An Cafe J!-ENT S WYNNE IP INTERVIEWS AN CAFE PLUS NERGENE ARQUELADA S J!-ENT AN FANIME 2008 J-ROCK PHOTO GALLERY

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1 A J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE AND INTERVIEW An Cafe J!-ENT S WYNNE IP INTERVIEWS AN CAFE PLUS NERGENE ARQUELADA S J!-ENT AN FANIME 2008 J-ROCK PHOTO GALLERY J!-ENT Celebrating our 15th Year Anniversary

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3 NANA PREMIUM LIVE PHOTOS by MASAYUKI NODA IMAGES COURTESY OF AVEX ENTERTAINMENT, INC. contents 4 THE J!-ENT INTERVIEW J!-ENT s Wynne Ip interviews AN CAFE. 10 AN CAFE J-ROCK PHOTO GALLERY J!-ENT photographer Nergene Arquelada s AN FANIME J-ROCK PHOTO GALLERY. previous interviews Visit for the following interviews and articles currently available on J!-ENT. Click on a cover to access a previous article/interview. A J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE ANNA TSUCHIYA BY WYNNE IP, HIROSHI TAGAWA, MISTY CREECH and DENNIS A. AMITH OPENING BIO by DAVID HICKEY (COURTESY OF AVEX ENTERTAINMENT, INC.) ANNA TSUCHIYA OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www. anna-t.com ANNA TSUCHIYA ON itunes - CLICK HERE J! - E N T Copyright 2008 by J!-ENT. All Rights Reserved.

4 AN FANIME 2008 INTERVIEW BY J!-ENT S WYNNE IP An Cafe lead vocalist Miku. Photo by Nergene Arquelada. A n Cafe stopped by San Jose, California, USA, to play in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 2,300 on May 25, 2008, as part of their Live Cafe Tour 08 Nyappy Go Around The World. On March 15, 2008, An Cafe kickstarted their world tour in Finland, continuing to other European countries such as Sweden, Germany, France, England, and Spain, before returning to Japan for another series of 10 shows. This is An Cafe s first ever performance in the United States, even though they made a non-performing appearance at the anime convention, Project A-Kon, a year ago in Dallas, Texas. As the headlining artist for the Music Fest event at Fanime Con 2008, An Cafe delivered a refreshing and energetic performance that was highly fitting to their style of music, known as Harajuku dance rock. With the young vibe that was derived from the unique Harajuku fashion style on stage and their danceable rock beat echoing through the Civic Auditorium, this 5-member Japanese visual-kei rock band demonstrated their ability to entertain the American crowd for approximately an hour and twenty minutes. They even promised the audience that they will be back in the future. An Cafe -- short for Antic Cafe, formed originally with Miku on vocals, Bou on guitar, Kanon on bass, and Teruki on drums in 2003, has been very successful throughout the years on the Oricon indies music charts, including reaching no. 2 with their debut single Candyholic, followed by various no. 1 singles such as Merry Making, Snow Scene and 10 s Collection March. In 2007, guitarist Bou announced his departure, and as a result, two new members joined An Cafe; they are Takuya on guitar, and Yu-ki on keyboard. Their first single with the current members, KAKUSEI Heroism, debuted on the main Oricon singles chart at no. 13, and their next two singles, RYUUSEI Rocket and Cherry SAKU YU-KI, also made their marks in the top 20 on main chart during the weeks of their respective releases. An Cafe s latest album GOKU- TAMA Rock Cafe, first released on March 14, 2008 in Europe, and then subsequently on April 9, 2008 in Japan, contains 11 tracks on the CD version, and its limited edition, which contains a bonus DVD, includes the music videos of KAKUSEI Heroism, RYUUSEI Rocket, and Cherry SAKU YU-KI, as well as the Yagai de Nyappy yanen charinko man documentary live footage. The day following An Cafe s first 4 J!-ENT

5 INTERVIEW BY J!-ENT S WYNNE IP AN FANIME 2008 An Cafe Bassist Kanon. Photo by Nergene Arquelada. An Cafe Guitarist Takuya. Photo by Nergene Arquelada.

