Magi-Kat’s Neighborhood

2 DVDs!!!!..22 performances!!!....156 minutes!!!! It's Mr.Children!!!! my most favorite♥ band in the world's recently released concert DVD "Tour 2009 Shumatsu no confidence songs"~!!!! To say that I was *gushing*** with excitement on its arrival may still be an understatement~ ヽ(。´▽`。)ノ。。！！as this is already my most favorite♥ concert release of the year~ ＼(^o^)／☆！！！I think they're the most *wonderful*..*amazing*..*catchy*..band in the world~♥......oh and there's also The Beatles~♥!…(^q^)!

For a bit of a memory lane~ look into Mr.Children, please click~ here ＾　＾。

Mr.Children's "Shumatsu no confidence songs" concert DVD can be ordered here at Cdjapan.

Mr.Children's "Shumatsu no confidence songs" concert DVD can be ordered here at YesAsia.

Mr.Children's "Shumatsu no confidence songs" concert DVD can be ordered here at HMV Japan.

Mr.Children has often presented us with some of the most unique album art designs っo(*´∀｀)o!。。and this DVD has a really really imaginative vision of a musical♪ island paradise...just take a look and find all of the ordinary and not so ordinary components which comprise the cover artwork~ which comes complete with guitar bridge, koi oasis, microphone tower, keyboard stairs, speaker buildings, mushroom slide, coffee mug/ disco ball tower, volcano, deer and the details go on and on......oh~ and if you look a bit closer "Mr.Children" is also spelled out ingeniously in all of the island commotion across the lower half of the island~!

It's so *cool~y* detailed and intricate that found myself gazing at it for quite awhile....until okay~! it's time to watch the concert already~! (人∀`*)

In addition to the most *awesome* cover artwork~ there's also a large fold out style poster which doubles as the concert's liner notes on its reverse side~ ＾　＾。

This concert was filmed at Japan's legendary Budoukan~!...and what really makes Mr.Children's♥ lives so so *special~* aside from their of course most awesome songs♪～ is how much they improvise and re~arrange so many of their songs o(*´∀｀)o゛！And with a full arsenal of most amazing and talented musicians they're able to re~create and often times re~invent Sakurai~san's musical♪♪～ masterpieces which can take twists and major turns from what you're used to hearing on their albums~..truly so many surprise improvisations and entirely new intros/interludes within their songs....always so refreshing~ always so breathtaking just being able to witness how much they put into all of their live appearances~!

Before heading into six favorite♥ performances which I've included below and speaking of amazing intros into songs, here's one of my most favorite♥ special intros which appears on Mr.Children's "Home Tour 2007-in the field-"...which I still like to call it their "turtle♥bunny" DVD~ o(*´∀｀)o゛♥

Just below ↓↓↓ Mr.Children's performance of their beautiful ballad "Shirushi" begins with an acoustic intro.....so amazingly~amazingly~!! *sweet~!!! (*´∀｀*)♥♥♥

~Just love how Sakurai'~san's acoustic solo blends seamlessly into the group's live performance as the video with Sakurai~san sitting under a tree heads straight into the heart of the song~♥ ………(゜∀゜)………。

I so needed to begin with "HANABI!!!" It's my favorite♥ song from Mr.Children's 2007 album release.."Supermarket Fantasy" (which is heavily supported here on this concert DVD~ (*´∀｀*) ) after some inner debate & struggle ( `_)乂(_' )。。。(・o・)！as at first I couldn't decide between "HANABI" or "Esora"..both such *awesome* songs~!!!! ~♥~!!!!


Here's just a tiny bit of those special intros which I earlier mentioned~...and here Sakurai~san sooooo genki♥ and *energetic~*!!!! The original pv~ for "Esora" is so so *cute* too~!...I'm sad that YouTube ate it...(;´□｀)


~Just imagine.......the *feeling* of having written a song♪..selling over 1.9 million copies..winning the prestigious song of the year award~!!..and having your song♪ then serenaded by an entire audience filling Nippon Budoukan~ ＾　＾。For Mr.Children that most beloved song♪ and fan favorite♥ is "innocent world" and it's now a long time running tradition for Sakurai~san to ask the audience to sing entire verses & chorus parts and as they've resonated throughout arenas across Japan~ so it's also heard here~.......gives me goosebumps~!!!! just listening (人∀`*)♥♥♥

~Simply, one of Mr.Children's *cutest* songs♪ (*´∀｀*)♥ The style here is very reminiscent of early Mr.Children releases~...especially the *tinkering* of what I think is a xylophone?...the bars you tap with a tiny mallet..＾　＾。


~*Warm* and mesmerizing~ melody♪......and listen for the sweet* lead in from the middle interlude back to the chorus~ (*´∀｀*)♥♥♥


~Extremely cool guitar riffs~!....and Tahara Kenichi~san's guitar *tone* here is ………(゜∀゜)………。♥！！The build~up to the chorus too....one of Mr.Children's best~ ＾　＾。

Not even gloomy~overcast weather could dampen Riichan's spirits~ for her already 4th shashinshuu release titled "Risou."

