Saturday, July 12, 2025

Yona's Rankings: Top Yoshino Nanjo Characters

 


Hallo guys, vadengs and YKPers! I already have a one-month con break and that is why I acquired a new phone, yet again, but screw it! Anyways, the Yona's Rankings segment finally makes a reboot and rise comeback for the first time in four years, and this time we're gonna an appreciation about the seiyuu and singer Yoshino Nanjo, who celebrates her 41st birthday this year!

A kirakilala birthday to Nanjo-san and what a way to celebrate it with our top five characters voiced by her!




5. Eli Ayase (Love Live!)

One of Nanjo's iconic characters, Elicchi puts on a show that she can slay the stage as an idol. And yeah, who isn't? Also I may not know much about Love Live!, but it's cool to see that she's still loved by many fans even if there are generations come and go (yep that includes Aquors, but still) and has the same charm all these years ago. Also her iconic "Harasho!" is still iconic!




4. Yoko Sorano (Princession Orchestra)

Minamo's mom is such a sweet person and I like how she inherits cooking skills to her daughter. It's a strange occurrence, but it maybe is something to do with work aka being a teacher at a confectionary school (and Nanjo's hectic sked irl). Nevertheless, I'd like to see more of her in the future episodes though, and up on something that will affect Minamo/Princess Ripple in the process.




3. Miwa Kurushima (Bartender: Glass of Gods)

The heiress to the Hotel Cardinal but also an office lady, Miwa doesn't seem to use her influence in her own empire and yet she still manages to persuade Ryo Sasaki (voiced by Takuma Terashima in the reboot version) by competing the bartending contest. She knows and believes in the dude's skills as if she sees a world-class bartender (but he really is) and from what I saw in that version, these two are getting along and formed a genuine relationship that's wholesome, something that's mostly common in the seinen genre.




2. Shirabe Tsukuyomi (Senki Zesshou Symphogear)

Technically my first ever anime show that introduced me to Nanjo-san, Shirabe has been through a lot! From being one of the experimental orphans used in war and being Finé's inheritor, which literally shocked me the most in my entire watching of Symphogear, to being the other half of the Zababa Duo. This gal isn't just ever underestimated because I do like her relationship with Kiri-chan and that made me so squeal, and yeah I ship them so much!


That aside, her relationship with Bikki and co is very cute and nice too and they're treating her like their little sister, and this is why they're not just her comrades, they're her family. And that's something really special about Shirabe and her entire existence. Also, her songs are a huge banger! Too many to mention, but I've gotta say I adore this cutie so much in any way.


I hope Shirabe have a wonderful life and maybe we can see her again in the movie very soon.




1. Purirun/Cure Zukyoon (You and Idol Pretty Cure)

Oh man, where do I start? Ah yeah, that cute little gremlin that is Purirun! She's everything. No I mean, I like her both as a fairy and a Cure, no questions intended. When I heard her voice in the baton pass message at the end of Wonderful Pretty Cure!'s finale episode, I was so excited! And when I saw Nanjo-san's name on the headlines then I was so overjoyed that she'd be in another iconic show like Pretty Cure!


I love Purirun for being silly as heck and brave at the same time. Her bond with Uta Sakura aka Cure Idol (voiced by Misato Matsuoka) is one of the wholesome things I've seen in the current season because they're so cute together and I love their friendship so much, but I was so terribly gutted when her memories had been lost due to the effects of the Heart Kirari Lock, making our kirakilala idol fill with sadness and despair until a certain miracle happened. But we'll get to that in a moment.


As Zukyoon however, she singlehandedly got me the moment I saw her for the first time when she and Meroron aka Cure Kiss (voiced by Miharu Hanai) got into action for the first time to defeat and purify Cutty in his monster form and rescue Idol and the others. Speaking of Kiss, that snarky fairy herself makes things very complicated even before and after became a Cure, moreso takes a hostile on Uta-chin and co and only wants Purirun to be by her side. But I still wonder what's the thing she sacrifices, only time will tell.


Well time for the miracle moment finally, but holy moly! Purirun becoming a monster was something unexpected, but also a shocking bombshell to me because she's the first midseason hero to do so! Then Uta-chin, untransformed, tried to get her beloved friend and family back into her senses by singing "Smiles in Unison." Try and try again despite the desperate hindrance until the two are singing together, not only our silly but brave gremlin broke free from the KirakiLight Kurayaminda, but also restored her Kirarun Ribbon to its original state and memories. Damn it who cut the onions?!


