Monthly Archives: January 2011
Daily Maimi for 1/31: “In Izu”
In her update on the official ℃-ute blog, Maimi wrote that today she filmed for a solo DVD in Izu. For that reason, she went to be really early last night. She was so worried about waking up on time, however, that she ended up waking up 5 times through the night. When she woke up the first time, she thought she had overslept and frantically checked her clock, only to find out that she had only been sleeping for an hour and a half. She was relieved that somehow she was able to wake up on time, and then Maimi shared a picture of the morning sky (picture 1). She wrote that the house studio they filmed at today was very cute, and filming there gave her high spirits through-out the day. Maimi then showed two off-shot pictures from today’s filming (pictures 2 and 3) and wrote that she wore many different outfits for the filming and also went to the ocean. Her solo DVD comes out in March, and she asked everyone to please watch it. Lastly, Maimi wrote that February starts tomorrow, and called for everyone to “enjoy” February with all their might alongside her.
At Sweet time, Maimi updated that she went to bed early last night, and she saw all the comments from the fans and the members about her photo album when she woke up. She thanked everyone and wrote that she was happy. She then updated that she had filmed for her solo DVD in Izu, and wondered what she was about to have for dinner.
Maimi’s scrapbook exhibit
As mentioned in her 1/30 blog, Maimi showed all 28 pages of her recently finished scrapbook on her Serend mini-blog, Yajima Maimi’s Sweet time. Here are her updates, translated into English:
The scrapbook I started making last year for the first time… I finally finished it!! An exhibit starting from page 1♪ Ta-da(^^)
Pages 2 and 3(^o^) School uniform… Nostalgic♪
Pages 4 and 5♪ Paris’ Eiffel Tower… I want to go to Paris(´-ω-`)
Pages 6 and 7♪ Left is flowers☆ Right is sweets motif(*^-‘)b
Pages 8 and 9♪ Guam’s meadows＼(￣０￣)／ I didn’t know Guam had such wonderful scenery… it was really moving!!
Pages 10 and 11♪ This phone booth, actually it’s a Guam public phone(￣▽￣)b
Pages 12 and 13♪ This film was the most difficult to cut…(^o^;)
Page 14 and 15♪ This time was the first time I rode a bicycle in awhile(*^ー^)ノ♪
Page 16 and 17♪ Is everyone bored yet~?(」´０｀)」 I’m still going~(￣▽￣;)
Pages 18 and 19♪ Pool pictureヽ(・∀・)ノ Looks fun… myself(*^^*)
Pages 20 and 21♪ This time is a bonfire(-゜3゜)ノ I grilled coconuts(lol)
Pages 22 and 23♪ 3 bear appearance!! Teddy bears are cute, as expected( ´∀`)
Pages 24 and 25♪ Ah… bears again(*´∇｀*)
Pages 26 and 27♪ The white shelves are cute(^з^)-☆ Next is last!!
Page 28♪ Thanks to everyone who read this far(つ´∀｀)つ The end!! That was my handmade photo album(*^ー^)ノ♪
Daily Maimi for 1/30: “Completion♥ Exhibit”
Maimi started off her entry on the official ℃-ute blog by congratulating Japan on their amazing soccer victory last night. She then wrote that yesterday she finally finished the scrapbook she had started making last year. The entire album is 28 pages long, and she uploaded pictures of the first four pages (pictures 1 and 2), which consist of off-shot pictures from her second and third photobooks. Maimi then wrote that she was going to explain how to make a scrapbook like her’s. First, prepare a plain notebook with thick pages and then put designer tape you like on the edges. Next, decide where you want to put the picture and place the photo corner stickers (picture 3). Maimi wrote that using these will enable you to change the picture if you want to. Lastly, she said to cut out pictures from magazines and paste them where you like. Since her album had 28 pages, it took her a long time to make it with this method. Maimi then asked anyone who was interested in it to please try it out. Lastly, she wrote that she would show all the pages on her Serend miniblog and asked everyone to please look without losing interest.
Daily Maimi for 1/29: “Everyooooone”
In her update on the official ℃-ute blog, Maimi wrote that the Yajima household was bustling with activity this morning. When she woke up everyone else was already awake, and the whole family being together in the morning for the first time in awhile made Maimi happy. She then shared a story from awhile ago when her and her father were eating lunch, and her dad was using the chopsticks used for cooking. Maimi’s mom yelled at her dad that they were the cooking chopsticks, but he didn’t know since he can’t cook. Changing the subject, Maimi wrote about the recently announced release event for “Keitai Kanojo” and “Black Angels”, a special event featuring both her and fellow ℃-ute ace Suzuki Airi. She thinks that she wants to tell a lot of behind-the-scenes stories from the filming, but she’s also looking forward to hearing Airi’s stories. Both Maimi and Airi filmed their movies at the same time, and Airi would send Maimi text messages letting her know how it was going. Maimi wrote that she is really looking forward to the releases of “Keitai Kanojo” and “Black Angels”, and that her and Airi promised to watch the two movies together.
