Obnoxious Wota

Morning Musume Spring Tour Photobook Release Handshake Event, Fukuya Shoten Shinjuku, 8/9

2011-08-09T11:36:00.000-04:00

Got to the venue like 2 hours early, was told countless times to stop lingering by Fukuya Shoten staff haha ('Please try to come back when the event starts')
Eventually they moved everybody over to an out-of-the-way area and lined us up by ticket #. I ran into somebody I knew (named Gonsan), she introduced me to a friend of hers and I traded one of my tickets with her so I wouldn't have trouble making it back into the line (I had 3 tickets, numbered 34, 35 and 164 - I traded my 35 for this girl's 60).

Then typical line stuff, moved everybody to a closer spot and so on. Once it got started, the event went like this: get to the front of the line, give one staff your ticket, the next staff gives you your photobook, then you go around a corner and shake the members' hands...after which you walked out and could re-enter the line if you had more tickets.

Every time I got a photobook I had my backpack open, ready to stuff it in and zip the bag up VERY quickly haha, cause I had very little time before I walked around the corner and shook the members' hands.

There were three members at this event - Takahashi Ai (Aichan), Fukumura Mizuki and Ikuta Erina (they were in this order: Ikuta, Fukumura, Aichan). Being honest, Aichan's the only one I REALLY care about...so every time I went through I just said 'thank you!' to Fukumura and Ikuta with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. I felt a little bad, honestly, but with Aichan right there in front of my face I couldn't come up with anything better to say >.>

Anyway, the first time I at least took the effort to tell Fukumura that she's my favorite 9th generation member, which she seemed happy about. Then when I got to Aichan I said "It's been a while!" (お久しぶり！）and she responded with the same. There was an awkward pause as I remembered what I wanted to say (SO nervous the first couple times...) and, as staff started to push me out past the table the members were standing at, I said "I'm so happy to be able to meet you again!" (また会えてすっごく嬉しいです！) and Aichan said "Me too!" (こちらこそ！) and I walked out of the event.

Honestly, I was really lucky Aichan was the last member...I could say something quick even as the staff forced me to move along, and even as I walked away if needed :P (about half of what I said to her every time was as I was letting go of her hands/walking away haha)

Then I went back and lined up again. I think it was at this point that I saw there were still tickets available (they were selling them at a little booth near the exit of the line), and I considered buying a few more...

Anyway, I entered the line a second time. This time I decided to tell Aichan about me reading Harry Potter, since she's the reason I started reading it in the first place. Started with "I started reading Harry Potter on your recommendation!" (愛ちゃんのおすすめでハリーポッターを読み始めた！) and Aichan just kind of made a surprised face like" Ohhh!!" and I said "It's really great! Thank you!!" (超いい、それ！ありがとう！) and she smiled real big and nodded lol, then I was out of the event again.

After my second time, I ran over to the booth where they were selling photobook reservation tickets and asked the cashier how many copies you're allowed to buy. He said there was no limit, so I bought 3 more >.>

Back at the end of the line, I ran into Gonsan again...and this time she was with a different person. They both got kind of excited and were talking to each other about something while looking at me as I approached...apparently Gonsan's friend thought I looked like Harry Potter? hahaha
So my topic for the next handshake with Aichan was decided :P

And apparently this friend of Gonsan wasn't planning to go into the event for some reason? I showed her one of my ticket numbers (1334 or something) and told her I had *just* bought it, so there were tons left (2000 tickets total), so they ran off to buy one. Gonsan's friend yelled "Thanks, Harry!" as they were walking off lolol

Then I entered the line again, same process...once I got to Aichan I said "I've been told I look like Harry Potter, but what do you think?" (ハリーポッターと似てると言われたけど、どう思う？) and she said "Yeah, kinda!" (似てるかも！) with a laugh, and I was out of the event.

After my third time through, I ran into another friend of mine (Shigemi) who let me hop in and enter the line with her and her friends even though my number hadn't come up yet (apparently the staff were cool with her just claiming I was in her group haha). In line Shigemi and I came up with a plan to try and get Aichan to remember my name...as part of that, she borrowed some tape from a friend while we were working our way through the line.

Aichan died her hair brown/red today (pics here: http://ameblo.jp/takahashiai-blog/entry-10980577705.html), so I decided to talk to her about that on my fourth time through. When I got to Aichan I said "Your hair's really cute!" (この髪可愛いよ！) and she said "Thanks!" (ありがとう！). Then, as I was walking away, I said "It suits you!" (似合ってる！) and she said "Thanks!" again :P

Once out of the line, Shigemi got markers from a different friend to go with the tape from before. She pulled out some paper she had and we wrote my name in hiragana (ざっく) and then in English (Zac :P) below, then taped it to the front of my shirt.

For the fifth time through, when I got to Aichan I said "My name is Zac! Zac!" (俺の名前はザックです！ザック！) while pointing at the sign on my chest. Aichan looked down and gave a nod of confirmation with a quick "Okay!" (はい！), then I said "Remember it, okay?" (覚えてね！) and she said "Thank you!!" in English haha (kind of a weird response - I think she may have been just as nervous as me :P ...or just really wanted to say something in English and that's what happened to pop out), then I walked out of the event.

At this point I knew I'd need one more ticket, so I went ahead and grabbed another photobook reservation ticket (that makes 7 now, if you're having trouble keeping count >.>)

Once back in line, I removed the sign with my name on it. For my sixth time, I started to say "Do you remember?" (覚えてますか？), but before I could even finish she said "Zac!!". I gave a big thumbs up and said "OK!!", then kind of shambled awkwardly away from the table (Aichan remembering my name （ ´Д｀）). I understand that it was just a short period of time, but even so it's still a major hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng moment for me （ ´Д｀）（ ´Д｀）（ ´Д｀）

For my seventh and final time, I said to Aichan "This is my last time through, so please do your best!" (これは最後だから、頑張ってね！) and Aichan said "Okay!" (はい！), then as I was walking away I said "I'll be supporting you on the fall tour!" (秋ツアー応援してます！) and she said "Thanks!" (ありがとう！) and I said a quick 'bye bye!!', which she returned, then I walked out of the event for the last time.

After that, I realized that people were lined up behind a gate thing over near the event...it seemed Aichan and the other members would be walking by there, so I got a spot up near the front right behind Gonsan and her friend from before ("Thanks Harry!" :P). It was a really good vantage point, where I could see where the members would leave the event space and the whole front of the store were we figured they'd be walking.

Long story short, we waited forever and then the members made like...a half-second appearance as they walked from where the event was held right into Fukuya Shoten, then we waited forever more...then they walked out way down by the other end of the store and walked up some stairs, and that was that. Everybody was pretty upset that the members didn't walking along the front of the store...

Disappointing that I wasn't anywhere near close enough to get Aichan's attention because of that, but with everything else that happened tonight I don't think I can complain.

Immediately after walking back into the guest house, I said "ahh, I'm so happy~" (はぁ、幸せ〜) and told everybody what happened. One of the Japanese guys tweeted about me, and apparently he got a response from someone who was at the event who said they saw me many times hahaha (http://twitter.com/#!/mkamaga/status/100919600677531648)

Truly an amazing night~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AICHAN~~!!

2010-09-14T22:40:00.002-04:00

A quick post to commemorate the 24th birthday of our beautiful Leader~~~

Yes, this is a bit late...but it's still the 14th where I'm at, and I actually made the birthday shrine last night when it was still the 14th in Japan. (plus this is an excuse to wish her happy birthday again~)
I also happened to JUST remember that I hadn't posted here about Aichan's birthday -___-

SO.

Happy birthday Aichan~~~
Thanks for everything you do for both Morning Musume and for me as a fan, and for all the other fans. You're simply too amazing for words ;____;

Also, this just happens to be pretty close to the one-year anniversary (maybe a week from now) of my becoming an Aichan wota. Here's to another year with the greatest waifu I could ever ask for :'D

ずっと応援してます！！
- cfb

More on being an idol fan/wota...

2010-04-06T18:10:00.004-04:00

I originally wrote this in response to a comment by Yonasu on this post, quoted in its entirety here:

"Honestly I couldn't care less about the agencies behind the idols. I like certain idols of H!P, and I like certain idols in AKB, they live together in harmony in my world. But my favorites are from H!P and that will never change since they've had many years to grow on me.

My all time favorite is Eri Kamei, and whatever happens to H!P she will always remain my favorite^^ And my favorite from AKB is Atsuko Maeda (although she might not even make the top 10 of my overall idol faves). I consider myself an Eri wota, I guess, but really I don't need a title, I just care about loving whoever I love :) People are free to hate on me and the idols I love, I really couldn't care less about that either, haha.

In the end, this discussion is really the same stupid thing as arguing about Windows and OS X. Just use and love whatever you love, why should you care about what someone else likes? It doesn't make any sense.

Peace out."

However, my comment ended up REALLY long (I basically ended up rewriting/updating the original entry Yonasu was responding to) and there were some things I said that I felt warranted another post, so here it is. I was responding specifically to one paragraph in his comment.

"In the end, this discussion is really the same stupid thing as arguing about Windows and OS X. Just use and love whatever you love, why should you care about what someone else likes? It doesn't make any sense."
In the example of Mac vs Windows, I agree completely. It's just an OS...find what you like and use that, screw what everybody else is doing. In fact, the "OS wars" is one of my least favorite things to talk about...ditto for the video game "console wars".

However, with idols, we're not dealing with something so trivial. The difference between idols and just about every other hobby out there is that there is a relationship with living, breathing people here. Supporting your favorite idol is not the same as supporting your favorite video game company or band or OS developer or whatever because supporting those things does not explicitly express love for another human being. For me it is not just entertainment...I am truly invested in my idol, as much as I would be invested in someone I know in real life, if not even more so. I suppose for most gaijin idol fans it's difficult to take it that seriously...after all, most of us never really have the chance to build a "real" relationship with these girls because they obviously live across the world (or, at least, in a different country :P). If everyone could have the opportunity to go to FC events and talk to the girls one on one, shake their hands, etc on a regular basis I get the feeling things might be different.

But here I am, living in America, and I still take my relationship with my idol as seriously as I would were I able to interact with her regularly. I want to be the best fan I possibly can for her sake.

Going back to what you asked, I care about what other idol fans like because I want them to be the best possible fans for these girls as well. Honestly I don't particularly like being the person pointing his finger at everyone, but it aggravates me when I see the approach many Western fans have. These girls deserve more devotion than that.

And that's not to say that Western idol fans are not passionate. Many of the people I've met really do love these girls a lot. However, as I said earlier I feel that the relationship between a wota and his/her idol is very real...and I don't feel it's appropriate or respectful to have relationships with more than one person at a time.

I don't mean that you can't like more than one idol...I like all the members of Morning Musume - some of them a lot - for different reasons. But Aichan is the only one I love, and the one I consider to be MY idol. I have only a casual interest in the others. Personally I think that's how it should be if someone wants to call him/herself a wota. Actually, I feel that this kind of dedication may very well be what separates a fan from a wota, which is why I get so agitated by casual use of the term 'wota' - it's not a word to be taken lightly...

Of course, I can't reasonably expect everyone to take this approach. I've come to realize that there's nothing wrong with being a more casual fan (and I don't mean that everyone who isn't a hardcore wota is "just a casual fan"...as I said earlier, there are certainly non-wota idol fans who love these girls a lot - they are just comparatively more casual fans). Some people are simply not willing or able to have this kind of dedication, and to an extent I can't blame them...it's really hard. Sometimes, honestly, it sucks. But the good times are so incredibly rewarding, and I feel that I am capable of doing so much more for my idol, when I take this approach. As I said, I want the best fans possible for these girls and through my experiences I've come to believe that singular dedication fosters that kind of fan. I may not be able to convince everyone to join me, and I may even make some enemies along the way (I have already, actually x.x)...but I feel that this is a cause worth fighting for and I hope that I can inspire others to join me.
- cfb

Fourth Hello!Store USA Batch

2010-03-15T00:07:00.003-04:00

These goods actually arrived a few weeks ago...haven't had time to get around to posting them until now though x.x

And the pictures laid out all pretty-like...

Planning a post with some updated pics of my room soon-ish. Stay tuned~
- cfb

February 2010 Purchases

2010-03-14T23:47:00.004-04:00

Splurge for this month was the visual books. AX DVD was also kind of a big deal lol. Other than that, fairly typical month I guess.

Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai LE A (w/DVD)
Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai LE B (w/DVD)
Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai LE C (w/DVD)
Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai RE

Momusu - Concert Tour 2009 Aki ~NINE SMILE~
Momusu - America Hatsu Jouriku Live ~Offshot Mansai Micchaku 72jikan~
Momusu - Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai Single V

2005 Spring Dai ~6kan Hit Mankai~ Visual Book
2005 Spring Dai ~6kan Hit Mankai~ Visual Book 2
2005 Autumn ~Baribari Kyoushitsu Koharu-chan Irasshai~ Visual Book
2005 Autumn ~Baribari Kyoushitsu Koharu-chan Irasshai~ Visual Book 2
2006 Spring ~Rainbow 7~ Visual Book
2006 Spring ~Rainbow 7~ Visual Book 2
2006 Autumn ~Odore! Morning Curry~ Visual Book
2007 Spring ~SEXY 8 BEAT~ Visual Book 2
Iroppoi Jirettai Making Photobook (not pictured)

Quick thoughts:
- NINE SMILE made me bawwwww so hard ;______;
- AX DVD is amazing. So many good memories~
- Visual books are sweet.

- cfb

January 2010 Purchases

2010-03-14T23:30:00.003-04:00

Starting the new year off with less purchases than usual. This should continue until at least August or so...saving up enough to attend Aichan's graduation concert~ (whenever that is...)

Somehow everything in this picture is sealed, other than the Kanashimi Event V (which still has the plastic on it, seal is just broken at the bottom)

Kusumi Koharu - Happy Single V
Momusu - Kanashimi Twilight Event V
V/A - Pucchi Best 9
Momusu - Rainbow 7 RE

Momusu - Morning Channel ~Digiphoto History 2001-2005~ Photobook
Momusu - Yomiuri Land East Live 2009 DVD

Quick thoughts:
- Morning Channel photobook is adorable, so many great offshots of the girls~
- Yomiuri is an amazing concert, I loved how they kept the little bit at the beginning...it's nice to put a visual to what I've heard in fan recordings of FC events so many times.

- cfb

Hello!Ranking Test Run...!

2010-02-11T23:36:00.004-05:00

This last Sunday, bryan (organizer of Hello!Party and all-around kickass dude) held a test run of a site he's working on called Hello!Ranking (a "next-generation [Hello!Project] fan site that allows you to see how your favorites change over time and to share your rankings with others", to quote bryan himself), which I had the privilege of taking part in.

Normally I'm not the ranking type - it takes me FOREVER, in fact, unless I'm extremely familiar with the group (see: Momusu) - but seeing the site in action was very cool. Or, at least, what I saw was cool...those who participated only had access to the ranker itself.

(right now the design looks a little plain - bryan informed everyone that the final site will have pictures of each member to go along with their name when doing your ranking)

Essentially, us testers had access to three rankers: the group ranker, the groups ranker, and the artists ranker. The group ranker (pictured above, with my actual current MM ranking~) allows you to choose a Hello!Project group, choose whether you want to rank the current roster or all members that have ever been in the group (when applicable), and then you simply drag the members around into whatever order you want to rank them. After that, submit your ranking and voila! - your ranking is saved and added to the database of everyone else's rankings. The groups ranker allows you to rank H!P groups, both new and old - Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, Country Musume, ROMANS, Buono, Coconuts Musume (ew), EcoMoni, etc. The artists ranker allows you to choose from every member of Hello!Project - new, old, graduated, active, inactive - and rank whoever you want. Fans will also be able to rank albums, singles, and individual songs. Very cool stuff!

Once the site goes live (hopefully soon), people will be able to create profiles so everyone can share their rankings, along with viewing overall statistics that pull together everyone's rankings so you can see where your favorites members, groups, songs, etc stand against all the others. The site will also be used to house detailed Hello!Project member profiles and a few other things that I don't remember (and/or may not be able to share - sworn to secrecy ;D sort of...). Overall, Hello!Ranking is shaping up to be a great resource and central hub for the H!P fan community. Keep an eye out here for when the site goes live!
- cfb

(And for anyone who wants a preview of the site...bryan is planning another test run of the ranker this weekend, most likely Saturday afternoon. Pop on over to #helloranking on irc.rizon.net if you want to participate!)

For Sale! (Again!)

2010-02-10T21:02:00.012-05:00

Items I have for sale/trade are now listed here.

Thanks for looking!
- cfb

On the H!P vs AKB debate...

2010-01-20T23:39:00.010-05:00

I've been trying to avoid writing a post on this topic for a while now. It's an EXTREMELY touchy subject, and one that I get easily worked up about, so I figured it was best to stay out. However, there are some bloggers (some of who have been obviously pointing fingers at me) who've posted about the whole H!P vs AKB "war", and I feel the need to put in my two cents.

To begin, while I certainly have a strong dislike for AKB48...it's not the idols themselves, or AKB48 itself, or even AKB48 fans that I have a real problem with. "Personal preference" and "real issue" are different things, and I've mistakenly confused the two in the past...but I've come to realize the errors of my ways and, if people are willing to listen, I would like to make my current position clear. Actually, my problem isn't with anyone's fandom, but more with the foundation that most people in the community have laid their idol fandoms upon.

Now, to clarify something...everyone has to get into idols somehow, and almost every idol fan right now did that through H!P. Everybody has an exploratory phase where they find out what they like, and I'm totally down with that. My beef is with the people who were into H!P first, became serious fans, and then let that dedication fall through to another group without good reason (by the way, general disinterest is NOT a good reason :P).

ANYWAY.

The base of the issue, from what I've observed, is that many members of the community treat being into idol groups like it's the same as being into any other music...they feel that sampling as many different groups as possible and developing a varied set of interests is a part of being an idol fan or a wota. Now, in my opinion, people who are purely Japanese music enthusiasts can listen to whatever idol groups they want...they're not in it for the idols anyway. But anyone who calls themselves an idol fan or a wota and is into every group under the sun clearly doesn't understand how this whole thing is supposed to work.

That's not to say that they're WRONG, just...misinformed, I suppose. Many Western idol fans started as fans of anime or Japanese music or even just music in general (almost any hobby could be inserted here, honestly), where one risks being considered narrow-minded if he/she focuses exclusively on one series or musician or whatever. And when those people made the transition to the idol world, they carried that mentality with them. But the idol scene doesn't work that way...or, at least, it didn't until the Western world got ahold of it.

Of course, some people will say that this is our way of approaching it, we don't have to do it the way they do it in Japan, etc etc. Frankly, I disagree with that. While we could certainly continue on the same path (and likely will - I'm part of a minority with little say in the direction that the Western idol fandom takes), I don't feel that we have the right to twist the idol world around to fit our own way of doing things like that. In fact, through that, I think we risk aligning ourselves with a mindset that I'm sure most of us want nothing to do with.

Consider this: when H!P was in its prime there were lots of people who really liked Hello!Project that may have never been into idols otherwise - children, parents, girls, boys, etc. They really were a national idol group - such is the way popularity booms work. But those people were not wota, nor were they idol fans. Those people are now the ones who are unable to name a single current member of Morning Musume, who loved Hello!Project as a fad and dropped it like a bad habit when that fad ended. And guess what? Now those kind of people - the mainstream public - are starting to get into AKB48. You could say it's because AKB48 is the better idol group, or because they have better management with better knowledge on how to promote a group to mainstream success (both of which are points that could be debated, although the first is certainly more subjective than the second). But you want to know the real reason why? Because they're the public and they'll eat up whatever's in front of their faces.

When H!P's popularity had been waning for a while, AKB stepped up to the plate as the next big idol fad (not trying to bash on AKB here - H!P was just as much of a fad in the early 00's as AKB is now). What disappoints me with so many Western idol fans is that they made themselves no better than the mindless public. Instead of sticking by the idols they had grown to supposedly love and cherish over the years, they grew tired and jaded with the direction that H!P's music and image was taking - something that is completely out of the idols' control and should not affect the preferences of a truly dedicated fan. I know that my idols deserve my support regardless of how the company they're a part of may change over time. Anyway, H!P was beginning to wane in popularity...then AKB came along, a fresh new face to gain the interest of a group of people who had grown bored with a fad that was on its way out (or a fad that was essentially already gone, in the case of the Japanese public). It saddens and infuriates me to think that these girls who are so deserving of our love and dedication could be treated in such an impersonal manner, as if their lives as idols exist solely for our entertainment.

For the most part, the only ones who are still truly around for these girls are the wota. Say what you will about the wota (creepy, obsessive, etc), but H!P's survival for the last few years has depended heavily on a small but extremely dedicated fanbase of hardcore wota. And I know a lot of H!P fans are waiting for Morning Musume's next big break, for that magical moment where they become THE Japanese female idol super-group again and can stand on their own two feet (or, right now, 16 feet) without depending entirely on the wota. I hate to rain on the parade, but that's almost guaranteed not to happen. That's not really the way female idol groups work (any female idol group's explosive public success is almost always a fluke - LOVE Machine was H!P's, in my opinion), and popularity should not be a determining factor in sticking with your idols. I'm proud to call myself a wota because I avoided the temptation of new idol groups and am still supporting the idol company that I "grew up" on. My pride in being a dedicated wota is also why I get so agitated about careless use of the word wota, since not all Western idol fans have been as dedicated as I've come to understand wota to be.

Back to my original point...I'm of the opinion that the "general idol fan"/"expand your horizons"/"get into as many idol groups as possible" mentality encourages this kind of fickle idol fandom. If you spend your time devouring every idol group that even slightly catches your interest, how can you be sure that you won't unknowingly (or even knowingly -_-') abandon idols who still need you? In my opinion, the only point where an idol doesn't truly need her fans is when she has completely left the idol industry and started on a new path in her life. At that point, it is up to the individual to decide if their (now former) idols still need that kind of support.

And if this kind of dedication sounds intimidating...honestly, it should. Being a wota isn't easy. There have been many times where I've faced criticism (both from those within the idol community and those outside it) or felt a little overwhelmed or even depressed (although those are more tied to my choice not to date...if my idol can't do it, why should I). But think of how our idols must have felt when they first started. The stress and difficulty they've faced over the years has to have been so much worse than anything most of us normally deal with, and yet they still always come out smiling for their fans. I personally feel that it's an honor to face these difficulties for my idol's sake, and I think any true wota can empathize with that. Put simply, my idol is worth it.

