...and just when you thought it couldn't get any stranger it does! ^-^ Just the thought of a H!P member air freshener (I love how they spelled it "FRESHNER" =D ) is giddy in its own sense! When I saw this I had to have one! ^-^ Has me now wondering....okay....if Miya smells like "tropical" as indicated above on the label then what do the other members of H!P smell like? :P Well I'll be honest, I really just want to know what Kamei smells like....no no no not in the way that you may be thinking!! :O, but as an essence. I'm thinking strawberries...or maybe pineapple, or could she smell like papaya? Definitely not lemon or sauerkraut or even pickles. :P Then again why would anyone smell like a pickle?! :P But it would have to be the sweetest because she's so adorable so I'm sticking with strawberries for sure! ^-^ I love the warnings on the back!!...what not to do with a Miya air freshener!! :O Just imagine how bizarre it would sound to go like that!....."what happened officer?"....."Looks like the Miya air freshener took another one tonight." :O


But what this all gets me to wondering is, what is the most unusual H!P merchandise item out there? I ♥ collecting odd things well because I'm odd :P....and it seems that new ones keep popping up every so often. Still waiting for UFA's release of the "Riiferigerator" due out some time I'm certain but in the meanwhile I have just three to choose from so far that I think qualify as a going beyone the call of oddness and perhaps that's an understatement in itself. =D You probaby remember the Kamei Italian parsley that Paul @ Hello!Blog got for me! :)....... .......and then there's of course the Nacchi linen box! :) Who would've thunk it?!!! :O So what's stranger here? And if you have something odd H!P related pleeeaaaaase share!!!! \(^o^)/ Oh and while you decide...here's my favorite H!P song of 2008 so far to listen to...the year's not over yet so this may change but It's going to take something really awesome to overtake......... ^ ^

Okay it's true one doesn't really need 3 calendars to know what day it is! :P But being that there's amazingly still room on my bedroom walls for 3 poster sized hang ups I just couldn't resist! All 3 of these were released on October 11th (tomorrow here but today in Japan..I hope that makes sense! :P ) so CdJapan must have sent these out a bit early as they arrived already today! :) Please return to the top here afterward to pick your favorite. ^-^ I think you may agree that 2009 represents without a doubt the very best H!P group calendars to date!! All 3 are impressive and don't let even BK's cover fool you, as what's inside will quickly change everything. ^-^

