Good-Bye to the Duu

I confess I have had this sitting for the past couple of days in a window, not really wanting to write this. The rational me knowing that I am being silly and waiting longer makes no sense. But this graduation is one of the hardest for me yet.

Haruka Kudo was one of my favorite members of Morning Musume so this graduation hit harder than the others. She was a member that stood out to me early on when I was learning about the group and remained in my top tier of girls from the group that I liked. Her personality and look really added something to the group and while it took years for her to get a decent push in the group when she had it she shined. 

I also loved her voice, both speaking and singing. She may not have had the strongest vocals in the group but I loved her tone and will miss hearing it with new songs. At least even though she did not get a solo song for her graduation there are other songs in MM's discography I can hear her well in.

There is no way to truly express how much I will miss seeing her with the group. It felt like she was just getting started with being pushed to the front and being a more visible part of the group. But at least I could enjoy that push while it lasted as sadly not all members of the group get that before they leave.

I do wish her success in acting. A part of it is selfish as if she does well with this career path than it will not be difficult to keep tabs on her and continue following her journey. But it is also mixed with the greater desire to simply want her to succeed in whatever she does next, which I hold for all who graduate or leave from idol groups. With how quickly she was moved to Up-Front's website for their non-Hello! Project talents, like days before her graduation concert, and the fact that she has already mentioned there is already work lined up for her I really do not have to worry. She is set to follow her new path and it is one that fans can still follow along with her. 

In the end MM will continue with its ever changing nature of members joining and leaving and I will appreciate that because of this I got to be introduced to this shining star that I hope will capture hearts as easily as an actress as she did an idol.

NEWS set for January releases

After about 10 months since their last release NEWS has a couple of new releases set for January of 2018.

First up is a single to be released January 17th titled LPS. There will be three versions, two limited and one regular. One LE will be the usual CD with DVD release. The other LE will have bonus tracks only available on that version, which will be new versions of their songs Cherish and Mafuyu no Nagareboshi. Then the regular edition will have a bonus song not included in the LEs.

LPS [Bundled Set of All 3 Editions]

NEWS

Then there will be a home video release of the group's most recent concert tour Neverland with the footage used coming from their Tokyo Dome concert and Osaka-jo Arena. It will come out on DVD and BD versions with each having a regular and limited edition. The regular edition has the talk segments and the limited edition has more concert footage.

NEWS Live Tour 2017 Neverland [Limited Edition]

NEWS

As a NEWS fan I am so happy with this news. I have already pre-ordered the limited editions of the single and hope to pick up the regular edition the next time I can afford a CDJapan order. Ten months feels far too long to wait between releases, though I guess for fans in Japan they at least had the concert tour to help tide them over. And now they have the home video release to revisit it for 2018, as it is going to be a while before we get a new album from the group.

Though honestly I was expecting to have Kato Shigeaki announcing that he finished writing another novel during this break time for the group. Of course I would not be surprised if that still happens.

My Hello!Project fan status 11/24/17

I know I have not blogged much about anything Hello! Project related in a while and it is not because I no longer care. It is just that I feel like I have fallen behind and become disconnected with the rest of the fandom and I am currently trying to figure out just where I fit in it as well as catching up.

I know I do still enjoy H!P. Morning Musume, Angerme, Country Girls and Kobushi Factory are all groups that I am definitely going to keep following. And if I have the time I will probably check on the other groups though I think I am pretty set right now with which ones I am going to follow. I went through this with Johnny's and in the end it has worked out for the best when it comes to balancing everything I want to do.

While the PV/MV reaction videos were fun to make to keep myself spoiler-free for them it meant trying to avoid fandom or watching the latest Hello!Ste episode. In doing this it created a gap, where I started to feel like I was no longer enjoying H!P with the rest of the fandom. I felt isolated and it dragged me down, especially when I hit bumps in making those videos and fell behind those releases. It eventually snowballed to the point that I was feeling detached from H!P and was not enjoying it like I had been. Plus getting the videos flagged and some rendered unwatchable since the audio would be muted by youtube was stressing me out and taking much of the fun away from them.

Also I was feeling pressure that I needed to follow all the groups and like all the groups. Something that I tried but I felt that stretch of trying to take on too much and growing a disconnection with the groups that I favored. So the groups mentioned before are going to be my focus. I have nothing against the other groups, they just do not grab my attention like the others do, so I will not be actively seeking them out but will not ignore them if they are in the same programs/concerts as the groups I am going to actively follow.

As I mentioned earlier I have yet to reach the point where I feel as if I have lost my love for H!P, but as I brought up I need to change things to feel connected to it again. For me a big part of becoming a H!P fan was the fandom so the focus for me is to find a way to be a part of it, which means whatever I do it needs to keep me up to date with what is going on and not having to play catch up.

One of the things I have been doing to get back into H!P again is watching all the Hello!Ste episodes I missed. I am currently on #170, so this is going to take some time even with skipping the hair arrangement segments. But it is time that I enjoy. I like the look that these episodes give fans into what the girls are doing as well as getting a sense of personalities with the changing of the hosts with each episode. And catching up with these helps me go over all the changes that have occurred in the past year or so at a speed that is easier to take than trying to simply read about it.

For future plans expect seeing blog posts about H!P start to return on a more regular basis. Without a doubt I want to write a farewell post for Kudo Haruka as she is one of my favorite girls in Morning Musume so this graduation is hitting harder than some of the previous few. I also want to do something with my youtube channel but I have not figured out what exactly, but it is leaning on doing something like the idol news round-ups that I did before. I plan to have made my decision on that by the end of the year and will make an announcement about it then. Until that time I will continue to play catch up and go back to just enjoying H!P as any other fan and let that love and passion for the groups return.

