Mahou Shoujo Madoka key animation note vol.6

Ahhhh.... Kinokuniya in Singapore brought in vol.6 after all. It comes in a nice box too. Mine from cdjapan didn't come in this nice cardboard box.

I might have gotten it from Kino if i had known they were going to bring it in. At Sgd119.30 and with my Kino card, it would actually be very decently priced cuz shipping from Japan for this artbook was actually expensive. :(

Still... in the end, I was still lucky cuz my friend carried it back to Singapore for me so all things considered, I can do without that nice cardboard packaging if I save on shipping.

Now I just need to make time for the unboxing posts on vol.5 and vol.6.

posted from Bloggeroid

Kalafina ~ 5th Anniversary updates

 Kalafina's official website has seen a small update.  The front page now shows the above image with tiny pictures of the cover art.  You can click on this link to see a bigger picture of the cover art.

This is to inform all fans of the soon to be released new album from the vocal unit.  This new album will contain selections from several of their lives in their 5 years as Kalafina.

More details in this link.

Also, if you wish to pre-order these... here are the links.

This is the link to the Limited Edition. (2CD+BD+DVD+60page deluxe booklet ~ packed in a box)
This is the link to the Regular Edition. (2CDs)

Also, I found this image on Animate Online's website.

I wonder if this means that those who buy the photo book Kalafina History 5th from Animate will get this postcard of Kalafina.  I like this more than the one they are giving out for non-FJC members who buy it from Spacecraft website or from HMV's website.  Still waiting and hoping it'll show up on CDJapan.

K... I'm off to bed... getting late. :)

Good night and I think I'll have sweet dreams cuz I'm just happy that Kalafina will sing another end theme for the NHK docu Rekishi Hiwa Historia. :)

Kalafina ~ new Rekishi Hiwa Historia ending theme

More great news for Kalafina and Kajiura Yuki fans. :-)

Sony just announced that Kalafina will be singing a new ending theme for the NHK documentary series Rekishi Hiwa Historia. This will be the new ending theme from Jan 2013.

The new ending theme will be titled "夢の大地" (yume no daichi ~ I think that should be the correct romaji and I guess would be translated into something like "land of dreams" or something along those lines)

Kalafina's "storia" will be the opening theme.

Looks like Kajiura Yuki's involvement with this documentary series will continue on into 2013.  I'm hoping that there will be a 3rd soundtrack release. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Merry Christmas :)

Been awfully busy lately but it's finally Christmas and the one week year end break has begun. :)

Yay!!!

Have a great Christmas everyone!!

p.s. the screen capture above is of the special Christmas monster the player can get after defeating the special Christmas Eve dungeon in the mobile game Puzzle and Dragons. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Kalafina History 5th ~ available at HMV JP webstore

Kalafina History 5th is now available at HMV Japan.  Click me.

For more info on this photo book release... click this link, this is the post I wrote up about the photo book and it's contents.

Thanks Shangyou for alerting me to it. :)

The bonus postcard for those getting it from HMV Japan is this:



I'm still waiting and hoping that CDJapan will offer this since I usually prefer to order from them.

Alrighty... off to continue to clean up my very messy room. :)

Kalafina 5th Anniv LIVE SELECTION 2009-2012 ~ cover art

Ohhh.... here is the cover art for Kalafina 5th Anniv LIVE SELECTION 2009-2012 ... from Lisani!

NICE!!!!

I have to go.... at work... rushing shots.

Here are the CDJapan links again.  Please buy if you can afford it. :)

This is the link to the Limited Edition. (2CD+BD+DVD+60page deluxe booklet ~ packed in a box)
This is the link to the Regular Edition. (2CDs)

Christmas break next week... maybe I can get back to blogging more... meanwhile... back to work!!!! *sweat

Kalafina History 5th ~ photo book

Now that I've rested and had dinner, I am able to slowly work through all the information regarding this very exciting release. :)   Well... at least it's exciting for us Kajiura Yuki / Kalafina fans. :)

As previously announced, Kalafina's 5th anniversary since their formation is just around the corner in Jan 2013.  They've previously announced the release of a Kalafina 5th Anniversary LIVE SELECTION 2009-2012 CD which comes in two varieties... one RE and one LE.  By the way, CDJapan has updated its website to indicate that the 1st Press release bonus for this release will be a postcard which is similar to what you'll get if you purchase it from a brick and mortar store in Japan.

Links to the CDJapan product pages are here:
Limited Edition. (2CD+BD+DVD+60page deluxe booklet ~ packed in a box)
Regular Edition. (2CDs)

A two night concert called "oblivious" was also announced earlier.  One of those nights will be in Tokyo, the other which they added later, will be in Osaka.

AND NOW!!!! The Kalafina History 5th photo book. :)  According to the FictionJunction Club website, the cover of this photobook will look like this:



This release will cover all 5 years of Kalafina's journey since they were formed and the FJC's pdf announce is calling this a must-have bible for fans of the vocal unit.  There will be a lot of photos of the trio since their debut that have not yet been released.  These will be from photo shoots and photos from their Lives.  This photo book will be an all colour 236 page release. The photo book will also include long interviews, their biography and full set-lists etc.  This release will also include a lot of official photos of the trio at their overseas Lives.

This photo book will cost 4800 yen and will be released on the 23rd Jan 2013.  I'm thinking that they may also be selling this at the Live in January.

FJC club members who purchase this release through the Spacecraft webstore will get 2 postcards and 1 clear file.  They look like this:



The first picture is a picture of the clear folder.  The other two are of the postcards.

