Japan trip 4 - Day 3 - Kajiura Yuki Live Vol.8 - recap PART 1

Finally... I think I feel rested enough to write this post... I hope I will be able to finish this before it gets too late because I hope to also catch up on a few other posts I would like to write.  For now... let's get going.

The Kajiura Yuki Live Vol.8 concert took place on the 17th March, the second day after I arrived in Japan.  I met up with my good friend Manami :) for an incredibly awesome sushi dinner the night before and we stayed out till 4am chatting in a family restaurant.  Hence, I pretty much slept in and lazed about in my hotel room to make sure I was well rested for the Live that night.  Before I had arrived in Japan, I had already decided to take it a little easy on this trip. Work had been very taxing, I was quite tired and I had also been ill, hence I pretty much decided that I was not going to rush anything on this trip.


Before the Live

I was scheduled to meet Itsuko and Megumi at Shibuya Station for lunch before the three of us headed over to the Shibuya Public Hall (渋谷公会堂 -- formally known as the Lemon C.C. Hall) for Kajiura Yuki's Live.  I was glad that we were meeting early and that both Itsuko and Megumi wanted to get concert goods.  I usually get the pamphlet and the concert shirt and after the anxious wait in the queue during last year's Kalafina After Eden Special Live, I was hoping that they too would like to go early so that we did not have to suffer any anxious moments.  Of course we could still purchase the goods after the concert and they usually have stuff online as well but I usually like to get these things out of the way in the beginning.

When I got to the exit of my hotel, I realized that it was raining. :(  That was really kind of crappy. :(  I didn't have an umbrella and if I did not run out to the train station to catch the train, I would be late.  Luckily it was not a terribly heavy downpour so I braved the cold rain and ran all the way to the station and caught the train to Shibuya where I met Itsuko and Megumi without too much problem.

We then made our way to Denny's for lunch.  Hahahaha... yes, I know... DENNY'S?!?!?  I was in Japan and I dined at a Denny's?  I thought it was funny too but I didn't mind since the Denny's in Singapore closed a long time ago and it was kind of nostalgic for me to dine at a Denny's since I used to spend so much time in one when I was a student in the States.  That was my study hangout place at night and I drank a lot of coffee and ate a lot of buffalo wings in that particular Denny's. :)

In the end, I was quite happy with my meal at Denny's.  I ordered some steak thing and it was quite tasty.  Denny's was also relatively close to the Shibuya Public Hall which was nice because it meant that we didn't have to go out of our way to return to the area.  My Japanese is still pretty bad and I think Megumi was a little shy to use her English, so Itsuko had to do a lot of translating.  I felt a little bad about it since I really should try work harder at getting my Japanese to a better level.

Megumi had gone to the Kajiura Yuki Live on Friday as well.  And she told us that a lot of the that Live was sung in Kajiuran, which is a made-up language that Kajiura Yuki had made up for use in her music.  If I understood correctly, Megumi said that Kajiura Yuki herself pointed it out that practically half the concert was over and they still had not sung a song in Japanese.  Although, this vol.8 Live would be both Itsuko's and my first Kajiura Yuki Live, both of us are also huge admirers of Kajiura Yuki's music.  I think you can't not like Kajiura Yuki if you like Kalafina.  Knowing that this was our first Kajiura Yuki Live, Megumi tried to explain that a Kajiura Yuki Live is different from a Kalafina Live.  Both Itsuko and I couldn't quite picture what she meant by that since it would seem that since Kajiura is the music composer and music producer for both vocal units, just how different could the lives be?  It was only after the Live that I fully understood what Megumi meant.

