YuyoDrift

Listening to it right now, actually. For me, Acceptance Speech was already damn good.

Why the sudden remaster? Edit: Looked into it, and wow I had no idea that people considered the old version to be flat w/vocals being too high lol. This Remaster definitely sounds more DGD sounding, but I never had a problem with the original 😅 ehhh.

 

Also, I haven't been following them for a while but is Tilian's voice still getting worse? Fans were concerned about his vocals because DGD toured and then released 2 albums last year, definitely putting a strain on his vocals.

Not gonna lie doe, Jojo would have been #5 (and bumped Violet Evergarden off), but I just can't get anyone else to watch it, making me think I'm the only one who thought it was good, so I must be wrong lol.

20 minutes ago, psychonnect_rozen said:

I’m still surprised no one has judged me for my tastes lol

Oh, I did lol.

 

Edit: If you had said the first 1/2 of DitF then I'd say yay, but we all know that show took a massive dump after EP 15 lol.

3 hours ago, ahnchc said:

I could go on forever about why I decided to list these particular shows instead of some others, but it's really just my own taste in the end.

Yeah of course. Sorry if I made it sound like you had to justify your choices.

The additional info is more useful in terms of knowing what people may/may not have seen yet, based on when they started watching anime/age group. Someone who started watching anime in 2015 will have a list that differs from someone who began watching since 2000. Maybe you might like Isekai anime like SAO and Re:Zero, but have never heard of older anime like Inuyasha, .hack//Sign, or Escaflowne to know if it dwarfs all of the above. Your taste in sub/dub and who's best girl/waifu aren't gonna be a factor here, cuz people like what they like.

 

Since I have watched anime for almost 25 years, my list in particular was/is very hard to pinpoint, and that's because I combined many factors like how old I was when I saw them, which ones I have re-watched since then and still enjoyed, animation style/narration/story elements, and which ones still provide me that sense of nostalgia, reinforcing the notion that that's why it's one of my top 5 ever.

7 hours ago, Gesu said:

Gackt - Vanilla

the GazettE - Shiver

Versailles - Masquerade

I would argue that for Gackt it was most likely his Redemption Single, which was also used as part of the OST for Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus.

You did get it right with the Gazette doe.

Versailles could have been Ascendead Master but eh.

14 minutes ago, psychonnect_rozen said:

My friend thought it was boring for some reason. Haven’t watched it yet though so can’t comment on that lol

Well there are a shit ton of reasons why I enjoyed the anime, and the most surprising to people is when they hear it was with the English Dub, which 80% of those who watched it hated.

 

The first episode or so was hard to get used to (you'll see why), but they're necessary I think to establish the character somewhat. I'd say watch it first and then come back, because I may be 1-2 decades ahead of you when it comes to anime (binge watching for me has many downsides, one of which has to do with properly digesting and understanding each episode, which was no problem when you had to wait until the next day/week for the next episode growing up), and I've understood what it is I enjoy and what I don't enjoy.

Would it help if you add in when you started watching anime? I'm looking at some of these and could use that info to not judge your guys' tastes lol.

 

Began watching: 1996 with Sailor Moon

 

1. Golden Boy (English Dub)

2. Vision of Escaflowne (English Dub)

3. FLCL (I'm being reasonable here) (English Dub)

4. Initial D

5. Violet Evergarden (English Dub was good. #fightme)

 

Cowboy Bebop/Samurai Champloo/Trigun would be in this list, but I wanted to take into account more than just the impact/nostalgia.

Plus they are timeless classics, so people are already aware they would be on people's top 5.

 

edit: Also for shits, I am now adding my 6-10 here.

 

53 minutes ago, ghost said:

I've just been feeling too glued to technology lately.

Honestly I combine this and the repetitiveness of work/being predictable itself to be my major factors. Any change in my routine, like coming in to work an hour later while I go for a coffee or take the scenic route that I never have before to see the mountain landscape REALLY does a lot for me here in CO. Even something as spontaneous as taking a personal day off to sleep is a great change of pace lol.

