AFA Malaysia - Good Smile's Ultimate Madoka

I'm slowly getting back into blogging more now.  I haven't really gotten the amount of rest that I feel that I really required but I've been sleeping earlier which is good. :)  I've also finally managed to make some good headway on my training shot at work and I think that I have finally figured out how to tackle the problem but my execution is still weak.  I really need to work on my paint skills.  But I feel really encouraged about it and encouraged enough to reward myself with the Ultimate Madoka. :D Hahaha... yeah, it is probably a bit of an excuse. :)

Okay, here is a bit about the AFA Malaysia trip.  I really would like to write more about the festival itself as well as the anisong concerts but that will take time and I'm running really short of it.  I need to work on my Japanese homework today and I really would like to watch some tutorials and read up a little about python scripting.  It's unlikely that I'll get everything that I would like done today but I really would like to try and in order to do that, I'm going to have to try and make this short.

I think by now, most Good Smile fans and Mahou Shoujo Madoka fans would have seen the Ultimate Madoka figure.  If you have not, here is a link to the official product page with all the specs on the figure and some really nice pix.

I would like to talk a little bit about the AFA MY festival itself in another post so will only talk about the Good Smile booth in this post.  I personally felt that the booth that was the best out of the lot was Good Smile's booth.  That was mostly because they brought down some of their yet-to-be-released figures and several more popular figures for display.  The queen of these figures, for me, was the yet-to-be released Ultimate Madoka.  I should have shot a wide shot of the booth.  I thought about it, got distracted and never did so close-ups of the figures are all that I really have right now. :)

They also had on display the various Sabers from Fate/Zero.  There was the recently released 1/8th scale figure of Saber on the Saber Motored Cuirassier and the announced but yet to be released Figma Saber Motored Cuirassier.  They also had all the 1/8th scale Mahou Shoujo Madoka figures, as well as the Figma Mahou Shoujo Madoka figures on display and several figures for sale, including some of the Cheerful Japan figures.



It was very cool looking at all the displays of these figures.  The figure that caught most people's attention though was Ultimate Madoka.  While I think most people would have watch the Mahou Shoujo Madoka anime by now, I still would rather not spoilt it for anyone.  So all I will say is that Ultimate Madoka does show up in the anime and this figure does this character justice.  It's an amazing figure to behold and no photo can do her justice.  Still, we all tried to take photos of it but the lighting of those display cases was not very conducive for photo taking.



I had already seen photos of the figure on the internet and really liked it then but what really made me fall in love with it was actually seeing it on display.  Our cameras weren't good enough to shoot really nice photos of this 1/8th scale figure. We also couldn't get close to the figure because of the casing and the light made it very hard to shoot.  Best place to take a closer look at this beauty is the Good Smile Blog, click me.

For a 1/8th scale figure, it really manages to take up a fare amount of space and really does give one a sense of volume probably because its circumference is relatively large.  For a figure this big, the sculptor was still able to make Madoka looks so elegant and graceful.  As Madoka is only a schoolgirl in the anime and not even a very big or tall girl, it would have been a mistake to make her look anything but slim and a little frail.  This figure not only captured Madoka's physical attributes but also a little bit of her emotional make-up.  Her eyes are large and retain a certain amount of innocence but the very slight inward turn of her eyebrows, the thin pursed lips and the determined jaw helps to make her appear powerful without being overbearing.

I really, really, really like this figure and I will most likely order it.  I need to confirm with one of my friends whether or not her friend will be willing to receive this figure for me and bring it back to Singapore.  If I can save on the shipping it would be best but if I can't, I think I will still order it.

I'll be ordering mine form CDJapan as usual. :) Here is the link. to the product page for those who might like to purchase this figure too. There are sevearal other sites that will offer this figure so if you are interested, you can pick it up from those guys too.

