UlasanAnime.com – Nana Mizuki ftw!
You might also be interested in : Copyrightable Expressions as Memes: Blogging 311 – Collective and Transformed
Honestly speaking, she wasn’t much of a blip on my radar at the beginning. I noticed her first solo album garnered some attention, and I enjoyed it. It left a lasting impression, although in its far-from-perfect form. I thought she had potential and it would have worked out better with a different production style. But even less notable, for me, was her voice acting work.
Yet, in the space of a few years, it has all changed for the better. A recent variety entertainment show did a piece on voice actress idols in Japan, starting from the very early Hayashibara days with Sailor Moon up to Aya Hirano from Suzumiya Haruhi, hitting a few others in between. You can watch the 7-minute program on YouTube. Nana Mizuki is the hottest one out there today.
The following of Nana Mizuki is international. Just like every other seiyuu idol, we foreign fans, immune to direct marketing from Japan, catch glimpses of their glory from both their video releases and, obviously, from their voice works. I think all my friends who know what anime is have watched Full Metal Alchemist and/or Naruto in part, and those more serious about it have probably seen Nana in some of her more popular roles already.
Sure, her appeal goes to seiyuu fanboys, people who realize she is Ichiro Mizuki’s daughter, and people weaboo enough like myself to pay attention to the people who make anime. Maybe her appeal goes beyond that? I’m not sure. But somewhere behind all the hype and well-produced CDs and Oricon rankings, is she really that entertaining?
Take me for an example. In the space of a year and a half ago, I bought about 2 of her CDs and watched 2 of her DVDs (which is not a lot). Even in that little bit of time, things grew to the extent that if she sets foot within a $600 radius of me, I will probably fly and go see her, if I can work out the schedule. I don’t think I could do that except for my most adored artists. Perhaps I am easily influenced given that I live up in this media crap, and I think that probably does play a part. My friends involve some Nana fans, and for the most part, I do acknowledge with them her virtues and values as an entertainer. Yet, I don’t think I like her stuff that much; that explains why I don’t have her entire back catalogue. It also explains why I’m writing this piece of viral marketing with a lot of hesitation.
But can she take it farther and further? Seiyuu3, what do you say? I’m ready to become her fan. That documentary on YouTube, while meant to be a crash course in seiyuu-idol-ness, is a bit of a telescoping lens through time and history as well. If you don’t know who she is or what kind of entertainer she is, find out. It might just be worth your while.
