This should be an anime blog but how the hell does this end up here?
Well, simply because it's an animation. Why... I should've included Disney's Brave first but that was a long time ago.
Today I just learnt that Rise of the Guardians is loosely based on William Joyce's The Guardians of Childhood series. Ah I guess it looks like each of the characters have their own backstory, and this movie simply compiles everything. Directed by Peter Ramsey, starring, Chris Pine, Jude Law, Hugh Jackman (omfg), Alec Balwdin, and Isla Fisher.
So the story is about childhood imaginary beings like Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and Sandman, who literally came to life in this show. They exist, and the only way to make children believe in them is not necessarily by showing up in their doorstep. As long as they give presents every Christmas, provide fabulous eggs for Easter Egg Hunt, leave a quarter for a tooth under your bed and allow you to have the sweetest dreams... they'll believe in you.
However, Jack Frost, even after a three hundred years remains as a figurative speech. And so we have the teenage boy who yearns to be noticed kind of thing. As you can see, he's the main character, who's later recruited as one of the Guardians (along with the four i mentioned earlier) because a something wicked hovered the globe. And as a main character, he's not your average naive hero, but the mischeivous yet chivalrous type... I think we've seen this more than a couple of times in the anime and manga world *coughNarutocough*. Again, as usual, such titles and a children's show requires the bad guy and the bad guy is the Boogeyman aka Pitch Black who I assume is probably one of Loki's minion (and they look similar). Pitch had mastered one of the epic Guardians' dreamcasting power and he plans to psychologically mindraep the kids.
Once more, good vs evil stuff blablabla nothing wrong with that. This time we have something extra like wanting to be noticed, acceptance, teamwork, trust, and how to give joy to kids. Skipping all the spoilers, the good guys win yet again...
...and I end up feeling sorry for Pitch Black...
i know you lot has a crush on Jack Frost, but I'm gonna side the Boogeyman. I mean, I can so totally relate because... I wear black everyday pfft-
[WARNING: Spoilers]
"You want to be left alone? Then BE ALONE!" - Pitch Black to Jack Frost. This quote hits home, man.
Pitch Black is, like Jack Frost, not acknowledged and thus people cannot see them. Perhaps it was due to their negative nature, that people would rather believe in some people who'd reward them with joy. Jack Frost centre was 'fun', so he had been living for so long, unnoticed yet he tries to play with kids as a winter spirit. Being a lot younger than Pitch Black (it seems), he didn't get to experience how'd lonely it is to be invisible. I guess since the Boogeyman is sick of being isolated, he takes his evil to a larger scale. Another case of misunderstood villain.
When Pitch confronted Jack, about forming a tag team, personally I look forward to "cold and dark" combo. But I guess Jack wasn't interested, so I'll just make it my headcanon. And whatever Pitch did seems like he was craving for attention; "LET'S MAKE KIDS BELIEVE IN FEAR!!". I guess he's frustrated that he cannot bring positive things to little kids.
y-yamete kudasai!!
What I expected was, the good guys... well, being GOOD GUYS, would give him a second chance. Yes, I know fear and despair are not meant for kids, but I think it's good for them to understand those. Perhaps as a preperation to the adult world? And this too raises a question; till what age would the children believe in the guardians?
The good guys could've befriended Pitch and allow him to use his powers at minimum. Surely when he's accepted, he wouldn't try to take over the world anymore. I think he only needed friends. It's common to see bad-guys-turn-good in anime/manga but I guess the western kids' show didn't dare to do this just yet. I also mentioned in the previous blogpost, KR Fourze has an interesting and unique way to beat the villain - and it really changed my views on how to deal with antagonists (ideally lol).
Since I heard that this anime was good, I decided to try it out. At first I was reluctant because it was based on a visual novel. Note that I usually find VN or Light Novel adaptations rather dull.
Studio: White Fox
Also note that, though I am a science student, I am not a fan of science fiction... especially when it comes to time travel. You know, being fed with logic makes you think time travel stories are shit, no matter how good they are, and I have no guilt concluding that before even watching/reading them (no offense to Dr. Who fans). And it was all DragonBall's fault, really.
