Guilty Crown

Hi!

Finally making a post after a really long time. Bringing to you a review for the anime Guilty Crown!

Note: I'll try not to have any spoilers, but if you do perceive any, its wholly unintentional. Be forewarned though.

Guilty Crown
AniDB: 6.99/10
ANN: 7.3/10
My Rating: 7

Guilty Crown is an anime produced in 2011 by Production IG, and spans 22 episodes.

Plot: Japan has been desecrated by a deadly virus, a virus that freezes humans into black crystals and kills them, known as the Apocalypse Virus! Unable to fend for itself and contain the virus, Japan requested the aid of the United Nations, which stepped in and took control of all governance in Japan to better relegate the virus' spread. While things seem well and orderly on the surface, the abuse of the citizens by the UN's deployed troops, and their disregard for those suffering from the virus, stirred the formation of a group of rebels known as the Undertakers (Funeral Parlor acc to Wiki) under Tsutsugami Gai, which aims to regain the independence of Japan.

Ouma Shu was an ordinary high schooler, and he is as ordinary as they come. Socially awkward, he struggled to make friends, and put on a false persona to maintain some form of social life. Little did he know, soon all these things would be but specks of dust in the wind, as Destiny takes his life by the reigns. He finds Yuzuriha Inori, a popular singer of the band Egoist, which he dearly loves, injured in the midst of carrying out a mission for the Undertakers, and after some hesitance, goes to her aid, beginning his journey with the Undertakers.

Shu later obtains something known as the Void Genome, a power enabling him to see the manifestations of people's hearts (voids), and use them as weapons. This ability enables him to carve his own way in the world, even as it further descends into chaos...

That's the setting anyway... So what do I think about it?

Simply put, I like it. Like... but not love. It simply wasn't that spectacular. Let's run it through, beginning with the good stuff.

First of all, I loved the Visuals and the Soundtrack. Absolutely loved it to death. I'll probably be listening to the soundtrack for a long time to come. It is also probably one the prettiest non-movie anime I've ever watched. I mean, just look at this:

I especially loved the insert song used in the first half of the season. Chillingly cold and unemotional, yet warm and lively at the same time. The combination of the lyrics and melody gave a feeling of what I would describe to be... like a crystal, etheral and cold... Which fits really well with what is portrayed. The lyrics also spoke to me, as I reflected on happenings in the day. Do have a listen:

Guilty Crown Euterpe - Egoist

Narration and their plot twists were handled with finesse. Often times, a single sentence at the end of a scene would change the arc direction entirely. The characters were rather one dimensional, but their simplicity allowed me to understand the characters pretty well, thus building attachment... to the main ones anyway. As a result, I could only describe some of the scenes as... heart wrenching, if not downright "What? O.O" moments.

I seem to like it a lot so far, so why the bland rating? Some lame tropes and plot holes aside (distracted enough by Inori to overlook them in this case), Guilty Crown's main problem was that it was far too similar to Code Geass. So much so that it is as if it wanted to be compared to it. And Code Geass is simply not one of those animes you can knock over so easily. Let's look at some of the similarities.

Both Lelouch's and Shu's powers were unapologetically named the "power of kings". Plot wise, they are both seeking to free a Japan that was perceived to be oppressed to an unrealistically brutal state, striving to overthrow the ruling government (to create sympathy for Japan *rolls eyes*). And then, there was the forced subjugation under the intention of bringing about a greater good, that results in an internal rebellion.

Both had common robots that acted like grunts...

Geass Glassglows

Guilty Crown's.... I don't know what

Even some of the plot twists, and more significantly to me, the best the two had to offer (Princess Euphemia's scene, as compared to Kare's scene), were far far too similar.

Pitting the two together also made the show's flaws painfully obvious. The cast of Code Geass was stellar. Lelouch was just so charismatic and badass! Karen was just so tsundere I couldn't help but kyun :P And Nunnally... frail yet strong. In comparison, I hated the weak and easily waylaid Shu. Till that last bit he had no idea what he wanted. I disliked Gai, who could have done his job without being an asshole but didn't. And I still didn't exactly know what the point of his rebellion was. Hare... I felt more for her. But she just felt weak as compared to Karen or Nunnally. Inori I liked the most, for her purity and loyalty under the circumstances. The rest of the characters... I frankly couldn't care less.

So, overall, a pretty good anime on its own. Storytelling, visuals and music were great. Character development was good. And I was taken for a ride. But most certainly overshadowed by Code Geass.

Well, till next time! Over and out.

Psy-ched @ MBS 2012!

