Madoka Magica Mass Cosplay Last Sunday in Tokyo

Last Sunday in Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, 35 people or so danced as characters from Madoka Magica, to ClariS's OP.

I'm not saying they were all that great -- especially not the crowd in the back, lol -- but I was attracted by the idea and by the fact that it happened just a few days ago. Looks like fun:



There's a 720p version of the video at the YouTube page.

Seiyuu Video: Nabatame Hitomi and Itou Shizuka at a Hot Spring

This famous video was posted to Nico Nico Douga four years ago, but was just featured on the Ota-Suke seiyuu news site.

The video is part of the lore of the supposed yuri relationship between Nabatame Hitomi and Itou Shizuka. The yuri part is probably just for show, but they are clearly close friends, with some skinship.

They are shown in an open-air hot-spring pool drinking and talking. Shizuka-sama drinks sake. I'm not sure what Naba-sama is drinking. Shizuka-sama is the first to appear in the video, and is on the right in the pool.



The video comes from their 2004 DVD Charinco de Yukou. Sometime after their first live as a singing duo, they were filmed at the Nakaya hot spring hotel at Nanasawa in Kanagawa, southwest of Tokyo.

When Shizuka-sama is leaning forward over the side of the pool to get more sake, later on in the video, Naba-sama comments what a nice pose it is, like gravure. Shizuka is known as a drinker. When the video was shot, Shizuka-sama was 23 and Naba-sama probably 27.

I think both of them are excellent voice actresses. In this current season, Naba-sama is doing a fine job as Judith in Astarotte no Omocha, and Shizuka is Chitose in Sofuteni.

For Seiyuu Otaku Only: 45 Seiyuu in One Video

This hit Nico Nico Douga at the end of April and seems to have gone viral among seiyuu otaku in Japan: a fan-made video composed of little clips showing 45 (or so) different seiyuu, with Houkago Teatime's "Utauyo!!MIRACLE" ("Sing!! Miracle") playing in the background. The video is called "Ugokuyo!!MIRACLE" ("Move!! Miracle").



There is a moderate delay before the video starts.

How many of the seiyuu can you identify? To remove the scrolling comments, click the three dots at the lower right of the video -- but that will also remove the names, which have been cleverly placed at the bottom of the screen.

Here are the names in order, romanized:

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Taketatsu Ayana at Four Years Old

We saw a baby pic of Yuuki Aoi a few days ago, and now Aya-nyan has posted an old pic of herself at about four.

She says she was on the train on an outing with her grandmother and her cousin. "I looked cute then, didn't I?"

She apologizes for the low quality cell-phone photo, but points out that her heavy eyebrows and narrow forehead haven't changed.

Just for comparison, here is a photo of her last month, age 21 (click to enlarge):

Popularity of Spring Shows on 2channel: AnoHana, Hanasaku and the Rest

Ano hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai

Here's a snapshot of the interest being shown in various new anime on the big Japanese discussion board 2channel.

The top shows are AnoHana and Hanasaku Iroha.

They are followed, at some distance, by Dog Days, then Tiger and Bunny, Nichijou, and Steins;Gate.

In the next group, much further back, are Hidan no Aria, Denpa Onna, A Channel, and Moshidora.

Then the rest of the shows are strung out behind. In the following table, the number is the number of the discussion thread now being filled. Each thread, when full, contains 1000 posts:

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Inoue Marina Selling Clothes at a Flea Market on Saturday

"It was hot but fun!!"

In her blog, Inoue Marina tells of selling some clothes at a flea market in Tokyo on Saturday. A friend got a group together to contribute clothes they didn't need and raise money for charity.

Marina says she contributed some things she had only worn once or twice.

They set up a stuffed animal as their mascot, and lots of people wanted to buy it, but it was not for sale. She was also surprised how many guys wanted to buy the red trunk they used to carry things in. It was not for sale, either.

There are various flea markets in Tokyo every weekend, so it is impossible to say which this one was.

Marina wrote that it was great to see such a wide range of people coming to buy. She wants to go all the time, now -- even though she went the whole day without eating and almost collapsed.

You can see how warm it really was in the sun, as Marina uses a parasol and shades her eyes in this photo taken by someone else and posted via Twitter:

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Yuuki Aoi: Baby Pics and Happy Parents

The baby pics, posted anonymously on 2channel, may be from her father's company's magazine, published there when she was born. (click to enlarge)

The text says the photos were submitted by 八武崎武 (Yabusaki Takeshi?)  of the production department, and the baby is his eldest daughter, Yabusaki Aoi 八武崎碧. This is one more indication that Yabusaki Aoi is Ao-chan's real name. We know now that she is an only child.

There is a quote: "Please, please just don't wake up at night!"

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