I'll be going to Japan really soon and when I return, I will return with some more of the Mahou Shoujo Madoka Key Animation artbooks.  I'll definitely do "unboxing" posts of those. :)

K... for now, time to go.  Homework calls. :)

FictionJunction new single (Distance & Eternal Blue)

Yay!!!! Today FlyingDog (a subsidiary of JVC) announced that there will be a new singles release for FictionJuntion.  This new release will include the EP for Gundam Seed HD as well as the OP for the PSP game Senritsu no Stratus (戦律のストラタス). :)

Cool... we'll now finally get the full length version of Eternal Blue.  I was hoping for an album but a single is better than nothing. :)  I actually think that Kajiura Yuki may announce an album or concert dvd/blu-ray release at the 3 day concert in August/September.  It's just a feeling I have but I could be wrong... I hope I'm not, of course. :)

The single is set to be released on the 29th August and will cost 1155 Yen (inclusive of tax). Click me to buy. (CDJapan link)

The tracklist:
1. Distance
2. Eternal Blue
3. Distance ~ instrumental
4. Eternal Blue ~ instrumental

Awesome, I will be in Japan during that period, although I won't be in Tokyo yet so if there any promotional events, it's unlikely that I will be able to participate.  Still, I will probably be able to pick up the CD when I am in the country and save on shipping. :)

And for those of us who have forgotten what Eternal Blue sounded like or what the Senritsu no Stratus game is about... here is the version of the game's trailer with Eternal Blue cutting in midway through. :)

Sword Art Online PV2 ソードアート・オンライン

The PV2 of Sword Art Online is now available for viewing on Youtube. :)  Hmmm... LiSA still hasn't grown on me and I don't really like the OP by her.  I'll probably watch a bit of it since the soundtrack is by Kajiura Yuki.

K... back to work. :)

click me for the anime's official website.

Minna no Uta - Moonfesta - PV - Kalafina version

I just found this on youku. :)  Looks like it's been out for a while.  The full song and the Kalafina version of the PV. Nice. :) Am really looking forward to getting my single. BTW, CDJapan will be giving out postcards with First Press releases. I don't know what they look like but freebies are always welcomed. :)

As usual, please buy the CDs if you can afford it.  :)

You can get them from a number of places but I usually get mine from CDJapan and the CDJapan links are here:
Limited Edition with DVD, Regular Edition, Limited Edition with Blu-ray

K... back to work... lunch break's over. :)

p.s. here's hoping the youku video embedding works... my first time. :)

p.p.s. hmmmm... looks like the vid got hauled off youku.... too bad. :( (edit 28th June 2012)

FictionJunction - distance (Gundam SEED HD ending)

 (thanks for uploading it... and here's hoping it stays on youtube and doesn't get pulled too soon) 

Oh coooool!!!! Looks like FictionJunction has as new song called Distance. This is the ending theme for the Gundam Seed HD anime. From what I can gather from listening to it on my crappy earphones at work, it seems to be anchored by Wakana and Kaori again.

Sounds nice, quite Kajiura Yuki sounding but I'm not complaining. In my opinion, Kajiura Yuki is an auteur and it's precisely because I like her personal creative vision and I like what she does to make her music "her's" that I'm a fan of Kajiura Yuki / FictionJunction / Kalafina. My fingers are crossed for a singles release, or better yet, an album release.

And my fingers are also crossed for the tickets to Kajiura Yuki Vol. 9 live. We only managed to get Day 1 tickets in the fan club members draw. I'm really bummed about it and would be hugely disappointed if I can't get tickets for Day 2 and 3 especially since all my travel plans are already fixed and I can no longer change my plane ticket. :( Sigh... :(

Wish me luck. :)

p.s. Also, Sony Music Japan has now created an English Facebook page.  Since Kalafina's under Sony Music Enteratianment, it'll probably mean that it'll be easier for non-Japanese fans to get info on their upcoming releases etc.  Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/SMEJ.international

Kajiura Yuki Live Vol.8 - goods at CDJapan

Yeah... I know I haven't been blogging  :( ... lots of things I would like to talk about including the AFA Malaysia and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha but I've been very tired lately and not in the mood to blog because it's more strenuous than surfing the internet.

I just saw this when I checked my RSS feed from CDJapan, so I thought I'll put it up for anyone who is interested.  Apparently, Kajiura Yuki's Live Vol.8 goods are now available on sale at CDJapan.  I don't know when they started popping up for sale, I only just found out myself.

Here are the links to some of them (click the photo for the link):



This is the concert pamphlet which really is more of a little book than a pamphlet.  I did a short write up of it with pix etc in an earlier post... click me to go to that post.