If you purchase this release from the Spacecraft webstore but you aren't a FJC member, you'll get a different postcard and that post card looks like this:



Personally, I like the bonus items that come with the FJC member order a lot more.  But I'm not a member. :(

Although the FJC website didn't state it (edit: actually it was on the FJC website... I just didn't see it :p) , Kalafina's official website listed quite a few places where this release can be purchased.  This means that it is likely that we will see this on CDJapan or other similar online stores.  And the pre-order bonus will probably be that non-member bonus postcard.

I can't wait... I'm definitely ordering this!! :)

Kalafina History 5th ~ commemorative book

Today, the FictionJunction Club website announced that they will be releasing a 236 page all colour book to commemorate Kalafina's 5th anniversary.

I'm sooooo busy at work today.... I will need to revisit this tonight after I get home.

For now... just a quick thing...

I don't know if any other site except for the Spacecraft store is offering these books yet but we may get lucky and CDJapan will offer it.

While the book itself is the same, it looks like the bonus items for FJC members and non-members will be different.  Members will get an additional 2 postcards and a clear file while non-members will get a postcard.  All 3 postcards are different.

announce link: http://www.spacecraft.co.jp/fjc/info.html

Spacecraft webstore with photos of the postcards etc.

member

non-member

Okay... will update tonight with pictures etc and will check the details etc... I am rushing shots now. :(

Just one last line: I WANT THIS!!!!!! :)

update:
Just a quick update before I head home. Looks like they will be offering this at other stores aside from the Spacecraft web store.  The announce on Kalafina's website mentioned quite a few stores including HMV and Tatsuya etc... so... the likelihood of seeing this on CDJapan has gone up by quite a bit. :)
K... I gotta go... v tired and I wanna head home earlier than usual for a change. :)  

Kalafina 5th Anniv LIVE SELECTION 2009-2012 ~ bonus item

Looks like the bonus item that will be given out with the 1st press release of Kalafina 5th Anniversary LIVE SELECTION 2009-2012 will be a postcard of a picture of the trio from one of their lives.

I'm not sure if and what folks who order from the online stores will get since so far the announce from the official Kalafina blog only states that there will be 4 different versions of this postcard available at different brick and mortar stores in Japan.

Usually, those who pick up the first press release from CDJapan will get a bonus item which is similar to one of the items released for online orders.  Although this announce is only for the brick and mortar stores, chances are those of us who order from one of the online stores will get a postcard too.

Once again, if you can afford it, please support Kajiura Yuki, Kalafina and the Japanese music industry by purchasing this release.  For your convenience, I have provided the following links from CDJapan.  Please use them if you like. :)

This is the link to the Limited Edition. (2CD+BD+DVD+60page deluxe booklet ~ packed in a box)
This is the link to the Regular Edition. (2CDs)

A few days ago, they also announced that they will be adding another day to the Kalafina 5th Anniversary LIVE "oblivious".  This will be on the 29th Jan 2013 at the umeda AKASO in Osaka.  Now if only they would announce a 5th Anniversary Live in Singapore.... wouldn't that be awesome? :D

K.... am working today... so have to get back to work... 頑張ります!! :)

CDJapan ~ Japanese ebooks for sale ~ YAY!!!

Rejoice!!!!  Finally, there is an easy way to purchase Japanese ebooks. :)  CDJapan has just launched their new ebook store and ebooks purchased from them can be read using an application which works on iphones, android phones, tablets and your desktop computer.

Go to CDJapan's ebook store to download the app.  Click me.  If you have a CDJapan account you can use that account.  If not, you'll have to sign up for one.

I tried the app on an Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy S2 and it worked perfectly.  On installing the app, it come with 2 free ebooks and a sample manga.  It's very intuitive to use and is pretty much a basic ebook reader app.  You can access the CDJapan store from this app where you'll be able to make purchases from the store through the app or download sample pages to read before making your purchasing decisions.

I downloaded the Mahou Shoujo Madoka vol.1 manga sample pages just to test it out.  I already own the physical version of the book so am hesitant to buy the ebook version.  But if I had the choice then I would have bought the ebook version to save space in my room and to save on shipping.



The most annoynig thing about it right now is that it doesn't yet run on Jellybean on the Android so I can't check this out on the Nexus 7. :(

I might try and make a purchase soon just to see how it works... but for now... I'll leave those who are interested to test out the service... I need to sleep soon. :)

Yuki Kajiura LIVE vol.#9 "Shibuko Special" ~ pre-order

http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/fj/

Yay!!!! Pre-orders available!! :) it's been very busy for me lately at work and I've been both sick and very tired lately, hence, I've been trying to restrict my time on the internet. But this... I have to write about. :)

I just checked my email and CDJapan has now updated its website and theYuki Kajiura LIVE vol.#9 "Shibuko Special" Blu-ray and DVD versions are now available for pre-order. I'm going to order my blu-ray version immediately after writing this post. :)

Here are the links for those who are interested in purchasing this release. The blu-ray and dvd versions are slated for a 20th Feb 2013 release. :)

Yuki Kajiura LIVE vol.#9 "Shibuko Special" Blu-ray (NOTE: includes the "making of" video clip which will not be on the dvd edition)
Yuki Kajiura LIVE vol.#9 "Shibuko Special" DVD

Buy it if you can afford it. :)

Scandal in Singapore ~ March 2013

SCANDAL (@scandal_band) tweeted at 0:02 PM on Mon, Dec 03, 2012:
SCANDAL、来年3月にインドネシア・シンガポール・タイの3カ国での東南アジアツアー決定しました！ 会場、日程などの詳細は追ってお知らせします！盛り上がろうぜ！

Luna Sea in Febuary, Scandal in March, Namie Amuro in April.... it is already looking like next year might be a good year for Japanese music fans. :) :)

Currently, it looks like I will probably try and go for the Scandal and Namie Amuro concerts. Likely to give Luna Sea a skip cuz my regular concert buddies are either not in town or not interested.