Then Stein;Gate brings science fiction to a whole another level, and this, is so far the only and the BEST time travel themed story I've ever seen. And the theories used made me forget that S;G was really an adaptation of a dating sim game although it's clear that there are girls who are after the main guy, Okabe Rintarou (codename: Hououin Kyoma). If I want to mention who the harem girls are; then you have one genius who's a mild tsundere, one derp girl for a childhood friend, one not-so-epic trap, one idiotically loyal yandere, a moe-moe maid ojou-sama and... John Titor...
John Titor also makes a cameo. Instead of IBM we have IBN, instead of CERN we have SERN.
i remember doing this in the microprocessor lab....
So the story is about an aspiring mad scientist, who apparently isn't going to school or perhaps he was on a summer break, and he has a Future Gadget Lab which is basically just a rented apartment. His lab partner is Daru, the programmer/hacker guy... and for some stupid reason he recruited the derp childhood friend. Thanks to her derp-ness, Kyoma found a way to practically time travel. And seriously this made me smile like an idiot whenever I'm holding my phone in front of the microwave. And we also can joke about irl conspiracy theories with D-mail. Owait, what is a D-mail? Oh it's just a text message we can send to the past in order to change history... it's common in time travel stories, desu ne? But there's something else in S;G that makes this history change not really a change.
Anyway, thanks to his discovery SERN decided to hunt him down. Before that there was a lot of past changing stuff, which is rather touching in some cases. And sometimes annoying and frustrating. But I gotta tell you that there are a lot of plot twist, which I think makes the story even more intriguing.
However, suddenly the ending looks like just another typical time travel thing... maybe it's the stuff about avoiding peril in the future kind of problem. Well, if that's just easy then why not time travel to prevent all these wars and massacre from happening?
Yet that doesn't change my mind about how good the anime is.
There is a movie I would like to review, but I figured that I should review this one first.
I've never been a Kamen Rider fan, then deady forced me to watch Fourze. so I was like.... okay I'll just give it a shot.
First 10 or 20 episodes annoyed me a lot, because the Kamen Rider dude, Kisaragi Gentarou is too naive and too idealistic. But it got better when the rival, aka the second rider (Kamen Rider Meteor/Ryusei) comes in, because he has the 'darkness within'.
Kamen Rider Fourze is set in high school and the theme is SPACE, and the villains are the astrogoligal signs (Scorpio, Pisces, Aquarius etc). Most of the characters attend Amanogawa High School, which I think was meant for kids to win free tickets to become astronauts. But then there's an ulterior motives behind the existence of the school, of which you should see it for yourself why. And more importantly, rather than space... the real main theme of this show is...
~FRIENDSHIP~
Now I'm not gonna bother summarizing everything, cos it's a 48 episodes show. Too much to rant about. Basically it's the same ol good vs evil thing. And since it's about friendship, most of the time you deal with how to make friends; how socially awkward, freaks and popular kids can form a gang (they have the Kamen Rider Club), and also how you'd deal with backstabbers and power hungry adults. Each of the characters and villains, as well as their minions have their own unique backstory. Gentarou would always be there to fix your problems (and in the end we don't know his very own backstory). Gentarou is like the prophet of friendship-ism, as he did not care what kind of people he befriends. His goal is to make 1000 number of friends. The more antisocial you are the more attracted he is to you, apparently. He doesn't care if you're annoyed with him, he meddles, but that's just him. Sometimes I wonder if he's realy human cos he's all genki and optimistic. It's damn difficult to see him sad and depressed.
We all could wish to have Gentarou as a bff. But rather than thinking that way, why not adapt Gentarou's attitude? :3
Speaking of good vs evil, Fourze has an interesting way to defeat the final boss. And I really mean it. I think it was touching, and not every kid's show dare doing this.
As one of the characters said, "do not hate [the villain], pity him instead". And yeah he has a point. So here's a little bit of spoiler:
Instead of revenge the kids all thanked the final boss for giving them a wonderful school life, while Fourze beat the crap out of him. And no not sarcastically. They were very honest. In the end the final boss softened... because, of course, the bad guy is not that evil after all!