Anyways, I can't wait to see more of Zukyoon, especially the movie with the Hirogaru Sky and the Wonderful Pretty Cures will come out this September, and yeah, idol activities and fights till the season ends of course.


Who's your favorite character from Nanjo-san? Let us know here or on our socials.

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Habemus Curatus! Introducing Cures Zukyoon and Kiss!


On June 1 and 8, 2025, fans of the Pretty Cure series from all over the planet have witnessed the (reboot and) rise of the two warrior idols. However, this isn’t the usual stuff that we’ve seen in all the midseason Cures’ initial and fully maiden debuts since 2009.


Enter Purirun and Meroron, the two mascot fairies from KiraKiland that transform into Cures Zukyoon and Kiss, whose memories and experiences of the former and feelings of the latter have been literally locked in due to a very forbidden item called the Heart Kirari Lock. What the hell just happened?!!





Following two weeks of roller coaster of emotions and intense curiosity, Yoshino Nanjo (Eli Ayase in Love Live! and Shirabe Tsukuyomi in Symphogear) and Miharu Hanai (Tomoe Murakami in Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls and Twin Turbo in Uma Musume Pretty Derby) have been finally taking over as the first two seiyuus to play two midseason Cures in seven years since Nao and Yukari Tamura, and the first in two years since Aoi Koga, respectively.


The return of the mascot fairies-turned-Cures trope in the global action magical girl show’s Reiwa production era is very unprecedented and predictable as well as for the first time in 16 years of the midseason one, there are no sign of leaks circulating on the internet like the others, and so the guys at Toei Animation surprised us with those two gorgeous official arts of Zukyoon and Kiss which posted on May 30, 2025, two days before their pre-debut.


The two slayed and braved fluffy divas’ birthdays will be on October 9 and December 7 respectively.


In an interview with the Japanese otaku media site Animate Times, Nanjo and Hanai have shared their own thoughts and experiences of being part of a long running show like Pretty Cure with the former says that she was surprised, happy and pressured all at once. While the latter answers that she couldn’t believe that she got the job and her mind went blank.


“It felt like I was being handed the baton [pass message] that everyone who had been involved in the work up until now had cherished, and it was also the moment when I resolved to spend this year cherishing it with Purirun and Zukyoon, the cast and the You and Idol Pretty Cure [production] team,” Nanjo said.


“It was a very strange feeling to be able to be involved with Pretty Cure, which I had been watching and admiring since I was little. At the same time, I was of course happy that I could become a part of Pretty Cure, which had been my dream and goal, and I felt a sense of responsibility...!!” said Hanai, who’s also a longtime Cure fan.


The two seiyuus are also commented about their characters’ charms and recommended points, among other things as well.


Zukyoon and Kiss’ henshin sequence has been revealed on the current season’s 19th episode aired on Father’s Day, June 15, marking the first time to do so since Macherie and Amour. Also, we’re finally getting a short glimpse of Purirun and Meroron’s human forms in it, both animated by Nishiki Itaoka, with the latter being designed by the season’s character designer Miho Sugimoto. However, the celebratory official debut has been overshadowed by a gut wrenching scene when Uta Sakura aka Cure Idol (voiced by Misato Matsuoka) is shockingly learned that her beloved Purirun has lost her memories due to the after effects of the aforementioned forbidden item, as well as her wish to protect the said Cure leader at the cost of becoming a hero and turning her ribbon into gray, at the end of the episode.


Truly, what the hell just happened?! What do think about Cures Zukyoon and Kiss so far? Let us know in our comments here or on our socials.


ADDENDUM: We’re apologize for not posting new content on our blog due to numerous commitments for the first half of 2025, but we’ll be doing our best to make it active as possible, especially we have the upcoming Yona Kuromatoki’s Interactive Podcast Fan Favorite Awards 2025 and the Yona Kuromatoki Platform Top Cosplays Rank: The Philippines Cosplay Community and Industry Silver Anniversary Edition in December, with the usual voting period that’ll start by the late October.


In addition to these, we’re gonna do The Goddess’ Playlist segment posts and interviews with fella geeks again for this year, so keep on eyes out on them in the coming days.

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Fan Favorite Awards 2024 x #YKPlatform10th Top Cosplays Rank Winners


It's the time of the year again for Yona's Blog in the Yuletide season because here are the winners for the Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Fan Favorite Awards 2024 and the #YKPlatform10th Top Cosplays Rank!

