All right, I've made my decision. I'm making the switch to Wordpress.
All future entries will be posted only to this blog: http://audiovisualstyle.wordpress.com/.
I'll also be moving some of my older entries to the Wordpress site. I'll still keep this blog online, but I will no longer be updating it. Not for the foreseeable future, at least. Please feel free to ask if you'd like further explanation; the reasons for the move aren't particularly interesting, really.
Thank you so much for your readership and comments. I hope you'll be willing to continue following Audio Visual Style at its new location. Work and personal issues have made it difficult for me to post as often as I like, but I truly enjoy doing this, and I want to continue for as long as I can.
See you at the new site!
Dates in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and and Indonesia. Niiicee...
Source: LAMC Productions's Facebook page
I created a mirror (sort of) for this blog on Wordpress: http://audiovisualstyle.wordpress.com/.
It's a free account, so nothing fancy. But I quite like the features available on Wordpress. I'm seriously contemplating moving this blog over to Wordpress. I'd like to explore Wordpress's system more, though, to see if this is a good idea. I'm also open to keeping both blogs updated, but that would take quite a bit of work. If any of you have any feelings on this matter, I'd really appreciate it if you could share them with me!
Oh, I also made an Audio Visual Style Tumblr. It's less structured, and doesn't have the posts that I make here; it's just for photos I wanted to share and random thoughts. Oh, and Kalafina gifs.
It's a free account, so nothing fancy. But I quite like the features available on Wordpress. I'm seriously contemplating moving this blog over to Wordpress. I'd like to explore Wordpress's system more, though, to see if this is a good idea. I'm also open to keeping both blogs updated, but that would take quite a bit of work. If any of you have any feelings on this matter, I'd really appreciate it if you could share them with me!
Oh, I also made an Audio Visual Style Tumblr. It's less structured, and doesn't have the posts that I make here; it's just for photos I wanted to share and random thoughts. Oh, and Kalafina gifs.
After making some teasing posts on their Facebook page, the organisers of Anime Festival Asia (AFA) have announced some details for this year's upcoming AFA events. The second AFA Indonesia (AFAID) will be taking place on 6-8 September at the Jakarta Convention Center, while the sixth installment of Singapore's annual AFA event, AFA 13, will be held at the Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre on 8-10 November. An AFA Malaysia (AFAMY) event has also been mentioned in the announcement, but there no further details are available just yet. This would be the second AFA event for Malaysia.
Nice to see that AFA is continuing to hold events outside of Singapore.
It's also interesting to note that AFA Singapore will be going back to taking place at Suntec (AFA 12 was at Singapore EXPO). This is very welcome news for me, as EXPO was in the east of Singapore, while I live in the west of the country; Suntec is in a more central location, and a lot faster to get to. Dragging myself out of bed very early in the morning to make it in time for the 9 am screenings of the Madoka Magica movies at last year's AFA was kind of a pain...
I'm very much looking forward to seeing the list of guests that will be making an appearance. I hope they release those details very soon. It's no secret as to whom I'm most hoping to see again...Ka-la-fi-na!
Nice to see that AFA is continuing to hold events outside of Singapore.
It's also interesting to note that AFA Singapore will be going back to taking place at Suntec (AFA 12 was at Singapore EXPO). This is very welcome news for me, as EXPO was in the east of Singapore, while I live in the west of the country; Suntec is in a more central location, and a lot faster to get to. Dragging myself out of bed very early in the morning to make it in time for the 9 am screenings of the Madoka Magica movies at last year's AFA was kind of a pain...
I'm very much looking forward to seeing the list of guests that will be making an appearance. I hope they release those details very soon. It's no secret as to whom I'm most hoping to see again...
As part of HP's All That Matters Music Matters Live series, J-Rock bands flumpool and SID performed at Clarke Quay's Fountain Stage. Their performances came under a special segment called "J-Rock Matters", presented by the Japanese online publication BARKS.
It was a great show. Best of all, it was free.
