Original Saku

NUMBER GIRL—yes, that NUMBER GIRL—are set to reform at the RISING SUN ROCK FESTIVAL in Hokkaido, set for 16-17th of August this year.
Comment from Shutoku Mukai:

official HP
Natalie article

neat app, might be a good way to connect easily with other people of similar interests. I'll check it out

God of War. Good lord, WHAT A GAME.
 
I was a bit skeptical cuz I always found the combat on the previous ones a bit repetitive/boring and somewhat weak on the story side, with a lot of wanker fanservice inbetween. They transformed the shallow Kratos into a person tormented by his past, who is not able to connect with his son the way he wants and should, with much more depth than he appears to have/should be, all while tearing monsters apart with his bare hands. Game is gorgeous, Atreus is a hell of a kid, full of character, combat is fluid, I haven't found anything to complain yet.
 
Also got into a few rounds of Apex Legends, won my first one and got stomped all the others. Sounds like a fun game, tho.

Got some 58x that are finally gonna arrive tmrw, sadly because of my vk purchases and holiday shopping these were the best I could afford but I'm still super excited to try them out 

I've been playing Monster Hunter World for a few hours now and I really love it. I've never played a Monster Hunter game before but I've played some similar games so I kinda knew what to expect. It'll probably take me a good while to learn how to get good at it but it's fine, I like games where you actually have to know what you're doing.

Finally watched this not too long ago, and although the entire series is only 21 minutes long (and seems more like a long teaser than anything), it was still enjoyable for what it was. And even at its length, this is lightyears ahead of the Build Divers series (which I assumed was aimed at children, cuz woah its bad). Would really like to see them make this into a full series or an OVA at least.
 

Also Narrative looks like it'll be dope! Hiroyuki Sawano on the OST too!
 
 

Recently rather unexpectedly gotten back on the anime train - I finally watched all of Stardust Crusaders, and am now about 7 episodes into Diamond is Unbreakable. It's one of my favorite Jojo parts in its original manga format (even though I read it ages ago, back when DUWANG was the only translation available) so hopefully the anime version's good too! I've read some people's complaints about QUALITY animation in this part in particular here and there, but as far as I know I'm watching the Blu Ray rips, and supposedly those at least somewhat improved some of the shoddier parts?
 
(also, I'm kind of finding it hard to get used to Jotaro's new design in this particular part after moving on straight from Stardust Crusaders... I don't really remember him looking like that in the manga, but again, it's been ages since i last read it so tbh i don't remember much in general)

never has a more blasphemous sentence been uttered....
 
naw but seriously new vegas is awesome, my favorite fallout game. which platform are you playing on?

I've been playing Fallout: New Vegas recently. I'm usually more of a turn-based RPG/strategy person, but I actually played a few minutes of it as part of a psychology study in university, and I've always kind of wanted to give it a shot since I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic stuff.
The VATS system is a huge selling point for me, since I'm not great at shooting and my reflexes suck. Makes it almost feel like playing a grosser, more active version of Fire Emblem sometimes. I really like the soundtrack too. Which is rare for me, since I usually mute the sound when I'm playing video games.

Some new promo pics. Sad to see them without Yutaka, but great to see them carrying on!
 

 

I'm only watching banana fish atm and I'm really behind. The relationship between Ash and Eiji is what I find most fascinating, it feels like genuine chemistry which is so rare in anime, especially bl adjacent anime. The combo of ott action/plot and themes of surviving trauma feel at war with each other often, I try to take it as a byproduct of being written in the 80s/90s. However, the constant use of rape as a threat to the characters feels outdated and cheap. If only they had chosen to cut some of that out, it happens too often and takes me out of the show. I read at least five volumes of the manga waaaay back when Viz originally released it, it didn't hook me then. I think I was a bit too young to appreciate it's best qualities, so I'm glad it's being given such a nice adaptation now.
I've heard good things about Bloom Into You, I'm just not in the mood for a slow romance rn.

| Dir en grey's tenth album is something special indeed.
 
