Iwasa Misaki (Wasamin) / 7th Generation

I was surprised. Your turn came up really early...


if the video does not show watch the video here

My turn came at 46:46. But I started interacting with her much earlier in the broadcast when someone (not David) wrote her a message in English which Wasamin struggled to read. (18:45) I commented that I want to send her a message in English too. (21:30) It became a recurring "gag" throughout the broadcast whenever I posted in the chat, and when she signed my CD. She would say she was waiting for my English messages. It happened a few times.

BTW, she has another Limista event today where she is signing some sort of signboard, and she will be doing another CD signing via Limista on the release date. There are a couple other release event/virtual mini-lives coming too, as well as some sort of lottery giveaway of goods at two CD shops in Ikebukuro and Osaka.

 

Wasamin's Limista release day CD sign event...


if the video does not show watch the video here

This event was a bit longer than the previous CD signing event last week. I herd quite a few names repeated on the back end, which probably means people were making last-minute purchases while the event was still going. (You could make purchases up until around 30 minutes into the event)

My turn came at 48:15. And as I promised her last week, I wrote her an English message. Well, it was a basic English message, stuff I knew she would understand. She seemed to get a big kick out of it. Actually, there were a few written English messages throughout the event. I'm guessing at least a couple of them were inspired by her invitation last week for people to write in English.

BTW, Akira debuted at 9th on the Oricon pop singles chart. Hopefully she can maintain that momentum for at least the first couple of days.

 

BTW, my packages from Limista arrived last week...



The autographed covers are not the full inner sleeve, they're just a card to put over the cover. But I guess I would've known that had I been paying close attention to the livestream.
No matter, they're still cool additions to my autographed Wasamin CDs. I still think it would be cool if they came up with an alternate cover for her to sign, like the special covers for Mujineki and Request Covers

 

Weekly single rankings...

Akira

Weekly Enka Chart #1
Weekly single chart #13
Units sold: 3,388

Congratulations Misaki-chan on your 10th consecutive #1 Enka single!!!

 

Iwasa Misaki 2022 Calendar Autograph Event (2021/12/05)

I was really looking forward to this event. At the same time, I was a bit nervous about it. When I made my purchase the Nagara Group website wouldn't take my credit card for some reason. I opted for the second option, which was to be invoiced my Yamato Transport. According to what I read, I was under the impression I would receive the invoice in a week, and have two weeks to pay it. However, no invoice came. I read my confirmation email more closely, and it described this feature more like a COD, which I found odd. So I went into this not knowing if I had successfully made the purchase or not...

There were two events, at 13:00 and at 18:00. I opted for the second event. Here are links to both...


if the video does not show watch the video here

if the video does not show watch the video here

So I was lounging around my house watching TV until I realized I forgot about the event. I quickly turned it on around 50 minutes in. I sent her a greeting, which she acknowledged. (54:00) A couple minutes later I posted a comment in the chat that I liked the calendar photos, to which she responded "Where are you Chris, are you still in Okegawa?" I didn't realize the significance of her comment at the time, and responded that I am indeed still in Okegawa. I watched the rest of the stream and didn't hear my name called, which made me nervous. I would have to re-watch it from the beginning to hear if I really did get an autographed calendar.

I started the event over, and whadd'ya know, I was the first person called! (around 8:00) Then my heart broke when Wasamin said she missed me at the Cruising Event last week. (Wasamin had a cruise lunch last week, which I did not attend) It's amazing to me that with all the people who were there, she noticed that I wasn't. And now I really feel like a heel because I am missing another event this month, and now wish I wasn't.

Apparently my not attending her cruising event was enough for her to begin wondering if I had moved back to America, which was her next comment. This must've been why that was the first thing she asked me when she saw me in the chat. Wasamin was worried about me, awwww.

I am looking forward to receiving my calendar, with a Wasa-birthday greeting on my birth month. I'll hang it in the same spot as the 2021 calendar, which is just above my head as I'm typing this. As Wasamin commented on her blog and Twitter, when we hang it she will be monitoring our lives at home, LOL

 

Wasamin to star in a musical this spring!

