Peter's Japan blog

Just 2 days after the 20sec preview we get a 55 second preview!!
My words are not even cold, or a constructed full version has been made, by putting several pieces together.

The more I hear of RULE, the more I love it :D

The pictures don't match the song though (the pictures are from the song "A Song for XX" at A-Nation 2008).

Source: AHS

A 20 second preview was posted on youtube. Although the combination with the Dragonball Evolution trailer is just fanmade, the song is real ;p

I love the rock edge to it, especially the bridge in the last part of the preview.

There are probably more short previews to come... ^^

Source: AHS

Well, my flights for my Japan 2009 trip are booked! I wanted to book now, because there were big discounts and it sure was worth it! Only 467euro for a flight to and from Japan. I've never seen it that low! The lowest I've ever seen it was 580eur and the lowest I've flown was about 650 euro, so this 467 was great! Of course, some extra administrative cost (10eur) and some insurance (23eur) which adds up to almost exactly 500 euros.
So, my flight is very cheap, but the other thing is that the exchange rate of the japanese yen is very bad at the moment... Last year it was 1000yen for 6 euro, now it's 8.6 euro. The Japanese yen hasn't been adjusted to the crisis yet, but there is talk that Tokyo will do that. So I hope that by the time I'm going, the yen will drop a bit.

And before I forget: I will be going from Sunday April 26th till Wednesday May 13th.
Two concert are already fixed: Ayumi Hamasaki and Perfume.
Ayumi in Yokohama Arena on May 9th or 10th, and Perfume in Yoyogi on May 9th or 10th. It's on the same 2 days, so whether Ayumi will be first or Perfume will be first depends on the tickets I can find. No info on other concerts yet. Another event I will probably go to is Dolls Party 21 on May 5th at Tokyo Big Sight. I might be going to Super Comic City 18 as well, but I'm not sure as these 2 events are right in the middle, so I might only go to Dolls Party 21.

More info about the planning will come later, but a few new things I will visit are Hakone, Koyasan, Kamakura and maybe Okayama. Still need to find some other new stuff to go see, a few things of Tokyo I will be doing again, as I'll be showing a friend around a bit. He'll probably go to Nikko (where I've already been 2 years ago), and to Kamakura as well (which I have not been to yet). But there's still a lot of time to do the planning and book hotels.

I very much love the Chiaki (Demon version) ^^; let's hope they make a figure of that :D

Although I must say most of the animation is still dodgy and low-quality, I still love the jokes ;D

- Fujioka's demon also looks hilarious ;p
- Hosaka going after Haruka's "knights", sent by Hayami ;p
- Chiaki being enchanted by Hosaka the Curry Fairy, priceless :D
- Hosaka's curry song (and later sung by Chiaki ^^) :
Subete wa ai no tarumeriku
hala hala halapeno-
nakarecha yadamon shinamon karudamon
murika papurika kori-kori-korianda-
Sakuran shita safuran
chokotto chokoreto
Imasara garamumasara
Demo ashita ga arumon
shinamon karudamon
oishii kare no dekiaaaagari

Still strange to put the OP so late, and the ED so early ;p But I like the OP & ED: animation and songs. I think the animation of the OP is better than that of Okawari. Now let's hope the overall animation gets better as it is the worst from the 3 series, the first being the best. I do think it was a little better than the first episode.

Just out on cdjapan. Ayumi Hamasaki's next single will hit the stores on February 25th 2009.
The new single will feature the song Rule (the theme song for the upcoming live-action Dragonball Evolution movie), and the song Sparkle (which was feature in a CM for Honda).
The single comes in 3 versions with different tracks and covers.

And for the people linking to this article: thanks for linking ;p

Rule / Sparkle [CD+DVD / Jacket A]
Catalog: AVCD-31605
CD
1. Rule (Original mix)
2. Sparkle (Original mix)
3. Rule (80kidz's "No more rule" mix)
4. Rule (Remo-con "tech dance" remix)
5. Rule (Original mix -instrumental-)
6. Sparkle (Original mix -instrumental-)
DVD
1. Rule PV
2. Rule Making

Rule / Sparkle [CD / Jacket B]
Catalog: AVCD-31606
CD
1. Rule (Original mix)
2. Sparkle (Original mix)
3. Days (8-bit of tears YMCK remix)
4. Days (acoustic orchestra version)
5. Rule (80kidz's "No more rule" mix)
6. Rule (Remo-con "tech dance" remix)
7. Rule (Original mix -instrumental-)
8. Sparkle (Original mix -instrumental-)

Rule / Sparkle [CD / Jacket C]
Catalog: AVCD-31607
CD
1. Rule (Original mix)
2. Sparkle (Original mix)
3. GREEN (CMJK Spring Storm remix)
4. GREEN (acoustic orchestra version)
5. Rule (80kidz's "No more rule" mix)
6. Rule (Remo-con "tech dance" remix)
7. Rule (Original mix -instrumental-)
8. Sparkle (Original mix -instrumental-)

Update January 14th: corrected tracklistings, and apparently no PV for Sparkle, added links
Update February 3rd: names of remixes added + cover.
Update February 4th: tracklisting updated + cd covers
Source: CDJapan

Just read on mainichi that information about the confirmed second season of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu will apparently be released in the February issue of New Type magazine in Japan.

Rough translation of the article:

The second season of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" was announced in the Febuary issue of "Newtype monthly" February

The light novel "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" will have a second TV season. This will be revealed in the next issue of "newtype Magazine" (Kadokawa Shoten) on February 10.

"The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" by Tanigawa Ryuu has been published by Kadokawa Shouten Bunko. His work has issued a series of 530 million yen. ...

Let's hope this means we get the new season in September of this! :D
I'll keep you posted ^^

Source: mainichi

It was just announced yesterday, the concert dates for the 2009 tour. The temporary title is just Arena Tour 2009. No indication if it's going to be an Asia Tour or not. But since there have already been 2 singles and indications that she's recording new material (and the new song Rule for the Dragonball movie), I think we can expect a new album very soon. Also because the title of an arena tour is usually the title of the album.
I was really waiting for the concert dates, because I wanted to book my flight (as it's very very cheap now).

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It's finally there. The dvd from Ayumi 2008 anniversary concert tour will be released on January 28th 2009. Fortunately it's a bit earlier than last years asia tour dvd.
Apparently it will feature footage from the final concert on November 2nd in the Taipei Arena in Taiwan. It will contain 2 discs with the MC, screen footage and rare footage and other stuff. Is the full concert going to be on just 1 disc ? That seems strange.

Today (January 5th) the official cover was released and the official title: "ayumi hamasaki ASIA TOUR 2008 -10th Anniversary- Live in Taipei"

Update Dec 14: Ayu has just decided it will be a 3-disc release! \(^-^)/
Update Jan 5: Cover is released!

Source: CDJapan & TeamAyu blog from AHS