And on the subject of "WHAT IF I WANT TO LISTEN TO MORE THAN JUST ONE IDOL GROUP, I LIKE OTHER MUSIC TOO ;_____;"...if you want to listen to other idol music, I don't think that in and of itself does any real harm. But, at least for someone like me, that's something to avoid. I value my dedication enough to not listen to any other idol groups. Not because I fear that my dedication isn't strong enough...I just don't even want to take that chance at all. Of course, that's something that each person has to decide for themselves.

And in all seriousness, I don't want to upset anyone through this. I'd rather encourage people to consider what the purpose of idols REALLY is and whether the choices they've made, or are making, or may make in the future, are what's best for their idols. As for what that is specifically? I think you can gather an idea of that from what I've said here...but perhaps I'll do a post on that in the future...

- cfb

December 2009 Purchases

2010-01-17T14:45:00.002-05:00

And the last of it...

Heike Michiyo - Daikirai (8cm release)
Heike Michiyo - Dakedo Aishisugite (8cm release)
Nakazawa Yuko - Karasu no Nyoubou (8cm release)
Nakazawa Yuko - Odaiba Moonlight Serenade (8cm release)
Nakazawa Yuko - Junjou Koushinkyoku (8cm release)

Momusu - Summer Night Town (8cm release)
Momusu - Daite HOLD ON ME! (8cm release)
Momusu - Memory Seishun no Hikari (8cm release)
Momusu - Manatsu no Kousen (8cm release)
Momusu - Furusato (8cm release)

Matsuura Aya - T.W.O. RE (first press w/ box case & poster)
Berryz Koubou - Watashi no Mirai no Danna-Sama/Ryuusei Boy RE
Momusu - Naichau Kamo LE A (w/DVD)
Momusu - Naichau Kamo LE B (w/DVD)
Momusu - Ai Araba IT'S ALL RIGHT RE

Nakazawa Yuko - Genki no nai Hi Komoriuta/Nagaragawa no Hare RE
Nakazawa Yuko - DO MY BEST RE
Ichii Sayaka - Jinsei ga Mou Hajimatteru RE
Ichii Sayaka - Zutto Zutto RE
Ichii Sayaka - 4U ~Hitasura~ RE
Momusu - FIRST TIME RE
Nakazawa Yuko - Nakazawa Yuko Dai Isshou RE

Heike Michiyo - Teenage Dream RE
Heike Michiyo - One Room Natsu no Koi Monogatari RE
Heike Michiyo - Ai no Chikara RE
Heike Michiyo - Propose RE

Takahashi Ai - Alo-Hello
Takahashi Ai - Love-Hello
MiniMoni - Making of MiniMoni ja Movie ~Okashi na Daibouken!~
Momusu - Sore Yuke! Gorokkies ~Happy Life~

Quick Thoughts:
- This month includes my first 8cm CDs in the funny cases. I had originally not planned on buying any singles like that, but obviously that didn't last :P
- Aichan ;_;

- cfb

November 2009 Purchases

2010-01-17T14:42:00.004-05:00

And yet more stuff :P

Momusu - Shabondama LE (w/box case, cards & card holder)
Momusu - Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~ LE (w/cards & card clip)
Momusu - Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~ RE
Momusu - Roman ~MY DEAR BOY~ RE

Momusu - SEXY BOY ~Soyokaze ni Yorisotte~ RE
Momusu - Kanashimi Twilight LE A (w/DVD)
Momusu - Onna ni Sachi Are LE A (w/DVD)
Momusu - Pepper Keibu LE A (w/DVD)
V/A - Pucchi Best 10

Momusu - Renai Revolution 21 (vinyl release)
Momusu - Best! Morning Musume 1 (vinyl release)

Momusu - Kimagure Princess Single V
Momusu - Iroppoi Jirettai Event V
Momusu - Pepper Keibu Event V

V/A - Pucchi Best 10 DVD
H!P DVD Magazine Volume 10
Hello! Project 2009 Summer Kakumei Gannen ~Hello! Chanpuru~
Momusu DVD Magazine Vol 18
Momusu Alo-Hello

Quick Thoughts:
- I never thought I'd get the MM records for as cheap as I did. Of course, now that I have these two, I have to find LOVE Machine... >.>

- cfb

October 2009 Purchases

2010-01-17T14:39:00.004-05:00

Yup, more stuff. Sorry I got so far behind...been slacking something terrible lately x.x

Momusu - Coupling Collection LE (w/box case & photobook)
Momusu - Coupling Collection RE
Momusu - Kimagure Princess LE A (w/DVD)
Momusu - Kimagure Princess LE B (w/DVD)
Momusu - Kimagure Princess LE C (w/alternate covers)
Momusu - Kimagure Princess RE

Momusu - Shouganai Yume Oibito LE A (w/DVD)
Momusu - Mikan LE A (w/DVD)
V/A - Together!
Momusu - Egao Yes Nude RE
Momusu - Ambitious! Yashintenki de Ii Jan RE
Goto Maki - Secret LE (w/DVD)

Momusu - Green Live
Momusu - Concert Tour 2006 Haru ~Rainbow Seven~
Abe Natsumi - Deai

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September 2009 Purchases

2010-01-17T14:36:00.007-05:00

Changed my mind about the catchup post idea...doing one for each month, just for consistencies' sake.

Folk Songs 1
Folk Songs 4
Momusu - Sexy 8 Beat LE (w/DVD)
Goto Maki - SWEET BLACK LE (w/DVD & Booklet)

Momusu - Mikan LE B (w/box case & photobook)
Momusu - Kanashimi Twilight RE
Momusu - Iroppoi Jirettai LE (w/box case & cards)
Momusu - Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari RE
Momusu - Roman ~MY DEAR BOY~ LE (w/box case & posters)
Momusu - Resonant Blue LE B (w/DVD)

V/A - Pucchi Best 4 (w/ box case & doorknob sign)
Momusu - Ai no Dai 6kan RE (w/box case, photocard & poster)
Kusumi Koharu - Hapi*Hapi Sunday RE
Ichii Sayaka - Todoke! Koi no Telepathy RE

MM DVD Magazine Vol 8
MM DVD Magazine Vol 9
MM DVD Magazine Vol 11
MM DVD Magazine Vol 12
MM DVD Magazine Vol 13
MM DVD Magazine Vol 14
MM DVD Magazine Vol 15

H!P DVD Mag Vol 8
H!P DVD Mag Vol 9
Momusu - Shouganai Yume Oibito Event V

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Third HelloStore USA Batch

2010-01-13T23:15:00.004-05:00

A bit late on this (my stuff showed up at least two weeks ago x.x), but here it is...my purchases from HelloStore USA's first preorder "event".

Platinum 9 DISC Microfiber Towel - Ai Takahashi
Morning Musume - Nine Smile 2009 - Microfiber Towel - Ai Takahashi
Morning Musume - Nine Smile 2009 2L Photo Set C - Ai Takahashi
Morning Musume - Nine Smile 2009 2L Photo Set D - Ai Takahashi
Platinum 9 DISC Summer '09 Tour - 2L Photo Set 4 - Ai Takahashi
Platinum 9 DISC Summer '09 Tour - 2L Photo Set 5 - Ai Takahashi
Morning Musume - Nine Smile 2009 L Photo Set E (Group)
Morning Musume - Nine Smile 2009 L Photo Set F (Group)
Platinum 9 DISC Summer '09 Tour - L Photo Set 1 (Group)
Platinum 9 DISC Summer '09 Tour - L Photo Set 2 (Group)
Platinum 9 DISC Summer '09 Tour - L Photo Set 5 (Group)
Shouganai Yumeoibito Launch Event '09 - L Photo Set 1 (Group)
Shouganai Yumeoibito Launch Event '09 - L Photo Set 2 (Group)
Morning Musume - Nine Smile 2009 L Metallic Photo Set A (Group)
Morning Musume - Nine Smile 2009 L Metallic Photo Set B (Group)
Morning Musume - Nine Smile 2009 L Metallic Photo Set C (Group)
Morning Musume - Nine Smile 2009 L Metallic Photo Set D (Group)
Morning Musume - Nine Smile 2009 T-Shirt Part 2 - Ai Takahashi
Morning Musume DVD Magazine Vol. 28

Ai Takahashi - "ai" Photobook
Ai Takahashi - "Love Hello!" Photobook
Ai Takahashi - "Mizu" Photobook
Ai Takahashi - "Mou Hitotsu no Ai" Photobook
Ai Takahashi - "Watashi" Photobook

And the pictures laid out all pretty:

This was my biggest H!S order yet. And on that note, photobooks get expensive FAST ;_;
Totally worth it though~

Should have my big ol' purchases catchup post finished soon...I hope...
- cfb

H!P Merch List and Want List

2009-11-05T21:48:00.051-05:00

Realized that pages exist. -_-

New merch/want list is here.
- cfb

Second HelloStoreUSA Batch

2009-10-21T10:48:00.005-04:00

Yup, second batch of stuff from HelloStore. This was actually my 5th order, but orders 2-4 were pretty small (5 items between all of them), so I won't bother posting about them in detail here. BUT. I have to say, the metallic photo sets are VERY cool...kind of a subtle metallic sheen to them, definitely worth getting if you can. Anyway, on to to the stuff :P

This would be my spoils from the second "raid" of HelloStore, when all the the Nine Smile items went live.

And, once again, the photo sets all laid out:

And, as I mentioned in my previous HelloStore post...here's a couple pictures of my room at the moment:

Sorry for the big empty spot next to my Aichan mini-towels...I'm hoping to get ahold of an Aichan solo uchiwa to fill it, but until then...nothing.

Had to rig some stuff up kinda funny to hang the towels...but it gets the job done :D

So yeah, more fun times at HelloStoreUSA for cfb :P

Kimagure Princess Lyrics

2009-10-17T01:11:00.003-04:00

Yup...too lazy to even come up with a better title than that.

Anyway, just got done watching the Kimagure Princess PV with subs, and I have to say I'm quite pleased. From the second the song was released, it was obvious that the lyrics were talking about boobs and butts and so on (my knowledge of Japanese is good enough to at least have caught that much already, lol)...but the fully-translated lyrics didn't come off sleazy like I half-expected them to. The H!O torrent description and some people's reactions had me anticipating much worse, so I was quite relieved to see something that didn't turn me off.

Tsunku's developed a habit of writing lyrics for MM that are sung by the girls as a character...they're always quite obviously about the feelings of some person other than the girls themselves (then again, when are H!P lyrics EVER truly written from the idols' perspective :P). For example...in Naichau's case, the lyrics were actually about a SPECIFIC other girl. In the case of SYO through Kimagure...they were about some non-descript external character.

I like that. It allows some room for kind of risque lyrics without compromising the girls' image, and I think it gives MM the ability to gain a little of that 'edginess' that they have apparently been lacking (and therefore losing ground with potential new fans who like that sort of thing - myself, of course, not included. Although at this point I'm completely committed to MM, as long as their music is listenable and the PVs are watchable, I'll be happy...but that's a discussion for another post that will probably never happen). Some people may argue that Morning Musume "shouldn't do that" or "can't pull that off"...but hey, their loss if they don't want to enjoy the group. :P

On the whole, I think Kimagure Princess as a complete package (song, PV, lyrics) is pretty sexy and badass. Morning Musume looks to be moving in a smart direction image-wise...let's just hope the single sales follow through with my gut feelings about that.

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First Purchases From HelloStore USA

2009-10-08T23:38:00.006-04:00

I suppose it's pretty easy to guess what this post will be about from the title...

Anyway, this afternoon a package for me was delivered:

And, as expected, the contents were...

A wonderful assortment of Aichan and MM tour goods! :D

Here's the photosets all spread out:

These are basically the first concert goods I've ever bought (aside from the ones I obtained at AX and maybe 1 or 2 other items I got from friends), and I have to say that I'm enjoying them more than I thought I would. I'm sure part of that is because, as a wota, I've recently begun supporting Aichan almost exclusively...so getting photos and towels and so on of her is a great feeling. It's nice to be surrounded by the idol you love ^^ I'm especially surprised at how addictive collecting photos is...and now I just have to find an album or two to put them all in XD I'll throw together another post or something once I get all the towels hung up.

Anyway...overall a great first experience with HelloStore, and I look forward to continuing to buy from them.

Keep it up, JapanFiles!
- cfb

August 2009 Purchases

2009-10-07T12:49:00.007-04:00

Yup, over a full month late on this one. Life has been crazy, sorry folks x.x

Momusu - Best! Morning Musume 2 LE (w/box case & pin)
Momusu - No. 5 LE (w/box case, booklet & poster)
Kusumi Koharu - Kirarin*Land LE (w/box case, DVD & card)
V/A - Champloo 1 ~Happy Marriage Song Cover Shuu~

Nanchatte Renai LE A (w/DVD)
Nanchatte Renai LE B (w/DVD)
Nanchatte Renai RE
Nanchatte Renai 40th Single Kinenban

Momusu - Onna ni Sachi Are RE
Momusu - Aruiteru LE (w/DVD)
Momusu - Shouganai Yume Oibito LE B (w/DVD)
Melon Kinenbi - Namida no Taiyou
Melon Kinenbi - Nikutai wa Shoujiki na EROS
Melon Kinenbi - Champagne no Koi

H!P DVD Magazine Vol 4
H!P DVD Magazine Vol 12
H!P DVD Magazine Vol 14
Momusu DVD Magazine Vol 6
Momusu DVD Magazine Vol 7
Momusu DVD Magazine Vol 20

Momusu - Eizou The Morning Musume 3 ~Single M Clips~
Momusu - Eizou The Morning Musume 5 ~Single M Clips~
Momusu - Resonant Blue Single V
Momusu - Roman ~MY DEAR BOY~ Event V

Momusu - Concert Tour 2007 Aki ~Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! BOMB~
Momusu - Concert Tour 2008 Haru ~Single Daizenshuu~
Momusu - Concert Tour 2008 Aki ~Resonant Live~

Quick thoughts:
- Kirarin*Land is so amazing. Anyone who doesn't like Koharu's solo stuff is seriously missing out.
- I like the Champloo Marriage Songs album wayyy more than I thought I would. Nice surprise ^^
- I've essentially listened to Nanchatte Renai at least once every day since it was released. I get the feeling Kimagure Princess will be much the same. :P
- Lots of DVD Magazines, working my way toward all of them. It's a long and expensive road x.x
- One more Event V in my H!P DVD collection. I love getting these things, such unique additions. :D
- I've completed the concert DVD discography for MM's current lineup. Can't wait for Nine Smile to come out though~

- cfb

Happy birthday Aichan!!!

2009-09-14T09:28:00.004-04:00

Our favorite leader turned 23 today!

Her hard work and dedication as a member of Morning Musume has become a real inspiration for me and I can always count on her to lift my spirits...so here's to what was hopefully a great birthday and to many more! Happy birthday Aichan~

- cfb

Nanchatte Renai World Collage Project

2009-08-18T12:01:00.009-04:00

^ click! ^

Wanted to take the time to pimp an awesome fan project that's going on right now. Basically the idea is to show Morning Musume/UFA/Tsunku that we fans outside of Asia really love Momusu (directed at the girls) and are giving them monetary support (directed at UFA/Tsunku) by taking pictures with our copies of Nanchatte Renai. For anyone who wants to see Morning Musume in America again (or wants to see them somewhere closer to wherever you may happen to live in the world), I think this is an excellent opportunity to do something proactive toward that cause (and if you haven't bought Nanchatte Renai yet...the deadline to send in your pic is September 19th, so there's still time!).

Also, for anyone who collects H!P CDs/DVDs/photobooks/concert goods/whatever, this is your chance to shine! Take a picture with all your H!P stuff...be creative, set it all out on the floor and lay down on it or something, I don't know. XD This is a really great way to demonstrate how dedicated we all are, and how much time (and money) we put toward supporting these girls...so come on people, let's send in those pics!

Here's mine (not terribly creative, I know, but I couldn't think of a good way to display it all aside from this...there's really not enough room x.x):

(sorry about hiding my face, haha...didn't do that in the pic I sent in, I'm just not totally comfortable posting a picture of myself on my blog :P)

Details for the project here (or click on the banner at the top of this post).
- cfb

July 2009 Purchases

2009-08-13T20:37:00.002-04:00

Said I'd post this within a few days a couple entries ago...obviously didn't happen, sorry about that.

Nacchi - 2nd ~Shimiwataru Omoi~ LE (w/box case & photo sheets)
Pucchi Best 7
Gomaki - Suppin to Namida
Koharu - Balalaika RE
Momusu - Egao YES Nude LE (w/photobook)
Momusu - Aruiteru LE (w/photobook)

MM DVD Magazine Vol 1
MM DVD Magazine Vol 2
MM DVD Magazine Vol 4
MM DVD Magazine Vol 5
MM DVD Magazine Vol 10

H!P DVD Magazine Vol 1
H!P DVD Magazine Vol 2
Momusu Concert Tour 2009 Haru ~Platinum 9 DISCO~
Michishige Sayumi - 20's Time
Pepper Keibu Single V
2002 Shuffles Single V

Morning Musume in Hello!Project 2004 Summer

Quick thoughts:
- I love Aichan's solo song on Pucchi Best 7. I've only begun to discover recently just how great her voice really is.
- The photobook that came with Aruiteru LE is really, really nice. Reina especially caught my eye.
- Obviously there's a lot of DVD Magazines here...and that would be because I've decided to start collecting them. Momusu and H!P only though, no solo artists or other units.
- Platinum 9 Disco is an absolutely incredible concert. The current lineup of MM really knows how to put on a show, and their live vocals are, for the most part, very solid.
- 20's Time was adorable and awesome. Definitely recommend this one to anybody with an interest in Sayu, the kickboxing bit was especially funny.
- Lots of cute, tiny rokkies in the Momusu live photobook. The copy I ended up with is a little beat up...but it was cheap, so I don't mind.

- cfb

Nanchatte Sales Ranking Observations

2009-08-11T23:39:00.004-04:00

I've been keeping a pretty close eye on amazon.co.jp's and cdjapan's hourly rankings for jpop CDs since about 3AM on the 12th Japan time...figured I might as well make a quick post of my observations.

cdjapan (10-item chart):
Both non-limited versions have at least been ranking since I started checking.
Nanchatte 40th has been at #1 pretty much all day (I believe Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra outranked them for a little bit at the beginning, but after that it's been #1 all along).
RE has fluctuated wildly between 2nd and 9th or so, I believe.

Amazon (25-item chart):
As with cdjapan, both non-limited versions have at least ranked the entire time.
40th has been at 5th all day.
RE has been shifting between 9th and 15th.

The big thing to remember (especially with amazon's numbers) is that these charts include preorders...taking that into account, 40th has actually been at #1 for non-preorder releases on amazon all day. And while I haven't researched this extensively (see: at all :P), I'm pretty sure that the 40th and RE versions of Nanchatte are at #1 and #2 respectively on both site's charts for today's releases (actually, there may not even be any notable competition for the top spot at all today...I'd have no idea since I don't keep track of anything but H!P releases, haha [EDIT: so I'm apparently insane and thought Ayu's new single came out on the 14th, nvm about the 'no notable competition' thing XD]).

Obviously we'll know how well the single really did on its first day in about 12 hours or so (I would think that Oricon releases its sales charts for a given day at midnight on the next day, or shortly thereafter), but I put this post together for those who may be curious as to how the single is selling on two big-name sites in the business of selling Japanese music online.

Another thing to note: Nanchatte Renai is already at #1 on the pop ranking for JapanFiles, way to go people! :D

And for anybody who wants to see the charts for themselves:
cdjapan
amazon.co.jp

Ganbare Momusu~
- cfb

Updated Collection Pics

2009-08-05T00:11:00.002-04:00

Just took these pics for something real quick, figured I might as well post them here.

Not the greatest quality pics, but whatever.

Expect July's purchases post in the next few days :P
- cfb

Yatta!

2009-07-22T16:26:00.002-04:00

:D

Just picked it up from the frame shop. I can say, without the slightest bit of doubt, that this is my most prized possession. Worth every bit of money spent on the plane flight, the hotel room...and, of course, the frame. :P

Life is good! ;D
- cfb

May/June 2009 Purchases

2009-07-16T18:00:00.003-04:00

Very, VERY late on the May merch, and not exactly on time for the June stuff either...but Anime Expo's done now (T-T), so I should be back in full operating order soon enough. :P

May

Momusu - SEXY BOY ~Soyokaze ni Yorisotte LE (w/box case & cards)
Momusu - Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari LE (w/box case & cards)
Momusu - Shouganai Yume Oibito RE
Berryz Koubou - Dakishimete Dakishimete RE
Buono! - MY BOY LE (w/DVD)
Maeda Yuki - Ai Ai Daiko RE

Momusu - Concert Tour 2004 Spring Best of Japan DVD Pamphlet
Kusumi Koharu - Koi Kana Single V
Buono! - MY BOY Single V

June

Morning Musume Early Single Box
Nakazawa Yuko - Tokyo Bijin
Berryz Koubou - Seishun Bus Guide/Rival RE
Matsuura Aya - Sougen no Hito RE
Morning Musume - Shouganai Yume Oibito Single V
Hello! Project 2009 Winter Wonderful Hearts Koen ~Kakumei Gannen~ / Elder Club Koen ~Thank you for your LOVE!~ Concert DVD

Quick Thoughts:
- Shouganai Yume Oibito is AMAZING, and 3,2,1 BREAKIN' OUT! somehow manages to be even better. Momusu is seriously rocking my world right now.
- Ai Ai Daiko is somehow one of the most intense songs in all of H!P...and it was released by freaking Maeda Yuki. XD Awesome.
- I got a really good deal on the Momusu Early Single Box...and with that, I only need 3 more CDs (one of which is already on the way, and another I'm bidding on right now XD) to complete Momusu's discography, not including the weird remix stuff or the early vinyl releases or anything like that.

I'm considering doing weekly or bi-weekly merch posts instead of monthly ones, and including more of my thoughts on the stuff I've bought as well. We shall see... :P

Until next time,
- cfb

Happy Birthday Sayu!

