Japan 2013 ~ Nokogiriyama, Chiba

I am now on a Shinkansen on my way to Nikko. So I thought I would attempt to blog. :)

I have tons of photos but they are mostly on facebook now. Unfortunately, I had to spam all my friends' walls because my phone is so unstable now and my dropbox is maxed out. So they are on FB for safe keeping for now.

We were very fortunate that the 27th and 28th typhoon to hit Japan barely touched Tokyo and left Chiba the day before our scheduled trip to Nokogiriyama.

This was a trip that I wanted to make 2 years ago but failed to make it because I fell ill in Tokyo.

It was a gorgeous day to be out on the mountain but you have to have a certain amount of fitness to do it comfortably.

Anyway, I will write more when I get back...I just wanted to write a short post because I am really happy I finallt made it there. :)

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Japan trip 2013 - Kalafina Cafe p1

I am fighting with my phone everyday...so it looks like my plan to keep a detailed mobile blog of the trip is pretty much shot.

Anyway... I really want to write this cuz I am pretty happy that i made it to the kara no kyoukai: mirai fukuin x kalafina cafe at the ufotable cafe at Nakano, Tokyo.

Here is a photo of the postcard i got for ordering the "keiko" drink. The other drink in the photo is the "hikaru" drink ordered by my friend. I ordered the "keiko" drink cuz in part because she is my favourite and also because her drink really suits my taste. It is ginger ale which i really like. :)

Okay...a more detailed write up and photos will follow after i return...hopefully this uploads okay and my phone doesnt crash for the 500th time today.

posted from Bloggeroid

Japan trip 2013 ~ Kalafina calendar 2014

My phone is still v unstable so it is impossible to blog regularly or as detailed as i would have liked. :(

Anyway...for Kalafina fans again...I bought the Kalafina calendar from Kotobukiya in Akihabara on Monday. I thought of shooting photos of each page but decided to only do that after i get back.

I got a postcard with it. :) Here are the few photos that I shot. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Japan trip 2013 ~ aside

My phone got wet in the rain the other day and is completely wonky now. It makes going online really difficult because it keeps restarting. I can't even take photos sometimes. This makes me sad cuz it is hard to fb, mobile blog, message friends and family etc.

Anyway...a little something for those who like Kalafina.

This is the postcard that comes with the Kalfina Consolation Live photobook if u buy it from Animate.

I will try and blog...but it will bw sporadic at best I think. :(

posted from Bloggeroid

Japan trip 2013 ~ day 1 & 2 - p3

We decided not to go to the family restaurant but go stand in line in the queue for the fish auctions at Tsukiji. When we got to th location, there was already several people in line which really surprised us since were there at 330am which is pretty early since u can only view the auction at 525am.



They started to let us into the holding at approximately 4am and since we were in the first group, we were handed green vests.



We were really tired and sleepy so we sat on the floor and dozed off for for a while till about 5pm then we got ready. And soon after they brought us into the auction area to watch the auctions. Really interesting.

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Japan trip 2013 ~ day 1 & 2 - p2

I am on an express bus to Ibaraki so I have some time to blog. :)

Because one of travel companions could not get tix on a later flight, we had to take the 3pm to Haneda. So we planned to put our bags in the lockers at Tokyo Station and look for a 24hr family restaurant to rest for a few hours.



After some trouble and approaching a few people we managed to find a 24hrs McDonald's where we had a rather not very Japanese meal for our first meal in tokyo. :)



However, this 24hrs McD kicked us out at 2am because although it was open 24hrs, they only do takeaways from 2am till sometime late in the morning.

So we decided to go to Tsukiji to try and catch the fish auction. We had to take a cab and after we got there we went to stand in line.The cab driver was a sweet guy who was worried that we were way too early and took us to a family restaurant at Tsukiji to rest instead. We checked out the Lawson's nearby but the Madoka collaboration hasn't started yet.



I did buy some pocky and gum. This pocky looks good!!



...to be continued.
P.s. I ran out of battery when trying to publish this :( ...the photos may not show up properly...if they dont i will fix it after i return.

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Japan trip 2013 ~ Day 1 & 2 - p1

I am in Japan now. It has been a very long and crazy day... V tired but v fulfilling day.

We saw the maguro auction at tsukiji, ate at sushi daiwa, met manami, went to the hanabi festival at enoshima...tiring but fun. :)

Falling asleep...maybe write more tme. :) night :)

Kalafina's official blog updated ~ Kimi no Gin no Niwa

Super quick... I need to get back to work.

Kalafina's official website has updated its look in anticipation of the soon to be screened Mahou Shoujo Madoka: Rebellion movie and the Nov release of their new single.

Here's the link for the website. Click me.

