Kalafina ~ believe / Ieiri Leo ~ Silly -- Oricon Charts first week ranking

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Ahhhhh.... OMEDETOU Kalafina!!!  "believe" managed a Top 10 ranking.  :)  I actually was not confident when the week started last week that they could pull it off.  The number of new singles being released and the popularity of the other artistes who were also releasing singles on the same day made me think that it was possible that they would not end the week in the Top 10.  By yesterday (end of 25th Nov) though, I was quite sure they would make it into the Top Ten but I wasn't sure how well they would rank.  They never dropped out of the Top Ten in their debut week so a Top Ten finish was almost assured and in the end,  "believe" closed out the week at No. 10. :)  "believe" was close to a 9th position, it was beaten by Egoist's "Fallen" by a mere 392 copies.

Ieiri Leo ~ "Silly" (Limited Edition / Type B) - unboxing

I decided that after days and days of writing about Kalafina, let's do something else for a change. :) I'm going to do an unboxing post for singer-songwriter Ieiri Leo's latest single "Silly".  I think I never got around to doing an unboxing of her "a boy ~ 3rd live tour" BD because I lent that BD to a friend, who's a HUGE Ieiri Leo fan, soon after I got it and it's still with him. :'(

I really do like Ieiri Leo but unfortunately, she released her single on the same day that Kalafina did and as my pockets don't run that deep, I only picked up the LE/Type B version.  I picked the version that contained the DVD with clips of her performing at various lives through the years.  LE/Type A contains the MV and the making-off and I rather get the live versions because I really enjoy watching her lives.

Kalafina chooses which bit of the lyrics of "believe" they like best

First, just a couple paragraphs on the daily ranking on Oricon....

Well, I always knew an awesome ranking for Kalafina's "believe" would always be hard given the number of big names that were releasing singles on the 19th Nov too, I still want to "believe". :P  Although, they slipped again but they're still in the Top Ten on the 21st Nov Oricon Singles Daily chart.  There is still a good chance, I think, that they'll manage a Top 10 ranking in the first week of release but a Top 5 might be hard.  I think Mr. Children may take the crown for the week but it is Mr. Children, so I'm not surprised.  Let's hope "believe" can stay in the Top Ten for the next few days and then they'll at least have another Top Ten ranked single.  I actually do quite like the songs in this single so I really do hope the single does well.

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Kalafina ~ Animax Musix at Yokohama today & other rambling thoughts

ANIMAXコラボは、なんと！！Kalafinaさんと『Light My Fire』を歌いました！！めっちゃハモってもらった〜♡最高に楽しかったでーす♪ by-KOTOKO #animaxmusix pic.twitter.com/6eZl6RF0S4
— KOTOKO (と、極まれにTマネ君。) (@KOTOKO_Mgr) November 22, 2014

Kalafina performed at Animax Musix in Yokohama this afternoon where they collaborated with KOTOKO to sing "Light My Fire".  KOTOKO posted a photo of herself and Kalafina together backstage.  :)

Kajiura Yuki ~ Hanako to Anne OST 02 - unboxing

Actually, I picked this up ages ago.  I got it in the same package that contained Yuki Kajiura LIVE vol.#11 elemental Tour 2014 2014.04.20 @NHK Hall + Making of LIVE vol.#11.  I just never had time to do the un-boxing which also meant that I have only just finally had some time to listen to it. :)

I originally thought I'll write a post on my comments about Kalafina's newest released "believe" but I think it'll take up too much time and I returned pretty late tonight and am a bit brain dead.  So I thought I'll do a simple un-boxing post.  Something my brain can manage. :P

First up, the photos.  Like the first OST, it's a pretty basic release and does not have photos of Kajiura Yuki.  For the un-boxing of the OST 1, you can CLICK ME.

Kalafina ~ "believe" tops several music distribution charts / debuts Lapis at mini-live

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This is a photo from Wednesday's event at Lazona Kawasaki Plaza.  Kalafina gave a mini commemorative live yesterday to celebrate the release of their latest single "believe".

