just me

Kalafina Fate/Zero S2 theme "to the beginning" short snippet

2012-02-12T22:37:00.002+08:00

(note - embedded video is disabled by request on this video... but you can still view it on youtube through the link)

Another short post for now... am hoping to sleep early tonight... have been quite tired recently... think I am a bit sleep deprived right now. :(

BUT... I really wanted to write about this. A short 2:45 minute clip was posted online yesterday. This clip is from either the programme itself or a promo for the programme (?) called "New World Music". Whatever the case, what is of interest to us Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina fans is the music. :)

Kalafina sings a capella at the opening and ending of the clip and it's SUGOI!!!!! They open with the first part of "storia" and they sound perfect to me and look so happy singing it, it makes me want to sing along. They end with what I think is the "New World Music" theme song maybe? It all sounds so good a capella.

And the best part about this clip is that at approx 1:23, there is a little snippet of "to the beginning". This recording is from the Shibuya concert on the 4th of this month The audio is pretty low and you can't really hear the instruments especially with the VO overlay-ed on top of the music but it's still better than nothing. I can't really tell very much from the snippet but it sounds kind of epic and probably quite fitting for season 2 of the Fate/Zero anime. This portion of the song seems to favour Wakana and I can hear Keiko quite clearly in the background but can't really hear Hikaru too well but both seem to be singing in support of Wakana at this portion of the song.

I really can't wait for the single to be released. I've already pre-ordered the Limited Edition First Press version with the blu-ray disc as well as the Limited Edition Anime edition. :)

If any of you are interested, you are welcomed to used the following pre-order links to order from CD Japan if you wish.

Limited Edition, First Press Edition (with video clips DVD)
Limited Edition, First Press Edition (with video clips Blu-ray)
Music Anime Limited edition (with different? video clips DVD)
Regular Edition

K.... now... I am going to prepare for bed. :) Good night.

Kalafina - new single in April :) AWESOME!!! :)

2012-02-04T22:27:00.004+08:00

Woohoo... Kalafina will release a new single in April. Itsuko attended today's Live in Shibuya and said that Kalafina announced that they will be releasing a new single in April. They also performed that song at the Live tonight. Lucky Itsuko, she got to hear it. :)

It's also been confirmed on their blog by a Kalafina staff member that this song, called "to the beginning", will be used as the theme song for the 2nd season of the Fate/Zero anime.

The single will be released on 18 April while the 2nd season of the anime will begin airing on 2nd April.
For this singles release there 4 different types of packaging, if I understand it correctly, the four versions will be:

Limited Edition, First Press Edition (with video clips DVD)
Limited Edition, First Press Edition (with video clips Blu-ray)
Music Anime Limited edition (with different? video clips DVD)
Regular Edition

In addition, the usual postcard freebies will also be given out and the version one gets will depend on where the purchase was made. There will also be additional postcards from the Fate/Zero anime available in limited quantities.

Also, for those who make their purchases from certain EC sites (I think it's online stores), there is also a limited number of card size Kalafina and Fate/Zero calendars to be given out. I think there are two different types for Kalafina and one for Fate/Zero.

Looks like Sony is making a pretty big push this time round. I'm really hoping that video clips from AFA11 and from the just concluded tour will be included and not just the PV of the song. It would be a huge waste of a blu-ray to just have the PV.

Also, as is their usual practice, there will be a special Kalafina Live titled "to the beginning" to celebrate the release of this single. The Live will be at the NHK Hall on th 16th July. :) Yay... but I don't think I can go. :(

Oh joy joy joy. :) I am completely looking forward to this release. I'm most likely going to order the Limited First Press Edition with the Blu-ray and probably the Music Anime Limited Edition as well.
Since the single will be release in April, I think it's likely that they'll be singing this song and promoting Fate/Zero when they visit the Anime convention in Bonn in July. Their visit to AniMagic was announced on their blog yesterday. I'm not surprised, it seemed likely that they will visit Europe this year since they mentioned that their next target was Europe in the Animyu magazine interview. I'm hoping that they will still have space in their schedule for a visit to Singapore this year though. :) Germany is just too far and too expensive for me but I am happy for fans in Europe too... even while I feel envious. :) I'm also hoping that they will throw another concert in Nov or Dec this year because I'm likely to make another trip to Japan then. Sachiko may be returning to Japan for a long vacation and it's been 5 years since we last met and I would really like to meet her again... so am hoping to plan that trip and include a Kalafina concert too. :)

Too bad I won't be in Japan in April... I won't have any opportunity to participate in any of the special events related to the release of this single. :( But ah well... I will have attended the FictionJunction concert by then... I shouldn't be greedy. :)

K.... I gotta go for now... I have been very busy at work and have neglected to do several personal things because I've just been crashing out immediately after dinner.

Maybe if I have time tomorrow night, I'll write up a little bit about a Tan Dun concert I attended last Saturday.

Good night. :)

FictionJunction limited edition single

2012-01-28T00:31:00.000+08:00

Ooooo... Kajiura Yuki announced on Twitter today that a special single will be released in March this year. The single will include the fan club song called "Sing a Song" which was only performed at the FictionJunction Lives. Unfortunately, this CD single release is only for fan club members only. :(

The "cw" song will be a song Kajiura wrote a long time ago even before she thought of going pro. I don't know what a "cw" song is but I think maybe it means the second song on the single It was also the first a cappella song she has ever written and it was performed by 6 women back then and I think she said she only cleaned it up a little and it was ready for recording almost as is. If I read her tweets correctly, this is the first time the "Kajiura family" has recorded in a capella. "Kajiura family"... I like it that she used that term to refer to the vocalists she works with. :)

Kajiura also wrote that the title of this song is "Silent Moon" and even though it pre-dates the See-Saw group, because it is See-Saw's predecessor, naturally Chi-Chan was one of the vocalist then. I'm thinking she was referring to Ishikawa Chiaki.

Well... I'm not a fan club member sadly so I don't know if I can some how get my hands on this special single. But I am hopeful that they will sing "Silent Moon" at the Live in March. I think that that's likely which would be cool, then I would be able to hear it even if I can't get the cd single. If they do, them I suppose that it's possible that the two guest vocalists, Itou Eri and Tomaru Hanae, may be the other two vocalists aside from the four FictionJunction vocalists to perform this song at the Live. Am not sure if the Live version and the recorded version will use different vocalists though.

I'm really looking forward to this concert in March. :) Now I just have to get though February. :)

Alrighty... am off to bed... =)

Japan Trip 3 - Day 1 recap / Kalafina / After Eden Live - part 2

2012-01-24T01:30:00.000+08:00

I have finally finished my account of our first day in Tokyo on my third trip to Japan. This includes the trip to Animate Shinjuku to see the Kalafina Museum and the Kalafina "After Eden" Special Live. I had a few reasons for going to Japan again this year. Top of the list was that I really wanted to see Kalafina live again, I was also obsessed with the idea of going to the Good Smile Cafe and lastly, I just really wanted to go to Japan... I just like too many things about it. :)

So when I found out that Kalafina's After Eden Special Live will be on the 25th Nov, my three friends and I made plans to go to attend the concert after Itsuko confirmed that she managed to secure 3 tickets in the fan club lottery for priority booking.

The Plan

Danielle had just started her new job and hence, had very little leave that she could take, so in order to try and maximize our leave, we decided to leave Singapore on Thursday night to save one day of leave. Our original plan was to try and reach Tokyo at 8-9 am in the morning and hangout at Ikebukuro till we could check in to our hotel, rest a little in the hotel and then head over to the Tokyo Dome City Hall to buy t-shirts, other concert memorabilia and then watch the concert.

What actually happened - First Tsukiji Market

In the end, we could not get the flight that we wanted and we ended up having to take the 945pm flight out of Singapore on Thursday night. So by the time we reached Tokyo it would be approximately 5am in the morning and we would have nothing to do till we could check in at 2pm. So in the end, we decided to go to Tsukiji Market and try and eat the omakase breakfast at Sushi Dai. After getting through immigration and customs at Haneda airport, we headed to Tsukiji Station where we shoved our luggage into the lockers there before going out into the cold morning air to check out the area.

We easily found the outer market but we got kind of lost trying to find Sushi Dai. In desperation, I actually had to go online to access Google Maps on my cell phone (ouch!!!). The funny part about all this was that even with Google Maps we still managed to get more lost than we already was. I think we ended up accidentally wandering into the Seafood Wholesale area which is supposed to be out of bounds till after 9am. There were lots of little vehicles zipping around and we were a little nervous as we tried not to get in the way. I didn't take any photos in the market as I was getting anxious and after we managed to somehow make our way out of the Seafood Wholesale area I pulled out my cell phone and tried to find Sushi Dai for a second time using Google Maps and Navigation. Some how we managed to stumble upon Sushi Dai but it was already 8am and a staff from the restaurant came over to tell us that the wait would be something like 3 hours!?!?! After a little discussion amongst ourselves, we decided to try another restaurant and we ended up at Sushi Daiwa next door.

I really have no idea how good the sushi at Sushi Dai is but the sushi we had at Sushi Daiwa was pretty awesome and the chef that served us was a very nice gentleman who smiled and treated us quite kindly. When we entered the restaurant, we were the only foreigners in that section. There were a few Japanese seated quite near us and they soon realised that the three goofy looking and a little dishevelled young women that had just entered the restaurant were clueless foreigners. As we ate our sushi, they tried to engage us in a little conversation using their limited knowledge of English. My spoken Japanese is really pathetic and I was a little embarrassed and said very basic one word replies. But I was really touched that they were really trying to make us feel welcomed and really trying to help us enjoy our very first meal in Japan. Even if Sushi Dai's sushi was a million times better, I would forever be happy that we did end up in Sushi Daiwa that morning. The food was incredible and the people were really awesome.

Zozoji Shrine / Tokyo Tower

After we finished our omakase breakfast and bid our farewell to the chef and the other awesome Japanese patrons in the little restaurant, we retrieved our luggage and made our way to Zojoji Shrine. This was one of the things that we had to do in Tokyo on this trip. Last year, because our stay in Tokyo was so short, we did not see the Tokyo Tower nor did we go to Asakusa and Danielle was rather disappointed about both those things. So this time, when I planned this trip I made sure to include both these places and as Zojoji Shrine is very close to what is currently probably Japan's most iconic tower, I decided that we should go there first and then proceed to the tower itself should Danielle wish to get closer.

In the end, Danielle was just simply happy to be at the shrine and to see the tower from relatively close by. So we shot photos of both the shrine and the tower and relaxed in the shrine's beautiful and peaceful grounds for a while.

By this time, we were really beginning to get quite tired. All of us had been working pretty hard till Thursday and even though I had taken Thursday off, I was actually pretty exhausted. I had just finished my very first stereo clean-up shot at work which had been very interesting and fun but extremely tiring and it didn't help that I had barely recovered from a mild flu and eye infection. We had also just flown into Tokyo and even if we managed to get sleep on the plane, we were in economy class so it's usually not very good sleep anyway. So even if Danielle and Jessie didn't suggest that we head over to Ikebukuro and see if we could check-in early, I would have suggested it myself.

Ikebukuro

We got lost once again in Ikebukuro. This would be the story of our trip in Tokyo actually. :) As a result, we took the very long way round to get to our hotel. Yeah.... we kind of walked around one city block or something like that when we could have come up an escalator, walk down a small side road and arrive at our hotel in 3 minutes. So by the time we got to the hotel, we were quite glad to get out of the cold, use the toilet and leave our luggage with the hotel even though we could not check in yet.

We ate a donut at the depachika

We were really early and we really didn't know what to do, so we decided to walk around for a bit in Ikebukuro because we still had to pick up 2 gifts. One for Manami who helped us to get tickets to the Ghibli Museum and one for Itsuko who helped us to get tickets to the Kalafina Live. As we walked around the basement of one of the large malls in Ikebukuro we ended getting more food. The takeaway food in these basement food areas is simply amazing. Everything looks so good, we wanted to eat EVERYTHING. But in the end, good sense prevailed and we ended up getting just a few things.

We also sampled several sweets and chocolates as we tried to decide what to get for Manami and Itsuko and we ended up getting them a box of rather tasty Millefeuille chocolate wafer snacks. The young woman manning the counter was very nice. She realised quickly that we were foreigners buying gifts for our Japanese friends and after we made our purchase she gave us three bars of the chocolate wafer snacks as samples for us to taste. We were really happy and I kept thinking that that was so generous. In Singapore, you'll be lucky to get a bar as a sample and getting three bars, one for each of us, is pretty much unheard of back home. See why I love going to Japan? Complete strangers can be quite kind and generous. :-)

Lunch - snacks fr the depachika

But by the end of this little excursion, we were really dying to be able to just rest... so we made our way back to the hotel lobby where I actually fell asleep for a couple of minutes in one of the sofa seats. I don't know if it was Jessie or Danielle who was the smart one. One of them went up to the counter and said that although it was only 1pm, we were really tired and asked if we could just check in even though we were one hour too early. Good thing for us, they did let us in and we all just kind of laid prone on the three separate beds for a while.

As we were scheduled to meet Itsuko at 230pm in the hotel lobby, we ate all the snacks we got from the basement takeaway counters for lunch... rested a little bit more, then went down to meet her.

Animate Shinjuku - Kalafina Museum

Before I left for Japan, I found out that Animate, the anime goods chain store, will be hosting a smaller version of the Kalafina Museum in different Animates in the country. I knew too that when we were in Tokyo, one of the exhibitions will be hosted at the Shinjuku branch of Animate. The museum will only be at the Shinjuku branch from the 19th-27th of Nov. As I really didn't know just how things may pan out in the ensuing days, I decided to ask if Itsuko would help us find the Animate in Shinjuku before we went to the Tokyo Dome City Hall for the concert.

I really wanted to go to the Kalafina Museum because I knew that I may never have the opportunity to again and since it was right in Shinjuku, really close to Ikebukuro, it would be silly not to go. I was really glad that I asked Itsuko for help because as I would discover on another day, Shinjuku Station is incredibly difficult to navigate for people who are unfamiliar with it.

So with Itsuko's help, getting to Animate Shinjuku was relatively painless. I was thrilled to find out that a huge Mahou Shoujo Madoka poster adorned one section of the building, just above the entrance to the multi-story store. The museum itself was on the second floor and was actually rather small which was what I expected so I wasn't disappointed. I was also at the Animate to see if I would be able to pick up any goods that they sold in September at the Kalafina Cafe / Museum. I also knew that Animate was giving out Artist Cards for select artist during that period and Kalafina was one of them. So if we bought a Kalafina cd / dvd / blu-ray we would receive one of the cards and if we bought enough goods we could apply for a lucky draw to win their autograph.

According to Animate's website, there are 3 versions of the museum and the version at Shinjuku was the A version, the same as the one the Sendai branch hosted earlier in the month. There was a a little blurp about the Kalafina Museum in the Kalafina Paper. There are two photos showing the A and B versions of the museum. The one at the bottom, with the white dresses is the version hosted at the Sendai branch which is the same one as the Shinjuku branch. While I'm really not into fashion and not one of those who are really fascinated by Kalafina's costumes, it was still really quite cool to be able to examine them closely. :)

I looked at the goods but I think most of the really good stuff had already probably been snapped up before we arrived since we were there at the tail end of the campaign in Shinjuku... so no t-shirts for the t-shirt fiend. :( I did get something from the Kalafina Cafe goods section that I really, really wanted. I picked up the wallet chain that Hikaru designed. I may be a Keiko fan but I'm not that obsessed that I would buy stuff I don't need or want just because it was designed by her. :) I already use wallet chains... two actually. :p I'm totally not a girly-girl at all. :) The wallet chain that Hikaru designed is actually really rather nice. It doesn't look like much in the official picture detailing all the goods on offer but the thing has a nice weight to it and is quite nice. Although I'm not sure why there is a butterfly and key on the chain.

The chain is about 60 cm long which is a nice length.

After our trip to Animate Shinjuku, we made our way over to the Tokyo Dome City Hall. We were going to try and buy concert memorabilia before the Live begins 7pm.

Kalafina's "After Eden" Special Live 2011 - before the Live

Getting to Tokyo Dome City Hall took more time than I anticipated and I was quite glad that we decided not to hangout some more in Shinjuku or have dinner first. When we got to the location, we discovered a really long queue waiting to buy concert memorabilia. After joining the line, Itsuko explained to us that one of the concert staff members was announcing that the sales of the concert memorabilia would close at a specific time (I can't remember exactly when... maybe it was 5pm). That staff member also explained to us that we were at a point in the line which may not make it in by the cut-off time to buy the shirts. That made all of us near that point in the line a little worried and I could see several people checking the clock nearby or their watches quite often.

In the end, I barely made it in. I was separated from Jessie and Danielle who were just behind me and I was allowed in with two other people who were next to me. They let in a few more after I had entered but Jessie and Danielle who were next, decided to give up their chance to enter to the more anxious looking Kalafina fans around them. :) I ended up buying the t-shirt, Kalafina Paper, Kalafina 2012 calendar for myself. And on seeing that Jessie and Danielle had not made it in, I also got two copies of the After Eden limited edition album for Jessie and Danielle who's primary reason for wanting to enter the sales area was to buy these cds. At that point in time, Itsuko was no longer with us. She had left us some time ago to join the line that had tickets to the arena area while we had tickets to the balcony seats. We then re-joined the queue to enter the concert venue for the Live.

By this time, we were really quite hungry, cold and thirsty. But as we wanted to try and buy Itsuko dinner and also because we were very unfamiliar with our surroundings, we simply stayed in the line instead of trying to find a place to rest and eat. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we were allowed into the concert venue and we gratefully sank into our seats... cold, tired and hungry. I think we made quite a sight because unlike the other people around us, we looked a little messy and very tired. We had about an hour or so to rest before the concert began at 7pm and the three of us started to doze off. Apparently, according to Danielle and Jessie, we attracted a few curious looks from several people and some glares from one particularly fervent Kalafina fan who was apparently quite annoyed that we were sleeping. But HEY... have a heart... we had to fly for approximately 7 hours to get to Tokyo and haven't had a chance to take a much needed nap, nor have we had dinner and we had also been on our feet and in the cold for the last hour or so. But I guess they didn't know that and I was basically oblivious as I was too busy trying to get some quality rest time so that I would be able to enjoy the up-coming Live.

After the Live, the three of us decided that, if possible, we would never arrange to fly in on the day of the Lives themselves, it's simply too tiring. Admittedly, even though the Live was really, really enjoyable... during the lull moments which were mostly the MC moments since both Jessie and Danielle don't understand Japanese and I only have a very rudimentary knowledge of the language, the three of us had moments when we kind of zoned out.

Kalafina's "After Eden" Special Live 2011 - AWESOME!!!!

To tell you the truth, since I had to delay finishing this post for so long after the Live, I really don't remember too many details any more. I probably should have jotted notes down etc but it is rather hard when I'm travelling and out for most of the day each day. But I'm not the sort who goes to a concert or a movie to remember every single detail... I go for the experience and the overall experience was really fantastic. And if I was to keep going on and on about how much we enjoyed it, I would be guilty of repeating myself. :)

What I do remember was that I felt that the songs from the "After Eden" album were really suitable for Lives. While I still like most of their older songs more than the songs from "After Eden", it was during this Live that I appreciated the songs from "After Eden" more. The songs in their third album have a lighter, more dance-able beat and so the first section of the concert, which comprised of a large mix of songs from their new album and a few old favourites, started out with the trio dancing and swaying much more than I remember them doing in the previous concerts.

They started in these dresses and ...

Pulled of their long skirts to reveal these, I think.

(btw... I don't know who owns the copyright to these photos, I just downloaded them of the internet from various sources.)

Also this particular venue and the setup they had for the "After Eden" Special Live was very good. The setup with the runway stage into the middle of the arena area allowed the three girls to get much closer to the fans and even in the balcony area I could see their faces quite clearly without binoculars which was just as well since I don't own binoculars. By the time we reach the rockier songs like Magia, Magnolia and Destination Unknown etc, the crowd was quite pumped up and the crowd in the arena were really jumping and pumping the air etc. I was actually a little jealous of them since it reminded me of my AFA11 experience and I wanted to jump and pump the air too but the people around me remained seated and Danielle, Jessie and I decided that we gaijins shouldn't stand and block anyone's view in case it was considered rude.

I didn't understand very much of what the girls said during the MC. But in one of the earlier MCs... I think it's the second one because if I remember correctly, the first MC was very short and was simply the customary introduction and thanks. In the second MC, they brought their successful BayFM banter to the stage. The following is what I understood and remembered from this section. Keiko was the host this time round and she said something like it was time for "Fuyu no Corner" which means Winter Corner. Wakana heard it wrongly and thought Keiko said "Fuyuu no Corner" which means "Floating Corner" and some teasing and laughter ensued. It was quite funny actually. I actually don't know what Wakana's answer to what Winter means to her. Next up was Hikaru and I think she said that recently she'd become quite fond of niku-man which is a steam meat bun that is quite easy to find in most convenience stores in Japan. It's a little like the meat "bao" we can find in our convenience stores in Singapore and at coffee shops etc... but the marinate in Japan is different and the texture of the bun is also different. I like Japanese niku-man and the Chinese "bao" in Singapore a lot too and the "bao" is one of my favourite breakfast items. Hikaru then goes on to talk about Japanese "junk food" (e.g. karage) in the convenience stores and how much she likes them. After which she called herself "junk lover" (at least that's what I think she said) in a really adorable way which drew laughter from the audience. Then it was Keiko's turn and she said something like in Winter, she thinks of ice-cream. And just as my mind was thinking that Keiko always thinks of ice-cream, Wakana said something like "it's throughout the year, isn't it?" and the crowd laughed and clapped in agreement. It was pretty funny. :) This was the MC that I understood the most of. There was one or two more MCs maybe, I don't remember how many more or what they said as a lot of the Japanese was too difficult and quick for me. This second MC was the most memorable and was relatively long for an MC.

I think they wore these at the end.

Before long, we were near the end of the Live and Keiko's beautiful and powerful voice filled the hall as she sang the opening stanzas of "Mune no Yukue". And at the end of the song, they bid the audience goodbye and disappeared. And it was time to call the encore which is what we did. This time, the call for the encore was really quite long... maybe 5 minutes long. I actually started to get worried they weren't going to come out even though it is quite standard for them to come out for the encore. I think the AFA11 experience kind of made me worry more than necessary since at the AFA, the call for an encore was cut short so that they could bring May'n on. But happily they came out and this time they weren't in concert t-shirts, like they often are for their encores, but they were in dresses. I generally don't pay as much attention to their dresses as some of Kalafina's other fans but I do remember that Wakana's dress was quite long because I remember she tripped and stumbled at one point but recovered her balance quickly and nicely.