I was considering doing a live report, but I noticed that the videos from the livestream of the concert were still up:
I think these convey the experience of the live better than any report of mine could.Any suggestions that I may just be too lazy to write a report will be huffily ignored. I'm not sure how long these videos will be up for, so if you haven't watched them yet, go get to it.
At around 11:30 of flumpool's performance, vocalist and guitarist Ryuta kisses the pick he was using and tosses it into the crowd, close to where I was standing. I normally don't bother going for these kind of things even when they come my way because I'm neither tall nor forceful enough to stand a chance. But this dude who hadn't even noticed what was going on got hit in the chest by the pick, and then coolly bent down to retrieve it. Lucky guy.
Fortunately for me, that dude happened to be the brother I'd dragged along to the show. He didn't really want it, so...
Couldn't have asked for a better souvenir.
So thank you, BARKS, for bringing flumpool and SID to Singapore. I hope you bring other Japanese artistes here as well!Also, hopefully, for free.
It was a great show. Best of all, it was free.
I was considering doing a live report, but I noticed that the videos from the livestream of the concert were still up:
I think these convey the experience of the live better than any report of mine could.
At around 11:30 of flumpool's performance, vocalist and guitarist Ryuta kisses the pick he was using and tosses it into the crowd, close to where I was standing. I normally don't bother going for these kind of things even when they come my way because I'm neither tall nor forceful enough to stand a chance. But this dude who hadn't even noticed what was going on got hit in the chest by the pick, and then coolly bent down to retrieve it. Lucky guy.
Fortunately for me, that dude happened to be the brother I'd dragged along to the show. He didn't really want it, so...
Couldn't have asked for a better souvenir.
So thank you, BARKS, for bringing flumpool and SID to Singapore. I hope you bring other Japanese artistes here as well!
So pretty. Waaaay bigger version of image at source.
Kalafina announced at their live concert earlier today that they will be releasing their fourth album, Consolation, on the 20th of March. EDIT: Kalafina's official blog has corroborated the information. UPDATE 25/1: The album will come in three versions (CDJapan pre-order links ahead): Limited Edition Type-A (with DVD), Limited Edition Type-B (with Blu-Ray) and Regular Edition.
Updated: Album covers (click each image for a bigger version)
Limited Edition Type-A
Limited Edition Type-B
Regular Edition
EDIT: According to CDJapan, the track list for the album will be as follows:
1. al fine
2. consolation
3. moonfesta~ムーンフェスタ~
4. Door
5. 未来 (Mirai)
6. 花束 (Hanataba)
7. signal
8. obbligato
9. 木苺の茂みに (Kiichigo no Shigemi ni)
10. 満天 (Manten)
11. to the beginning
12. ひかりふる (Hikari Furu)
13. 夢の大地 (Yume no Daichi)
Yay, an appropriate moment to re-use this gif!
Based on the Google's typically garbled translation of the source blog, what I'm getting is that the Limited Editions will include footage of their time at Germany's AniMagiC event, the PV for their song Yume no Daichi (yay, more PVs to
I'll let the nice folks of canta-per-me.net furnish you with the few details that are currently available. If you'll excuse me, I'm about to get busy shrieking with delight and dancing with manic glee.
This post has been moved to the following URL: http://audiovisualstyle.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/pv-recapreview-kalafina-moonfesta/
Goat: "I
Goat: "I
Yesterday, I got an e-mail from CD Japan telling me that they had shipped my order, and that it would be arriving in 3-6 days. Okay, I could wait that long.
When I dragged myself home that same night after a long day of work, I found a package from CD Japan waiting for me on my desk.
That's crazy efficient. Well, its contents certainly cheered me up. My copy of Kalafina's Hikari Furu (plus bonus jacket) had arrived, two days before the official release date:
The CD. Limited Edition Type-B
Bonus jacket
So pritteh. And HomuMado is ♥
The one with Homura x Madoka is on the other side of the bonus jacket. The Madokami image on the back CD cover is actually a sticker, it peels off just above where the tracklist is. Did not expect these, were they announced? In any case, they're pretty sweet additions. Will review the stuff I was actually paying for (the music, I mean, and maybe the PV too) later. Excuse me while I go put Hikari Furu on an infinite loop,
Well, hello, it's been a while. I have my excuses (perfectly valid ones!) for being away, but I'm fairly sure that that's not what you came here to read.