6 AN FANIME 2008 INTERVIEW BY J!-ENT S WYNNE IP An Cafe keyboardist Yu-ki. Photo by Nergene Arquelada. ever U.S. performance, J!-ENT had a chance to sit down and chat with all the members. J!-ENT: What did you think of the performance last night? Miku: This is our first concert in the U.S., and we want to leave a good impression. We were able to have the concert the way we wanted, and the audience were able to get to know us. So it was really rewarding. J!-ENT: Were you guys nervous at all? Miku: No... Yu-ki was sleeping... Teruki: He was sleeping up until the start of the show! (laughing) J!-ENT: I was watching the show from the 2nd floor and saw a lot of pushing in the crowd on the floor. Did you see that from the stage? Miku: Yes, we did. We could see some people weren t able to make it through the show and had to be carried out. It s like that in our concerts in Japan as well. J!-ENT: It happens in Japan too? Teruki: Yeah, it happens a lot. J!-ENT: Having just came off a European tour in March, how do you compare your European fans to the American audience from last night? Were there any noticeable differences? Miku: In Europe, it seems that whatever we do, the audience would go nuts immediately. On the contrary, the Americans seemed a bit tighter, and the reaction was not so instant. But as we continued to play one song after another, they became more and more open to us. J!-ENT: Could it be because in the European tour, everyone who went was an An Cafe fan, whereas at an anime convention, the audience was more diverse? Teruki: Yeah, that could be it. J!-ENT: You just had a Q&A session with your American fans, or Cafekko as they are referred to, that came to Fanime Con, and was very well received. Are meet-andgreet sessions like these common between you and your Cafekko in Japan? Teruki: We have that type of events too in Japan, usually when we release a CD. We would go to radio shows or have hand-shaking events to meet with our Japanese fans. J!-ENT: Was being a musician always something you have dreamed of becoming? When did you realize that you wanted to make music as a career? Teruki: I ve always wanted to be a musician, especially when I started drumming... I started when I was in high school and since then I ve wanted to become a musician. Miku: For me, I ve always liked singing and karaoke, and so I really 6 J!-ENT

7 INTERVIEW BY J!-ENT S WYNNE IP AN FANIME 2008 An Cafe drummer Teruki. Photo by Nergene Arquelada. wanted a career in singing. And here I am. Kanon: When I was in junior high, my first instrument was a guitar, and since then I ve always wanted to be a musician. Takuya: I also started playing the guitar in high school and I ve wanted to become a musician since. Yu-ki: When I was a child, I ve always played the piano. Not necessarily in a band per say, but I ve always wanted to do something in music. And starting in junior high, I realized I really wanted to do make a career in music. J!-ENT: Many fans and magazines consider An Cafe a visual-kei band. Do you guys consider yourself visual-kei? What does it mean to you to be visual-kei? Teruki: We believe we re visual-kei. Miku: Actually, I m proud to be considered visual-kei. There are different genres within visual-kei, and we want to create a unique genre of visual-kei that is us. Teruki: The image of visual-kei has changed throughout the years. Take metal bands for example. The sound is the same metallic sound, but their image would have changed even if you compare metal bands nowadays with those just a few years ago. That s because visual-kei is a combination of music and fashion. If someone looks at us a few years down the road, we might not seem visual-kei to them then, because visually the image is always changing with the generations. That s why we want to create our own genre of visual-kei. J!-ENT: As you have mentioned, visual-kei has two parts, your physical image and your music, do you think one is more important than the other? Is there necessarily a balance between the two? Teruki: I believe both are just as important to us. Miku: We would like to inspire people in music as well as in fashion. Our strength is our style, which we called Harajuku dance rock. While Harajuku is famous for its fashion, I believe it is just as important for us to inspire others with our music. J!-ENT: Speaking of fashion, can you describe to us how you came up with the stage clothes that you wore last night at the show? Miku: The basis of our show last night was our new album GOKUTAMA Rock Cafe, and we based our image from the songs. First, we talked with our stylists in a meeting, and then we discussed how each member should look on stage. That s how we decided on our clothes. J!-ENT: Speaking of GOKUTAMA Rock Cafe, your new album reached no. 13 on the main Oricon album chart. During the recording of this album, what was the most challenging for your position? Miku: For me, writing the lyrics was the most challenging. The core message that I wanted to convey has J!-ENT 7

