Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Fan Favorite Episode and Guest Awards 2023 Winners and Honorable Mentions

 

Hallo everyone! I apologize again for not posting new content on my blog due to work and engaging in various ganaps for the past two months, as well as being busy for the Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Year-End Special 2023. But we're back to business once again coz, thanks to your votes, we'll reveal the winners, and some honorable mentions, for the first Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Fan Favorite Episode and Guest Awards!

Favorite Season One Episode (Note: Bold letters state the winner of the category)

1. "Yona's Random Rambles 2021" - 33.3%
2. "RIVER by MNL48 Fan Commentary and Impressions" - 33.3% (tied for first place)
3. "Why Do We Love Cure Grace?" - 16.7%
4. "Mid-Season Pretty Cures Look Backs! Road to Cure La Mer Part 1" - 16.7% (tied for second place)

Honorable Mentions

• "Yona's Doctor Who Fan Experiences So Far"
• "20/20 Vision! Up~on the Graceful Future! The Yona Kuromatoki Year-End Special 2020 Part 1"
• "#HealinGoodSakalam! The Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Tribute to Healin' Good Pretty Cure Part 4: The Woman Who Chimed to Earth
• "Girls Can Be Heroes Too!"
• "#HealinGoodSakalam! The Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Tribute to Healin' Good Pretty Cure Part 1: Our Amazing Grace"

Favorite Season Two Episode

1. "365 Araw ng YKIP x Sayonara Thirteen: The Prelude - Road to Regeneration" - 33.3%
2. "The Thasmin Effect on Queer Culture" - 16.7%
3. "#YonaXXIX and A Decade of Symphogear" - 16.7% (tied for second place)
4. "Doctor Who, Leni Robredo and the Negastar Army" - 16.7% (tied for second place)
5. "YKIP All Axezz Chapter Zero: Tropical Flux! PTAA Travel Trade Expo 2021!" - 16.7% (tied for second place)

Honorable Mentions

• "Trese and the Filipino Geek Culture"
• "1, 2 Kuru Jump~! The Mewkledreamy Talks!"
• "Cures Summer and La Mer Appreciation"
• "Red and Blue Oceans in Modern Society"
• "Anong Gentle, Gentle?! It's Cure Finale!!"

Favorite Part 3.0 Episode

1. "It's Krejza! It's Majestic! Thoughts on Our 78th Main Pretty Cure Hero!" - 16.7%
2. "The Power of JaneNella" - 16.7% (tied for first place)
3. "Is Bad Publicity Still Publicity?" - 16.7%
4. "Sayonara Thirteen! The Power of the Doctor Commentary" - 16.7% (tied for second place)
5. "What the Hell is the Eurovision Song Contest?!" - 16.7%
6. "Five Glorious Years of MNL48" - 16.7% (tied for third place)

Honorable Mentions

• "The Golf Gals and the Space Mecha Gals"
• "Fukkatsu! The Road to Pretty Cure All Stars F!"
• "Let Our Precious Moments Lead!! The Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Year-End Special 2022"
• "#PreCure20th Specials Part Two: The Party Goes On Forever! Our Delicious Party♡Pretty Cure Impressions and Commentary!"
• "Six Decades of Adventure in Space and Time"

Favorite Recurring Guest

1. Christian Quilala
2. Andrea "Drei" Labastilla (tied for first place)
3. Jackson "Blazeix" Jordan
4. Nathaniel Vergara (tied for second place)

Favorite Season One and Two Guest

1. The Roaming Historyador - 33.3%
2. Dina aka Raspberry Cremé - 33.3% (tied for first place)
3. Christian Quilala - 16.7%
4. DregenScarletBloom - 16.7% (tied for second place)

Honorable Mentions

• Jay Agonoy
• Nightcat
• Usapang Cosplay Podcast
• Jackson "Blazeix" Jordan
• Charlie aka sheregenerated

Favorite Part 3.0 Guest

1. Philip Miguel Garcia - 33.3%
2. Leigh Craddock - 16.7%
3. JG Ramos - 16.7% (tied for second place)
4. NeraTheodore - 16.7%
5. David Seery - 16.7% (tied for third place)

Honorable Mentions

• Louie Aguinaldo
• Jernard aka Bern Bear
• ElectricAura
• Andrea "Drei" Labastilla

Congratulations to the first set of winners for the YKIP Favorite Episode and Guest Awards despite some tie-breaks! Your contribution and efforts to the podcast won't be wasted and useless, and you also made it more interesting throughout its three-year run. You guys are very welcome to come back to this silly but amazing podcast show and hoping to hear you all again in the future episodes.