Yay!!! Hopefully we will see even more good acts next year. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Kajiura Yuki vol.9 Live ~ twitter event maybe?

[梶浦由記 Yuki Kajiura (@Fion0806) tweeted at 8:21 PM on Sat, Dec 01, 2012:
あ、そうだライブ映像版出たら、またついったー上でいっせいのせ鑑賞会やりましょう〜ヽ(*^^*)ノ。
(https://twitter.com/Fion0806/status/274850676889239552)]

Ok....if i read this tweet correctly... Kajiura Yuki also tweeted about wanting to hold another online event. She likes to hold a tweeter event after the release of albums and live DVDs where everyone who participates presses play on their players at the same time. Everyone then watches or listens to the same thing together and talk about the music etc on twitter or something like that. I have yet to participate in one so I am not quite sure how it goes. But that's the impression I get.

I like it that she holds these events....I just wish my Japanese was better. Hopefully, in the future, my Japanese will be good enough to be able to participate fully in these events.

As for when this event will be...she didn't say but I think it is likely to happen and if so, it should be soon after the release of the DVD / blu-ray next year.

posted from Bloggeroid

Kajiura Yuki Live Vol.9 BD ~ making of

[梶浦由記 Yuki Kajiura (@Fion0806) tweeted at 7:15 PM on Sat, Dec 01, 2012:
来年発売のYuki Kajiura Live vol9 Blu-rayに入るメイキング映像の編集を見たのであります。こ……これは何と赤裸裸な……(*/∇＼*)ｷｬｰ（リハ的に）
(https://twitter.com/Fion0806/status/274834220432637952)]

Oh..... it looks like there will be a making of video in the Blu-ray release of the recently announced Kajiura Yuki vol.9 blu-ray release. :)

Kajiura Yuki is often quite cute when she tweets. Here she writes that the video is quite frank...then an emoticon and a "kya" onomatopoeia. Cute. :-)

happy!! :)

posted from Bloggeroid

EOY 2012 J-pop Live concert cancelled

I should have suspected something was up.  After the Perfume concert last Saturday, I was all fired up and quite keen to go to EOY 2012's concert which featured two anisong singers that I was interested in watching.  One was Haruna Luna who is very new to the anisong scene and the other is Sugawara Sayuri who has been active for a few years.  But a few days ago when I went to the EOY website to try and find information on the concerts, I couldn't find anything on the concert and the only thing I found was the Sistic page which was really odd.

After my 3 trips to Japan to see Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina live, one trip to Malaysia to see Kalafina live, the J-Live Vol.2 concerts and the Perfume concerts, I was feeling quite broke, so I had initially made the decision to skip the EOY 2012 concerts.  But after the Perfume concert, I really wanted just one more to wrap up the year and was in the midst of making plans with friends when the cancellation of the concert was announced. =(

Here is the link to the official announce of the cancellation.... click me.

Bummer!!!!! Not just for me and those who wanted to go but also for all the people who worked so hard to get this thing together and the singers and performers who were going to perform that day. =(  Hopefully, next year, EOY's concerts will go smoothly for them.

Kajiura Yuki Vol.9 Shibuya Special DVD/BD release

from the Stone Cold single

Now that I am actually fully awake and can digest all the tweets I read last night, I am finally able to fully comprehend exactly which Live they are releasing on DVD/BD. =)  This is the official announce from JVC Music's FictionJunction website... click me.

The concert that they are releasing is the 4th day in the series of concerts that Kajiura Yuki held in August/September.  This is the day that they tagged on at the end after the 3 Day Special concerts.

This makes sense.  The Shibuya Special concert were a mix of music which was performed during the 3 Day Special and would be the best concert to release on DVD/BD if one was to release one day only.

Moreover FJ Asuka who did not feature in the 3 Day Special, made an appearance at the Shibuya Special.  Too excited and probably too tired last night to make proper sense of the tweets and the FlyingDog announce. :p

This means a few things for me.  One is YAY... I'm still uber happy about the release but I'm kinda disappointed that the 3 Day concert was not release in its entirety.  I would pay top dollar to get these on BD because I went to Japan and still didn't make it in for Day 2 and 3 and was super disappointed about that.  In the end, the concert they streamed on ustream was the Day 1 concert which I attended but almost all my favourite songs are actually in Day 3.

In fact, if she released the Vol.8 live I would be extremely happy too.  I loved the Vol.8 live and if I could imprint that memory in my mind and experience in my heart, I would.  A DVD/BD of that Live would have been perfect.  Like the Kalafina's After Eden release which I attended and now have a record of, I would have a video record of my very first Kajiura Yuki live... an experience that was not topped by the Vol.9 live Day 1.

Still... this is really better than nothing.  I could not have made the Shibuya live anyway.  And Duran Shoukan, Sayonara Solitaire, Mezame Kaze no Michi e made it to this release.  I really like Everlasting Songs but unfortunately, I'm more a fan of the live FJ version than FJ Asuka's version.  It'll be interesting to see how the arrangement is now that FJ Asuka has been thrown into the mix but since I really love how Keiko always sounds in the opening stanza of Everlasting Songs... I'm wondering if I would be a little disappointed by that.

