Favorite Year in All Things Mizuki Nana

[hot0rikun967]

Taking into consideration major releases, character songs/soundtrack vocal credits, voice acting roles, live concerts/appearances, advertisement, and other forms of media: which is your favorite year in Mizuki Nana's history since she came onto the scene in 1998? If you want to, you can tell us why as well!

Also, I added 2014 as an option, just in case this year turns out to be amazing and you haven't voted yet or want to change your vote!

[hot0rikun967]

2010 was my favorite year because she was so prolific. She released two singles within a month of each other, both of which were incredible (with the "PHANTOM MINDS" and "Silent Bible" PVs being two of my favorite of all time); she released an amazing album to follow up and outdo the success of her chart-topping "ULTIMATE DIAMOND" in 2009 in terms of sales, and "IMPACT EXCITER" came with a very enjoyable DVD. It's Limited Edition cover is one of my favorite album covers of all time. LIVE GAMES was an extraordinary concert, with that awesome spaceship for "NEXT ARCADIA" probably being one of the coolest props Nana's ever used in a concert--not to mention the "TIME TO IMPACT EXCITER" short movie that played before the performance that included Nana hiding under a box a la Snake from Metal Gear Solid. With regards to that franchise, "Koi no Yokushiryoku" became so popular that it made the cut for her album and it received its own fun dance video. LIVE ACADEMY was a nice venue change that felt very intimate in comparison to the previously held LIVE DIAMOND at Seibu Dome, and so it was well-appreciated. Plus, the character song corner at LIVE ACADEMY was unexpected and fun. Nana's reaction to drawing "DESIRE" from the lottery was priceless, and the nurse outfit fit perfectly with the performance of "MUGO・N・・・Iroppoi". Also, Nana teamed up with Okui Masami for an incredible performance of "UNCHAIN WORLD" at Animelo Summer Live 2010. It elicited memories of their duet of Okui's signature "Rinbu Revolution" back in 2006, and it was like everything came back around for the "UNCHAIN WORLD" performance. Back in 2006, Nana was just getting off the ground as a mega force in Jpop, and Okui was already the top performer in the anison genre, right next to Hayashibara Megumi. To watch the "UNCHAIN WORLD" performance was like an acknowledgement that the torch had been passed and Nana was now the undisputed queen of anison. Overall, it was an incredibly fun year to be a Nana fan, and she released some of her most memorable and beloved work that year

[Sai]

I feel iffy voting on any year before 2009, as I was only vaguely aware of her at that point and didn't really start following her closely until then. That being said, I think I'd have to give my vote to 2012, with 2011 being a close second.

2012 was just filled with great releases throughout, starting with Synchrogazer being released on my birthday (clearly an auspicious sign for the year to come ) and I particularly remember enjoying that summer a lot thanks to TIME SPACE and BRIGHT STREAM. Then topping off the year with the awesome ROCKBOUND NEIGHBOURS was awesome. Also, even though it technically happened in 2011, I always tend to associate LIVE CASTLE with 2012 since that's when the DVD came out and we finally got a chance to see it. LIVE CASTLE, particularly QUEEN'S NIGHT, blew me away!

2011 was really fun too, though. The dual-release of SK/PM were really fun to follow, and SCARLET KNIGHT is still pretty much one of the best Nana songs ever released, easily. THE MUSEUM II was nice and all too, giving me one of my favourite Nana songs, ROMANCERS NEO. But Live Grace was definitely the highlight of that year! <3

[gunsmithcat]

I go with 2011. It had Live Grace, Live Journey, and Live Castle, had impressive singles, as well as The Museum 2, a double single which would be only the fourth time a female singer would have two Top 5 singles at the same time in Japan, and there is Seven pieces, the first really insightful Nana documentary. I wasn't a big fan back then, but it seems to be the one year were Nana solidified her status as a top act. Also the 2011 performance at Animelo was very impressive.

Nana's career is very long lasting already, in a genre which has superstars coming and going again within three - four years. Thats is in itself pretty impressive already.

[relmy]

This is so hard!

I started listening to her from Justice to Believe, but I didn't start following her until just after ULTIMATE DIAMOND. Hmmm... I'm tempted to go for 2010 because I remember following the IE singles and all the news, and the first album/year always sticks out with any artist. 2011 was so good though, and so was 2012.

I think I'll have to go with 2011.

[stranger]

I was introduced to Nana's music in 2009, so as a disclaimer, it's possible 2008 or before I might have voted for had I been a fan then. Great Activity + Hybrid Universe were both great albums, it was when Nana really hit it big and the quality of her music finally went from ordinary/good to special/amazing, and when she also started getting involved with her own music (whether it be writing lyrics or writing the music too).

However, 2012 was the best for me. First, it started off with the epic Synchrogazer, which I've definitely played 100+ times, along with 理想論 which was also amazing. Those two songs alone managed to satisfy my appetite for new Nana songs until TIME SPACE/Bright Stream came out. You get Live Castle x Journey, which was basically a journey through Nana's career, and featured a lot of Museum II's material (which I also have fond memories of). It's definitely one of my favorite lives of her. Then you have her best selling single, Bright Stream, which was a very strong single overall. I rode my bike to "Fearless Hero" a lot that summer. However, the one thing that makes me pick 2012 is that one of my favorite pop albums of all-time and my favorite Nana album, Rockbound Neighbors, was released. I had so much fun listening to a new track every day and loving it in its own way until my copy of the album came a week after it was released. Star Road, Crescent Child, Hoshikuzu Symphony, Avalon no Oukan, Naked Child, Get My Drift?, Lovely Fruit, and so on, were all so amazing and I listen to all of them still today, even when that CD was literally stuck in my car's CD player and Ipod for 2 months. Star Road is my favorite Nana self-composition too (perhaps thanks to the colorful arrangement), and all her self-compositions are amazing. The PV for Lovely Fruit always put me in a good mood no matter what was happening. The photoshoot for the album is my favorite too, she was so stylish yet beautiful. So it'd be hard to pick any other year. Such great memories!

2011 I really liked too since a lot of cool things happened. We also got Shin'ai, the autobiography, which was really my first real glimpse into Nana's life (well, as much of a glimpse as us outsiders will ever get!). It was around then and when Museum II came out that I started becoming a hardcore Nana fan.

So if I had to pick the top 5 years:
1. 2012
2. 2007
3. 2006
4. 2011
5. 2009

[teddy]

I'd pick 2009! I loved Ultimate Diamond and Live Diamond!

[Arnold]

I'd pick 2012 with no doubt. She released 3 singles (1/11, 6/6, 8/1) and 1 original album (12/12).
Also she reached at the peak of the sales on the Oricon Weekly.