kuririhimitsukichi

[kuririhimitsukichi]

April wasn't just the anniversary of the anime, here are some pictures of the cover of the Shounen Ace issue from 25 yeara ago, with the first chapter of the Keroro manga, and the first of many plush Keroros on the cover

It's interesting, this was the very first chapter; they had no idea how long the series would last, that there would be an anime, spin off magazines, and a vast array of mass produced plush toys, but they made this Keroro specifically for the cover photo, I wonder who this one ultimately went home with

[kuririhimitsukichi]

I just found this fun little artifact from the early days of Keroro, specifically summer 2001, about 2 years after the manga started, and about 3 years before the anime.

After years of hearing Keroro being voiced by Kumiko Watanabe, it's a little surreal to hear somebody else voicing him, ut if anyone recognises this voice actress, let me know (^.^)

[kuririhimitsukichi]

Keroro Movie 4 deleted scene: Shion's Secret, Tamama's Disappearance

This is the scene I've mentioned that had finished animation, there's one version of the movie tie-in credits posted to youtube and you can see one clip there, but they didn't use the exact same mix of clips each week, so there are a couple more shots from the missing scene that were shown.

Removing it must have been a fairly last minute decision, and unfortunately it wasn't included in the bonus features for the DVD, not even the special release. My guess is it was either cut for time, or that it was decided it gave away too much of the story too early, but I wish we could have seen the whole scene in some way, it feels like it would have been really spectacular to see.

This part takes place right after the guest house scene, in the final movie after Tamama runs out of the room it cuts to Momoka waking up, and this scene would have happened between those two points.

Once again, the translation from the novel is under the cut:

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In the quiet night on the outskirts of Paris, a faint singing voice could be heard. It was such a quiet sound that if you weren't warned of it, you might not notice it, even so, if you listened closely, you could just understand the song.

The singing voice quietly, quietly echoed through the garden where afternoon tea time had been spent, the outer wall of Shion's castle......as well as the guest room on the interior of that, where Momoka & Tamama were sleeping. Nonetheless the two were firmly in the world of dreams. You'd expect they wouldn't notice the singing voice at all.

However.

The sleeping Tamama's eyes suddenly snapped open. The colour of his eyes was different from usual. They were lit up like jewels showered in moonlight. Suddenly waking up, Tamama agilely jumped out of bed. He moved carefully like a child trying to avoid being thought of as bad for waking up in the middle of the night. And so, like that he exited and left the room with soft footfalls.

And closed the door with a click.

Still in her bed, Momoka muttered "Ngh" in response before immediately returning to the world of dreams again. As for the other, now empty bed...... Just where could Tamama be going to?

Tamama ran with tapping steps through the lush, densely growing forest on the other side of Shion's castle. With a blank expression as if he were sleeping with his eyes open, he all around looked like he was being controlled by somebody......

Tamama easily pressed through the pitch-black night forest without stumbling. As he progressed, the singing voice gradually became louder. In a short time, the forest ended and a pond illuminated by the moonlight appeared. The footsteps of Tamama, who had been running through the forest, became slower.

In the center of the pond there was a small island. A small figure seemed to be absentmindedly floating there. The person was likely the one singing the song. Judging by the voice, the one singing was a young girl. But why might a girl be singing in the forest this late at night?

Tamama, who had stopped running at the edge of the pond suddenly came to himself. His eyes returned to their normal colour.

"Huh? Wha-what-what? Where is this place?" Despite having run there on his own, it seemed he had no recollection of it.

The figure on the island suddenly stopped singing and turned to look.

"Bonsoir, Tamama-chan" It was Shion, having put on a black cloak.

Despite sporting the same personable smile she had worn that afternoon, illuminated by the moonlight, the girl had a somewhat spooky feeling.

"Shiocchi! What are you doing so late at night?" You could hear a hint of fear in his voice. Instead of answering, Shion raised a hand and gestured to the sky.

"Look. Please look at the dragon arch. Hasn't it grown considerably? It was such a lot of trouble to make it appear throughout the world" Shion spoke in an unbothered tone while gesturing to where the black night sky was cut by the even more black dragon arch.

"Appear throughout the world? Just what are you talking about? The dragon arch..." Finally clearly awake, Tamama looked at Shion with suspicion.

But as expected, Shion did not answer the question, and simply continued what she was saying. "Soon my new family will be be born. My heart friend, the Earth Dragon" Shion's rapt gaze softened.