I am also aware that the recent Kamen Riders would have a lot of power ups around their belt. However Fourze's switches look rather childish that it's hard to take seriously. And how do you scientifically create/invent the switches anyway? Uh... I guess I shouldn't ask much knowing Utahoshi Kengo's... true identity.
it's a tap!!
When I watched the first ten episodes I thought, yeah, this show really is for kids.
But then, I kinda wished that this show existed like 10 years ago, as I think back then i really need to understand the true meaning of friendship. Since I can't turn back time, well, I think this will be one of the shows I would show to my future vienspawns, or maybe young apprentices.
Tthe great thing about this show is that you don't have to bother about romance much. While there are a few hints about love, but the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP conquers everything.
You'd also learn that you shouldn't entirely hate the 'bad guy'. There must be a reason he's causing chaos and all. He probably lost sight of himself, or other people. Sometimes the adults need younger people to remind them of what they used to be, and what went wrong with them. Ah well, I think adults should watch this too. Again, yeah I think it's too idealistic even for a fictional show but hey... we need good examples for our lives.
Happy Graduation Day! Thank you for the entertaining show!
We've been waiting for any Final Fantasy Orchestra to come to Malaysia. And finally, when Distant Worlds was announced that they will be performing in Kuala Lumpur, we immediately bought the tickets the moment the sales are open! The tickets sold like hot cakes. And the seats we got are the cheapest, and three rows in front of the stage. But that doesn't matter because what's important is to enjoy the live performance of our favourite tracks!
Venue: KLCC Philharmonic Hall, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Date: 17th November 2012 Time: 8.30pm
no pictures allowed at all times. But sorry, we are Malaysians, we don't give a f*ck. Photo by Reppu_kiri
Just for this concert, suddenly all the nerds/gamers/otakus look like a sir.
Oyeah, before the concert started, we bought some merchandise.
The show started with the Final Fantasy Prelude, the song you hear in most FF intros especially the classic ones. While it was played it brings me back to the days I started playing the games, the times we watch the opening FMVs, holding on to the controller getting all excited about beginning the adventures. Damn you, you made me wanna play all the games again!!
Next was Liberi Fatali. The local choir did a great job imitating the eerieness of the original song. Though FF8 was my least favourite game, it's one of my faves. Well, don't we all love Liberi Fatali? Thank you Dithyrambic Singers! Right after that the conductor, Arnie Roth did a bit of introduction, and relayed a message that Nobuo Uematsu feels bad for not able to come here. I think if he did we'd totally go wild.
you can see Sephiroth's face peeking at the side
Suddenly Victory Fanfare *Victory pose* (they could have played the longer version, you know the part where we see how much we level up and what battle spoils we get? yeah that)
Followed by Final Fantasy III Medley. I don't remember if it's similar from the one in the CD, but of course there's the world map song (OMG THE JALAN2 SONG IS SO BEAUTIFUL), Matoya's Cave - slow version (honestly i prefer the original catchy one xD), and then there's probably an FFIII song that I didn't recognize (cos it's the only classic I have not played), then comes the epic 'Final Fantasy', which is often played at the end of the ending credits. Lastly, FFII's Castle Theme. Wondeful medley ;__; but I really wish to hear FF1's battle theme and Mount Gulug.
Edit: I forgot to talk about To Zanarkand. To me it's one of the songs that really sent shivers down my spine and got me almost teary eyed. I think I was too focused on the video behind the orchestra, and I started recalling the whole gameplay and the story. It was beautiful indeed.
Next was Memoria De La Stono - Distant Worlds, a music from Final Fantasy XI, sung by a guest artist; Stephanie Van Driesen. I believe I've heard this before, but nonetheless, it was still awesome. And then, FFVIII's Man With the Machine Gun - however, I still cannot brain any orchestra versions of Laguna's theme no matter how many times I listen to it. Cos the song suits as techno, if not, The Black Mage's rock rendition of it could bring the whole machine gun guy image in my mind. And then there's Final Fantasy IV's Theme of Love! Again all those video cutscenes makes you wanna play the game all over again.
