Nico Nico Niiii!!
The RevolAsia members dedicated a whole day to the very popular idol Nico Yazawa of the famous Japanese anime series “Love Live! School Idol Project”.
Everyone showed up in a different Nico outfit and had a lot of fun!
Cosplayers: Yume Tenshi Nimoko, Fia Lamenta, Navigators Cosplay, Patti Yamikari
Photos and editing by: Nimoko
I call him “The father of Dolls” as Kev Yiu is the creator of beautiful custom Anime Dolls! They are so amazing that his Doll Label “Mini Couture” has spread all around the social Networks. But this is only one Passion of the very popular and successful Fashion Designer. Let me first give you an summary of how everything has started:
Kev Yiu is a Hong Kong designer who studied in England and graduated with triple distinctions in Fashion and Clothing. In 2006, he began his career in bags and garments and launched his own brand “Sovereign romance” in England as a foreign designer.
Having studied in England for years, Kev was very much inspired by the European fashion culture and firmly believes that fashion is much more than a business, but it’s also an art form which can be translated into a visible language to express his point of views. His aim is to bring Love and Romance into the fashion industry as well as peoples’ daily lives.
His designs have been strongly appreciated and worn by celebrities in Hong Kong such as Sammi Cheng, Twins, Myolie Wu, Ivana Wong, Fiona- Sit & Kary Ng Etc. And recently he was selected as one of the “Rise & Shine” Fashion influences by Hong Kong well known magazine “Jessica Code”.
Geeks Life Luxembourg: Mr Yiu, thank you so much for giving us the time to talk about your beautiful handcrafted dolls. They are really amazing and have become quite popular, that’s why we have become curious about their origin.
1. But actually this is just a small part of your passion and talent as in fact you are a fashion designer and creator of the brand Kevolie?
Mr Yiu: Yes indeed, I am a fashion designer in real life but I was grown as an animation lover, making dolls is like a hobby for me to escape from my intensive work 🙂
2. You started making use of your dollmaker talent and sharing it with others? How did that happen? What was the main inspiration?
Mr Yiu: I learnt how to make puppets when I was studying in England and I have always been very keen on dolls since I was little and I am a Sailor Moon doll collector as well.
3. I’ve heard about your huge Sailor Moon vintage doll collection. How many official Sailor Moon dolls do you own now and how long did it take to collect them?
Mr Yiu: As I mentioned I am a Sailor Moon doll collector, I have collected over 200+ vintage dolls from different countries, mostly japan, for the Japan edition I am still missing the non-taking Jupiter from season SS and the deluxe Moon set B from season S, I would be willing to exchange them with my work if anyone is willing to hahaha! It took me around 7 years.
Every Doll is handcrafted with so much passion and Love. This is what makes them so special and gives every one a heart and soul.
As far as I can recall, about two years ago I accidentally encountered a clip showing how custom dolls are made and I was like why not giving it a try?
So I purchased some second handed dolls and started practicing on hair rooting and face painting , sewing dolly dresses has never been a problem for me as I have been making dresses for human for over 10 years .
4. By that occasion, what is your favourite Sailor Moon character and why?
Mr Yiu: I like the villians most as they have wonderful and complicated designs.
5. Let’s get back to your dolls now. How long have you been making them?
Mr Yiu: I have just picked up this hobby for 2 years but my ultimate goal is to launch my own fashion doll line, but I still need more practice to achieve that.
6. With your experience being a designer you got many abilities for making the dolls clothes. But how about hair and face? Did you visit a workshop?
Mr Yiu: I basically learn from trial and failure and YouTube (thanks for all youtuber!)
7. Imagining your full time job as fashion designer at Kevolie, how do you even manage to find any time for this passion? Must be very hard?
Mr Yiu: I only have time to get the dolls done when I have a day off, or any sleepless night will do lol!
8. And how long does it take you to finish a doll?
Mr Yiu: For simple ones it takes around 12 hours but for complicated ones I can spend up to 45 hours.