2009-07-12T11:48:00.004-04:00

Here's to 20 more sickeningly adorable years! :D

Momusu at AX! (Part 6)

2009-07-09T18:00:00.091-04:00

Alright...some final thoughts on my time at AX, and how I feel that it has affected myself and the community. And yes, I know I sound crazy at some points, but I don't care. Momusu high, baby! :D

The first thing I must say is that Momusu's current lineup has completely won me over, although I think it was more a circumstantial victory than one of pure merits. It's one thing to see an artist you love perform live for the first time and be able to greet them in person. Of course I'm going to come out of that experience with an even greater appreciation for said artist...anyone attending their first concert for one of their favorite artists will gain at least that. But this was a special case...having the opportunity to see the members of Morning Musume interact with their English-speaking fanbase for the first time, and seeing Momusu's reactions to our excitement upon finally being given the opportunity to show our love......words cannot express how that makes me feel (this is going to sound a little silly, but I'm getting a little teary-eyed even as I type this XD). I left the weekend with such an unbelievable high, and I can't help but associate Momusu's current lineup with that rush of emotions. It is no surprise, then, that I come out of Anime Expo more passionate about the 9 current members of Morning Musume than I have ever been about anything else before in my life, let alone my previous favorites in H!P...and yes, that does mean that Miki has been surpassed** (I suppose it was bound to happen eventually :P).

There is a specific moment from my 5 days in LA that stands out to me. At the Q&A Panel after the introductions, the translator started with the question "how do you welcome (the fan's) craziness/excitement", which was directed at leader Takahashi Ai. She started to answer the question, then paused for a moment, looking out at those attending the panel...then she smiled and waved, saying "hi everybody!" in Japanese, and everyone in the crowd cheered and waved and went crazy in response. That moment...with this girl, whom we had only been able to adore from afar on our computer and TV screens, sitting right in there in front of our eyes, in the same room as us, waving to us in person...and finally being able to wave back at her and cheer for her and show her how we all feel...it felt like a huge wall between the girls and the fans had been demolished. That memory really opens up the emotional floodgates for me, and I have my doubts that anything could ever beat how I feel when I think back on that.

And it was moments like that which caused me to come out of AX with a completely rehauled understanding of the wota/idol relationship. Sadly, I wasn't able to make it to either of the first two autograph sessions, so I got very little of the one-on-one communication that some fans had the priviledge of experiencing (not to say that I don't appreciate the rushed experience I had at the third session - being just a table's width away from Momusu and being able to greet each member face-to-face is something I'll never forget). Still, hearing how enthusiastic the girls were at the first two sessions from those who attended - and seeing Momusu's enthusiasm at the Q&A and concert - has pretty well squashed any suspicions I ever had of the girls resenting their fans. It is clear to me now that the girls (or, at least, the current members of Morning Musume) adore their fans almost as much as the average fan does them, and knowing that only makes me want to support them more...which is why I came out of the third session fairly agitated at how poorly it seemed to have been handled. By the end of my time at AX, I was more concerned about whether the girls' experience was a good one than I was about my own. XD

That dynamic - the kind of support system between wota and idol - has now become a large part of the allure of H!P for me. In fact, almost immediately after attending the third autograph session (Momusu's last event at AX), I was ready for them to come back so I could do a better job of showing my support...say more to them at the autograph session/handshake event/meet & greet/whatever, learn the chants better for the concert, wear an official Japanese t-shirt of my favorite member instead of the one being sold at AX (not to say that I dislike that t-shirt, it's actually really awesome...but I'd like to make myself stand out a little more :P), and so on. I hope other fans left AX with the same drive and inspiration that I gained, because it will make H!P's next appearance in the West all that much better. :)

I also have to say that Momusu's appearance at AX was not only an incredibly enjoyable and enlightening event, but also a rewarding one. Anyone who has seen my collection (or keeps an eye on my blog :P) knows that I buy a LOT of H!P stuff (as do a decent number of other H!P fans who are capable of throwing money around like that). As a fan outside of Japan (or even in Japan, for that matter XD), what better way is there to ensure the continued success of the girls you love than to give money to the company that manages them? (and to anyone who disagrees - sorry, but when it comes down to it, idols are all about turning a profit...sad but true :P) And, of course, we all created communities and wrote about H!P in our blogs and made a general ruckus about our love for these girls. So when it was announced that Morning Musume would be coming to Anime Expo, it felt as if all the time and money and efforts of English-speaking fans had finally born fruit. We were being rewarded for our dedication (some of us for dedication lasting nearly a decade or more o.o), and I knew from the first day it was announced that I wasn't going to miss this reward - the opportunity to see Morning Musume perform live and show them our support in person - for the world.

I also want to take this time to apologize for my previous selfishness as a fan. Until it was announced that Momusu would be at AX, I had been pretty strongly opposed to the idea of H!P's movement to the West. I felt that, if H!P became more easily accessible in the West, it would take away from the unique niche aspect of it, which has always been important to me in my hobbies. Even after deciding I was going, I justified my trip to LA by saying it was an excuse to see the girls, not because I wanted to contribute to their success in the English-speaking world. I realized after attending AX, and especially after attending Hello!Party, that we have created a really amazing community around these girls, and that it's actually quite nice having a large group of fans to commune over a common passion with (who'da thunk it? :P).

And since we're on the subject, I'd like to say that we as a fanbase should work together and keep our focus on what matters. While I'm all up for a little forum pride (I bought a Hello!Online t-shirt...even though I basically never post there XD), the real reason we came together in Los Angeles wasn't to promote ourselves or the communities we've created...it was to show our support for Morning Musume. I think the biggest potential resource for a fanbase as large and enthusiastic as ours is the ability to join together as one and really blow the girls away, for lack of a better phrase. It was obvious at the panel (where I heard that almost the entire room was full...? can anyone confirm this?) that the members of Morning Musume were amazed at how many of us there were and how much noise we were able to make. XD The same stands for the concert...in this interview, Risa said "We didn’t imagine there would be so many people, it was a little overwhelming". And it was so much easier to overwhelm the girls like that when, during the panel and the concert, we all forgot about which forums we normally post on, or how some of us may not like the way a particular community approaches the fandom, or whatever, and just put all our energy into showing the girls how much we love them.

I'm not trying to criticize anyone here...I think everyone from all the different forums and whatnot got along just fine throughout AX, from what I saw. But I present this idea as food for thought...what if, instead of wearing t-shirts at AX promoting the forums we post on, people had worn t-shirts of their favorite members like the Japanese fans do? Now, obviously there were fans who did this for the concert and the panel...but I'm talking about the rest of the convention, when some of us had the opportunity to talk to non-fans (or even members of the press or the people who will decide if Momusu comes to the West again - staff from JapanFiles, UFA, etc). I think it would have been even better if, instead of saying "oh, my t-shirt? it's for the forum I go to, it's awesome, you should check it out", people could have said "oh, my t-shirt? it's for my favorite member of Morning Musume, she's awesome, I wanted to show my support". I'm sure this all sounds a little cheesy...but I think coming off as an enthusiastic fan is more important than trying to get more people to look at your website. If interest in the group is there, people will find places to talk about them. I don't think any English-language H!P-centric forums are struggling for members right now. :P

Anyway, enough preaching. I'll make my plea short and say that attending AX (and Hello!Party) has shown me how valuable a unified community is in creating an enjoyable experience for everyone...and for showing the girls that we love them just as much as any other fanbase and, hence, showing UFA that we are just as valid - and as much of a cashcow - as any other fanbase. I think it would do everyone a lot of good to at least consider the option of some kind of primary hub for the members of all the different forums and communities and so on to get together...even if it's only to plan for special events (such as, say...Momusu's potential next appearance in the US? :P). Because I think we could make an even bigger impact on whoever UFA may decide to bring over next (and, of course, on UFA itself) if we can organize ourselves as one single entity working together for a common cause instead of multiple entities all trying to do the same thing separately. (hopefully that all made sense, I'm obviously still organizing my thoughts on this :P)

Regardless of what I just said, I am truly grateful to everyone in the H!P community for doing such a great job of showing their support to the girls during their time in LA. I went into AX expecting great things, and somehow the events that transpired during my time there managed to exceed my expectations and a lot more. I think both Morning Musume and UFA now know full well just how powerful of a force we are in the world of H!P fans, and I would be shocked if we don't see another H!P group on US soil within the next few years. The only thing I would like to ask is that everyone who is able to buy things from HelloStore USA (whenever it opens :P) please do so, as that's going to be the best resource we have to show UFA that we want things like Momusu's appearance at AX to keep happening in the future.

And to JapanFiles and UFA (whether they end up reading this or not :P)...thank you so, so much for taking the time out of Morning Musume's busy schedule to fly them over here for our sake, and allowing us the opportunity to spend some time with them at Anime Expo. I really can't say enough to express my gratitude, and I'm sure other fans feel the same way. I earnestly look forward to (hopefully) being able to see other H!P acts here again.

- cfb

**Most people who know me are aware that I've been a big fan of Fujimoto Miki for a while now (a little over a year, actually). And as I'm sure most of you know, she announced her marriage to Shouji Tomoharu a few months ago, which made it tough for me to continue on as a fan of hers (it's extremely difficult to be a wota when the girl you like is no longer an idol D:). It is fitting, then, that while Miki was getting married (literally...Miki's wedding and the Momusu concert occurred on the same day O.O), I was at Anime Expo enjoying the greatest week of my life and having my heart stolen by Morning Musume. And to be honest...even though I went into AX with no intention of giving up the Miki love, I'm glad it happened that way because it allowed me to move on from her quickly and painlessly. (sorry to all my Mikitty fan friends! x.x) Through this, I've discovered that the world is a much cheerier place for a wota when the girl(s) you're into are actually still idols. XD

...also, some of you may have noticed that I have yet to post a picture of my signed Momusu poster on here. I'll be posting it eventually, I just want to get it framed first. Don't panic, people, it'll happen in due time! :P

Momusu at AX! (Part 5)

2009-07-09T16:12:00.007-04:00

Alright, pretty sure this is the second to last AX entry for me. Regular readers of my blog should be familiar with this...it's the swag post! :P

First up...things I bought from the H!P booth in the exhibition hall.

- In the upper left is what H!P's booth was calling the "Morning Musume Visual Book", or something to that effect. I'm pretty sure it's actually the Platinum 9 Disco tour pamphlet, and there are some awesome pictures of the girls in this one. :)
- Hangry & Angry - Kill Me Kiss Mini-Album
- Platinum 9 Disco Wristband
- "Morning Musume In USA" t-shirt (this was sadly the only Momusu t-shirt they had at the booth...bad planning on their part, as I know lots of people - myself included - would have bought more if they had them O.o)
- 2 Morning Musume photo sets

The two pictures below are the contents of what was called the "Morning Musume Happy Set". For $60, you got 5 randomly selected items (I think they were mostly tour pamphlets and the like, although I heard you could get a towel if you were lucky), 2 randomly selected photo sets, and a bag to hold it all.

- Everyone got the same bag, which was from Momusu's 2008 Autumn concert tour, Resonant Live. It's honestly a little flimsy, but cool nonetheless.
- I got the following pamphlets:

H!P DVD Magazine Vol 11 Making Photo Book
H!P DVD Magazine Vol 4 Making Photo Book
Morning Musume First Concert Concert Hello! Tour Pamphlet
Hello!Project 2007 Summer 10th Anniversary Dai Kanshasai ~Hello!Project Natsu Matsuri!~ Tour Pamphlet
Hello!Project Wonderful Hearts 2006 Winter Tour Pamphlet

- 2 randomly selected Morning Musume photo sets

And this is stuff I got from other H!P fans over the course of the week.

- There was a guy selling DVDs at Hello!Party, and that's where I got all of these:

Making of Sugao no 17sai
Hello! Project 2005 Natsu no Kayou Show -'05 Selection! Collection!- Concert DVD
Tokkaekko (HILARIOUS movie, I was so excited when he actually had it XD)
Morning Musume Edokko Chusingura Musical
HELP!! Acchii Chikyuu wa Samasunda Musical

- Mikan RE (traded a copy of Risako's photobook Ring3 for this with Wendy...obviously I got the short end of the deal, but Wendy is cool so it's all good :D)
- Kamei Eri Hatachi photobook (this is the one those Japanese fans were selling an In-n-Out on Sunset Blvd XD)

Not a bad haul, if I do say so myself. My only regret is not grabbing some of the other DVDs the guy at Hello!Party was selling (he had Vol 3 of Futarigoto and the MiniMoni movie, amongst other oddities XD).

Probably going to do one more post with some final thoughts and a summary of what I gained from my time in LA.　お楽しみに！

Momusu at AX! (Part 4)

2009-07-09T01:47:00.008-04:00

Even more continuation of the greatest weekend ever. Sorry for any lack of details or people I leave out...it's all kind of a blur, especially the first couple days.

Saturday
Alright, so...on Friday at the concert, somehow I managed to lose my autograph voucher. D: I was keeping it in my badge holder, so I'm sure it fell out while I was jumping and so forth. The night before, at Hello!Party, maiZe actually got ahold of an extra voucher to give to me, but I was already kind of on the fence between attending the Tsunku panel or the second autograph session, so I denied the voucher, claiming that fate had decided I was going to the Tsunku panel or something. Well...I woke up Saturday morning and realized the horrible mistake I had made. I've always been the type who thought that just buying autographs was stupid, and if you're going to have an autograph you should get it in person...and here I was blocking myself from what would likely be the only opportunity I would ever have to do this with FREAKING MORNING MUSUME!!! D: So when I got to the convention center around 8:15AM, I made a mad dash for the autograph session line in hopes that OpsMonkey still had the extra ticket (maiZe ended up just giving it to him, saying he should give it to someone who doesn't have one)...but he had already given it away. T-T So I was feeling pretty bummed about essentially shooting myself in the foot, obviously.

Anyway, at that point I decided to take my seat in the Tsunku panel, which actually made me feel a little better...the crowd wasn't nearly as large as at the Momusu panel, but everyone seemed much more serious and focused as they waited. I could tell this was going to be a good Q&A session...and it most certainly was. All the questions were good, the answers even better, and everyone was very professional, for the most part...it was really satisfying to see The Man Himself getting the respect he deserved. :P Once it finished, I actually felt that missing the autograph opportunity was pretty well worth it.

There were plans for a wotachat/IW photo to be taken around noon on Saturday, and at this point it was about 10:15, so I went and sat down in the planned meeting spot until everyone started showing up...but, of course, as I sat and looked over the purchases I had made in the last day or so (some video games, actually...I got all the H!P stuff I wanted on Thursday :P), the regret of missing my chance for autographs snuck back up on me. After a bit, some wotachatters started showing up for the picture...and as we were waiting for everyone else to arrive, I started babbling about how I wished I could have gotten autographs. When Amy heard this, she told me she had a ticket for the guaranteed autograph session that afternoon that she could give me. : O So I had a little conniption fit (ask any of the people I've mentioned in these entries...they can confirm, I was kind of flipping out XD), called my roommate and begged him to bring me the poster I bought but left in the hotel room (which he did, thank you roomie <3), participated in the wotachat picture, and made my way to the autograph session.

They were holding the session in the back of the exhibition hall, so Amy, CK, Paul and I all made our way to where the line was forming. They weren't allowing people to line up past a certain point, so we had to kind of camp out at a table nearby until enough space cleared up at the end of the line for us to jump in...then the nerve-wracking process of waiting in line began. I had a few people come up to me and ask what we were all in line for, and I just kind of flashed my voucher and said "Morning Musume autographs". One of them was this girl and her dad, and after I answered them, they continued walking and I heard the dad ask "You wanna get an autograph?", obviously trying to do something nice for her. CK and I just kind of looked at each other and quietly said "Yeah, good luck with that". XD

Anyway, the line actually moved fairly quickly, and before I knew it I was in the curtained-off area with Morning Musume sitting right there in front of my eyes. O.O There was a line of 5 or 6 people between myself and the table, and JunJun (who was at the end) actually didn't have anyone in front of her for a little while when I walked in. She was practically looking right at me, and I could have waved at her, but I wimped out. T-T (nervousness will do that to you, haha) Also, Sayu was next to her (I think), and she seemed to be zoning out a little bit...I'm sure she was tired. D:

Anyway, Reina was first up when I got to the table. I greeted her with a simple 'konnichiwa', to which she responded with the same and a quick smile, then proceeded to write out her very long-winded and detailed (and cute :3) autograph...I remember it being kind of awkward as I waited patiently for her to complete her masterpiece...it took so long. XD When she finished, I said a simple 'arigatou gozaimasu', which she returned before passing the poster along.

Then came LinLin. Now, I have to make a quick deviation here and say that LinLin COMPLETELY won me over throughout the course of AX. When maiZe, Joh and I were lucky enough to catch Momusu walking in for opening ceremonies on Thursday, LinLin seemed to be the only member who didn't look totally bewildered (in fact, she looked really happy to be there, latched onto Ai-chan's arm just chatting away <3). And the fact that she spoke English throughout the Q&A panel and a lot of the concert really impressed me. Plus she's such a goofball, and she was all smiles whenever I saw her at the events. <3 As such, sometime during the week I decided that I would let her know she was my favorite if I made it to an autograph session. ANYWAY, I greeted LinLin with a plain 'konnichiwa' (just like Reina, and every other member at the session :P), which she repeated back. As she was signing I said a quick 'daisuki desu' , and she looked up and said "arigatou!" to me with a quick smile before going back to finish her autograph ('daisuki desu' obviously doesn't have exactly the same meaning as "you're my favorite", but I didn't want to say that so bluntly with the other members there, even if they may be used to it - LinLin's definitely at the top of my list, but I like all the other members too much to just blatantly say "yeah, I like her more than you" :P). Once she finished, I said a quick 'arigatou gozaimasu' and received the same from her, then she passed to the next member.

After LinLin was Ai. A quick observation...while all the members were wearing red sparkly dresses (they looked like concert outfits to me), Ai was also wearing this cute little jacket. I think it was kind of a thin windbreaker, leopard-print...and it had little black cat ears on the hood, which she had pulled over her head. It was adorable! XD (EDIT: pic here ...okay, so maybe it's not exactly cat ears...and actually, it turns out that all the members were wearing that outfit...oh for pete's sake, Morning Musume was RIGHT THERE, I'm lucky to remember anything at all XD) Anyway, I remember that she was fairly straight-faced throughout the whole thing, except for a quick smile during the exchange of 'konnichiwa' and 'arigatou gozaimasu'.

I greeted Risa in the same manner as LinLin, Reina, and Ai, and thanked her the same as well...but when Risa was done signing her autograph, the next girl was still finishing up hers. There was kind of this awkward moment as Risa and I had to wait, then she said a quick something about my Japanese...either that it was good (my accent isn't bad, I suppose...so it's possible XD), or just acknowledging the fact that I was using Japanese, I don't exactly remember...regardless, I managed to stutter a quick "a-arigatou" in response as I made my way to the next member. :P

Now Aika REALLY impressed me here. I've never been a huge fan of hers (before this, I always kind of deviated between thinking she's good and only okay), but she had so much energy and spunk here that I couldn't help but be charmed by her. She gave me a big smile when she said 'konnichiwa' back, and a very enthusiastic 'arigatou gozaimasu!' when I thanked her after she finished. What a cutie pie. :)

I don't remember much of anything about Eri, other than the fact that I said 'konnichiwa' and 'arigatou gozaimasu' to her and she smiled and said each back, just like with all the other girls. D:

I also can't remember exactly which order Koharu and Sayumi were in...I believe I saw Sayu next to JunJun when I first walked in, and JunJun was definitely last in line, so we'll say Koha was first.

Honestly, Koharu was kind of short with me. D: Somehow I hesitated and didn't greet her when she received the poster, and she didn't really say anything either...just quickly signed. I did remember to say 'arigatou gozaimasu' when she finished though, and I'm fairly certain she said that as well before passing the poster on.

When I got to Sayu, she actually said "hiiii" to me before I had the chance to say anything, so I just skipped the Japanese and said "hiii" back. She was quick when she finished as well, and ended up saying "thank youuu" to me before I could thank her, so I just said "thank youu" back as she passed the poster on. XD I have to note that her English was adorable here. <3

And last but not least, JunJun...who I sadly remember absolutely nothing about. D: I know I greeted her the same as everyone else, and I'm sure she was perfectly cheery...but that's as much as I can muster. I feel bad neglecting one of the pandas like that. D:

After the autograph session finished, I wandered out into the exhibition hall (holding my poster like it was more precious than my life...which, by the way, it is :P), where they had a bunch of tables set up in a corner with people just kind of resting and waiting around and so on. I'm sure a lot of them just got their autographs and were waiting for the session to finish so they could see the girls leave, but I just waited for CK and Paul Thomas so we could make our way out of the exhibition hall to meet up with Amy and Kirarin*Snow, who got their autographs shortly before we did. There was probably a good hour of time here spent standing and chatting in the South Hall lobby as we waited for people to finish up what they were doing and discussed dinner plans. I got to meet Mozenator during this, which was cool...he seemed like a really nice guy. We ended up with a group consisting of CK, Kirarin*Snow, Amy, Rocky, Joh, maiZe, Paul Thomas, Mozenator and myself, I believe. This was also when Amy and Rocky made their final leave, which was sad. D: Shortly after the Nugget Twins left, so did K and Mozenator (D:)...then CK, Joh, maiZe and I wandered off to a quieter area of the con to sit down and talk. Shortly after that, Joh and maiZe had to leave (D:)...so CK and I met up with OpsMonkey to wait for Paul Thomas (who had to leave for his final meeting with the folks at JapanFiles), and we sat and talked for a while as well. Once Paul finished taking care of his business, we made our way to Lawry's Carvory (recommended by CK - you rock dude), where I had the best sandwich I've ever eaten, not even joking (prime rib sandwich w/au jus and chips...$15, but worth every penny).

After dinner, we all headed to the Westin Bonaventure to hang out with Paul and some of his friends at a bar over there, which was hilarious...although CK left after a few minutes to take care of some things. Ops and I ended up checking out the 'official AX party', which was TERRIBLE (dark room, strobe lights, people with lots of glowsticks and no dance skills, crappy house music, and a very loud and annoying DJ), which took up no more than 30 seconds of our time, then we headed back to the bar for some more good times. A little while after that, Ops and I headed back to his hotel so I could leech off his internet for one last night, then at about 3:30AM (x.x) I walked back to my hotel and crashed for the night.

Still more AX post(s) to come...

Momusu at AX! (Part 3)

2009-07-07T22:20:00.012-04:00

More continuation of the greatest weekend ever. Sorry for any lack of details or people I leave out...it's all kind of a blur, especially the first couple days.

Friday
I woke up fairly early and got to the convention center around 9:30 to meet up with Amy and Rocky (the nugget twins :3)...although I actually ended up meeting up with CK for a little while before they showed up. We sat and chatted in the food court in the West Hall lobby until around 10 or so, at which point he ran off to the exhibition hall to meet someone. Shortly after that, Amy and Rocky arrived, and after they got through badge pickup we ran into Joh and maiZe, shortly followed by Ops (who I hated at the time, since he got to go to the GoH breakfast...bastard) and Paul. After that, I went to the tabletop gaming room to meet up with some fellow wotachatters and talked for a while, then went with Joh to drop our bags off at bag check-in and headed to the concert.