Prior to the concert, the Friday show attendees spoiled us with the programme list. I'm very much excited the moment I saw You're Not Alone, from FFIX. I mean, really. Only several weeks ago I was all over that song after something bad happened. I'm really surprised to see that particular song in the list, cos it was only played once in the game, and near the ending, I never thought it was so popular. Though it was only played once, it remains in my memory (and heart) for so long... because Nobuo Uematsu is just amazing. I guess that's the thing? So being able to hear it live, words can't describe how I really felt at that moment.
Then, as the conductor said, the concert is incomplete without the infamous Chocobo song, much to my friend Choco-tan's delight XD. First, he introduced us to FFXIV's version of Chocobo theme, the way Uematsu wanted it. And then the ever popular Swing de Chocobo. I'm sure we all felt like dancing, but we could only tap our feet.
Then there's the intermission. Fan-talk about the games.
ninja snapshot
And then we had the FFVII: Opening Theme. We never get tired of this. How it began with slow music and later with something more catchy. Then Az Samad, another guest artist went up the stage to play something from FFV, Dear Friends and also another favourite, FFIX's Vamo' alla Flamenco! And there's the one and only song from a different composer, from FFXIII, Blinded by Light. Probably the only best song from the game, and a little disappointed that the specific violin part wasn't apparent enough to feel its epicness.
Suddenly there's the cutscene from FFVIII, where the problem team; Squall, Zell and Seifer was about to start a mission. The video shows the battle scenes while the orchestra plays Don't Be Afraid. I guess this is one of the favourite battle themes, but in fact I love ALL the FF battle themes, that I wish for a show that only plays the battle themes XD. And then, comes another one of my favourites, Clash on the Big Bridge from FFV. Though it's sad that I couldn't hear the beginning of the melody, but still... HELL YEAH GILGAMESH!!! (although he is the enemy) Just so you know this theme is also present in FFXII :3
And then Aerith theme. I'm not sure how many people got emotional, but, in spite of not being my favourite character, it's sad when you recall that cutscene. I dreaded the video showing the stabbing part, but I'm glad it didn't. But when the video shows the part where Aerith is saying goodbye to Cloud... that's just... well... in memory of Aerith.
Near the end of the show, we have two of the greatest FFVI songs; firstly the OPERA "Maria and Draco" (which consists of Opening, Aria di Mezzo Carattere,The Wedding, and Grand Finale?.). The conductor summoned Ho Chi Mei, James Leong Cai Hunt and Mok Chi Hoe to sing as Maria, Draco and Ralse. I think they did a great job with it, they didn't sound too creepy with their singing. The thing I love about the mission in the opera -in the game- was the story behind it. It wasn't even about that love triangle *coughlockexcelescough*. Secondly, the sad and full of pride... Terra's theme. It really made me want to play FFVI all over again.
why did they not show this? It's not even a spoiler....
The end?
or not...
Arnie Roth said, "we decided to do something a little different for the Malaysian fans"
And different is different indeed. Because he called upon Stephanie again, to sing Suteki Da Ne (FFX)... in ENGLISH! oh wow all the Japanese lyrics disappeared from my head, I couldn't sing a long. It was if i'm not mistaken, a literal translation of the original song. Also the video shows us the FFX FMVs.. and lastly Tidus and Yuna's underwater sex romance. Anyway the dude in front of me hugged his girlfriend cos he was excited to have this performed lol.
