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Iwasa Misaki (Wasamin) / 7th Generation

Discussion in 'AKB48 Graduated Members' started by haruna_hamasaki, Sep 2, 2009.

  1. Blu-Cherri

    Blu-Cherri Kenkyuusei

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    Thanks for the update! Glad the events are going well :D Also glad to know Doikatsu's name! I hope he had a good time in london :p I tried to start a conversation with him but utterly failed aha(I was standing next to him for both performances I saw). Btw even Wasamin jokingly suggested he be a little quieter(she did a cute shrinking gesture but giggled a bit) at the second performance when he called out before the performance started.
    So cute how excited she was about having fish and chips, listening to her radio show I found out that she ate the same meal that I had (at the table I gave up to her too). Glad I have such good taste :p

    Her outfit for the christmas event is so cute and beautiful oh my goodness <3
     
  2. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

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    Iwasa Misaki
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    Saba Kaido MV Preview!!!


    if the video does not show watch the video here
     
  3. hermionepj1

    hermionepj1 Member

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    as always a very beautiful video, wonder where it was shot.
    and i really like the song too, kinda like an italian tarantella.
     
  4. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

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    I've been lurking this thread for a while and just wanted to say thanks for providing such a detailed account of Wasamin's activities and your experiences.

    I'll be honest, I had no idea who Wasamin was for a long time (I only follow SKE) but thanks to this thread she's gained a fan (and probably many more). I hope you'll continue to keep it updated.
     
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  5. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

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    Iwasa Misaki
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    It was shot in Fukui, where the actual "Saba Kaido" exists. Like Tomonoura Bojou, the song's title is an actual historical place in Japan. Wasamin explains this every time she talks about the single. Saba Kaido, or Mackerel Highway, is the road fisherman would take to bring their catch from the Western port towns in Fukui over to Kyoto.

    I will talk a little about Wasamin's event at Sofmap when I have more time, but her new promotion is we now have a Nagara Pro point card, and with every 10 copies we order at her events we get a Wasamin pen. After 30 copies we get a Wasamin tote bag! So more wasa goodies. And they are continuing with the autographed bromides too.
     
  6. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

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    Saba Kaido Covers!

    news_xlarge_iwsamisaki_jkt201612_limited.jpg
    Limited Ver.

    news_xlarge_iwasamisaki_jkt201612_normal.jpg
    Normal Ver.
     
  7. soul.assassin

    soul.assassin Member

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  8. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

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    Iwasa Misaki
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    Upcoming for Wasamin,
    pre-order handshake event in Shinjuku this Friday
    Christmas Dinner Show in Tachikawa Saturday Night
    Sunday Mini-Live and Handshake Event in Osaka
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2017
  9. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

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    Iwasa Misaki
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    I'm not sure what's going on with Wasamin's radio show as I haven't found an updated episode in a couple weeks. I also haven't found her latest SHowroom on YouTube, thank heavens I got to watch it live the first time around. In the meantime...

    Iwasa Misaki Saba Kaido Preorder Handshake Event Report: Akiba Sofmap (2016/12/07) and Tower Shinjuku (2016/12/16)

    Everyone who reads this thread is aware that Wasamin's 6th single, Saba Kaido is due in stores on January 10th. Wasamin has been busy promoting the release. She kicked off the promotion in Akihabara last week with a performance at Sofmap. We were also informed of a new Wasagimmick for the new single....