Attended Psy's showcase at MBS yesterday!
It was a pretty rocking event. Got to see Psy, danced to Gangnam Style, and best of all, the tickets were free :P

Arrived at the event venue at around 1930, though gates opened back at around 1800, and the event was to start at 2000. It was already pretty packed, but bearable. There were supposed to be something like 4000 people at the event... at 1930 it doesn't seem like everyone was there yet. One can see the difference between SMTown and Psy :P

I was told later that they gave out lightsticks at the entrances! But I didn't see any when I entered... boo :( Wanted one even though they weren't those exclusive/good quality lightsticks :P

I then managed to get a standing position near the middle (there were no seats as it was a standing event), but somewhat further to the back.

At this point I realised 2 things.

1. I should not have dressed nicely. It was hot and humid. the squeeze made it worse -.-
2. I am not cut out for moshpits. Awesome that I realised this before I ever paid to be at one.

I am too short to see anything unless I'm all the way up front. And also because of my height I actually felt slightly claustrophobic as the crowd piled in. Not to mention I felt really irritated by all the pushing/jumping/screaming/squeezing that is characteristic of moshpits. Ho hum. Seems it was never meant to be, that I would see my idols up close :(

Jean Danker and Dominic Lau came on stage to kick start the event at 6pm exactly, followed by a demo performance by the people from O School. And boy did they rock the stage :P After that they tried to teach the audience the moves for Gangnam Style :)

Finally, after the weird fiasco (most ppl gamely followed, but the response wasn't quite there), Psy finally took the stage. He ended up performing 2 other songs, in addition to Gangnam Style, Champion and Right Now.

I came to the showcase wanting to witness first hand, the crowd driving skills of Psy, the one who drove those thousands in Korea to party along to his songs during his performances.

Summer Live performance

And, I must say I wasn't disappointed. Even though it was weird at times, the way he said certain things (Commanding the crowd to jump, saying that jumping (getting hyped) was for the sake of the crowd's own happiness, and slightly criticising/commenting(?) on the crowd for their weird way of cheering - intense but short bursts that die down to a strange lull) the crowd responded, and everyone had one heck of a time. Perhaps something to learn from this is that, sometimes it really isn't necessary to get approval. Just do your thing and people will follow... I wonder though... if that is because he already had that level of influence/ppl were already in that mental state to follow and have fun.

Another thing that I remember clearly about the night was how Psy promoted O School. O School was a place where Singaporean youths learnt dance or some other performing art. I don't know how many of those there were people who were not talented academically, but Psy commented that it was wonderful that Singapore had other avenues for people who were not gifted in that area. He shared that he himself was not a good student, and yet here he was *slight swag & pride here*. He left us with some encouraging words, that academics was not everything. It is something, but not everything. And that good things come to those who work hard and persevere. To that, he got resounding approval.

I think in Korea, they have a really nice culture of these idols encouraging their youths. Not just Psy, who has demonstrated how he is by his little speech, but I have also seen this from how IU would chid/kid around with students who are struggling to study, as well as how SNSD would write encouraging letters to their fans for their exams. It is great encouragement for a lot of people, and I think there is a need for this kind of culture in Singapore as well. There is really, really a lack of emotional support in Singapore for those who are less gifted academically, and people are just expected to do well... this is a nice takeaway... I could already see the influence and uplift in those who responded to Psy's words, and I'm sure they would put greater effort into working for their dreams.

Out of place comment that I don't know where to put: There were a lot of Koreans at the event! I was surprised. haha.

Anyway.. it was a really happening Saturday overall. Aside from Psy coming to Singapore for this event (after his MAMA win in HK ytd), on this same day, 2NE1 held their last concert of the year here in Singapore, G.NA had a fansmeet at Courts in Tampines, and BToB was at Sundown. Super happening. Haha I look forward to having more love shown to Singapore by Korean idols. At this rate, we'll need bigger performance venues haha.

Tata!

SMTown@SG 2012 on 24/11/2012

Ohmygosh!!! I can't believe I went! Haha even though its exam period, and I'm not done studying yet :\

Super epic concert!!! There are just so many words I can use to describe it. Blogging now so I can write down as much as I can remember and carve it down deep deep :) Oho my first fan account ^.^ Support and be kind pls!

There aren't many pictures/videos unfortunately, cuz for one thing, my phone camera can't record bright stuff for some reason, so all the screen recordings turn out like shit. For another, I'm sitting quite forward (3rd row for normal seats to be exact :D) so the stupid annoying ushers keep stopping me from filming -.-

Its SMTown's first time in Singapore! An unbelievable 4hrs with 16k fans and all the SM Artists: SNSD, SuJu, Shinee, TVXQ, Boa, EXO, f(x) and Kangta! Haha I believe it was a $230 (and 4hrs) well spent :) Feeling high even now, a night's sleep away from the performance already, and I slightly pity those who didn't go.

