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May'n - The Galactic Fairy

vanpang

By vanpang
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Just came back from AFA Singapore 2022. Even though the horrible audio system, May'n segment really hit you in the gut! Everyone was in tears! Report coming soon! 

(the pix - she looked distressed)

Meantime, pictures from the event........ JUNNA (from Macross Delta also performed on the same night, we hoped they would do a duet but none)

She also will be voicing a character named NEO in Abyssmare

 

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May'n cooks Bak Kut Teh (Meat Bone Tea in Hokkien (a Chinese dialect)) She bought a packet in Singapore. It has a strong Chinese herb taste and usually served with white rice and 

 Chinese fried dough (but she couldn't find one in Japan, so she substituted it with croissant & focaccia)

Cooking starts at 17.36 - funny. The last pix is really shocking! XD

 

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Just before leaving for Singapore I saw this vid but didn't have time to post it. They tried making a Baseball cheering song. Starts at 8.45

Still struggling to type down the interview session. The things I hate most because a lot of times it doesn't hit the mark, maybe due to the way the question is phrased or the translator translated it to her and then translated it back to us. You just have to improvise most of the time.

 

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May'n Interview 27th November 2022
It almost didn't happen. But just one day before going down to Singapore we got the good news and we were off to meet May'n for the first time in 2 years.

The interview was at 4.30pm. We had also requested to interview JUNNA but unfortunately there was none scheduled. This wasn't the first time but maybe her Manager didn't think she's ready to face a foreign press.

There were other events in the designated rooms earlier - a paid special Meet & Greet for the Featured Cosplayers and their fans.

As time ticked closer, I felt a little nervous (always did whenever I'm about to meet her but I didn't turned into a quivering mass of Jelly as some did.....maybe back in 2010! XD) Luckily a Singaporean friend came by out of the blues and rescued me! I asked how he knew I was here, and he replied that this was the place where they conducted interviews. Though true, but the timing? Anyway we chat as we have not seen each other for 2 years. Soon the other medias converged and we entered the room. There were 4 groups including us.

She entered,  greet everyone and stood on the platform. Usually the photo session would be last but this time a Japanese media started photographing her and the rest of us got in the act too. Something wrong with my camera, it just refused to record. Dumped it and used my hand phone instead. All photos had to be checked by her Manager. My team leader's camera somehow synced with May'n eye blink. So each photo he took caught her with her eyes closed! Lots of delete.....

Questions :

Q1: After not able to attend AFA for 2 years what are your thoughts?

A1: I have attended AFASG every single year from 2008 to 2019 and online during the pandemic years and now people can travel, I hope that more and more people will come back to this event.

Sashiburi May'n san and welcome back to Singapore!

Q2: It's been 13 years since Macross Frontier premiered, do tell us about your experience at the Frontier Concert back in November 10th 2021. Oh you're costume is very nice!

A2.  It's been 10 years since I did a LIVE concert for Macross Frontier. When I first started with Megumi san, we were quite young and we still fresh and trying our best with the aid of Kanno Yoko san. Now we are more mature and our love for the series have grown and really appreciate it to be able do the concert again. As for the costumes, we had a discussion of what would be a nice balance between Sheryl and myself would wear.  Even with the set list and direction, we still did a lot of discussion for what Sheryl and Ranka will be like moving forward. (The Frontier franchise is still moving forward)

Q3: In conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of Macross, a collaboration album was released, what are your thoughts about it?

A3. Walkure song are already very cool, JUNNA san's voice has a low pitch while my voice is very high, so it becomes a challenge to sing these songs. Usually when you do a cover song, you would usually sing at your own personal tone but this time they would try to match the other's tone. It was really challenging but was also a joy to match their pitch as Walkure is 5 person and we really did our best.

Q4. Since you have been coming to AFA every year, what do you find most exciting?
4A. AFA is not just about concerts but also about Japanese Culture. It's a joy to see so many people coming to enjoy anime, games and cosplay. As a Japanese, I feel proud.

