[Wii] WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

December 31, 2007 – What are you doing New Year’s Eve? Thanks to the Wii™ Shop Channel, you’ve got some outrageous new options. This week’s classic game additions offer brilliant fantasy and crackling action to help you ring in ’08. So if you haven’t made any New Year’s resolutions yet, allow us to suggest a few: pop more bubbles, battle more medieval beasts and try to save the universe a little more often.

Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday. Wii™ owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

BUBBLE BOBBLE® (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): BUBBLE BOBBLE‘s release in 1986 introduced the two bubble dragons, Bub and Bob, and brand new play mechanics, with players defeating enemies by trapping them in bubbles and then popping them. Although the puzzle-action game can be beaten by clearing all 100 rounds, it also contains secret elements such as not being able to get the “true ending” in single-player mode; hidden commands that lead to secret rounds; and a ton of different items. These elements are some of the game’s most memorable and important features. Each round even has different air currents that are not visible, so bubbles rise in unpredictable patterns. Aspects like forcing players to understand and utilize these different patterns while playing help make this a revolutionary game that is fun to play anytime.

Light Crusader™ (Genesis, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Animated Violence, 800 Wii Points): Each day, more good townspeople of Green Row have been mysteriously disappearing, and beleaguered King Weeden summons the knight Sir David to investigate. Armed with his wits and his sword, Sir David must find the cause of this strange evil and save the citizens of Green Row before things get any worse. Take the role of the brave knight in this action RPG and get to the bottom of the mysteries of Green Row as you fight enemies, solve puzzles and use your best combination of brains and brawn to save the kingdom.

TOP HUNTER (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and older-Cartoon Violence, 900 Wii Points): Take on the role of either Roddy or Cathy, bounty hunters in this side-scrolling action game set far in the future when humans have colonized space. But all is not well: Space pirates called the Klaptons are making their way through the galaxies, wiping out peaceful settlements along their path. This disgraceful behavior leads to them having a price on their heads, so now Roddy and Cathy must travel through four distinct worlds on a mission to defeat their leader, Captain Klapton. Both characters have retractable arms-used to grab enemies or other objects in the scenery-that can then be thrown at others to destroy them. Also, be on the lookout for rings or levers to pull, as this might reveal special bonuses. Further adding to the mix, the game uses a unique system where the action happens on two planes, with the player switching between them at will. Can you prove yourself worthy of the Top Hunter name and help save the universe?

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

 

[Nintendo] WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

If you hear a rumbling on the roof tonight, don’t assume that it’s reindeer when there are gorillas on the loose. Yes, this week’s merry Wii™ Shop Channel lineup includes a classic adventure title to entertain every reveler in your household, from the nicest to the naughtiest. Plus, you’ll find a wicked-cool dose of ice hockey action and a thrilling secret-agent sequel to help keep spirits bright all winter long. You were expecting lumps of coal? Sorry-maybe next year.

Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday. Wii™ owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

BLADES OF STEEL™ (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): With stick in hand and confidence brimming, you are looking to bring home the cup, win the MVP award, get on the covers of major sports magazines and date a beautiful model (not necessarily in that order). But soon you will learn that, in this league, nothing is ever given to you, and before you can reach your goals, you’ll have to put the puck in the net and score some. You’ll need both the artful skills of a finesse player and the bone-crushing brutality of an enforcer. Defend your own goal against unrelenting power plays, or put the pressure on your opponent’s goalie and try a slap shot of your own. Don’t forget to defend yourself when anger flares because the gloves come off and fists start flying. So strap on blades of steel and prepare to either make a name for yourself or be put on ice.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble™ (Super NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Revisit Donkey Kong Island and join the Kong family for their latest adventure. The Kremlings have a mysterious new leader named KAOS and are up to their usual mischief, even capturing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Now it’s up to Dixie Kong and the newest Kong, a giant infant named Kiddy, to rescue the two missing apes. They’ll travel across previously unseen parts of the island in their search, and even take to the skies in a rocket at one point. Lucky for them, Dixie and Kiddy’s powers complement each other (including Kiddy’s talent for rolling like a barrel), so they form a powerful team capable of major Kremling damage. They’re not completely on their own, either, since returning favorites like Funky Kong and Enguarde the swordfish provide help along the way. And in a series known for its abundance of secrets and high replay value, this entry doesn’t disappoint, with enough hours of game play to satisfy Donkey Kong himself. Anyone else have a sudden urge for some bananas?

