monkeybanana4

To celebrate the band's half year anniversary of being together, they have decided to hold a one-man live on 2019.02.10 at Shinsaibashi Juza. The one-man live will be called【-189-Novelize】Tickets will start to go on sale on 31st October.

Name: Let's just go with monkeybanana4 Age: Too old Years studied: informally - too many years (on and off - I need more discipline, lol); formally - 4 years Estimated level: Moderate/Advanced (I've slacked off ever since I graduated from uni ;A;) Knowledge of Hiragana/Katakana: All (Having a chart of both hiragana and katakana stuck on my wall really helped me memorize it) Kanji: That's a tough question >w< Probably a couple of hundred. (According to estimates, to pass N3 for the JLPT one needs to know about approximately 650 kanji characters. So let's just go with that XP) What is your main goal with studying Japanese?: Being able to converse and understand Japanese. Would also love to understand the Japanese culture, too. What materials have you used before?: Genki books, various prep books, and many online resources

Adding to the studying abroad in Japan topic, I would definitely recommend living with a host family. That way you'll be able to use the language even more and learn about the Japanese culture and its customs at the same time. It can be tricky trying to communicate with your Japanese host family, but don't worry! In my experience, they're very nice and willing to help you out with any problems. They can also provide useful tips and show you some things about the area/city/place you're studying/living in that you might otherwise not know about. As for some resources... Basic Kanji Book Vol. 1 Basic Kanji Book Vol. 2 My teachers recommended these books if you want to hone in on your writing skills. (I believe they also have intermediate and advanced levels.) I think they're okay and serve their purpose without overloading too much information on you.

I speak fluent English and semi-decent Chinese (Mandarin mainly. Apparently, my pronunciation is really bad, though. Sadly, I only understand a few words in Cantonese even though my parents listen to that music all the time, lol.) I learned Spanish in school, but I've forgotten most of it. As for Japanese, I've been mostly self-taught, but I took it at uni for four years, so I can read and listen semi-okay. Speaking is not as good since there aren't many native Japanese people where I live.

I was browsing through YT and I found these old funny videos of them. I couldn't stop staring at Mirai's hair in the Nico video, lol.

A tranquil, beautiful, and calming tune.

Too shy to sing at a karaoke, and I don't think I would sound good, lol. However, when no one is looking, I like to sing Alice Nine's White Prayer or Ruri Ame. I also love to sing Kagrra's Utakata (although I can't sing it with the greatness that Isshi's voice gives off).

Should have had a whole Narutoesque outfit photoshopped in there on Satsuki. Cosplay for the win.

This song is a nice addition to the album. Not to mention Chisa writes some interesting lyrics. Thank you for the romanji!

Nice artwork! It feels very calm and tranquil. Also, love the pattern and color designs on the resting dog.

Versailles' Holy Grail box was a neat set. It may not have been their greatest album, but it came with a thick, nice booklet, a poster, the CD, and DVD (with lots of footage albeit most of it is the Masquerade PV featuring a single member - but hey, who doesn't want to look at more Kamijo?). It's also the only one I own 😅

Wow, nice song and MV! Who are the members?

Couldn’t find any English translations, but I think the gist talks about a person who continues to love another one even though that person they loved has already left them.

Another best of album? Oh, super exciting. sarcasm Too bad it won’t be a full revival. Wish I could build a teleporter to see them live.

When I first listened to the song Evil Disco by Fest Vainqueuer, I thought, this would definitely have a nice furitsuke. After attending their live, I'm now always dancing to this song like this... so I can't listen to it any more in public, lol.

If I'm reading the blog entry correctly, he states that he will be playing with the band at their live on 2019.03.09, but he will quit from the band after the live. I think that's what @The Piass meant?

I was randomly looking up videos on YT, and I came across this hilarious Disney WWII propaganda cartoon with Donald Duck. There's a short introduction about the cartoon with the late Leonard Martin. Gotta give props to the comedic animation and a hilarious angry Donald Duck. It's a little patriotic and somewhat stereotypical in some parts, but I still love the slapstick comedy and irony in it.