Riichan also remains as the youngest H!P member to have released a solo pb~ and here in her fourth effort her image is being touted as a bit more mature...through wardrobe as well as the overall styling employed throughout~ "Risou."

True to her nature~ an open playfulness appears in numerous shots....that being mixed with *sexy~* at times...and that house which opens the photo book is so so surreal~looking (・o・)！！It's so odd and tiny looking and I imagine it could be made out of gingerbread....somewhere in a parallel universe~ ＾　＾。

A~h! ever since reading CK♥'s take on those....omg! 'flying nun' photos which I've held back from seeing until now......I've been quite apprehensive of them~...and they are quite quite...(・c_・;)？puzzling??? as to why the wardrobe director chose those for Riichan to wear~! So, my one promise* here~ definitely no 'flying nun' photos in this entire post anywhere~ っo(*´∀｀)o!♥♥♥

And on that final note.....I've scanned 37 of my favorite♥ photos from "Risou", so many *kawaii* ones to choose from~ (*´∀｀*)！！。。followed by just a few screencaps~ from the accompanying 20 minute "making of" DVD...some of which has a bit of a haze happening in it~. Was it the weather??...or perhaps a *fuzzy* camera lens?? ＾　＾。。。。。

Sugaya Risako's shashinshuu can be ordered here at Amazon Japan.

Sugaya Risako's "Risou" shashinshuu can be ordered here at YesAsia.

B.L.T.....? bacon, lettuce &...no~! It's "Beautiful Lady & Television~"…(^q^) It's Japan's version of TV Guide only that this publication is solely focused on highlighting programs for you to watch which feature B.L♥~! っo(*´∀｀)o!

The latest issue which arrived in convenience stores~ on November 24th has a little feature on AKB and if you're really new to them as I am then this feature is really quite informative~ ＾　＾。 I'm seeing that it's actually the third part in their 3 part series which began two months ago~ so I'm just catching the tail end here but this feature~ being member/unit profiles it's still most wonderful to see~!

The scans may look really *fuzzy* right now~ but if you click on each one twice to display them on a clear white background screen and then a third time using the tiny magnifying glass which will then be your mouse pointer on screen.....they enlarge quite well and all of the text is then clear enough to read~♥ (*´∀｀*)。I just noticed that my hair was on the scanner...gomen nasai~ (*´艸`)！

~Near the center top of the first page above...there's a tiny legend for all of the information on each of the girls and translated it reads: 1= Birthdate  2= Shusshin ("hometown")  3= Shinchou ("height")  4= "Three sizes"....and really I'm not seeing these measurements for the girls here and it's rather a gravure♥ thing to have them displayed which would explain it, although from reading CK♥'s recent live report on SDN48 they surely do sound "gravure♥!!!!" (・o・) to me!!!!! I wonder how many girls do measure themselves this way??...."B, W, H"  (・c_・;)？A friend and I measured each other recently which resulted in me having a bit of body envy!!! (;´□｀)...however that's for an entirely different post~ (。ーωー。)♪！ 5= Seiza ("Constellation")  6= Ketsuekigata ("Blood type")...something which is really important for couples in Japan wanting to get married....even more so than anywhere else I think as favorable matches of blood types is highly regarded there~ ＾　＾。 7= Shozokujimusho ("the office in which they belong to...")  8= Fan letter no atesaki ("Fan letter address").

I love that even AKB's units are featured here~.....really helps the clueless ??? in me to understand more~ (*´∀｀*)。

Mano♥Santa immediately caught my eye~! too and it being the holiday♥season...one can never have too much holiday~attire on their blog~ o(*´∀｀)o゛～♥。。。。。。

....great big giant *fuzzy* phone~....want!!

I'm now really convinced that Tsunku's been giving all of his best compositions♪♪～ to S/mileage and Mano♥eri of late...

