vanpang

Interview with May’n – AFASG 2016 As the year drew to a close, one more prestigious event left: Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2016! This was their 9th year running and growing stronger each year. May’n who was one of their 1st artist, have been returning every year to grace this event since the first AFA in 2008. We managed to catch up with her to find out what she has been doing in 2016. Here is an extract of our interview with the Galaxy Fairy :- Q : Can you tell us the concept for 20 for 7? And your upcoming Asia tour ‘Over & Easy’? May’n : ‘Twenty for Seven’ is a concert to celebrate my 27th birthday, to show that I’m no longer a teenager and becoming an adult and more mature. It incorporated a full orchestra, so that you can enjoy the sound of the music as well as the song. For Over Easy, it’s like when you order an egg, it’s sunny side up and like every part of the concert, I like to go all out – like an explosion of music and hoped that, it’s an event that everyone can enjoy it with me! Q : What can we expect for your concert here at AFASG 2016 tonight? May’n : I’m very grateful to be able to participate in the AFA concerts and last year I was able to include dancers and a band. My motivation is to do one step better than last year and hopefully you can experience it too this year when I perform tonight. Q : In a talk show, you had Minori Suzuki san (Freya Wion – Macross Delta) as your guest. So how do you feel talking to the cast of the next generation of the Macross franchise. May’n : When she came on the show, we talked about it too. Macross Frontier was like eight years ago, and Minori Suzuki san was saying ‘I was still in elementary school!’ and I was thinking that it was like so long ago and could feel that generation/age gap, but was happy that I inspired her to pursue this career. In one episode of Macross Delta, you get to see snipets of Macross Frontier and I felt really happy and honored to be a part of this large franchise. Q : Can you tell us about ‘Hikari Aru Basho e’ – the Ending song for Shuumatsu no Izetta ? May’n : Most of the anime, I do the opening song but for Shuumatsu no Izetta, I’m doing the ending song. It a ballad, so you feel it’s a little slow. The anime is slightly more on the serious side and on a darker note. You can see that it’s a war between two countries, and there are times when you wish that you want to make a change but you feel powerless or helpless, but despite all that, there a glimmer of hope by trusting and believing in yourself and the people who are important to you. I’m hoping you could sense that emotion being portrait in the song. Q : In your album cover for the same song, May’n san seems to be floating. May’n : Ah yes! They were going for an anti-gravity concept. It looked very effortless but behind the scene, it was difficult, as I have to lie backwards and lift my legs up. And I would have to hold that position for like..1….2….3….4….5! while they get that shot. That put quite some stress on my stomach abs and leg muscles and I couldn’t do it for too long . Q : Have you watched Macross Delta? Which character appealed to you and is there any particular song that you liked? May’n : In terms of characters, I particularly liked Mikumo san the most, as she has some similarities with Sherly Nome (Macross Frontier) – she’s mature and sexy in appearance and I’m drawn to her as you can see she enjoys singing with everyone. The song I liked is ‘Giraffe Blues’. There are different versions of it but I like Mikumo’s version, as it was amazing but I also liked Freya version too. Q: Now that you’ve celebrated your 27th Birthday. What do you look forward to in the future? May’n : Sometimes, it can be a sensitive topic, I’m actually excited about my age. When I was in my teens, I was really looking forward to grow up quickly, so that people can see me as an adult and there this word called ‘ARASA’ which means around ‘thirty’ – a Japanese terminology. I am hoping people would see me as an adult. But then I realized that after awhile, I felt that I don’t really have to try to make people think that I’m mature and that’s something that I’m quite happy about. Q : Can you tell us a little about your new song Belief for the OP of Taboo Tattoo? May’n : I really like the song ‘Belief’ as it combines two things that I really liked into one, which defines me as an artiste – having rock music and having a dance number with my dancers. So there’s both of this in the song and I’m very happy about this piece. You can tell that this song has a fast tempo and at the same time it can act cool and see me for who I am – like, jumping around and see the raw side of me. I’m hoping it’s something new for all my fans in Singapore to see and hopefully like – “Wow – this is another side of May’n’ and hope everybody will enjoy it. “ Then the translator whispered – ‘She will perform this song tonight’! Everyone in the room was surprised and laughed, including May’n. Q : If I’m travelling to Tokyo in the near future, where can we find good ‘Taiyaki’? May’n : ‘HIIRAGI’ (near Ebisu station, Shibuya) would be the No. 1 recommendation, another place would be ‘YANAGIYA’ in Ningyo Cho, Nihon bashi. This one has a little more tradition & history than the 1st store. So if anyone who wants to experience taiyaki, please check these 2 stores. If you wants to know why taiyaki was made then you must go to Azabu-juban, Minatoku (NANIWAYA SOUHONTEN), over 100 years of history. Q : Recently we heard about a Taiyaki with wings! Where can you find that? May’n : Hane suki (not sure of the spelling) Taiyaki – a Taiyaki with ‘wings’ and you can find it in Kanda Jimbucho, Chiyoda and there’s one near Akihabara. Look up ‘KANDA DARUMA’. We have to stop here, if we were to continue, there’s at least 3 hours’ worth of Taiyaki information (hinted May’n). And there you have it, the best places to get a Taiyaki from the ‘Ambassador of Taiyaki herself! With that, the interview ended with a ‘sweet’ note. Special appearances At 4.00 pm, May’n made an appearance at AKIBA Stage. However no photography or video recording was allowed and as such, the event can only be felt by those who were present at the moment. After a few questions, she proceeded to sing a song for us. She choose ‘Iteza Gogo Kuji – Don’t be late’ Just as the music began to play, something goes wrong. May’n looked surprised and stopped singing but her voice kept going! She smiled and looked at the MC who immediately ran to the sound controller. They played the right song but the wrong track (should be the instrumental/minus one track). Seconds later the right track was played and she sang LIVE. To me, it sounded exactly the same! A tribute to her singing ability. An hour later, she made an appearance at the Animax booth to give away her latest single to 10 lucky winners. We got there a little late and found it difficult to find a place to capture the event as the place was packed with fans. Another fan – Richie Kam helped us out with some photos taken from the front as we could only capture from the side. Concert This year too, she brought her 4 piece band. Just as the lights came on. Kimi Shinitamou Koto Nakare burst on the stage and the concert was well underway. One thing about live bands was the loudness of the instruments can drown out the concert. So when ‘Towards where the Light is – ED for Shuumatsu no Izetta’ and followed by the awesome ‘Diamond Crevasse’. You can clearly hear her and the emotions in her voice. As she was announcing the song ‘Diamond Crevasse’, the fans in the VIP section let out an excited cheer, a second or two later, someone in the back let out a very loud cheer. The fans in the front laughed, as if the reaction from the back were a little off. A short break and May’n called out to her fans. ‘Are you ready to enjoy to the Max?’ In the Front? In the Back? Singapore?!!’ A resounding ‘Yes!’ came the reply. This is the part of the concert that goes light speed! ‘Number 1’ came on and two dancers jumped in to boost the performance. Soon she got everyone jumping up and shouted ‘Goooo fight!’. Before we can catch our breath, ‘Chase the World’ came on and everyone started to move with the song. The mighty ‘Lion’ made a debut and the crowd goes wild! And finally, the last song for the evening – Belief (OP from Taboo Tattoo). When the concert has concluded, she introduced her band and the 2 dancers. Then they came forward to the front of the stage and hold hands. Some of the fans in front made an excited ‘cheer’. May’n smiled and reacted by putting a finger against her lips – a sign of silence. This is the part where she would shout at the top of her voice without the mike – ‘Thank you very much!’ like she has numerous times at the end of her concerts in Japan. The whole hall went silent but before she could do what she wanted, the back part of the hall made another excited cheer! Again she has to do the silence sign. But we guess fans here, have not experienced that (This would be the 2nd time we witnessed it in Singapore). The hall fell silence again and she shouted ‘Arigato Gozaimashita!’ and her crew lifted their hands together into the air! Cheers and applause followed as May’n and her band waved to everyone. Lastly May’n announced ‘Vocal wa – May’n deshita!’ Bye-bye! As usual May’n was the last to leave and the applause continued till she disappeared behind the curtains. With that, AFASG 2016 drew to a satisfying conclusion. Song List 1. Kimi Shinitamou Koto Nakare 2. Scarlet Ballet 3. Towards the Light 4. Diamond Crevasse 5. No. 1 6. Chase the World 7. Lion 8. Belief We would like to thank May’n san for taking time off her busy schedule to speak to us and Wee Ling, with her crew from Asia PR Werkz Pte Ltd and SOZO Pte. Ltd for arranging the interview. Special thanks to Ms. Kyoko Yasuda for her excellent translations during the interview.