Then we have the epic grand finale, the song that initates the existence of many other creepy choir battle themes, and also the song which we've all been waiting for... the MUST HAVE song in every Final Fantasy concerts... the One Winged Angel. It is my second tie hearing it live, but that night felt like we were literally chanting for Sephiroth to descend into the theatre. Yeah the creepiness was there, it was like some kind of ritual I almost felt like an infedel (owait-). I'm not even a fan of Sephiroth but it doesn't hurt to sing along to your favourite final battle theme :3
After the concert, we camwhored a lot we had an autograph session with the artists. Long before the concert, I got the Japanese version of Distant World's volume 1 MWAHAHAHA man I wish Nobuo Uematsu was there to sign that one.
autograph session
note that, my friends sang something special for Arnie Roth likeaboss.jpg before we left. I pretended not to know them wwww
In spite of a few weaknesses, it was a dream come true to attend a concert of your favourite game series. Will definitely hope and pray that they'd come next year. New tracks, new arrangement please! Especially battle music! And Nobuo Uematsu MUST come next time!
le spoils
Edit: For the younger players, I know most of you started becoming a fan since at least Final Fantasy 7. I'm the same too, but I'd like to recommend the classics. You could start with the first installment, where everything was goddamn simple and straightfoward - you get to at least feel what the original FF is actually like, and that was the game that saved Square from closing down. Hence, the name "FINAL FANTASY", as they thought that would be their final game that they'd release. And especially FFVI, where there are wide range of characters which I think have more depth and have much much more interesting backstory. You can hear more wonderful music than just Terra's Theme. Forget the lack of fabulous graphics, in the end it's basically the same. Where there's a slope, be it 2D or 3D you still cannot climb it. When you're hit the random encounter, you're still teleport into a different stage. What makes the classic games great is how the prioritize the gameplay and story more than eyecandy CGI.
As I mentioned in my previous post, it was last minute plan. But thanks to Kiru for helping me buy the tickets and booking the hotel. And I took the train all the way to Singapore, alone. Coincidentally I was in the same coach as a bunch of cosplayers but I didn’t actually talk to them.// You know, they have their own circle.
6 am: Kiru woke me up lol but I was already awake. But it’s hard to hop of the bunk bed since I had to sleep on the top.
7 am: Breakfast, before taking the MRT with Kiru and Kazami. When we reach the venue, there were many people already. Wow otakus and their dedication. I bet when it comes to 8 am class, we’d still be sleeping at 7.30
wakuwaku!!
8 am: already lined up in front of the entrance. It was hot. And crowded. Now we don't get to see these early birds coming to class, do we? The ticket booth was outside the hall, unlike in AFAMY and previous AFASG where everything is indoors.
9 am: We can go inside! Otakus were like wild animals released from a cage, but instead we’re going inside a closed area. And by the time me and the two guys were in, so many people were lining up at the SAO booth that Kiru gave up on it. Instead he and Kazami went lining up in front of the booth with Scandal stuff. So I separated myself from them and wander around by myself. There's a Rurouni Kenshin booth, where there's a life sized cardboard of Takeru Satou as Himura Kenshin, plus they bought the costumes used in the movie. I'm also heartbroken that Singapore will have the live action movie in their cinemas.... MALAYSIA Y U NO HAVE DISTRIBUTOR TO BUY THIS AWESOME MOVIE? And I found the K-project booth! It’s the first place I bought stuff (ironic that I once said I don’t plan to buy any merchandise!!) which costed over RM150. Also took a picture of 2D Isana, Neko and Kuroh…
10 am: I think I went to the doujin booth and got some KuroBasu badges. And later that time I went back near the K booth… where I noticed that the butler café was open, and there aren’t many people lining up. At that moment I already felt ronery cos I was bored… it’s not like I want to enter but well I went on ahead. For such a small cake it costs a LOT pfffftttt- but at least I got a nice butler to serve me. And guess what he is a fan of Fairy Tail too! Then we started fangirl/boy-ing about it XD
11 am: I went back to the K-project booth cos I was informed that there will be a cosplay session. So Kaname was there! I think I spent a lot of time there, lining up and waiting for my turn to take a photo of him. Unfortunately if you want to take a photo with him you have to pay like 50 dollars. Well, that’s one way to rake money.
