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Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams. - Yeats

UPDATED: Tong Yao Film & TV guide 25th April 2024

Sunday, July 12, 2015

FictionJunction Club ~ I'm a member now!!! :D

Okay, this will be the final post for tonight because I really don't want to sleep too late.  Need to catch up on more rest from the strain of the last two weeks at work and also because tomorrow, I have a full day out.  I'm not sure if I will be able to blog tomorrow night.  I hope so but for now, please enjoy this final post for the day. :)

Yes.... I can now finally stand up and be counted as one of the proud members of the FictionJunction Club!!!!! :)  I'm really happy and excited about it for some silly reason. :P


The truth is, I have hesitated long and hard over this membership.  I don't actually need it because the biggest advantage this membership gives me is the member pre-general-sales lottery for the lives and my Japanese friend, who is also a fan and who is in the FJC, already helps me with the tickets.  Even with this membership, I will probably still approach her for help because it's very inconvenient and impossible to handle the ticketing thing outside of Japan if you do not have a friend or if you do not use a proxy to help you.
However, over the years I've only become a bigger and bigger Kajiura Yuki, FictionJunction and Kalafina fan and since Kalafina's Budokan lives, I've really wanted to stand up and be counted as one of the fans.  The easiest way to do it is to join the fanclub of course. :)

So one of the things I did when I went to the Yuki Kajiura vol.12 lives was that I signed up for a FJC membership. :)  However, I think I screwed up with my email address because have yet to receive the email announces that the FJC sends out.  I only know about them because my friend gets them and I haven't received any. :'(  It's probably either due to my excitement or my mild suspected-but-never-tested-dyslexia or carelessness or something but I probably wrote my email address wrong.  It's not the first time I've done it, but I did forget to check and I worried about it for weeks after.  And now that I don't have any emails, I'm certain I wrote it wrong. :(  I hope that I at least got my friend's snail mail address correct.  I hope they can read my bad kanji handwriting because I know they sent out a newsletter already so I should be getting at least that.  I'm going to have to email them to ask them to fix my email address.  But I'll need a little time to craft out an email in my broken Japanese and if I have time, ask my Japanese for a little help correcting it before I send it in.  So hopefully I'll get that fixed soon.


Aside from getting a membership card, you'll also receive this phone accessory, at least I think that's what it is.  Sorry, the photo is a little soft.



They also gave out an extra tokuten, at least I think it's extra, at the vol.12 lives.  It's a pin badge and they have several colors, if I remember correctly.  I picked the above.

The other thing I could finally do with the membership is that I can now buy the FJC goods even when my friend isn't with me.  I don't usually like to trouble my friend too much because she's a very busy person, so I rarely buy the FJC goods unless it's something that I desperately want.  This time, with my membership, I bought the ticket pouch. :)

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The above is the announce for the ticket pouch they were offering at this live.  These are quite popular and the previous ones that they produced have all sold out.  I wanted the previous ones too but could not get them.  So I grabbed at the chance to buy this.

I shot several photos of the pouch and will share them with you below.

     

It's pretty cool, isn't it? :)

The pouch has a section for you to stick your tickets in. It also has a slot with a transparent plastic window for you to put your member card in.  And it has another section for you to put some money in.  You can also hang this pouch around your neck.  It's a pretty useful pouch if you attend one of the free standing lives. I was told that you can't bring any bags in to the free standing lives,  So a pouch like this would be quite useful indeed.  Aside from the FJC logo, the words that form the pattern that is the main design of this pouch is "kajiuran".

Okay, that's the last post for now.  I still have several to try and work my way through, including the Ieiri Leo CD unboxings which are horribly late as well as a Suiyobi no Campanella CD unboxing that I would like to do too.  For now, all that will have to wait.  Time to sleep. :)

Oyasumi! :)

10 comments:

putschki1969 said...

*waves*
It's me again. I've really been enjoying all your recent posts! It's great you are finally catching up on all the updates! Your RYB postcard collection is AWESOME btw, that's real dedication ^_^

And YAY for finally being a member of FJC!! BANZAI!!! I want to become one too! T_T

I have a small question that's somehow related to your membership. You mentioned that a friend has previously helped you get concert tickets. Does this mean that this friend of yours can apply for tickets for people who are not members? I am asking because a friend of mine has recently become a member of the club and she just took part in the early FJC member lottery for the 「FOTW」 Special Finals in January. She applied for two tickets but we are both unsure whether or not I'll be able to use my ticket since I am not a member. >_< Hope my question makes sense :P


Maybe I am worrying too much. Seems like you got in everywhere as well so it must work without a membership, right?

Cheers!

just me said...

Hello!!! Thanks for your comments. Hahahaha... RYB postcard collection was worth getting IMO. :P I would love to do it for all their releases but unfortunately, I don't live in Japan and I can't trouble my friends so much all the time. So... I suspect that me getting a full postcard set again won't be soon unless I decide to spend the extra money on using a proxy. :)

Oh!!!! Nice!!! You're trying for tickets to the Jan lives. I'm considering those too. I haven't decided if I should go. I don't have a lot of time to decide tho'. :(

As for the tickets. You should have no problems at all because these aren't FJC lives. Only the FJC lives require the ticket holder to be a member. This was told to me by a friend who has been to the FJC lives. I've never been to a FJC lives, just their usual lives that are open to the public.