At this point in time, Megumi also told us that we should buy the wooden spoons that Kajiura had designed and produced.  I talked about those spoons in another post, click here. :)  So, we made our way over to the concert venue to stand in line because Megumi was anxious about getting those spoons.  It was still raining which was really inconvenient and I had to share Itsuko's umbrella which wasn't quite ideal since it wasn't really big enough to keep both of us dry enough.  Luckily, we didn't have to wait that long and soon we managed to get all the goods we all wanted to get.  Itsuko was able to use her membership to get two copies of the FictionJunction Club song "sing a song" music score and the limited edition CD.  I was of course over the moon with happiness. :)  I am truly lucky to have Itsuko as my friend. :)

After we bought our concert goods, Megumi also introduced us to her friend who had attended Friday's live.  I didn't really talk to him so I don't know his name.  He was from out of town, I don't remember which part of Japan, and he wanted to hangout for a while to kill time till it was time for him to make his way home.  He was not attending Saturday's live.  Anyway, the four of us made a short trip to Animate in Shibuya to while away the time before we headed back to the Shibuya Public Hall.  I wished it wasn't raining, I would have taken a photo of Animate since it would have been my first time I have been to the Shibuya branch.  I have previously been to the ones in Ikebukuro, Akihabara and Shinjuku.

The time for us to return to the concert venue arrived and we returned to the concert hall where Itsuko kindly brought me to my seat before leaving to go look for her own.  I was not seated with Itsuko and Megumi because by the time I had decided that I would like to and could afford to go for the Live, Itsuko and Megumi had already applied for the draw and Itsuko had to apply separately for mine.  The both of them got really good seats, they were seated something like 5 to 6 rows from the stage.  I didn't have that kind of luck and I was in balcony two and almost right at the back of the hall and since my eyesight isn't the best, I couldn't really see Kajiura Yuki, the vocalists and the musicians too well at all.  Still... I was just really happy that I was able to attend the Live so wasn't too upset about it.

As we waited patiently for the concert to begin, various instrumental tracks from Kajiura's vast repertoire played softly over the speakers.  I was quite glad that the person next to me never arrived because the person sitting directly in front of me was quite tall and it meant that I had to kind of skew my body sideways to get a full view of the stage.  Although, I was quite far away from the stage, I had a pretty central seat and in some ways it was better than my seat two years ago when I was in this very hall for the Kalafina Kagayaku Sora no Shijima niwa concert.  Was seated on the first level but to the far left of the stage and 20 or so rows from the front then and although I had a pretty good view of Keiko and Hikaru, Wakana was often obscured from my view.

I won't and can't give a blow by blow account of the concert.  They sang a lot of songs and I can't recall all the details.  What I really would like to do is give a general impression of the concert, the bits I liked and the bits I remember and then try and describe why I was so blown away by it.


The Live itself

Anyway... back to the Live... soon... the music changed and Itou Eri's soprano voice and the sounds of The Beginning of the End from the Fate/Zero Season 1 soundtrack filled the hall and the Live had truly begun.  Itou Eri was soon joined by the others on stage for The Battle is to the Strong, also from Fate/Zero.  I have to say, I'm horribly unfamiliar with the Fate/Zero soundtrack since I don't yet own it so have only heard it all mixed in with the anime.  It was a pretty cool way to begin this Live because it really did set the tone for the entire live.  The opening also clearly outlined quite clearly to me just how different a Kajiura Yuki Live was to a Kalafina Live.  And all I can say is that Kajiura Yuki is SUGOI!!!!!!  Both vocal units are produced by her and except on special occasions, both units sing only music composed by Kajiura.  Both Keiko and Wakana also sing for both vocal units but yet a Kajiura Yuki w/FictionJunction concert and a Kalafina concert are vastly different in tone and music.

The Beginning of the End opened the concert softly and lightly before the crescendo into the very dramatic  The Battle is to the Strong before leading into a very energetic Frenetic.  It was lovely, it felt like I was watching a musical.  Aside from the beautiful harmonizing which is signature of Kajiura's work, there was also a lot of chorus work and I began to understand what Megumi was trying to say.