One Piece Volume 1, Chapter 3 manga review

Title: Enter Zolo - Pirate Hunter

Author/Artist: Eiichiro Oda


What Happens:

Luffy and Koby make it Naval Base Town thanks to Koby's ability to navigate. When in town they soon notice that the mention of both Zolo and the Marines, especially Captain Morgan, scare the people there.

Zolo is found in the Navy yard tied up. A young girl shows up to feed him rice balls but Helmeppo, the son of Captain Morgan, shows up and stops her. He has her literally thrown out of the yard then mocks Zolo. The promise that Zolo will be set free after a month tied up in the ship yard is brought up before Helmeppo leaves.

Luffy then visits Zolo to tell him that he is looking for crew members. Zolo flat refuses to become a pirate. He does ask for Luffy to give him the rice balls to eat.

Later in town the girl tells Luffy and Koby the story of why Zolo was imprisoned. He was defending her after dogs that Helmeppo kept went to attack her. Helmeppo though went and had Zolo imprisoned for it.

Soon after the story Helmeppo shows up boasting about lying to Zolo and will have him executed in a few days. Luffy punches him after hearing that then proclaims that he definitely wants Zolo to join his crew.


Why it matters:

The biggest take aways from this chapter in the long run are the characters introduced, with Zolo of course being the main one as despite his initial protests he is the first to officially join Luffy's crew.

Captain Morgan is the main villain of this arc but becomes a more like a footnote later. Helmeppo in contrast becomes a more prominent character in a way I do not think anyone could have guessed from his debut in this chapter.

This story also introduces the fact that the Marines are not always the good guys by default. This helps in the larger story to know that there is no one side that can be considered the good guys by default, outside of Luffy and his crew of course.


Review:

Even though the length of the chapter is not much more than the previous one there is a feeling that there is much more happening in this one. Though unlike the previous chapter this is only the first part of a multi-chapter story so it can take time to put small moments in it to flesh out characters which is a part of why this chapter feels like there is more to it. That and this plot is a bit more complex than Koby's which helps with that as well.

Being allowed to be more complex with its stories and characters already catapults this story well beyond the previous one. Though it is still rather simple overall so Zoro comes off as a good guy, though with some rough edges, and the villain we meet this chapter, Helmeppo, is undeniably a terrible person. But being just an introduction chapter everything is set up well and we even have the plot moving forward with Luffy landing that blow on Helmeppo at the end.

It's starting to look like the time of the year Johnny's wants to make fans broke.

The end of the year in Japan means several things, one of them is that new releases start piling up as the spending around that time increases. Which means for me Johnny's is asking me to hand over no small amount of change as Kis-My-Ft2 and the group's sub-unit Busaiku have new releases coming out.

First off it is a new single from Kis-My-Ft2 being released November 29th, titled Akai Kajitsu. It comes in the usual three versions, the two LEs coming with a bonus DVD each and the RE having bonus tracks not on the other two editions.

Akai Kajitsu [Regular Edition]

Kis-My-Ft2

Next Busaiku is finally getting their album released on December 13th. The album is titled Busaiku no, wa! and will also come in three editions, two LEs and one RE. The LEs come with DVDs, one a music video collection with the other being a documentary of the sub-unit from the release of their last single Michishirube.

Busaiku no, Wa! [Regular Edition]

Busaiku

Even though my interest in Johnny's in general has been waning for some time Kisumai is group that I still find myself unable to pass up on. I love their dance tracks and as long as they keep releasing them than I am staying a fan of the group. I am relieved to have a new single coming out for them as it will be almost half a year from the release of their previous single, so I was starting to worry if they were being forgotten.


Busaiku is just a lot of fun as it is basically idols making fun of idols and as long as that concept remains for the sub-unit then I can continue to enjoy them. So I am most curious to how this album is going to turn out. Especially since it was announced quite some time ago, with Nakai Masahiro being the producer of it. But that was before the mess that happened that ended SMAP. So I am quite curious if Nakai is still producing this or if this is just being released because they had it, or at least part of it ,and decided not to waste it and put out what they had.

Either way I plan on picking up both and hopefully both will be more hits for me to enjoy and not feel like I have to wait for the next release to get those.

One Piece Volume 1, Chapter 2 manga review

Title: They Call Him "Strawhat Luffy"
Author/Artist: Eiichiro Oda

What Happens:

Luffy's journey looks like it will be a short one as he ends up getting sucked into a whirlpool. By pure luck he makes it out and ends up running into the Alvida pirates, including a boy named Koby.

Luffy quickly learns that Koby is only a member of Alvida pirates by unfortunate circumstance and he lacks the courage to escape. Luffy shares his dream to become the Pirate King which Koby believes is impossible. But Luffy's determination sparks some hope in Koby confesses of his dream to join the Navy/Marines then vows to take Alvida in himself.

Alvida happens to be close and overhears. She tries to bully him back into place but strengthened from his talk with Luffy Koby stands up to her. When she attacks him Luffy steps in and easily defeats her then demands a dinghy from the crew so he and Koby can leave.

As Koby and Luffy sail off to the next port Luffy decides that that he wants to check out the feared pirate hunter Roronoa Zolo to see if he wants to ask him to join the crew.


