Recent Maasa activity

Like known, Maasa has been up to her play after Berryz hiatus, and it was also announced that she will be in another play with Morning Musume members : )

Over past few days she has pretty actively updated her blog...

Peach juice loving Maasa:

"I love momo♡ (peach)

I love momo..........

I love Momochi♡ lol"

Also met Saki and Yurina, who went to see the play

Kamitomo meeting when Chinami went to see the play 

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Back to business and a new member

The Church blog seems to have been on hiatus for more than 2 years. But with a new author we hope to get this a bit more active again.

Hello everyone! I am bondskizuna and I'll be writing in this blog too from now on. I came to like Hello! Project back in 2008 but first I listened to pretty much only Morning Musume so Maasa didn't catch my eye until at around March 2011. I remember that day very clearly. While surfing through the internet I happened to find some photos from her photobook and her beauty was something extraordinary. I looked for more information of her and the rest is history. I hope to translate some of the main points from her blog texts and add them here. My Japanese is not that good so feel free to point out any mistakes!

A lot has happened in these 2 years. For example, Berryz Koubou and of course Maasa's first time in Europe, at Japan Expo on July this year. Also the unfortunate announcement of Berryz Koubou's indefinite hiatus.

Happy announcements have taken place too! Maasa has been announced to be a playing manager for Engeki Joshibu, Hello! Project's acting group.In the summer of 2014 she was the first and so far only Berryz Koubou member to get a driving license.She also revealed that she is an aunt to a 2 year old nephew, a son of her younger sister.

Let's hope that our precious Maasa stays in the spotlight even after the 3rd of March and we'll get an occasional peek at her : )

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Most biased review ever

Recently two Dvds where released, the H!P Summer Concert Dvds Wow Wow and Yeah Yeah.

In  the Yeah Yeah Dvd we get treated to a Solo Performance by the Holy Godmother Maasa herself.

What Song is it then? One that would fit Maasa according to stereotypes?

Oh no, it is the hyper funny S/mileage song ○○ Ganbaranakutemo Eenende!!.

Watch it here on Youtube

Now what happens if you pair a song that is designed to be funny and fit the cutesy voices of Kanon and co with Maasa? The result is plain awesomeness, yes, you read that right, the voice of Maasa actually adds to the Entertainment value of that song, so H!P did the exact right thing by letting Maasa sing that particular song. It is perfection done right or as we call it here, perfection done the Maasa way, perfect pitch control, perfect expression, perfect everything.
And by the way, the rest of the Dvds are pretty awesome as well.
And if you want to do the exact right thing, please buy the Dvds, they are as usual available from cdjapan and every other decent Onlineshop.

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New Face

Some time has passed since someone from the Church voiced their opinion here, so out with the old and in with the new, except of course we would never get rid of the old, as a Church we believe everything is eternal, so of course People like Dran will still be here, but also a new face, Nao-kun.

Nao-kun? who is that?

A couple years ago in a location slightly west of Dran Nao-kun was sitting in front of a box and not sure what do on a boring rainy Sunday afternoon, turns out that box was a PC and Nao-kun stumbled over a Morning Musume Video on Youtube that the Church had planted there as a trap to test the loyalty of its followers.

Initially Nao-kun gave in to the temptation of Morning Musume, but then saw the light and focused all attention to Berryz Koubou, the one and only true Idol Unit to ever grace this Planet Earth we happen to be on as well as the Universe this Earth is trapped in until the great Maasa decides that all Evil has been extinguished and will take us away to the real Universe.

How do we win over those Evil things and how far has Nao-kun progressed in defeating them? While the revelation of the full list has not happened yet a selection can be found below:

Under no circumstances shall anything ever take priority over Berryz.

Traveling 52500 miles in a 27 month period for Berryz shall be considered normal.

The use of the only Wardrobe to store noting but Hello Project Merchandise shall also be considered normal.

