Monday, November 29, 2010

SCANDAL @ Geki Otoboke part 1 [Subbed]

And so!!!! after loads of troubles and stuffs, I finally finished subbing this interview *claps claps*
I decided to put it here for 2 reason ~ 1st, I dun wanna type over and over again, coz Im planning to share this in some SCANDAL related fan sites. 2nd, of course to promote our blog <3

A few words about this interview. Its a very cute interview ~ I got to know additional infos about our angels, plus some funny random stuffs :)) though I think I kinda messed up in Mami's part. Im still pretty confident that I did good in this one. BTW, this is our 4th subbed interview project ~ A big thanks and hug to Eri Kato. The reason this project is possible is because she works hard to translate this stuffs even though she's got tons of school works.

Also, thanks to tenjounokaze of SCANDAL-Heaven, for helping me in some parts :>
and last... many thanks to the girl that i-cannot-mention-her-name-here for being my inspiration =D

Well, here are some screenshots of the interview and the download link ~ sry for the bad quality coz im really bad at encoding :( and I had troubles in converting too. ~_~





Part 2 is still in translating stage. So please be patient ~

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Bass GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)

Random thoughts...

I've seen one local oldies band (around their 60's) perform in one of the pubs here in UK around 3-4yrs ago. It happened that their guitarist used a White Falcon guitar, I was mesmerized by such a beautiful work of art.

A few years after, I was able to watch the anime Beck and by coincicdence the main character, Koyuki, used a White Falcon aswell in his early days. And that made me a White Falcon fan. <3


Moving forward 1 year after watching Beck, I discovered SCANDAL. Been a loyal fan since then. I always liked Mami's guitar choices, especially with that black custom stratocaster and double cut-away Les Paul she had before. But my favourite is her recent buy, White Falcon. OMG. <3 White Falcon all the way. \m/


Now this morning, while I was randomly checking the forums I'm lurking, I saw this thread in one of the bass forums I'm in named "For sale Grestch Bass €3950 second hand mint condition", and I was immediately coverting it to £ in my head while cliking on the thread. To my surprise I saw a White Falcon bass. *dies* I'm lost for words when I saw it. It's so pretty. <3 I can honestly say right now that I would love to trade my Musicman StingRay + Fender 70's Jazz bass for that one.

Here's some photos of it:




Gah.... so pretty~ Makes me want to buy one.

-Mikan

Saturday, November 27, 2010

AFAX review part 2

hey people, is me again.

ohakonbanchiwa. O-Genki Desu Ka?

so hope everybody has read the 1st part well. cause i will update about the 2nd part, which is the performance from SCANDAL! their awesome, wonderful, masterpiece, performance!

it was after angela's part. the AFA X staffs are bringing the drums and guitars onto the stage. and we shouted SCANDAL already.

it took 30 minutes to get going because eisuke and another scandal staff ares setting up the props properly.

But once it goes, THIS WAS WHAT HAPPENED!

All 4 girls enter the stage and RINA was like give the "seven" sign. MAMI, TOMOMI and HARUNA was like all pumped up. all ready and HARUNA started strumming her guitar. guess what it is? that's right. it started with this song!

1. EVERYBODY SAY YEAH

RINA and HARUNA like drum and strum for 3 times and much and HARUNA shouted "SHINGAPOORU!" and here we goes, SCANDAL's performance at AFA X started! all fans started to use lightstick and followed into the rhythm already! we yeah when it goes to the SAY YEAH part, and shouted 1,2,3,4. it really was a great opening.

after that, they continued with two more songs.

2. GIRLism
3. DOLL (we fans followed the rhythm of clapping for 1st time!)

after this, they take a break, drink water while HARUNA say something, think is something like FUN AT SINGAPORE. something. after that, she continues and say about playing songs again. and these are the next series of songs!

4.Hi-Hi-Hi (holy sheet, their pace on this song is totally awesome! and MAMI's awesome guitar part! geez)
5. Playboy Part II
6. Hello! Hello! (shouted hello hello and goodbye goodbye )

break again, drink more water, and HARUNA say time to introduce the members!