Why It Matters:

One of the themes One Piece is centered around is, "Follow your dreams with all you have." This is the first story that gets brought up but it will be far from the last.

This story follows what becomes the usual story formula for the series. It boils down to Luffy and/or his crew end up running into someone that is in trouble and/or is stuck in a bad situation and through misadventures help them out.

This chapter also helps illustrate the kind of pull Luffy has on others where his determination in his dream inspires others to steel their own resolves. Like the rest that I have covered though it is breezed over here but since it is a recurring theme it will come back again and again with various levels of impact.

We have the first mention of the pirate hunter Roronoa Zolo in this chapter which is set up for the next but there are some other bits of information dropped in this chapter that the story will get to further on. The other two big takeaways is the mention of the King of the Pirates title and the Grand Line. This chapter gives a brief rundown of what they are and both will be expanded on in upcoming chapters as we continue these introduction arcs for the series.


Review:

This chapter is one that is a bit of a miss for me. It does have some strong moments as setting up themes as well as introducing information that will be used for future story lines. In fact that lore to me is the most interested aspect of the chapter. Though it probably comes down to the fact that I have re-read this series so many times that these early chapters fail to stand out when compared to some of the epic story lines that come later.

Yet this is a good chapter to start picking up on the common themes of the series and just overall as an introduction to much that will be expanded upon going forward. If you are still fresh to the series than this is one of the more important chapters and it is no surprise that the anime adaption started with it instead of the actual first chapter.

One Piece Volume 1, Chapter 1 manga review

Title: Romance Dawn
Author/Artist: Eiichiro Oda

What Happens:

We start off with a quick exposition of Gold Rogers execution which kicked off the Pirate Age.

Then the story makes a time jump to introduce us to Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy who wants to join Shanks' pirate crew. Shanks and his crew treat him like the kid he is to his dismay. A group of mountain bandits come to town and try to pick a fight with Shanks and his crew. They do not fall for the taunts and the bandits leave.

Luffy gets angry at Shanks and his crew for not fighting the bandits, thinking that they were showing weakness. As he mopes he ends up eating a Devil Fruit and gains the ability to stretch his body but loses the ability to swim.

While Shanks and his crew are off on the sea Luffy gets into a fight with the mountain bandits, putting himself in danger. Shanks and crew return to this and the leader of the bandits kidnaps Luffy to try to make a getaway when the pirates prove they are not the push overs he thought them to be.

The bandit takes Luffy out on the water and Shanks follows. On the water the bandit finds out there is something else to worry about as a sea monster appears. It eats the bandit but Shanks stops it from getting Luffy as well by staring it down. In the process though he does end up losing an arm.

As Shanks and his crew head off to sea a few days later Luffy goes to see them off. Luffy tells Shanks that he is fine with not joining his crew as he will gather his own when he heads out to be a pirate himself when he is older. Shanks gives him his hat and asks Luffy to return it to him when they meet again on the sea.

We then get a time skip of ten years as Luffy heads out on his journey. He starts it off by defeating the sea monster and the chapter ends as Luffy's journey begins.

Why It Matters:

The way Shanks handles the mountain bandits is something to take note of as it is a theme that can be seen throughout the series. And that is that there is a strength to not fighting. Especially if it is over something that is inconsequential and could cause problems for others.

We get the first use of the Haki power in the series as Shanks uses it against the sea monster. Haki does not get brought up for some time but it is nice to see it being tied back to something so early on in the story.

Review:

This chapter is not Oda's first take on Luffy's origin as he had an earlier version that was published as a one-shot before getting the green light to make One Piece into a Weekly Shonen Jump series. There are massive differences between the two but you can see where some of the ideas from that earlier take is worked into this version while other elements are used in some of the other early stories in the series.

That said I do prefer this version of Romance Dawn, even though it mostly sticks to focusing on the past to explain how Luffy ended up with his powers. But it lays out the groundwork and tone of the series well and lets the reader see Luffy's motivation instead of just telling us, which is always a sign of good story telling.

As a lover of character driven stories this introduction chapter hits all the right buttons for me. It gets the reader to become invested in Luffy as we follow him grow with this experience and give us a clear understandable reason for wanting to go out and become a pirate.

Honestly if you feel nothing while reading this chapter than it is probably a sign that the series may not be for you. If you are at least slightly interested in seeing what happens next then I would recommend sticking around for a few volumes as the series. This is a nice little start to a grand adventure.

One Piece manga reviews

As I have been thinking about the direction of my blog I keep coming back to the fact that I would like to do reviews of the media I enjoy. One of my favorite series is of course One Piece so it is set to be the first that I want to start with.

That said I will also be making the reviews for One Piece a little different than most other reviews I will be doing. This is mostly because I have read and re-read the series several times and each time I find myself taking note of things in the earlier chapters that are brought up in later ones. This is one of the things I love about the series and since reviewing this series is more an expression of my love for it I feel it is only fitting to highlight that as a feature.

Or to sum up these reviews are going to be spoiler friendly so if you want to avoid them these reviews are not for you. If you are interested in viewing the series through the lens of someone who is reading them to find these little hints of things to come later than you found the right reviews.

After I get through the first volume I will put up a page to be used as a directory for all the reviews to make it easier to navigate. No log pose needed.

Japan's Queen of Hip-Pop to retire

While the news came out yesterday I really can only start to accept it now. I may not stan Amuro Namie as I do Utada Hikaru but she is one of my favorite Japanese pop stars. So thinking that I only have one more new album to look forward to is rather heartbreaking.

