The 2012 Olympics marked the biggest sports event of the year and saw London as the focus for the games. Plus, there were a few stories that caught J-Pop Go’s interest during the course of the event. Here’s our favourite Olympics stories…
Miliyah performs Coca-Cola’s Japanese campaign song for the Olympics
Singer Kato Miliyah teamed up with Coca-Cola for their Japanese campaign as part of the 2012 Olympics which involved her song HEART BEAT being adopted for the campaign music. The song. which was produced by Taku from m-flo, was also released as a single on 8th August.
Miliyah also performed in London in July for a surprise one-off show (although not without some controversy).
Gymnast Elsa Garcia Rodriguez Blancas performs to Zelda music
Mexican gymnast Elsa Garcia Rodriguez Blancas did her Olympic qualification routine to an arrangement of music from The Legend of Zelda.
This was a great combination of the Olympics and video games as Blancas performed to a backdrop of music taken from Zelda (arranged by violinist Lindsey Stirling). Unsurprisingly, Blancas grew up with a love for video games.
http://kotaku.com/5930983/olympic-gymnast-uses-zelda-medley-during-performance
Olympic Medalist Satomi Suzuki wants to be a Voice Actress
Japanese swimmer Satomi Suzuki is a fan of anime and video games (Suzuki was spotted playing the Sengoku Basara video game at the Athletes’ Village). Suzuki is also friends with voice actor Ryuuzou Ishino who plays a character in Sengoku Basara. Apparently, during a telephone call to her childhood swimming coach, Suzuki expressed an interest in developing a career as a voice actress.
Suzuki took three medals during the Olympics: silver in the Women’s 200m breaststroke, bronze in the Women’s 100m breaststroke and bronze in the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay event.
Saori Yoshida hoping for hug from NEWS’ Takahisa Masuda
Japanese wrestler Saori Yoshida won gold in the women’s 55kg freestyle wrestling – and hopes NEWS’ Takahisa Masuda will keep his promise to give her a hug.
Yoshida has won the gold medal in her category in every Olympics since Athens in 2004. Spurred on by support from NEWS fans online, she was also inspired by Masuda’s comments on a TV show. Asked if he would make any wish Yoshida wanted come true, Masuda agreed. On watching the video she commented that she’d love a hug from him!
http://aramatheydidnt.livejournal.com/4073713.html
http://aramatheydidnt.livejournal.com/4130037.html
Japanese Judo Gold Medalist becomes Eva meme
Japan’s Kaori Matsumoto took gold in the Judo event and the internet responded by noticing a resemblance between the spirited Matsumoto and Eva Unit 01 from popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.
http://kotaku.com/5932052/how-a-judo-olympian-spawned-an-anime-meme
Meanwhile, if you’re interested in how Japan fared at the Olympics, then pop over to the Japan Embassy website for all the details: http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/en/news/london_2012/updates.html
Text by Paul Browne
21st August 2012
With thanks to Mary Groutage