All Walls need to be covered by Berryz Posters, Towels, Calendars, Visual Screens and similar items.

Maaism is not just a religion, it is also the cradle, path and destination of life which shall always be chosen as any other path leads to Doom.

Either way, that crazy Maadict known as Nao-kun is looking forward to bring you the occasional sensible but usually just "slightly" biased update through the Church of Maasa from whatever corner of the Planet Berryz Koubou is currently at.

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Light Novel no Tanoshii Kakikata Released!

Maasa's movie, first announced back in October 2009, today released on DVD. The movie managed, on its first day, to chart on Amazon's best sellers at #2 in the Comedy films section and #5 in the Romance section. The movie has proven to be incredibly popular, getting, on the whole, positive reviews and spreading across Japan to various theatres that weren't included in the initial run (and one such theatre extending its run beyond its original length).

My own copy of the Limited Edition shipped the day before, and is sitting in Germany right now waiting to be loaded onto a plane to the UK. Needless to say, I'm excited by the long wait to almost finally have it in my hands, as, I'm sure, are you all. Assuming you also ordered it. You did order it, didn't you?

Already, the beginning of the movie has appeared on YouTube, though the uploader doesn't show signs of uploading any more than the first 13 minutes, it still proves to be an entertaining watch.

I do feel guilty myself for watching it before my copy arrives. And it only makes me even more impatient for my own copy. But judging from the beginning, I'm expecting the movie to be pretty good - certainly to live up to my own expectations.

Though it does sadden me a little. It has been 18 months since we learned about the movie, and the fact that I'm now able to watch it represents for me the end of an era. Thanks to being the one (and there weren't many who did so) who reported every bit of news about the movie (either here or on H!O), the one who translated the official blog every day, and one of the many who were sure that this movie would be important and would lead to good things for Maasa... I've grown attatched to it. Despite having never read the original light novels, despite never having seen the movie, despite having never even heard of it until I saw the news that Maasa would be starring in this movie... I've been very much the go-to guy on affairs related to the movie (unless you knew someone who HAD read the original light novels or seen the movie.)

This levels the playing field. Upon seeing the movie, all of us will have an equal knowledge of what it is about and what happens. And the loss of the feeling of authority on the subject (however slight that authority was) is sad but inevitable. It may represent the end of an era for me, after the movie became an integral part of my life and my daily routine (especially from September to December when I was translating the blog every day). But today also represents the beginning of a new era for me. The post-movie era, if you will, where we can witness first-hand whether or not our predictions and hopes about the outcome of this movie come true.

With it announced this week that Maasa will also feature in Tanaka Reina's new stageplay (perhaps more on that as information develops), which makes it the tenth Gekidan Gekiharo produced by Hello! Project since 2007, it would appear that Maasa (who, at least since the Berryz Koubou in Bangkok concert, has said that her dream for the future is to do lots of acting) may yet be advancing towards her goal. But is this just coincidence or a direct result of the popularity of Ranobe?

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Making Light Novel no Tanoshii Kakikata

Last time I spoke about Colombia Records' plans to release two DVDs of the movie Light Novel no Tanoshii Kakikata which Maasa is starring in. I also mentioned that the more expensive of the two editions will contain a bonus disc featuring a 60-minute "making of" documentary.

Well, this time we have a new trailer to reveal, which shows you the kind of thing we're likely to see in this bonus making.

What I love about this preview is that they show a much more dynamic and fun set with all the interaction between the cast members. It's something we just didn't get with the Ranobeblog. And you can't help but feel that maybe, just maybe, new friends were made all round over the two months of filming.

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Light Novel no DVD no Tanoshii Mikata

Glorious news regarding the movie "Light Novel no Tanoshii Kakikata" starring Sudou Maasa which released in select cinemas at the start of December.

The movie was released in three or four theatres around the country including two catering for audiences in Tokyo and Osaka. After decent publicity including the release of the trailer back in July which racked up 40 thousand views in 3 days (and has gone on to over 130 thousand over the last 6 months), a promotional tie-in with Pizza Hut, as well as several events and TV mentions, the movie released to largely positive reviews.

