#thank you Yuki Kajiura and the girls for my life

[mayuris-basement-dweller]

When you end the chapter you were stuck in.

[mikauzoran]

Interview with a Fanfic Author Tag!

This game was originally posted by @goldenavenger02. I was tagged by @purplerose244. Thanks so much for the tag! I’m so honoured that you want to know more about me. ^w^ <3

1. Your favorite fic that you’ve written (or just one you want to give a shout out to).

Phantasmagoria (Lukadrien) is always going to be one of my favourites. XD 

I’m really proud of Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses, though. I thought that story was going to kill me, but I finished it. 

Shout out to The Secrets and Rooftop Picnics Society (Lady Noir)!

2. Your favorite fic title that you’ve come up with.

Honestly, I suck at titles and summaries. XD Isn’t it enough that I wrote the story? No? XD I genuinely thought that Paw de Deux (Marichat) was clever, and I was surprised it hadn’t been used yet. 

I thought The Adventures of Off-Brand Ladybug and Chat Noir (Adrienette) was kind of cheeky and cute too. ^.^

Drunk Ladybug on My Balcony? Yeah. This is Fine. (Love Square, Platonic Alyanette, Platonic AlyAdrien) was a low point in my life. XD I couldn’t come up with anything, so I was like, “Yeah. Fine. Whatever. It’s just a one-shot”. But then it turned into a multi-chapter story, and I was stuck with the name. XD It was bad.

3.  How do you get inspiration to write?

How do I come up with story ideas or how do I make myself sit down and write? If the latter, I just do it. I really enjoy writing, so I regularly make time for it. It’s how I process emotions and things that happen in my life.

If you’re asking how I come up with story ideas...I’m not sure. They just come to me. A good way to get inspiration is to go for a walk outside. Somewhere with greenery is best. I also get inspired by listening to music, looking at art, seeing theatre performances, and reading. Learning new things is also a source of inspiration. I find inspiration almost everywhere.

4.  Your favorite genre/subgenre of fic to write.

I think I like hurt/comfort with a fluffy ending best. I like empathizing with characters who are hurting so long as they get a happy ending. It’s a bonus if there’s mutual pining and platonic bed sharing.

5.  Do you have other hobbies?

I read a lot, and I like studying. Like, I love learning about a wide variety of subjects from astronomy to art history to music theory to philosophy. It’s really interesting to learn a little bit about a lot of different things. ^.^

6.  A fun fact about you that a lot of people may not know.

I was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes (Type I) when I was in high school. I had to be rushed to the hospital because my blood sugar was in the nine hundreds, and I almost died. My anniversary is March first, so every year I celebrate my diagnosis because that’s another year that I’ve survived thanks to the doctors who saved me.

(Is that a fun fact? ^.^; I think I have a weird sense of what’s fun and or interesting.)

7.  Pick one character to self project onto, go!

Adrien Agreste all the way. XD

8.  Favorite genre of music.

Mostly, I like Japanese popular music. I’m not much of a fan of the super popular boy and girl groups, but I like Japanese punk, rock, and alternative. I also really like “classical” instrumental music. My favourite period is the Romantic Period in the eighteen hundreds.

9.  Your favorite singer/band.

I don’t usually have a particular band whose music I like. My phone is full of one or two songs from a bunch of different artists. In general, I do seem to like UVERworld, Fall Out Boy, and Vocaloid, though. Panic! At the Disco also has some cool music, and I like video game music by Toby Fox (Undertale) and Kondo Koji (The Legend of Zelda). Kajiura Yuki also makes gorgeous music.

10.  And finally, how has your experience in fandom been?

You know, I’ve been lucky, and I’ve had a largely positive experience with the fandom. Everyone’s been very supportive of me and my work. <3 ^.^

Tagging: @thewritewolf, @zekroudon, @galahadwilder, @alexseanchai, @kasienda, @dot-dotdots, @theriveroflight, @trashcatontherooftop, @freedom-shamrock

[putschki1969]

Hello Puts! Hope you're doing well! I wanted tk ask you something, after the manager of spacecraft had conflicts with Yuki San, why did Wakana still decide to stay back? I'm by no means saying that Wakana made a wrong choice, it's her decision that matters and I'm very proud of her uwu But just curious and want to know ^^'

Hi there lovely anon! I am good (^ _ ^)/

First of all I wanna say, THANK YOU SO MUCH for respecting Wakana’s choice, it’s refreshing to come across people who are aware that Wakana is a grown-ass woman entitled to make informed decisions about her own life (whether it’s something we as fans like or not).

I am afraid I won’t be able to provide a satisfying answer to your question though. Wakana has never shared her motives for staying with Space Craft. By now my followers know that I am not a big fan of speculation so there is not too much I can offer you in that regard either. However, I think I can safely deduce the following reasons based on the tidbits of information Wakana has disclosed in various interviews:

Great opportunities

Smooth transition into solo career

Familiar surrounding

Sufficient financial means

Wakana has mentioned in interviews that she considers herself to be very lucky because she got offered a few great opportunities soon after Kalafina went on hiatus back in March 2018 (opportunities that might not have been offered to Hikaru or they were not appealing enough for her which is why she decided to leave). Just think about it, she did her symphony concert that summer which was amazing and pretty much right after that she held a mini tour which was very well attended so they even added a bonus performance. By that point she had already been collaborating with prolific producer Satoshi Takebe to come up with her first few solo songs including the tracks for her debut single and debut album which turned out to be solid releases (at least in my opinion).

These opportunities allowed a smooth transition so she literally only took a small break before diving head first into her solo activities. I think that may have been one of the main reasons why she decided not to leave the agency. We never got an official confirmation since everyone has been super vague about the whole thing but I do think it is very likely that both Keiko and Hikaru signed some sort of contract/agreement that more or less banned them from working “properly” in the business for a year. I have a hard time believing it is a coincidence that Keiko pretty much reappeared out of nowhere in April 2019 (exactly one year after her resignment) with the announcement that she would take part in the upcoming YK lives and why Hikaru finally came clean about being H-el-ical// in early November (also one year after her resignment). So yeah, this one year of uncertainty and finding a new agency might have been something Wakana was trying to avoid, who knows...

From what we know, the higher ups at Space Craft have never mistreated any of the girls (aside from the fact that they obviously pushed them very hard to keep the money flowing into their business - something I wouldn’t fault them for since that’s what agencies do) and they are giving Wakana a surprising amount of freedom to express herself. If you ask me it would only make sense for Wakana to prefer to stay in a familiar surrounding with an already existing support system. Yes, many of the staff members left together with Yuki Kajiura but some of them remained at Space Craft and Wakana is obviously very close to them. Whenever we get glimpses of her “behind the scenes” activities it’s always a very laid-back and intimate environment.

Say what you will about Space Craft but they have done right by Wakana. They have invested and are still investing a ton of money into her solo career. Thanks to the money they have earned through Kalafina they had sufficient financial means to pave the way for a fully-fledged solo debut. They brought in Victor Entertainment and big names from the industry to work with Wakana, they churned out high quality releases in a short amount of time, they launched a great fan club with awesome content, they provided solid PR and they organised multiple one-man-lives, events and tours with high production value. These things shouldn’t be taken for granted. If so many fans hadn’t jumped ship and outright abandoned Wakana for petty reasons, her solo career would be much more successful right now.

[Note: Space Craft is not entirely blameless of course, in my opinion one of their biggest mistakes up till this day is the withholding of a huge amount of content by making it exclusive to the fan club. I think this is seriously hurting Wakana and restricting her opportunities. The ostracising policy among everyone who remained in Space Craft and everyone who left is also a huge issue but I feel like all involved parties and the Japanese entertainment industry as a whole are to blame for that].

[iceafterdeath]

Get to know you tag

Rules: When you get this, it means someone wants to know more about you, so list 5 things about yourself you want your followers to know! They can be as simple as your age or as complex as your deepest fear, as long as it’s something you’re comfortable with sharing. When you’re done and if  you want to, send this to 10 people you want to get to know better! 

 I was tagged by @diaryofomellas some time ago and I didn’t find anything to say about me then. Nothing changed, I mean I really don’t like to talk about myself. Thank you though for tagging me in this and I’ll try.