Again, shout out to those who are voted for their favorites and thank you for spending your time to do it!

See ya all at the Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Fan Favorite Episode and Guest Awards 2024, and we will wish you a very soaring sky Christmas and a wonderful new year, YKIPers!

It's Krejza! It's Majestic! Introducing Cure Majesty!

On September 3 and 10, 2023, fans of the Pretty Cure series from all over the planet have been witnessed the birth of the fifth Hirogaru Sky Pretty Cure that is Ellee, the Sky Land princess who is also known as the Child of Destiny, transforming into Cure Majesty for the first time.

Following these two weeks of surprised excitement and anticipation, Aoi Koga (Shouko Komi in Komi Can't Communicate, Ange Le Carre in Princess Principal, Kaguya Shinomiya in Kaguya-sama: Love is War and Yuri Miyata in Two Car) has already been taking over from Ai Kayano, the woman who played Amane Kasai aka Cure Finale in the global action magical superhero show's previous season Delicious Party, as the fourth exclusive additional and the first late season Cure in the Reiwa era, and also the first since Ako Shirabe aka Cure Muse. Despite these slight changes, Ellee's birthday will still be on March 12.

Continuing the current season's groundbreaking trends as with her teammates-slash-surrogate family, Ellee is also the youngest canonically main Cure and the first mascot-turned-Cure who doesn't automatically default to a human form around the same age as the heroes.

In an interview from Anehime, Koga expresses her reason of becoming a voice actor through the franchise, and wanting to be part of it and its expanding history since childhood.

"As a child back then, I admired Futari wa PreCure, and after wanting to become a voice actor, I said to myself, 'I want to be in the PreCure series someday!', 'I want to become a Pretty Cure someday!' became my dream and goal.

That's why PreCure is a dream, a goal, and an admiration! Even now that I get to play the role of Cure Majesty, my feelings of admiration haven't changed, and I want to cherish this feeling."

The seiyuu also stresses about the stereotypes at the time of the first Cure season's airing, but then she said that with the season, it's okay for girls to be cool, refreshing to see fighting through it and it was also cool to see them working hard for their loved ones and friends.

Koga also said that her favorite Cure is Nagisa Misumi aka Cure Black, the first hero and leader, due to being lively and has a strength that makes everyone want to follow her naturally, and the coolness that makes decisions to which she admires. She even learned about lacrosse because of Nagisa and the latter was the key to steadily overcome her shyness as a kid.

What do you think about Aoi Koga as Ellee and Cure Majesty? What are your thoughts about the mythical hero so far? Let us know in the comments section on the blog, and our FB page, our Instagram and the Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast X accounts.

Interview source: https://cocreco.kodansha.co.jp/anehime/news/interview/HAOLN

Videos With the Highest Number of Views on the Yona Kuromatoki YouTube Channel

 

Happy new year and welcome to the Year of the First Rabbit, everyone! To kickoff my year-long 30th birth anniversary and the other celebratories that share with it, here are the videos with the highest number of views on my YouTube channel as of this writing:

1. Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Season Two Episode 11: The Thasmin Effect on Queer Culture - 411 views

2. #YKCovers: Pretty Cure Memory ~New Stage 3 Ver.~ - 277 views

3. Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast: All Axezz Chapter 3: Larong Atin Launch Event with MNL48 Team Padayon - 114 views

4. Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Season Two Episode 2: Cures Summer and La Mer Appreciation - 87 views

5. Karaoke Contest Performance of "Hajimari no BABEL" (Senki Zesshou Symphogear) from AniCon July 2022 Day 1 - 82 views

6. Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Season Two Episode 12: Anong Gentle, Gentle?! It's Cure Finale!! - 66 views

7. Karaoke Contest Performance of "Nakayoshi no Uta" (Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure) from Ozine Fest 2022 Day 2 - 55 views

8. Karaoke Contest Performance of "Hot Springs" (Healin' Good♡Pretty Cure) from Otaku Expo Tanabata Festival 2022 Day 2 - 42 views

Noticed that the majority on the list are all from Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast Season Two, which ended last August 16, 2022 and was succeeded by the currently ongoing Part 3.0 season, and the rest are my karaoke contest performances on both online and onsite. Chapter 3 of All Axezz on the other hand is the only content with this distinction for the entire sub-segment on the platform.

