.jpg) http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/1673/chihara0703184pm0.jpg (http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/1673/chihara0703184pm0.jpg) http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9474/cd6413c2bu5.th.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9474/cd6413c2bu5.jpg) http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/3633/50b6fd46sk3.th.jpg (http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/3633/50b6fd46sk3.jpg) http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9903/1174225012102uf5.th.jpg (http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9903/1174225012102uf5.jpg)

(l-r) Aoki Sayaka (Kyon's sister) and Matsuoka Yuki (Tsuruya-san, and also doing a great job as Setsuna in Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora); Minorin, Aaya, and Gotouza-sama; Sugita Tomokazu in costume; Ono Daisuke (Itsuki) and Sugita; sign saying: "Don't use this toilet!"

And milKirbi, there are a number of shots from that photo session around, but I haven't yet seen any as big as the one you posted. I believe they were taken for the "Love Megane" (megane=eyeglasses) feature in Seiyuu Grand Prix magazine. There is a poster of Aya from that session in the March edition.

EDIT: I just noticed that Chihara Minori was the vocalist in a good insert song in today's episode of Manabi Straight (ep11), in which she does not appear except as the band leader at a school festival concert, in a scene clearly referring to SHnY.

[Noppapana]

the fans sure were obedient about not taking pictures
but i think its a matter of time till someone put a film on internet about the show

apparently someone recorded the whole show on mp3
http://shana.imouto.org/haruhi/

[Kaoru Chujo]

...apparently someone recorded the whole show on mp3...I believe they did. I think those files are (1) the first half, (2) Aya singing God Knows and Lost My Music, and (3) a brief mix of some things I can't quite understand. The second half is around, but I haven't been able to hear it yet.

Speaking of good manners, I think I heard the fans starting to chant happily and drown out Aya's voice in selection 2, then realizing they were drowning her out and toning it down.

[Mitheor]

the fans sure were obedient about not taking pictures
but i think its a matter of time till someone put a film on internet about the show

apparently someone recorded the whole show on mp3
http://shana.imouto.org/haruhi/

Thanks ^^ Great, God Knows! :cool:

[milKirbi]

Thanks, eggplant

And milKirbi, there are a number of shots from that photo session around, but I haven't yet seen any as big as the one you posted. I believe they were taken for the "Love Megane" (megane=eyeglasses) feature in Seiyuu Grand Prix magazine. There is a poster of Aya from that session in the March edition.



Thanks
i will try to find it

[Kaoru Chujo]

Hirano Aya updated her blog (http://www.hiranoaya.com/cgi-bin/diary/sfs6_diary/) a couple of hours ago (around 2:45 am in Japan, judging by 2channel's posts about it) with numerous photos from backstage at the event. Here are most of them, with keys following:

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/6477/6221kv4.th.jpg (http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/6477/6221kv4.jpg) http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/8808/62412hn4.th.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/8808/62412hn4.jpg) http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/861/6251ru3.th.jpg (http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/861/6251ru3.jpg) http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/5076/62611tn1.th.jpg (http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/5076/62611tn1.jpg)

(l-r) Aya; Aya dressed for singing God Knows ("The outfits just get cooler and cooler."); Minorin, Aya, and Gotouza-sama, after their encore, and after singing and dancing four numbers straight; Aya with Aoki Sayaka (Kyon's imouto). EDIT: Note Aya's left hand in the second photo. She has something written on it (lyrics? chords? talk?). This was pointed out just now on 2channel.


http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6388/6271xl3.th.jpg (http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6388/6271xl3.jpg) http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/2089/6281wg8.th.jpg (http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/2089/6281wg8.jpg) http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/2985/6291pg7.th.jpg (http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/2985/6291pg7.jpg) http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6711/6311cn6.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6711/6311cn6.jpg)

Aya with Matsuoka Yuki (Tsuruya-san); Aya with ENOZ (the band who played with her on God Knows, etc.); Aya with Itou Noizi (the artist who illustrated the novels and did the original character design for this, Shana, etc.); Tanigawa Nagaru (author of the novels), Itou Noizi, Aya.


http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/5813/6301hr8.th.jpg (http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/5813/6301hr8.jpg) http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/5113/6321an1.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/5113/6321an1.jpg) http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/9025/6331yt7.th.jpg (http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/9025/6331yt7.jpg) http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/5959/6351pv3.th.jpg (http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/5959/6351pv3.jpg)

Aya with Sugita Tomokazu (Kyon); Aya with Ono Daisuke (Itsuki); Aya with Yamamoto Hiroshi (episode director of the series, director of the Hare Hare Yukai ED, and director of Aya's new anime Lucky Star); the whole gang.

[Nemo_N]

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6388/6271xl3.th.jpg (http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6388/6271xl3.jpg)

I know I'm stating the obvious but, Aya is HAWT :love: .

[Kaoru Chujo]

I know I'm stating the obvious but, Aya is HAWT :love: .Her first photobook will be coming out in June, featuring shots from a photoshoot a few weekends ago in Bali. She already got copies of pictures from the shoot to check over:

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6468/viploader438576lr3.th.jpg (http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6468/viploader438576lr3.jpg) http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/7527/5391oo8.th.jpg (http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/7527/5391oo8.jpg) http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/7246/5931ks5.th.jpg (http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/7246/5931ks5.jpg)

[Julius Firefocht]

Excellent report about the Suzumiya Haruhi concert! Man, how I wish I was there!

Well, I just have to settle for the DVD, I guess.

EDIT: By the way, Aya is insanely hot!

[Noppapana]

i am so getting one of those photobook
only i hope its not in limited production

[Kaoru Chujo]

I've made a blog post about the show (http://hashihime.blogspot.com/2007/03/suzumiya-haruhi-live-event-big-hit.html), with some new photos and some quotes from Gotou Yuuko's blog. A torrent for sound files from the show -- including one of Aaya weeping -- has shown up on the Web.

There is some talk on 2channel of a live-action TV dorama version of Suzumiya Haruhi, starring 18-year-old model, actress, idol, and TV personality Aragaki Yui (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Aragaki_Yui). One source (http://suzumiyaharuhi.seesaa.net/article/21336615.html) says it would be a short-season (six-episode) drama late this year, told from Haruhi's point of view. But there is much discussion as to whether the sources are reliable or not, or whether it's all just a hoax. Gakki is a rising star, but if there is a drama, it would be nice to see how Hirano Aya could do as a live-action actress.

Finally, there was another anime awards ceremony (http://www.animate.tv/nf/detail.php?id=0000001303) last night (i.e., Thursday night) in conjunction with the Tokyo International Anime Fair this weekend. Almost all the top awards (show, director, art, etc.) went to the feature-length science fiction animation Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo. But the awards for top TV anime went to Code Geass, Suzumiya Haruhi, and Death Note. And the award for top seiyuu went to....Hirano Aya. But she did not attend the ceremony.

[Nemo_N]

I hope that, if the Haruhi point of view bit turns out to be true, they get Tanigawa-sensei as scriptwriter/supervisor. It's something I have wanted to see in the novels (a la Sherlock Holmes :P), but if done by someone other than Nagaru Tanigawa, it might turn quite ugly.

But anyway, too soon to tell, yet it's going to be odd to watch a Haruhi live-action show.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Hirano Aya was interviewed for 40 minutes on NHK's BS2 on Wednesday. I've made a blog post about that show (http://hashihime.blogspot.com/2007/04/hirano-aya-interview-on-nhk.html), on which they talked a lot about SHnY and even had Aya do a fascinating mock recording session for some scenes.