Few artists can bring the scene together and elicit responses from everyone the way that Dir en grey can. They can make you pause your habitual listening routines to check out their newest single or album, even if you don't like them. This is because Dir en grey is one of the few bands where we can sense the progression and self-improvement from release to release. I don't think that Dir en grey aspires to impress anyone but themselves from three years ago, and now more than ever I see and feel a band that has graduated from copying trends to setting them. As a concept, and after listening to the album several times, I believe The Insulated World refers directly to them, their view on the world, and the inspiration for where the music they wish to create comes from.
 
The Insulated World feels like a journey into oneself, and the album feels separated into two parts. The first half of the album feels like a turbulent descent into madness, while the second half feels like the madness has yielded to tranquility as the listener floats towards personal understanding. I prefer the second half to the first half. This is a far cry from literally every other album of theirs, where tracks were arranged haphazardly and the experience suffers for it. I can hear various influences from each of their previous eras and albums - some more than others - but one of the most redeeming points about The Insulated World is that it doesn't sound like anything in particular.
 
In the past, I've felt that Dir en grey bit off more than they could chew, and failed to deliver on their own expectations. I felt this most when listening to DUM SPIRO SPERO, where the band used progressive elements for the sake of being progressive. The Insulated World has the progressive elements applied more sensibly, similar to ARCHE. Songs morph and change direction on a whim, but there are hooks and motifs that the band returns to that gives each song coherency. Vocalist Kyo reminds us once again that he's the king of vocal manipulation - just in case you had doubts - but he's embraced his mid range more. Focusing on the extremes of his vocal techniques leaves an immediate and lasting impression at the expense of it sounding very binary. I prefer the vocal extremes for specific emotional climaxes and using other vocal techniques for specific feelings at the appropriate times. "Values of Madness" is the best example of what I am describing, where we get screeching, rapping, singing, and more in a compact four minutes. The re-recording of "The Deeper Vileness" is another great example, and also highlights how well some of the ideas they explored in The Marrow of a Bone translate into their new style ten years later.
 
Complaints about the terrible production job for the singles "Utafumi" and "Ningen wo kaburu" were founded and make more sense in hindsight, with the new versions sounding less congested. Die and Kaoru no longer compete with Toshiya for total control of the low end frequency, Shinya's drum kit sounds less robotic, Kyo doesn't feel tacked on top of the mix, and there's plenty of room left for the guitar distortion techniques and electronic samples to breathe. For the most part, I like the tone chosen for the guitar and the way everything comes together in each song, and I would rank this among both their best and least obnoxiously mixed albums to date. I wish they could get their singles to this quality.
 
The Insulated World is not a perfect release. "Devote My Life" is not listenable due to the piercing, unrelenting tone of the guitar. Sticking it in the second slot does a lot to turn away people who only have once chance to give Dir en grey. They should have gone with a guitar tone closer to "Downfall". "Ranunculus", while a great song and a good note to end the album on, has an atmosphere which doesn't fit with the album. I get the impression this track was conceived either very early or very late in the production cycle, because it stands well on its own. I also am unable to find the hook in the album opus, "絶縁体" (Zetsusentai), which I find difficult to wrap my head around. They've done this style of track more effectively with "Vinushka" and even "Diabolos", and it doesn't hold a candle to the pure atmosphere of "MACABRE". Speaking of Macabre, I also find the new version of "理由" (Riyuu) slightly inferior to the original version. The cover of the song does justice to the original by not straying too much from the melody, but they reined in the emotion of the song and the guitar solo with only a cleaner sound to compensate,  and the original version of the song sold itself on its emotion. They didn't ruin it, but they didn't improve it much. The new version of "鬼眼" (Kigan) falls into the same camp, but the much better production values edges it out ahead in the end. For the record, I much rather these safe reinterpretations than ones that butcher the song beyond recognition.
 