To sum it up, Namie announced in a letter to her fans that she plans to retire September 16th of 2018. (Arama article) That date will be the 25th anniversary of her debut. Until then she is still going to tour like usual and release one last album.

I cannot fault her for wanting to retire. She has been in the industry since she was a teenager and over half her life already so this is hardly something she decided on a whim. And deciding to end it on her 25th anniversary seems like a nice end cap to this chapter in her life. Her legacy is set in place and she is not going to be forgotten anytime soon and will likely remain an inspiration for plenty of up and coming artists for many years to come.

That all said I am going to miss looking forward to new material from Namie. Yet there is so much out there I can enjoy and catch up on that she will still be on heavy rotation in my usual playlists. And until September 16th comes I am going to enjoy all I can of her new material and hope international fans are able to be some part of her farewell on that date.

Shining Live, Shining Life

So Uta no Prince-sama Shining Live launched with no warning and basically is my life now. Or at least has become my top game that I put most of my time and effort into.

Honestly I was worried that the game would not be as enjoyable as I hoped it to be but that worry was in vain as I love this game. And not just because of the franchise. Klab went a different direction with it than what they have done with Love Live School Idol Festival and really put together something that is different enough from other games to stand apart but remains simple enough that it is easy to get into. 

As of now the first event is over and the next will be starting in a few days and the first card set is out with the second to have the second half to be released in about a week or so. Patterns are falling into place and it looks like no one will have to wait too long for best boy to show up as a UR between two sets being released every month and then the events having a UR you can get from them. 

All Cecil team before event.

I have been enjoying myself with it. I can proudly say that I have all the Cecil cards that have been released so far as best boy seems to love me back. That and I am having more luck with this game than any other gacha game I have ever played. But there is no way I will complain as I loved this franchise well before getting into this side of idol hell.

The only issues I see at the moment is that there is a level cap currently, for level 100, and that unless you are a very casual fan then by now you should have gone through all the story content and have unlocked all the songs currently available. But most of that boils down to the fact that this is still a rather new game and they are bound to change with time.  

I may get more in-depth with the game in future posts. I have really fallen in love with this game. So much so I am getting into the fandom instead of just sticking to my little corner of it. I still keep hoping that the fandom grows, which this game should help with especially when the WW/EN version comes out. 

Initial Madara blessed me

Getting back to going over my journey with Ensemble Stars my scouting luck was pretty amazing overall. My free pulls for the 2nd anniversary of the game not much so as I got to experience the dreaded 3 star only pulls. I did not bother to screencap those, because who does?

But before those free pulls there was a pull I had to do no matter what. The character that finally got me hooked into this game, Mikejima Madara, was added to the game with his first 4 star and the usual trio of 3 stars. While my pull was successful in getting the 4 star, though not as successful with getting all the 3 stars, I ended up with a bonus Akehoshi Subaru 5 star. A welcome addition as it helped break by vocal curse.

Of the three free pulls I only had one non-all 3 star pulls, which of course was the guaranteed 4 star one. I did not realize that it would have been better to save a scout for the start of the next month so I could have gotten two of those instead but with my account being as new as it was anything above a 2 star was helpful. I only screen capped the 4 star pull where I got my first copy of Mashiro Tomoya's initial 4 star.

With Madara getting his first event 5 star I knew I was going to have to keep building up my teams if I wanted to get him. The best way to do that is of course to scout in the box for the card set released right before the event. These cards are given special boosts on your teams, making it much easier to gain points during the event itself. Luck blessed me again with at least giving me the 5 star of the set, plus one of the 3 stars.

At this point even if the point 5 star was not Madara I felt the need to get it as it was a dance attribute, and with how overpowered my vocal team was at that point in comparison to the rest it would be a much needed addition.

Idolish7 2nd anniversary scouting

Idolish7 is celebrating its 2nd anniversary and being very kind to its players for it. They are giving a free 10 + 1 pull and then 7 free solo yolos to all players. Then there is a special box that your first pull s, solo yolo and 10 + 1, are discounted by 50%. There is another box for the kuji card sets but you have to by stella stones to scout in that and I want to remain f2p with this game for now. Maybe if they bring it back next anniversary I will cave.

Overall I did rather well with the boxes I went for and even had to expand my box as there never seems to be enough space in it for this game.

But my free 10 + 1 pull was all about my second and third best boys. Second boy being Ryuunosuke so getting his Taisho card was great. For Iori it was mostly just the joy of getting SR doubles that I have been needing. And even fourth best boy, Mitsuki, made an appearance with the first of the 2nd anniversary cards I managed to get.

So I now have this lovely Sakura Message SSR as well as Iori's occupation SSR, but that one is not nearly as lovely so no screen cap for it.

Most of the free solo yolos yielded nothing of value but I was able to get one more of the special 2nd anniversary SSRs. I was so happy to see that it was the Iori x Ryuu one, the only way to have topped it was to get the one of my best boy. Then the discounted solo yolo blessed me with another one from the set and I will not complain with getting more Riku and Yamato.

My 50 star jewel pull was the perfect end to my scouting. It gave me plenty of white/gray hair boys, including my best boy Sougo with the special 2nd anniversary cross talk SSR. I honestly felt I managed to get everything I could have hoped for with these pulls and I can start saving for Ryuu's birthday box.

I hope everyone else had good pulls and if you want to start playing the game this is probably the best time as you can start off with free pulls.