 

I now understand why recreational activities like going to the beach, camping/hiking in the mountains, or even traveling somewhere else to get away are still a thing, and I've never done most of those things due to being a shut-in.

 

I can barely fathom the idea that kids of today are being conditioned to believe these things are not necessary (i.e. wilderness and exploration) and online stuff are all you need in life, so why do all those things when you can watch someone else do those things? Yeeesh, I've sure changed a lot in these last few years lol.

Well one that I want to start recording now is with my childhood/neighborhood crush appearing in my dreams.

 

The dreams themselves are often different, and sometimes I feel like they keep reoccurring because they are premonitions to the future (I have had dreams years ahead, where I'd meet my current gf, with such detail like her name and the way she smelled, while never once seeing her face), but in a couple dreams she and I were together and living back home in Chicago. It always feels like an alternative timeline that I'm witnessing/living in my dream, and for all that science can barely understand regarding this, there could be some truth to what happens in the dream itself, as I am strongly given the impression that this was supposed to be the life I should be living.

 

If you've seen the film Inception, then you know about the main character's wife, who believed that the life she was living was nothing but a dream, and her real existence required her to "wake up" (leading to her committing suicide as an attempt to get back to "reality").

My dreams (and my view on it) perfectly mimic this entire thing.

 

It terrifies me/creeps me out because she and I had a falling out almost 10 years ago, only because I went and confessed my admiration/infatuation with her, after so many years of back-and-forth "does he/she like me?" encounters growing up with friends. I won't share those details here, but I did it because I couldn't move on with my life knowing that there could have been a "what if", and in the end I was left with something worse than the answer I wanted, I was devasted. We've since then grown apart as friends (as is what normally happens unfortunately), and have no trace of her on my social media. I've grown to accept that life has to be this way, and we can't turn back the dial. This is living with the decisions you make in life.

 

At the same time, these dreams make me wonder if something is going on in her life that maybe I am somehow able to feel, or rather, allowed to see. Could it be a life I could have had with her, and she's often thinking about it too? Could she be alone and regretting what happened that she wants to try again? God, the dreams are so vivid and intense that I often wake up by force because I can't admit that this would ever be a possibility for me, even in my dreams. Yet they keep coming back when I least expect it, and stronger, to the point where I will sit at the side of my bed for a while because I get anxious, as it wouldn't be hard for me to get in touch with friends and ask how she's doing. I choose not to, because the life I live now is the one I chose, and I am far away from home and even further away from her in so many ways, that I need to see all of this for what it is: reality.

 

 

^^ I actually just discovered her the other day lol.

This album I hear was one of the last known albums to retain the city-pop theme, as it was released in 1990, I think. Right now I'm trying to investigate what happened to the trend, and pinpoint exactly when the shift to a more JPOP oriented era began. But I'll get back to you guys on that.

 

One artist that I had in my head for a while now (but I kept forgetting her name) was (柴田 妙子) Taeko Rei, who I've only ever seen featured in a city pop playlist once. Guess she went under the radar during the resurgence for many people. Her albums were meh, and she was a part of those artists that had a more intense city pop vibe.

 

This track was one of my favorites from her LP in 1984.

 

 

1 hour ago, colorful人生 said:

As someone who followed the resurgence early on, it is absolutely the rise in searches for vaporwave/future-funk sources that kicked the YT algorithm into high gear for suggesting city pop music. 

I had no idea this was a thing.

 

My exposure was around 2013, after finding a YT vid for Miki Matsubara's "Stay With Me", followed by the future funk/bass/disco/trap/etc, and then getting in touch with DJs (like the DJ Van Paugam I mentioned before, now living in Chicago) who were starting YT channels for City Pop (including a 24/7 livestream). Damn!

 

Thanks for the info! I'll be sure to add this to the OP @colorful人生.

It was only a matter of time before I created this thread lol so here we are.