Last week Wasamin posted that she will be starring in a musical at Tokyo Metropolitan Theater West in Ikebukuro. The musical is titled "Ashita ni Utaeba ~ Kiyoki Ichi-kyoku Onegaishimasu~ She will ply the main character, Chiharu. There will be 7 performances in late-March.
https://www.set1979.com/perform/asuniutaeba/

Misaki will be keeping pretty busy over the next month or so....

12/20 Christmas Dinner show with Yamazaki Teiji in Osaka

12/21 Online Mini-Live from Yoro-do in Asakusa https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbihGWrnAHgSgiQ2k0DAZWw
12/21 Limista Online Live Signing Event https://limista.jp/projects/2587

12/25 Net cheki autograph session https://www.youtube.com/user/nagaratv

12/26 After Christmas Live https://twitcasting.tv/c:mzes/shopcart/109131

Additonally, Wasamin wil be participating in a few collab shows in February and March, as well as a fan club exclusive live at P.A.R.M.S. (The home of Alice Juban) in January,

 

Iwasa Misaki Christmas Day Cheki Event!

Parts One and Two

if the video does not show watch the video here

if the video does not show watch the video here

For a change of pace, and since it was the weekend, I decided to go with the early event. I limited myself to two cheki, since I wasn't sure what the bonus pics were for buying more than five (they turned out to be random cheki, although some featured her posing with her dogs, Hamu and Chizu) I arrived on time for a change. Actually I was two hours early since I mistakenly thought it was at 13:00.

Anyway, my turn came up at 1:21;15. I had a small interaction with her earlier when she was talking about coffee. I commented in the chat first with "yay" which she mispronounced, and then the title of Mariah Carey's Christmas song, forgetting that she is horrible at sounding out romaji. I figured she might know it since it's played ad nauseum here. Anyway, I sadly told her that I would be missing her Christmas live the next day, but would hopefully be able to attend her birthday live at P.A.R.M.S. next month.

 

A couple of New Year's Wasa-goods updates...

I meant to post these sooner, but I've had a rough start to the new year, topped by a severe bout of food poisoning that kept me out of action for the better part of a week. Quite the "vacation" eh? Anyway, I received a few cool goodies from Wasamin, which I thought I'd share. First...



My 2022 Wasamin calendar, signed. Not only did she put a special message on my birth month, which she showed us on the livestream. She also signed the cover. Right now it is hanging just above my computer, and I'll be looking forward to my next birthday. Next up...



Signed cheki.. These were from her Christmas event which I posted about previously. And finally...



2022 Wasamin nengajo. I look forward to receiving a New Year postcard from Wasamin every year. Then on New Years Day it slips my mind until I hear the postal carrier drop it in my mail slot early in the morning. It's nice to get a message from Misaki to start the year.

So on New Year's eve day I planned to purchase a ticket to Wasamin's birthday event since December 31st was the deadline, plus it was my payday. What I wasn't aware of was the post office would be closed not only on Monday the 3rd, but Friday the 31st as well. So technically they should've made the deadline December 30th since the ticket had to be purchased via postal payment. I considered putting it thought on Tuesday and taking my chances. But then the food poisoning thing happened, and that idea sorta went out the window. Oh well.

 

Information on the Wasamin musical, "Ashita ni Utaeba ~Kiyoki Ichi-Kyoku Onegaishimasu~"

There will be seven performances in late-March at Tokyo Metropolitan Theater West. Incidentally, this theater is located right next to the bus depot where I departed Ikebukuro back to Itabashi after many late nights of partying when I lived in Tokyo...

And I have a ticket for the third performance on Sunday night. BTW, tickets are available via Ticket Pia and E-plus.