And don't forget... support and buy if u can afford.

Kimi no Gin no Niwa Limited Edition w/Blu-ray (BD will contain the PV of the theme song)
Kimi no Gin no Niwa Limited Edition w/DVD (DVD will contain the PV of the theme song)
Kimi no Gin no Niwa Anime Limited Edition (limited time release, till Feb 2014)
Kimi no Gin no Niwa Regular Edition

cheers!!

Otona no Kagaku vol. 40

This post isn't about Kajiura Yuki, FictionJunction or Kalafina. :)  Instead, this will be about the Otona no Kagaku magazine which I am a big fan of too.  Although I really like this magazine, I have to budget how I spend my money and Otona no Kagaku often takes second place to my obsession with Kajiura Yuki's music and anime.  Hence, although I would love to buy a ton more of these, I only have bought 3 of them, including this volume.

This volume looks incredibly cool and does touch on one of the great loves of my life...cinema. :)  Although I am not a Tokusatsu fan, I grew up watching Godzilla and Ultraman type films and they were great.  Vol.40 of Otona no Kagaku is about filming miniatures and I'm not a graduate from film school for nothing.  I was immediately filled with a burning desire to try and shoot something on this camera and shoot silly low budget monster movies of my own.  I'm sure the quality of this camera won't be amazing but what I like about it is how small it is and the way it is constructed.

It is selling in Kinokuniya in Singapore for about SGD66 but since I'm going to Japan, I ordered it from CDJapan and have instructed that it be shipped to my hotel.  I would like to do an unboxing of this item actually because Otona no Kagaku isn't exactly the most popular magazine out there and not many people seem to have done too many unboxings of this awesome mook.  It usually gets more popular when it is offering one of the put-it-together plastic cameras and that was how I found out about this magazine.

I will try and do an unboxing post after I get back from Japan.  I'll have a ton of stuff to work on for the blog...hopefully I will get to them all.  I often fail these days, we really are extremely busy at work, but I'll try nonetheless, because I enjoy doing them. :)

Anyway... for more photos on this item, head over to Amazon Japan... click me.  If you rather shop through CDJapan, click me for the direct link to the product page.

cheers

Mahou Shoujo Madoka CM3 ~ previewing Kalafina's "misterioso" :)

Okay guys... watch this ASAP because I don't know how long this may stay online.



The new insert song sounds nice.  The kind of thing I like from Kajiura Yuki. :)

I really have to rush to get ready for work... so that's if from me....except the usual... plz support them by buying the CDs if you can afford.  BTW... CDJapan updated their site the other day to say that First Press releases get 2 postcards.. Kalafina version and Madoka version.

Kimi no Gin no Niwa Limited Edition w/Blu-ray (BD will contain the PV of the theme song)
Kimi no Gin no Niwa Limited Edition w/DVD (DVD will contain the PV of the theme song)
Kimi no Gin no Niwa Anime Limited Edition (limited time release, till Feb 2014)
Kimi no Gin no Niwa Regular Edition

cheers. :)

[Edit:  Oh... no worries... the official madoka website is streaming both the 15sec and 30sec "misterioso" version...so if this goes down... go here... click me] :)

Kalafina's official website ~ streaming Alleluia's CM

http://www.kalafina.jp/

Gosh... the render is taking really long... so I thought I might as well update the blog real quick.

I didn't realise that Kalafina's official website updated their look to promo the just released "Alleluia" single.  It's also streaming in a little window, the CM for Alleluia, using images from Kara no Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin.

I'm not sure when they updated the website since I don't always visit their homepage.  It's cool to be able to watch the CM with the KnK footage. :)

I really can't wait for the BD release of this anime, I really want to watch it. :)

Don't forget to buy these singles if you can afford them. :)

Regular Edition

Limited Anime Edition

cheers :)

Mahou Shoujo Madoka: Rebellion ~ NicoNico Special

(source: Sony Music)

Also, real quickly... Sony Music also announced that there will be a special program commemorating the release of the 3rd Mahou Shoujo Madoka movie.  It will be on the 26th Oct at 10pm (Japan standard time).  You can log into your Nico Nico account and request a time shift and it can be viewd on mobile devices.  I'll have to remember to time shift it and as I'll be in Japan... I think I'll only be able to watch it on my mobile phone.

Kalafina will make an appearance in this special.

here's the url on Nico Nico:

http://live.nicovideo.jp/gate/lv154596179

Okay... I have to go... very little time for lunch now. :P

cheers

Kalafina ~ Kimi no Gin no Niwa cover art ~ released

Oh yeah!!! The cover art for Kalafina's soon to be released singke "Kimi no Gin no Niwa" has been released by both Sony Music and Kalafina's official webpage.  It looks very Kalafina. :)

I'm stealing time from lunch so I will keep this as short as possible. :)

Both the DVD and BD Limited Editions will contain the music video and come with a wide cap illustrated sticker for the Mahou Shoujo Madoka: Rebellion movie which will open on the 26th Oct. :)

DVD Limited Edition

Blu-ray Limited Eidtion

The Anime Limited Edition will have the following digipack jacket and will also include the Precious Memories Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika PR card (Kalafina) in the first press release ONLY.  These illustrations were released earlier.  Click ME.

Anime Limited Edition

The Regular Edition will just have the CD itself.

Regular Edition

If this follows what they've been doing most of their releases in the past 2 or so years, then we can expect to see individual photos of each vocalist in each of the editions except the Anime LE.  Probably, Keiko in RE, Wakana in DVD LE and Hikaru in BD LE.

I've pre-ordered all of them and will unbox them all but it'll all have to wait this I get back to Singapore in early Nov. :)  [EDIT: wait... I messed up. :P  I mixed up their release date with Alleluia which I still don't have yet. Alleluia is still in Japan waiting for me. :)  This single will be released on 6th Nov, after I return from Japan...so I'll only get these in the mail. :) ]

BTW... I will try and mobile blog while I am in Japan...so if anyone is interested in my trip... u can follow along. :)

Alright... last but not least... please purchase these if you can afford it. :)

Kimi no Gin no Niwa Limited Edition w/Blu-ray (BD will contain the PV of the theme song)
Kimi no Gin no Niwa Limited Edition w/DVD (DVD will contain the PV of the theme song)
Kimi no Gin no Niwa Anime Limited Edition (limited time release, till Feb 2014)
Kimi no Gin no Niwa Regular Edition

(update 8th Oct)
p.s. CDJapan has also updated their product pages, First Press releases will get postcards.  Apparently, some b&m stores like Animate in Japan get posters...lucky guys!!

Kara no Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin ~ Kalafina Cafe

I am almost giddy with excitement to find out that there will be another Kalafina Cafe this year. :) And the biggest reason for my happiness is that I will be in Tokyo during this period and there is a possibility that I could actually attempt to go to this Kalafina Cafe.

This time the cafe will not be at the Parco in Shibuya but will be at the ufotable cafes themselves. I have actually been to the ufotable cafe in Tokyo so I know how to go to this Kalafina Cafe which helps since my schedule is now pretty packed.

Since this is not at Parco and is being run by the ufotable cafe, I really don't know how big a push this would be for Kalafina but I am excited nonetheless. Now I just have to convince my travel companions to accomodate one of my more otaku requests again. :p

Anyway...am mobile blogging which makes it hard to read the announce and write out the details...I remember they wrote something about having clothing and cds on sale...but don't remember the other details. I will fill it out later tonight. :) Fingers crossed. :)

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Theatrical Version Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Battle Pentagram ~ listed

The soon to be released Sony Vita game for Mahou Shoujo Madoka is now listed on CDJapan.  This is the second Mahou Shoujo Madoka game on the vita and it's scheduled for a mid-Dec release.

Now, I'm quite keen to get it, since in an effort to improve my Japanese, I've started playing mostly Japanese video games.  My Japanese is still weak, in my opinion, and I have very little time to do my homework so I have to fine ways that I find enjoyable and do-able for me to try and at least keep at it.  Since I have to travel for approximately 1 hour to and from work everyday, this is the perfect window of opportunity to play handhelds

My loving parents gave me a very early birthday gift of an 3DS earlier this year and I have been playing Animal Crossing and Youkai Watch and a tiny bit of Time Travelers.  Animal Crossing uses a lot of keigo and some strange Japanese and a lot of katakana, so at times, I do find it a little trying.  Youkai Watch is much easier for me and quite fun too.  My only real problem is my weak vocabulary which means quite a bit of dictionary work.

Okay, enough of that aside. :)  I did play parts of the first Mahou Shoujo Madoka game on the vita and even have an unboxing post of the LE set.  Check this post. :)  But there is a lot of story in the Madoka game which I would like to understand better... so I put it aside for when I get better at Japanese.

Still, I intend to but this 2nd Madoka game on the vita.  I am a big Madoka fan and this particular LE release is also suppose to come pack with a soundtrack CD which I am hoping will be more Kajiura Yuki music... but the lack of any actual information makes me wonder if it could be something else all together.  Still, I want to play this game and even though I am certain it will not have any furigana, I would still like to try.  I'll most likely pre-order this and when I do get it, I'll unbox it. :)

For those who are keen on getting this game too... you can click here for the CDJapan product page for:

Limited Edition  (this is what you'll get with the LE click me)
Regular Edition

cheers