On April 30th, former AKB48 member Nakaya Sayaka held a release event for her book “Hisenbatsu datta Watashi wo Sukutta 48 no Kotoba” attended by 400 fans.

Nakaya graduated from the group back in March in order to pursue her dream to become a voice actress, however, she could not pass the audition she was aiming for.

This day was her first public appearance after she graduated, and there she revealed her current state of mind. “While overcoming (the failure of the audition), I want to consider whether I should belong in an agency for voice actresses or I should attend a training school.”

As she currently does not belong to any agency, she introduced herself, saying, “I’m just an ordinary person.” She also revealed that she is working at a restaurant part-time.

Regarding her future career as a voice actress, she said, “While I’m young, I want to learn many things and absorb them, but eventually, I want to become a long-sustained voice actress who could have a regular role in something big like ‘Sazae-san’ or ‘Doraemon’.”

Nakaya also talked about the upcoming “the 5th Senbatsu General Election” (to be held on June 8th at Nissan Stadium). Though Nakaya was eligible to stand as a candidate, she didn’t. “I would like to go see the members after I lay the foundation as a voice actress and if they still have the ‘candidacy system’ at the time, but it’s not the time yet. I want to visit the stadium though. If the new generation members ranked high, it would be interesting like a surprise ending.”

Source & Image: Oricon

AKB48 member Nakaya Sayaka announced during a recent performance at the AKB48 theater that she would be graduating from the group after the upcoming theater performance on March 6.

The reason for her graduation is because she wants to pursue her dream to become a voice actress. Nakaya joined AKB48 back in 2006 as a third generation member, and she was in team K.

She also announced the graduation on her official blog, and below is what she wrote.

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Today on March 2nd, I announced the following during the theater performance…

I, Nakaya Sayaka, will be graduating from AKB48 after the theater performance on March 6.

I’m really sorry for this sudden announcement.

I’ve been thinking about graduation since I was ranked in the general election… no, actually, since long before that.

However, it was just so much fun to work with the members, and I was just happy to see your smiles.

Honestly, I was too dependent on this comfortable environment.

But, I have finally found something that made me determine to graduate. It is a Seiyuu audition for my favorite anime.

There is no guarantee for me to get the part, but that’s something I really want to try. I wanted to do it even if I had to abandon this favorable environment.

Not only AKB48, but I will also leave my agency Mousa. That’s because there is a qualification for the audition that you should not belong to any agency.

I’m sorry for the sudden announcement. This will be me starting over from scratch, but I’m sure I can hang in there, because of what I’ve done up until now.

Please continue to support Nakaya Sayaka from here on.

Nakaya Sayaka

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Source & Image: natalie + Nakaya Sayaka official blog

Thanks to everyone who sent this tip!

(02) 'Aku no Kyoten' / (01) 'Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.' / (03) 'Nobou no Shiro'

‘Evangelion’ establishes itself in first place and even beat the opening weekend of ‘Umizaru’.

If there is one anime movie everyone has been waiting for, it has to be ‘Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.‘ The movie opened on 224 screens on Saturday and recorded an astonishing opening weekend with 771,764 viewers and a revenue of 1,131,004,600 Yen (13,834,448 USD) in just two days. It even topped the opening weekend of this year’s most successful start and movie in general, ‘BRAVE HEARTS UMIZARU‘, which opened at 450 screens and ‘only’ recorded 1,119,171,350 Yen (13,689,704 USD) back in July.

‘Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.’ also outdid other recent successful anime movies such as ‘Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea‘ (481 screens; 1,024,880,555 Yen/ 12,536,338 USD) and ‘One Piece Film Strong World‘ (188 screens; 1,039,214,800 Yen/ 12,711,675 USD). Its direct prequel ‘Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance‘ even only recorded 512,989,000 Yen (6,274,881 USD). It will be very exciting to see how well it will do until the end of the year.

Meanwhile, ‘Aku no Kyoten‘ managed to defend its spot in the second position and forced last week’s first place ‘Nobou no Shiro‘ to move all the way down to third. It should be able to crack the first billion Yen (12,232,000 USD) within this week. ‘Nobou no Shiro’ has already recorded 1,390,000 viewers and a cumulative revenue of 1,673,046,950 Yen (20,464,710 USD).