I remember... it was really hot and humid. As usual for Singapore. Arrived at Marina Square at ard 1430 to have lunch meet w my "crew" pau and yalam boy :P Haha they helped me buy some merchandise! The lightstick (super odd lightstick imo :P) and 2 decks of cards! 1 SNSD and 1 Suju for my sis :) Slightly annoyed by the fact that there were supposed to be 20 cards, and each pack only has 10, ie to get all have to buy 2 sets -.- Not that I wouldn't have bought... I only found out on the day itself and it was... kinda too late to queue already. Merc was already running out. :\

The merc was really expensive though! You can have a look at the pricing here.

Major ones:

天啊... haha the lightstick alone i could've fed myself for a day and a half already. And the trading cards... my money T.T Well... I'm really glad I bought tho... For the memories keke. :)

I really wish they had SNSD L-Holders! hmm... 

Anyway. There was a press conference at 3pm! I couldn't go in since I wasn't the press -.- haha but it can be watched here and here! 

We tried to study (tried :P) up till 5.30pm. Then went for dinner at PepperLunch@Suntec. Apparently Suntec is undergoing renovations hmm. Lots of shops are closing down for that.

At around 4, though I would note that though it was already raining lightly since ard 3, it started pouring. Thunder and lighting and all. We worried if it would be cancelled... but of course it didn't. Otherwise I wouldn't be typing this post. Was a valid concern at the time though.

yalam boy had the sense to take a bunch of tissues from McDonalds to dry our chairs haha. Something I should rmb next time... not to mention a poncho and cap is really important. 

By God's blessing though, the rain stopped right at 6! We then went to queue up for entry! 

Was really hot in the queue... and especially sweat inducing because of the humidity. Went to entrance 3! Since we were sitting in the light green zone.

Waited till 7, and people were still streaming in. Meanwhile the AV team was trying to fix the screens (cui as usual *rolls eyes* :\) which had some weird blocks/not functioning parts at the moment. Was speculating that it was due to the rain..

And then! It finally starts! Oh the excitement :D

Note: There is no 3G or whatever internet at the venue. At all.

We were first treated with 2 songs by f(x): Hot Summer and Danger(Pinocchio)! Amber was really charismatic, and took charge of speaking to the audience with fluent English between the 2 songs. Luna took a rather alarming fall during Hot Summer though cuz of the wet stage. In response to this, Amber asked the audience to give a shoutout to Luna during their introductions, and was met with an overwhelming response :) Ah... loved being in that atmosphere ^.^ Luna looked slightly embarrassed but warmed by the response ^.^

A Thought: the wet stage problem is really a ridiculous oversight on the crew's part. I was already wondering if they cleaned up the stage properly while I was waiting. If it occurred to me it shouldn't have gone by the pros -.- later they very unprofessionally [read IN-FULL-VIEW-OF-THE-AUDIENCE] wiped the stage every now and then to keep it dry... And this isn't the only problem... I'll reveal more as we go along... haix Singapore's media and AV crew have long ways to go...

Next we had Kangta! Apparently he hasn't been here for 10 years >.< haha Singapore needs more love from these artists. He performed Pine Tree + Polaris, then 爱频率．Haven't much to say about him since I'm not really familiar, but he's got a great voice :) What did leave a really strong impression of him was how he bowed to audience. The other artists were just, intro-bow-get up- translate. Kangta on the other hand, actually maintained his bowed position till his message was delivered. I thought as this moment that, "ah, he really respects his job and his audience." Respect.

Next Victoria and Zhou Mi came up for 今天你要嫁给我 (yes they held hands *rolls eyes* haha... BANMAL SONG!!!), then California Girls by the Jung Sisters! Haha both of them look brilliant, and sang brilliantly. 

Funny thing to note here is that, Jessica's voice sounded wayyy more squeaky then usual (she already had that really distinctive sweet, nasal, high pitched voice normally). Thing is... somehow, the audio output for their performance got tuned up. And it wasn't just for this performance either... haha snsd's introductions itself sounded really weird and funny cuz they all half transitted to chipmunk voices. I'd count this as a screw up by the AV, even though it was funny lol. Not really sure if it was the same for the other artists, but I know my GG girls don't sound like that :P

Then, total food for fangirls, Kyu Hyun and Changmin came on stage with Just the Way You Are. And... they sang it not to Taemin, which was what happened previously, but to an actual fan. Haha can you hear the screams? They even gave a hug at the end *more screams galore* lulz.

Next, starting to a seriously roaring welcome, Oppa Oppa by Donghae and Eunhyuk. Here u can seriously hear the fanchants. Sure you could vaguely hear it during Hot Summer and Danger, but here it is seriously like OPPA OPPPA!!!! haha... suju fangirls are powerful. 

I... personally wasn't so enthusiastic. After all... Eunhyuk and his weird shit with IU is still fresh on my mind. But meh, I wasn't here to see him, so allow me to ignore him and just enjoy the performance. If anything he is professional though, and delivered a really hyper opening set to jive up the audience.