But first, here are the list of winners for the Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Fan Favorite Awards 2024:

Favorite Episode

1. "The Power of JaneNella 2.0: Electric Bonggaloo" - 28.6% (Winner)

2. "Pyonderful to You~! Satoru and Daifuku Toyama Appreciation!" - 25.7%

3. "United By Music, Now, Then and Forever! The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 Commentary" - 11.4%

Tie for 3rd Place: "Everyone's Friends! Wan, Wan, Wonderful! The Wonderful Pretty Cure! First Impressions" - 11.4%


Favorite Guest

1. Nightcat - 28.6% (Winner)

2. ThatOneLucarioFan - 17.1% (1st Runner-Up)

3. Yokio - 14.3% (2nd Runner-Up)

4. Mimi Arañez - 11.4% (3rd Runner-Up)

5. Dorian Gray - 8.6% (4th Runner-Up)


Favorite New Guest

1. Mimi Arañez - 25.7% (Winner)

2. Len - 17.1% (1st Runner-Up)

3. Yokio and Marco_G99 - 14.3% (Tie for 2nd Runner-Up)

4. ThatOneLucarioFan - 8.6% (4th Runner-Up)


And now, the moment that we all have been waiting for... the full and official tally for the #YKPlatform10th Top Cosplays Rank!






Thank you so much for voting and congratulations to all the winners and the participants of the two awards! You guys are all deserve the blessings received for 2024!

On behalf of this blog, I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and an idolish 2025! Till the next YKIP Fan Favorite Awards and the YK Platform Top Cosplays Rank, lads!









Friday, October 25, 2024

#YKPlatform10th Top Cosplays and Yona Kuromatoki’s Interactive Podcast Fan Favorite Awards 2024

Hallo again, YKPers! I apologize once more for not posting new content on the blog because of various ganaps for the past five months. But now we’re so back again and again, so it’s about time for the coolest events of the year - the Yona Kuromatoki’s Interactive Podcast Fan Favorite Awards 2024 and the #YKPlatform10th Top Cosplays Special Awards!


For the first time in seven years, we’re gonna bring back the top cosplays rank to celebrate the platform’s tenth anniversary and after a few weeks of deliberation, we internally select 15 characters that mark both its first ten years of existence and my first 15 years of cosplaying. But before revealing who’s who, the YKIP Fan Favorite Awards this year will consist of the first 11 episodes of and guests featured in Yona Kuromatoki’s Interactive Podcast 4F and what’s more, we have a new addition that is the Favorite New Guest category. Without further ado, here are the list of nominees for the three categories for the award!


Favorite Episode


1. “Honey Flash! A Golden Fiesta for Cutie Honey!”

2. “In Fiercely Full Bloom! Power of Hope ~PreCure Full Bloom~ Impressions”

3. “Soarly Fly Together!!!!! The Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure Overall Impressions”

4. “The Power of JaneNella 2.0: Electric Bonggaloo”

5. “Everyone’s Friends! Wan, Wan, Wonderful! The Wonderful Pretty Cure! First Impressions”

6. “United by Music, Now, Then and Forever! The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 Commentary”

7. “Queers and the Challenges of Society”

8. “Ready? Game Start! Road to Wonderful Pretty Cure! The Movie!

9. “Gearin’ Up with the Gearsoul Productions Fam!”

10. “Cosplay, Politics and Society”

11. “Pyonderful to You~! Satoru and Daifuku Toyama Appreciation!”


Favorite Guest


1. Marco_G99

2. Cure Chronos

3. Dandy Basil

4. Dorian Gray

5. Yokio 

6. Nightcat 

7. Len

8. Alf aka Mita Futaba 

9. Mimi Arañez

10. ThatOneLucarioFan


Favorite New Guest


1. Marco_G99

2. Cure Chronos

3. Dandy Basil

4. Dorian Gray

5. Yokio 

6. Len

7. Alf aka Mita Futaba 

8. Mimi Arañez

9. ThatOneLucarioFan


And now, the moment that we’ve all been waiting for… Here the 15 cosplays that mark both my first 15 years of cosplaying and the first ten years of the YK Platform who’re battling for the top spot!