1. For a very long time I didn’t admit that my preference for women can be more than simple, platonic admiration for their strength and beauty. I knew that I like women and I don’t feel anything for men. I have a very strict and religious mother and I almost scandalized her when I was young and I told her that I would be a lesbian if being a lesbian wouldn’t mean having sex with another woman. I had a phase when I liked old men. Shocking, isn’t it? My parents were worried and now I’m laughing because I know that it was a strange earning for a paternal figure, and not attraction. My own father was...emotionally absent, if this makes any sense. And I realized that there was zero attraction for men when the girl that I came to love proposed me an exercise of imagination. Like, imagine a love scene between you and Sean Connery. Because yeah, from a strange aesthetical point of view, and without knowing that he’s a misogynist, I used to like Sean Connery. So after she described a scene with her and Keanu Reeves, when it was my turn, my mind went blank. And not because I’ve never wrote a straight love scene before. I just couldn’t imagine myself is that picture. This story became too long and stupid. The idea is that I always loved women but I realized it way too late.

2. I’m obsessed with Sylvanas and I’m saying this here because it’s a surprise for all of my followers, of course. lol. The thing is, I came to love Sylvans in an unusual way, through a Sylvaina fanfic that I read almost accidentally. I never played a video game in my life and I knew nothing about WoW. I was lucky until I found out about the inconsistencies and contradictions in her story and I started trying to find a logic in that. Anyway, it’s strange because I never liked elves or vain women, and I certainly never liked undead characters. Although in my old age I have an unexpected preference for assassins and warlords. It’s hard to find an outlet for my passion because I’m used to make gifs of my favorite characters and this time the sources are limited, her being a game character. I check the tag every day, btw.

3. When I was young I used to write, for my own fun and as a... cathartic exercise. I regret stopping but I’m too lazy and insecure to start doing it again. I also used to write bad poetry.

4. I like all kind of music, well, except jazz. Gothic rock, folk, folk metal and alternative metal, silly pop songs. From Yuki Kajiura’s anime OSTs to Korn and Arch Enemy. I have a friend who always teases me about my bad taste in music, but I think it’s an awesome taste.

5. I only ate ice cream twice this year. And I say this to make you pity me. No, I say it because I’m still upset about it. And the future is grim because of stupid respiratory problems. This doesn’t mean that a girl can’t come here and kiss me right now, preferably a... live version of Sylvanas.

I would like to tag @offense-is-the-best-defence @sassyandtired @halseys-bitch @backtopandizenzero and @sylvanas-wife 

Please don’t kill me, just ignore this if you don’t wanna do it.

[yoikami]

Get to know me tag~

Thank you @mochi-moss for tagging me~ I appreciate a lot!!

✦nickname? I have a very short name irl so online I get nicknamed Yoi or Ya (from Yayoi, ikr, one or the other, pick your poison).

✦gender? Female, on top of that I love cute things and dresses, I'm quite the girly/flowery/pastely gay potato...

✦star sign? A libra, I may be a witch I have no big interest in star signs ;;;

✦height? Very smol. Most people will tell you they're so small but ahahaha ...cute, I'm more or less 146cm, to give you an idea. The world is so big from my point of view.

✦hogwarts house? I always get Ravenclaw which is just fitting I'd say.

✦favourite animal? Fox!! I love foxes to death and I think they are adorable. I am actually kind of an animal lover anyway, I even try to never kill insects (except for giant hornets killing my bees, f these).

✦favourite colour? Purple and every kind of blues~

✦current favourite song? Chouwa Oto by Kokia <3 I just love mystical songs the best...just like Ar Tonelico's soundtracks or Sound Horizon, Yuki Kajiura's...

✦favourite ways to get creative? Tumblr has honestly became a good source for me to find inspirations from others. Even pretty landscapes put me in the mood for sewing or decorating etc. I also feel motivated whenever I see pictures of people's sewing projects or wips. (I sew plushies and doll clothing).

✦what do you do when you’re alone? Video games all the way, I also like baking, gardening, sewing, listening to music in my garden with my pets, even singing!! I can get creative with my hobbies and might have too many.

✦average hours of sleep? I try my best. 7-8 but with chronic illness every night is going to be a mystery.

✦cats or dogs? Both... I could never chose between my children.

✦number of blankets you sleep with? If I can I have as many as possible, if it's not summer... Tons of stuffed animals, cushions and big blankets.

✦dream job? I don't know anymore ;_; I do dream of reaching a high level in sewing and becoming a pro. My life took a drastic change 3 years ago and I originally planned to even be living in another country by myself but I had to change my mind and give up on some dreams which doesn't mean I can't have new ones!!

✦dream trip? I have yet to make a list since I already went to Japan and Canada and still want to visit them again because these countries are magnificient and like a second home for me now. I want to visit Ireland, Australia, Korea- Actually I'd like to visit as many places as possible ONLY IF they're peaceful enough for me to go to (Tokyo wasn't as draining and toxic as big cities of France where everything gets overwhelming for people with anxiety and disabilities).

✦sexuality? I'm such a mess!! In short I don't really like men in terms of "boyfriend material", I'm proudly gay for sure because women...women are life you know, women fascinate me and more than attraction I also want to stand for them, to not compete because I think it is ridiculous and I just want to tell another girl she is pretty instead of making her think I'm death glaring at her or something? But anyway, I said it's a mess because like my officially straight mother always told me "you never know I might live the rest of my life with a woman, no one knows, we can't decide that" and I thought it was a beautiful way of seeing things. I have currently feelings for someone very very dear to me and this man (yes he is a man, he was confused reading this like a dork!!) could be non-binary, a woman or genderfluid and I couldn't care less, our souls love each others. Oh and I'm asexual!! This might sounds confusing since I do looove women but I'm just not sexual at all, no physical attraction whatsoever. Sexualities can be more complex than it sounds anyway so I just feel like not making a big deal out of it. Tenderness, attraction, sensuality, sexuality, everything has a whole different sense ^-^

✦when did you make this account? Uhh, 4 years ago I assume. It changed a lot and I think I like it the most nowadays, I post more about nature, animals, cute mangacaps of my personal favorites, Yuri on Ice inevitably lol.

✦number of followers? 3,571. I think I've been having the same amount of followers for a whole year or two to be honest. Is it weird? I think a ton of them are actually inactive but regardless I think pretty much all of my followers and mutuals are actually amazing. I also have some followers who've been following me for years!! This is insane, and yes I see you, I ALWAYS notice you :P (I just never really keep track of ppl unfollowing, I think it's best to unfollow someone rather than arguing with them or sending hate mails).

This ended up becoming kind of a novel, as I always do ;;; ✦But thank you again Kit!!✦ (I think your nickname and name is adorable but this is just me ok xD I always thought it was some sort of nickname already. It would be silly if you were a crazy cat lover...). I'm not tagging anyone sorry ;-;

[scarfninjawrites]

Happy Birthday, Maria Valentina!! (aka my first real attempt to celebrate character birthdays)

NAME: Maria Valentina

BORN: January 12, 1950 (68 years old today!)

SIRED: February 14, 1968

ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Capricorn

ASSOCIATED COLOR: Red

HOBBIES: Reading (mostly academic/scholarly stuff like textbooks, mythology, anything on the ocean, with doses of fiction here and there), dance (ballet is her first love), observing nature

BASIC BIO: Maria was one of two girls born to Eduardo and Jasmine (surname withheld for spoiler reasons). Eduardo grew up in an American orphanage, with the only knowledge of his Filipino heritage coming from a letter his parents wrote many years ago. Jasmine was born and raised in the Philippines by her loving family. She met Eduardo during World War II, with her family quickly arranging for her to be married to him. The couple finally moved in together around 1947 thanks to the War Brides Act. They decided to save up a little money before starting their family near San Diego.

Compared to her twin sister, Maria was a quiet child. Very quiet and very contemplative. It was common to find her in three places - 1. In the library with her face in a book, 2. In the ballet studio or 3. At the park, sitting by the lake. Other than her sister and the girls in her dance classes, she had very few friends, and almost none that close to her. 

As she entered her teen years, she began to feel more distant from people as they took interest in romantic pursuits, and she did not. Her mother wanted to set up a marriage for both her and her sister, but Maria fought vehemently to go away to school and study history, her best subject. Her dream was academic scholarship, despite the odds of her ever obtaining it. Just as her parents were willing to give her a chance and support her dreams, she was attacked on February 14, 1968, just a month after turning eighteen, and nearly died. However, intervention from her sire, Trenton, brought her back as a vampire, causing her to desire revenge upon her attackers.

Maria was not the name she was given at birth, but a name she adopted after her siring. Her sister went missing around the same time, with Maria presuming her murdered. She believes the only way to for her sister to rest peacefully is if she finds and kills the man that ended her life.

