Album Review: Fire Bird - Miyavi

Miyavi's latest album Fire Bird was released on August 31! I decided to preview it on iTunes before buying so I could pick my favorites. I don't know why I was thinking it would be like his earlier albums (Gagaku, for example), so  I was caught off-guard when I heard the track samples. I didn't know what to think at first, so I waited a few days before listening again. I saw YouTube had the album posted by Universal Music, so I decided to listen to it that way so I could hear the full songs. It's still weird to hear this style from Miyavi, but I kinda like it. I didn't feel that his vocals were as strong as previous albums which is why I wasn't sure how I felt at first and why this isn't my favorite album by him, but I'm sure it will grow on me. 

I think my favorite track is "Afraid to Be Cool" though "She Don't Know How To Dance" is also a good one. :)

I plan on getting my favorite songs first and get the full album at a later time so I can get the track "Epic Swing" on iTunes. Curious about the full track list for Fire Bird? Here it is!

1: Another World

2: Fire Bird

3: Dim It (feat. Rosie Bones)

4: Raise Me Up

5: You Know It's Love

6: Afraid To Be Cool

7: She don't Know How To Dance

8: Steal the Sun

9: Long Nights

10: Hallelujah

11: Epic Swing

Pokemon Go - Trainer With No Name

Anticipated New Anime Corner! "March Comes In Like a Lion"!

What are your top 20 favorite anime?! Would Eden of the East (Higashi no Eden) or Honey and Clover (Hachimitsu to Clover) be in that list? If so, you will be excited to her about this anticipated new anime by the mangaka of the above shows - March Comes in Like a Lion (Sangatsu no Lion)!

Synopsis from TV Tropes :

Rei Kiriyama is a 17-year-old boy who recently started living alone, financed by his salary as a professional Shogi player. Despite his independence, however, he's yet to mature emotionally, and his problems continue to haunt him in his daily life. His relationship with his adoptive family is strained, and he has difficulties interacting with his fellow high school students. Meanwhile, his professional career has entered a slump. Burdened with the heavy expectations placed on him as the fifth to become pro in middle school, his wins and losses are fluctuating as his record and progression into the ranks begin to stagnate.

Acquainted with Rei are the three Kawamoto sisters: Akari, Hinata, and Momo. Unlike Rei, they live happily in their modest home, which they warmly welcome Rei into as if he were one of their own. Despite his reservations about becoming too close to the family, he frequently visits, interacting with them and receiving the kind of care and affection he never quite had while under his foster home.

This is the story of Rei's triumphs and failures, relationships new and old, and his growth as a person.

I don't know about you but I am very excited for this opportunity to see another Umino Chika masterpiece to be animated! The characters seem as charming and relateable as the ones in Honey and Clover. It may not be action-oriented like Eden of the East, but you are sure to have major feels while relating to Rei and his coming-of-age story!

Look forward to this gem coming Fall 2016 season! WKTK!

-chansu

Top 3 Anticipated (AND CONFIRMED) Sequels of All Time!

Welcome back, fellow Otaku! Have you ever finished a series, with a non-canon ending that diverges from the manga, or ending on the 20th chapter of what will seem to be 100s of volumes, and felt the sheer sadness of losing your weekly source of enjoyment? We feel your pain, so we grabbed the top 3 most anticipated sequels of all time to satiate your hunger pangs for anime goodness! Let's look toward the future, together!

Without further ado, here they are!





1. Blue Exorcist (SEASON TWO!)
Release Date: Estimated Summer 2017

The new Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist)sequel (Kyoto Impure King Arc) will focus on the two brothers Rin and Yukio Okamura as they battles the spawn of Gehenna and Satan himself to keep the human world (Assiah) safe. Their goal this time? To keep the Impure King from being revived!

I am not the only one who is glad that Blue Exorcist is getting back to the manga plot. With the success of the story line, driven by shounen action and family bonds similar to Full Metal Alchemist, it is a no-brainer to bring the exorcist crew back to our TVs. Expect to see this demon-slaying series back sometime in 2017~!




2. My Hero Academia (SEASON TWO!)
Release Date: TBD

Who has not fallen in love with My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) earlier this year? If not, then you've missed the story of Izuku Midoriya and his foray into the world of Heores! He lives in a world where a large percent of the population is born with a "Quirk" which is basically a super power that evolves as kids age. Poor Izuku, who wished to be a hero more than anyone else, was not born with a "Quirk" and was devastated, until he was given a chance to reach Heroic levels and impress the greatest hero of all time, "All Might"

Season two was confirmed shortly after the series ended, and was met with overwhelming joy by fans of the series! While there is no news of the actual release date or season, we should keep our fingers crossed that it will be back sometime in 2017! PLUS ULTRA!





3. Attack on Titan (SEASON TWO!)
Release Date: Spring 2017

Sie sind das Essen und wir sind die Jäger!

Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) has taken the world by storm as a household name among anime fans, and even those who would normally watch anime have gotten a glimpse of the show. Everyone knows the premise - a world where freakish-looking giants who feed on human flesh have driven humanity  to hide behind giant walls for safety (*Trump approved!*). Eren Jaeger, a teen and resident of this world, has sworn to kill every last titan on earth to avenge his losses. But things soon get complicated as Eren himself is wrapped up in a plot much large than most titans...

Without spoiling much for those who have somehow survived this long without watching the show, Season 2 will kick off where they last left off, jumping into the voluminous manga chapters that have been coming nonstop since the anime finished back in 2013. Will humans finally gain salvation over their situation, or will the largest threat of the Colossal Titan bring us to our demise?! We can only find out in Spring 2017! (or reading the manga)

-chansu

Anime Recommendations of Summer 2016!