I actually ended up with really good seats for the concert (I would hope so, considering how long my roommates and I waited in line on Wednesday to get our tickets :P)...5 rows back on the right side of the stage, with a perfect view of the girls. :D Anyway, I'll go ahead and write a quick snippet about each song/MC.
Mikan - This has become my favorite Momusu song, no doubt. So great live, and a perfect opener for the show. I get pumped whenever I hear it now.
3,2,1 BREAKIN' OUT - I loved this song from the first time I heard it, and I've been listening to it a LOT since Shouganai was released. Finally getting to hear it live was so unbelievably exciting, I could barely contain myself. XD (then again, the whole concert was like that :P)
MC - I loved all the adorable engrish (and the adorable Japanese, actually :P). I want to beam about all of their MCs individually, but it would just be me repeating what they said and being like "awwwwwwwwwww : 3". So I'll just say that every girl was super cute, JunJun & LinLin's English was VERY impressive ("no borders to music"? hot damn JunJun, that's some deep stuff), and Ai-chan sounds WAY hot speaking English, even if it's totally broken. XD
Shouganai Yume Oibito - For some reason this song registered in my head as Naichau Kamo when they performed it. O.o Sometimes I get a little too caught up in the music, I guess? I don't know, I'm a terrible fan or something :P
HOW DO YOU LIKE JAPAN? - I flipped when this song started...I would NEVER have expected them to perform it and I love this song, so I was ecstatic. The song was practically written for concerts, with all the "jump! jump! come on!" stuff, and it's so high-energy.
Resonant Blue - I've always been kind of neutral on this song. Even so, it was awesome when the bridge came along and everyone cheered for the dance...cause that dance kicks ass. :D
MC - All their little "yayyyyyyy"s were so cute. XD
Medley - Definitely my favorite part of the concert. Kind of wishing people had kept quiet during I WISH (it's a quiet song people, follow suit! :P), but I couldn't help getting a little teary-eyed when the pace picked up (even listening to the recording now... T-T). Words cannot even begin to describe how overjoyed I was when they performed Happy Summer Wedding, my eyes teared up even more when this song started. T____T Koi no Dance Site is another of my favorites, and it was so much fun doing the dance moves, even if I don't know them perfectly. XD Souda! We're Alive made me want to cry like a little girl, especially when the chorus came along...seriously one of the most uplifting, and unexpected, choruses in all of H!P. T-T I have a friend who's WAY too into The*Peace, so I'm honestly a little tired of it...but still, it was a lot of fun to do the peace signs and so forth with everyone. XD And it made me so happy when they did the monologue live, even if it wasn't Rika. :D Renai Revolution 21 is another song that isn't a particular favorite of mine, so I wasn't all excited compared to the rest of the concert when they performed it...although it was still fun to try and do the dance moves (and fail :P).
MC - I want to take this time to say that Gaki is ADORABLE during MCs. Always. Also, I had no idea what Eri was saying here for the most part...and I don't think anyone else did either, haha. XD
Love Machine - This song is so awesome live, mainly because of the "fu fu fu" and "woo woo" and whatnot, since everybody knows those and most of the major dance moves. Audience participation ftw :D
Sono Bamen de Bibiccha Ikenai Jan! - I've always really liked this song (more than Resonant Blue, by a long shot :P), so of course I was pumped when they performed it. :P
Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou? - Really wish people would have kept quiet during this one, but aside from that it was beautiful. I was so close to bawwwwing when LinLin sang her solo line. T-T
Myspace OPV Contest Winners Announcement - Seriously wish they had just announced this some other time and given us more concert. D: Even so, Sayu's little slip-up during the intro MC was adorable...and seeing Yossui right there in front of me was SO epic, more near-bawwwing when she walked out on stage. I stopped watching the OPVs about halfway through and just looked at Momusu on stage...their reactions were so cute. XD
3,2,1 BREAKIN' OUT Encore - Still love this song, although it was a little hard to muster up the energy to shake my glowsticks and whatnot after resting throughout the announcement of the OPV Contest winner. :P

And thus the concert ended. At this point, a good chunk of the audience started to chant for an encore, but it didn't happen. I even heard the girls wanted to do an encore, but UFA/AX/somebody wouldn't let them. :(

After that, we had made plans for a bunch of wotachatters to go to Taco Bell (yes, Taco Bell...we're cool like that :P), but the place I had Google Map'd as being a Taco Bell consisted of a gas station with a Subway in it and a strip mall with most of the shops for lease. O.o So we went to the food court in the Sheraton instead. XD After that, it was time for Hello!Party...I showed up about 45 minutes early to help out, and I ended up running the sound booth for all of the earlier stuff (guest performances, games). There was a great turnout, and it looked like everyone was having a really good time (thanks Bryan and Jen! :D). After the wotagei and karaoke came along, I spent most of the night just kind of wandering around hanging out with random people. For the last hour or so, I chilled with Joh and maiZe at the welcome/nametag booth. Hello!Party really made it clear to me that this community has needed a way to get together so, so badly...let's hope this isn't the only time. :)

Sometime around 12:30AM, I wandered back up to my hotel room and passed out for the night. :P

Saturday is also on its way. 8D

Momusu at AX! (Part 2)

2009-07-07T03:36:00.004-04:00

Continuation of the greatest weekend ever. Sorry for any lack of details or people I leave out, it's all kind of a blur, especially the first couple days.

Thursday
Met up with some people early on (I believe Johpan, maiZe, Paul Thomas and OpsMonkey). Paul left to get in the line for the exhibition hall (which paid off for him, he got a guaranteed autograph ticket for both Momusu and Hangry :D) and Ops went...somewhere, I think...I don't remember, haha. Either way, I ended up waiting with Joh and maiZe to go to the opening ceremonies...and we were lucky enough to see Momusu walk into the building! maiZe will write up her part of the story at some point I'm sure (it's pretty funny :P), but it was basically just a moment of pure bewilderment for me as Morning Musume walked right by, only 15 or 20 feet away from me. I started to think "I should grab my phone and take a picture!" but my mind just halted and I hesitated, so no pics from me...but wow, that was awesome. XD

After that, it was the opening ceremonies...I ended up sitting by myself because all those IW losers I was hanging around with had press passes and sat in the press section...but seeing Morning Musume up on stage at the ceremonies was still something I just couldn't put into adequate words...they were so cute. T-T (and Ai-chan had a fangirl moment when the Sephiroth voice actor did his impression, which was just adorable beyond words <333) From there we went to wait for the Momusu Q&A panel, which meant sitting through the panel for Sephiroth's voice actor (sorry to anybody who actually wanted to see the guy XD), then a mad dash for close seats in hopes of getting an autograph voucher. OpsMonkey and I made complete asses of ourselves and switched places about 6 or 7 times in the panel room before the Momusu Q&A started, jumping over people and so forth...we decided on our final position when we counted chairs and rows to figure out that we were in the row ending with something like ticket #396 out of 500 tickets being given out, which satisfied us. XD The panel was great...the girls were adorable and a lot of the answers were really cute and funny. It was a great way to kick off the Momusu-related events.

Then the real fun began. At the end of Momusu's panel, the translator lady announced that the autograph session would be behind artist's alley in the exhibition hall, so everyone made a mad dash for there...only to find NO signs of an autograph session. I was with Paul and OpsMonkey at this point, and after asking a couple booths if they knew where the autograph session was only to hear "go ask them over there", we started to walk toward the exit of the exhibition hall in hopes of finding the autograph session somewhere else nearby. At that point, we saw a group of Japanese wota running out of the exhibition hall, so we started following them (which we quickly learned was the right thing to do...follow the Japanese guys, they know what's up XD)...and when they took off up an escalator, we decided to have Paul follow them while OpsMonkey and I went to check out the exhibition hall one more time. Paul actually called us while we were in the exhibition hall, but we missed it, which sucked...since it turned out Paul took the right choice, as the line for autographs was indeed upstairs (and around the corner :P). Ops and I got in the line, which ended up being a huge fiasco consisting of one line for about 30 minutes, followed by another line for 30 more minutes or so...at which point they shut the door, and in another 5 or 10 minutes they announced that the session was over and the girls were leaving. Some people started to make a scene, but I put on my nice face and left cooperatively...no reason to argue with the staff in a situation like that, all you'll do is piss them off.

After that, I hung out with Joh, maiZe and K in the convention center for a while (went to the H!P booth in the exhibition hall and bought some stuff...more on that after I get home :P), then went to dinner with K at IHOP. While we were waiting for our food, we pulled out all the stuff we bought (official photos and tour pamphlets and such XD) and spread it all out on the table to look at it...and when the waiter brought our food out, we had to rush to get it all out of the way. :P After that, K and I went to my room and chilled for a while, and when he left I went to OpsMonkey's hotel to leech off his internet and get on wotachat (my hotel was charging $13/day for internet, no way I was paying that much). Upon finishing that, I went back to my hotel and got to bed.

Friday is on its way :D

Momusu at AX! (Part 1)

2009-07-05T05:44:00.005-04:00

Okay...greatest weekend ever, seriously. Sorry for any lack of details or people I leave out...a lot of it is kind of a blur, especially the first couple days.

Wednesday
CRAZINESS. My plane left at 6:00AM, we had a connecting flight in Phoenix and arrived in LA around 9:00AM. Took a taxi to the hotel, which took about 35 or 40 minutes, ended up arriving there around 10. Dropped off my stuff and ran off to the convention, where I proceeded to sit/stand in line for about 7 or 8 hours, including the event ticketing line (it would have been less if the AX staff hadn't run into trouble with the computers for registration, delaying the line for a good 45 minutes, at least...a sign of things to come :P). I ended up meeting up with some online friends after I got my concert ticket (Johpan, maiZe, Kirarin*Snow, OpsMonkey, Paul Thomas), which was super awesome. After that, I joined OpsMonkey and some of his friends (Tris, Jessie, some other dude and LOTS of people I didn't know, I think we took up 1/3 of the restaurant, at least XD) for dinner. BUT, on the way we had to stop at the Mayfair Hotel in the ghetto to wait for some JPH!P people for wayyyy too long, then we drove through more ghetto to our destination, an In-n-Out on Sunset Blvd. Of course, I dropped my tray like a big dope so I couldn't eat my fries (>.>), but the burger was DELICIOUS. Like, oh my god. Go to In-n-Out, eat a burger (double-double animal style), die happy. Also, there were some Japanese Momusu fans (somehow connected to JPH!P, I believe?) at In-n-Out who were selling sealed copies of Eri's photobook Hatachi for $30, so I went ahead and grabbed one (as did Ops Monkey). From there we drove back through the ghetto to the Mayfair in the ghetto where I picked up my bag, at which point I was dropped off back at my hotel and crashed for the night. :P

Expect Thursday's post in the next couple days. :D

H!P Sale

2009-06-05T22:02:00.014-04:00

Sale's over :P

- cfb

April 2009 Purchases

2009-05-31T22:27:00.006-04:00

Super, super late on this one. My schedule's always crazy in the summer. >.>

Momusu - Osaka Koi no Uta LE (w/box case & cards)
Momusu - Namida ga Tomaranai Houkago LE (w/box case & cards)
Kusumi Koharu - Happy RE
Country Musume - Iroppoi Onna ~Sexy Baby~ RE
Country Musume - Koibito wa Kokoro no Ouendan RE
Kira*Pika - Hana wo Pu~n/Futari wa NS
Nakazawa Yuko - GET ALONG WITH YOU RE

Melon Kinenbi - 1st Anniversary LE (w/foldout & stand/case)
W - Duo U & U RE
Pucchi Best 5
Momusu - 7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini! LE (w/DVD)
W - 2nd W
Pucchi Best 6

Ayaya - YOUR SONG ~Seishun Sensei~ Single V
Ayaya - Suna wa Kamu You ni... NAMIDA Single V
Ayaya - Zutto Suki de Ii Desu ka Single V
Ayaya - Watarasebashi Single V
Ayaya - Sougen no Hito Single V

Nakazawa Yuko - Single M Clips 1
Momusu - Eizou The Morning Musume 2 ~Single V Clips~
2001 Shuffles - Chu! Natsu Party/Summer Reggae~ Rainbow/Dancing! Natsu Matsuri Single V
Kusumi Koharu - Balalaika Single V

Momusu - Concert Tour 2003 ~15nin de Non Stop!~ Concert DVD
Hello! Project 2009 Winter ~Kettei! Haro☆Pro Award '09 Elder club Graduation Special~ Concert DVD
GAM - 1st Concert Tour 2007 Shoka Natsu ~Great Aya & Miki~ Concert DVD

No thoughts this time, sorry folks.
- cfb

Free Bawww? Ohhhhh yeah. :P

2009-04-28T21:07:00.002-04:00

So uh...Bryan's pretty much the coolest.

<333

Thanks Bryan, you rule.
- cfb

A Collecting Experiment

2009-04-19T22:03:00.007-04:00

I was recently given a little advice by someone from a forum I used to frequent about how to quickly obtain large amounts of Japanese CDs. Basically, put in vague searches on Yahoo! Japan Auctions and trudge your way through the results until you find large, cheap lots of stuff. Well...I took that advice, and here are the results.

^This is the package itself. It cost $80 to ship...because it weighed about 9 pounds and had to be shipped EMS. XD (sorry about the big black splotches - I'd rather not have internet pedophiles stealing my personal info :P)

^This is the box upon opening the lid. Everything is packed nicely, thanks to either Ohta or the seller. I'll give the credit to Ohta since he's a cool dude and bid on the auction for me, haha.

^Here's all the CDs unpacked and stacked up. 55 in all.

^And sorted in stacks. The left stack is CDs I didn't have already. Middle stack is CDs I already had. Right stack is doubles from within the box.

Here's a list of the contents of each stack:

New (34):

Morning Musume - Manatsu no Kousen (Original 8CM Release)
Taiyou to Ciscomoon - Magic of Love
Ichii Sayaka in CUBIC CROSS - Shitsuren LOVE Song
Heike Michiyo - Murasaki Shikibu
Morning Musume - Single Medley ~Hawaiian~
The Douyou Pops 1 - Christmas to Fuyu no Uta Shuu
Morning Musume - Best! Morning Musume 1 (SEALED)
Morning Musume - Koi no Dance Site (SEALED)
Pucchi Moni - BABY! Koi ni KNOCK OUT!
Pucchi Moni - Chokotto LOVE
Pucchi Moni - Seishun Jidai 1.2.3! / Baisekou Daiseikou!
MiniMoni - MiniMoni Hinamatsuri!
MiniMoni - MiniMoni Jankenpyon! (SEALED)
MiniMoni - Minihamuzu no Ai no Uta (SEALED)
MiniMoni - MiniMoni Telephone! Rin Rin Rin (SEALED)
Tanpopo - Tanpopo
Tanpopo - Last Kiss
Tanpopo - BE HAPPY Koi no Yajirobee
Melon Kinenbi - Amai Anata no Aji
Melon Kinenbi - Saa~ Koibito ni Narou
Melon Kinenbi - Kokuhaku Kinenbi
Melon Kinenbi - Natsu no Yoru wa Danger!
Coconuts Musume - Jounetsu Yuki Miraisen
Coconuts Musume - Watashi mo 'I LOVE YOU'
Coconuts Musume - DANCE & CHANCE
Coconuts Musume - Tokonatsu Musume
7nin Matsuri - Summer Reggae! Rainbow!
3nin Matsuri - Chu! Natsu Party
Sexy 8 - Shiawase Desu Ka?
Odoru 11 - Shiawase Kyouryuu Ondo
Happy 7 - Shiawase Beam! Suki Suki Beam!
Akagumi 4 - Akai Nikkichou (SEALED)
Kiiro 5 - Kiiroi Osora de BOOM BOOM BOOM (SEALED)
Aoiro 7 - Aoi Sports Car no Otoko

Already Had (16):

Fujimoto Miki - Sotto Kuchizukete Gyutto Dakishimete
Nakazawa Yuko - Kuyashi Namida Porori
Nakazawa Yuko - Shanghai no Kaze
Nakazawa Yuko - Futari Gurashi
10nin Matsuri - Dancing! Natsu Matsuri
Morning Musume - Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~
Morning Musume - The Peace!
Morning Musume - Renai Revolution 21
Morning Musume - Koko ni Iruzee!
Morning Musume - DO IT NOW!
Tanpopo - Oujisama to Yuki no Yoru
Tanpopo - Otome Past ni Kandou
Country Musume - Hajimete no Happy Birthday
Country Musume - Koibito wa Kokoro no Ouendan
Country Musume - Iroppoi Onna ~Sexy Baby~
V/A - Pucchi Best 2 (SEALED)

Doubles (5):

7nin Matsuri - Summer Reggae! Rainbow!
Kiiro 5 - Kiiroi Osora de BOOM BOOM BOOM
MiniMoni - MiniMoni Telephone! Rin Rin Rin
MiniMoni - Minihamuzu no Ai no Uta
Morning Musume - Koi no Dance Site

The auction ended at 8000yen (about $80). With Ohta's middleman fees and the seller's shipping fee, the total without shipping to the US was $120. Add in shipping, and it comes out to $200. That's a little less than $4 per CD, and a little over $2 per if you don't include shipping. All of them are releases from 2002 or before, so I suppose that's not quite as good of a deal as if they were stuff from 2003 to present...but they're all in good condition, and I can sell/trade the ones I already have (which I'll be doing very soon - I already had a decent-size pile of stuff to get rid of before this monstrosity arrived XD). I'll most likely be doing that in a thread over at H!O, by the way - I'll make note of that here as well, for those who don't regular the forums and may want to make me an offer I can't refuse. ;)

All in all, I'd say this is a pretty good way to get a running start on your H!P collection (or, if you're already well on your way, to give it a quick boost and get some leverage to work with in the H!P selling/trading community). It's obviously a fairly large chunk of cash to drop in one shot, but I think it's worth it for anyone who enjoys collecting H!P stuff, or who wants to start doing so.

Now...NO MORE SPENDING UNTIL ANIME EXPO, DAMMIT. >.>
- cfb

March 2009 Purchases

2009-04-16T15:52:00.006-04:00

My buying frequency is starting to slow down a little bit. April's been crazy so far (you'll soon see why), but I'll have to stop soon...I really, really need to save up for AX. >.<

Kusumi Koharu - Koi Kana LE (no book D:)
DEF.DIVA - LET'S GO Rakuten Eagles RE
Melon Kinenbi - Kousui RE
Maeda Yuki - Kenchana ~Daijoubu~ RE
Maeda Yuki - Tokyo Kirigirisu RE

Morning Musume - Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~ RE
Morning Musume - AS FOR ONE DAY RE
Morning Musume - Platinum 9 DISC RE

Hello! Project 2009 Winter Complete LIVE Shashinshuu -Elder Club Sotsugyou Special- Photobook
Morning Musume Sakuragumi & Otomegumi - ~Alo-Hello! Dream Tour~

Country Musume Single V Clips 1
Morning Musume - Shabondama Single V
Morning Musume - Chokkan 2 Single V
Morning Musume - Aruiteru Single V
Morning Musume - Naichau Kamo Single V

Quick Thoughts:
- With the DEF.DIVA Rakuten single, now all I've got left is the GAM one...which is likely going to set me back $60-$70. >.< - Maeda Yuki is absolutely incredible. I can't wait to get ahold of more of her singles. - Platinum 9 DISC is great, as expected. - The EC Grad photobook is bawwtastic, haha. - Only 2 Momusu Single Vs left before I've got all of them. : 3 Complete list here.
- cfb

Updated Collection Pics

2009-04-06T01:06:00.004-04:00

My previous collection pics post is pretty outdated now, so I feel it's time for a new one.

Big Picture

CDs

Single Vs/PV Collections

^^This picture also contains the "Wall of BAWWW", which is a bunch of pictures my friend drew of me on post-it notes, making fun of how much I bawwwww about Miki. Anyone who knows me will understand the humor in this, haha.

Miscellaneous DVDs/Concert DVDs

Photobooks

- cfb

Why Post About "STUFF"?

2009-04-02T11:45:00.005-04:00

Broomhead over at true life seek made a recent post about people posting pictures of the stuff they buy. Since that's pretty much all I do on this blog anymore, I suppose it's appropriate to respond.

First of all, I have to establish that I have, for the most part, lost interest in blogging. Were it not for my desire to keep track of all the H!P stuff I buy, this blog would most likely have been dead for months now. Shortly before I stopped posting seriously, I came to realize that the only reason I blogged was for the recognition that came from getting covered on IW and the ensuing comments, and that just felt like a shameless, cheap reason to continue posting...thus me no longer writing "real" posts. As such, the reason I post my "GETS" on here isn't really to keep my blog active, although it may have served that purpose at one point in time.

I primarily post the H!P stuff I buy for my own personal records. Monthly posts of what I purchase give me an idea of how my buying habits vary over time, and keeping a complete list of all the H!P merchandise I've acquired gives me an easy way to keep track of how many CDs, DVDs, and photobooks I have. Also, I'm proud of my collection, and it feels nice to pull up my merch list and click the links, seeing the progress of my ongoing quest to "buy 'em all".

Now the question arises of...why even have this blog anymore? I could easily keep track of my purchase history through some other means. Of course, I love to show off my collection (what can I say? I'm an attention whore when it comes to collecting)...but I also show my support for the idols I love through buying their merchandise, and posting my purchases on a public blog lets me show that love and support to others in the community. I would like to think that there are people somewhere who get enjoyment from seeing the things I buy, and I originally started posting my GETS here for that specific reason...but lately that has become secondary to those reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph.

I suppose this means that I essentially think of Obnoxious Wota as a non-contributor to the H!P blogging community. I've kind of drifted away from other bloggers over the last several months, so I guess I'm not too concerned as to whether or not this blog continues to tie me to them in some way. Say what you may, but I don't feel like I'm truly connected to the community anymore, other than through the few people I still talk to occasionally over AIM/MSN...and honestly, I'm not sure if I want to be. This is something I'm still trying to think my way through, so maybe I'll change my mind and jump back into the community, but I've got my doubts. Either way, I'm now totally off-topic from why I originally started writing this post, so I'll go ahead and cut myself off here.

- cfb

February 2009 Purchases

2009-03-24T21:54:00.004-04:00

First of all, sorry for the delay on this post. I'm lazy.