On 27th November 2015, three Macross fans, Vanpang, VF25-F and Rafe went to the Anime Festival Asia 2015 (AFA 2015). The event was the biggest ACG event in South East Asia and was held on the 27th to the 29th November at Suntec Convention Center, Singapore. This time the I Love Anisong theme is ‘REBOOT’. Meaning, the folks at AFA decided to revamp their artist line up with those that have never performed at AFASG before. Among those are BACK-ON, bless 4, nano, Lia, P’s Live!, ZAQ and Mika Kobayashi. The only ones that remained were GARNiDELia who debut in AFASG last year and the Galactic Fairy herself, May’n. May’n, having a busy schedule flew into Singapore only on the 28th. The next morning, we can hear her doing her performance rehearsal (Chase the World) before the main stage opened to the public on the 29th. Soon afterwards she would appear at the autograph booth to hand out signed posters to lucky winners of those that had bought the VIP concert tickets. Soon after that May’n is rushed off to the Interview and Animax promotion session. Next up is the "I Love Anisong" line up for the concert that evening. After the introduction of the respective artistes ended, it’s time for her to appear at the NHK World booth to interact with her fans and engage them in a game of ‘Rock, Paper & Scissors’. Of which everyone will go against May’n, the last 3 that remained standing will get an autograph from her, as well as a pix with everyone while she wore a ‘DOMO’ (NHK’s brown colored mascot) t-shirt. Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRWH0DX5Y08 I Love Anisong Concert At 6.30pm, I Love Anisong concert started. As usual, May’n segment was the last act of the evening. Immediately we noticed something different. There’s 2 dancers – normal. Then….there’s a band! A 3 piece band (lead and base guitarists and a drummer) Looks like she wants to make this AFA a special one for us! May’n started with “Chase the World”, next is a “Giant Step!” She then debut for us “Dawn of Logos”( the 2nd OP song for the anime ‘Aquarion Logos’). Then the song that made May’n who she is today, the popular song from Macross Frontier, “Diamond Crevasse!” A short break and then it’s “Yamadere Darling”, followed by “Kohaku” and “Dare Ga Tame Ni” (insert song for M3). All 3 songs – a first at AFA. Then it’s something familiar – "Vivid!" And the crowd goes wild! As each song begin, Macross member, VF25-F, would keep track of the sequence of the songs and type on his mobile phone the title and we noticed something unusual. We were quite sure it has already past 6 songs and she’s still going. Then came the song that was not sang at Budokan – “Lion”! The song was befitting as this is Singapore, the Lion City! Somehow the crowd also felt that it’s the last song and so they went all out cheering and waving their lights sticks! With that being the last song (9 songs with the usual being 6 songs), she introduced her team, there is a 6th member – probably a manipulator, because we can hear instruments that are not played by the band. She then does what she does in Budokan, held hands with members of her band. At this point, the crowd got excited and she put her finger on her lips to quiet down the crowd. May’n then shouted at the top of her voice ‘ARIGATO!’ and bowed. The crowd responded with a loud cheer! She waved good bye as she went off stage and with that, AFASG 2015 ends. Interview session with May’n, 29th November AFASG2015 The interview was conducted in a group session and translated to English through a translator, as such some details may be lost in translation. Q : Could you tell us a little about your 10th Anniversary Concert, your personal feelings performing for your fans who are there to celebrate it with you. May’n : In 2015 I’ve welcomed my 10th Anniversary, and in 2014 to 2015 I have done a bit of World Tour, Singapore was one of the stops for it. And I’m really happy that I got a chance to meet many, many more fans and to get a chance to do a solo that I really liked to do. The Budokan concert was something to celebrate my 10th year in showbiz and a grand completion of my works up to now and like to present to my fans from now on as a way to express what’s my goals and my aim for a career as a musician after my 10th Anniversary. Q : When u first started as an artist, who and what inspired you? May’n : Amuro Namia inspired me. When I was young, I would think - how nice if I could dance and sing like her. That encouraged me to be a singer. Q : As your 12th single is coming out, could you tell us a little about it? May’n : In the song, Dawn of LOGOS, it is really an expressive song, I put in a lot of feelings when I delivered it. It also feel like I’m singing about the life of the characters – the song really relate with my daily life experiences as well. It is now my 10th Anniversary and will be my 11th year soon, and so I am thinking how I shall move to further heights through my music. Q : You been a regular Anisong singer since 2008, in which AFA concert did you find it the most fun and interesting & why? May’n : It’s really difficult to choose a single year, because each year it’s a different presentation, last year the crowd was cheering my name when I came on stage, the cheering touched me very much and hope that I can give you all better performances. Q : What challenges that you faced as a singer? May’n : Not so much of difficulties but in spring this year I was hospitalized by a throat infection but I managed to get back on my feet and do my 10th Anniversary concert in Budokan & Singapore but regretted that I did not take good care of myself. This however made me think how should I want to move on to my 11th year and present myself to my fans. Q :. How do you think your style of music has changed over the years? May’n : For the May’n that you see now is as real to the real me as well as off stage. When I first started off, I was the singing voice of Sheryl Nome of Macross Frontier. That character is like very sexy and feminine, so I thought - ‘How can I bring out that character through my singing, how to fill in the gap between myself and the character, but now after meeting many other singers, I can feel comfortable singing as myself and present my true self to the fans out there. Q : What is the motivation that drive you to sing more anime songs? May’n : The No.1 reason that I get to meet many singers and overseas fans was through the Anisong concert, so now I want to work harder and present better songs to my overseas fans. The first time I got to perform overseas was 2008 and that was my 1st time away from Japan in my private life as well. I’ve also heard that the Japanese anime culture was really popular both in and outside of Japan and is getting more popular with each passing year and also because how the overseas fans have embraced the anime culture. Q : This year you have performed in many universities, are there any memorable moments May’n : Because it’s a school festival, even if people who have not heard of me before would be able to become excited because my performance will be up on stage next and that rise in excitement that actually leads me to be more confident to deliver my performance. The staff who was helping me are actually students of the campuses as well and on the sideline, they are listening to me practicing, I am happy that they can enjoy while they’re working. Q : Do you have a favorite character? May’n : For the Anime that I likes, it will definitely from all my own productions and I do watch them all in real time – Macross Frontier and Aquarion Logos. For me, personally, I like Idol Master – Cinderella Girls. The May’n that you all are seeing now was thanks to the chance I’ve got involve in so many productions in Anime as well as in social life and I want to like Anime even more and hoped that many more people would like Animes too. Q : . What do you like about Idol Master? May’n : In the Idol master – Cinderella girls, I felt that their life story was close to how my life felt and reflected the difficulties of a singer - like when I stand on stage, I felt really happy when fans supported me and that really touches me. Many times I get really excited when I stand on stage and there are times also when I shed some tears when I get troubled over how my performances turned out – so that's why I like the anime Idol Master - Cinderella girls. Q : What was the most memorable song you sung and when was it? May’n : My answer would probably not change from now on and will forever remained was "Diamond Crevasse" because at this point in time I’ve just changed my name to May’n and felt a lot of insecurities but it also means that I would have a new start. I had many opportunities to go on a world tour and participate in many events then like the AFA 2008. At the point where my fans sang together in Japanese with me was really touching and felt the love for the Anime as well as for my songs. This was something I would like to keep close to my heart and in my performances from now on. Q : For your birthday, your staff did something special for you, can you tell us a bit about it? May’n : It’s was more of a private affair with friends, when my friends finished their work and I went over to their house, they’ve made a taiyaki stand in the house. They knew that I loved taiyaki, and named the stand ‘Nakabayashi Taiyaki’. We had a lot of fun and I snapped photos and posted it online. That was all the time we have for this interview and we would like to thank May’n san for taking time to talk to us. Special Thanks goes to Lim Wee Ling, Joanne Tham of Asia PR Werkz Pte Ltd and Shawn Chin of Anime Festival Asia for arranging and assistance for the interview.