Rolling Thunder™ 2 (Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Violence, 800 Wii Points): In this follow-up to the original classic, you are once again a member of Interpol’s Rolling Thunder task force, and it’s up to you to stop the return of the evil Geldra organization. Now known as Neo-Geldra and led by a newcomer named Gimdo, the bad guys are bent on destroying several valuable outer-space satellites. In this one- or two-player game, you can play as Leila or Albatross-both characters from the original-as you venture through several different levels, trying to put a stop to the nefarious efforts of Gimdo and the rest of Neo-Geldra. Use your bullets wisely and make Rolling Thunder proud.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

 

Kanon Vol. 1 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

TITLE: Kanon (Vol. 1)

DVD INFO: Contains Episodes 1-4, Approx. 100 min., Anamorphic Widescreen, English 2.0, Japanese 2.0 with English Subtitles, Rated: TV PG 

DISTRIBUTED BY: ADV Films 

RELEASE DATE: January 1, 2008 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Clean Opening and Closing Animation
• Kanon: A close look at an anime product house part 1

OFFICIAL JAPANESE WEBSITE
SYNOPSIS: Can memories really be that elusive?  Yuichi Aizawa used to visit his cousin Nayuki all the time when he was younger, but now he can hardly remember a thing about those visits.  And upon his return to finish his senior year in high school while living with his Aunt Akiko and his cousin, the blank spots in his memory have become more and more worrisome.

After a seven year absence, Yuichi makes a valiant effot to adjust to his vaguely familiar surroundings.  Bits and pieces of his past come back to him, but his memories elude him still.  Why can’t he remember? What is he blocking out?

From the same animation studio that brought you AIR TV, a poignant concerto of tears, laughter and pinky promises make up a mystical world in Kanon.

“Kanon” referred by many fans of the series as “Kanon 2006″, an anime based on a PC visual novel from KEY/VISUAL ARTS (and later released on the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PS2 and PSP)  and was released once before in a 13 episode series back in 2002 gets a remake with a 24 episode run starting back in October 2006 through March 2007.

Without rehashing 2002, I’ll just focus on the 2006 series and first four episodes in this review.

“Kanon” is an anime series that focuses on the main character Aizawa Yuichi, returning to a town that he visited quite often as a child.

The cold, snowy town tends to bring him flashes of memories and makes him wonder why has he forgotten a lot of his memories from seven years ago.

He stays with his aunt Akiko and his cousin Nayuki (who is very excited to have her cousin stay with the family).

Yuichi’s character seems to be a nice but a bit blunt person.  In other words, he’s a nice guy most of the time but also, he has a side of him that can be a bit stand-offish.

In the first volume of “Kanon” (episodes 1-4), we are introduced to several characters.  The first establishes the relationship between cousins Yuichi and Nayuki.

The second introduces us to a short girl named Ayu who runs into Yuichi because she somehow forgets to pay for her Taiyaki (a pastry made from something like pancake or waffle batter and is shaped and looks like a fish but it’s filled with different types of cream like cheese or custard or bean paste).   You learn that Ayu and Yuichi have met each other when they were younger seven years ago and if anything, the two are almost like siblings by the way the argue with each other but at the same time, both enjoy each other’s company.   Ayu appears to have lost something, doesn’t remember what it is but she’s trying to look for it.  In the second episode, we are introduce to several girls briefly but I’m guessing who will become a big part of the storyline as the series continues.

The third episode features a girl named Makoto.  A girl who has amnesia, doesn’t remember anything but one thing and that is she knows is that Yuichi is a key and somehow his face angers her for a reason.  She comes to live with Yuichi and Nayuki and upsets Yuichi because he thinks she is a freeloader.  You also get to know a little more about the girl Shiori who seems to be at school and looking up a the window of the classroom that Yuichi is at.

The fourth episode features Yuichi interacting with Makoto, getting to know about his cousin and her involvement as Captain of the track team and then meeting up with Ayu who he brings home and introduces to Makoto. And also, you get to see more of the mysterious figure who appears at the high school with a sword late at night.  Hmm…

Overall, volume 1 is more of an introduction to the new “Kanon” series, learning how Yuichi is and introducing us to many girls.

I’m not sure where the anime is going but I’m guessing that the series will be similar to other anime where that Yuichi may be a guy that all these girls start to fall in love with.  But then again, I could be wrong because that would be too easy and to cliche right?

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the first volume of “Kanon” because of the lush visuals of Japan during the cold winter and that there are so many location scenes and indoor scenes that it seems you see something new and fresh in terms of the scenery.