..just as with S/mileage's previous two indies releases~ "aMa no Jaku" and "Asu wa date nano ni imasugu koega kikitai", "Sukichan" embodies everything that addictive & *cute* J-Pop so much should~! Music♪♪ which lifts the spirit~＼(^o^)／♥ with melodies that entice the ears and hold prisoner your very~ sugary soul~ into addicted bliss~ ヾ(＾∇＾)♥♥♥

Previous *gushing*~ ヽ(。´▽`。)ノ。。！！on S/mileage's first two indies singles~ can be found here ＾　＾。

From *cute* and catchy~ instrumentation to The Beatles going Baroquee ♪ S/mileage is fast becoming one of H!P's best produced groups...and this all coming from four most talented Eggs~. S/mileage are: Wada Ayaka, Maeda Yuuka, Fukuda Kanon & Ogawa Saki~ ＾　＾。

  Always so impressive are the girl's ensemble vocals which have driven their chorus lines~ and with each member's voice holding distinctly unique qualities~ so much of their personalities are gradually being spread throughout the generous solo portions being offered up by their perfectly choreographed vocal lines~. While "Sukichan" is much more a straightforward J-Pop song and especially when compared side by side to their previous two releases~ it still comes fully equipped with those alluring pre~chorus & chorus hooks♥ which have made S/mileage such an irresistible group thus far~ o(*´∀｀)o゛。







Watching the "making of" footage really gives you a sense of how developed each member of S/mileage are as idols and that being despite this being their indies debut together~...and my greatest *wish* for this unit? Please Tsunku keep S/mileage a true~ J♥Pop group for as long as possible as there is oh so much out there already in terms of J-Hip Hop, J-Dance as well as J-R&B~ ＾　＾。 As it's their type of brand of *pure* J♥Pop in which I so enjoy~ listening to っo(*´∀｀)o! I *adore* their closeness to one another and you can see their bonds so well developed even at this early stage~.









I so love♥!! their outfits in their second single~ (*´∀｀*)....would this be a pinkish expression of frilly renaissance lolly? (^-^*)♥ I find that the side to side panning of the camera~ really accentuates the dance so much and this one reminds me so every fondly♥ of second gen. Tanpopo~ as Tsunku delivers J♥Beatles~ o(*´∀｀)o゛。

And finishing on a so so amusing note~…(^q^)! more than half of the "making of" footage for "Asu wa date nano ni imasugu koe ga kikitai" is occupied by members of S/mileage dishing *secrets* about one another with a highlight being the always so *adorable* Yuukachan hearing from afar such a *moment* and declaring those whispers all~ "lies"...hmm 'lies?' I wonder?? (。ーωー。)。。。

Hm..but more than anything I find myself *wishing* for one of these very oversized and oh~so fuzzy phones! ………(゜∀゜)………。♥♥♥

And I love how they can be an absolute "direct" line to your friends~ and no one else...

.....and so funny when one falls off the wall~ on accident....

..whether choreographed or not...

.....it's definitely a *keeper~*! ＼(^o^)／☆

~Today (December 3rd, 2009) is a most *special* day for MorningBerryz～(人∀`*)♥！！！ (~post will remain under "Mano♥Subway"....newer posts can be seen below ↓↓↓) A~h (._.;) okay I was having a bit of trouble with the title~...and how to say it here・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。

~Today I'm so very humbled o(*´∀｀)o゛to be thanked in Spencer Peet's idol/gravure idol article in the latest issue of "Neo" Magazine~!!! This began awhile back when I was first contacted by Mr. Spencer Peet in regards to his writing of an article which would present a most well covered and explanatory~ understanding of the idol/gravure idol genre and how it relates so much to Japan's culture and its inner workings~. Here Mr. Spencer Peet has produced a most *wonderful* article which sheds so much light on the genre in explaining it's place in society, the fan♥base and how it can potentially lead to other most *dreamed* of careers~ in the entertainment industry...he writes so articulately~ ＾　＾。

~At the end of the article I'm mentioned by Mr. Spencer Peet as a "* special thank you~*" o(*´∀｀)o゛....if possible please look for the latest issue of "Neo" magazine ＾　＾！It is a UK publication and some places in London mentioned by Paul Thomas @ Hello!Blog are also noted in this article. よろしくお願いします～！っo(*´∀｀)o!

~To be mentioned in a magazine....a~h me so undeserving I wonder?...and yet so humbled and *happy*~! *Thank you* so much Mr. Spencer Peet~! 今日は～。。。本とに本とに嬉しいです！！！(*´艸`)♥♥♥

The original files sent to me were so very large...and yet they shrink down so much when placed here~ (・д・`*)！。。。

To be able to see article very clearly please *click~* twice on each one to isolate the image of the article onto a clear white screen background....and your mouse pointer~ on your screen should then show a tiny magnifying glass which you can then use to enlarge in order to be able to read Spencer Peet's article with just one more *click~*! o(*´∀｀)o゛♥♥♥

....gave in to temptation~ and while my Christmas♥shopping isn't yet quite done this is so so bad of me!! (ノロ≦。)！

"blue" so *pretty* though and the store only had two left! (・д・`*)！Also the DSi came with so many accessories too~! ＼(^o^)／☆

*Thank you* minna~ for all of your thoughtful messages which helped me so much to shop for and understand the DS~! o(*´∀｀)o゛

Hmm..but I still have no games yet (;_;).