yes about half an hour more !!!

Amazing work

May’n at Bangkok ComicCon X AFATH 2015 Anime Festival Asia Thailand (AFATH), the most prestigious Anime event in Asia has finally come to the ‘Land of Smiles’ – Thailand on 30 April 2015. As an added bonus, AFATH was held together with another prestigious event, the Bangkok Comic Con, held at Bangkok International Convention Center (BITEC) During the 4 days event, 30th April to 3rd May 2015, Macross fans vanpang, VF25-F and Rafe had a fantastic time going around the exhibitions booths that include ‘The Hungers Games’, HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’, Star Wars, the upcoming movies San Andreas and Fantastic Four. While on the AFA side, there’s the Giant head from ‘Attack on Titans’ anime, the bow of the pirate ship from ‘One Piece’ and Canon brought their 360 degree camera setup – for a small fee, you can take a 360 movie clip just like those in the MATRIX! Thanks to SOZO, the organizer of the event we managed to catch up to May’n, the ‘Galactic Fairy’ and secured an interview with her. The following is an extract of the interview with May’n on 2nd May 2015. The interview was done in collaboration with our friends from “Anime Culture”. The interview was done through a translator, and therefore certain contents may be lost in translations. Q : During your ‘Dots n Lines’ World Tour, what are your most memorable moments? May’n : Actually it’s hard to answer as there are way too many such moments. But I guess, the most impressive one is when I did the final venue (in Zepp Tokyo). We had the flag in the background which travelled with me wherever I went and it’s filled with messages written from my fans all around the world. . Q : There is a special video entitled ‘Complete version of ‘Behind of Dots and Lines’. Can you tell us a little about it? May’n : For the video that was publish on youtube, it’s is like a few minutes. In the “Complete Version”, the video would be longer and would have more behind the scenes featured – like showing me eating, doing some art work and practicing before the concert. Q : For the OP song of ‘Cross Legion’, you travelled all the way to London to record it. How do feel doing a recording in a foreign country. You have also did an English version of the song ‘Lethe’. May’n : London is the center of Entertainment around the world. Artistes who go there to do their recordings there have a feel of wanting to spread their music around the world, and this made me feel that I want to spread my songs around the world too. English is an important language, and this has made me want to study more, so that one day I too can spread my songs around the world. Q : For your upcoming Special Concert at Budokan ‘Powers of voice’, please tell us the concept for this concert and if I’m not wrong, there is also a new album launch prior to the concert. Please tell us about it. May’n : As part of the celebrations of my ‘Road to 10 years’ it would be an album that will be part of the special concert. It will be a compilations of all the song for the past 10 years, as for the title of the album, it’s still a work in progress. As for the concept for the concert, 10 years have passed so fast, and I’ve lasted this long is because of the support of my fans and I would like to give my thanks to all my fans that have supported me all this years. Q : As you are celebrating your 10th year in show business, what are your thoughts and feelings you have accumulated all these years. May’n : I am very happy to know that I have a lot of fans in many countries and not just in Japan, I would like to do the performances so that all the people in other countries can share the experience and get closer together. Q : You are also doing the opening for the new Aquarion anime – ‘Aquarion Logos’ How do you feel working with Shoji Kawamori san again? May’n : I am very honoured to work together with Shoji Kawamori san again and I have been working for 10 years now and it is also the 10th year for the Aquarion franchise, so we decided to collaborate and celebrate together. There will be more news later, please look forward to it. Note: Not long after this interview was done, we saw another surprise news – Yoko Kanno has signed up to write and compose the Opening Song! Q : You have sang in Japanese, English and Mandarin, what are the challenges you faced when singing in order to bring out the feelings in the songs. May’n : Actually when I did the first live in Singapore, I couldn’t communicate with the fans but I felt impressed that the fans can come together because they like anime and even send me messages in Japanese. So this becomes an inspiration and driving force to study other languages and try to communicate though it is hard but if I can do it, I can feel the power and confidence. Q : This is your 2nd visit to Thailand, what is your impression of the country and if there is any food that you would like to introduce to your fans. May’n : The people are very warm and like Japan. Thai people are quite shy and so are Japanese. So I feel comfortable here. As for the food, I liked the spicy ones but before a show I have to becareful not to eat too much. When I’m not performing, I ate all the spicy food! But my favorite food is ‘Khao Neeo Mamuang’ – mango in sticky coconut rice. During my 1st trip, I stayed in Thailand for 3 days and I ate it everyday! (Everyone had a good laugh!) With that, the interview ended and we thanked May’n for taking time off to speak to us. As the last performer for the AFA concerts (performing on the last day were FripSide, DJ Kazu and Eir Aoi) expectations are high and May’n delivers a dazzling performance! First up is none other than her well known song from Macross Frontier - ‘Iteza Gogo 9pm – Don’t Be Late’, which the crowd immediately recognized and jumped to the beat. Before the crowd had a chance to take a breath, another fast pace song came on – ‘Vivid’ ( OP from ‘Blood Lad’). Then May’n took some time off to greet her new fans from Thailand. Everyone warmed up to her as she took the effort to converse in Thai and talked to them about food! There was one funny moment when she forgot how to say a certain word in Thai and took some time to recall it. In the end she managed to remember the Thai word and the fans appreciated it! Next, the mood changed as she delivered the ballard ‘Aozora’ (ED from BTOOOM). Followed by another soulful piece – ‘Diamond Crevasse’ (considered the song that made her famous – from Macross Frontier). The deep emotions from her voice made many shed a tear as they sang along with her. The mood immediately changed again as LION (2nd OP from Macross Frontier) came on and the crowd is immediately filled with ‘charged’ emotions and sang along with her. Next up was another fast pace song to keep the emotions flowing – ‘Brain Diver’ (OP from Phi Brain – Puzzle of God). Then it’s the last song for the night, ‘Chase the World’ (OP for Accel World). May’n bid everyone farewell and promises to return soon. We would like to thank Mr Shawn Chin, Mr Taksapol Sriwachirawat, Mr Tuea Chun Kah and the management team of SOZO in the assistance in arranging for the interview with May’n for us.