While previous Kajiura Yuki Lives with FictionJunction may have been as much about the performers and as well as the music, this Kajiura Yuki Live seemed to be to be less about who was performing and way more about the music itself.  That's not to say that a Kalafina Live isn't about the music.  It is, but in a Kalfina Live, it is as much about the music as it is about three distinct personalities which are Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru.  Conversely, it's also wrong to say that a Kajiura Yuki Live isn't about Kajiura Yuki, the FJ vocalists or the guest stars etc.  But in this Kajiura Yuki Live, it almost feels like there are many moments where the music is the most important because there are several moments during this Live where there are no vocals, just instrumentals and other moments when the vocals seem to be used more like an instrument, to add to the layering of sounds, rather then be a singing voice.

Having watched the previous Kajiura Yuki lives on dvds, I initially couldn't understand what Megumi was trying to say when she said that a Kajiura Yuki Live was not the same as a Kalafina Live because the previous Lives that I have watched on dvd seemed to me to be pretty much like a regular concert.  They were not that much different in style and structure from a Kalafina Live.  Now, I didn't see the Friday live nor have I seen any of the lives since the ones released during the 2008/09 period but this live felt like a rock musical. 

Maybe it's because there are more vocalists in a Kajiura Yuki Live.  Perhaps it's because there were two guest sopranos, Itou Eri and Tomaru Hanae, and guest flutist Akagi Rie that changed the overall texture of this Live.  Perhaps it was because there was so many more performers that added to my feeling that this concert was really more about the music then the performers.  Or perhaps, aside from the theme songs, insert songs etc, there were often better instrumental transitions from song to song or perhaps it was that there was just more instrumental solos because of the presence of Akagi Rie.  Perhaps it was because the lighting seems to be used as a punctuation to emphasize whatever story this musical was trying to dramatize. Or perhaps it's because of there were several dramatic soundtrack type songs that, while not strictly instrumental, seem somewhat so, since the voices were used less as singers singing words but were instead, either used as a chorus of sound or seemed to be used more like instruments that blend in with the other instruments to add richness to the music. 

I really don't know how to describe it clearer than what I have tried to say except to say that in short, a Kajiura Yuki Live feels way more like a rock musical than a Kalafina Live and they are both wonderful and moving in different ways. I was deeply absorbed in this concert.  At the Kalafina lives, I felt like dancing along, punching the air or just swaying to the beat all the time.  But  in this Live, for a lot of it I sat there mesmerized and enthralled, too spellbound to move too much even if I wanted to.  It was incredible!!  After the Live when I saw Megumi and Itsuko, I knew they felt the same too.  SUGOI!!!!  AWESOME!!! We were so excited and talked about attending the vol.9 Lives together.  I crave for more Kajiura Yuki lives.  One is simply not enough. :)

Some of my favourite moments in this Live was the opening because I really liked how dramatic it was.

I also really like Hoshikuzu.  I really like this song from the previously released Live recording on dvd.  I rather like the way Keiko and Kaori's voice combine and Wakana sounds lovely in backup too.  Hoshikuzu is a personal favourite and I am happy that I was able to hear it live.

I also really, really liked Crash.  It was Akagi Rie's solo performance.  None of the utahimes were present on stage and Akagi Rie was really cool to watch as she played and danced to the beat.  Akagi Rie is really awesome on flute.  I loved her and I was really glad that I was able to watch her live.

I really, really liked the Pandora Hearts section as well.  Pandora Hearts has some very dramatic music and seemed very suitable for a live like this.  Interestingly, if I remember correctly, I am pretty sure it was Keiko and Itou Eri who started together in the song Alone which then flowed into Bloody Rabbit where the rest of FJ came in.  I can't quite remember here but I have the impression that Kajiura seemed to have used Keiko quite extensively not just in these two songs but also in this portion of the Live.  I checked to see who sang the studio versions of Alone and Bloody Rabbit and it seems that Itou Eri sang Alone and Wakana was the lead vocal in Bloody Rabbit with Yuriko Kaida in support.  Interesting.  I'm not sure why Kajiura did it but it was different and I liked it.  By throwing Keiko into the mix, the sound seems less techno and more rock and more dramatic which I prefer.  Keiko was also used quite well in Contractor.  Contractor is perhaps my favourite song from the Pandora Hearts soundtrack.  This song is sung pretty much solely by Itou Eri in the studio version.  In this version, Itou Eri was supported by the FJ utahimes, with Keiko getting some nice bits too.  Alone, Bloody Rabbit and Contractor are my favourite tracks from the Pandora Hearts soundtrack album which is why I was more sensitive to the differences in the live and studio versions.  By the time this section was over, everyone was really rocking along.  It was really good and it got lots of cheers and claps at the end.