[Noppapana]

Her first photobook will be coming out in June, featuring shots from a photoshoot a few weekends ago in Bali. She already got copies of pictures from the shoot to check over:

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6468/viploader438576lr3.th.jpg (http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6468/viploader438576lr3.jpg) http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/7527/5391oo8.th.jpg (http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/7527/5391oo8.jpg) http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/7246/5931ks5.th.jpg (http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/7246/5931ks5.jpg)

hey kaoru
do you know the news on which date its going to be released ? :D

[Simon]

do you know the news on which date its going to be released ? :D

Animate (http://www.animate-shop.jp/ws/commodity_param/ctc/+/shc/0/cmc/4061793) say June 26, Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.jp/product/dp/4048540963) say June 27.

And for anyone not reading the merchandise thread, the live event DVD (http://pedolicious.livejournal.com/126026.html) is out July 27.

[W-General]

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

http://www.asosbrigade.com/

"AYA HIRANO (Haruhi), MINORI CHIHARA (Yuki), YUKO GOTO (Mikuru)


JAPANESE VOICE ACTRESSES/SINGERS FOR THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA

GUESTS OF HONOR AT ANIME EXPO 2007

SOS BRIGADE INVASION TOUR

LIVE CONCERT IN THE USA
JUNE 30, 2007 LONG BEACH, CA"

BEST NEWS EVER! The first time I go to a US anime con and I get to see Hirano Aya sing live! GOD KNOWS! HARE HARE YUKAI!!!

*mouth foams*

[DJ_RockmanX]

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

http://www.asosbrigade.com/

"AYA HIRANO (Haruhi), MINORI CHIHARA (Yuki), YUKO GOTO (Mikuru)


JAPANESE VOICE ACTRESSES/SINGERS FOR THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA

GUESTS OF HONOR AT ANIME EXPO 2007

SOS BRIGADE INVASION TOUR

LIVE CONCERT IN THE USA
JUNE 30, 2007 LONG BEACH, CA"

BEST NEWS EVER! The first time I go to a US anime con and I get to see Hirano Aya sing live! GOD KNOWS! HARE HARE YUKAI!!!

*mouth foams*

*faints*

I NOW HAVE A REASON TO GO THERE NO MATTER WHAT.

[W-General]

I CLAIM FIRST ROW SPOTS!!!

Actually now might be the time to polish that hare hare yukai dance I learned...and find some Kyon costume, lol.

[LumpOfCole]

Hey guys, I'm on my laptop right now as I wait at the front of the line here at the Long Beach Convention Center. I got my tent out as it's only a bit more than 30 days until the convention, but it's worth it. I called UPS and they said they'd deliver DVD 1 here which I ordered from Amazon.com. I'm saving my portable DVD player's battery for that. Thank you, nearby Starbucks, for your WiFi!

Anyway, as soon as I heard the news I knew that I needed to get my spot in line early. I'll see you guys at the convention and concert! Hey look, it's another group of Haruhiists coming to join me.. gotta go! :)

[W-General]

Hey guys, I'm on my laptop right now as I wait at the front of the line here at the Long Beach Convention Center. I got my tent out as it's only a bit more than 30 days until the convention, but it's worth it. I called UPS and they said they'd deliver DVD 1 here which I ordered from Amazon.com. I'm saving my portable DVD player's battery for that. Thank you, nearby Starbucks, for your WiFi!

Anyway, as soon as I heard the news I knew that I needed to get my spot in line early. I'll see you guys at the convention and concert! Hey look, it's another group of Haruhiists coming to join me.. gotta go! :)

What the shit, I hope you are kidding, because I live in NY and I have work right now.....can't go....not to mention I can't just fly over now.

[DJ_RockmanX]

I CLAIM FIRST ROW SPOTS!!!

Actually now might be the time to polish that hare hare yukai dance I learned...and find some Kyon costume, lol.

I will get to those spots first I swear to you. I already have the dance down by the way. :D

[W-General]

I can do the short one perfect, but the long one still needs work because it's hard to find actual official steps (apart from the picture board sketches from kyo-ani's site and it's not very clear)

[Nemo_N]

You guys better bring pictures, lots of them! Low-angle kind! :p

...and locks of hair. (:uhoh:)

Now seriously, I hope you guys get close enough to take nice pictures, but far enough to not get kicked out by security.

[W-General]

Well she has a signing panel I think. I wonder if I can ask to get a picture with her (*´Д`)ﾊｧﾊｧ

[Asrialys]

Hey guys, I'm on my laptop right now as I wait at the front of the line here at the Long Beach Convention Center. I got my tent out as it's only a bit more than 30 days until the convention, but it's worth it. I called UPS and they said they'd deliver DVD 1 here which I ordered from Amazon.com. I'm saving my portable DVD player's battery for that. Thank you, nearby Starbucks, for your WiFi!

Anyway, as soon as I heard the news I knew that I needed to get my spot in line early. I'll see you guys at the convention and concert! Hey look, it's another group of Haruhiists coming to join me.. gotta go! :)
Are you serious?

Anyway, I won't have the...erm...luxury of waiting in AX lines for hours since I'm staffing. I hope to at least get a glimpse or picture of the trio.

[LumpOfCole]

I was totally joking guys :p I'm going to SD Comic-Con in July but I can't make AX unfortunately. Really wish I could.

Wanted to scare you all into believing you had to get in line for a month though ;) It's not like this is the next Wii shipment or anything.

[CrowKenobi]

HOLY MOTHER OF GODI second that!! :bow: :bow:

http://www.asosbrigade.com/

"AYA HIRANO (Haruhi), MINORI CHIHARA (Yuki), YUKO GOTO (Mikuru)


JAPANESE VOICE ACTRESSES/SINGERS FOR THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA

GUESTS OF HONOR AT ANIME EXPO 2007

SOS BRIGADE INVASION TOUR

LIVE CONCERT IN THE USA
JUNE 30, 2007 LONG BEACH, CA"

BEST NEWS EVER! The first time I go to a US anime con and I get to see Hirano Aya sing live! GOD KNOWS! HARE HARE YUKAI!!!

*mouth foams*Anime Expo is the place to be next month!! (Too bad I can't go! :( )

:cool: :bow: :bow: :bow:

[Endless Twilight]

Yeah, I cant either since I dont live in the US... =/

Hopefully someone will record it and upload it on YouTube. =D

[zoozoc]

Yeah, I cant either since I dont live in the US... =/

Hopefully someone will record it and upload it on YouTube. =D

i second that motion.

[L33tmaster]

I thought this AX wasn't going to be as good as '06's because the guests weren't as impressive... but yeah, suddenly announcing Aya Hirano... absolutely amazing.

Last year I got about 30 seconds of The Indigo performing before security forced me to turn my camera off. As for the CLAMP panel, they threatened to confiscate any filming devices.

But I'll try my best to record as much as I can for those of you who can't make it.

[FatPianoBoy]

Why don't you use the classic camera-in-a-bag-with-the-lens-peaking-out trick?
Provided your relative elevation makes that possible, anyway.

[Cloudy]

Why can't Aya come to Singapore and perform at a local cosplay event.T_T

[Kaoru Chujo]

There is a stupendously wonderful five-minute preview clip of the Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou live event DVD now online. Info in this post on my blog (http://hashihime.blogspot.com/2007/07/suzumiya-haruhi-live-event-dvd-clip-now.html). Check other recent (and future) posts there for AX reports.

[W-General]

Apart from Wada-san's group from Japan, I was probably the biggest Haruhi-tard at AX.

I pretty much camped out for everything related to Haruhi, including day one's focus panel.

I went to the panel and saw everything there, and I was the bum who asked Hirano-san "Do you have a boyfriend" (to which she replied in Mikuru style "Classified information!" then said "Seriously though, I don't have one." THERE IS STILL HOPE!!!!)