According to several articles, the specific charts they recorded No.1 positions in are the following... the iTunes Anime Top Album, mora Album (whole album), mora hi-res (single song), and the mora hi-res album (whole album) charts.

Kalafina ~ 「believe」 (Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] single) ~ un-boxing

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to speed through this.  If I have time, I'll come back and talk about the MV and my personal thoughts on the music in another post tomorrow.  But it's past 1am now and I have a ton of photos to upload, so I have to hurry if I hope to sleep by 2am.

Sooooo here goes.... very picture heavy... hopefully, text light. :)

Regular Edition

Kalafina ~ "believe" debuts within Top 10 on the Oricon Daily Charts rank

I had to put in some unexpected OT and got home a lot later than I would have liked so have only just finished shooting photos of the singles.  I'll put them up a separate post after this but first....

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OMEDETOU!!!  Kalafina's "believe" managed to debut at No. 9 on the Oricon Daily chart for 18th Nov 2014. I have to admit that I was not hopeful that they'll rank well because there are a ton of things being released on the 19th.  There are boy bands like Sexy Zone and old school rockers like Mr. Children and Superfly.  There's also Egoist who's "Fallen" is the theme song for another very popular anime "Psycho-Pass Season 2".  And there's Scandal too which is a very popular girl rock band.

Kalafina's comments on "believe" (Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] ending theme)

I'm really excited about Kalafina's newest release.  REALLY EXCITED!  :)  I'm dying for new music from Kajiura Yuki and the trio.  I actually chose Fedex for this shipment and although CDJapan sent the shipping info to Fedex on Sunday evening, I have had no updates on the package on Fedex today (Monday) so it looks like I may not get it tomorrow (Tuesday) as I initially hoped. :'(

So even though I should be writing another article for someone else :P , I decided to delay that for a bit to translate this article about Kalafina and posting it up tonight because I have Kalafina on my mind tonight. =D

Kalafina will not be singing a theme song for Aldnoah.Zero's 2nd cour

【アルドノア・ゼロ】2015年1月より放送開始となる第2クールの主題歌アーティストが決定しました。 OP／SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:mizuki『&Z』 ED／藍井エイル『GENESIS』 http://t.co/OeNyqKkMQX #aldnoahzero
— アルドノア・ゼロ (@aldnoahzero) November 16, 2014

Well, looks like after all that speculation, Kalafina won't be contributing a song for Aldnoah.Zero's 2nd cour which is scheduled to begin broadcast in January 2015.  Instead the OP will be by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:mizuki『&Z』 who also provided the ED for the first cour.  And the ED will now be by Aoi Eir.

Kalafina ~ 『リスアニ！TV 3rd Season』＃33 appearance announce

As I've been doing since ufotable's Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] started screening, I've been catching up on Twitter and trying to do some blogging while I wait for it to start on Niconico.

So I happen to see this pop up on Twitter. :)

【23時から！】「リスアニ！TV 3rd Season」#33、FLOW×GRANRODEOの熱く楽しいトークとKalafinaのゆったりトークをお届け！　http://t.co/c3T0qb7iKg #LisAni #FLOWxGRANRODEO #Kalafina #新田恵海
— Lis_Ani NEWS (@LisAni_NEWS) November 15, 2014

Although, I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to watch it.... let's hope I do find it somewhere online in the future. :)  Truth is I don't really know much about these programs and I'll admit.... I've been a bit tired lately hence, I don't really feel like finding out more right now.... gomen...

Kajiura Yuki ~ to participate in the Sword Art Online: Sing All Overtures event

あ、そうなんです2015/02/01に行なわれるスペシャルイベント、「ソードアート・オンライン Sing All Overtures」に、私も参加させて頂く事になりました(´▽｀)。わくわく。http://t.co/O9I2moQ5ZU
— 梶浦由記 Yuki Kajiura (@Fion0806) November 10, 2014

Kajiura Yuki also announced via twitter today that she will be participating in the Sword Art Online: Sing All Overtures event.

Kajiura Yuki ~ Tsuda College Talk Show - qns accepted but deadline 10th Nov (TODAY!!)

