Butai Updates Make Me Happy

I nearly lost my calm Work Mode composure when twinnie told me sometime after lunch about Takizawa Hideaki and Yara Tomoyuki working together in the upcoming Takizawa Kabuki. Damn near cost me time for GSC updates because I was too busy spazzing with her. Hahaha. xDD

It's Takki's directorial debut isn't it? Was it his idea to include a raburabu scene between the two main characters? Teeheehee. Too bad we won't be able to go watch it live, Farah... but CAN YOU ALREADY IMAGINE HOW MANY TAKKI-YARA FLUFF WILL SPAWN FROM THIS? *rubs palms eagerly to convince self not to feel too horrid*

Misosiru translated updates about the news [here]. In a separate post she also mentioned about Koichi's mishap during the flying stairs routine. The rope hit his face aside from not getting to execute a few of the moves. Ouch. I hope he isn't injured badly. And yes, I stress my point here on that I will forever worry about his condition in SHOCK. Apatah lah lagi si Tsuyo tu kan?

Since we're still on the topic of kabuki, interestingly enough Yara had said this line either in his jweb or on stage: [ "Great efforts will definitely be rewarded!! Definitely!!" ]

I haven't an idea how Yara will cope with E SHOCK and preparation for T Kabuki all at the same time. Less free time but him being someone who just cannot sit down at home and do nothing... he'll manage, ne? Busy, busy man. Apart from receiving more work offers, Yaracchi has really improved a lot and I'm happy that he's happy regardless if this means he won't be able to commit to more MA-centric projects this year. Especially Koichi's solo con and the MA-MIX segments on SCP.

;_; but still ♥

Ssssspeaking of busy men, Sugizo has declared via myspace that he's overworked and will quit X Japan and be retiring soon then move to a small island in South East Asia. Nyeheh. Just kidding. As if, right?

Anyhow, actually he complained that his life isn't private anymore because he is holing himself up in the studio... writing -ohyeahbaybeh- NEW MATERIALS! YAY! So there'll be more iTunes singles which will be released once every month. Today's single, 'Prana', is absolutely delicious by the way ;D

Am slotting that review sometime with that writeup on Tokio's new single... Not sure when. Um yeaaah I'm still waiting for upcoming releases (DaizyStripper! wheeeeee~) so after that lorh.

Willing Self Not To Sleep

So many things to do tomorrow... I thought I needed to stay awake to make sure Matchy-san's SDK ep is downloading since my connection was very slow earlier. Now MF suddenly laju pulak.

Ok~ should go to sleep now so can wake up 1 hour earlier to watch it! :D

If you haven't been following MusicJAPAN Plus for their interviews and news, you better go head there now.

It's a pretty comprehensive digital magazine site with all the latest VK and Jpop news. I spotted grammar mistakes but they've got everything under one roof. *thumbs up*

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="When too lazy to download, I jz pop in here."][/caption]

Although I may be biased because the first issue had SUGIZO on their cover. Mwahah.

Japanese Mary Poppins

Domoto Koichi to Fly with Japanese Umbrella on the Stage!

2010-02-17

KinKi Kids member Domoto Koichi studied a consecutive lesson for the Tokyo Empire Theater 10th anniversary musical "Endless SHOCK".
After the lesson, Koichi revealed his own thoughts on the challenge to the longest performance: "I have gained a lot of weights. My weight now is 57kg, which is 5kg more than I usually am. 52kg is not enough for me, and I hope I can keep the best condition to the end!"

Mr. Kitagawa, the director of Johnny's Jimusho, took participate in the writing and composing of the musical. It is a story about Koichi whose body and soul are separated due to an accident while he is fighting for the unity of the company. In the highlight, which is a flying scene, Koichi will be in gold, holding a Japanese style umbrella in the hand, and flying from 8m high above the stage.

As to the flying scene in which the umbrella will be the lifeline, Koichi said: "My right hand is very strong." and made everyone laughed.

When the flower from the actress Mori Mitsuko was sent in, Koichi commented: "It reminds me that today is Valentine's day. I am always receiving gifts from Ms. Mori and I should give her a gift some time." And about the first performance later, "After considering the schedule of many guests who are going to take a Shinkansen back home, we will contract the performance and end it 20 minutes earlier. It's quite hard." Said Koichi while smiling, "However, I feel very lucky to be on the stage. Thanks to your support, I will do my best to fulfill your expectation."

