Sunday, March 11, 2007

   Update!
Hello everyone!

Once again, it's taken me over half a year to update. I apologize profusely for neglecting my myOtaku site m(_ _)m

The thing is...these past few months have been super busy for me. I'm now the vocalist of a local band, akai SKY. Their former vocalist/drummer had decided to leave the band, so I was recruited to take his place as vocalist, and J will also be joining as the new drummer! We've been working hard especially since we've got quite a few gigs lined up in the near future at anime conventions, so please come see us!

Our first gig together will be on March 31st at ChibiFest in Las Vegas, Nevada~! For more information on that, you can check out their website here.

Here are our band's websites:
Official Website || Myspace Site

The youtube videos that are up now are the ones with their former vocalist/drummer, but we'll be recording our upcoming gigs, so you'll be able to hear what we sound like when we post those up! I hope I get to see you guys at our live shows, and if any of you do manage to come, please feel free to say hi, and let me know that you found out from my myOtaku!

Back to rehearsing our setlist...Byes~!
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Sunday, July 2, 2006

   HYDE
I never would've thought that I'd ever get the chance to actually see any of the L'Arc~en~Ciel members ever. Even when L'Arc was officially added onto the Tofu Records roster, I never thought that seeing the band or any of its members was remotely possible.

But next week, I'll be seeing HYDE twice in San Francisco, and although I'd had the tickets for a while, it's only hitting me now...I'M GOING TO SEE HYDE!!

Today, people got to see him at the Tofu Records booth at AX, and although I wasn't able to make it out there to Anaheim, it's really hitting me how far JRock/JPop has really been able to go here in America.

Several years ago, I never thought Jmusic in general would get this big, nor did I think overseas fans like me would be able to get these opportunities to see artists live without having to go all the way to Japan. But it's really all happening...

I'm going to see HYDE...in a small venue, too! This is just surreal. L'Arc is one of my fave bands and to be able to go to something like this for one of their members is just amazing.

...oh, btw, how is everyone doing? Haha, I wonder if anyone I know actually still reads this..

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Saturday, March 4, 2006

   Greetings again...
Ah. It's been forever since I last visited this site, and I figured I better update once more just to let people know that I am still very much alive.

What has happened since I last posted? Nothing much, if truth be told. It seems I've stopped watching anime completely and have taken up the hobby of watching JDorama...or Japanese dramas, haha!

Let's see. Ah, yes, and I also got to hang out with one of my favorite Japanese bands in the past month...which only elevated my silly little crush on the vocalist into the "I-really-like-him!" territory as I got to find out more about who he really is. As we talked, I even forgot that he was a musician I had deeply admired because we were clicking so well, and I just ended up seeing him as another normal person that was easy to talk to. It didn't hit me until after I was on my way home that I had spent the whole time talking to someone I had crushed on as a fan, but now really, really liked. Alas...I didn't close the deal and failed to leave any contact information with him, so ha! I really regret it because he's someone that I really could fall for, and I haven't met someone like that in a very long time. But...would it really have made a difference? He's a rockstar and lives an ocean away. I'm just a normal girl...

Sort of reminds me of Kaikan Phrase (or Sensual Phrase as they call it here), haha! The only difference is that Aine and Sakuya live in the same area and speak the same language. My Japanese can get me by, but I'm by no means fluent (especially when it comes to the written aspect...I can't remember all that Kanji for the life of me), and his English is pretty good, but there were still times when we were slightly confused, haha.

Ah well. It was a wonderful dream that happened to come true for just one moment in my life. I hope that maybe one day I'll be able to experience something like that again, but I'm not delusional. I know that things don't happen so well in reality, but it doesn't keep me from hoping. At least I've got one wonderful memory to hold on to. It reminds me of that one song by James Blunt called, "You're Beautiful" because the lyrics are so true to my situation:

"You're beautiful, you're beautiful, you're beautiful it's true // there must be an angel with a smile on her face when she thought up that I should be with you // But it's time to face the truth // I will never be with you..."