    IMG_4184.JPG
    Wasamin Stamp Card!!!!!
    (oh, and underneath that is my Hatakeyama Chisaki Stamp Card XD)

    Yes, now I have two Wasamin cards in my wallet. My fan club card, and now my point card. So the gimmick is that with every single you preorder at an event you receive one stamp. If you fill one card you get a Wasa-pen. If you fill three cards you get a Wasa-tote bag. It remains to be seen if I will be able to fill out three cards as I noticed her release week schedule totally conflicts with my personal schedule. In fact, I may only be able to attend one of her events for the entire release week. So that's a bummer, but it can't be helped. Anyway...

    sofmap1.jpg

    The crowd of around 80 people was fairly raucous, after all it isn't often we get an evening performance from Wasamin. She hinted that she was going to sing Saba Kaido, but in the end faked us out. After Wasamin's performance I had two handshakes with her. For the first one I told her that I finally purchased her Happi Coat. The first thing she asked me was how it fit, and I exclaimed "Chiisai Desu!!!" I had told her previously that I hate when it says "free size" since that usually means it is going to be too small for me. Later I told her I was going to be buying my suit at Sakazen the next day. After giggling about the fact that I was going to Sakazen (which is Japan's version of a "Big and Tall" store) she said she was excited to see my suit.

    (BTW, I was glad to see that my size was one of the smallest they offer at Sakazen, LOL)

    After taking a trip down to Kagoshima last week, Wasamin held a handshake event in Shinjuku last night at Tower Records. Not a singing event, this was simply pre-order and handshake. I debated skipping this. But after seeing how many of her events I may have to miss I decided I should make an appearance. Anyway, what's more fun than playing with Wasamin on a Friday night?

    tower.jpg
    (Wasa tai-chi)

    Probably the funniest part of the evening was that Idol College was also doing an event at Tower at the same time, and on the same floor. So they had the Wasafans pushed back into a corner and the back stairwell since the Idol College fans had basically taken over most of the store. When I walked in the first thing I asked her manager was "Is this where I get Idol College tickets?" In fact, when Wasamin came out she was all interested in what was going on with the other event. I told her I had never seen or heard Idol College before. I also complimented her hat, which was the same one she wore on her Showroom appearance this week. Later on I described my suit to her and told her I couldn't wait for tomorrow night. I also mentioned that my birthday was a couple days ago, so she sang Happy Birthday to me. Thanks Wasamin!!!

    tower2.jpg

    So tonight is the first of her two Christmas Dinner Shows. Tonight she will be performing with Sasaki Isao and Hayabusa. Sasaki Isao is a famous voice actor and singer, known for singing the themes to many Anime and Tokusatsu series. After that Wasamin will be jumping down to Osaka for a release event.
     
  10. Blu-Cherri

    Blu-Cherri Kenkyuusei

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    Oh my goodness I love that dress! It suits her so well, very amusing poses. :)
     
  11. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

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    Iwasa Misaki Christmas Dinner Show at Hotel Nikko Tachikawa (2016/12/17)
    (featuring Sasaki Isao and Hayabusa)

    xmas8.jpg


    This is an event I have been anticipating ever since it was announced. Well...this and her OTHER Christmas Dinner Show which is taking place Christmas Eve in Kanagawa. A lot of idols have done dinner shows, in fact Sasshi just did one a couple of weeks ago. And I thought Wasamin's was expensive? I think Sasshi's cost like double of what this show went for (22000 yen) I would also need to get a suit for the occasion, which I needed to buy anyway. There were actually TWO "Christmas Dinners" yesterday as there was also a matinee. However, I chose only to go to the evening show. They were expensive after all.

    The other "fun" is booking these events. NagaraPro is sort of "old fashioned" when it comes to their procedures. They hardly use the internet at all. Everything is done via postcard, bank transfer, telephone, fax. It has really made me step up my game when it comes to writing and communicating in Japanese. I mention this because this was one of the first events like this I handled on my own without any help from a Japanese native. I was afraid I might have screwed it up. But my ticket came in the mail, I got my suit, I was ready for the big night...

    xmas7.jpg

    Tachikawa is about 30 minutes from Shinjuku Station on the Chuo Special Express. I was running slightly late, but I made it to the hotel around 5 minutes after doors opened. After making it up to the third floor, I was directed to the ticket counter, just past a goods booth. Yes, Wasamin and Hayabusa would be holding handshake events after the show. They checked my ticket and escorted me down to Table A, which was right up against the stage. What a great spot! Although I noticed most of the Wasamin fans were at Table C. Eventually another Wasafan sat down next to me, so I was good to go. Next to me was a little old lady, who I think said she was somehow related to Wasamin? I'm not sure, but she DID have a Wasamin lightstick. The champagne flowed for about a half hour, then it was dinner time. Here was the menu....