1. Shana (Shakugan no Shana, first debuted in 2009)

2. Hayate Ayasaki (Hayate the Combat Butler!, first debuted in 2013)

3. Seiji Sagara (Happiness Charge Pretty Cure!, first debuted in 2014)

4. Yui Nanase (Go! Princess Pretty Cure, first debuted in 2015)

5. Reina Kousaka (Hibike! Euphonium, first debuted in 2017)

6. Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High School Club, first debuted in 2017)

7. Kobayashi (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, first debuted in 2017)

8. Pikario/Rio Kuroki/Cure Waffles (KiraKira Pretty Cure A La Mode, first debuted in 2018)

9. 13th Doctor (Doctor Who, first debuted in 2018)

10. Emiru Aisaki/Cure Macherie (HUGtto! Pretty Cure, first debuted in 2022)

11. Hizuru Minakata (Summer Time Rendering, first debuted in 2023)

12. Takumi Shinada/Black Pepper (Delicious Party Pretty Cure, first debuted in 2023)

13. Evangeline Burton (Birdie Wing ~Golf Girls’ Story~, first debuted in 2023)

14. Ellee/Cure Majesty (Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure, first debuted in 2024)

15. Satoru Toyama (Wonderful Pretty Cure!, first debuted in 2024)


To vote for both awards, we’ll open the Google Forms for YKIPFFA 2024 and #YKPlatform10th Top Cosplays within before Halloween or after the Undas break so please watch out. Also, get your gadgets ready because the four highest number of votes in these two online polls will be crowned for all four categories. As with last year, the voting will end on December 15 and the winners will be revealed on Xmas Day, December 25, on the blog.


May among the coolest chaps and the episodes mentioned take the four grand tokens, so we wish them the best of luck!


Update: The YKIPFFA 2024 and #YKPlatform10th Top Cosplays Rank online votings are now out on Google Forms, so please go to these webpages and start voting!


Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Fan Favorite Awards 2024 Online Voting

#YKPlatform10th Top Cosplays Rank Online Voting

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Under Parallel Skies Spoiler-Free Review



A one liner that we can describe the movie: Uuuugh deym feels yow!!! 😭

Feels and jokes aside, the combination of Win Metawin and Janella Salvador is easily knocking on the park with their respective acting skills and flexing some basic words in their respective native languages, and it's just wonderful (pun unintended)!

Besides this, spending a short time with someone they love is a painful to see, so yeah it totally hurts if you ask me. The lesson here that we should make the most of the time by hanging them out while they're still alive because we really don't know about when their time on this planet will be ended, especially to our parents and pets. Also, don't you guys dare wait for them for too long like weeks, months or years coz time is constantly changing as we grow older.

Under Parallel Skies is one of the examples on crossing cultures and uniqueness between the Philippines and Thailand, a rare occurence that has not seen since the Erich Gonzales-Mario Maurer movie Suddenly It's Magic more than a decade ago, moresoever with the rise of another unexpected but very phenomenal duo in the form of Michelle Dee and Anntonia Porsild aka PorDee as well as the love for AKB48 and Japanese idols with MNL48 and BNK48 in the recent years.

Despite the respective sociopolitical issues that the two ASEAN countries face until today, their relationship has singlehandedly gave another new meaning - transcending diversity and sharing cultures with happiness, peace, understanding and love with one another even coming from the other side of the fence.
 

Sunday, March 31, 2024

The Goddess' Playlist: Fighter by Tali Golergant (Eurovision 2024 Entry for Luxembourg and Yona Kuromatoki Platform 10th Anniversary Song)

 

Single version cover


After a two-year hiatus, The Goddess' Playlist segment in this blog makes a wonderfully triumphant comeback, and yes we're so back to do impressions on our all time favorite songs, this time we go Eurovision with "Fighter" by the Israeli-Luxembourgish singer-songwriter Tali Golergant!

The first Luxembourgish Eurovision song in 31 years and also the first since the country's last participation in 1993 (of course it's my birth year, as said during the recent YKIP Live), it was released on January 9, 2024 under Bel Air Records, and composed by Dario Faini aka Dardust, who is also handling the music for another Eurovision 2024 song, "La noia" by Angelina Mango for Italy, and notable for doing the same with Mahmood's "Soldi" in 2019, together with Ana Zimmer and Manon Romiti, while the lyrics were written by the latter two and Silvio Lisbonne. The revamped version on the other hand was released on March 29, 2024 under the same label and Jo&Co. 

The song was competed in the inaugural Luxembourg Song Contest on January 27, 2024 and won the right to represent the Grand Duchy in Eurovision over the runner-up "Drowning in the Rain" by Krick by 13 points as well as six other finalists. In the super final of the national selection show, Golergant had received 94 points from the juries and 84 points from the televoters for a combined total of 178 points.



