I think I’ve slowly become addicted to Junjun.

…and I think she’s my #1 in Morning Musume right now. Sorry Reina, at least you’re still #2.
I honestly have no idea why she’s taken over my Morning Musume fandom, but it definitely happened. xD
I’ve now decided that I want my very first photobook purchase to be of Junjun. Whether it’s the 8th gen together, a duo Junjun and Linlin photobook, or just Junjun solo. Preferably the last one. =P

And now for some picspam, because I’m pretty sure that’s why I’m such a huge fan now. It can’t have been the singing, because it’s not like she’s had many lines so far. xD

(click on the thumbnails for full versions)

Kai Yuujirou – Valentine Kiss cover

This totally doesn’t deserve it’s own post, but it’s getting one anyway.
The cover for the upcoming Valentine Kiss single, this year done by Kai Yuujirou with Higa Chuu, was posted today on the official Prince of Tennis music site:

Ah, Valentine Kiss. Always so freaking predictable. Of course, this cover is exactly the same as every single version before it, except it’s Kai instead of the other people that have released the Valentine Kiss single. And the jacket always changes color. (Though didn’t Atobe already have a purple one?)
Uberly looking forward to this single, I loved all previous versions (even Sanada’s, cause it’s so hilarious and bad) and I can’t wait for Kai’s.

Comcast is taking away AZN Television!

NOOOOOO
Ok, now I can officially call this a bad day. I mean, as if v-u-den disbanding wasn’t bad enough.

Ok, so, I guess I never blogged about this, but starting about…2 months ago maybe…I’ve been watching AZN Television’s Sunday night line-up. 7:30-9:00, Music
Bang, which shows Asian music videos- usually they don’t show anything that good, but they’ve shown BoA a couple of times- it’s always nice for some background music. 9:00-9:30, Japonica Logos, which is kinda like a variety show based off of the Japanese language. It’s great, and it’s really funny. 9:30-10:00, Ainori, which is TEH BEST, my favorite non-anime show by far. And then 10:00-11:00 is some drama, it was Abarenbo Mama when I started watching.
It’s become somewhat of a weekly tradition for me, like Saturday night anime. Especially Ainori, that’s something I always look forward to every week.
And so now, AZN Television is being taken off of Comcast…
I mean, I can always download Japonica Logos and Ainori, but it’s just not the -same-, you know? Watching stuff on TV is much better than watching it on the computer.

At least I have until April 9th. Then I guess I have to just download them instead…sigh. >_<

v-u-den breaking up

The Hello! Project official website has a new announcement, simply called “News from Hello! Project”. The contents of the announcement?
v-u-den is disbanding on the final night of their concert tour in June.
Apparently it’s because Okada Yui is turning 20, but I don’t really see what that has to do with anything.

I’m really sad about this, they weren’t my favorite group in H!P but I really loved their early singles- I haven’t been as much of a fan of their latest singles but I still kept looking forward to each one. I just bought their Single Best 9 limited edition album…
Rika has Ongaku Gatas, so I’m not really worried about her that much. Hopefully this means Ongaku Gatas will be around for a while.
I can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen to Erika and Yui. Neither of them have anything else in Hello! Project. Maybe they’ll be involved in an upcoming new unit. I really don’t want to see them just sit around doing nothing like so many other members that left a group and haven’t done anything since.

I hope for the best for all three of them, and while I’m definitely going to miss v-u-den, maybe something really good will come out of all this.

Official announcement of the Prince of Tennis re-releases- list of CDs (Update)

I checked the official PoT music site today (haha ever since I realized the news was still updated I’ve been checking every day) and there’s a new news item- an official announcement of all the titles being re-released.
Looks like the main reason for the re-release is the 100 Song Marathon taking place in March. Damn, I really wanna see that concert! xD Seriously, I’m hoping it will be released on DVD, it should be an amazing concert. 100 seiyuu songs…^____^ I bet it’ll be expensive though…it -is- 100 songs….

