peffy

I like any holiday that
1. gives me a day off from work
2. does not require me to say holiday greetings
3. does not require me to buy/receive gifts & cards
4. does not require me to attend parties or gatherings
 
So that's like.. Labour Day, Victoria Day, Civic Holiday, Family Day, Canada Day. Most of those are Canada-specific work holidays, but you get my point.
 
The WORST holiday, by far, is Christmas. As someone who's worked in retail before, there are very few things I hate more than Christmas carols and having to say/hear "Merry Christmas" 500 times during every day of the "holiday season".
 

Shit looks tight as fuck, I might need to go ahead and play Yakuza 5 since I've been putting it off for so long, oh and also isn't 0 supposed to be coming here next year?

Add a spoiler tag please I'm at work peffs
So nsfw.

I randomly decided to google the names of my beloved hostesses (from my hostess club in Yakuza 0) and found out that 5 out of 6 of them are actual porn stars. X_X
Along with almost every other female NPC in the game with a unique face.

100% self-taught over 12-13 years, never been to a single class and don't have any Japanese-speaking family or friends. My university offered a beginner Japanese course, but they only had space for like 20 students per semester, so I never got into it. So during boring lectures, I would fill my margins with hiragana & katakana practice. Not really sure how I passed my courses. 
 
After I finished school, I bought a couple of grammar books and learned a lot from those. Also learned a TON of vocabulary from doing romaji lyrics, and picked up a lot from watching anime/dramas, and playing Japanese video games. Interestingly, I went to Chinese writing/reading lessons during my childhood but my Japanese ability is far far faaaaaar better. (probably because I had very little interest in Chinese when I was young)
 
I suck at writing kanji/Chinese from memory, but that's mostly due to not practicing it at all. I know all about radicals and stroke order and can *copy* the characters easily.
 
.. Hmm, I voted wrong for the "Speaking" part. I put Intermediate but I really should've put Beginner. My speaking ability is mostly untested, and native speakers talk too fast for me to understand easily. (However, when I went to Japan I was told that my pronunciation is very good)
 

It's a game that takes a while to get going, the story is pretty basic the first few chapters but after that it starts ramping up and it presents a lot of genuinely interesting mysteries to solve. And yeah Danganronpa is Japanese as fuck so if that's your problem then I can tell you it's only gonna get weirder XD

So I gathered the data out of this thread:
https://www.monochrome-heaven.com/topic/26485-your-top-10-favorite-visual-kei-bands/?page=1
and put it into excel, sorted from highest to lowest and have found the top 10 favorite visual kei bands according to the community. Most of this list will surprise no one but I thought there might be some interest.
 
Note: I didn't include 'honorable mentions' on this list just the poster's top 10. I also didn't include rank data in spreadsheet because it would be too much effort and some posters didn't rank their list.
 
1. Dir en grey (28 votes)
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It comes as no surprise that dir en grey are number 1. Everyone on this forum knows who they are and they are probably the most influential VK band of the last 15 years. Next.
 
 
2. D'espairs Ray (22 votes)
 

 
 
An alternative metal band loved my many during their time and one of the most popular 2000s VK bands. Sadly their vocalist Hizumi caught a rare throat condition and the band was forced to disband for the sake of his health. Still many people have fond memories of these guys and their music was well liked in both Japan and overseas. Known for their energetic live shows.
 
 
3. The GazettE (19 votes)
 

 
 
Another extremely popular band from the 2000s. Many people love to hate them and many people hate to love them but whenever they release something, the VK community catches on fire. It comes as no surprise seeing these guys here.
 
 
4. Malice Mizer (17 votes)
 

 
One of the most influential VK bands of the 90s and one of the few 90s VK bands that overseas fans have actually heard of. Playing a distinctive style of visual kei, symphonic/gothic rock and neoclassical darkwave, they have a small but legendary discography and there still are many bands imitating their style to this day. They faced many challenges throughout their career that people on this site probably know already (lead singer quitting to become a celebrity, death of their drummer) and eventually disbanded (or "indefinite hiatas"). 
 
 
5. Lynch. (16 votes)
 

 
The most popular 'nagoya kei' band of the last decade or so. They have been churning out multiple releases a year since 2004 and while many people call them mediocre, they still have a lot of dedicated fans who follow their every release. Their concept is "uniting heavy music with beautiful melodies".
 
 
6/7. deadman / Girugämesh (14 votes)
 

 
Deadman were a nagoya kei band from the 2000s. A bit surprising to see them this high but it seems they have a strong cult following on this website. They're music has strong alternative rock influences and they're releases were very well received during their time. 
 
 

 
 
Girugämesh were a 2000s visual kei band who mostly sticked to nu metal and metalcore throughout their career. They were really popular in the international VK community while nu metal was dying in the west but became an internet meme after being featured on a Sakuracon anime convention advertisement. Their newer releases were poorly received but many people hold their early discography in high regard. They broke up in July of this year and it was the biggest VK break up of the year (so far...).
 