The musical "Endless SHOCK" will be staged from February 14th to March 30th and July 4th to 31th!
Don't miss out his wonderful performance!

Source: music japan+

We all know what he's been practicing on each day to get such a strong muscular right arm, ne? *wink wink* I can imagine Downtown-san picking on Koichi and his nightly pre-sleep activity all over again xD

Another new flying routine in his butai that will end up worrying all us Kochan fangirls to death.

Hope they're gonna release a DVD of this year's run. My money is waiting to be spent. Pueheh.

Puri Puri Puritii~

Ooh~ the Shinohara Tomoe who sang the song Voyage [CLICK HERE] that was produced by Sugizo is actually honestly this Shinohara Tomoe:

THE Tomoe-chan who hosted the Pre Pre Pretty segment on KinKi's Love Love Aishiteru back in the late '90s. The Tomoe-chan who will always, without fail, get bullied by KinKi and everyone from Johnny's. xD

Seriously. WOW. Produced by Sugizo. I love that song! ♥ Wow. She must've been 19 or 20 years-old at that time. Wow.

Took me 4 years to realise this, by the way. Pueheh.

Anyway, here's a more realistic photo of pretty Tomoe now. With better wardrobe choices.

You should absolutely watch her on Domoto Kyodai (2 guest appearances!) because Tomoe and KinKi futari go waaay back and it's fun seeing them bully her all over again.

Red or Blue?

Sorry for the double post. I couldn't resist posting this glomp happy survey (taken from misosiru).

And because I wanted to be able to actually choose something today. -_-v

A KinKi Kids Final Choice Survey

Q1. Today is the date ♪ He came to pick you up!

☆ Meeting in the red convertible
☆ Meeting in the lightweight truck of previous!? Shindoi car Tsuyo

Q2. If you were going to go to the amusement park?
☆ "Not the scary ones! Let's ride the Merry Go Round." Tsuyo who choses the ride while saying that.
☆ "Let's ride the Roller Coaster!" Kouchan who gets in the scary ride.

Q3. If you were going to the Karaoke?
☆ Tsuyo ★ who would sing any song you requested (Even KinKi songs)
☆ Kouchan ♪ who would sing a duet with you even while being shy.

Q4. The thing you would want for your birthday?
☆ "My Love! I'll engulf you with it." Kouchan
☆ Tsuyo who'd choose rings with you and get a pair for both you and him.

Q5. If you were to be carried princess-style?
☆ Tsuyo who would do his best to pick you up and carry you.
☆ Kouchan who'd easily pick you up and turn you around.

Q6. If you were to offer ●●x
☆ "Leave it to me!" Kouchan who is S.
☆ "Are you OK!? Tell me if it hurts" Tsuyo who is M but is hiding it.

Q7. Something happened and you're feeling depressed. The one you want next to you?
☆ "You don't have to endure it na..." Tsuyo who would hug you tightly
☆ "Whats the matter? Did something happen?" Kouchan who would ask worriedly

Q8. Which pet do you like?
☆ Kounyan who likes to be playful ♪
☆ Tsuyoinu who behaves like a spoiled child ♪

Q9. The teacher you'd fall in love with?
☆ Tsuyoshi-sensei of Fine Arts, who is very talented at basketball and draws everyone's portrait
☆ Kouchan of Science who can not be stopped if it's a talk about cars.

Q10. Whose proposal would make you want to marry?
☆ "Please marry me so we can be together forever." Tsuyo who can feel love everyday.
☆ "Let's love each other even when we became grandparents and make a lot of children until then." Kouchan who seems like he'd be the domineering husband.

-------------
Oops. I ended up confusing myself by highlighting in blue and red. Anyway:

7 Reds, 3 Blues = Koichi ♥

Trust me, it was quite hard not to side with Kochan... him being my utmost fave and all. But it wouldn't have been fair to pick both answers, ne? :O

Ok, sleep time! *drags Kochan to bed*

Eenie Meenie Miney Moe

AH! I mismatched the mag titles and its cover! Why is my memory so bad?