Also, the characters have their individual quirks about them that you really start to like these characters and you sense that each person is looking for something.  Yuichi for his memories, Ayu looking for something important that she lost, Makoto who has amnesia and trying to find out who she is, Shiori looking for that someone and the list continues.

The introduction of these characters and the relationship with Yuichi definitey pulls your interest and makes you wonder more about the characters and left me craving for more episodes.

So, I enjoyed the animation from it’s colorful backgrounds, uses of a lot of scenery and overall, interesting characters with character designs that I prefer in this latest incarnation of the series.

As for the audio, the English dub is done very well and the Japanese is very good but in the Japanese version, Yuichi has a very low voice and sounds too manly while the English dubbed version, sounds like a teenage guy.

As for the special features, I’m so happy to see that there is a special feature included outside of the opening and closing animations and ADV Film previews.  The “Kanon: A Close Look At An Anime Production House Part 1″ is a featurette that spotlights how the anime is created by taking the viewer and giving them an inside look at Kyoto Animation.  Also, interviews and getting to learn about the process of putting Kanon and trying to remain close to the original series in terms of the character designs.

And where it leaves off, seems to indicate that we will get more of an inside look on storyboards and production of the anime series in the next volume installment of “Kanon”.

All in all, for a TV series that aired in Japan, I felt that there was a lot of care that went into the creation of this series.  There was no holding back on animation because the animation is very colorful, well-planned and absolutely beautiful.

Although many who have seen the previous 2002 series may have a lot to say about the 2006 series, in a way it’s like comparing apples to oranges so far in the series.

Volume 1 of “Kanon” is definitely a very cool, dramatic anime series and I’m not sure if it’s more dramatic or if were going to see anything supernatural or sci-fi later in the series but for the first four episodes, we meet a lot of female characters and makes you wonder what direction the series will go, because truthfully, there have been a good number of anime featuring a guy and a harem of kawaii girls.

The only thing that I felt a bit strange is a taboo like feeling with Yuichi’s first cousin Nayuki.  I don’t know but I feel that she may like her cousin.  You really take an interest in her character because she’s bubbly but you tend to wonder why she is so excited about Yuichi and why she is so alive with him now living with her.  But that’s the only potential red flag that I found so far with the series.

I also am guessing that the sound phrases by characters such as Ayu who tends to give a “Ugu!” sound when she’s frustrated and also Makoto who gives a kawaii sounding noise will become popular among the hardcore fans of the series.

All in all,  I really dig where “Kanon” is going to from what I’ve seen so far.  A beautiful, lush animated drama series with characters that you actually care about.  “Kanon” definitely kicks things into high gear for 2008.  Check it out!

 

[WORLD GROOVE] Currently listening to mink – Sense – 4 seasons~autumn~

ARTIST: mink

CD SINGLE: Sense – 4 seasons ~autumn~

LABEL: RhythmZone

CATALOG #: RZCD-45679/B

DURATION: 19:05

RELEASED ON October 31, 2007

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. Sense
2. Love is…
3. Guilty As Sin (Original)
4. Amazing Grace ~from Mink Summer Live 2007 “Shalom”~

DVD: Region 2, 4:3, Duration: 4 minutes

1. Sense (video clip)

In August, was the release of mink’s (made in korea) fifth CD single “Together Again” which will begin her first of her “seasonal” releases. And also going from her popular Ena design covers to covers featuring animals.

The second of the seasonal release (her sixth CD single) “Sense – 4 seasons ~Autumn~ released on October 31, 2007 features a romantic theme.

The main track “Sense” was written by mink and music provided by Komorita Minoru, known for making music for many artists such as Shimatani Hitomi, BoA, Kato Milliyah and many more.

The song is a beautiful ballad featuring a beautiful piano intro easing to a nice rhythm and mink’s sultry vocals.

The second track “Love is…”, another beautiful ballad with a beautiful piano intro and yet again eases to a nice rhythm but a bit slightly faster tempo. This time the song is written by Safari Natsukawa and music by Kum Hyung Suk.

The third track is an English track showing listeners that she’s more than able to do an all-English album. The song is an upbeat song written and music by Vincent Degiorgio and Robbie Patterson.

The fourth track is “Amazing grace”, the well-known John Newton song (with choir and all) which was sung live from her “summer live 2007 “Shalom” performance and a song that people can watch her perform live amazingly on the “a-nation 2007 BEST HIT LIVE” DVD.

As for the DVD, the music video of “Sense”, well I’m not sure if it’s supposed to make sense to tell you the truth. The film is shot as several clips and looks like it’s highlights from a film. But looking at the CD-insert and I see no mention of a film anywhere.