    xmas11.jpg

    And here were the dishes...

    xmas2.jpg xmas3.jpg xmas4.jpg xmas5.jpg xmas6.jpg

    The Salmon appetizer was excellent. Pumpkin soup was nice, although I usually prefer something a bit saltier. Everything else was good. The funny thing was that they served Olive Oil with the Bread, but I was the only person at the table using it. Finally someone ask me if it was butter. I said no, it is olive oil! After that a few of them started eating it too. After dinner they served more drinks and coffee while there was a small break before the show.

    The show finally starts, and of course the MC immediately notices me up front and makes a big deal out of the foreigner in the room. Jeez, just leave me alone! I don't want to be part of the act! Anyway, Hayabusa and Wasamin came out and did a quick group song, before Wasamin left the stage for Hayabusa. The cool thing was all three of the performers actually walked around the room singing and shaking hands with the tables. Although with Hayabusa only one of the three members came over to our table. I felt kinda dissed by the other two. It was also about this time I noticed at the table next to me a woman who looked like the 40-something year old version of Mayuyu. She seemed to be a big Hayabusa fan.

    Eventually it was Wasamin's turn. I found it interesting that Wasamin came on AFTER Hayabusa. Actually, it is usually how they come out. So I guess in the grand scheme of senpai-kouhai relationships, Wasamin is Hayabusa's Senpai. Anyway, She opened with Hatsuzake, then proceeded to walk the floor while singing Blue Light Yokohama and Tokyo no Bus Girl. The funny thing was that she came by our table first, and even stared right into my eyes during the first line of the first song, but skipped shaking hands with me and the other Wasamin fan. It wasn't until the very end that she came back around to us. The real treat was her debut performance of Ishikari Banka, one of the B-sides from her upcoming single. She finished with Mujineki, and it was time for the headliner.

    I will be brief with Sasaki-san, but his set was a lot of fun. If you don't know who Sasaki Isao is he sings a lot of Anime and Tokusatsu theme songs, and he does the voices of many anime characters. He's been around for 55 years. He is very "Vegas-y", in fact half the songs he performed were hits by Elvis, Paul Anka, Sinatra, all Vegas Guys. I loved it. Finally he invited Hayabusa and Wasamin back onstage to finish the show. They all performed Silent Night. I was really excited watching Wasamin singing in duet with Sasaki-san. I mean he is such a legend in the business. It is neat to see her perform alongside such amazing people. Oh, and Wasamin's red Christmas dress was adorable...

    xmas9.jpg

    The show was over, but now there would be handshakes for anyone who bought CDs. I was bummed though, this was a perfect time to be doing 2-shots with all of her fans in suits, not to mention her outfit. But it was what it was. For my first handshake I told Wasamin that she looked hawt in her dress. She told me I looked "cool" in my suit. She also asked me if I enjoyed the food at dinner. I told her my favorite was the salmon. For the second handshake I was telling her that I also liked Isao-san's set. Just then she reaches for her phone and startes framing me with it, at first I was trying to figure out what she was doing. Was she taking my picture? At that point she asked me to start talking about Isao-san again. Oh, so she is recording a message for him to see. At that point I got all tongue tied. I wanted to say that he was singing songs my Dad really likes, but I didn't quite know how to say it in Japanese so it came out like I was saying my Dad was a fan of his. But I corrected myself and said the songs. I then said he was really good and I enjoyed his part of the show. The funny thing was, it ended up being like a one-minute handshake with all the recording.

    That was that, and we will do it all over again next weekend. Oh, and Wasamin recently scheduled a THIRD dinner show for February. Jeez, I have started calling her Wasa-thief, because she sure knows how to extract money from my wallet. There is also a Wasamin Bus Tour in February I need to reserve and pay for. Sheesh!