Japanese 2009 calendars can be purchased here from Cdjapan and here from YesAsia. What's interesting is that YesAsia is offering a 10% discount on their calendars but the original starting price is $27-$32 whereas CdJapan doesn't have them discounted yet but their starting prices are between 2200-2300 円. So what it really comes down to is shipping charges and how speedy you want the delivery to be. From my past experience CdJapan is second to none when it comes to prompt delivery whereas YesAsia may sometimes take a bit of a while. But everyone's personal experience with these online sellers is most certainly different and quick delivery may not be an issue at all. :)
Last year C-ute used the theme of music genres very effectively and being that this group's long term goal is global domination ^-^, 2009 holds a world tour theme. The countries chosen to be represented in the varied shots through the year are France, China, Switzerland, Japan (hmmmm...interesting), India, and Spain. Okay that would explain the dot on Erikachan's forehead as seen above. And doesn't Airiin look like she just walked of the set off a new Jane Austin movie?!! ^-^ Instead of sets we have backdrops here but the look works really well...Airiin & Maimichan in French dressing...all that's missing is some red wine. :) Something new and great for 2009 is that each of the groups members' birthdates are marked on each of these calendars in different ways...if I remember correctly only BK's was marked last year but in any case the styling used for next years' calendars are much cuter. Here the members of C-ute have their birthdays marked by cute hearts....hmmm I never realized that Maimichan and Maimai share the same birthdate! Lucky 7! Same as me but um different month. :P March & April show China some love...no wonder they all look like Chun Li from Street Fighter. =D The Swiss miss look is in for May & June. Somehow I think Tsunku could make a new unit out of these three...not that we need any more mini units running wild in H!P as there are plenty enough right now. Yep you guessed it! It's Japan! Funny they chose Japan as they've already conquered that region of the planet and are from there. :P But seriously though....this shot is by far one of the best for 2009!!! I mean how beautiful are these summer yukata! Sooo c-ute! Pun intended too! I appologize for the tops of some of these images being obscured as the calendars weren't given quite enough time to flatten out properly when I took these shots all one after the other so the tops are rolling up a bit. Although "India" may not be readable at the top as it's a bit cut off I think the image says it all. The light pastels work nicely here too. Hey watch that bull in the back!! :P Absolutely love these dresses!! And it won't be long before "little" Maimai is taller than everyone else in C-ute and H!P for that matter....only the giant Kumachan will stand in her way!!! :P And as has been the trend recently, all three calendars presented here have the wonderful extra page....some suitable for framing if removed. Isn't Airiin the most darling here? As many have been brought up to believe...never judge anything or anyone by it's or their exterior. I can't emphasize enough just how much this applies to BK's 2009 release! At first glance truly the cover looks like somewhat of a repeat of last year's design. Simple and perhaps even a bit homely dare I say. But in truth it's nothing like that at all. Just one thing puzzles me about their cover though...they left out the two "U's" in Koubou. Nandeshouka? I know I'm right smack in the middle of this post but I have to argue right now that BK's may just be the best of the three here. Take this image of January & February. Each member has written a character spelling out "Kotoshi mo yoroshiku" ("Please be kind/ stand by us again this year"). An idiomatic phrase used at years start. The personality of this photo itself is built upon through the coming months and each does a great job at making BK's 2009 calendar the most personable here. Birthdays are marked by cute little pink birthday cakes and I know they're difficult to make out here but trust me their cute! ^-^ This one's like a scene right out of Buono! pv! :) The only thing missing is Momo being...uh "tormented." :P Once again the charm of BK's 2009 calender lies in the personality of these shots and the settings themselves play a large role in this. Cafe Berryz! Summer Sanpo...and sometimes casual non costume like clothing works best. Love this library shot and Maasa's shirt reads something like...."I HAVE GOT EVERYTHING THAT YOU WANT"...it's almost as if she's speaking to Shirow directly. :O November & December are great!..returning to the class room setting. Now if only those three in the back would stop kidding around and actually clean the classroom! XD Chiichan I'm talking to you... :P And here is the extra page and with a group shot beginning and ending this calendar...just perfect! In particular I love Miya and Kumachan's styling the best throughout this release...and of course Momo but that's just a given all the time. :) Not to be outdone though...Momusu's release is every bit as well produced as C-ute and BK's...so it really comes down to personal taste I think. Please don't forget to vote for your favorite at the top of this post. :) To begin with Momusu's cover is immaculately beautiful. I think it's their best looking calendar cover thus far...the poses, arrangement of the members and the scenery all pure ♥. What sets Momusu's design apart from C-ute & BK's are the wonderful wonderful!! off shots included at the bottom of each page which are taken from the same photo shoot as the featured months. This adds so much already and then you have the member birthdates creatively and personally marked with flair by each member. Names and little doodles really add to the birthdates and for these two reasons alone this may have you heavily favoring Momusu's release over the previous two....hmm but we'll just have to see the results first to determine that. :) This one's got a Hawaiian inspiration behind it!! Ah Gakisan & Kamei!! The cutest month ever!! ^-^ Okay I'm biased...it's Kamei! :P Kamei Kamei kamei... It's just soooooooo nice to finally see Momusu out of a studio in the real world with nature and things for once! They've been cooped up far too long on sets with plain backgrounds when it comes to their calendar shoots.....at least UFA gave them a budget to work with this year and the results speak volumes and volumes! ^o^ "Singin' in the rain?"...adore those bright colored boots! =D Reinachan & Mitsii....Momusu's odd couple. It's amazing how Reinachan's sex appeal continues to rise every time I see her but I guess if one has legs like those they should definitely use them! ^-^ This fall design is another one of my favorites out of all the shots here...the softness of the brown and orange blend together perfectly in their outfits and their surroundings. Mentor and student reunited...Sayu poses with a case of Amp energy drink! :P Definitely not sugar free either!! Kohachan 好き！ Dreamin' of a white Christmas?...cozy and cuddly is this shot...hmmmmmm.... ............why do I suddenly sound like Yoda...only not as wise? :P And with no light saber skills... This final group shot would make one of the most beautiful Momusu posters ever!!!! Just imagine this one framed and matted in white! ^o^ If you remove this page carefully surely it can be done. Everyone looks gorgeous and the overhead shot makes for an ideal angle. Aichan...serious.....Reinachan....confident....Kohachan.....Amp Energy embodied....Mitsii....waiting for a chance to steal Junjun's banana....Sayu....adorable as ever nyan nyan!...Gakisan...picturesque....Junjun....guarding her banana like Fort Knox....Linlin....lighthearted....and Kamei.....♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