You can pass these tickets from the lives to another person, no problem. You can also sell them at cost. But don't sell them for profit. You might run into issues with that.

And yup, I've been to many lives without my friend in accompaniment. She has to work so can't make all the lives that I go to. I've never had a problem. :)

Hope you get tickets. :)

putschki1969 said...

Hey!
Thank for the reply! That's a huge relief!! I really hope we win in the lottery! Do you have any idea what the chances are if you are a FJC member?
It will be my first Kalafina live in Japan, can't tell you how excited I am for it. Once I get the confirmation I'll have to book everything quickly so prices are not too high :P Oh my, I really hope we'll win so we ccan get tickets!

It's too late to try for the fall concerts but I thought I'd give it a try for the Special Finals. I am sure they will be great and I really don't wanna miss out! I am sure it must be quite hard for you to decide whether to go or not. By now you've been at so many concerts and that must have cost a fortune o.O

Oh, it's too bad that you probably won't be getting anymore full postcard sets. it's really inconvenient if you don't live in Japan T_T

Once again, thanks for the reply!
Cheers!

just me said...

Yup!! Hope you win the lottery too!! I think the chances aren't too bad. A large percentage of FJC fans do win the lottery to purchase tickets. There is a chance you might fail to get tickets of course but the chances of winning are significantly higher once you are in the FJC. The FJC membership numbers are still okay so getting tickets is still not such a stressful thing.

Now if they were Arashi, that's a different. Even if you are in the FC for Arashi and even if they are in one of the arenas, I've been told by several friends that winning the lottery is really not easy at all. Hence, now is probably the best time to keep seeing Kalafina before their popularity, hopefully, soars. As fans, we would love to see them become very successful, I'm sure. But the ticket situation will be a bit of a bummer when that happens.

Fall concerts...huh, I knew someone who had extra tickets but I don't know if they still do. They were for the October lives. But you've already applied for Jan's lives so maybe you won't be interested any more?

Yes, all the trips to Japan to see Kajiura Yuki / FictionJunction and Kalafina, plus all the goods and CDs that I buy to support them has cost me a small fortune. It's a small fortune I'm happy to spend of course. Unfortunately, my pockets don't run that deep and I can't go for all the lives that I would like to go for which is why I'm having a difficult time deciding on the Jan lives. LOL. I really want to go, that's my heart talking. My head is saying I shouldn't be crazy and I should give my wallet a little rest first. I know there will be more lives next year but two day tour end will certainly be something special..... arrrrrrggggghhhhhh..... need to decided within these few days. :P

putschki1969 said...

Oh that's great to hear. I don't wanna get my hoped up but I am so excited it might work!!

Oh jeez, I couldn't live with all the stress of being a fan of such a popular group. With all those Anime tie in songs lately, Kalafina is quickly becoming more and more popular but I wonder if they will ever reach the popularity of a band like Arashi (or whatever). Lots of their pieces are still kinda particular and of a "niche-genre" so I am not sure if the girls have the potential to become super mainstream.

Yup, I've seen quite a lot of people sell their tickets on Yahoo Auctions too but still, it's a little too "last minute" for me. Fall is pretty soon and I haven't booked anything yet. Japan is very expensive in the fall, especially the flight and the hotel and since I would be booking pretty late, it would be even more expensive. I've looked at flight prices for January and they are pretty decent so that's good at least.

I can imagine and I'd be happy too.
It's probably a constant battle with yourself. I guess it's easier for me since I can't make the decision so easily. Living that far away makes a trip to Japan so much more inconvenient. >_<

My friend applied for both days too so I really hope we'll get lucky. Btw, another question on that. In all, she applied for four tickets. How does this work with the lottery, is it either hit or miss? Either she gets none of them or all? Or is it also possible that she'll just get 3 or 2 or 1 ticket? Hope this question makes sense o.O

I hope you can make a decision, it's certainly a hard one!

just me said...

Hahahaha... fingers crossed for you. :)

I don't think Kalafina will reach Arashi level in popularity actually. But then again, much as I want them to be very successful, I don't really want that kind of idol level of popularity either because I think they'll have to start hosting variety shows and do silly stuff that other idol groups do and I kinda don't want that.