Which of my YouTube videos is your favorite and why? Comment down below, on my FB page or my Twitter @goddessyk13.

Insights From a Goddess (and Mates): A Geek's Impressions About Being a Pretty Cure Fan and Amane Kasai/Cure Finale

The Insights From a Goddess (and Mates) segment of this blog makes a delicious smiled return after almost two years and to commemorate its comeback, I was stumbling to a geek that I just met during ToyCon PH 2022 day 3 and he's actually also a fan of the Pretty Cure series since Star Twinkle! Moreover, he quickly recognized my newly-debuted Cure Macherie cosplay and I got his approval to take some selfies that day. 

Introducing Limuel Oco, the dude who is quickly included into the small yet very delighted Cure fan community in the Philippines and wanting to share his own experiences as a fan as well as his impressions about the newest midseason Cure heroine, Amane Kasai aka Cure Finale from Delicious Party. 

Yona's Blog: How did you get into the Pretty Cure series? 

Limuel Oco: I got into the Pretty Cure series when I saw a clip from Star Twinkle☆PreCure that they are transforming, it finds me more interesting since they are singing while becoming Cures and it looks fun! 

YB: What was the first season that you've watched regularly? 

LO: The first season that I've watched was Star Twinkle. 

YB: Kirayaba (Twincool)~~!! 

YB: What is your favorite season and why? 

LO: Star Twinkle, likewise. 

YB: Do you have a favorite Cure from each season? 

LO: Yes. 

• Nagisa Misumi aka Cure Black (Futari wa and Max Heart)

• Mai Mishou aka Cure Egret and Windy (Splash Star)

• Milk/Kurumi Mimino aka Milky Rose (Yes! 5 and Yes! 5 GoGo!)

• Setsuna Higashi aka Cure Passion (Fresh!)

• Yuri Tsukikage aka Cure Moonlight (HeartCatch!)

• Kanade Minamino aka Cure Rhythm (Suite)

• Miyuki Hoshizora aka Cure Happy (Smile!)

• Aguri Madoka aka Cure Ace (Doki Doki!)

• Iona Hikawa aka Cure Fortune (Happiness Charge!)

• Towa Akagi aka Cure Scarlet (Go! Princess)

• Ha-chan/Kotoha Hanami aka Cure Felice (Mahou Tsukai!)

• Aoi Tategami aka Cure Gelato (KiraKira☆A La Mode)

• Homare Kagayaki aka Cure Étoile (HUGtto!)

• Yuni aka Cure Cosmo (Star Twinkle)

• Asumi Fuurin aka Cure Earth (Healin' Good)

• Laura Apollodoros Hyginus La Mer aka Cure La Mer (Tropical-Rouge!)

• Amane Kasai aka Cure Finale (Delicious Party) 

YB: Wonderful choices! Who are your favorite main fairy mascot from each season? 

LO: Kururun (if applicable) from Tropical-Rouge! I find her cute even though that she can't speak, just she said her name. 

YB: Napaka-funny talaga si Kururun (Kururun is really funny) eh. 

LO: True. 

YB: Anyways, who is your favorite villain general (redeemed or not)? 

LO: My favorite villain general is Lock from Go! Princess PreCure. 

YB: Okay, how about your favorite main villain (redeemed or not)? 

LO: The Witch of Delays from Tropical-Rouge! 

YB: 'Yung backstory nila (Their backstory) with [the season's ancient heroine Aunete aka Cure] Oasis was so sad. 

LO: True ang sad nun, pero it also ended na nakakaiyak (it's so sad, but it also ended tearfully). 

YB: I mentioned sa podcast ko (Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast) that both the Witch and Oasis were similar kina [Manatsu Natsuumi aka Cure] Summer and La Mer yet in different ways (I mentioned in my podcast (Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast) that both the Witch and Oasis were similar to [Manatsu Natsuumi aka Cure] Summer and La Mer yet in different ways). 

LO: Ooohh I see! 

YB: Yeah. Tsaka the reason na na-delay n'ya was because gusto n'ya palang makipagkaibigan kay Oasis (And the reason why she delayed it was because she actually wanted to make friends with Oasis). Not knowing the latter had died so many years ago pa (already). 

LO: True, almost 100 years n'ya dinelay 'yung battle nila (she (the Witch) delayed their battle for almost 100 years). 