1st up, MAMI. she say she went to eat old chang kee (is a shop that sells curry puffs such stuffs), and went to ION orchard and talks about RINA buying things! haha.

next up TOMOMI, she say she visited the night safari! and what after this is really kawaiiiii!

"Hippopotamus, you all know? ya, very smelly... i die." LOLOLOL. what the? really funny!

next comes RINA, she comes about saying high and we agree. she says she visited the merlion and say took a pic with it. tell us to look at it on her blog!

MAMI then introduces HARUNA, but HARUNA did not say much about her trip. so back to the next series of songs!

7. Houkago 1H
8. Switch (TOMOMI's special singing comes at this part, high pitch but yet awesome!)
9. Aitai

after that, break. more water-drinking. and HARUNA says that she feels the SINAGPORE POWER, and will bring it back to Japan and create more new songs! also, she say something like try to come again next year! and after that, the last series of the performance comes!

10. Shoujo S (include their dance movements! awesome!)
11. Shunkan Sentimental
12. SCANDAL BABY

and that's it. they ended on a high note, wanted encore, but no chance, cause SCANDAL performed the most out of the 3 groups!

many more highlights also! for example, at the end of the concert, RINA gives flying kiss twice to the crowd! (possibly 1 was aimed at the board which yagiza was carrying)

TOMOMI also throw her pick away. and HARUNA and MAMI waved happily!

throughout the concert, their power is totally awesome! RINA's drumming skill is like, man, she really drums so well, TOMOMI with her bass' skill, really awesome, sometimes lifting it up. and with small actions, like pinch her hair, pinch her skirt. HARUNA is like got touch her face with a finger move and got those fighting hands movement. MAMI finally, awesome GUITAR skills, she really concentrate onto it! and tried to engage with the fans, but still looks shy.

i really have nothing much more to say, but a THANK YOU TO THEM FOR MAKING THIS happen. so ya, that's it....

taken from SH, author that comment there is still me. =Dp.

Please join up @ www.scandal-heaven.com if you really want to know more about SCANDAL stuffs or you truly are a fan.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Winter 2011 Anime List ~

woot ~ its almost December and here comes our Winter Anime Release List !! *claps* here's the image for the line up:
click for larger view ~ (source: moetron)


Their respective studios and summaries are included so just read em up ~ as for my watch list.....

Kimi ni Todoke season 2 - is a must watch!! I loved season 1 so much so, i have high expectations on the 2nd season.
IS: Infinite Stratos - I think ill check this one out. It looks pretty interesting and the animation looks decent to me.
Wolverine - Well, I'm watching the anime of Iron Man and I saw Logan there so I think ill also check this one. It looks decent after all.
Beelzebub - Hmm... delinquent and demon related stuffs.. sounds good to my ears! I'll add this one on my watch list.
Freezing - Well, I watched Sekirei, Ikki Tousen, and Koihime Musou.. So, I guess this anime is along those lines. This is a must check series *drools*
Onii-chan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne - effing long title!!!!!!!!!!! gah! ok let's just go w/ OnKNZSJDn.. LOL sounds lame.. Oh well, Im expecting this one to be a bit like Ore no Imouto, but on the reverse side xD and it looks funny so this is added on the watch list too.

Thats it for my series list ~ as for the OVA... ill think about it.. :p
For release schedule date, check them out HERE.

So, whats in your watch list guys and gals? :D

oh ~ and here's another version of the image for the release list:
click for larger view ~ (source: moetron)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Awesomeness in the past 2 weeks.

I'm here to tell you how much awesomeness I experienced in the past 2 weeks. It's all about J-music scene.

It first started with Yui's Rain PV being released(Not sure if it was two weeks ago, well approximately). If anyone of you haven't watched it yet, here it is.

I must say, Yui's pretty hot in that PV. <3

Next is Stereopony's 小さな魔法 PV (Chiisana Mahou

Nice to see Shiho back and healthy. And Aimi so cute without even trying. <3



Now for the releases. Scandal's R-Girls Rock, Yui's Rain, and Utada Hikaru's Single Collection Vol.2 were all released on the same day.


Too bad my pocket can only manage Yui's. Sorry Scandal :'(

Anyway here's some photos of Yui's Rain Regular and DVD edition.