Next pau's idols, EXO came on! Again... except for MAMA, not really familiar, so not much to comment.

Then, finally, SNSD! Haha. Sorry Jessica. >.< Taeyeon opened up the stage for SNSD with Devil's Cry (which is a song I don't really like cuz there's a lot of unproductive screaming) and fully blew over the venue with her ringing vocals. Then all 9 of them were on stage for Run Devil Run! Feels lucky to be alive to see them in person, though they're really far away and we just see them on screen >\\\\< And haha at the meaning of Devil's Cry - Run Devil Run. 

Introductions! Sunny sporting shocking purple hair (O.O my face when I saw). Tifanny and Jessica in cool cool English (sometimes its a relief to hear good English from kpop idols) as well as, much to my surprise, Seobaby!!! Hyoyeon in Chinese, and the rest in Korean. Haha Fany seriously got a roaring response with her "its been awhile Singapore!". And though I didn't quite think so before, Sooyoung is really popular here as well! In any case, SNSD!!! ITS GREAT TO SEE YOU HERE!!! I REGRET PAINFULLY FOR NOT GG TO YOUR CONCERT LAST YR :P

As mentioned, cuz of the audio system's pitching issues the girls all sounded like deep voiced chipmunks. Sunny had the funniest voice, since she's totally in her aegyo mode :P

SNSD then closed off their opening segment with Genie! And the fanchants were awesome! Once again, no regrets haha... Sowoneul Marhaebwa~~~ (MARHAEBWA!!!!) XD

Shinee then followed with Lucifer! Super much screaming! Haha... then Suju with Superman and Don't Don, which I'm also not very familiar with... they did their performance on a rotating stage with water shooting up from around them.

At this point I got kinda annoyed by the suju fan directly behind me. Kept screaming so loud my head rang. And she's been doing it for all the suju performances so far. Scream, but don't scream right into my ear thanks. And there were so many more suju performances to go... T.T

In sequence then after that... Purple Line, Ring Ding Dong (a remix. didn't like it, too much rock/bass/bang bang, original was better), Bonamanna (another weird remix), Rising Sun, Juliette, (followed by Shinee intro + advertising for their concert coming dec. Newb translator got the thing wrong and said Nov *rolls eyes*, and corrected by Onew lol.) then cutely intro-ed by Taemin, Your Love is Like Oxygen.

Ahh so I should mention at this point the screen on the right side of the floating platform screwed up totally and just gave a blue screen. Even the artists noticed... and commented on it... which if I was on the AV team I would feel really ashamed. I mean... where's your professionalism? That's the standard you can give to our foreign guests? As for the fans who were complaining afterwards... I feel their grief, since it happened to the left screen temporarily earlier on. 

Oh and the number of Shawols in this concert seems kinda weak eh actually. Might be better if there was better organisation. I'd hate if any of the artists that came felt unwanted.

Fx with Jet, then one of the best sung songs of the night Open Arms, sung as a collab by Chen, Ryeowook, Baekyun and Onew. Their harmony was amazing! So so amazing, the supporting music actually became an interference, and you just want to hear them sing it without all the extra gimmicks. 

Then finally, something I was looking forward to the entire night, Twinkle!!!! It was rumoured to be scheduled to be performed on the nearer stage, but it turned out to not be the case :( Still, a song performed perfectly, and again, one of the best songs of the night! All of them, but Taeyeon especially, hit all her notes with unbelievable precision. (I wish I didn't have to consider the case where they were actually lip sync-ing. Kpop is sometimes bad like that.. can't really tell in this case so shall give it benefit of the doubt). Tifanny was leaaaaaking charisma, and she had that bright eye-smile on the entire night. She must be really happy to be in Singapore haha. Come often!! Seohyun's got a tired and strangely mechanical look on her face tho... hope she's ok.

Then, a collab with EXO! DJ's Got Us Falling In Love Again! A rather repetitive song, but totally got the crowd going :D The atmosphere was totally sky high at this point. Extending that, Key, Chris and Amber took over the stage with Like a G6.

The "clubbing segment" then is closed by a rather short and boring (maybe since I don't really care much for dancing in general...) Dance Battle. 

And then, finally, Boa!!!!!!!! *screams* haha. I didn't know much about her before (only familiar with Only One >.<), so taking the chance to get to know her now. She starts with Hurricane Venus, follows with My Name and an intro, then ends her segment with No. 1. And I've gotta say, I loved No. 1. Am gonna follow up on this :) 

Boa put up a really stunning performance, and her dance moves as well as stage control are really no joke. But from this "first encounter", I like her not just for that. Boa was one of only 2 artists in the whole show, that addressed the fans that were NOT in the moshpits or the vip seats. Despite saying that I'm in the 3rd row, which is usually what would be considered a good seat, the way the floating platform and concert is staged is such that the artists are surrounded by the moshpits and the vip seats, with the "other" seats further to the rear. At some point we actually felt kinda left out, since from our perspective the artists were just finger high figures in the distance. Boa... directly addressed us (though she said "the people in the back side" lulz *sweat*), and we just loved her for that.