Welcome to my Top 5 Recommended anime for Summer 2016! Hot days, long summers, and soul searching aside, I've based these 5 shows on the following criteria:

• Character development and depth - Does this show give me the heebie jeebies at the sight of the protagonist's situations? Do characters outside of the protagonist develop and grow to contribute to a fantastic story?
• Summer feeling - Not just warm weather, palm trees, and beach episodes, but also energetic characters, hype factor, and of course slice-of-life style relevance to the viewer's life come into play!
• General enjoyability - Is "enjoyability" even a word? Regardless, we all watch anime to get different things out of it. Some watch for shounen excitement, others for moe anime girls. What makes a show enjoyable? Keep reading and find out!

Without further ado, here we go!

WARNING - Spoilers abound! I attempt to give you enough synopsis to understand the rating, but sometimes that means giving a little plot away. I would recommend reading if you have seen a PV and know the general synopsis of the show already!

1. RE:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

MAL Score 8.76
Genres



RE:Zero follows protagonist Natsuki Subaru on a "journey" in a fantasy world... sounds familiar, right? Is that not 50% of every new anime to come out in the past few years?! Well, it is different this time as our protagonist has literal plot armor. He cannot die, more accurately he has a curse he calls "Return By Death" which allows him to restart after death, at arbitrary save points in time along his journey.

You would think this would lead to hilarious restarts and comical interludes. But that is further from the truth than you'd expect. RE:Zero has viewers on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens to Subaru next, how he will attempt to right the wrongs of each iteration of himself, and see the growth of all characters involved in the process. While this show is an ongoing series and only technically counts for Summer 2016, it is a must-watch for anime fans, will likely become as popular as household names like Suzumiya Haruhi, and has as much character development, heart-stopping moments, and endearing characters as any of the top anime out there.

Character Development: 5/5

Summer Feeling: 3/5

General Enjoyability: 5/5

2. Amanchu!

MAL Score 7.28
Genres

Diving, diving, diving! And you thought Free! was the best swimming anime out there. Amanchu! is really an experience. If you don't get a "It's Summer!" feeling out of this show, I don't know what is wrong with you. 

Pikari, the show's resident optimist and driving force (or rather, "diving force") brings her classmate Futaba into the world of diving and with it comes a slice-of-life show lauded as one of the many showcased "golden age of slice-of-life" shows of the past few years! If you plan on watching it, please don't expect psychological depth, but its definitely worth a watch in the summer!

Character Development: 3/5

Summer Feeling: 6/5 !!

General Enjoyability: 4/5

3. Shokugeki no Soma (Ni no Sara)

MAL Score 8.56
Genres

You can get whatever you want from whomever you'd like to get it from. Right now. At least that's how things work at Totsuki Academy, the most elite cooking school in Japan, and possibly the world. And the means of getting what you want is through "Shokugeki" or a "Food War" as the dubs call it. Whoever wins an Iron Chef style competition can claim whatever they'd like from the loser. 

This is the world that our skilled Shounen protagonist Yukihira Soma lives in. Season 2 ramps things up in the Autumn Elections, and the episodes are fast-paced and rewarding. There isn't much of a summer feeling or even any character development here (what do you expect from a cooking shounen series) but the payoff per episode is definitely top tier!

Character Development: 2/5

Summer Feeling: 3/5

General Enjoyability: 5/5

4. New Game!

MAL Score 7.46
Genres

Ever wanted to be a game designer?! Work at the game company of your dreams to help bring the sequel to your childhood game to life?! Well, that is the premise of New Game! - you get a peek into the life of Suzukaze Aoba in her 18th year of life, as a character designer for her favorite Game company, "Eagle Jump". This slice-of-life show has hints of "Working!!" and "K-On!" everywhere. This is a sure-to-please show for those who like to make, play, and watch cute girls make games!!

Character Development: 3/5

Summer Feeling: 3/5

General Enjoyability: 5/5

5. Orange

MAL Score 8.05
Genres

Have you ever written a letter to your past self? How about a diary? If you have, I bet 80% of those who have wrote about their love life. But how would you react if the letter told you that you will fall in love and lose that love in 10 years time? That would be the conflicting situation that Naho is in.

This romance / drama / shoujo anime speaks to our nostalgia for high school romance and has hints of supernatural in the form of Naho's future diary entries. While each episode is well directed, the going can get pretty slow so the enjoyability factor is low. Otherwise, I highly recommend this for fans of the genre!

Character Development:5/5

Summer Feeling: 4/5

General Enjoyability: 3/5

Two JPOP Throwbacks to the Past!!!

Tripod Baby - M-Flo loves Bonnie Pink

Preserved Roses - T.M. Revolution ft. Nana Mizuki

Otaku Reviewers: RPGhero Rants

Hi all! RPGHero here!

What if tomorrow was your last day on Earth? Does that seem scary? It truly is scary, and it makes me truly fear leaving everything behind. I'd never see another anime, hug another human being, or go on a trip anywhere (let alone to an anime convention or concert).

The things we do make us who we are! If I was never into Japanese anime or Japanese music, I don't think I would be a good person. There are some days where it's harder for me to be good because I feel like nobody else agrees with the way of life I love. There's nothing wrong with them, they just never had the chance to give Japanese anime or music a serious chance, they're the ones who miss out in the end! Japanese culture is very good to me, even though other people think it's corny, I love it even though I'm African-American.

Thank you Japan for your great culture, great music, and great anime! :D

JPOP video of the week!

Ryuusei by TiA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K76QCVqKbbA