At Sweet time, Maimi updated that January is almost finished and that next month ℃-ute’s new single, “Kiss me Aishiteru”, will be released. She then updated showing off a scrapbook that she was making.
Previews of Maimi’s Hello! Project Digitalbooks feature
Maimi will be the featured girl for February’s edition of Hello! Project Digitalbooks, and previews of her four weeks of photos are now available. As can be seen with the mix of pictures of long and short-haired Maimi, the material appearing in the Digitalbooks will consist of pictures from previous photo spreads.
Daily Maimi for 1/28: “Recently…”
In her update on the official ℃-ute blog, Maimi wrote that recently she has forgotten her cellphone a lot, including today when she left it at home. While she usually sleeps on the train, today she was unable to as she felt uneasy about being able to reach her destination without any trouble. She wrote that it was similar to another time when she forgot her cellphone at work, and her manager held onto it for her over-night. The following day she had to go to a new location for work, but she wasn’t able to look up the train route on her cellphone like she usually does. In the morning Maimi used her mom’s cellphone to look it up and wrote herself a note, but this time she even forgot the note. She couldn’t contact her mom or her manager, so she had to rely on her memory of what she wrote. She was able to arrive at the location, albeit a little early. Maimi wrote that she thought not having a cellphone is impossible, and expressed her amazement that people were able to meet up in a time before cellphones. She then reassured all her readers that she arrived home safely, and that she would be careful as to not forget it in the future. Lastly, she shared a picture she took from yesterday.
At Sweet time, Maimi updated that she was currently shopping for Nacky and Mai’s birthday presents, and then that she was watching “DEATH NOTE” on TV despite having seen it in the theater.
Yajima Maimi & Suzuki Airi special event announcement
The official Hello! Project website has announced that there will be a special DVD release event for Maimi and Airi’s movies “Black Angels” and “Keitai Kanojo”. The event will feature both Maimi and Airi together, and will take place three times on May 14th. There will be a talk segment, a handshake session, and a special present lottery at the event. “Keitai Kanojo” will be released on DVD on 4/6 and “Black Angels” will be released on 4/27.
Daily Maimi for 1/27: “Start!!”
In her update at the official ℃-ute blog, Maimi wrote that the sword-fighting practice for the update of last July’s play, “Ran”, began yesterday. She spent about five and a half hours yesterday practicing, and when she woke up this morning her body was really sore. The practice requires a considerable amount of her physical strength, but Maimi has fun when she’s moving her body. She then wrote that after the last play ended they told her she could keep Ran’s swords, and that they’ve been at her house ever since, becoming an item that she is emotionally attached to. When she used them again at yesterday’s practice, her old sense for using them was revived. Maimi then wrote that it was the first time she has seen the writer/director Hata Takehiko and her co-stars in awhile, and that she was glad to see them all doing well. She reminded everyone that the play would be running from 5/22 to 5/29, and said she will give the performances her all. Unfortunately Maimi forgot to take any pictures during the practice yesterday, so she uploaded a picture from ℃-ute’s photo session today.
At Sweet time, Maimi updated that she had muscle pain in her neck, shoulders, and sides. She then updated from the photoshoot, pointing out a cute bookcase in the studio. Lastly, Maimi updated while they were on the move and wrote that Airi had fallen asleep on her shoulder. She said Airi was cute, and thanked her for her hard work today.
Natalie.mu article on “Black Angels”
The Japanese entertainment news site natalie.mu has posted an article regarding the upcoming release of a new collection of the “Black Angels” comic. While the article focuses mostly on the new cover that was drawn to reflect the live-action movie poster, it also contains a lot of large images of Maimi from the movie. The DVD for “Black Angels”, in which Maimi plays the heroine “Reira”, will be released on 4/27.
Daily Maimi for 1/26: “Pardon the intrusion”
In her update on the official ℃-ute blog, Maimi wrote that when work ended early yesterday, she asked the staff if she could go see Chisato’s live, and unexpectedly they allowed it. Her intent was to go and watch secretly without Chisato knowing, but she accidentally bumped into her in the hallway. Maimi ended up watching the live from the back of the crowd, and said that it looks like the fans were having fun. Watching Chisato perform ℃-ute’s songs by herself made Maimi want to work hard so that she can hold a solo live also. She then wrote that she’s going to tanobaru today so that it becomes a wonderful day, and that she’d see all her readers again in tomorrow’s update.