    EDIT: I forgot to mention that there was a fluent English-speaking server staffed at my table. I'm not sure if that was a coincidence or by design. But it if was planned, it was an EXTREMELY nice touch by the hotel. :1st: Although to be honest I am pretty much good enough at Japanese these days to be able to handle these situations without a crutch.
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2016
  12. Tsumu

    Tsumu Kenkyuusei Stage48 Donor

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    Excellent write-up! Thank you for sharing.

    That's a heart skipping moment right there. <3
     
  13. Madoka

    Madoka Kenkyuusei Stage48 Donor

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    Sorry if this is common knowledge...I read on TH that her new single, Saba Kaido, will be produced Akimoto Yasushi. I was surprised because I didn't think he had anything to do with the graduates (other than advice behind the scenes, so to speak). Is this common? Has he done this before with her or other graduates?
     
  14. Weezon

    Weezon Member Stage48 Donor

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    Cristafari, you really like wasamin do you?! Evenshe graduated u still updated to her events. :)
     
  15. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

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    Iwasa Misaki
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    Of course I do. And not only do I write updates of her events, I attend them. ;)

    I wouldn't say it is common knowledge, but I think someone may have asked this before. When Wasamin anounced that AkiP would be involved in her 6th single, she was really happy about it, like it wasn't expected. But iirc AkiP has been involved in graduate singles before. Maybe Maeda? I don't remember, but I don't think it is unprecedented. (Or is that unpresidented? :fp: ) Unfortunately most of my collection is in storage so I can't look at the CDs to figure it out. BTW, AkiP also produced Wasamin's recent album, which came out in November.

    I finally watched the DVD that came with Wasamin's album. The first part is her first five PVs, which is nice to have on one disc. The second part is an audio/visual commentary on the PVs by Wasamin and the PV director. So technically you are watching the PVs again, with Wasamin and the director in little bubbles at the top of the screen. I wasn't aware that the same guy has directed every one of her PVs. And I believe he also directs other NagaraPro artists' PVs as well. One of the recurring points of conversation was his knack for choosing incredible settings for filming. I have to agree, Wasamin's PVs are all beautifully shot.

    In between each PV and commentary is behind the scenes footage of Wasamin's album cover photoshoot. They also use some of the offshots from this photoshoot for the special bromides they give away at events.
     
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2016
  16. Blu-Cherri

    Blu-Cherri Kenkyuusei

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    When Wasamin performed with Hayabusa here she also performed after them.
    That dinner looks so nice and fancy! Surprised people were confused about the olive oil, guess that's not common in Japan? Thanks for the update as always.
     
  17. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

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    Iwasa Misaki Christmas Eve Dinner Show at The Wings, Ebina (2016/12/24)
    (featuring Yamakawa Yutaka)


    It has been a very special month for Wasamin and her fans. Three Christmas events, a new album, and of course promotion for her upcoming single. But before I get into Christmas dinner, let me quickly talk about...

    Iwasa Misaki Speical Christmas Mini-Live at Aeontown Narita-Misato (2016/12/25)

    So fresh off of our Christmas eve Wasa-hangover, we would be doing it all over again. Only this time we would be traveling over an hour in the opposite direction to Narita to celebrate Christmas day. This was a special Christmas mini-live, as they were featuring a special deal for multi-CD purchases. Per usual, if you bought a CD you would get handshake ticket. But if you bought both versions you could instead opt for a Shamekai ticket. You still got all the other bonuses (two bromides and two stamps in your Wasamin "frequent buyer" card) The other bonus was that Wasamin would be performing in two different Christmas cosplay outfits, and she looked adorable. In fact, once people saw the cosplay they preordered more CDs. Anyway, here is a sample. via my two shamekai...