8 AN FANIME 2008 INTERVIEW BY J!-ENT S WYNNE IP An Cafe drummer Teruki and vocalist Miku. Photo by Nergene Arquelada. changed inside of me. J!-ENT: What is this core message you re referring to? Miku: Before this album, the main message tend to be the positive message that cheer people up. But when writing this album, I ve come to realize that this feeling has differ slightly from some of the real feelings inside of me. And so, I wanted to tell my fans how I really felt at the time, and therefore that s what I ve expressed in my lyrics. J!-ENT: What about the other members? Was there anything that was challenging for your position? Teruki: How about Yu-ki and Takuya? It s their first time recording an album. Takuya: This was indeed my first time recording an album, and I just really wanted to play in such a way that people can get to know what kind of guitarist I am. Yu-ki: At first, I felt that I wasn t too confident about my understanding of the keyboard, such as the texture and the color of the sound. So the process has taught me a lot. J!-ENT: Who do you think is the craziest member of An Cafe? Everyone:... (long pause) Teruki: I have one. I think Kanon is the craziest one, because when he composes music, he never follows any rules and likes to mix different things together. His creativity is off the hook, and so I think he s the craziest member. J!-ENT: In most of our interviews, we have a section called word play. We would give you 5 words, and you will give me the definitions of those 5 words. We would like to each member to give us one definition. LOVE Yu-ki: Something everyone has. SUCCESS Takuya: To be able to reach your goal, your ideal. HAPPINESS Kanon: Something that when you realize, it s already there. DREAM Teruki: A goal without limitation. CAFEKKO Miku: Our source of energy. J!-ENT: Thank you for having an interview with us. What final words would you like to say to all your Cafekko in America? Miku: With a new audience listening to us, we want to let people know that we re different than other bands. So while we want to inspire others with our music, we want others to inspire us as well. It ll be wonderful if they can get in touch with our music, and our music can in turn touch their hearts. 8 J!-ENT

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10 AN FANIME 2008 J!-ENT J-ROCK PHOTO GALLERY BY NERGENE ARQUELADA

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18 AN FANIME J-ROCK PHOTO GALLERY BY J!-ENT S NERGENE ARQUELADA Official set list for An Cafe s performance at Fanime in San Jose, California on May 25, Lock on the O-NEW-SEKAI 2. Baby King 3. WAGAMAMA KOSHINKYOKU 4. TEKESUTA KOUSEN 5. ESUKAPUZUMU 6. NANAIRO crayon de EGAKU HIKARI 7. e.t.c. The World 8. NYAPPY in the world 3 9. KAKUSEI Heroism 10. KORITSU Hospital 11. Cherry SAKU YU-KI encore 12. Smile ICHIBAN II ONNA

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20 J!-ENT Written by the staff of J!-ENT, a Japanese and Asian entertainment and pop culture website celebrating its 15th Year Anniversary in Wynne Ip joined the J!-ENT family in the summer of 2004 and has contributed as an interviewer and a writer with a focus in Japanese rock music. Born in Hong Kong, Wynne has had classical piano training for 10 years until she was 16 years old. Having been exposed to J-rock for the first time in the late 90s while studying in the US, Wynne has since developed a love for this genre of music. Wynne graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Computer Science degree and is currently based in Los Angeles, CA. Nergene Arquelada joined J!-ENT as a photographer in He is known to many as the anime convention and cosplay photographer Super No. 1. Nergene has photographed bands, talents and industry professionals for J!-ENT. He is an avid fan of Japanese and Korean music and dramas. Nergene graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. In his spare time, he enjoys exercising at the gym and attending local cultural festivals. He currently lives in the Los Angeles area.

21 中川翔子 Nakagawa Shoko 2008 Sony Music Records, Inc. SHOKOTAN - PERFORMING LIVE IN LOS ANGELES ANIME EXPO

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