Anyway, less stuff than normal this month...attempting to save up, and not doing a very good job of it. XD

V/A - Pucchi Best 5 DVD
Matsuura Aya - Single V Clips 2
Buono! - co . no . mi . chi Single V
Matsuura Aya - Chocolate Damashii Single V

Morning Musume - Hyokkori Hyoutanjima Single V
Morning Musume - Egao YES Nude Single V
Morning Musume - Onna ni Sachi Are Single V
Morning Musume Sakura/Otome Gumi - Sakura Mankai / Yuujou ~Kokoro no Busu ni wa Naranee!~

Country Musume - Daizenshuu 2 RE
Buono! - Buono!2 LE (w/DVD)
C-ute - Akogare My STAR RE
Matsuura Aya - Chocolate Damashii RE
Morning Musume - Naichau Kamo RE

Melon Kinenbi - This Is Unmei RE
Kusumi Koharu - Chance! RE
2005 Shuffles - Onna, Kanashii, Otona / Inshouha Renoir no You ni / Hitoshirezu Mune wo Kanaderu Yoru no Aki LE (w/photobook)
Goto Maki - Sans Toi m'Amie / Kimi to Itsumademo RE
Goto Maki - Yokohama Shinkirou LE (w/posters)
Goto Maki - Glass no Pumps RE

Quick thoughts:
- I'm surprisingly fond of Country Musume's Daizenshuu 2...I've started buying more of their singles since I got ahold of this. XD
- Still haven't listened to my copy of Akogare My STAR...who knows if I ever will. This is likely the last C-ute release I'm going to buy.
- Chocolate Damashii is awesome, I don't care what the sales said.
- Naichau Kamo is also awesome.
- I get Chance! stuck in my head at least once a week, yet somehow I never tire of it, haha

So there we are. March is shaping up to be about the same as February, purchase-wise...maybe a little bit more. If I actually post it when I'm supposed to, it'll be up in a little over a week...but I wouldn't put money on it. :P

Till next time,
- cfb

January 2009 Purchases

2009-02-18T19:22:00.004-05:00

This was, without a doubt, the most ridiculous month yet. I totaled it all up...there are 42 items here, and while 13 of those were from Ohayocon near the end of the month, 29 is still a lot. I'm almost ashamed of myself. O.o

...who am I kidding, H!P stuff is awesome. :P

Nakazawa Yuko - Kuyashi Namida Porori RE
Nakazawa Yuko - Shanghai no Kaze RE
Goto Maki - Afurechau...BE IN LOVE RE
Goto Maki - Sayonara no LOVE SONG LE (w/photobook & poster)
Goto Maki - Sayonara 'Tomodachi ni wa Naritakunai no' RE

Melon Kinenbi - Kawaii Kare RE
Melon Kinenbi - MI DA RA Matenrou RE
Melon Kinenbi - The Nimaime LE (w/box case)

Matsuura Aya - Omoi Afurete RE (w/slipcover)
Buono! - co . no . michi LE (w/DVD)
ZYX - Iku ZYX! Fly High RE
Country Musume ni Konno to Fujimoto - Shining Itoshiki Anata RE
H!P All Stars - ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL! LE (w/photobook)

Morning Musume - Go Girl! ~Koi no Victory~ Single V
Morning Musume - THE Manpower Single V
Morning Musume - Osaka Koi no Uta Single V
Morning Musume - Roman ~My Dear Boy~

Morning Musume - Namida ga Tomaranai Houkago Single V
Morning Musume - Ambitious! Yashintenki de Ii Jan Single V
Morning Musume - Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari Single V
Morning Musume - SEXY BOY ~Soyokaze ni Yorisotte~

Country Musume ni Konno to Fujimoto - Uwaki na Honey Pie Event V
2005 Shuffles - Onna, Kanashii, Otona / Inshouha Renoir no You ni / Hitoshirezu Mune wo Kanaderu Yoru no Aki Single V
Shugo Chara Egg! - Minna no Tamago Single V
Morning Musume Otomegumi - Ai no Sono ~Touch My Heart!~ Single V

Moero! Manner-bu Vol 1
Moero! Manner-bu Vol 2
Morning Musume - Concert Tour 2003 Haru Non Stop!
Nochiura Natsumi - Concert Tour 2005 Haru 'Triangle Energy'

-Ohayocon Swag-

10nin Matsuri - Dancing! Natsu Matsuri RE
Goto Maki - Te wo Nigitte Arukitai RE
Country Musume ni Ishikawa Rika - Hajimete no Happy Birthday RE

Morning Musume - I WISH RE
Morning Musume - The Peace! RE
Morning Musume - 3rd -Love Paradise- RE
Morning Musume - Renai Revolution 21 RE

Pucchi Best 1 RE
Pucchi Best 2 LE (w/pictures and frame)
Pucchi Best 3 LE (w/box case)
Tanpopo - Otome Pasta ni Kandou RE
Tanpopo - Koi wo Shichaimashita RE
Tanpopo - Oujisama to Yuki no Yoru RE

Quick thoughts:
- I love Melon Kinenbi now.
- Shining Itoshiki Anata is undoubtedly my favorite Miki song (I know it's actually a Country Musume single...but seriously, it's more like "Miki featuring all those other chicks" XD), and it makes me want to give her a big sexy hug. T-T
- I paid more than I probably should have for the H!P All Stars LE single...I'm not entirely sure why it gets bid up so high every time it's on eBay, but it does.
- I also paid a pretty penny for the Uwaki na Honey Pie Event V, but it was so worth it. : 3
- I went through way, way, way too much trouble to ahold of Manner-bu. Speaking of, I've still got an extra copy of both volumes of Koto Mikku if somebody wants to trade for or buy them...please...
- The Nochiura Natsumi concert was awesome, and it was really cool to see Ayaya performing some songs by other H!P artists. Not so sure about that performance of Shining Itoshiki Anata though...it's just not the same without Miki. XD
- I think I made out pretty well from Ohayocon H!P-wise. All the CDs ended up costing about $90USD, which is probably a little high...but it was a smaller convention, so I was glad they even had any H!P at all.

Also of note, my buying streak pretty much ends now. Gotta save up for Anime Expo. :P

Until next month,
- cfb

Souki and I Discuss Idol Personalities and Wota Psychology

2009-01-28T18:52:00.006-05:00

More insights into the mind of wota, or something like that. I had posted a similar conversation to this not too long ago, and hastily deleted it after I realized that everything in that one was explained more adequately here...so if you're wondering why that post disappeared, here's your reason.

CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Zac
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'm not gonna lie
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: sometimes I think that reality TV stars here have more depth than idols.
CatchFiveBats: Well, they're normal people just doing what they want to do.
CatchFiveBats: People have depth, that makes sense. XD
CatchFiveBats: But I think some idols have a lot of depth to them, really.
CatchFiveBats: Especially ones that have gone on to other things.
CatchFiveBats: Aya and Miki being the obvious examples. XD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I guess. I dunno, I just hear the canned responses.
CatchFiveBats: That's just Japanese culture though.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah, but it doesn't really change that it seems flat.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Like, where do you see that Aya and Miki are interesting?
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: And I'm not asking to bust your balls
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'm seriously asking
CatchFiveBats: Honestly, I couldn't tell you.
CatchFiveBats: Not specifically.
CatchFiveBats: But I know, from how much time I've spent watching them on TV shows, and in concerts, and at promo events, and in DVD magazines, and in everything I've watched (including recent TV appearances where they weren't parading around as idols, but as musicians, and real people) that there's depth to them.
CatchFiveBats: On the surface, it doesn't seem that way.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah, but how do you know they're not just canning the same "I wanna make people happy, lucky lucky I wanna give dreams" responses in those shows?
CatchFiveBats: Cause they're not just saying that stuff.
CatchFiveBats: Not Aya and Miki, anyway.
CatchFiveBats: Not recently.
CatchFiveBats: But as you get involved with the idol 'thing' and get to know the girls, you see the depth to it.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: mmm....
CatchFiveBats: It's the difference between a casual observer and a hardcore fan. XD
CatchFiveBats: There's depth to everything if you spend enough time with it. :P
CatchFiveBats: And those who argue against that just haven't been involved with it like the fans have, to risk sounding like an elitist dick.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I suppose...I just don't know if companies capitalize on their personalities or if they mold them into idols.
CatchFiveBats: I think it's a little bit of both.
CatchFiveBats: Like, they really direct the girls as they start out.
CatchFiveBats: But as the girls get more confident and develop into better idols, they're given more freedom to act on their own.
CatchFiveBats: They wouldn't stay idols if they weren't doing what they wanted to.
CatchFiveBats: There are members who have left cause they couldn't handle the idol life.
CatchFiveBats: Maiha in Berryz, for example.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: aaah....
CatchFiveBats: It seems very manufactured at first, but I think all the manufactured stuff is just the big picture...what you see from the outside looking in.
CatchFiveBats: The details, the idols themselves, are for the most part real, from what I've seen.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: aaah...and that's where understanding Japanese comes in, I suppose.
CatchFiveBats: Obviously it's not a perfect argument, but you could say the same about the members of a band here in the US.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah, you could.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: But a band doesn't really market itself as an IDOL.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: They market themselves as musicians.
CatchFiveBats: Well, yes.
CatchFiveBats: But that's because musicians and idols serve different purposes.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: mmm...idols are images and examples.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: And as such they have to uphold that throughout their career.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I mean, examples for people to follow.
CatchFiveBats: They're there to inspire and be an object of affection, on top of just entertainment.
CatchFiveBats: So of course there will be some awkward or seemingly manufactured parts.
CatchFiveBats: The purpose requires it.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: mmm....seemingly?
CatchFiveBats: Seemingly and not-so-seemingly, both.
CatchFiveBats: It just depends on the situation.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: aaah
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: It feels like the times you can see a real idol for what they are is when they're on game shows and stuff.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Or so it seems to me.
CatchFiveBats: Exactly.
CatchFiveBats: Or situations where they're put on the spot, or kind of tortured a little, like the stuff the hosts pull on Utaban.
CatchFiveBats: And, from what I've seen, they still act mostly the same.
CatchFiveBats: Either they're very well-trained, or the people who manage idols know how to play off an already-existing personality.
CatchFiveBats: I'd be more inclined to the second option.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Unless those situations are written, but I doubt that.
CatchFiveBats: There's no way.
CatchFiveBats: Part of the fun of idols and TV personalities in Japan is that they're not acting.
CatchFiveBats: It's kind of like reality TV in that respect.
CatchFiveBats: And there's a blogger who has said that he approached idols like reality TV when he was into them.
CatchFiveBats: The taboo-ness of it.
CatchFiveBats: And how ridiculous it is that something like idols actually exists.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: mmmm
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I mean, I don't think it's a taboo.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: It's just something for...very open minds.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: You'd have to be open-minded to even entertain the idea of getting attached to something on a screen.
CatchFiveBats: Oh, of course.
CatchFiveBats: But closed minds are what bring taboos about in the first place. XD
CatchFiveBats: You kind of defined what a taboo is. XD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: A sort of hive-mind creates societal taboos.
CatchFiveBats: mhmm
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Kind of everyone thinking the same way just cause someone in power thinks one thing.
CatchFiveBats: Yeah.
CatchFiveBats: One person thinks it, then everyone jumps on the bandwagon.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: One person of power, mind you.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'd imagine most of the very hopelessly hardcore would agree with Aya if she suddenly decided killing jews was a good idea.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: And from there, it'd build off.
CatchFiveBats: haha
CatchFiveBats: I suppose...but from what I've heard from a guy who actually went to Japan and saw Momusu in concert, and another idol group, most wotas aren't these pitiful lemmings who live for their idols.
CatchFiveBats: A lot of them just do it as a hobby.
CatchFiveBats: It's not a lifestyle like I've tried to make it. >.>
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: aaaah
CatchFiveBats: And I'm coming to terms with that, too.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I see...
CatchFiveBats: As much as I love all these girls I'm into, it's unrealistic to live just for that.
CatchFiveBats: When I'm at home, I live for the idols I love.
CatchFiveBats: When I'm at school or work, I live for that.
CatchFiveBats: But it's not like I can't enjoy school or work.
CatchFiveBats: Or that I'm distracted from it because I can't stop thinking of Miki. XD
CatchFiveBats: I'm perfectly capable of functioning (not that I need to make that point...).
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Oh no XD
CatchFiveBats: It's not a crippling thing...
CatchFiveBats: Just an eccentricity.
CatchFiveBats: No matter what I'm into, I'll be into it as much as I'm into idols right now.
CatchFiveBats: Idols just happen to be an entertainment form that pull you in a little further than most things.
CatchFiveBats: There are days where I just feel like sitting around and swooning over Miki all day. XD
CatchFiveBats: And, if the opportunity arises, I'll do that every now and then.
CatchFiveBats: Cause I enjoy that.
CatchFiveBats: It's what I do for fun.
CatchFiveBats: But it's not like I live just for that.
CatchFiveBats: Even if it feels like I do sometimes.
CatchFiveBats: I mean, I still do my job and enjoy myself and work hard and everything else, and often have just as good of a time as I do watching H!P concerts or looking at photobooks or whatever.
CatchFiveBats: I've always viewed myself as a being fairly versatile in what I'm able to enjoy...as in, I can enjoy just about anything if I set my mind to it.
CatchFiveBats: I don't have any idea where I'm going with this. XD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: XD it's okay lol
CatchFiveBats: I suppose you get the point. :P
CatchFiveBats: You haven't seen this happen, but I'm even more defensive with Miki than I was with Berryz. >.<
CatchFiveBats: I've just stormed out of wotachat a couple times because someone started making sex jokes about Miki.
CatchFiveBats: I just don't want to hear it.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I haven't really noticed it! I think it's just cause we (he's referring to my group of friends here) don't do that much anymore.
CatchFiveBats: Yeah.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: The joke kinda wore itself out.
CatchFiveBats: haha
CatchFiveBats: Yeah.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Unless something severely witty comes along.
CatchFiveBats: mhmm
CatchFiveBats: Anyway, that makes me feel as though I'm hopelessly lost in this whole wota thing.
CatchFiveBats: But then I go out and do 'normal' stuff, and I have no trouble at all.
CatchFiveBats: It's confusing, honestly. XD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: XD it's just what you enjoy.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: It bugs me when Jack Thompson or any other mother mouths off about games.
CatchFiveBats: haha
CatchFiveBats: I guess it just shows that I really enjoy my hobbies.
CatchFiveBats: It's nice that I'm able to fall that far into them and still maintain a fairly normal life, I guess.
CatchFiveBats: I see lots of kids at conventions who can't do that very well. :P
CatchFiveBats: And I've explained the whole pissed-at-Miki-jokes thing as being similar to someone making sex jokes about my girlfriend or something.
CatchFiveBats: The relationship isn't the same at all, of course.
CatchFiveBats: I know that.
CatchFiveBats: But the emotions are similar.
CatchFiveBats: If the wrong person develops that, they could end up completely hopeless. XD
CatchFiveBats: But I guess I'm somehow not that kind of person.
CatchFiveBats: Even with all the insane stuff that I think sometimes...
CatchFiveBats: Think and/or do.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'll be back in a bit
CatchFiveBats: k

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lol

2009-01-26T00:55:00.002-05:00

Just a quick something lulzy. Shouldn't take myself too seriously. XD

January 26th, 2009
pootyfrebbles: Whoa, her birthday is coming up
CatchFiveBats: Miki's?
CatchFiveBats: It's the 26th of February :P
pootyfrebbles: kago's
CatchFiveBats: Well, Miki's is coming up too.
CatchFiveBats: I'll stick a candle in a cookie and cry myself to sleep or something pitiful like that.
pootyfrebbles: Hahahahahahahah
CatchFiveBats: Have a real bang-up party.
pootyfrebbles: Fucking awesome

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December 2008 Purchases

2009-01-15T22:39:00.006-05:00

I'm feeling lazy, so I didn't crop the pictures for this post. Guess you readers get the privilege of seeing some of the other things sitting on my desk. :P

Morning Musume - COVER YOU RE (w/slipcover)
Shugo Chara Egg! - Minna no Tamago LE (w/DVD)
C-ute - FOREVER LOVE RE
Pucchi Best 8

Matsuura Aya - Double Rainbow RE (w/slipcover)
DEF.DIVA - Suki Sugite Baka Mitai RE
Morning Musume - Ambitious! Yashintenki de Ii Jan LE (w/DVD)
C-ute - FOREVER LOVE Single V
Buono! - Rottara Rottara Single V
Berryz Koubou - Dschinghis Khan TaruTaru Mix Single V

Morning Musume

Souda! We're Alive Single V
DO IT! NOW Single V
AS FOR ONE DAY Single V
Ai Araba IT'S ALL RIGHT Single V
Iroppoi Jirettai Single V
Ganbacchae!/HEY! Mirai Single V

Matsuura Aya Single M Clips 1
Matsuura Aya - Ne~e? Single V
Nochiura Natsumi - Renai Sentai Shitsu Ranger Single V
Fujimoto Miki - Okitegami Single V

Morning Musume - DVD Magazine Vol 3
Matsuura Aya Concert Tour 2007 Aki ~Double Rainbow~
Matsuura Aya Concert Tour 2004 Haru ~Watashi to Watashi to Anata~
Tsugunaga Momoko - Momo no Mi PB

So yeah, purchase craziness. Some quick thoughts:
- COVER YOU is incredible. It feels pretty damn close to the Folk Songs albums, which is an extremely good thing. Speaking of, I recommend them wholeheartedly. Listen to them.
- I bought Pucchi Best 8 pretty much entirely for GAM's unreleased single (and, in a sense, the GAM Rakuten Eagles support single, although I do plan to actually buy that someday...). Do what you gotta do, I guess. XD
- Dschinghis Khan TaruTaru Mix, both the single and PV, is still like some kind of bizarre dream that I would tell my friends about and laugh at how stupid it is. Sadly, it's more fun to talk about than listen to. >.<
- I went insane on Single Vs this month...and January is more of the same. I've acquired so many CDs over the last year and a half (which, by the way, it's crazy that it's been that long X.X) that I guess I feel the need to back off on buying those for a bit. I've got a lot of listening to catch up on, haha.
- It feels pretty damn cool owning a DVD Magazine. Fanclub releases ftw?
- Watashi to Watashi to Anata is AWESOME. Download it, buy it, watch it somehow. Ayaya has and will always own the stage.
- Momo no Mi is HOT. Like, seriously. Momoko's got a smokin' bod. :P

And just a reminder, I keep a complete, up-to-date list of everything I've got here, if you're curious as to what all I've accumulated.

Until next month. :P
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H!P Best of 2008 Poll

2009-01-02T00:31:00.004-05:00

ami over at Merry Go Round has been bugging me to take her poll, so I guess I'll cave.

Bests

Best Group Single
High-King - C\C (Cinderella\Complex) (both songs on this release were really solid, moreso than any other single...except maybe Pepper Keibu, and both tracks from that release were on Cover You)

Best Soloist Single
Matsuura Aya - Kizuna (as much as I love Okitegami, I think Kizuna was a better single - sorry Miki)

Best Group Album
Morning Musume - Cover You (neither C-ute nor Berryz' albums impressed me very much, and I rarely listen to Buono! or Ongaku Gatas - but even still, Cover You is a great album, and it deserves the spot)

Best Soloist Album
Nakazawa Yuko - Legend (I haven't even listened to this album, actually...but I can guarantee it's better than Koharu's...which I also haven't listened to XD)

Best PV
Athena and Robikerottsu - Seishun Love Lunch (best PV - and best guilty pleasure to torture your friends with, hands down)

Group With Best Overall Releases
Buono! (even though I almost never listen to them, I can't deny how high-quality pretty much everything they release is)

Best New Group (debuted in 2008)
MilkyWay (I would have gone for High-King, but they already got best single, plus they were a one-shot :P)

Best New Soloist (debuted in 2008)
Is there even a choice to be made here? I haven't gotten into TNX yet, so Ogamana is out of the question...and honestly, Manoeri has done little musically to impress me thus far (she's adorable, but that doesn't make her a good soloist...just a cute idol). As such, no takers.

Best Established Group (did not debut in 2008)
Morning Musume (I don't care what anyone says, cover releases ftw)

Best Established Soloist (did not debut in 2008)
Fujimoto Miki (not even speaking from my bias, I have to give her this for all the promotion she did for Okitegami - it didn't end up as the longest-charting single by itself)

Best Photobook
Suzuki Airi- - 6gatsu no Kajitsu (seriously a beautiful photobook - Airi rules)

Hottest Idol of 2008
Do I even need to answer this? Fujimoto Miki.

Worsts

Worst Group Single
Tie between MADAYADE and FOREVER LOVE (honestly, I barely listened to either, but what I heard did little to impress)

Worst Soloist Single
Kusume Koharu - Papancake (actually, I love this single...but you can't deny that it's awful XD)

Worst PV
Berryz Koubou - Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance (you're in one of two boats on this PV - love the monkey suits, or hate the monkey suits...I hated them)

Worst Vocalist of 2008
Koharu is the only one that springs to mind, and I don't hate her voice or anything. No takers on this one.

Least Attractive Girl of 2008
Honestly, every currently active member is at least moderately attractive. I'll give this to Yasuda Kei, even though she did nothing...because I can.

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Some Personal Thoughts on Mikitty and Scandals...

2008-12-18T21:45:00.009-05:00

Alright, so...last night, in the process of trying to find video of Miki's Aenai performance from the SharamQ 20th Anniversary concert (which, by the way, there seems to be none of...), I came across quite a few blogs from around the time of her scandal. They talked about what Momusu could have become under her leadership, what was to become of GAM, her newfound relationship with this Shouji guy...and it depressed the shit out of me. I suppose now it's time for the obligatory scandal post.

One of the first things I need to get out of the way is, I have always approached H!P as a true blue wota. That's not to say that I pull out my glowsticks and do wotagei along to my concert DVDs, but there's a pretty real relationship that develops between wota and idol (or, should I say, one-sided relationship that develops from wota toward idol), and I've got it in full force. So when, say...someone in wotachat (*cough* pengie *cough*) makes some kind of lewd joke about Miki, it pisses me off. I've stormed out of wotachat on a few different occasions for that reason because, while I know the relationship is not the same (I may be smitten with a girl I'll never meet, but I'm not crazy), the emotions stirred up by that situation are similar to those that would arise if someone started making jokes about my wife or girlfriend, were I to have one. Just to re-emphasize this point, I don't think Fujimoto Miki is my girlfriend. That's stupid. But I still have a strong emotional connection to her as an idol, and it bothers me to see that idol image broken, as selfish and foolish as that is (but really, I'm a wota...would you expect anything else?). I hope that, by putting this post together, I can shed some light on how wotas feel about scandals and so forth. I get pretty tired of bloggers saying "why can't you just be happy for her!?". It's really not that simple.