But the music video seems like a theater trailer with a group of clips from a film but in actuality is a music video featuring people who work and eat at a restaurant. And the emotions of people. From a guy with his child to a girl and her two friends feeling sad. I guess the lyrics don’t exactly fit the actually music video since “Sense” is a love song. But then again, I’m sure there are hundreds of music videos that I’ve seen that hardly match the lyrics of a song.

The CD insert features lyrics to the songs and song credits and an insert of Rhythm Zone releases for October 2007.

All in all, mink’s latest CD single “Sense – 4 seasons ~Autumn~” is a romantic CD single and her music is going more towards a direction of adult contemporary that fans will either like or dislike.

Personally, I find mink’s vocals to be sensual and awesome that I enjoyed her CD single releases from the beginning to now. She also manages to separate herself as just another face on the avex-related labels. While other female performers have their own pop niche, mink definitely stands out for her beautiful vocals and being the only Avex artist to receive Billboard success in the United States.

I believe that she can easily transition with a release in the US and also live performances if handled right because she is talented and her vocals are beautiful.

Of course, I enjoyed her earlier stuff a lot more but I enjoy her latest work and have embraced her music.

 

[WORLD GROOVE] Currently listening to hiro – Special Box

 

ARTIST: hiro

ALBUM: Special Box

LABEL: SONIC GROOVE

CATALOG #:  AVCD-16082

DURATION: [disc 1] 1:17:47, [disc 2] 56:40, [disc 3/DVD]:  86 minutes

RELEASED: February 1, 2006 

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

DISC 1: Single Collection

1. Mitsumeteitai
2. AS TIME GOES BY
3. Bright Daylight
4. What’s up!
5. Treasure
6. Your innocence
7. Confession
8. love you
9. Eternal Place
10. Notice my mind
11. Baby don’t cry
12. Ai ga Naiteru
13. Hikari no Naka de
14. clover
15. hero*
16. Send My Love for you

DISC 2: Remix Collection

1. Baby don’t cry -extended version-
2. sunlight -extended version-
3. Ai ga haiteru -Nitelist Remix-
4. clover -Gira mundo primero remix-
5. Namida -SWAG’s Remix-
6. ME AND YOU (Riding Waves) -Version 2-
7. LOVE IS SHOUTING OUT
8. Confession-M -Control Mix-
9. Baby don’t cry -world’s end girlfriend remix-
10. Mitsumeteitai – DJ Hasebe Remix PART 2-

DISC 3 (DVD): Clips Collection – Region 2, 4:3, Duration: 86 minutes

1. Mitsumeteitai
2. AS TIME GOES BY
3. Bright Daylight
4. Treasure
5. Your innocence
6. Confession
7. love you
8. Eternal Place
9. Notice my mind
10. Baby don’t cry
11. Ai ga haiteru
12. Hikari no Naka de
13. clover
14. hero*

SPECIAL FEATURE: Off Shot – 15:48

When it comes to hiro (Shimabukuro Hiro) or any other member of SPEED, I always look forward to their music.  Having watched SPEED since before they released their first CD single, purchasing their first CD single, album, VHS video, etc.

Earlier in 2007, we have seen the release of Uehara Takako’s collection and last year was the release of the special limited edition box set release from hiro.

Hiro has always had that distinct voice because of her high pitched vocals and she added something special to SPEED because of those vocals.

Since SPEED broke up, from August 1999 from her first CD single release of “AS TIME GOES BY” up to her 13th CD single “Hero*”, a special box set was released.

The box set contains three disc’s.  The first being her singles collection which contains a total of 16 songs (13 CD singles) and includes “Mitsumete Itai” (a solo song that was on SPEED’s “ALL MY TRUE LOVE” CD Single) and two unreleased songs “What’s up!” and “Send My Love for you”.

The second disc features a remix collection which includes ten songs.  Remixes feature a Latin-style for songs such as “Ai ga haiteru” and “clover”, others incorporating a very cool underground style that goes from jungle to techno to trip hop.  A very good balance of remixed music, pumping new life into her CD singles.  Definitely thought the remix album was very fresh and unique for her music which is a great addition to the box set.

The third disc is a DVD featuring her music videos for her 13 CD singles plus the music video for “Mitsumeteitai”.

The DVD features a special feature off-shot showing an interview with hiro, watching hiro shop and behind-the-scenes of the making of her music video that is almost 16 minutes long.  For those who have been collecting hiro’s DVD’s, one thing that is not included in the Clip Collection is the music video for “IN SEASON” (from her album “Brilliant”) which was a special music video for the release of her “BRILLIANT ON FILMS” DVD release.