Songs are:
1.Rain
2.A room
3.How crazy (acoustic version)
4.Rain (instrumental version)

I must say that A room is such a good song. And oh the DVD includes Rain PV and Please Stay With Me PV. Here's a screenshot:



Well, that's it for now.

See you all later.~

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Old School Games: Suikoden II

Heyaaaa!! so, this is my 1st entry in this blog ~ and i decided to write something about the game Suikoden II from PS1. Its one of the most epic game for me. Well the graphics isn't that good (of course its from ps1 duh?) but the story and the twist is reaaaaallly interesting, making the game one of my all time fave ~ so lets get this started shall we? here's the cover image for Suiko2's cd
Description: Sequel to the early PlayStation RPG. As a member of the Alliance, a military force only really hinted at in the original, you play the unwitting hero of the game: an orphan who has been raised by a quiet, unassuming battle hero in a seemingly ancient war. Alongside you in the ranks is your best friend Jowy, a boy born of nobility but who has never been able to receive approval in his stubborn father's eyes. As the game begins, you are immediately tossed into a tale of political strife, betrayal and war on a grand scale beyond your scope in the early stages. As the game wears on, the plot will twist, turn and develop in numerous ways that expose the personalities of each of the characters involved. The battle system is turn-based, with the option to equip Runes for special abilities, combine party member attacks to create chain combos or devastating spells, and the option to run the battle in Auto mode. (taken from gamefaqs.com)

Well, reading the description shows how interesting the story is ayt? but im pretty sure majority of you guys have played this game. So, lets get it on. Suiko2 is the 1st game I played on where you could use 6 characters at the same time. At 1st I was like "WTF? this is cool! 6 chars at the same time" but when I read a walkthrough regarding the game, I was like "HOLY SHIT?! 108 frigging chars?!" yeah, you read it right :)) you need to collect 108 stars of destiny (108 warriors~ the main char is included in the 108). It sounds absurd at 1st but its pretty cool. The downside is some characters are HARD to get and some are even missable, but in the end you only get to use 6 out of the 108 so its just a matter of favoritism. Well if you want and easy win then get the strong ones in your party but i dun like doing that.
nostalgic eh? The main char and Jowy's BUDDY ATTACK

hohoh ~ FAMILY ATTACK by the main char and Nanami
 
Another interesting feat of this game is the army war battles. Its super cute and funny. You get your characters to be the generals or sumtin and when the story strikes, you will need to fight using your army against the enemies.
army clash!! pretty cute eh? :))

Well, this is getting pretty long so I guess this is it. If you'll ask me, ill rate this game 8.5 out of 10. Yeah the graphics is lame but every aspect is interesting. From the story, characters, character backgrounds, and MINI GAMES!!! Btw, the cooking showdown mini game is fucking awesome!!! Its one of my most fave parts on the game. Also, what makes this game cool is you can play it w/ your left hand only LMAO! thumb for arrow key/analog and then the index finger for L1 (accept) and L2 (cancel). I can even eat my lunch while playing this game. Specially, if you are already "imba" you only need to choose "Auto" and then your chars will pawn the enemies automatically.

So, this concludes my 1st entry ~ sry it was kinda lame. Im not used in this kinds of things yet. Ill try my best next time ~ sore ja !!

(all images are taken from gamefaqs.com)

hey people, yet another SCANDAL fan here. presenting AFA X review, Part 1 - Pre Concert.

hey to people that are reading onto this blog.

here's a greeting that you all should know.

-ohakonbanchiwa- (ohaiyo + konbanwa + konnichiwa)

ok, so my main purpose in this blog is to try to contribute reviews for the singles, albums as well as other major events that involves SCANDAL. of course, one of our writer here, YuuJin Ang, will be doing these reviews too.

so my 1st review, of course, comes about SCANDAL participation in AFA X!
this is the 4th time SCANDAL performed overseas, after their trip to US, France and Hong Kong and now, 1st appearance in Singapore.

let's get to the main talking point shall we?