I hope next time I update, I'll write about something less depressing, haha.
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Saturday, August 6, 2005

   Yes, I'm still alive...
...but it's not like anyone ever really visits my site anymore. I've noticed that my popularity ranking has definitely suffered due to my long absenses in the past year or so.

I guess that's quite alright with me since most of the people who do come onto my site see my name and ask me if I like Naruto and add me on as a friend with no intention of getting to actually know me as long as they have another person to add to a long list of 'friends.' Whatever. I'm not down for superficialities.

It's not like I can contribute much to anime talk since...well, I just don't watch a lot of it anymore. I keep up with exactly two anime: Naruto and Bleach, and that's it. Hell, I've actually been lagging on Naruto because the latest arc just hasn't captured my attention at all, and quite frankly, the manga has grown quite boring. I had been excited about it all, but the battles are going by SO PAINSTAKINGLY SLOW that I'd rather hold off for a few months and catch up when Kishimoto-sensei finally gets the story going at least a little bit. With the way it is right now, it's just like "GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY AND MOVE THE FUCK ON!" Ugh.

Because of this, I'm actually EXCITED to see Naruto on Cartoon Network because it would be amusing to see how much different it's going to be from the original. I won't be happy about how much they're going to change it, but I'd rather revisit the anime during its early, addicting arcs than to trudge slowly along to the crap that it's turned out to be now.

And if I get any comments trying to argue against my OPINION, I will merely laugh at you, because quite frankly, nothing anyone says will change my mind so it'll be a lost cause to try to do so. The Naruto manga and anime suck right now and unless something actually HAPPENS, it'll continue to be a waste of my damn time.

Bleach is the only thing that I'm in love with at the moment, both anime AND manga. The pacing is perfect for both, and the characters are excellent. It's the only one I actually look foward to every single week. That's how Naruto used to be for me, and I'm sad to say that it isn't anymore. If there's one thing that Naruto could learn from Bleach, it's the pacing. It's not too fast nor is it too slow and it's interesting enough to keep me guessing each week. And I love all the characters! (Well except for the 12th Squad Captain dood. CREEPY. That's how a bad guy is definitely supposed to be like! Makes Orochimaru look like a senile grandpa.)

The other anime I had been watching was Tsubasa Chronicle, but that got old fast. "Ooo look feather! Fight bad guy! Get feather back! Repeat again in different dimension! Wee!" Psh, give me a break. Fuck, and I liked Mokona in Magic Knight Rayearth but in Tsubasa Chronicle, that little shit is annoying as fuck. I'd kept up with it every single week, hoping that I'd find some redeeming quality, because CLAMP really hasn't let me down before, but after the 10th episode, I just couldn't handle it anymore. Sakura is such a Mary Sue, Syaoran is a fucking self-righteous prick, Mokona is beyond annoying, and Kurogane and Fye just take up space. UGH.

...Just took the time to reread this post, and I realize that I sound very angry. LOL. Maybe I'm just tired of wasting my time on things that aren't worth it because it's been happening too much lately. Who knows.

I'm not an angry person. Really, I'm not. ^^;
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Sunday, July 10, 2005

ZZ's vocalist, SOTARO
Hrm, it disturbs me greatly that even though I've got L'Arc~en~Ciel's new album, AWAKE, the only thing I actually listen to on a daily basis are ZZ's albums, Definitive Energy Flow & Generation Hip Innocence, both of which aren't all that new. I think that because I've actually got to see the band live as well as meet them, hearing their music now holds a level of connection that I just cannot feel yet with L'Arc~en~Ciel as I've never seen them live.

I've got a lot of awesome memories from the four days I kept running into the members of ZZ, some more than others, and there are two particular incredible incidents that still makes me get all giddy and giggly whenever I think about them. I had to pause from typing just now because I fell into a fit of giggles.