Moving on, during the introduction she was kinda funny, and slightly awkward. She talked about the weather (they all did... Singapore's trademark hot weather lol) and how it worried her. See.. the kpop artists seriously don't come to Singapore often enough! They don't know how to interact with us!!! Which is really sad! Since we're really friendly and passionate people! :D 

Anyway at one point she was like... "the next song is..." and everyone shouted "Only One!" Haha... then she made a rather strange expression (which i'm a bit mixed on... it looked a bit on the rude side, but I'm not really sure what she's thinking, and what she said after was polite, so shan't go on on that), and said "Only One will be coming on later, so wait a bit ok?" which was kinda cute and got the fans laughing.

Yup, so moving on from there, suju came on with what has got to be the most hyped up moment of the night with their hit Sorry Sorry. I swear the chants were never this loud. Rmb the suju fangirl behind me? Yea I nearly went deaf. 

Then, came their talk session! Memorable quotes:

Donghae: 亲爱的宝贝们，我爱你们！

Yesung: I'm... Singapore... I love you!

...

Eunhyuk: Our leader, Leeteuk, is not here because he's in the army. So for now, I am Leader! Are you all ok with that?

... joking dissent within members ...

Yesung: when you are at this kind of place, you talk too much!

...

Eunhyuk: Well its ok. You have no say in the matter.

*Laughs... but (IU in my head) ohh i so wanna kill u* :P

...

Eunhyuk practices Singlish: "I love you lah!"

Kangta: What you just put lah at the back and it becomes Singlish?

End talking session, suju-m finishes up with 太完美 and A-cha，and promotes their album upcoming b4 the end. They're really good singers sia... would like to learn to sing like them.

And again... after that really long wait... Mr Taxi!!!! But it was just that and nothing else happened after :( So just a brief respite for me, before it goes downhill, slightly. 

Shinee takes over with Internet War. This is, without a doubt, the lowest point of the concert for me. I hated this song soooooooooo bad. Endless angsty screaming all the way. Noisy, and meaningless. Oh Jonghyun stripped and showed off his toned abs, but that obviously did nothing for me -.- I suppose I should be glad there weren't that many shawols, or the screaming fangirls + the noise on stage would have annoyed me to death.

Following this hate inducing performance, TVXQ came on for the 3rd time, and finally had their talk chance. Albeit being in a slightly sour mood at this point cuz of the perf before, and the long, not-of-interest performances to come, TVXQ came and made things well, much to my surprise. So far, the artists that have appeared before have just gone on about how appreciative they were of passionate fans, and the weather and stuff. There wasn't much caring involved, just exchanging niceties. TVXQ though, talked about how much they really wanted to perform here, and how they truly worried that the weather would cause the concert's cancellation. But then they went on to think about the fans, and worried also that the fans who did come, supposing the concert wasn't cancelled, would get ill from the weather. That thought, along with the awkward way he said it, totally melted the hearts of all the people in the audience. 

I cringe when I think how many good artists (artists with good hearts) lose their dreams at the fickle whim of their popularity, while others, perhaps arrogant or self serving artists carry on well.

TVXQ I hope you do well in future, and don't lose that heart.

TVXQ with O.。正。反。和，Mirotic, new song Humanoids and Why.

And then finally the lul is over! Snsd back on with Gee on the special stage. I weep for the fact that they were so close and I couldn't film them properly. Loud fanchants! GEE GEE GEE GEE BABY BABY! Haha... the girls stood on a really unstable moving platform during the performance so they weren't able to perform confidently. I BLAME THE MANAGEMENT! What if they fell???

Then they travelled back to the main stage as they sang Kissing You (a strange song choice considering the other more popular ones?). And here is my greatest regret of the entire concert. Seohyun was what, 10m from me at one point, and I did not take a picture!!!!!! WTF brain?? I chose that time to be totally mesmorised by her stupid me. And let me say, they are really no joke. You think they look beautiful on screen? Wait till you see them in person. Seohyun was like the perfect doll. I seriously just stared.

After that seriously facepalm moment for me, Suju with Dancing out, then the next highlight, ONLY ONE!!!! Boa with Sehun. I'm sad that its not with Taemin! They look better together i think lol. At this point though everyone started getting distracted, because it started raining again and people were pulling out their ponchos. And also, to my shock and horror, people were leaving. So. Unbelievably. Rude.

