ongaku

Some music I picked up. I would've ripped and posted more, but circumstances prevent me right now.

Keep Tryin'
My favorite non-single track from Utada Hikaru's newest album Ultra Blue, it has a flow that reminds me of Passion but more upbeat...sort of between Passion and This Is Love, possibly.

Good-bye days by YUI
The theme song from the movie "Taiyo no Uta" (Song for the Sun), a movie about a girl with XP (a disorder characterized by extreme skin sensitivity to UV light) who goes out by night to play her music at a deserted park next to the train station. Three big problems with the movie: 1) Story is weak 2) Main actress, the singer YUI, can't act--the supporting cast are so much stronger actors it's not funny and 3) Every time she sings it sounds like she's singing in a studio instead of, say, outside, so it throws me out of the movie...But the song is pretty.

From the new Cocco album Zansaian, two non-single tracks I liked (both of which I liked better than the singles, actually), both very Cocco in different ways:
Ai Urara (Love Glorious): more rock
Shigatsu Baka (April Fool): more pop

nothing like searching for fanart

I did a quick read of the manga Emma by Mori Kaoru. Wow...nice art. Story is pretty good, too. Some developments weren't well fleshed out, but overall very enjoyable. And there's just something about a romance between classes that's a joy to read. Emma's attitude kind of reminds me of Jane Eyre. I only wish the copies I got of several of the last chapters weren't in Chinese. I can only guess what's going on in those. :P

Oh, speaking of England, I finally listened to the Flesh & Blood drama cds. OMG I can't help but die laughing every time I think of Kaito's "chant" in Japanese when he did his fortune-telling for Sir Francis Drake. Nothing like being able to say anything you like because no one can understand. And the more I hear Suwabe as Geoffery, the more I adore him. Su~te~ki! And damn, I am liking Fukuyama Jun more and more the more I hear him. He does a really good Kaito. I adore Nigel's reaction to the cat. ^___^ I didn't quite expect Vincent to have such a sneer in his voice, though.

Read several very funny Viewfinder doujinshi, especially the summer themed one and the Dragonball one. The second one in particular...I wish I knew where my manga was, because the whole merging thing just killed me. Super Seme!

And I spent an hour or so going around looking for pretty Togainu no Chi fanart. I particularly like the first two:

Batten Cluster78
INSIDE+sd
Koi wa pusshuhon
Blind
Ahiru Web
4
風月館PLUS (Fuugetsukan PLUS, I think)
Kagen (there's a separate page for Togainu in the illustrations page, link at very bottom)
~ism
Joou no uma (Queen's Horse)
mimiLINE
Usapla