 

City Pop, also known/seen as シティーポップ (shitī poppu) online, is the name given to the fusion genre of funk/disco/jazz/easy-listening music that existed in Japan from the late 70's and well into the 80's, where it became the national soundtrack of the times, providing an urban expression to the success and wonders of the city-life. Japan at this time was thriving due to the technological advancements during the 70's that allowed Japan's economy to explode when it came to exportation of consumer electronics and more, essentially making them a conglomerate for tech in the next decade that followed, and creating what many refer to as an "economic miracle", yet to be seen again today.

 

Here are several articles I've saved over the years if you'd like to know more:

 

The Musical Almanac: Japan’s City-Pop

The Breathless Bliss of City Pop

A Dreamy Trip back to Japans Capitalist Fantasy of the 1980s

A Guide to City Pop, the Soundtrack for Japan’s Bubble-Era Generation

 

The recent return of the genre state-side (we're always late to this stuff) by a number of DJs on YouTube, SoundCloud, and even Band Camp have given City Pop a breath of new life, and the reception has been so great that studios existing back then have since remastered and re-released albums (even on vinyl) for collectors and new fans alike.

 

Edit: According to @colorful人生:

 

On 8/20/2019 at 5:57 PM, colorful人生 said:

As someone who followed the resurgence early on, it is absolutely the rise in searches for vaporwave/future-funk sources that kicked the YT algorithm into high gear for suggesting city pop music. 

Very Cool!

 

While City Pop predates the surge of JPOP in the 90's and can be seen as one genre as a whole, I felt that City Pop deserved its own thread as the number of releases that spanned the 70's-80's are ENDLESS, and even today new music artists utilize/associate the music genre to their own work, so it's safe to make the distinction between the two.

 

Now I don't have a starter-pack for those looking to get into the genre, but I've listened to a major chunk of the releases online to give a great recommendations list for those curious. These releases are easily available on YouTube, are varied in musical style and year of release, and they were some of the first listens for me when I got started, so hopefully at least one of them will interest you guys.

 

(ラジ) Rajie - Heart to Heart (1977)

 

(山下 達郎)Tatsuro Yamashita - SPACY (1977)

 

(みき松原 ) Miki Matsubara - Pocket Park (1980)

 

(貴子間宮)Takako Mamiya - Love Trip (1982)

 

(パイパー) Piper - Summer Breeze (1983)

 

(知子亜蘭) Tomoko Aran - More Relax (1984)

 

(敏生角松)Toshiki Kadomatsu - After 5 Clash (1984)

 

(桃子菊池) Momoko Kikuchi - Adventure (1986)

 

(明菜中森) Akina Nakamori - Stock (1988) 

NOTE:

 

That being said, there are still many artists to check out, so here's are a few more names for you to search for in your spare time.

 

I'll come back and update this (took a couple days to put together lol) with more recommendations when I can.

 

So who else here listens to these J-Oldies?

You guys are clogging up this thread.

Take it to PMs if it's really that interesting of a side-topic.

モノクローム ヘアヴェンに, ようこそ！

(Welcome to Monochrome Heaven!)

 

Not sure if you are Japanese or really like the Japanese language (I've seen your posts) lol but either way its nice to have you join the site  . My Japanese is not great at all but we do have plenty of users on MH that can write and understand Japanese, so I'm sure you'll meet them soon.

 

Tell us a little about yourself, and what kinds of artists/bands you listen to.

 

If you have any questions, you may message any one of the staff (myself included).

 

ご返事へんじをお待まちしています!

Oh man, I don't want to add to it myself, but random thoughts are random, and I don't want to keep them in my head today.

 

It's surreal to be thinking about my childhood friend, 9 years this week since she passed away. It bothers me every single day to know that the last time I saw her, she had already been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, already too late to do anything, and just carrying on with her 18 year-old life like it was nothing, and smiling.

Jesus fuck it's not fair.