And yeah, I promised a recap of Kalafina's moonfesta PV. It's been forever, but I'm not about to give up on it. Not just yet. But it'll probably take some more time before it's done.
In the meantime, let us all rejoice at the announcement of Kalafina's new single, Hikari Furu, which will be released on the 24th of October.
More Kalafina is always good news!
The title track for the single will be the theme song for the second Madoka Magica compilation film. The title of the movie, by the way, is Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part II: The Eternal Story, which is too long for me to attempt to fit gracefully into the previous sentence. Anyway, I'm very excited about all this, which should not surprise anyone who has been and is still reading this blog.I'm going to stop hazarding guesses as to many of you there are.
The single comes in four (whew) editions: Limited Edition Type-A (includes DVD of the title track's PV), Limited Edition Type-B (same PV, this time on Blu-ray), Regular Edition (no PV) and Anime Edition (includes "...bonus DVD with special animation").
It's available for pre-order on Play-Asia as well. The site has not deigned to tell us which edition is which just yet but a comparison of the catalogue numbers suggests that it's Type-A, Type-B, Regular Edition and Anime Edition. But you don't have to take my word for it, we can wait till they provide more info.
I'm not usually interested in Anime editions but that bonus "special animation" (of the Madoka movie, I presume) sounds intriguing...
In other not-so-new news:
The Rurouni Kenshin live action movie (you know, the one I talked about once or twice or more), which opened in Japan on 25 August, has made a ton of money. It is also, according to the one in-depth review I found that was in English, quite awesome. The movie also been licensed for distribution in over 60 countries. Which is very nice and all, but is Singapore one of them? I think it's likely but they haven't confirmed it why can't they just tell which countries are among those 60+ countries the suspense is killing me here.
Oh, speaking of movies...
Hosoda Mamoru's Wolf Children opened in Singapore this Thursday. Catch it at Bugis+'s Filmgarde if you haven't already. I did, and I greatly enjoyed it. There are several reasons as to why I recommend it but not the least among them is aaaaah widdle wolf kiddies so cute! Okay, seriously, the story is heartwarming and the animation, for the most part, is gorgeous. I'll see if I have time for a proper review.
And yeah, I promised a recap of Kalafina's moonfesta PV. It's been forever, but I'm not about to give up on it. Not just yet. But it'll probably take some more time before it's done.
In the meantime, let us all rejoice at the announcement of Kalafina's new single, Hikari Furu, which will be released on the 24th of October.
More Kalafina is always good news!
The title track for the single will be the theme song for the second Madoka Magica compilation film. The title of the movie, by the way, is Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part II: The Eternal Story, which is too long for me to attempt to fit gracefully into the previous sentence. Anyway, I'm very excited about all this, which should not surprise anyone who has been and is still reading this blog.
The single comes in four (whew) editions: Limited Edition Type-A (includes DVD of the title track's PV), Limited Edition Type-B (same PV, this time on Blu-ray), Regular Edition (no PV) and Anime Edition (includes "...bonus DVD with special animation").
It's available for pre-order on Play-Asia as well. The site has not deigned to tell us which edition is which just yet but a comparison of the catalogue numbers suggests that it's Type-A, Type-B, Regular Edition and Anime Edition. But you don't have to take my word for it, we can wait till they provide more info.
I'm not usually interested in Anime editions but that bonus "special animation" (of the Madoka movie, I presume) sounds intriguing...
In other not-so-new news:
The Rurouni Kenshin live action movie (you know, the one I talked about once or twice or more), which opened in Japan on 25 August, has made a ton of money. It is also, according to the one in-depth review I found that was in English, quite awesome. The movie also been licensed for distribution in over 60 countries. Which is very nice and all, but is Singapore one of them? I think it's likely but they haven't confirmed it why can't they just tell which countries are among those 60+ countries the suspense is killing me here.
Oh, speaking of movies...