The next portion that stood out for me was the Mai Hime portion. This portion was nicely and smartly separated from the Pandora Hearts portion by Everytime you Kissed Me.  To tell you the truth, I don't remember this song that much since it's actually not one of my favourite Kajiura songs and my memory is crowded by my love for the Pandora Hearts section and the upcoming Mai Hime section.  :)  Like every good story, musical, film etc, pacing is crucial and the Pandora Hearts section was racing along so fast towards the end, it was wise to bring the pacing down for a bit in preparation for the next climax.

Mai Hime is currently my favourite anime of all time. I love virtually everything about it and I of course love the music.  This section started with Himeboshi, then Duran Shoukan and finished off with Mezame.   First let me say that it has been a long cherished dream for me to watch Mezame live.  What made this live different and perhaps somewhat special from the other live versions of Himeboshi and Mezame on the previously released dvds is that Tomaru Hanae, the original soprano for the Hime songs, was one of the guest sopranos at this live and it was cool to hear her sing the Hime songs.  I don't know if Duran Shoukan has ever been performed Live before but this is the first time I've heard a live version and it's really awesome.  Once again, like in the Pandora Hearts section, Keiko is used very well to add a fuller, richer and more powerful sound to Himeboshi and Duran Shoukan.  I like to think that Keiko plays the role of Duran in Duran Shoukan. :) Mezame is hands down my favourite song from from the Mai Hime soundtrack and it didn't disappoint.  Mezame was fantastic and I was so happy that I experienced it live.  It was also a definite crowd favourite because people clapped to the beat at points and everyone was bobbing their heads and really into the song and this section got a very big cheer at the end.

The song that took me by surprise was Stone Cold.  Stone Cold isn't my favourite FJ song and it took me a while before I began to like it somewhat.  But this live version is awesome.  The girls were all dancing from end to end.  Kajiura Yuki was also standing and playing the keyboard and singing in parts.  The energy was electrifying and this song had all of us doing the "ay ay ay ay... " cheer thing at certain points of the song.
I was definitely surprised by how much I liked the live version and the audience really appreciated it too because it got a big cheer at the end.  Personally, I don't think that I can ever listen to Stone Cold the same again when it plays on my portable player.  I definitely like this song so much more than before this Live.

The section before the encore ended with Credens Justitiam which I really liked too because it's a song from Mahou Shoujo Madoka which is my second favourite mahou shoujo anime to date.  I don't remember the details too well but it was definitely nice... I remember really liking it.  I already like it from the soundtrack and the live version had Itou Eri and I think Akagi Rie played the flute too and it sounded good.


Encore and aftermath

Kajiura and gang then returned for the encore section with songs from Hack, Noir and Xenosaga II.  I liked it since these are Kajiura classics and it was Noir that first introduced me to Kajiura Yuki and her music. Salva Nos seem to be the crowd favourite here.  It was also my favourite song from this section and it was also the highlight of the encore section for me. Overall, the encore section was not the highlight of the concert for me though.  I definitely liked the body of the concert more than the encore and I really don't remember the details any more, it's been too long and the only thing I seemed to have written about it in my notebook was a little bit about how the crowd really seemed to like Salva Nos.

