#Kalafina ~ 9+one at Tokyo International Forum Hall A - bluray unboxing

Well, looks like I'll be getting pretty busy again.  So I think I should get this simple unboxing out of the way.  I had to wait a while to do this even though I was pretty excited about getting this on the day it was released in Japan. :)  However, I forgot that my TV is busted and I can't play the BD in my room.  So I had to wait till I had the opportunity to play it on the telly in the living room.

Ahhhhhhh... the first song is one of my favourite songs to hear at a live.  The first time I heard Samidare ga Sugita Koro ni live was at the 8th Anniversary Live at Tsutaya O-East.  I managed to get tickets for both days of the live and this song was really memorable.  I LOVED IT to bits.  Everyone was singing "la la la" with them in a small hall.  The atmosphere then was electric and really unforgettable for me.

#ヒグチアイ #HiguchiAi - #百六十度 Hyaku Rokujuu Dou ~ unboxing + comments

Sometime this year, someone introduced Higuchi Ai to me and gave me one of her albums as a gift.  I really liked the album and her music and wanted to write about her for some time.  But lots of things happened in my life this year and I've only really just gotten back into blogging again.  So before work ramps up again and before I'm ready to do the new Kalafina and Kajiura Yuki unboxings, I thought that I would write about her first.

Since this isn't about Kajiura Yuki or Kalafina, I've written it for Okonomikaki's which is a collaborative blog by a few friends and I.  I hope that you'll go over to the blog and check out the post and check out Higuchi Ai's music as well.  You might like it. :)  Here's the link to the unboxing post which also talks a little about the music on her third album and also gives a  little introduction to the singer-songwriter herself. CLICK ME.

#梶浦由記 #KajiuraYuki ~ Princess Principal Soundtrack - unboxing + comments

It looks like work will be ramping up again pretty soon so I'll better get going on the unboxing of "Princess Principal" Original Soundtrack: Sound of Foggy London as well.  The Kubikiri Cycle: Aoiro Savant to Zaregotozukai Sound Collection and the Kalafina 9+one at Tokyo International Forum Hall A BD have shipped but since I didn't pick Fedex this time, the earliest it'll get to me will probably be nearer the end of this week.  So I need to try and get this unboxing out of the way as soon as I can.

First up photos of the release:

#梶浦由記 #KajiuraYuki ~ Fate/Zero Original Soundtrack - unboxing

This will actually be a very simple unboxing of this release.  I'll only be putting up the photos and won't be writing any lengthy commentary.  This is not because I don't like this release.  I like it very much.  I like the Fate/Zero OST a lot and felt that it really added to the whole atmosphere and feel of the anime series.  However, I need to try and catch up with my unboxing releases because the next one I need to do is the Princess Principal OST and I won't have too much time to do it.  That's because the Kubikiri Cycle: Aoiro Savant to Zaregotozukai Sound Collection and the Kalafina 9+one at Tokyo International Forum Hall A BD will arrive sometime next week, if all goes as planned.

Also, this release isn't exactly new.  Most of the tracks have been released as bonus CDs on DVD / BD boxsets when the anime series was released years ago and I've heard them many times before. This new release collects all the tracks from those releases and adds studio versions of the live performances of some of these tracks, hence why we have members of FictionJunction credited in this release.  They were not participants in the original OST tracks but did perform them at the lives.  This is commonly the case when Kajiura Yuki performs her OST songs live.  The live versions of these renditions have been released previously, so what they did this time was to record these live versions in a studio and release them as part of a sort of bonus of sorts for this collection.

So here you go, photos...

Okonomikaki's blog

Finally, the last post for today.  Given how little I have posted in the last few months and in this year, I have been quite productive tonight. LOL :)

Well, like I said in my two previous posts.  I will be cross sharing some of my posts on my personal blog on this blog called Okonomikaki (https://okonomikaki.blogspot.sg/).  If you're Singaporean and familiar with Japanese cuisine, you might understand why the blog is called what it's called. :)

#梶浦由記 #Kalafina Kubikiri Cycle: Aoiro Savant to Zaregotozukai Sound Collection announce

Also, I want to mention quite quickly a recently announced Kajiura Yuki release. Kajiura has been scoring the various episodes of this OVA for a few months now.  I think that the OVA has been fully released, hence the release of this Sound Collection.

I actually know very little about this anime but I did check out a bit of it when it was first release and rather enjoyed the bits of music I heard then.

