Anime Power Rankings – Week 3

Hey, two weeks in a row.  One more week and this might become “a thing.”  Unfortunately, that won’t happen, because I’m going away for the weekend to Ohayocon.  Ah, Ohayo.  I don’t really like the convention that much, but it’s an opportunity to see a lot of my friends from around the Midwest.  Since the next opportunity for that won’t be until the end of April, I’ll take what I can get.  In any case, my personal life isn’t all that interesting, and if you’re here to read anything, it’s my thoughts for the week.  So let’s get this show on the road.  As always, check out the Anime Power Rankings for yourself week over week to keep up with the trends in the aniblogging community!

Oh, and one more thing.  Today, 2DT announced the closure of his blog.  He capped it off with another of his fantastic posts, and you should definitely head over to the Teleidoscope to read it and wish him well.

Autumn Season Seiyuu

The last season of anime in 2011 is about to begin, and in this post you’ll find a list of which seiyuu are appearing in what shows and also some notes on various seiyuu. In the notes, I use Western name order (i.e. given name before family name), whereas the list is organised alphabetically and is formatted like this:

[romanised family name], [romanised given name] / [name in Japanese] ([list of shows seiyuu is appearing in])

Macrons are used in names but not elsewhere, for ease of alphabetical ordering. The list will be updated until the beginning of October. Also, this time I tried to write about a few male seiyuu as well instead of just sticking to the women. Finally, as always, I hope you enjoy and please let me know if I’ve made any mistakes or there are roles that should be added (though I’ll try my hardest to stay on top of this).

Update 9/9: More Guilty Crown cast members added (Aya Endō, Takehito Koyasu, others), and it looks like Ai Kayano will be singing in that show. Edit: Apparently Ai Kayano‘s character’s singing voice will be provided by Chelly, a 17-year-old who was handpicked to do just that. Information from Washi’s Blog; this was his source for that information. Update 11/9: More Horizon, Shana III cast members added; Sengoku Paradise cast added. Update 12/9: Additional Phi Brain cast members added. Notably, a fourth role for Chiwa Saitō (bringing her to the top of the pack) and a third role for Takehito Koyasu. Update 16/9: Romi Park‘s presence in Persona 4 confirmed. Thanks to lvlln for the tip in advance (and also for mentioning Rie Kugimiya‘s role in that show). Update 1/10: Bakuman 2, Cross Fight B-Daman casts added; additional cast members for Majikoi and Ben-To added. Yūichi Nakamura now has six roles; Takehito Koyasu has four roles; Ayako Kawasumi has four roles, all of which she is reprising from prior works. This should be one of my last updates. All I’m waiting on is official confirmation of the Gundam Age cast, which I’m being particularly cautious about because of the prevalence of fake cast lists for it. Update 4/10: Chibi Devi! cast added. A fourth role for Yuka Iguchi, a third role for Ayumi Fujimura.

Oh, ara, Sayaka's doing well for herself.

Mikunopolis: Christmas in July and World Conquest

I returned from Los Angeles and Anime Expo 2011 a few days ago and I have to say that the highlight of my trip, other than the soon to be regretted level of purchases I made in the dealer’s room, was anything dealing with Hatsune Miku. While the high point of all things Miku was obviously Mikunopolis, it was fun to learn a lot more about Miku over the course of the weekend through all of the panels. Before heading to Los Angeles, I was definitely a fan of the virtual idol, but going into the weekend I didn’t really know what to expect. After leaving, it struck me that being a fan of Miku was really a lot like believing in Santa for a few reasons.

First, like the meaning of Christmas, Miku can really be whoever you want her to be depending on what you like to do, and I’m not talking about her seemingly endless wardrobe for all the perverts out there. Well, I suppose that might be part of it. Still, fans can create new songs, animations, or character designs of and about Miku and send them out there for others to enjoy through the use of the internet. But just as Christmas isn’t just about candy canes and sleigh bells, Miku isn’t just about the music. One thing that became perfectly clear to me almost immediately this weekend is that Miku could very easily be a synonym for Commercialism, and in a lot of ways this is a good thing. It is because of this entrepreneurial spirit fan designs for Miku show up in games or on figures. It is because of this entrepreneurial spirit that allows companies to make money off of Miku’s products, even through the use of a decentralized business model. And in the truest of sense of all things commercialism, Miku is often depicted in pictures that are less than pure.

Summer Season Seiyuu

Another season of anime is near, and again I’ve tried to put together a resource for people who want to know how their favourite voice actors are doing. There are notes about casts and actors at the beginning of this post, and there is a list at the end. The list and this post will be updated until the season begins.

Couple of notes: firstly, I’ve used macrons for the names of the seiyuu but nowhere else. (I’m only using macrons in the first place because I needed to romanise names consistently so I’d be able to order them alphabetically.) Show names have been romanised however I’ve see them romanised most. Secondly, the list has men this time! I didn’t really write notes on the male actors, though, because I don’t follow them as much and also because this post was already very long.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoy. Let me know if I’ve missed anything. Liberal use of control-F is advised.

All of the images except the one of Iori Nomizu are from Koebooru.

