#梶浦由記 #KajiuraYuki #ufotable ~ Kimetsu no Yaiba 1st trailer released

ufotable's Facebook page posted a video of the first trailer for #鬼滅の刃 #KimetsuNoYaiba.  Kajiura Yuki is collaborating with #ShiinaGo #椎名豪  on the soundtrack of this anime series that's due to air in April of 2019.

The music on the trailer does sound quite Kajiura-ish which is the kind of music I like.  The style and look of the animation looks quite ufotable which I also generally like.  I'm not sure how the collaboration for the music will work and I'm not sure if I'll enjoy the story.  But since both Kajiura Yuki and ufotable are involved, then I'll definitely be checking it out.



I'm looking forward to this and am curious to hear new music from Kajiura Yuki next year. :)

Okay, I'm off to bed.  It's been a long day.  Good night. :)

Unboxing ~ Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel - I. Presage Flower [Limited Edition]

I actually received the #ufotable #fatestayhf box-set months and months ago but I didn't do an unboxing post then because there were just too many things happening in my life and there was so much OT at work it was virtually impossible to do anything outside of work.  At first I thought that I wouldn't do the unboxing since it's been too long but I have decided to do it for two reasons.  Firstly, the Fate/stay night Movie: Heaven's Feel - II. Lost Butterfly will be screening soon so its seems appropriate.  Secondly, I keep getting distracted from my review of Sun Li's Happiness as Flowers (幸福像花儿一样) drama because Legend of Condor Heroes 2017 (射雕英雄传) is so much better than I expected that I can't concentrate on the review. Hahaha!!  So I decided to do something easier.  This will be one of those photo heavy unboxing posts and I won't be doing any reviews or commentaries on the anime film or on Kajiura Yuki's (梶浦由記) soundtrack this time.

This is a truly beautiful release.  Few do such beautiful packaging as Japanese companies.  I ordered this from CDJapan and as usual they packed it nicely.

Unboxing ~ #孙俪 #SunLi #遇见你陪伴你 Meet You Accompany You - book

Sun Li (#孫儷) recently released a book called《遇见你，陪伴你》(Meet You Accompany You).  It's a book about Sun Li's love for animals and her life with them.  I think it's mostly about dogs and a little bit about cats.  Sun Li really likes dogs it seems and has quite a few of them in her home.  I think at one point she had up to six dogs but I'm not sure.  I happen to watch an interview of it some time ago and I've forgotten the exact number.  I've also not really read this book because I really don't have the time to do it yet.  I've only read a few lines and paragraphs so I won't be giving any comments or summaries on what was written because I can't just yet.

Review ~ Fearless (2006) #霍元甲 (#孙俪 #SunLi)

This is #SunLi 's debut film, although by the time she did this film, she's already had a few drama series under her belt.

I actually watched Fearless back in 2006 when it first screened which is why my memory of Fearless was a little hazy till I recently re-watched this for Sun Li's sake.  I thought that I liked this film enough but after watching it a second time, I realized that I probably didn't like it as much as I remembered which is why it's one of the few Jet Li films I have never watched again till recently.  This has nothing to do with Sun Li or even Jet Li.  I think I just didn't like the story that much.

I get what this pretty inaccurate biopic of Huo Yuanjia (霍元甲) is trying to do and say but I don't know if it really works that well.  The fighting scenes were cool but maybe I'm tired of the "man makes massive error → falls into depression and self destructs → only to have his soul saved after he is physically saved by native tribe / simple kindhearted girl / simpler way of living etc → thus finds redemption by the end of the film" type of story-line.  I think the story is pretty simple and kind of cliche to the point that I'm not really bothered about possibly giving any spoilers away because I don't think it's that hard to guess what would happen next. 

#KajiuraYuki #梶浦由記 - announces: will work on OST for Kimetsu no Yaiba

Kajiura Yuki will be collaborating with Shiina Go on the OST of a ufotable produced anime called Kimetsu no Yaiba. (official website link)  This anime is scheduled to go on air in April 2019.

2019年4月より放映開始予定のTVアニメ「鬼滅の刃」の音楽を椎名豪さんと作らせて頂きます。原作がマジヤバイ面白さであるのに加えてアニメの演出作画目を見張るほど凄まじい！関わらせて頂けて光栄です。放映を楽しみにしております！！https://t.co/Wx9Ht975iv

— 梶浦由記 Yuki Kajiura (@Fion0806) November 25, 2018

As all fans of Kajiura-sensei will surely know, she's worked on ufotable's projects numerous times, including the very awesome Kara no Kyoukai.

I'm not that familiar with Shiina Go but if I got it correct he's worked on ufotables God Eater projects.

This might be interesting.  I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this.

#SunLi #孙俪 ~ a film & tv guide for Sun Li fans (ver 01)

Sun Li in one of my favourite Sun Li dramas,
Nothing Gold Can Stay.

Lately, I have been spending most of my free time working on a guide of Sun Li's dramas and films as I slowly watch Ruyi Zhuan.  The guide is incomplete and a work in progress.  I published it as a "blogspot page" so that I can continue to work on it over time.  Here's the link for all who are interested.  CLICK ME.  There's a permanent link to it at the top of each page on the main blog too.

So far I wrote up capsule reviews or comments on all the dramas and films that I've watched her in and I also posted up links to the full reviews that I have written.  This reminds me of the days when I used to hang out on the Hong Kong film / TVB forums and when I helped my friend run her website on one of the TVB actresses.  I wrote a lot of reviews and did lots of translations then.  Too bad school and then work got in the way.  I feel I wrote better reviews and essays then.  So out of practice now.... it's been too long.

