AniSong of the Day/In Other News: Dear My Friend -the future not yet seen- [Dear My Friend －まだ見ぬ未来へ－]/ Tohoku Kantou Earthquake Anniversary 3/11

-One year ago today, although it's already the 12th in Japan >_<, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the eastern side of the islands of Japan. A devastating tsunami rose soon after.
You can read more[and also better] coverage on the anniversary over at DannyChoo/CultureJapan.


Word that come to mind when i think of a crisis such as the one of Tohoku/Kantou 2011 are devastation, destruction, and loss.., but the one word that stands out in my mind the most is hope. In the midst of a disaster, hope is what's needed to get through it alright.
And that's why i think the above song^^ Dear My Friend-the future not yet seen- is a great representation of hope and Japan's rising to overcome the disaster the fell upon them.
The song is by Elisa and is the first ending song for anime To Aru Kagaku no Railgun [とある科学の超電磁砲].


In the song, Elisa sings:


"ダイジョウブ！
元気出して　私がそばにいるから
今日のミス　悔やむより　今　乗り越えて"
translated as:
"It'll be fine!
Cheer up, because I'm here with you.
Instead of regretting today's mistakes, we should put them behind us now."


This can represent how the areas of Japan that were not affected as badly by the disaster and also how the rest of the world could feel and give support to the devastated people.


She also sings:


"ダイジョウブ！
迷わないで　まだ見ぬ未来へと向かって
ずっと　歩いてゆこう"
translated as:
"It'll be fine!
Don't feel lost. Let's face the future we haven't seen yet
And keep on walking."


This further describes what i mentioned earlier. A message of HOPE for the future.. that we can rise above the crisis and disasters and be cheerful for the road ahead.


Here are some of my favorite がんばろう！日本 or Do your best, Japan! pics that spawned from otaku supporting the relief and rescue efforts:

I know that since the disaster, the Japanese and also many foreign countries have worked hard to restore the areas affected, and i am very glad.

Although it won't make much of a difference, i support you guys! :D 

In Other News: MelonBread: Japan

メロンパン。
Also known as Melon Bread.
I'm sure you've seen it.
I've seen this maaaaany times throughout my anime/manga/J-Drama experiences.. but i never actually tried some..
UNTIL TODAY :DDDDDD


Had the chance to check out the local japanese market today and got my hands on some ^~^

^^pic is a bit blurry cuz i was in the passenger seat of the car driving home..

but yeah. you get the point.

IT'S MERON PAN!

Here's a brief history of the wonderful MelonPan taken from Wikipedia:

Melonpan (メロンパン meronpan), also known as Melon pan, Melon buns or Melon bread, are sweet bakery products from Japan, but also popular in Taiwan and China. They are made from an enriched dough covered in a thin layer of crisp cookie dough. Their appearance resembles a melon, such as a rock melon (cantaloupe). They are not traditionally melon flavored, but in recent times it has become popular for manufacturers to add melon to melon bread. Variations exist, including some with a few chocolate chips between the cookie layer and the enriched dough layer, and non-melon versions flavored with caramel, maple syrup, chocolate, or other flavors, sometimes with syrup, whipped or flavored cream, or custard as a filling. In the case of such variations, the name may drop the word "melon" ("maple pan") or may keep it despite the lack of melon flavor ("chocolate melon pan").

The name has a bilingual etymology, since melon is a loan word from English, while pan is from the Portuguese word for bread.

In parts of the Kinki, Chuugoku, and Shikoku regions a variation with a radiating line pattern is called "sunrise", and many residents of these regions call even the cross-hatched melon pan "sunrise".

I have to say, i wasn't quite sure what to expect from the almighty MelonPan when eating it. was half expecting to be teleported straight to japan ^^;

but nope... it was good though T~T

An example of MelonPan in Otaku terms below:

WHY THANK YOU, AYATSUJI-SAN!