I received a couple of recent issues of Switch magazine from Amazon Japan and we actually used to carry this publication back at the record store a few years back and one thing that impressed me was the photography in their issues so when I saw Mr.Children's Sakurai Kazutoshi and Miyazaki Aoi on these covers I had to order them. I'm still waiting for the rest of Arashi's individual member photo books to be released but so far Ohno Satoshi and Matsumoto Jun's pbs have arrived! They're full color and both 112 pages long so for only 1300 yen each I think they're must haves! Ninomiya's pb is scheduled for release on October 15th and both Shokun's and Aiba's will be released on October 30th! Here are the links if you'd like to pre-order as they're still available, but Riida's and Matsujun's are already out of print at Cdjapan but perhaps are still available at Amazon Japan as they seem to have a much larger stock when it comes to books in general.

Ninomiya Kazunari complete otakara photo file infinity LE book
Aiba Masaki complete otakara photo file infinity LE book
Sakurai Sho complete otakara photo file infinity LE book

So far I've only scanned Miyazaki Aoi's photo shoot in Switch magazine... Miyazaki's photo shoot has quite a serious tone to it and the art direction is mature with a very modern cutting edge setting. I love how the blue was used on the cover in lettering made to compliment Miyazaki's cute outifit and the red outfit shots also have a nice appeal to them as well. The styling here is very different from what I'm used to seeing her in but one thing is for sure...doesn't she look amazing in these shots! A beautiful off shot of the cover. The scenery is so serene. Hmmm..shots like these have always puzzled me...did the photographer fall down and decide to snap a photo anyway? :P Okay I get it...artistic approach but really where's the rest of her?! The front editor's page has Miyazaki painting a pretty design on the ceramic piece so I guess the photo shoot also entailed a bit of...um....."work." She has such beautiful facial features and her little nose is the cutest! ^-^ Perhaps it's time for a new Miyazaki movie to watch! :)
The above photo is actually half of a two page photograph which shows a wide shot of the architecture but I only scanned the side with Miyazaki as I wouldn't be able to match them together without a program like Photoshop or something similar...but seriously even if I did have one of those programs I'd still probably have a difficult time. :P

I had no idea how thick this pb was when I first placed my order for it! Shueisha publishing has released quite a treat for Arashi fans in the form of a gigantic 256 page color/black & white photo book which is almost the thickness of my white pages phone directory!!! And for only 2190 yen it's one of the best Arashi pb purchases you could make for the cost. Arashi's 5 dome tour is covered comprehensively through great and dramtic picutures covering everything from the arrival, the fans, tons of live shots, backstage photos, down time photos and lots of candid moments all caught in wonderful photography throughout!

I was also caught off guard by its inclusion of an audio CD!! The single track contained here is "Re(mark)able" which is noted to be Arashi's 2008 Asian Tour's "message song." Here have a listen while you scroll down through a few scans and pics that I've included. It was quite difficult choosing which shots to include as 256 pages to choose from can do that to a fan. =D But here's the ones that I've chosen from the lot: These member profile photos (Matsujun atop post) are some of the best that I've ever seen!! And Nino still my favorite member although with all of the Hana yori dango that I've been watching lately Matsujun is threatening to take over my top spot! And just under a month until Arashi's new single "Beautiful Days" is released! The LE is already out of print but the RE is still availble here and it includes a bonus track not available on the LE. I'm looking forward to the pv which will be included with the LE this time around!! ^-^


Here are just a few more scans from the AIA photo book and I took some snaps at the very bottom of a few two page photos which really dominate this pb...so many of them but I don't have the software nor the know how of putting two separate page images together neatly so I chose not to scan any of those as they wouldn't look very good here. :P Arashi sugoi! The live concert shots are great but what I really love are those candid photos of the members...personable and fun. :) Hehe pushups! Nino seems to love cards... :)
Love these shots!! Here are just 3 of those two page images that I mentioned earlier and there are tons and tons of them in this pb!!! And don't forget to brush or else!........... ^-^