 

I feel more like shit because I haven't made time to visit her resting place, ever.

In fact, the reason I'm typing this is because I had almost forgotten that she was laid to rest around this time, having actually been there at her funeral, spending hundreds of dollars on flowers, and crying endlessly because she was one of the last people I ever expected to pass away. If this is something that is going to happen naturally, and I can't do a damn thing to stop it, I'll live with this gut-punch of a reminder, even if it haunts me forever for moving on with my life and not cherishing her existence in it, no matter how short it was.

 

I'm in another state and further away, so I wonder if I'm going to ever have that time to do actually go and visit?

I think it might be time to force it into my schedule for sanity's sake, and as a reminder to her that I haven't forgotten about the better days.

4 minutes ago, nullmoon said:

It's fascinating to hear about Hyde's/L'arc's influence back in the day.

It's hard for me realize/accept ( I was not the biggest L'arc fan) how influential they were to the boom (rather, the second wave, leading to the golden era) of Japanese culture to the USA, but yeah '04-'05 was a pivotal change. I mean, L'Arc~en~Ciel returned out of nowhere with their single in the anime, combined with the album SMILE the same year, along with the touring here, and then the shit going down in Japan with NANA (that soon headed our way) being iconic....

Yeah, they did a lot those 2 years lol.

9 hours ago, violetchain said:

Yeah, I think the connection to NANA is a big part of the appeal.

Half-right. I was around when the original "Glamorous sky" released, and in order to fully understand, we need to backtrack a bit.

 

The amount of people I knew (mostly girls) that were into VK/Japanese Rock at the time (2001-2005), were also hardcore manga readers (Japanese everything, amirite?), and the series NANA (already been out for maybe a few years) was definitely one of the top selling manga at the time (I'm sure both in Japan and Internationally). Tying HYDE into it, L'Arc~en~Ciel had just recently resumed activities after their hiatus, and it was definitely their song "Ready Steady GO", used in the anime Fullmetal Alchemist, that shot them back up into the limelight here in the USA. Their old albums were dusted off the shelves and played non-stop (there were AMVs for their songs all over the internet at the time), and when people heard that HYDE was composing a new song for the live-adaptation of NANA, to be sung by none-other than Mika Nakashima (who was the main character for the live-film, and already recognized as the music artist she was), the hype got real. So real in fact, that you can check billboards for Japan and any articles online reviewing the song, it was a #1 hit for WEEKS.

 

I also knew people that were fans and could play the guitar, and apparently "Glamorous Sky" is very easy to understand composition-wise, and can be dissected to play certain parts that the fans are comfortable with, without ruining the song.

 

I never really looked into the song after about a year of its debut, but with the recent re-recorded version of the song (included in the single Kiss of Death (Produced by Hyde), which was the OP of the anime Darling in the Franxx), I was surprised that the reception to a song that was already 13 or so years old was as good as it was. It was snuck in there, and if it weren't for the advertising, I don't think people would have noticed. I definitely recommend you listen to the 2005 version of "glamorous sky" before checking the 2018 one (her voice has changed slightly in this one, and the emotion of the song is almost non-existent).

 

Just an FYI, the reception of the song influenced other music companies to implement the same strategy, such as the 2018 version of "A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Zankoku na Tenshi no Tese)", which was used for the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, and sung by Yoko Takahashi. Definitely another heavy hit song of the times before Mika Nakashima.

 

 

EDIT:

 

For those wondering, the anime-adaptation of NANA was not that big of an influence to the overall popularity of the series or the song "Glamorous Sky", so much as the Manga/Film was. The anime is now recognized as a "must watch" by those around in the anime scene at that time, but the song by Mika Nakashima/HYDE is separated only by the order in which everything happened. More people will know of the song before they know about the anime/manga they are associated with. Which explains why a lot of "covers" don't reference the series so much as Mika Nakashima herself.

Hopefully if the reception is positive with NUL., Hizumi might consider doing a small revival of D'espa.