The rain got heavier by the second, all through Electric Shock at the special stage (which is kinda funny seeing as it was lightning and thunder and stuff once again all around), Sherlock, The Boys (where everyone shouted GG!!! together despite the pouring rain. epic :D), Sexy Free and Single, and Catch Me (another new TVXQ song. At this point a poncho simply wasn't enough and we had to use umbrellas despite the warnings). People were leaving in the droves to escape the rain, and certain parts of the seats were flooded already. Due to the movement and the people blocking our view, we couldn't see much during this part... only looking through the holes. The rain got so bad the major kpop sites who were covering the event couldn't tweet at all.

What wasn't funny to me though was how the artists were getting drenched, even though it was only an hour away from the end. My heart ached :\ First it was hot, then it was cold wind and wetness. Sincerely hope they don't get sick... And then, just when we thought this was how the concert was gonna end, wet and rushed...

The rain stopped right when Hope started. I'm serious. It stopped. *snap* Just like that. No lightening. no slowing to gradual drizzle. Just.. "that's enough", *off*. Troll sky. 

Haha this part is perhaps the best for the moshpit people, since the artists were actually sitting on the stages and interacting with their fans. And as people who couldn't experience that, we got to see the artists interact among themselves, so it wasn't too bad.

Well.. that was the end. Concert officially ended 11pm. A great 4 hours! Memorable experience... I wish there were more, and I hope they would come more often, and feel more at home (like Tifanny) and show more love to the fans. Will miss them a lot, and can't wait to see them again!

I reached home at 1230am haha... gosh... 

Some thoughts: 

- I think if I was organising the concert the lightsticks should be given free. It'll help the atmosphere so much. but I understand SM is recouping from the 5mil it spent to hold it here... 

- Singapore really needs to improve ito its AV teams and organising skills... 

Side story bonus!!

Side story 1:

SNSD arrived in Singapore on the 22nd Nov, at around 4, then proceeded to their hotel! Me n ZZ waited and watched their rehearsal till it ended at ard 8, then went for dinner at Marina Square. Apparently, at ard that time Hyoyeon went to buy ice cream at 7/11@MarinaSquare! We were super close by but we didn't realise, though we heard screaming outside. What a miss :(

Side Story 2

On the day of the concert in the morning, several other groups such as Shinee were still rehearsing since they arrived in Singapore later. Yuri actually went to watch the rehearsal with the fans, but nobody realised!!

SG Sones CMI leh! Mada mada dane. Korean fans can recognise by legs leh!!

Lastly, for such a memorable experience, there are people to thank.

Thanks so much to ZZ for helping me n my crew tickets!

My crew for coming with me.

Set list provided by KAvenyou. Kudos to them. :D

RITS for setting up this opportunity

SMTown and the artists for this wonderful concert. Keep it up!

5 months compressed update. lol.

Its been too long since I posted. So much has happened since...

Last I posted, SNSD's subgroup TTS just appeared, and made a strong showing with their album :)

I still love Twinkle a lot :)

SNSD has since had their 5th anniversary, and released 2 new songs ^.^

5th Anniversary Commemoration Video

by Soshified

Great work!! O.O

Paparazzi MV

They look good even when they're dancing in dish washing gloves! >.<

All My Love Is For You MV

Been waiting for this kind of song for the longest time...

Oh! is now released in Japan, and Taeyeon has a new single (drama OST) for To The Beautiful You.

Oh! Japanese Ver.

Seohyun is too cute here! *buing buing* >.<

Closer on Inki

Omo Taeyeon y.u.so.pretty. :P

Nice song :) Also been waiting for a long time for a new OST single from her...

To The Beautiful You has ended as of this week... haha. It features a lot well known idols, like Minho from ShiNee and Sulli from f(x). Sulli sang Peach during the drama! Shall try to watch it some time, or at least that part. Peach was written with Sulli in mind after all~~ keke.

Taeyeon also made a reappearance on Running Man!

Ep 112!

Watch the full ep on kshownow.net!

It was kind of funny watching her run. Its like pretty well known that she has the worse stamina, even among all the gg members, and she's actually participating in Running Man. lol dorky tae.

Side tracking slightly, Gary very nearly left Running Man!!! Omg! Haha I like Gary's character a lot. More so than Guang Soo, or Big Nose Hyung, or even the Commander. The Commander's really poor thing in this episode though. You'll see...

SNSD's having a Japanese comeback with "Flower Power" mid Nov! (14th Nov) last I heard. Looking forward to that.

IU hasn't been laying low either.

She's had a really successful run doing her first concert tour 'Real Fantasy' across S.Korea. It was so successful LOEN planned an encore concert! :)

Photo time! :D

This well... lasted... all the way till now. lol.