May’n, the Galactic Fairy at AFA Singapore 2014 Macross fans Vincent Pang, James Wong, Peggy Woo and Chelcy Wong went down to Singapore for the Anime Festival Asia 2014 (AFA 2014) and managed to get an interview with the Galactic Fairy- May’n at AFA 2014 on the 7th December. We present here below our review of May'n concert and an extract of her interview on 7 December 2014. Review on May’n’s concert on 7 December 2014 Once again, it’s time for Asia’s premier anime event of the year held in December 5th to 7th at Suntec Convention & Exhibition Center, Singapore. The management has done it again, by bringing us more exciting and different things to see and participate during the next 3 days. As we entered, we immediately notice the difference. AFAkun – the official mascot of AFA is joined by ‘Seika’ a female mascot. Inside, we see mini stages where we used to see mid size ones in the previous year. Soon we discovered why. There is a big stage sponsored by Canon to showcase all the events by the exhibitors such as HoriPro, Lantis and Starchild. Nico Nico Douga has put on a huge stage and exhibition area of their own, known as ‘nico nico Kunikaigi’ including a ‘Attack on Titans’ try out area, for visitors to see if they can qualify to join the Survey Corps (3D gear) This is the 7th year May’n has been performing at AFA, and the number of her fans keeps increasing. Many. whom are Japanese, travelled all the way here. Over the course of three days, she made a number of appearances on AFA ‘Future Entertainment Stage’ and Main Stage. This year May’n performed 2 songs (Northern Cross and Diamond Crevasse) on both days on the AFA ‘Future Entertainment Stage’ before greeting and signing autographs for fans in a ‘Meet and Greet’ event. Earlier at the HoriPro booth, May’n appeared with Hayato Kakizawa to promote ‘Death Note – The Musical’. On the last day, at the Main stage, May’n performed another song (Universal Bunny) as part of the HoriPro artist line up event. Then toward the end of the event, a surprise for everyone, May’n together with Tomomi Kasai, Ayaka Ohashi and Azuza Tadokoro performed Misa’s song from ‘Death Note’ anime. Unfortunately, no cameras or recording devices were allowed at the Main stage and therefore only those that were fortunate to be there could savory this memory. Performing today with May’n on the ‘I Love Anisong Concert’ are FLOW, Eir Aoi, Ganidelia and Root Five. May’n part of the concert started quite late. But as soon as the stage darkened the crowd got excited. We could see 4 persons – we immediately knew they were her dancers. An upbeat tempo music began to play and the dancers show off their dance moves, much to the delight of the audience. Then the music changed into something her fans would immediately recognized ‘‘Welcome to my fan’s club night (May’n ver.)’ Straight after that it was the upbeat ‘Brain Diver’ and followed by ‘Run Real Run’. Then it was time for May’n to connect with her eager fans. Being the 7th year, she thanked everyone for supporting her and bringing her back to perform in Singapore. She then informed that there are more Hippos (her favorite animal) in Singapore than in Japan. Apparently, she went Hippo shopping. Time for food, and she informed us that her favorite food in Singapore is still “Roti Pratha”. And this cannot be found in Japan. So May’n exclaimed ‘How can!’ ‘I will bring Roti Pratha back to Japan!’ Much to the delight of her fans who shared her enthusiasm. The mood of the concert changed as she invites us to listen to a Ballard – Re : Remember (OP for the anime M3) It was truly moving as May’n could bring out the emotions in each line of the lyrics. Next she brings us back to something light hearted by presenting – ‘Love, colored today’ (OP of Inari Konkon Koi Iroha). Then the tune picks up with ‘Hidan no Aria’ (OP for Aria the Scarlet Bullet’) with each change of the song genre, the audience moved along with her seamlessly. Then May’n decided to up the tempo. “Singapore! Are you ready to party?’ Her fans replied with a definite ‘YES!’ The evergreen ‘Lion’ came on and the crowd went crazy. And for the last song ‘Chase the World’ (OP from Accel World), the concert comes to a close. May’n says her goodbyes and thanked everyone. Almost immediately, the announcement came informing everyone that the concert is over for real, as in the previous years, May’n fans would linger back after she had left the stage and shouted to the top of their voice for an Encore! or ‘Mo Ikai’. Later in her blog. May’n wrote that she felt a little worried as her section of the concert started around 10pm and she wondered if there will be anyone left to watch her perform. But to her delight and relief, her fans stayed despite having to face difficulty getting home and partied with her till the end of the concert. Interview with May’n at Anime Festival Asia 2014, Singapore Macross fans Vincent Pang, James Wong, Peggy Woo and Chelcy Wong managed to get an interview with the Galactic Fairy- May’n at AFA 2014 on the 7th December, which also the last day of the festival and also her concert night. Due to time constraint, all the media that had applied to interview her were merged together. May’n answers were translated by a translator and as such some details may have been lost in translation. Q : Recently you had a concert call Re : May'n Act. Can you tell us something about it? May’n : That is my first live concert in collaboration with Macross character Nekki Basara voiced by Yoshiki Fukuyama from JAM project. It’s a replay of my first concert. Next year, there will be a release of this in the form of a ‘LIVE CD’. So please look forward to it. (release date : 18th Feb 2015) Q : Could you please introduce us to ‘Hippo’N May’n : This is a character I’ve created called HIPPO’N, which stands for Hippopotamus and May’n – an apostrophe ‘n’. There will be collaboration with Tatsunoko Productions to make an anime of this character. Also please look forward to it. Q : For sometime now, we have seen photos of you with 2 bottles of liquid, one clear yellow and the other milky white. What are they? May : Ah! One is a liquidfied form of vitamin C and the other is a protein prime. During a LIVE concert, it is very taxing and I used up a lot of energy. I need to revitalize my muscle mass and energy. Q : We've just completed watching M3 and I have to say it was filled with emotions and the way you presented the OP song Re : Remember, really matches the feel of the story. As for the other 2 more songs in the album, can you tell us something about it? May’n : Thank you. With ‘Katasumuri’(Snail) .It is a Jay Chou song – he is a popular star in Asia, so I think the Asian fans will appreciate it if I sing something which is in Mandarin. As for the song, I like the lyrics. it’s reflects what am I doing with my life as a singer for this 10 years As for ‘Dare Ga Dame Ni’- Is a song that can be used as an insert, opening or the ending. It reflects the feeling of the main character – like ‘Why do I have to suffer like this!’ or ‘Why do I have to be the one to fight!’ With that the Interview ends and we thanked May’n for her time as the organizers also had some other events planned for her including an ad for Animax Singapore and some photo shoot. We would like to thank May’n san, the organizers of HoriPro booth, the ever helpful folks of AFA, Shawn Chin, Aiko and Chun Kah of Sozo Pte. Ltd as well Lim Wee Ling, Joanne Tham and Sophia Lau of Asia PR Werkz Pte Ltd for their kind assistance and arrangement for the interview..

