Music Mix: Morning Musume '15 Tsumetai Kaze to Kataomoi/Endless Sky/One and Only

Just two months ago, I wrote an entire blog post dedicated to one of my favorite idols of recent years, Sayashi Riho, who had just announced her graduation from the group, Morning Musume. Being that she graduates in two days time (one if you're in Japan's time zone), Morning Musume dropped one final single with Riho as a member. A tripe A-side single, this single hits a perfect balance between featuring Riho and providing a final farewell from her and looking to the future of the group. In this post, I will tell you of ALLLLL my feels and general feelings about each song.

The single's first song and main A-side is "Tsumetai Kaze to Kataomoi", whose official translation is "The Cold Wind and Lonely Love". The song was originally intended to be Riho's graduation solo song, however, the song was rearranged to include all members so that it can be promoted into 2016, after Riho's graduation. The song is a melancholy ballad that has sprinkled EDM dance breaks which sounds bad in written form but actually works very nicely in the song itself. The dance breaks are specifically for Riho to perform her solo dance(s) as she is known for being an AMAZING dancer.

I'll be honest, I'm kind of upset Riho herself didn't choreograph these solo's since I think she would do a much better job, but eh, she pulls it off. Some of the dance steps seem a bit off in certain parts but overall, she does a great job and this song stands as a great homage to Riho's skill and status as ace of the group during her tenure. The music video does a good job of showing us how much Riho has grown and her solo dance breaks are especially good because they really reflect Riho as a person: a solitary girl with great talent and a passion for performing. This music video is definitely my favorite of the three.

Jpop Mix: Tsubaki Factory, Seishun Manmannaka!

How long has it been since I've done one of these? Wow, a while. There have been a lot (and I mean A LOT) of releases among my favorite singers/groups in the last few months but I'm going to zero in on one and post my thoughts on their newest release. This time I will introduce a new group that just made their indies debut earlier this month: Tsubaki Factory. Hey, doesn't that sounds a lot like Kobushi Factory? Yes, yes it does and this is because the groups are meant to be "sister" groups of sorts, thus the "Factory" in both of their names.

I will be the first to admit that my initial impression of Tsubaki was not all that great. This is probably because the girls of Kobushi Factory are so polished. While not bad singers nor bad dancers, Tsubaki factory lacks the vocal prowess that their older sister group is consistently praised for. Further, the girls are still a bit awkward on stage. While I would normally find this endearing, it is a stark contrast when compared to Kobushi's confidence and obvious superior stage presence. While I know the two groups shouldn't be compared, I really can't help it. Since they were formed so close to each other and have the sister group tag, it's so hard not to compare them!

Manga Review: A Bride's Story

A Bride's Story is one of those series I learned about while browsing Goodreads (it's an amazing site, I tell ya!). This manga is still ongoing, but 6 volumes have been released so far in the United States. I actually hesitate to call it "A Bride's Story" even though that is the official English translation. A closer translation would be: Bride's Stories because we don't actually focus on only own individual throughout the series. However, the main focus is on one particular couple.

A Bride's Story starts out relaying the daily life experiences of Amir and Karluk, a newly wedded couple that live in a Turkic town in Central Asia, near the Caspian Sea. The time period is the late 19th century and Amir has just been "given" as a bride to the Eihon family who live in a rural town. Amir is from the Halgal clan, who are a semi-nomadic tribe. Amir and Karluk are unique in that Amir is much older than Karluk; at the time of their marriage, Amir is 20, while Karluk is 12. By the 6th volume, it's mentioned that Karluk will be 13 soon. The manga follows many of their daily interactions, from Amir learning what it's like to bake bread in the town amongst all the other women to Karluk acting as a guide for Mr. Smith, an English researcher who has been living with the Eihon family for some time. The addition of Mr. Smith was a very smart move by the author as there are various aspects of daily life that need more detailed explaining to be understood. Having Mr. Smith there, asking questions as to why the family does things a certain way helps the reader learn a lot about the culture of the clans. It never seems forced or awkward, it's really just a researcher asking simple questions that (mostly) Karluk and Amir try to explain. At some point, the storyline leaves Amir and Karluk and we follow Mr. Smith for a while as he travels away from the family. While following his travels we meet three other young brides: Talas, a young woman who has been married no less than 5 times but each one of her husbands has passed, and Laila and Leyli, two twins who are constantly worried about whether or not their father is looking for a good husband for them. While at first I was jaded because I wanted to know more about Amir and Karluk, it was nice to explore the stories of other brides and see how their experiences differed to that of Amir and Karluk.

Anime Talk: Wolf Children

Recently, I decided that I should really watch some of the movies I've been planning to watch for a while now. So, I went ahead and rented a few of them. Most of them are Hollywood movies but there are a few that are animated movies. One of the first ones I grabbed was Wolf Children or, if we go by its Japanese name, The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki. 

I have been wanting to watch Wolf Children for a while now as many of my friends and former classmates have raved endlessly about the movie. I wasn't sure what to expect to be honest. But after settling down snugly in my living room to watch it from beginning to end I TOTALLY GET IT. 