Q5. It's been 3 years since the last AFA. You probably the only AninSong singer in AFA that has gone to the most overseas events. What it's like to be on a stage at AFA and what do you hope, going forward as a singer.
A5. At first I was really surprised to see the audience enjoying the concert like those in Japan. After travelling to many countries like America, Europe and Asia I notice there's a gap between what is popular in Japan and the rest of the World. But now the gap is shrinking. Now that the pandemic has slowed, I hope to travel to other countries. As for tonight, it's been awhile I have done it here. I do feel a little nervous but also excited to perform and get everyone cheering.

Q6: One of the most memorable things you've done is doing the opening pitch at the Nagoya Vantalin Dome. Do tell us about it.

A6 :Ooh! You know about it! As you know I'm from Nagoya and has been a hardcore fan of Baseball. It was my other hobby outside of music. So I practiced my throws until I my arm got sore.

Q7. Just announced that last month you have joined a project called Abyssmare. Can you tell us about it?
A7. I was surprised when D4DJ approached me to become a producer as well as a Seiiyu (voice actress). I have never done either, so It would be a good challenge to build up my career. I would like to make it the best group, with the best music and something really good for the fans to enjoy and look forward to.

Q8. Is there any difference when you're perform as a specific character like Sheryl Nome as compare to yourself?
A8. Before I sing, I would reflect on who I am in this song. By doing so you become the character and changes the style of singing also.

Q9. Is there a message for your fans in Singapore as well as those in Asia?
A9. It's been awhile since I could come overseas for anime events concerts and am very happy to do so. Hopefully more countries could
open up soon. As things began to return to normal, I hope cheering in Japan would be allowed soon.

That was the last question for this session. We thank May'n san for taking time off from her schedule as well as staff of SOZO Pte Ltd and Asia PR Werkz Pte Ltd to arrange for this interview. 

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May'n concert 
This is the 1st time in 2 years that May'n has returned to the stage for AFASG since the pandemic started.

Unfortunately, the whole concert session was plagued by a bad sound system, whenever the performance was LIVE.The heavy bass killed the experience. There was also a saying that all sound engineers are DEAF! XD 

There were 2 LIVE artists before her but because I was not a fan, I couldn't tell how was their performance was going. One of them was JUNNA (Mikumo - from Macross Delta) Her loud voice managed to 'overpower' the bad heavy bass audio. She did converse a little in English. She also sang her iconic song -Ikenai Borderline (it sounded like she was struggling) and later, another song she lost her tempo and she asked to restart again.

Also first time featured on AFASG concert were youtube performers - they sounded ok maybe because it was a recording and also the music genre (not fast music).

 As usual, she's the last act for the night. She Jumped out of the shadows and the music soon began to play.
The 1st song was 'Vivid' but because there was some problems with the sound system and she was off key, it took a few seconds to recognize the name of the song. I guess it's difficult to hear yourself whether or not you're singing the right note. After awhile she got back on key.

The next song was 'Belief'. Maybe it sounded better at the VIP section as you can see the audience going wild! Another thing to note was the lighting system jumped to life (it was passive during the other performances). The white and red lights were swinging in all directions.

The next 3 songs were done in acoustic format and it was beautiful - the BEST part of the concert! There was nothing but the sound of the LIVE Guitar and her voice. Clear as crystal (confirming that the sound system was a problem)

Things calmed down as May'n spoke to her fans. She informed that this is the first time in 3 years (including 2022) that she got to do a concert outside of Japan. Her voice was trembling a bit as she explained how she missed her overseas fans and we really felt it and reciprocate her feelings. Tears were swelling up in everyone's eyes as well as May'n. It's felt kind of like you're separated from someone for.....10 years and finally you both meet again! It was emotional.....

Time for the next song. she explained that she wrote this song especially to summarize her experience for having her first overseas concert - No matter who we are, where we come from, our culture may be different but we all enjoy the same music under the same sky.- PHONIC NATION. 

May'n kept wiping her tears throughout the entire song. On some lyrics, you can hear her voice holding back the emotions. The audience felt the same too. When the song reached the chorus, everyone let out their emotions and sang with all their hearts (waving their lights sticks set to the color of Pink - Sheryl's color and following May'n hand movement) That was really an emotional moment for everyone. Even as I sat here writing this, my eyes are all teary and I need to wipe my nose.

I mean, sure she practiced her speech but I suppose to an empty hall is very different from a hall full of people. I don't think that she was ready for the wave of emotions her fans poured out.