There was only one other movie that managed to rank within the top ten this weekend. ‘Ninkyo Helper‘, starring Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, opened in at fourth place. It only recorded 91,017 viewers and merely grossed 115,303,950 Yen (1,410,397 USD), but the satisfaction rate seems to be very high for this movie, so it might benefit from a very strong buzz marketing.

You can check out the trailers of all the new Japanese films below the box office ranking!

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	Rank/Last		Title	Weeks
	01 (00)		Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.	01
	02 (02)		Aku no Kyoten	02
	03 (01)		Nobou no Shiro	03
	04 (00)		Ninkyo Helper	01
	05 (03)		Kita no Canariatachi	03
	06 (04)		Eiga Smile Precure! Ehon no Naka wa Minna Chiguhagu!	04
	07 (05)		Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away	02
	08 (06)		Ougon wo Daite Tobe	03
	09 (07)		Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter	03
	10 (08)		Paranormal Activity 4	03

(Note: The ranking is not based on the revenue, but the number of sold tickets!)

===

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> ‘Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.‘ (Science-Fiction, Action, Mecha, Anime)
Directors: Anno Hideaki, Tsurumaki Kazuya, Masayuki, and Maeda Masahiro
Voice Cast: Ogata Megumi, Hayashibara Megumi, Miyamura Yuko, Sakamoto Maya, Mitsuishi Kotono, and more

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> ‘Ninkyo Helper‘ (Human Drama)
Director: Nishitani Hiroshi
Cast: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Yasuda Narumi, Kaho, Kazama Shunsuke, Kuroki Meisa, and more

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> ‘Sono Yoru no Samurai‘ (Human Drama)
Director: Akahori Masaki
Cast: Sakai Masato, Yamada Takayuki, Ayano Go, Tanimura Mitsuki, Takahashi Tsutomu, and more

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> ‘Working Holiday‘ (Human Drama)
Director: Okamoto Koichi
Cast: AKIRA, Hayashi Roi, Ayano Go, Aizawa Rina, Nishino Akihiro, and more

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> ‘Fugainai Boku wa Sora wo Mita‘ (Youth Drama)
Director: Tanada Yuki
Cast: Nagayama Kento, Tabata Tomoko, Kubota Masataka, Koshino Ena, Tanaka Miharu, and more

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> ‘Onna-tachi no Miyako‘ (Human Drama)
Director: Inori Akira
Cast: Otake Shinobu, Matsuda Miyuki, Sugita Kaoru, Nishio Mari, Bro. TOM, and more

-

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> ‘Musashinosen no Shimai‘ (Comedy)
Director: Yamamoto Junichi
Cast: Kato Natsuki, Nakaya Sayaka, Nakata Chisato, Hiyori Yuki, Komatsu Ayaka, and more

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> ‘FASHION STORY‘ (Youth Drama)
Director: Nakamura Sayaka
Cast: Honda Tsubasa, Kagami Seira, Kawakita Mayuko, Nagabuchi Ayane, Morita Ayaka, and more

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> ‘EDEN‘ (Human Drama)
Director: Take Masaharu
Cast: Yamamoto Taro, Nakamura Yuri, Takahashi Kazuya, Saiga Masakuza, Ikehara Takeru, and more

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> ‘39 Settoudan (Thank You Settoudan)‘ (Comedy)
Director: Oshida Kosuke

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> ‘Zenryoku Eiga‘ (Omnibus)

On November 6, actor Katsuno Hiroshi (63) appeared at a press conference in Tokyo for his play “Poppoya” (runs February 2-10 of next year at the Nihonbasi Kokaido).

The play is based on Asada Jiro’s (60) novel of the same name. Two AKB48 members, Nakaya Sayaka (21) and Tanabe Miku (19) who will co-star with Katsuno for the first time, commented that the actor is “Very dandy,” while Katsuno also praised them, saying bashfully, “AKB48’s freshness is very mesmerizing.”

