If there were songs that are considered timeless, I'd put this song on the list. Even after all these years, I still listen to it and I still love it. ^_^
Obviously, people would think of the famous American sitcom "Friends" when they hear this song. I also loved the series and watched it whenever I had time. The music video was quite amusing too. :D
I think the nice and inspirational message of this song about friendship appealed to me. Plus that dancy upbeat tune. Plus all that nostalgic feel. Ultimately, it's an all-time favorite song. ^^
Third photocards post is invaded with CLAMP goodness overload! Yay, yay, yay. :D
First pic is from Magic Knight Rayearth. I think is is one of my all-time favorite MKR pics. I love the bubbles effect and the girls' element signs above are a great addition. And Mokona's cute, what else can I ask for? :D
Second pic is from X/1999. Lovely Subaru and Seiishirou in yellow background. With sakura feathers to complete it. Yay for yaoi goodness, ohohohoo~ (cue: "Omg, their love is so canon!")
Last pic is from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. I think this is one of my most favorite TRC pics, it's just so adorable! Sakura and Shaoran as children plus little cute green birds (haha). I can't describe it but there's something about this art that gives it a really nice effect.
Background music in anime series have been getting more and more popular nowadays. Before, even though they are there, viewers barely notice them at all. But for me, I've always liked bgm ^_^ and if the bgm and the anime mesh nicely, I would like the series more. "Boys Be" and its bgm could best fit this quality. The simple renditions of various musical instruments add to the relaxing mood of this romance and slice-of-life series.
The bgm of Boys Be is divided into 4 seasons and are simply numbered from I to IV. I like most of the bgm but what really made an impression on me was "Winter IV". It's also probably the most frequently played bgm in the series. It's usually played at the end of an episode and it suggests closure or happy ending. Sometimes, when I hear a Boys Be bgm song, I usually think of Christmas. So...enjoy this song, guys! And Merry Christmas!
Getting this manga was completely accidental. We had no idea about the author or how popular the series was. But it kind of look nice so we decided to try it out anyway. It was a good thing, it has been a funny read for both of us. :D
"The Wallflower" (or Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge) is about four handsome guys - the violent but uber-popular Kyohei, effeminate-looking Yuki, ladies' man Ranmaru and intelligent Takenaga. A few years ago, these four got together and lived in a rented mansion for various reasons. Later on, the landlady strikes a deal for them - convert her niece into an elegant and "true" lady and these guys can live in the mansion for free! The job sounds reasonable and easy and so they take the challenge.
Unfortunately, Sunako, the niece, happens to be a bigger challenge than they expected. The girl is simply in love with the darkness, the occult, slasher movies and actually owns a collection of creepy skeletons, coffins and anatomical figures. She also seems to be very cautious of the four guys whom she refers to as "creatures of the light" and tends to break down in an intensive nosebleed reaction when she gets in contact with them.
The first volume was in my opinion, very good and very funny. At first I thought it was a potential Hana Yori Dango clone (F4 and Makino Tsukushi, anyone?) but it can actually stand on its own as an original story. It was very cute that the guys are actually giving a lot of effort to face the challenge of giving Sunako a major makeover (with the exception of Kyohei who seems to show the least effort ^^;;)
Interestingly, Sunako isn't really as ugly as she thinks she is. She's actually pretty in her own way and she also has the fierce and no-nonsense aura that can rival to Gokusen's Yamaguchi Kumiko. It's up to the guys to make her realize that she's not actually that repulsive, lol.
The author, Hayakawa Tomoko, also happens to be a horror and occult fan so expect to see a lot of these references (both Western and Eastern) popping up every now and then.
I've always loved songs from Full Metal Panic because they're all sung by Shimokawa Mikuni who became one of my most favorite Japanese singers after hearing her sing Gensomaden Saiyuki's ending theme "Alone".
"Minami Kaze" (or "Southern Wind", I think...) is a nice upbeat and relaxing song (that's perfect for listening when you're traveling with high speed, just kidding, hahaha). It was used as the opening song of the third installation of the Full Metal Panic series that was subtitled as The Second Raid. I heard the music video of this song sucked a lot but I haven't seen it myself so I can't say. Ah well, it's the song that matters. ^^;;
I've gotten preoccupied with Final Fantasy too much (but I feel like I'll be getting back to it soon, lol) so here's a break from all of that. An anime music video. Yipee~
Though my first music video was based from an anime (Victorian Romance Emma), I didn't like it very much. ^^;; Anyway, my fourth video one of my current favorite series, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. I only have a copy of the first season so those are the available clips for now.