 

Wasamin will be voicing a character in the anime Kenja no Deshi o Nanoru Kenja

Wasamin announced it today on her blog. It is also listed on the official anime website. She will be portraying a character named "White." She will be on the episodes broadcast on March 15th and 22nd. I don't know if she will be on the show beyond those two episodes. You can check her blog and official site for more details.



https://ameblo.jp/wasaminnn/entry-12727585208.html

https://kendeshi-anime.com/news/220218.html

 

"Ashita ni Utaeba ~Kiyoki Ichi-Kyoku Onegaishimasu~"　Live Musical starring Iwasa Misaki at The Tokyo Metropolitan Theater West (2022/03/27)



After not seeing Misaki-chan in person for over seven months, I finally got my chance this past weekend. She would be doing seven performances of this musical over a five-day period. Now on one hand I would've loved to go see every performance and support Wasamin. However, sitting through a Japanese play even once can be a challenge for me. Maybe I could do it twice, but that would be my limit. Not to mention tickets were 6000 yen a pop. I decided to pick one of the weekend shows. I could make a day of it hanging out in Tokyo. I was able to pick a seat for the performance, going with "F3" which turned out to be on the far left in the 5th row. Not bad. It's a small theater.



I arrived in Tokyo around noon, my first activity would be lunch. After aborted attempts at Shake Shack (line was too long) Dickey's BBQ (to-go only???) I ended up in Harajuku for a burrito at Guzman y Gomez. It was a good choice since I hadn't eaten a decent burrito in quite a while. My next stop was Tokyo Aleworks, a beer pub in Itabashi I really like. The plan was to hang out there until 3:30, being careful not to drink too much, and then walk back to Ikebukuro in time for the play.

I eventlly arrived at the theater shortly before doors opened, and saw around a dozen or so Wasafans hanging out in the lobby. It was fun to catch up since I hadn't seen them in so long. Wild-san, as expected, was going to every show. I don't know about everyone else, but the rest of the fans I talked to were going to multiple shows, but not all. The performances weren't sold out, so I thought maybe I'll show up for an "on the day" ticket later in the week. We'll see.

Doors finally opened, I was informed that I had to write my name and telephone number on the ticket stub in case they got word someone seated near me tested positive for Covid-19. There was a goods table selling programs and Wasamin CDs. The bonus for the CD was a photo and a signboard. However, they were out of regular version CDs, so I decided to skip it.

The theater was tiny, so there really wasn't a bad seat in the house. I wondered if there would be any "social distance" seating, but there wasn't. Shortly before the show a rather large woman sat down next to me. I'm not a small guy either, so this was going to be a bit of a squeeze. I ended up cramming myself into the left side of my seat for most of the performance, Good thing I was on the far left aisle. Behind me was a young child who was fidgeting and sniffling throughout the show. Oy vey!



The show started, and the first thing I noticed was that it takes place in present day. The actors were wearing modern clothes, using cell phones, etc. I figured, based on the show poster, that this was a post-war Showa-era play. But I was wrong. Here's the plot, in a nutshell...



Chiharu, Wasamin's character, has arrived home after a failed attempt at an enka career in Tokyo. After moving back in with her parents, she takes a job as a campaign staffer for a local politician. Eventually she realizes that she disagrees with some of the politician's policies, and decides to run against him. At first she has very few supporters, until the citizens realize she is the local girt who sings enka. Meanwhile, there's a young man who knows Chiharu from her Tokyo enka career, and has a big crush on her to the point that he's afraid of her. Ultimately she loses the election by a small margin, but discovers what's important to her in life, or something like that...



All of the starring characters sang during the show. The song list was a bunch of enka and pop classics from the 60's through the 80's. However, the last two songs were originals, sung by the entire cast. By the way, the show starts with Wasamin singing "Gomen, ne Tokyo" which of course fit the plot perfectly. Ultimately she sang on half of the songs.



As for Wasamin's acting, she has done quite few plays, so she's not a rookie by any stretch. However, this was her first time playing the lead. There was a youthful quality to the way she played the character. Not unlike every other acting performance I've ever seen her do. When she gets excited her voice goes up into a very high register. It made me wonder how she would handle a more mature character portrayal.