9. How can your fans order a doll handcrafted by you? Do you have an online shop?
Mr Yiu: I am planning to launch an online platform selling fan made and originals, stay tuned. For now they can direct message me via Facebook 😊
Thank you Mr Kev Yiu for giving us the chance to take a look at your beautiful work and we hope that we will see more of your beautiful dolls in the future!
Until the online shop launches and for further information about his beauties, contact: https://www.facebook.com/KYminicouture/
Konnichi wa minna!
The last but beautiful stop during my Japan trip is Kyoto! It was the most beautiful city I have visited so far, very traditional, with so much nature and many temples and shrines that give you so much peace in your heart.
First of all, I’d like to show you pictures of Kyoto’s beautiful temples and shrines. Of course there are many others but unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to visit them all …
So this was my last entry in my Nippon blog and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did ^^ if you ever get the chance to travel to Japan, I highly recommend it to you!
Ja nee minna! <3<3
During my journey through Japan, I also visited the famous Universal Studios in Osaka, which I must say are really awesome! Let me give you a small Tour through the most famous movies in the world!
Harry Potter 
Jurassic Parc
Jaws
The Minions
The amazing Spiderman
Well that’s it! I really recommend to visit the Universal Studios if you ever travel to Osaka, it is worth it!
Ja nee! 😀
Every one knows that Tokyo Tower is a City Highlight for Sightseeing in Tokyo. But for Otakus, there is much more than just a wonderful sight above the City. Let me show you that part of the tower where you can go on adventure with Captain Luffy
and his Crew of the famous anime ONE PIECE!
I hope you enjoyed the tour through the One Piece Tower and I really recommend to visit it when you ever get near by ^^
Kiwotsukete ne!
Konnichi wa minna!
I am sure you already heard about Theme Cafés in Japan? These are Cafés about a special topic where they serve food and drinks related to this design.
I will introduce two different types of theme cafés to you today, although there are much more. In Japan, there are no limits to fantasy and fancy ideas of cafés 🙂
Let’s start with the typical maid Café!
When your kawai food is served, the Maids often play games with you or give you small gadgets to entertain the customers and give you an all-round “Kawai” Feeling. It is always a pleasant experience and is highly recommended by me 😀 (Photos taken at MaiDreamin Akihabara)
https://maidreamin.com/multilp/
Check out the Theme Song and Dance of MaiDreamin! It is really cool and you hear that song all around Akihabara 😀
The next Theme Café I experienced myself was a Cat Café! In this café you don’t pay your drinks and food, you pay for the time you spend. It is all you can drink and counted per hour or every 20 minutes you spend in the café. The main topic is cats, so there are cats running around free and you can pet them. If they need their free space, the café has many possibilities to climb onto a higher point of view where the visitors can’t reach them.
Have you ever heard of the famous dog Hachiko? Surely you have, as he has been very popular since the 1920s. He actually became so famous that his story has been adapted unto the screen several times already.
For the ones who don’t know, let me tell you the story of this unbelievable faithful dog…
Once upon a time, in 1924, a Japanese professor in agriculture science at Tokyo University named Ueno Eizaburo adopted a small Akita puppy. He called him Hachiko or Hachi and soon the two of them became best friends.
As Hachiko grew older, he started to memorise the times when his best friend Eizaburo went to work and when his train from work returned at Shibuya station in Tokyo. So he began to bring him to the train station and waited for him to return in the evening every single day.
It’s a very sad story that gained a lot of attention, inspiring many people to visit Hachiko and give him treats. They called him “Chuken-Hachiko” which means faithful dog.
On the left: Shibuya station in the 1920s, on the right: Shibuya station today
But one fateful day, when Hachiko was only two years old, he was sitting as usual at the exit of Shibuya station but his best friend didn’t come home. Eizaburo had died unexpectedly by a cerebral haemorrhage at work.