Hosoda Mamoru's Wolf Children opened in Singapore this Thursday. Catch it at Bugis+'s Filmgarde if you haven't already. I did, and I greatly enjoyed it. There are several reasons as to why I recommend it but not the least among them is aaaaah widdle wolf kiddies so cute! Okay, seriously, the story is heartwarming and the animation, for the most part, is gorgeous. I'll see if I have time for a proper review.
Just when I think I can't get any more excited, they give us more glimpses of awesomeness. Aoi Yuu~~ her portrayal of Megumi looks to exceed my already high expectations.
And Takei Emi is still amazing.
Source: Anime News Network 1, 2
Nadeshiko
Samurai
Footage highlighting Kenshin:
Footage highlighting Kanryuu:
And Takei Emi is still amazing.
Source: Anime News Network 1, 2
Nadeshiko
Samurai
Footage highlighting Kenshin:
Footage highlighting Kanryuu:
Original source: Yahoo! Japan
The plot seems to be largely an amalgam of the Jin-e and Kanryuu/Megumi arcs, with Kenshin and Kaoru's first meeting (with Jin-e in Hiruma Gohei's place?), Yahiko and Sano's introductions worked in...
I think I'm just going to quit worrying about the plot being too compressed, because it looks like everything else is going to be awesome. The actions scenes look very well done.
The characterisation is still what I'm most excited about, though. I was glad to see more of Sanosuke, Yahiko and Megumi:
Megumi, you fox...
I think I'd already expressed my satisfaction with the glimpse of Sato Takeru's portrayal of Kenshin.
This time, it's Takei Emi who's really charmed me. The forcefulness in that first confrontation with Kenshin, the earnestness in her expression and voice when trying to reassure Kenshin that it doesn't matter to her that he was a hitokiri...The woman is Kaoru.
She's just standing there, and yet she's somehow already exuding Kaoru-ness. It's awesome.
Anxiously awaiting news of a Singapore release
The plot seems to be largely an amalgam of the Jin-e and Kanryuu/Megumi arcs, with Kenshin and Kaoru's first meeting (with Jin-e in Hiruma Gohei's place?), Yahiko and Sano's introductions worked in...
I think I'm just going to quit worrying about the plot being too compressed, because it looks like everything else is going to be awesome. The actions scenes look very well done.
The characterisation is still what I'm most excited about, though. I was glad to see more of Sanosuke, Yahiko and Megumi:
Megumi, you fox...
I think I'd already expressed my satisfaction with the glimpse of Sato Takeru's portrayal of Kenshin.
This time, it's Takei Emi who's really charmed me. The forcefulness in that first confrontation with Kenshin, the earnestness in her expression and voice when trying to reassure Kenshin that it doesn't matter to her that he was a hitokiri...The woman is Kaoru.
She's just standing there, and yet she's somehow already exuding Kaoru-ness. It's awesome.
Anxiously awaiting news of a Singapore release
(Written in bits and pieces over several weeks, with less proofreading than should have been necessary. I hope it's still passably coherent...)
Ah, Kalafina. I can't remember being as enamoured with any other musical act since I quit idolising boybands as a teenager. And I'd never gone to another country (even if it was just neighbouring Malaysia) just to watch an artiste perform live.
Kalafina were certainly worth the journey.
I'd planned to reach Kuala Lumpur on the afternoon of the 8th of June. It turned out to be an even better idea than I'd have thought because AFA later announced that an open-door press preview would be happening that day. And of course, making an appearance was...
Ah, Kalafina. I can't remember being as enamoured with any other musical act since I quit idolising boybands as a teenager. And I'd never gone to another country (even if it was just neighbouring Malaysia) just to watch an artiste perform live.
Kalafina were certainly worth the journey.
I'd planned to reach Kuala Lumpur on the afternoon of the 8th of June. It turned out to be an even better idea than I'd have thought because AFA later announced that an open-door press preview would be happening that day. And of course, making an appearance was...