I actually kind of like these t-shirts when I saw it at the live.  This is the concert shirt, the shirt I bought in the end is the Tokyo Day 2 shirt  I kind of like the Ivory shirt more.  These shirts are really tempting me this time.  I chose not to get these shirts in March because I decided to get the Kajiura Yuki produced wooden spoons instead which kind of sucked up my budget for concert goods spending, hence no concert shirt.  I like these though... really quite nice... hmmmmm....

For those who like the Ladies cut, they also have these with the Ladies cut but I hate Ladies cut so I always get the men's.



There there are the towels, book cover and key chain.  The towel, I kind of like.  I don't really use them except as sort of a "curtain" over my bookshelves in my room.  I could use another one but then I will be going to the concert in July so I'm less keen to get this one.

The book cover actually looked kind of nice when I saw it in someone's hand in March.  I didn't take an close up look so I can't really be sure what material it is made of... but it really looked nice in the other guy's hand.

As for the key chain, it's okay.  Not my thing and I don't know what I'll do with yet another key chain.  This is one of the few things that don't tempt me. :)

K... I'm going to leave it as that today... maybe if I manage to get in a lot of quality rest, I'll get around to writing about the AFA Malaysia etc... but for now... I'm off... think I'll sleep really early tonight.  Oyasumi.

Kalafina's Minna no Uta - Moonfesta CD cover art

I'm pretty tired so I'm pretty much going to just keep it really short.

Here are the bigger versions of the cover art for the soon to be released Moonfesta single.  Looks quite different from Kalafina's usual cover art.  Not bad. :)



From Left to Right:
Limited Edition with DVD, Regular Edition, Limited Edition with Blu-ray

According to Sony Music Entertainment, they will be giving out postcards with the single and I think there are different versions of it.

I'm not sure if those who purchase online and at CDJapan, get any of these postcards though.

K... going to bed... too tired today.  Oyasumi!!

Minna no Uta - Moonfesta - Kalafina / Kajiura Yuki tv version

Moonfesta Tv size from Ekinatsu on Vimeo.

Oh... got to do this quick... while waiting for stuff to load at work, I did a search for Moonfesta and got a hit on Vimeo.  Cool!!!  This is the Minna no Uta version with animation.  It's quite a cute song.  I really rather what I've heard at this point in time.

Okay... got to go... a lot to do at work. :)

cheers

Minna no Uta magazine - Moonfesta w/ Kajiura Yuki / Kalafina

Oh... man... I am such a liar  =P ... last post before I sleep :) .... I should stop checking stuff out before I sleep. Apparently, NHK also publishes magazines for Minna no Uta. Now, I really don't know the exact contents of this magazine but I think it's likely to be the lyrics and the score or something of that sort.

Here is the link to the NHK Minna no Uta page about this publication and the CD Japan link for those who wish to purchase it. And here is the direct link to the various versions of the Moonfesta single for those who wish to purchase them.... CD Regular Edition, CD Limited Edition (DVD), CD Limited Edition (Blu-ray).

Okay... now I am definitely going to bed. :)

Kalafina - Moonfesta CM

I was going to shutdown and go to bed when I saw this on my FB feed. The CM for Moonfesta, Kalafina's soon to be released single for Minna no Uta. Oh man... I really like it. It's so breezy and happy and the harmony sounds pretty nice. The CD covers look like kind of nice, even though they are kind of small, so I can't really tell. But it all looks so nice and happy to me. :) I'm really looking forward to the release of this single. :) Alrighty... now... I really must go to bed. Good night!!!! :)

Anime Festival Asia - Malaysia - recap 1

I will probably write a fuller, more detailed post sometime this week.  I just got back after a pretty eventful trip so am a little tired and am hoping to get to bed early so that I can go back to work refresh and energized tomorrow.

For some reason, I just could not get Blogger-Droid to post from my Samsung Galaxy S2 which kind of sucks because it meant that I had to use Bloggeroid which isn't a bad app but it did mean that I had no control over the size of the photos being uploaded to the blog.  I guess since I was mobile blogging, it would help me save on cost but since I had a cap on the per day data roaming charges on my phone, uploading large sized photos was actually not such a big deal for me.

Anyway, I think I will just upload the photos of the AFAMY Festival shirts as well as the AFAMY Kalafina shirts and also re-upload the larger size photos of the autographed poster and the autographed CD.