K... time to go... lots to do... and a big lesson learnt here... do not post excited blog posts in the middle of the night in the dark from my bed on a 7 inch tablet.... bound to get everything wrong.  Hahahahaha!!!!! :)

Kajiura Yuki vol.9 dvd /BD release ~ more info

梶浦由記 Yuki Kajiura (@Fion0806) tweeted at 11:30 PM on Fri, Nov 30, 2012:そうそう、Live BL&DVDの曲目などの詳細はこちらです。メイキングが気になる……一体どんな映像を撮られていたというのかかかかか！(-_-; http://t.co/GNI15Yjh(https://twitter.com/Fion0806/status/274535993124737025)

Well....now that I have read another tweet from Kajiura, I know that, like I suspected...it will be a selection of the songs performed during the vol.9 series of concerts. That's cool....it us much better than nothing. :-)

The tracklist has been announced on FictionJunction's JVC music page. I am most happy to see Sayonara Solitaire (yay Keiko!!! :-P ), Mezame, Kaze no Michi e, Durran Shoukan and Everlasting Songs (I have a soft spot for this song). Am disappointed that some of the Pandora Hearts songs didn't make it in...wasn't Itou Eri one of the guests too or maybe I remembered wrong. She's not listed as one of the artists appearing in this release which maybe why some of the Pandora Hearts songs like Bloody Rabbit didn't make it in. If I remembered correctly it was sung on Day 3. But I can't check now... in bed and on my Nexus 7 so it's a little inconvenient. I wished that more of Day 2 made it in too. I think Akagi Rise was a guest star too but she's not listed as one of the performers in this release.

Still.... I am really happy about this release. K.... Need to sleep now.

updated 1st Dec: read this post instead ~ contains corrections :) 

posted from Bloggeroid

Yuki Kajiura vol.9 live DVD / BD release announce

[梶浦由記 Yuki Kajiura (@Fion0806) tweeted at 6:53 PM on Fri, Nov 30, 2012:
さてさて、この度今年9/9に行なった「Yuki Kajiura Live vol9 渋公Special」の映像がBlu-ray、DVDにて発売される事となりました。2013/2/20のリリースでありまする。宜しければ是非ご覧下さいね！ヽ(*^^*)ノ
(https://twitter.com/Fion0806/status/274466224908410881)]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been waiting and waiting for this announce. Ever since Kajiura Yuki announced that she would be holding a 3 day concert special, I kept thinking that it would be released.

I thought the announce would be at the concerts themselves but that never came. I was really disappointed since I could not get tickets to Day 2 and 3. Just when I thought that this was never going to get released.... here it is finally.... the announce from Kajiura herself. :-) :-) :-)

I can't even express how happy I am about this. I hope all the days make it on the release. But since she didn't write 3 day special, it might end up being a edited version of all the days plus the shibuya special.

Please please please be ALL the days!!! :-) :-)

I am so happy that I decided to check twitter before I go to sleep. Am typing this on my Nexus 7 in bed. :-)

updated 1st Dec: read this post instead ~ contains the correct info :) 

posted from Bloggeroid

Perfume Live in Singapore - videos

Ohhhh... there are videos of two news packaged regarding Perfume's recently concluded live at Scape in Singapore.  Cool!!!!!  Now I can re-live some of the experience. :)  My friends and I spotted ourselves in the crowd but I'm not telling you who we are in there. :)

I must say... after the concert, I was soooo high... I'm seriously considering going to the EOY on the 11th Dec.  Initially, I didn't want to go because I didn't want to spend any more money... but... hmmmm.... I'm beginning to lean more favourable towards going.

Anwayz... as usually, I have a ton of posts I would like to write but no time to do so. :(  My final book in the Mahou Shoujo Madoka Key Animation artbook series has arrived and it is cool... but I haven't even had time to do vol.5's unboxing yet.... (00;)  Got to gambatte!!! :)

Sadly... lately... I have been really tired and I am going to go to bed almost immediately after I post this.  Here are the youtube videos... :)

(Thanks SGCafe ~ I got this news of they website)





SGCafe also posted up a review of the concert.  Here's the link.  I don't think I have time to do my own review...  at least... don't wait for me... read their review here.... click me.

I'm not a Perfume fan and I don't think I am yet... but I think they are really fun to watch live and would totally go to see them live again.  I have a very wide taste in music.. so although this isn't my favourite genre, I like Perfume's songs enough to want to buy an album or two.  Am very close to getting this compilation album... :)



K... time for better... tired.  Oyasumi. :)

Perfume in Singapore ~ fun!!!

I had such a good time at Scape today. The concert was so fun and we were right at the front. The 3 girls danced so well and we jumped and danced a lot!!

Perfume had a special guest star today... Doraemon!!! They announced that they will sing the theme song for the new movie next year.

Soooo.... cool.... we were so close... I could really see their faces and the twinkle in their eyes. Awesome!!! :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Kalafina 5th Anniv LIVE SELECTION track list & Hikari Furu ~ Oricon

The track list for Kalafina's 5th Anniversary Live Selection 2009 - 2012 CD/DVD+Blu-ray has been released.  I think this was released either yesterday or today.  I'm not too sure, I've been kind of busy lately and haven't had time to blog much.