There is one member of the band that really made a huge impression on me, and that's the vocalist and chief lyricist, SOTARO. He's such an amazing vocalist, and he's really very kind. When I think about this one time...

Hahaha, I can't even type it out if I tried. I keep smiling like a fool at my computer screen thinking about it. All I can say is that he's quite the charmer. The girls flocked ot him like bees to honey, and although I showed no outward signs of fangirlism (I witnessed 14-15 year old girls begging him to marry them o_O), he totally knew he was driving me crazy, hahaha. Gosh, that smile...

Anyway, before this post can become one of those horrid, "OMG-I-LOVE-HIM-HE'S-SO-HOT-I-WANT-TO-BEAR-HIS-BABIES" type of entries, I'll just leave you all with a couple of screen caps from ZZ's music videos as well as pictures from their US lives/appearances at Fanime & AKON.
























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Wednesday, June 15, 2005

   I'm alive...barely.
It's been over a month since I last posted, but things have gotten quite hectic for me, and now that the days have slowed down somewhat, I've got a lot more time on my hands to do what I really want to do.

Oh, by the way, I just graduated from college about 4 days ago, haha. Before the actual graduation ceremony, we had to do a group photo, and that definitely was not a good idea. All of us were in our black robes in the sweltering sun, and the idiotic photographer had no idea how to place all of us, so it took forever just to take three photos. By the time that was over, I wanted to pass out from all heat. The ceremony itself was long and boring, and I found myself staring out into the ocean for most of it. When it was time to cross the stage, I was one of the first people to go, and so afterwards, it got boring again because there were a TON of people who had to cross, and I just sat there for the most part staring off into space. Then the weather went from extremely hot to extremely cold. Horrible. The best part was afterwards when we got free refreshments! I had some cake, and that made me happy. Then my all of my family and friends had dinner, and they were all saying how proud they were of me, especially since I'm the first in the family to graduate from a UC (and in four years). Anyway, it was fun times, and now I need a steady job. Joy.

---

Another thing that has happened in the month that has passed since my last update was that I spent the Memorial Weekend at FanimeCon. I spent most of my time doing some work at the Tofu Records booth...asking people to sign surveys and giving out free L'Arc~en~Ciel posters. It was cool. When it got slow, I was able to watch as many L'Arc~en~Ciel clips as I wanted! What else...I actually didn't watch any kind of anime that whole weekend, which is surprising since I was at an anime convention afterall.

I also got to meet the band, ZZ. For those of you who watch anime, they've done a song for One Piece called, "A to Z," and they've also done a song for Samurai Gun called, "Samurai Crew." However, their music is really interesting. They take a whole bunch of musical influences and fuse them together to come up with really unique music. Anyway, when they perform live, they're AMAZING. I couldn't believe their energy, and Sotaro-san (the vocalist) has a really strong, powerful voice. And he's hot.

I also was able to attend the D'espairsRay show in San Jose, and comparing the two musical shows, I enjoyed ZZ's performance a lot more. For one thing, the audience response was a lot more crazy. The audience for the D'espairsRay show was really kinda...blah. Also, ZZ was just massively entertaining not only to listen to, but to watch as well. D'espairsRay...well, their music was cool, but it's just not my kind of style. Their performance style is also kinda weird. Zero (bass), Karyu (guitar), and Hizumi (vocal) just stood there for the most part while playing their instruments and only during certain parts did they get really into it and start headbanging. I know that's probably part of their whole image and stuff, but I'd rather watch people who look more alive than dead.

ZZ is fun and energetic, and their music just seems to reach across and grab me. I got none of that from D'espairsRay. Also, I must say that I'm just not into the whole gothic VK kinda deal. The audiences are especially elitist...the air was thick with elitism at the show. I don't know how many times people looked at ME funny just because I wasn't wearing any kind of black nor had funky ass VK make-up on. I got stared at by people cosplaying as gothic lolitas. How ironic.