    wasaxmas3.jpg
    I caught one of Santa's Reindeer. I think it is Cupid

    wasaxmas0.jpg
    Santa's Helpers

    Of course our conversation centered around how cute she looked in her cosplay. BTW, that's why my "heart" pose looks so goofy, we were actually doing "Doki Doki", so my hands were extending when it was shot. I also managed to give Wasamin her Christmas present, as well as a Christmas present for her manager. I thought that would be kind of a cool move. We also talked about Yamakawa-san's MC at the Christmas show the previous evening, where he stated how amazed he is with Wasamin, and compared himself when he was 21 and working at a conbini. I told her I agreed with Yutaka-san, and she told me she was really touched by what he said.

    As for the setlist, lately these days Wasamin has been singing mainly her singles, and songs from her new album. However today she tossed Koisuru Fortune Cookie - Enka ver. into the mix, which was refreshing since it had been a while since we heard her perform it. Anyway, I hope Wasamin's management took note as this promotion definitely seemed to inspire more CD purchases. It is really nothing off their back to offer Shamekai either, so hopefully they make this at least a semi-regular feature of this CD's promotion. Anyway, back to...

    wasaparty3.jpg

    The Dinner

    Let me begin by saying that I was really looking forward to this after the wonderful experience we all had at her Christmas Dinner show the previous weekend. Although this event was slightly less expensive than the one in Tachikawa, something told me that it would be just as nice, if not nicer since The Wings is set up mainly for occasions like these.

    wasaxmas4.jpg

    Ebina is about 45 minutes outside of Central Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture. I didn't want to wear the exact same outfit as last week, so I picked up a new shirt and tie at Aoki, right down the street from the Donki in Akihabara. I arrived a little early, got my seat assignment, and proceeded upstairs to wait for doors to open. In the meantime there was no queue at the Wasamin goods table, so I preordered a couple of singles and got two handshake tickets for after the event.

    wasaxmas9.jpg wasaxmas6.jpg

    Doors finally opened, at that point there were only like half a dozen people (all Wasafans) waiting. It looked beautiful, icy-blue lighting, with the entire staff positioned around the room greeting us as we walked in. I arrived at my table, there was a box placed in the center of my place-setting. The first thing I wanted to see was the drink menu, and this place had a full bar. (Tachikawa was mainly beer, wine and sparkling wine) They also had special drinks for the performers. The "Misaki" was fresh fruit floating in Ginger Ale. People who tried it liked it, but I was more interested in the alcoholic selections. I loved that their house sparkling wine contained gold-flake in it.

    wasaxmas26.jpg wasaxmas18.jpg

    Of the three starters, I loved the duck. The amber-jack with vegetables was very nice too. Not too sure about that crab/fishcake though. Not something I would order. Anyway, here are the rest of the dishes along with the menu.

    wasaxmas23.jpg wasaxmas25.jpg wasaxmas15.jpg wasaxmas17.jpg wasaxmas16.jpg wasaxmas14.jpg wasaxmas13.jpg wasaxmas12.jpg wasaxmas11.jpg

    Ebi Kitaaaaaa! There were two different Ebi dishes on the menu, including the soup. (At Tachikawa they did not serve any Ebi dish) They were probably my favorite dishes too. Unfortunately my steak was overcooked, but my friend Mayumi was full, so she gave me her perfectly cooked steak. She also tried to give me her Tiramisu, but I was was also full at that point, it was a 7-course meal! Anyway, I was full of food and booze, and ready for the show...

    wasaxmas7.jpg

    Wasamin's performance was pretty much exactly the same as in Tachikawa. She opened with Hatsuzake, then proceeded to walk the floor while singing Blue Light Yokohama and Tokyo no Bus Girl. However, she skipped singing Ishikari Banka and instead just ended with Mujineki. I figured her setlist would be longer since there were only two performers, but I was incorrect in that assumption.