The friend I mentioned earlier says they'll help with compatibility issues~....can't wait to play~!! (*´∀｀*)♥

"どうぶつの森。。。" dreaming~*!...＾　＾。

Hmm.....the only problem with only receiving set "C" is the resulting image above~…(^q^)! As is indicated to the right~....set "C" when aligned adjacently will only produce that *down~there* area of Koike Rina~ (・o・)！！Well the front images are okay~ so (。ーωー。)♪。

This issue's cover girl is the ever *adorable* Manoeri♥~! (*´∀｀*) And just in case you're choosing individual issues to get~ the idol♥ on the cover is so much more a substantial event~ than in most other publications.....

.....case in point: You see a most favorite♥ idol/artist/group on the cover of a publication there on the shelf...sadly the issue is sealed...but you purchase it on a moment's weakness to said favorite♥ idol/artist/group..(*´艸`)！。。。reach home♥....open outer wrap.....browse issue frantically searching for cover feature!!! (゜ロ゜ノ)ノ！！！。。どこ？。。どこ？。。どこ？？！(・c_・;)？！ Then only to realize that your most favorite♥ idol/artist/group was given only 2~3 pages?!!! なんじゃこりゃぁぁあぁああーっっ(;´□｀)！！！

。。。。。。。。。。。sorry~! just had a *moment*..(*≧∀≦)☆★ ↓

Hmm...sound familiar? (￣Ｏ￣*)

Well,

...with Bomb magazine this will surely never ever occur ever~! o(*´∀｀)o゛

The reason being that the idol♥ featured on their covers always get so so so much coverage~!

So,

.....with this issue you'll see 18+ pages of Manoeri♥ if including her off shot feature~! And if you're most curious to know of Manoeri's♥ day to day~living style it's all here....and Bomb's "Growing☆Up" feature which is also a standard with each of their cover features~ includes baby♥ photos~! *KAWAII* deshou~!♥♥♥

Manobaby♥....Manopre~teen♥....Mano~room~layout~♥...Mano~wearing~an~Elmo~T-shirt♥....Mano~with~Hello~Kitty♥..it's all here~! (*´∀｀*)。。。

。。and due to Bomb's tiny size I could fit the entire issue while opened up~ to scan the pages in a single scan ＾　＾...


The *lovely* and so so talented Ueto♥Aya~!....featured with her anime counterpart "Atom" whom she voices in the CG version anime~ ＾　＾。

...for more pre~mature *gushing* ヽ(。´▽`。)ノ。。！！♥ please click here♥! ＾　＾ 。。。I meant pre~music♪♪ loving~♥ (。ーωー。)。。the main post~ is near the bottom though ＾　＾。And I apologize so much as I've only replaced the "MC" clip so far so the other music videos in those above links won't play just yet....but all of the mp3's will play okay~ ＾　＾。

~Ska, rock, pop☆.....always so much energy ＼(^o^)／☆ and enthusiasm in Ayachan's vocals and music♪♪～！！She's after all one of the most popular and sought after seiyuu in Japan~! ("Haruhi" posts can be searched under tags: anime in this blog)

While Hirano♥Aya's 2nd album leaves out any ballads....*mesmerize* in........

...."Hoshi no kakera" ♥♥♥~ from her 1st album. Songs♪♪ just don't get any *prettier* than this~!!

And of course her most *beloved* Haruhi theme song~ "Bouken desho desho." ＾　＾

Hirano♥Aya release can be ordered here at Cdjapan.

Hirano Aya releases can be orded here at YesAsia.

Hirano Aya's "Speed☆Star" can be ordered here at YesAsia.


With the first press edition of "Speed☆Star" you'll be greeted by a *pretty* plastic outer slip case~ as well as an additional DVD containing her pv~ for the title track "Speed☆Star." And who doesn't love♥ pvs~ ne! (*´∀｀*)♥

Ayachan's 2nd album also has very *cute* songs~ to go along with her intense rock energy throughout...and in tracks like "OH! My Darlin'" her sultry♥ voice really shines though~.....so much the essence and ability of a seiyuu to project such emotions all the while being "off screen~!"

Still "Aishite, "Super Driver", "Set me free", "Ano hana no youni" are most favorites♥~!

....no wait! I now think that "OH My Darlin'" is my most favorite♥?....(・c_・;)？it's just such a *cute* song with her style of phrasing and delivery~! Interestingly there's also a song titled "VOXX"...as in this blog's name..."VOX?"…(^q^)

And if you're lucky to be in Japan for any of these dates....you're in for a treat ＾　＾♥：

12/18--- Zepp Nagoya

12/20--- Yokohama BLITZ

12/23--- Yokohama BLITZ

12/26--- Nanba HATCH

12/27--- Nanba HATCH

1/2/2010--- JCB HALL

Oh and now for the bonus LE's video clip.....＾　＾。。