Anyway, here’s the official list of everything being re-released:

Title – Artist
BRAND NEW DAY – 3 Guava Trio
Dreaming On The Radio – Echizen Ryouma
Niji – Tezuka Kunimitsu
Asobi ni Ikanai ka? – Kawamura Takashi
DISTANCE – Inui Sadaharu
Right by your side – Fuji Shuusuke
Sekai wa Kawaru – Kaidou Kaoru
Honto no Kimochi – Ooishi Shuuichirou
Come Together – Kikumaru Eiji
SAYONARA – Momoshiro Takeshi
Ai no IZM – シンボリサオリ
Hey, now! – 白井裕紀
雪の結晶 – 塩谷麻公
SKY – 真崎 修
Happy lucky day! – 福士健太郎
Valentine Kiss – Atobe Keigo with Hyoutei Gakuen
Megane wo Hazusu Yoru – Oshitari Yuushi
Te~Tsunago. – Oshitari Yuushi
Valentine Kiss – Oshitari Yuushi with Hyoutei Gakuen
Natsu no Ojousan – Tachibana An
Everyday – Sengoku Kiyosumi
KEEP GOING ON! – Sanada Genichirou
Alive – Shishido Ryou
Dakishimete Shimaisousa – Tezuka Kunimitsu
Valentine Kiss – Atobe Keigo with Hyoutei Gakuen
Valentine Kiss – Oshitari Yuushi with Hyoutei Gakuen
Kiichi no Hayakuchi Kotoba – Kuki Kiichi
Start ~Boku no Yukue~ – Ibu Shinji
ANSWER – Yanagi Renji
Yume no Tsuzuki – Yukimura Seiichi
Billy’s Target – Fuji Shuusuke
A Kimochi – Oshitari Yuushi
Valentine Kiss – Sanada Genichirou with Rikkaidai Fuzoku Chuu
RISE -Gekoku+Joutou- – Hiyoshi Wakashi
Wonder Land – Echizen Ryouma
EMBLEM – Shishido Ryou
Flower ~Saki Midareshi Hana~ – GIGS
Hello & Goodbye – 近藤 薫
Kakaeta Kiseki – Aozu
Fujouri – Hyoutei Eternity
Thank You!! – Cap to Bin
Koi no Gekidasa Ecstasy! – byTachikiritai
Gather – Ao to Bin to Kan
Go! Go! Megane’s – Megane’s
Kira*Kira Megane’s – Megane’s
Manatsu no Megane’s – Megane’s
Odorimasen ka? Megane’s – Megane’s
future / WHITE LINE arrange C – Echizen Ryouma
Minna Koko ni Ita -2004.8.18 Live Memorial Version- – Echizen Ryouma
Riyu / E Kimochi – Atobe Keigo
Everything – Echizen Ryouma
Jet Drive – Atobe Keigo
C’mon every burning – Kawamura Takashi
Yakusoku / We Love SEIGAKU ~Arigatou wo Komete~ – Echizen Ryouma / SEIGAKU NINE PLAYERS
Birthday ~Aruki Hajimeta Hi~ / Rock*54!? – Aozu / Cap to Bin
ONE – Kikumaru Eiji
Kiku-chan no Souran Bushi – Kikumaru Eiji
Bokutachi no Shippai – Seigaku 1nen Trio
Type wa D! – Ooishi Shuuichirou & Kikumaru Eiji
Rakuen e – Chinen Hiroshi & Hirakoba Rin
TRICK, FAKE, or TRUTH – Yanagi Renji & Niou Masaharu
EVE – Ibu Shinji
PROGRESS – Echizen Ryouma
Kessho – Oshitari Yuushi
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2003 APRIL – Minagawa Junko (Echizen Ryouma), Suwabe Junichi (Atobe Keigo)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2003 MAY – Okiayu Ryoutarou (Tezuka Kunimitsu), Tsuda Kenjirou (Inui Sadaharu)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2003 JUNE – Kondou Takayuki (Ooishi Shuuichirou), Kaida Yuki (Fuji Shuusuke)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2003 JULY – Onosaka Masaya (Momoshiro Takeshi), Kiyasu Kouhei (Kaidou Kaoru)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2003 AUGUST – Takahashi Hiroki (Kikumaru Eiji), Kawamoto Naru (Kawamura Takashi)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2003 SEPTEMBER – Okiayu Ryoutarou (Tezuka Kunimitsu), Suwabe Junichi (Atobe Keigo)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2003 OCTOBER – Kondou Takayuki (Ooishi Shuuichirou), Tsuda Kenjirou (Inui Sadaharu)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2003 NOVEMBER – Takahashi Hiroki (Kikumaru Eiji), Namikawa Daisuke (Ootori Choutarou)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2003 DECEMBER – Kawamoto Naru (Kawamura Takashi), Onosaka Masaya (Momoshiro Takeshi)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 JANUARY – Kaida Yuki (Fuji Shuusuke), Kiyasu Kouhei (Kaidou Kaoru)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 FEBRUARY – Minagawa Junko (Echizen Ryouma), Okiayu Ryoutarou (Tezuka Kunimitsu)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 MARCH – Takahashi Mikako (Ryuuzaki Sakuno), Ooura Fuyuka (Osakada Tomoka), Kimura Akiko (Tachibana An)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 APRIL – Tsuda Kenjirou (Inui Sadaharu), Onosaka Masaya (Momoshiro Takeshi)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 MAY – Kaida Yuki (Fuji Shuusuke), Kawamoto Naru (Kawamura Takashi)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 JUNE – Kondou Takayuki (Ooishi Shuuichirou), Takahashi Hiroki (Kikumaru Eiji)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 JULY – Toriumi Kousuke (Sengoku Kiyosumi), Morikubo Shoutarou (Kirihara Akaya)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 AUGUST – Okiayu Ryoutarou (Tezuka Kunimitsu), Kusunoki Taiten (Sanada Genichirou)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 SEPTEMBER – Minagawa Junko (Echizen Ryouma), Kiyasu Kouhei (Kaidou Kaoru)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 NOVEMBER – Tsuda Kenjirou (Inui Sadaharu), Suzuki Chihiro (Kamio Akira)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2004 DECEMBER – Onosaka Masaya (Momoshiro Takeshi), Ueda Yuuji (Akutagawa Jirou)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2005 JANUARY – Okiayu Ryoutarou (Tezuka Kunimitsu), Takemoto Eiji (Yanagi Renji)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2005 FEBRUARY – Takahashi Hiroki (Kikumaru Eiji), Kiyasu Kouhei (Kaidou Kaoru)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2005 MARCH – Minagawa Junko (Echizen Ryouma), Kaida Yuki (Fuji Shuusuke)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2005 APRIL – Kondou Takayuki (Ooishi Shuuichirou), Suwabe Junichi (Atobe Keigo)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2005 MAY – Okiayu Ryoutarou (Tezuka Kunimitsu), Mori Norihisa (Yanagisawa Shinya)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2005 JUNE – Tsuda Kenjirou (Inui Sadaharu), Toyonaga Toshiyuki (Aoi Kentarou)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2005 JULY – Kawamoto Naru (Kawamura Takashi), Moriyama Eiji (Ibu Shinji)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2005 AUGUST – Kaida Yuki (Fuji Shuusuke), Nagai Sachiko (Yukimura Seiichi)
Tennis no Oujisama On The Radio MONTHLY 2005 SEPTEMBER – Takahashi Hiroki (Kikumaru Eiji), Kishio Daisuke (Fukushi Michiru)
THE PRINCE OF TENNIS op.REQUEST – VA
THE PRINCE OF TENNIS ed.REQUEST – VA