Some of us may remember that the already released track Kalafina track Marchen is actually one of the theme songs for this anime.  That song was released on the into the world / marchen double A-side release some time back. (for the unboxing post, CLICK ME)

#Kalafina - Hyakka Ryouran - unboxing + comments

Actually this single was released in August and I received it that very week itself.  Normally, I would not wait so long to unbox a Kalafina single.  I usually do it almost immediately but I am SUPER late this time.  :(

I was in the middle of a major crunch at work in August and was working very long hours including weekends for days on end.  In some ways, the work was exciting but in some ways it was exhausting both physically and emotionally so I think I still have mixed feelings about it right now. Haha! :)

Although crunch has ended a few weeks ago, it's taken me that long to recover.  Basically, I just didn't want to do ANYTHING at all and that included blogging.  Yes, even a much delayed Kalafina single couldn't move me.  Funnily enough, it wasn't music that made me finally move my butt to get back to blogging. :P It was actually Japanese dramas that did it.  I decided that I was just going to watch dramas and no tutorials because my brain just didn't want to work.  And one of the dramas I watched was Code Blue Season 3.  OMG!!! I forgot how much I liked Toda Erika till I watched her again in Code Blue.  I completely loved her performance and her character, Hiyama sensei.  That set me on another one of my obsessive quests and this time it was to watch everything she had ever done.  Well, for starters I re-watched SPEC, Liar Game and Shotenin Michiru no Mi no Uebanashi. And it filled me with a HUGE desire to write about them.  BUT BUT BUT, I can't because I need to do my Kalafina Hyakka Ryouran unboxing first. :P

#Kalafina ~ so I finally bought a turntable :)

The first vinyl record that I ever bought in my life was also Kalafina's first vinyl record release.  If I remember correctly, it should be ring your bell.  Since then, I have faithfully bought every vinyl release, including the far on the water album release on vinyl as well.  But I never had the means to play it.

So finally, I took the plunge and bought a turntable approximately two weeks ago.  It's an entry level player and according to the reviews, does a pretty good job for the price.  I can't afford to go into the high-end stuff. It would be pointless of me to do so as well since my amplifier is 20 years old and my speakers are also 20 year old bookshelf speakers.  The equipment is good enough of course but the contacts need cleaning and the RCA cables probably need to be replaced etc.  If I got a high-end player, I would need to buy new equipment as well.  I don't really need another expensive hobby and I really rather save the money for trips to Kalafina's and Kajiura Yuki's lives.

The player I got was the Audio Technica AT LP604d USB.  Here are some unboxing photos.

#Kalafina ~ into the world / メルヒェン - comments

This is a relatively long commentary about Kalafina's 20th single release and will include related thoughts.  It has taken a little longer than I had hoped but I think this release is worth taking the time to mull over and worth taking the time to write a lengthy post about. Yup!  I like it that much.

It's likely that I will start writing this post on Thursday night and end up only finishing and publishing on Friday or Saturday night or maybe even later then that, who knows?  But that's okay, I don't intend to win any prizes for speed. :)  What I hope to do, is to try and put my thoughts clearly into words and share my feelings about a single which I completely adore right now.  Now, let's get started! :).

#Kalafina ~ into the world / メルヒェン - unboxing

I'm listening to the single on loop as I write this unboxing post and I must say, I quite like this single. :)  It has many things that I like about Kalafina in the songs.  But first, let's do the unboxing and then I'll write a few of my thoughts  (postpone till another day) about the single. :)

#ColdplaySingapore ~ so high, so high!

The Coldplay concert in Singapore on 1st April 2017 was EPIC!!!!! It's truly one of the best lives I have ever been to.  I enjoyed it immensely!!!

It felt like the first time I walked out of a Kalafina live and the first time I walked out of a Yuki Kajiura live.  I was deliriously drunk with happiness.  I became an addict.  Once was not enough.  I wanted more and needed more.

#Kalafina with Strings ~ Christmas Premium LIVE TOUR 2016 - "Keiko produce" unboxing

While we wait for the release of Kalafina's 20th single into the world / Marchen, I thought I should try and get more of the unboxing posts done.  I have already taken photos of them, so I shouldn't waste the effort. :)  My shipment of all versions of the single is already "in shipping process" at CDJapan and I picked Fedex as usual.  So when that comes, I'll do that first before all other unboxings.

This will be a relatively simple unboxing because it is kind of late and I worked pretty late today so am kinda tired.  Hence, I will attempt to be less verbose, hard though it may be for me. :P

#Kalafina with Strings ~ Christmas Premium LIVE TOUR 2016 - goods unboxing - pound cake & fork set

As promised, here is the first of a series of unboxing posts I hope to make before the release of the Kalafina "into the world / メルヒェン" single on the 4th April.  Because when that arrives, I hope to unbox that as soon as possible.