MUSIC: I Am Shell I Am Bone - Gazelle Twin // Throw It All Away - Everett Bradley // Rootless - Marina and the Diamonds // Downer - Lush // I Remember - Saint Saviour // Paper Boy - Rebekka Karijord // Concrete Mother - Gazelle Twin // The Sea - Chiasm // Pauline - Darling Violetta // Nella Fantasia - Sarah Brightman // Delay - Chiasm // I Turn My Arm - Gazelle Twin // I talk to the rain - Yuki Kajiura // Fly in the Freedom - Tabitha Fair

OTHER SOUNDS: ocean waves // rain // toe tapping // flute // thunder and lightning // howling winds // running water

(BEST) QUOTES/MOMENTS:  Can I just say every moment Maria is there is the best? No? (Bolded parts are her talking, plain italics is someone else in the convo).

“I still can’t believe he named that place Bloody Sanctuary. It’s like he wanted to give us more reasons to hate him.” “He does try pathetically hard to do that.”

“So it’s like legal drugs.” “If we have to make everything about drugs, sure, why not?”

“I’d love for the two of you to be able to go to school next year, and have only university struggles be your only source of worries. You don’t need to worry about an immortal vampire king. In this life, you don’t get a whole lot of options like that.”

“I can give you time to think it over if you wish. I’m sure you haven’t fully realized the weight of what’s being asked of you. I understand if it’s a bit much for you to process.” “Well how thoughtful of you. But what you really need to understand is that I’m not interested in playing any of your little mind games. No deal.”

“I think this is the last time you’ll be seeing me. Learn to take a hint. Desperation isn’t a good look on anyone.”

“She’s never taken this long. I hope she hasn’t forgotten.” “If it’s on purpose, then it doesn’t count as ‘forgetting’” “You sure know how to lift the mood, cadet.” “I wasn’t raised to be a cheerleader, Captain.”

“It seems you didn’t get the memo. This is Los Angeles, not the Wild West. Take your wannabe cowboy costume back to the party store, it’s not Halloween or April Fools’ Day.”

“If you’re going to judge me for my eating habits, then I’m going to judge you for your pool skills. I expect nothing less than a flawless victory, otherwise Juan wins the game by default.”

[whisperandmantra]

My Favourite Shows of 2017

Happy New Year! It’s time again for my list of favourite shows of the year. Here’s to another year of good anime. Thank you for following and I hope you are enjoying the good anime we had this year. I present the list, in no particular order.

ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka

Political intrigue, double crossing, and a secret coup. This show was excellent at world building and making the world seem like a real and interesting place. It’s rare to find a nicely wrapped up show in one cour especially when there were so many different plot lines going on with the characters.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen

Continuing off a few years after the first season ended we get to hear the rest of the story. Focusing more on Konatsu and Yotaro, we see the story of Yakumo taking on an apprentice and trying to keep rakugo alive. The second season was a roller coaster of emotions and had some of the most beautiful scenes.

Little Witch Academia

Trigger back to save anime again! This time making a series out of an OVA. This show is charming and adorable. Akko is a genki girl with so much spunk and the supporting cast is just as awesome. In typical Trigger fashion the show amps up the stakes in the final arc and we get a grand finale that is both wonderful and sweet. The animation is great as expected in a Trigger production, and the various little Easter Eggs always make me smile.

Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon / Miss Kobayashi’s Maid Dragon

An otherworldly creature takes up residence in a office worker’s home and decides to live with her. Hi-jinx ensue. This show is full of warm fuzzies and Kana is the cutest. Plenty of jokes to be had here and the animation is very smooth, as expected of Kyo Ani.

Re:Creators

Take the isekai trope and reverse it, that’s what you get with Re:Creators. Fictional protagonists get transported to the real world.Add a dash of Sawano and you have an entertaining series with quite a few twists and turns. I enjoyed that they pulled in different types of protagonists from different genres of shows as well. A mech pilot, a chivalrous knight, a magical girl, and a mage to name a few. I was thoroughly amused by this series and it was good fun. The antagonist was a little too much for me at times with their over powered abilities. But just a minor annoyance in an otherwise great show.

Uchouten Kazoku 2 / The Eccentric Family 2

The long awaited sequel to a show I never thought would get a sequel, but I am so glad that it did. Rejoining the antics of Shimagomo family we get introduced to a few new characters. I love the colours in this show and how vibrant everything looks. Yasaburo is also a babe <3.

Made in Abyss

Wow, this show took me by surprise having heard virtually nothing about it before watching the first episode. The world building is fantastic, and the character designs are so unique. The creatures living in the abyss are also terrifying. Also the soundtrack is PHENOMENAL and inspired. Do yourself a favour and watch this show. The suffering depicted throughout their journey into the abyss was pretty gut-wrenching as well.

Mahoujin Guru Guru

Where do I even begin with this show. I think it was one of the most consistently funny shows that I watched this year. Every episode has me laughing out loud at one joke or another. The gags don’t get stale even when re-used. Kukuri is so precious and her smile must be protected. The animation is really smooth and consistent and they occasionally use 16 bit animation. It actually feels like I’m watching an RPG, they even have status bars that show up throughout the show that sometimes show their levels. It’s really quite hilarious.

Princess Principal

Female spies in an alternate universe steampunk-London. If you can handle a non-linear story progression then you should take a look at this show. The soundtrack is done by one of my favourites, Yuki Kajiura. The episodic nature of the show allows some of the side characters to really shine and I actually like a side character as my favourite character because of their backstory. It’s rare that an original show like this manages to be so captivating so early on in it’s run.The artwork and character designs are nice and Victorian England makes for an exciting setting for spies.

Garo Vanishing Line

I know this show is 2 cour and will spill into 2018, but the first cour was excellent and warrants it’s inclusion on my list of faves. I really am getting into the Garo franchise and Mappa is doing an incredible job of showing their strengths with this franchise. It’s got plenty of action and an interesting plot line. The first cour was mostly episodic in nature, introducing the characters of the series and now the second cour I think will delve into more lengthy story arcs. But so far it has me entertained.

Houseki no Kuni / Land of the Lustrous

OMG this SHOW!!! I think I can say that it is my number 1 favourite show of 2017. Everything about it is so stunning and gorgeous. The choice of using CG has some people divided, but I love it. I’ve been a fan of CG shows since Knights of Sidonia and Ajin, and Houseki no Kuni demonstrates the epitome of awesome things you can do with CG. The camerawork is stunning for fight scenes and you can do things that you’d never see in 2D animation. I think CG is the perfect format for a show like this. The colours are gorgeous and the characters are so endearing and full of life. The show’s universe is mysterious and I desperately want a season 2. I could literally talk about how much I love this show for hours, but I’ll just tell you that you have to watch it. It’s criminally under-watched in my opinion. Story wise, you have these genderless gemstone characters who fight against the Lunarians who are trying to kidnap them, break them into fragments and use them as weapons to capture the remaining gemstone characters. There is also an air of mystery going on and you barely scratch the surface of the truth behind this universe. I love this show it’s a masterpiece of art.

Inuyashiki

Well this show was a pleasant surprise. Not only does it have a complete adaptation, but it’s a pretty badass show. So this old man and teenager get turned into super powered robots. Then you see how different they react with their new found powers. They mix a little CG in when they use their robot powers. It’s a bit clunky at times but the story is compelling enough to make me not notice it. Also the OP is sung by Man With A Mission, one of my favourite Japanese groups so that’s a bonus.

Kekkai Sensen & Beyond / Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond

I didn’t think it was possible to top the first season of Kekkai Sensen because it was so cool. But this second season is WAY better. Now you have to be a fan of the episodic format as each episode is pretty much standalone except two two-part arcs. We get a lot more time with side characters and learn more about the background of my favourite character, Chain. <3 <3 Also Steven (total DILF) gets a lot more screen time which is great. It has the same humour and upbeat zany atmosphere as the first season but it really feels more like a labour of love where the characters are given time to shine. And the characters are the strong point of this show. The OST is also really great as it mixes jazz, RnB, rap, hip hop style songs as it’s supposed to be a take on New York. It also has some amazing sakuga scenes because it’s got the BONES people working their magic.

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou / Girls’ Last Tour

This show really surprised me. It was so comfy, yet melancholy. Two girls are just travelling around in a tank in what appears to be a post-nuclear/apocalyptic Earth. The background and atmosphere is really great, it reminds me of Blame or the city of Sidonia with layered city structures and industrial almost steampunk type environment. It’s kind of a lonely show with just snippits of their lives together roaming the wasteland. The OST is glorious and relaxing though. I’d say it’s kind of like a slice of life except not heavy handed with the jokes. You really feel that they are the last few remaining people on Earth. The voice actors also have excellent chemistry as it’s just those two girls talking to each other essentially the entire episode, yet the show remains engaging.

