Archive for December, 2006

Bokura no Machi De (First Press DVD edition)

December 22, 2006 · Filed under Jpop/Jrock, KAT-TUN

single imageEdition: First Press Limited Edition + DVD
Price: US$19.99
Release Date: December 7, 2006

Track Listing:
CD
1. Bokura no Machi De
2. Way of Love

DVD
Bokura no Machi De PV.

“Bokura no Machi de” is actually the theme song to the drama “Tatta hitotsu no koi” – it is the first single that KAT-TUN has released as a five-member unit, after the announcement of the hiatus of Akanishi Jin.

So when I had received this single from Yesasia, i had two immeadiate responses.
1) Oh boy, this is really heavy for a single
2) Nooooo there’s no Jin on the cover!!! :(

However, besides that, i listened to the songs anyways and the reviews are below.

1. Bokura no Machi De

Normally, the lead vocals are done by Akanishi (who has the largest vocal ability and range) whilst the others are used to back him up. However, with him noticeably missing, they have Kamenashi Kazuya leading instead. Kame does have a decent recording voice, and the song has him singing most of the solos, followed by back-up vocals by the rest of the group. KAT-TUN never did sing well in unison, and sometimes their backing vocals do clash with some of them out of tune.

Another difference to this song to their others is this is a ballad – compared to their debut rock single “Real Face” and the pop-y “SIGNAL”. I really do appreciate how well this song is written, however, being a ballad, it’s slow enough to show you the limitations of the member’s voices. That said though, I still enjoy the song.

Rating: 3.5/5

2. Way of Love

Way of Love sees KAT-TUN going back to their Jpop, and that being said, it’s very old-school pop KAT-TUN, and very old-school pop Johnny-boys in general. It also does feature the group’s famous Engrish.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Bokura no Machi De PV

Compared to their Real Face and SIGNAL PV’s, I find this one kind of lacking – there’s a lot of sitting, walking towards the camera, staring off into space type singing. That being said, there’s enough close-up’s for fan-girls to swoon over.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

You can watch it below here:

In general, I think this is a nice change to KAT-TUN’s regular upbeat tempos (however, if you want you’re upbeat, just listen to the B-side). The single matches well for the drama, although I do think these boys should work on their vocals a bit before they release their next ballad.

Money wise, the single only contained two songs and a DVD, which in turn only contained the PV. I think that if you want better value for money, try and get your hands on the first press normal edition – but for the KAT-TUN fan, you can’t let the limited release slip out of your hands – remember, when this first came out, the DVD edition sold out from cdjapan in a matter of hours.

Buy the Limited Edition Single Here

Download the single here (m4a. format).

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

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December Love Songs – Complete Box

December 19, 2006 · Filed under Gackt, Jpop/Jrock

December Love Songs - Complete Box

The version I am reviewing is the First Press Limited Edition, by Gackt.
I was very impressed when I had received this in the mail. The box was heavy, and safely packed by YesAsia. Inside, the whole thing was shrink-wrapped, which I was very careful to remove.

I wasn’t any less impressed when I removed the ribbon to reveal the gorgeous golden box, which slid open to show off a metallic-gold CD-case. After removing the CD I found two lots of postcards, one in silver, and one in gold.

The big white thing taking up all the space was Gackt’s aromatherapy lamp, which is powered by an electric bulb, but has to be plugged in via an 110V (Japanese or American) outlet. Somewhat useless to an Australian, but it still can be used with a regular candle, as the bulb is easily removed

The Lamp

The alabaster (I think that’s what it’s made of) is inscribed with a simple Christmas message from Gackt.

What really impressed me is the quality of the CD. I didn’t realize until I received this one the difference in sound quality between an Australian single, compared to a Japanese one – they really know what they’re doing over there, the sound is absolutely amazing.

