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First off, Happy Belated Birthday Nana-chan! Despite being fairly knowledgeable about seiyuus and their past roles, I’m not quite obsessive enough to bother remembering their birthdays. Incidentally, I stumbled upon the fact that Nana’s birthday is on January 21st and she just turned 29. Her age makes me wonder if she’s going to tie the knot with anyone soon or if she even has anyone in mind, since she’s nearing the big three O soon. Takahiro Sakurai (Suzaku in CODE GEASS) perhaps? Unlike their North American counterparts though, most Japanese people seem to be so career-oriented that being single at 30 years old doesn’t automatically trigger some sort of mid-life crisis. Interestingly enough, it was Inoue Marina‘s birthday the day before (January 20th, turned 24), Makino Yui‘s the day before that (January 19th, turned 23), and Paku Romi‘s birthday today (January 22, turned 37). I’m not sure what’s up with all the January birthdays, but since they’re all noteworthy seiyuus in my book, best wishes to all of them.
Getting back on track, above is the PV to Mizuki Nana’s latest single, “Shin Ai” 「深愛」 (Profound Love), the opening theme to the new series WHITE ALBUM. When I first heard this song in the show, I didn’t think much of it and was actually a bit disappointed that it didn’t draw me in immediately like most of Nana’s songs. I guess it didn’t help that the opening sequence was just a bunch of stills either (see below). After watching a few episodes of WHITE ALBUM though, I was surprised at how quickly this song grew on me. Because of this, I’d recommend listening to it a few times if it seems like just another run of the mill song to you at first. I think the power of Nana’s music will prevail… eventually. >_>
Despite being an almost black and white video (akin to Nana’s Trickster PV), I like the opera-like house setting they used for this PV. Somehow the color tones and emptiness just makes the song come off a lot more powerful. Accompanying Nana on the stage is Agematsu Mika, a talented professional harp player who’s responsible for the string portions of the song. As for the series itself, WHITE ALBUM is turning out more and more like a J-drama than another anime drama in my eyes, so I’m quite excited about seeing how the story progresses. The character interactions seem deep enough and they don’t seem to be relying on comedy to get out of “difficult” situations.
Anyway, enjoy the video!
-divine
…is admiring Nana-chan in that long flowing white dress.
yay this is starting to be a nice series. the op visuals are bland tho.
I suppose her real birthday present was to hit the #1 spot on Oricon’s singles chart. Must be nice to have crazy fans that run out and buy five discs at once.
Tanaka Rie turned 30 earlier this month, btw.
Long time no see Patrik!
Hmm, so the seiyuu cosplayer turns 30. I wonder if Rie goes after younger guys…
I really like Mizuki’s songs lately. When she was on her Nanoha era, all her songs sounded very similar, and didn’t utilize her vocal range at all. Her songs lately are very good, and I especially like Shinai because it’s a slow song, which isn’t usually associated with Mizuki Nana. I think slow songs really draw out her singing ability a lot more.
I agree with jblah, Mizuki Nana’s songs are definitely much improved now that she’s starting to exploit her vocal range with a variety of styles (I *love* Trickster).
I really dislike the way Japanese PVs are done though. The lipsyncing is always PAINFULLY obvious. Any of Mizuki Nana’s live performances (or any singer for that matter) shows how much more movement it takes to fully project her voice to hit the full vocal range. The PVs always make it look like they are just…talking the song.
The Stereopony PV is no different.
whoa what? Tanaka Rie is 30? o__o
my tsundere image of her is gone…
^ I think you are thinking of the wrong Rie. Tanaka Rie is the person who did the voice for Lacus Clyne in Gundam Seed and such. I think you are thinking of Kugimiya Rie, totally different people.
oh shi-
your right xD;; I meant Kugimiya Rie
hahah…
Hey! My birthday was on the 20th!
17 yay!
I almost forgot her birthday. Nana Mizuki has become my favorite seryuu, her voice when she’s singing is beautiful and her voice in each of her roles are unique. RideBack & White Album were perfect for her.
January birthdays, hmmm.
My hypothesis is… just count back 9 months, and it’s April. Maybe Golden Week is just the time of the year where people in Japan actually have time to, you know.
I agree with White Album more akin to a J-drama than an anime. The pace and storytelling so far is definitely different from the usual animes.
It’s not for people who are used to fanservice and stuff.
Good News!! Nana just said she is working on a new album with 9 new songs!!! Can’t wait for it.