 
8. Renter en soi (13 votes)
 

 
 
An alternative metal band from the early-mid 2000s loved my many during their short time active. People praised Satsuki's voice, their atmospheric production, and the band's ability to write strong melodies in an alternative metal style. They broke up in 2008 before is was cool but they still hold an important place on many VK listener's ipods.
 
 
9/10. Buck Tick / DIV (12 votes)
 

 
Regardless whether you think Buck Tick qualifies as a visual kei band, you cannot deny their huge influence they have had on the looks and sound of visual kei as a whole. Forming in 1983, their music includes a wide range of influences including gothic rock, alternative rock, post punk, darkwave and electronic music. They are hugely successful in Japan and many of their releases are regarded as classics. If you like VK than these guys really are an essential listen.
 
 

 
The newest band on this list (formed in 2012) and the only band on this list leaning towards the pop side of visual kei. Honestly I didn't know these guys were this popular but it appears they have caused quite a stir in the community while I wasn't looking. Sadly they are disbanding in October so if you are in Japan this will likely be your last chance to see them live.
 
 
 
And for those interested, numbers 11-20:
- 9GOATS BLACK OUT (11 votes)
- MEJIBRAY (11)
- MUCC (11)
- LUNA SEA (10)
- Versailles (10)
- 12012 (8)
- AvelCain (8)
- Cali Gari (8)
- Kagrra (8)
- Plastic Tree (8)
 
 

i'll probably be crucified by people here for saying this, but when it comes to lolita23q i'm on #teamsoshi XD
 
still happy to see sou back though, he's been gone for too long since lemming disbanded

delays ahoy!
 
South Park has been delayed to "Q1 2017" ..
welp, that frees up time for FFXV.
 
edit:
More Yakuza hype!
These gifs LOOK incredible, I hope the final product looks like this.
 


 
 

This is SO HYPE lol
WOW NEW PRICE YEN WOW WOW LINEUP NOW
Japanese rappers literally rapping about upcoming PS4 games. Including FFXV, Persona 5, TLG, Gravity Daze 2, World of FF, and Yakuza 6
If this doesn't convince Japanese gamers to buy a PS4, nothing will =p
 
~
 
Speaking of Yakuza 6...
Although I feel like I'm the only fan of Yakuza around here...
 
New details about Yakuza 6
(early plot spoilers, don't click if you don't want to know. don't even read the URL)
 
This series is so crazy. I love it.
 
Also, they are giving Kiryu a smartphone for texting/social media/selfies (lol). He's using the latest XPERIA (though it's not the android UI). I will be tickled every time I see that phone because I literally just bought the exact same phone in the same colour. (actually, not sure if it's X/XA/XP/XZ/XC but they all kinda look the same)
 
 

Kiryu looks old. And yes, that is the janky Xperia camera interface.
 
Anyway, getting super tempted to get this as soon as I'm done with FFXV (it's out Dec 8, holy hell those 2 weeks are packed). Ain't waiting years for localization like a scrub. 

彼は死に、彼女は消えた。
冷たい雨が降り注ぐ、
長い夜のはじまり。
 
 
The title is better translated to "Night / which is the darkness that visits everything equally"
The 3-line description is roughly "He died, she disappeared. The cold rain pours down, the beginning of the long night."
Seems like classic Temari
 
 
Previews (posted in other thread by @薔薇の末裔 )
 
 
sounds amazing, i need this, but how to get it??? :'( 

彼は死に、彼女は消えた。
冷たい雨が降り注ぐ、
長い夜のはじまり。
 
 
The title is better translated to "Night / which is the darkness that visits everything equally"
The 3-line description is roughly "He died, she disappeared. The cold rain pours down, the beginning of the long night."
Seems like classic Temari
 
 
Previews (posted in other thread by @薔薇の末裔 )
 
 
sounds amazing, i need this, but how to get it??? :'( 

there is already a topic for the mini-album !!!
 
 

I have always assumed they're referring to Mary (mother of Jesus). According to Japanese Wikipedia, she's called マリア (Maria) in Japanese.
It could also represent a virgin, or a chaste/virtuous girl, or a motherly figure etc.... Maybe?

sssso... I used google to figure out where your images came from
They are all from this twitter account https://twitter.com/lopechante
 
This tweet specifically
 
This person APPEARS to be a female model/talento who used to be part of the all-girl band Bi;shop
 
 
Photo taken from:
http://shattered-tranquility.net/index.php/11/04/bishop-disbands/

I love everything about this photo.

T_T
Fine fine I will watch the anime and film. I was going to watch the film anyway because I'm interested in their achievements in CG. Those screenshots were amazing looking.
Will probably watch them right before I start the game.