The CD tracklist is as follows:

1. 12Gatsu no Love Song (2004 Edition)
2. December Love (New Recording)
3. 12Gatsu no Love Song (Chinese Version feat. Leehom Wang)
4. 12Gatsu no Love Song (New Korean Version)
5. December Love Song (New Version)
6. 12Gatsu no Love Song (With Background Chorus)
7. 12Gatsu no Love Song (Chinese With Background Chorus)
8. 12Gatsu no Love Song (Korean With Background Chorus)


Track 1 – 12Gatsu no Love Song (2004 Edition)

This is the original version of Gackt’s song. It was written for the people of New York – Gackt was distraught at what happened on 9/11. On the PV you can see him filming it in New York itself, with it’s people holding up signs of hope and piece. You can view it below:

I still love this song, after all this time. The violins are wonderfully balanced with the percussion and light guitar in the background. I love the bells also, they do set the Christmassy mood, although it is no way a generic Christmas tune – Gackt’s enormous range does away with that.

Track Rating: 4/5 Stars

Track 2 – December Love (New Recording)

This is the English version of the 12Gatsu no Love Song, but an updated version (I think it’s a little bit shorter). His English has improved somewhat (although at some points still illegible – which does lose some marks – fans have loving dubbed his English “Gacktese”), although I found that I liked the old lyrics much better e.g.

“As Lovers pass me by” became “As couples pass me by”

The background music is the same as before, there’s more emphases on the chorus and I found I enjoyed the balance of this song much better than the older version.

Download the old version here.

Track Rating: 3.5/5

Track 3 – 12Gatsu no Love Song (Chinese Version feat. Leehom Wang)

The Chinese version has always been my favorite version of the song, I just love the way the song was arranged better (I do believe its in a higher key compared to the others). I don’t know Chinese myself but my friends assure me that his Chinese is not too bad. Gackt’s dynamic vocal coupled with Leehom Wang’s honey-dipped voice is something to be admired. I love the way Leehom Wang’s vocals are perfectly suited to Gackt’s song, and they sing very well in unison. There is quite a contrast in both voices, Gackt’s being more powerful, whilst Leehom’s remains gentle.

I enjoyed this mix very much. The extra quality of the disc really did it justice.
You can download the Chinese version here.

Track Rating: 5/5

Track 4 – 12Gatsu no Love Song (New Korean Version)

This version is somewhat longer than the others, and features gorgeous chimes and a fuller string sound – otherwise there’s not much difference from the Japanese version.

Gackt still has powerful vocals, the arrangement is still gorgeous.

Track Rating: 4/5

Track 5 – December Love Song

This is another Korean version of the song, sung in duet, although I’m not sure who with (it does say the lyricist is Pang Chang Hark). If anyone can tell me who is, I’d much appreciate it, because whoever it is, has a beautiful voice… and I’m positive I’ve heard it somewhere before. I enjoyed this version much more than the one above, the background music is somewhat the same.

Track Rating 4.5/5

Tracks 6-8 are all instrumentals of the song, with the backup vocals (mostly by Gackt) still intact. So, listening to all these, I do realize that there are subtle differences in all the songs… interesting…

Okay, so overall rating. This thing was EXPENSIVE. I had to save up a long time to get it. I was, and still am very impressed with the quality of everything. I wish a DVD with the PV had been included also, and for that price it really should have been. Because this item is limited release, and really is a must-have for a Gackt fanatic – it won’t be long before they’re all gone (CDJapan are already out) – plus everything is just so beautiful.

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

It loses a star for the price.

Contents

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Eragon the Movie

December 18, 2006 · Filed under English Movies + DVD's

Review:

Today bought me to the cinemas to view one of my favourite novels-turned film – Eragon (written by Christopher Paolini). I had read the novel long ago enough to have it not cloud my views so much – however, I was still somewhat disappointed by the movie.
The movie opens with a voice-over, Lord of the Rings style, but with much lesser effect. I actually found it very annoying. It followed through to tell some of the background, and then finally we meet the elf Arya scrambling for her life, and in several minutes, we are introduced to Eragon himself.