Top ten favorite bands? That's super hard! I like and listen to lots of bands. After some hard contemplation, here is my list of my top ten visual kei bands. (In no particular order. I think.) Kagrra, - This band will be irreplaceable to me. They created beautiful, harmonizing sounds by being able to play rock music and blend it with the koto. The music they played never sounded forceful or awkward. It also spoke to the wider themes of Japanese culture and truly emanated those kinds of transient yet beautiful sounds. Also, much of the lyrics were either philosophical or referenced to nature - something I really appreciated and adored. It wasn't always just a straight up "I love you" or "I'm super sad" song. Also, they embraced that Japanese theme with not only the music, but also with their costumes and names (of the songs). Knowing that this band will never come back for obvious reasons makes me somewhat depressed. They are other bands like Kiryu or Wagakki Band who use traditional Japanese instruments and wear traditional Japanese costumes, but it doesn't feel the same to me. Something about Kagrra, was simply magical. (I could be giving Kagrra, way too much credit here, lol.) SCREW - They were that band people either really hated or really liked. Ironically, I didn't even pay attention to them until their Duality album. Afterward, I became a huge fan of them. Some fans argued about the change in bassists. No doubt the band's style changed, but I still enjoyed the content they put out. My favorite albums has to be Fusion of Core and X-Rays. Plus, they were super hilarious and entertaining to see live. I was so sad when they disbanded. But I suppose all good things must come to an end. Vidoll - They may have not been the most spectacular or the best band ever, but I did like the music they created. Also, I enjoyed Jui's nice voice. In particular, I loved their jazzy songs. It was such a shame that they disbanded. I would have loved to see them play live. Sadie - They get lots of flak for sounding like DEG (not completely unwarranted - although, doesn't almost every VK band sound like DEG at some point?). Nonetheless, I still enjoyed their music even right before they took a hiatus. I like listening to Mao's deep voice accompanied by the music. DIMLIM - I've only recently found out about this band, but I am digging the content they've released so far. The singer also has a great voice that can growl and sing wonderfully. I'm looking to forward to seeing how the band will grow and what kind of music they'll create in the future. Diaura - Thanks to a friend, I was introduced to this band, and I have loved their music ever since. They've changed members since they first started, but I'm never disappointed by the music they create. (Although, what's going on with them now? It's kind of confusing since they created another band with the same name and members, but it's now stopping? Oh, visual kei.) Versailles - Their costumes, which are reminiscent of traditional European styled clothes, and music grabbed my attention. My favorite albums have to be Noble and Jubilee. Kamijo has such a sexy, alluring voice and I appreciated how they focused on the instrumentals, too. Some bands, it'll usually only be one person who plays all of the solos, but in Versailles, every instrument got their little bit of solo in the songs. (At least, that's what I remember from my skewed memories.) D'espairRays - Unfortunately, I only discovered them way after they disbanded. It makes me wonder why I didn't listen to them before. Hizumi has such an incredible voice and the band plays a unique, dark, and depressing rock sound that I have not heard another band play. It's quite unfortunate as to what happened to the band before they disbanded. They really had something truly amazing. vistlip - Not only are they a funny band, but they also can create both dark, heavy music and light, happy music. Also, Tomo (the singer) has a nice range for his voice. It's soothing to listen to. I also enjoy Umi's rapping parts, lol. Their lives are also lots of fun. Alice Nine/A9 - I was first introduced to visual kei through bands like Nightmare, Kagerou, and merry. But Alice Nine was the first band I religiously followed. They were the first band in which I bought a poster of and laminated it to specifically hang it on my wall, lol. Despite how they've changed their name and style as a band, they'll always hold a special place. I would have also added Shoujo Lolita23Q, Megaromania, Moran, Mejibray, Monolith, and the Gazette. But I could only have the 'top' ten in this list, so unfortunately I couldn't add them ;w;

Interesting titles! (Especially Namari) I wonder what the songs will sound like. Hopefully there will be a preview soon.

Wow, they announced a lot quite early. Would love to see them live!

Finished reading All the President's Men. Considering the current political climate (especially in the US), I thought it was an enlightening book to read.

The last concert I went to was to the Kingdom Heart Orchestra (World Tour). It was a blast being able to hear the music from the video game come to life. The orchestra played with fervor and emotion, letting each note in the song sing. The selections were also fantastic. For instance, they played all the major characters' themes and some world themes, too. (I'm sad that Rage Awakened wasn't played for the concert, lol.) Hearing the music mesh with the video game footage in real time was a bonus, too. Yoko Shimomura (the music composer for the series) came out to play the Fantastia alla March for piano, orchestra and chorus on the piano alongside the orchestra. Overall, it was a real treat. (A super extra bonus was being able to meet her and getting her signature. She was super nice!) (This playlist is missing track number 1 for some reason.) (The video has all the songs put together in one video.)