The magazine that Farah saw at Kino today and offered to buy first is the one on the left: Ovation. I thought she was talking about Best Stage! T-T

Both aren't exactly Koichi's best sexiest photoshoots, but:

• Ovation Feb 2010 has plenty of pages on him in a pretty cathedral and has that one shot where he's honest to goodness SMILING. Although he looks too friggin thin in here. It also has a 2 page pullout pinup.


• Best Stage Mar 2010 only has around 8 pages of normal studio shots but it offers a 3 page pullout poster. Black outfit. *drools* And this issue has that MA interview. (Like OMG Yara!)

Both are fucking expensive I seriously would shit my pants.

Shigoto! Shigoto!

Workdays are boring and slow when Farah's not online T_T

KinKi-ed Up!

Owh hell yeah, I love this Mandigo theme. Now I can spruce up the background here as much as I want to (when I'm free to). Major thanks to this tip off.

Shall start with KinKi ♥

Centralised background, hence we should be able to play around with higher screen resolutions. This will allow more widescreen customisation. Meaning: MOAR images to pimp with the possibility of a larger canvas width.

Looking at the limited viewing space for 1024x768 screens, I dunno how I'd be able fit all six Shinhwa members tho'. *sheepish smile* So I urge all of you to please buy widescreen monitors in order to see all the missing parts. Akekeke.

Or you can just change your browser 'zoom in' function.

On another geeky customising move I made: Google Analytics tracker has been added! Er, so the pageviews figures aren't gonna be huge or anything (note: estimating this blog will only hit less than 20 views per month) but I'm curious as to where my readers come from :P

Since my blog does sometimes manage to pop up in Google Search whenever I look for Jrock/Visual Kei info, ya know? *boasts*

Bottom Rung

Meetings, meetings, meetings. So this is how it feels like to have meetings all day long and not getting a single hour to do any of my work. Me not liking it much. But I need the effing money, right?

Er well actually, the money's not a big driving factor for me (yet).

*stares up the ladder* Am I up for it?

January '10 VK Reviews

Phew. Made it right on time by nicking a few hours on 1st February! Yikes O_O TWELVE REVIEWS?! *shakes head*

Title: IN PHYSICAL *AWEFUCKINGSOME* Band: Ken (of L'Arc~en~Ciel) Verdict: 5 stars. I vote he should leave Laruku and continue as a solo artist then produce more bands. What an absolute kickass album. Unhampered by his band's emo-punk style, these self-produced songs are stylish and classy. One of the best releases from 2009 (and last decade). Go for: 'ETERNAL REST', 'IN PHYSICAL', 'SAVE ME' and practically everything in this album! xD

Title: Metamorphosis *AWEFUCKINGSOME* Band: DEAD END Verdict: 4.5 stars. Morrie is by far the most sturdy vocalist with hardly any break in prowess after what... almost 30 years? Here's some info on them just to prove my point. If you think veteran bands should stay away from making a comeback and further embarrass themselves like X Japan, spend some time to listen to this and be pleasantly amazed. It's bound to make you swear off all those teeth-gnashing new metal-slash-hiphop stuff that younger bands have been spewing -- if only for awhile. Because they totally bring back metal in Japanese rock. And it's been a few months for me to actually hear something worth repeating beside Ken's album thus I'm also awarding this with a Best of 2009 trophy. Go for: 'Guillotine', 'Shinen', 'Dress Burning', 'Kill Me Baby', 'Devil Sleep', 'Meigou'.

Title: 羅針盤 (Rashinban) Band: Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD Verdict: 3.5 stars. Spunky and fresh. Yeah, a tad weird to describe it this way but their expert songwriting is really unique as opposed to other rising indie bands. After a year plus, I've familiarised with Danchou's high pitch as something he's good at *unplugs earbuds*. Handling ballads and metal riffs like nobody's business, these talented boys are progressing really fast and looks like they'll be debuting under a major label this year probably after March. So I'm looking forward to that. Go for: 'Ring-a Ring-o', 'Mr.HEAVEN', 'Hakoniwa'.