Actually, the "Kalafina with Strings ~ Christmas Premium LIVE TOUR" took place last year in December.  So you're probably wondering why it took me so long to do this.  Well, it's because I wasn't able to go for that series of lives too.  So I asked a friend who was going if she would do me a HUGE favour and help me buy some goods.  I only just managed to meet up with her recently and only just got my hands on the goods. YAY!!!! :)

#Kalafina #ufotable ~ Katsugeki / Touken Ranbu 『活撃 刀剣乱舞』剣戟アクション紹介映像

source

By now it's all over Twitter and Kalafina and Sony have also made their official announces. Kalafina will be singing the end theme song for Katsugeki / Touken Ranbu. I have three reasons to try this and it's very simple. 1) ufotable 2) Kalafina and 3) ufotable x Kalafina. LOL

Ever since Kara no Kyoukai, everytime ufotable and Kajiura Yuki and/or Kalafina are mentioned in the same sentence, I just get excited.  :P

The animated storyboards in the PV clip above look cool too and ufotable often has pretty nicely choreographed fight / action scenes. So I'm looking forward to that too.

AND thank you for not IP-locking this.  The previous two PVs for Katsugeki / Touken Ranbu were IP-locked to JP.  Please don't neglect your international fans Japan!! :)

#KajiuraYuki #梶浦由記 ~ Fate/Zero 3 CD soundtrack release announced

source

For those of us who are also Kajiura Yuki fans.  This has just been announced.  The OST for Fate/Zero is slated for a 20th Sept 2017 release.  This is a 3 CD release which will contain 56 tracks. It will not only include the OST tracks from the 25 episode Fate/Zero anime series, it will also include new tracks.

If I'm not wrong, this announce was made about an hour to two ago at the ufotable stage event at Anime Japan.  They also announced the release of a standard edition BD boxset of all 25 episodes of the anime series and the dates for the "Heaven's Feel" roadshow.

#Kalafina ~ unboxing tease

Oh lookie! What do we have here?!? :)
Yup, I have decided to try and do a series of unboxing posts next, starting with this beautiful box that a fellow fan gave to me as a gift. Thank you SOOOOOOOO much!!! :)

I hope to do this either tonight or by tomorrow night. We'll see. :)

#KajiuraYuki #梶浦由記 ~ Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale OST - unboxing / comments

I'm going to do a quick unboxing and writeup of this album just to keep my momentum going.  It looks like I might be getting very busy again but I really don't want to disappear from my blog for so many weeks. So maybe quick unboxings will help me keep at it. :)

Hence, here we go.  Photos. :)

#Kalafina ~ live in Singapore ~ a perfect weekend for the fans

Kalafina took 5 1/2 years to grace the sunny shores of Singapore again.  Well... maybe it wasn't so sunny when they came. LOL  But it was definitely warm. :)  On the day of the live itself in SG, it was pretty much the famed "Kalafina weather".  Look at that sky, I'm pretty sure it did rain later in the day. :)

The 5 1/2 year wait was made completely worth it by a really awesome performance at the inaugural Anisong Fantasy Live vol.1 (Singapore).  I will get to that later. :)

#Kalafina ~ meeting Kalafina in Singapore !!!

source: Kalafina LINE blog

(I'm in there but I'm not telling you which one. :P )

This has got to be one of the most memorable moments in my life. :)  It probably rivals the first time I met them at Anime Festival Asia in Singapore when they signed the poster in front of me.  And the time I met them at AFA Malaysia twice, once when they handed me the autographed poster and once when they signed the CD.

Maybe this moment even surpasses all those moments, hahaha!!!  Having a photo taken with Kalafina, a vocal unit that I've been a HUGE fan of since 2009, is like a dream come true for any fan.  I never expected that my impulsive decision to see them live in Japan in Dec 2010 would lead me down this path.  Hahaha.... I loved the "Kagayaku Sora no Shijima niwa" live at the then Lemon CC Hall.  I loved it so much that I became a confirmed fan and have not looked back since. :P

#Kalafina ~ Singapore fans

screen cap: Kalafina Arena Live 2017 BD
Soon fans in Singapore can see Kalafina live too!! :)

Hello! Kalafina fans from Singapore. Please do contact me if you can. :)

I was suppose to do this at the beginning of the week, Sunday night to be precise, but a lot of things conspired to make it hard for me to write a blog post about it.  I did write a tweet and FB about it though. :P

Well, the Anisong Fantasy Live is going to happen this Saturday and a couple of us are thinking of doing something.  So if you wish to get involved, you still can.  Please do contact me either on Twitter, on FB or comment below.

I will get back to you ASAP.

#Kalafina ~ Arena Live 2016 BD - unboxing

It's really been a while since I last blogged.  Been very busy and there were some issues in the office that I had to deal with which were a little emotionally draining.  Office politics really suck. :( But it's cool. I stood my ground and it's mostly resolved for now.   And to make things even better, Kalafina's latest BD release arrived at my doorstep today. :)

I know there are three copies in that photo above.  I could pretend that I am a crazy rabid fan but, hahahahaha, I'm not that crazy. :P  The other copies belong to two other friends.  We shared shipping on this so it'll save us some money. :)