At Sweet time, Maimi updated that the sword-fighting practice for May’s play “Ran” began today, and that she was working really hard. She then updated that, like always, she was playing with her cute pet dog Cologne.
The producer/director of Maimi’s play “Ran -2011 New Version!-“, Hata Takehiko, wrote on his blog that he met Maimi again today after a long time for the play’s sword-fighting practice, and that being around her is a good feeling because of her high level of professionalism.
Daily Maimi for 1/25: “Meaningful song”
In her update on the official ℃-ute blog, Maimi wrote that today she was going to explain in-depth her earlier comments about a song from the B2 setlist of the Hello! Project concert that she is emotionally attached to. The song in question was performed by Niigaki Risa, and is Fujimoto Miki’s “Boogie Train ’03”. Around the time of the song’s release, Maimi and the others were still performing as part of Hello! Project Kids, and often served as the back-up dancers for the other girls during concerts. All of the Kids were overjoyed when they heard that they could appear in the music video and TV performances of “Boogie Train ’03”, but they’d have to be able to perform the dance perfectly and be able to follow Fujimoto. All of the Kids were split into teams, and the tought of her team being able to appear on the TV shows she always dreamed of appearing on made Maimi really happy. Maimi wrote that they were then taught the dance and practiced within their team, but she was unable to remember the dance. During a practice she was the only person who stopped dancing and she looked around at the others, unable to remember the dance, when the instructor told her she was out. Maimi was overcome with frustration and couldn’t stop crying. She was told that if she can’t remember the dance practicing as much as everyone else, then she needs to practice 2 or 3 times more than everyone else. From then on, everyday she’d go to work even if she had no lessons, and would practice by herself in the studio. Maimi wrote that to this day she still remembers watching “Boogie Train ’03” being performed on TV and thinking that if she was able to do that dance at that time, that could’ve been her. While it was really frustrating at that time, Maimi said that she believes that it taught her a very important lesson. Because of her hard work at that time, Maimi is now able to remember the dances perfectly. When she was watching Niigaki perform the song from her seat, what should have been a shameful song for her to hear strangely became a song she was able to have fun listening to. Lastly, Maimi reminded everyone of Chisato’s solo live, and apologized for uploading photos she took awhile ago.
At Sweet time, Maimi wrote that she was nervous as she was heading out to Chisato’s live, and then updated afterwards that she enjoyed herself.
Morning Musume and Hello! Project leader Takahashi Ai also mentioned Maimi in an update about ℃-ute on her official blog, writing that she was impressed with how level-headed Maimi was as they talked about the future and the troubles of being a leader together. She wrote that however, the beautiful Maimi is unexpectedly an airhead.
First “Piramekid” DVD details
A product listing at 7 net shopping has surfaced with the details of the first “Piramekid” DVD release. The DVD will be released on 3/23 and will contain the first 7 episodes.
Maimi plays the character “Momokawa Momoko” (pictured above) in the series, and is prominently featured in most episodes.
Maimi’s profile pictures updated
Maimi, along with all the other ℃-ute members, has had her profile at the official Hello! Project site updated. Her profile pictures now feature the outfit for ℃-ute’s upcoming single, “Kiss Me Aishiteru”. Her profile can be viewed here.
Daily Maimi for 1/24: “Costume introduction ②”
In her update at the official ℃-ute blog, Maimi wrote that the Hello! Project tour ended yesterday, and despite lasting the entire month, it went by in the blink of an eye. She likes the motivation she gets from performing with the other members of Hello! Project, and she is able to study a lot from them, while at the same time becoming competitive towards them. Maimi wrote has a lot of fun, and that if the fans are able to return home having had fun, Maimi will be happy. She then continued the “costume introduction” corner that she began yesterday, starting with the costume from the A-pattern High-King performances (picture 1). All of the members had different suits on, and Maimi’s one had baggy pants. She then introduced the last costume of the series, the final outfit from both the A-pattern and B-pattern concerts (picture 2). Maimi pointed out that her favorite part of the costume is the clown mask on her head, although it can’t be seen in the picture she uploaded. She wrote that when she wears this costume she gets the feeling of a festival, and she gets really excited just by wearing it. Maimi then announced that this tour’s costume introduction corner has finished, and she thanked everyone who read it. Next, Maimi shared a bonus picture of her together with Berryz Koubou member and Buono! leader Tsugunaga Momoko. She wrote that from the start of the concert rehearsals to the final performance yesterday, she was able to spend a lot of time with members that she hasn’t in a long time, and that all their conversations were a lot of fun. Lastly, Maimi wished everyone a wonderful day today.
At Sweet time, Maimi updated that it was raining and commanded all the pollen to wash away. Shortly after, she updated again apologizing for making such sinister comments, and said she can endure the pollen. Finally, she wished for success for all those students taking exams.
MaimiLog 