Hikki hype building

I do not write enough about Utada Hikaru for how much I love her and her music. Hikki was the artist that was the J-pop artist that got be into J-pop after anisongs worked as a bridge to it. And with the release of the latest digital singles for her upcoming album coming up I am reminded how much I love her music.

So far there have been two songs released, Oozora de Daikishimete and Forevermore. Honestly I love them both but for different reasons. Forevermore is the more catchy of the two with a strong hook, not to mention a lovely music video. But Oozora de Daikishimete is a strong song itself that takes melancholy lyrics and pairs it with upbeat music that adds a level of bittersweet-ness to it.

These songs are making me feel so hyped about her upcoming album. I loved Fantome and from the sounds of it I am going to love this upcoming as well. Even though I am not completely over the disbelief that we are getting new music from her so soon after that album. 

First steps into Enstars

I have been taking screenshots over the past couple months since starting playing Ensemble Stars so I figured that it would be best to share them as a journey into this idol hell.

Honestly I have tried to get into Enstars in the past before but never really got into it much. I did keep a passing interest as it did seem to have some elements to it that I would enjoy, such as being character driven and a good mix of melodrama. This latest attempt, that actually succeeded in pulling me into this game, had my interest piqued with the announcement of the character Mikejima Madara being  introduced to the game. I fell in love with the character quickly and decided to give the game another shot just for him.

I did not screen cap my first scouting pull but with it I got Shino Hajime's initial 5 star card. With also getting Sakuma Rei as my initial 4 star with my first try I just knew at this point this was the account I was going to be sticking with.

My second scout confirmed that. I had started playing in the middle of the Easter Night event and only managed to get the point 4 star card as it dropped for me. Something I was happy enough with as I did not really know the characters all that well so I was just happy to get something stronger than a 3 star. After the event I decided to go for scouting in the box for the latest card set released, the Card Battler set. In the one pull I did in the box I managed to get all four cards that were in the set, which of course meant the 5 and 4 star.

My account being as new as it was it was all welcome, even if it meant I could not enjoy the bonus stats the set would have had during the event. But going two for two with getting 5 stars for my scouting was not something I would disappointed with.

So after my first event this is where I stood when it comes to 5 and 4 star cards. My vocal team easily being the strongest with the only one with any 5 stars at this point. And for a new account this is rather fantastic. I have seen scouting videos where people have brought up never pulling a 5 star with a scout and having to get them with the events.

And after this is am mostly waiting for Madara to start getting cards in the game at that point so I could truly begin my journey as a MadaraP.

My Life: Breaking the Cycle

Depression sucks on several levels. It is not just hitting the lows and getting out of those funks but it is also having to undo all it built up to keep itself around and make it easier to get you right back to that low point again and when it has the most control. And it is one of the harder things to do as it is so easy to think things are fine again when the worst is over and just try to put it all behind you.

One thing I learned early on with mental illness though is that you cannot just deal with it when it feels like an issue then believe you are fine afterwards. If you do that it leads to the same issues returning time and time again. As I was able to take control of my anxiety by working on it even when I felt fine. My anxiety had lessened to a point were it is manageable, even if I still slip from time to time to the old habits that build it up but it is much less frequent and I can recover much quicker.

These days I am working on undoing what depression built up. This means making the time to do every day things that I got into my head would be too much trouble/energy/time to do. It also means celebrating doing those little everyday things as each one is a victory over depression. Every time I do so then it means I have broken down what it built up and I am on my way to becoming the person I want to be.

I can think back to how I used to be, all the things that I used to be able to enjoy without worry. I want to go back to enjoying those things again. I won't give up hope in being able to do so, not when I have been making the progress I have.

Finally Utapri Shining Live news reaction

As I play catch up with this blog I do not want to wait too much longer before commenting the big news. And that is after being completely silent for a couple of months the Uta no Prince-sama: Shining Live website has updated with plenty of information to digest as it looks like they are finally ramping up for a release.

One of the first things that stand out is that the website comes in three languages now, Japanese, Traditional Chinese and English. The latter two are rather bare outside of the announcement that there will be version releases of the game for them "coming soon". The Japanese version has basic information about the game to look through as well as having information about special presents set for the game launch.

Right now those special presents are a ticket to pick a UR of your choice for the game. The other came from a twitter campaign they are running and after getting 100,000 followers everyone will get 100 prisms, which look to be the in-game currency for scouting.

Those announcements are a great sign that things are likely ramping up for a release of the game in the near future. Of course there is no news for a date but hopefully we are not kept waiting for much longer, especially if Broccoli/Klab want to launch it before the other major male idol rhythm game, Idolmaster Side M Live on Stage. 

Of course even with the competition for the Japanese app market having it set to be a world wide release is exciting, as there really is nothing out there now. Out of all the male idol rhythm games it does make some sense for Utapri to be the one willing to tackle the English speaking world. The anime series has been available for English speaking fans to watch for years and in that sense has a much larger presence with that group. While the other games may have anime series in the making or recently aired they still lack the build up of the brand that Utapri was able to enjoy as the trendsetter. Plus Broccoli, unlike the general anime viewing public, will have the actual numbers behind the views of the streams and sales of what has been released. So they should know if it looks like it could a success. And partnering with the one company that already has successfully launched and kept a similar game going just makes sense. 

Honestly I had just about given up on the idea of any other franchise coming over with a rhythm game so the news makes me so happy. I already plan on making my English account my main, as I doubt the JP server will be sharing with the other languages. I could be wrong and would not mind to be so as I know no matter what when the JP version launches I will be getting it in a heartbeat. 