Now that that's taken care of, back to my situation last night. So I'm wandering google search results, trying to find any traces of some Aenai footage, and I run across some blogs about Miki's scandal last year. While that's always been kind of a sour point for me, it never bothered me much because I wasn't a fan of hers at the time, and she's active now, so I could look past it. Not last night. Reading about all the tabloids that were reporting on her nights at a guy's house, trips to restaurants, weekends at resorts with him...I felt like the boyfriend who had just been dumped, seeing a girl I still had feelings for walking around with another guy. And for wota, that's exactly what it is. Creepy it may be, but filling that void for lonely guys is the function of idols, like it or not.

But back to the issue of scandals...while it truly bothers me to read what little there is to read about Miki's love life, I don't think she should stop dating Shouji Tomoharu. I may be selfish, but I'm not a dick. I cringe at the thought of what her and that guy may be doing behind closed doors, not because it makes me unhappy to think of her enjoying the company of a man in the bedroom (uncomfortable? yes, very - unhappy? not particularly), but because, as a wota, I can't help but feel jealous. She's MY idol...the girl I buy H!P concerts just for her one performance (2002 LOVE IS ALIVE concert DVD...hey, it was cheap), and collect her photobooks, and get excited when I recognize her voice in a song. There's a romantic element to being a wota that never really gets communicated to Western fans, because it's something you can't show through wotagei, or eyecandy posts, or buying merchandise, or anything like that.

Obviously, you can write about it, as I'm attempting to do here (and as others in the j-music blogosphere have done), but even that doesn't communicate what it's like to really have feelings for an idol, and then have those feelings stepped on when you find out that she's been "going behind your back". While terminology like that makes it seems as though I don't care about Miki's feelings, that couldn't be farther from the truth. As much as it hurts to think that Miki exists for anyone but me, I always do my best to put my feelings aside, because I do care about her. This is why I'm so fond of the no-dating policy.

It was blaringly obvious when Miki left H!P that she was ready to stop being an idol and live her life as a normal woman (or at least, as normal as the life of a celebrity can be). Some said that she used her relationship, and the no-dating policy, as a way out, and I'm inclined to agree. If an idol wants to do that, I say let her leave H!P and do so. After quitting Momusu, Miki laid low for a few months and made her way back into the music world with a solo single. She had said in interviews that she always wanted to be an enka singer anyway, so this was a near-ideal situation for her. Knowing that, by leaving H!P, Miki was allowing herself to do what she always wanted to do...it was much easier for me to swallow my wota selfishness and be happy for her.

One of the other things that makes it easier for me to continue enjoying Miki, knowing that she's no longer an idol, was that I didn't like her only as an idol, or as part of H!P. She's a talented vocalist (when songs are in her range... >.>'), a beautiful girl, and a great personality, and those aspects of her didn't go anywhere in the months between her scandal and Okitegami. There's just too many good things about her for me to drop my wota-ism because of some jealousy. Not to say that my jealousy is any less because of it...but the wota-idol relationship is only a small portion of why I like Miki so much. I think any wota who ends up sticking it out through a scandal that ends in their favorite idol leaving H!P would likely be able to say the same thing.

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November 2008 Purchases

2008-12-11T22:31:00.011-05:00

Definitely the craziest month yet for H!P purchases. :P

These complete my Mikitty photobook collection:

Ayaya to Mikitty
Cheri

DVDs:

Koto Mikku: Ue
Koto Mikku: Shita
Morning Musume Concert Tour 2002 Haru "LOVE IS ALIVE!"
MilkyWay - TanTanTaan Single V
Momusu Sakuragumi - Hare Ame Nochi Suki Single V
Morning Musume Otomegumi Hatsukouen ~Otomechikku~

Gomaki CDs:

Ai no Bakayarou RE
Scramble LE (w/photobook)
Daite yo! PLEASE HOLD ON LE (w/photobook & poster)
Genshoku Gal Hade ni Yukube! LE (w/photobook)
3rd Station LE (w/cards)

Went a little crazy on the Ayaya:

Dokki Doki! LOVE Mail RE
Tropica~l Koishite~ru RE
LOVE Namida Iro RE
YOUR SONG ~Seishun Sensei~ LE (w/posters)
The Bigaku RE
Suna wo Kamu You ni... NAMIDA RE
Egao RE
Kizuna RE

Other CDs:

Momusu Sakuragumi - Sakura Mankai RE
Buono - Rottara Rottara LE (w/DVD)
Berryz Koubou - MADAYADE RE
Momusu Otomegumi - Yuujou ~Kokoro ni Busu ni wa Nara nee! RE
Nakazawa Yuko - Dai 2 Shou ~Tsuyogari~ RE
MilkyWay - TanTanTaan LE (w/card)

And, last but not least, Ayaya's 2009 calendar:

Some quick thoughts:
- Cheri is, in my opinion, the quintessential Mikitty photobook. It really just 'feels' like her, to me. If you're going to buy only one of her photobooks, I heartily recommend it be this one.
- I absolutely adore Koto Mikku (actually, it looks like I'm going to end up with an extra copy of each volume, if anyone is looking to buy or trade...), the old-school AM love is something that I can never get enough of.
- I'd been meaning to buy the Otomegumi concert for a long time, and now that I finally got around to it...undoubtedly worth both the wait and the money. Watch it, folks.
- Genshoku Gal is, without a doubt, my favorite Gomaki song. I can't help but turn my stereo way up when it comes on. XD
- Ayaya is awesome, plain and simple.
- Like Henkka has said so many times, Nakazawa Yuko is one of the most underrated H!P artists. While it's not there quite yet, I think her second album (the one pictured in this post :P) will end up in my top 5 H!P albums at some point. It's really that good.
- I still don't quite see what the big deal is about TanTanTaan...hopefully it'll catch on sometime, cause I want to like the single. I'm just not seeing the magic yet. >.<

And, with that, another month, another pile of H!P merch. Till next time.
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Collection Pics

2008-11-23T22:11:00.001-05:00

Shirow over at Wotaku Now! asked for pics of my collection, so here they are.

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How much of a wota am I?

2008-11-17T23:27:00.007-05:00

Midori over at Midori's J-Pop Overanalyzations has put together a list of Jeff Foxworthy-esque "You know you're [---] when..." items for wotas, and I've decided to see just how many I qualify for. XD

You can name and/or recognize half or more of the AKB48 research students or H!P Eggs.
- I'm not into AKB in the least, and I'm not really into the eggs...so I can't say I'm able to do that. :P

You own at least 10 photos of your favorite idol.
- Guilty. :P Although I doubt I'll buy any more...

You buy t-shirts advertising your favorite idol/idol group and wear them on a regular basis. If you're a man 25+, you don't feel any regret or embarrasment about this.
- No t-shirts...yet... XD

You know all of your favorite idol's stats by heart.
- If by stats, you mean 3 sizes, birthday, etc...no, not by heart. I don't really have the time to do so, wish I did... >.<

Whenever anyone insults your favorite idol or idol group, you immediately come to their defense... even if you know you're b.s.ing half your compliments. (i.e. "They're good singers!" "She can dance well!" "She has more personality than [insert some famous TV personality here]" "They're NOT ugly!"
- Yeah, I definitely do this. Just ask anyone in wotachat. :P

You have spent more than you make a day on idol goods.
- Oh, lord yes. XD Buying H!P stuff is one of my favorite things.

You can recognize all of your favorite idols' voices.
- For the most part, yeah. I can recognize all Berryz, most post/during-4th album Momusu members, Ayaya, I'm okay with C-ute...

You have almost a stalkerish obsession with wanting to meet them or even just see them in person.
- I definitely want to someday go to Japan and see Aya or Miki live at some point. I don't think it's reasonable to make seeing one of the seasonal H!P concerts a goal for myself (being a college student and all, and then entering into the workforce and establishing myself financially...I doubt I'll make it to Japan anytime soon)...but I see a nice long career ahead for Ayaya, and I would hope the same for Miki, so seeing one (or both) of them is the plan. XD As for a stalkerish obsession with seeing them in person? I don't that's reasonable for someone who lives in the US. :P

You hear someone say something that remotely sounds like your favorite idol's name and you immediately assume they're also a wota.
- I don't assume they're a wota...but I definitely perk up and hope that they're talking about her. XD Never happens though...

You heavily anticipate any news from your idol.
- Considering how little activity Miki gets now, any news is good news. >.<

You have sent fan-mail.
- Nope.

Your favorite idol appears in your dreams more than once.
- I've had a lot of idol dreams, yes...

You have wondered what would happen if your idol dated you. (Mainly for guys, but if we include Johnnys here...)
- I've thought about it, yeah. XD

Your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/immediate family has learned to deal with your obsession long ago.
- My family never seemed to mind it too much. My friends, on the other hand...I still get crap from them. XD

If your favorite idol is suspended/fired/retired/graduated/has no work with their agency/other you check more than two sources of possible info everyday and accept any rumors about his/her return to be true immediately.
- I'm not quite naive enough to just immediately accept a rumor...but if I hear anything, I get pretty excited. XD

You have at least 3 photobooks or DVDs of your favorite idol.
- Absolutely, yeah. XD

You could colorcode a song sung by AKB48 O.o (I'm afraid of those who can!)
- Nope. :P

You do fandubs, cosplays, or fandances of your favorite idol or idol group.
- Absolutely not. >.<

You make birthday and worship posts on a blog/forum.
- Never.

You don't take the cheap route and buy your idol's songs from iTunes or another mp3 site, you spend the money to order every edition of the CD/DVD.
- Not every edition, but I own the complete discography (as in, one version of every single/album) of several idols/idol groups that I like, and I'm always working on more. :P

So...9/20, it looks like. You could say 15 if you wanted to be generous, but I only completely fit 9. XD

Woo wotadom? :P
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October 2008 Purchases

2008-11-12T23:32:00.006-05:00

I'm just going to stop saying that it's been a crazy month for purchases...cause lately, every month has been, and I don't see that letting up any time soon. XD

Naked Songs LE (w/DVD)
Good Bye Natsuo LE (w/photobook)
100kai no KISS RE
Ki ga Tsukeba Anata LE (w/DVD)
Momoiro Kataomoi RE
Yeah! Meccha Holiday RE

Happy Summer Wedding RE
Do it! Now RE
Aruiteru RE
Ai Araba IT'S ALL RIGHT LE (w/photobook)
Koko ni Iruzee! RE
Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~ RE
Iroppoi Jirettai LE (no box case or cards)
Rainbow 7 LE (w/photobook)

Yaruki! IT'S EASY RE
Makking GOLD(1) LE (w/booklet)
(2) Paint It Gold LE (w/poster)
Ai no Sono ~Touch My Heart!~ RE
Renai Sentai Shitsu Ranger RE
SHALL WE LOVE? Single V

Ayaya - First Concert Tour 2002 Haru "First Date"
Ayaya - Yeah! Meccha Live
Ayaya - Concert Tour 2005 Haru 101 Kaime no Kiss ~Hand in Hand~
Mikitty Alo-Hello DVD

Lots of Ayaya this month, and my first Gomaki CDs. I'm especially fond of Ayaya's Naked Songs and Hand in Hand concert, and Miki's Alo-Hello. I'd write more, but I'm tired and I have school in the morning, so I'll leave it at that. XD
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September 2008 Purchases

2008-10-14T18:12:00.004-04:00

A bit late on this one...halfway through October now. XD Anyway, September was another crazy month for me. Luckily, it wasn't all that expensive, thanks to my recent decision to stick to eBay for purchases that aren't preorders whenever possible. :P

Ayaya - X3 LE (w/poster, pictured below)
Ayaya - Watarasebashi RE
Ayaya - Zutto Suki de Ii Desu Ka
Ayaya - Hyacinth RE
Ayaya - Kiseki no Kaori Dance RE

C-ute - LALALA Shiawase no Uta Single V
Berryz Koubou - 5(FIVE) LE (w/DVD)
Berryz Koubou - Dschinghis Khan TaruTaru Mix
Buono! - Gachinko de Ikou Single V
Buono! - Gachinko de Ikou LE (w/DVD)

Momusu - Pepper Keibu LE (w/photobook)
Momusu - THE Manpower RE
Momusu - Kanashimi Twilight LE (w/photobook)
2003 Shuffles Single LE (w/photobook)
Athena & Robikerottsu - Shouri no BIG WAVE!!! LE (w/photobook)
Athena & Robikerottsu - Seishun! LOVE Lunch LE (w/DVD)

Mikitty Alo-Hello Photobook
Mikitty Coeur Photobook

Of the things pictured here, my favorites are probably Matsuura's X3, the Athena & Robikerottsu singles, and the Mikitty photobooks. I've recently 'discovered' Ayaya (actually, I've been listening to her since the beginning of the year, but I've only recently begun to understand how incredible she actually is), and X3 is what jump-started this discovery. As for the Athena singles...they're just really fun, happy songs, and I'd been intending to buy them for a really long time, but never got around to it until recently. It should be obvious why I like the Mikitty photobooks...but aside from the obvious reason of OMG MIKI, I'm also now only one PB away from having all of her releases (aside from the one she did with Ayaya, which I may or may not ever buy :P).
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A fairly creepy question...

2008-09-17T17:05:00.016-04:00

So, as most of you probably know, Chinami's cell phone was recently stolen, and some pics ended up leaked to the net.

Memorable selections include the following:

[EDIT] Apparently the Maimi pic wasn't Maimi. T-T

The orange box of text says something about sex. XD

Maasa is badass.

So the question I must pose to my fellow bloggers is this: if there was an idol (H!P or otherwise) to have his/her cell phone stolen and pics leaked to the net, who would you want it to be? And what do you hope those pics would consist of? Also, I want to emphasize the fact that this is not about whose cell phone you want to be stolen (that's just mean XD), but rather about whose cell phone pics you want to see.

I honestly can't answer right this second because my immediate reaction was Mikitty, but she's no longer an idol, so her cell phone can't be too terribly exciting. I suppose I'll have to post a response at a later date. XD

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Alright, I'm Sold.

2008-09-10T23:04:00.008-04:00

I've always thought that Manoeri was cute, don't get me wrong...I just never thought she was incredible. Maybe it's the fact that I had never really paid attention to her aside from the Berikyuu openings and the occasional picture, or that I've never watched that Ongaku Gatas concert, or that I still, somehow, have yet to see the Narihajimeta Koi no Bell PV, or...wait, what the hell? It's obvious why I hadn't yet joined the leagues of Manoeri wota. XD Foolish, foolish me...

Anyway, I recently saw this set of videos:
Part 1 (Dohhh UP!)
Part 2 (Dohhh UP!)

And, suddenly, I think she's adorable. The way she acts here is so unbelievably cute...I'd even go as far as to say it's sickening, but not in a bad way (if that's even possible...). It's still surprising to me that she's 17 years old...but let's backtrack a bit to get the whole story here.

As I said, I've always thought that Manoeri was cute. And I thought Manopiano was okay...not fantastic, but I could forgive since it was an indie single. Not too long ago, a video of her performing Manopiano was posted on dohhhup, and I loved it. Something about her performing the song live completely changed my opinion about it...and, much in the same way, the above-linked videos have revamped my opinion of Mano Erina as an idol as well.

I have to say that I'm excited for her next indie single, and I hope her solo career gets moving quickly so I can see more of her. I think she's still got quite a bit of work to do in the vocal department, but she's well on her way when it comes to charm and personality. I look forward to seeing her progress as an idol.

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Momusu 37th Single Revealed

2008-09-07T22:35:00.003-04:00

Morning Musume's 37th is apparently going to be a cover of Pink Lady's hit, "Pepper Keibu". On top of that, their next album will be a collection of Aku Yuu covers. As a fan of Morning Musume, I should probably be desiring an original release at this point...but Tsunku's Momusu offerings of late haven't had much staying power with me, and I like what I've heard of Aku Yuu recently, so I'm pumped for both of these releases. Plus, Pepper Keibu has been stuck in my head since this morning, and I'm still not tired of it.

Bring on the unoriginal. 8D
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August 2008 Purchases

2008-09-06T13:39:00.003-04:00

Another month, another batch of H!P stuff.

C-ute - Cutie Clips
C-ute - Sakura Chirari Single V
C-ute - Meguru Koi no Kisetsu Single V
C-ute - Tokaikko Junjou Single V
C-ute - Namida no Iro Single V
C-ute - Edo no Temari Uta II
Fujimoto Miki - First Live Tour 2003 Spring ~MIKI1~
Morning Musume - Sexy 8 Beat RE
Country Musume - Uwaki na Honey Pie RE
Gomattou - SHALL WE LOVE? RE
Morning Musume Best Shot Vol 1-4

I absolutely adore SHALL WE LOVE?. I'm a huge fan of Ayaya and (especially) Mikitty, so I'm surprised I didn't get into this release earlier. Also of note is Miki's solo concert, which is probably the best H!P concert I've seen so far. I'll do a review sometime.
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2009 H!P Calendars: WHICH ONE WILL CFB BUY!?

2008-09-02T19:05:00.006-04:00

Calendar season is upon us once again. I've been planning for a long time to purchase the Berryz 2009 calendar. Does that still hold? Let's find out...

C-ute

First of all, WHAT THE FUCK. It doesn't even look like a calendar cover. There's no text, no group name...for all I know, someone could have taken a random picture of C-ute in the right aspect-ratio and claimed it to be the 2009 calendar cover. I refuse to believe that this is the cover until I see some proof...although I must admit, I'm actually quite fond of Maimi in that dress.

Matsuura Aya

This one looks very promising. I told myself that I wouldn't be buying a H!P solo artist's calendar (based on the fact that I'm definitely buying the Erika Toda 2009 calendar, and I like to have a group calendar and solo calendar together on my wall)...but man, Ayaya is really temping me to change my decision.

Morning Musume

And then, out of nowhere, Momusu is amazing. Everybody looks great, with the possible exception of Linlin...but I'll forgive her, simply because she's got herself working against her. Hopefully the contents follow through with what the cover promises.

Berryz Koubou

I hate to say it, but this cover just screams boring. It's not that the girls look bad...the cover just...doesn't do anything for me at all. I'm sure the contents will be fine (I mean, come on...it's Berryz Koubou)...but compared to some of the other ones for this year, BK just doesn't seem to be keeping up.

Abe Natsumi

I've always thought that Nacchi was pretty, and that still stands here. If I were a big fan of her, this one would be a good candidate. Sadly, I'm not. Sorry, Nacchi. XD

And the final result?
I'm slightly torn between Berryz Koubou and Morning Musume. The only reason I'm even considering Berryz is, since the 2008 calendar was a tear-off one (and, really...phooey on that >.<), I would think the 2009 one would be tear-off as well. And, right now, I have a HUGE amount of space on my wall that is completely empty, and I'd like to plaster that wall with Berryz goodness. The question is, do I want to buy the 2009 calendar and hang the pages as I tear them off, or mutilate my 2008 calendar and buy the Momusu 2009 one? Decisions, decisions....

I will gladly accept suggestions in the comments. XD
- cfb

New Bi-Month (?)

2008-09-01T21:51:00.003-04:00

Ah, yes. 2 months has passed once again, and the time to turn the page on my calendars has arrived.

I also hung up the posters that came with my copies of 4th Ikimasshoi and No. 5.

woooooooo
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H!P Merch List and Want List (original entry, comments only)

2008-08-08T23:56:00.176-04:00

List moved here.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY YURINA!!!

2008-08-03T19:24:00.004-04:00

Seeing as Yurina is my favorite member of Berryz Koubou, and the idol that originally led to my H!P fandom, it's only fitting that I wish her a happy 15th birthday!!! And, in honor of the occasion, here's some delicious Yurina eyecandy.

Yay Yurina!
- cfb

July Purchases

2008-07-31T17:27:00.010-04:00

July was a financially retarded month for me.

Singles:

Momusu - Souda! We're Alive RE
Country Musume - Senpai ~LOVE AGAIN~ RE
C-ute - Edo no Temari Ute II RE
Pucchi Moni - Seishun Jidai 1.2.3! / Baisekou Daiseikou! RE
Tsunku - TOUCH ME RE
Kusumi Koharu - Papancake LE
Ayaya - Ne~e? RE
Ayaya - THE LAST NIGHT LE
Berryz Koubou - Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance RE

DVDs:

Berryz vs Cute Battle Concert w/Berryz Tracks
Ayaya - THE LAST NIGHT Single V
Ayaya - GOOD BYE Natsuo Single V
Ayaya - Ki ga Tsukeba Anata Single V
2003 Shuffles Single V

UFA Photos:

2 Ayaya Photo Albums
3 Ayaya Photos
24 Mikitty Photos

Photobooks:

Fujimoto Miki - Mikitty
Fujimoto Miki - Real226
Berryz Kamen vs Cutie Ranger Live Photobook Document ver.

Also, the Mikitty photobooks came with posters, pictured here:

So yeah, I have absolutely no money left. Yay H!P. XD
- cfb

Lammy Is Awesome.

2008-07-29T02:50:00.006-04:00

This is transcribed from wotachat. Basically, lammy (or ami, as I call her) of Tsuugaku Vector ☂ and °Absol-ute °C-ute is awesome. She's talking about Cal, as he recently joined the legions of wotachatters.

July 29th, 2008
[02:45am] lammy: you know, the first time you came in here, cal
[02:45am] lammy: i thought "oh, it's CFB's friend" and i assumed you'd be in here for like, a day
[02:45am] lammy: AND LOOK AT YOU BECOMING A REGULAR
[02:45am] lammy: A REGULAR
[02:46am] lammy: YOU COULD WALK IN HERE AND BE ALL
[02:46am] lammy: CAN I GET "THE USUAL"?
[02:46am] lammy: AND WE'D BE LIKE
[02:46am] lammy: FUCK YOU WE'RE NOT A RESTAURANT
[02:46am] lammy: BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN

Ami is the shit.
- cfb

This is awesome.

2008-07-20T01:19:00.005-04:00

So, I recently started watching Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon again...and apparently my sister's cat likes it too.

...I'm pathetic. XD

Also, Cal is a big meanie.

July 20th, 2008
CatchFiveBats: *picture*
pootyfrebbles: Hahahaha
pootyfrebbles: That cat fucking rocks
CatchFiveBats: He loves Sailor Moon!
pootyfrebbles: Don't pervert his ignorance to coincide with your poor taste
CatchFiveBats: D:
CatchFiveBats: SHUT UP
pootyfrebbles: XD

- cfb

Souki and I Discuss Otakus, Fansubs, and the Anime Industry

2008-07-11T22:16:00.004-04:00

This is a part of the conversation that inspired me to create this blog.