Eurovision version cover

According to Golergant, she states in interviews that the song is about how humans suffer, and how people persevere through suffering, in which the singer is used as an example of living in New York City and going through series of rejections within the music industry. It is indeed in the first stanza that the singer has struggled to get a break in the big city in her 20s, the age bracket where most people often go to parties and spend their money on lavish things.

On the Overthinking Eurovision YouTube channel's interpretation of the song meanwhile, the first refrain part has the word "siren" in it because sirens are monsters that lure sailors by seducting them with their voices to impending doom. Therefore in the aforementioned, the little siren voice wants the singer to come and take its hand towards an excited yet risky path of the industry she gets used to before going to the chorus, which is in English. In it, there is an inner cheerleader who encourages the singer to keep going as a fighter until it suddenly goes away from its outer counterpart.

Speaking of which, Fighter is a song of self-doubt in French with an assurance of self-confidence in English and we love it very much whether in either version. I mean, it has catchy beats with a powerful meaning of perserverance, determination and overcome trials as humans! Definitely a top ten on my bucket list for this Eurovision season.



Yona Kuromatoki Platform 10th Anniversary version cover. From left: Cure Sky (Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure), yours truly as Seiji Sagara (Happiness Charge Pretty Cure! aka the first cosplay featured in the platform) and Cure Wonderful (Wonderful Pretty Cure!)

As mentioned in the blog's previous post, the song becomes the Yona Kuromatoki Platform's 10th anniversary song, the second non-English to do so after MNL48's "First Rabbit" aka the fifth anniversary song of the platform, then known as the Yona Kuromatoki Cosplay Page, and it is also the first time to specially feature not only yours truly but two groundbreaking Pretty Cure leaders, Cures Sky and Wonderful, although neither the former nor the latter are written specifically for themselves too like Golergant.

In the anniversary version, the first stanza is now interpreted as myself still getting adjustments on adulthood and juggled with the hobbies I still have, while also being recently lost a mother and about to receive my downfall. Then, a siren voice calls me to come and bring to something that is adventurous but also risky before moving on to the chorus. Its self-focused version has the said siren voice, aka my inner self, wanting to keep me going and knowing that I'm a fighter because of my never give up spirit until I go crazy and don't know what to do after the voice itself leaves far away from me.

Meanwhile the second stanza, usually refers to the singer's complications on deciding her path and fight to conquer the world stage, is transformed into Komugi Inukai being a dog that distrusts and hesitates in mind, and Sora Harewataru's ambitious aspiration to become a hero of all worlds. The siren voice in the second refrain now refers to Iroha Inukai and Mashiro Nijigaoka in inner forms telling the two Cure leaders to come and go towards their respective destinies that are unstoppable, as both pairs have done the same yet in different ways in their own Cure seasons.

If my self-focused version of the chorus is about my inner self cheering me to keep going, the second focused one refers to the inner Iroha encouraging Komugi to come to her and never let the latter down because the "older" Inukai knows her fursister is a fighter. The inner Mashiron, on the other hand, notices that Soracchi's heart is holding the love around everyone and she knows she's basically one, a hero as in. Then, the two leaders are going wild to grab everything and nothing at the same time like two girls that are crazily wandering in the outskirts after questioning on the whereabouts of their inner formed partners from afar.

But the bridge part is kinda complicated because it may also be refer to me or either of the two Cure leaders. Nevertheless, it also interprets as the three of us just wanting to open our hearts by resonating the sound of our dreams and not our own fears to everyone, and that's truly meaningful.

Finally, the last chorus states that my inner version, and the ones of Iroha and Mashiron are started to fade away, much like Golergant's, before returning to our heads (well I'm sure that both secondary Cures won't be affected by that crazy inner mindness lols) and go crazy like wild beasts that are nothing to do but on a rampage.

Of course, Fighter is different from First Rabbit in terms of the language, genre and musical styles, but the message is clear for both songs: keep going, never stop to reach our dreams and fight for what we believe in even if we endure so much pain and suffering. Truly remarkable celebratories for the Yona Kuromatoki Platform!

Whether either interpretation of the song may be, then it's up to you. But both interpretations are cool as heck and way beyond our twinkle imaginations. Anyways, I wish the best of luck to Golergant at Eurovision and yesh, keep slaying!

What is your own interpretation of Golergant's Fighter? Let us know in the comments section below, on our Facebook page, X, Instagram or Threads accounts. Till the next Goddess' Playlist, lads and vadengs!