Anyway, this time there's a DVD to be released, which was posted on the official Ranobe blog this morning.

It lets us know that Nippon Columbia will be publishing two versions of the movie on DVD, including one Limited Edition which will include a bonus disc containing the making-of documentary.

The pricing is a little steep for this kind of movie, with the regular edition coming in at nearly 4k yen, and the limited edition at 6k. The movie itself is only 80 minutes and the bonus footage is likely to be on the short side too, but for many people in Japan and abroad this will be the only way to actually see this movie, so it's definitely worth keeping an eye on. No self-respecting Maaist should be without, I think. 

The DVDs will both go on sale at the start of March next year.

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The word of Maa

Some of the biggest news to sweep the world recently is the revelation of the Berryz Koubou temporary blogs. Slated to only be around for the duration of the upcoming concert tour, these Serend blogs have been propelled to great following in just a few short days. Of course, the C-ute blogs were started much the same way, and have gone on past the originally intended activity period to become shining beacons for the fans involved. So it's wholly possible that such longevity might also be enjoyed by these Berryz blogs.

The first person to utilize this great tool of communication (not counting a few entries equating to little more than "testing 1-2-3") was the holy mother herself. A glorious step forward by our great pioneering holy one in the face of progress, allowing for never-before-seen level of communication, not just with or honourable brothers and sisters of the Church in God's own country, Japan, but also for the equally-honourable brothers and sisters abroad.

Maasa's new blog, as well as those pertaining to the other Berryz members, can all be found here.

I know, I know. Not all of us are capable of reading Japanese. It's a terrible state to be in when one can't even understand one's own god, but we all, in our own humble way, try our best to make sense of what we can and happily feast upon the interpretation of others. And, though my own skills in the holy leid are slight and my vocabulary limited by the small capacity of the various dictionaries I keep on hand at all times, I work hard to bring you as delicious a feast as I can muster. Applying the same skills I have used in translating the official Light Novel no Tanoshii Kakikata movie blog, I will endeavour to provide translations of the much more difficult (due to their slightly more colloquial nature) word of Maa.

I probably shan't post them here on the Church of Maasa proper, and for now they are all located in the Hello!Online Maasa thread, which I shall link at the end of this entry. Perhaps I shall find a more conveniant place to put them (where I won't be limited by the number of images allowed in a single post and Maasa's apparentl love for those same emoticons) but for now, they shall be located in that thread.

And thus she spake.

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Light Novel no Tanoshii Mikata

Once again, big news on the movie front. We have both a movie trailer, and an official release date. All our previous information on the movie can be found in these posts. But this entry is about this great new footage we have. Interesting to note that we haven't actually had any footage whatsoever from the movie or the making process. So this is our first taste of the movie.

Maasa is looking very cool throughout the trailer. An awesome scene at the very start shows her making her way through a school hallway with all of the other students moving out of her way. Then followed by a clip of her beating someone up with (what would appear to be) a Kendo Bokutou. A very cool character. Contrasted by the way she appears in the other half of the trailer as she dates the classmate in order to gain inspiration for her book and, at times, looks quite awkward, but others you really see the Maasa we all know and love in her character.

Maasa of course looks great in all the costumes we see her in. Not to mention how well acted it seemed to be. I know some people had doubts as Maasa wasn't exactly known for extraordinary acting ability, but if we are just going off the trailer, I reckon that this will be a performance to remember.

The movie, featuring our own Maasa (as well as former H!P egg Noto Arisa) will release in theatres across Japan on the 4th of December. If you are in Japan for that week, I implore you to visit a nearby cinema and watch our Holy Mother on screen!

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Release Dates no Tanoshii Kakikata!

After half a year of no news whatsoever, we finally have been gifted with further information about Maasa's upcomming Movie, Light Novel no Tanoshii Kakikata in the form of a theatrical release date.