As for her singing, she is simply "next level." Every time she sang I thought "Wow! she is dynamite when she sings live." She nail every song she performed. I was truly impressed. In addition to Gomen, ne Tokyo, she also sang a couple of Hibari Misora songs and The 365 Step March, which I always love.




The show ran just under two hours, including a curtain call for the entire cast. Once again I checked the goods booth, since in the past Wasamin would often visit the booth after the show to help boost sales. However, in the days of Covid-19, coupled with the fact the she was the star of the show, I pretty much figured she wouldn't be there. I waited around to see if the fans were planning on having an after-show dinner, but everyone seemed to be going their separate ways. There was also a rainstorm due to hit soon, so I headed to Ikebukuro Station and took the next train back to Okegawa.

Ultimately it was a very nice show, and a good performance by Misaki-chan, especially when she was singing. If they were to release it on DVD/Bluray, which I doubt they will, I would certainly buy it. On the other hand, i think the Hibari Misora songs she performed would be great c/w tracks for her future singles or albums. In fact, I would love to see her do a special CD release with those songs. That would be great.



I'm not sure when I'll next see Wasamin live. There's that "Lovely Concert" coming up in May, so that might be cool. I'll go check the website and see what kinds of tickets are available.

 

'Akira' Special Editions to be released May 25th...

There will be two versions. Here are the covers and tracklists...

Special Edition A


1. Akira
2. Yoru ni Kakeru (Yoasobi, 2019)
3. Akira (karaoke ver.)
4. Akira (tone down karaoke ver.)


Special edition B


1. Akira
2. SAKURA Drops (Utada Hikaru, 2002)
3. Akira (karaoke ver.)
4. Akira (tone down karaoke ver.)

In addition, Wasamin announed on her blog that she will be re-commencing mini-live events in support of the release. She will be doing multiple events throughout the month of May in Asakusa, Akihabara, Akabane, Iruma and via Limista. Please note, there will be limited admittance to some of the events. You can check the schedule here...

https://ameblo.jp/wasaminnn/entry-12738975071.html

 

Akira 'Special Edition' Release Day Online CD Signing Event via Limited Stand (2022/05/25)

So the great news is that Wasamin has resumed doing "in-person" mini-live events this month. She's also doing a series of Limista online events. The mini-lives have been mainly at two locations, Entaba Akiba and Yoro-do in Asakusa, although she did do one-offs in Iruma and Akabane. These mini-lives do have limited seating, usually around 30 people. Although Maruhiro in Iruma is a huge place, so I'm sure they fit a lot more in there..

Last night was the third of four Limista events. The deal was she would live-sign one of your CDs if you bought both versions. Yesterday was for 'Special Version A', tonight will be for the 'B Version' I decided on last night's event because I will be in Tokyo later today to attend her event in Akihabara, and I will probably stick around to have dinner before heading back home. Thus, I will be missing the broadcast, although I would love to get a signed B version to complete the set.

The other special feature of these online events is that she does a short online singing event before the signings. For this event she sang the two songs from the A version, I'm guessing she will do the B-version tracks tomorrow. After a short break she came back to do the signing event.


if the video does not show watch the video here


My turn came at 27:00, but actually my interaction with her starts at 26:15 Somebody wrote that they would be attending her Thursday afternoon event, and I responded that I have a day off and would also be going. She quickly responded "Oh, Chris commented." But it was by random coincidence that my turn came right after that interaction. After Wasamin's quick attempt at English she read my note that said 1) I liked the coverss, 2) my students love Yoasobi, so we are looking forward to her cover, and 3) I would see her on Thursday. She then asked if I was coming to Akihabara. Actually, she asked it three times, three different ways. However, my Japanese typing is somewhat slow, so she didn't see and react to my response until after she started signing for the next fan.




Like I said, my plan today is to head out to Tokyo to see her mini-live. It will be only my second time seeing her live this year and my first in-person interaction with her in ages. So I'm really looking foward to it.