On 12 May 2014, VF25-F and I were given the opportunity to get an interview with May'n, the Galactic Fairy in Singapore. We attach herewith the excerpts of our interview with May'n and a report on her "Dots and Lines" concert !!! Please see attached files below !!! Interview with May'n_12 May 2014.pdf Concert review_12 May 2014.pdf

May’n, The Galactic Fairy at AFA 2013, Singapore. Once again May’n is part of the line- up of artistes from Japan that performed at the Premier anime event in the region – Anime Festival Asia 2013 at Suntec Convention Hall, in Singapore beginning on the 8th till 10th of November. The three of us, vanpang, VF25-F and Ming were there for the event. EVENT AT HORIPRO BOOTH - 8th November 2013 Just like the previous year 2012, HoriPro has set up a booth at AFA. As we walked towards it, we saw May’n has left a message for her fans who have come to Singapore. Her promotional video was playing and fans have already crowded around the stage area of the booth. A short time later May’n san came out and introduced herself. After talking to her fans, she presented us with a song – ‘Chase The World’ (OP from Accel World), much to the delight of everyone at the booth. Over the next 2 days, various artistes from HoriPro, also took to the stage to meet their fans. We managed to secure an interview with May’n on the first day of the event on 8 November 2013. Below is an extract from the interview. The interview was through a translator and therefore certain replies may be lost in translation. THE INTERVIEW : Us : Hi, May’n san. Nice to see you again. This makes the 4th time we see you this year! May’n : Wow! Nice to see you again! Q : The Big news is of course your 9th towards the 10th Anniversary celebrations and the upcoming World Tour. What is the concept for your new tour “Dots and Lines”. May’n : It has been my fervent wish to perform in every prefecture in Japan. And with my upcoming tour. I will be able to achieve my dream. The Dots refers to a trail like footprints left by a person moving from one place to another and the “Lines” represents the borders of each prefecture and later for the World Tour, it will be borders of each country. NOTE : The tour starts in February 2014 and ends in August 2014 – 47 in total) Q : When we heard of Nendroid version of May’n san, many fans are excited about it. Have you had a chance to look at it? May’n : Yes. I’ve seen it (smile). Q : I’ve asked some fans what they would like as accessories for the Nendroid to come with :- 1. a Mike, 2. a Taiyaki (a waffle shaped like a fish with Red Bean fillings), or 3. a Hippo (May’n’s favorite animal). May’n : (Laughs surprisingly at the requests) Hmmmm…..there will be a surprise accessory. Q : With reference to your visit to Vietnam, what impressed you the most in Hanoi? May’n : I was thinking who would know me in Vietnam? And I was pleasantly surprised when there were fans there! Us : Yes! There was a video showing your performance and there were fans in the background shouting ‘May’n!’ and ‘Bucho!’ just before you started singing. May’n : Yes! I was so surprised. NOTE : May’n attended the ABU TV song festival as a special guest, representing Japan and performed ‘Vivid’ – the opening song for the anime ‘Blood Lad’ Q : In your blog about the food in Vietnam, there was a picture of some fried marinated insects. Did you try it? May’n : Yes! I ate it! (laughingly) Q : What kind of insect was it? May’n : I have no idea! Whenever I go and visit other countries, I always like to try food that cannot be found in Japan. Q : What else did you try and perhaps describe what are they? May’n : A Vietnamese’ okonomiyaki’ (pancake – stuff with vegetable and meat) After that we had a short discussion about ‘ The Future of Entertainment’ and something called ‘Future Viewing’ That rounds up our interview with May’n san EVENT AT HORIPRO BOOTH AND MAIN STAGE (9TH & 10TH NOVEMBER 2013) There was also an introduction of HoriPro’s artistes at the Main AFA stage on 9th November. (Valerie, Ayaka Ohashi, Asusa Tadokoro and ‘Senpai’ May’n) Each performed a song for the audience and when May’n performed ‘Vivid’, what was just an Introduction, erupted into a concert as fans took out their light sticks and joined in. For the next two days, May’n had a ‘Meet and Greet’ event at the HoriPro booth , which anyone who buys any of her merchandize can go up to the stage and May’n herself will autograph it and have a chance to shake hands with her. As expected for an artiste of her caliber, the line was so long that it almost circled the booth almost twice! On the second day, the line was equally long as many of the fans decided once was not enough, and they’re not going to miss this chance to see her up close and personal. Many fans came from Japan and other countries. CONCERT NIGHT (9TH November 2013) Performing together that night were Lisa, Milky Holmes, then Eiru Aoi and finally May’n. Her performance starts off with 4 dancers entering the darkened stage. The crowd immediate responded with excitement as their wait for their favorite artiste has ended. Immediately after the cheering died down, May’n opened the concert with ‘Forbidden Elixir’ (from Macross Frontier 2nd movie – Sayonara Tsubasa), followed by ‘Chase the World’ (Opening song for Accel World), a brief intro and ‘ Outsider’ from the online game ‘Oni Musha Soul’ from Capcom. A break and May’n works the crowd, asking ‘Are you ready AFA?’ And to that, the fans replied as loud as they could ‘YEEEES!’ May’n responded ‘Okay, Singapore! READY! GO! – which is the opening song for ‘Okami san and her 7 companions’, Next was an old favorite -‘Thou shalt not die!’ (Opening from the anime ‘Shangri-la’). Another old favorite – Universal Bunny! Next is the new crowd favourite – Vivid (Opening for the anime ‘Blood Lad’) Just then she informed us that it this is the last song. My fellow fan standing next to me was like ‘What? So fast!’. He was not the only person who felt that as I can hear many said ‘Nooooo!’ and even ‘Encore!’ This phenomenon has been happening every year at AFA, maybe her act is the last on the list or her songs has the ability to fast forward us into the future cause it really felt like 10 or 15 minutes only! (every artiste had 8 songs to perform (except for Milky Holmes) and one song is about 5 minutes – 40 minutes in total) But what happens next made it a most memorable evening indeed. May’n, speaking in English! – This is my 6th time performing in AFA, Singapore is my first overseas performance. I was so nervous as I asked myself – who would know me outside of Japan? (Back in 2008, during the first AFA, she was the only singer for the whole evening! You can only imagine the pressure on her as she alone carried the entire show and the expectations that comes with it as that was also the closing night for AFA). ‘ But when I performed for all of you for the first time, I was so happy and surprised that all of you know me and my songs. AFA, made me what I am today. Thank you all! It certainly moved me (and many fans too), enough for me to include this together with the interview. What comes next (also the last song for the evening) is the sweetest ‘Diamond Crevasse’ I’ve heard in years, as what she said made it somehow meaningful and the fans joined in singing. When it was over, you can clearly see May’n trying to hold back her emotions as the crowd cheered. And with that she said goodbye to everyone, promising to be back and left the stage. As usual, the crowd screamed for ‘Encore!’ but that hasn’t happened since 2009 and the organizers have to announce the concert has ended to get the crowd out of the concert hall. Personally, we do miss it, hopefully one day it will return, till then everyone remained optimistic. Thank you to May’n san, the organizers of HoriPro booth, the ever helpful folks of AFA, Shawn Chin, Aiko and Chun Kah of Sozo Pte. Ltd as well Lim Wee Ling, Joanne Tham and Stephanie Chin of Asia PR Werkz Pte Ltd.