YB: Mm, yet at least nag-reunite sila (they're reunited) and nagsama na sila (they've been joined) into the heavens. 

LO: True. 

YB: That was why, from what I observed, gumawa ng memory wiping machine (the memory wiping machine was made) from a mermaid whose human friend had died due to short life span. So in short yes, semi-immortal ang mermaids/merfolks (mermaids/merfolks are semi-immortals). 

LO: True. 

YB: Anyways, let's move on sa (to the) next question! Do you collect various Cure merchandises? 

LO: Not yet but looking forward to, but right now I have PreCure Juu-Style dolls. The first one is Cure Star, then second is Cure Fontaine that I bought yesterday from ToyCon PH 2022. (BLOGGER'S NOTE: This online conversation was taped on July 11, 2022) 

YB: What is your initial impression on Amane Kasai? 

LO: I like her, but I expected that she is the midseason Cure. 

YB: As a baddie, what did you think of her as Gentle? 

LO: What I think her is as Gentle is she is a badass girl with a gentle heart for Recipepes. 

YB: We already learned her past about loving parfaits and meeting the Parfait Recipepe since childhood kasi, but after becoming a baddie everything has changed. However, as I did to some past midseason Cures that came before, I know that Amane isn't really bad at all. 

LO: True, she is not talaga (she is really not). 

YB: Seeing the Recipepe again alongside her made me so happy. 

LO: Yaaass!! 

YB: 'Yung regrets n'ya (her regrets) about what she has done reminds me of the almost same scenarios dati kina (before to) Passion, Beat and Scarlet. 

LO: Yes, me too. 

YB: What is your first impression about Amane as Finale? 

LO: Amazed because I didn't expect her design was so good. 

YB: Ako din (Me too)! Na-overjoy ako (I was overjoyed) that she overcomes 'yung doubts n'ya (her doubts). Well, enough with the overjoying stuff because we're down to the last three questions before I let you go. 

LO: Go! 

YB: What are the things you looking forward for our dear golden parfait girl and her friends in the coming episodes? 

LO: Getting to know more of her story and what she can offer as the new midseason Cure. 

YB: How does it feel that Ai Kayano is voicing a Cure? 

LO: To be honest I'm not familiar with the seiyuus. But I know that they are bringing our Pretty Cures to life, and giving them emotions and strengths to make more of the characters to be loved by the fans. 

YB: Last question before you really go, what are your fan messages to both Kayano and Amane/Finale? 

LO: My message will be good luck and you are slaying it from just one episode, and looking forward to see you more until the season finale! 

YB: Yay! But also no pun intended, anyways thank you for your time and you're always welcoming back to the blog, and probably we'd love to have you as a guest in Yona Kuromatoki's Interactive Podcast in the future! 

LO: Thanks for the info and looking forward to that! 

YB: Do you have social media accounts so that everyone can follow you? 

LO: I do have socmeds, but it's personal so I don't have any of them with PreCure/anime content. But I have another account that has my hobbies content. 

YB: What is your hobby account? 

LO: It's @toyluvzz21 on Instagram. 

YB: Again, thank you so much for the time in this blog! 

LO: You're welcome and thanks for the oppurtunity! 

YB: No problem!

Anong Gentle, Gentle?! Introducing Cure Finale!

 

In the dawning hours of June 30, 2022, which happens to be the birthday of Laura Apollodoros Hyginus La Mer aka Cure La Mer, Usagi Tsukino aka Sailor Moon and Chibi-Usa aka Sailor Chibi Moon as well as MNL48 member Dian Mercado and former member Alyssa Garcia, plus the not-so festive and kinda dully as hell inauguration of the highly controversial 17th Philippines president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., the identity of the fourth Delicious Party Pretty Cure has been revealed to the world by Toei Animation and it's none other than Amane Kasai, formerly the Bundoru Gang's food phantom thief Gentle, who was appeared at the beginning of the story. She is going to be transformed into Cure Finale starting from the current Pretty Cure season's 18th episode on July 10. Her birthday is revealed to be on November 24, a day after Doctor Who Day, and the birthdays of Madoka Kaguya aka Cure Selene from Star Twinkle and Scottish actress Michelle Gomez, who played the first female Master named Missy from the aforementioned sci-fi show.