Only 50 people got the SOS-dan autograph, and that was after it was moved back for one day. I luckily got one because I became good friends with Wada-san and Fujiki-san (who is quite a character, he say he watches Nico Nico in his room everyday and practices to hare hare yukai and motteke sailor fuku and other idol master dances and then performed a full Motteke sailor fuku routine in front of us, totally awesome), who camped out overnight and I asked them to save me a seat until I arrived at 5:30am. Helps to know Japanese ;)

Seriously though, the concert had lots of issues and got delayed so much that SOS-dan could not attend the Meet and Greet Guest of Honor reception, which I paid $20 just to see Hirano-san. It was extremely disappointing. The technical issues with the concert could just go on and on...from sound to host to scheduling. I went to SOS, Oreskaband, Savage Genius (who were EXTREMELY NICE), Chiaki, and Momo-i concerts. I have to say that of all the concerts I went to, the SOS concert was the most poorly held. We had to make the AX staff's incompetencies with our burning passion and love for Haruhi and SOS-dan...

Nevertheless, when Hare Hare Yukai started in the concert, I got so excited that I just stood up onto my chair and started dancing - I was in the premier seating section so I swear everyone could see me embarrass myself - but Hare Hare Yukai MUST BE DANCED and it was a worthy sacrifice - even if I almost fell off my chair twice XD.

I'm sitting at Chicago airport right now waiting to go back to Ithaca. I'll post a full review and reflection of AX 2007 on my blog when I get back.

[DJ_RockmanX]

Apart from Wada-san's group from Japan, I was probably the biggest Haruhi-tard at AX.

I pretty much camped out for everything related to Haruhi, including day one's focus panel.

Amen to all that, although you can have your claim to being the biggest Harutard. I'll just settle for status as a pious Haruhiist. :D

I went to the panel and saw everything there, and I was the bum who asked Hirano-san "Do you have a boyfriend" (to which she replied in Mikuru style "Classified information!" then said "Seriously though, I don't have one." THERE IS STILL HOPE!!!!)

I remember that, and I thank you for having her reveal her status as "untaken" to all of us. Let the race to winning her heart begin.

Only 50 people got the SOS-dan autograph, and that was after it was moved back for one day. I luckily got one because I became good friends with Wada-san and Fujiki-san (who is quite a character, he say he watches Nico Nico in his room everyday and practices to hare hare yukai and motteke sailor fuku and other idol master dances and then performed a full Motteke sailor fuku routine in front of us, totally awesome), who camped out overnight and I asked them to save me a seat until I arrived at 5:30am. Helps to know Japanese ;)

Your friends sound fun; I'd have loved to have met them.

Anyway, I took a different avenue to obtaining the autographs, and it paid off. Buy something Haruhi-related from the Bandai booth, then show up Sunday morning with your receipt. That semi-insured my spot, but I almost got cutoff anyway. I was gonna scream "USO!" at the top of my fucking lungs if that had happened.

Seriously though, the concert had lots of issues and got delayed so much that SOS-dan could not attend the Meet and Greet Guest of Honor reception, which I paid $20 just to see Hirano-san. It was extremely disappointing. The technical issues with the concert could just go on and on...from sound to host to scheduling. I went to SOS, Oreskaband, Savage Genius (who were EXTREMELY NICE), Chiaki, and Momo-i concerts. I have to say that of all the concerts I went to, the SOS concert was the most poorly held. We had to make the AX staff's incompetencies with our burning passion and love for Haruhi and SOS-dan...

The AX staff can all burn in hell for how badly they handled this year in general.

Nevertheless, when Hare Hare Yukai started in the concert, I got so excited that I just stood up onto my chair and started dancing - I was in the premier seating section so I swear everyone could see me embarrass myself - but Hare Hare Yukai MUST BE DANCED and it was a worthy sacrifice - even if I almost fell off my chair twice XD.

So that was you in front of me blocking my view... :heh:

What was your seat assignment? Me = Section C, Row 10, Seat 3 (but moved over to seat 4).

I'm sitting at Chicago airport right now waiting to go back to Ithaca. I'll post a full review and reflection of AX 2007 on my blog when I get back.

Just post your stuff here when it's ready. =)

[W-General]

What was your seat assignment? Me = Section C, Row 10, Seat 3 (but moved over to seat 4).


Mine was Section C, Row 8, Seat 7 ^^

I also recorded the video of Minorin from the Bandai panel on Day 3. I'll put it up on Youtube / Nico when I get back, along with pictures. I also have the full Savage Genius concert recorded on video :)

Minorin seemed to have handled all the AX failures quite well and from her blog posts seemed to enjoy herself. Aya was kinda struggling as well, but she didn't rant on her blog like Momo-i...only one post since day 2, in which she said "make up session before the concert, the situation was really chaotic but I'll somehow make it through." Gotouza-sama haven't said anything so I am guessing she was most upset.

/me curses AX staff angrily.

Hidden camera videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9cP--D592I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOxejTphvLM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paKRL4ffdA8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEuRA2De9bY

From it you can see how poorly it was held...especially the ASOS and american VAs kept cutting off SOS-dan, extremely rude.

[DJ_RockmanX]

Mine was Section C, Row 8, Seat 7 ^^

Right, the dude dancing on his chair. Good job. :p

I also recorded the video of Minorin from the Bandai panel on Day 3. I'll put it up on Youtube / Nico when I get back, along with pictures. I also have the full Savage Genius concert recorded on video :)

Where were you sitting at the panel?

Minorin seemed to have handled all the AX failures quite well and from her blog posts seemed to enjoy herself. Aya was kinda struggling as well, but she didn't rant on her blog like Momo-i...only one post since day 2, in which she said "make up session before the concert, the situation was really chaotic but I'll somehow make it through." Gotouza-sama haven't said anything so I am guessing she was most upset.

Bless Minorin for taking it all in stride, and God knows what the other two are thinking (pun not really intended)...

We ought to get some kind of petition going to get those AX staff bastards to make at least some form of apology to the guests. Otherwise I highly doubt we're ever gonna get a guest list like that ever again.

[Animexcel]

I was also lucky enough to get Aya, Minori, and Yuko's autographs too. I asked Yuko if she and the rest recieved sketches I did; the Bandai staff told me that they have given it to them yet(heard later they got it during dinner that night, so I wonder what they thought of my sketches of Haruhi, Yuki, and Mikuru.) Yuko thanked me, then I moved on to Minori, the only thing I could think of was "Minori daisuki" -_-;; xD lol Aya-san was so cute upclose, I asked her if she could write "To Jason" on the poster but the guy told me they can't do that. Aya made a =( face, said a little "awww"... oh well, after she signed, I gave her a high five ^_^ That's right, I made physical contact with her. xD

As for the concert, I was sitting in Section C Row 3, Seat 10. I was also disappointed that they couldn't attend the Meet and Greet.

I competed in the Hare Hare Yukai dance contest lol I danced solo on Saturday cosplaying as Kyon ^^;;

[DJ_RockmanX]

That's right, I made physical contact with her. xD

*jealousy levels rising over 9000*

[Julius Firefocht]

Apart from Wada-san's group from Japan, I was probably the biggest Haruhi-tard at AX.

I pretty much camped out for everything related to Haruhi, including day one's focus panel.

I went to the panel and saw everything there, and I was the bum who asked Hirano-san "Do you have a boyfriend" (to which she replied in Mikuru style "Classified information!" then said "Seriously though, I don't have one." THERE IS STILL HOPE!!!!)

Only 50 people got the SOS-dan autograph, and that was after it was moved back for one day. I luckily got one because I became good friends with Wada-san and Fujiki-san (who is quite a character, he say he watches Nico Nico in his room everyday and practices to hare hare yukai and motteke sailor fuku and other idol master dances and then performed a full Motteke sailor fuku routine in front of us, totally awesome), who camped out overnight and I asked them to save me a seat until I arrived at 5:30am. Helps to know Japanese ;)

Seriously though, the concert had lots of issues and got delayed so much that SOS-dan could not attend the Meet and Greet Guest of Honor reception, which I paid $20 just to see Hirano-san. It was extremely disappointing. The technical issues with the concert could just go on and on...from sound to host to scheduling. I went to SOS, Oreskaband, Savage Genius (who were EXTREMELY NICE), Chiaki, and Momo-i concerts. I have to say that of all the concerts I went to, the SOS concert was the most poorly held. We had to make the AX staff's incompetencies with our burning passion and love for Haruhi and SOS-dan...