January 28th, 2008
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'm totally gonna start buying anime
CatchFiveBats: Oh?
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: first to build my collection
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: and secondly to support the industry, cause it's doing poorly.
CatchFiveBats: Yeah.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Subs were good for it up to a point, but they are well past that point now
CatchFiveBats: What?
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: fansubs, I mean
CatchFiveBats: mmm
CatchFiveBats: I think fansubbing is actually a pretty good way to get into real subbing, or dubbing.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Oh totally. I don't dispute that at all
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: but it's a double edge.
CatchFiveBats: I suppose.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: You would probably still buy an anime for collections cause that's you.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: But I know I wouldn't.
CatchFiveBats: I would honestly rather leave it to the fans.
CatchFiveBats: Fansubs are plenty good, and it keeps corporations out of it.
CatchFiveBats: Which is always, ALWAYS good.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I dunno. I'm cool with making money off of something you love.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I don't wanna make games so I can die poor XD
CatchFiveBats: I'm not talking about games, persay.
CatchFiveBats: That's an industry that couldn't stand without the support of big corporations.
CatchFiveBats: Not in its current state, anyway.
CatchFiveBats: But anime subbing and distribution could easily be done online, by the fans.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: But I've also come to love dubs
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: That's just me, though.
CatchFiveBats: Fuck that.
CatchFiveBats: No offense.
CatchFiveBats: But...fuck dubs.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: None taken
CatchFiveBats: I know I'm horribly biased, and that subs don't work for everyone, but fuck dubs anyway.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah, I know
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: But for me, fuck screen cluttering.
CatchFiveBats: I don't think that's a problem.
CatchFiveBats: At all.
CatchFiveBats: But that's just me.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: It's not a HUGE problem for me either, but I can't say I like seeing the translated sub say "you must have great nakama, Ichigo." and then at the top of the screen say "* nakama = good friend"
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: That has ALWAYS bothered me
CatchFiveBats: Yeah, that's a stupid translation choice.
CatchFiveBats: They could have easily translated that.
CatchFiveBats: But some terms are so commonly used that it pretty much makes sense to just stick it in there and show the meaning up top.
CatchFiveBats: Then, in other subs, when you see the word...you'll know what it means.
CatchFiveBats: And you won't have to worry about the definition.
CatchFiveBats: I rarely have to look to read the stuff up top anymore, and it's not because I'm taking Japanese.
CatchFiveBats: The only time I ever read it is when it's explaining a pun or a pop-culture joke.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: if it's a pun or a pop culture joke, it's even worse.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I hate a joke explained.
CatchFiveBats: Well, then what do you do?
CatchFiveBats: Just leave the joke out of the dialogue?
CatchFiveBats: That doesn't work.
CatchFiveBats: As a translator, it gets rid of a lot of headaches if you just explain the joke and leave it to the watcher to decide whether they want to know or not.
CatchFiveBats: Since it rarely has anything to do with the story.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah. But because it rarely has anything to do with the story, then it's also just as easily expendable. Not when there's visuals involved.
CatchFiveBats: I can see what you're saying, but it's not as big of a hindrance as you make it out to be.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Nah, it really never is.
CatchFiveBats: If I start to read the explanation and I don't really care, I leave it.
CatchFiveBats: Like I've said before, the people who are downloading fansubbed anime should probably know what most of those terms mean anyway.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah, but anime is no longer the hardcore hobby it used to be.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Now, my brother watches GTO.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: my sister watches Haruhi
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: and my mom and dad watch Eva.
CatchFiveBats: Well, then those people can watch dubbed anime.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah, that's why I say they're necessary.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Because they make it accessible for those that want it that way.
CatchFiveBats: That's fine, I can understand that.
CatchFiveBats: But for the people who are really into anime, subs are the way to go.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Those that are really into the nitty gritty, definitely subs.
CatchFiveBats: Anyone that can handle subs, should do subs.
CatchFiveBats: All the kids at anime conventions who go there to get autographs from their favorite English voice actors should be doing subs.
CatchFiveBats: That's the problem I have with it.
CatchFiveBats: It gives the wannabe hardcore fans a cop-out.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: whaddyamean?
CatchFiveBats: Dubs are easy.
CatchFiveBats: If you're gonna be living a hobby, you should probably not be going the route that's designed for casual fans.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: All the way or not at all you say.
CatchFiveBats: Yes.
CatchFiveBats: Which is how I have always operated.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: So essentially, you want the kids at anime cons to do it YOUR way.
CatchFiveBats: Perhaps...but I genuinely think it's the best route if you're really gonna be into the stuff.
CatchFiveBats: The whole dubs vs subs thing is why we have all these naruto kids.
CatchFiveBats: It's too easy to be labeled as an otaku now.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: It's a cool thing here.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Although....
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: ...I dunno if I wanna be so ostracized anymore XD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I know I did when I was younger
CatchFiveBats: I like being ostracized.
CatchFiveBats: Ostracize away.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Eh, I don't enjoy it. I don't care, but I don't enjoy it enough to deal with it all the time. I'd rather otaku was seen as a "not that bad" thing here than being a pariah like it is in Japan.
CatchFiveBats: I think the choice between your interests and fitting into society is what makes or breaks a true fan of something.
CatchFiveBats: But I'm crazy.
CatchFiveBats: And OCD.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: yeah XD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'm just not
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: well, maybe I am crazy
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: but definitely not that OCD
CatchFiveBats: Regardless, everything I say, even if it sounds like I want everyone to do it that way, is just the way I do it because I feel that's the right way.
CatchFiveBats: If everyone else did it like I did, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing.
CatchFiveBats: I'd be doing something else.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: It'd be a bore to be the same thing everyone else is.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: That's definitely true.
CatchFiveBats: mhmm
CatchFiveBats: But I really do feel passionately about this stuff.
CatchFiveBats: So, despite all the points I've been making...let the naruto kids have their dubs, and make anime popular and everything else.
CatchFiveBats: I've found a hobby that would require a near restructuring of society to become popular over here.
CatchFiveBats: So, I'm good.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: No SHIT.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: XD

So yeah...let the "OMG YOU DON'T WANT H!P IN AMERICA WTF" flamewar begin. XD
- cfb

Souki's Review of 6gatsu no Kajitsu

2008-07-06T11:32:00.000-04:00

"The lack of butthole spreading has left me in despair. It's a very poignant piece of music, for sure...but it lacks butthole. I give it a 5 out of 10."

O.o
- cfb

June Purchases

2008-07-05T23:22:00.006-04:00

Singles/Albums:

Momusu - Shabondama
Momusu - Chokkan 2 ~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizo!~ LE
High-King - C\C (Cinderella\Complex) LE

Single Vs/Concert DVDs:

Buono! - Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!
High-King - C\C (Cinderella\Complex)
Berryz Koubou - Concert Tour 2006 Haru ~Nyoki Nyoki Champion!~
Berryz Koubou - Summer Concert Tour "Natsu Natsu! ~Anata wo Suki ni Naru Sangenzoku~"
Green Live VCD (Bootleg)

Photobooks/Photos:

Suzuki Airi - 6gatsu no Kajitsu
Fujimoto Miki - 2 Official UFA Photos
Fujimoto Miki - 2 UFA Collector Cards

Of the stuff listed here, my favorite would probably have to be Airi's new photobook. Undoubtedly her best work in the eyecandy department, and I'd even go as far as to say that it's one of the best H!P Kids photobooks yet. I haven't had the chance to watch the Green Live VCD, which I got from Ray, but he said it's extremely good, so I need to get around to that. Aside from those two, there's nothing that really stands out, unless you count the Chokkan 2 LE, which still has the collector cards in it. Pretty cool, since it was used (yay Ray!).

Anyway, on to the next month. At this rate, my blog may just become a place for me to post my purchases. T-T
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Bikkuri Survey Response

2008-06-30T10:53:00.004-04:00

In a surprising lapse of laziness, I've decided to complete Celestia's survey.

1. You have found a magical J-pop genie who will grant you one J-pop related wish (so no wishing for a million dollars or world peace or anything like that). It can be virtually anything as long as it’s directly related to J-pop, and don’t worry, because this is the nice sort of genie, not the kind who will try to find a loop-hole and screw up your wish. So, what do you wish for???

I would wish for Fujimoto Miki to come back to H!P as an idol, and not just a vocalist. As much as I loved Okitegami, I loved Mikitty's pre-scandal work more. Plus, photobooks. : D

2. Is there any J-pop artist or group who seriously pisses you off? If yes, who, and why?

Honestly, anything I say here is going to be horribly uninformed and biased, since the only J-Pop I ever listen to is H!P. If I must choose...I happen to find Hamasaki Ayumi pretty annoying, but only because she's so popular (what can I say, I'm spiteful as hell).

3. Who do you think is the sexiest japanese singer out there?

DUH, RISAKO. SHE'S SO SEXY.

...but in all seriousness, I'd have to go with Shiina Ringo. She's so hot when she sings. O.O

4. How about the cutest?

Little Miyabi (as in, 2004 Miyabi) was absolutely adorable. I suppose I'll go with her.

5. Best personality?

This one is tough for me. It's a tie between Niigaki Risa and Matsuura Aya. Gaki because she comes off as one of the nicest girls in H!P, and Ayaya because she's freaking Ayaya. She was touring/recording/rehearsing/etc non-stop for years, and she kept in character, and stayed enthusiastic, better than any other idol I know of. Anyone who can keep up the idol act like that has my respect.

6. If given the opportunity, would you rather date person 3, person 4, or person 5?

Of the people I listed, I'd most like to date Niigaki, for sure. She's such a cutie!

7. You work for a Japanese music magazine, and you have the opportunity to interview your favorite artist or group. What are a couple of the questions you want to ask them?

Berryz Koubou is definitely my favorite group, even though I don't listen to them that much anymore. As for the questions...I'd like to know how much of their personalities is an act, and how much is real...especially in Momoko's case. Something along the lines of "As a member of Berryz Koubou, how much direction are you given in terms of how to act during TV appearances/FC events/etc?".

8. What’s the best (J-pop) song to listen to when you are really sad?

I guess anything involving Miyabi that's slower-paced. The later tracks on Cafe Buono! come to mind. Her voice is so soothing...

9. When you’re really happy?

There's way too many. I could never pick one.

10. Do you often sing along to your favorite songs?

All the time.

11. How about dance?

I used to...but anymore, I don't watch PVs enough to remember them. It makes me sad.

12. Artistic integrity question!! If someone offerrered to pay you for blogging, but they were allowed to censor some of your opinions or veto some of your blogging ideas, would you do it?

Probably not, just because I barely blog as it is. Getting money involved would just make it feel like work, so I'd surely blog even less.

- cfb

May Purchases

2008-06-14T01:16:00.004-04:00

May was a slow month for me, purchase-wise.

Singles:

MilkyWay Anataboshi LE
Buono! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! LE

Single Vs:

MilkyWay Anataboshi

- cfb

Thoughts on Recent News

2008-06-01T01:26:00.006-04:00

Obviously, it's been a while since I've written any entries on recent stuff, so here's a few quick thoughts on happenings of late:

Cinderella/Complex
I love it. The members, the video, the song, the outfits, everything is made of pure win. This is the first time I've ever put a lossy MP3 rip of a single on my iPod before I get ahold of the physical CD, if that says anything. Also, Maeda is a total cutie-pie.

New MilkyWay Single In October
I absolutely adored Anataboshi, so the news that MilkyWay isn't a one-shot group makes me very happy. I was also quite fond of Kikkawa Yuu when I saw her on the H!M 8th Gen Audition Special (and was disappointed she didn't make it instead of Aika, even if I found out about her after the fact), so anything that allows me to see more of her brightens my fandom.

New Berryz Outfits
They are ADORABLE. It's good to see the BK girls finally getting this kind of treatment. Miyabi's and Maasa's especially stand out to me, but they're all awesome.

Taiwan Auditions
I've already made a post about this, but I have to say it again. NUMBER FORTY-SIX ALL THE WAY.

Airi 3rd PB on CDJapan
This isn't so much news as kind of a sidenote. It was aggravating when I decided to start collecting photobooks, only to find out that cdjapan didn't carry them (and I had to go through HMV), so the confirmation that they're allowing preorders for H!P Kids PBs - the only ones I'm buying for the the moment - on top of the Momusu and other random ones they carry is a huge relief. Any way to support cdjapan is welcome in my book.

I think that's everything I wanted to talk about...
- Zac

The Savior of H!P

2008-05-29T01:19:00.002-04:00

#46

She must get in.

MUST.

That is all.
- cfb

EDIT:
Souki likes her too!

May 29th, 2008
CatchFiveBats: I made a new blog.
CatchFiveBats: I don't know if you saw.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: No, I haven't
CatchFiveBats: It's IMPORTANT
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: alright
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: one sec
CatchFiveBats: k
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I concur.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: She MUST get in.
CatchFiveBats: YESSSS
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I thoroughly concur.
CatchFiveBats: You and like every wotachatter.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: She's really really really cute.
CatchFiveBats: Yeahhhhhh
CatchFiveBats: She's adorable.
CatchFiveBats: Want to see her dance?
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Sure XD
CatchFiveBats: http://www.wretch.cc/album/show.php?i=nora1977ku&b=17&f=1509797156&p=36
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: She dances REALLY good. How old is she?
CatchFiveBats: No idea.
CatchFiveBats: All we know is her number.
CatchFiveBats: And that she's Taiwanese.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I think that's why I find her extremely cute.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: There was something to her face that wasn't quite Japanese.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: not that Japanese women aren't cute
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: but her face had something that was different.
CatchFiveBats: Yeah.

Another strong for #46...

Souki Likes Johnny's?

2008-05-25T01:20:00.004-04:00

A little backstory:
The first dorama I ever watched (aside from PGSM) was Kurosagi. Shortly after watching it, I gave a copy to Souki and he loved it as well. Ever since then, he's thought that Yamashita Tomohisa was pretty cool, even with the bishie-ness. I've also recently started getting into TOKIO, and Souki has liked what he's heard of them.

On a less-related note, I'm a huge Erika Toda wota at the moment, so this dorama excites the hell out of me. Anyway, on to the conversation.

May 25th, 2008
CatchFiveBats: Dude.
CatchFiveBats: New dorama starring Yamashita Tomohisa, Aragaki Yui and Toda Erika announced.
CatchFiveBats: So win.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: WHAT WHAT WHATTTT
CatchFiveBats: http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-3249
CatchFiveBats: *drooooool*
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Dude, this is so fucking cool.
CatchFiveBats: Yeah.
CatchFiveBats: Totally.
CatchFiveBats: Dorama ftw.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yamapi ftw!
CatchFiveBats: Do you need me to download some NEWS for you?
CatchFiveBats: XD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Dude, why not!
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I fucking love Yamapi!
CatchFiveBats: Hahahahaha....
CatchFiveBats: Awesome.
CatchFiveBats: You will be my hero if you become a Johnny's fan.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I wouldn't mind hearing more!
CatchFiveBats: XD

Not the world's most prolific exchange, but this surprised me enough that I felt the need to post it here. If the response is favorable, I may keep an updated log of how Souki's JE fandom pans out (if it does at all...).
- cfb

Souki and I Discuss Ray's Latest Berikyuu Post

2008-05-19T22:15:00.015-04:00

It's been a while since I've had a good long talk with Souki about H!P stuff, so this was a nice surprise. Anyway, like the title says, this is Souki and I talking about Ray's latest Berikyuu snark (or, in this case, anti-snark) blog.

May 19th, 2008
CatchFiveBats: http://www.americanwota.com/2008/05/berikyuu-episode-17-the-high-stakes-of-being-c-ute/
CatchFiveBats: Excellent essay on the appeal of idol groups.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Ehhhhh.....I can't defend idol music at all, it's 100% pandering XD
CatchFiveBats: READ
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I know, I'm a third of the way!
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: It's a good essay, for sure.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I think...well, not think, KNOW...that I'm not the right person to read this
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: because I'm not like "THATS SO DUMB"
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'm just like "T___T all this for cute girls."
CatchFiveBats: XDDD
CatchFiveBats: He makes a good argument though.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Oh for sure.
CatchFiveBats: About how it's not all about the looks or whatever.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: He's absolutely right.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: It's not all about any one given aspect.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: If the looks are too emphasized, the idols feel shallow
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: if the music is too emphasized, and the visuals aren't, then they look bland and boring.
CatchFiveBats: There's a very deep, committed aspect of being a wota that most people would never understand.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Essentially, it's a huge fucking obsession, what the hardcore wota have. There's no need to color it.
CatchFiveBats: The part where he talks about casual fans vs true-wota fans...whether to stick with a group or not...
CatchFiveBats: That's not even a consideration for me.
CatchFiveBats: I like Berryz, I like every song they've released, if they release a new song and I don't like it, I learn to like it because they're singing it.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Basically, again, complete and utter name loyalty.
CatchFiveBats: It's really broadened my horizons as to what I do and don't like musically.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Oh, I bet it has, for sure.
CatchFiveBats: Maybe for better, maybe for worse.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: It's never for worse
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: if you like more, that's always good.
CatchFiveBats: But it's exciting for me.
CatchFiveBats: Wotadom is an unbelievably exciting hobby, especially with H!P, because it's always moving.
CatchFiveBats: I'm never thinking "Man, what's going on with [insert H!P group here]?"
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Yeah, you're always on top of it
CatchFiveBats: I can't help but be.
CatchFiveBats: There's always so much going on.
CatchFiveBats: Once you start to like more than one or two H!P groups, you've got something you can dedicate pretty much all your time to.
CatchFiveBats: Keeping up with TV appearances, new singles, photobooks, concerts, DVDs, etc.
CatchFiveBats: It's a never-ending cycle.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: and it only gets bigger.
CatchFiveBats: mhmm
CatchFiveBats: I'm trying not to expand myself too much into other H!P groups right now.
CatchFiveBats: I've got too much to listen to as it is.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: yeah, totally
CatchFiveBats: Too much to keep track of.
CatchFiveBats: I would love to buy some Nakazawa Yuuko stuff, or try out a Goto Maki album, or whatever.
CatchFiveBats: But right now I've got Ayaya and Momusu that I haven't even begun to touch on their full library of releases.
CatchFiveBats: Berryz, C-ute, Mikitty, and GAM are the only H!P groups I have complete discographies of.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Aaaaah
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Man, maybe it's just how I'm reading it, but it just feels so weird from the outside looking in.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Like, because I know you, I see past your blog
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: but when I read say, that article
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I just feel like...jeez, most wotas color their hobby with huge, ambitious words like "majestic" and, as you stated earlier, a "deep, committed aspect"
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: and in my mind, that translates to "fucking obsessed."
CatchFiveBats: It's an obsession.
CatchFiveBats: Undoubtedly.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: no one wants to call it that, it seems XD
CatchFiveBats: But behind every wota there's a normal person who has a job and friends and a family, and they live their life just fine (at least among English-speaking wotas).
CatchFiveBats: I mean, I tend to be anti-social.
CatchFiveBats: But I hang out with my friends on the weekend, I have a job, I go to school.
CatchFiveBats: I live a normal life.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I just thought it was interesting, that it seems that no one that you've shown me has ever said it's an obsession. They use a lot of huge words, but never obsession.
CatchFiveBats: mmm
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: like, obsession has a bad connotation to it or something.
CatchFiveBats: Because it does?
CatchFiveBats: XD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: No, it's honest.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'm obsessed with games.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'm not unhealthy, but I'm happily obsessed.
CatchFiveBats: Yeah.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: It seems so fake
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: all those huge words
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: is what I'm getting at
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Call them "fucking cute," like that guy did once. Or call yourself a big obsessed pedo from time to time.
CatchFiveBats: Have you seen some of his other articles?
CatchFiveBats: They're nothing like this one.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: No, who is this guy?
CatchFiveBats: He's the huge pedo.
CatchFiveBats: He writes the articles about Berikyuu where he talks about makeout parties and such.
CatchFiveBats: And Kanna is a dominatrix.
CatchFiveBats: And etc etc.
CatchFiveBats: Lots of awful, blatant sex jokes.
CatchFiveBats: He also runs International Wota.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: XDD aka, he's awesome.
CatchFiveBats: Yes, he is.
CatchFiveBats: But he's also a really serious, dedicated wota.
CatchFiveBats: He's proof that you can be a huge wota and still function normally.
CatchFiveBats: And have a good sense of humor about your idols.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Mmmmm
CatchFiveBats: He's married and has a daughter and everything.
CatchFiveBats: He talks about his daughter as much as he talks about idols.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Aaaaah
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: That's cool, I like that
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: Like, I didn't wanna have the impression that these blogs meant that idols = serious fucking ass business
CatchFiveBats: It goes to show that you can't judge a wota by their blog.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: XD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: There's a saying about books and covers in there.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: somewhere.
CatchFiveBats: XD
CatchFiveBats: Everyone I've talked to in wotachat is a perfectly normal person.
CatchFiveBats: They're not these crazy, obsessed uber-serious wota stalkers like most people would probably view them if they saw the PVs and photobooks and CDs and Single Vs and etc etc...
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: XD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'd be sick of my hobby if all I talked to were crazed fanboys.
CatchFiveBats: Yeah.
CatchFiveBats: That's why I didn't join a forum.
CatchFiveBats: I've never looked into a wota forum, but I'm sure it's no different from any other.
CatchFiveBats: With the same kind of heated arguments as any other forum.
CatchFiveBats: And I'm sure I'd be sick of H!P in no time if I joined one.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: yeah. Blogs, since they depend on readership, mean that you probably get people who are mostly civilized.
CatchFiveBats: mhmm
CatchFiveBats: But we've talked about that already.
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: yeah
CatchFiveBats: Anyway, there's more to wotadom than you would think.
CatchFiveBats: DICK.
CatchFiveBats: XD
CatchFiveBats: YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: XDD
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: I'm a lot more accepting of it
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: But I still shot your Berryz calendar with a nerf gun
CatchFiveBats: nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
CantSpellShotaWithoutHOT: XD

- cfb

Broomhead's Survey

2008-05-15T02:01:00.018-04:00

As the title states, this is Broomhead's blogging survey.

Goals:

Why do you blog?

I get a great deal of enjoyment from seeing others' opinions of my writing, and blogging allows that to easily happen (especially with Intl Wota's help). I also have no 'real-world' friends that are into H!P, and creating this blog was a good way to get involved in a community of similar-minded folks without having to get mixed up in the mess that is forums (more on that here).