Source and Image: Sanspo

L to R: Nakaya Sayaka, Nakata Chisato, Uchida Mayumi, Tanabe Miku

Four of AKB48’s closest members Nakaya Sayaka, Nakata Chisato, Uchida Mayumi, and Tanabe Miku attended a special fan event. The girls sang, played mini games and had a witty ‘girls talk’ in front of 700 fans.

Nakaya wrote a best-selling book, titled “Non-Senbatsu Idol”, expressing what it was like not being chosen during the ‘General Election’ three times in a row. However, this year she ranked in at #36, entering the ranks for the first time. “The wind is blowing now. I hope it blows more and more in the future.”

Nakata also entered the rankings for the first time this year, entering in at #37, “I guess it’s little by little, but I want to grow more and I want my dreams to be fulfilled,” promising more activities for her fans. When the event was over, the press asked what ‘dreams’ she was talking about and she responded, “I want to survive in the world of show business as long as possible~!”

Source: Sanspo

On June 11th, AKB48’s Team A took their nationwide tour to Ichikawa City in Chiba.

AKB48’s ace and soon-to-be graduate, Maeda Atsuko (20), is from Ichikawa City. She has visited the city various times for handshake events and other outings, but this will be her first time there for an AKB solo performance. 1,900 fans did an “Acchan Call” as the star returned to her hometown.

Maeda smiled as she stated: “When I was little, I played on this very stage in kindergarten during our dancing and singing event. When I was in kindergarten I danced on this stage, and I am happy to return here once again after so many years. This is my first time hearing everyone call to me ‘welcome back’.”

Maeda, as well as Nakaya Sayaka (20), Katayama Haruka (22), and Iwasa Misaki (17) triumphantly returned to their hometown to perform 25 songs, including their new track “Manatsu no Sounds good!”

Source: Sanspo

On April 29th, AKB48 members Watanabe Mayu, Nakaya Sayaka, and Ishida Haruka held an event at Shinjuku Balto 9 to commemorate the start of their anime series, ‘AKB0048‘. The girls appeared at the event dressed as their characters, and excited the crowd of 400 people.

The anime is set in the 21st Century, and it’s story revolves around 9 research students of idol group ‘AKB0048′ who inherit the spirit of the legendary AKB48. It’s first episode of ‘AKB0048′ aired on this night through 15 tv stations nationwide.

The event featured an advanced screening of the first and second episodes. Aside Watanabe, Nakaya, and Ishida, popular voice actresses Kanda Akemi (9th Generation Oshima Yuko), Noto Mamiko (8th Generation Kojima Haruna), Shiraishi Ryoko (5th Generation Takahashi Minami), and director Kawamori Shoji made guest appearances. The event was also broadcast live in 9 movie theaters nationwide.

Watanabe explained how she shares common features with her character saying, “How Chieri-chan says things frankly, and how she is bad-tempered is different from me, but I think what we have in common is that we hide this passion deep within our hearts. I play my role by feeling those common features and being aware of her distinction.”

Meanwhile, Nakaya commented, “Orine-chan loves scallops, and so do I. I become so happy thinking of how much we have in common. I am doing my best, and I am enjoying everyday.” Ishida also said, “My role is to bring the 9 Research Students together, but I rarely bring people together or scold people, so I thought, ‘what should I do?’ However, I can kind of relate to her straightforwardness, so I am having fun playing this role.”

The anime’s opening theme, “Kibou ni Tsuite“, and ending theme, “Yume wa Nando mo Umare Kawaru“, will both be provided by AKB48’s newest unit, ‘NO NAME‘, which is comprised of the 9 voice actresses of ‘AKB0048′. Although the release date for these songs have not been decided yet, the tv version will be available for download starting May 7th.

Take a look at pictures from the event below!

Source & Photos: Oricon

It has been revealed a new unit from AKB48 called NO NAME will be making their debut! They will be providing the theme songs for AKB48’s animation ‘AKB0048‘ (scheduled to start airing April 29th). NO NAME includes Watanabe Mayu and the voice actresses of ‘AKB0048′, for a total of nine members.