These interpretations are subject to change as I spend more time with The Insulated World, and perhaps catch them live one day to experience these songs in person. Even a month later, I still think I wrote this review prematurely, as there are songs still growing on me and others that I am unsure if I like or not. I am pleased overall with how this album turned out, and I can see myself listening to this album in a few years without the songs wearing thin. Dir en grey did well, and this is an album I can recommend to both long time fans and the curious, but if ARCHE did nothing for you then this won't either.
 
 
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Great review, Zeus! I agree with most of your points.
 
I certainly think that The Insulated World is DIR EN GREY's most mature and consistent album to date. It feels like they played to their strengths more than ever and cut the experimentation to an extent that actually benefits the record instead of bloating it. There’s hardly any filler tracks on here. The only criticism I have in this department is that Zetsuentai feels unnecessarily long plus I’m not a huge fan of Utafumi. Both those points don’t change the fact, however, that this is the first DEG album in a long time that I can sit through without feeling exhausted, uncomfortable or wanting to skip tracks.
 
In general, the whole thing feels very raw, stripped, immediate and concise which are properties a lot of their past albums lack. And even though the experience is so condensed and straight-forward, I wouldn’t call it “dumbed down” at all. On the contrary, everyone seems to execute their part with a heightened sense for technical finesse. There’s still a good degree of playfulness and experimentation, most notably in Kyo’s multifaceted vocal delivery and some of Shinya’s brilliant drum fills. But that’s not even the best part. The riffs on this thing are jaw-dropping at times. Thanks to mostly great songwriting (which gets a little repetitive during the second half) and this nasty, thick and gritty guitar tone, they punch you in the chest so hard you’ll find yourself gasping for air. Strong riffs and catchy hooks dominate of The Insulated World, but occasional sparkly clean passages and some great guitar solos break up the density and bring in some of that In Flames / Dark Tranquility Swedish melo-death flavor. While I really would have wished for the bass to stand out more (as in Keigaku no Yoku), I still think that it is mixed quite well. It does take the back seat in some songs, but really adds to the aggression and overall atmosphere in others (as in Devote My Life).
 
As for the production, I don’t think it’s awful. The thing is, if you listen to it on crappy hardware, it sounds crappy. I tried it with some cheap Urbanears Plattan and it was a mess. But hardware like this is not designed to deliver a pure, detailed and balanced representation of the music you’re listening to. The main problem is that The Insulated World is very heavy on the lower mids and low frequencies and with bass boosted headphones or speakers (which is more or less standard for almost everything in the budget range) you get a completely distorted “image” of what this album actually sounds like.
 
PS: I don’t agree that Devote My Life is “unlistenable”. Sure, the guitars sound punishing and harsh but I see it as a fit representation of the lyrical content. Plus after all this build-up of excruciating tension during the verses, the chorus/breakdown with its wide bed of bass and gutturals opens the whole thing up and creates a very satisfying dynamic imo.

3Gatsu no Lion might seriously be one of my favorite series ever....  this second season just raised my enjoyment of it to a whole new level. I can't wait for it to return. I urge people to please go try it, honestly one of the best shows I've seen in a very long time.

MY TIME HAS COME!!!!!!

Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro, Asobi Asobase, and Grand Blue all are shows that were completely under my radar, but have consistently had me in tears so far. Very funny shit.
 
Angolmois: Genkou Kassenki seems like it'll be pretty good plus it's been far too long since I've watched a Historical anime that felt this good out of the gate.
 
Banana Fish has me enthralled with the first two episodes, I don't really know anything about the source material but I'm really into this American gangster setting in anime it's pulling off. might be a AOTY contender.
 
Hanebado! Gonna go ahead and call this one my anime of the season, I'm just a damn sucker for sports anime and what a obscure sport to do an anime on. I mean it's fucking badminton for Christ sake, but I'll be damned if I'm not just utterly captivated by the animation and art in this show, and by the end of the third episode I'm all in on these characters and can really feel their struggles and relate.
 
Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu yes it's a isekai ecchi harem show... But I really like it. So sue me, I like big voluptuous elven titties and the significantly flatter but in no way inferior loli boobs in this show.
 
 
 
 

playing metal gear solid 2. its been 10 years since I last played it.

You know you could just branch out into other sections of Japanese music besides VK, where there seems to be no shortage of up and coming promising bands. when I started getting tired of all the stagnation in the scene back in 2010-2011 that's what I did and it pretty much revitalized my interest and love for Japanese music. Just a thought.

Just saw this on Amazon video the other day. I gotta say, it's quite entertaining. Got to episode six, and thought that the season has ended since it was at a good stopping point, only to find out there are 24 episodes! Sweet.
 
@Gaz I'm looking forward to some more Jojo too!

Take this with a grain of salt because I've never owned a tube amp or used one for that matter, but what I hear around the web is that THIS is supposed to be a very good entry into the tube amp space. I always see people recommending the Crack 1.1 if you want to go this route. Might need to do some more research on it before deciding, but I hope this helps you.

Update after 2 weeks: 
These are fucking amazing. 
I don't even know where to begin describing how these babies sound. 
 
Using audiophile jargon, if I were to compare them to the HD600s, I'd say they are less "bright", and more "full". Compared to my HD6XXs, it's definitely a more wild child as the upper mids are strong as hell, and let loose the more you drive them, probably due to the low impedance. It's got a fresh sound, with like a "grip" on the bass, and so it doesn't sound like it spills over. Defintely not as smooth as the HD650/HD6XX in terms of sound, as it's very lively, which is definitely good for rock music. I wish I had a pair of HD660S' to try out but I don't  . I have heard that is sound just like it, and that the only major difference is that the HD660S is smoother and more true to sound.
 
In any case, I'd definitely say I scored big time for these with the price of $150, and I even got a low serial number from the first production run lol.
 

This is an age old problem and has always been the case here. There's really nothing to do, if we implement a post requirement the lurkers and leechers would just spam to acquire the "golden ticket" and then go back into the shadows... thus i would rather not do that. At the end of the day you upload with the knowledge that shit like this is gonna happen no matter what. Either upload or not it's your decision, shit getting re-posted at crappy blog sites without permission or credit is gonna happen no matter what even if we did try to put something into action. At the end of the day you have to ask yourself a question; Do I upload for the gratitude and self-serving feeling I receive from the act of uploading music or do I upload to spread the love and joys of music regardless of how much "thanks" or "credit" i get in return.
 
For me it's the latter. I don't give a rat's ass about "thanks" or "credit" if people want to re-post my shit, then you know what? I say let them.. What do I care? In fact that makes me happy that in the end more people will be able to listen to the music I think is wonderful. If your opinion aligns with the former then you should probably just go ahead and hang it up because you will never get the "thanks" or "credit" that you want, and your stuff will inevitably always be re-posted without even a smidgen of credit.
 
I however do agree with you on the whole re-posting links ordeal, that shit needs to die. If somebody has the gall to re-post your stuff without credit they should at least re-upload to a different file server instead of hot linking the same link.. not just because that's totally dis-respectful to the original uploader who's account is likely to be shutdown but also the fact that they are not helping the internet out at all by doing so. I mean what happens when that 's the only link for that album on the entire web? and then said link gets taken down... It's gone forever until somebody else comes around and rips/uploads the album again, that shit is not productive and overall hurts us more than it helps us.

Alright @platy , Darling in the FRANXX just went full fucking KILL LA KILL on us, so I think I can confidently say start watching it lol.

if any body is interested I've started an instagram to keep up with all of my wips and finished builds (plus some random food posts :D). feel free to follow.
 
https://www.instagram.com/towa_skye/