Okay... a bit more about my experience at the AFA.

Autograph session:

We were kind of lucky during the AFAMY this year.  Before we left for Malaysia, all we knew was that we had won 2 autographed posters but after the concert we found out that Kalafina was also going to be signing CDs of the After Eden album that were bought at the AFA itself.  I hesitated for a while since I already own the After Eden album but then I caved and bought the CD so that I could get it autographed.  I'm really happy I decided to do that because I was able to meet Kalafina twice because during the happy confusion, I ended up queuing up to get my CD signed and then queuing up again to collect the poster.  I didn't realise then that I could have gotten my CD signed at the same time as I got my pre-signed poster from them.  I am definitely NOT complaining because that meant that I got to meet them up-close twice in the space of 15 minutes.  Pretty awesome. :)

This time I managed a lot more than two words.  Instead of just "konnichiwa" and "arigatou", I managed to splutter out several sentences in horrible Japanese. :)  It's all a blur but I managed to say stuff like how much I really liked Kalafina and that I was from Singapore and that I had seen them at AFA 2011 in Singapore and that I hoped that they would come to Singapore again.  I seriously don't remember a lot of the details... it was all very overwhelming for me.  I'm really not very good at these things at all. :)

I was actually really lucky and I really have to thank Jessie.  I was in an excited blur after the awesome live performance from Kalafina and I did not have a clue that Kalafina was going to be signing CDs.  We had not gone to the Sony booth earlier in the day and hence, didn't get that bit of information on the brochure.  It was also not very well publicized and was not on the AFA website or on their twitter feed, at least I didn't see it in either.

We had won 2 autographed posters and everyone decided that it would be Jessie who would accompany me for the signing session.  Jessie noticed that our queue was not moving at all but that people were walking away with autographed CDs.  I was initially skeptical because I remembered that the AFA website had said that the artists will only sign the posters.  Jessie decided to go up and ask the organizers if Kalafina was signing CDs and they told Jessie that they were indeed signing CDs that were purchased at the festival.  Initially, I was hesitant to purchase a copy of an album I already own but as they walked by with the CDs, I caved and decided to buy it and then several people around me decided to purchase them too.  As we were waiting, both Jessie and I got worried and asked one of the staff on duty if I had to stand in a separate line if I wanted my CD signed.  He replied yes, I think you had better stand in that line over there and then come back and re-join the queue for the posters.  So I ran over since that line was getting really short and I got worried that they were going to close the CD autograph session because there was a sense of urgency in the staff member's voice.  Several people around me also left the poster line to join the CD line and we all got to meet Kalafina twice... pretty awesome. :)

I was on an adrenaline rush and actually started chatting quite animatedly to two rather nice Kalafina fans from Malaysia. that were standing in the CD line behind me.  I'm usually not terribly sociable and rarely strike up conversations with strangers but the adrenaline was really pumping through my system and I think I must have looked like I was intoxicated or something. :)

Another thing that was really unexpectedly lucky for me was that I was wearing a t-shirt with a goofy message in Japanese.  The t-shirt basically said "I love money" in Japanese and it actually caught Keiko's attention and she was really tickled by it.  So was Wakana who also noticed it after Keiko made a comment about it.  I really don't quite remember what they said since by that time I was in fan-girl heaven so it was pretty much a blur to me by then.  Hahahaha... gosh, I'm really bad at stuff like that.... hahaha...



After that very heady moment in my life, I returned to the queue to re-join Jessie who also started to get excited as we approached the table to collect our posters.  These posters were pre-signed and all Kalafina did was present them to us.  This time there wasn't much time to chat but they did recognise me again because of my shirt and I managed to thank them again.  And before I knew it, the minders had ushered us all away.