Real life has been really distracting lately, but I did manage to find some pockets of free time that I could have used for writing up a decent post.However, I ended up using that time to play with my two new acquisitions. *shrugs* It was fun. So instead of a post with some semblance of substance, here are a bunch of photos of the very poseable Figmas Mami and Kyoko:
Mami looks really awesome. And Kyoko! My favourite. She was a lot harder to set up than Mami, because her hair kept getting in the way when trying to attach her to the base...but it was worth it.
I think I can only afford two Figmas for now...
Fun with Kyubey
Mini Madokami wants a shot at him too
"Want one?""Oh, don't mind if I do."
Mami looks really awesome. And Kyoko! My favourite. She was a lot harder to set up than Mami, because her hair kept getting in the way when trying to attach her to the base...but it was worth it.
I think I can only afford two Figmas for now...
Fun with Kyubey
Mini Madokami wants a shot at him too
"Want one?""Oh, don't mind if I do."
This post has been moved to the following URL: http://audiovisualstyle.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/pv-reviewrecap-kalafina-to-the-beginning/
It's here!
...I have to say, though, I expected better.
No time to recap now, but I'll do my best when the time comes. And it will. I've already got ideas...
...I have to say, though, I expected better.
No time to recap now, but I'll do my best when the time comes. And it will. I've already got ideas...
**UPDATE** The movie's official site now has links to trailers subtitled in English, French, Spanish and Chinese. I think the chances of this getting overseas releases not long after the Japanese premiere are looking good...
I've embedded the one with English subs. The video quality is a lot better than the previous video too:
A bit late, and this has been popping out all over the place but...Trailer starts at 0:45:
- I really wish they'd chosen a song other than 'Niji' for that first bit
- HE SAID ORO *squeals* Nice to see how true this Kenshin is to the manga, and seeing Sato portraying both Kenshin's badass side and rurouni side so well is just wonderful.
- Takei Emi looks pretty good in her role too. That scene where Kaoru confronts Kenshin? Totally pulling it off.
- First proper glimpse of Aoki Munetaka/Sanosuke and damn is he badass or is he badass? In terms of casting and characterisation this movie seems to be excelling.
- So much so that I'm not terribly bothered about the storyline. Jin-e, Saito, Kanryuu — based on the number of antagonists it looks like it's going to be severals arcs compressed into the movie. Is it just me, or does the guy in the Hitokiri Battousai poster look like Jin-e? That seems like a plausible way of combining Kenshin and Kaoru's first meeting with the Jin-e arc. And is that white-haired guy at about 1:28 — no way —
- It may be a little premature to judge, but it really does seem that even if the movie is departing somewhat from the original plot, it's staying true to the spirit of the manga and the characters. And that's what I was hoping for the most.
I've embedded the one with English subs. The video quality is a lot better than the previous video too:
A bit late, and this has been popping out all over the place but...Trailer starts at 0:45:
- I really wish they'd chosen a song other than 'Niji' for that first bit
- HE SAID ORO *squeals* Nice to see how true this Kenshin is to the manga, and seeing Sato portraying both Kenshin's badass side and rurouni side so well is just wonderful.
- Takei Emi looks pretty good in her role too. That scene where Kaoru confronts Kenshin? Totally pulling it off.
- First proper glimpse of Aoki Munetaka/Sanosuke and damn is he badass or is he badass? In terms of casting and characterisation this movie seems to be excelling.
- So much so that I'm not terribly bothered about the storyline. Jin-e, Saito, Kanryuu — based on the number of antagonists it looks like it's going to be severals arcs compressed into the movie. Is it just me, or does the guy in the Hitokiri Battousai poster look like Jin-e? That seems like a plausible way of combining Kenshin and Kaoru's first meeting with the Jin-e arc. And is that white-haired guy at about 1:28 — no way —
- It may be a little premature to judge, but it really does seem that even if the movie is departing somewhat from the original plot, it's staying true to the spirit of the manga and the characters. And that's what I was hoping for the most.
Oh, look, it seems that I am alive. My day job seems to have been dedicated to changing that lately. I've got a bit of a break now though.
