Buzz Panda
Buzz Panda as depicted by Max♀
Japanese	ばずぱんだ (Bazu Panda)
Also known as	Buzzpanda (alt. romanization) キクチリョウタ (Kikuchi Ryota, real name)[1]
Gender	Male
Born	December 09, 1991[2] (age 21)
Status	Active
Years active	2009-present
NND-related sites	NND user page mylist/17964723 co55808
YT channel	ryotakikuchi1

Buzz Panda (ばずぱんだ), known professionally as Kikuchi Ryota (キクチリョウタ, Ryota Kikuchi), is a singer-songwriter and utaite with a soft, calming, mid-range voice. He is known for covering songs with acoustic guitar arrangements, which tend to add a boy-next-door sort of feel.

While he is well-known for his acoustic covers, the vast majority of his original songs also have solely acoustic arrangements - as such, some of his original songs, especially "Blue", are fairly popular among aspiring guitarists. He occasionally provides off vocals of his acoustic arrangements for other utaite to use, some of which can be found on his Piapro.

He is good friends with other indie musicians such as Oshiba Hiroki (also known on NND as the composer Moja/もじゃ) and shoikeue, and often performs at concerts with them. As　Kikuchi Ryota, he has released 4 mini albums to date. At the time of their initial release, all of his albums were released independently, and were only available through mail order.

On March 1, 2013, he announced that he had signed a record deal with the indie label Strobe Music. In the same announcement, he stated that he was working on a new mini album (later revealed to be titled "Blue"), and that his previous albums will be re-released and available for sale on the Strobe Music website.^[3]

Affiliations and Collaboration ProjectsEdit

1. The Waltz of Anomalies (Nanou's album) (Released on September 28, 2011)
2. Girlfriend from Kyoto (Fullkawa Honpo's album) (Released on November 07, 2012)

List of Covered SongsEdit

DiscographyEdit

Hazimari Note
	Released on October 02, 2010 No. Title Lyrics Song Arrangement 1. "Opening" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 2. "Nijiiro no Oto" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 3. "Negaigoto" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 4. "Imasugu, Kimi ni" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 5. "Bokura no Uta" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota

sketch
	Released on February 11, 2011 No. Title Lyrics Song Arrangement 1. "Kyuukou Train" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 2. "Tonariawase" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 3. "Bokura no Rhythm" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 4. "Zutto Sono Mama" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 5. "Yakou Bus" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota

myself
	Released on November 25, 2011 No. Title Lyrics Song Arrangement 1. "Time" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 2. "Itsuka no Hanashi" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 3. "Mikansei no Tabi" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 4. "Shin'on" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 5. "Sayonara, Mata ne" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota

Sayonara Hello
	Released on July 31, 2012 No. Title Lyrics Song Arrangement 1. "Goodbye, Goodbye" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 2. "Sayonara Hello" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 3. "Hanabi" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 4. "Machi" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 5. "Blue" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota

Blue
Album cover illustrated by Haruyama Kana Promotional crossfade video (NND Broadcast) Promotional crossfade video (YT reprint)	Released on May 23, 2013 No. Title Lyrics Song Arrangement 1. "Gekkou" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 2. "Blue" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 3. "Sayonara, Mata ne" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 4. "12-gatsu to Sora" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota 5. "Monster" Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota Kikuchi Ryota

GalleryEdit

Buzz Panda, as seen in his former Twitter icon
Illust. by horos

Buzz Panda, as seen in his user icon

Buzz Panda as seen on Twitter

TriviaEdit

• He has stated that he doesn't mind either way whether his fans call him Buzz Panda or Kikuchi Ryota, citing his belief that what people call him doesn't change who he is or how he sings.^[4]
• He was born in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, and moved to Tokyo on his own in 2010 at the age of 18.^[5][6]
• He first got into music after joining the keion-bu (light music club) at his high school on a whim; and decided to pursue playing the guitar after watching his friend play electric guitar and thinking it looked "pretty cool". However, he was not the club's vocalist, and had never sung in public before being pushed to sing one verse of a song at a school festival. He describes his classmates as doing "a bit of a double take" in response.^[6]
• His favorite foods are dried yam snacks (芋ケンピ, imokenpi), and describes his consumption of them as an obsession.^[6]
• His favorite actress is Anne Hathaway, and considers her to be his "type". In addition, his current favorite song is her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the 2012 film version of Les Misérables.^[6]
• He is a big fan of the movie Toy Story; in fact, his name is derived from a combination of Buzz Lightyear (a character in the Toy Story franchise) and his panda phone charm.^[5]

External LinksEdit

• Artist Page on Strobe Music
• Tumblr
• Twitter
• Myspace
• Piapro
• mixi community

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ February 28, 2013 Tumblr post
2. ↑ December 09, 2012 Twitter status
3. ↑ March 1, 2013 Tumblr post
4. ↑ March 1, 2013 Twitter status
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Artist Page on Strobe Music
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} April 26, 2013 interview with HMV Japan