What long-term goals do you hope to accomplish, if any at all?

For the moment, I don't have any. I tend to play it by ear.

Where does your blog fail to meet your goals?

One of the original goals of this blog was to post conversations about H!P between myself and my non-wota friends, and that's not happening nearly as much as I'd like. I also feel as though I don't update enough.

If you do have goals, what will accomplishing them do for yourself?

I suppose you could say that one of my immediate goals is to use this as an outlet to improve myself as a writer. The benefits of that should be obvious.

What do you want to gain out of blogging? A creative outlet? Praise from others? Personal satisfaction? Money?

This blog provides an outlet for my fanboy babblings (and some semi-analytical writing, since I really enjoy that kind of thing), and - as stated in my answer to the first question - it gives me a bit of an ego boost, to be blunt. I get an immense amount of satisfaction from having my blog linked to on International Wota.

Do you feel that your blog should meet a requirement for amount of entries? Do you feel any particular entry should be a certain length?

I think that, for the amount of entries, it relates to time. I start to feel a little guilty when I haven't posted anything for a week or two. As for post length, it depends on the subject matter.

For any particular entry, what motivates you to start and finish blog posts?

There are days when I decide, "I'm going to write a blog today", and I'll set aside a couple hours and do just that. Other days, an idea will pop into my head and I'll feel compelled to write about it. I rarely start a blog post without the intent to finish it in one sitting. My writing style tends to vary from day to day, and posts written in bits and pieces, over different days, end up feeling disjointed to me.

Do you actively consider long term goals for each individual post?

Can't say I do. I'm not goal-oriented in the least. XD

Subject Material:

What do you blog about?

Well, considering this a Hello!Project blog, it should be obvious what I blog about. Getting specific, the posts I enjoy most (and therefore put the most effort into) are those where I discuss things like the relationship between wota and idol or the group dynamics of H!P.

Would you be keep a blog even if it wasn’t about the subjects you tend to cover?

I don't think I would have made a blog at all if I hadn't found International Wota...so no, it's extremely doubtful that I would be keeping this if I lost interest in H!P.

Do you write about the material to promote it to others?

I don't personally think so. I guess you could say I'm promoting my ideas, but that's not how I approach it when I put together a post.

Readership:

How much do you care about readership?

I think that, without readership, there is no reason to blog. There's no way I would have ever started this blog if I wasn't sure there would be people reading it.

Does it satisfy you to know people are reading, even if they don’t comment?

I think so, yes. It doesn't satisfy me nearly as much as when they actually do comment, but knowing that I have a readership is what keeps me going.

What effect does receiving a comment have on you?

Aside from being linked to on Intl Wota, comments are the thing I look forward to most in blogging.

Do you write with a particular audience in mind or an unspecified general audience? Why?

I tend to have tunnel-vision in life, so it would make sense that whatever I choose to write about on my blog be intended for a specific audience.

If you write for a particular audience, is it International Wota? If yes, why?

Yes, I write with the intent to have my material read by visitors of International Wota. As for why...the things I write about here are intended for an audience of H!P fans, and Intl Wota is the best blogging community I know of that focuses on that. Plain and simple.

Community: (The International Wota section)

If International Wota didn’t exist, would you blog?

Definitely not. I had never considered making a blog until I found Intl Wota.

When IW covers an entry of yours, are you encouraged to blog more or less?

More. As I've said, being linked to on Intl Wota is the thing I look forward to most in blogging.

When IW does not cover an entry, are you encouraged to blog more or less?

I wouldn't say it makes me want to blog less...but if I write an entry thinking "I want this to be covered on IW", and it doesn't get covered, it makes me consider why that may have happened and what I should change in my approach to writing to better ensure that the entries I want covered, get covered.

How often do you read other blogs?

Every day. I have a Google Reader account with about 50 H!P blogs that I keep track of. I originally did this because Intl Wota was blocked on my school's internet connection and I wanted a way to read blogs at school, and now I pretty much use it exclusively.

How often do you comment on other blogs?

Probably only once a week or so.

If another blog covers a topic that you wanted or wished to cover, do you still blog about that specific topic? Why or why not?

Honestly, this doesn't happen to me all that often. If it does, it depends on how their entry differs from what I intended my entry to be. If they have a different viewpoint from my own, I'll write the entry as I originally intended and that's that. If they have the same opinion as me (and especially if they cover that topic in a more concise or eloquent way than I would have), I may not write the post at all. It just depends on how I feel.

Commitment:

How serious is your attitude towards blogging? Do you consider it just as something to do for fun?

I take the relationship between my blog and my standing in the community very seriously. As for blogging in its own right, I do it because I enjoy it. My world wouldn't end if I were suddenly unable to blog.

How often do you blog? How often would you like to blog?

I already said this, but I feel like I don't update this blog nearly enough. Part of it is because I'm lazy, and another part is because I'm really busy right now. If I had my way, I would probably be writing one entry a week or so.

What priorities do you or have you put aside in order to blog? Why?

The biggest sacrifice I've made in order to write an entry was probably giving up my dinner between classes at school, and that was because I really got on a roll with a particular post. It's not that blogging isn't a high priority for me...I'm just the kind of person to make things up as I go, and if I don't specifically set time aside to do something, it probably won't happen. In all honesty, I'm a very irresponsible blogger.

Do you see yourself blogging in 6 months? Why or why not?

As I said in the last question, I tend to make things up as I go. I have no idea what's going to happen in the next 6 months, so maybe I'll still have this and maybe I won't. I would hope I'm still blogging, or at least still involved in the Intl Wota community, even if it's just through wotachat or comments or whatever.

Personal:

Would you say you blog for yourself?

My reasons for blogging are definitely self-centric, but I wouldn't be able to do it without the prospect of feedback from my readers and/or other bloggers.

What is your feeling after posting an entry? Is it relative to the time and effort you put in an entry?

If it's a longer entry, I'm usually just about shot from writing and editing the entry when I'm done, although I definitely feel relieved that I've finished. I don't feel quite as good about shorter entries, mainly because I know they're likely to not be on Intl Wota.

What needs does blogging fulfill?

I can't think of anything specific. As I've said in previous questions, I could live without my blog...but it's a nice outlet for my fanboy ramblings.

Do you consider yourself a writer?

Not really. I don't take my writing seriously enough for that.

Do you consider yourself good at writing? Good at blogging?

I think I'm capable of writing well if the material and mood are right. I'm definitely more fit for blogging than journalism or writing novels or any of the 'normal' styles of writing most people think of.

How much of your personal life do you share on your blog? If none, why do you leave this out?

The setup of my blog (conversations and such) generally ends up revealing more about my life than I would reveal if I were writing each entry directly.

- cfb

April Purchases

2008-05-07T13:56:00.007-04:00

From this point on, I'll be doing my merch posts in monthly installments.

Anyway, April purchases:

Singles/Albums:

Momusu - Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutanjima
Momusu - Roman ~My Dear Boy~
Momusu - Resonant Blue
Momusu Sakura Gumi - Hare Ame Nochi Suki
Momusu Tanjou 10nen Kinentai - Bokura ga Ikiru MY ASIA
Fujimoto Miki - Aenai Nagai Nichiyoubi
Fujimoto Miki - Sotto Kuchidzukete Gyutto Dakishimete
Fujimoto Miki - Romantic Ukare Mode
Fujimoto Miki - Boyfriend
Fujimoto Miki - Boogie Train '03
Fujimoto Miki - Okitegami
C-ute - Namida no Iro
Folk Songs 3

Single Vs:

Matsuura Aya - Kiseki no Kaori Dance
GAM - Melodies
GAM - LU LU LU
Fujimoto Miki - Single M Clips
Fujimoto Miki - Boyfriend
Fujimoto Miki - Boogie Train '03

April was a crazy month for me. Out of all the stuff here, my favorites are definitely Folk Songs 3 and Okitegami. I've already written about Okitegami, but as for Folks Songs 3...this album has shown me that I'm capable of liking Maki Goto (she never really impressed me in Morning Musume, and all I've heard of her solo work is the slutty R&B stuff near the end >.<) and that Nakazawa Yuuko has a very unique and beautiful voice. Maybe next month I'll grab some of their solo releases. And, of course, I loved Mikitty's performances as well.

Also, it turns out I've passed the 50-CD mark! Including the ones posted here, I now have 59 H!P releases on my CD shelf (I thought it was 65...but I just re-counted, and I somehow ended up adding an extra 6 to my numbers when I counted a few days ago O.o).

Here's to another 50!
- cfb

Thoughts on Recent Releases

2008-04-23T12:14:00.018-04:00

My copies of Resonant Blue, Namida no Iro, and Okitegami showed up in the mail yesterday. I'm mainly putting this post together because I haven't seen anyone say anything about Okitegami yet, and that's a shame.

Okitegami
I love it. I love it I love it I love it. There are so many good things about this single.
- First of all...it's Mikitty, and she sounds as good as ever (if not better), so automatic win there.
- Somehow, the c/w is on par with the main track, and I mean that in the most literal sense possible. I think you could switch the two and it would still feel 'right'.
- Real-instrument backing track. This is something that is disappointingly underused in J-Pop, especially H!P. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the people writing/arranging the music for J-Pop artists know that it will sell just as well with synth instruments as it would with the real deal...but I'm also aware that this isn't an H!P release, nor is it J-Pop. Regardless, to hear Mikitty's voice backed by a full band is a wonderful thing.
- Even without Mikitty or the orchestra (I think? maybe a partial orchestra XD), these are a couple of very well-written songs. I've had Okitegami stuck in my head off and on since I first saw that clip of her singing it at a publicity event a month or so ago. Once I get a bit more familiar with the c/w, I'm sure I'll have that stuck in my head as well.

Resonant Blue
- As expected, the A-Side is great, just like it was the first several times I heard it while watching the PV.
- As for the c/w...another blogger (who it was I don't remember) said that it sucked...but I think it's okay. If you happen to be someone who is especially fond of the more mature sound of Resonant Blue, I can understand disliking the goofier sound of RB's A-Side...but I've always been fond of that sound for Morning Musume (plus I'm a sucker for anything with a rhythm that emphasizes the off-beats), and it makes me happy to know that H!P hasn't completely dropped it for the 'reborn' Momusu.

Namida no Iro
- Like RB, the A-Side is great, as expected.
- C-ute's version of Darling I Love You is exactly the same as the Berryz version, only C-ute is singing it. I like the Berryz version better, but only because I'm more of a Berryz fan...I mean, they're the exact same song. To be honest, this is kinda lame.

So, basically, they're all great releases in my opinion, with C-ute ranking slightly below the others. C-ute probably would have been received more favorably if the B-Side hadn't already been done by an artist I like more anyway.
- cfb

Who would I marry based purely on voice?

2008-04-17T14:37:00.008-04:00

Raid posed the question "Who would you marry based purely on voice?", and since a lot of the other H!P bloggers seem to have answered the call, I might as well do it too.

3. Shiina Ringo

Maybe not so much her voice as the songs she writes...but still, they wouldn't be the same if she didn't sing them. She may not have the greatest control, or the most finely-tuned voice, but you can just tell from the way she sings that she lives for her music (and/or is totally insane), and I admire that.

2. Matsuura Aya

What's there to say? It's Ayaya. She's the best-selling solo artist in Hello!Project for a reason.

1. Fujimoto Miki

Seeing as Miki's voice was the reason I even began to like her as an idol, she was an obvious choice for first place. This post discusses everything I have to say about the matter.

- cfb

Hmmm...

2008-04-10T13:39:00.005-04:00

Hello!Online has posted more Goto Maki blog translations.

Iced caramel macchiato with whipped cream? I must say, that sounds tempting...I'll probably try it sometime soon. Maybe I should call it the 'Goto Maki Special', if only to confuse the clerk.

XD
- cfb

Because I could.

2008-04-08T18:54:00.003-04:00

Which Morning Musume Member Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Mitsui Aika

You are most like Mitsui Aika! She is the most recent member of Momusu, and the only one to join in the 8th generation. Little is known about her personality so far, however she comes off as being friendly, nervous, and somewhat spacey. Time will tell if this will change.

Mitsui Aika

50%

Kamei Eri

44%

Fujimoto Miki

38%

Tanaka Reina

31%

Takahashi Ai

25%

Michishige Sayumi.

25%

Kusumi Koharu

25%

Niigaki Risa

25%

Yoshizawa Hitomi

19%

Apparently I'm not all that much like any Momusu member, since my highest similarity was 50%. XD

Oh well.
- cfb

How Much is Too Much?

2008-04-03T12:38:00.044-04:00

I don't know if anyone else in the community has this problem, and I've only begun to consider this as such in the last year or so, but I've always had difficulty keeping myself from getting too deep into any one thing. Over the last several years, I've become obsessively involved with a variety of things, including: skateboarding, ska (a variant of reggae), They Might Be Giants, Shiina Ringo, and now, Hello!Project. The only interest that has stayed with me throughout my life is video games, and even then I went through a phase where I declared myself a 'video game collector' and bought every game I could find (and, as a result, I now have 300+ games and 20+ consoles sitting in my room, which I'm still quite proud of). After going through all of these cycles, I've begun to ask myself: how much is too much?

When it comes to obsessive fandom, wotas are about the most clear-cut example you can have. We've all seen the pictures of a Japanese wota's room, covered wall-to-wall with H!P posters, the rest of the space filled with various types of merchandise all related to their group(s) of choice. Some would say that these people have chosen their hobbies over their friends and family, and I'm sure that a lot of them actually have. This is the line that, for me, defines a 'hardcore fan' versus a 'casual fan'. Not necessarily in such an extreme manner as to ostracize yourself from your friends and family, but perhaps to where you place a high enough priority on your hobbies so as to put them one step below or on the same level as the so-called 'normal' facets of life (friends, family, job, etc).

It's difficult to describe exactly where I sit on this scale...there's no exact place I can pinpoint myself to, but I think that my focus is always on H!P until something else interrupts it, whether that be school or my job or friends or whatever (and even then, depending on how I feel, I may continue focusing on H!P). There's a progression that's brought me to this point (and may bring me further into the depths of self-indulgent anti-social wota-ism), and it obviously started when I got into H!P.

From the beginning, none of my friends ever liked Hello!Project. Cal likes certain members and songs, but that's only because he and I hang out so much, and he is by no means a fan. Souki is essentially the same case as Cal, only he likes it even less. Every one of my other friends (all of whom are attending college, and were when I first got into Berryz Koubou last summer) essentially hates H!P, and I can't blame them. From an outside view, my Berryz fandom looks like nothing more than a pedo obsessing over a bunch of little girls (and that's not to say that I can completely deny that - no male Berryz fan that's my age can - but that is not the reason I'm into H!P). Regardless, from that point on, all my friends except Cal and Souki immediately took a "LALALAIMNOTLISTENING" stance when I mentioned any H!P group, and that caused me to talk about H!P around Cal and Souki even more, which, over time, caused them to quickly lose patience when it came to my relentless fanboy moe-fests.

As a result, I began making a conscious effort to avoid talking about H!P around my friends, and especially those college friends I spoke of. While that certainly made everyone else enjoy my company much more, it did nothing to strengthen my friendship with them, and the fact that I wasn't talking about H!P just increased my desire to go watch a PV or something. And so, I began to dislike hanging out with friends. Even when I felt like I wanted to hang out with people, I would quickly become bored unless we were out and about (and, even then, I would tend to get bored, as nothing that I saw held much interest for me). It became that, when I started to feel like perhaps I wanted to hang out with people, there would be this feeling that all I really wanted was someone to tell about my latest H!P obsession, and I would IM Cal or Souki so that I could get it out of my system, then go back to what I was doing...although, lately, I've given up on that as well.

Now, as for 'how much is too much'...I'm of the belief that everyone should do whatever it is that makes them happy, and I can say that H!P undoubtedly does that for me. Is this kind of fandom too much? In all honesty, it is, and I know that...but, in my opinion, regardless of what someone is doing, as long as they have a sense of self-awareness and aren't hurting others in the process, let them do what they want (obviously, everyone's definition of 'hurting others' is different, but that's not something I really feel like discussing right now). Of course, that doesn't do much to help defend my approach to H!P fandom, but it explains why I'm essentially okay with my current state of affairs.

I will say that I haven't given up on my 'real' life, since I'm sure that's the impression most people will get from this blog. I'm still going to school, I still have a job, and, if my friends want to hang out when they're in town (or, for those who still live in town, when they have the time), I'll do it, even if I may feel like hiding in my room with my photobooks & CDs & DVDs & whatever other H!P merchandise I throw my money at. Despite all that I've said here, if I had to choose between Hello!Project and my friends, I would definitely pick my friends (I'm not that stupid...yet XD).

Still...of the petty, unimportant, not-essential-to-life things that I spend most of my time obsessing over, Hello!Project is undeniably at the top. Right now, that's what I'm choosing to focus on, because that's what makes me the happiest at the end of the day. It is NOT the end-all be-all, and I hope it never is, because as much joy as my favorite H!P members bring me, I can never become their friend, or hold a conversation with them, or go out for a night on the town with them, or do anything that I can do with the people that I know and will come to know in my life. And that over-arching mentality is what separates a hardcore wota from a socially fucked, over-obsessive stalker.

I'M A GOOD PERSON DAMMIT.
- cfb

Cal and I Discuss Gatas, Soccer Sweat, and Sexual Banter

2008-03-25T00:26:00.008-04:00

The end of this conversation briefly refers to something, and I feel it needs a little explaining: with the exception of a few H!P blogs, I get very upset when people make sexual references to Berryz Koubou. Call it moe or what have you...regardless, my friends get a big kick out of pissing me off by making unnecessarily explicit sex jokes about Berryz.

Anyway, this is what happens when Cal and I get bored.

January 30th, 2008
CatchFiveBats: I'm watching a Gatas game in the cafe at school.
pootyfrebbles: lol
CatchFiveBats: It feels kind of awkward.
pootyfrebbles: People are going to walk by and think you're a super cool soccer guy
CatchFiveBats: Heh, something like that.
pootyfrebbles: You should totally play along and get some pussy
CatchFiveBats: nah
pootyfrebbles: You only want the J-Pussy?
CatchFiveBats: Yeah, sure, why not.
CatchFiveBats: YEAAAAH HHHHHH GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL
CatchFiveBats: One thing I really like about what I've seen of these games is that if a member of one team ends up knocking over or injuring a member of another team, they immediately run over to make sure they're okay.
CatchFiveBats: Man, Gatas are getting schooled.
pootyfrebbles: lol
pootyfrebbles: Is Hitomi still hot?
CatchFiveBats: I haven't seen her much this game.
CatchFiveBats: She's not out there playing yet.
pootyfrebbles: But when you DID see her, was she hot?
CatchFiveBats: Of course.
pootyfrebbles: Then it's all good
CatchFiveBats: You...do not understand what futsal is all about.
pootyfrebbles: Hahahahaha
pootyfrebbles: I love it how you're talking about it like you actually care about it as a sport
CatchFiveBats: I care if Gatas wins or not.
pootyfrebbles: Watch it on a smaller window, then talk to me too!
pootyfrebbles: D:
CatchFiveBats: No, I like fullscreen cause it makes sure that I actually pay attention.
CatchFiveBats: If I did it in a smaller window, I'd be rewinding all the time to catch what I missed.
pootyfrebbles: Poop on you
CatchFiveBats: THERE'S HITOMI!
CatchFiveBats: WOWOWOWOW
pootyfrebbles: HOTNESS!?
CatchFiveBats: hai hai
pootyfrebbles: OH BABY
CatchFiveBats: OH YEAH FUJIMOTO AND HITOMI ARE ON THE FIELD
pootyfrebbles: OMG
pootyfrebbles: Hitomi is so fucking hot.
pootyfrebbles: They're both hot as fuck
CatchFiveBats: YESSIR.
pootyfrebbles: THEY BOTH HAVE DELICIOUS BODIES
pootyfrebbles: MMMMMMMMMMMMMM
pootyfrebbles: YUUUUUM
CatchFiveBats: I don't know if I approve of the 'mmm' and 'yuuum', but yes, they do.
CatchFiveBats: ESPECIALLY FUJIMOTO
pootyfrebbles: Hahahaha
CatchFiveBats: OHHHHHH YEAAAHHHHHH
pootyfrebbles: I WANT TO LICK THE SOCCER SWEAT OFF BOTH OF THEM
pootyfrebbles: YUUUUUUUUM
pootyfrebbles: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
CatchFiveBats: uhhhhhhhh
pootyfrebbles: lol
CatchFiveBats: D:
pootyfrebbles: You're flipping out much less than I had hoped
CatchFiveBats: Yeah, I figure the best way to deter you guys' sexual banter is to just under-react.
CatchFiveBats: Unless it's BK.
pootyfrebbles: Hahahaha
pootyfrebbles: What about Reina?
CatchFiveBats: I would prefer you leave her alone.
pootyfrebbles: What about Risa?
CatchFiveBats: Risa is too cute.
CatchFiveBats: You've already claimed Takahashi, so I can't do much there.
pootyfrebbles: Hahahaha
pootyfrebbles: What about Kago?
CatchFiveBats: I'd prefer you leave Kago out too.
pootyfrebbles: XD

I guess there's not much else to say here...
- cfb

Cal Likes Ayaka A Little Too Much...

2008-03-21T01:14:00.002-04:00

I just had to post this one. XD

March 21, 2008
pootyfrebbles: Ayaka is hot
CatchFiveBats: Yes, Ayaka is awesome.
pootyfrebbles: IF I HAD THE CHOICE
pootyfrebbles: TO FUCK THAT BITCH
pootyfrebbles: OR TO NOT FUCK THAT BITCH.
pootyfrebbles: I WOULD CHOOSE TO FUCK THAT BITCH
CatchFiveBats: XD
CatchFiveBats: I think Ayaka is totally cuuuuuuuute.
pootyfrebbles: I WOULD FUCK THAT BITCH SO HARD
pootyfrebbles: LET ME DESCRIBE WHAT I WOULD DO TO HER, USING NOTHING BUT THE NAMES OF POKEMON MOVES.
CatchFiveBats: ALRIGHT
CatchFiveBats: XD
pootyfrebbles: MEAN LOOK
pootyfrebbles: POUND
pootyfrebbles: SLAM
pootyfrebbles: HYDRO PUMP
pootyfrebbles: In that order
CatchFiveBats: OH OH OH
CatchFiveBats: XDXDXDXDXD
pootyfrebbles: XD

Seriously, Cal...what the hell...
- cfb