On thursday, 11th of November, approximately 6pm S'pore Time, SCANDAL arrived in S'pore. Fans of us, including them, went to fetch them. when they 1st saw us, the fans, they waved! and likewise, we waved too. as they are coming out of the door, they are given S'pore national flower, orchid. as we screamed and yelled for respective names, they waved and say "arigatou". However, the moment was short as they moved fast towards the van waiting for them. so ya, that's how they arrived. here are some pics arriving at S'pore, credits to ken, an AFA X photographer and fellow SH member.







Apparently, from what i have heard, their intention was to rehearse 1st but had to settle down for dinner 1st. after that, they rehearse until 3am like that.

On Friday, is an off day for them. the girls visited many places including the Merlion, McDonald, Starbucks, 7-11, Night Safari. yep. so that's how their friday runs. oh ya, they did shopping too.

On Saturday, me and my fellow SH members were all roaming around the AFA X when one of our members, asuna, informed Mr.YuuJin about that SCANDAL will be going to the Moe Moe Kyun Cafe. all of us jet down to that place and after approximately 5 minutes, SCANDAL comes out, in their uniform! of course, they waved, although they look tired.

so what are they doing at the cafe? well, took pictures with the cafe girls. and most importantly they did an interview at that place! For me, i moved from one place to another due to the fact that the organizers blocked everything from the original place. so as i was standing at the other place, there was this glass panel and i was looking through their whole interview! it took about 10 minutes. Though i cannot hear what are they saying, but when they are natural when doing the interview; answer every question, joking around.

so after the interview, i jetted back to the original place as they are coming out from there. of course, no pics are allowed to be taken. HARUNA was the 1st to come out, but she moved very fast and how should i say, moody. and then TOMOMI, MAMI and RINA comes out, more cheerful, smile , waved. think all of the fans, including me, died. and that marks their appearance on saturday.

Sunday, 14th of November, the time where SCANDAL will be doing their performance! all of us cannot wait for it!

As always, me and my SH friends roam around the hall early in the morning. At about 12pm or 12:30pm, i was going for my signed autograph from Angela. and after the meeting session, this is where it happens again. i was going back to watch a movie on Haruhi Suzumiya when i hear a MC saying "SCANDAL". initial thought from me was "EH? SCANDAL? you are kidding me right?"

so i quickly jetted down to that place, and without doubt, the girls are there, as judges of a singing competition! all my other friends also jetted from the movie hall to see them! of course, we occupied a good position where we can see all of them.

So during the judging, HARUNA, as always, was on a serious face. RINA was the most cheerful, so too as TOMOMI and MAMI. apparently, looks like they are much better in condition this time round. and then the staring between SH and SCANDAL happens again.

Think it was TOMOMI that was attracted first by two of our fellow members, wenjie and kaito. TOMOMI smiled back at them, and then suddenly RINA was also attracted to our site. me and yagiza (yet another SH member) waved to RINA. and whatever happens, she smiled back at us! i telling ya, my heart was melting at that moment. her smile, man!

as the competition ends and the marks are tabulated, two of SCANDAL staff, Eisuke and Goatee, comes up as special guests. and the girls are laughing and cheering! haha.

so like at the end of the concert, the two SCANDAL staffs were presented with a certificate from SCANDAL. then YuuJin shouted "eisuke kawaii!". at that very moment, the girls laughed. bet he was feeling happy about that.

after that, SCANDAL had to move, but as they move, they like hold onto fans hand, and slapped their hands. so as they were approaching at our site, our lucky YuuJin got his hands slapped by TOMOMI and RINA! that lucky guy!

but nevertheless, throughout the whole competition, the girls are cheerful when there was singing, serious when judging, very professional. as it was big, pictures are allowed to be taken. here are some:






and yep, that ends the 1st part! are you all ready for the 2nd part? cause i will be telling you all about the concert!

credit: YuuJin Ang, for that some of the comments are made by him.

Why, Hello!

Hi there! I'm your average bassist who's a number one sleepyhead that will keep the Music section of this blog updated and you can call me Mikan.

First of all, I am random. I may post completely random things about music here.

Right, since this is my first post, I'll just tell you a little about myself.

I've been playing bass for 6-7yrs. now and self-taught. Since then I have my fair share of victories and losses on the stage. My first band was my town's YFC(Youth For Christ) Music Ministry where I played bass. Then we merged with the neighbouring town's YFC Music Ministry and won some major and minor competitions in our region.