Anywayz... from CDJapan... 29 songs in total... here you go :)

1.	[Disc 1] overture ~ seventh heaven
2.	[Disc 1] oblivious
3.	[Disc 1] 夏の林檎
4.	[Disc 1] serenato
5.	[Disc 1] lirica
6.	[Disc 1] Lacrimosa
7.	[Disc 1] 明日の景色
8.	[Disc 1] storia
9.	[Disc 1] 傷跡
10.	[Disc 1] 君が光に変えて行く
11.	[Disc 1] interlude 01
12.	[Disc 1] ARIA
13.	[Disc 1] Gloria
14.	[Disc 1] うつくしさ
15.	[Disc 1] また風が強くなった
16.	[Disc 1] 輝く空の静寂には
17.	[Disc 2] fairytale
18.	[Disc 2] intermezzo
19.	[Disc 2] red moon
20.	[Disc 2] progressive
21.	[Disc 2] Kyrie
22.	[Disc 2] 音楽
23.	[Disc 2] sprinter ~ acoustic ver. ~
24.	[Disc 2] overture ~ Eden
25.	[Disc 2] 光の旋律
26.	[Disc 2] overture ~ 満天
27.	[Disc 2] Magia
28.	[Disc 2] to the beginning
29.	[Disc 2] symphonia

Looks like a good track list to me. :)  I'm not sure which of the 9 lives they are using but I'm hoping it's not from any of those that have already been released on dvd and blu-ray because that would kind of suck.

Of course the Anna ni Issho Datta no ni performance from Animielo 2009 did not end up in the CD... that was just my wishful thinking. :)

In other Kalafina news... Hikari Furu continues to do well on the Oricon charts.  Earlier this week, the single managed to push past to the beginning to become Kalafina's best selling CD single yet.  Omedetou!!! :)

Also, CDJapan is also offering Hikari Furu LE DVD and LE BD at a 10% discount.  It's not a HUGE discount but if anyone's been thinking of getting the singles... it's something worth considering.  Too bad the regular version isn't discounted.... I think I might really have caved into temptation. :)

Here are the links for the 5th Anniv collection and the Hikari Furu single again.  Once again, if you can afford it.... please buy them. :)

5th Anniv LIVE SELECTION
This is the link to the Limited Edition.
This is the link to the Regular Edition.

Hikari Furu

Hikari Furu [w/ Blu-ray, Limited Edition / Type-B]

Hikari Furu [w/ DVD, Limited Edition / Type-A]

Alrighty... time to go... need to get a ton of stuff done before I go to bed... this will be a very busy weekend... so need to try and get some rest in too. :)  Ta ta!!! :)

UPDATE:
Oh.... it looks like Moonfesta has a nice discount on CDJapan....

Moonfesta [w/DVD, Limited Edition/Type-A]  @ 30% off
Moonfesta [w/Blu-ray, Limited Edition/Type-B] @ 30% off
 
This makes the LEs cheaper than the Regular Edition which isn't discounted. Sadly for me... the RE is the version I want the most!!! :(

Also... for those who are into sheet music.  Sheet music for the Fate/Zero themes have been released.  This includes Kalafina's to the beginning, LiSA's Oath Sign and Eir Aoi's Memoria.  Click on the picture below to go to the CDJapan product page.



cheers :)

TYPE-MOON Fes. 10th Anniv BD Box ~ cover art & tokuten

I've been really, really busy at work lately and had to put a lot of things on hold, blogging included.  So all the AFA2012 posts had to wait, unfortunately. :(  But as I am currently mostly a Kajiura Yuki fan, I decided that this post take precedence. :D

While browsing through CDJapan, for some reason, I decided to revisit the Type-Moon Festival 10th Anniversary BD Box set product page and found out that the page has been updated to include a First Press release bonus.  And although CDJapan was not able to provide any details, it looks like it will be a poster.

So I decided to check out Type-Moon's website.  I should start following Type-Moon on twitter too since I like a lot of their stuff.  Anyway, I checked out Type-Moon's website and followed a link to their 10th Anniversary festival page.

Type-Moon has been updating their news section with news on this release but I haven't been keeping up.  If my Japanese doesn't fail me again.  I think that the picture that they posted up yesterday is the cover-art for this BD box release.  The picture that is currently posted up on CDJapan's product page is merely a place-holder.  Here, on the left, is the jacket illustration for this very exciting release. :)

The other piece of news of interest to me is about the tokuten that Type-Moon will be giving out to those who order this release early.  While, as usual, CDJapan isn't listed in the shops in the post, it is likely that these are the posters that will be given out to those who ordered early enough to get the First Press release of this item.

If I did not read it wrong, it looks like the bonus on this occasion will be a set of two A3 size posters.  Type-Moon also posted up the sample illustrations on their website and they look like this.



Very nice for fans of Type-Moon's work. :)

But for Kajiura Yuki's fans, the biggest reasons to get this set is for both Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina.  Both Kajiura Yuki and the vocal unit she produces performed at the Type-Moon 10th Anniv Festival and their performances are included in this BD release. :)

I've already pre-ordered mine. :)  There are currently only 20 copies of the First Press edition available at CDJapan, so if you want the tokuten posters, you might want to considering placing an order soon. :)

K... time for bed... it's approx 2:30am... way past the time I had originally intended to sleep at. :p  Oyasumi. :)

Utada Hikaru ~ Evangelion 3 theme ~ Sakura Nagashi

Yay!!! Utada Hikaru is releasing a new single.  She's taking a hiatus from the industry these days but according to the press release, returned just to do this song for EVA due to her deep fondness for the anime.  This is the theme song for Evangeion 3, an anime I hope will be screened in Singapore.  If it's screened here... I'm definitely going to try can watch it.

The first press bonus for this single is quite cool.  It's a B2-size poster of an illustration of Utada Hikaru, drawn by Sadamoto Yoshiyuki.  Nice... I'm very tempted and am leaning towards getting this single.  It is Utada Hikaru after all and one of my all time favourite song is "Beautiful World" by her. :)

Here is the product link to the CDJapan page for those who are interested in purchasing this single too. :)

update:
Cuz I'm lazy to write up a new post about it :p ... here is the youtube video of the song... hope it doesn't get taken down or something. Enjoy...

test ~ posting photos from flicker

2012-11-03 12.58.40, a photo by kiasukid2000 on Flickr.