The CD’s are in 3 CD jewel cases and each case featuring a CD insert.  The first featuring lyrics to the songs and a picture of the CD single next to the lyrics.  The second insert for the remix collection features lyrics.  The third disc, the DVD insert is nearly identical to the first insert featuring a picture of the CD single and the lyrics to it.

If you are a hiro fan, you really can’t go wrong with this box set release.  Not only do you get all her CD singles (plus three other songs), a remix album and a DVD with all her music video clips from 1999-2006.

Also, a major plus because the label could have separated these to different volumes which many Japanese labels have done with many other artists.

Of course, you can purchase the CD Single Collection and the DVD Clip Collection separately but really, you want the box set because the remix album is definitely worth owning.

So, if you dig her music or are curious and want to make a purchase of a hiro release, I highly recommend checking out the Special Box.

 

[WORLD GROOVE] Currently listening to Tenjo Chiki – Piranha

GROUP: Tenjo Chiki (also known as “The Grace”)

CD SINGLE: Piranha

LABEL: SM Entertainment/RhythmZone

CATALOG #: SMJTCD0207/B

DURATION: 38.2 minutes

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. Piranha
2. My Everything
3. Just For One Day feat. Jejung from Tohoshinki
4. The Club [STY Gin n' Tonic Remix] feat. SEAMO
5. Piranha [instrumental]
6. My Everything [instrumental
7. Just For One Day [instrumental with JEJUNG]
8. Just For One Day [instrumental with TENJO CHIKI]

DVD: Region 3, 4:3, Duration: 5 minutes

1. Piranha music clip

I have a few Tenjo Chiki CD singles on my “to review later” shelf but it was not until I saw a performance of “Piranha” for “a-nation 2007″ that left me speechless by their sexy choreography and vocals.

So, naturally did my research to find out who this group is and to find out that Tenjo Chiki is a Korean quartet that goes by the name “The Grace”. Similar to Tohoshinki, they have several names in Asia but for the sake of this review, I will use the Japanese name Tenjo Chiki.

The four women consist of So. California girl Stephanie, Sunday (who released CD singles in Japan back in 2004-2005), Dana (released two solo albums in Korea) and Lina (member of Korea’s IsakNJiyeon).

I admit I was surprised that one of the members was Dana (a person I listened to during the time S.E.S. was around and bought the SMTown Christmas albums) and Lina of IsakNJiyeon, so naturally I went back and started listening to the CD singles and now all into this group. And Stephanie, I’ve seen her perform (and showcasing her awesome dance moves) on the SBS Korean variety show “XMAN” but never really put two and two together that Tenjo Chiki is CSJH.

The version I am reviewing is the limited version of “Piranha” which has an extra track (includes a remix for “The Club”) and is their fifth CD single.

The first track “Piranha” is an up-tempo dance track which utilizes the women’s vocals and also an upbeat number showcasing the women’s dance choreography.

The second track “My Everything” is a very cool slow jam, showing the sensual side of the group.

The third track “Just For One Day” features the women teaming up with JEJUNG of Tohoshinki. The song is another sensual slow jam but definitely will attract the fans of Tohoshinki. JEJUNG’s vocals are smooth and the the overall track

The fourth track which is a bonus track for the limited edition version features an “STY Gin n’ Tonic Remix” for their song “The Club”. The song was the group’s second CD single with a collaboration with music artist SEAMO. This version of the song is a head bopping, dance number with a good emphasis of bass drum. But I love the original version much better.

The remaining four track feature instrumentals for the first two tracks and two instrumentals for “Just For One Day” which include one with JEJUNG and the other with Tenjo Chiki.

As what MAX and SPEED did for the dance R&B quartet of the 90′s, Tenjo Chiki takes it a notch further by really going sexy (Koda Kumi sexy) with the hip twists and much more and the vocals of the women are reminiscent of artists such as Christina Aguillera and how I enjoyed them through their performance on a-nation is further enhanced by the accompanying DVD that shows how sexy these women are. Differently a different contrast from what we have seen from S.E.S. or even BoA.

The DVD features the music video clip for “Piranha” and shows the women doing a dance off with four male dancers. A video featuring sexy dance choreography!

The CD insert features the Japanese lyrics but also includes another foldout which has the Korean lyrics of the songs.

The women have just released their first Japanese album titled “Graceful 4″ back on November 14th. In a way, I’ve been wanting to see a new quartet dance group along the same lines as MAX and SPEED in Japan that can dance and sing and take it to a new level without being idolish.