I’ll romanize all the titles/artists next chance I get, I have to go to assembly right now… Done. Well, that took me forever. It only took me a couple minutes for all of the actual singles/albums but the radio CDs took FOREVER cause I know NONE of the seiyuu. Except Kirihara’s and Eiji’s.
Anyway, if it’s not romanized it means it’s not by a Prince of Tennis character so I don’t know what the HELL they’re doing here.

http://tennipri-indexmusic.jp/news.html – source

I can’t spend this much money, dammit!

Only like two weeks after I purchased $95 of CDs from Yesasia, here I am with $180 of music in my cart again. I’m honestly not sure who I should blame for this. I think it’s a combination of Hello! Project deciding to release both Buono!’s and Ongaku Gatas’ debut albums in the same month, the Prince of Tennis rerelease spree, and the fact that they’re both happening at like the exact same time. That’s HELLISHLY bad timing!
Curse whoever came up with the idea of limited editions and limited releases. As always, everything I want is limited, so there’s the chance of it selling out if I don’t get it now. But there’s no way I could spend $180 right now. I mean, yeah, I have the money, but 1) I have to go through my mom for purchases because it’s through her credit card, which means she can say ‘no’, and I get the feeling she will because of how expensive this is, and 2) I have no income, so I can’t spend so much money each month. =P