Once again fellow Macross fans, James Wong, Vanpang & Wai Ming managed to catch up with May'n-san, during AFA 2013 on 7th September 2013 at the Jakarta Convention Centre. Due to the constraint of time and her busy schedule, we were given a limited number of questions to be put forward to her. All her answers were conveyed to the Media in English through a translator and as such some content maybe lost in translation. EXTRACT OF INTERVIEW WITH May'n AT AFAID 2013 (6TH - 8TH SEPT) This being May’n first time performing in Indonesia under AFA, we decided to catch up with the ‘Galactic Fairy’ to see what she has installed for her fans in Indonesia. We were quite lost after failing to attend the Press Conference and Artiste Interview at Senayan Plaza, Jakarta on the 5th of September after a series of unforseen disasters. But thanks to the folks of AFA, we were able to see and interview May’n on the 2nd day 7th of September 2013, After a formal greeting, we quickly proceed to our questions as there was another media (Animax Indonesia) waiting to interview her. Q : Let’s talk about your latest 2 singles : ‘Run Real Run’ and ’Vivid’. Can you tells a little about these two singles? May’n : Run Real Run is the Opening song for the real life TV series ‘Real Onigokko THE ORIGIN’ released earlier part of this year and Vivid is the Opening Song for ‘Blood Lad’ an anime series which debut just recently. Q: Between these 2 videos, Run Real Run seems to be physical demanding as we can see May’n san doing a lot of running. Was that difficult? May’n : In the shooting of the video for ‘Run Real Run’, there are a lot of running scenes as it is a game of TAG. I’ve actually have no problem doing all the running scenes in the video because I like to run but the difficult part was, I was running with high heels shoes! (everyone laughed) (Note : In the video we see only a few seconds of running but during actual shoot there’s a lot more and retakes but most ended not being used which is the usual case) May’n : Meanwhile, VIVID is a cheerful song, so I try to maintain that cheerfulness in it and it was really fun doing that video. Q : The first thing that caught my attention in the video was that outfit you were wearing. May’n : Ah….yes. That outfit was specially made for me for that video shoot and when I first saw it I was really impressed! We : Me too! When we first saw it was like WOW! (We all laughed) Q : Let’s go back a little, ‘May’n Space’ is one of your popular songs. What goes into the making of this song? May’n : May’n Space is a song with my name on it. Basically it talks about a place where all my fans can come together and do things together. (Note : Lyrics : Mana Anju, Composed : Yoko Kanno, Arranged : Suzuki Masaya) Q: Recently there is also a Facebook version called “May’n Space’, can you tell us something about it? May’n : This is a place for my fans to post and exchange information and I also want them to interact with one another. I will sometimes write in English so that my other fans can also understand. Just then, the Management informed us that this will be our last question for our session. Q : This question, I think a lot of your fans would like to know. Being your first time in Indonesia, Jakarta. Had you the chance to taste some local cuisine? May : I’ve managed to taste Satay (grilled skewed meat dipped in a special peanut sauce) and Nasi Goreng (fried rice in light soya sauce with vegetables, egg and some meat) . It taste almost the same like Malaysian food but spicier. That was all the time we had with May’n san, we thanked her for taking time off her busy schedule to meet with us, her manager and staff of AFA for arranging this meeting. May’n performance on stage was yesterday 6th September and she performed 8 songs including both Run Real Run and Vivid.. Later that today, 7th September May’n appeared together with the other singers that performed with her (Eir Aoi (Fate Zero and SAO) and Aya Hirano (of Haruhi Suzumiya fame) on the event stage and announced that next year her world tour will include Indonesia, much to the delight of her Indonesian fans.(She also mentioned Malaysia during her Animax performance in Malaysia) Special Thanks goes to Shawn Chin, Aiko, Tuea Chun Kah of Anime Festival Asia and Mr Helmi Sugara of Helmi Sugara Promotions for arranging and assistance for the interview.

Hi all, Macross the First facebook page is looking questions for their coming interview with Mikimoto Sensei. If you have any questions you would like to ask Mikimoto Sensei regarding Macross the First manga, please post it in the facebook page below :- https://www.facebook.com/MacrosstheFirst/posts/570499822989367 Thanks

I took the plunge, and order one !

Looks like guys had a lot of fun, wished I was there !