The music I used for this video is Phil Collins' "Look Through My Eyes" which is also found in the Disney movie "Brother Bear". I thought the message was really nice and somewhat suitable for the TRC series. Enjoy and comments please! :)
Alright, I want to add j-songs here as well but I think my j-music knowledge is quite small so expect a lot of Laruku songs and some Gackt and Utada Hikaru. ^^;;
Anyway, to start, I'd like to talk about one of my all-time favorite songs of L'Arc~en~Ciel. I first heard "Finale" in the movie "The Ring 0" and honestly, I got a little scared with the opening of the song because it was, well...too suitable for the movie. ^^;; I mean, you just got scared after watching the movie and then it ends with a song with a cryptic and haunting opening. Gyah. XD
This is probably one of the longest j-songs that I have encountered, running for about 6 minutes (the longest song I could remember was one of the songs by Oasis, heh). I think it's a little different from the past Larc songs because usually their songs are pop rock-ish or with danceable tunes, but this one is still great. I especially love Ken's guitar performance (he's the one responsible for that cryptic tune of the song!). :P
The music video for "Finale" is great too. According to the making of the video, the weather in the video area was apparently very cold, and the guys (especially Hyde and Ken) were wearing loose and thin clothes. Ack, imagine how freezing that would feel. Tetsu's transparent bass guitar rocks as well Yuki's...hair! Oh, I love his hairstyle here, nice and nice. XD I also love his scene when he beats the slightly wet drums and little sprinkles of water splash out. ^_^
Anyway, "Finale" is a great slow rock song. It's also good for Halloween effects, just kidding. ^^
Let's see...I said before that I started liking many Filipino songs (and I still am). ^_^ I first heard about Hale through their first song "Broken Sonnet". Unfortunately, it didn't leave a big impression on me. The second song, however, is another thing. I got totally addicted to it.
First, it's a slow rock song, I'm kind of a sucker to those kinds of songs. ^^;; The vocals were very good too. If I initially didn't know that it was by Hale, I would've thought that it's an American song. I think Champ's voice has that slightly garbled style that most American singers have. This song had been on the top for such a long time, it would be unlikely to not know about it during the time it was a big hit. I think this song also prompted for Hale to be well-known in the Philippines.
Sure, there's a fact that the members of Hale are from the UST Conservatory of Music (go USTe!) but that's just an added bonus. Hahaha. ^_^
Once in a while, you come across a series that presents a new and unique plot, Kaleido Star is definitely one of them.
There are series that talk about stage performance (Sakura Wars came to my mind at once) but Kaleido Star takes it to the circus/acrobatic level. The heroine named Naegino Sora came to America all the way from Japan to pursue her dream of joining and performing in the prestigious and uber-famous Kaleido Stage group. In there, Sora meets various characters that challenge or help her in achieving her dream.
To me, Sora seems like a mirror image of Sakura Wars' Shinguji Sakura. Always thinking of the others' welfare before her own, Sora doesn't seem to have an evil and selfish bone in her body. But during the course of the series, Sora grows up into being a skilled acrobat with real determination to shine. At the end of the series, her dream is revealed to be to create a stage with no conflicts. A virtually impossible dream, but Sora believes in it. On the other hand, Layla Hamilton is very much similar to Kanzaki Sumire. But while Sumire always stresses her importance in the stage, Layla is more of the image of a real experienced performer. She's frank in giving her opinions and would not tolerate mediocrity in the stage. Both Sumire and Layla also end up helping and supporting the main character at the end of the series.
The pattern story of Kaleido Star is a little predictable at first. Sora goes through many hardships, challenges experienced performers and polishes her skill until she has that she has proven that she has the right to be called the true Kaleido Star. But later on, the series also discusses matters of the family, tragic deaths, business negotiations, betrayal and more.
I think what attracted me to Kaleido Star is their many references to classic stories and fairytales namely their performances of The Little Mermaid, Arabian Nights, Saiyuki, Dracula, Swan Lake and more. It's nice to see these stories rendered in acrobatic and circus style. Secodly, the roster of characters is very good! Everyone is simply entertaining especially the pervert spirit of the stage named Fool. He's supposed to be an important character yet he show a lot of his comical side. Plus, he's voiced by Koyasu Takehito (FY's Hotohori). A big LOL. :P
The background music had a considerable amount of memorable ones. The opening and closing themes didn't give me a big impression except for "Tattoo Kiss" which is a very LSS-worthy song. :)
The final episodes of the series are probably the best also. You'll get goosebumps all over, I promise. ^o^ And it definitely shows closure in the series, it surely won't disappoint its viewers. ^^
A-chan's rating for Kaleido Star: 9 / 10