Anyway, this is what I want to get:
Buono! – Renai Rider (limited edition)
Buono! – Cafe Buono! (limited edition)
Ongaku Gatas – 1st GOODSAL (limited edition)
Kai Yuujirou – Valentine Kiss (limited release)
Inui Sadaharu – DISTANCE (limited release)
Echizen Ryouma – future / WHITE LINE (limited release)
Hyoutei Eternity – Fujouri (limited release)
The Prince of Tennis op.REQUEST (limited release)
The Prince of Tennis ed.REQUEST (limited release)
3 Guava Trio – BRAND NEW DAY (limited release)

I -guess- I could cut the op/ed REQUEST CDs out if necessary, along with Fujouri- they’re not too high on my priority list, I just really want them because the op/ed REQUEST CDs are opening/ending theme compilations (which I love) and Fujouri is the only seiyuu theme song I’m missing…
I just kinda get the feeling that the H!P CDs are going to sell out way faster than the PoT CDs, but I’m still worried that if I cut any CDs from this order they won’t be available by the time I make my next order.

So, I had the bright idea to look on CD Japan, cause the prices are much lower there, right? I actually did a quick price comparison for all of the CDs:
Buono! – Renai Rider: $17.49 (Yesasia), $13.89 (CD Japan)
Buono! – Cafe Buono!: $32.99 (Yesasia), $31.49 (CD Japan)
Ongaku Gatas – 1st GOODSAL: $33.75 (Yesasia), $30.87 (CD Japan)
Kai Yuujirou – Valentine Kiss: $9.99 (Yesasia), not listed but presumed to be $6.85 like all previous Valentine Kiss singles (CD Japan)
Inui Sadaharu – DISTANCE: $7.64 (Yesasia), $5.56 (CD Japan)
Echizen Ryouma – future: $10.75 (Yesasia), $8.82 (CD Japan)
Hyoutei Eternity – Fujouri: $9.25 (Yesasia), $6.88 (CD Japan)
The Prince of Tennis op.REQUEST: $25.49 (Yesasia), $24.70 (CD Japan)
The Prince of Tennis ed.REQEUST: $25.49 (Yesasia), $24.70 (CD Japan)
3 Guava Trio – BRAND NEW DAY: $7.25 (Yesasia), $4.90 (CD Japan)

Total: $180.09 (Yesasia), $158.67 (CD Japan)

So, after looking at that, you’d think CD Japan would be the obvious choice, right? Then you take a look at shipping.

Shipping: $0.00 (Yesasia), $35.20 (CD Japan)
Total with shipping: $180.09 (Yesasia), $193.87 (CD Japan)

And that’s the CHEAPEST shipping option, which I’d never use. GODDAMMIT CDJAPAN. >_< The prices are so low and appealing, AND THEN THE SHIPPING PRICES ARE HELL. No shipping should ever be $35.
So anyway, Yesasia’s still somehow the cheapest choice. If only CD Japan had free shipping, or at least -cheaper- shipping. I mean, I’m aware that their shipping depends on how much the package weighs, and this order does contain quite a few CDs, but STILL. $35.

Actually, either way, I’m not making this order until mid-February because I just ordered some stuff two weeks ago. All I can do is hope for a sale or something…

Cafe Buono!

Buono!’s official site now has a title for their upcoming album- Cafe Buono!.
The album will be released on February 20th in two different versions, a CD-only and a CD+DVD. According to the website, the DVD will include:
-Kokoro no Tamago (dance version)
-Renai Rider (dance version)
-jacket shoot making of
-something promoting Shugo Chara

I’m really looking forward to this, especially the Kokoro no Tamago video. I really wanted it to have a PV when their debut single was first released, but sadly only Honto no Jibun was released on the LE DVD/Single V.
Actually, the limited edition of this album is sitting in my Yesasia cart right now, but since I just made an order last week I have to wait a bit longer before I can order more stuff. >_<

CURSE YOU, TOKYO KID!

Dammit. I’ve known something was up with their CDs for a bit now, and I stopped buying CDs from there a couple months ago just in case…
I was reading a guide to bootlegs (procrastinating, basically) and it mentioned three particular CD bootleg brands. I didn’t recognize any of the names, but then it showed the logo for Alion, and my only reaction was-
SHIT.

