Published
December 31 2010
Translated
February 15 2011
1995→2010: Seems like things haven't changed, but maybe they have? Looking back on 15 years!
With Newsletter #28’s 15th anniversary feature entitled “Maaya Sakamoto 1995→2010”, we thought we’d list up a comparison of what things have changed in what way over 15 years. Enjoy!
| 15 years ago | Today | |
|---|---|---|
| Name you get called by | Maaya, Maaya-san | Maaya, Maaya-chan, Maaya-san, Sakamossan |
| Hairstyle | Black, short bob (curly) | Black, bob (straight) |
| Pet phrase | Flat-out hilarious | Hilarious |
| Hobbies | Long conversations on the phone and reading | Traveling and reading |
| Cell phone | No one had anything like that yet | I use two |
| Computer | No computer, but I had a word processor | A MacBook Pro and a MacBook Air |
| Exercise | The school handball team (3–4 times a week) | Jogging, every once in a while |
| Drink you often buy | Lipton milk tea, in cartons | Starbucks’ soy caffè misto or a double tall soy latte |
| Breakfast | A pastry | Soy milk, or sometimes nothing |
| Specialty dish | Never cooked before | Various Japanese foods |
| Your type of guy, if you chose someone famous | Issei Ishida | Hiroshi Abe, Kuranosuke Sasaki, and lately Osamu Mukai too |
| Pet | A parrot named Pii-chan | None |
| Wallet | Something I bought at a variety store | A Louis Vuitton |
| TV | I didn’t have a TV in my room, so I listened to radio all the time. | A 40-inch LCD TV I won playing bingo at the “Kara no Kyōkai” wrap-up party. |
| TV show | “Atsushi Watanabe’s Building Quest”, “Feelin’ Real Good” | General news shows. Also, when Summers is on I can’t not watch. |
| Portable music player | I’m pretty sure I had an MD Walkman. Wait—maybe I was still listening to cassettes? | iPod nano |
| Comedians | Itsuji Itao | Summers, Waraimeshi |
| Music | I was hooked on Queen | I don’t usually listen to music all that much |
| Disliked foods | Melons, ramen, persimmons, sōmen, the pineapple in sweet and sour pork, and numerous other things. | Same as 15 years ago. Sōmen is the only thing I’ve become able to eat. |
| Favorite foods | Peaches, pasta | Peaches, sushi, eel |
| Favorite sweets | Dango covered in sweetened soy sauce, Galbo | Japanese sweets in general, ice cream |
| Books | Mostly novels | Mostly space science and other science texts |
| Curfew | Sundown | None |
| Favorite colors | Red | Gold, blue |
| Collection | Photo booth pictures | If I had to say, cameras |
| Personal fad | Aloe yogurt, McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish | Fish sausage, pickled daikon |
| Qualifications | Eiken Pre-2 | Eiken Pre-2 and a standard driver’s license (automatics only) |
| On your wishlist | A pager | A car |
| Where you hang out with friends | Karaoke, or chatting at restaurants or fast food places | Heated stone spas, places with good food and drinks, short trips |
| Wristwatch | Don’t wear one | Don’t wear one |
| Favorite things in miso soup | Tubers like sweet potatoes or russet potatoes | I like anything so long as it’s not deep-fried |
| Favorite sushi topping | Anago | Fish sliced with the skin left on |
| Favorite season | Winter | Winter |
| Dream | I want to try working a part-time job | I want to go on a trip around the world |
| Best subjects | English, history | I don’t remember anything I did in school anymore. |
| Relaxation | Time spent chatting with friends after classes | Time spent soaking in the tub and cooking |
| Comics | I read all of “Ping-Pong Club”. | I read the ones I played a part in. Aside from that, “Saint Young Men”. |
| Favorite spots | School, the studio | The studio, Korea, Europe, Fukuoka, airports, rivers |
| Skills | Impersonating teachers | Cooking, waking up early |
| Time you thought you would die | There were several times when I laughed so hard with my friends that I seriously thought I would die of laughter. | This year I had my wisdom teeth taken out. The surgeries were so taxing that they inflicted a lot of mental and physical damage. |
| Fashion | All about knee-length skirts. | I wear black all the time. |
| Birthday | At home, with family. | At the Budōkan, with 13,000 people. |