With this announcement therefore, Ai Kayano (Darkness in KonoSuba, Hana Mutou in Captain Earth, Meiko "Menma" Honma in Anohana and Kirika Akatsuki in Senki Zesshou Symphogear) will be taking over from Rina Hidaka, the woman who played the aforementioned fighting mermaid queen in the global action magical girl show's previous season Tropical-Rouge!, as the newest midseason Cure heroine and making the third exclusive in the Reiwa era preceeding the former aforementioned and Suzuko Mimori, who played Asumi Fuurin aka Cure Earth in Healin' Good.

Amane will be the fifth redeemed midseason heroine after Fresh!'s Setsuna Higashi aka Cure Passion (voiced by Yuka Komatsu), Suite's Ellen Kurokawa aka Cure Beat (voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi), Go! Princess' Towa Akagi aka Cure Scarlet (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro) and HUGtto!'s Ruru Amour aka Cure Amour (voiced by Yukari Tamura), and the very first from planet Earth. However, she is also the first midseason Cure from the planet since HUGtto!'s Emiru Aisaki (voiced by Nao Tamura) in 2019 and the fourth to have a sibling (in this case, twin brothers) after HeartCatch!'s Itsuki Myoudouin aka Cure Sunshine (voiced by Houko Kuwashima), Happiness Charge!'s Iona Hikawa aka Cure Fortune (voiced by Haruka Tomatsu) and the latter aforementioned. 

In the Cure series' official YouTube channel, Kayano takes on some delicious smiled questions during a video interview that is posted there. 

Q. "How did you feel when you were chosen to play the role of PreCure?" 

Kayano: At first, I was feeling happy slowly, but it hadn't hit me yet, vaguely thinking, "I'm going to play the role now, I'm going to be a part of this family." When I met with the cast and staff and heard their passion for PreCure, I felt more and more like, "This is real!" Amane (who transforms into PreCure after the Phantom Thief Gentle) has a lot of emotional turmoil, so the staff asked me to play that part of her well, and I felt a lot of pressure. But I was very happy to be entrusted with such a role, and I looked forward to receiving the script every week. I also felt that everyone on the staff was supporting me as much as possible, so I have participated in the recording session every week with the hope of responding to their wishes. 

Q. "What is the appeal of the PreCure series?" 

Kayano: Each PreCure series has a strong theme, and I feel a passionate desire "to convey this to children." I think that the charm of the PreCure series lies in the fact that all the staff members share the same passion and are working hard in the same direction. I feel like my heart is ignited by that passion, and I think that "Delicious Party Pretty Cure" in particular is filled with "warm hearts" (on the production site as well). When I was chosen to play Amane-chan, a friend contacted me. A mother with a young child said to me, "You're going to be in PreCure!" I was so happy to hear that. I felt that "PreCure" is a work that is watched by so many people, even people who don't usually watch anime, and it made me feel like I had to work even harder. I want to to love Amane Kasai/Cure Finale myself, and I hope that everyone will love her too. 

Q. "What is the most important meal for you?" 

Kayano: It must be "mother's food." I wouldn't trade it for anything. Ever since I was a child, the "winning meal" in the Kayano family was always "green pepper stuffed with meat." And, what surprised me when I read the scenario of a little future episode this time was the appearance of "Fruit Punch with Shiratama (rice cake ball)" in the story. I felt it was my destiny because I used to make "Fruit Punch with Shiratama" with my mother when I was a child. On a special day, I was eating it, so I felt I had something in common with Amane-chan. I want to make it again, and on special occasions, I think I will be a little selfish to ask my mother to make it for me (laughs). "Delicious" is something important that can be expanded upon. I hope that "Delicious Party Pretty Cure" will provide more opportunities for everyone to enjoy "delicious." 

As always like all the midseason Cure seiyuus that came before, I'm super excited for Kayano to take on the iconic Pretty Cure heroine role and she'll be nailed it as well. I'm also looking forward to see Amane-tan in action as Finale and what things are in store. 

What do you think about Amane-tan as the newest midseason Cure heroine? Are you excited to see her in action? Comment down below, on my Facebook page and Instagram @yonakuromatoki or my Twitter @goddessyona13. 

References:

https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2022/06/29-1/ai-kayano-is-confirmed-as-the-voice-of-cure-finale-in-delicious-party-pretty-cure?utm_source=community_cr&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=news_en&referrer=community_cr_twitter_news

https://youtu.be/oATQ8kNu4qs