Very short post. Testing posting photos from flicker. Need to go to work soon. Photo of my cafe kaffello, fancy name for cafe latte with coffee jelly, from TCC cafe. :-)

Kalafina 5th Anniv LIVE SELECTION 2009-2012 & concert ~ info

The official announce of this release was released by Sony earlier today but I didn't have a chance to put it up.  I've had a horribly busy day at work and only reached home at 1:20am.  But as I hate going to bed immediately after I get back from a long day at work and also because I'm feeling a little blue about some things not happening the way I hope they would at work... I decided to do something that makes me happy. :)  Yeah... blogging and blogging about Kajiura Yuki, FicitonJunction or Kalafina. :)

The official announce has a teeny little bit more info then what CDJapan has given us.  It gives the number of tracks planned for the CDs and the number of videos they intend to put on the DVD and BD

The two CDs will contain 29 tracks selected from 9 different lives since Kalafina's debut 5 years ago.  I'm thinking it's unlikely that Anna ni Issho Datta no ni will be on the discs but I like having something to hope for. :)

Also the Limited Edition (2CD+Blu-ray+DVD) will come packed in a box and I made a mistake in the previous post.  The booklet isn't 16 pages.  It's a whooping 60 pages. :)  On the down side... expect the shipping to be more expensive than your usual CD LE releases.  Also, expect that the shipping rate may go up once the product is actually released because right now, the dimensions and weight of this LE release is anyone's guess.

In total, there will be video clips of 14 songs on the DVD and BD and if my Japanese doesn't fail me, I think they will be producing a video clip for oblivious for the first time.  I'm not sure exactly but maybe a PV?

I'm really curious as to why they didn't just put everything on the BD and why they would include both a BD and a DVD instead of their usual practice of a separate BD LE release and a separate DVD LE release.  I'm hoping that it isn't just going to be a collection of their PVs on BD and DVD, with the exception of a new clip for oblivious.  I would like concert footage and other stuff etc too.

There will also be a live, titled "Kalafina 5th Anniversary LIVE" oblivious ", to commemorate the 5th anniversary of Kalafina's formation.  That'll be on the 23rd Jan 2013 at Shibuya-O-East.  If I read the announce properly, I think that the reason why they chose this date and this location was because on the 23rd Jan 2008, Kalafina's first paid one-man live was held at Shibuya-O-East. (aside: at that point in time, Hikaru had not yet joined the vocal unit).  They named this 5th Anniversary Live "oblivious" because they would like to return to their beginning. Hence, most of the songs that they will sing at this live will be from their first album.

Personally, I think this would be an awesome live to go to.  Since this is their 5th Anniversary live and scheduled to be performed on the date they threw their first paid full concert and at the same location too... it should be an emotional event, especially for Keiko and Wakana.  Fingers crossed that we'll see a video release... although, I'm not too hopeful they'll release any videos since they will already be releasing this set to commemorate their 5 years as Kalafina.  Too bad I really can't afford to go to Japan for this live.  If I could, I would have because I think this live will probably be very good.

Here are the links again:

This is the link to the Limited Edition. (2CD+BD+DVD+60page deluxe booklet ~ packed in a box)
This is the link to the Regular Edition. (2CDs)

And my usual line... please buy their music if you can afford it. :)

Anyway, that's it from me for now.... it's past 2am and I have to be up and 6:30 to start another very, very long day at work.... not exactly looking forward to that.

Kalafina 5th Anniversary LIVE SELECTION 2009-2012

A photo of Keiko just cuz I like her lovely smile in this picture. :)

Awesome news!!!! More Kalafina music for us Kajiura Yuki & Kalafina fans.  In celebration of their 5th year since their formation, Kalafina will be releasing a compilation of music recorded from their lives from 2009-2012.  This is very cool since most overseas fans have very few opportunities, if any at all, to see the vocal unit live.  :)  I am really excited about this release.

Thanks Shangyou for alerting me about it... I'm still recovering from my crazy AFA weekend and have purposely reduced the amount of time I spend online so didn't even know about this release. :)

There are 2 editions.  The Limited Edition comes with the a Blu-ray+DVD and the Regular Edition comes with the 2 audio CDs by themselves.

This is the link to the Limited Edition.
This is the link to the Regular Edition.

The LE is, in my opinion, completely worth getting.  It'll be a 2CD+Blu-ray+DVD set which makes it a 4 discs set and will retail at 7619yen.  That's a pretty good price, in my opinion. :)  The Regular Edition will be released at a more affordable 3714yen.

The item is slated for a 23rd Jan release.  The same month as the Type-Moon Festival 10th Anniversay Blu-Ray set.  And on the same day as the Sword Art Online Vol4. DVD/Blu-ray LE set which comes with Kajiura Yuki's vol.1 soundtrack.  This will be an expensive month for fans of Kajiura Yuki.  But it's good... more good music for us fans!! :)

This new Kalafina release is quite epic.  The BD and DVD will contain video clips of the trio from their debut song Oblivious to the just released Hikari Furu.  The release will also come with a 16 page booklet. :)

Fingers crossed that they will put the Anna ni Issho Datta no ni performance from Animielo 2009 into this disc.  I loved their performance of this song.