While IU and SNSD's been doing well, T-ara hasn't.
While both SNSD and T-ara celebrated their 5th and 3rd anniversary respectively, the atmosphere in both camps were a vivid contrast to each other. SNSD's was a picture of joy and appreciation, while T-ara plunged into a controversy of bullying and backstabbing.
In their official statement, CCM claimed Hwayoung misbehaved really badly (refused to perform due to injury and throwing tantrums), so much so that they kicked, yes KICKED her out of T-ara. Fans (or Antis, depending on who you believe) drew a different picture though. They claim Hwayoung has been thoroughly bullied by the other members, and so the one at fault should not be Hwayoung, and instead the other T-ara members. The "evidence" dug out severely damaged T-ara's rep, and many of the remaining members suffered as a result. They were pulled from CFs, dropped from dramas, lost some 6000 fans, and even had to postpone their concert due to people returning their tickets. The humiliation.

Later accounts however, seem to indicate that it was a severe mismanagement on the part of CCM's CEO Kim Kwang Soo. There existed a disagreement between the girls, but the intention had always been for resolution, and not expulsion. Along with news regarding how KKS his idols in check, or do horrible things such as wardrobe malfunctions by blackmail (such as keeping career ruining footage like Jiyeon's stripping vid and "accidently" leaking it to the public), KKS' actions after the revelation only made the controversy worse. A group was even established to find out the truth of the matter.

Its no wonder Davichi is leaving the first chance they have huh.

Summary of events here.

Both sides have since moved on though. Hwayoung has apologised for the distress she caused to fans and members, and has started on doing more rapping and music writing. T-ara, now a 8 member group (+Dani, Aerum, -Hwayoung) has produced 2 MVs, Day By Day and Sexy Love.

Day by Day MV

Featuring the 2 new girls... I didn't reaaaaallly like it :\

The drama thing didn't work for them this time.

Sexy Love comeback stage

The song sounded lame at first, but it sort of grows on you after awhile :)

Not a bad comeback afterall lol.

The controversy was so bad the members had to go into hiding at the time... Sexy Love's music programme performances were all filmed before hand, and even a written apology by the members couldn't appease the netizens. Poor Eunjung had an accident during this time, and some netizens had the nerve to speculate that it was staged -.-...

Though it wasn't doing so well at first, Sexy Love is rising on the charts, so hopefully T-ara would make a full recovery soon.

On my own end... my second year in Uni has started. I finally went to USS, and even won tickets to go there again. :) School's really tough, even though I thought this sem would be lighter already what with the softskill mod >.< But am grouped with Zhen Zhen, Farhan and Kathy, so I'm pretty happy, especially compared to last sem :\ Haha and I joined a kpop dance class to try things out :)

For now, though, think I'll end it here and type more in another post, another time... its getting late, and there is quite a bit to talk about after all. I am planning to starting to writing again, so cya all soon.

The Man in The Glass

The Man in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the world makes you long for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what THAT man has to say.
For if it is not your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back in the glass.
Some people might think you are a
straight shootin' chum and
call you a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum,
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you dear up to the end. And
you have passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of
years, and get pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you have cheated the man in the glass.

TTS Ownage Streak!

Ok short one, news on SNSD's TTS! As of today's win on Inkigayo, they've completed a super combo of 4 hat tricks! What's this? No they don't play soccer :P What I mean is they've completed triple crowns (3-in-a-row-wins) on all major music programs! 

TTS on Inkigayo!

Congrats to the girls! :) They've really worked hard... in addition to their promotions, they're currently doing their SMTown World Tour as well, and just last week there was that concert at google... It's amazing they're still so energetic and upbeat ^.^ Power too them all!

Speaking of being hard working, I read on the weheartiu that aside from preparations for her concert... ie prac dance, singing, special stages, covers etc, she's hard at work filming for her japanese mv for You and I. The filming started at night on the 25th, and went all through the night. When she last posted at 5am, and the sun was coming up, she was still filming... Haix. Even though I do study through the night sometimes... but to act, sing and dance throughout the night seems to be much harder don't you think? I'd probably get so grouchy I'd bite some fingers off... :\ IU gambatte-kudasai ne!

That's all for now... I'm supposed to sleep early... :\ Gonna receive my results tml... wish me luck...

Ray

Soshi VS IU on Music Bank! Sketchbook! T-ara's new song?

It's been awhile... I'm back in reservice, and I still have 16 days to go... 

I keep telling myself that I may be the crap-cleaner, but I needn't let myself feel that way for the whole thing... :\ Praying for a safe and uneventful 2 weeks.

To topic, I briefly saw this (the title) tweet by Squishyblob on my phone during the day and was dying to find out what it was about :P

When I finally got home (after an amazing evening hanging w bei, bear and jh :) we should totally go out more), I found out basically TTS' Twinkle mini-album and IU's "Spring of a Twenty year old" had a showdown on Music Bank! Haha so exciting!