Near the end of the Live, maybe even right at the very end... I don't quite remember, they released streamers over the audience in the arena. Itsuko, who was in the arena, picked up a streamer and saved it for me. That was really cool of her. :)

They ended the Live on a real high with the epic "symphonia" and the crowd was really high by then. They went from end to end and down the centre to thank the audience and say their good byes and I was more in love with Kalafina then before. If I can afford it and if Kalafina has another Live in the last quarter of this year, I intend go to Japan again just to see them perform. All three of us and Itsuko could not stop talking about how great this Live was and how much we would like to see them live again. Itsuko was particularly happy that they sang "symphonia" as it is one of her favourite Kalafina songs. I was really happy they sang it too since I really like that song too and I though it was a really nice and epic song to end the concert. It was really awesome and the atmosphere was electric. The girls rapport with the audience seem to get better and better with each passing Live and they really sang very well. True, it wasn't studio perfect, but I think people who expect studio perfect at a Live are a bit loopy. I've heard Faye Wong live in concert before and she sounded near perfect, if not perfect. And even though she sounded wonderful, I'm not as crazy about going to her lives because Faye just doesn't know how to relate to the audience. And this is coming from a huge Faye Wong fan, I have every single album ever released and till today she still ranks as one of my favourite solo artist but when it comes to a Faye Wong concert... hmmmm.... let's just say I won't pay top dollar.

That said, it was time for us to leave the Tokyo Dome City Hall and even though we were all high and warm from the just concluded Kalafina Live, the cold autumn air still managed to seep through our jackets and we scrambled to get a few cans of hot coffee as we tried to find a place to eat in the vicinity. In the end, virtually every place was closed except this ramen place called Ichiran. And first, we were a little unsure if it was good because it turned out to be very tasty. It's kind of a cool little restaurant. You pay for your order at the entrance of the restaurant via a vending machine looking thing. Then you take your ticket into the restaurant and you look to see which cubicles are unoccupied and you sit yourself in one of them. Each cubicle sits one person and after you're seated, you can customise your ramen by circling a couple of options on the provided sheet of paper and handing it over to the person behind the counter. It's a little hard to describe but it's really kind of interesting eating in a little cubicle and the ramen was really, really tasty. Of course, we were cold and very hungry so I'm not sure if this made the ramen taste better but we really liked it and Jessie almost ordered a second bowl. Itsuko was initially quite apologetic that we couldn't sit at a proper table to eat as eating in separate cubicles isn't really ideal for interaction in a group but we reassured her saying that for us, it was quite interesting to eat in a place like that and the ramen was really very tasty. I really did like my bowl of ramen and mine was pretty much just ramen only since I don't like Japanese charsiew and so customised it such that I didn't get any meat with my ramen, yet this was one of the tastiest bowls of ramen I have ever eaten. Of course that's not saying much since I usually prefer soba to ramen and till I ate at Ichiran, all the ramen I have every eaten was in Singapore which is naturally not the best place to be looking for good ramen. :)

Tokyo Dome, bridge at night

After dinner, it was time for us to go back to Ikebukuro to our hotel and we bid Itsuko goodbye at the train station and that was pretty much the end of our very eventful first day in Japan. :)

By this time I think most of you already know that the After Eden Special Live will be released on both dvd and blu-ray. Available on CDJapan , click me for the blu-ray and click me for the dvd release. First press release for both the Blu-ray and the DVD will be accompanied by a free mouse pad for those ordering from CD Japan. Also, now that I have time to read that Sony announce properly... it seems like there will be 2 mousepads and postcard freebies as well. There will be 3 different postcards given out, depending on which brick and mortar store the blu-ray / dvd is purchased from in Japan. And there will also be two different mousepads given out depending on whether the dvd or the blu-ray was purchased. I'll only be getting the blu-ray and will unfortunately not get the mousepad I prefer. Still ... it's cool, I am way more interested in the blu-ray itself. :)

mousepad that'll come with the blu-ray

mousepad that'll come with the dvd release

Alrighty... that's it from me... am off to bed... but before I go... here is wishing all of you a Happy Lunar New Year. May the Year of the Dragon bring you much happiness, good health, prosperity, success, peace and lots more good music. :) Good night.

Kalafina "After Eden" Special Live Blu-ray / DVD

2012-01-08T22:21:00.001+08:00

Woohoo... just like I thought, there will be a blu-ray / DVD release of the "After Eden" Special concert. :) Sony has announced that the Kalafina "After Eden" Special Live Blu-ray /DVD will be released on the 21st of March 2012. Click me for the official Sony announce.

AWESOME!!!!!! I'm so going to order the Blu-ray. And for those who are interested... you can get them at CDJapan... click me for the blu-ray and click me for the dvd release. First press release for both the Blu-ray and the DVD will be accompanied by a free mouse pad for those ordering from CDJapan. I'm not sure if there will be any collectibles from other sites but I expect that there will possibly be free postcards from other online sites or at the brick and mortar shops in Japan. Postcard give-aways have accompanied some of their previous releases.

Included in the release will be a video clip documenting the Kalafina "Week in Shibuya" event that took place last year when the "After Eden" album was released. I was hoping that they might include footage of the currently on-going "After Eden" tour in Japan right now but looks like no luck there. :( Still... I am super happy that they are going to release the blu-ray / dvd of "After Eden" Special Live. I'm especially happy also because I was there and owning this release would help cement the experience in my memory. :)

Also, I have not forgotten that I said I will be writing more about my Kalafina experience in Japan. It won't concentrate so much on the concert as I really don't remember too many details but I really do want to write about the entire day and a little bit more of what I remember from the Live. I want to preserve this experience, not just for myself, but also for my friends who accompanied me on this trip. I have written a lot already and have prepared some scans and photos but I can't say when I'll finish it for sure since I've been awfully busy lately, hence, the lack of updates on the blog recently.

BTW, the above scan is a scan of a one of the several A4 size handouts that I received when I attended the "After Eden" Special Live in Japan. Alrighty... I need to sign out for now... got many things I need to do. Till next time... take care y'all. :)

update:
Oh... also, I just discovered this on youtube... someone kindly uploaded Kalafina's performance at Animax Music 2011 and as is usually the case for me, my favourite part of Magia when it's sung live is Keiko's bridge. She seems to have nailed that down quite perfectly. This performance of Magia is overall one of their better renditions of Magia and I rather like it. Watch it till about the 5:15 mark for the "Fan Selection" where Kalafina sings Sora Iro Deizu in collaboration with Nakagawa Shoko. I don't much care for the song... not quite my cup of tea but I never turn down more Kalafina. :) enjoy...

My Christmas Present to me. :)

2011-12-20T01:27:00.000+08:00

This is going to be a relatively short post because I spent most of my half day off at the wedding and with friends after that so I didn't really get started on my planned Japan Day 1 / Kalafina Museum / Kalafina After Eden Live Part 2 post till about 1 1/2 hours ago. Unfortunately, I'm very verbose and although I have written quite a bit already, it'll still take a little while more before I complete writing it and uploading the photos etc.

Meanwhile, I really want to make a little note in my blog about a purchase I didn't think I should make but ended up making in the end. After thinking about it for months, I finally decided to plunk some money down to buy myself a new pair of in-ear noise isolation headphones. The headphones of my choice is the Creative Aurvana In-Ear3. I used to own the first Aurvana which was a decent entry level in-ear earphones aimed at audiophiles. What I liked about the Aurvana line was that they have so far all been very balanced earphones. I prefer clarity and I don't like an over powering bass.

I, however, can be rather rough with my earphones and after I destroyed my first Aurvana, I decided to see if I could find a more sturdy earphone that gave me a similar performance. So I got one of the ceramic Nakamichi earphones which had a really study housing but the connections weren't quite as sturdy and the nozzle is rather large and the ear tips kept slipping off and before long I was trying to find replacement tips after losing all the ones that came with the earphones. After a while, I just got a little annoyed with it since it wasn't fitting in my ear properly so I wasn't getting enough noise isolation on it and because of that I was losing clarity too. And although these phones were the most expensive ones I had gotten to date, it didn't sound that much better than my first Aurvana to me, hence, it was back to the Auvana line again for me.

After reading many reviews, click me, me, me... and because I've had good experiences with most of the Creative products that I have purchased previously, I decided to go back to what I was familiar with especially since there was also a SGD20 holiday discount at the brick and mortar store in Marina Square.

After test driving the earphones with some Kalafina music (flac compression on a Creative Zen X-fi Style without any software/hardware enhancements), I decided to go for it. And I must say that after a day of using it, I am very pleased with my purchase. The A3s are my favourite in-ear headphones to date.... they really sound extremely good. Kajiura Yuki's music, FictionJunction, Kalafina, Utada Hikaru all sound wonderful to me. I can hear Keiko quite nicely even in a song like Stone Cold where she's mainly in harmony and it's harder to pick her voice out. And for some reason, symphonia sounds really good to me on this earphone, even without the more powerful bass some other earphones may give you, Keiko still comes across sounding quite powerful and the overall song sounds really epicly beautiful to me. That said, the bass isn't going to wow anyone who wants and likes lots of bass but since I prefer more balance and clarity, I'm not bothered about it at all. The noise isolation on the phones is quite exceptional and blocks out a lot of unwanted sound. And although it looks a little awkward it is actually very comfortable to wear. The design is also way better than the earlier Auvanas because I'm not really bothered by the sound of my own breathing and rustling of my clothes when I walk... of course it could also be possible that I'm so used to in-ears that I've learned to tune those sounds out. :)

I'm super happy with my present to myself. :) Now, I just have to make sure I take better care of it. :p

K... time for bed... I'll continue working on my Japan / Kalafina After Eden Special Live post in the next two days and will hopefully have that up by the end of the week before Christmas. My Christmas present to some of my friends. :)

Okay, that's it from me for now... good night everyone. :)

Japan Trip No 4 =D

2011-12-17T21:56:00.000+08:00

Finally!!! I get to see
Kajiura Yuki live! :)

I decided to be crazy and asked Itsuko to get me a ticket to Kajiura Yuki LIVE Vol. 8 in March next year. :) I'm going to go to Japan again!!!! And this time... finally... I get to see Kajiura Yuki perform live. :) :)

My eyes are still bothering me. :( This past week and the weekend has been crazy busy and I'm so tired... so tired that I don't even have enough energy to study for my Japanese test tomorrow or do my homework. But Itsuko just confirmed that I got the ticket and I'm so happy!!!! :)

Now I have to do some serious saving... I might travel quite a bit in the next year depending on schedules etc. Am excited now!!!!!

I'm on half day on Monday. Going to attend a friend's wedding... if I'm not too tired and my eyes aren't killing me... I will try and write my Kalafina After Eden Special Live - afterthought Part 2 post. :)

Now... need to drop eyedrops and rest my eyes again....but I'm happy... Kajiura Yuki Live... being in Japan again... how could I not be happy? :)

Red Moon

2011-12-11T01:19:00.009+08:00

This evening, while on my way home with my niece and my mum, we saw a gloriously bright, orange and large moon low in the horizon. Because we usually take the bus home, we've not been able to snap photos of moments like these on previous occasions. So we stopped for a bit to take advantage of the rare opportunity to snap a shot of the moon amongst the cranes.

What I wasn't prepared for and didn't know was that this picturesque scene was actually just a little appetizer for the main course tonight. Ignorant me had not been following the news and I had no idea that the last total lunar eclipse until 2014 would occur on the 10th Dec 2011 between approximately 10-11pm Singapore time. Luckily, my sister sent me a text message and although I did see the message a little too late, I was still able to go down and view what would be my very first lunar eclipse and it was fantastic!!

I managed to catch the eclipse just a little before the total eclipse and continued watching it till after the total eclipse till it became a partial eclipse again. It was very, very, very cool and I shot a few crappy shots with my, of course less than adequate, Samsung Galaxy S2 phone. :)

partial eclipse, after the full eclipse

partial eclipse, aft. the full eclipse 2

What was kind of nice about this event, aside from the fact that I was viewing an eclipse for the very first time, was that Manami in Japan and several other Singaporean and Malaysian friends where also viewing the eclipse at the same time. We were posting photos on FB and communicating with each other and really using social media as it was originally meant to be used. We were using FB to come together and share with each other, not try and tear anyone apart, create conflict or force opinions on one another. This shared experience was sort of moving for me and I enjoyed the fact that my friends, my family and I were able to enjoy a thing of beauty together tonight. :)

I think both my mum and I have yet to see a lunar eclipse till tonight. My dad, however, has seen it before when he was a child. He said that when he was a kid, during the moment when they were viewing the eclipse, he and his friends took out empty pails and started beating it to make noise. I asked him why and he told me that in the old days, when people didn't understand what an eclipse was, they thought that a creature was devouring the moon up and hence, they would make as much noise as possible to chase this creature away. Of course when he was a child, they didn't really believe that any more but they were kids and any excuse to have fun and make noise was more than welcomed. :)

Red Moon - full eclipse, v grainy,
4x digital zoom

What I did find a tiny bit sad though was that while were we were watching the eclipse and marvelling at this beautiful natural phenomenon, people at a wedding celebration nearby didn't really care at all. Seeing those these families and their children completely ignore the eclipse made me glad that before my little niece went home for the night, her parents and her took a little time out to view the eclipse and I was glad that I know that she would have viewed something uncommon and special at least once in her lifetime. :)

Lastly, before I go to bed... it would not do for a huge Kalafina / Kajiura Yuki fan not to mention RED MOON, both the album and the song since during a total lunar eclipse, the moon will take on a shade of red and just this alone should make any fan recall the song. :) Sadly, my photos aren't able to represent the colours and how magical the moon looked tonight, luckily, a simple search on google should pull out several spectacular photos of the eclipse tonight. :)

Alrighty, that's it for now... I leave you guys with this... a youtube clip of the Kalafina Red Moon song sung live (not uploaded by me)... not sure how long it'll last on youtube... but here you go... enjoy...

Time to go drop the last dose of eye-drops for the day and hit the bed. It's much better now... best I've felt it's been for a while so I'm somewhat relief and happy about it... but it's really late now and I don't want to push it.... good night and have a good weekend y'all. :)

Japan Trip - Kalafina After Eden Spec. Live - afterthoughts 1

2011-12-09T00:54:00.001+08:00

I've been putting of posting this post for a while because of work and my continued slow recovery from my strange eye irritation problem. Unfortunately, in spite of my best efforts, I've still been unable to make a full recovery from this strange problem and tonight it's beginning to really annoy me again unfortunately, I'll have to make this post as quick as possible and may have to cut it short too. :( We'll see...

The Live on the 25th Nov was great... I really can't stress enough how much the four of us enjoyed it. Last year, I attended the Live with Danielle who ended up enjoying it so much, she asked if we could come back again this year and so we did. :) However, this year, Jessie also requested to come along. And as usual, like last year when Danielle had no clue who Kalafina was, I worried about if Jessie would enjoy the concert of a vocal unit she knew virtually nothing about. I was very happy that by the end of the Live, Jessie enjoyed it so much that if she had another opportunity to return for another Kalafina live, she would gladly do so again. :)

I'm convinced that there will be a dvd / blu-ray release. :) This was a multi-camera shoot. I don't know how many cameras there were. I spotted at least two, one stationary and one moving on a rig but it's very possible there was at least one more camera on one of the higher balconies. Anyway, I wasn't really paying attention to the cameras since really, if they were more interesting than the main act, then we have a really big problem. :) Kalafina was easily more interesting than the cameras, so no problems there. :) Also, the lighting design was more complex than I remember it to be at their previous lives, at least more so than I remembered it to be at the Lemon CC Hall last year and the Red Moon one on blu-ray and other bits and pieces from various sources. The stage was also nicer and there was a lot more choreography than before. And their costume changes were also nicer. At an early part of the Live, they ripped off their long skirts to reveal shorter skirts and for the encore, they didn't appear in their concert t-shirts but re-appeared in another long dress. Seems to me like they were going all out to make this possible release a nice one. I would of course definitely get it if it was released. :)

Okay... I think I'll have to cut it off for now... the eye irritation is making writing hard and I have to spend the whole day on the computer later today at work... I'm giving up for now. But I will post up all the photos I shot of the Kalafina Paper which I picked up at the Live. It has some nice photos and a good amount of text, all printed on nice enough paper. It's called a paper I think because the sheets are all loose and are not held together by staples or any kind of binding... kind of newspaper style.

Here you go... enjoy. :)

p.s. once again not proof reading for now... need sleep. Will fix any glaring errors another day. :) Night :)

Christmas is coming

2011-12-05T21:38:00.001+08:00

Here's a photo of the Christmas tree outside of Raffles City, opposite Chimes. I had to go and pick up a present for the office Secret Santa game this year. I didn't have to do it last year because the office party took place when I was in Japan. :)

I think i managed to find a pretty decent gift of the guy i m suppose to give the gift to so am quite happy about it. I really don't much like gift giving that much because i really am a bad gift buyer and am only good at buying toys. :p

It's back to earth today as i got another shot to work on in the afternoon. My heart and mind is still in Japan though and the bee in my bonnet is still buzzing ferociously. I actually checked the cost of plane tickets to Japan and once again i am unlucky in the sense that the march concerts take place during the march school hols in Singapore which means i automatically don't qualify for the cheaper rates on virtually all the airlines except the ones i really dislike flying on. :( Discount rates for April aren't out yet but the concert in Osaka is on Easter Sunday which means a long weekend and potentially more expensive tickets.

I don't know if i should be crazy and go to Japan again in March or April but i will need to decide soon.... So tempting.... And i have done crazier things. :)

i think i will need to decide by this weekend. whatever i decide doesn't change the fact that I will have to do some serious saving in the coming months. I think it is almost a certainty that I will travel to Japan again next year and hopefully for another concert, be it FictionJunction or Kalafina, depending on schedules and all. I am addicted... ever since I saw them last year in the Kagayaku Live, the desire to see them live again grows with each live i attend.

Oh.... It is almost my stop. time to post this and get ready to get off this train. :)

sick again :( ... japan withdrawal symptoms? :p

2011-12-03T11:44:00.001+08:00

I'm sick again... it's frustrating. In the last couple months, my overall health has taken a real beating and I've either been completely exhausted or ill half the time.

It really sucks because it means it hasn't been easy to concentrate at work and it's even harder to do anything constructive outside of work. My Japanese homework has been the first to fall by the wayside... then blogging... even mobile blogging has been hard.

I was ill again before I left for Japan and just barely recovered, only to fall ill again on the second day I was in Japan and recovered enough to go to work on Thursday but ended the day feeling like complete crap and then finally saw the doctor again on Friday and took the day off from work. I think I will need to make some major changes in my lifestyle to try and make a more complete recovery so I guess late night blogging is probably a really bad idea for a while. :p

Anyway... above is a photo of almost all the gachapon toys I bought in Japan. Heh heh... Danielle, Jessie and I kind of went crazy and every time we saw a capsule toy machine we would want to just play it for fun. If we had time to go to Gachapon Kaikan, I think we would have ended up with even more gachapons. :) It was fun though and Danielle's luck at the gachapon machine is quite phenomenal... I ended up getting her to turn the knobs on more then one occasion. :)

I miss Japan... lots and lots actually. Each time I return, the desire to go back there just keeps building in me till it becomes impossible not to go again. Kajiura Yuki's latest Live is in Mar/Apr. There will be two nights in Shibuya, Tokyo and one night in Osaka. I'm toying with the idea of going to the one in Shibuya... but I'm not sure if I can still get tickets and if I do go... I will need to do some really serious saving up in the next two months. But it is FictionJunction and there are 3 guest stars of which two are Itoh Eri and Tomaru Hanae... it's extremely tempting. :) I have never seen FJ live which means I have yet to see Kajiura Yuki live and given that the biggest reasons for my Kalafina and FictionJuntion obsessions and the reasons for my 2 trips in 2 years to Tokyo is because of Kajiura Yuki's music... it almost seems sacrilegious not to at least go to one of the FJ Lives just to see her perform in person. :D

But we'll see... it generally fits better into my schedule to go later in the year, hence why most of my trips anywhere tend to take place later in the year... mostly from May onwards. I have to think about this really seriously.

Anyway... I need to get off the computer again... my eye infection came back with a vengeance on Thursday... which makes it 3 times in 4 weeks... it's made me extremely tired and made me feel dizzy and given me a slight headache for most of the day... hence, I can't stay online for too long lately. :(

I have tons I would like to say and lots of photos I would like to put up about my 3rd Japan trip, about the Kalafina Live etc etc... but it'll all have to wait... this old bag of bones needs to go drop some eye drops and maybe take a nap. :)

That's it for now... later y'all. :)

Japan Trip 3 - tadaima

2011-11-30T23:18:00.001+08:00

Here is my "tadaima" post, albeit, a little late. Usually, I post a shot taken from a moving taxi as I travel home from Changi Airport but I was really kind of tired early this morning and only took the photo but did not make the post.. :)

I just returned from my Japanese make-up class and am still feeling really sleepy and tired... so am thinking I'll have to postpone some of my planned posts till tomorrow after work or maybe Friday... we'll see.

I already miss Japan. I had another great trip full of new experiences and it was great to meet my Japanese friends again. This time, Itsuko went to Animate Shinjuku and attended the Kalafina After Eden Live with us and Manami accompanied us to the Ghibli museum. So, I spent a lot more time with both Itsuko and Manami then on previous visits and I'm very happy about it.

Aside from going to Animate for the first time, I also went to Nakano Broadway, ate at the ufotable Cafe in Nakano, the Good Smile Cafe in Akiba, went to Tsukiji Market for the first time, went to Ghibli Museum for the first time, ate wagyu in Japan for the first time, went to Asakusa for the first time, sat in an Airbus 380 for the first time... ... ... there are so many first times, it would be hard to summarize it here. I will need to write a fuller report of each day to talk about all the new experiences.

Now I need to go and work hard and save hard again because I really hope to return to Japan again at least once... maybe even twice, next year. I also would like to go to China too. If I make all the trips I would like to make, I'll have to spend even more judiciously next year. But all of it is, in my opinion, worth it because I have enjoyed all the trips I have made and all that I have experienced on these trips. :)

K... now I am off to rest and so some stuff on FB. Good night. :)

Japan trip 3 - day 6 - part 2

2011-11-29T19:38:00.001+08:00

Hi hi.... This is for you YTSL. :) And no, i didn't go to sanrio land, although i don't mind going ij the future. I would like to see what it is like.