Right now I am expecting not to hear much more news until the game is announced to be coming out, and I would not be surprised if that happens only a few days before it does. But no matter what I will be downloading this app as soon as I can.

An Ode to Tsugunaga Momoko

Because of work I had to miss out on the streaming of Tsugunaga Momoko's graduation concert. While I am bummed about missing it I have not searched for it to watch either. Instead I am staying safely in the 'denial' phase of loss and pretending if I have not seen the concert than I can think of her still being with Hello! Project a little longer. Or at least not have to think of H!P without her even though I know better. So this is not a farewell post, that will come someday, but rather one where I get to reflect on how much I have come to love Momoko.

Well before I got into Hello! Project I ran across Buono! and fell in love with the group. Their rock-pop songs were perfectly to my tastes and the whole concept of the band screamed "cute", and I have a great weakness for cute things. Though it was Miyabi and Airi that got most of my attention but once I did get into H!P and learned much more about the girls my like for Momoko grew. I can now say that I have no favorite member of Buono! and it remains my all-time favorite H!P group.

But with that growing like for Momoko also came respect for everything she has accomplished. From being one of the few H!P members to get the chance to go to and graduate from university. The fact that she created a persona with Momochii that was the perfect fit for variety shows, the heart of Japanese TV. I do not think I will ever be a Momochii fan but the persona kept Momoko relevant even when H!P was struggling to find how to build lost momentum in the idol industry.

Seeing her act as playing manager in Country Girls really drove home that she was more than ready to mentor. With Berryz Kubo she never really had that chance which is what CG gave her. I would say she did great with nurturing the young talent that entered the group despite it never having much of a stable line-up for various reasons.

Since she joined H!P as a literal child fans can see her grow up to be the young woman she is. And with all that she has already accomplished in her young life it seems like a no-brainer to have faith that she is going to continue to do well with whatever she wants to do with her life. And teaching seems like a perfect fit for her.

While I will be sad not to have Momoko the idol anymore I cannot help but feel grateful for the fact that I was able to find her and become a fan.

Ensemble Stars, my new idol hell

While I have not given up my other idol games I have finally been won over by Ensemble Stars. I had tried out the game in the past off and on but never stuck with it until now.

I put much of that on the fact there is a character that I outright love instead of just like, Mikejima Madara. It definitely helps that Madara has the same voice actor as my favorite Utapri boy, Aijima Cecil, is the big brother type that I like and has his birthday only a few days before mine. So Madara is just perfect and easily best boy for me.

That all said with the account I currently have, as I had of course had to start anew, everything seemed to fall into place. I got my second best boy, Sakuma Rei, as my starting 4 star without having to use the reroll button during the tutorial and my first pull I got my first 5 star. And I started in the middle of an event so while I could not even get up to the points I needed for the 4 star it dropped for me so I did not have to.

Then my second scout gave the entire Card Battler set, so I have been rather vocal cursed so far. The dance and performance 4 stars were very welcome additions to my teams so I could have something that was higher than a 3 star.

So Happy Elements has got me between debuting a character I love and really good luck for these first couple of pulls.

I have plenty more to say but unfortunately not the time today, but I will be showing off my journey into this new idol hell for me from now on here.

Dear Johnny's

This has probably been some time coming but I do not think I can really consider myself a Johnny's fangirl anymore. These days I find myself more frustrated with the agency and rarely feeling excited about what is going on with all the groups.

A part of it is just how hard it has become to keep up with groups from the agency. Even though Johnny's has gotten a little better about not being as controlling with the image of their idols it still feels like they are a decade or more behind the rest of the Japanese idol agencies. The fact that there is so little you can find media-wise without having to resort to piracy has become off putting, especially since the some of the sources that are out there are so protected you have to put in so much work just to look at magazine scans or a short video clip. And I am someone who does not mind paying for official products and releases, but that gets so expensive so quickly I have to limit myself to a few of the groups I really like. This means the chances of me being able to give other groups a try become slim to none. I feel guilty about that as there are so many groups that are hard working and talented that I am passing up on because of that.

Another part is that the whole drama from the factions within the upper management and how it all played out left a sour taste in my mouth. The whole thing did not help the agency as it created divides with groups when one of the big selling points to Johnny's for me was the fantasy it was all one big happy family. Then it got so messy when Iijima Michi ended up leaving and SMAP more or less getting the ax for wanting to support the manager who had been with them long before they became popular.

Honestly I wonder what the future for Johnny's is going to be as there are plenty of signs that the strangle hold they once had for the Japanese male idol industry is waning. K-pop may not be as big as it once was in Japan but it is easy for those groups to get past any blockages Johnny's might have thanks to the K-pop male idol groups that paved the way during the last Hallyu wave in Japan. EXILE and their related groups figured they could get around any issues by labeling themselves as a performance group rather than idols. Then there is the voice actors that are tied to idol-themed properties that have them perform as idols for special lives, as well as the fact that voice actors have always come across as a certain type of idol for some time. And I have recently noticed boy idol groups from other agencies, though I think it is mostly just Amuse, getting drama roles and commercial deals without having to pretend to be anything but idols. All of which are much easier to follow, especially for international fans.