[just-emilia]

I was tagged by @sumeragimikoto for the 11 questions meme! I’m sorry it took me forever to answer this and thank you for tagging me! :)

Rules:

Post the rules.

Answer the questions given to you by the tagger

Write 11 questions of your own.

And tag 11 people.

01. three fav series and why

Oh, I have a lot of series that i love soo…i’m going to choose three different kinds for this: Healer is my fave kdrama bc its a really well done drama and has a lot of stuff in it that panders to me personally lmao like a well done romance, nice action, well rounded hero and competent heroine and more i just love it a lot. my fave anime is hyouka bc of good and interesting characters that arent just a bundle of bad tropes, the animation is gorgeous and i love the mix of slice-of-life and mystery. for third i am going to choose that 70′s show bc it’s my fave comedy show and the only one that manages to make me laugh no matter how many times i watched it. 

02. favourite trope

Man, how to choose! i’m gonna go with friends to lovers bc i am a hoe for a good romance lol

03. your type of fav character

Hmm i love sweet/nice girls and i absolutely love unlikable girls (those who are presented as mean, or selfish or angry), ah! also characters with themes of loneliness!! put all these traits into one character and i’m all over them (yes i am describing sakura lmao)

04. current obsession

peek-a-boo by red velvet! i’m love it so much i have it in my head all the time! such a good song everyone should listen to it

05. number 1 stress reliever!

watching tutorials on yt always calms me down

06. fav music pieces/ composers/ artists

ok this is gonna be a lot since i have a hard time choosing faves

artists: exo (esp. zhang yixing), exid (esp. hani), taemin, snsd, sunmi (there are so much more who i love but i’m gonna stop here)

composer: yuki kajiura is the all time fave, i also love yukari hashimoto who did the ost for mawaru penguindrum and toradora (both very amazing) and joe hisaishi

pieces: monodrama by zhang yixing, yumeji’s theme by shigeru umebayashi and to get something english in here young and beautiful by lana del rey

07. fav meme

the ‘i love emilia’ meme was the best thing in my life in 2016

08. do you have any pets! if no, what kind of pets would you want!

i have a cat. i also have a dog but she lives with my mother!

09. what do you really want to do / happen at this very moment

i really want to see the heaven’s feel movie right now

10. is there something you really want to learn right now?

hmm not really, maybe how to gif

11. say something nice about someone you really like! it could be a mutual on here or it could be someone irl!

i’m gonna be sappy and choose my mom. she’s the most amazing person in the world, so strong and kind, i love her more than anyone!

This was fun! I am going to tag (but you don’t need to do this if you don’t want to): @propertyofaminus, @whiterosealchemy, @viianki, @defenestrations, @chuukaboo and that’s enough bc i’m lazy

Here are my questions:

Do you have one fave fictional character that you love more than any other? If yes, who and why?

Where would your dream vacation be?

What is your opinion on pineapple on pizza?

Do you like warm or cold weather better? What’s your fave season?

If you could go to any concert which artist would it be?

What are your three fave movies?

Do you like reading? What’s your fave book and why?

What was the last thing you bought?

What is your go to type of ice cream?

What is your fave genre?

If you’re into shipping, who’s one of your biggest OTPs and why?

[celticbotanart]

I was tagged by @ruru-in-the-stars​. Let’s get down to business xD

💌 Rules: Tag nine people you want to get to know better. (I’m a lazyfuck so probably I won’t lol)

💌 Relationship Status: Single

💌 Lipstick or Chapstick: ...................in which sense? As in makeup, none really; as in what kind of sapphic woman I am, chapstic, lol

💌 Favorite Color: oh boy, many tbh. But judging by the color of the clothes I tend to go to, black, red and blue.

💌 Last Song I Listened To: currently listening to "Shattered Dreams” by Johnny Hates Jazz - I’ve been listening to my 80′s-ish playlist on Deezer in loop for days now, for some reason

💌 Last Movie I Watched: Dumb & Dumber - judge me on that xD

💌 Top 3 TV Shows: Ugh, so much more than 3, honestly. But here we go, The X files, Cold Case, Star Trek: Voyager

💌 Top 3 Characters: Dana Scully (The X-Files), Lizzie Swan (Pirates of the Caribbean), Botan (YuYu Hakusho)

💌 Top 3 bands: SO. MUCH. MORE.THAN. THREE. Fuck the police, I will list more than that haha: Within Temptation, Florence + The Machine, Kajiura Yuki and her projects (FictionJunction, Kalafina, See-Saw), Journey (Steve Perry era, mostly), And much more, really, but let’s keep this short xD

💌 Books I’m Currently reading: My reading have been everywhere tbh, reading is becoming harder and harder to me for some reason. But I was able to read a couple of shorter books on the past weeks:

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd: a little girl called Emmaline lives in a hospital, during WWII if I’m not mistaken. She sees winged horses in the mirrors of the hospital (that used to be a mansion before), but she is the only one. It all changes when a real, winged horse called Foxfire shows up to Emmaline with a broken wing in the garden and she is given the mission to take care of it and protect it from a darker force that’s is after it.At the same time, Emmaline has to fight against her own ilness, which she calls stillwaters. It is a mix of The Secret Garden and Narnia. Do not be fooled by child-like fantasy synopsis, shit gets very real, very quick in many aspects @__@ 

Araruama: O Livro das Sementes (”Araruama:The Book of Seeds”), by Ian Fraser: This was a book I backed up in a crowdfunding months ago and I finally got this week. Despite the name of the author, he is very Brazilian and the book is a literal high-fantasy story with magic and beasts and gods and all of that, except it is writen in a Brazilian/South-American,   pre-”Brazilian discovery”/pre-columbian, fully indigenous setting. It follows the story of five children from different tribes growing up and fullfiling their destinies acording to their aman paba - a ritual performed on a new born by the tribe’s Majé, a kind of woman shaaman, to find out how many Motirõs (years) that child will live. The higher the aman paba, the more prestige that child will have. In this first book, we will follow the initial journey of 5 kids: Apoema, who has 120 Motirõs and thus making her a warrior, the highest rank for a woman in her society. Her soul has a color with no name and she has the gift of “dreaming of the tomorrows” aka she has visions of the future; Kaluanã has more Motirõs than anyone can count, giving him a promising destiny of being a painy, the leader of all seven tribes. His soul is blue, the color of Iara (deity of the waters); Batarra Cotuba, a boy who has an average Motirõ, but stands out for growing up more than an average boy (at age 12 he looked like a grown-up man); Eçaí, a boy who mysteriously was born with Ocelot ears; and finally, Obiru, who was born with only 18 Motirõs, thus making him a capanema - capanemas are short-living children who are outcasted/ the lowest in the castes in their societies and are fated to be mistreated and to perform all the heavy work for the tribes won’t “waste resources on children that will live so little, because it is not worth it” - his story is extremely moving. The book starts with a creational myth featuring indigenous goddesses and gods and it covers up until the kids are 17 Motirõ and are going to their Turunã, a rite of passage that will fully turn them into warriors (except Obiru, he can’t join the rites because he is capanema). There are deities, rites, the ways how these societies interact, the vast different between them, how these characters question the world around them and the system, it is VERY interesting and SO refreshing - one of the things I liked the most was how they referred to death: if someone suffers an accident or is killed, they say that person had their “tomorrows stolen” from them. Very poetic shit <3  ANYWAY this is super long already but there was no way to make it shorter because it is very complex but alSO A KICK ASS BRAZILIAN-BASED FANTASY MOTHERFUCKERS I’VE BEEN LITERALLY WAITING MY ENTIRE LIFE FOR THIS.

SO, YEAH. This is a little of me, thanks @ruru-in-the-stars for tagging me - please feel free to tag me again in these :D

[incorrect-yu-gi-oh-quotes]

When you get a chance, and if no one else has asked, how about Dragonshipping?