I did, however, go to the Sanrio shop in Ikebukuro. :)

I leave Japan today. :( Each time I come, the more I want to come back again. I had a super time again and ate a lot. Will come back and try and fill in the pieces when i am home. :)

Japan trip 3 - day 6 - part 1

2011-11-29T08:17:00.001+08:00

Yesterday we went to asakusa, my first visit there even though i have been to Tokyo three times. :) It was another pretty eventful day as we also hit Akihabara, went to the awesome Good Smile Cafe, the Gundam Cafe and Shinjuku. I bought a lot of crap and ate even more than the day before. :) it was great.

Today we leave for home later in the day and i have to go pack my bag. I Will write more later. :)

Japan trip 3 - day 5 - part 1

2011-11-28T10:13:00.001+08:00

This is a photo of one of my favourite breakfasts in Japan. Konbu onigiri and can coffee. :) we abandoned our plan to go to nokogiriyama today because, to tell u the truth, i have actually been ill since the day we visited ghibli museum. :( i had an eye infection in both eyes and i had to get eye drops at the drug store. But it is much better now although for safety's sake, we decided to keep our activities closer to our base as i have been getting tired easily on this trip. :(

But all is cool... Don't worry. :) i am much better and today we go to ueno, asakusa and akihabara. :)

Japan Trip 3 - Day 4 - part 3

2011-11-28T00:00:00.001+08:00

Actually, the photo above is a photo of our combine haul from our a visit to a supermarket in mitaka, after our visit to the ghibli museum. All of today's photos are in my other phone which is charging right now.

Today we went to harajuku, takeshi dori (sp?), omotesando, nakano broadway and ate at the ufotable cafe. It was a pretty fun shopping day. :) lots of anime related stuff for the otaku in me. :) maybe I will take a photo of all the stuff I got today tomorrow morn. :)

Also, it is likely that we will not go to nokogiri yama as planned tomorrow... just too tired and lots of stuff that I think the other girls would rather do in tokyo.

I think I will go to the mountain next year.

K... it 2am in tokyo .... time for me to sleep. :)

Tokyo trip 3 - day 4 - part 2

2011-11-27T12:19:00.001+08:00

Oh Yum Yum Yum.... Even the mos burger here taste particularly good. :) off to harajuku today. :)

Japan trip 3 - day 4 - part 1

2011-11-27T11:08:00.001+08:00

Today's breakfast is Yummy Japanese cup noodles.... I really love Japanese cup noodles. :) we were so tired yesterday.... I didn't have time to write more and i crashed out. :p yesterday we ate giga sushi... Wagyu beef .... Awesome donuts .... We laughed a lot, ate a lot, got lost, split up on the train... And Manami gave me fantastic early birthday present... And Itsuko gave me really a really awesome present too... One piece toy... Cool fridge magnet and a Japanese book .... I love all my presents and my friends. :) :)

Time to get ready.... We missed most of the morning sleeping in... :p so time to get going. :)

Japan Trip 3 - Day 3 - part 2

2011-11-26T23:28:00.001+08:00

i am really tired now and it is time for bed..... But i just wanted to post this picture up first. :) Today was another day full of memories and new experiences .... I would love to write more.... But it must wait for now.... I did however want to say that i finally made it to ghibli museum on my 3rd trip to Japan.... and it was AWESOME!!!!!!!! :) K... time to sleep.... Maybe i can write more tomorrow. :)

Japan Trip 3 - Day 3 - part 1

2011-11-26T09:19:00.001+08:00

We are still feeling high from the Kalafina Live last night. So we decided to take a photo of our combined haul plus the stuff i bought at the small Kalafina Museum exhibition at Animate Shinjuku. :)

We changed our plans this morning because we were simply too tired to make it to Asakusa this morning. Instead it is a leisurely breakfast from family mart and we will breakfast off to Ghibli Museum soon. :)

ittekimasu... :)

Japan trip 3 - Kalafina After Eden Special Live

2011-11-25T23:10:00.001+08:00

Oh my god!!!! just when you thought just how much better can Kalafina get... they pull out an amazing amazing amazing performance!!!!! This is better than the kagayaku live in the lemon cc hall last Dec. Even the atmosphere was better than the anisong live at afa two weeks ago. They did so many things new and different and it all worked.

They used in-ear monitors this time for this live and this enabled them to more and dance more on the stage. Keiko was the most lively as usual but both hikaru and wakana weren't far behind.

They had a arena area for the first time and their stage extended like a catwalk into the standing only crowd allowing them to interact better with their audience. It worked too... and them bringing their bayfm chit chat really worked too. I didn't understand most of it but i laughed at the bits i understood and others laughed a lot too. It was great fun. I think part of why they didn't seem as able to stir up the crowd as much in Singapore is i think because they were hampered by the language.

They really have come a long long way since last year. It is amazing how much they have grown as a live performing unit in just one year. So much more open, more passionate, more comfortable, more fun, and all this without sacrificing any of the singing. In fact, they sound even more amazing then before. The harmony and the singing at this live was awesome.... truly incredible.... mesmerizing beautiful... simply awesome!!!

Of course since it is a live, i can't say it is studio perfect but the little hiccups are nothing compared to the wonderful whole. This is without a doubt an amazing live and to me.... I feel i am so honoured and so fortunate to be able to be part of this moment... a moment where Kalafina shows us yet another massive jump in their abilities. And like a butterfly... another beautiful transformation.

After Eden, the album, allowed Kalafina to dance, to rock as well as to soar. This concert was a mish mash of music genres.... all beautifully performed.... showcasing the length and depth of their ability.

Masterfully done by Kalafina and Kajiura Yuki.... and fantastically accompanied by an awesome live band... the musicians did not put a single foot wrong.... beautiful. :)

If i sound like i am gushing.... It is because i am gushing.... All four of us were gushing after the Live about just how fantastic the Live was.

Okay.... I need to stop.... If not i would go on rambling about how high i feel right now. :)

Good thing for everyone is there were cameras shooting away today.... I smell a dvd/blu -ray release!!!!!! :)

okay.... When i return to Singapore i Will make corrections to the grammar, spelling and punctuation. it is hard for me to do it while i mobile blog.... Please forgive all the mistakes made. :) I Will also try and gather my thoughts and write a better post on the concert after i return to Singapore... try... :)

good night everyone.... I Will try and sleep.... If i can.... :p

Japan trip 3 - day 2 - part 3

2011-11-25T13:15:00.001+08:00

After our trip to Tsukiji Fish Market, we made our way to daimon station and took a short walk to the Zozoji Shrine to take pictures and get a closer view of one of most iconic towers in Japan. When the Tokyo Sky Tree is ready at the Asakusa area, it would be way taller than the Tokyo Tower... I wonder if the tower will be eventually be replaced by the Sky Tree in films and series about Tokyo?

k... I gotta go.... Meeting Itsuko soon.... Continue later. :)

Japan trip 3 - day 2 - part 2

2011-11-25T10:41:00.001+08:00

We went directly to tsukiji market from haneda airport to try and eat the omakase sushi breakfast at sushi dai. But we got majorly lost and the gps lead us all over the market ... Maybe even into the restricted areas :p ... In the end we managed to find sushi dai but we were there quite late, about 8am. A lady from sushi dai came out and told us that we would most likely have to wait for 3 hours to eat at the restaurant!!!! so after some deliberation... We decided to eat at the restaurant next door. I don't know which is more delicious but this place we went to was super so we were v happy. After a full breakfast .... It is Tokyo Tower next. :)

Japan trip 3 - day 1 - part 1

2011-11-25T04:56:00.001+08:00

Have arrived safely at Haneda Airport. It's the first time I've been to this airport. The flight was pretty good and pleasant. Watched the latest Transformers movie which was not great and kinda confusing. It is really early in Tokyo now. Going to go soon. :) later :)

Japan Trip 3 - Day 1

2011-11-24T18:47:00.001+08:00

I'm now at Changi Airport T3 waiting for Jessie and dainelle to show up. We'll have a light dinner with erin then check in and be off on our way to tokyo, japan. :) As usual, I hope to mobile blog. I have planned this trip better than the previous ones. My previous job never allowed me the time to do any proper research and half the time i was just desperate to get away. This time, i had time to think, plan and research. So here's hoping that we all have a safe and great time in tokyo and greater tokyo. :)

Anime Festival Asia 2011 - Day 2 - Part 2

2011-11-22T01:09:00.001+08:00

Arrrrrgggghhhh.... it's so late again and I have to write this post quickly... no choice. But this time it is entirely my own lack of self-control. :p My mum was watching 大清风云 (daqing fengyun) a 2006 Mainland Chinese production on the rise of the Manchus and the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in China. Fascinating stuff and I was hooked and started watching several episodes with my mum. I really like history in general and China's history in particular, hence, why I am happy to go visit the Mainland even though I am terrified of getting food poisoning and the toilets sometimes leave much to be desired... but the scenery, the history, the larger then life historical figures, the legends, the stories etc etc keep drawing me back. And next year, I am hoping that Sunsetrose and I will be able to make a trip up to Xi-an to see the amazing Terracotta Warriors. I did go see some of the Terracotta Warriors collection in an exibition at the Asian Civilizations museum earlier a few months ago... but that is something for another post and one I really should write about someday. But I digress... :)

Back to Anime Festival Asia 2011... :) I wasn't able to go to the festival in the morning at all and so I got two of my friends to help me buy some stuff. One of my friends helped me to buy the Rock Your Soul t-shirt, the Kalafina AFA t-shirt and the Kalafina lanyard. The other friend helped me to buy the Cheerful Version Hatsune Miku nendoroid. I actually liked the Black Rock Shooter nendoroid more but that sold out by 10am and he couldn't get there in time, so I settled for my second choice.

The crowd on the second day at the festival was crazy. It was so packed with people on the 4th floor there was barely any space to walk. It didn't help that there were a lot of cosplayers in the corridor outside the exhibition halls and lots of photographers snapping photos of them. I don't blame them though... the AFA is for otakus, cosplayers and all who love Japanese anime and pop-culture. The venue, on the other hand, maybe getting a little too small for AFA with each passing year.

I think a lot of people were there to try and get exclusives or to get their grubby hands on the merchandise first, in case anything ran out on the third day. Today maybe the 12th may be the second day of AFA but it was the first day that the festival, i.e. all the booths, was open. I know I was there for that reason and I'm sure I wasn't the only one.

AFA is nothing like the huge comicon in San Diego or like Comiket in Japan but it's still decently big as it took up 3 halls on the 4th floor of the convention centre. One of those halls was reserved for the stage where stage events and the anisong concerts would take place. The other two halls housed the merchandise booths, the theatre, the maid & butler cafes etc. We only had tickets to the concert on the 3rd day as I was only truly interested in seeing Kalafina and angela both of which, luckily for me, were due to appear on the same day.

The other reason why I was there was for the live dubbing session by Saitou Chiwa who is a well established seiyuu. I rushed to Suntec without having eaten lunch after my class so that I could catch Akemi Homura's seiyuu in action. It was really cool too and the live dubbing session was really fun to watch. I would like to zip through the videos so that I can write down the exact episode each scene was taken from but it's getting late so I think I'll do that another day.

She was joined on stage by Danny Choo who did the translation for her. Iwakami Atsuhiro, the producer for Fate/Zero and Mahou Shoujo Madoka also made a surprised appearance on stage. While on stage, he answered a few questions. One of them was about the recently announced Mahou Shoujo Madoka movies. He said that there will be three movies. The first two will be re-mixes of events from the series and the third movie will be new stuff, not seen in the series. Nothing really new there for people who already got their info from the Newtype magazine. Iwakami was also asked why they picked Saitou Chiwa to play Akemi Homura. Iwakami said that they had already worked with Saitou on Bakemonogatari and they felt that she was simply the natural choice for Akemi Homura, hence, there was no need to audition Saitou for the part.

Danny Choo also held a short Q&A session with Saitou. Some of the answers I already wrote about in one of the earlier posts on AFA. I just re-called that Saitou was also asked if she was "tsundere" like several of the characters she plays. Saitou replied that she was more "dere dere" then "tsun". When asked which of the many characters she had played was her favourite one, I think she said it was Natsumi from Keroro, a character she played for seven years. She also did an impromptu performance of one of the signature lines from the anime.

At one point in time, one of Kajiura Yuki's tunes from the OST suddenly started playing in the background which took both Danny Choo and Saitou by surprise. But Saitou recovered quickly, quipping that it was Kyubey, that Kyubey was somewhere in our presence and that knew some laughter from the audience. :)

After the live dubbing session, we decided not to stay for the screening of the latest episode of Gundam Unicorn mostly because two of us haven't watch the first three episodes yet. So we went to the festival grounds to take photos of the several of the figures that were displayed. I didn't take any of the cosplayers. I was too lazy to and I was more interested in the Mahou Shoujo Madoka nd Fate/Zero, Fate/Stay Night merchandise anyway.

In the end, I didn't really buy that much as I already own several of the figures and still have a few more on pre-order. And as the crowd both inside and outside the halls were a little too overwhelming for the crowd-adversed me, my friends and I decided to adjourn to a cafe for tea instead. I would anyway be back on Sunday for my autographs, the stage events and the concert. :)

I'm leaving you with some photos of the Kalafina t-shirt and lanyard. I must say that I really like it that Kalafina's name is printed with a colour gradient... my only wish was that it wasn't white. I really don't like white shirts that much.

Alrighty, it's now time for me to sleep. Will try and finish writing about the AFA before I leave for Japan on Thursday. Good night... will proof read tomorrow... need sleep first. :)

Kalafina Record - Limited Edition cover scan

2011-11-19T22:03:00.001+08:00

Hi hi... here is a a scanned jpg of the Kalafina Record LE cover. Someone nicknamed Madoka had asked if I would scan the cover and I agreed. So here it is... enjoy. =)

If I have time, I will try to write one more post on AFA11 tomorrow night... but for now, I need to try and get some of my Japanese homework done tonight.

Enjoy. :)

p.s. Oh btw... here is a link to an interview with Kalafina at the AFA11 this year. This is from Pop Culture Online.... click me. :)

p.p.s. Hmmmm... the interview is kind of generic... nothing really new for fans of Kalafina but... still it's something. :)

Sick today :(

2011-11-18T10:56:00.001+08:00

Lousy quality photo of the poster...
blame the iphone... :p

I'm sick again. :( On MC yet again. This is really not cool. I hate being sick and I'm going to Japan soon... :(

As I usually like to use a photo for every post, I decided to use this shot of my Kalafina autographed poster right after I got it autographed at the booth. :) I cropped it of course cuz... I don't like to put photos of myself online. :)

Would have liked to write more before the memories of AFA11 fade out of my very leaky memory but I am way too tired and ill to do too much.

BTW, Madoka... not fr Mahou Shoujo Madoka... :) ... I know I said I would scan the front cover of my copy of Kalafina Record Limited Edition... will do that soon... hopefully over the weekend, need to dig out my scanner etc ... and the medication is making me really drowsy... so it's back to bed for a while I think... later.... :)

AFA11 - my haul :D

2011-11-17T02:07:00.001+08:00

Unfortunately, it'll have to be another quick post. Another late night at the studio and another very energy sapping day, hence, I only have enough energy to take photos of the stuff I got over the weekend at the Anime Festival Asia 2011 and to do a quick update.

I forgot to put the mug in.

Here's just an overview photo. I bought some of the items in this photo and some of the others were given to me as a surprise pressie from my boyfriend... thanks. =) As I am a t-shirt fiend, I bought/received the Rock Your Soul - Super Anisong Concert t-shirt, the Kalafina AFA11 t-shirt, a Mahou Shoujo Madoka t-shirt. :) I also got the Kalafina AFA11 lanyard, the Cheerful version Hatsune Miku nendoroid, a Mahou Shoujo Madoka - Madoka banpresto figure, a Kyubey sticker, a Akemi Homura phone accessory and an eco-bag that came free with every purchase of SGD50 and above at the Aniplex booth.

Here are some close-ups of the mug which I forgot to place in that picture above.

Actually, this mug is rather nice. It has all the magical girls from Mahou Shoujo Madoka, even Sakura Kyouko is included. I'm still undecided if I should bring it to the studio.

That's it for now... will, hopefully, post up more photos and maybe get to writing up more about the AFA tomorrow or friday night.

For now... oyasumi. :)

Kalafina in Europe? :)

2011-11-15T10:01:00.001+08:00

By the way, there is hope for fans in Europe. I just quickly zipped through the Animyu! interview this morning and Kalafina said that they would like to go to Europe and it seems that their next target area is Europe. Awesome for you fans in Europe but not so awesome for me =( ... Europe is way too expensive for me to travel to these days, Japan is the best I can do. I haven't really read the interview thru' and thru' yet, my Japanese isn't that strong but they definitely said Europe, although I don't think they mentioned any cities yet... I'll have a look later... have to start work now. :)

EDIT:

I changed the picture and read that little section where they talk about Europe. =) Yeah, I can confirm that they didn't mention anything concrete except that they are interested in going to Europe. The sub-heading for this section does say something like "the next goal is Europe" but that's about it. Still... I think there is some possibility that they will travel to Europe next year or perhaps the year after?

Well, that's it from me for now... no AFA write-ups etc. It's been two very long days at work and although AFA was fun... it was also very tiring and I'm really exhausted from not having enough rest. Going to sleep now... oyasumi. :)

Kalafina in Animyu! magazine

2011-11-15T01:52:00.001+08:00

If you've been following my blog, you may know that I mentioned that Kalafina did an interview for Animyu! magazine. I had been hesitating to get it because I wasn't sure if it was a blurp or a proper interview. What did change my mind was when oh-news said that this was a long interview.

I did order the magazine and it arrived today. Yay!!!! A small bright spark in my not fantastic day. =)

What I definitely did not expect was when they said long interview, they really meant LONG. This section on Kalafina is 14 pages long. Lots of photos and full colour. Granted, not all of it was text, some of it was almost full page photos but I don't think any fan who gets this magazine will complain too much about it.

If you guys want to purchase it, I got mine from CDJapan. The product link is here. There aren't many copies left so if you're interested, don't take too long.

Okay, that's it from me. I leave you with a few photos from the magazine and now I have to wash up and head to bed. Good night and hopefully I can get to more AFA11 and Kalafina posts tomorrow night. :)

Kalafina in Singapore - AFA11 Concert - comments

2011-11-14T02:05:00.001+08:00

And yes, it's a photo of light-sticks again. =)
No photography allowed. =(

EDIT: I've made some amendments to the original text. It was full of errors and has some missing bits and pieces. I think I was simply too tired and wrote it in too much of a rush. Hopefully this new edit will have none or very few mistakes. :)

Oh man, I'm still so high from the Anime Asia Festival 2011 - Rock Your Soul ~ Super Anisong Concert at the Suntec Convention Centre, Singapore. I know that I'm so high right now that I'm going to have a hard time sleeping even though I am so tired. :)

Since I won't be able to sleep, I will attempt to write up a detailed report about the concert tonight. This report will place particular emphasis on the the Kalafina section of the anisong concert. They are, after all, the primary reason why I was at the concert in the first place. The secondary reason was angela, but I think I would not have braved the crowds for just angela alone. Although, now that I've seen angela live for the first time, I might just brave the crowds the next time just for them alone. :)

Let's cut to the chase now. The night began well with Ito Kanoko and Shikura Chiyomaru. Admittedly, I've never heard of them before till AFA11 announced that they were one of the guest artiste at this year's concert. I've also not watched Stiens; Gate yet so I was not familiar with the songs they sang. All the songs they sang at the concert were from this anime and I thought they weren't bad. I rather liked them actually.

Next up was Milky Holmes. I don't know anything about these girls except that there are 4 of them in the promotional poster, however, only 3 of the girls showed up. I'm not sure what happened to the fourth girl. I'll admit right off the bat that I totally do not get this genre of music at all. They are very cute and I know several people really liked them but they are just not my cup of tea. They sang 2 songs. I'm not sure where the songs are from but I presume it's from the Tantei Opera Milky Holmes franchise.

Then it was angela who were simply AWESOME!!! I really, really, really like angela's The End of the World from Uchuu no Stellvia and Asu e no Brilliant Road, the theme from that same anime, is my second favourite angela song after The End of the World. I was really looking forward to this section of the concert and they didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed it and the crowd really came to live with their rendition of Zankoku na Tenshi no Tears from Evangelion. It was really awesome. I don't remember how many songs they sang. I do remember that Shangri-la was one of them. They were also the only group to do an encore, coming back again to sing Asu e no Brilliant Road. When Atsuko announced that they were going to sing a song from their debut album, a song from Uchuu no Stellvia, the crowd screamed in excitement, Atsuko seemed genuinely touched because I think she didn't expect people in SEA to know this anime or songs from this anime since Uchuu no Stellvia is a 2003 anime. Atsuko also taught us a simple dance involving only hand actions. It was really fun and the crowd was really whipped up into a frenzy by their rendition of Asu e no Brilliant Road. angela, in my opinion, did the best when it came to really interacting with the audience. They are lots of fun to watch live and they were very relaxed and funny, getting the audience involved several times not just in the dance but also the cheer for the viewers watching the Nico Nico Douga live stream, as well as getting everyone to call them Atsuko Sensei and Katsu oniichan. I would totally spend good money to watch them live again. :)

Up next, it's the main act as far as I'm concern. =P It's Kalafina's turn!!!!!!! Oh, just an aside, there seemed to be lots and lots of Kalafina fans in the audience today because before the concert began, while eveyone was getting seated, the screen kept playing over and over either this clip below or another video clip that is similar to it:

And every time Kalafina's part came up, people would cheer. May'n also got cheers later when more of her fans filtered in. I don't know if it amused anyone else but it amused me.

Anyway, back to the concert. Kalafina began with Magia the end theme from Mahou Shoujo Madoka. No surprises there, I was completely expecting them to sing this song since Mahou Shoujo Madoka was one of the biggest anime hits this year. Admittedly, it was a little bit of a shaky start. Hikaru came across sounding a little off but I'm not sure how much of it is due to the horrible mixing for Magia. Hikaru's volume was definitely way too loud and as she already has a tendency to shout a little at the lives in certain songs, it sounded worse, in part, because it was way too loud and it drowned out Keiko who was doing the harmony for her. Wakana also had a little problem with the line that was always going to be hard for her as that particular forces her to go all the way down to her lowest end of her range. It's not terrible but I think for fans who are familiar with what she is capable of, it was certainly not the best delivery. Keiko's bridge, however, was beautifully sung and got her some well deserved cheers from the crowd.

Kalafina then went straight into their next song without a break. The next song was Oblivious and I could hear people sing along with the opening "oh oh-o-oh .... " till Wakana's verse came in. By this time, the mixer I think realised that Hikaru was way too loud in Magia and dipped her volume to better match Keiko and Wakana because she was harmonizing much better in this song. They really sang this song very well and the crowd was really into it as people were singing along to bits and pieces in particular the "oh oh-o-oh" parts.

