JANUARY 2006

January 5, 2006
Happy New Year!
This is Long Skirt. I had plenty of sleep over the holidays, so I'm not yet exhausted so far.

I was back with my folks for New Year's Day. It was warmer there, so I sort of loosened up. But back in Kokubunji, I had to face a polar temperature.
Today was the first day back at work, but I didn't feel like getting out of my futon and step into the cold world outside. I tried to get changed staying inside the futon and did a boo-boo. I ended up wearing my sweater backwards, so I gave up and got up. It was freezing.

Anyway, we can't relax and sit back after the New Year break.
The reason is people shoot "New Year" greetings at you at the most unexpected times from the most unexpected directions.

I am a "preemptive striker" type: I need to say "Happy New Year" before anyone else. So whenever I catch someone's shadow, I would quickly, before anyone else, start bowing deeper than anyone else.

Happy New Year! I appreciate your continued goodwill for the New Year!
I must shout it out really quickly. As I type this diary now, someone just jumped into the room and uttered the greetings before I was able to. I lost... Well, never mind.

In any case, I hope you will continue to support Blood+ this year as well. Thank you.

January 12, 2006
Hello, this is Long Skirt.
There is no time for me to relax and enjoy the New Year - my right heel has already "chiropterized."
If you look from behind, the heel is chapped and cracked with crevasses and surprisingly no moisture at all. You could say it's like a crystallized chiropteran that has just been slashed by Saya.
Don't worry.
I learned of a remedy from Ms. T-moto in the PR section. Her skin was chiropterized long before mine was. We both were tops when it came to dry skin at our workplace.
The remedy consists of hyaluronan. It's not a prescription, but just a skin care cosmetic product that contains hyaluronic acid. This is the only cure in the world for the chiropterization.
It's kind of too late, but I wish I could tell the Chiropterans about it. Even if you fight against Saya, no problem!
Crystallization can be prevented by simply applying hyaluronan.
If Karl only had hyaluronan in Episode 13, he could have prevented the nasty consequences. Poor Karl!
Note: This entry has no association in any way with the anime's content and setting.

January 13, 2006
Hello, this is OO.
As you might know already, Blood+'s new OP and ED will be aired starting this week. Hyde is responsible for the OP and Mika Nakashima for the ED (the first ED was sung by Chitose Moto). The OP's audio-visual production was completed the other day and was securely delivered. The work is absolutely cool. For the first time in a long time, I was stunned when I saw the image on the screen. It reminded me again that Kazuto Nakazawa's imagination is extraordinary.
For the ED, we've asked Chizu Hashii to do it again. We urged Hashii to draw more illustrations than the last time. As a result, it came out sentimental and it fits perfectly to the music score. I'm quite pleased with it.
When we change OP/ED, it means a lot of work, but the new OP/ED changes the entire atmosphere of the anime, which lets us feel revitalized to get to work.
Speaking of the anime, "that girl" reappears and reaffirms her friendship with Saya. Please look forward to that story and enjoy the upcoming Blood+.

January 19, 2006
Hello, this is Long Skirt.
About my right heel that got all dried up and chiropterized...
Well, I scrubbed it with a pumice stone I bought so that I could soften it up a little more.
The pumice stone sure can scrape away at human skin...

January 24, 2006
Hello. This is Matty.
Some of the key animators for Blood+ live far from Tokyo.
The deadline was getting close and my heart was thumping when I got a message, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I will be sending it today."
My instant reply was, "I need it today, or it will be too late! Please send it by Bullet Train Mail."
What I call Bullet Train Mail is a superb service that is actually called "Rail Go Service" provided by Japan Rail. If you dispatch a package in the early evening, it'll arrive in Tokyo the same night.
Well, it was about the time that the package should arrive, so I left Kokubunji to go all the way to the Yaesu Exit of Tokyo Station. When I arrived at the counter to pick-up the package of key animations due to arrive on the last train, there were already a few people in line.
At last the package arrived and was about to be handed to me when...

The first person in the queue said, "I am from *#%."
(Hoh... it's from that animation company in our area...)
The second person, "I am from !=\."
(Huh... from the famous animation company...)
The third person, "I am from $*&."
(Heh... I know that animation company...)

And then it was my turn. I was the fourth in the queue.
I was sort of reluctant to say I was from Production I.G.
I knew the three people in front of me and those behind me would all be picking on me silently in their hearts, "I.G, huh...? Why the hell there's nobody but anime studio guys queuing up here at this time of the night?!"
I felt embarrassed.
I murmured under my breath, "I.G..." Unfortunately the person at the counter couldn't hear me, so I had to shout out my name as I presented my name card.

The bullet train and animation...
It is an unbreakable bond that can reveal itself anywhere in this city.
So I found myself mumbling, under the midnight sky of Tokyo...