It was a pretty awesome night for me and I really don't know if I would ever be lucky enough to experience this again.  I know that I am already very fortunate and I am really grateful that I've been able to experience so many great moments in my life. :)

After Jessie and I re-joined the other 4 people who had attended the anisong concert with us, we walked back across the bridge that joined Hall 1 and Hall 2 to the rest of the PWTC and we noticed that some people had stolen all three Kalafina posters that had been hanging on the ceiling.  They were the only artist, at least at that point in time, who's posters had all been stolen.  I guess that must really say something about how popular they are. :)

Des, Danielle and Jessie wanted to have supper and so we headed out to have some pretty good Malaysian Indian food.  I was exhausted by then.  I had only 3 hours of sleep that day and the excitement of the anisong live plus the autographed session was being to really tire me out.  I sampled all the food, which was all really good, but I didn't eat much because as the adrenaline drained itself from my body, I started to crash and I slept in the car all the way back to Danielle's house after supper. :)

Here are the photos of the t-shirts.  I wish I shot better photos but am too tired to re-try tonight.  Maybe I'll shoot better ones and post them up later.  For now... here you go. :)



I really wanted the black Kalafina shirts because I really don't like white shirts very much.  But all sizes of the black shirts sold out by 11am on Day 1 of the festival and we weren't able to get there till about 1pm that day so... yeah... I was a little bummed about that.  But since I'm already fortunate enough to be able to attend the Live and win the autograph posters, I really can't complain. :)

That's it for now.  Will write more about anisong Day 1 in a later post and also write about Day 2 and then my overall impressions of AFAMY in another post and maybe post up some photos of the food I ate during this trip..  For now... time to go to bed. :) Oyasuminasai!! :)

Malaysia trip day 3 - Tadaima :)

am back in Singapore on a cab back home... it was a pretty fun trip. :) more in another post... :) maybe on another day.

Malaysia trip day 3

today we leave Malaysia for home in Singapore.

i had a great time at the anisong concerts.

will write up something after i return.

for now... ittekimasu. :)

Malaysia trip - AFA - day 2 - 2

waiting for day 2 of the anisong event to begin.

today, i am here for Flow.

i did stop to take a photo of the stage. this is he stage Kalafina performed on last night and i was 7 rows from the front and in the center section... saw all their faces quite clearly. really fun. :)

Malaysia trip day 2 - AFA - 1

we are back at the anime festival asia today. we had another late start cuz we were so tired from last night. all of us slept in till about 11am and by the time we returned to the festival it was about 2pm.

we did a little shopping, saw some cosplay and now just resting.... probably get some dinner soon and then more anisong tonight. :)

Malaysia trip - AFA - day 1 - 4

here is the photo of my autographed poster. :) happy. :)

they sang 7 songs today... i was hoping they would sing more... still it was pretty decent. :)

here is the setlist:
Magia
Lacrimosa
Kimi ga hikari ni kaete yuku
Sprinter
Destination unknown
Ongaku
To the beginning

i loved it... i really like the live version of "to the beginning" now... better than the studio version. :)

k... time to sleep... am lying in bed in my friend's house now... good night. :)

Malaysia trip - AFA - day 1 - 3

i am really tired but super happy. i managed to meet Kalafina twice in one day. they were signing CDs as well as giving out signed posters for autograph winners.

i managed to say more than two words but a lot of it is a blur. they liked my t-shirt... i didn't expect that... awesome... so happy... will talk more about the concert in another post or maybe after i return to Singapore....

they were great!!! started a little shaky ... once again the mixing started out kind of not great... overall volume a bit too loud hence distorting the sound slightly... still they sounded awesome good and i loved their performance.

k ... need to get back to being socialble... out with some friends now. :)

Malaysia trip - AFA - day 1 - 2

excited.... waiting for concert to begin. :)

Malaysia trip AFA day 1

taking a break from AFA :)

i had to try a new blogging software for my android... lost what i wrote previously. :(

anyway... long story short... v hot... a little tired...

we came kinda late... long story... maybe will post about it in another post.

cuz we were late we could'nt get the black Kalafina shirts. :( i did get the white shirt though... so better than nothing. got the festival shirt too.

photos of the shirt later in another post. later... drinking coffee now. :)

Malaysia trip day 1

it's really early in the morning and i am really sleepy. i only had 3 hrs of sleep. here's hoping i have enough energy for day 1 of AFA Malaysia and Kalafina tonight. :)

Anime Festival Asia - Malaysia - Kalafina has arrived

The AFA Facebook page released a photo of the 3 members of Kalafina arriving in Malaysia last night. :)  I'm getting quite excited. :)

There will probably be more photos this evening because there is a public press event at Low Yat Plaza in KL.  I won't be attending sadly because I am not scheduled to fly to Malaysia till tomorrow morning.  By the time they announced this press event, it was too late for me to even consider trying to make plans to go because my plan tickets have been booked and leave would have been hard to schedule.

