Peter's Japan blog

Brings back memories ^^
The ship was so awesome ^^
Can't wait for the DVD, but I guess it will be a long wait again...

Have a look: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v14552478ssYZheMT

And also have a look at this thread on AHS: http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76177 for more pictures & info.

Seems like I got my Hatsune Miku nendoroid early :D It wasn't supposed to be available until the end of the month at the shop I pre-ordered it. So I was quite happy ;p It came in the same sized box as my other Nendoroid (Haruhi) and this one has number 33 on it. It has again 3 removable faces to use (one smiling, one laughing and one sad/confused face), this time it also has another front hairpiece. Next to that: another hand to hold the leek, one bent arm, one bent leg, removable head phones. And you can even remove her skirt ^^; (you can remove the legs and then remove the skirt ;p). And the big pony tails can be removed too (they are quite loose, so you have to be careful when posing). The plastic pedestal to hold her is actually quite high, she floats about 1.5 cm above the ground. Probably because of the long hair, but when I put Miku's head on the Haruhi body, the pig tails didn't really touch ground because of the pedestal. She looks bigger now, standing next to Haruhi ^^;

And now for some pictures:

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Together with the announcement of the album, also comes the information about the concert tour of this album.

There are 3 dates planned:

October 24th 2008: O-EAST in Tokyo
October 30th 2008: DIAMOND HALL in Nagoya
November 14th 2008: Namba HATCH in Osaka (right on my birthday ^^)

Doors open at 18h and concert starts at 19h.
Tickets are 5000yen (standing, no seats)

After 7 singles and some anime character singles, Hirano Aya is finally releasing her first full album. Title and track listing is still unknown, but the album will be released on July 16th 2008. As bonus a special AYA pack is included, of which the contents are still unknown as well. She has already quite a repertoire of songs to fill 2 albums. Will she just stick to (a selection of) the official singles? Will there be new material on the album? Still many questions ;p

Update June 2nd 2008:
On her blog, Aya announced the title of her first album as "Riot Girl" with accompanying PV (is Riot Girl also a song on the album?). From looking her webpage, songs included in the track listing are: Breakthrough (album version), Bouken Deshou Deshou?, Asu no Prism, Yorokobi no Uta (Asu no Prism's second track), LOVE GUN, NEOPHILIA, MonStAR, Maybe I Can't Good-bye, and supposedly new tracks as well. So the album will include all of her solo single A-tracks, one B-track and one B-track from an anime ED single.

Update June 17th 2008:
Again on her blog, Aya posted what seems to be preview of the album cover. She also mentions that the PV is ready. Only one month to go until the release ;p

Update June 18th 2008:
Aya just posted a bigger image of the cover, which I think is very cute ^^
Also new picture on her website & blog.

Update (2) June 18th 2008:
After consulting with the official Lantis website, it seems that the full track listing has been published! And also a preview of the RIOT GIRL PV

1. LOVE GUN
2. HERO
3. MonStAR
4. Asa no Prism
5. Breakthrough (Album version)
6. Bouken Deshou Deshou?
7. Aimai Scream
8. Yorokobi no Uta
9. Maybe I Can't Good-bye
10. NEOPHILIA
11. Harmonia Vita
12. For You
13. Hoshi no kakera
14. RIOT GIRL

Keep you updated on more info ;p

Support Hirano Aya!

After seeing the first episode of Macross Frontier at the end of last year, I was very impressed both by the visuals and by the music. Since about 2 months now the series has kicked off and I must say the visuals keep me amazed. I love the way the concerts and music of Sheryl are combined with the life & death fights that Alto is facing in space. Combining this with a love triangle between Alto, Sheryl and Ranka. And btw, I think Ranka's cell phone is awesome, you'll have to see it for yourself ;p

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Last Sunday, a 25 year old male stabbed 17 people after driving into 3 of them with a 2 ton truck in Akihabara, Tokyo's otaku shopping district. The incident happened on the big crossroad in Akiba next to the new Sofmap building. Police caught up with him in an alley in the direction of the train station. He dropped to the floor when they threatened to shoot him.

Tomohiro Katou was born in Aomori but lived in Shizuoka where he worked. He allegedly rented a truck and drove all the way to Akiba, just to run over some people, and then stabbing them and in the process stab 14 others. Three people died on the spot, 4 others died of their injuries at the hospital. They were 6 men between 19 and 74 and 1 woman of 21 years old. I seriously hope that the rest will pull through.
The guy said he was tired of his life, but other people would be fine, and he wanted to commit suicide. Well, so much for a suicide, 7 people died and he lives...

Apparently they found some drawing that he made in his school yearbook of a character from some rpg game. I sure hope the media won't jinx otaku community again because he made a drawing in the past. Even I draw, and don't see me doing any of those things.

Honestly, my thoughts are with families of the victims. It should never have happened. So many young people involved...

Update: apparently, he liked watchinganime... so, here we go again... what about American action movies full of violence and shooting? I don't have anything against those movies, but you get my point.

Source: ANN, DannyChoo.com, Japan Probe

It seemed like a dream come true. X Japan were finally together again, did some awesome concerts after almost 10 years, AND announced an international world tour with a concert in Paris, Taipei and New York. But now the sad news comes that Yoshiki has problems with his health.

Yoshiki has long had a chronic herniated disc and tenditis. Doctors ordered him to wear a corset during the concerts in May, which he did not. And it also worsened during the tribute concerts in May for Matsumoto "hide" Hideto.
This explains why he wore a neck band in the past concerts, as I didn't know about his actual condition, although I expected something like this.
He is supposedly recovering in his home in Los Angeles, but the concerts are postponed until further notice...

Gambatte Yoshiki!!

Source: ANN

Hirano Aya, the famous seiyuu of Haruhi & Lucky Star, will be releasing her first trading cards.
They will be out in July 2008.
Aya will also be releasing her first album "Riot Girl" on July 16th.

The official site of the trading cards
12 preview cards (aren't they lovely ^^)