At the end of the Live, Kajiura announced the 3 Days Special Yuki Kajiura Vol.9 lives at the end of August and the beginning of September.  I'm so wanting to go.  I hope to go.  I'm trying to go.  Fingers crossed that everything will work out well and I would be able to attend this 3 Days Special live. :)

That's it... I am done with the first part of my recap of the Kajiura Yuki Vol.8 Live.  I'm surprised that I managed to write so much.  I guess writing down my thoughts and notes about the live that very night of the live really helped me retain way more information than I managed to with the Kalafina After Eden Special Live last Nov.  I'm glad I did that it since I really don't know if this will ever be released on DVD / Blu-ray.  I was rather high up and if there were cameras, I certainly wasn't able to spot them since my seat did not allow me a very good view of the ongoings down below on the ground level except for what was going on on stage.  And if there was one up in the 2nd balcony, it would probably be further down in front of what I think is the control room which was right next to me so I wouldn't be able to tell if there was a camera there even if there was indeed one.

It would be nice if they released a DVD / Blu-ray of this Live.  I really, really, really liked it.  It was amazing and Itou Eri, Tomaru Hanae and Akagi Rie were all at this live too.  It would be an epic release but at this point in time... I'm not really that hopeful... but one can always hope. :)

Alrighty... time to sleep... I can't believe I just spent hours writing this entry and I'm still not done!!!.

I'll write a bit more about one of the MCs that Itsuko translated for me and also talk a little about the concert goods and the club special releases and also about the Mahou Shoujo Key Animation Vol.2 and the Kalafina After Eden blu-ray in later posts... but no time now... need to sleep... it's ridiculously late.  Good night. :)

Will add more photos tomorrow and edit this post somewhat since I think there's bound to be errors. Night night. (photos added 10th April)

They always give out a handful of flyers at the Lives.  Sometimes there's nothing much but this time there are several that are of interest for the Kajiura Yuki / FJ / Kalafina fan.

p.s. Dinner Oh... I also want to note that I had McDonald's for dinner.  Yes, it was a decidedly un-Japanese day when it came to the food I consumed that day.  Megumi wanted to eat at McDonald's so Itsuko and I decided to go along.  I did pick, I think, a salt and pepper chicken burger which we don't have in Singapore. :)




credits: Thanks and a link to the canta-per-me website... got the setlist from them... I suck at song titles and the site is very good for information on Kajiura Yuki, Kalafina, FictionJunction and anything somewhat Kajiura related.

no time

... It has been nuts since my return from my 4th trip to Japan. Work has been keeping me ridiculously busy. So busy that i have yet to view my Kalafina After Eden Special Live blu-ray and open my Mahou Shoujo Madoka Key Animation vol. 2. i received this two days ago in the mail and they still look like they do in the photo above. :(

Now i m lying in bed, about to sleep. Came back late again and back to work tomorrow even though it is a public holiday here in Singapore. Well at least one good thing about working on a public holiday is that i can get either extra pay or an extra day of leave... Either one of which will come in useful for some of the trips i hope to be able to make this year. Must look on the bright side of things. :)

I know i should sleep but i don't feel like ... But am too tired to resist... Guess it is good night for now. :)

ps. oh btw... I'm not crazy enough to buy two copies of the blu-ray for myself. :)  One of those is my friend's copy. :)

Sword Art Online - music by Kajiura Yuki

Yay... more music for the Kajiura Yuki fan.  :) She announced on twitter this evening that she will be writing the music for the animated version of Sword Art Online.  Here is the link to the official website.  The anime will air in July and here is the direct link to the page with the PVs.

After Kajiura tweeted the announce, she wrote another tweet to say that this announce isn't an April Fool's Day joke. :)  I had forgotten that it was April Fool's Day. :)

I think I will have to delay my Kajiura Yuki Live post... too tired and I really don't fancy sleeping at 3am - 3:45am again tonight.   Blame that Liverpool - Newcastle football match and the Table Tennis World Championship Women Finals between Singapore and China... I guess after all these years... I'm still a sports fan after all and both contests were absorbing enough that I didn't get started on the Kajiura Yuki post as planned.