I’m back from work let’s DO THIS (thank you for your patience ^_^)

opening credits: The Lost Get Found by Britt Nicole (a hopeful message for the rest of this scenario)meeting for the first time: Dark Horse by Katy Perry (YES)hey, i kinda like you: Love Somebody by Maroon 5 (this wORKS SO WELL OH MY GOD)i’m going to kiss you now: Sis Puella Magica! by Kajiura Yuki (oh no this cannot be that type of magical girl movie)falling in love: The Remedy (I Won’t Worry) by Jason Mraz your place or mine: Song of Durin by Eurielle (because apparently LotR = sexy times)naked in bed: Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time by Panic! At The Disco (it must have been a WILD night)first fight: Dear Marie by Dessa (i guess one of them cheated on the other)maybe we should take a break:  Life On The Moon by David Cook (and now I’m sad)i want you back: Nicotine by Panic! At The Disco (this…is actually probably the most accurate placement for a song yet. Except it doesn’t fit the ship)will you marry me: Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley (THIS IS MY FAVORITE IM CRYING)we’re getting older: Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur (no but this works so well?)if you die i’ll go with you: Transcendence (Orchestral Version) by Lindsey Stirling end credits: Welcome Home by Radical Face (!!! cute!)

[yesthisisemma]

Kalafina Ask meme answers!!

Hello! I'm Emma (nice to meet you) and these are my answers! Thank you to @kalafinaquips / @sharkafina for creating this I've always wanted a Kalafina ask meme to exist >_< And thank you to @putschki1969 and @auctumnitas for sending me numbers!! I know I'm not super active on Tumblr but please enjoy my responses! 1) First Kalafina song? That would be Magia, as I first heard it on PMMM~ fell in love immediately, but I wasn't into Kalafina as a group until about a year later. 
6) Favorite Kalafina B-side? I love Koibito and Gloria, but my favorite is Utsukushisa, the B-side for the Progressive single.... I feel like I'm transported to a different world when I listen to it... it's lovely! I highly recommend it, definitely in my top 10 ^^ 
8) Favorite Kalafina look/attire? Oh boy, that's a toughie. The dresses they wore recently for the last couple of Christmas concerts totally blew me away. Other than that, I've always loved the outfits they wore for the After Eden album cover/the Symphonia PV. And the colorful set they had for the middle of the Far on the Water Live Tour! <3 9) Own any piece of merch? Unfortunately, as of right now I do not :( However, (#10) I do own almost all of their music either digitally or physically on disc! For Christmas, I got the Believe single CD (In Every Nothing and Lapis FTW) and the 8th anniversary live 2014 CD as well. Woop woop Have you ever… 11) Attended a Kalafina live? (If so, how many?) It is my ultimate dream to go see Kalafina live someday. If only they would come to America again.... particularly on the eastern side, as I live in Virginia and have no way of getting to California •_• 
 12) Watched any of the shows/movies they have performed for?
Yes!! I love to watch their live performances. Please take me there lol 
 15) Traveled out of your country for a Kalafina concert? Nopety nope, last time I was out of the country was when I was 2 and I went to Canada : ) 
 16) Talked about Kalafina with someone else (other than the fans)? I talk about Kalafina quite frequently with my sister Abby, who must undergo my ramblings and try to stay sane as I talk forever and ever about the latest news with the girls I care so much about ^^ (sorry Abby!!! Love you to death I swear) Random Kalafina questions: 17) What’s your favorite fact about Kalafina? I have so many!! I really love how they were assembled piecemeal by Yuki Kajiura and it wasn't like they were all together right away! I also love reading about their different backgrounds, and the struggles they have overcome. Wakana is my favorite success story ^^ 18) Do you have any ships? (Which one if so) I ship them all with me???? Hahahahahahahaha totally not kidding but for real I ship them all platonically I will be answering all of the questions from this section :> Name a Kalafina song that… 21) You love Um all of them. But to name one Kimi no Gin no Niwa has always held a special place in my heart 
22) You never get tired of Destination Unknown...!!!! 
 23) Makes you cry Must admit I've gotten misty-eyed listening to Symphonia on more than one occasion, as well as Alleluia, Kimi no Gin and Hikarifuru. 
 24) Makes your day a whole lot better For some reason, I get a huge burst of energy when I listen to Blaze haha. Destination Unknown has the same effect on me, but honestly, different songs affect me differently at different times. One day I might say "yeah this song is cool I guess" and then the next day my life is transformed by the same song lol. Right now my jam is Love Come Down. 
 25) You used to dislike but now love to death That would be Te to Te to Me to Me. I can't get enough of it now '_' 
 26) You listened to over and over until you got fed up :p To the Beginning!! I learned my lesson after that and I try to space out my song listenings among different days 
27) Can transport you to another different world with its beauty -Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaeteiku -Utsukushisa (every time) -Lapis, In Every Nothing -Destination Unknown (again sorry) -Symphonia -Anything from Madoka Magica (Magia, Kimi no Gin, etc.) -All of the Overtures and such. Al Fine in particular I love that 
 28) Inspires you to be creative *see listed above ^^* anything that gets me in "the mood" if you know what I mean. What Kalafina member would you choose to: 29) Go shopping? I really love Wakana's style, I feel like she's very classy but cute are the same time. But Keiko would be fun too. 
 31) Show her around your hometown? I think Hikaru would be the one to appreciate my hometown the most ^^ She's very poetic so I think she would see the beauty I see in it. 

43) Go to Disneyland/world? Please just send me to Disney with any one of them, I swear I will be happy -~- (Keiko cough) 
 47) Help you with homework/tests?
 Hikaru reads a lot so maybe her. 
49) Go to a concert? I want to go to THEIR concerts lololol 
 And that's it for me today!! I will probably do more numbers in the future :)

[putschki1969]

So I just made the mistake of going on CPM to see what people think about Keiko's new songs and YIKES... I honestly don't know what exactly I was expecting and I too feel a bit underwhelmed, but she had literally just started her new solo career and there is so much room and potential to improve that all of that negativity and the immediate disinterest in her solo work is just so uncalled for. Thank you for always being so respectful and nice, even when you're criticising things!

I have long ago stopped visiting the forum. I am simply not interested in what those people have to say about anything. For the most part it has always been toxic trash-talk and it will continue to be toxic trash-talk.

While Keiko’s solo debut is nothing to write home about, it really does not deserve the hate it is getting. Fans (myself included) have only themselves to blame for having all these wild expectations of what the members’ solo music “is supposed to sound like” based on their past work with Yuki Kajiura. We can all have our hopes regarding the girls but we cannot constantly project our own needs and desires onto them. While being an entertainer often goes hand in hand with catering to an audience they don't exist to please and serve their fans. They are artists and as such they should be allowed to follow their individual dreams.

Their solo work is never going to be Kajiura-esque (as long as it is not written by YK). The girls will no longer focus on bringing someone else’s music to life, they will gradually work on bringing their OWN music to life. I love and respect them as artists and human beings so I want to see them happy and I am determined to follow their solo careers. Finding their own music is going to take some time and it will involve a lot of trial and error but there are many good things that will come out of it. They can’t please everyone along the way, that’s not possible. I know for sure that I will not like everything they release but there will always be something to love and as long as that is the case, I will be there to support them.

YAY! You can count on me to keep my blog respectful.

I know people think I see everything through rose-tinted glasses but I am in fact capable of criticising things. I just tend to focus on the positive things whereas others seem to be way too preoccupied with nitpicking. I am not the kind of person that gets off on expressing my dislike in a grand, distasteful and disrespectful manner. I know the internet gravitates towards hate and negativity but I am not willing to feed into that trend. Just because the internet makes it easy to be an inconsiderate asshole doesn’t mean you have to be one!

[putschki1969]

Hi Sarah! I was so glad to see Kyoichi’s nice post about Wakana & her album/tour. Thanks for sharing it. But why is that the only support her former partners have tweeted for Wakana? Compare that with the Keiko announcement. We saw immediate reactions from Kajiura, Hikaru, Kaori, etc. Why can’t they say 1 nice thing about Wakana instead of tweeting about boba or the weather? Wakana probably can’t talk about Yuki or Hikaru/Keiko because of Space Craft, but they don’t have that restriction. ??

Hi there!

Oh boy, I hope I don’t come off as too harsh but I feel strongly about the topic so please bear with me. I am sorry it took me so long to reply, I needed a while to gather my thoughts.Well, without further ado, let’s get going…

I would like to be honest with you, I do not really like the tone of this ask - simply because it sounds quite judgemental. It might not have been your intention but it’s this kind of mentality that causes unnecessary drama in the fandom. You are fabricating tension where there is none. By asking this question you are insinuating that Hikaru, Keiko and YK are not acting “appropriately”, you expect them to act a certain way and when they don’t you automatically come to the conclusion that there has been some sort of falling-out or that they have somehow turned against Wakana. It was the same when the “disbandment” was announced and everyone complained about Wakana not commenting on it. Suddenly it was Wakana who was the traitor that dared to stay with Space Craft.