"Earth....Dragon? Is that a story you made up, Shiocchi? Momocchi told me. That you're good at making up stories"

"Tamama-chan, you will become a warrior who will protect the Earth" Shion did not appear to hear Tamama's words at all, but leaned forward slightly as she spoke.

"'Warrior.....?' Does that mean I'm going to be a character appearing in Shiocchi's story too? Or maybe something like shouting 'Worya!' and fighting?"

While Tamama was thinking, Shion had turned back and began to sing. A song that was like a mysterious spell.... In front of Shion there was a small altar, and on that a large tome was open. While singing, she spread her arms and hands wide above them, from the space between her palms, a ball of pale blue light formed.

"What were you doing just now? Shiocchi? Singing a song.....sng....."

As the singing voice grew louder, Tamama seemed to become enveloped by it, and his eyes took on a strange light. The same colour as when he'd sprang out of bed earlier.

"Uu.....my-.....my head....."

When did the singing voice become more than just Shion's?

"Wh-When did....."

Around Tamama & Shion, and the edge of the pond, black figures had lined up. The accumulating deep voices belonged to those men. When did it happen? That about 10 men were surrounding the pond.

Shion's song and the men's singing voices- their choir flared up so that if you heard them, you couldn't hear anything else.

"W-What, what is it? This song is......?" Pressing on his head to try and hold onto his fading consciousness, Tamama looked all around at his surroundings. These men he couldn't feel any sort of hint from, when had they appeared?

"Shiocchi?"

Shion and the men's singing voices had steadily grown louder and were echoing in Tamama's head.

"U, ua....., my body is.....is......."

The light between the palms of Shion's hands had been gathering strength along with the singing voices. As if it were signaling to that light, this time a light shone out of Tamama's body.

"My body is~~~~~!" The light enveloped Tamama and continued to grow larger. From deep in the forest, the glowing mass and body slowly rose. A piercing roar echoed throughout the night in the outskirts of Paris.

".......ngh, what is, this sound......" Having awakened, Momoka realised at that time that the neighbouring bed was empty.

[kuririhimitsukichi]

Keroro Movie 4 Deleted Scene: Shion's Prologue

Back in spring 2009, the Keroro movie was about to release in theaters, which left the fandom outside of Japan, myself included, to wait for the DVD release before we could see it. However, at this point I had been learning Japanese for a good few years and decided to import the book through a specialty shop I sometimes went to so I could try reading it.

However, when the DVDs finally released and I got to see the movie itself, I noticed two scenes I had read in the book were missing, one of which was particularly surprising since I had seen fully animated footage from it in the previews that were edited into the opening credits.

I don't remember if there were other deleted scenes, perhaps I'll do a full translation of the book someday (yes, it's the story of the movie, but there's some nice flourishes), I'm not sure where my copy is, but the preview for the e-book version includes both scenes.

This scene in particular takes on an interesting tone when you consider that Shion means "Aster"; both that her nickname is flower related (possibly because of her friendship with Momoka), and that this specific flower signifies regret at how things turned out, but also means grace & wisdom.

For now enjoy the first of the two deleted scenes below the cut, this one was right at the very beginning of the film:

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One year ago. On the outskirts of Paris.

Beneath the lead coloured, overcast sky, church bells chimed and echoed sadly. The time for partings had come.

It was a lavish funeral for the Dracoon family, a noble and ancient, ancient European bloodline. The gathered crowd of attendees spoke in hushed tones about the remaining family.

Ultimately, they were idly gossiping.

Things like "The Dracoon family fortune will go to her, can she manage it?" or "What can she do as just one person?" or "Even though she lost her parents, she doesn't shed a single tear, such a cold girl" Amongst this group, there wasn't a single person you could let your guard down in front of.

The remaining family....

Standing before her parents' gravestones was a young girl, only about 10 years of age. She had been left alone as her parents journeyed to heaven. Lead by the hand of her brawny butler, the girl placed flowers on her mother and father's caskets. The girl kept her lips pressed in a firm line as she looked forward.

While she felt like a gaping hole was opening in her heart, she kept up a brave front, despite seeming as if she could crumble at any moment.

"Lady Felicitashion" Her butler, having read her feelings, leaned in and whispered "It is acceptable to cry during sad times".

"No Pierre. I must not cry, for I am the head of the Dracoon family"

Even if she felt alone, she would not cry. No matter how lonely she was. Even if she she felt unbearably lonely. Even if because of that she became unable to smile.

This loneliness was....

The loneliness of being completely isolated, because nobody could understand how you felt. If she could forget it all, how nice it would be....

And so, our tale begins with the always unchanging everyday life in the Hinata household.