After Oblivious, they broke for a short MC section when they greeted everyone with the usual "Hello Singapore!!!" and then they introduced themselves. Each introduction was greeted with frenzied cheering of course. I THINK Keiko yelled out "I miss you Singapore" before she introduced herself. That got her a huge cheer. In retrospect, I think people cheered, in part because any time anyone mentioned Singapore, it was always greeted with frenzied cheering and also in part, because she said it in such a cute fashion and a little bit unexpectedly too since I dont think people expected her to miss us just yet. =) Hikaru is, I believe, the designated representative for the group when they travel to a non-Japanese speaking country because after she introduced herself, she went on to say the usual pleasantries in English. It's still distinctly Japanese accented but it was really rather good for someone who's first language isn't English.

The next song was 輝く空の静寂には (Kagayaku Sora no Shijima Niwa). And once again... beautifully sang by all the girls. And once again people were attempting to sing along. Keiko was fantastic in this song, her solo kajiuran portion was awesome and beautifully and powerfully sung. I can't say if this song was perfectly sung but I will say, absolutely nothing about their performance made me go "huh?" Wakana and Hikaru were really, really awesome too in this song.

After which it was directly into the next song Lacrimosa, like Kagayaku, both were end theme songs from the Kuroshitsuji anime. Lacrimosa was season 1's end theme and Kagayaku was season 2's end theme. There is really not much to say about this performance except that it was amazing. The harmony was spot on. I've heard them sing it at other lives before and this performance is certain one of the best ever.

Now it's time for MC 2. Keiko was kind of cute in this section when she tried to translate her Japanese sentence into English. She said something like this was Kalafina's first time in Singapore in Japanese, then she attempted to translate it into English by saying something like "first time Shingapo-ru?". It was kind of cute the way she said it. :) She promptly apologized for her inability to speak in English which got her a ton of cheers of support. :)

Then Keiko proceeded to talk about eating chicken rice. I think the organizers must have taken all the artistes to eat chicken rice because practically everyone mentioned chicken rice, not just at this Live but also at some of the stage events I attended. It seems they all really liked it too, Kalafina included. :) Wakana talked about the black sweet sauce that comes as a condiment with chicken rice and she seemed to really like that. Then I think it was Hikaru who said something about them not having yet eaten Singapore sweets and asked the crowd to recommend some. And it was kind of funny here because I think people didn't know what to recommend since I think the understanding of what "sweets" are is somewhat different and I think folks were probably thinking... eh... white rabbit candy, tic-tac... and no one knew how to answer that question properly since there aren't any Singapore sweets/candy that come to mind easily, if at all. Then someone yelled out dessert I think because the question changed into dessert and not sweets and that really got the crowd going as everyone tried their best to recommend them something. However, all the girls could hear was a chorus of sound. I hear people yell out "chendol", "ice-kachang" etc. And it was kind of funny because the trio were really bewildered and Keiko jumped a few times and laughed before putting an end to it by sweetly saying what I think is almost certainly "後で教えて" which means "tell us later" in Japanese.

The next song was Sprinter. A song I really like but am never sure if they can pull off successfully live since originally this was written for 4 people. Keiko has the heaviest burden of the three in this song and much as I love Keiko, even I must admit that she sometimes finds it hard to pull it off flawlessly at the lives. This time though, she was great and she was, as far as I can tell, pretty awesome throughout the song. Good Job Keiko!!!! The harmony was once again amazing. They were ALL great in this song.

Then it was the surprise song of the evening. Ongaku!!!! I didn't expect that. I thought it would be more Kara no Kyoukai. I really like this song in the lives even when they don't sing it perfectly because it really gets you going and has a strong regular beat which people can shake their light sticks to easily. Everyone was really into the song and jumping up and down. I really think they sang this song pretty well because nothing bugged me but, to tell you the truth, I would not be able to tell you if they sang it perfectly because I was too busy jumping up and down, going "oy oy" with my light-stick and cheering. :) Wakana's solo though was pretty damn good and got her a ton of cheers at the end. Awesome song and awesomely sung by all the girls in Kalafina!!!!

Then it was another break for another MC where they thanked the audience and announced that the last song would be Hikari no Senritsu. Ongaku really got everyone high so it was a little sad to hear that Kalafina had reached the final song in their set. Perhaps sensing the disappointment that the set was too short for the fans, Hikaru said something in English I didn't quite understand but I think it meant coming back to Singapore and maybe she meant other parts of South East Asia too? Because she said something about returning to "all of here" or "all of there" or something and I didn't get it at all and neither did my friend. But it doesn't matter, the meaning is the same it means that they would like to return. YAY for us fans. :)

I must say that I really like Hikari no Senritsu. It was one of the songs which introduced Kalafina to me which in turn made me return to listening to and tracking down all of Kajiura Yuki's work and back to watching anime... but that is another story. :)

What I really want to say though is that I never understood previously why Hikari no Senritsu is the song Kalafina uses so often to close or be part of the set they sing at the Lives that aren't their own. But today I really understood why. Everyone around me was moving along with the rhythm and cheering and some tried to sing along... I tried to too. =P The harmonizing was spot on and they sang this song really, really, really beautifully which helped them leave the hall on a high. It was really beautifully performed and left everyone feeling super high and wishing there was more.

Loud cheers and applause from everyone. Kalafina then proceeded to exit the stage, saying their goodbyes and thank yous amidst lots of cheers. Then Keiko used a line she seems to really enjoy using lately. As she walked toward the backstage she called out, "I'll be back Singapore!!!!!!!" which got her tons of cheers. The crowd tried to call an encore but the MC for the Live put a quick stop to it by announcing that May'n's section of the concert would begin soon and I think people knew it would be fruitless to try harder for an encore. :(

This was a GREAT LIVE!!!!!! I think it really is one of the best Kalafina lives I've ever heard. Almost nothing went wrong except that the mix for Magia and that the bass was way too heavy throughout the Live, often threatening to drown out their vocals. Kalafina themselves though, were GREAT. They really sang awesomely well and I was really high.

The crowd was really great too. Everyone was really high and cheered practically every sentence they said which I think took the trio by surprised because I think initially, if I saw it correctly, they looked a little surprised when the crowd cheered every time they finished a sentence,.

I am now sooooo excited for the Live on the 25th. I can't wait to see them again. My friend who likes Kaori from FictionJunction best said that after the concert, he now likes Keiko second best. He likes the whole package it seems... not just that Keiko sings well but that she dances the most and seems the most lively of the 3. I, personally, really like Keiko at the Lives, she really seems, to me, to enjoy them the most. Hikaru and Wakana obviously enjoy them A LOT too but Keiko seems like she almost lives for the high of performing at a Live. It may not actually be so, I wouldn't know that, but it certainly does come across that way to me. Hence, that's why I like watching Keiko at the lives.

But to be fair, I really don't know how energetic Wakana was at this Live because, sadly, she was blocked from my view most of the time. =( I had a GREAT view of Keiko because my seat was right smack in the middle and there was almost always a parting of the heads in front of me, that I almost always had a clear view of Keiko. I had a clear view of Hikaru lots of times too but Wakana was often obsured by the taller people infront of me on my right. =( Luckily for me, Keiko is my favourite and it really was cool that when she pointed directly at the crowd in one of the songs, maybe Ongaku, it seemed like she was pointing directly at me... kind of cool. =)

Next up, May'n. Unfortunately for me, I was already extremely tired by now and May'n is okay but her music isn't really my cup of tea. I was also really starting to crash a bit by this time and I wasn't able to enjoy her portion of the concert as much as others.

And I suppose since I'm primarily a Kalafina fan, the night pretty much ended psychologically for me when Kalafina exited the stage. =P

K.. that's it... I originally wanted to write this tomorrow night as it's like 4+ AM now and I need to work tomorrow!!! But I really wanted to write it down while it's fresh in my mind so that I could recall as many details as possible. If I wait till tomorrow, I would have forgotten most of it. I also attended the AnoHana stage event in the afternoon and the only bit of info I managed to retain was that Okada Mari really liked chicken rice too. I had to throw out all that info to store the Kalafina info. =D

edit: 15th Nov. 2011 - I've gone through it once through to try and work out the grammatical errors etc. I'm sure it isn't perfect. But unfortunately, today was not the best of days at work and I only returned at 11pm or so and ate my dinner at about 1115pm so I'm really tired and I don't feel like going through it again for mistakes. =P Also, I would like to write up a short, non-related AFA before I sleep but I may not be able to manage it. If I can't write that short Kalafina related post, it'll have to wait till I write the other AFA related posts which I hope to write tomorrow or the day after.

Wish me luck at work later today. :)

Kalafina - Afa 11 - just finished singing

2011-11-13T22:07:00.001+08:00

just a short blurb. Kalafina just finished a little while ago and they were awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i can't remember the whole setlist.... The following was sung....
Magia
Oblivious
Lacrimosa
Kagayaku
Ongaku
Hikari ni seritsu

Maybe i missed one or two....i m too high high now. :) Kalafina ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If i mess up the formatting.... Will fix later. :)

edit: I forgot Sprinter. =p

Kalafina in Singapore - i met them!!!

2011-11-13T15:09:00.001+08:00

Super short post. But i wanted to be all fan girl and shout it out. i met Kalafina a while ago.... They signed this poster just centimeters away. I was so excited!!! but i was so star struck.... I planned to tell them in Japanese that i love their music and am going to the Live on the 25th but i was so tongue tied i said nothing but konnichiwa and Arigatou. :P i am still super high from the experience... Now i m waiting for the concert tonight.... So excited. Will write more either later today or tomorrow night. :)

Anime Festival Asia 2011 - Day 2

2011-11-13T00:00:00.001+08:00

The crowds at Suntec for AFA11 - crazy, right? :)

I went to the Anime Festival Asia today and it was fun!!!! =) I was unable to be there early because I had to attend my Japanese class this morning. I switched my class from the Sunday class to Saturday so that I could be at AFA for the whole day tomorrow.

And in order to avoid the long queues to buy tickets, my friend and I had gone to the AKB48 Cafe at Scape to buy pre-sale Stage+ Festival tickets about a week ago. I managed to get to the convention hall and squeeze pass a gabillion people to get into the Main Stage area to catch the last bit of the I Love Anisong Artiste Appearance featuring Flow and Mizuki Ichirou. But I was really there to watch Akemi Homura's seiyuu Saito Chiwa who was going to appear at 215pm.

Main Stage - actually, no photos allowed but
I didn't know that when I shot this photo.
Lucky you can't really see anything. :p
Kalafina will appear on this stage on Sunday. :)

We managed to get seats after the Flow and Mizuki Ichrou left the stage and hence, were able to rest a bit while we waited for Saito to show up. When she did, there were big cheers all around. Saito was on stage to do a live dubbing session and she used 3 scenes from Mahou Shoujo Madoka. The first scene was in the ep when we first see Akemi Homura in her first timeline I think .... that is when she was weak and when she first met Madoka. At that point she was in Mami Tomoe's house and having tea with Madoka, Mami, Miki Sayaka and Kyubey. The next scene was a long one and a cool one. It's the scene when Homura shoots Kyubey. The last scene was when Homura talks to Madoka through the windo before she goes of to fight. If I have time... I'll go look up those eps and scenes and post up a more detailed post.

There was also a short q&a session with the seiyuu. Unfortunately, as no photography or audio recording is allowed, I have forgotten most of it. I do remember her saying that she didn't grow up wanting to be a seiyuu. It was a job she only found out about later when she was still in school (?), I think maybe when she was in high school or something, I'm not sure. Then she goes on to say that to be a good seiyuu, you don't have to study for it. Instead, one should try and experience many things in life because these experiences will help you perform better and become the character. Oh... I'm majorly paraphrasing here because I think I kind of rolled some of what I remembered of her various answers to a few questions into one. There was also a question when she was asked who was her favourite character or, was it what was the character type, she liked to play most and she said that she likes to play characters that are different from her real personality. She also felt that in order to perform a role well, a seiyuu must become the character they are performing. Also, when she prepares for a role, she will read the script and try and imagine how the other seiyuus will play their part and how she can match their performance, or something like that. Finally, I remember she said that there were many emotional scenes in Mahou Shoujo Madoka so when she played Homura Akemi, she would return to her home completely drained because she poured all her emotions into this character when she played it.

Please note that I wrote the above paragraph completely from memory so some of it may not be accurate.

K... I think I really need to rest now... tomorrow will be a busy day.

Not going to proof read... will fix errors later... also will post up more photos of the event and my personal haul etc etc another day.

Good night. :)

Anime Festival Asia 2011 - Day 1

2011-11-12T01:15:00.001+08:00

photo courtesy of AFA11

Yesterday was the first day of the Anime Festival Asia 2011. If I'm not wrong, the day began with a press preview where the anisong singers and the other artistes showed up to say hello. I'm no longer part of the press so, unfortunately, I was at work while this event was going on. Then there is the Cool Japan Forum at 1pm which I also did not attend. I don't think the anisong stars and the other artiste were at the forum.

photo courtesy of AFA11

I don't know what Kalafina was up to all day after the press preview. I suspect they were doing a short city tour of Singapore and possibly documenting it on video or in photos for future publicity use. That, or they were possibly also giving interviews for magazine etc. I really don't know... I'm just speculating. :)

The organisers also made a little video thing which is hosted on both FB and youtube. It's not much, just footage of the artistes on stage set to some generic library music. For us Kalafina fans, the trio appear a few times in the video. There is no VO and no audio from the event, just the library music. If you're interested... here is the youtube vid. :)

I returned from work at 1145pm today... super long and very tiring day at work. I'm not unhappy about it though... it was interesting, albeit, somewhat frustrating when I couldn't figure out how to clean up certain bits of the footage. But the reward at the end of a day of pounding at the door was well worth it as I think I'm beginning to be able to wrap my head around the basics of doing this kind of clean up. So am very happy, although I am super, super tired.

Much as I would love to write more... I also have a very long busy weekend ahead of me. First, table tennis in the morning, then Japanese class, then AFA11 =D and then dinner with the family, then home to rest for an even busier Sunday at AFA11. :)

I hope to write up a little something about my time at AFA11 when I have time... hopefully, I will have a post up by late Sunday night or Monday night... we'll see... for now... I need to sleep... it's 130am and I need to settle some details etc be4 I go to bed.

Good night everyone :)
p.s. not proof reading again. :p

Kalafina on the way to Singapore (AFA11) / Mahou Shoujo Madoka movie

2011-11-10T02:09:00.001+08:00

I've been wanting to post more lately but have been so busy, it's been pretty near impossible to do anything too meaningful online. Returned home late from work and just woke up from a 2hr snooze after dinner and now am able to write my response to what I read on the train 3 and half hours earlier. Keiko left a message on their blog that the trio were at the airport and were about to leave to come to Singapore at approx 10pm Tokyo time. This means they'll be in Singapore approx 6 1/2 to 7 or so hours later. YAY!!!

My friend initially thought they might fly in on late Thursday night and asked if I would like to go to the airport and see if we could catch them as they exited customs... I thought sure, why not, if we went there after work, I wouldn't mind just doing something goofy and fun just for the heck of it but... since it'll be early tomorrow morning when they arrive... that is no longer something I will be able to do. I have to be at work and am in the middle of working on my first stereo 3D clean up shot, so am both stressed and excited about it... and not even the prospect of seeing Kalafina in the flesh at the airport will detract me from going to work tomorrow. =D

Also... super happy news to report... this afternoon, I really wanted to shout it out on the blog but work, unfortunately, must come first... so now at 1 plus AM in the morning... I would like to go YIPPEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! I was one of the lucky winners in the autograph session draw for the Kalafina autograph session to be held this Sunday at the Anime Festival Asia 2011. I almost couldn't believe it and kept checking again and again that that was my number in the list... I even got my boyfriend to check it. His ticket, unfortunately, wasn't selected for the Kalafina autograph session. He got Angela. I suppose it's cool too since I like Angela too and I think he's unlikely to want to keep that autographed poster, so I'll get one autographed Kalafina poster and one autographed Angela poster. :p

Also for those of you who can read Japanese, Kalafina was interviewed for an article in the Animyu! (Autumn Issue) magazine. I might get this magazine. After hunting around for information on the nature of these interview, to see if the magazine was worth getting, I found out from oh-news that this isn't just a blurp, so I'm now more interested in purchasing the magazine... but we'll see... I haven't really made up my mind yet.

Another magazine I'm really interested in getting is the December issue of Newtype. A few days ago, the internet was abuzz with news of a Mahou Shoujo Madoka movie. At that point in time, there was no official announce from Shaft, hence, there was speculation that it was just a rumour... although, that would be strange since the news comes from Newtype which is hardly the type of magazine to make things up.

Just a while ago, I read a twitter message from the production team for Mahou Shoujo Madoka and this is what they wrote:
いよいよ正式告知でございます。皆様の応援のおかげで、劇場プロジェクトを始動させていただくこととなりました。詳細は本日発売、まどかが表紙のニュータイプ12月号に掲載されます。引き続きよろしくお願いします！公式HPもプチリニューアルしております。

That's the official announce that there will be a Mahou Shoujo Madoka movie and that more details will be in the Newtype magazine December issue. Also, if I read that tweet correctly, they say they have re-vamped their website as part of the publicity for the movie.

Also, I just found out that there is now a Mahou Shoujo USA website and they have announced special blu-ray boxsets of the anime... and.... ARRRGGGHHHH.... they are way cheaper than the Japanese blu-ray sets. There will be 3 Limited edition boxsets and each of them will come with one extra CD, which would be Vol. 1-3 of Kajiura Yuki's OST. They will also come with English subtitles and other freebies like posters and stickers etc... all of which were not in the original Japanese releases. Grrrrrrr..... I will of course not be getting these since I already have the 6 volume Japan releases but for those of you would are interested here is the link to the website.

K... that's it from me... I need to sleep... it's 2am and although I had a short nap before I started writing this post.... I'm tiring fast... so time to go... not going to proof read... ... .... .... zzzzzz :)

Kajiura Yuki - new t-shirts / Kalafina Cafe stuff

2011-11-09T00:39:00.001+08:00

New concert t-shirts for one of Kajiura Yuki's concerts are now available on CDJapan. :)

I'm so ordering one of them. There are two colors but I think I'll probably go for the darker one. Click me for darker coloured shirt... and click me for lighter coloured shirt.

There's a bunch of other stuff like bags and water-bottles etc... I'll probably not get them but for those who are interested... check this link out.

CDJapan is also offering new stuff from Kalafina Cafe but it's a salad bowl and a lunch box... hmmmm.... I'm unlikely to get either one of those things... these aren't usually the kinds of things I would buy. Too bad no t-shirt... I would totally get one. :)

Btw, it's been out for a while now but the Kalafina Calendar for next year is available for those who want them... I don't think I'll get them now... but if they are available at the concert venue later this month... I might go for them... not sure yet... I'm more into t-shirts and concert programmes... so we'll see... :)

Actually... I wanted to write more... but I'm rather tired today.... long day at work... so will go to sleep soon.... need to keep my strength up for AFA11 this weekend. :D

nite nite... :)

Fate/Zero Blu-ray Vol.1 (w/ Kajiura OST) & Kalafina (Animate promo)

2011-10-29T11:35:00.004+08:00

EDIT: 10th Nov 2011 - I didn't realise that this blu-ray release comes with ENGLISH SUBS!!!! Which kind of makes it a better purchase than the Mahou Shoujo Madoka Jpn limited edition releases which had no English subs.

Link to the PRE-ORDER for the blu-ray set at CDJapan .
Fate / Zero Blu-ray Disc Box I [5Blu-ray + 2CD]

Oh man... I just knew they were going to do this. Once again they have packaged the anime with Kajiura Yuki's OST for the series... just like they did for Mahou Shoujo Madoka.The price for this set won't be pretty. The price at CDJapan is 38000yen... you'll get 1140 points (3% of total cost) which works out to be 1140yen discount on a future purchase.

Yikes... that's not a cheap set at all... but that said, this is the type of pricing one gets with blu-ray releases of anime releases in Japan. They only come in cheaper when you pick them up much, much later when they re-release budget sets etc.

This set is likely to be a relatively nice set for fans with money to spend. Although it's only half the series, so you'll only get ep1-13 on 5 blu-rays... you'll also get 2 additional cds. One of those cds will be Kajiura Yuki's OST, the other will be a drama CD. The set will also come with a Production Note and other extras. I'm not sure what this Production Note will look like... but it'll likely have interviews and art-work etc. It's unlikely to be as nice as a stand-alone artbook release like the Mahou Shojo Madoka Production Note release but it should be relatively decent.

Hence, in the end, it works out to be of somewhat the same value as the Mahou Shoujo Madoka limited edition blu-ray releases.... except that this will only be half the series since Fate/Zero is a 26 ep series. I'm hesitant to get this set even though I would really like to get Kajiura's OST but sigh.... I'm not sure if I like Fate/Zero the anime as much as I LOVED Mahou Shoujo Madoka yet. I partly decided to get the Mahou Shoujo set for Kajiura and partly because I loved the anime.

It's cheaper to get the set at Amazon Japan though. Amazon Japan is giving a 26% discount and the set will weigh in at 29526yen which is loads cheaper than CDJapan but Amazon Japan gives the buyer lesser options with regards to shipping. I'll have to think long and hard about it but I'm leaning towards not getting the set and hoping that a few years from now... we may get a stand-alone OST featuring some of the signature tracks from the anime.

One of singles I don't own yet.

ALSO... aside from hosting Kalafina Museum in several of the Animate stores in Japan, Animate will also be holding a separate promotion for several anisong artists. Kalafina will be one of them. If I read the post from Sony correctly, if you buy a cd / dvd / bd from Kalafina (and other featured artists) from an Animate store during the promotion period from 8th Nov to 11th Dec, you'll get an artist card. I don't know what an artist card is but it seems this is the 4th time that Animate has held the Anime Artist Fair (アニメイトアーティストフェア) event so maybe they have given out artist cards before and those who have them know what they are.

I will be in Japan during that period and plan on paying a visit to Animate. I'm still missing 2 or 3 singles in my Kalafina collection so if they have something I want, I may get it and hopefully get the artist card too.