In the end I got into Johnny's with NEWS and as long as that group continues on I will remain somewhat invested in the agency. If just as mostly a NEWS fan. I still do like Kis-My-Ft2 and TOKIO but I am more passive with following them than NEWS. And I do still await in hope that SixTONES debuts (Praying that Tanaka Koki's recent arrest is not going to ruin things for his brother Juri there). But outside of that no other group has maintained my interest, especially as I have been moving on to other fandoms. And it helps that those fandoms I do not have to jump through hoops just to enjoy.

My Life: A small update.

Between my new job and moving to another part of the house I really have not had the time I wanted to do any kind of proper updates on this blog and various other social media accounts I have. Instead I just keep building a backlog and worry if I waited too long to make a post about those things at this point. But on the other hand I really do not want to give up either.

In any case I do enjoy working at my new job and will be glad to have a nice steady income once more. A disposable income has been missed though having the money to cover what I need and have something left over to save at the same time is fantastic. Also I am hoping that I can use the experience I am getting from my current job to find work back in Washington State, as I still miss living there terribly.

And the move is something I have needed to do for a while as I now have room for more than bedroom furniture. It also gives me a good idea of how much room I will need when I move into an apartment, which is a goal of mine for this year.

I just need to figure out how to fit writing into all of this as I miss doing it. I am probably going to have to change up some of the things I am doing for my blogs so I can schedule posts once more and keep it from looking so dead. But that will probably have to wait until I finish moving all my stuff. I honestly did not realize I had so much until now. At least I am reaching the point where I feel like I have more of my things in the new area and out of my old room.

Duu to graduate and break all the hearts

This past week has been a flurry of events for me and I was so happy to have a day to relax and catch up on things. And I was just in time to see the announcement of Kudo Haruka's graduation from Morning Musume '17. She will be leaving the group after the autumn concert tour of this year.

This one really breaks my heart as Duu is one of my favorite members of the group. I get her reasoning though as if she wants to focus on acting it would be easy to worry about not really giving her all with the other aspects of being an idol. So I agree that if that is what she has set her heart on than it is probably the best way to go, especially if she has such worries.

That all said it does not lessen the heartbreak of hearing that she is leaving. Even though as a fan I am happy for her to be chasing her dreams I will still miss her as a member of Morning Musume. At least as an actor she should remain in the public eye so it will be easy to keep tabs on her as she continues her career in the entertainment industry, so there is a silver lining to hold on to. Momusu just is not going to be the same for me without being able to see her smiling face with the rest.

A reminder why soloyolos are bad.

This post is mostly for my benefit so if I have the impulse to soloyolo to come look at this to remember why soloyolos are a bad idea.

A few weeks ago I noticed that I was close to getting the five Blue Tickets I would need to do a pull from the BT SR box and decided to soloyolo my way to it. I was also hoping to get something from the solos.

The first solo is just what one would expect so no need to feel too disappointed. Have to go get some more gems though to do the next two.

And then we follow up with another R.

And the fourth and final pull gives me the kind of disappointment that I know I should expect from soloyoloing.

And my prize with the BT scout... the Initial Hanamaru SR.

I am not completely broken up about the BT scout as Hanamaru is my second best Aqours girl and her initial SR is really cute in both versions. It just is nothing close to the UR or SSR I was hoping for and there are plenty of other SRs I would have been happier to get. But still, this was a waste and I need to avoid the solo urge as it leads me to disappointment more often than not.

My Life: Working my way out of depression

Since this is my blog for whatever I want to write about I am creating a series that will be me talking about my personal life. If you are not interested in that kind of thing then just look to see if a post title starts off with "My Life" and go ahead and skip it. This is mostly just for me to try take some time just to go over various aspects of my life, so this is more for me than anyone else.

In the past couple of weeks, and perhaps even further back, I have been feeling some symptoms of depression. It is hardly the first time I have experienced these so I at least knew what to look for this time around. Previously I thought it was just a part of my personality that I needed to correct so needless to say I never really did anything that helped in the long run. Since then I have gone to therapy and honestly it has been years since then that I felt like this.

Lately though my life feels like it is just stuck. That I am not doing anything of importance or useful and the goals I have set for myself are more like daydreams than anything actually attainable. This has caused my motivation to plummet and I have to fight with myself to do something productive. Even getting this written has been a few days worth of struggle.

Today I hit my tipping point and had a breakdown. It was something I was hoping to avoid as with it comes so much self-loathing. And it it is just frustrating as I know rationally those thoughts make no sense and should be ignored but that does not stop them from slithering in and trying to take hold.

So far the best method of dealing with this is distracting myself with just any activity. Not the easiest thing to do when motivation is an issue. And if I want to get better I need to face things more head on and find somebody to talk to that will listen.

It is terrifying to seek out help from others, as I have run into the issue of others not believing me when I talk about having a mental illness or brush off my problems as if my worry is just me being foolish. But I know I have to try. And writing this is helpful as in a way it lets me warm up and build some of the courage I need to speak up.

So I am going to take some calming breaths, take a minute or two to meditate to get my mind in a better place and go talk to someone. I just hope they will listen.

Tappity Click Click

I know I wanted to consolidate my blogs with this one but looking at how things have been playing out I have decided to create a new blog, Tappity Click Click. This new blog is going to be dedicated to the games that I play so I can post endlessly about them and not feel bad, like I currently am with this blog.

That said I plan on moving most of the game related posts from this blog onto the new one. If you want to keep following my game related posts you can find them at Tappity Click Click. I will also be posting things like gacha pulls and just being more in depth about the games I am playing over there.

I still want to have this blog be my main and be a mix of my interests. I just felt like the gaming posts I was making was overtaking the rest and with my Love Live Card Appreciation Project I know I am going to have plenty of content to keep this new blog going.