For the next song, the Guitar played a few bars, it didn't sound anything I recognized until May'n began to sing! DIAMOND CREVASSE! Because it's done in acoustic, it sounded like 'Shinkuu no Diamond Crevasse' - scenes of Michel Blanc met his end in the TV series flooded my thoughts. Tragic and Sweet at the same time.

Next up was another Macross Frontier song - Northern Cross (sayonara no Tsubasa ver.)Nicely done. After this, the Guitarist left the stage.

The next song was Orange - the ED song for an anime about an ice hockey team. The dreaded sound system returns,

Followed by Mirai Note, a song about remembering your dreams, good times you had and the friends you shared it with when you were still in school, amidst your current working life. The stationery becomes the link as you still use it then and now. (Originally it was done to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Nakabayashi stationery - same family as May'n (Mei Nakabayashi)) - watch the video it on youtube. 

Both songs May'n sang with passion as they were like remembering the friendship the fun we shared in concert prior to the pandemic years.

Last song  for the night was Graphite/Diamond, she wants to the concert to go out with a bang! Incidentally, I forgot to pack my light stick, otherwise I would have joined the big crowd and swinging away....

With that, the concert ends. 

This was another 'MOST' memorable concert experience in AFASG's history. I would have done it a little different - like keeping her feelings of how she felt and singing 'Phonic Nation' as the finale for the night. That I think would have left everyone in tears and forever remember this wonderful moment. But I suppose the plan was to have an up tempo ending instead. 

Song List :

1. Vivid (Blood Lad)

2. Belief (Taboo Tattoo)

3. Phonic Nation

4. Diamond Crevasse (Macross Frontier - TV)

5. Northern Cross (Macross F - Sayonara no Tsubasa)

6. Orange (Pride of Orange!)

7. Mirai Note

8. Graphite/diamond (Azur Lane)

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Thanks for the write-up! I've only been to AFA once and I don't really care for artists I don't know, so I'm not really interested in going again. Good to know what's going on there esp. with our favorite galactic songstress.

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Why is May'n holding a BIG stick before the end of the year? Pest control? Naughty fans? Bad day?

She bumped into Nano and she gave May'n a Christmas present!

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  • vanpang changed the title to May'n - The Galactic Fairy
  • 2 weeks later...
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Another interesting news! NHK will broadcast a live performance by May'n and Megumi (Ranka) with Yoko Kanno - Macross Frontier song performance on 31st Jan 2023!

 

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Tonight's NHK performance was only 1 song - LION

There was a short interview with Megumi, May'n and Yoko Kanno, followed by a 40th Anniversary message from Shoji Kawamori before the performance started

(Really express) XD - sound is really soft.

 

 

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More NHK Utacon  stuff

What was their feelings performing for the event? Yoko kanno tried to hide her face! XD

https://twitter.com/nhk_musicjp/status/1620605031463505920?s=20&t=tAREvKMzmCnusEnmCNz_ZQ&fbclid=IwAR2jVJu7nAifyxTA1WexHXczBpbanHMziohp9hIHqW4igPR7DXP4b2qBxZs

What is good in Osaka....

https://twitter.com/nhk_osaka_JOBK/status/1620693433324027905?s=20&t=tAREvKMzmCnusEnmCNz_ZQ&fbclid=IwAR2XfvAEyCvUoTUNhPRxFfk3CRnbRo-EkLvj0aW0dwLZqEXk_HLM-cSMt0E

 

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Setsubun Festival! It seems May'n dressed as the 'Devil' and was 'pelted' with beans by the audience as she ran up and down among them (all in good fun)

Universal Bunny practice

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoPBYwngEvo/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D&fbclid=IwAR2Rwoz28oM6TEg9rEgi_d3e4cH1xCe0-VCGkFM6I9zoytDnQtEIDfTZ6dE

Setsubun with fans!

https://www.tiktok.com/@maynofficial/video/7195924555460889858?_r=1&_t=8ZZPciKkzuj&fbclid=IwAR1zA0ku2sowMSWpo1lDz5glm9Dy22ytQdvSn17alAFwMi4G8csOLg9quss

 

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May'n is going to sing at the Vatelin Dome, Nagoya (the same one she threw the opening pitch last year) April 6th for 2023 series. Looks at the excitement she's in. XD

 

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