Lastly, before I go... for those who can read Japanese, Vol. 7 of Lisani! features the Fate/Zero anime. There is also a joint interview with Kajiura and Gen Urobuchi about Kajiura's music. I've ordered the magazine. :)

Lisani! (Listen Anime!) Vol.7 [Cover & Top Feature] Fate/Zero / Sony Magazines

That's all from me for now... I need to get ready for lunch... it's my mum's birthday celebration today. :) Later y'all. :)

Kalafina Musuem is back!!! :)

2011-10-26T22:43:00.002+08:00


Yes, it's Keiko again cuz I don't have another picture to use :D

It looks like the Kalafina Museum will be back and will actually do a tour of some of the Animate stores in Japan too. I'm not entirely clear about what the website is saying but it looks like there will be one set up in Shinjuku during the period when I will be in Japan. Cool!!!!!!! :)

Sadly, this isn't the cafe, so I won't be able to go in and eat some of the meals the trio came up with but hey, for a visiting fan... this is way better than nothing. :)

As far as I can tell from what I can read, the museum will feature the following:

- A panel of photos at the museum.
- The exhibition of the actual costumes use at the Lives. (except at the shop in Hiroshima)
- There will be 3 different types... A, B and C and each will feature 3 different panels of photos and costumes except for type C which will not have a costume exhibition.
Souvenirs related to Kalafina and "Kalafina Eden" will also be on sale at the museums.
- I think there are two kinds of lucky draw events at the museum.
And for those who purchased more than 2000 yen worth of products, they can participate in a lottery for a personalized autograph from the Kalafina girls. I think there will only be 10 winners... or maybe it's 10 winners per store... I'm not sure.
- And if I read this correctly, another 10 lucky winners will also be able to win a signed item from the photo display or something like that... sorry, my Japanese still needs lots of work. :)

I'm also not sure how the lottery will work for overseas fans... I don't know if they'll ship it to a winner who resides overseas but if I do go... there is not harm trying to see if I can win something and if they'll ship it to me.

Looks like I'll need to try and rework my schedule in Japan to fit this in. But first... I need to figure out the location of the musuem in Shinjuku in Nov. :)

Urls for more infor:
http://www.animate.co.jp/event/exhibition_20120205/
http://blog.oricon.co.jp/kalafina/

K... I'm off to do some work. :) I'm back to busy again... :(

Truffle Xiao Long Bao

2011-10-07T23:39:00.001+08:00

After post after post on Kalafina, Kajiura Yuki and Mahou Shoujo Madoka, I think it's time to take a break from all things Japanese and talk about another of my obsessions... food!!!! :)

Today, I ate the most expensive Xiao Long Bao I have ever eaten to date. This here is a photo of the Truffle Xiao Long Bao from Ding Tai Fung. At SGD3.20 per Xiao Long Bao, it is kind of expensive since normal Xiao Long Bao go for SGD6 plus for 6 Xiao Long Baos.

But I love dumplings and Xiao Long Bao is right up my list of favourites... I have a yearly obsession with Ding Tai Fung's Chilli Crab Xiao Long Bao which is only available once a year for a month or two... so when I found out that the City Hall (MRT) branch of Ding Tai Fung was offering the Truffle Xiao Long Bao... I just had to try it.

I only ordered 2 of these little dumplings, one for my mum and one for me. I didn't order more because I wasn't sure if it would be worth SGD3.20. After all, who knows if you can even taste the Black Truffle in it. I've eaten the colourful, multi-flavoured Xiao Long Baos from Paradise Dynasty in Ion and although some of them are really nice and you can really taste the flavours, I don't remember their truffle Xiao Long Bao to be particularly memorable. Paradise Dynasty's colourful Xiao Long Baos are nice, very nice... but there are 8 different flavours for about SGD13-14... this was ONE Xiao Long Bao for SGD3.20

I must say though, that this Truffle Xiao Long Bao is VERY NICE. The earthy and rich flavour of the black truffle combined very nicely with the pork and the soup in the dumpling and it certainly was one of the tastiest Xiao Long Baos I've ever eaten. Regular Ding Tai Fung Xiao Long Baos are already super good but this was really something else... really good.

I'm still not sure if I would eat it again since SGD3.20 is certainly not a small sum for a small dumpling like this and I'm still a bigger fan of the Chilli Crab Xiao Long Bao... but I can say for sure that I do not regret trying it. It was a very yummy Xiao Long Bao and a very worthy SGD3.20 experience. :)

If I was feeling better... I would dig out photos of the Paradise Dynasty Xiao Long Baos and the ridiculous number of Chilli Crab Xiao Long Baos I ate this year :D ... but I need to take a break from the computer monitor... the reason why I was on medical leave was because too much time on the computer and the dry air-con air at work had led to both my eyes getting all swollen and inflamed. :( Time to go drop some eye-drops.... good night. :)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Mahou Shoujo Madoka) Production Notes - Unboxing

2011-10-07T02:29:00.001+08:00

I'm going to have to try and make this a quick and short, picture heavy post. I'm actually on 2 days of medical leave. I slept a lot in the afternoon which made it hard for me to sleep now but I know I'm likely to tire fast since it is kinda late now and that's a good thing... cuz it means I'll be able to sleep.

Anyway, I got this beautiful artbook a few days ago in the mail and took some photos then but did not have time to post them up. Here goes:

I purchased this from CDJapan and as I had some points that I had been saving for a purchase such as this, I managed to knock of quite a lot for this purchase.

At this point in time, it seems that this item is now OOP, but I'm not sure if that means that there won't be a reprint. If you want it... you'll just have to check periodically to see if they are currently offering it or sign up with their email notification service or drop them an email. The product page is here:

[EDIT: 15th Oct 20011 -- seems like the Production Note is once again available for pre-order... although, I think this time it's without the bookmarks and the post card... btw... I did get the Kyubey bookmark... I just have not shot a photo of it yet. Also... pre-order deadline is the 17th Oct.]
Puella Magi Madoka Magica Production Note / SHAFT

I'm really pleased with this purchase. It is a beautifully designed artbook with all kinds of detailed drawings of the character designs, set designs, sketches etc. The quality of the paper in the thicker main Production Note volume is of a nice quality. The slimmer "image note" volume's paper quality isn't as nice but it does have a sketchbook kind of paper quality and I think the "image note" volume is supposed to be the sketchbook volume of this release.

I love how the books open up. I don't think the binding will hold up to any rough usage but these kinds of books aren't meant for that kind of handling.

I forgot to shoot a photo of the back of the Charlotte bookmark and I'm not sure if I have a Kyubey bookmark... I forgot to look for it. I've yet to flip through all the pages in the book as I have been busy at work and have not been feeling well recently... will probably do that tomorrow since I'm on medical leave.

I might update this with more pictures of the bookmarks... but may not... may get too lazy or busy. :p But for now... I hope you enjoyed this unboxing of what I think is an item which is pretty good value for money. If you like Mahou Shoujo Madoka and like artbooks etc... then this is a purchase you should seriously consider, if you can find it at a right price.

K... time for me to sleep. :) Good night.

AFA11 - Kalafina's message

2011-10-01T23:55:00.002+08:00

Got this off my AFA twitter feed. They've opened a youtube channel and so you won't need the FB link to watch this. :)

Here is their welcome message. :)

Here is the link to AFA's youtube channel. Click me. :)

AFA11 - Kalafina in Singapore - Got my ticket :)

2011-10-01T22:23:00.003+08:00

I used this pix just cuz
Keiko looks cool here. :D

I actually don't have that much to say but I really wanted to go YAY!!! I've got a ticket to the "I Love Anisong" concert on the13th Nov. The tickets went on sale this morning. :) It's not the closest tickets to the stage but still... I have the centre section, 6 rows from the front for the 3rd day... the day Kalafina is suppose to perform. :)

I'm really happy about it. :) I'm not sure if I'll have another opportunity to be this close to the stage when Kalafina sings in the future. Who knows when or if they will come to Singapore again. And as I've never gone to any of the Anime related events in Singapore, I might as well make this AFA the first since 1) Kalafina will be there and 2) there will be related Mahou Shoujo Madoka events. So if it's not too much of a fight with the crowd and I can fit it into my schedule, I would attend the Mahou Shoujo Madoka events and do some shopping etc.

Moreover... um... I didn't actually have to pay for the ticket... it was a gift from a friend who bought two VIP 3 Day packages. :D So far I'll only be going to the Day 3 Anisong event, which is fine by me... I was only ever really interested in Day 3 anyway. since Kalafina is the only vocal group I'm really that interested in watching live at the AFA this year. May'n is okay too so I'm happy too that she's on the same day as Kalafina is. I wish Flow was too but they are on Day 2 so too bad for me.

That's all from me for now... I am off to rest a bit as I wait for the live stream of the first episode of Fate/Zero on Nico Nico. :) Kajiura Yuki writes the music which is why I'm willing to wait up for it. I liked Fate/Stay Night enough but the ending was weak... here's hoping Fate/Zero is loads better since it's by ufotable. Too bad Kalafina isn't singing the OP or EP for this anime. I've heard the EP and it's forgettable. Not sure if the OP is better... I'll know later I suppose.

K... bye for now. :)

AMEND 1145pm:
Oh... AFA posted up a message from Kalafina in Facebook... not sure if you can access if you don't have an FB account but here is the link anyway. :)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150392120769493

Kalafina Record Limted Edition - unboxing

2011-10-01T01:49:00.002+08:00

It's going to be a short post... mostly photos... it's getting late and I'm really tired.

The box that the Limited Edition is packed in is actually kind of nice. :) It has Kalafina Record printed all over the cardboard box. Hmmm... now you know my shirt size. :D Well, they only have Small and Large so we Mediums have to go for Large unfortunately. :(

The photos below are of the actual unboxing:

Essentially, the insides of the Limited Edition aren't different from the Regular Edition. The quality of the paper and the printing etc is pretty much the same. More Keiko-centric photos below. :)

Where it does differ though is the binding and the exterior hardcover and, of course, the Limited Edition comes with a t-shirt which, unfortunately, doesn't have the best of designs.

That said, if you can get a good price on the Limited Edition, I do think it's not a bad buy for a fan because the hardcover will keep better. But the Regular Edition isn't bad too, just depends on what you think is worth it and if you can get a good price on the LE.

Here are more photos that compare and contrast the dimensions of the RE and the LE. There isn't much difference either. The LE is slightly taller and wider but not by much.

Before I go, here are the links to get them from CDJapan if you wish to:

Kalafina Record [Limited Edition] [T-Shirt Size S Version]
Kalafina Record [Limited Edition] [T-Shirt Size L Version]

K... that's it for tonight... good night. :)

Kalafina Record - Limited Edition - unboxing teaser

2011-09-30T08:21:00.001+08:00

Just a little teaser this morning. :D I need to rush off to work now and I don't have time to mess with the photos which I shot last night... sometime tonight... I will put up the unboxing photos. :)

My Kalafina Record Limited Edition package arrived last night. Itsuko did send it to me after all. :) And as it is packaged in a box... this time, "unboxing" is the correct term to use. :D

K... gotta go... later y'all. :)

Kalafina Cafe stuff 2

2011-09-29T09:14:00.001+08:00

As i suspected, i was way too tired last night to put those photos up, so here is a quick post. More photos of the fan and the lollipops. Enjoy. :)

Aren't those lollipops too pretty to eat. :) k... Gotta go, about to change trains. Bye.

kalafina cafe stuff

2011-09-28T09:29:00.001+08:00

Unfortunately, there was no way I could have gone to the Kalafina Cafe or attended any of the recently concluded events in Shibuya this September. Fortunately for me, Itsuko did go and she sent me a surprise which i received last night. :) Of course this isn't the same as having been there but then, beggars can't be choosers. I'm still super happy to get two paper fans and two Kalafina lollipops. But... eating them is going to be hard. :)

I would like to have shot more photos of it but I was very tired last night and i went to bed relatively early for me. I may amend this post tonight with more photos or may just post a new post tonight.... we'll see... recently I've been feeling a little under the weather so if it's too late at night, i might elect to go to bed.

Also, more info has been put up about ticket purchases for AFA 11. Hmmm... it seems like to try and 100 percent guarantee a premium seat on Sunday, the day Kalafina perform, may turn out to be a bit of an expensive venture since they will begin selling the 3 day vip passes first. So here's hoping there will be enough 1day vip passes on Sunday left for the rest of us fans.
(link for ticketing info: http://www.animefestival.asia/ticketing.html

K... Bye for now. :)

Kalafina in Singapore :)

2011-09-27T01:08:00.000+08:00

In the latest and the last of the 4 part Kawaii Girl japan videos on Kalafina, Kalafina ends off with a message for their overseas fans. In that message, they say that they would like to go all over the world, where they are welcomed and they would like to spread their music there.

Well... and finally, it is Singapore's turn to welcome Kalafina. I like to think it has something to do with me writing to them twice to come to Singapore... once on the response sheet at the Kagayaku concert in the Lemon CC Hall last year and once when I wrote in to their BayFM program to thank them for the wonderful time I had at the concert. But of course I know this has nothing to do with me, but it's nice to stroke my ego once in a while. :D

Most likely, this has something to do with the current popularity of Mahou Shoujo Madoka and I think they are not merely travelling to promote Kalafina, they are also travelling to promote the anime. I'm almost certain that they will sing "magia" at the Live in Singapore since Mahou Shoujo Madoka will be one of the featured animes. As for the After Eden songs... I'm not sure if they'll sing any of those but they most likely will sing a few of their signature tunes from the Kara no Kyoukai films.

Whatever the case, I'm definitely going to try and get tickets to go to this Live. I hope I can get them... you never know... and I dare not celebrate till I can confirm that I have tickets to the event.

Actually, the only Live I'm interested in is Kalafina's so the 1-Day I Love Anisong VIP Concert ticket at S$148 will be kind of expensive for me... I'm thinking of perhaps the1-Day I Love Anisong Standing concert tickets at S$48 may be more economical... but then if the VIP Concert tix ensures that I will definitely be able to get into the hall to see Kalafina live in Singapore... then I'll go for the SGD148 tix.

I might try and catch the Mahou Shoujo Madoka events and the Fate/Zero events too. I think my friend who will most likely be going with me, will want to try and catch the Gundam Unicorn screening. I'm not sure if I'll go on both Saturday and Sunday... I may actually do two days but it's unlikely that I'll go for Friday's events as I'll be working on Friday and I don't feel like taking leave to see Hatsune Miki. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I'm off to bed and will hopefully dream happy happy dreams of seeing Kalafina live in Singapore. :) Oyasumi. :)

Kalafina at AFA11 in Singapore - it's official

2011-09-26T17:18:00.001+08:00

The details are on the website which has been constantly updating all day since the announce this morning.

Check out the website for details. Click me and click me too.

Gotta go back to work... it's been hard working today. :p

cheers

OMG!!! Kalafina in Singapore!?!?!

2011-09-26T12:24:00.000+08:00

A buddy of mine just told me that he has been informed by a friend that Kalafina will attend the AFA11 (Anime Festival Asia) in Singapore from the 11-13 Nov. According to my friend they'll be at the AFA on the 13th Nov. I'm going to cut Japanese class to go for this. :D

Not many details out now but it seems pretty confirmed and I saw the news on twitter too.

I'm so excited!!!!!

K... back to earth... got to get back to work. Later. :)

ps. - details are coming out on twitter... Madoka will be the featured anime!!! Awesome!!! Check out sgcafe's twitter... k really got to go bk to work. :)

Update 2:33pm
- For Mahou Shoujo Madoka fans, Atsuhiro Iwaka, the producer for the anime and Saitou Chiwa (Akemi Homura's seiyuu) will also be at AFA.

url: http://www.animefestival.asia/special_guests.html

Gosh... I usually hate crowds, especially in Singapore so I never go for these events even though I'm a anime fan of sorts... but for KALAFINA!!!! I will brave the crowds. :D

Too bad no Kajiura Yuki, cuz if she comes I would be in Seventh Heaven. :D

Kalafina - After Eden Limited Edition - unboxing

2011-09-25T23:29:00.002+08:00

Let's cut to the chase. :) Here is the "unboxing" of Kalafina's After Eden album. The packaging is pretty standard stuff from Japan. Relatively nice compared to many of my non-Japanese cds in my music collection. You get a slip case, the CD, a bonus DVD, a booklet with the lyrics and a bonus photo booklet. The photos are really quite nice and will please any fan. The quality of the paper is nice, stiff and a little glossy but not too glossy.

Overall mostly cooler colours were used for the album art. The bonus photo booklet has several photos with warmer colour tones but the actual album and its insert booklet uses a colour palette that was in general cooler with just itty bits of a warmer colour, like red, to break it up a bit and give it life. It's nice... I like the different costume / art direction that they took. If they were looking to go in a different direction with the music, it made sense to move away from the Gothic, Romani, Eastern European feel of their previous image. This feels more like classical English maybe???? I don't know, I can't say for sure except that it's not Eastern European influenced... I was terrible at my classical art / music / literature class... I barely passed it :) Except for some of the accessories, the overall look doesn't look as Romani influenced and certainly not as dark as their previous image. This look does fit in better with the greater number of breezier, cheerier songs in this album.

Overall, I rather like the art / costume design of their current album and image. The Gothic, Romani, Eastern European style seems to be quite popular in Japan and it's nice that they are breaking away from that and taking a direction that is a little bit more unique. I don't know that much about fashion... I am part of the "T-Shirts and jeans" are always in fashion crowd :) ... but to my limited knowledge, this new image is not that common in Japan.

The mouse pad is okay. If you're a rabid fan... then go for it. I am a rabid fan so I did want the limited first press edition so I could get the mouse pad. But seriously, this isn't a mouse pad most people could use and perhaps, it was never meant for using. I know, even if it were bigger, I probably wouldn't have used it anyway. :) Given the nature of the material that mouse pads that aim to be somewhat usable are made from, the printing on the mouse pad isn't that sharp. The colours are a little muted and there is a matte finish and the surface is textured. This collectable is pretty much strictly something I think only fans will really like.

If you're a fan and can afford it, I do encourage you to pick up the Limited Edition because it does come with the very nice 40 page photo booklet and a bonus DVD that doesn't just simply contain one PV. The DVD contains both the symphonia PV as well as footage of their trip to the Anime Expo in LA this year. It's a nice bonus for fans. Personally, I think that if you like Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina, the After Eden album is worth getting. The music is good and the packaging of the CD is nice.

Here are the links to getting the album if you are interested. These are CDJapan links... other places like playasia, yesasia, Amazon Japan, HMV Japan etc will also offer these cds.

After Eden [w/ DVD, Limited Edition] After Eden [Regular Edition]

And finally... here are the photos of the "unboxing".... sorry... the composition of the photos etc looks very uninspired to me and I really should have shot a few more photos of the inside of the booklets.... I was kind of tired when I shot them and I'm too lazy to shoot better ones. :p

That's it from me for tonight. Have a good week everyone. :) Time for bed... good night. :)

Kalafina Record - unboxing

2011-09-24T23:51:00.000+08:00

Technically, I didn't have to unbox the Kalafina Record book but I'm too lazy to think of a more appropriate title. :p

I finally received this shipment containing Kalafina Record, the After Eden album, a t-shirt and some Mahou Shoujo Madoka toys yesterday due to some delays with the availability of the Kalafina Record book and the shipping delays caused by Typhoon Roke in Japan.

Kalafina Record is amazing and completely worth getting if you're a fan of Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina or even FictionJunction, since both Keiko and Wakana form half of FictionJunction [edit: actually, it should be 2/5 since Kajiura Yuki also fronts FJ]. The photos in the book are beautifully taken and there's a lot of information which I hope to be able to read with ease someday. I can kind of read some of it but it'll take me a while.

I did order both the Limited Edition as well as the Regular Edition. The Limited Edition is a hard-cover edition with a T-Shirt. That's for keeping. Itsuko may or may not ship that out to me now and either way it's fine with me since I did decide to order the Regular Edition partly because I know it would be hard for me to wait to get it in November. Also, I want to try and read Kalafina Record and since my Japanese is really not very good at all at the moment, I didn't want to carry a hard-cover copy every where I went. It would be heavy and I wouldn't want to mess it up too much.

Still... although I can mess with the Regular Edition of Kalafina Record, the photos in this book are so nice, the quality of the paper and the binding of such nice quality, I really don't want to flatten it to scan it at all. I just love books too much that even though I may have an extra copy of it... ruining it is simply something I find near impossible to do. So, sadly for any of you who chance upon this post, I only shot a couple of photos of the inside of the book... I won't be scanning it... I just can't do it. :)

At 1619yen for the Regular Edition, I think that the book is completely worth it if you're a fan of Kalafina and Kajiura. Seriously, if you're looking for nice photos... there are quite a few in this book that should satisfy most fans and for people like me, it's more than a photo book because there is tons of information on not just Keiko, Wakana, Hikaru and Kajiura Yuki in this book. There is also information on the musicians and the music / songs themselves etc... and that's what I like.... I'm a glutton for information. :)

For those of you who want to get the book... there are several online places that offer it... I got mine through CDJapan. You'll need to hurry though if you want to get your own copy, the last I looked there were only 7 copies of the Regular Edition left...

... click the picture above to jump there. I'm not sure if there will be more copies available after that, there maybe... but I wouldn't know. BTW, just in case this bothers anyone... I've started using affiliated links from CDJapan because I can actually get commission from my own purchases... so if it bothers you... don't use the links... if it doesn't bother you.. then be my guest. :)

The photos that I shot, although not many, are kind of Keiko centric... gomen ne... of the trio, it's no secret to those who have read my blog that I do like Keiko best both in terms of her voice as well as her looks. So since I'm sure that somewhere out there on the internet, there will be more photos / scans of the book, I'll just keep my photos to what my blog has always been about anyway... stuff that interest me. :)

Okay... here you go... the photos of Kalafina Record... enjoy. :)

That's it from me for tonight... I have a very long day ahead tomorrow... got to go to work early in the morning and then I have my Japanese class and then I really need to cut my hair tomorrow after that. So in preparation for having to wake up at 6am tomorrow morning... I will go and sleep almost immediately after this post. I think I'll attempt to do the unboxing of the After Eden album tomorrow.... and maybe the Madoka stuff... we'll see... for now... oyasumi. :)

Kalafina Record / After Eden LE album is here. :)

2011-09-24T02:27:00.002+08:00

Yay... my Kalafina Record and After Eden Limited Edition album are here. :)

Played football today and work was also tough today.... crashing out soon but just wanted to post about getting it. :)

I did shoot some unboxing photos... maybe tomorrow I'll upload them.

Good night. :)

Kalafina's After Eden - Oricon No. 1

2011-09-22T00:35:00.002+08:00

Awesome news for Kajiura Yuki, Kalafina and fans of both. :) Kalafina's 3rd album, "After Eden" debuted at No.1 on the Oricon charts today, the day of it's release.