New unit will sing the opening song “Kibou ni Tsuite” and ending song “Yume ha Nandomo Umare Kawaru” (both of the release dates have not yet been decided). It will be the first time in a year, since DiVA, that a new unit from AKB48 will be making their debut.

The opening song, “Kibou ni Tsuite”, has the theme “Future・Universe・stars”, and includes the message, “Let’s head forward toward a dream”, in the lyrics. Meanwhile the ending song, “Yume ha Nandomo Umare Kawaru”, is a ballad produced by Akimoto Yasushi, who also produced the opening song.

On April 29th at 10:30 pm, to commemorate the airing of ‘AKB0048′, the pre-screening of episode 1  and 2, in addition to a talk event will be held at Shinjuku wald9 in Tokyo. Watanabe Mayu, Nakaya Sayaka, Sato Amina, Ishida Haruka, director of the animation Kawamori Shoji, and popular voice actress Kanda Akemi, Noto Mamiko, and Shiraishi Ryoko will be making an appearance.

<NO NAME>
[AKB48 team B]
Watanabe Mayu
Sato Amina
Ishida Haruka
Sato Sumire
[AKB48 team A]
Nakaya Sayaka
[AKB48 team 4]
Iwata Karen
[SKE48 team S]
Yagami Kumi
[SKE48 team KII]
Hata Sawako
[NMB48 team M]
Mita Mao

Source & Image : Oricon

It’s been revealed that AKB48 member Nakaya Sayaka will be releasing her autobiography, “Hisenbatsu Idol” (Non-Senbatsu Idol), on April 2nd.

Nakaya was one of the 13,000 girls who entered the 3rd Generation auditions back in 2006. Almost a year after joining the group, she made her theater debut as a member of Team B in April of 2007. She was later moved to Team A after the team shuffle in August of 2009.

Since joining AKB48, Nakaya has never ranked in any of the 3 Senbatsu Elections. In the autobiography, she talks about her adversity and how she came to find her situation rather ‘amusing’.

Although Nakaya is not a senbatsu member, she has voice acted for the anime, “Moshidora“, and the game, “Neptune mk2“. She will also voice act for AKB48’s upcoming anime, “AKB0048“.

The autobiography will also portray Nakaya’s difficult life behind the scenes, and how she overcame her hardships. The theme of the book is, “A message of support for all ‘non-senbatsu’ members.”

Source & Image: Mantan Web

On August 1st, it was revealed that AKB48’s Nakaya Sayaka and Tanabe Miku will form a new unit, titled “BABY GAMBA”!

The girls will release a DVD single named “Ee Janaika” on September 14th. In the PV for the song, the two will be featured dancing with “Gamba”, based on a children’s book written by Saito Atsuo titled, “Boukenshatachi: Gamba to 15 hiki no Nakama (Adventurer: Gamba and his 15 friends)”.

“I am happy that BABY GAMBA will be viewed by children and will be performing this dance. Of course, adults are welcome! Please try this dance! ” said Nakaya enthusiastically about her new project. “Along with Gamba, we hope this will give energy to those who watch it!”

“Boukenshatachi: Gamba to 15 hiki no Nakama” is a children’s book that was published in 1972 and in 1975, then adapted as an anime. This work tells the story of mouse named Gamba and his friends, who uses their courage and wit to fight an opposing rival family of weasels.

In the “Ee Janaika” PV, the two members of AKB48 will be wearing mouse ears while performing with a CG Gamba. Fans will get to see Nakaya and Tanabe dress up in kindergarten uniforms, chef costumes, and even swim suits. The DVD included with the release features talento Papaya Suzuki, who will teach the choreography in a video clip called, “Choreography-hen”.

“In this work, you can see us in a new light unlike in AKB. We will make our appearance if as we were characters [from the book]. There are also a lot of cute costumes as well!” said Tanabe about her latest work. When asked about the dance, she responded, “It was easy to learn it and boys and girls of all ages can dance to it cutely. It’s perfect for a sports day at a kindergarten and elementary school.”

“BABY GAMBA” is scheduled to make an appearance in the Tohoku region from September 17th to the 19th.

Check out photos of BABY GAMBA, as well as their video teaser below!

Source & Image: Mantan Web