The movie is told from the perspective of an adult Yuki who is reminiscing and relaying the story of her mother Hana. Hana was a young college student when she met Yuki's father, a young man who is very reserved and is attending her college lectures without actually being a student himself. Hana notices that he doesn't have a textbook and offers to lend him hers. This eventually buds into a romance between the two, with Hana slowly but surely, getting past the young man's tough exterior and getting to know him little by little. One day however (it's Christmas if I remember correctly) he arrives VERY late to their scheduled date. He apologizes to Hana and finally reveals his secret - he is a werewolf! The last of his kind, he was raised in the country by relatives who knew nothing about his origins following the death of his parents. He decided to come to the city for work and lives a lonely life, keeping to himself due to his secret. While surprised, Hana accepts him for who he is and they soon begin a family. Yuki is born first and then one year later, Ame is born. 

Manga Review: Captive Hearts

I've never really detailed here who my favorite manga authors/manga series are, simply because I have focused on reviewing new series I am reading, rather than reminiscing about series I have read in the past. However, I will admit that the author of Captive Hearts penned one of my favorite mangas to date - Merupuri. I will always lament that Merupuri has not yet been made into an anime. But anyways, due to my great love of her works Merupuri, Wanted, and (to a certain extent) Vampire Knight, I expected quite a lot from Matsuri Hino's Captive Hearts.

Captive Hearts follows the story of Megumi Kuroishi. Megumi's ancestor stole the guardian spirit of the Kogami's, and due to this, the spirit cursed the thief and his descendants to always serve the Kogami family as faithful servants. Luckily for Megumi, he has not really suffered from the curse, seeing as the Kogami family disappeared mysteriously when he was still a boy. However, the sole surviving member, Suzuka, has been discovered in China and when she returns to her parent's home, Megumi feels the full effect of the curse. Due to the curse, Megumi becomes extremely overprotective of Suzuka and refers to her as Hime (meaning princess in Japanese). Eventually, Suzuka learns Japanese and the two realize that instead of a master-servant relationship, they really long for a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Therefore, Suzuka sets out to try to break the curse on the Kuroishi family. 

Majisuka Gakuen 4

Between seasons of American and British tv shows, I oftentimes pick up a Japanese drama or two.  Way back in late 2010/early 2011, when I first started following the Japanese pop group AKB48, I read tons of online recommendations urging people new to the group to watch the drama Majisuka Gakuen. I decided to give it a try and boy was I blown away! At the time, I was used to seeing idol groups play innocent, princess-like characters. In Majisuka Gakuen, the girls of AKB48 portrayed "yankee" high school students, a term which in Japan refers to a delinquent. The all-girls high school named Majisuka houses some of the roughest and toughest yankee students in the area. And while they often fight territory wars against other high schools, there is nothing more interesting than the fight for the top within the school itself. 

The first Majisuka Gakuen featured many of the most prominent girls in the group back in 2010. Its sequel, Majisuka Gakuen 2, had many of these members return with new girls, (who were being touted as the "future" of the group) also being introduced. Majisuka Gakuen 3 took place in a prison and diverted completely from the storyline that had been introduced in the school setting. Majisuka Gakuen 3 wasn't too popular so for the 4th installment, the producers decided to move the setting back to the school and have the girls play student delinquents once again (instead of just you know, delinquents).

Jpop Mix: Morning Musume '14, 14 Shou ~The Message~

I didn't think I would actually review this album because I bought it on iTunes way back in September. But then I realized that technically, I could still write a review because I promised that no releases would be more than a year old. Since that year is still a ways away, I decided to go ahead and review this album. 

Morning Musume is an all-female idol group formed in Japan in 1997. The group has a graduation system, where girls leave the group or "graduate" when they see fit to leave or when their producer decides a girl is ready to go. The average time a girl will spend in the group is about 4 years, although Morning Musume does boast a total of 4 girls that have stayed for over a decade. Each new addition is referred to as a "generation", the largest being the 1st generation - the 5 girls that founded the group. The smallest generations are the 3rd, the 7th, and the 11th, each consisting of only one girl. As of 2015, Morning Musume has had 12 generations and currently has 13 members. During the time of the release of the album 14 Shou ~The Message~, the group had 11 generations and 10 members. 

JRock Mix: Hello World!

Yay for our first Music Mix that doesn't feature idols! Although it's still Japanese music, this time I bring a review of all-girl pop rock band Scandal's newest album release: Hello World! 

First, some quick background about the band: they were formed in Osaka, Japan in 2006 by four high school friends. After being in the indie scene for a while and finding great success, they had their major debut in 2008 with the single, "Doll." Scandal are well known among international Japanese music fans and have continued to evolve in their music sound throughout the years. The band is made up of (from left to right in the picture above): Tomomi Ogawa (bassist, lead vocals); Haruna Ono (lead vocals, secondary guitarist); Rina Suzuki (drummer, keyboardist, secondary vocals); and Mami Sasazaki (lead guitarist, secondary vocals).