Edit 5 June: Nurarihyon no Mago 2 cast added. Notably, everyone’s favourite Satomi Arai is back to work, and Jun Fukuyama and Yui Horie join the group of actors with three roles or more this season. Edit 7 June: Baka Test 2 and more of the Nekogami Yaoyorozu cast added. Ayana Taketatsu, Yoshino Nanjō (lead vocalist of fripSide, Kanako in Hourou Musuko, Kokoro in Milky Holmes) and Takuma Terashima join the 3+ roles group. (2nd) Edit 7 June: No. 6 additional cast details have been out for a few days but I forgot to add them. Notables: Rei Sakuma (Ranma 1/2‘s Shampoo, To aru Majutsu no Index‘s Lidvia), Shinichiro Miki (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood‘s Roy Mustang, Gundam 00‘s Lockon) and Sumire Morohoshi (the 12-year-old who won many hearts last year as Kuragehime‘s Clara). Edit 8 June: Couple more R-15 cast members. Iori Nomizu now has 3 roles. Edit 10 June: Couple more Ro-Kyu-Bu! cast members. Kanae Itō and Mamiko Noto both now have 3 roles. In other Ro-Kyu-Bu! news, here is a video of the lead voice actresses dancing to the opening theme. Yui Ogura (in the number 8 singlet) is the professional dancer. Kana Hanazawa is wearing number 4, Yuka Iguchi is number 5, Yōko Hikasa is number 6, and Rina Hidaka is number 7. Edit 22 June: New Mawaru PenguinDrum and Mayo Chiki! cast members. The popular Minori Chihara (Haruhi‘s Yuki) gets her first role of the season, while another role raises Miyuki Sawashiro to the very top of the pack. To the men, Ryōhei Kimura is the newest member of the 3+ roles group; he’ll take on a lead role in Mawaru PenguinDrum. Edit 25 June: Added more Kamisama Dolls and Morita-san wa Mukuchi cast members. Ayahi Takagaki now has three roles, on par with Sphere co-member Aki Toyosaki. I’m also adding two roles for Rie Yamaguchi, an up-and-comer who debuted in 2009. She sung the ED for Kore wa Zombie desu ka? and has done a little bit of work in a good deal of shows this year. Edit 29 June: Added Double J cast. Chiaki Omigawa (perhaps the most polarising voice actress in Western fandom; I’m in the ‘not a fan’ camp) and Ayuru Ōhashi (whose work I dislike with a passion) are in major roles. Ayana Taketatsu ascends to the top of the pack with a fourth role, Emiri Katō gets a third role; roles for Kaori Ishihara (part of duo YuiKaori with Yui Ogura, Reki in Hidan no Aria), Miyu Matsuki, Ryō Hirohashi.

Ai Kayano

Weekly Highlights 03 – I Laughed, I Cried, I Bought the T-shirt

This past week has been another whirlwind of activity.  I had my final two finals, followed by my commencement ceremony on Saturday.  Pending a final review, I graduate summa cum laude (with highest praise) from university.  I also started work at my first real job, which has been going well.  Making the transition to a 40-hour+ work week isn’t the easiest thing in the world.  Fortunately, I’ve still had time for anime.  This week, I want to share highlights from Nichijou, Deadman Wonderland, and Sket Dance.

Diary of an Anime Lived: Moshidora and The Fine Fight

You know, I had several highlights lined up to talk about this week.  However, at this time I’m going to get a bit personal with you and focus on one scene.  I’ve never written a post for the Diary of an Anime Lived project, so this is my first crack at an entry.  I feel like Moshidora failed in several respects, but it did one thing remarkably well.  You could say it even knocked it out of the park.  You can see this particular scene coming from a mile away, but if you really wish to avoid spoilers, then I suggest you finish episode 9 of Moshidora before continuing.

Weekly Highlights 02 – Electric Boogaloo

The past week has been absolutely crazy.  I haven’t had much time for myself between throwing myself at my senior project and visiting my relatives in the neighboring state.  However, I did manage to watch most of the shows I’m following this season.  I still have a bit of catching up to do, especially with Moshidora’s slightly unique airing schedule.  It hasn’t stopped me from compiling another list of personal highlights for the week.  This week, I’m highlighting Denpa Onna, Dog Days, C, and Hanasaku Iroha.

Weekly Highlights 01 – This Might Become “A Thing”

When you watch anime there are always little moments that stick out to you.  Maybe the actors delivered a particularly funny line, the animators drew up an amazing action sequence, or the writers tug hard at your heartstrings.  In the interest of getting out of my writing rut, I’m going to share a few of my highlights from the last week.  Who knows, this might become “a thing”.  Over the past week, I particularly enjoyed some moments from Gosick, Nichijou, Steins;Gate, and AnoHana.

Magical Girl Madoka Magica – The Story So Far

So Magical Girl Madoka Magica has been delayed indefinitely (a Shaft show being delayed near its finish? Say it ain’t so!), or at least until some time in April. But no hard dates as of yet. Which I guess gives us some extra time to step back and reflect upon the ride it has provided us so far.

Keep Your Spirits Up

We all know what’s happened in Japan over the last few days.  Everything I could say has probably been said a thousand times over by now, so I won’t add my voice to the echo chamber.  Instead, I come bearing some artwork for you this evening.  I saw this on Nina Matsumoto’s Twitter, and immediately retweeted it myself:

@spacecoyotl – to lift their spirits, a high school teacher in Japan drew portraits of graduating students on the blackboard http://twitpic.com/49kkms

The original post came from @tarourakami just a few short hours ago, and in the time it’s taken me to write this short blurb, it’s already gained another 8000 views.  Not only is the artwork damn good, but it’s the kind of thing that can just make you happy.  The kids in his artwork are smiling.  They’re happy, despite or perhaps in spite of adversity.  That’s my message to you tonight.  No matter what happens, you’ve always got to keep your spirits up.