12 pm: later at this hour I went into the stage. Amuse was presenting its segment, introducing their singers and actors. Plus, FLOW and Baby Metal came on stage as a teaser for tonight’s show. Seems there are quite a number of Baby Metal fans. Right, they’re cute and all, their songs sounds nice but the thing is they don’t play the instrument. So… nope! Anyway, most of the seats are empty. Even the ones in front row. i kept moving towards the front, and all the way to the middle. But still it was too far to get a close up snapshot. My camera ran out of battery, and i left the spare battery in the hostel =__=. At the end, there's Rurouni Kenshin stuff and also an extended trailer of the live action movie ksakhdskjhfskjdf aparrently it became a no.1 blockbuster movie in Japan, after the Avengers!!
waiting to be stolen by fangirls
1 pm: The moment I’ve been waiting for… it’s k-project segment! The director of K was there, and he talked about basically what we already know about the anime. But the best part of the event is the K Radio video, which is presented by Tsuda Kenjirou and Komatsu Mikako (seiyuus of the anime). Who talked about the terms found in K, which are “Battou!”,“Zugatakai”,“Seibai” and “Kizuna”. Then there was a K cosplay competition, where I think the ‘performance’ was quite interesting. I wish I had a good video for that. They were surprised that there were quite a number of K cosplayers, and there was only one neko who won the grand prize.
2 pm: I went outside for a bit, then came back in and… I dunno wander around?
3 pm: it was time for K’s T-shirt signing session with Go Nakanishi… unfortunately I don’t have the redeem ticket so I only watch the lucky 100 people line up. I was boiling with envy indeed. Rather than staying there I went walking around again…
4pm and 5pm: I seriously can’t remember what I’ve been doing at this hour. I know there was one time I was sitting on the floor watching people walk about lol. Yes I was alone goddammit. I went inside MUSE’s store, only to find that the Tiger & Bunny towel I’ve been eye-ing is sold out!! SERIOUSLY?? HOW MANY FANGIRLS ARE THERE!? Oh yeah I also met Volvagia356 while lining up to enter the store.
6 pm: Went back inside the stage area, just to watch the solo cosplay competition. I like the way they select the cosplayers, they were selected on the spot by judges. The judges were pro cosplayers from different parts of Asia. But I don’t actually like the way they select the winners. I was hoping for some… you know, solo performance where the cosplayers act in character as often seen in ComicFiesta. But the intermission of the competition was gold. Team Shikon (champion of WCS 2012) and Lunar Asterisk (from Indonesia) had a game of Janken. It was really entertaining watching them fighting to become the most kakkoi man ever lol.
7 pm: I think that was the end of it. I had dinner with some old friends after that.
Overall the event was great. Just that I wish I had my fellow fangirl friends to come along with me. I mean, imagine fangirling about K alone and seeing your fave characters in doujin/fan merchandise or someone cosplaying at them…. And you need to express yourself, but instead the friends pop up in your head whenever you see their fave character :(
But then my main reason of coming all the way here is to watch T.M. Revolution’s concert. Or else I wouldn’t have come. I don’t think I’ll be coming to next year’s AFA in Singapore. I’m hoping that more great artists would come to next year's AFAMY.
And during the stage event I was disappointed by the lack of screaming… or just during certain stuff, only a group of fangirls or fanboys would get excited. But during K, even with the person next to me who seem to be liking K doesn’t get super excited. Well, there’s CF to look forward to :3
Also, during AFAMY (in the middle of the year) I thought Danny Choo makes a dull host but he seems more entertaining this time. Well, not that I attended AFA many times.
I like the spaciousness of the hall. If I’m not mistaken 1/3 of the hall is totally empty, and attendees can rest on the floor while cosplayers can do some preparations, touch ups and also take photos. One thing that could be improvised is uh… put some carpets or more seats so we can rest comfortably? I guess it’s too much to ask lol. Oh and there’s also food stalls and tables WITHIN the hall, so you don’t have to get out when you’re hungry. Except that you need to queue up. It’s not something easy to get in our homeland.
really large loitering area
There were times where I feel like going back to Malaysia that very moment. But I already bought a train ticket back next morning. No offense but whenever I come to Singapore I feel homesick the moment I set my foot on the soil. But I do like the country; people are so disciplined and the streets are clean and the MRT is super convenient! I guess it’s much easier to run a small country to set things straight…
so that means I don't have any report on the next day. I don't plan to see anything else, but I did wish I could stay for Fairy Tail's movie. But then i was running out of money.