Ah well... if all goes as I hope it will go... I hope to get out of work more or less on time on Tuesday.  I may have to stay a little at work on Monday because I'm late on my shot.  I really should try and finish that Kajiura Yuki Live post soon... and I really want to too... if I don't do it soon, I may never do it and I don't want that.  I already abandoned my Tan Dun post .... grrrrrrr... and I can't really go back to it now because I don't really remember what I was going to write.  Sucks... I really did enjoy Tan Dun's Martial Arts Trilogy concert at the Huayi Festival this year.  It was amazing audio and visual treat and I would be most willing and happy to see him in concert again.

K... I really got to go sleep now... lots to do this week.  Good night y'all. :)

Of wooden spoons and Kajiura Yuki

I suppose I should try and get started on writing my full impression of the Kajiura Yuki Vol.8 Live that I attended in Tokyo recently.  I have most of it written in my notebook but I was distracted by the Everton football match earlier tonight and am rather tired now.  Since that post would take a while to write, I think I'll only write about the wooden spoons from that Live. :)

Kajiura Yuki really likes wooden spoons.  During one of the MCs during the Live, Kajiura talked at length about these wooden spoons.  To a cynic, it may seem like she was trying to sell you merchandise you don't need.  But to me and I think most people at the Live, she seemed genuinely passionate about them. Not only did she produce a set of 2 wooden spoons for fans to purchase, she also urged us all to use them.  And the biggest reason why I'm talking about them now is because I really did do what she asked and used my wooden spoon tonight.:)

As usual, my Japanese isn't good enough to understand a lot of what Kajiura said at the live but Itsuko kindly translated what she remembered for me and some of this is from what I think Kajiura said.  It appears that Kajiura has a lot of wooden spoons in her kitchen and really likes them.  Kajiura also talked about the experience of eating with a wooden spoon.  She used curry rice and ice-cream as examples.  She said that when she eats hot food, like curry, a metal spoon will become hot and when she eats cold food like ice cream, the spoon will become cold.  Using a wooden spoon to eat these kinds of food is gentler.  I remember her using the adjective やさしい and I think in this context, she meant gentle.  Also, if Itsuko remembered correctly and I understood correctly, I think Kajiura said these spoons are big but she designed them to have smaller, pointier ends to make it easier to put it into one's mouth.

Actually, Kajiura didn't really have to do very much marketing to sell these spoons.  Megumi told us during lunch that the spoons sold out on the first day of the live and she regretted not getting them.  At that point in time, both Itsuko and I had no intention of getting the spoons but Megumi told us that she would be getting them and then said, " 買ったほうがいい。 Itsuko and I weren't fully convinced but while standing in line and hesitating, we managed to get a look at the spoons as we got closer to the sales counter and they look kind of nice so we decided to buy them.  After Kajiura's passionate MC devoted to those wooden spoons, I must say that I am glad I decided to buy them. :)

Now as to the experience of eating with those wooden spoons.  I really don't know if it's really what Kajiura was trying to describe it to be but it was really kind of nice.  These spoons are relatively deep compared to the kind of metal spoons I am used to and I am sure would make rather nice soup spoons.  The spoons themselves are kind of smooth which gave it a different feel from my experience of eating ice-cream with those rough wooden sticks.  It was quite odd eating my frozen chocolate yogurt with these spoons.  I am way more used to my metal spoons feeling cold against my tongue but like Kajiura said, this spoon did not become cold at all, the only thing that was cold was the frozen yogurt against the roof of my mouth.  It was definitely different.  I'm not sure if I agree that it's gentler but it was nice and I would happily eat my ice-cream and frozen yogurt with this spoon.Itsuko used the spoon to eat her curry rice about a day or two ago and she said it was hard to describe how it felt but she felt that it had a soft feeling about it.  I will have to try my spoon with Japanese curry rice myself someday. :)

Before I head off to bed though, I would like to bring up a some thing Kajiura wrote on her Twitter Feed.  Yesterday, she announced via twitter that Kalafina will sing a song for Minna no Uta.  I haven't been keeping up with her tweets late so didn't see that announce.  Firstly, Kajiura is a prolific twitter and my nihongo is kind of 下手 and reading her tweets can take me a while and I don't understand a lot of it so when I'm busy, I have a tendency to skip the bulk of the tweets that are harder to understand.