WELL i promise to keep my fangirling to the minimum and comment on the music only XD
 
you've got no idea how happy i am to see @doomboxpick panic panic <3 tbh though, as big a purple stone fan as i am, i initially had a little trouble getting into the flow of the song because of how structurally loose i felt it was. but on hindsight it was probably the "live cut" of the youtube PV version i've watched countless times that made the apparent discontinuity appear a lot worse than it actually is. on record the free-form segment is still there, but as with the case of Aoi yami, it actually segues quite nicely into what came before/after. i'm not even gonna talk about how addictive the chorus is - it's been stuck in my head since the very first time i heard it ._. i have no idea how purple stone can come up with one catchy chorus after another when that seems like the one thing so many 'big' bands are having trouble with atm.
 
the other pick from this list i thoroughly enjoyed is pentagon's mini. now i've always been rather lukewarm towards the capricious 'carnival' side of pentagon's repertoire, which seems to be the main appeal (?) for the bulk of their fans haha. yet there's something about chizuru's voice that imparts their ballads and pop songs with a quality that's quite different from those of other vk bands. i'm still not 100% certain, but my hunch here is that he has an intuitive knack for using a 'relaxed' enunciation (as opposed to, more conventionally, dynamics or tempo shifts) to alter the melodic shape of the song. to get a taste of what i'm referring to, listen carefully to the section beginning 3:48 of 線香花火: it's really obvious here with the instruments down. in any case, i love 線香花火 and think it's a competent ballad, but Teenage. was the song that totally won me over <3 EVERY single bit of the song is perfect - the opening synths, the autotuned verse, the spacey chizuru falsettos floating over the syncopated phrasal breaks of the chorus (edit: i just realized i'm a huge sucker for this last feature because my fave pentagon song MAKEINU has the exact  same thing going on o.o)... yeah, like everything. i'm listening to it right now as i'm typing this.
 

@hiroki@peffy@Kawaii_Minpha Yeah they were a lot darker in the beginning and are becoming more pop-ish (the new Realies if you will) but also like Realies I enjoy both their darker and more colorful side. They are a lovely band and I love all of their releases just got to work on getting them DVD'd someday...

^ My thoughts exactly. I'll be honest and say I'm rather keen in getting some kind of edition of it still just because of the packaging and design, but the more I'm seeing and hearing it, the lower my hype and interest is in it. I'm still tempted to get it for Christmas, but if I keep waiting around, I'll also probably just get it once the price is much lower. That Persona 5 Collector's Edition though... I know I'm going to cave in some time soon.

My reaction to this whole FF15 thing mounts to this....
 

 
I'm also really burnt out by seeing anything related to FF15. There's far too much hype around it and it makes me expect it'll pull a No Man's Sky, except the game most likely won't be as bad or broken as that. I've seen the anime. The animation is decent but nothing worth writing home about. The movie I could care even less about seeing it since I have to drive my way out to select theaters. I think both the anime and movie should've been an afterthought. It's ridiculous that Square Enix expects this game to sell 10 million copies, and that's in full price sales, no discounts.
 
The only way I'm gonna play this game is wait for the PC release and wait for the price to go down under $20.

Naw don't worry about it, I'll grab it when it gets closer to release, I don't have the time right now anyways.
 
I'll probably buy it full price at launch just because it's in that sweet spot for video game releases where there's really nothing better to play for the rest of December. I'm honestly not that put off by all the hype surrounding the game. I learned a long time ago how to keep my expectations in check, that's one reason why I enjoyed and still am enjoying No Man's Sky. I don't let unrealistic popular opinion sway me or load my expectations too high, I just try to see the game for what it is and not for what it's not, and also to see the intent of the creator. So yeah I do think it's ridiculous how much media attention and advertisement FFXV is getting, but I'm still somewhat interested regardless. I'll probably be one of those people who think the game is pretty good (unless it has shit optimization xD) when it comes out, while other people lament over how it's not what they expected/wanted and throw bitchfits about how SE screwed them and lied to them. (which is pretty much the norm in today's industry)

Oh no we're losing her!
The YouTube anime episodes are  mainly about the individuals themselves, so you know their bio beforehand.
 
Go watch the film Peffs.
Nvm I'll do you a solid. I'll pm you a torrent to the film in HD.
lol
 
 
You are correct. It was a nice film intro for the game.
Want a pm too?

idk a lot of people have told me that watching the anime and movie has only increased their excitement for the game and have recommended doing so before the game comes out... I haven't yet, but I probably will.
 
I expect it to be at least fun to play, I don't know if It's gonna be GOTY worthy , that in itself is a huge undertaking with great games like Quantum Break, Dark souls 3, DOOM, Uncharted 4, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, ect to compete against... but I have a certain level of skepticism and hope for the game. From what I've seen of the game it looks pretty awesome, for me what's gonna make or break the game is performance. It is so important that this game is able to run at a smooth frame rate with no stutters, hell that's pretty much the most important thing for any fast moving real time action game like this. I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason they delayed the game 2 months is so they can work on performance and optimize the game to run smoother.

"disastrous full album"???
i REALLY liked most of it
*shrug*
 
And I like this mini too, except for "Bokura no uta" which is a little too ..positive-sounding.. for me.
Pentagon has cemented their spot in my fave current VK bands list.
 
And yes, fuck internet trolls etc etc