Hello to all the fans of myself and Ranma 1/2!  After a multitude of requests for a peek at the SwimmerSong calendar that I posed for over a year ago, I am posting a few choice pics here.  The calendar only saw limited release in Australia (where the company is located), and my home nation of Japan.  Many American fans were left out of the loop, so I am pleased to provide you with these photos.

When I got the first call from the account rep at SwimmerSong, this was my reaction when they first mentioned the picture shoot.  *wink*

In actuality, I've always had a secret fantasy to be a model on the runway and to 'strut my stuff' in front of everyone.  Given that I was in my late 20's, I figured that this opportunity might not come again (at least not while I'm still in the shape that I've had since graduating high school), I had no problem telling them that I'd do it.

I chartered a cruise ship to take me from Tokyo, Japan to Macross, a small island in the South Pacific.  For the entire trip I was so excited about the trip that I spent a lot of time on the rail near the bow of the ship hoping that the island would come into view soon!  My accountant, who goes with me wherever I travel, took this picture during a moment of deep thought.

This is another moment in time captured by my accountant while I was awaiting my turn in front of the camera.  I love my baby sister Akane with all my heart, but I was almost ready to haul her off of the set.   She was taking a long time to get ready in front of the camera due to the fact that the suit that they'd picked out for her was a little too revealing for her up top.

The argument between she and the crew lasted a good while, and during all that time I was stuck sitting under an umbrella on one of the small boats we used to get to the shores of Macross.  The irony of all of this is that right when it was my turn to shoot they decided to change my swimsuit.  I didn't have a problem with the plunging neckline, but they thought that it wasn't revealing enough!  *sigh*

So they sent me back to my dressing tent with the purple neck-hugging suit that you see here.  I have to admit that they were right about showing off more with the new one.  I thought that the swimsuit would be more conservative until I put it on.  Talk about wearing something that was painted on!

I've no problem with nudity, at home that is, but wearing that suit almost made me feel that I wasn't wearing anything at all in public!  They moved Kasumi's shoot up to my slot while I was changing, so I wound up using the idle time to get used to the idea of having my nearly-bare body on display courtesy of the very sheer fabric.

Fortunately I'm not terribly inhibited, so my above words make me seem to be more upset than I actually was.  So it wasn't long before I got used to wearing the swimsuit and then patiently waited while my big sister had her moment in the spotlight.

The magic moment came and it was FINALLY my turn!  Never have I done so much jumping, leaping, twirls, loops and odd contortions before!  I didn't know just how much of a workout posing could be but I was really sore at the end of my hour long shoot.

We had a five minute break, the photographer wasn't getting the impact that he wanted, and Kasumi had come up with some idea of using a jacket.  I thought it would cover me up too much, but as the final product on the left shows, that jacket wound up focusing attention on all the "important bits" of my body.

After the shooting wrapped, we spent the rest of the week on the ship and occasionally back on the island.  Outside of the temporary frustration of having to wait my turn under that hot sun, I had a blast!  If you ever wanted to try swimsuit modeling, you should do it just once.  It'll convince you one way or the other if it's what you want to do with your life.

Oh, and that swimsuit that I was having difficulty wearing?  I wound up buying it. *smile*

So that's my experience, in a nutshell, of the calendar shoot.  Thanks to the kind crew at SwimmerSong for their gracious treatment of an inexperienced swimsuit model.  Many thanks also goes to my sisters Akane and Kasumi, for joining me on the shoot.  I love you both! (and to Akane:  You're 110% woman as that "Miss May" pic of you shows.  All that working out with Ranma in the dojo paid off!)   Special and deeply personal thanks goes to my accountant for all of his support and constant presence.  You occupy a special place in my life.