I quite regret not doing the same for Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina releases previously.  Would be easier to look for album / singles reviews and unboxings without having to crawl through the blog.  Maybe if I have more time in the future, we'll see.  Maybe if someone releases something soon, I'll get around to it. :P

Anyway, gotta go, I have work to do. :)

Review ~ One Metre Sunshine (2003) #一米阳光 (#孙俪)

One Metre Sunshine (一米阳光 ) is the fourth series that Sun Li (孙俪) has acted in if we don't count the one where she was an extra with no lines.  This is also the second time she's acted opposite Peter HO Rundong (何润东).  The first was in Goddess of Mercy (玉观音) which I also wrote a review of (click me).

Like a lot of Sun Li's older series, there is little information in English so I will write a synopsis of this 29 episode series.

SPOILER FREE SYPNOSIS

The story begins with a chance meeting between Yi Chuan Xia (Sun Li) and Jin Zheng Wu (Peter Ho) in Shanghai. Chuan Xia has been sent from the Nian Corporation's head office in Canada to be the manager of their Shanghai branch.  Chuan Xia is having an affair with her superior Nian Liang Xiu (Ai Wei) who is also the younger brother of the Chairman of the Nian Corporation.  Nian Liang Xiu sent a bottle of wine to Chuan Xia and the delivery man happens to be Jin Zheng Wu aka Xiao Wu and that is how they first met.  Xiao Wu also works as a talented bartender in a bar that Chuan Xia happens to frequent.  He quickly takes a liking to her and begins to woo this mysterious woman who is happy to check out the city with him but not happy to answer any personal questions about herself.

#KajiuraYuki #梶浦由記 ~ official FictionJunction Station twitter

Just a quick blog post for now.  Yesterday, Kajiura Yuki announced that her new official fan club, FictionJunction Station, has set up an official twitter account.  If you're a Kajiura Yuki fan, it's a good idea to follow this account for new and official announcements etc. :)

梶浦由記(@Fion0806)公式サイト(https://t.co/0TibyPlakl )、公式ファンクラブサイトFictionJunction Station(https://t.co/ypL7OB33Bn)の更新情報などお知らせを呟いて参ります。

— 梶浦由記_staff (@YKajiura_staff) November 8, 2018

#Kalafina ~ is this the end?

I just returned from Hong Kong and it reminded me that the last time I was in HK was in 2010.  I happened to see an MTR poster advertisement announcing Kalafina's impending live in HK and an idea took hold in my mind.  I could not return to HK so quickly because of school, it set me on a mad path to find a way to see them live and that was how I ended up in Tokyo in December and attended their Kagayaku Sora no Shijima ni wa live.

Eight years later, so much has changed.  I have had so much happening in my life in the 11-12 months that I hardly blogged at all, not even about the many changes that have happened to Kalafina and Kajiura Yuki.  The Kalafina that I love is no more.  Keiko is no longer with Space Craft Produce nor is she part of Kalafina anymore.  A little before Keiko left early this year, Kajiura Yuki also left Space Craft Produced and now, even Hikaru has left.

Review ~ Goddess of Mercy (2003 drama) #玉观音 (#孙俪)

Goddess of Mercy (玉观音) is Sun Li's debut drama.  Well, technically she's been in at least one previous series before but that's as an extra and it's a non-speaking part.  This is the fourth series starring Sun Li that I have ever watched.  By this time I am already a huge admirer of this excellent actress.  It only took one series and that's Nothing Gold Can Stay (那年花開月正圓).  I still hope to do a post on that series but that might take quite a bit of some time and so I thought I would do something that I think I might find easier.

I am trying to watch everything Sun Li has ever done to get a full understanding of her evolution into the exceptional actress that she is today.  So there's no place better to start than by watching her award winning debut performance.  This is the performance that heralded the arrival of a star-in-the-making which by default makes it an important series for anyone who is interested in Sun Li's progress as an actress.

My new love. :)

Recently I just discovered the incomparable #SunLi #孙俪  Although she's already pretty famous internationally for her role in Empresses in the Palace aka Zhen Huan Zhuan (后宫·甄嬛传), I actually didn't know who she was.  I actually avoided this drama when it was super popular back in 2012 because I'm one of the only ones I know who did not really like TVB's War and Beauty (金枝慾孽).  I wasn't very interested in yet another drama about scheming women who had questionable motives at times.

So how I discovered Sun Li is a little more unusual than most people.  Lately, I took a much needed big break from work.  And during this break I happened to watch ep63 of this Mainland Chinese drama called Nothing Gold Can Stay (那年花开月正圆) on TV.

 
Strangely, I found the episode quite interesting and I wanted to find out more about the relationship between this melancholic tree climbing mother and her rebellious adopted child.  And because of this, I started watching 那年花开月正圆 from episode one on-wards and I really loved most of it.  And more importantly, that's how I found my latest obsession, Sun Li.  She was phenomenal in the drama and I fell in love with her.

As all my old buddies know, when I really like something, I can get a little obsessive.  Haha!!  I feel compelled to watch all that they have done or listen to all that they have composed.  That's how it was for Lau Ching Wan, Ada Choi and Kajiura Yuki.  I've watched some pretty blah stuff for Lau Ching Wan's and Ada Choi's sakes.  Luckily Kajiura Yuki's work is mostly good so I didn't have to suffer too badly. :P  I also did the same for Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar Wai and Johnnie To.  I have watched a ton of their work and actually liked or loved a lot of them.