    Soon after Yamakawa Yutaka took the stage. After the first song he did the most incredible MC, talking for a long time about how amazed he is with Wasamin. It was a really nice and heartfelt tribute, and you could tell Wasamin was touched since she came back onstage. Wasamin sang the next song with Yutaka-san providing guitar accompaniment. The funny thing was when he started walking around the room while singing. Wasamin fans are well trained not to overstep the rules when Wasamin performs, however Yutaka-san's fans were completely different. They would get up from their seats and take impromptu 2-shots with him. A couple of fans even brought out autograph boards for him to sign while he was singing! But the best was when he sang a song called "Keiko", and found three women in the audience named Keiko to sing it to. During the song these two Obasans sitting behind them kept grabbing his ass. After the song he thanked them too. So cool! Finally Wasamin returned to the stage in her cute red dinner dress to sing a duet of Silent Night. They ended with a prize giveaway of signboards and their house Sparkling wine, but unfortunately I didn't win. I was close though. I was ticket #331, #321 AND #341 both won. And that was the show.

    wasxmas.jpg wasaxmas2.jpg
    This was her outfit from the matinee

    The handshake event started immediately after the show. I was talking to Wasamin about the shrimp dishes, and how the Chinese-style Shrimp was my favorite. It is her favorite food after all. But all of the sudden she asks "But what about my dress, what do you think of my dress?", looking kind of dejected that I was focusing on the shrimp and not her. I told her she looked beautiful, and that she was "up here" (making a gesture with my hand) and Chinese-style Ebi is down here (using my other hand) "So you like it?" to which I responded that she is "delicious", a little running gag I have with her implying I want to "eat" her, which of course has a bit of a different meaning in Japanese. Anyway, it always gets a laugh from her. I also mentioned I had Christmas presents for she and Ishikawa-san, but I would bring them to Narita the next day.

    wasaparty2.jpg
    "The Rat Pack"

    Finally on our way out they were selling bottles of their Gold Sparkling Wine. It wasn't too expensive, they had a deal if you bought two, and it is almost New Years, so I picked up a couple of bottles.

    wasaxmas20.jpg

    Needless to say it was a wonderful Wasa-weekend. Wasamin isn't doing any public performance or promotion between now and the New Year, but she will get into full gear promoting her single beginning January 2nd, all the way through the 15th. So two weeks straight of Wasamin, although I cannot go to all of them. Actually, my wallet will be relieved to hear that.

    wasaxmas21.JPG

    P.S. and just in time for Christmas, my Wasamin Happi Coat arrived, so I am ready for the big concert next month.
     
    Last edited: Dec 26, 2016
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  18. nobodywil

    nobodywil Upcoming Girls

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    Nice photo.

    I may have to look out for this one, when I come back to Japan.
     
  19. Blu-Cherri

    Blu-Cherri Kenkyuusei

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    Thanks for the wasa-story as always :D
     
  20. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

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    Iwasa Misaki
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    Iwasa Misaki Saba Kaido Pre-release Week Update

    But before we get to that, let's see what we can find on YouTube. BTW, it seems like our main source for Wasamin's radio show has stopped uploading them. That's too bad, since she is still doing the show every week. Hopefully we will find another source, but until then, we are out of luck unless we can listen live. However....

    This was from a recent TV show, Wasamin did a "PV" of sorts of the song Blue Light Yokohama, from her Request Covers album. I believe this was on television a couple days ago...

    Video Removed :(


    After Wasamin's special Christmas Day Mini-Live she had a one week reprieve until she kicked off two straight weeks of promotion for her new single. The first event was Yamano Music's New Year's Song Concert in Ginza, from there she is doing a series of mini-live events in Tokyo, Chiba, Shizuoka, and Nagoya. Then during release week she will be performing in Tokyo, Saitama, Ishikawa, Nagoya, Osaka, before finishing up back in Western Tokyo. So it will be a busy two weeks. Hopefully it will result in a some nice sales numbers for the single. But Wasamin fans were indulged during that off week when we received the first edition of Misaki Magazine, along with a New Year's Card. Both were a nice surprise, and that magazine is nicely put together...