I seriously would rather go to a show for a slightly more mainstream band than a band from the VK genre. I can't take a lot of their fans, most of whom think they're just too damn cool for liking the most obscure bands. Whatever. For me, if the music isn't good, the band is no good, no matter what the hell they look like. You can show me the prettiest boys dressed in all black and wearing a lot of make-up but if they sound like crap, THEY ARE CRAP. Musically, D'espairsRay is pretty cool, but they're not the greatest thing I've ever heard. Image-wise, they sort of scare the shit out of me.

Anyway, FanimeCon was pretty cool, even though I didn't engage that much with the con activities. The only thing that I found worthwhile were karaoke, the Asian Film Rooms, ZZ Q&A panels/autograph sessions, and the dealer's room...that's about it. Meeting a lot of L'Arc~en~Ciel fans at the Tofu Records Booth was a lot of fun, too.

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well. I don't know how many of you will actually read this since I've been gone for so long. Oh wells. Here's a pic of ZZ from their 2nd Q&A:

L to R: staff person, Erichi-san, Sotaro-san (puwahah he thought I was Japanese because I spoke a little bit of it), Matsuura-san, Kyama-san, and Kohsuke-san.
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Tuesday, May 10, 2005

I've finally caught up...
...with Neon Genesis Evangelion. It only took me forever. I frankly wanted to put off this anime until I actually had enough time to watch it all at once, but I couldn't abate my curiosity, especially since I know Yukihiro from L'Arc~en~Ciel loves it xD

However, now that I've finished everything...I honestly have no idea how to react to it. For the first 16-17 episodes, I was really into it. Everything seemed very linear and I was able to comprehend a majority of what was going on.

Then things started to get really funky, and although I was kept engaged, I was also left with a bloody headache. All that flashing and screaming and flashbacks...my goodness. It was a sensory overload, and I'm still left with a huge feeling of incompletion. Granted, I'm always left with a sort of anti-climatic feeling whenever I watch the final episode of an anime, but I'm usually sufficiently satified with whatever happens. But with Evangelion, I just want more. I've grown to love all the characters, and they've just been abruptly taken away from me. The series just inspired more and more questions as it progressed, and I'm not even close to finding answers to half of the questions that have been bugging me.

I'm confused as hell about what exactly happened, especially at the end or 'beginning' or whatever they want to define it as. And right now, in my current condition, I'm afraid I won't be able to rewatch the End of Evangelion for a while as my brain and my eyes have yet to recover from that incessant attack of flashes. It hurts just to think about it.

Despite it all, I want to buy the Neon Genesis Evangelion Perfect Collection. Now that I've seen it all, I can understand why so many people I know think of it as one of the greatest series ever. It's amazing, and I know that it'll probably take countless viewings for me to grab every single detail of the story, but this is one story that I'd truly love to invest time into figuring out on my own. All of it is just so compelling, and the psychology of the characters is fascinating. Although those sequences of montages can be a headache, I appreciate the anime's aesthetics of self-reflexivity, especially when the construction of 'reality' was called into question.

I also really loved Asuka. I've read somewhere that Laruku's Yukihiro would want someone like Ayanami Rei, but I was actually much more fascinated with Asuka. Her complex personality and reactions made her so much more interesting to watch. Sure, her abrasiveness could be quite off-putting, but once one gets passed that barrier she tries so hard to keep up, one can see just how vulnerable she really is, and how much all she really wants to do is prove her worth.

Anyway, I'm glad I finally took a break from my studying each and every week to watch this series. It's really awesome, and anyone who hasn't seen it yet should really consider doing so.