Yesterday, I was alerted to this new song through Sony's RSS feed and so decided to check out if Kajiura said anything about it.  It seems like Kajiura really rather likes Minna no Uta too. :)  She was quite cute about it actually.  Right after she tweeted that the lineup for Minna no Uta has been decided and that Kalafina will sing Moon Festa for NHK's Minna no Uta, she tweeted that although that announce was made calmly, she was actually  "♪ゝ(▽｀*ゝ)(ノ*´▽)ノ♪ヘ(￣▽￣*)ノ・ ・.♪ヒャッホーイ♪.・ ・ヾ(*￣▽￣)ノー(ノ_・、)".  Hahaha... she's really quite Japanese in many ways and loves to use emoticons in her tweets.  It seems like she is really happy about being about to write for Minna no Uta because she really likes Minna no Uta.  It's like a dream for her.

I, for one, look forward to the release of this particular Minna no Uta song.  Hopefully it will be released with the PV included, I will most definitely pick this up. :)

K... time for be...good night. :)

Kalafina - new song "moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～" for Minna no Uta

Cool!!!! Another new song has been announced for Kalafina. :)  I'm not sure if there will be a singles release but it's very possible since this is for Minna no Uta which has a very long history on NHK.  According to wikipedia, NHK started airing these short animated musical fillers since 1961 and I think it's really awesome that Kalafina will participate in Minna no Uta.

I personally really like Minna no Uta.  And like it's mentioned in the wiki, it's often mistaken for a children's program which isn't exactly true.  Minna no Uta isn't really a children's program since, to my knowledge, there is no fixed time slot for Minna no Uta.  What I do know about Minna no Uta is that it's a whole series of fillers which is sometimes aimed at children but isn't necessarily so. I've seen several of these fillers on NHK several times on my trips to Japan and I've seen them air in the mornings and at night.  To my knowledge, these fillers enjoy a fair bit of air-time which would be cool for Kalafina.  While the announce of this new song doesn't come with an announce of a singles release, what is heartening for Kalafina / Kajiura Yuki fans is that many, if not all, of the Minna no Uta songs have been released in some fashion before.  Some as singles and some in compilations of Minna no Uta songs.

While I'm not sure of the other releases, I know that I have had my eye on on of the Minna no Uta releases for the longest time but Kajiura Yuki / Kalafina / FJ have been taking my money so I've never felt that I could afford to get Ayako Ikeda's Kazoeuta single. :)  This is my favourite Minna no Uta song and this release comes with a dvd of the Minna no Uta PV.  For some reason, I really like this song.  I'm not sure why but it could be as simple as it being the first Minna no Uta filler I saw on tv on my first trip to Japan 4-5 years ago.

Aside from the happy news of more Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina, here are the pictures of the soon to be released "to the beginning" single from Kalafina. I got these from Amazon Japan.



The above pictures are the LE with DVD cover, the LE with Blu-Ray cover, the Standard Edition and the LE Fate/Zero Anime edition.

Okay... I really need to sleep now... gosh... it's 345am already... hopefully I will get to writing my Kajiura Yuki Live post later tonight.  Good night. :)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica KEY ANIMATION NOTE Vol.1 - review

I'm going to try and do this real quick since it's pretty late and I'm fading really fast.  I also have to wake up early to play table tennis before I head off to the studio to do some work.  Will then have to try and get my growing stack of Japanese homework done and also try and get the Kajiura Yuki Live Vol.8 post started tomorrow night.  So it's going to be another very busy day.  This will have to be picture heave and I will have to restrain myself from writing too much. :D

I picked this up from Manami in Japan.  I had asked her to help me buy before my recent trip because I wanted to safe on shipping but she very kindly gave it to me as a gift.  Really awesome of her. :)

Okay... let's cut to the chase.  This is the first of a series of six art / animation books  released by Magica Quartet for their hit anime series Mahou Shoujo Madoka. This is unlike the Production Note (link is to my unboxing post) that was released last year. That was more like an artbook and included concept art, sketches, final artwork etc.  The Key Animation Note series concentrates mostly on the art in the anime itself.  And if you're an animation student or have done animation before, especially traditional animation, you might find these volumes of greater interest than the average person.