If you're half as obsessed as I am about Kalafina you'll probably have heard that the ladies will be singing the second OP of Fate/Zero, titled to the beginning (links in the sidebar!). I'm waiting for Play-Asia to put it up for pre-order but I'm not sure they'll offer the postcard calendar bonus that CDJapan has. I WANT.
The DVD/Blu-ray that comes with limited editions will include the PV — words cannot express how much I am looking forward tomaking an irreverent recap of that.
Oh hey lookie sample!
It didn't really impress me at first; I thought it sounded too much like a FictionJunction song than a Kalafina song. But really, that's not a bad thing, is it? And they sound great anyway — I quite like how the main vocal switches more often during verses than usual. Again, not their usual style, and again, nothing wrong with that. It's a refreshing change from hearing just one of them singing lead for most of the song.
If you're half as obsessed as I am about Kalafina you'll probably have heard that the ladies will be singing the second OP of Fate/Zero, titled to the beginning (links in the sidebar!). I'm waiting for Play-Asia to put it up for pre-order but I'm not sure they'll offer the postcard calendar bonus that CDJapan has. I WANT.
The DVD/Blu-ray that comes with limited editions will include the PV — words cannot express how much I am looking forward to
Oh hey lookie sample!
It didn't really impress me at first; I thought it sounded too much like a FictionJunction song than a Kalafina song. But really, that's not a bad thing, is it? And they sound great anyway — I quite like how the main vocal switches more often during verses than usual. Again, not their usual style, and again, nothing wrong with that. It's a refreshing change from hearing just one of them singing lead for most of the song.
I'm going to be so broke in March...
Kalafina After Eden Blu-ray and DVD announced!!
DVD and Blu-Ray of Kalafina's After Eden Special Live at Tokyo Dome City Hall, to be released on March 21. CDJapan's got them up for pre-order already (DVD and Blu-Ray). Canta-per-me.net's got the set list here and ADORE IS ON IT. I MUST HAVE THIS NOW.
Also, Kalafina's live performances for Animax Musix Studio Live and the Animax Musix 2011 concert have hit YouTube.
...Not their best performances, but still watchable. I thought Oblivious in the studio live was quite good, actually. That Sorairo Days performance, though, was doomed upon its conception. The song really doesn't suit them, and they really don't suit it. I'd normally find the idea of Kalafina doing something different refreshing but this is just too jarring. Seriously? Who came up with that? What a waste of an opportunity. There's a hundred other, better songs I'd love to have seen Kalafina cover...
That studio live was pretty easy on the eyes. Nice roving shots, and lots of gorgeous close-ups of Hikaru's super-fierce expressions, Wakana looking...like Wakana (well, she looks good), and Keiko...well, Keiko.
Super-fierce
Wakana.
And Keiko...well, Keiko
And some bonus Wakana!dansu
(This blog has 10,000 hits how the heck did that happen??)
Kalafina After Eden Blu-ray and DVD announced!!
DVD and Blu-Ray of Kalafina's After Eden Special Live at Tokyo Dome City Hall, to be released on March 21. CDJapan's got them up for pre-order already (DVD and Blu-Ray). Canta-per-me.net's got the set list here and ADORE IS ON IT. I MUST HAVE THIS NOW.
Also, Kalafina's live performances for Animax Musix Studio Live and the Animax Musix 2011 concert have hit YouTube.
...Not their best performances, but still watchable. I thought Oblivious in the studio live was quite good, actually. That Sorairo Days performance, though, was doomed upon its conception. The song really doesn't suit them, and they really don't suit it. I'd normally find the idea of Kalafina doing something different refreshing but this is just too jarring. Seriously? Who came up with that? What a waste of an opportunity. There's a hundred other, better songs I'd love to have seen Kalafina cover...
That studio live was pretty easy on the eyes. Nice roving shots, and lots of gorgeous close-ups of Hikaru's super-fierce expressions, Wakana looking...like Wakana (well, she looks good), and Keiko...well, Keiko.
Super-fierce
Wakana.
And Keiko...well, Keiko
And some bonus Wakana!dansu
(This blog has 10,000 hits how the heck did that happen??)
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