Although there are no super huge stars like AKB48 etc to compete with, still it's a super achievement and the first time Kalafina has been able to hit the No. 1 spot. They even surpassed Every Little Thing, which is a very established group. Although, ELT is way pass its prime and no longer sells albums / singles the way they used to. That said... in this day and age, CDs no longer sell the way they used to too anyway. :(

梶浦さん、Kalafinaさん、おめでとう　ございます!!!　：）

Now, it's time for bed for me... oyasumi. :)

mahou shoujo madoka vol. 6 - unboxing

2011-09-22T00:14:00.001+08:00

Short post today, writing those After Eden thoughts till 3am in the morning has taken their toil on me. so here are the photos of the unboxing. i think they really did save the best for last. Even the discs cover art is the nicest yet. :)

Anyway, here you here, photos of the Blu-ray Limited Edition box set with Kajiura Yuki's OST 3. Enjoy. :)

Kalafina - After Eden - more thoughts

2011-09-21T03:37:00.001+08:00

For the last two days all I've been listening to are the tracks from the After Eden album and my reaction to the album has gone from favourable to really rather liking it.

1. Eden - My initial reactions and my current reaction is still the same. It's nice, breezy and kind of cheery. But ultimately, still not really my cup of tea. The harmony is what keeps me from totally not liking this song. A big part of me liking Kajiura Yuki's work and Kalafina is the harmony. The chorus and the bridge works best for me because the harmony comes through really big time. Yup... still not my cup of tea... it's nice enough but I would be very surprise if it becomes my favourite song from this album.

2. sandpiper - I like it more than I did two days ago, it's nice... classic Kalafina stuff. I will like this but it won't be a favourite for me too.

3. magia - always liked it. :)

4. 九月 - It's pretty in parts. I rather like it. Hikaru sounds really sweet in the opening. The bits I like best are the way they sing "kitto.." and "sotto", sort of staccato and lightly. I'm transcribing from sound here, so the romanji maybe wrong. The open contrasts very nicely with the heavier tone of the next section which is led by Wakana. Keiko is in support again but I like her support work lots and as usual, her support work is stellar throughout the album. I must say though that I don't really like Hikaru's "yashashiku" echo right after Wakana's... somehow it just seems too reminiscent of their pass work when Hikaru always seems to sing a line like that.

5. in your eyes - Yup, still sounds kind of bossa nova / world music to me... it's kind of like Eden in its tone, really breezy... and like Eden conjures up images of wide open spaces. There is a little too much of Hikaru in this for me and I actually welcomed the moments when Keiko and Wakana become more prominent. I really do like Keiko in this song and I really like the way she sings "kura kura, yume no naka". She throws in quite a bit of variation in the solo portions she got in this song. And I like the second time Hikaru holds her own at approx 2mins, finding it to be more interesting than her interpretation in the opening. As usual, a lot of the highlights in this song happen when they combine, especially when Keiko and Hikaru combine. Wakana doesn't have have anything that would be too taxing for her in this song, but that is not to say it wasn't good, I liked her loads in this song. Wakana doing what she does best, Keiko breaking it up constantly and Hikaru's sweet voice and their harmony, gives me enough to move this song from "hmmmm... I don't know" to "like".

6. destination unknown - This is definitely an early favourite for me mostly because the Hikaru-Keiko combo is really, really good in this song. I also really, really like the way Keiko comes in with "kokoro no kata sumini..." She comes in like a force of nature then smoothly dips that aggressiveness without reducing the feeling of power by just a notch when she hits "hitori mo korasu..." and she's gone from a rushing force to a powerful swirl of wind as she prepares for Hikaru's entry. I LOVE IT. This song has so much energy... it would be great to hear it at a live in the same set as "magnolia", "ongaku", "magia" etc.

7. neverending - Yeah, Hikaru really still does sound a little too nasal for my liking in the very opening phrase / line and seems to have a slight problem with the evenness of the melody, hence, she doesn't sound as controlled or as smooth as Keiko does when she sings the second stanza. When the melody opens up more, she really got going though... nice. I really prefer the way Keiko sings that same melody. She varies it from her usual way of singing to give it a more... hmmmm.... I don't know how to describe it... but she sounds almost "classical" to me. Not Western / opera classical but like an Japanese/Chinese classical / oldie. I don't know, I can't describe it properly but I really like how she sang this, lots of nuance, inflection and control. BUT that is not to say that Hikaru's was bad... I actually also like it lots, just not as much as Keiko's. I like Hikaru's because her voice/way of singing always, at least to me, has a slight rawness compared to both Keiko and Wakana and that is actually one of her strengths. I really like Hikaru's performance when she does what she does in places like "...dare ka omo kage". It's the way she ends that line that gives her singing that little emotionally raw nuance which I like. And for me, her less controlled more emotionally raw way of singing is part of what makes Kalafina sound so good because all their differences added together give Kalafina so much variation in sound and style that whether it's in the parts where they lead or the parts when they harmonize, Kalafina just sounds so different, so good and so interesting. A definite early favourite.

8. ことのは -This song I liked two days ago and still like it two days later. It's classic Kalafina stuff and it's the stuff they've been doing so well for 4 years. Wakana sounds so lovely in this song... really at her best and the harmony is just beautiful. Nice.

9. magnolia - How could I possibly not like this song??!?!? :) This is my kind of song. Pretty much classic Kalafina stuff too. Not early Kalafina perhaps but I think by the album "Red Moon" we were getting similar songs or songs with parts that had a rockier edge with a good measure of electronica and trance all mixed in with the trio's mesmerizing vocals. That said, while "magnolia" does owe something to some of Kalafina's rock numbers, it is ultimately different enough for me to like it and not go "this sounds exactly like___". Firm early favourite for me.

10. 輝く空の静寂には - This was previously released as a single. It's not my favourite Kalafina song to be honest. I enjoy this song though, just not one of the ones I fell in love with.

11. 胸の行方 - This song has also entered the list of my favourites from this album. Lately, it's rare to hear Keiko open any song and get such an extensive opening that it's almost a breathe of fresh air on it's own. That said, I love the wide open and optimistic feel of the opening. Keiko seems to relish this opportunity and I can almost picture her in a wide open prairie, singing with the wind in her face and her arms wide open and simply celebrating the feeling of being alive. The chorus is really unusual, it's in English and sounds like something one would hear in a Broadway musical. It's really odd but has a certain strange charm about it and the three girls sound really good together in the chorus. Hikaru sounds really good in this song too... really nice and open. There aren't too many signature moments from Wakana, somehow I thought there was more of her the first time I heard this song. Still... Wakana sounds good as usual and the harmony is good.

Oh and just a little observation... I think they really worked very hard at their English pronunciation and enunciation because their English actually sounds good. Just take the words "river" and "life". Generally speaking, these are usually tricky for the Japanese. And the "r" sounds end up sounding like "l's and the "l" sounds end up sounding like "r"s. And we've heard them sing in English before and only Kaori (FictionJunction) and Hikaru sound relatively more comfortable with the sounds. So I say... good job girls for getting the pronunciation right!!! :)

12. snow falling - This was also previously released as a single. It's not one of my favourite Kalafina songs because it's a little too slow for me. But there are parts I really like... especially the bits that start at 2.15min and lasts for about 1 min. That's when the trio's voices do some overlapping. Nice, just what I like.

13. symphonia - Listening to it again and again these last few days has not diminished my liking of this song. Classic epic goodness from Kalafina. They all sound so good separately and together in this song. And the build up to the climax, as well as the climax itself, is really nicely done. I kept forgetting to rip this song from the Historia II album which I left in the office... so I've been happily listening to this extended version a lot these two days.

Conclusion:
I definitely like this album. Overall, the tone and mood of this album is less heavy than their previous work. There are more breezy songs and songs which conjure up images of big fields with tall grass and wild flowers... almost pastoral in nature... hence, the title? When the girls said that they were going for a different feel / sound in this album, I don't think I expected this. I like it though, I like it that I can throw in all of Kalafina's songs into my portable player and play it on loop and shuffle and never feel like I'm listening to the same kind of music.

And even after listening to the entire album on loop for the most part of two straight days, I still like all the songs to varying degrees. I mostly end up liking the tracks a little more than the first run through. Yup... to me... this is a good album. Enough classic Kalafina to keep them sounding like Kalafina and enough difference to not be the same-o same-o again. Even the classic Kalafina songs are classic only in spirit and style, with certain signature moments thrown in but are different enough to keep the songs likeable.

Now I just can't wait for my CD to come. It was shipped today and will most likely reach me on Thursday. I really want to rip my flacs and place them on my portable so I can hear the music without the compression and clipping that is inevitable with mp3 compression even at 320k.

Also... please forgive any grammatical errors, once again, I'm not going to proof read... no time. ALSO, you probably will need to forgive any romanji errors as I'm just transcribing by sound when I write those phrases down, I don't know what they mean and they may be wrong.

Time to sleep ... but before I go to sleep, here is part 3 of the Kalafina Kawaii Girl Japan interview. And they are amusing as usual. :)

Oyasumi. :)

... "in shipping process"

2011-09-20T10:30:00.001+08:00

... perhaps the 3 best words I've read in the last two days. :D

Super short post... at work and need to get back to it but I really wanted to post this cuz I'm happy... :p

My package with Kalafina's After Eden (Limited Edition) and Kalafina Record (Regular Edition) is showing "in shipping process"... if I'm lucky I may get it by tomorrow... if not... it'll be day after.

And I should be getting Kajiura Yuki's OST 3 for Mahou Shoujo Madoka by tomorrow too. :)

YAY!!!! K... back to work. :)

p.s. I've been looping the After Eden album on my portable player and it's the only thing I've been listening to for the last 2 days.... I'm really liking this album.... maybe I'll try and write up something later tonight... we'll see. Can't wait to get the CD to rip me some flacs. :)

Kalafina - After Eden (first impressions)

2011-09-19T03:08:00.000+08:00

The After Eden album has been leaked and is now available for download on the internet. I was just not able to stop myself from downloading the mp3s and listening to them. I currently don't know when I may get my album because I'm not sure what the status on the Kalafina Record RE is, so I decided to download the mp3s and listen to them first while I wait for my CD to arrive so that I can rip flacs and put them in my portable and really listen to them properly.

First impressions so far are still favourable. :)

1. Eden - I really honestly don't know yet how I will ultimately feel about this track. It's just not quite what I expected and not really typical Kajiura. It's a breezy number led mostly by Hikaru and Wakana, with Keiko doing mostly harmony work. It's not bad... kind of unusual... but I'm not sure if it's my kind of song just yet.

2. sandpiper - It's not instant love for me. It's a fair bit of a drop in tempo from the first track Eden that I kind of didn't expect it. The harmony is lovely as usual. I think Hikaru's voice is more prominent in this track. Kind of interesting in parts but some of the background beat is a little reminiscent of one of Kajiura's other songs... I just can't place which one.

3. magia - this isn't a new song, so I won't say much, except to say that I liked it from the first time I heard it at the Live at the Lemon CC. Hall last December.

4. 九月- I like this song, especially the beginning. The moments between the typical epic Kajiuran parts are actually kind of pretty. The girls keep it kind of light and sprightly with a touch of mystery. Mostly Hikaru again with very prominent solos. Wakana's portions have Keiko coming in very nicely in the background to give it more richness. Not instant favourite for me but nice enough.

5. in your eyes - Okay, this is yet another song that I really honestly don't know yet how I will ultimately feel about this track. This is kind of bossa nova maybe? There's a definite world music feel to the end section... perhaps Indian sitar? There is some genre mixing here but I'm not that good at identifying the genres. Once again Hikaru leads but the Keiko fan will be pleased that Keiko has some very interesting portions at approx 2.20mins and again at 4mins into the track. These parts I really like and I like it too when Wakana comes in after Keiko's apart at 220min because she comes in relatively more "operatic" sounding which kinds of changes the texture of the sounds again... interesting. The beginning had too much Hikaru. It's not that I dislike Hikaru but I, in general, I like it more when they harmonize and they part and harmonize again. Too much of one of them and it'll sound like FJ xxx which isn't what I generally want from Kalafina. This is definitely not typical Kajiura or at least not typical Kalafina. I might end up kind of liking this song.

6. destination unknown - a rock number with traces of "magia" especially in the beginning. Hikaru opens the song again. It'll make a good concert number and I would place bets on this being one of the songs sung at the "After Eden" Live. It's not bad but really comes to life only when Keiko comes in. Hikaru isn't bad in the beginning but she's a bit too "magia" in it and hence, some of the "wow" factor I felt when I first hear "magia' is lost. Keiko, on the other hand, is simply wonderful when she comes in after Hikaru opens at approx 1.30 mins in.... strong yet distinctly feminine... and her fuller, rounder sound ia a beautiful counterbalance to Hikaru's thinner sound. I really liked it. This song is very fast in parts. We have the signature Kalafina harmony portion at approx 4mins after an extended portion meant for lots of Keiko head banging at the Live I'm sure :) and a stanza from Hikaru / Keiko. This is definitely not a Wakana song, she's in there but not very prominent... definitely a song that plays to Hikaru's and Keiko's strengths. And for me a keeper cuz I am very partial to this kind of music and I simply love Keiko's portion at 1.30. :) Yup... this is going to be an early favourite for me.

7. neverending - we drop tempo all the way down to a much slower song than "destination unknown". Kind of not very typical Kalafina. Hikaru opens again but it's Keiko's stanza which I like more. I think Hikaru is a little too nasal for this song in the beginning while Keiko sounds clear and I don't know... there is a quality about the way she sings this stanza which I really like... really like, it caught my attention in the sample and I still really like it. The harmony in this song is particularly nice, at least I really like it and I think Wakana sounds really lovely in the latter part of the song when she's the most prominent voice in the harmony. I really like this song... I'm not really bothered by the slightly too nasal Hikaru in the beginning, I may not even have picked up on it if Keiko didn't sound so lovely in her section. I actually quite like this song... another early favourite for me I think.

8. ことのは - Wakana opens this with Keiko in support before Hikaru comes in with Keiko still in support and then more harmony and more of the beginning. A somewhat typical Kalafina setup, done before but done nicely again. While it won't win points on being atypical Kalafina / Kajiura, it's still a pretty song and I like it. It's short as well and seems to be similar in purpose to "Intermezzo" and "Interlude" etc, Kajiura likes to put in these in Kalafina albums. I like this song too. Another pretty number. It's a instant like from me. :)

9. magnolia - Ohhhh... another rock number. :) And Keiko opens and loads of her in the song. Instant love for me. :) This is more "Ongaku" sounding Keiko, unlike "destination unknown" and I still like it. :) This is again not too different from what Kalafina has done before. But I have said it before too, I don't want super different music... I like Kalafina, Kajiura and FictionJunction because they sing a brand of music I enjoy. So while a certain amount of experimentation and deviation is welcomed, but too much and they wouldn't be Kalafina and I think they will lose some of their core fans, me quite possibly included. Back to the song... this is likely to be another song that will be sung at the live along with "destination unknown". Nice strong beat to rev things up for the night. I hope they sing this and "destination unknown" at the Live in Nov. :)

10. 輝く空の静寂には - this was previously released as a single... so I won't talk about it here.

11. 胸の行方 - Oh boy, what an interesting opening and a rather nice one too... IMO, not quite something you'll expect in Japanese music. It's Keiko and her powerful voice works really well as the opening voice for this song... kind of broadway-ish and so non-Kalafina that I must say it would definitely need time for long time listeners of Kajiura and Kalafina to digest. I definitely like it now that I've heard the opening. Hikaru and Wakana sound really good in this song too. Hikaru's stanza after the first chorus is pleasant and sweet and once again provides a nice counter balance to Keiko's voice. The chorus is kind of odd but nice in it's oddness... maybe because it's sung by Japanese and in a Japanese song, so it is oddly charming. :) If this was in an English song sung by a Western band, it may not have worked as well. Hmmm... I'm thinking this is a strong candidate to end the Live in Nov... if it doesn't end it.. then it's a very strong candidate for showing up in the encore. I kind of like it actually. I'm not sure if I'll love it even though Keiko is all over the place in this song... I will need time to digest it properly but for now... I definitely am leaning quite favourably towards it.

12. snow falling - this was previously released as a single... so I won't talk about it here.

13. symphonia - this is the longer version of the already long version that can be found in the Historia II soundtrack. Keiko opens this song oh so beautifully and the girls all sound so lovely in this song. I already liked the original so I don't have much to say except that I still like it lots. Lots of epic sounding Kalafina and lovely harmony in this song... love it. :)

Yup... I'm happy... although I was admittedly a little worried that they will sound vastly different because they said they will be trying some new things in the album and while I like different... I don't want vastly different. I am pleased with the album overall. It managed to tread the thin line between actually being relatively different from their previous work and yet not so different that they are unrecognisable. I like that. I never expect to like every song in any album that I buy but with Kalafina, I've come to expect that I will like or be quite favourable to all the songs in their album... the standard they and Kajiura Yuki have set is very high and for them to surpass it all the time must be quite difficult. Happily, in my opinion, while the jury is out on whether they have surpassed their previous efforts, at least for me, they have at the very least equalled it. I like all the songs to varying degrees and except for previous Kalafina albums and some of Faye Wong's albums, I rarely like ALL songs in an album. I very often hate some of them or am bored with some tracks and wouldn't rip them into flac for my player, but for Kalafina's After Eden... it's ALL going into the portable player when I get my grubby hands on the album... hopefully by the end of the week. :)

Okay... it's 3am.... and my original intention to write quick snappy capsule reviews has apparently failed as I've been verbose again... going to sleep... long, long week ahead... lots of work and I know some of it will be stressful... so need to sleep.... WILL NOT proof-read so if there are portions that don't make sense for now... please forgive me till I have time to correct them.

Have a good week and enjoy the 3rd album from Kalafina. :) Good night. :)

Kalafina Record - coming soon

2011-09-18T00:15:00.001+08:00

I'm so tired this week but this email from my friend perked me up. :)

Itsuko just mailed to let me know that she's received my Kalafina Record Limited Edition package and will like to ship it to me. Yay!!!! I think I will let her ship it to me because it looks like my order of the Regular Edition maybe delayed for up to 3 weeks at CDJapan.

I'm not sure but my After Eden album order is stated as "in stock" but the album isn't officially released till the 21st of this month. Kalafina Record was released several days earlier but even though I checked my order everyday, it stubbornly refused to change to "in stock" and kept showing "processed". "After Eden", on the other hand, has been showing "in stock" for at least 2 days already.

Today the availability of Kalafina Record RE changed to "ship in 1-3 weeks" which possibly means that the book was so popular that the publishers were unable to meet the demand for the book and they were unable to even fulfil pre-orders. :(

Sigh... so it looks like I will most likely have to split this order if I want to receive my "After Eden" album on time.

So when Itsuko offered to ship the LE to me... I said yes cuz I don't really want to wait 3 weeks for the After Eden album. So I will most likely separate the Kalafina Record RE from the After Eden album order so that I can get the album on time... sounds complicated, right? :D

Anyway, I'm going to go to bed soon... this week I played badminton, football, table tennis and went cycling... so physically... I am dying. I also got a new shot on a new show this week and it is a pretty challenging shot for my current skill level on Nuke. I'm loving it though... much better than nothing to do... workaholics don't like to have too many "nothing to do" days... I like one or two but too many and I get bored out of my mind. Also, I'm learning a lot about Nuke on this shot so I am really happy... but that means my mind is kind of tired too... so need to go sleep now. :)

cheers

p.s. Itsuko went to the Kalafina Cafe / Museum today... lucky her. :)

fangirl moment

2011-09-14T14:29:00.001+08:00

I am a little bored at work and not having the best of days. Not busy is a bad thing for me, I tend to think of stupid stuff.

Well... on the bright side... Kajiura Yuki mentioned Singapore on tweeter today. The fangirl in me got all happy about it. :)

I think she says something about writing Singapore-ish songs and I think she wonders what it should sound like and then ends of with saying she believes it is possible.

Of course I am half guessing here since my Japanese isn't good enough to understand that tweet fully.

Still it is cool she mentioned my country :) ... I wonder too what a Singapore-ish song should sound like. Would it be a mismash of ethnic sounds that reflect our mix heritage or, should it be a pulsating beat to reflect the incredible pace of change that has transformed this island or, should it also have bits of quiet to reflect the quieter, more traditional and family oriented core of heartland Singapore.

I hope she does write a Singapore-ish sounding song. I would be interested to listen to it and to know what she thinkks the sounds and music of my country would sound like.

K... time to go back to my work, a little happier from reading that tweet and taking a break to blog about it. :)

Kalafina's After Eden song samples

2011-09-14T02:09:00.001+08:00

It's late in Singapore but I really want to write this post before I go to bed..... FINALLY... we have more on Kalafina's After Eden songs. :)

CLICK ME!! to listen

Sony Music has put up samples of all the songs and I must say first impressions for me are mostly favourable. There will be some songs I think I will need time to digest but there are some I think I will already like. The trio said in an interview that this album will take some different paths from their earlier work and from what I can tell, some of it really does seem that way. But happily, as usual, it is heavy on harmony, which is to me A VERY GOOD THING because the biggest reason why I like Kajiura Yuki's vocal projects, Kalafina and FictionJunction, is precisely because it is heavy on harmony. I've said it more than once to friends that no matter how much I love Keiko and Kaori, I am not interested in them going solo and when Nanri Yuuka and Ishikawa Chieko kind of went solo, I was only marginally interested in their work. I really, really like it that the Kalafina and FJ vocalists sing for Kajiura and in their respective vocal units.

I really love Keiko's unusual voice and I am always happy to hear the moments when she does have a solo bit or when she does lead songs. I can't say for sure if she leads in any of the songs in After Eden, since these are only samples. But I was quite happy to hear her voice come through strong and clear in some of the songs. :) I know she's the contralto, so while supporting the alto and the soprano is part of her job and I do like it that she does it so well but still, I really do love her voice so I am always happy to be able to hear her on her own once in a while or when the other two support her lovely deep vocals. :)

Quick thoughts about the tracks:
I can already see "Destination Unknown" and "胸の行方" becoming early personal favourites. :) The first song because I love Keiko's part in that song and the second song because it's kind of not very Kajiura which already makes it kind of interesting for me. Actually, "In Your Eyes", is quite unusual too but that is a song I probably need to hear more of before I can conclude if I like it. The beginning of the sample is not particularly interesting but Hikaru's solo bit at the end of the sample is interesting. I'm definitely partial to "magnolia" because I usually like songs with a heavy beat. And I quite like "neverending", heh heh... more Keiko for me... and it's great too cuz it's not the usual "Ongaku" style Keiko too... I like it. :) I'm not sure on "Eden" but I do like the harmony, the girls always sound good together. "ことのは" is nice, not a lot of musical accompaniment in the sample which is nice because their voices come across clean, clear and beautiful. "sandpiper" seems to be more typical Kajiura which is fine for me but is unlikely to be my favourite track from this album at the moment. "九月" is quite pretty, not incredibly non-Kajiura but I like the sample enough, this type of song is just one of the types of songs which made Kajiura popular and I'm not opposed to them. I like typical Kajiura as much as I like atypical Kajiura. :-)

The rest are songs which have already been released.... at least I think I didn't miss any of the new ones... I'm fading really fast... and need to sleep.