As for my musical tastes, I listen to everything except for those with auto-tune. Ewww. But I incline more on punk-rock and jazz-funk genres, and of course J-rock. :P

Well that's about it for now. In the next coming posts, I may post a picture of my new baby. Tehheee. :3

Take care everyone~

Music is heartache, music is salvation, music is love. Get your music on. ♪♪♪

Welcome to Koudai na Sekai ~

hohoho ~ im new at this kinds of  things so sorry for the noobness xD
Me and some friends will cover topics about anime, music, cosplay and of course our fave band SCANDAL ~
feel free to voice out your opinions on our topics! don't be shy to comment, but pls avoid flaming the others :)


if you guys has some suggestions pls email me ~ yamiyuki21@gmail.com
ill be waiting ~

Rock on!!

First things first....

Welcome,one and all,to the vast world!

Well,that's the blog name innit,Yuu named it,not me.Heheeee.


Anyways,the virgin post will be about The Most Powerful Japanese Girlie Pop Rock band,SCANDAL! /cue applause,please

That is right!They are a band,a no-nonsense band at that who can produce good music and play instruments and perform live as well.I'll just give you guys a little intro about the girls.

To start off,here's a picture of the 4 lovely girls:



(From left to right:TOMOMI,HARUNA,MAMI,RINA)


Lovely,aren't they.I toldja,didn't i!

SCANDAL first formed in 2008 comprising of 4 girls,namely HARUNA,MAMI,TOMOMI and RINA.They met in a dance and vocal school in Osaka and decided to form a band,with the following lineup:

HARUNA-Gtr & Vo.
MAMI-Gtr & Vo.
TOMOMI-Bass & Vo.
RINA-Drums & Vo.

They started out by performing in street lives and as their popularity grew,they were offered club gigs as well.At a important gig in Shibuya Club Asia,a respected and well-known club in Shibuya,Kitty Records approached them.It led to them signing a deal with SCANDAL,and SCANDAL started to become more mainstream.During their days with Kitty Records they released indie singles like Koi Moyou and Kagerou,and their famous first ever single Space Ranger.During this period they also went on a tour overseas to France,USA and Hong Kong,performing in front of thousands of people,wearing their signature school uniforms to performances,and this has carried on till today.

In 2008 they signed on to Epic Records and released their major debut single DOLL.From then on they became more and more popular,especially when singles Shoujo S (Used for one of the opening themes of Bleach) and Shunkan Sentimental (used for one of the ending themes of Fullmetal alchemist:Brotherhood) further inflated their fame.The band is still hard at work producing singles and albums today.They also had tie-ups in commercials for promoting a line of Cecil McBee cosmetics, for Nike, featuring four different colors of their footwear, and were chosen to represent Pocari Sweat in posters and in the promotional video for their song “BEAUTeen!!” as part of their summer 2009 campaign.The girls also have their own anime,featuring,of course,the 4 girls themselves as the anime characters.The anime episodes are now compiled into a DVD and is available for purchase on the Kitty webshop.


From here on are my personal thoughts about SCANDAL,a brief one:

When i first watched their Shoujo S PV after checking up on the opening theme from Bleach,i'll be honest,i thought they were just another manufactured girl band who put on makeup and can't play nuts to save their lives.It didn't help at the time when i saw that the instruments in the PV weren't plugged into the amps at all.However,the song took a hold on me as it was so catchy,and the girls were so energetic and lovely,that it induced me enough to find out more about this band.From there on i found out the very thing that seperates them from other girl bands/groups: They can actually play their instruments,and an awesome job they're doing at playing those instruments as well.Their songs,for one,are not run of the mill electronic songs or autotuned stuff,the songs have a band playing it,meaning the traditional and much-loved rock-band lineup(two guitars,one bass,drums and vocals)and the girls are the ones in the band playing those instruments.For me,that was enough,and well,the rest,they say,is history.

I hope that wasn't a very long short intro i was planning and well,i'll end this with the yollering of


SCANDAL 大好き! <3




-source of information from www.scandal-heaven.com-

P.S. SCANDAL-Heaven is a great site,do visit if you have the time.If you don't,tell me and i'ma drag your ass there.