Nevertheless, when Hare Hare Yukai started in the concert, I got so excited that I just stood up onto my chair and started dancing - I was in the premier seating section so I swear everyone could see me embarrass myself - but Hare Hare Yukai MUST BE DANCED and it was a worthy sacrifice - even if I almost fell off my chair twice XD.

I'm sitting at Chicago airport right now waiting to go back to Ithaca. I'll post a full review and reflection of AX 2007 on my blog when I get back.

You, sir, are a true son of Haruhiism. I salute you!

[Animexcel]

The Bandai receipt saved my life, I thought I had no chance of getting an autograph but there was this 2nd little line that was forming and me and a haruhi cosplayer I met earlier spoke to staff who was organizing the line about Bandai having us run around like crazy and didn't mark our reciepts. So he let us in the line.

I was on a mission that day. Me and my friend were talking about forking out money or barging in and scream out "Aya! Tasukete!" ...yeah, anything.

[W-General]

*jealousy levels rising over 9000*
My jealousy level is rising OVER 9000 as well...

Right, the dude dancing on his chair. Good job. :p

Where were you sitting at the panel?

Right side, third row, 3rd seat in I think.

But according to Aya-san's latest posts (mostly about food, but there was one on July 4) on her blog:

"できる限りの事はしました。
みなさん楽しんでくださったので本当に良かったです。
ただ、日本から来てくださった方は申し訳ありませんでした。
日本でやっているようなパフォーマンスが十分にできなかった事、本当にすみません。
悔しいので、最後にも言ったけどまたここに来て挽回します。
必ず。"

Which translates to:

"I've done everything I can.
It's a good thing that everyone had fun.
However, my apologies to everyone who came all the way from Japan.
I couldn't put up a performance that's as good as the ones we had in Japan, I'm terribly sorry about that.
I am extremely regretful about that, so I'll say this again: I'll definitely come back again and make it up.
For sure."

Awwwwwwwwww Aya-san :(
We'll always welcome you! It's not your fault!!! It's f**king AX's fault. *AX STAFF BURN IN HELL*
Not all hope is lost! PLEASE Come back again! Maybe Otakon next time? :)
If she comes, I swear I'd be willing to pay upwards of $1000 just to see her, talk to her, and get a picture taken or something.


I've posted day 1 summary/impressions on my blog...especially the SOS-dan panel :D
http://wgeneral.wordpress.com/
No pictures yet though, because I still need to install photoshop to shrink my pictures down a bit...
I'll get around the day 2 3 and 4 tomorrow, since it's getting late.

[dodgethis_sg]

right, I made physical contact with her. xD

NERD RAGE NOW OVER 9000.

[Simon]

The live DVD Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou went on sale today, and judging by the queue at Animate Ikebukuro it's off to a good start. I got there a bit after 11am (i.e. about five hours ago), to find people lined up right around the DVD floor and out onto the stairs. Admittedly they weren't all buying SHnG (Lucky Star V2 was also much in evidence, and I heard one bemused customer asking a staff member what the special occasion was), but still it was flying off the shelves pretty fast. I'll be interested to see the official first-day sales figures.

Animate were giving out a nice 24-page glossy photo booklet with each purchase, so I'm kind of glad now that Amazon wouldn't let me order this DVD :)

On a side note, the live event has taken on special significance thanks to Lucky Star ep15 - I spent yesterday in Omiya taking photos of the street locations they showed before and after the concert. Now I just have to wait until I get back home next week to watch it for myself...

[Kaoru Chujo]

Thanks for the report, Simon. I'll add this link (http://akiba.kakaku.com/event/0707/26/204500.php) to a piece on Akiba Kakaku (http://akiba.kakaku.com/) with pics of the line-up at Animate in Akihabara on Thursday, when a couple of hundred people were lined up to buy a copy of the new Hirano Aya gravure book that went on sale at 11am. Anyone who bought a copy got a chance for a place in the autograph session with her on Saturday. One blogger posted a photo (http://d.hatena.ne.jp/dantyoism/20070726) of the ten copies he bought. Other people bought up to a couple of hundred, clearly with the idea of reselling them. Photo book -- Lucky Star v2 -- SH no Gekisou: quite a weekend. And we (I mean you) were there.

[moyism]

4 hours of awesomeness is the best way I can describe the live concert DVD!

I am, however, a little disappointed in no extras after being spoiled with the Haruhi R2 DVDs. And yea... I spotted er... blue/aqua on Aya during the Hare Hare dance ^^;;

[Kaoru Chujo]

I'm biased, I know, but the Gekisou DVD is just fabulous entertainment. Especially Aya, who has a lot to give and seems to give it all. Chihara Minori has the best voice -- her first number was wonderful -- but Aya can really move and gets things rocking, in her bold "at the edge of my abilities" style. And with her tight T-shirt that read "Did You Cum Twice, Too?" And with her highly abbreviated skirt in the numbers with Minorin and Gotuuza-sama. And with her uncontrolled weeping at the end.

The audience was another star. Boy, were they having a good time, with their light-sticks and their chanting and their heartfelt roars of approval, like at the end of Aya's Bouken Desho Desho, or when the women rose up from below the stage for Hare Hare Yukai, or after Aya had thanked them through her tears.

The numbers I liked best, in addition to Hare Hare Yukai, which was the climax of the show, were Aya's solo numbers in the concert segment, including God Knows and Lost My Music. She played rhythm guitar, but her playing couldn't really be separated from the playing of the band behind her, which had its own rhythm guitar. She looks good playing, though, lol.

Actually, I think my favorite bits were any close-ups of her face, and the times she spoke with the crowd. Especially when she was more-or-less unscripted, like when her guitar pick broke and her dress strap came off. Or when she tried to hit Sugita for mentioning that she was crying. So sue me.

I thought the DVD was put together simply but very well, with what looked like at least three cameras: in the middle of the hall, off to one side nearer the stage, and on a track that passed right across in front of the stage.

The three SOS-Dan women really got Hare Hare Yukai and their other dance routines down pat. Impressive. Can't say the same for Sugita in the five-person version, lol. Aya showed her pedigree as a member of an idol unit by the sharpness and certainty of her movements: not as good as the back-up dancers, but good.

The guys were amusing: Shiraishi Minoru, Sugita Tomokazu and Ono Daisuke. And Matsuoka Yuki benefited from the crowd's love for Tsuruya-san (she was also crowd favorite Setsuna in Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora, in case you'd forgotten). Also performing were nimble-tongued Kuwatani Natsuko (Asakura-san), and Aoki Sayaka (Kyon's sister). Matsumoto Megumi (Kunikida-kun) worked with Shiraishi as the master/mistress of ceremonies for the evening. (By the way, Ono Daisuke is doing an outstanding job as Kazuya in Kaze no Stigma.)

Random Curiosity (http://randomc.animeblogger.net/2007/07/28/suzumiya-haruhi-no-gekisou-dvd/) has got some screencaps up, with a review to come. The DVD is available for $55 from YesAsia (http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-j/section-videos/pid-1004887143/).

[leungw]

I just finished watching the DVD. I have to agree with the previous posters. Excellent concert.

However, there's a small thing that bothers me a little. The last few songs with the three ladies, including Hare Hare Yukai, seem to be pre-recorded and not performed live...? Did anyone else notice...? :confused:

[dodgethis_sg]

Yes, they were. I think they decided that it was impossible for them to do The Dance and sing at the same time without being incoherent.