3 minutes ago, saishuu said:

jesus I read the title and thought they were back for a second and my stomach dropped

Same lol.

 

Could the streaming of their discography be an indicator for something?

1 hour ago, psychonnect_rozen said:

Disorder is better than NIL don’t @ me on that

....... couldn't resist.

 

That's a hard comparison to argue.

On 8/12/2019 at 6:47 AM, secret_no_03 said:

https://kotaku.com/man-threatens-square-enix-with-a-kyoto-animation-repeat-1837164385

Dude, wtf. This is why I hate the fucking weeboo fandom sometimes.

It's one thing to mention that an anime sucks or that it should never be seen by others, but I'm getting pretty fucking tired of reading people's comments online saying "they should die" or "KYS (name of studio)" because eventually THIS SHIT will be welcomed too.

 

Edit: My comment is directed to all fandoms for videogames, animation, and film.

Holy shit why is the DMV so damn crowded in the morning? I thought nobody went at that time lol.

Since I'm always listening to throwback albums, I wanted to listen to their first album again this weekend since we now have a remastered version of it from that new "Best-Of" Collection.

 

I gotta say, unless my nostalgia goggles are on, this entire album sounds brand fucking new to my ears. Almost like I never listened to this album at all before, and that insults me just typing it out, I'm that serious. No surprise to me, I sat through the entire first-listen, it was so good. So good actually, that I had to replay it all over again just to be sure I wasn't dreaming and that it sounds no different to the originals haha.

 

This is well worth the money for anyone trying to get it.

 

I'm on their second album right now because I just like what I'm hearing so much. "XII Dizzy" sounds like it took a time machine to yesterday to get recorded haha I hope that doesn't sound off cuz that's the only way to put it into words.

 

Definitely gonna use these newer versions to make an Artist Intro playlist for sure. Just really gonna be tough picking only a few of them lol.

10 minutes ago, colorful人生 said:

This might be more appropriate in the "Anime Shit Talk" thread, but I think that anime and manga have objectively gotten worse over the past few years (when it comes to new franchises.)

• Sharp increase in 15 minute and sub-15 minute-per-episode series. It would be acceptable if the quality increased w/ the shorter length, but most are still budget-tier.
• There's been a colossal increase in isekai manga, and they're starting to be adapted into anime at an alarming pace.
  • I find a majority of isekai "low-effort". Instead of creating interesting backstories w/ character growth you pretty much lean all in w/ the escapism fodder.
    • Really indicative of the current moment + shitty working conditions/long hours of the Japanese populace.
• A lot of this has to do with trying to push more and more series per season. Meanwhile a bunch of the work gets outsourced and everyone is being overworked. Of course all of this stems from $$$.

On a similar note, mobage + gacha games are cancer w/ the micro-transaction model. They've flooded the market and have partly contributed to the decline in story-based vns (and a lot of long-form content) which have been overtaken by shit-tier nukige. Again, it's about turning profits, so I get it.

Definitely a popular opinion for the more seasoned anime otakus like moi and people around the 30 year age.

 

I didn't know that the 15min episode thing was a trend right now, wtf? I was playing that Saiki-K in the background and noticed that, but I didn't know other shows are doing it now, ughhhh. I always thought it was some terrible method to present children's anime shows from 20 years ago (like shin-chan or whatever) that would only stay in that area of anime.

Same as @LIDL. I can fit all my playlists from iTunes onto my current iPhone, which I had organized from scratch long ago, so the need to stream any of it is not necessary.

 

Should I forego the apple products in the near future though, I'd probably buy a standalone MP3 player and reserve digging through my entire collection through a web-based RDP session like Google Chrome's. I used to always have a separate MP3 player with about 8GBs of room so I can always drag and drop new stuff and listen to it on-the-go, so it wouldn't be hard for me to return to that.

 

edit: I see @spockitty did the same thing lol

 

I could always just pay for a streaming service if I want to hear anything US-based too.