All these made-up stories, all this negativity, it is so tiring and frankly, quite toxic. Do people not realise that this kind of thinking is borderline ridiculous? We are not in high school and this is not an episode of Days of our Lives, this is real life and we are talking about real people who are mature and who have been in the business for ages. Why is there such an unhealthy need for drama and conspiracy? Why are fans so keen to pick a certain side? Why are you so desperate to vilify one of them, why are you looking for someone to blame? Is it really so hard to imagine a scenario where everyone is more or less content with the current situation, where everyone is supportive of each other and no bad feelings are involved?

We only know what’s presented to us and that’s not a lot. We do not have any insight, we do not know what’s happening behind the scenes. But just because there is a lack of knowledge doesn’t mean we get a free pass at filling in the blanks with dramatic, tabloid-level stories. As little as we know we really aren’t qualified to judge their actions. You are talking about restrictions but truth is, we have no idea whether or not any of them are bound by some sort of restriction.The Japanese music industry (and Japanese society in general) comes with lots of complex politics and I am not even gonna pretend to have an understanding of them. What I am trying to say here is that there could be countless explanations for their actions. We do not know what motivates them to do or not do certain things but I am sure they have valid reasons. All we can do is trust them and try to respect their decisions.

And please, you have to be aware that just because something isn’t posted in public for everyone to see doesn’t mean that it is not happening. They can love each other, they can support each other, they can interact with each other BUT they are not obliged to make any of that public just to make fans feel better. And yes, there is no doubt that it feels amazing to see some proof of interaction. As fans we are craving for that sort of content. Just take one of Hikaru’s most recent tweet where she talks about meeting up with Keiko. This kind of tweet (as insignificant as it may seem to outsiders) means the world to us but we have to realise that it is a privilege, Hikaru is granting us insight but she doesn’t have to, it is not something we are owed.

I am just human and like many of you, I am a hardcore fan (probably more obsessed than the majority of the fandom XD) so at times I am guilty of being frustrated, of wanting more. But then I remind myself that I have no right to make any demands. Instead I focus on being grateful for what we have and I have faith that everything that’s happening is happening for a good reason. Just take Keiko’s disappearance for example. Yes, the year wasn’t exactly easy for me, I did miss her a lot but I had faith and as you can see now, having patience paid off. The majority of the fandom was constantly asking for updates, there wasn’t a week going by without anyone messaging me whether or not I knew anything about Keiko. Fans were needlessly making themselves sick with worry, they demanded explanations, they desperately wanted her to return and they certainly weren’t shy to voice these thoughts over and over again on every imaginable social media platform. Of course I understand these feelings to a certain extent but at some point it just becomes a bad case of fan entitlement. I could write an entire book about fan culture and how being a fan of something has become synonymous with wanting one’s own selfish needs to be met. It’s not about what your favourite creator, actor, artist, singer, idol, etc wants, it’s about what fans want. Maybe it has always been like that, I don’t know but the internet has certainly enabled people to be a lot more vocal about it. But let’s not dwell on that, this would go way beyond the scope of this little discussion here. I just wanted to illustrate that fans tend to be quite self centredand if things don’t go the way they want, they cause drama.

As for YK, Hikaru and lots of other people reacting to the announcement of Keiko’s comeback. I think you cannot really compare that to them not tweeting or otherwise posting about Wakana. Wakana hasn’t been gone for more than a year. I would say it’s quite a special thing for someone to return after such a long time. It’s no surprise people are more vocal about that.

Last but not least I would like to point out that YK has in fact voiced her full support of everything the girls want to do from now on (in her message posted on her page). She might not have mentioned Wakana by name but that doesn’t really matter.

Okay, that’s it…hope I made sense…

[putschki1969]

Hi! I totally agree with you. Sometimes I miss goth-Lolita Kalafina, but then I remember that was the image they were told to project. As the girls took more creative control upon themselves, they started to change things. I see so much criticism of Wakana's outfits and style, but that's how she wants it! Same with Hikaru wearing pants and Keiko's short skirts that some love to Photoshop. Creative industries can be so stifling to those who work in them. I want the girls to have control over 1/4

Hi there!

First of all, thank you for sharing your thoughts and taking the time to write all of this. Also, thank you for checking my blog so frequently, I truly appreciate it and I will continue to work as hard as I can to provide good content.

Now let’s get to your message: I 100% agree with everything you are saying here. For me personally, it was their “gothic” image that originally made me fall in love with them and like you I would lie if I said I didn’t sometimes miss that time. But after an intitial period of just being awed by the fancy image being presented to me I got more and more invested and started to care about the people behind the personas that were created. They weren’t just pretty nameless faces with lovely voices in gorgeous dresses singing Yuki Kajiura’s music. No, I realised that they were three amazing women with extraordinary talents, with a passion for music and an unparalleled dedication to their work. I mean, for more than ten years they worked their asses off for someone else’s vision without ever asking for anything. That’s no easy task. For me personally, they elevated YK’s music to something truly outstanding. That is why I always focus on them and not so much on YK. I would never deny that YK is a huge part of Kalafina’s success but saying that these three amazing women with three beautiful and unique voices are nothing without YK’s support is absolutely outrageous. I have seen so many people abandoning the fandom because they have no interest in following any sort of solo activities. That is truly shocking to me because it basically tells me that you didn’t care for Kalafina at all, you merely saw them as YK’s puppets, a means to bring her music to life, nothing else. I am so glad there are fans like you who have a personal investment in their happiness and success. It is not silly at all to feel that way. On the contrary, I cannot wrap my head around the fact that people could have followed Kalafina for such a long span of time and NOT feel that sort of investment. How can you not care about them as individuals after watching them perform live with so much passion, after seeing them talk about music with so much love? It’s unfathomable to me ..

I was so happy to see them get a tiny fraction of creative control in the last few years. I am not naive of course, I know that it is very hard to have control over everything when you are part of the music industry. But for almost 10 years, the members of Kalafina did not have control over anything at all because of YK’s  very controlling nature. Don’t get me wrong, I am not bashing on her or anything, that’s just how she is and she can honestly afford to be that way because she is great at what she does and people usually want her to take full control anyways. But really, working under YK for SUCH A LONG TIME, I think it was a blessing and a curse alike. For example, hearing Wakana say that she had never expected she would be able to write lyrics one day is quite astonishing. It tells me that YK hadn’t even once considered involving the girls in that process. I mean, YK has openly admitted to not really having cared about what they wanted. If you think about it, that’s pretty much the life of an idol. But unlike most idols, they didn’t “graduate” after a couple of years. They continued to be under YK’s wing way into their 30s which is very much beyond the typical lifespan of an idol. I do believe the girls feel nothing but gratitude for this opportunity, I am sure there are no regrets or anything. After all, they did achieve so much together with YK. But at the same time, so many chances and maybe some parts of their individuality got abandoned along the way.

And the worst thing is, the moment they started to insert parts of themselves, the moment they gave us glimpses of their personal visions people started to hate. I guess because they were so used to YK’s vision or the image that was created by the agency. To think that something so mundane as an outfit could cause so much negative feedback… How can you claim to love Wakana and at the same time continuously shit on her outfit choices? I mean, you don’t have to love it, you don’t have to wear it but you DO have to show some freaking respect. We all have our preferences and it’s okay to like some outfits more than others but it would never cross my mind to talk shit about Wakana’s dresses (or anyone else’s outfits for that matter…that’s just how I was raised). The same applies to the outfit choices of the other two members of course.  Or how about all those times so called fans hated on the fact that Hikaru started to sing ARIA in a different key. Like, why does it even bother you so much?? Hikaru is the lead singer of this song, it is basically HER song, if for whatever reason she wants to change the style of singing she is entitled to do that. It may not sound like the original version YK had envisioned but who cares? It has long ago become something so much bigger. Hikaru has made that song her own. It’s about HER vision and for me, that makes ARIA so much more powerful and special. For the same reason I also do not understand why so many people always complain about Keiko using her “cutesy” voice during lives. You don’t have to love it of course but at least show some respect. In that moment, Keiko chooses to express herself in such a way so why not support her decision? She is the artist and it should be up to her to sing lines in whatever way she wants to. I mean, if you can’t deal with that then what are you even doing being a fan of Kalafina?