*noms*

<3

AniPose of the Day: Minato Tomoka [湊 智花] of Ro-Kyu-Bu! [ロウきゅーぶ!]/In Other News: Seiyuu Hanazawa Kana [花澤香菜] Birthday Wishes

AniPose of the Day #3!
Here, we have Minato Tomoka of last year's series Ro-Kyu-Bu!
As you can see, she has just shot a 3-pointer swoosh from the other side of the basketball court in a professional fashion, as if to say, "that's where the money is", or "For the homies back on the street."
To witness more of Tomoka's street professionalism, you can watch the series here.


Original Ro-Kyu-Bu! Synopsis:
Hasegawa Subaru enters a basketball club of Nanashiba High School, but the activity of the club gets suspended because the club leader falls in love with an 11 year old daughter of the coaching teacher. Subaru’s aunt asks him to coach a basketball club of elementary school girls. At first, he is reluctant to teach small girls, but he devotes himself to the club as he knows the complex circumstances of them.


AND, IN OTHER NEWS, 


Tomoka's seiyuu [voice actress], the wonderfully moe Hanazawa Kana ^~^, has her birthday tomorrow, though in Japan it's already February the 25th soooo..
best 23rd birthday wishes~

Some of my favorite anime roles voiced by HanaKana:

Tachibana Kanade/Angel of AngelBeats!

Sengoku Nadeko of Bakemonogatari / currently airing Nisemonogatari

Hasegawa Kobato of Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai

Running low on time so i have to wrap it up here ^^

Hope your birthday is just as awesome as you and your lovely voice are, Hanazawa-san~

素晴らしい誕生日を持っている ^~^

Valentine's Day 2012: Aniscene of the Day- Kimikiss Pure Rogue - Futami and Aihara

February 14th..
A day all otaku can look forward to for awesomeness such as this..

Akiyama Mio-chan giving us Valentines~

Seeing as i'm doubling this post as both In Other News and AniScene of the Day, here is said AniScene of the Day!

The anime is KimiKiss Pure Rogue, and the scene is between two main characters whose feelings gradually developed for each other throughout the whole series.

It's a great scene. Love Futami-san.

Btw, i'm pretty sure that this episode, in particular this scene, had the best animation and art quality in the show.. especially with the way Futami-san's hair looks in her apartment.

This a romance anime, to go along with the Valentine's theme, and i highly suggest you watch it even if you're not a romance anime fan.

KimiKiss Pure Rogue Original Synopsis:

Kouichi Sanada and Kazuki Aihara's childhood friend Mao Mizusawa has returned after living in France for several years. Kouichi is surprised to learn that his mother has agreed to let Mao stay with them, since her parents are remaining overseas for the time being. The three friends help each other deal with the ups and downs of high school romance.

You can go ahead and watch more Kimikiss Pure Rogue here.

And now, i leave you with more of my favorite anime Valentine's pics.

Enjoy, and happy Valentine's day.

ハピバレンタインズ！

Takanashi Miu from currently ongoing anime Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai.
You can see the latest recaps of PapaKiki here!

Akaza Akari from recently completed anime YuruYuri.
Second season coming later this year ^^

Shirakiin Ririchiyo and Roromiya Karuta from currently ongoing anime Inu x Boku SS.
More Ririchiyo and Karuta in the Inu x Boku SS recaps here!

Takanashi Sora-chan and other characters from earlier mentioned PapaKiki.

i really need to get my Amagami SS Plus recaps up >_< i'm so behind...

AniSong of the Day: 「Happy Girl」by Kitamura Eri [喜多村英梨] from anime Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! [パパのいうことを聞きなさい!]

this song is nice~
and the opening sequence is so moe~
Kitamura Eri [喜多村英梨] lends her wonderful voice talent to this opening, because she's the voice actress for main character Takanashi Miu.
Ideally, we should all go and buy the CD to support Kitamura Eri and her career, but i really can't blame you if you go to crazycake here and get the song there..
Btw, i love the album cover of Eri ^~^


Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai Original Synopsis: College student Yūta Segawa is suddenly given custody of his older sister's three daughters, aged 14, 10, and 3. They're now stuck living together in a 10 square meter apartment. Meanwhile Raika, the object of his affection, has a fondness of cuteness, and his unexpected arrivals may finally offer an opportunity for them to get together.


If you like what you see above, check out PapaKiki here.
In other news also involving Kitamura Eri..