    IMG_4259.JPG IMG_4261.JPG IMG_4262.JPG IMG_4263.JPG IMG_4264.JPG IMG_4265.JPG IMG_4266.JPG IMG_4267.JPG IMG_4268.JPG

    Yamano Music (2017/01/02)
    This was Wasamin's first event of the year. However, it was not a solo event. She performed alongside Mizumori Kaori and Hayabusa, which made the show more difficult to win tickets for since we were competing with Mizumori and Hayabusa fans for tickets. They also performed a public live out in front of the shop in Ginza, which surely attracted a big crowd since Ginza was PACKED with shoppers all week. The reason I wanted to note this show was because Wasamin did her debut performance of Saba Kaido (which I missed!!!) Fans in attendance also received a Saba Kaido clear file. (Again, dammit!!!) Oh well, I will have another opportunity to get the clear file next week...

    Yoro-do, Asakusa (2017/01/03)
    Once again, Wasamin performing in the middle of the insanity that is Sensoji Temple during the New Year's holidays, so there were tons of people around.

    IMG_4245.JPG

    Setlist 13:00
    1. Mujineki
    2. Heavy Rotation (Enka Ver.)
    3. Kita no Hotaru (from the new album)
    4. Saba Kaido

    Setlist 15:00
    1. Hatsuzake
    2. Itako Hanayome-san (from the new album)
    3. Ishikari Banka (Saba Kaido B-side)
    4. Saba Kaido

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    One of the "special features" of the show, the shop owner's pulled out the old standing poster for Mujineki, which Wasamin had autographed five years ago, and stood it next to the Saba Kaido version so we could take photos of them. At one point Wasamin asked which version of her we liked better. Surprisingly, not everyone answered the same. I think I was the only one who answered "Both" For the handshake portion, I told Wasamin and her manager that I was sorry that I missed the public live the previous day, but nowhere were they clear on the time. As a result I came too late. It turned out the only place the time of the public live was mentioned was on the ticket for people who won. Anyway, both of them apologized for the mix up. We also talked about the intricacies of the hand motions Wasamin does during the song. It is quite idol-ish and cute, many of the fans have taken to mimicking the "hand dance" during the song, although most people merely clap. Anyway, when a video of the performance pops up online I will be sure to link it. For my last handshake we talked about Kouhaku, since she tweeted that she stayed home and watched it with her family. She said her favorite performance was Nogizaka46. I was like "Honto!?!?" I thought she would have said Mizumori, or one of the rock acts. Although she also said she really liked Fukuyama Masaharu, to which I wholeheartedly agreed.

    Onkyoku-do, Koiwa (2017/01/04)
    Another one of Wasamin's usual haunts. Like the Asakusa location, they give preferential seating to people who preorder the CD earlier. So if you preorder the day of the performance you aren't going to get a great seat. That said, I was able to grab an empty third row seat for the second performance.

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    13:00 Setlist
    1. Hatsuzake
    2. Blue Light Yokohama (from Request Covers)
    3. Tokyo no Bus Girl (from the new album)
    4. Saba Kaido

    15:00 Setlist
    1. Mujineki
    2. Ihoujin (Tomobojo b-side)
    3. Ishikari Banka (Saba Kaido b-side)
    4. Saba Kaido

    At one point during Wasamin's performance of Ihoujin it sounded like she was starting to lose her voice. A lot of people have been catching colds lately around here, so I was worried that she might be coming down with something. However, Wasamin was as feisty as usual during the MCs. At one point she noted that very few of us have been wearing our Happi Coats to the events. All of the sudden she sounded like she was getting upset. "Don't you guys like them???" "Why aren't you wearing them???" "Mizumori-san and Shimi-san's fans all wear theirs to their events!" Anyway, I apologized and promised her that I would finally wear mine the next day, which I would soon regret. Wasamin also talked about that photo she posted on twitter with her "younger sister", I guess a lot of people didn't realize that she had superimposed her face on to her sister's, so she got a lot of comments about her sister's looks. At first I was surprised about the photo since I have seen her younger sister on more than one occasion. And while they do look similar (they are definitely sisters), they don't look exactly alike!