I do agree with you. I do think that Kalafina's music isn't mainstream. I have read in some online forums and comments where people say that their music is mainstream but I have to disagree. They aren't indie or alternate either but they are definitely niche. In my opinion, there isn't a single category that can really adequately describe Kalafina's music. I don't think they are radio friend either and they aren't karaoke friendly either. Hence, why I think it took them longer then some to get to the Budokan. That's what I think any way. :)

I think those tickets in the Fall will have been at cost price, not at those awful Yahoo auction inflated prices. :( But yes, it might be a little hard to get travel plans in place. I usually need a fair bit of time to book my leave from the office too, in case they turn my leave application down. Japan isn't too expensive for us in the Fall. I think it's because it isn't the peak travel period for Singaporeans. The later half of Nov till the end of Dec is the peak at the end of the year. June is peak for us too which made the trip to see Kajiura Yuki Live vol.12 kinda expensive for me. :(

Yeah, it is a constant battle for me. Because going to many of the lives is still financially possible for me but I will just need to save a lot and spend very carefully. Which is why I pack my lunch everyday and cut down my local concert going activities because I'ver really prioritise Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina now.

Still, I know I am lucky. I have managed to go to more lives than most international fans. I live relatively close to Japan and I have a job that does pay me enough to be able to carve out a few trips to Japan in a year. So I know I am lucky, even if it's a constant battle in my head whether to go or not. :P

I'm not entirely sure about the tickets. But I know that it's NOT a all or nothing thing. My friend and I failed to get tickets for all the 3 days for Yuki Kajiura vol.9 and I only got a ticket for one of the days and she got a ticket for another of the days.

By now u prob know the news. It's official, the 5th album has finally been announced. :) I'm excited. :)

putschki1969 said...

I agree, I wouldn't want them to reach that kind of popularity. It must already be very hard for them at this level. I think it's not exactly nice to be a super popular idol in Japan.

I know. Whenever someone asks me what kind of genre Kalafina is, it's very hard for me to reply because they are so versatile and it's not that easy to pinpoint their exact genre, if they even have one. Their recent singles have become slightly mainstream, I think. They are mostly upbeat and more simply structured than previous songs. I guess that's why they are reaching a higher level of popularity among Japanese fans who are into that. But meh, I don't know, I still think their style is very special and like you are saying, they'll never be completely mainstream and that's great!

Yup, I've heard! BANZAI! FINALLY a confirmation. And damn, I just don't know if I should get the vinyl edition. *sobs* (if it's even available anymore XD)
Yeah, yahoo auction can get super expensive. I probably wouldn't have bought my tickets from there anyways. For us in Austria it's most expensive to go to Japan in early Spring and in Fall *sighs* Even for January, the flight would cost me more than 600 euros *sobs* even though it's off season.

I totally get that inner conflict. If I were you I'd probably go XD

Huh, okay, that is slightly worrying. Well, there's really no use in thinking too much about it. Results will be out on the 22nd so we'll see. Still, I can't help but be hopeful. This would be the most amazing thing ever!

just me said...

You can still get the vinyl version. CDJapan has new stock of the vinyl version but they are restricting it to one per customer.

Amazon JP has been really late with their links. They just listed this album late today so they have stock too.

You'll still have some time to consider it but just don't take too long that's all. :) I think the album may not sell out as fast as the single because it cost more but I'm just speculating.

Hahahaha.... sigh.... I totally want to go in Jan but I have other things that I need to take into consideration too. Tough... but it's looking likely that I won't go in Jan. It's just too hard..... I think.... god, I keep wavering.... :(

I hope you have a good time and that you enjoy the Kalafina lives if you manage to get the tickets and go. Be careful... their lives are like a drug.... you might get hooked bad... like I have. :P

putschki1969 said...

Ah yes, I saw that it was still on CDJ. Hope it stays there for a while. I'd really like to wait for the tracklist but man, that's gonna take some time >_>
Not sure what to do since I don't have a lot of money to spare atm T_T

Awww, whatever your decision is, I hope you won't regret it in the end. It's never good to regret such things.

If I happen to win tickets, I'll definitely have a good time, that's for sure. I am already SO hyped about it, I can't even put it into words. XD

I probably will and then I'll be forever sad cause it's not so easy for me to just go to Japan T_T Why do I have to live SO FAR away????!!! >_<

I received my BD of Blue Day today. OMG, it was SO amazing!!! I cannot even imagine how it must have been to see this LIVE!!

just me said...

Ah....I know how it feels...not having enough money too. It's the biggest reason why I haven't jumped at the chance to go to the Jan two day "far on the water" lives. :(

I am genuinely happy when any fan gets a chance to go to the lives even though I am envious at the same time when I can't go myself. LOL. So conflicted. LOL.

Let's hope they release more BDs for fans who can't be at their lives. I have a feeling they will record one of the "far on the water" final special lives. So far they have released BDs of most of the special lives that commemorate the release of the album. So I can hold on to that hope at least since it is looking increasingly unlikely that I can go for Jan lives. :(

I haven't received my BDs yet. :'( I bought both RED and BLUE day of course. :P While it cannot replicate the experience of being there at the Budokan during those two days, I will also not give up the chance to relive those two days via the BDs. It was the absolute best Kalafina live I have ever been to to date. It was also the most emotional one for me.

I hope those Jan lives will be equally moving and memorable for u too. Come back and let me know how much you enjoyed them after you have attended the lives. :)