Late in February 2013, me amd three other Macross/May'n fans (i.e. Vf25-F, Darren WK and Pamela) managed to get ourselves some ticket to watch May'n's Mic-A-Mania concert on 2 March 2013. Here is a review of the concert written by VF25-F A Malaysian fan at MIC-A-MANIA concert, Budokan The four of us, Macross / May'n fans, VF25-F, Darren WK, Pamela and vanpang decided to make a trip to Japan late in February for some sightseeing and to attend May'n's Mic-A-Mania concert on 2nd March 2013. After much difficulties in trying to obtain tickets to the concert (thanks to all parties who tried to lend a helping hand) we finally managed to get them at a general sale on the 28th, just 2 days before the actual concert. What a relief it was when we could finally achieve our objective. On the day itself, 2nd March 2013, we reached Budokan at around 4.00pm (advised by the lady at the ticket counter). Already the fans had gather and making their way to their respective gates. Many more lined up to get their hands on the merchandise, the line was really long and slow as the fans scanned the items to decide which to buy. By the time we got to our seats which was in the highest 2nd last block, 2nd tier of the West wing, it was around 5.30pm. Probably everyone from our block and the last block including the ones across to the East had bought the tickets through the General sale. From our point of view, there were some odd single empty seats in almost every block and a row of 8 empty seats right across on the East wing. The other block which was only half full was (immediately I recognized after watching all her BIG concerts) the MEDIA block which is located directly opposite of the stage. The stage was rectangle (2 tier) and in the middle part of the 2nd tier was covered by a big rectangle piece of black cloth, a flight of steps comes running down to the Arena area. There were two tall pole like structure on each side of the black box which has like shiny beads dangling from the top. In the middle of the arena area was a hexagonal stage, surrounded by barriers. Clearly something will happen here at some point of the concert. By 6.13pm the whole place was full, fans who had came late and those outside lining up for the merchandise were all in. As far as we can see, it's a full house. Boy, she can really pack them! Suddenly, the whole place went dark! The fans got excited and soon the darkness were filled with glowing light sticks. Then a spot light shone down where, for a minute ago was an empty space, but now stood the very person that everyone was waiting for! The whole place erupted with excitement, and immediately died down to a whisper as the music began to play. First up was 'Ao Zora' (ED from BTOOOOOM!). Ok, after this point, things are a little blurry(sorry, but I was floating on cloud 9), so it may not be accurate when you compare this with the Blu-ray/DVD of this concert. Once she had finished the first song, May'n turned and the black curtains on the rectangle went up. Revealing the 4 piece band, a 20 piece string orchestra and an unknown number of choir standing shoulder to shoulder in the back of the stage. There was even a giant chandelier in the middle. She stood further up the stage and welcomed everyone. The sound system was fantastic!, it's as if you're hearing every note delivered to your ears through an ear piece and there was no echo except when the band played a little too loud. There was however one instance, where there was something wrong with the mike, its as if the mike went off and on when she was singing 'Hero'-'my H ___roooo!' By now weve noticed that whenever the song is slow, the light sticks would turn BLUE and turn YELLOW when the song is fast. The choir and string section would go off and come back between songs and at times I've didnt even noticed when they had left. Just before she had to change her clothes, she stood between the string section and delivered 'Moshimo Kimi Ga Negau No Nara' (If you wished for it..). There was a brief break and the crowd was shouting her name and later 'Bucho'. A few moments later she came back with 'Northern Cross' which she delivered from the top of the stage, unfortunately for us and some of the audience were blocked by the audio equipment suspended in the air. I could only see her hands making all the gestures. But for her fans, its already ingrained in their memory, all the movements for this song. Luckily, for the next song, she walked down back to the lower stage, but still I suspect some audience sitting further left of us is still blocked by the audio equipment. She then introduces her new and only song for this concert (lyrics by May'n) and got everyone to practice shouting 'Rock Your Beats!'. Later, its time for the audience to get into the act. Everyone took out their towel and danced to the 'Abc' and the 'XYZ'. Another round of towel spinning with 'Dolce' (it was fun and funny to watch). These are some of the things that make her concert fun. The audience becomes part of the concert and that gives you a sense of belonging. All of a sudden, she sang something familiar but at the same time you can't place the name of the song. It was very grand and I was very sure it was from the 2nd movie 'Sayonara no Tsubasa' and then it ended, a pause and then the everlasting 'Lion' came on. (Upon my return to my country, Ive checked up 'Sayonara no Tsubasa' but it wasn't. It was 'Nyan nyan final attack, frontier greatest hits!' she used the opening of the song and stopped just before Ranka (Megumi)'s part.) Nice. Time for another break. Everyone was shouting 'Encore! Encore!' This time the break was slightly longer as you can see the staff setting up something on the hexagonal stage in the middle of the arena and the arena crowd began to turn their attention to it.. Finally it was ready and 'Bucho' walked in from the East side of the arena and was wearing a stunning red dress which looked like a Chinese cheongsam high slits on both sides. She sat down in the middle and the 4 piece band was surrounding her. She sang 2 songs (Koi and Aenai Toki) In my opinion the mini stage was too small as she has to see where she was walking because of the cables going up the stage when she did the acoustic version of 'Kimi Shinitamou Koto Nakare' (Thou shall not die) Can't do Macross speed songs here. She goes off again and the crowd called for another 'Encore!' A short while later, they got their answer! 'Bucho' came back dressed in an elegant 'beige' evening gown! The full compliment of the orchestra is back together with the choir. The song is 'Love, like the falling stars' . Everyone joined in singing chorus part. As usual, each tier would get their chance to be heard, the males vocals, the females and not to forget, the MEDIA's! which everyone erupted in laughter. This song has an epic feel to it, I suppose it is befitting for this be the final song for an enchanting evening. Though we wished that it would go on just a little bit longer but we know at some point it would have to end. Two hours plus past but it felt like a mere 45 minutes. It was time to say farewell, and May'n introduced the orchestra (once again) and thank them. Next up was her regular 4 piece band plus the 'Manipulator'; whom does their own antics and finally 'Bucho' herself, which in turn, she felt a little shy when her musicians got on one knee and present her. Everyone then held their hands together for one last bow and May'n shouted at the top her voice (without the mike) 'Arigato!!!' This is probably where the Blu-ray/DVD version will cut off and go on to show the next chapter which is the 'Making of.....' (from seeing all the previous ones) So for those that want the official ending, stop reading right here. : ) THE END Your right, I'm being silly, after all you've made it all the way here already. So here's what you won't get to see. Everyone left the stage except May'n who stayed back to thank her fans. She tried to run (as she always did) and suddendly remembered she's wearing this outfit and so quickly tip-toe to the West wing first. As she got closer to the 1st tier, she disappeared from our view. For ahwhile, we thought she had forgotten about us and suddenly she backed up to where she can see the 2nd tier and waved to everyone. It took sometime to go around as she honestly tried to look at all her fans faces and thank them for coming. Finally its has ended and as she walked to the exit on the west wing, one last desperate call by her fans from the 1st tier caught her attention and she waved back with a big smile. A really thoughtful gesture indeed. CONCLUSION If this was an anime, then this is the episode where you have a flashback of what had happened since episode 1. That explains why there was no new album, apparently in the music industry, every eight year is a flashback episode (heard that the same goes for other artists). Happy, also to report that her raspy/coarse voice has gone (which was with her throughout the entire 2012 though slight trace of it when she gets excited while talking) Though this unexpected chance to attend the concert has stretched our budget somewhat, but it left us with an even bigger sense of satisfaction. Song list 1. Ao zora 2. Jewels 3. Welcome to My Fanclubs Night (Styles ver.) 4. Scarlet Ballet 5. Giant Step 6. Anemone 7. Hero 8. Brain Diver 9. Rock Your Beats 10. Forbidden Elixir 11. If You Wished For It. Break 12. Northern Cross 13. Iteza Gogo Kuji Dont Be Late 14. XYZ 15. Dolce 16. Paranoia 17. Lion 18. My Teen, My Tears 19. Mr Super Future Star 20. Chase the World Encore 21. Koi 22. Aenai Toki 23. Kimi Shinitamou Koto Nakare Encore 24. Love, Like The Falling Stars