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    I also got a small gift from one of Wasamin's fans, who was dress in a Yukata with cat prints all over it. He even wore cat ears. At one point Wasamin had all three of us doing the "Nyan Nyan" pose. Anyway, the gift was a postcard similar to the comic featured in Misaki Magazine Vol. 1. For the handshakes, aside from the discussion about the Happi coat, I also told Wasamin that I tried whale for the first time when she told me about the Kani she ate on New Year's

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    Wasafan party in Ueno after the Asakusa event.

    Shinseido, Kashiwa (2017/01/05)
    This is the location where Wasamin does her monthly "Challenge Campaign", and sings a song she has never covered before. I had asked her the previous day if that would still happen since she is promoting Saba Kaido, and she assured me we would hear a new song. So I was excited. Since a lot of people are still on holiday, she had a very big crowd. The problem was that it was very cold yesterday, and this show is in an open-ended shopping arcade. So the icy cold wind was whipping through the venue. It was actually colder than it was outside. However, I had made a promise. So I took off my jacket and put on my Happi coat, with only a t-short underneath. I would be freezing, but I didn't want to disappoint Wasamin. Most of the other fans were smart and ignored her lament from the previous day.

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    Setlist 13:00
    1. Gomen, ne Tokyo
    2. Hibari no Hana Uri Musume (originally recorded by Misora Hibari in 1951)
    3. Kita no Hotaru
    4. Saba Kaido

    Setlist 15:00
    1. Mujineki
    2. Hibari no Hana Uri Musume
    3. Gakusei Judai (from the new album)
    4. Saba Kaido

    The original version of Hibari no Hana Uri Musume...

    if the video does not show watch the video here

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    It was really cold. To nobody's surprise Wasamin came out in coat over her kimono to perform. Not only that, she did the handshake portion while wearing a big furry scarf around her neck. She looked very glamorous. In fact it led to one of the most daring handshakes I have ever had with Wasamin...

    So as I came up to her she immediately latched on to my Happi coat.
    W: You wore it!
    C: Yes, but I like what you are wearing.
    W: Do I look cute?
    C: You look beautiful, why don't we go to dinner together tonight?
    W: Are you asking me out on a date?
    C: (laughing)
    W: (turns to Ishikawa-san) Chris-san just asked me out on a date!

    Pretty funny. Anyway, Wasamin likes that type of stuff. A lot of fans still treat idols (and Wasamin) like they are children. Any they aren't, most of them are adults, or close to becoming an adult. It is important to her that her fans see her as a grown woman. You can see it in how she participates with the fans. She likes being thought of as more of a peer. So my "date proposal" was actually meant to be more of a compliment on how sophisticated she looked, rather than a real invitation. Although I'm not sure what I would have done if she had called my bluff.

    The rest of our handshakes were the usual chitchat. At one point we were talking about the prizes for her stamp card. Her manager actually had the tote bag, which was really cute. Wasamin drew the design, which is a bunch of fish. The other two possible prizes are a ball-point pen or a tumbler, but we haven't seen those yet. My guess is that the tumbler will look like the tote bag. I was originally told that the stamp card promotion would end today, but it turns out it is going until Tuesday. I have enough for the tote bag already, but I will try to score the pen as well.

    And there's your update. If you haven't already, please order her new CD! If you guys are interested, there are four different online promotions for her single, but you would need to use Tenso...

    Tower Online: Receive a Tower exclusive Saba Kaido poster with purchase (while supplies last) The poster is also available at certain Tower Records locations (Shinjuku and Shibuya in Tokyo)

    Rakuten/Yamano Music/WonderGoo: Receive a special DVD-R of off-shots from Wasamin's London appearance. Each shop has a different version.

    Happy shopping!
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2017

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