Yeah, um….
Daaaammiiitttt……

I’m not at home right now (and I won’t be until Friday night, unless we get really lucky and there’s a snow day on Friday due to the snowstorm coming up), so I can’t -actually- look through my CDs, but I have pictures from that post back in August where I sorted my music by release date. That was when I made the decision to stop buying CDs from Tokyo Kid, I think, so…
Well, let’s see which of my CDs are actually bootlegs! Yay! [/sarcasm]
-Hamasaki Ayumi – I am…
-Kingdom Hearts OST
-Utada Hikaru – DEEP RIVER
-FFX-2 OST
-Naruto OST
-Naruto OST 2
-Shimatani Hitomi – Tsuioku+LOVE LETTER
-Naruto Best Hit Collection
-Hamasaki Ayumi – MY STORY
-Do As Infinity – NEED YOUR LOVE
-NANA OST
-Tamaki Nami – Single Collection Vol. 1 (actually, I knew this was a bootleg from the beginning, like an hour after I got it while I was leaving PortCon Maine I was like “wait why the HELL did I buy something that obviously isn’t official…?”)
-Kingdom Hearts II OST
-NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA – THE END

Oh, and I think my Naruto OST 3 and PoT OST 2 + 3 might possibly be bootlegs too, but they don’t have the logo or anything on the obi so I’m not 100% sure…

A quote from that old post:

Everything I got at either Anime Boston, PortCon, or Tokyo Kid (the closest anime store) seems to be some sort of overseas version…I can’t tell if they’re bootlegs or legit overseas releases, like some of the earlier CDs I got off of Yesasia- I always used to go for the overseas versions cause they’re cheaper. Hopefully the latter. I mean, that’s 21 of my albums/soundtracks right there. o_o

Sadly, it’s the former. Except the Anime Boston stuff. I can’t tell for most of those, except the Ishida Yoko CD I got in 2005, that was the official English release.

I can’t say I’ll never buy from Tokyo Kid again (they have teh good Japanese candy), but I’m definitely NEVER even looking through the CD section again. I wanna know why I never -realized- until now. I mean, I had no idea what record label anime CDs were released under, but DAI? Ayu? The logo should have been an immediate tip-off, but sadly, I never even realized it. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now…

My external hard drive died again.

God, these things are too easily breakable. Ok, the first two I had both fell off of the top of my computer. It’s understandable that they kinda died after that, cause it is kinda high up. But the one that just died this morning? It was on the floor, on the carpet, and it just kinda softly tipped over. It was my fault that it tipped over (I was watching anime in bed and I must have accidentally pulled a cord or something) but why the hell did it break from just that? It just softly fell over onto the carpeted floor- nothing should break from that! D: This pisses me off so much, it’s the third one that’s broken- I got the first one around the beginning of summer, and I’ve gone through three since then. I mean, I know they’re all kinda my fault, but seriously, they’re impossible to keep safe. I seriously have nowhere to put it that it isn’t in danger of falling over and breaking- I thought keeping it on the floor would help, but apparently it can break there too! DD: The cords are so annoying, in order to plug it in the cords have to be right in front of my desk so it’s so easy to accidentally pull one and make it fall over. Actually, it even happened to my LAPTOP once cause the power cord for that has to go in the same place. Thankfully even though my laptop fell, nothing bad happened.
All I can do right now is cross my fingers and hope that my mom won’t get uber pissed at me- she didn’t the first two times, but…

Now I have no Ainori to watch to make up for the fact that it’s not on TV tomorrow…
And I was in the middle of a Gintama episode when it died…it was the Densha Otoko parody episode, too…

Request: Yugin – Fate

Yeah, I’m currently looking for the single of the current opening song to Ainori, ‘Fate’ by Yugin. Anyone happen to have this? xDD
It’s their debut single, or at least their major debut single. I’ve been searching for like, two days straight for this single (it came out yesterday, I basically spent almost all of yesterday evening searching), but I’ve pretty much only ended up with tons of Japanese ringtone sites and blogs talking about the PV…
Here’s the short version used in Ainori- I can’t find the full PV, I watched it on Youtube like two weeks ago but it disappeared…

(on a side note, Ainori is addicting. Seriously, it is. Sadly, AZN Television is spamming this drama Galileo for the next three weeks so there’s no Ainori on American television. Guess it’s motivation for me to watch the subs.)

I seriously don’t know why I didn’t pre-order this. I definitely meant to…even if I order it tomorrow, which I probably will, it’ll take a while before it even ships in order to get it in stock (along with the other things in my order) and then it’ll take forever to ship…