And now that Wakana is doing solo work she has sadly become the main target for so many fans. Every move and decision is questioned. People are unhappy because their expectations weren’t met. Which baffles me because I wonder what kind of expectations they had when it came to Wakana. As you say, Wakana is a romantic at heart, she is very sensitive and slow songs are her forte so of course she would focus mainly on ballads. Yes, this album is quite understated, there is nothing overly flashy or dramatic but that doesn’t mean it’s boring or underwhelming. You just have to dig a little deeper to experience the full range of emotion. The fact alone that Wakana wrote so many of the lyrics herself makes this album extra special for me. This is her vision, this is her baby, this is a reflection of herself. I can’t even describe in words how proud I am of her. Still surprised by the amount of people who suddenly became lyric experts the moment Wakana started to write her own lyrics. “Too cheesy, too repetitive…they are ‘okay’ for a first try but she could improve on this and that…blablabla..” I don’t recall anyone ever saying ANYTHING about YK’s lyrics…it’s a real shame to see fans so critical of everything Wakana is doing…

Anyways, I think I have talked too much about this already. I also cannot wait to see what’s in store for the three of them. I want to see them grow, I want to see them follow their dreams. It’s about time they get to do that. I think it’s going to take a while since they have been pretty dependent on someone else for such a long time but gradually, they will find their way. And yes, eventually, once they have achieved everything they set out to do, they will surely reunite and it will be all the more epic because they will have grown so much as singers and women.

[putschki1969]

You make some really good points about Kalafina lives that I hadn't considered! I was fortunate enough to see them live once and I remember hearing Yuriko Kaida's voice during Hikari no Senritsu and Signal, but I'm not sure if there was anything else. It wasn't a Japanese concert, though. I do wish there were more live recordings of their Japanese concerts out there. I'd love to hear more of their singing pre-editing. I used to care more about whether or not the girls sang in tune but now (1/?)

it’s the furthest thing from my mind. I just enjoy hearing their voices. I want them to perform well, I want their voices to be in good shape, but if they’re not perfect it doesn’t bother me. Anyway, as much as we all wanted Kalafina to get the big live budget they deserved, I guess they didn’t really have the audience for it. They were never quite as popular as they should have been. I always loved when their anime work got them attention, but when you look at artists like the 48 and 46 (2/4)    girl groups, the Johnny’s boy bands, and so on, you see popularity that doesn’t rely on tie-in songs. It’s a shame that Kalafina didn’t reach that high, but then again it seems that younger girls get the most attention in the Japanese music industry. I also choose to believe they’ll reunite someday. I hope that Wakana can leave Spacecraft peacefully and Kalafina can come back together, collaborating with Kajiura again, maybe with other composers too, and release more music independently. (¾)    Even if the girls keep working solo, I think there’s so much more life left in Kalafina. Maybe it’s just my love for them as a group, though! Reliving the concert I attended gives me indescribable feelings. Music, particularly theirs, is very special to me. Being there to hear them sing the songs I love so much gave me so much peace and joy in my heart. I hope the girls all know how many people their music touched over the course of those ten years. Thanks for hearing me out again! :) (4/4)                

Hello again!

Sorry for the late reply, I have been traveling in the past few days so I wasn’t really able to make any proper posts.

Here is my previous post in case anyone is interested.

Just like you I also wish we had gotten more live recordings (although they would have been edited to a certain extent). Forever sad we never got proper footage of any of their acoustic lives. ｡：ﾟ(｡ﾉω＼｡)ﾟ･｡ I would honestly sell my soul for one of those Christmas lives or maybe one of their World Heritage concerts but oh well, I guess that will never happen…

Perfection is overrated anyways. No one is perfect. Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru are human so they are bound to make mistakes. But I tend not to focus on their flaws. The positive far outweighs the negative, at least in my opinion. I just love to see them perform, they are great performers. Yes, maybe I am a little biased but who cares…

True, they never were as popular as they deserved. Then again, there is a price to pay for popularity. Kalafina already paid a high price for getting as far as they did (=> the focus on mainstream stuff + a busy schedule).

I am not really all that familar with other Japanese groups but I guess the most popular bands are all idols. Idol culture is on a whole new level! Kalafina simply couldn’t have reached that kind of popularity level unless they had made some drastic changes. Space Craft definitely used some idol methods to promote Kalafina throughout the years but they never went too far (I guess Yuki made sure of that).

I think eventually Wakana will leave Space Craft but for the time being she probably feels most comfortable in a familiar surrounding.

I agree, there is so much potential. I think it’s important for artists to gain as many experiences as possible. Having experience outside of Kalafina makes them better singers. Their work as solo artists can only be beneficial for future collaborations.

[putschki1969]

Harmony Magazine #5 ~ Hikaru Solo Interview

Note: Here’s my translation of Hikaru’s solo interview from the latest Harmony issue. Sorry this took so long. The interview focuses on Hikaru’s Birthday Event and how she felt about performing all by herself. All in all, it’s quite nice and it provides some insight. HERE’s my detailed event report in case you are interested. Without further ado, let’s get to it.

On July 31, her first solo event took place, 「"Hikaru" Birthday EVENT 2018」. After successfully facing this challenge and overcoming all obstacles Hikaru openly talked about her feelings to us. What were the thoughts that occupied her heart while she tried to convey her gratitude as intimately as possible, while she did everything within her power to fulfil everyone’s wishes - all those fan requests filled with love...

The current condition interview

◆ In today’s interview I would like to focus on what you felt after your Birthday Event. It was a very fun event, something only you could have done. When you suddenly came up on stage after the opening movie and straight up starting talking, I was quite surprised, I didn’t think that would happen *laughs*. Yes, after greeting everyone with a “thanks for coming today” I sat down on my chair and started talking *laughs*.  Even though I tried my best organising this event I felt like fans might become a little anxious in the beginning so in order to prevent that from happening, I thought it would be best to start the event with my talk corner. In the opening movie I tried to answer all the questions I had received by fans in the questionnaire, I put my answers on slides so they could be easily presented. In between I would occasionally insert a childhood picture of myself.

◆ Those pictures caused quite the commotion. Yes, it was quite an experience for me as well *laughs*. Even with all those pictures - pictures that I had never shown to anyone before - I wondered whether or not people would like that section.

◆ It was totally fine. I hoped it would be...I had received lots of casual questions so I thought the pictures would be fitting. Many people were asking me about my favourite characters or my favourite food, things like that. That’s why I chose this sort of quick and casual opening.

◆ After your talk corner, you introduced your live goods, something that everyone had been eagerly awaiting. Yes, it’s been quite some time, we didn’t have a goods introduction corner during our 10th Anniversary Live after all *laughs*. During the afternoon event everyone was quite calm and then during the evening the atmosphere felt very sophisticated *laughs*. All those things combined made me quite nervous.

◆ Did your event feel different during the day and at night? Yes, it’s very strange but they did feel quite different. I realised that the audience might be in a different mood depending on whether the sun is still out or not. And then there is the fact that I performed at Suntory Hall, a very special venue with a unique atmosphere so maybe that had an effect as well. At any rate, many people ended up buying the goods so maybe it was because they enjoyed my sales corner. At one point I couldn’t hold back a shriek of happiness when I found out that some of the items had been sold out. I was just so grateful~!

◆ Soon after your goods were also available in the online shop in response to the great demand. Something that everyone had been waiting for. For those who like to do things from home *laughs*.

◆ Then you had a Special Hikaru Corner where you introduced some of your favourite manga and recited a few of your most beloved scenes. There were really a lot of requests for you to do something like that. Yes, when we decided we would do that corner I really tried my very best. I made my choice by going through all the manga I had read so far. After I had decided on the manga I wanted to introduce I re-read them carefully, trying to find the perfect scenes to recite. I suddenly noticed all those amazing lines that hadn’t really caught my attention back in the day when I read those books for the first time. It was really quite fascinating to discover that. Take “Tenshi Nanka Janai” for example, I first read that back when I was still in high school, reading it now as an adult, there were so many parts that affected me so much more deeply than they did before, it made me feel like I had lived life properly in the past 15 years ever since coming across that manga for the first time *laughs*.

◆ The audience was captivated by your recital, they hung on your every word. That’s true, everyone was really kind and listened carefully to my talking. I wanted everyone to get an idea of what the stories are about and why I am so in love with these particular books. While I kept reciting my lines I hoped all of that would come across well. I also chose a different BGM for each work I introduced, I wanted the music to be related to the work *laughs*. For my introduction of “Ten-nai” “Stand By Me” was playing in the background. There is a lovely scene in the manga that involves this song. The heroine and hero of the story are in one of the student council rooms while an after-school festival is taking place. There they are dancing together while this song is playing.