The movie, a theatrical adaption of a series of Light Novels of the same way, was announced last year and promised to make the story, which is all but unknown outside of Japan, more well-known - though the movie isn't actually being marketed to foreigners.

The movie is set to follow Tsurugi Yabusame, played by our very own Sudou Maasa, as the archetypal cool, tough girl with a distinctly more feminine side hidden underneath a whole more masculine facade. She is the strongest girl in school, but secretly writes award-winning romance Light Novels under a pen-name, but she struggles to write about experiences that she doesn't have herself. And so she seeks the aid of a male classmate, who discovered her secret by accident, to pretend to be her boyfriend so she can get inspiration for her next novel.

The cast lists were released gradually over several weeks in October, starting with the lone announcement that Maasa would be our leading girl, which is when this obscure movie adaption of a relatively obscure  light novel came to the attention of our average western fans. But gradually an ensemble cast was revealed, including former Hello!Project Egg Noto Arisa and popular Seiyuu including Taketatsu Ayana (famous for her role as K-ON's Azusa) and Prince of Tennis heart-throb Sato Hisanori.

After the cast lists, we heard very little of the movie. Several months ago Maasa mentioned in an interview that she had acted in a movie and had enjoyed the experience, which gave us hint that filming had ended already and the movie had entered post-production. And the obi found attatched to a recent volume of the Light Novel advertised the new movie and greenlit it for a 2010 release, though we were fairly certain that it would be released this year even without official confirmation. But despite the slow news, interest was far from dead. Every couple of weeks the topic would be brought up in Hello!Online's Maasa thread as fans grew impatient - or perhaps hungry for more tidbits on when they can see our Idol working her magic on the big screen for the first time since she provided voice work for the Mini Moni movie.

Well, the long wait is over!

The long wait for more concrete news, that is. It turns out that my own predictions of a late Summer release were off, and the movie is instead slated to hit Japanese theatres in December.

This does mean that for us foreign fans, we would either have to go see the movie in Japan, or wait for a few months into 2011 for the DVD to be released. And even longer still if you'd rather wait for a subtitled release. ICU-Subs and Hyakupa Subs have both expressed marginal interest in fansubbing the movie, but neither have commited themselves to officially announcing their intentions.

We still have a long wait ahead of us, but at least now we have a date to look forward to, rather than blindly waiting patiently for something to happen.

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Cast Lists no Tanoshii Kakikata!

More news on the movie front! Since the last post, more and more cast members have been announced every so often. And now the cast list on the official website is complete, I thought I'd share the news about who Maasa will be co-starring alongside.

Atae Yakumo					Sato Hisanori
Yabusame Tsurugi					Sudou Maasa
Ichigo Yuuna					Taketatsu Ayana
Atae Kokona					Noto Arisa
Atae Marumi					Kouda Mariko
Atae Koyuri					Igarashi Reiko
Ishikiri Kiyomaro					Suzuki Hiroki

Some of you may recognise those names. Both Sato Hisanori and Suzuki Hiroki have starred in Prince of Tennis musicals. Taketatsu Ayana is a voice actress famous for starring in the anime K-ON!, Noto Arisa is a former Hello!Project Egg - now having left H!P but continues to work for UFA, mostly as an actress. And Kouda Mariko is another voice actress and singer who has starred in various anime.

This is quite an ensemble cast. No big names, but there's someone acting in this for everybody. Especially for fans of Prince of Tennis and Berryz Koubou, as we have here our two lead cast members Sudou Maasa and Sato Hisanori who are playing each other's love interest in this movie.

I'm still not sure how I'll react to this relationship, but a cast that can interest Harowota, Ani-otaku and PoT fangirls... It sounds like we're in for quite a ride.

http://ranobe.jp/cast.html

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Light Novel no Tanoshii Kakikata!