120525 Music Bank Results Announcement!

Twinkle ended up winning in the end! By quite a margin too! :) The girls have worked really hard, promoting nearly daily on all the music shows! Its a job well done, and a win well deserved ^.^ Congrats!

Turns out it was actually a hat trick by TTS with their win tonight on Music Bank too, since they won on Show!Champion and M!Countdown as well. haha and this just adds more icing to the cake~~ Plus they've been winning for 3 consecutive weeks already! Touche! Take that you haters haha.

Cute msg from TTS after the performance, credit to Soshified.

“Twinkle~ Three consecutive weeks on first place!!Thank you very very much~!
We decided to take one trophy each!”

IU lost! Haha but considering she didn't promote at all, the fact that her album is competing head to head with Twinkle with such unbelievable statistics is in fact a statement of her popularity. It almost seems unfair even haha >.< 

Either way, I'm super happy! Haha 2 of the 3 kpop artists I'm supporting are pwn-ing the music shows for weeks on end! Keep it up!! :D

Some little things going on with IU! 

As I came home I managed to catch Squishy just as he/she was posting about IU's performance on YHY Sketchbook. As a result I finally managed (thank God for Squishy) to hear IU's 3 lvl note again live :) Though it was for a remixed ver. of Good Day. It's been too long since we heard it. I've always had the impression that such bypasses were kinda like... cheating. Though I'm also torn by the prospect of IU damaging her voice :\ It's a dilemma...

Good Day (Concert ver) on YHY's Sketchbook!

This ver sounded.... quite weird at first, but after watching the vid I was like "whoa this is awesome" :P Ah... wonder if I should dl and keep >.<

Song can also be heard here! :) 

Then there was something I felt was a little weird! 

IU dancing to Rainism!

My first thought actually wasn't "ahhh. she's improved hasn't she!" though I strongly feel that was the reaction IU had in mind when she took on this challenge, and I certainly did have that thought later on. Instead, I totally just thought... "she totally looks like Michael Jackson in that hair and glasses" -.- I wonder if that'd be a compliment for her or not? lol :P

Either way, I hope she doesn't go the way most idols do... :\ ie sing and dance is both emphasized. Dancing is fine and all, but frankly, IU isn't really that kind of idol. Focus on the voice please! >.<

IU performed Peach for the first time live during this show as well! Loving it to death ^.^

IU with Peach, live on YHY's Sketchbook!

I don't really know Korean, but apparently she changed the lyrics slightly during that ad lib portion, thus the huge reaction XD Gif translation here! Ah really love the song~~

Moving on... T-ara (kinda) suddenly released a song titled "Round and Round", with no prior promotion (there still isn't any now o.O) or noticeable announcement. And the song is kinda... meh.

T-ara - Round & Round

MV ver 1

MV ver 2

The song sounds like it's for the oldies... as in I feel that the older generation people would probably love it, but for T-ara's main fans... not so much. Which is kinda sad. :( They really need a new song already. You can only perform a song so many times before it kind wears out... and they seem to have been doing Roly Poly and Lovey Dovey since forever already...

Conspiracy me wonders if it's the same thing again... deliberately assigning/forcing crappy songs to be produced -> lower popularity... earlier this week apparently the 9th member, some 14yo girl was revealed to be the 9th member to join T-ara... and they're still saying that the additions have been revealed, but that there may still be internal movements :( Is this bullying I wonder... :( 

Conspiracies and unhappiness on the issue aside, isn't the 2nd MV just so much better? Pardoning the song, there're just sooooooooo many scenes of Jiyeon and Boram, it's making my heart throb >.< haha. I wasn't planning to keep it originally, but for Jiyeon, I just migh....

Alright it's been a long day. Though it's probably the best week in ages. USS with ben, gordon, sarah, yong jie (and later dinner with jeannel, zz, jt who joined later) last fri, read "Socrates meets Jesus" (ie personal time) on tues, badminton with hui lin on wed, talk n dinner with Emma on thurs, dinner with bei, bear, jh today, not to mention i hung with wei ming and jackie... I realise I've actually had a really good week (not to mention the stuff I have to blog about haha). Thank God ^.^

I really wanna meet fred, syl and zhi ying... it's been too long... 

Still looking for people to go to Carnivore with >.<

Bahh going to sleep :) I have to remember to post about the other 3 films too, on top of those other events :\

Goodnite!

Ray

haha song in is my head, of course... ^.^ 

IU - Every end of the Day/The Day's End

love the lively beat that's similar to Good Day

it's now my wake up alarm!

it literally gives me the strength to get out of the bed's morning-gravity-field 

and face the crap that will come as i trudge through reservice...

IU <3 ^.^

thx for energising me!