Hachiko was adopted by a member of the Ueno family but he still didn’t give up hope for his buddy to return. Throughout the rest of his ten-year-old life and until his death in 1935, he waited at the exit of Shibuya station every single day grieving for his best friend, who would never return to him…
Hachiko died alone in the streets near Shibuya station. Many people were grieving for him as he was loved by the citizens of Shibuya.
In honour of him several memorials were built such as the one in front of Shibuya Station Exit and the one next to Eizaburos tomb at Aoyama Graveyard in Tokyo.
So in the end the two inseparable friends were finally reunited and can rest in peace forever.
+ In Memory of Ueno Eizaburo and Hachiko, best friends forever … +
Konnichi-wa minna!
Today I am going to show you the part of Tokyo that makes every Anime-Boy and -Girl’s heart beat faster: Akihabara! You find everything you need, from Anime figures and plushes to dolls, pillows, clear files…
Akihabara is also popular for Anime Second-hand shops, where you can find some very rare treasures 🙂 Let me give you a glance of Tokyo’s Anime paradise!
I hope you enjoyed the small trip to Tokyo’s Anime heaven!
Kiwotsukete ne! (Take care of yourself!)
Konnichi wa minna! (Hello guys)
I had the chance to travel through the beautiful country of Japan during the last two weeks and I wanted to give you some impressions I got about this beautiful landscape and culture. At First, I will give you a brief impression of the country and its culture, before I give you a deeper sight to different Cities and places I got to explore ^^.
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you got a small impression of Japanese food and Culture. I will show you more of my Japanese Adventure next time.
Ja nee! 🙂
Nao Yazawa (谷沢 直, Yazawa Nao, born on July 29) is a Japanese manga-ka born in Tokyo, Japan. She discovered her passion for drawing already in her childhood and studied Chinese History before she got to publish her first manga arts.
She worked on several stories until 2000. One of the most famous was the shojo story Wedding Peach, which is about teenage girls becoming love angels and saving the world against demons. The manga was soon published as an animated series which has been very popular and loved by many fans until today.
In 2003, she released the shojo manga Nozomi, a story about a girl who makes a wish upon a falling star that leads her to a demon who teaches her about love. It was the first manga she drew for English readers.
In 2010, she released Mizuki. The story is about a teenage girl who transforms into a devil whenever she gets angry and must fight against evil monsters. In 2011, she released Moon and Blood, which is about a teen vampire boy who lives with a family.
In 2012, she began teaching classes on how to make manga in Tokyo as well as teaching overseas through Japan Foundation Toronto. In 2013, she published her autobiographical four-panel manga Go-Go Nao-P in English. Her most recent work is called “The isolated zone” which talks about a post-apocalyptic world.
Geeks Life Luxembourg: It is a great honor for the staff of Geeks Life Luxembourg to do an interview with you, Yazawa-sensei, and we want to express our deepest thanks.
At first, let’s talk about your current work.
Yazawa-Sensei: Nothing specific. I was interested in history, anthropology and sociology and decided to choose history for university. Just pure interested, but I thought studying history would give me some ideas about stories and characters of manga. Choice for chinese history is no specific reason. It was less popular than Western history. (In Japan, history is separated in Japanese history, Eastern history (Chinese history) and Western history.)
2. You currently teach manga classes. Have you noticed any differences between Japanese students and those overseas?
Yazawa-Sensei: Non-Japanese people have disadvantage compared with Japanese people. I think it’s because the time when they have started to read manga and the contents of their first manga. There are many manga for kids in Japan, simple and easy ones. Then it gets complicated, with sophisticated expression little by little, along with growing up. So many Japanese get basic method of manga without knowing, which non-Japanese people struggle to get sometimes. It’s especially clear the field of composing, storyboard (panel work) part.
3. Your current work, The Isolated Zone, is very different from your previous ones. How did you come up with the plot? Do you have similar projects planned for the future?