	Title: Gain Band: Sadie Verdict: 1.5 stars. Nothing spectacular from this new mini. I can't even think up something nice to say. Ick... Just listen to 'Regret' and skip the others. Go for: 'Regret'.

Title: Canticum Band: forbidden days of rhapsody Verdict: 3 stars. Mika has returned to the foray as the frontman, bassist and programmer of this electronica-metal project. And omaigawd he got fellow ex-Rentrer bandmate Shun to join him *dies happy*. Cough. Beautiful songs, by the way. Another plus point would be featuring vocalist, Rui, who suddenly came into everyone's radar with his powerful voice. The mixing is beyond exquisite and should be listened to using superior headphones because 2 weeks ago I put this on speaker and thought it sucked. Oops. Go for: 'REFILL' (inst), 'HANDCUFF', 'IN DELIRIUM' (inst).

	Title: 神羅万象 -摂理- (Shinrabansho -Setsuri-) Band: XodiacK Verdict: 1.5 stars. Guh. What happened to them? And what kind of production is this? Choppy songwriting and horrible quality -- It's as if they recorded in a garage all in one day. Go for: 'Kimi ni Furu Zetsubou no Ame'.

Title: JUBILEE -Method of Inheritance- *HOT* Band: Versailles Verdict: 4 stars. In memory of Jasmine You, I couldn't help sighing and remembering their first album which practically bled your ears with high speed guitar riffs. I'm not entirely fond of the gay Waltz-like strings in 'Reminisce' and tame 'Amorphous'. Granted this is their first major album so it's possible they turned down their intensity a notch somewhat? Nevertheless, this is a good album that benefits a HOT tag because they have their production down to pat. Excellent work! And pay attention to 'Serenade' for the underlying meaning. [Random note: Silly me, I only found out last month that Teru was from Aikaryuu. SLOW, Arfah!] Go for: 'PRINCESS -Revival of Church-', 'Serenade', 'gekkakou', 'Catharsis'.

Title: us. *HOT* Band: the Underneath Verdict: 4 stars. Another 2009 album I overlooked. A little bit of everything can be found here: some old-Laruku, some AliceNine, some Inoran, some Pierrot. And I LOVE it. To death. So now when I'm completely digging it, they announce that they're disbanding! What a shame. Technically, this is their last album but not their final goodbye since they'll release a maxi single in March. One more good band bites the dust. Go for: 'Chou no Koe -The scream of the butterfly-', 'Insomnia', 'Aria', 'Ghost in the Mirror'.

Title: ABINGDON ROAD *AWEFUCKINGSOME* Band: abingdon boys school Verdict: 5 stars. They deliver us the goods on a gold platter (again). Yet they still cheat us by releasing too many good singles. I counted only 5 new songs. Hey but nothing and nobody can deny the greatness of this album. No huge cult hit as of yet although I'm pitting my money on the severely angsty 'Siren' against the snazzy 'PINEAPPLE ARMY'. Check out the Valkyrie remix, man. Go for: 'PINEAPPLE ARMY', 'Siren', 'Kimi no Uta', 'From Dusk Til Dawn', 'STRENGTH.' and yeaaah anything and everything.

Title: LASTICA Band: Karasu Verdict: 2.5 stars. I kinda have an image of them riding Harleys while cruising down Vegas in all-black leather outfits. Well, they've got the clothes right. Yet the song lacks the punch in the gut feel I normally get from Tats. And the repeating melody is tiresome after 4-5 runs. Not betting anything on karasu for now although they are pretty compatible with each other. Go for: Obviously 'Lastica' because they only have 1 song.

	Title: Monad Band: Vidoll Verdict: 2 stars. Hm. Not really for me. *yawn* Decent, but definitely isn't what I thought I could expect. Vidoll is quite an old band so why are they making platonic half-fluff like DuelJewel? I think I'll just stick to fluff from SID or Ayabie. Go for: 'Darwinism', 'hot cage remix'.

Title: 彩-irodori- Band: Ayabie Verdict: 3 stars. Ooh. This new change gets an approving nod from me. They've shrugged off their bubblegum poprock musical style to a mature blend of their signature oshare-kei with something I can't quite put a finger on. 'GAME' is highly addictive! Go for: 'GAME', 'Aitakute', 'Canary'.