I won't be able to really concentrate on catching up on any other series until after graduation, I'm afraid. I've got way too much crap to concentrate on before then. But when summer comes, the next series I'll attack will probably be Azumanga Daioh. I only saw the first five episodes, and then I never saw it again, but I thoroughly enjoyed what little I saw. That's why I love Netflix so much ^__^

Anyway, it's 2 weeks and 4 days until Fanime. I'll make sure to write a good report of it when the weekend is through xD That is, if I'm not stressing too badly about my finals the following week, heh.
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Wednesday, May 4, 2005

   Isogashii....
I'm very horrible at keeping up with everyone on here, aren't I? I give my apologies once again, and I'll probably continue giving apologies until June when school is finally over for me. For good. Scary.

Anyway, all I've been doing is sleeping, eating, studying and working on my demo which is due in a few short weeks. It's been rough, but hopefully, this'll be the chance that'll change the rest of my life, as cliche as that sounds. All I can do really is do my best and pray that things work out fine, and if it doesn't, I guess I'll just have to conform and find a job that I honestly wouldn't like until I can finance future film projects and hit up all the film festivals around the world.

But I'd much rather have this demo/audition thing work out because I'd rather concentrate on music anyhow.

Also coming up in a few weeks is Fanime Con, which I've already pre-registered with, but I'm a little disappointed with the short list of musical guests. ZZ is cool, and I have yet to hear Kato Kumiko to form an opinion, but last year there were 5 different bands on their lineup, all of whom were pretty damn cool. And although ZZ and Kato Kumiko are sure to be just as good, they've totally got to step up since attendents are already comparing this year to last year, and last year is something that'll be totally hard to beat, especially when Fanime had the crowd favorites in Camino and Duel Jewel. Camino and Duel Jewel were the only reasons I went to Fanime in the first place last year.

I know I'll personally find the audience's reaction a lot more entertaining since it is part of my job as an image producer to see what people favor. From what I've been hearing so far, a lot of people are disappointed in the choices of musical guests, especially since a lot of these people have been asking Fanime to bring back some sort of Visual Kei band, and there aren't any at all this year. Fanime, made by the fans for the fans, right?

However, I think it's great that Fanime didn't do that especially since Japanese music doesn't just consist of VK bands, which I sometimes think is a misconception perceived by many if one attends these kinds of things without having any knowledge on Japanese music. So I'm all for having ZZ and Kato Kumiko. But as a fan, it'll be hard not to compare their performances to those from last year. However, the one thing that I'm totally happy about with this year's choices is that MusicFest probably won't be inundated with fake fangirls who suddenly decide then and there that they're so-and-so's biggest fan because the band is hot, or some shit.

Anyway, enough babble from me. I've got to get back to studying, especially since I've got a quiz tomorrow on these articles I have yet to read...The one thing I will not miss about college is all this crappy theory shit that I probably won't remember a month after graduation.
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Saturday, April 23, 2005

D'espairsRay - Norcal Shows, Ticket Info

D'espairsRay

Montgomery Theater
Monday, May 30, 2005 - San Jose
Doors Open @ 1:30 p.m., Show at 3:15 p.m.
Tickets: Premium $29, Regular $19. NOT GENERAL ADMISSION. Your seats will be determined by number, so best seats are available when purchased early. Premium seats will be placed in front of Regular seating. Tickets will go on sale APRIL 24, 2005.
For more information:
http://www.jpophouse.com

Great American Music Hall
Tuesday, May 31st, 2005 - San Francisco

Doors Open @ 7:30 p.m., Show at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets: Bought in Advance, $18. At the door, $20.
GENERAL ADMISSION.
For more information:
http://www.musichallsf.com/artist_pages/despairs_ray_053105.htm
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Monday, April 4, 2005

...I'm so fucking broke.
I just put down about $100 today pre-ordering L'Arc~en~Ciel's May single as well as Volumes 1 and 2 of the SMILE tour DVDs. I'm fucking insane.

I'll write something a lot more substantial after I've finished studying...at this rate, I don't know when that'll be.

8 weeks is all I have left before I graduate college. Scary.

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OMFG, I WANT THIS!! T___T
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