学生さんやみなさまから頂いたご質問中心のトークになるかと思います(^_^)。津田塾大学祭サイトでも質問を募集して下さっております。今日中、で締切ですね。contents→梶浦由記、から質問出来るみたいなので宜しければおよせ下さいませ〜。http://t.co/zNj11oUZ4n
— 梶浦由記 Yuki Kajiura (@Fion0806) November 10, 2014

Kajiura Yuki tweeted this early this afternoon but I only just saw it. :(  Apparently, she was accepting questions at the Tsuda College talk event.  And from her tweet, it looks like she's accepting questions not just from students alone but from everyone (みなさま). Dang it, I guess I didn't read the Tsuda College announce properly. :(  Bummer.

ufotable ~ Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] Blu-ray boxset I - announce & tokuten

The blu-ray boxset of ufotable's adaptation of Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] was announced on the 24th Oct. I was too busy to talk about it then but now I have a little time so I'll talk a little about it. :) The set will go on sale on the 25th March 2015 but can be pre-ordered right now.

 

Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] #05 ~ a few screen caps

I just finished watching the live stream of Ep05 on niconico. :)  I really do like ufotable's art style and the way they tell the story.  Maybe I'm bias, I don't know... but this feels so much more engaging than the first FSN by Studio Deen.

Maybe it's because Emiya Shirou is really a lot less annoying here.  Maybe because so far Tohsaka Rin is still pretty cool and hasn't faded into the background for annoyingly boring Shirou-Saber bonding.  Maybe because of Fate/tweet night, I try to watch the live stream so that I can take part in the event and hence, I feel more excited about it than I normally would.  I don't know why but so far ufotable's FSN[UBW] is very enjoyable and I look forward to more next week.

Kajiura Yuki tweets ~ watching Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] ep05 :)

引き続き Fate / stay nightも見るよヽ(*^^*)ノ！
— 梶浦由記 Yuki Kajiura (@Fion0806) November 8, 2014

Oh.... Kajiura Yuki is also going to be watching tonight's Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] broadcast. :)

Me too... if I can get my niconico stream to work properly tonight.  It's always a little wonky for me and sometimes I don't connect till it begins. Fingers crossed.

ps. In an earlier tweet, she also watched Sword Art Online 2, hence why she wrote "引き続き"... she's continuing on to watch Fate/stay night. :)

Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] - caster

本日24時から「#05 放課後に踊る」が放送開始！ライダーが登場です！25時からのニコ生配信もぜひ http://t.co/mXyQwQUv1C Fate/tweet nightも開催！本日の推奨ハッシュタグは→ #fate05 pic.twitter.com/8LiiqisMVJ
— Fate/stay night (@Fate_SN_Anime) November 8, 2014

The one thing I really like about the way ufotable has been pushing Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] is how they have been using twitter. I have taken part in all the Fate/tweet night events so far but haven't been lucky enough to get a DM with an illustration attached yet. Fingers crossed that I will be able to get one by the end of the series. The other thing that ufotable does which is cool is that they really do post quite a few updates with different screenshots throughout the week. Kind of cool and helps yo drum up excitement. I am out now....hope that I can get back in time to watch the niconico stream tonight. :)
And yes, I am writing this because I am bored. :p
Hopefully we can leave soon. :p

Psycho-Pass Season 2 ~ 2nd PV released :)

This is the official upload, I believe, so there should be no danger of this disappearing from YouTube any time soon. :)  Sometimes these PVs are region locked which is really annoying. :(  Good thing this isn't. :)

Yesterday, on niconico, they held a special event for Psycho-Pass and also began to stream the first 5 eps on niconico too.  To my knowledge, before this, they were only screening the anime on cable TV. But don't take my word for it, I haven't gone to research that point so I may be wrong.  I time-shifted everything so I may watch it later tonight, if I return home early enough from dinner, right before the Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] stream.