And I can absolutely say that their music video and live performance of “Piranha” has caught my eye and now I’ll be tuning into this group.

Overall the CD single showcases their music and vocals through “Piranha” and their two slow jams on this CD single. Enjoyed this music CD single a lot.

The music video of “Piranha” is simply sexy and awesome to watch.

I know I’m reviewing this late and probably preaching to the choir for those who enjoy the group but for those who haven’t, I highly recommend checking out the CD+DVD version to get the audio and video experience of this quartet.

 

[WORLD GROOVE] Currently listening to MICRON’ STUFF – SCRAP?

BAND: MICRON’ STUFF

ALBUM: SCRAP?

LABEL: RhythmZone

CATALOG #: RZCD-45650

DURATION: 19.4 minutes

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. Precious
2. DO IT
3. Ready Fast
4. Face off
5. Relax time (JINO remix)

MICRON’ STUFF is a five member group from the Kansai area signed to the RhythmZone label back in 2005.

The group’s music can be classified as hip hop, sing song (rapping and singing at the same time) mixed with soul R&B and funk and features the following members: SHIGE (vocals), BINGO (vocals), GEJI (guitar and programming), KENGO (guitar) and MUNEYOSHI (bass).

Having released two CD singles, the group released their fourth mini album in September titled “SCRAP?”.

The first track “Precious” is the group’s second CD single which features a balance of acoustic guitar and interladen with grooves and a beat and features a sing song hip hop, type of vocals. The groove and overall song is catchy. The song features special guest vocals by Suga Shikao.

The second track “DO IT” features an old school type of groove and beat and also features a sing song, hip hop track.

The third track “Ready Fast” is a faster temp, old school type of groove that reminded me of old school Whodini and is not done completely in a sing song manner and features the guys rapping.

The fourth track “Face off” is the more contemporary hip hop song they have on the mini-album. A more in-your-face type of song. A very cool track!

The fifth track “Relax time” features a balance of hip hop and sing/song style. Another contemporary track that has that old school Fresh Prince type of feel. Unfortunately, some vocals are really off on this track.

The CD insert features the lyrics for the songs and a flyer promoting RhythmZone September 2007 releases.

MICRON’ STUFF’s latest mini-album “SCRAP?” has a few cool tracks and some that are just average.

With avex having many groups that have the sing song/hip-hop sound, where MICRON’ STUFF separates themselves from other groups is that they embrace the soul R&B and funk type sound.

Although this mini-album features a little bit of everything in terms of its music, no one song really pulled me in. If anything, listening to “Precious” was interesting for its collaboration with Suga Shikao but all in all, “SCRAP?” was just average at best for me.

 

[MANGA] Manga review “Vagabond”

Takasuka Shigefumi wrote the following review for the Daily Yomiuri.

Takasuka writes, “Vagabond tells the story of Japan’s most famous master swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi (ca 1584-1645). The manga series has been running in Kodansha’s weekly magazine Morning since 1998. Since the beginning of its run, it has been compiled into 27 volumes in Japanese and 26 volumes in English.”

“Vagabond is a manga adaptation of Miyamoto Musashi, a novel by Eiji Yoshikawa (1892-1962) first published as a 1935-39 serial. But Inoue, one of the most popular mangaka in Japan today, decided not to name his manga Miyamoto Musashi, instead choosing the English word Vagabond, a term often used for a masterless samurai like Musashi.”

“I didn’t want readers to have any preconceptions or likes or dislikes before reading [my manga because of its name],” Inoue said in the afterword of Volume 5. “In addition, I feel a little guilty about giving my own twist to Miyamoto Musashi–a real person.”

More on this review 

 

[JAPAN] American artist wins manga award

Daily Yomiuri’s Ishida Kanta reported, “The top prize of the Morning International Manga Competition (MIMC) established by Kodansha Inc. for new manga artists, was won by Kage no Matsuri (Festival of Shadows) by an American woman named “rem,” 25, as further evidence of a growing population of talented mangaka overseas.”

“Kage no Matsuri was carried in the November issue of Kodansha’s Morning 2 comic magazine. Reading it, one wouldn’t imagine it was created by an American artist, as it is a fantasy in the style of an old Japanese folktale and rem’s character design and the layout of her frames are more like something from a Japanese manga than a typical American-style comic book. Kage no Matsuri is free of dialogue, but some onomatopoeic effects are written with hiragana.”

“However, the creator, who lives in Houston, can’t read or write Japanese.”