[W-General]

I got my friend who's in Japan right now to buy me the Gekisou DVD.
He's still looking for the Gravure album for me.
Hirano Aya is so hot (heart)



The Gekisou concert totally puts the pathetic AX concert to shame.
Shame on you, AX.

[moyism]

^ if you mean Aya Hirano's recent photo album, you can buy that as well from YesAsia (http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-j/section-posters/pid-1004800130/)

Feel like shooting myself after Kaoru Chujo's link to YesAsia to get the DVD. Could have saved like $25 on the S&H! doh! (Hopefully will have the DVD in the next day or two)

[Kaoru Chujo]

According to Seiyuu Watch (http://www.hiranoaya.com/cgi-bin/diary/sfs6_diary/), the Gekisou DVD (http://blog.livedoor.jp/blur66430/archives/50996981.html) was ranked #8 on the DVD charts for the day it came out. This doesn't sound great -- Code Geass DVD7 was #1 and Lucky Star DVD2 was #3. But for some reason, Oricon didn't put the Gekisou DVD in its music DVD chart, but rather in the general chart (http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/dg/d/). If it had been in the music chart (http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/dm/), it would have been a runaway #1, since the #1 music DVD only sold enough to rank #15 in the general chart.

EDIT: This piece (http://www.akibablog.net/archives/2007/07/haruhi-070729.html) shows the "sold out" signs for the DVD in many stores in Akihabara. Gamers won't get a new shipment until Wednesday.

It was also announced recently that Hirano Aya will have singles releases for three months in a row, starting in October. And there were announcements giving details of three new Lucky Star releases, which I will describe in that show's music thread. (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=1066654&postcount=327)

And I had no problem with them lip-synching the heavy dance numbers at the end. It was more important to get the dance right. I suspect it was not perfect, anyway, since on rewatch, I see that there are not a lot of wide shots that would show whether they were in synch or not. They did sing in their earlier dance numbers.

[houkoholic]

Yes, they were. I think they decided that it was impossible for them to do The Dance and sing at the same time without being incoherent.

Meh, obviously they just couldn't get enough time to reharse for it. But it's disappointing to me that it seems they never tried to get it right. They've been lip-syncing HareHare since Animelo 2006, yet I know Chihara Minori can sing and dance Harehare as I've seen her do it in her own personal concert last year all by herself in November, so the question then is: who out of the other two can't? :rolleyes:

To me though, this DVD was actually disappointing and it seemed that minimal effort was put in it in terms of organisation and production. Most of the singing performances were not up to scratch, including Chihara Minori's (I've seen and know she can do much better, which makes it even more disappointing and me craving a proper release of her concert even more). The skits relied more on the quick wits and wackyness of the 3 male seiyuus than actual planning or coordination (though otoh that gave me plenty more respect to the guys), also a 4:3 letter box concert DVD is something that other labels would do 2-3 years ago. It's still a fun watch, but it's underwhelming and undeliverying DVD to the quality I'm used to. Overall below the par other concerts out there right now, not quite worth the money I paid for.

[Kaoru Chujo]

...so the question then is: who out of the other two can't?... It's still a fun watch, but it's underwhelming and undeliverying DVD to the quality I'm used to....That other person would be Gotou Yuuko, clearly. She looks like she moves well, and could dance well at a party, but doesn't have the neat movements of a real dancer. There is no way on Earth that Aya couldn't do it, as you can tell just by watching the precision and sureness of her moves. I'd better try to see some other concerts, if this great entertainment wasn't up to snuff. Nana? Hocchan? Who? This was quite superior to the bits of GA concert I've seen.

[houkoholic]

I'd better try to see some other concerts, if this great entertainment wasn't up to snuff. Nana? Hocchan? Who? This was quite superior to the bits of GA concert I've seen.

Out of seiyuus concerts, I would most definitely say Nana and Yukarin are easily the top performers live as well as putting out the better DVDs, and I'm surely not the only (http://catsspat.dyndns.org:2080/anime/Seiyuu-Mizuki_Nana/KIBM-112/index.html) one (http://catsspat.dyndns.org:2080/anime/Seiyuu-Tamura_Yukari/GBBA-8/index.html) preaching their amazing concert skills. Not to mention the record breaking concert Live Museum which was also put on DVD (http://catsspat.dyndns.org:2080/anime/Seiyuu-Mizuki_Nana/KIBM-140/index.html) very recently. If you think 2500 people waving light sticks is a lot, check out 5 times the amount of people doing that instead.

Having been brought up on a steady diet of Nana and Yukarin concerts as well as having attended numerous other famous singers like Sakamoto Maaya (coupled with Kanno Yoko), Chiba Saeko, KOTOKO and Shimokawa Mikuni's lives and heck even Chihara Minori's awesome personal ones, not even counting the huge events like Animelo, or the super witty Lyrical Parties (but equally as flawed in organisation as this Gekishou which I have criticised), it's becoming hard for me to accept things that are second rate.

For full on anime/game related concerts performed by seiyuus complete with drama acting, dancing and singing, nothing, absolutely NOTHING, tops Sakura Taisen musicals, which are renouned for its top quality production even amongst the professional musical circle in Japan. It makes this concert looks like child's play in comparison.

[W-General]

You shouldn't complain too much. This entire concert DVD is already 10x better than the actual Anime Expo concert. Which is a complete failure compared to this.

I heard Jam project put up amazing lives though. I wish I can see them live.

Meh, obviously they just couldn't get enough time to reharse for it. But it's disappointing to me that it seems they never tried to get it right. They've been lip-syncing HareHare since Animelo 2006, yet I know Chihara Minori can sing and dance Harehare as I've seen her do it in her own personal concert last year all by herself in November, so the question then is: who out of the other two can't? :rolleyes:

To me though, this DVD was actually disappointing and it seemed that minimal effort was put in it in terms of organisation and production. Most of the singing performances were not up to scratch, including Chihara Minori's (I've seen and know she can do much better, which makes it even more disappointing and me craving a proper release of her concert even more). The skits relied more on the quick wits and wackyness of the 3 male seiyuus than actual planning or coordination (though otoh that gave me plenty more respect to the guys), also a 4:3 letter box concert DVD is something that other labels would do 2-3 years ago. It's still a fun watch, but it's underwhelming and undeliverying DVD to the quality I'm used to. Overall below the par other concerts out there right now, not quite worth the money I paid for.

The one they lip synced was the full version of hare hare yukai.
The short encore version was actually sung along to (per Japanese Gekisou Wiki)

Like I said for the AX failure concert: love for Hirano Aya and Haruhi more than makes up for any incompetent concert organization. When I watched some of the Gekisou DVD rips, I literally felt like I was transported back to June 30, 2007 5:00PM, Long Beach Convention Center, California. Even though it was a dinky 19" Computer monitor I could not help but stand up and and jump up and down in my apartment, cheer along to the recording, waving my pencil-as-imaginary glow-sticks. I must've looked like a total idiot - thankfully I was the only one in the apartment at the time.

That's how much I love Hirano Aya. To me, 6000 yen is nothing compared to showing my littlest bit of appreciation and love for Hirano-san.


By the way, my friend in Japan reported to me that he has purchased the H photobook for me. So all is well.


Also, Gekisou was not the only time Chihara Minori forgot her lyrics. She forgot a couple lines at AX2007 as well from the second verse from Yuki, madobe, muon. Maybe she could use some more practice in that song :).



Animate were giving out a nice 24-page glossy photo booklet with each purchase, so I'm kind of glad now that Amazon wouldn't let me order this DVD :)


Ah I guess that's what my friend got me. He told me he lined up at Animate and got some special booklet thing. Any idea what it looks like?

