Naya's Story

     Hello everyone!  Today i will feature my friend NAYA -- one of the few nice people I've met on twitter.  Naya is from Indonesia.

Real name:     NADYA KIRANA PARAMITA

Nick name:      NAYA

     From our conversations on twitter, we've gotten to know each other a little better.  As a kid, she loved Japanese cartoons like Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon.  It inspired her to learn more about Japan, its culture and fashion.  She even chose to study the Japanese language in her literature class and says she enjoys it immensely.  Naya hopes to graduate soon.  (Goodluck Naya!)

     She said on her email:  "I think Japanese language is not that difficult and not that easy too, but if you seriously wanna learn it, they are always there to help you.  I wanna learn about their culture, and I like their music and fashion."

     Her friends call her Tayou (her Japanese name) because when she was little, she wrote Kotayou Miyami instead of Kotarou Minami (from Kamen Rider Black).  The name got stucked through the years...

     She loves the Harajuku Style and the colorful costumes.  "Harajuku Style means young people used their own costume and hang out at the Harajuku place" she said.

     Right now, she's more into a style they call VISUAL KEI.  "It doesn't have the gothic look", and she said "I can't describe how cool it is."  She adores Visual Kei music as well.

This is an example of the Visual Kei Style...

     Naya was in a band from 2005 till last year.  Her first group played pop and rock n roll music.  "But I don't really like it (honestly my voice so bad when I'm singing pop or slow songs" she added.  But when she discovered Visual Kei music, Naya realized that it suited her voice better.  "My voice can follow the music, like scream, growl, etc."  So then she started the band Puchaa GO Hell in 2006.   And then a year later, she joined ROTTEN TERROR and they were the champion in the Battle of Harajuku in Indonesia.

     These are the pictures of Naya and her band...

     Naya said that after awhile, her voice became more suited for metal music.  She also needed to leave the band because she opted to concentrate more on her studies...

     Naya with Sound of Inspiration Band, 2009.   "The first time same band with my lil sister.  And my last band too."

     COSPLAY (Costume Play) is Naya's special hobby which  she started five years ago.  This is where you dress up as characters from anime (cartoons), manga (comics) and J-artist. 

     Naya as Princess Venus from Sailor Moon...

     She participated in COSPLAY contests and also became a model for a band video clip.  Awesome, right? 

     Naya at the Jakarta Japan Matsuri (Jakarta and Japan Festival) with her mom and her little sister.  "My mom used Sakura Kinomoto school uniforms" and she's from "anime Card Sakura."

     Here she is during the shoot of the video where she appeared...

     And here's the video of the band Melody Maker where Naya was featured...

     Naya in her usual 'hanging out' clothes...

     "My friends and other people will tell me 'you're so weird, wanna be a Japanese girl or whatever.' " That doesn't bother her at all, rather, she's glad that she's not like the other girls.  "I am unique."  And she's quite grateful too that her family is always supportive of her.

     Thanks Naya for sharing your awesome pictures and your story.  You are indeed unique and very interesting.  I'm sure you have inspired a lot of people by just being yourself.

     Thank you Naya for showing us how you look.

~ Read more about her on her blog: Daily of NayaWockeeZ
~ Follow her on twitter...

*Photos used with permission from Nadya Kirana Paramita.

*Video of Melody Maker courtesy of YouTube.