But before I leave... Kawaii Girl Japan has put up the second part of the Kalafina interview... they change it every Monday. And although I know it is part of the same shoot, the girls seem more energetic now then in the first clip when I felt they seemed a little tired. They are kind of funny in the second clip and I think in the interviews/radio programs where they are allowed to just talk pretty freely, they are actually quite amusing and funny at times. I guess they just had to get the serious stuff out of the way in the first part of the interview so they came across less jolly then usual... perhaps. :-)

Maybe tomorrow I will post something on another piece of software that I tested and loved on the Android Samsung Galaxy SII or perhaps finish up a post I had written two nights ago on the train but didn't finish and is currently still in draft... we'll see... tomorrow I'm suppose to play table tennis so maybe too tired for blogging.

K.... time to sleep... enjoy the After Eden samples guys. :-)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Production Note

2011-09-10T01:46:00.001+08:00

I really want this!!! But this thing weighs like 1.6kg and I'm afraid the shipping would be scary. But I really want this.

This two volume release collects all the production notes and sketches etc for the anime and looking at the wiki page for it, I think any crazed fan of the anime would want to own this thing of beauty. Check it out at this link.

I wished I owned books like this when I was studying last year. It would have come in handy for my storyboard class which I was utterly horrible at. The only reason why I got a B in that class was because I tried very hard at all the assignments even though I know that my work was less than stellar.

Sigh... should I get it??!?!?! Thank god the OP and EP for Fate/Zero isn't sung by FictionJunction or Kalafina. I'm definitely not getting those cds. :-)

I wonder if I should be a conniving cheapskate and get my boyfriend to get this for me. ;D

Man... I really should get back to practising my drawing. I suck big time at it but I still wish I was better at it... of course I know using my mouth to say I want to get better at it isn't going to help... but unfortunately, drawing always comes after my work, my Japanese studies, sports and my relax time... I just don't have the same passion some of my classmates have for it.

Sigh... I'm going to have to think very hard about this purchase. If I get this, I'm definitely not going to get the commentary book on the anime. I'm very tempted. :)

update 3am:
Ok... I suck at resisting temptation. :) I pre-ordered it in the end but I have quite a few points I have been saving up at CDJapan to offset a purchase such as this... so I'm getting this at quite a decent discount. Yay. :) K... time to sleep.... it's 3am. Good night. :)

update 9:35am:
Wow... I just checked and the pre-order is sold out. I'm not sure if there will be more available after release date. I'm not sure about books like these but for the figures, they are often available again after release date, so if you want this book, you'll just have to keep checking the online sites to see if someone release their pre-order or if they have become available again.

update 7th Oct 2010:
I wrote an entry of the unboxing of this purchase for those who are interested. Here is the link. Click me.

It's the end of the week!!!! :)

2011-09-09T21:15:00.000+08:00

It's the end of the week and the end of a 12 day stretch at work. Happily, we are not required to work this weekend. Whew... when they first told us to expect to work weekends on this project, i prepared myself mentally to do a 30 day stretch. Luckily for us, it's only 12 days in a row. We're not done with it yet but for now, we can relax over the weekend. :)

Today was a good day, work went well and I actually got onto a relatively empty train home and now this... via the Kalafina staff twitter feed... we get two photos of the exterior of what i am assuming is the Kalafina-Parco Cafe and some advertising or something. I couldn't read the kanji in the feed and admittedly, was too lazy to look it up. ;p

Man... I so want to go. Unfortunately, I won't be in Japan till Nov. I've been so high at work lately. Probably too much adrenaline caused by too little rest. :) I don't know what it is but I've been jumping around the studio just talking about Japan, Kalafina, anime, maid cafes... basically anything related to Japan. :D It's gotten to a point where I've been banned from saying the word Japan. Hahahaha...

On a slightly disappointing note, Kalafina won't be singing the opening theme for the much anticipated Fate/Zero anime. Anticipation was really high that they would since Kajiura Yuki is writing the score and this was also a ufotable production that was being released by Sony.

I am admittedly somewhat disappointed by it. But i suppose the girls have been very busy this year and doing further promotion for yet another anime would have been tough.

In a way this is good news for me... having listened to the preview of the ending theme several times, i have already decided I will not be getting that single. The song seems like a pretty generic anime song... omoshirokunai. The theme song will be sung by Lisa of Angel Beats fame. I didn't know anything about her so i youtubed it. The music isn't too bad but unless the song is exceptional, i am unlikely to buy the single too. Not the type of music that interests me these days. This means i only have to concentrate on getting Kajiura's OST. Hopefully it won't be bundled with the dvds or blurays like Mahou Shoujo Madoka and Kara no Kyoukai cuz if the anime turns out to be anything but great i will have a very hard time justifying a purchase.

K, time for dinner. Have a good weekend everyone. :)

kalafina record - cover art (regular edition)

2011-09-07T20:32:00.001+08:00

Got this off the kalafina staff twitter feed today. This is the cover art for the regular edition of the soon to be released artist book Kalafina Record.

It looks rather nice and I am glad I pre-ordered it cuz I don't think I could wait till Nov to look at the insides of this much anticipated book. I decided against ordering the regular edition of the After Eden cd in the end. Going to try and not be such a fan girl and save that money for the trip to Japan. :-)

Keiko still looks the best in my opinion. She really looks really good in these posed photos. Just the right amount of innocence with a subtle touch of sexuality. She doesn't always look the best in snapshots at events etc but in these photo shoots and photo spreads, she usually stands out. If she wasn't such a capable singer, I think she might have a relatively successful career as a model, the non-catwalk variety of course.

Today is my tenth straight day at work and i must say this old bag of bones is having a harder time working such long stretches compared to previously. But this picture made my day... yay... something to look forward to. :-)

And to keep myself energize as i try and finish the week on a high and prepare myself mentally for the possibilty of more work over the weekend... I placed this very nice pix as my lock screen wallpaper on the Galaxy S2. :-D

Now each time my phone goes, i will be reminded of my upcoming trip to Japan and the upcoming After Eden Live. :-)

Tonight, i have to renew my passport, arrange for travel insurance, research places to visit, train schedules etc... Fun!!! :-)

K, time to go. Bye bye. :-)

p.s. And for those who are interested, this is the link to the special micro-site for the Kalafina Week in Shibuya.There's not a lot up yet but I expect that would change in the coming days.

video test

2011-09-06T21:57:00.001+08:00

I am back doing more testing of the samsung galaxy S2 capabilities. This time i'm testing the video camera and the video editing software that came pre-installed on the device.

The editing software is pretty basic but good enough for something that comes on a phone. I shot some video of my room and of the view from window. It is pretty rubbishy video. I had meant to shoot something on the way home but forgot. :-P

Anyhow, let's try and publish this post to test if i face the same problem i did this morning with the youtube link. This video is being uploaded directly from my phone's storage, so it may not be a problem, we'll see. Here goes. :)

ps. just checked this on the PC and on my phone browser and all looks fine :) ... now just left one thing to test and that's another youtube link... the first test was unsuccessful... maybe will try that tomorrow on the train ride in.

kalafina on after eden, kawaii girl japan

2011-09-06T09:28:00.005+08:00

Usually i don't bother posting up videos etc. Too lazy, too busy. :) but today i wanted to do more testing. More samsung galaxy s2 and blogger droid testing.

I am trying to use my s2 as much as possible to blog, surf, watch videos, watch streaming video, facebook etc. So far i have been too busy at work to download any high performance games to try out on this phone.

Anyway first things.... the above video is a clip of a recent interview that kalafina did for kawaii girl japan. It's subtitled in english like the previous interview they did for the website. I think this is just part one of a series of 4 or 5 clips... am not sure as i zipped through the clip just before i left the house for work.

Interesting bits about the new album. Apparently, this time they recorded the album with a live band unlike their previous albums and singles. The girls, however, look kinda tired. Even the usually chatty Wakana and the ultra energetic & perky Keiko seem muted. Keiko managed one moe moment in the clip and that was about it. Their schedule this year and the upcoming year looks really punishing. Hopefully they manage to get some quality rest and relax time in between gigs and events... and definitely before the live in Nov :D ... must be at optimum level for when i see them live at the concert. :)

UPDATE: (8th Sept 2011)
- according to the Kawaii Girl Japan website, they will update this clip every week in the month of Sept. The video will change every Monday.

As for the Samsung Galaxy S2... I am still super impressed with it. The battery life is better than decent. I am just trying to run it down for the second time, so far since getting it, i have only charged it twice. And even when i use the phone for long periods of time, it doesn't feel hot and zips along nicely. Video playback is brilliant.

k. Time to go. Will be getting off the train soon. :-)

Ps.
Not sure if the video will be embedded properly. This is what i m testing on blogger droid today. If that fails, i will fix that later.

Pps.
I discovered some interesting things about blogger-droid and posting videos from youtube using the software. Will probably do more testing later in the week just cuz I'm curious. But suffice to say, the first time... I'm not exactly sure it was successful since I couldn't see the body of the text on my cel phone browser but could see it on PC browser...

There were other formatting problems too but that cuz I keep forgetting that blogger-droid automatically puts a line break code html code for me and I don't need to put empty lines between paragraphs.

Anyway... gotta go... at work and it's time to work. :)

my new toy :)

2011-09-04T10:47:00.002+08:00

It's a sunday morning and i am at work but wasn't too unhappy about it till the server went down. Now i'm here with tons of work to do but no way to do it. :( sigh...

Ah well... this gives me the opportunity to do a little mobile blogging. :) I got myself a new phone last night. I waited till i was sure of which phone i wanted before recontracting my mobile plan. Much as i love my tactile keyboards, i have pretty much given up on the motorola milestone 3 coming to the shores of this sunny island anytime soon. As i have definitely outgrown the capabilities of my milestone and the old trusty phone has become quite a whiner lately, it was time to get another phone.

My new phone of choice is the Samsung Galaxy S II. I managed to recontract it with the current comex discount and boy am i loving it. the screen is bright and vibrant. The touchscreen is responsive and the duo-processor keeps things zipping along. The portrait keyboard is kind of easy to type with which makes me happy cuz it means mobile blogging is easy, although no as easy as on my milestone which has a fuller qwerty keyboard but still quite nice.

The phone cames pre-loaded with a bunch of M1 crap which I have not tried uninstalling. There is some microsoft office type software which i know i will love. I can't remember the name of the software now and I'm too lazy to check. :P

K, that's it for my mini review of the new phone. I wanna go off and setup this phone properly and maybe get some japanese homework done while i wait for tech. Bye. :)

Ps. As this is my first time using the samsung galaxy to blog... there might be some formatting problems. If there are any, i'll fix them later.

Nendroid Madoka / Mahou Shoujo Madoka official guide book

2011-09-01T01:42:00.004+08:00

After taking a short nap on the train, I feel refresh enough to attempt another post tonight. :) Today, I received more Mahou Shoujo Madoka stuff in the mail... YAY!!!!

One of them is the, at this point in time, out of print Nendoroid Madoka figure. I ordered them from 2 different places with the intention of giving one of them to a friend for her birthday. As for my figure... I'm undecided as to whether to open it or not... I just might since I don't really sell my toys / figures anyway.

The other thing that came in the mail is the Official Mahou Shoujo Madoka Guide Book. This is yet another nicely printed book. Nice paper quality, lots of full coloured pages and lots of information. I think any fan of the anime who can read Japanese should be quite happy to own this guide book.

I took some photos of a few pages so that anyone who is interested would have a better idea of the quality and content of this guide book.

And for us Kajiura Yuki fans... there is also a one page interview with the composer of the end theme "Magia" as well as the background music for the anime. I haven't really tried to read the article... too tired.... so I'm not sure what the interview is about. But I am presuming that it's about the choice of music etc.

Also, there is a slightly more than half page interview with Kalafina as well. I took a quick glance through it and as far as I can make out, the article seems to concentrate mostly on Kalafina's reactions to "Magia", the song they sang for Mahou Shoujo Madoka.

I'm rather happy with this purchase as well. I still have yet to order the collection of commentaries on the anime. That book is now titled 100nin ga Shaberi Taosu! "Puella Magi Madoka Magica". I'm still interested in it but am unsure if I want to pre-order it now or just see if I can pick it up at Kinokuniya when I go to Japan in November.

Anyway, this is really it from me for today... my bed is calling me. Good night. :)

p.s. sorry the photos aren't of nicer quality... low light and taken with my not great Motorola Milestone camera.

on the way home

2011-08-31T23:09:00.002+08:00

This is one of those nothing posts I make occasionally. :) Am finally on my way home after a long day at work. Today was a good day in general though. Today's OT was voluntary actually, as I wasn't actually doing work.

Some time ago I had missed a huge training session on Nuke and that missing knowledge plus some very tiring days at work has kind of slowed my growth as a vfx artist, I think. I was getting somewhat concern that I was unable to progress further or faster despite my coming in on several Saturdays.

So in the end, I decided to ask one of my colleagues for help and he kindly agreed to stay behind to teach me the stuff I missed during that missed training session. This colleague is one of my seniors, hence, he was able to unravel several very confusing Nuke scripts and teach me what my supervisor was trying to do in those scripts.

It was pretty awesome and I am really happy to have learnt so much tonight. So even though I am really tired now, I wanted to just note this little milestone in my journey towards becoming a compositor. :)

Please excuse that not terribly nice photo. :) I was walking and there wasn't a lot of light, hence, the blur and the grain. But I didn't want to post without a photo, so I took a photo of my surroundings as I walked towards the train station. :)

K... time for me to relax on the train... maybe snooze a little. :)

kalafina record t-shirt / kalafina week in shibuya

2011-08-31T01:07:00.003+08:00

This will be a short entry. I need to sleep soon. Last Friday, a group of us were informed that we will have to put in some very serious OT at the office in the coming month. It's possible that we'll be working everyday for the month of Sept. Actually, I'm not too bothered about it. I'm actually okay with working weekends cuz it means extra pay or leave. The extra pay will come in very useful for my upcoming trip to Japan. :) What it does mean though is that I'll probably be quite tired in the coming month and blogging is likely to take a back seat. I think I'll still most definitely do the unboxing of the last vol of the Mahou Shoujo Madoka blu-ray release but other than that... I don't really know.

I've managed to secure the 3 tickets and now the most important thing left to do is booking the hotel rooms. Very happy and relief about confirming the plane tickets. The 24th Nov is within the Singapore school hols which means it's peak travel season in Singapore and I was being to get a little stressed about the plane tix.

Also, the artwork for the T-Shirt that comes with the LE of the Kalafina Record book that will be released soon is out. Hmmmmm.... I was hoping for a darker background since I really don't like white or really light background t-shirts much. The design is also not the best. I like the design of the Kalafina-Parco t-shirt more.

Lastly, before I go... it seems like Kalafina has a gabillion events lined up all the way till Feb of next year for now. Aside from the Nov live, there will be a Christmas Eve live and 9 more lives lined up in Jan / Feb of 2012. Man... I really wish I live in Japan right now.... sigh... I think I would have tried to go to a few of them and I would definitely have gone to the Kalafina-Parco Cafe.

According to the official blog, the Kalafina-Parco After Eden cafe will be cooler than the one for Magia. This time's theme cafe will be called Kalafina Eden and will fill 2 floors. Aside from a special menu, the first floor will sell Kalafina-Parco goods. I'm presuming it'll be t-shirts, coffee mugs etc, much like the first time. The second floor will house a photo exhibition and a display of the actual costumes the trio has worn previously. Kinda cool for fans of the vocal unit.

Looks like Kalafina and Kajiura Yuki will be very busy in the coming months. Great for us fans for sure but certainly very taxing on Kajiura and the three girls. And if there's more FictionJunction stuff coming up, Keiko and Wakana will be super smashed too. Looks like I'm not the only one looking at major OT in the coming month.... kidding... mine is nothing in comparison. :)

Anwayz... even though I'm majorly jealous of people living in Japan now... at least I'm going to the live in Nov... so I shouldn't be too greedy. :) K... got to go... need to sleep and put away as much rest as possible for a long September month.

Good night. :)

mahou shoujo madoka books

2011-08-26T09:37:00.005+08:00

Yay... more Mahou Shoujo Madoka stuff arrived in the mail today. :) On your right is the last and final volume of the manga adaptation of the series. I could have gotten this from the local Kinokuniya but everytime I went, they were out of stock. I was feeling lazy too and threw the manga in with my latest shipment since it added nothing to the cost of shipping.

On your left is the official commentary book on the series. Or at least I think it's a commentary, it's one of those books I intent to read much later when my command of japanese is stronger. The book is really very nicely printed and on quality paper too. Although it isn't hardcover, the quality of the sheet that wraps around the actual cover of the book is nice and stiff. Also, the paper has a nice texture to it too. The paper they used for the individual sheets is rather nice too. And for those of us who are in the habit of smelling their books :D, this book smells really nice. :)

The book is mostly text but has quite a view pictures scattered throughout it. There are several full coloured pages that book end the book. These are nicely printed too. I took a picture of it but as I am mobile blogging today and the new blogger droid doesn't like my gallery, i've been having trouble posting multiple pictures to each post. So, I may or may not add this photo later if this first attempt is not successful.

My only complain is that the way the book is bound means that you have to take some care when reading it. You can't open it too widely, if not you risk putting stress on the binding and getting loose pages in the future. I'm not too bothered by this cuz in the past when I was still reading single issue western comics, this was the recommended way of reading too. Anyway, if you're a book lover like I, you would treat your books with some care so it shouldn't be a huge annoyance unless you want to scan it or copy quotes from it.

This one is definitely hard for me to read and I wasn't going to start on it yet since I've actually started reading the novel adaptation of the series. The novel adaptation isn't that easy to read either. It has taken me 3 - 4 train rides to and from work to get to page 3. The grammar is actually not that hard for me and I can read chinese so can make very good and somewhat accurate guesses when it comes to the kanji. But there is no furigana and there is a lot of kanji and since I already know the story and i'm attempting to read this to improve my Japanese, i've made it a point to check all the kanji. That really slows things down. But other than that, it is a pretty good book for an intermediate level student, who is also a fan of the anime, to try.

K, time to change trains. Bye for now. :)

Kalafina - Symphonia PV preview, After Eden feebies, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Vol.5 unboxing

2011-08-24T00:17:00.024+08:00

url: http://www.kalafina.jp/

The Kalafina official website has finally changed it's look to reflect the upcoming release of the After Eden album. So now we no longer have artwork from the Magia single, we have artwork from the After Eden album.

Jump over right now if you want to view a little preview of the PV of "symphonia". The song was used as the theme for the latest season of the NHK documentary Rekishi Hiwa Historia. The new album will include the song and this PV will be included in an accompanying dvd with the LE version of this album.

Stylistically, it's not super different from your typical Kalafina PV, as in, the girls just mostly stand there, look really good and sing. :) But I'm not really opposed to it since I really don't care if they don't dance, in fact, all the better if they don't dance. From what I can tell, this PV is quite pastoral, it's set in a wide open field and the colours look soft and warm.. Seems to fit in relatively nicely with the more ethereal, utopian feel of a title like "After Eden.

Also, artwork for the freebies that come with the purchase of the album have been released.

Mousepad A (with the LE)

Mousepad B (with the RE)

Postcard (if you purchase from select brick and mortar, I think, stores in Japan)

The postcard is a tie-in with the Mahou Shoujo Madoka anime. The theme song for that anime, "Magia", will also be one of the songs included in this album. I think there maybe more than one version of the postcard, I'm not sure, I'm too lazy to go investigate... but from what I can gather, the idea for this postcard was to dress the key characters in Madoka in the dresses that the Kalafina girls will be wearing as part of the new image for the After Eden album.

This kind of amuses me somewhat since, sometime back, in one of my post on Mahou Shoujo Madoka, I mentioned that if I had to cast a live-action Mahou Shoujo Madoka series, I would use Keiko as Akemi Homura... and here she is... Keiko as Akemi Homura, in this postcard. :) Of course, this thought I had is pretty much a no-brainer since seriously, with Keiko's long hair and tsundere image, she was always a shoo-in for Akemi Homura. I think Wakana as Mami Tomoe is kind of fitting too. I'm not so sure of Hikaru as Madoka but then, she does seem to be the least extroverted of the trio, and if I'm limited to simply the characters in the anime, then I guess Hikaru as Kaname Madoka would be best.

Finally, the unboxing of Vol.5 of the blu-ray limited edition release of Mahou Shoujo Madoka. I got this in the mail today. :) Made me real happy. Today, with regards to work itself, it was great. Office politics, though... not so great... so this this arriving in the mail today... made my not great day... just that little bit better. :)

I know I should have corrected the above photos for brightness and contrast, and probably use my SE phone rather than my Motorola... but it's late and I'm really tired from doing intense clean up of footage at work today... so I kinda just wanna dash through this and go to bed.

That's it for today... good night. :)

Mahou Shojo Madoka novel version

2011-08-22T00:48:00.001+08:00

Short post... need to catch up on sleep.:)

But this came in the mail today and I wanted to share it. :)

Here are some photos of the novel version of the anime. I think this is like the limited first print edition or something like that. This version has Part 1, Part 2 and a small booklet with full colour artwork of the characters from the anime.

Some of the kanji is still a little over my head but I can read some of it which makes me happy. I think I will be able to work my way slowly through this novel. :)

Anyway, here are the rest of the photos.

ALSO, after checking on and off for a few days, Amazon Japan has finally put up a higher resolution picture of the cover artwork for Vol. 6 of the Bluray/DVD release of Mahou Shoujo Madoka. It's my favourite cover yet. :)

Time to sleep. :) Have a good week everyone. :)

Kalafina Record - Limited Edition

2011-08-18T23:04:00.002+08:00

Hmmmm.... got this off my FB feed. Looks like CDJapan will offer the Limited Edition of the Kalafina artist book "Kalafina Record". But mind you, it doesn't come cheap. It's a hardcover book with a T-shirt and actually retails on the Sony Magazines Online Shop for 4900 yen excluding domestic shipping of 525 yen. CDJapan is offering it at 7500 yen excluding international shipping.

Looks like one of two things to me. It could be that Sony Magazines Online Shop charged them a premium to sell this product on their website. Or this is just them packaging their "Special Request Shopping Service" as a proper order cuz when I calculated it, the cost seems to match up. I'm inclined to think the latter.

Well, either way, it's good news for international fans who don't have friends in Japan to help them purchase this product. If you have the cash and really want the book, then without having to use the "Special Request" form, you'll already have the order links right there and I'm pretty sure you can use bonus points etc to knock off some of that cost.