It was a last minute plan to attend Anime Festival Asia 2012 in Singapore. It was a surprise from mom and dad to sponsor me. in normal circumstances I'd reject this but they said it was a birthday present. So I'm just gonna accept it shamelessly. But I plan to go for only one day, and arrive a day earlier because the thing I want to see most is T.M. Revolution's concert!
[disclaimer: most of the photos in this blogpost do not belong to me]
On the night of 9th November 2011, I love Anisong (AFA) presented T.M. Revolution solo concert in Max Pavillion, Singapore EXPO.
I took the VIP seating (yeap, there's goes my money!) but too bad is in the back row. it's like watching the videos in the youtube, except that you get to enjoy the show with the rest of the fans around you. I couldn't see TMR close up, and taking photos isn't allowed. It's a standard rule for Japanese concerts, so I respect that (since I'm a true weeabo ww). Besides, my phone battery was running low, and i concentrated on enjoying the concert.
I didn't recognize the first few songs he sang, probably from Gundam SEED, although I listened to the songs prior to the concert. I didn't watch SEED nor am I a fan of the series.
The best part of the concert, is when he thanked everyone for the supportive messages after the (Tohoku Earthquake 2011) disaster. Then he said, "so I will dedicate this song to you..."
...
...
"ICHIZU NARAAAAA KONO YO NO HATE DEEEMO, MAMORU OMOI WA HITORI JA NAAAIIIIIIII"
The crowd went crazy, as well as I, cos it was so epic since the song is "Save the One, Save the All" it's so fukken related. That song is for Bleach's movie. Though I did not watch it, I love the song very much. And it's funny at first I did not like it but I'm sort of addicted to it right now.
He sang the rest of the anime songs, "Resonance" (Soul Eater), then all the Sengoku Basara songs (movie and anime). It was really amazing. I hope all the jumping burns a lot of calorie lololol. Also I sat exactly behind 2 rows of Japanese fangirls, and they look like they're in their mid 30s. But if you don't mind the face each of them has a body of a teenager. I mean look at those slim legs!! And they have a few wrinkles on their faces already! They know the dance steps. They know when Takanori is going to ask you to jump, and you have to squat before that.
Finally, the last song (before the encore) is the moment I've been waiting for. Also another song he decided to "dedicate" to us. I almost cried when i heard the intro.
It was "Heart of Sword"
Memories of Rurouni Kenshin flashed through my mind while he sang, and it's the only lyrics I memorized among the rest. I was around 10 years old when I heard this in the anime's ED, and I fell in love with it while I was oblivious of the singer. As a kid, you know you want to memorize the lyrics of the song so I have it in my memory till now (as I grow older I became too lazy to memorize songs lol). It is one of the first few Japanese songs I liked, before I officially turn into a Japanese music fan. So I'm really glad to finally hear this particular song... the song that I have loved for 14... FOURTEEN years.... LIVE!!
*tacing2 kejap*
After the song, he left the stage. But the encore chant wasn't so convincing, wasn't so loud. I remember how loud it was during Kalafina's concert in AFA Malaysia, but this one is too unorganized and less wild. Man, you Singaporean's are so tame hwahahaha don't be so uptight!! (ok nothing bad about being civilized, plus I really like your country).
So he came back for an encore, 2 songs I also cannot recall listening to but still enjoyable. He changed into a simple T-shirt, along with his band members. Oh I haven't mentioned that the band he was with was freakin' amazing as well. So Takanori isn't the only one in the spotlight, in spite of being the solo. At the end the drummer threw his drumstick and i dunno who the lucky people who got them. I'm sure they'd treasure it for life even if it's not the main star of the show. Because, well, the drummer IS amazing too.
[spoils from Day 0. Bought 2 of TMR's album]
The whole concert is literally a decent strip show by Takanori. As usual he wore his flashy costume, this time it's white and you know... looks like a cross between military and Elvis Presley. After a few songs, he took of his trenchchoat. Then after another few songs, he took of another piece of clothing. It makes me wonder if he was going to strip all the way towards the end (and surprise us with HOT LIMIT). I think the guys are disturbed by his belly button exposure but heck, it was FANSERVICE!