[Kaoru Chujo]

Out of seiyuus concerts, I would most definitely say Nana and Yukarin are easily the top performers live as well as putting out the better DVDs.... If you think 2500 people waving light sticks is a lot, check out 5 times the amount of people doing that instead....it's becoming hard for me to accept things that are second rate....I've had a chance to see the first half of Nana's Museum concert and maybe I can now understand where you're coming from. The level of professionalism and organization is much, much higher.

But that does not make it more entertaining, for me. In fact, the big Las Vegas-style production numbers tend to turn me off. I prefer the simpler style of Gekisou. And it may just be my preference in music, but I had trouble getting into any of the music except the bit in the middle where Nana was alone on a stool with a simple guitar background.

I'm sure it has partly to do with my inadequate experience of these kinds of shows and this kind of music, but I do find myself preferring the more intimate feel of Gekisou. Nana certainly seems a nice person, elegant and charming, but her style makes me feel more at a remove. That's partly because I'm following Aaya so much more closely, though, I expect.

I liked the energy and intimacy of Gekisou. Depending on the wit of the male seiyuu was a good thing rather than a bad thing, in my opinion, for the sense of immediacy it brought. And Aya's always seeming just at the edge of her abilities gives a feeling of immediacy, too. Her energetic dancing was fairly riveting, as well.

It probably connects with my enjoyment of rougher, more amateurish seiyuu work. The smoothness of the top pros is sometimes too smooth for me, and seems unreal. I'm probably missing some of the nuance of the Japanese, but that's how I feel.

Anyway, thanks for the tips. I'll keep looking around to get more glimpses of this art form. And yes, 12,000 light sticks is pretty impressive. Like the ocean.

[houkoholic]

You shouldn't complain too much. This entire concert DVD is already 10x better than the actual Anime Expo concert. Which is a complete failure compared to this.

Actually I should (and do in their surveys) complain, otherwise how else would they improve? I think it's safe to say that unlike many people here, I go to a lot of events in person as well as purchasing the DVDs for archiving since I'm living in Japan. Going to concerts and events is almost a monthly activity for me, and during busy seasons such as the summer and winter holidays I go to 3 or 4 a month, thus I want them to do better because I've aways gave them a lot of my money.


I heard Jam project put up amazing lives though. I wish I can see them live.

They're, without a doubt, absolutely amazing live artists.


The one they lip synced was the full version of hare hare yukai.
The short encore version was actually sung along to (per Japanese Gekisou Wiki)

This may be the case during the day, but the DVD recording does not sound anywhere like a live performance as it was very artifical, perfect "studio" sounding. Not even a perfect live performance can sound that articifical. Even the Wiki quotes that there is lip-syncing.


Like I said for the AX failure concert: love for Hirano Aya and Haruhi more than makes up for any incompetent concert organization.

If any concert is judged on how easily I splurge into fanboy mode, then no concert that I've been to, or will go to in the future, will ever be a failure. Since if I don't like the artists in question I would not spend thousands of yen to go to their concerts or buy their DVDs, that's just common sense. Like I said, this concert is fun to watch, but to go and then fanboy over any concert without objective criticism is IMO actually doing a great injustice to these people, as my true intention is to get more people whom might otherwise not know them to see how talent these seiyuu can be. Preaching to the choir (ie the fanboys whom are already converted) is no fun and ultimately pointless. That, and it just gives those business guys more reason to exploit the fans if we just eat up all things they put out.


That's how much I love Hirano Aya. To me, 6000 yen is nothing compared to showing my littlest bit of appreciation and love for Hirano-san.

Before I moved to Japan, I've spent literally thousands of dollars per trip to fly across contients to attend concerts. If you want fanboy love, I think when I say I qualify for "f-ing crazy otaku" it would be pretty hard to dispute. ;) But like I said above, it's against my personal integrity such that I'm not going to do that. Also I've been buying seiyuu concert DVDs for a long long long time (my first DVD was of Iwao Junko's live concert, that was more than 7 years ago), if the production is bad such as this DVD (6000yen for two below average compressed 4:3 letterbox DVD with no special package, no lyrics booklet etc, which are all fairly norm for other seiyuu concert at this price point), then I'll call out on it.

[houkoholic]

I do find myself preferring the more intimate feel of Gekisou.

I think you're confusing cheap production with intimacy.

I've attended events that only had 20 people, all the way to ones which involve tens of thousands, I've even went on a fanclub onsen trip. I can tell you that intimacy is merely determined by how many times you make eye contact (or think that you've made eye contact) with the seiyuus. For example I could be tucked away at the back seat of a small event blocked by two big otakus in front and I will certainly not feel any more intimate than getting that awesome front seats I got in Animelo 2007 despite the artists singing to tens of thousands. The Gekisou event is a fairly standard event by most measurement in terms of seiyuu interaction with the audience. The Gekisou DVD made it up in this area with good video direction (lots of nice close ups, nice slow panning shots etc), though the video quality is not quite there.

As for energy, I've been to a lot events, if you're a fanboy of the series then I dare say any seiyuu events will feel like Gekisou because of the fanboy glasses. Seiyuus jumping around chanting "hey! hey!" as they sing pop songs is standard fair. I've never been to one which doesn't involve that, well except for the Sakamoto Maaya concerts, but then again her songs are not pop-style songs either.

In Sakura Taisen musicals, some the seiyuus literally come out to the foyer area to shake your hands when you're standing in line waiting to go in. They move around the seating during breaks, they taught us how to do the Gekitei dance, THAT'S intimatacy. At Yukarin concerts Yukarin leads us doing Mexican waves with her melomelo stick, she asks audience questions that leads into talks etc, that's also way more intimate than anything I've seen in the Gekisou concert too. Yet on the other hand they also maintain a very high standard of professionalism while performing. That's really what marks a great event.


I liked the energy and intimacy of Gekisou. Depending on the wit of the male seiyuu was a good thing rather than a bad thing, in my opinion, for the sense of immediacy it brought.

Immediacy is not really a good thing. One false move and everything goes to hell (ie the AX SOS fisco), they were lucky the guys were fast-witted, on the ball, professional and are great friends off stage so they made a great tsukkomi combo. There are events where the people aren't as quick-witted and the conversation just stales, or someone comes up with an awkward question and ruins the atmosphere. As I've said, this gave me more respect for the 3 male seiyuu themselves rather than the organisation of the concert.


It probably connects with my enjoyment of rougher, more amateurish seiyuu work. The smoothness of the top pros is sometimes too smooth for me, and seems unreal. I'm probably missing some of the nuance of the Japanese, but that's how I feel.

There is nothing wrong in enjoying amateurish work, afterall amateurs have their place in the industry. However these people here are not amateurs, and it is bad when you've seen these people performing at professional level before then seeing them falling back into amateur level, then it's time to say "no that is not acceptable". The industry has operated long enough that a certain standard should be met.

[W-General]

十七曲目：ハレ晴レユカイ-ｱﾝｺｰﾙTVｻｲｽﾞ　（涼宮ハルヒ、長門有希、朝比奈みくる/平野綾、茅原実里、後藤邑子）口パク＋平野だけ生歌

The wiki lists Hirano as actually singing it.

I'm not chastising you for making suggestions or comments for improvement. I'm just saying that as a super fanboy, I am very easily satisfied, given that I don't live in Japan (and probably will never will, because that's counterintuitive given my career choice).

You might be a bit more picky because you've been to much better concerts than this. I have only been to a few, and they all took place this year at AX, and they don't live up to the standards of even the poorest held concert in Japan. For me, the standard on the Gekisou DVD is too good for me already. But yes, I am prone to fanboying - even though the AX concert sucked big time, I still jumped up and down and cheered like a madman, bumping into many other people at the same time.

If I devote such energy to a third-rate concert like the AX concert, I am sure I'll pass out right on spot if I go to a concert in Japan.