That's kind of a "zannen" moment for me because I think photography would be allowed at this press event, since it's at a mall, unlike the meet and greet during AFA on Saturday.

Ah well, I've been lucky with the autographs, so I can't complain too much. :)

The AFA people have also opened a new website which they call a "channel" and I think it's for all AFAs both this one in Malaysia and the subsequent ones in the future.  I'm not sure but since the url doesn't say Malaysia specifically, I think they'll probably use it for the future as well.  Here is the link.  There is a page on Kalafina with a new write-up. Here is that link.

K... I have to get back to work and work very hard.  I can't leave the studio late today.  Have to prep for the trip... I haven't packed yet!! :)

photo courtesy of AFA

Anime Festival Asia - Malaysia - Autograph Results

AFA Malaysia is almost here. :)  This Saturday morning, I will be flying into Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to attend the 2 day anime festival.  I'm primarily there for the anisong events since I don't cosplay and none of the stage events really interest me this time.

The biggest reason why I'm going is for Kalafina, of course. :)  This time, there will be 6 of us attending anisong on the first day and 3 of us attending the anisong events on the second day.  Of the 6 of us, 4 of us like Kalafina :)  while one other is probably there for Flow and the other one is there for the experience.  Luckily for me Flow is not on the same day as Kalafina so I was able to convince everyone to select Kalafina as the artist they hope to win the autograph from and in the end, out of our 6 tickets, only 2 tickets won the draw for Kalafina's autograph on the first day.  Of the other four tickets, one went to Aimi, one more to Kurosaki Maon and our other two tickets won nothing. :(  Still... I am very happy we managed to get Kalafina and two autographs too. :)  I was hoping for all and then I would try and convince the other two non-Kalafina fans to pass me their posters so that I could give them as gifts to Megumi and Itsuko but sadly, we didn't manage to win that many. (Link to the AFA autograph results page)

I'm not sure if we will be able to meet Kalafina or if these posters will be pre-signed.  I'm hoping we can meet them but it seems like that may not happen because the instruction on the AFAMY page is that winners are to collect the posters from the AFA booth after the concert and not from the autograph booth.  Last year, at the AFA in Singapore, I collected my autograph from the autograph booth and managed to meet the three members of Kalafina in person. It was quite a fan-girl moment for me and I only managed two words to each of them.  I was hoping that I would have the chance to improve by at least going up to three words each. :D  Kidding. :D More likely, I would be overwhelmed again. :)

I have been sort of listening to BayFM's Kalafina Club these past two weeks.  During last week's radio broadcast, Keiko was unable to speak very much because she had her wisdom tooth extracted, I think it was a day or two, before the recording.  During this week's broadcast, Keiko has yet to fully recovered.  I'm not sure how far in advance they tape these programs, but I really do hope that Keiko will have recovered by AFAMY, not just for the fans but also for her sake and for Kalafina's sake.  I'm sure she'll not find it much fun to be at an event and be unable to perform her best and if Keiko's not at her best, I can't imagine that Wakana and Hikaru will find it much fun too.  Gambatte and get well soon, Keiko!!  While I don't think she or any one of the members of Kalafina and their staff will ever read my well wishes... it's cool... I think thinking good thoughts and wishing good thoughts is just as good. :)

Alrighty, time to go get some rest.  I've been roto-ing a rather taxing shot these past few days and I'm kind of tired.  That's it for now... when I am freer or in a mood, I'll do the Nanoha Portable un-boxing this week.  If not, maybe the next time you hear from me will be when I am in Malaysia where I hope to do a little mobile blogging. :)  Good night. :)

Magical Girl Nanoha Portable - Lyrical Box - tease

I received this as a gift two nights ago. :) Cool!!! :) I have yet to watch nanoha but I was happy to get the set cuz of the figma figure. This is not a new release. I think it is a 2010 release (link is to the regular edition) so my friend was able to buy it at a fraction of the original cost. I would still like to do an unboxing cuz this is quite a nice set and also cuz I like doing unboxings. But we'll see. There are a ton of things I would like to get done before things heat up at work again. That's it for now. Off to enjoy the rest of my commute to work. :)