Hello World is Scandal's 6th studio album released in December of 2014. Now, I own every single album release from Scandal and I have enjoyed the way they have explored different sounds to add to their music. Their fourth album, "Kirifuda wa Queen" (Queens are Trumps) is one of my favorite albums just because it's markedly different in style and sound than their previous albums. It's the most experimental of their albums. With Hello World however, Scandal delivers an album that sticks to their more traditional pop rock sound. As I consider their 5th album, Standard, to be my least favorite of their releases, it was nice to see them going back to their roots in their 6th release, returning to the sounds and arrangements that made me a fan in the first place.

Anime Talk: Black Butler Book of Murder

Before we get started, just a quick disclaimer: I am a big fan of the Black Butler manga/anime series. So be prepared for a (likely) biased review.

"There's nothing more deceiving, than an obvious truth."

I don't quite remember why I first started watching Black Butler. I think it had something to do with finding out Yuya Matsushita would be in the stage play. Whatever the case, I watched the original Black Butler anime and Black Butler II. When Black Butler: Book of Circus was released in 2014, I watched that too and patiently waited for English subs for Book of Murder. I loved the original Black Butler series, and I quite liked how Black Butler II ended. It was unexpected and I loved that about it. However, I quickly learned that the ending seen in BBII is not the official ending to the manga series; it was just an ending made for the anime only. Well, with great demand, the studio that animated the original Black Butler released Book of Circus, which continues the manga storyline. Book of Circus is my favorite of the 3 series related to Black Butler so naturally, I decided I was absolutely going to watch Book of Murder. Well, without further ado, let's take a look at Book of Murder. 

Anime Talk: Fate/Zero

In an earlier Animediction post here, I reviewed Fate/Stay Night, the first anime in the Fate/ series. As promised, I have now finished watching Fate/Zero, the anime that serves as a sort of "prologue" to the Fate/Stay anime, setting in motion many events that come to fruition in the Fate/Stay night anime. I'll be honest, I started out this anime a bit skeptical, because hey, I didn't particularly like Fate/Stay Night. However, from the very first episode, Fate/Zero captivated me in a way that F/S never did and ultimately, is a far superior anime than its predecessor. 

Jpop Mix: 12gatsu no Kangaroo

Hello and welcome to the second installment of Music Mix! As I warned in my first post here, most of the music I listen to is Japanese pop music or just Japanese in origin. So, I'll likely be posting quite a lot of reviews of Japanese pop music, although I will try to add rock/classical/etc. when I'm able to :) This time, we take a look at SKE48's December single, 12gatsu no Kangaroo or １２月のカンガルー. The name of this group must sound pretty familiar right? The first music release I reviewed was one by a group named AKB48. SKE48 is AKB's sister group, founded 3 years after AKB was formed. Both groups have their own theater's where members perform nearly everyday. AKB's theater is located in AKihaBara, in Tokyo. Meanwhile, SKE's is located in SaKaE, in Nagoya. Just a quick explanation as to why they're so similar in name and structure. 

Manga Review: Mermaid Saga

I was recently browsing Youtube and stumbled upon a video of one of my favorite animes as a teenager: Inuyasha. Wondering if the author had published any other stories since, I decided to look her up. Turns out, Rumiko Takahashi is currently working on another series, her first since Inuyasha. Browsing through her previous works, there was one in particular that caught my eye: Mermaid Saga. I read that it was a different type of comic than what Takahashi usually published in that it was dark/macabre. Intrigued, I decided to look up how many volumes there were (3 in English!) and settled down to reading them!

Mermaid Saga was written over the course of many years: one chapter here, and one chapter there. Therefore, since it was not a constant publication, Takahashi did not face the same pressures that she did with many of her other works wherein she had to publish the next installment before a deadline. This translated into a very concise and well written short manga that properly does its job of offering the reader a glimpse into the strange and ultimately sorrowful lives of Mana and Yuta. 

Diving Back In

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to dive back into my Tobira textbook for a while. While I haven't picked up the textbook, I have finally started reading a book I have owned for a good 4 years or so. I bought the pink book below, when I first started becoming interested in the Japanese music scene. At the time (and arguably until today) one of the most well known artists was AKB48. I had watched some of their television shows and found them interesting, so I decided to buy this book thinking, hey, I know hiragana, katakana and about 200 kanji, I'm sure I can read a good part of this. Yeah, no. I got the book and immediately set it aside for the "future" where I would be "better" at Japanese and recognize more of the kanji.

I definitely recognize more kanji, but I've also forgotten a ton of them. So, despite these drawbacks, I decided to start reading it this week. It has been a very very very slow start. I feel like the second picture says it all....especially taking into account that it took me like 3 hours to get through the prologue. Jeez! Luckily the next page was not that bad and I actually got through it pretty quickly (pretty quickly being in about 1 hour and a 1/2). The third page was the easiest because it has words said by the members themselves. I find it a lot easier to read dialogue so that went by pretty fast. I'm really proud of myself for having at least started this and hope that by March I'll have 2 chapters done (this is my goal. It's kind of a sad goal, but if I reach it I will be super proud of myself. Never mind that each chapter is like 8 pages long >.<)