Kalafina ~ "heavenly blue" music video for sale - but not for international fans :(

This isn't new news actually.  This was announced on the 5th November but I was sick for a couple of days and the medicine the doctor gave me knocked me out good and proper and I spent most of the last few days home from work and sleeping a lot.  It's probably a good thing too since I often sleep too little. :)

Well.... they finally did announce a way for Kalafina fans to get a high-quality version of the full MV for this song.  Sadly, us international fans will have to jump through hoops to try and do the right thing.

Kajiura Yuki to change FictionJunction's name to FictiouJunction ~ えっ?!? マジで!!!

Yesterday Kajiura Yuki posted a series of tweets about something she had been working on.  And what surprised most fans was that FictionJunction's name was now printed as FictiouJunction.

こんな感じ〜。可愛いだろ〜(￣∇￣*)ゞｴﾍ。 http://t.co/oDjMAC3Rrg
— 梶浦由記 Yuki Kajiura (@Fion0806) November 2, 2014

and this is what it looks like inside.

Kajiura Yuki to hold a talk show at Tsuda College

I remember seeing this quietly posted up on the FictionJunction Club webpage maybe two weeks ago.  Since it's an event I have no chance of attending and also because I was really busy, I didn't really pay a lot of attention to it till Kajiura Yuki wrote a series of tweets yesterday morning regarding this event

もうちょっと先ですが、11月は15日（土）に母校津田塾大学の学園祭にお邪魔してトークショーなど致します。1時間弱なのであっという間だとは思いますが、当然無料なので宜しかったら我が母校の祭りに、遊びにいらして下さいませ(´▽｀)。http://t.co/zNj11oUZ4n
— 梶浦由記 Yuki Kajiura (@Fion0806) November 1, 2014

I didn't know this.  I didn't know that Tsuda College is Kajiura Yuki's alma mater.  Kajiura Yuki will be conducting a talk show at Tsuda College on the 15th November and it'll be a free event and is scheduled to last an hour.  You can check out details of the free event at this link.  CLICK ME.

Perfume WORLD TOUR 3rd Live in Singapore ~ so fun!!

Those who know me well know that even though I'm a total Kajiura Yuki, FictionJunction and Kalafina fan, I also have a pretty eclectic taste in music and I listen to many genres.  I have my favourite genres of course and there are of course genres that I don't particularly like.  For example, I hardly ever listen to grindcore.  Electronic / Techno music isn't my favourite genre but I do like some bands and vocal groups that do specialize in this genre of music and one of them is Perfume. :)

Two years ago, when Perfume first performed in Singapore at Scape, I was one of the people right at the very first row.  At that time, I actually only knew the song "Chocolate Disco".  I was there with friends who really wanted to go and I was very keen to support Japanese music in Singapore and very keen to see more Japanese lives in Singapore, hence the reason why I bought a VIP ticket and queued for hours and hours so as to see Perfume live two years ago.

Kalafina's Keiko and Yuriko Kaida :)

kalafinaにお祝いして頂きました pic.twitter.com/6kEzwyY7UN
— 貝田　由里子 (@yurikokaida) November 1, 2014

And while I'm still waiting for Fate/stay night [UBW] to start... I found this tweet from Yuriko Kaida who has a solo career and also sings for FictionJunction.  I've no idea what this occasion is but I think it's probably a celebration dinner for the recently concluded Kalafina lives.  About 20 mins ago, Yuriko Kaida tweeted a nice picture of  herself and Keiko. :)

Nakata Jouji attended Kalafina's live :)

あぁ、何と素晴らしく贅沢な夜だった事か…梶浦ミュージックをお馴染みの手練れなミュージシャンが紡ぎ、そこをKalafinaの透明だが迫力ある三声が縦横に溶け込んで行く。一夜なのが勿体無いLIVEを堪能。勿論、新曲のBeliveもだ！！ pic.twitter.com/y4cK4jxnCB
— 中田譲治 (@joujinakata123) November 1, 2014

While waiting for the Niconico broadcast of Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] to begin, I fired up twitter so that I can take part in Fate/tweet night. :)   But it's still early so I decided to just catch up on anime news and Kalafina's news and look what Nakata Jouji tweeted about 3 or so hours ago. :)