◆ I thought it was a really great corner. How was it trying something like that for the first time? I was really nervous! I had intended to read the lines much slower but I ended up rushing through them quite a bit *laughs*. Tension makes people talk super fast. I was incredibly embarrassed. I realised that it is truly an intense mind practice *laughs*.

◆ When will you be doing it again...? Well, if everyone is really adamant about me doing it again...I might think about it *laughs*. I feel like there were a lot of people in the audience that don’t really care for manga at all, if I managed to awaken their interest in some of my most beloved manga then that would be really nice.

◆ Next up you did a Janken competition with everyone. As usual, you were a strong player *laughs*. Yeah, during the first few rounds the audience was losing *laughs*. At the night-time event a fan from Thailand won the game and came up on stage. It made me really happy to know someone from overseas had come to my event.

◆ You also played a reverse version of Janken. Those who kept losing to you would ultimately win the game. Quite the revolutionary system *laughs*. Hehe, yes, that was also a request by the fans.

◆ They probably came up with the idea because you are such a strong opponent. I have never played Janken with about 800 people in a single day so it’s definitely a precious memory. When we started our first round you could really feel everyone’s tension rising. People were getting up from their seats, ready to fight. It was a lot of fun. They were all excited for the game, you could tell they had been waiting for it *laughs*.

◆ Since everyone was rising from their seats to play all the reporters and staff people including myself also stood up. Unfortunately, I was defeated by you. Eh? Thanks so much for taking part! *laughs* That really was a unique experience, something we could have never done during our normal live shows. It was a really nice and exciting transition to the Live Corner.

◆ Your pianist Sakurada Hirotaka appeared on stage... The tension had been sizzling from our game of Janken but with the first song “Hōseki” the atmosphere immediately became somber and serious.

◆ Indeed, the atmosphere changed instantly. I auditioned with this song for Kalafina so I thought it would be nice to start my live with it and present it to everyone for the first time. Since this was my audition song, it holds a lot of meaning to me, all those memories of me being nervous suddenly came back to me. It was really difficult to sing it.

◆ It might be due to the world views presented in this song but you really created a mature atmosphere with an amazing singing voice. For this event, I tried to face the challenge of singing very mature arrangement. it made me really feel the depth and progress of the past ten years.

◆ Did you feel certain changes within yourself? When I imagine a song I am singing in my mind, I tend to not see the main character as young girl anymore. Many Kalafina songs portray the flow of time and usually I would be assigned the melodies sung from the point of view of a young girl.  Now that I am singing by myself, that has changed. In the past I would sing just looking straight ahead with only one world-view in mind. I guess it’s because I was still so young. And it was completely fine like that but little by little my way of thinking and interpreting lyrics changed. That’s why I wanted more profound and mature arrangements for this event.

◆ I think you conveyed that very well. Also, it was a lot of fun to have all these unique aspects for each song block. That’s right. My second block consisted of some of my favourite karaoke songs, lots of fans had requested that. I never thought I would be singing an Akina Nakamori* song in front of fans *laughs*. Back in the day I used to listen to my mother singing this song during karaoke. [* Kita Wing - one of my favourite performances that night]

◆ It was very refreshing to listen to you like that, I had never heard you sing with such a low voice before. It’s true, the melody is more or less in Keiko-san’s range.

◆ And then the tension kept rising when you sang “ARIA” which was pretty much the most requested song by your fans. Ah yes, “ARIA”...that really is a special song for me. It was the very first song I sang as part of Kalafina. I conveyed all my memories from back then and all the precious memories I had accumulated performing this song throughout the years. I think the atmosphere felt so deep and meaningful because all those memories, all those feelings were resonating while I was singing my version of “ARIA”. “ARIA” has very short yet profound lines like most of Yuki Kajiura-san’s songs. Because of that listeners have a lot of room for imagination and interpretation. Everyone has their own thoughts, their own sceneries so we all have our very own “ARIA”. it’s one of those songs that creates a unique atmosphere due to all the different thoughts and feelings overlapping. “ARIA” and “sprinter” realy are like that...they manage to expose the deepest parts of my heart. I feel like everyone was able to stare right into me.

◆ A truly precious moment. I was overcome with emotions, more than I would have expected. It looked like it really touched you as well. Oh definitely, there are just so many thoughts and feelings I associate with this song *laughs*. It’s really quite special for me.

◆ Next up was your Western Song Corner. As one would expect, your performance of English songs was really good! I thought it was nice to make some use of the skills I had attained during my school days...but really, aside from our Christmas lives I hadn’t really sung a lot of Western music before so it was quite the challenge for me. But I thought I would give it a try.

◆ I really didn’t expect “Blackbird” from the Beatles to get selected. I felt very much at peace listening to your soft singing voice. I sang with a different timbre, I used a slightly different style, one that I hadn’t really used as part of Kalafina. Quite airy and gentle, yet with a breathy intensity. It was my first time singing like that in front of an audience.

◆ Then you delivered two amazing performances, "Honesty” and “Just The Way You Are” by Billy Joel. These sort of Western songs really showcase the versatile nature of your voice and your range of expression was incredibly broad. Your performances seemed very natural. I am glad to hear that. The Western Song Block had a very warm and soft feel to it and it was a nice transition to the next block which was quite serious and profound *laughs*.

◆ Next up was another anisong block, right? Yes, there were really a lot of people who requested anisongs. I think aside from Kalafina songs, anisongs were the most requested songs in my questionnaire *laughs*.

◆ It was a good selection of staple songs that are known by everyone. “History Maker” was my personal favourite, I was very happy to hear you singing it. I had actually picked that song all by myself *laughs*. It was “My Request” so to speak. Translated into Japanese the title for the anime OP of “Yūri!!! On Ice” sung by Dean Fujioka means “a person that creates history”. With that in mind I thought it would be perfect for my current situation. I put all my soul into this song thinking of how I will continue to create my own history in the future while reflecting on my 10-year history as part of Kalafina. 

◆ Then, your final song, “sprinter”. It left a lasting impression with your voice that came straight from the heart and that arrangement which emphasised a feeling of absence. “sprinter” was truly difficult. Sakurada-san and I were worrying a lot about how to best arrange it. It’s because this song has always been about connecting with each other and connecting with the audience. But since “sprinter” and “ARIA” were the most highly requested songs, I wanted to sing them no matter what. As a result we had to come up with an arrangement like that because it was the only way I would be able to sing it all by myself. I ended up singing Keiko-san’s parts and even a few of Wakana-san’s parts. Wahhh, it really was super difficult.

◆ The song itself is quite difficult I think, the way you interpret it, how you sing it and how you convey your own feelings through it... Whenever I am singing this song a lot of feelings and emotions are carried across so this particular “sprinter” was a culmination of all of my past performances - memories of 10 years coming together...

◆ This Live Corner really felt like a roller coaster. Despite the time limit, the live was very powerful and it ended on an extremely high note. That’s what I was aiming for. I really wanted to keep this corner as dense as possible which is also why the MCs ended up being quite short. At the very end of my event, I waited at the exit to personally send everyone off with a final greeting. Since I was only able to hold this event in Tokyo I wanted to express my utmost gratitude to everyone who came to see me.

◆ You had four different types of postcards which you handed out at random, right? I had postcards with four different images and six different messages in total. The message also included a signature and the date. I would choose one of those for each fan. I had so many feelings within me, a single word just wouldn’t have sufficed. All those things I wanted to say came to my mind, that’s why I ended up with so many different messages *laughs*.

◆ I think everyone was surprised that these messages were hand-written and not printed on. Now after having finished such a meaningful birthday event, are there things that you have become aware of? While preparing for the event and the live part of it I have been able to reflect on my life. It was a truly important event for me. It was my first time standing on stage all by myself, a very special experience. And this time the messages in the after-live-questionnaire were all directed at me, usually they would be directed at Kalafina as a group. It felt quite weird. I am taking the first steps all by myself, I am like a peeping baby bird, like a newborn shaking and fumbling around but I just have to take those steps ahead. I used the opportunity to think about how to reset myself and how to walk on this new road. I have realised so many things during this event.

◆ I am looking forward to your next birthday event which is no doubt going to be even more powerful. I am also excited to see Hikaru-chan advancing forward from now on. There is still a long life ahead of me. Reflecting upon all the things that have happened in my life so far, dealing with the things that have happened. Keeping all of that in mind I would like to live life in a straightforward manner, I very much believe in facing life and its challenges head-on. I would like to continue forward by choosing that way of living while not losing my way, while sticking to my beliefs.