Volume 1's focus is on the opening theme song's animation.  Those familiar with storyboards and traditional animation will recognize the layout of the pages and the registration peg holes. I think most people don't shoot animation the traditional way anymore. I'm not familiar with the inner workings of the animation industry since I've mostly worked in broadcast tv and live-action films so I'm guessing when I say that they drew the anime on animation tracing paper (sorry, don't remember the correct terminology) and instead of shooting them on an animation stand, they scanned them into their computers to work out the timing of the shots etc.  They have a page devoted to explaining how they did it, I think. But I'm too tired to try and use my limited knowledge of Japanese to work my way through the written Japanese right now.

Volume 1 includes the key poses from the opening theme, storyboard notes and a few pages devoted to the key visuals and some concept art.  If you flip through the book, you can get a sort of flip book animation thing going. Kind of cool. :)



The above scans are of the front and back cover of the animation note.  The cover is very, very shiny and it's a bit of a pain to shoot photos of it..  I kind of like it but it's definitely a magnet for finger prints.  If the scans are place side by side, they almost form a seamless big picture.  But almost only since the spline of the book doesn't continue the visual.



The photos of the cover sheet covering Vol.1 gives you a pretty good idea of how shiny it is.



Kyubey graces the actual cover of the book when the shiny cover page is removed.


The binding is pretty standard and it's decent enough.


These are the freebies that are included with this release. I think one of them is some kind of mousepad and the other is a 3d card.

Here are more sample photos of the contents of the book.


I rather like this release partly because I have done some traditional animation in film school and storyboards and cell animation artwork etc interest me.  I was not particularly good at it but I enjoyed learning how to do it and the process of making it.  It really does give you a very healthy respect for the guys who make animated films.

I'm not entirely certain that this release will appeal to the casual Mahou Shoujo Madoka fan but I think it will appeal to those who fans of the anime and who like the artwork in the series.  While it's certainly not as fancy or as nice a release as the Production Note, still it is a pretty nice release and it isn't quite as expensive as the Production Note.  The paper and printing are all good quality stuff and if you're a fan of the series and it's art, I really do think it's worth considering this purchase. But do bear in mind that this is merely vol.1 of 6 volumes and if you're the sort of person that must have complete collections, this may eventually cost you a pretty penny if you're not all that interested in getting all 6 volumes.  I got mine from CD Japan and will get the rest of them from this online store too.  If you're interested in getting them from the same place I got mine, here is the link.

Okay... I'm going to try and squeeze in a Kalafina related post and then go to sleep. :)

should i go?

I enjoyed Yuki Kajiura Live vol.8 so much that i really want to attend the vol.9 series of lives at the end of August. I have even applied for leave and it has been granted. :)

But truthfully... I am in a little bit of a quandary. I would really like to go to Xian, China too and was suppose to go this year. And after watching the YouTube video of Kalafina at the After Eden live last year, the live that I was fortunate enough to attend, I really miss seeing them live too.

I think i have enough leave to wing it and will have to save very hard if i want to accomplish all these things. I just don't know how to spread out all the possible trips and if it would affect my work. Also... I don't even know if there will be a Kalafina live at the end of the year. But i guess its a good headache. :) just have to think and plan things carefully. :)

I am keeping my fingers crossed that Kalafina will come to AFA Singapore in November and not to AFA Malaysia in June or July... I forget which month. Sorry Malaysian fans :p ... I am being selfish cuz it would mean one less trip for me. :D

Time to go. At my station and off to work. Was blogging to kill some time. Here is hoping i don't have to pull another ultra long day again.... Too many of those lately. :(