So there's also UTAGE sold during the event, it compiles all of the Sengoku Basara songs. I'm glad it's my favourite game he contributes to.
[TM Revolution in Sengoku Basara form. That is SO him!]
It's sad that I didn't get autographs from him (only selected seat winners), I won for Minami Kuribayashi instead. But I don't care about her (and the other Anisong artists pfft-). I'd like to express my gratitude towards Choco-tan and Little Wolf for introducing me to Abingdon Boys School, and consequently leading me to love TMR. Also thanks to Kirua for helping me buy the tix.
Did I mention that the concert was awesome? Then i'm gonna say it again.
IT WAS AWESOME!
Also the concert was shown in nicovideo (oh lol I should've known cos instead of wasting money i can just watch it from the livestream), as well as the concerts on 10th and 11th November.
So that's all for Day 0, and TMR's concert alone. Will do a report on Day 1 event next.
So I'm gonna compile all four seasons of Natsume Yuujinchou, since each seasons contained like 12-13 episodes. And I don't think there's much to say, although I really like this anime.
Studio: Brain's Base
Author: Yuki Midorikawa
Natsume Takashi is an orphaned boy (oohh look! another orphan!) who grew up being able to see youkais. As a child he often see the spirits roaming about, frightening him or trying to befriend him. As result he often freaks out too suddenly, that most of his classmates and distant relatives thinks he's a crazy kid who craves for attention. Now as a high school kid, he lives with an old couple who has no kids, and is living in some kind of countryside where he decides to improve his interaction with people.
He inherits his grandmother's stuff, and there's one particular item called "Book of Friends" where spirits had signed their name in it to become Natsume Reiko's cronies. Unlike his tough grandma, Natsume seems rather weak but he has one hell of a punch. But most of the time he seems like the heroine lol. Anyway, the consequence is, a lot of youkais are either attacking him or begging him to get their names back. Apparently the contract limits their freedom. Natsume, being a nice grandson in contrast to his grandma, willingly give their names back (And he totally looks beautiful while doing that). Oh let's not forget the youkai called Madara, who really doesn't approve of Natsume releasing the youkais, yet he's pretty much protective of Natsume. Yeah we have a really tsundere neko.
and i love how rounded he is
So the summary sounds kind of shounen-ish. But in fact it's just slice of life. Though there are times when the episodes feels so shounen cos in the end Natsume saves the day (or Natsume is saved etc). I guess the show focused more on how to deal with being a freak, how to act normal when there's something isn't right about you. Other than dealings with humans, even youkai had the chance to express themselves. The youkai characteristics varies; not everyone is good nor bad, and they have their own culture, habits and weaknesses that makes them so unpredictable. It's interesting to know that in Shinto belief, their gods come to existence only when people need them. And they slowly disappear when humans no longer pray at their shrine. I kind of felt sorry for the minor kamisamas.
The thing that impresses me is how Natsume coped with his lonely life and is trying his best to be accepted without telling people of his secret ability. Usually teens who were shunned like that would turn out into a delinquent, but Natsume grew up into a kind and gentle boy - both to humans and youkais. If the Fujiwara hadn't taken him in, he would probably become a rebel. On another note; Natsume should've joined the track team, he's been running around since he was small XD
effin' cute!
Throughout all seasons, we're reminded of how to get along with people in spite of being a 'weirdo'. There's no reason to become a gangster if nobody likes you in the past, and Natsume is a perfect example of that. And he's so considerate of everyone that it annoys me that he's too kind, but his short temper made up for it. Maybe ronery people out there should take a leaf out of his book.
Unfortunately, season 3 bored the hell out of me cos there aren't any name returning scenes. Season 4 was a tease cos I thought it's about time to know what happened to Natsume Reiko. That's the only thing I'm curious. And I'd like to know the outcome of finishing the name-returning ritual as well.
I have nothing much to say about the art. It's just simple and nice, no moe nor overly bishified characters.