So far that's all the info we have, I'm sure there will be more later and hopefully some bonus items too.  Am going to go pre-order it now. :)

Fate/zero theme ufotable cafe

ufotable (@ufotable) tweeted at 6:31 PM on Tue, Nov 13, 2012:Fate /ゼロカフェ特設サイトの公開をお知らせ致します。不定期に落書きやweb漫画が更新されてゆきます:) http://t.co/FF2feaBq 何卒、お楽しみあれ！ http://t.co/sN79Nwst(https://twitter.com/ufotable/status/268299993834745856)

Actually I am posting this mostly to test how posting from twitter to my blog via bloggeroid works. :-)

This tweet is about the Fate/Zero theme cafe at the ufotable cafe. I'm not sure when it began I didn't really go check it. I have been to the ufotable cafe near Nakano station in Tokyo. It was quite cool. When I went, the cafe was hosting one of the Tales themes. Too bad I am not familiar with any of the games but it was still nice to be able to check out some of the artwork up close.

ufotable also announced in that tweet that there will be a Fate/Zero web manga. I went to check it out but it's not up yet.

That's it for now. I will be on my way home soon. Had to work today so am feeling a little tired and sleepy after dinner. Hopefully I can get a seat on the train, I might try and nap. :-)

posted from Bloggeroid

Sword Art Online vol.7 comes w/ Kajiura Yuki's OST :)

Oh.... before I go to bed.... I just checked my email and just found out that Sword Art Online Vol.7 Limited Edition releases come with Kajiura Yuki's soundtrack.  This will be vol2 of the OST for SAO.  Man... I wish I had more money.... I would love to own this.

For those who can afford it... here is the CDJapan link to the blu-ray relaese.

As for me... I really need to go to bed... tomorrow I will go and earn more money. :)

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ S'pore ~ my haul part 1

Unfortunately, even though tomorrow is a public holiday in Singapore, I have to return to the studio to put in a day's worth of worth.  Ah well... it's okay... I'll get paid and that money will go into my "save money for Japan" bank account which is looking quite pathetic right now unfortunately. :(

Anyway, here is a photo of my haul from this year's AFA.  It's not as much as previous years and I didn't buy the t-shirts this year.  I was really trying not to over spend this year because I really do need to put some money away for now and I already have several pre-orders pending.  Most of them are Mahou Shoujo Madoka related. :) I'll definitely be using that lanyard, the One Piece lanyard that I use for my work pass is looking quite sad these days which is why I wanted the Mahou Shoujo Madoka lanyard. :)

I also wanted a earphone jack accessory for my phone and I would have loved the one of Kyubey but in order to get that, I had to buy these trading figure type boxes and I decided that I'll just get the one of Wooser from Good Smile instead.

I'm thinking that I'll probably also use the Hello Kitty - TM Revolution cross-over accessory too.  Not sure yet I'll I'll use the Madoka neck strap and the pen.  The neck strap will probably be used with my Vita.  As for the pen, I guess I'll just use it at home for now.

I did some unboxing photos which I'll put up in another post.  I will probably work on more AFA2012 posts with photos tomorrow night after I get back from work.  Today, I didn't feel like blogging for too long because I have to be up bright and early for work tomorrow.  So that's it for today. :) Oyasumi. :)

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ Singapore - comments part 1

(photo courtesy AFA)

I would like to write a longer post about my experience at the AFA2012 this year.  I have tons I would like to write about and photos that I would like to put up.  But I am truly tired and I have to work tomorrow so I really would like to try and get to bed by 11pm or so.  Hence, first up, an over view of my experience.

In general, I really did enjoy myself at this year's AFA.  I have several regrets but these regrets are actually not really negatives.  In my opinion, the organisers for the AFA are going in the right direction... sort of.  Okay, there is room for improvement but then, there always is.  That said, I really would like to give credit where credit is due.

In spite of some organizational mistakes, some of them quite monumental too, this year's AFA was really pretty good.  It was packed to the brim with so much stuff, much of it free too, that it would be wrong of us fans not to acknowledge just how much effort that must have taken.  The festival has gone from something I easily completed in a few hours in a day last year to one where there were so many things going on, I had to make very difficult choices.  Last year, I walked the festival and attended the stage events and did everything I wanted so quickly, that I didn't even think that it was worth coming back for the 3rd day of the festival except that I had free tickets to the festival and stage events and Kalafina was singing that night.

I was lamenting to my friend after AFA2011 last year that the so called festival exclusives were all available online shops at one point in time in Japan.  This year, however, there were items at the Sword Art Online booth, the Mahou Shoujo Madoka booth and the 009 Re:Cyborg booth (I think) that are usually only available at events and online auction sites in Japan.

It's regrettable that I didn't get to do everything that I wanted to do... I still wish I managed to get Watanabe Shinichi's autograph and I wish that I could have gotten into the Sword Art Online booth but even so, I am happy.  I am happy that the AFA is becoming the kind of festival really worth going to for 2 full days.

Yes, things could have been done better but if you've ever done any kind of production work or event production work of some scale, you'll know that things always go wrong even for the most experienced of teams.  That's not making excuses for them but it's just me acknowledging just how horrid this job can be sometimes and me just wanting to encourage the organizers rather then simply tearing them down.

I would like to write more about the fun stuff that I managed to attend, the fun stuff that I missed :( and some of the not fun stuff that happened for everyone but all that will come in a later post.  For now... let's leave it at... AFA2012 was really quite good and I hope that next year's will be even better.  Otsukaresamadeshita guys!!! Good job and I hope that all the experience gained this year will be put to good use for next year's event... and bring in Kalafina and/or Kajiura Yuki (with FictionJunction & the Front Band Members) to SINGAPORE please!!!! :D

Arrrrggghhhh... it's past 11pm.... bedtime now. :)

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ S'pore ~ Day 3 Part 2

The Mahou Shoujo Madoka movie 2 was awesome... they screened the trailer at the end.... can't wait for movie 3. :)

Hikaru Furu is actually the end theme of the movie. Lovely song... wish the sound system was better.