Anyway, here are the links, it's not really up on their website yet, as in I tried to do a search and could not find it. This was from FB... so whoever got this info... arigatou.

Kalafina Record [Limited Edition] [T-Shirt Size S Version]
Kalafina Record [Limited Edition] [T-Shirt Size L Version]

K, that's it from me... today, I will sleep early. Tired and need the strength cuz I'll be playing football tomorrow night. :)

I'm going to Japan!!!!

2011-08-18T01:20:00.000+08:00

Short post for tonight... need to do some research on cost of plane tickets / hotels etc, but I really, really, really wanted to post this happy happy post. :) Itsuko emailed me today to let me know that we won the fan club lottery which means that we have secured our 3 tickets to Kalafina's "After Eden" Live!!!!!!

I am so excited. I really wanted to go to the Magia Live this year but common sense prevailed and I didn't go in the end. Then I thought of going to Kajiura Yuki's FictionJunction Live in June but again I wasn't sure how much leave I needed to reserve and since the live was on a Wednesday, I couldn't even try and buffer it with the weekennd so I abandoned that plan. In the end, the only Live that I could fit into the schedule was the "After Eden" Live. I had been saving both leave and money so am really excited that we have the tickets.

Yay... more good music... more good food... and more meetings with old friends... AWESOME. :)

K, gotta go. Oyasumi. :)

Kalafina - After Eden - first press freebies / more Mahou Shoujo Madoka stuff

2011-08-16T01:15:00.004+08:00

So CDJapan finally announced yesterday what the first press freebies for purchasing Kalafina's latest album would be. :) CDJapan often offers fans freebies like posters and postcards etc with first press purchases of items from their website.

After getting burnt by playasia last year over the Magia single, I switched to CDJapan whenever I wanted to get any of Kalafina's singles or albums. The vocal unit has become so popular that even when I pre-ordered like ultra early at playasia, I was still told that my deliver would be delayed so I quickly switched to ordering from CDJapan since I really was ticked that I had to wait a week for a cd I ordered almost immediately after the announcement of it's availability on playasia. For many other things though, I still use playasia. It usually has very reasonable prices, many times the music cds are cheaper too or they have the HK / Taiwan editions which are always cheaper than the Japanese versions and they have free shipping. But with Kalafina / FJ / Kajiura, I think I'll still use CDJapan cuz I think I would go nuts if I couldn't get my grubby hands on them ASAP so that I can make flacs to put on my portable player. :)

So, I didn't get the first press freebie for the Magia single. That was a postcard. But it's okay, I'm not really hung up about the freebies... I like getting them cuz I'm a fan but if I don't, I won't slit my wrist.

This year though, my buying power has gone up by tons since last year when I was just finishing up school and beginning a new job. So I might actually fall for the typical marketing gimmick and buy both the LE and the RE for the two different freebies even though I don't use mousepads. I could easily give the RE away to friends who are fellow fans or sell the cd to a Singapore fan at cost without shipping etc so.... yeah, I'm tempted :D

Anyway, this time, it's not postcards, they are offering mousepads. The LE will get Mousepad A and the RE will get Mousepad B. I have no idea what they look like yet but I seriously doubt if it'll just be the word "Kalafina" stamped on it. I'm presuming it'll be their picture or maybe even the LE / RE album art printed on it or some such thing. Right now, it's anyone's guess.

Limited Edition Regular Edition

If you want to see the larger pictures of the album art click me.

OH... oh ... oh.... as I was writing this post, something just popped up on my RSS feed from Sony. Looks like Kalafina Cafe will be back. Earlier this year, to promote the Magia Live Tour in Japan, Kalafina collaborated with PARCO to open Kalafina Cafe for a short period of time. This time, they'll be doing the same. There will be yet another Kalafina Cafe, this time to commemorate the release of the After Eden album. Sadly for me, it'll be open from the 16th - 25th Sept and I won't be in Japan till Nov. :(

Also, Kalafina will also be feature in the October issue of Kera magazine. I don't usually get this magazine, so I think I'll pass on it since I'm more interested in the Mahou Shoujo Madoka related books.

Also, cover art for vol 6 of the Mahou Shoujo Madoka blu-ray / dvd release is out too. This is from the official website, the other online shops haven't updated yet, it's probably cuz they are still on holidays till the 16th. Vol. 6 will contain Kajiura Yuki's OST 3 for the anime... so I am excited about that. :)

I like this cover... this might be my favourite cover yet for this blu-ray release. And can you believe that I finally finished watching the last two eps in the train today. I just didn't want this anime to end, I think. :) It's a pretty solid ending. I like it loads. So while I still think that overall, Mai-Hime is a stronger mahou shoujo anime, Madoka isn't that far behind either. Hime beats Madoka because the characters are as central to the storyline as some of the rules they were bending. Madoka, on the other hand, sometimes feels like the characters are there to forward the story, rather than that they are central to the story. This is probably in part because they wanted to keep so many things secret in the beginning that it really took a while for you to really care for these characters the way you would care for Hime's mahou shoujos.

Also, loads of related Madoka merchandise being pumped into the market. The two things that are top of my want list are:

Color Collection Witch Collection BOX

Mahou Shoujo Madoka PSP game

The limited production edition of the PSP game comes with a figure of Madoka in her school uniform. This is really tempting but it's unlikely that I'll get it... kinda feeling that I shouldn't cuz I'll need to save on my upcoming trip to Japan. The game looks cool though and I wanna play it... so in the end, I might just get the game alone. It'll be much cheaper that way. Or I'll just wait to see if I can get it 2nd hand or something.

There is something I'm likely to order soon. And that is another book on Mahou Shoujo Madoka. This one is called Mado-magi wo Katari Taosu published by Takarajimasha. This is a discussion book on the anime and although I know that I will have trouble reading it, I would still like to get it so that I can try and work my way through the text. If there is one thing I learnt from my years helping out on translations on a TVB fan website, interest is the most important thing when you're trying to learn or do something and my interest in Mahou Shoujo Madoka can possibly have a spillover effect in helping me with my Japanese. :)

Arrrrgggh.... it's so late again... gotta go... not going to proof read... need to sleep. Need to complete a shot by end of day later today so I will need to sleep ASAP.

Oyasumi. :)

rice balls make me happy

2011-08-14T01:24:00.000+08:00

I think it's time to admit that I've been working too much and sleeping too little lately. Even for me, a self confessed workaholic, too much work is a bad thing, no matter how much I like my work and I like to be working. In the last few days, I've had so little sleep, I think my temper was quite simply on edge yesterday as evident in my morning FB status update and the earlier post made yesterday. It really doesn't help that I have this colleague in my room at work who complains and complains and complains every single day... it's not constructive at all and I'm a conflict adverse type of person... I find her constant complaining more stressful than trying to complete my shot on time.

Last night, happily, my niece stayed late and waited for me to get home so that we can make onigiri and that made my day so much better. :)

I'm a huge onigiri fan. On the two previous occasions that I've had the opportunity to visit Japan, I'll have onigiri for breakfast almost everyday. Recently, I learnt how to make onigiri. It's really easy. I learnt it during Japanese class one day and I decided to teach my 8 year old niece how to make them a couple of weeks ago. She loved it and so we decided to do them again. The above photo is a photo picture of the rice balls we made for dinner. :)

Okay... they don't look like much but these rice balls made me very happy. It's not so much because I like rice or that rice is to the Chinese what pasta is to Italians or etc etc... no, it's much more than that. My family waited for me to return home so that we could make onigiri TOGETHER. So while my dad went to buy us some protein from the coffeeshop downstairs, my mum, my niece and I made onigiri together. And by the time he returned, it was all done and we sat down to have a very happy and satisfying dinner together.

This dinner was definitely the highlight of what has been several very tiring days. Freshly made rice balls, eaten with people you love... BEST THING IN THE WORLD. :)

Kalafina - After Eden (cd covers)

2011-08-14T01:19:00.003+08:00

The album art for Kalafina's After Eden is finally out. :)

Limited Edition cover

Regular Edition cover

Looks nice, kind of fairytale like. Conceptually, still very Kalafina-like but nice nonetheless. I rather like Keiko in these photos, she's quite photogenic and really knows how to work that nymph-like innocence to her advantage. Wakana and Hikaru look pretty good in these photos too except that I really think that the "Magia" type glare that Hikaru has, especially in the RE cover, is a tad too intense and takes a teeny bit away from the fairy like feel of these covers.

That said, covers are usually the least important things to me when it comes to singers / musicians / composers. I hope the music is good... that's all I really care about. :)

Can't wait to find out if we got tix to the concert and can't wait for the album's release. :)

Take That!!!

2011-08-13T18:03:00.001+08:00

Actually, I've not been the best of moods these two days. Kind of annoyed with all the anger all around me and social media's and the internet's role in promoting unrest and taking intolerance to another level.

I'm a moderate and extremism on either end of the spectrum is extremely distasteful to me. Unless it's talking a lot and with great passion about the happy things in life and about things that you like etc etc. :D

Yeah, so I posted a slightly bad tempered two word post on Facebook this morning... and NO... it's not the most over used 2 words in the history of mankind. :) I posted "hates hate". Yes, I really dislike it that people seem to think that it's okay to hate that idiot in Norway for indiscriminatly killing so many people just cuz he was pissed with the way things are run, BUT yet at the same time, these unhappy people take every opportunity to generalize and write hateful stuff about the "FTs" in Singapore. I really hate the use of those two letters now and how people use it the same way some racist person uses derogatory words. This really bugs me, this increase of intolerance in Singapore and how people, even people I like, get carried away by it all and start bashing people every time the opportunity crops up.

If you ask me, I won't be surprise if someday we'll see someone like Anders Behring Breivik in Singapore. While the Singapore "Breivik" may not be someone who hates muslims (amongst other things), he would be someone like him. Someone who thrives on hate, someone who is so arrogant as to think of himself as the ONE who will bring about change, someone who's actually not had such a terrible life but who is unwilling and unable to see that they're the lucky ones. Yeah, he'll be someone like Breivik, he'll hate the government no matter what they do and he'll blame the government, the foreigners and whoever does not agree with him for his own miserable existence.

It didn't help that while looking for news on Kalafina, cuz it usually makes me happy, I find some really annoying blogposts where people bash the separate members of Kalafina. Wakana's and Hikaru's fans bash Keiko cuz supposedly Keiko's fans started it first. And now, since Wakana's and Hikaru's fans have been ultra mean to Keiko, Keiko's fans will be meaner to both these singers to even things of.... blah blah blah. Truth is, I don't know and don't care who started what first. Since when has tit for tat been a good thing? :( [note to self: stick to youtube / tudou music videos, interviews etc - not much bitchness there]

Yeah... that didn't work... I was at work, doing a training shot, without much knowlege of what the hell I was trying to do, with too little sleep, too much junk food in my system and so much annoyance from idiot friends I feel like unfriend-ing several on FB and NOW... even my usual "kalafina-bring-me-sunshine" method was an epic fail. :(

Good thing there is still Mai Hime.... watching all those fight scenes makes me HAPPY.... hahahaha... I sound like a blood thirsty freak. But this is a way healthier way to take out one's agression in my opinion.... watch fictional characters beat the crap out of each other... now what could be more emotionally healthier than that. :D

Here... I leave you with Natsuki vs Mikoto from Ep 1. And may the rest of my day be a peaceful and happy one. :D

ps. And btw, I'm a tyrant... leave any messages in the comments section which I find annoying... I will delete. This is my blogspot and there is no such thing as free speech here.

Kalafi-nerd :D

2011-08-12T02:24:00.004+08:00

(While not exactly the most representative FJ song, it is their latest and it is kind of catchy. This is the title track for the Stone Cold single which is the theme song for the Sacred Seven anime)

Ever since I found out about Kalafina's latest Live in Nov, all I have been able to talk about is Kalafina, Kajiura, FictionJunction, Japan, attempting to get tix for the Live etc. And everyday, I have been posting some Kalafina, Kajiura, FictionJunction related video in facebook often followed by some gushing comment on the music or bits of information which probably no one cares about except me. :)

This prompted one of my friends to call me a nerd, which prompted another friend to call me a "Kalafi-nerd". I thought that was so witty and simply hilarious and so true. I am a nerd and a geek and quite proud of it actually. I wear my nerd / geek / otaku-ness everyday... whether it is in the choice of my shirt, the bag I'm carrying, or simply the music I listen to, which is currently 90% Kajiura. Yeah, there is no doubt about it... i am a KALAFI-NERD. :D

Also, while my leave hasn't been official approved, I did talk to the head of the producers in the office and asked him if I might have trouble with my leave and if I can go ahead with my plans to attend the latest Kalfina Live. He said that since I booked my leave so far ahead, "go for it." Yeah... I am sooooo happy. :D

So, I told Itsuko that it's a GOOOOOOOOO and tonight she applied for 3 tickets in the fan club lottery to see if we can buy the tickets earlier instead of waiting for the sale to the public in September. Yay... keeping my fingers crossed that when the results are announced on the 17th Aug, that we are successful in getting tickets to the Live. :)

Also, it seems like CDJapan is now offering the Kalafina Record artist book for sale. Seems like it's only the regular edition for now. So no special hardcover and no t-shirt. But it is tons cheaper than the limited edition which to my knowledge is still only available for domestic shipping in Japan. Whether cdjapan will eventually offer the limited edition is anyone's guess but luckily for me, I don't have to worry about that cuz Itsuko helped me pre-order the limited edition book already. :)

That said... I'm actually still quite interested in getting the regular edition. I'm thinking that I may not want to open my limited edition and thumb through it so many times, so a regular edition (especially if it's paperback) would be very useful for me as I try and read it with the aid of dictionaries and my Japanese notes. Also, I won't be able to get my limited edition version of the book when it's released in Sept, as I can only pick it up from Itsuko in Nov when I visit Japan. I don't think I can wait that long... hahahahaha.... so yeah... very close to placing an order for the regular edition. :p

Also, there was an announce from Konami that the PSP game Senritsu no Stratos (戦律のストラタス) will also release a soundtrack album which will include FictionJunction's Eternal Blue, the theme song for this game. So far I think no online site is offering this for pre-order yet but I'm likely to also pick up this album when it's released.

(the 1.30 min version of Eternal Blue)

Finally, I think Mahou Shoujo Madoka, FJ, Kalafina and Kajiura Yuki are conspiring to make me broke... a new Mahou Shoujo Madoka figure has been available for pre-order for a few days already. It's Kaname Madoka figure from the Good Smile Company. Good Smile makes some rather nice figure... I have one of Kuga Natsuki from Mai Hime and it's really nice.

Anyway... I need to sleep... it's pretty late... so I'll stop rambling now and go to bed.... oyasum. :)

FictionJunction, Kalafina, Kajiura Yuki

2011-08-06T01:06:00.004+08:00

Yay, yesterday I finally got my package from CDJapan. It contained FictionJunction's latest single Stone Cold, another Kalafina t-shirt (from the temp Kalafina Cafe setup to promote the Magia tour), a limited edition of the Magia single, two posters, a copy of Otona Anime (featuring Mahou Shoujo Madoka again) and finally a t-shirt I bought as a gift for my mum. Yeah... a big shipment but totally worth it. :) I already have the Magia limited edition single but I had decided to get this for Danielle as a gift. I really lucked out that the bonus gift was a poster of Kalafina in their Magia getup. Cool. :) The other poster is of FictionJunction and comes with the purchase of the Stone Cold single. Cool. :)

FJ's Stone Cold is a catchy, kind of j-popish song (at least to me it seems that way) with Kaori and Wakana as the main vocals. Keiko and Yuriko Kaida provide backup. I was slightly disappointed that we didn't hear more of Keiko and Yuriko because Stone Cold is kind of a long song, 6 plus minutes, and it was slightly reppetitive towards the end. Would have been nice if Yuriko or Keiko or both got more prominent counter melodies to break it up a bit. That said, it isn't a bad song at all. Very catchy and different stylistically to recent Kajiura stuff which makes it quite enjoyable.

The B-side song on this single is Hitorigoto. It opens and closes beautifully with Keiko's vocals. Kaori and Wakana are used prominently in the middle of the song. I only heard it once through before dashing off to work, so I'm not sure, but I think Yuriko only sings backup in this again. There is a saxaphone solo in the middle of the song which is rather unsual for kajiura who seems to favour violins, guitars and wood winds... a gentler sound to the brash sax. I'm not sure if I like it as I'm not a big fan of the sax. I will need to listen to this song again to decide if I like it. Unlike Stone Cold, we've only heard a short sample of Hitorigoto, while the full song and PV for Stone Cold has been available for some time... hence, I haven't yet had the opportunity to digest Hitorigoto.

Also, in super exciting news, Itsuko told me a few days ago that the Kalafina "After Eden" Special LIVE 2011 will be held on the 25th Nov at the Tokyo Dome City Hall (the former JCB Hall). Yippee. This was the announce I had been waiting for. Basically, I have begun preparations to try and make it to this Live. So here is hoping a few things will fall in place: 1. I can get tickets to the Live. 2. My and Danielle's leave will be approved. 3. That plane tickets and accomodation will not be a hassle. 4. That Japan be safe to visit. If all goes well, Danielle and I would be at the Kalafina Live on 25th Nov. I am so excited about it. I have been saving up all year for this one trip. Been saving both my leave and money. Please, please, please let it work out well. :)

The other thing I am excited about is the commemorative book I wrote about in the previous post. This will be titled Kalafina Record and comes in 2 versions. A regular edition and a limited edition. The limited edition will be hardcover and comes with a special slipcase and a t-shirt. Unfortunately, they are currently not easy to pre-order at all, since they only ship domestically in Japan. Of course one could use vpost or try cdjapan's special request service but that would add significantly to the cost. I really want this item and since I am not sure if cdjapan or any other online site aside from Sony Magazines Online will offer it, I asked Itsuko to pre-order it for me. So although the book will be published in september, I will only get it in november when I vist japan. But it's totally worth the wait given the huge amount I would be saving. :)

K... am tired of typing on my phone. :) till next time... take care everyone. :)

mahou shoujo madoka bluray vol.4 unboxing

2011-07-28T01:02:00.004+08:00

This is going to be yet another short post. Work has been v v v v busy and I just managed to get a bit of respite today. I spent it watching 2 more episodes of Toda Erika in Keizoku 2: SPEC and totally loving her performance. :) And then I spent a little time taking photos of the unboxing of Mahou Shoujo Madoka bluray special edition with bonus CD. YAY!!! This time, it's Vol.2 of Kajiura Yuki's ost for this series. While this isn't my favourite Kajiura ost, my current favourite is probably music from Kara no Kyoukai, still I like this ost plenty.

Anyway, let's cut to the chase and put up the photos. Then I need to go get some shut-eye.

Just a few more things before I go. A few days ago, Kalafina announced that they will be releasing their new album, titled "After Eden", in Sept. Yesterday, they announced that that date has been fixed. The new album will be released on the 21st Sept 2011. :) Yay!!!!! It seems like Sony will also release through Sony Magazine, an official yet to be titled Kalafina book. This book will contain photos of the 3 Kalafina girls, interviews, a report of the Spring "Magia" Tour and Kajiura Yuki's commentary on all the tracks (I presume only those written for Kalafina and not including non-Kalafina related songs). This book will be released on the 16th Sept to commemorate the release of the 3rd album. This sounds EPIC to me!!!!!! I just hope I translated it correctly since my Japanese is still kinda "下手". I hope this book will be easy to pre-order cuz I am so getting it.

Back to the album, there will be 2 versions as usual. One is the regualar edition and the other is the limited edition. The limited edition will contain a dvd with the PV of "symphonia", which I think should be the theme song for the latest season of the NHK documentary Rekishi Hiwa Historia (歴史秘话ヒストリア), as well as live video footage and documentary footage about the trio's trip to the Anime Expo 2011 event. In addition to the DVD, there will also be a 40 page pamphlet. According to CDJapan, the end theme song for the 2nd season of Kuroshitsuji (Kagayaku Sora no Seijaku niwa) and Magia (the end theme for Mahou Shoujo Madoka) will be included in this album release. I'm thinking "symphonia" maybe included too since the PV is included. I've already pre-ordered the limited edition of course. :D

Meanwhile, if you have money to burn and are starved for some Kalafina products, according to the Kalafina website, the just published 「リスアニ! Vol.06」 (Risuani Vol.06) has a little bit about Kalafina's trip to the Anime Expo 2011 in Los Angeles recently. I checked out the cover of Risuani Vol.06 and Kalafina isn't mentioned on the cover. So I think it's most likely not a very long article... chances are it's just a one page... hence, I'm hesitant about getting it. I did get Risuani Vol.05 cuz Madoka was one of the features. But if it's just a one page... I think I'll pass and save it for that official yet to be titled Kalafina book. :)

K... that's it... I need to sleep. Till next time... take care y'all.

Nuke!!!

2011-07-05T00:15:00.000+08:00

Super super super tired these days. As usual, work has taken over my life. Even my Japanese studies, doramas, anime, music, photography and Bones have to take a back seat. But I'm not complaining. :) This time, unlike the previous times when I was frustrated because I didn't see myself going anywhere, I am really quite happy to put in OT... at least for now... and probably for quite some time yet.

Currently, we are getting some on the job training on The Foundry's Nuke and this software is awesome. It was really intimidating at first because my background is all layer base software like Avid, Adobe Premier Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro etc etc. Nuke is a node base compositing software and at the end of the day, the script looks like a flowchart and looks complicated and confusing. Jumping from AE to Nuke was not easy at all, especially in the beginning.

I literally spent nights at the office in the past month trying to understand the principles behind node base compositing and at one point I was so frustrated... I think I would have sold my soul to "kyubey" for genius type competency in Nuke. Hahahahaha... ... ... altho' this reminds me that I have yet to watch ep 11 and 12 of Mahou Shoujo Madoka. :( I think I just don't want the anime to end. :)

Anyway.... last week, one of my seniors gave me a series of really good lessons on patching and camera projection and I really enjoy this kind of one-on-one session because after that... after I tried to do what he thought me etc, I finally think I understand the basics.

Today, I handed in my first clean-up shot. It's so exciting!!! Hahahaha... sounds silly but seriously, this is way more challenging then roto and altho' I don't dislike roto, still... sometimes, I want something that will stretch me further and Nuke is doing that right now. Armed with the principles my supervisor and my senior taught me, I was able to work my way through the shot and I think it was a decent effort.

This afternoon, I tried to work my way through some example scripts my supervisor and given us and I was also relieve and really happy that I was able to figure out channel shifting from just messing with his script. =)

K... that's if from me for now... I m tired and I'm contemplating if I should just call it a night and forget about "edge mattes" and 6 weeks worth of Japanese homework and just go to sleep. :)