So please bear with me as I make the post transfers and hopefully I can focus better on getting more non-game related content on this blog as I have been wanting to.

Catching up with ANGERME

ANGERME is another group I have at least kept up with when it comes to their releases if nothing else. Which is probably why I missed the news of the addition of a new member.

From what I have learned about Kasahara Momona is that I have the desire to protect her from the haters. Honestly it surprised me to see so much dislike leveled at her, especially since she was only 12 years old. Certainly there is room for improvement but it feels like there are some that refuse to give her the chance to get better.

Kamikokuryo Moe is just precious in my eyes. She is so adorable and is fitting in so well with the rest of the group. Her performance level is getting pretty strong and she is comfortable enough with the other girls to move at the same pace of weirdness the group is known for.

It sadly is not smooth sailing for the group currently as one of the members, Aikawa Maho, is on hiatus for medical reasons. She has been diagnosed with panic disorder and is getting treatment for it. No word when she is expected to be back.

It is good to know that Maho is getting treatment and putting health before being an idol. H!P seems to be rather good with giving their idols the breaks they need to recover. Of course it is worrying on whether or not Maho is going to be able to return in the end.


ANGERME was a surprise to me with how much I liked the group but they have held my interest and I look forward to what the future holds for them. While I am still sad that one of my favorite members, Tamura Meimi, graduated I know she is following her dream and doing well so I am at peace with that.

Kis-My-Colosseum

To my surprise Kis-My-Ft2 will be releasing a new album on May 3rd, titled MUSIC COLOSSEUM. Since they only had two singles between this album and their previous one I was expecting something later in the year. Especially since they just released that second single as well. The album has three different versions, two limited and a regular edition.

The limited edition type A comes with the usual DVD with a PV of one of the songs off the album as well as a making of documentary. It has yet to be announced what that song will be.

MUSIC COLOSSEUM [w/ DVD, Limited Edition / Type A] / Kis-My-Ft2

The limited edition type B also comes with a DVD. What exactly will be on the DVD is unknown as the contents is only 

MUSIC COLOSSEUM [w/ DVD, Limited Edition / Type B] / Kis-My-Ft2

The regular edition is just the usual CD and it will come with four bonus songs that are not on the other two editions. Three of the songs are solos for Kitayama Hiromitsu, Fujigaya Taisuke and Tamamori Yuta, while the fourth is full group song.

MUSIC COLOSSEUM [Regular Edition] / Kis-My-Ft2

While I was not expecting an album from Kisumai I will not complain too much. I welcome more music from the group, especially since they have not released so much in the past year.

I am disappointed that KiFT are the only ones getting solo songs once again. I really thought the group was moving past that kind of thing with all seven members getting solos on their previous album, I Scream. This feels like a step back. I hope the next album lets everyone have solo songs again as it really let everyone shine for I Scream.

Catching up with Country Girls

Out of the Hello! Project groups Country Girls is the easiest for me to catch up with as they are the group I have been following the closest. The group stole my heart when they were first formed and even though there has been heart break I love them still. In fact this post is going to be mostly me just gushing about all the members because catching up with them has been a reminder of how much I love them.

Even though her departure was assured from the moment Tsugunaga Momoko was announced to be a playing manager of the group it is still saddening to know that she will be gone soon. But I doubt she would leave without feeling like the group is on the right track and will do well without her. And considering how much of her life she has dedicated to being an idol I feel completely reassured that her decision to leave to embark on a new stage of her life is something she truly wants to do. So I wish her the best of luck and will feel so grateful for her time in Berryz Kubo, Buono! and Country Girls.

Yamaki Risa is a beautiful princess that should be loved and adored by all. She is seriously stunning and brings a matureness to the group that works surprisingly well for a group mainly centered around cuteness. It will be interesting to see her in the leadership position once Momoko is gone, but I have faith that she will be up for the challenge. If anything she has had years to learn under Momoko and I have faith that she will do well.

Honestly I never paid much attention to Morito Chisaki before. She just seemed to be a member that was just there to me but in the past year or so she has caught my attention more as she has opened up. There is a shine and spark to her that I just did not see before and I cannot wait to see how she continues to grow as an idol.

I am most amazed with how much Ozeki Mai seems to have grown in the past year or so. I still remember her being the cute little bundle of energy when she first joined. She is still a bundle of energy these days but is no longer so little. It is always a joy to watch her and I hope she has a long stay in the group.

I have a weakness for strong singers so of course Funaki Musubu was a stand out addition to the group for me. Every time I hear her sing a solo line I just know that she was the perfect choice for the group. As much as I love the group it did lack powerhouse vocals and Musubu brings that. She is of course also really adorable. Though from this photo it looks like she can pull off the cool look well also.

Yanagawa Nanami is adorable. She will most likely grow up to be a beautiful young woman much like Risa is now but until then she is as cute as a button. Which of course makes her a perfect fit for the group. And I am so glad she was added with Musubu as both girls seem to get on so well together. It surely made the adjustment to joining CG much easier. I am definitely interested in seeing more of her and how she will grow with the rest of the group.


I just love this group so much. And if the rumors are true and they make a group addition after Momoko's graduation I feel confident I will end up loving them as well. This group never fails to put a smile on my face and fill me with joy. I have no idea how I made it through last year without having them be a bigger part of my life but I do not want to make that mistake again.

No matter how my attention strays my love for Country Girls never does in the end.