Invader Zim is an American animated television series created by Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim from the planet Irk, and his mission to conquer Earth and enslave the human race along with his malfunctioning robot servant GIR. He is antagonized by Dib, a young paranormal investigator who is determined to stop Zim.
Vasquez pitched the series to Nickelodeon, who desired a series for their older demographic. This led to it being greenlit and premiering on March 30, 2001. As the series went on, ratings declined and budgetary issues became more frequent. Before the second season was completed, Nickelodeon cancelled the series, leaving several episodes and a planned TV movie series finale unfinished. The show first ended on Nick on December 10, 2002, with some episodes unaired. It moved to Nicktoons and ended a second time on August 19, 2006, with all two seasons and 27 episodes broadcast.
Invader Zim was met with critical acclaim, winning an Annie Award, an Emmy Award and a World Animation Celebration Award, with nominations for six Annie Awards and a Golden Reel Award. The series has maintained a devoted cult following since its cancellation and numerous attempts have been made to put in back in production, though none have been successful.
Ritsuki Nakano (中野 律紀, Nakano Ritsuki, born January 19, 1975), professionally known as Rikki (りっき), is a Japanese folk singer.
Born in Amami Ōshima, Japan, she began to sing traditional Japanese music when she was four years old. Later, at the age of 15, Rikki was the youngest winner ever to win the "Grand Prix" of the Japanese traditional folk music awards (known as All Japan Minyo awards). She first performed in Tokyo, Japan, at the prestigious Festival Konda Lota in 1992. She released her first single "Maten no Hoshi" (which means "Sky Full of Stars") in December 1993, originally released in the Kyūshū region of Japan. Shortly thereafter, she produced debut album, Kaze no Koe.
In 1998, Rikki was chosen to participate at the opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Paralympics in Nagano, Japan, sing the Paralympics theme song "Tabidachi no Toki".
Rikki is widely known by gamers as the singer of the Final Fantasy X main theme, "Suteki da ne", released as a single on July 18, 2001. Other songs on the single include the Instrumental version of Suteki Da Ne, "Pure Heart" (a vocal arrangement of Aeris' Theme from Final Fantasy VII), and a new song entitled "Tsukisama" (which means "The Moon"). One reason why Nobuo Uematsu and Kazushige Nojima chose her to perform "Suteki Da Ne" (translated into English as "Isn't It Wonderful?") is that she is very famous in Japan as a traditional folk singer and he believed that her voice is rather nice and gentle and that it has a higher pitch than the voices of mainstream Japanese singers. Rikki was 26 years old at the time of Final Fantasy X's release. Many professional and amateur singers were inspired by her singing voice and ability to make combinations and mixtures of pop and rock music.
Simons is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: