Kalafina ~ Kimi no Gin no Niwa - unboxing

This is another quality work from Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina.  Really good songs that make good use of Kalafina's greatest strengths.  Kimi no Gin no Niwa has the lightheartedness of Moonfesta but without the feeling of being at a festival.  The opening with Hikaru in the lead and Keiko and Wakana sounding like tiny bells in the background is simply lovely.  And of course I love Keiko's solo near the 3min mark. :P  It's a really lovely song and I was fortunate enough to be one of those who heard it play loud and clearly on quality speakers in a cinema in Japan and it sounded so good then and still does now even on my not very large desk top speakers.

But the song that I really, really like in this single is Tsuioku.  This is really Kalafina at their best and very close to their Kara no Kyoukai roots.  They harmonize beautifully in this song to sound mysterious and ethereal, yet at the same time strong and forceful.  It's like they are right there... singing but when you reach out to catch the notes, they become elusive and pull away.  Tsuioku is a particularly good song and currently this is my favourite song in the single and I have had this and Kimi no Gin no Niwa on loop since last night.

My favourite part in Tsuikou is of course the part when Keiko's vocals is the most prominent just after the 3 min mark.  :)  I really have always liked her parts the most in a Kalafina song.  Even before I knew who Kalafina was and back when I was only a casually interested in Kajiura Yuki's music, I accidently discovered Kalafina's songs just after they released the Red Moon album, every single time I listened to their songs, I would catch myself waiting for the moment the contralto sings.  Weeks later when I had been well and truly infected by the Kajiura Yuki virus, I went and read up more about Kajiura Yuki, FictionJunction and Kalafina and then it was then that I knew that the contralto is Keiko.  Till today, while I love all the vocalists in Kalafina, I still find myself waiting for Keiko's moments, whether it's when her voice rings out loud and clear or whether it's simply her singing a counter melody or even when she's merely shadowing behind Hikaru or Wakana.  I really like Keiko's voice and the way she sings.... I can't get enough. :)

Misterioso is the 3rd song on this single and it's okay.  But sounds more like something that was written to be an instrumental in an anime and then had lyrics written to it to make it a song.  Kajiura Yuki has done that several times before.  These songs aren't bad and I like them enough.  So while I think Misterioso and these kinds of song aren't bad, they usually don't end up being my favourite ones.

For some reason, I always end up doing these unboxing posts so late at night... arrrgggh... need to dash through them again.  So without too much ado... here are the photos.

First up... the postcards that come with the First Press release.  This time we get TWO postcards.  NICE!! :)



Regular Edition:

 

And yes, this time I decided to also get the Regular Edition because I knew that Keiko's solo photo will be in the RE.  So there it is... a nice close of Keiko's picture to round of the photo set for the RE. =D

And since I was going to get the RE, I decided to just get the whole set and the LE+DVD as well. Previously, I would only get the LE+BD and the LE Anime version if they had that too.  It wouldn't be fair to Wakana if I didn't get the LE+DVD for her solo photo too. =D  Kidding... I really want to support Kajiura Yuki, FictionJunction and Kalafina which is why I am doing this.  =)

Limted Edition + DVD

 

I forgot to shoot photos of the front and back of the LE+DVD with the shrink wrap still on. :(

Limited Edition + Blu-ray



The lyrics page is the same on all three singles so I didn't shoot a photo of it when I shot photos for the Limited Eiditons.

Next up, the Anime Limited Edition...

    

We get two Precious Memories cards with the Anime LE. :)  That's cool... at first I wasn't sure if it was one of two in each Anime LE single and whichever one you get is random.  So it's two cards... nice. :)  I really like the illustration of Akemi Homura on the digipack too. :)

Okay... I need to head of to bed soon... but before I do that... two things.

First, the links again... if you can afford it, please do buy the singles. Here are the links for your convenience.

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

And secondly... I will leave you with these photos of Kalafina. :)  I hope Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina will keep bringing us many, many, many more years of awesome music. :)

 

Good night and I hope you enjoyed my rambling unboxing post. :)