More on this article 

 

a-nation ’07 BEST HIT LIVE (a J!-ENT Music DVD Review)

ARTIST: Various Artists

DVD TITLE: a-nation ’07 BEST HIT LIVE

CATALOG #: avtdvd-096

DURATION: 1:44:24

DVD INFO: Region 2, 16:9 LB

1. Suzuki Ami – Delightful
2. AAA-Sunshine
3. My Little Lover – dreamy success
4. Tenjo Chiki – Piranha
5. KEN MATSDAIRA – Mashiken Barabara
6. Takasugi Satomi – Tabibito
7. COLOR – Hoshi ga Ochinai Yoni
8. Natsuki Mari – Kimi e – ONE NIGHT ONLY-
9. Every Little Thing- Kirameki Hour
10. Tohoshinki – Sumer Dream
11. mink – Amazing Grace
12. Nakamura Ataru – Tomodachi no Uta
13. Otsuka Ai – CHU-LIP
14. Koda Kumi – FREAKY
15. TRF- BOY MEETS GIRL
16. TRF – LEGEND OF WIND
17. Hamasaki Ayumi – 1 LOVE
18. Hamasaki Ayumi – fated
19. Hamasaki Ayumi – glitter

OPENING ACT:

J-Min, Seara Ko-jo, JONTE, MAY, Ramuji, FONK, Hiroki

BACK STAGE:

MIYAGI, EHIME, SHIZUOKA, HYOGO, TOKYO

The latest DVD for a-nation ’07 is here with “a-nation ’07 BEST HIT LIVE”.

The summer concert festival featuring artists on avex’s various sub-labels and also artists managed by avex management agencies such as tearbridge took part in a concert that brings out thousands of people.

In 2007, the concert was held in Miyagi, Ehime, Shizuoka, Hyogo and Tokyo.

The DVD features the various performances from the artists that took part in the concert which was held in different cities throughout Japan but how does the latest a-nation DVD fare compared to past releases?

“a-nation 07 BEST HIT LIVE” was interesting in what artists they included on the DVD.

In the past, we would get a really beefed up DVD with several performances by an artist or group but continuing the trend since 2005, a-nation DVD releases would feature only one performance for each artist with only Hamasaki Ayumi to get multiple performances.

Of course, fans who want more than one single performance on the DVD comparable to the 2004 release are upset that a-nation has continued the trend in 2007. With only TRF and Hamasaki Ayumi getting multiple songs.

So, I do understand where the fans of the 2004 DVD are coming from and why they have been vocal. In the past, you would get around 8 artists (typically the more popular artists) with multiple songs.

But I feel that Avex wants to spotlight their roster (which they have a large roster of artists) and show them on the big stage. And for me, I actually like that because if I wanted to hear multiple songs of an artist, I can watch a DVD of that artist. I’d prefer to see a performance of an artist that I’ve never seen.

So, for 2007, the DVD shows performances by Suzuki Ami, AAA, My Little Lover, KEN MATSUDAIRA, COLOR, mink, Nakamura Ataru, Koda Kumi, Otsuka Ai, Hamasaki Ayumi to name a few and with the differences of musical styles from let’s say a TRF from a My Little Lover, you get a bit of everything.

My highlights of the DVD were:

Suzuki Ami – Delightful: Previous performances of Suzuki at a-nation were ok. Nothing great. But this performance, it was great to hear her sing live and not be super-diva and it was great to see the support from the fans during this performance.

AAA-Sunshine: AAA is always a lively band to watch perform live and their performance at a-nation was energetic and vibrant.
My Little Lover – dreamy success: I would not imagine ever seeing My Little Lover performing live at a-nation but her they are. Akko and band were lively and great to see them perform live.

Tenjo Chiki – Piranha: This quartet from Korea actually surprised me. Their onstage presence was very sexy and their performance of “Piranha” sounded great live!

COLOR – Hoshi ga Ochinai Yoni: Wow! I’ve always loved COLOR (past group and present group) because it’s a very western R&B sound and to hear them perform live was great. Great vocals!

Otsuka Ai – CHU-LIP: This performance was probably among the most lively that night with possibly several hundred people on stage dancing to the song. Very energetic and Otsuka Ai is always fun to watch perform live especially in this song because the band and everyone is into it and dancing.

Koda Kumi – FREAKY: A very cool performance and actually very surprised only one performance from Avex’s diva is on this DVD. Very sexy and love the pyrotechnics.

TRF – BOY MEETS GIRL and LEGEND OF THE WIND: The fans continue to support TRF, avex’s oldest group currently on the label. And it’s great to see them perform because they still look as great as they did 15 years ago.