Well, I don't think any of us could have predicted this. I, like many I am sure, woke up this morning to the wonderful news that Maasa had scored an acting role in an upcomming Live Action adaption of the anime Light Novel no Tanoshii Kakikata. But not just any acting role, a starring role!

That's right, Maasa shall be playing the role of Tsurugi Yabusame, the lead female role in this movie. The character is described as the beautiful classmate who happens to be the strongest girl in school. She, however, has long desired to be 「可愛い女の子」, a "cute girl". Since Junior High School, Tsurugi has taken to writing light novels and her first won her a newcommer's writer's award. However, fearful of her strict father, she keeps her identity hidden by publishing the books using the penname "Mio Himemiya".

Tsurugi Yabusame gets writer's block, however, when writing about something she has no experience with herself, such is the case with her new light novel - a romantic comedy. Her classmate, Yakumo Atae (pictured) is one person who knows of her secret. Yakumo's cousin, who happens to be Tsurugi's editor, suggests that the two start dating so that she can get experience with romance and finish writing.

So far Maasa has been the first and only person cast for the movie. But it's rather incredible. Maasa does bear a slight resemblance to the girl, but she doesn't exactly have much history as an actress - and to suddenly be thrown in to the lead role, it's incredible.

If the movie works out well it could serve to promote Maasa in Berryz, and Berryz as a group to new fans. We're all holding our breath hoping for something wonderful.

There is no official release date yet, but from what I understand it's slated for release in 2010. Let's keep an eye out for more updates, and it'll be curious to see the actor who Maasa is to become romantically involved with.

That itself will prove delicate. To somehow create a believable relationship between the two characters without going far enough to upset wota like myself.

http://ranobe.jp/index.html

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Photobook Update!

That's right. The Photobook cover has surfaced at last! And what a fine cover it is. I sense a slight change in tactics with this photobook. Normally with Hello!Project photobooks they are announced weeks in advance and as the release day moves slowly closer we get more and more teasers, just to keep us interested. But with this, announced 1-2 weeks before release, everything is moving much faster. The announcement came on the 2nd, here we are 3 days later and the cover is here.

But it doesn't end there! Some sites are now taking pre-orders for the book. At the moment, Maasa's photobook currently resides in the #5 spot on Amazon's Top-Sellers for the Books category. Maybe we can further launch that to first place before release.

The page for the PB at Amazon.co.jp can be found here: Amazon

Such a relentless offensive on UFA's part, especially when compared with previous releases. These tactics are proving very effective, I imagine. Things are moving so fast we don't have time to get used to the idea of Maa having her photobook. It'll take a long time for this to become "old news", I reckon.

And remember we have a holiday planned for the release date of March 11th. If you haven't already, read this entry and suggest a name for the holiday!

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The answer to our prayers!

We've waited, and we've hoped, for far too long. Now it's Maasa's time. According to the Official Photobook schedule (here) a new photobook is due to be released on the 11th of March. A photobook with the interesting title "maasa".

A wise man once said "If you truly want something, then you shall have it" and "Anything can be achieved if you want it enough"... or maybe I just made them up, which would make me the wise man. Anyway, that wise man's words ring true here. We've been hoping for a photobook for a long time and it's finally coming, after this I have no idea what we'll hope for. Co-starring in a drama? Her second photobook? The skies the limit with this girl. Actually, if she wants to go into orbit, you let her. There is no limit.

Unfortunately there is nothing to show at the moment as the photobook has been just announced. We know of it's existance, it's name, and release date. But rest assured, the Church will provide, and I shall share previews with you once they become available.

I know Maasa has been gaining in popularity lately, especially over 2008 where she became a regular show-stealer in the second season of Berikyuu. And according to Hello!Project Store sales rankings on H!O, Maasa did well for herself last year. But I can't help but wonder if that was the reason behind her getting a photobook, wether she hung the managers by their toes in a dungeon and tortured them until they gave the green light, or wether this is a result of her recent weight-loss... Or a combination of the above. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

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