There are several inaccuracies within the film – and die-hard novel fans would be quite disappointed, however, as a general movie goer, I also found the film lacking. It seemed like

The main problem, I think, lies in the fact that the script was quite mediocre. There wasn’t much left for the actors to work with – I found the script filled with clichéd lines – or many lines that could have been worded more realistically, but were written that way to make a for a good trailer moment. The director seemed to have tried cram a 600+ page novel into a short film, wanting to touch on everything, and leaving no time for character development. They turned Murtagh’s character into a sort of cameo, bringing down his importance, and increasing the importance of Arya. I could deal with that, however, what I found truly annoying is that in order to connect events, the director found it a good idea to have the two main characters on horses travelling. There was an unbelievable amount of shots of horses cantering across the screen in scenic landscapes. This was originally okay, but after a while, it sure got annoying.

However, I did find baby Saphira adorable. The fact that she made the transition from baby to adult in a second only disturbed me slightly.

Another thing that annoyed me were the costumes and make up for Durza, at some stage, I found the black sequins tacky, and the makeup distracting. The whole fanning-wind-in-your-face thing didn’t seem too cool either, leaving the whole look of the movie somewhat amateurish.

In conclusion, I think the younger ones would enjoy this better – and also others that aren’t so judgmental, because you would find this lacking.

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Here’s the trailer for your viewing pleasure:

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Advent Children – Reunion Files

December 14, 2006 · Filed under Advent Children, Artbook, Final Fantasy, Games

For my first review I’ve got Advent Children – Reunion Files (the artbook)

Price: US$32.99 (inc. Shipping) from YesAsia.com
Artist: Square Soft //Testuya Nomura

Front Cover

The book is slightly larger than A4, and has a grey-toned dustcover featuring the fallen angel Sephiroth. A shiny white and blue obi is placed on top of this. Under the dust cover is a metallic cover with Cloud’s symbol placed on it in white. When you open the book, you are greeted to a gorgeous dedication page, and then the index.

Inside Cover

Now, you jump right into the art.

Page after page of gorgeous artwork, coupled with detailed information on all of the main characters – it’s riddled with quotes from the voice actors; their thoughts on the job, how they thought they performed. It also features reactions from the director (Nomura) and various anecdotes from Kazushige Nojima (writer) detailing us on how he developed the storyline for the characters.

Sample 1
Click here for larger image.

After the character profiles you are greeted with the “Count down to Reunion” section of the book, which features production sketches, and a section, and initial production designs – this is all accompanied with commentary by Shinji Hashimoto (producer), Nomura, Nojima, Nozoe (co-director), Takayuki Takeya ( Creature design), and various others from the production team.

Sample 2
Click here for larger image.

We are then treated with a low-down of the “Last Order” which was a short anime released with the Japanese version of the DVD, and also an introduction to the new game FFVII game “Before Crisis” and “Dirge of Cerberus”. After this, there are around 2-3 pages on various Advent Children products – figures and such.

The very last section of the book is the “Story Digest” which is absolutely gorgeous. It’s full of colour and well-placed quotes that retells the events of Advent Children with stills and image captures. It’s another take on the movie, but you don’t have to press pause to admire the art.

Sample 2
Click here for larger image.

What I love about this book is that it’s in English as well as Japanese. It’s in fluent English – not the strangely translated variety. There is quite a bit of text, but all of it is interesting. It does not in any way get in the way of the illustrations; in fact, the quotes are placed in such a way that it brings you to reminiscing about that scene in the film. The book is presented in high-quality glossy paper that really brings to life the renders. My only complaint is that sometimes, the layout of the text boxes makes the book seem cluttered.

I highly recommend this book for any FFVII fan – or fan of stunning visual 3D art. It is absolutely gorgeous.

Rating 4.5/5 Stars

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