Yazawa-Sensei: This is not my new work, rather old work – it is non-commercial work, started as Dojinshi. In a way it is my oldest work because when I started to draw the work, I was university student and it’s before my debut (although it is Dec. 2010 when I finished). So in a way, you can say it is my true taste. I made it just as a hobby – what I wanted to draw. (The very beginning, I did it for a doujinshi my friend started. It was focused on Fantasy/SF, so she asked me something Sci-Fi and that was my answer.)
I still have some more story idea about the series, or something similar. If there is no order/limit, I might make something like that. But I also love to draw light touch comedy, slapstick type gag, like I’m doing at Coffee Party project.
Now let’s focus on one of your most famous works that is still very loved by many fans over the world, Wedding Peach.
Yazawa-Sensei: It is not my original, as you know, I have Sukehiro Tomita, he created original concept and Kazuko Tadano designed characters. Her design is sort of proto-tpy (very anime), so I gave some changes for Manga (Discussed it with my editor and chief editor). Momoko’s painted hair (black hair), school uniform were done with strong insistence by Chao’s chief editor, for instance. (I wasn’t completed agree with it, though. lol) The visual appearance was based on Kazuko Tadano’s work, and basic concept had done by Sukehiro Tomita. But I interpreted them to move them as my characters. I think during my interpretation, the concept would have been changed.
The concept is flowers, frills, dresses and young girls – so I checked many magazines for young girls and Wedding. Since it was a total unfamiliar field to me. My editor gave me “Bridal” Magazines.
2. In your opinion what makes the Wedding Peach girls stand out in the world of shojo heroines?
Yazawa-Sensei: We didn’t try to be any specific. At least I didn’t. The three (4) characters are typical anime-shojo group characters, especially Momoko. No ordinary girl but very typical anime girl. I wanted to put weight on story/character part, that what I cared. If a girl fell in love with someone, there must be a reason. Not because he is good looking, not because he is smart, nor “destiny” person. There must be something special. It might make Wedding Peach different from others.
Wedding Peach is Magical fighting girls story, so there are enemies, there is fight, save something and so on…but I tried to describe characters personality and the process how it’s going to change, especially building relationship. If this part could have got fans attention, I’m pretty happy.
3. Many fans wanted to know why the anime story ended after the 4th episode of Wedding Peach DX even if it seemed like an open ending.
Yazawa-Sensei: Just because of commercial reason, budget. It’s not sold well enough to continue. The producer had tried, he said to me and was planning but he couldn’t.
4. Wedding Peach celebrated its 20th anniversary and many fans are hoping for a remake, continuation or new merchandise. But until now, nothing’s been announced. Do you think there could be a chance for something like that or should the fans enjoy the already existing story?
Yazawa-Sensei: Again, simply commercial reason. Not enough fans voice to make new series, unfortunately. KSS got in charge for the anime making, but the company got bankrupt and there is no more. It might be one reason why it’s hard to make sequence. (I don’t know, though)
For some reason, the series got popular in Germany and Korea – especially in Korea. Some new merchandise were released there, such as smartphone cases… etc.
5. Ai Tenshi Densetsu Wedding Peach was transformed into an animated series. Were you happy about the way the anime turned out or would you have changed anything?
Yazawa-Sensei: Wedding Peach was a so-called “media mix project”. Anime was the plan from the first, but it was hard (We had problems to get a toy company sponsor) and we were almost giving up – it was almost the last minutes all problems were cleared. Yes, we were so happy and so busy because of it.
Because Anime and Manga walked different ways, I enjoyed the anime a lot. I’m not sure but might have got some ideas from the anime.
It has set me free – in a way. Tomita was a chief scenario writer of anime, and it kept him busy, he stopped to write manga story – withdrew manga team and concentrated on the anime. I had been already free, gave a lot changes to story Tomita did, but after the anime had started, both of us had worked individually.
We want to thank you again for your time and patience and hope to see more of your beautiful work in the future.
Yazawa-Sensei: Thank you! 🙂
Geeks Life Luxembourg 