INTERVIEW WITH KURIBAYASHI MINAMI DURING AFA 2012 IN SINGAPORE This versatile artist, from Shizouka Perfecture has already established herself firmly in the entertainment industry. Among the anime and games songs she has performed are for the Muv-Luv series, Chrono Crusade, My-HiME, My-Otome, Kure-nai, School Days, Blassreiter and Infinite Stratos. Being her first time in Singapore, the various media took the opportunity to interview her onthe 11th of November at the SINGAPORE EXPO venue, but due to time constraints and her busy schedule, only a limited number of questions can be put forward to her. Note: Minami’s answers were conveyed through her translator thus certain replies may be lost in translation. Question : I would like to ask, having personally written the lyrics for some of your songs, can you tell us how you get the inspirations for your lyrics? Kuribayashi Minami : I was given the resources about the anime, and then with the information, I start to create the lyrics. Question : Which song influenced you the most? Kuribayashi Minami : For a single song is very hard to answer but I'm mostly influenced by songs by Komura Tetsuya. Question : After 11 years, you are now one of the most well-known voice actress, song-writer and singer in the anime realm, would you mind talking a little about how you started in this business? Who influenced you? Kuribayashi Minami : I started this business through “Kimi Ga NozomuEien”, singing “Rumbling Hearts”. And the person who influenced me most is Okui Masami-san. Question : You have participated in various anime and games, which work will be your most favourite? Kuribayashi Minami : My favourite would be my debut project : ‘Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien’. Question : You did voice for the leading character in“Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien”, would you be interested in voicing for other roles in the future? Kuribayashi Minami Oh, yes, I'm definitely interested. Question : As one of the central figure in Animelo Summer for a continuous of 8 years, if given a chance, would you continue to attend this grant event? Kuribayashi Minami Yes, I would like to attend. Question : As a singer, would you be trying some new singing styles you never tried before? Kuribayashi Minami : Aa... I don’t have anything in mind yet, but if there’s a chance to try out new things then, yes, I'd love to give it a try. Question : Recently, you sang the opening songs for ”Muv-Luv: Total Eclipse”, which is a side story of” Muv-Luv Alternative”, how do you feel about finally seeing this series being made into an anime after 10 years? Kuribayashi Minami : I was hoping that it will eventually become an anime, so I'm very glad that it happened.. Question : Would you mind letting us know a little of your plans year 2013? Kuribayashi Minami : Ah, not yet! Not yet! There's no plans that I could tell yet. Question : What advice would you give to aspiring singers or voice-actors for them to break into the industry? Kuribayashi Minami : Hmm~ well, it is important that you have some originality, and some unique characters to yourself, so, please have this uniqueness to yourself. Question : Do you have any words that you would like to say to your fans in Singapore? Kuribayashi Minami It is my first time, here, in Singapore, so I'm very excited. I'm looking forward and I'll do my best in front of everyone. Special Thanks goes to Lim Wee Ling, Stephanie Seah, Michelle Tong of Asia PR Werkz Pte Ltd and Shawn Chin of Anime Festival Asia for arranging and assistance for the interview.

INTERVEW WITH fripSide AT ANIME FESTIVAL ASIA 2012 This is the first time the group fripSide has been invited to perform, in Singapore, so our fellow Macross member, Rei with Kent (from Anime Shrine) caught up with them on the 9th November 2012, at Changi Village Hotel and below is what transpired in the interview. Note: As the interview answers were conveyed through a translator thus certain replies may be lost in translation. Q : Firstly, congratulations on your 10th Anniversary Album [Decade]. Happy Belated Birthday, Sat-san and Nanjou-san, congratulations on launching your solo debut on December. Other than the album in being the group's 10th anniversary after founding, what is the message that you wish to send in [Decade]? NANJOU: [Decade] is fripSide's 10th anniversary album, we would want the listeners to think back on what they were doing in these 10 years back. I would want the listeners to understand that time is a precious thing and we should not do things that would make us regret in the future. We should think wisely before we make any actions. SAT: For me, this album is actually for the 10th anniversary, and I'm very happy to be able to produce it. This album comprises of songs from the past albums & singles as well. I really hope the listeners would take note while listening to the album, would there be any different feelings or memories that came up to their mind while listening to this new album. I hope that everybody understands that fripSide's music are made for everyone & this 10th anniversary marks our step into globalizing our music in Asia. Q : How did the group name "fripSide" came about? SAT: The name was originally suppose to be "flip-side" with an "L" instead of an "R", which came from the flip-side (B side) of the old vinyl records but now it's all in CDs. The message in the name is that we are putting in efforts for both, the A side and also in the B side as well. We want the listeners to listen both cover sides equally. The capitalized "S" in fripSide represents me (Sat-san) with the impression to have a playful side to the name. Q : You have done many collaboration works with various artistes, which work was the one you would say is your best? SAT: I've worked with some artistes that appeared in AFA such as KOTOKO-san, m.o.v.e.'s Motsu-san, and Kurosaki Maon-san. I find that our style of music and the music that we pursue have very similar. Also the creative sides are also similar. We can compliment each others music really well, so I really hope that we are able to do more collaborations in the future. Q : Nanjou-san is a seiyuu who debuted in 2006 before being selected as fripSide's vocalist. How was she selected? NANJOU: When the 2nd generation vocal for fripSide was going to be produced, it was just the time when the original vocal, Nao-san was about to graduate from fripSide. Sat-san has heard my voice through my works as a seiyuu and my voice suits his style of music so he said that we should form fripSide together. Q : How did your individual names came about? SAT: My given name, Satoshi was too long, so to short things up, Sat. That's all~ NANJOU: Well, Nangiorno is a nickname from a close friend from my original label company out of the blue. Q : Currently Nanjou-san is voice acting "Senomiya Akiho" in "Robotics;Notes". What do you think of this character you're playing? NANJOU: Akiho is a very optimistic girl. She's always very bubbly & cheerful. Her straight-forwardness is one of her good points. I hope that I can bring out Akiho's good points through my "genki" voice-acting. Special Thanks goes to Lim Wee Ling, Stephanie Seah, Michelle Tong of Asia PR Werkz Pte Ltd and Shawn Chin of Anime Festival Asia for arranging and assistance for the interview.