K.... gotta dash... later. :)

(photos later)

posted from Bloggeroid

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ S'pore ~ Day 3 Part 1

I need to make this quick... have to shower and then get going for the 2nd Madoka movie screening at the Expo later.

Lots to write about... I hope I have time to do it.  The concert was fun yesterday.... I still missed seeing Kalafina there... but it was still great. :)

Am giving tonight's concerts a miss.... all I'm doing today is just watching the movie.  That's it for now. :) p.s. blogspot is being annoying with the photos upload... even tho' my photo is clearly within the free upload dimensions... it still wouldn't let me upload it... I'll have to sort this out tonight. :(

(photos later)

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ S'pore ~ Day 2 Part 3

Resting during a lull period at tonight's anisong concert. so far it has been fun. :) cool!!

I would like to write a fuller over view of the concerts and the festival on another post.  In general, I really enjoyed this AFA... there were a few hiccups during the concerts and there was no Kalafina or Kajiura Yuki :P... but it was fun for me in general. :)

Updated with photos and edited some of the text. I had trouble posting photos via mobile blogging.

posted from Bloggeroid

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ S'pore ~ Day 2 Part 2

Woah!!!! Huge crowd today. Good thing my friend picked up our Mahou Shoujo Madoka tickets and collectibles early. It's a bit mad now.... am inside and it is crazy crowded!!!

Updated with photos and edited some of the text. I had trouble posting photos via mobile blogging.

posted from Bloggeroid

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ S'pore ~ Day 2 Part 1

I am about to meet up with one of my friends to go down to the festival to watch the Mahou Shoujo Madoka movies.

I didn't buy the tickets for these movies. Another one of my friends bought the tickets online for us, so he has to go pick them up early. This new ticketing procedure by the AFA organizers is so no ideal. After last night's ticket pickup debacle at the AFA, I hope he has no problems picking it up. I could have picked them up yesterday but I needed a copy of his ID, the letter of confirmation and a letter of authorization.... wah!!! So much documentation just to pick up the tickets at the venue itself.

I also found out yesterday that I have exceeded my picassa storage limit which means all the photos i upload from now must be 800x800 or less. This makes mobile blogging a bit of a pain too because I have to edit each photo before i upload it. :(

Anywayz.... that's it for now.... hope today we have loads of fun. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ S'pore ~ Day 1 Part 4

Woah!! So fun!!! :) I like T.M.Revolution!!! The ticket redemption was kind of sucky for people I think because I think a lot of people were still redeeming tickets when the concert started. Good thing I took half a day off from work to pick up tickets. :)

The above photo is of the concert venue as we were about to leave from a side exit.  This venue feels bigger than the Suntec Convention Centre venue.  I think so far, I prefer the Expo to Suntec.  Our seats were on the far right of the stage, 9th row.  It was a little hard to see T.M.R. from where we were seated but when I was able to see him through the sea of heads, we were close enough for me to see his face quite clearly.

The sound system was deafening where we were cuz the large speakers were really blasting away.  Our seats aren't optimum so there was some muffling of the sound as well and I couldn't really hear what T.M. was saying most of the time... so we just cheered at whatever he was saying. :)

The concert was really fun and I jumped and danced so much I got really hungry after the concert and had to get something to eat. :P



The truth is I don't know all the songs but I know his Seventh Heaven album quite well. Its a funny story for me. Before I was a huge Kalafina fan, I was checking out their music when I chanced upon TM's Seventh Heaven album because I thought it was Kalafina's Seventh Heaven album. I ended up really liking T.M.'s Seventh Heaven album.   Hahahaha... I just can't seem to get away from Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina. :)

Anyway, when they announced that T.M.Revolution was coming for AFA, I was quite excited and happy.  The only VIP tickets we bought for this year's AFA was to T.M.Revolution's concert.

We were so high after the concert, bought some merchandise too. :P The Hello Kitty cross over is so cute. The towel is nice too.  The small Hello Kitty is cute and it is mine. :)



They are setting up for tomorrow's festival. :) Can't  wait for tomorrow's Madoka movie screening.
K.... going to go now!!! Got to make my way home

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ S'pore ~ Day 1 Part 3

We are outside the halls right now.... lots of people waiting to redeem their tickets and to buy tickets. Good thing we picked our tickets up earlier. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ S'pore ~ Day 1 Part 2

We collected the tickets... no problems there. :)

Now am just chilling at a cafe with my friend while we wait for the concert to begin tonight. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Anime Festival Asia 2012 ~ S'pore ~ Day 1 Part 1

Today is the first day of AFA2012 Singapore. The only event happening today is the first day of the anisong events. T.M.Revolution will perform tonight and two other friends and I have tickets for tonight's concert.

This year AFA decided not to use sistic and instead they are using a different company called eventclique. Last year, sistic screwed up by not opening the internet sales at the stated time so perhaps this is why AFA chose a different company this time.

However, this means that the collection of tickets is kind of painful because instead of collecting it at one of the sistic counters, you either have yo have them mailed to you or you have to pick it up at the venue itself. I had to take a half day off work to pick up the tickets because we finish work too late and the studio is located quite far away from the Expo which would make ticket collection before the concert a little difficult.

I decided to take the opportunity to have lunch with my parents and sister and am now on my way to the Expo to pick up the tickets. AFA's Facebook page posted a photo with a large crowd... here's hoping that ticket pickup won't be horrible.

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