But I agree, watching the performance - the guys, Sugita, Ono, and Shirashi, really shone through. I hope they'll come to America sometime, and Shirashi can do a "wawawa wasuremono"

[Kaoru Chujo]

Interesting posts from houkoholic, as usual. But I'll cavil a bit anyway.

The intimacy in Gekisou was partly, as you say, from the camera-angles, but I guess I was really talking about two things: the smaller scale of the staging, compared to the Nana concert; and the informality of the presentation. The informality is an aspect of lack of professionalism, perhaps, but when everything is well scripted, a show can seem dead, at least on TV. I'm just talking about my reaction to two videos, since I don't have first-hand experience to be able to judge the show as a live event.

I disagree that immediacy is a bad thing. It is a bad thing if you set up conditions that make failure likely. But in this situation, they had the right people in place in the right situation to make it go. That's well-planned immediacy, like any TV talk show. And when it works, it gives a lot, at least to me.

The fact is that in anime voice work I do sometimes prefer less polished work to the work of the most polished pros. The old-time pros have everything down pat, so that it sometimes comes off dead to me, even when they are putting the most life into it. The worship of jouzu "skillful" and the horror of heta "unskillful" is one of the things that I like least about anime criticism. "Skill" and "art" are two different things. I listen to Saitou Chiwa recently and I imagine that she is trying to be professional and it is ruining her uniqueness. "The industry" is very important, since it produces so much great stuff, but any in-group can develop its own artificial standards.

On the other hand, please keep letting us know how things compare, and doing your best to improve the level of entertainment. It was my glimpses of the GA2 show on YouTube earlier this year that actually opened this world to me, so I have a lot to learn about it. Certainly, being a fan of Aya and the show makes a big difference in how I see things.

One thing I've asked elsewhere that you may be able to answer: do the performers and the audience actually know what the words on Aya's shirt mean, and what is their reaction to them? In North America, I doubt any performer but a pretty lewd rocker would wear such a thing.

[eggplant]

Let me put in my 2 cents.

I went to Gekisou and bought the DVD (haha, I saw myself) as well, and because I got to experience the event both from a firsthand and objective perspective, I consider it to be one of the best events I've ever seen in my life, dating back to the 70s when I was an avid rock fan.

Yes, the performance wasn't top notch, even subpar compared to other seiyuu related shows I've previously seen. But for Gekisou, that's not an issue, as the significance was in having the event.

The atmosphere in the venue was that of excitement, energy, and satisfaction, a pinnacle landmark for the Suzumiya Haruhi franchise. Yes, ths staging was crude, at times painful to watch, but did the audience care? On that day, anything went, and what the performers did was deliver what the people wanted to see: Real life Suzumiya Haruhi, not some well scripted and rehearsed show.

Call me arrogant, but I even consider the concert to be a privilege for those who attended, and the videogram a chronological recording of the events that took place.

Thus, I understand if people weren't satisfied with the DVD, since it won't reproduce what the people who were there on that epoch making day went through. Both the concert and DVD comes with a price tag, but to me, it was priceless.

[Simon]

Ah I guess that's what my friend got me. He told me he lined up at Animate and got some special booklet thing. Any idea what it looks like?

Here's a scan of the cover:

http://www.hikari.org.nz/stuff/random/haruhi_gekisou_animate_photobook.jpg

It's slightly smaller than a DVD case, 24 pages in total. There isn't really any text, just VA / character names on the relevant pages. Still, it has considerably more content than the actual DVD liner notes, and the photos look pretty cool (I still have to watch the DVD, I've spent most of the time since I got back catching up on sleep).

[leungw]

Yahoo auction with more pictures of the booklet:
http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/104492479

Looks like some people got a desk calendar?
http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b78302624

[Kaoru Chujo]

The Gekisou DVD was #6 on the DVD charts (http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/dg/) in its first week. That's the general DVD chart. If it had been included on the music DVD chart, it would have been #1, since the #1 music DVD ranked #13 on the general chart.

The top DVD was Code Geass 7, with Lucky Star 2 at #2. Next came a variety show by the cast of a Korean drama, then StrikerS 1, then the US film The Pursuit of Happiness, then Gekisou. With two DVDs in the top six, Aya just becomes more of a hot property. The word "property" makes me feel funny, though. On 2channel, some posts keep saying her agency is pushing her too hard. From things she said on the DVD and elsewhere, I think Aya, much as she likes it, is surprised by her popularity, too.

I looked back at Nana's Live Museum x Universe DVD for comparison, and it was #5 on the general chart and #2 on the music chart when it came out. I can't find sales figures for a better comparison. And the chart longevity of the two may differ, as well.

In Chihara Minori news, there is an interview with her on the Seiyuu Grand Prix (http://www.seigura.com/interview/interview/27) website, to do with her singing the OP for the new PS2 version of the game Suika, on the game's vocal CD. The interview is in Japanese, but non-Japanese speakers might also find the little video of her (http://www.seigura.com/interview/movie/10) interesting. It's in Japanese, too, but it's interesting to see her do a minute promo for the CD.

There are some good photos of Minorin on her blog (http://minorhythm.jugem.jp/) recently. here's one:

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/4004/chihara070731ih4.jpg (http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/4004/chihara070731ih4.jpg)

[dodgethis_sg]

Oh gawd meganekko.

[dahl_moon]

Yeah, Minorin is definately the cutest:D

Finally got to see the 1st half of Gekisou. This is the first time I've ever seen a Japanese concert, much less a Japanese concert with seiyu. Was quite an experience.

Part 1 had it's ups and downs. The "notable scenes (名場面)" parts for each character were meh at best. Especially later on, it seemed mostly, "er.... what should I say?" But, the parts where the seiyu show off their forte, acting, but in live action (skits, 寸劇), was where things really picked up. I'm note sure if I'm understanding it right, but are the seiyu under the mercy of the narrator? i.e. ".... and she does the Mikuru-beam!!"

Key Quotes:
Kyon: ”Hm.... glasses, eh...” (Minorin had her glasses on)
Kyon: ”顔が近い。ア，ア，アクセスのライブみたいんだ。” (Did I hear this right?)
Shiraishi: ”にょろん！ Smoked cheese"

Note: Suzumiya is where Shiraishi really took off, right? I was looking for Aya, but Shiraishi was the one who really caught my eye. He is a really good entertainer (not to mention an interesting seiyu). Thoroughly enjoyed him on stage. Actually, the male seiyus were so much more enjoyable.

[W-General]

The Japanese concert Wiki actually lists tons of jokes by Sugita Tomokazu and Ono Daisuke. Sugita was like non-stop with cracking Gundam-related jokes.

Shiraishi, Ono, Sugita, they absolutely hilarious.
Shirashi as Kakricon: "AMERIA!!!!!"

eggplant: My sentiments exactly, except for my case it's the horrible AX concert, which is held 100x poorer than Gekisou. I still had a blast of a time, because it's LIVE Haruhi. Do I regret lining up 10+ hours in the scorching Southern California sun or spending $50 for that premier ticket to a bad concert? No. I'd make the same choice again. It's not about good planning or good choreography or whatever. For me, it's fanboyism and I'm not afraid to say it. Each person is entitled to his or her opinion.

Simon & leungw: ok thanks. The reason why I asked because I spent a hefty money at Otakon buying a Gekisou booklet (seems like it's something they sold only at the concert) so I was worried that it was the same thing. Looks like it's not, thanks.

The desktop calendar is the bonus you get if you ordered online from chara-ani.

If you go to the Yahoo books page of the photo album, it has some (hot) samples of the book, please an interview. Nothing too special there, except Hirano saying her normal way of speaking is more like Konata than Haruhi, that she likes reading Juuni Kokuki (12 Kingdoms).

http://books.yahoo.co.jp/book_detail/31926960/

The samples look amazing. Can't wait until I get my hands on my copy on the 10th when my friend comes back from Japan

[dodgethis_sg]

Shirashi, Ono and Sugita were practically walking Cospa advertisements with what they were wearing in the first half.