And there were a lot of musical performances that also caught my eye. I was interested in watching Nakamura Ataru perform (Avex’s transexual artist) for the first time and she did a great job. Her songs are very elegant and would be great to watch in concert with an orchestra as opposed to something like a-nation.

mink (made in korea) did an awesome job singing “Amazing Grace” but personally, would love to see them include other songs that she performed at a-nation but nevertheless a good song.

Hamasaki Ayumi’s performance was good but it pales to comparison of what you could see on her own personal concert DVD’s which are more energetic and great to watch. But her performance at a-nation are still very cool to watch.

As for Tohoshinki, they performed well but still, that performance of “Rising Sun” in a-nation 2006 still remains my favorite performance by the group.
As for bonus features, the DVD features the 10-minute “OPENING ACT” which features clips of J-Min, Kojo Seara, JONTE, MAY, Ramuji, FONK and Hiroki. Similar to previous DVD’s, the opening acts tend to show about two minutes worth of each performance. I don’t see why they don’t include the full opening acts on the DVD, would have loved to see the full performance of JONTE and MAY. This goes the same for those who played on the Power Stage such as JAMOSA, Mother Ninja, DRM, Asia Engineer and 5050 (to name a few) who are briefly shown on the Back Stage bonus feature.

The final bonus feature is BACK STAGE and this one was actually pretty cool. It’s a 30 minutes behind the scenes segment for a-nation from setting up and behind-the-scenes at the concert performances at different cities throughout Japan primarily Miyagi, Ehime, Shizuoka, Hyogo and Tokyo.

On the screen, you see Japan and a location of each areas that a-nation took place and when you click on it, you get to see the “Power Stage” performances of several artists on various avex sub-labels. Or you can watch all performances by clicking “watch all”.

The cool thing about the inclusion of “BACK STAGE” is watching other performers enjoying the performances of other artists. Watching Koda Kumi and Hamasaki Ayumi enjoying TRF, AAA, Tohoshinki and My Little Lover getting excited about their performance and watching the audience walk to the concert area and see the dancers and people who are involved with the performances getting excited. So, always loved the inclusion of this on the a-nation DVD’s.

The DVD is presented in 16:9 letterbox which was cool to see and offers a 2.0 (Linear PCM Stereo Track) and a Digital 5.1ch track.

The DVD insert features photos of all artists performaning at a-nation which include those who performed on “POWER STAGE”, “OPENING ACT”, “SHOOTING ARTISTS”, “SURPRISE ARTIST” and “REGULAR ARTIST”.

Surprising is no appearances (or mention) by avex sub-label artists such as ANNA TSUCHIYA, EXILE and several others on the DVD (only on the Website). It’s understandable to not see non-Avex related artists such as mihimaru GT and SEAMO not on the DVD (although, they are managed by avex owned talent agency Tearbridge Productions) but would really like to see all artists who performed at a-nation to be mentioned or a small performance clip shown on the DVD.

Now mihimaru GT and Kome Kome Club are special tracks on the “a-nation ’07 BEST HIT SELECTION” which is a CD album that contains a DVD with music videos.

And last, there is a special DVD limited edition release that comes with a t-shirt. Previous limited edition releases have included t-shirts and even the a-nation blue bear.

All in all, a-nation 2007 DVD is another cool DVD compilation of seeing other avex-related artists perform on stage together and watch it on DVD.

Sure, we can see the many concert collaborations on music specials on television but if you’re an avex fan, you will dig this DVD.

I know that many reviewers are very critical because their favorite artist(s) who performed at a-nation are not on this DVD. Some have mentioned “what about mihimaru GT or ANNA TSUCHIYA?” and really, I don’t know why they have no mention on this DVD.

The other reviews were extremely critical that only one song is represented for the majority of the artists and I guess if you compare the a-nation DVD to American concert DVD’s such as the woodstock performance or even the recent UK DVD release of celebration for Lady Di, I guess you can say, why not a multi-DVD release for a-nation that shows all artists?

I’m sure there are reasons for why it’s not done and in this release, I figured TRF got two songs because it’s their 15th Anniversary and helped put Avex on the map in the company’s first five years and of course Hamasaki Ayumi for what she has brought to the company financially.

I expect next year’s “a-Nation” (2008) to be even more special as the company celebrates it’s 20th Year Anniversary but for now, if you want a DVD that shows off cool performances by various avex artists, then definitely pick this DVD up. If you are more into the R&B sound for Avex’s RhythmZone label (such as m-flo, Koda Kumi, EXILE, RAM RIDER, etc.), then pick up Rhythm Nation 2007.

 

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