[leungw]

I got my copies. :D

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/7646/ayahiranovw6.th.jpg (http://img356.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ayahiranovw6.jpg)

I put one on eBay, hopefully to even out the shipping cost a bit. ;)

[dahl_moon]

I haven't finished watching the 2nd half yet, but a few initial comments:
Hirano Aya really, REALLY seems to be enjoying herself. She isn't the greatest singer, and to be frank her voice lacks to "booming power," but what the heck she's having fun!
Sugita, I liked your wig from the first half. Plain Sugita looks waaay too much like a tsukkomi comedian:heh:

[W-General]

Even with the Char get-up, he's still a tsukkomi comedian. lol


My Gekisou DVD just arrived in express mail today.
Today shall be reserved for viewing.

[Claymore_Obsessed]

Oh my, being there at Gekisou must have been incredibly great :D


Aya looks (and probably IS :D ) superhuman, If I hadn't seen her performance with my own eyes I wouldn't believe it...

Yuko Goto's smile is so heartwarming. She looks really happy! dudududu pah! :D

I really enjoyed Chihara Minoru's performance, her songs always move me every time, but watching her singing almost moved me to tears.
Because she forgot her lyrics I really feel sympathy, I'd say she deserves my extra appreciation this time :)

[leungw]

I really enjoyed Chihara Minoru's performance, her songs always move me every time, but watching her singing almost moved me to tears.
Because she forgot her lyrics I really feel sympathy, I'd say she deserves my extra appreciation this time :)
Are you talking about her first song? I don't think she forgot the lyrics. I think she just jump started and had to wait to sync up with the music again.

[W-General]

Today (8/28) is the lovely Gotou Yuuko's birthday!
Her age is still not revealed, but I think she's in her late 20s.
At AX when someone asked "Where do you envision yourself 10 years later" she answered "Being at my age, I hope 10 years later I'd be long married!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOTOU YUUKO!
http://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/b1/95/10029618470.jpg

[Claymore_Obsessed]

Are you talking about her first song? I don't think she forgot the lyrics. I think she just jump started and had to wait to sync up with the music again.

well, after accurate re-listening I agree with you, it's loss of sync. Gomen ne :heh:


and happy birthday to Gotou-san! ^^

This site (http://www.seiyuu.info/extendedlisting.php?seiyuu=Yuuko+Gotou) says she was born in 1980, I don't know if that's reliable...

[Animexcel]

Are you talking about her first song? I don't think she forgot the lyrics. I think she just jump started and had to wait to sync up with the music again.

She jump-started because she switched up the Yuki dialogue, she said "Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou yokosou" or something; the original line was longer than that which made her mistime the cue to start singing. That's my theory :p

Anyway, I still love Minori <3 ^_^ and yes, her hand motions are hypnotizing... @_@

well, after accurate re-listening I agree with you, it's loss of sync. Gomen ne :heh:


and happy birthday to Gotou-san! ^^

This site (http://www.seiyuu.info/extendedlisting.php?seiyuu=Yuuko+Gotou) says she was born in 1980, I don't know if that's reliable...

I should've asked her out on a date when I got her autograph at AX xD lol just to be random. But I hope she and Aya & Minori recieved my sketches I drew for them.

[leungw]

She jump-started because she switched up the Yuki dialogue, she said "Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou yokosou" or something; the original line was longer than that which made her mistime the cue to start singing. That's my theory :p
Great minds think alike. :D

[darkchibi07]

Here's something to looks out for around next week:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ann-tv/2008-01-12

At the end of that episode, the guys from ANNtv will interview the cast for next week's episode!

[darkchibi07]

And here it is!

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ann-tv/2008-01-19

Seems like Yuko Goto wanted to do dubs for foreign films.

[Skane]

And here it is!

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ann-tv/2008-01-19

Seems like Yuko Goto wanted to do dubs for foreign films.
Why am I not surprised that she likes "Godfather"? :heh:

Heh.

[brocko]

So um... yea... i just found out that Aya has got short hair now.
http://hashihime.blogspot.com/2008/02/short-haired-aaya.html
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9735/17331wo1.jpg
Surprisingly she looks a bit like Selphie from FFVIII imo. Must be the yellow dress/top she's wearing lol

[Kaisos Erranon]

So um... yea... i just found out that Aya has got short hair now.
http://hashihime.blogspot.com/2008/02/short-haired-aaya.html
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9735/17331wo1.jpg
Surprisingly she looks a bit like Selphie from FFVIII imo. Must be the yellow dress/top she's wearing lol

So f'ing thin.

[DJ_RockmanX]

The anon comment said it so aptly:

A short-haired Aya is fine too.

[W-General]

Whole-hearted congratulations to Hirano Aya (my/our goddess) for winning the Lead Voice Actress category in the 2007 second annual Seiyuu Awards for her performance in Lucky Star as Izumi Konata.

Her picture with other award winners Kamiya Hiroshi (Tieria in Gundam), Saiga Mitsuki (Kei in Moyashimon), and Miyano Mamoru (Setsuna in Gundam)
http://www.hiranoaya.com/cgi-bin/diary/sfs6_diary/1804_1.jpg

(She also won "Best vocal song" for Motteke o_O together with the other 3 Lucky Star girls)

I wish for her continued success both in anime voice acting and in mainstream entertainment.

[sosbrigademember]

Mindyou I still haven't changed my sig to a more haruhiistic sig :p Partially because KiNa did a bang up job on it, but mostly because Saber-chan is almost as kickass as Haruhi :D

Ah well, maybe I'll throw a small "S.O.S. member" bug on it whenever I'm not so busy...


On Topic:
I don't think Haruhii would be Haruhii without the voice of Hirano-san, it just fits so perfectly. KyoAni definately casted the every voice actors/actresses in the show masterfully.

I agree Shirobane! Aya is perfect for Haruhi. Wendee Lee does a perfect job for her english voice too. I can do Mikuru's voice just like Stephanie Sheh! hehe, I feel lucky.:rolleyes:

[Pride]

Whole-hearted congratulations to Hirano Aya (my/our goddess) for winning the Lead Voice Actress category in the 2007 second annual Seiyuu Awards for her performance in Lucky Star as Izumi Konata.

Her picture with other award winners Kamiya Hiroshi (Tieria in Gundam), Saiga Mitsuki (Kei in Moyashimon), and Miyano Mamoru (Setsuna in Gundam)
http://www.hiranoaya.com/cgi-bin/diary/sfs6_diary/1804_1.jpg

(She also won "Best vocal song" for Motteke o_O together with the other 3 Lucky Star girls)

I wish for her continued success both in anime voice acting and in mainstream entertainment.

So that was her in the pic? I saw this on Miyano's blog some days back, but never knew that was Aya Hirano... Is she really that short? Makes me feel like as if Konata is standing beside Light (can't really use Setsuna for this comparison :p)

[Tunafishisgood]

XD Aya Keep doing what yr doing!
She looks good in kimono :D

[Jakaeus]

Tomokazu Sugita did Nova? Isn't Nova the guy who barely talked at all?

[yezhanquan]

So that was her in the pic? I saw this on Miyano's blog some days back, but never knew that was Aya Hirano... Is she really that short? Makes me feel like as if Konata is standing beside Light (can't really use Setsuna for this comparison :p)

She's still growing, you know. She's barely older than Irino Miyu.

[Tunafishisgood]

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=FvjHKa1fjA4

XD here is a video of Aya doing her job.

[othera]

D: watched this dubbed, then watched an ep of it subbed and slapped myself *_*

All the voice actors are so great :D