Guess the setlist with me for Fab!-Live Speaks

Here is my new video where I guess the setlist for HSJ's upcoming online concert. I hope you enjoy!

Storytime: My experience at the Johnny's Shop in Harajuku

Despite the amount of homework I have to do, I thought it would be interesting to write about my experience at the Johnny's shop in Harajuku. For those who don't want to read all of this, basically, it is better to go to the ones in Osaka or Nagoya. The reason for this is because you WILL be in line for a while and when I mean for a while, I mean for about 2-3 hours. So basically, I believe if you go after it opens, a security guard will hand you a slip that says to come back to line up after a certain time. I went there around 12:18pm ish so I got a slip that said to come back around 12:30pm, so it wasn't that long of a wait. I debated whether or not I should line up and even looked up the reviews of the store. Keep in mind that I went on New Years Eve so Harajuku was even more crowded than usual due to Meiji Shrine being close by and it was just crowded. Anyways, the reviews on google said that you will be in line for a few hours which was right. Also, I read that the people who works there do not speak English and are not helpful. For those who don't speak Japanese, there is not a lot of communication needed other than when you're at the cash register but again, when you get handed a slip that says a certain time, just come back after that time. For some reason, I thought it would be different for me and wanted to find out on my own. Also, my mom encouraged to line up.

 So when you first line up, you line up outside. It does not take that long to get inside the building where you line up more. However, it takes a very long time to get into the actual store. I believe it took about a hour just to get inside the actual store. Because they only allow a certain amount of people to get into the store each time, it does take a very long time to get in. Most people like myself had the dedication to stay in line. However, I have seen some people leaving and it looked very hard to get out. They don't have a restroom inside, so don't drink an excessive amount of water when lining up. I believe a lot of people that actually goes there are not from Tokyo and are taking the opportunity to go there when they are on a trip to Tokyo like myself. This is something I find very interesting but I think it's just nice to listen to what fans talk about whether it's about their idols or just life in general. I always find it interesting to hear what other people think about their idols and basically just the life of a fan since I don't have any friends that are fans of Hey! Say! JUMP or Johnny's in general. Because of this, going to Japan and going to concerts are the few opportunities to just be around fans of the same things I like.

After a hour or so, I finally got in and was able to choose the pictures I wanted. This was a pretty quick process since I tend to choose them quite quickly. However, after that, I had to line up again in order to pay. The line to pay was quite confusing to find but I was able to find it. It was around where the KAT-TUN section was, I believe. This again, only a certain amount of people can go at a time so it a very long time to pay. When I was able to pay, I was able to pay fairly quickly and get my pictures. There were some people who took forever to get their pictures because they wrote down ones for multiple groups. There was a foreigner who was there for a very long time most likely because of this. Again, as for myself, it was very quick since I only bought pictures of Hey! Say! JUMP. I got out of the Johnny's shop around 3pm so I was there for over 2 and half hours. So how did I feel? Not too happy. Overall, it was an experience. But if you're planning to do other stuff that day or it's your last full day in Japan, I don't recommend going to the Johnny's store in Harajuku. If you're planning to go to Osaka or Nagoya, go to the stores there. There are a lot of people there but you will not have to line up in order to get in. Lastly, listen to the reviews on google.

Mayonaka no Shadow Boy

I posted this on SoundCloud almost two months ago but I forgot to share this on this blog! I have been wanting to re-record this to see if I improved or not throughout the years. This song was honestly pretty easy to record since it is super repetitive but if was a little low for me(which might be the reason why I raised the pitch when I recorded it the second time). Anyways, hope you enjoy!

Thoughts on Yamada Ryosuke's dating scandal/other fan manner things I want to point out

I know this news is quite old now but I wrote it a few months ago so bear with me.
So it has been quite a while since I've last made a post. This summer has been quite hectic. Getting ready to transfer to a new university, dealing with a lot of stress etc. So today, I thought of writing down about my thoughts about Yamada Ryosuke's dating scandal. First of all, he did nothing wrong. He did something a human being would do which is to fall in love with someone. Did I feel sad about it when I first found out about it? Yeah, totally. But was I prepared for it? Sort of. I figured that something like this would occur eventually and I figured I would be sad about it(though I did wish that I knew that it'll come to my stomach and make feel super stressed). I haven't looked up what other people think of this but as sad as I am, it's just something fans are just going to have to accept. I understand that there are people who will feel like they have been betrayed and will want to bash on Yamada or his rumored girlfriend but that's just only going to benefit yourself and not him. This is going to sound super obvious but the best thing to do is just try to be happy for him. If you absolutely cannot be happy for him, then just try to accept it. Also to be honest, if this happened to me when I was 12, I would've just quit right away. But because I am older and have been a fan for a long time, I realized that it's just something has to be accepted.
This is just idols in general but it frustrates me how idols have to be this product made specifically for the fans. It's okay for fans to imagine going on a date with them and such but because they aren't really allowed to date which leads to the fans not being able to see the reality, there are just certain fans that tends to be delusional about it up to the point where they spend hundreds and thousands of dollars just to go to their concerts and try to meet them and basically stalk them. The one thing that I don't think is a good thing for fans is to be able to get close to their idols because there are people that tend to think that they know them and love them back just because they are waving at them and pointing at their uchiwa. When it comes to idol relationships,  one of the most ridiculous cases this year was the E-dawn and Hyuna scandal. Why would you kick your main money maker out just because she is in a relationship? Cube is going to regret this choice for sure.
I just wanted to finish this though it has been a few months since the scandal. A post on tumblr has inspired me to finish this and I want people to understand that he is not a doll where you can dress up and play with. Just because you buy all the products that they put out does not mean that he or any idol belongs to you. I want to point this out, but you do not have to buy things to be a fan. Up until I saw  posts of a certain Japanese fan saying that they buy stuff to support the members incomes, I never thought of buying these goods like that. I buy these CDs and DVDs because I want to. I don't think about the money going to the members. Also I want to point out that not all the money that you spend on concert goods and all that will go towards the members. I don't know who it actually goes to but it obviously goes towards everyone involved so that might include staff, photographers, stylists and make-up artists and those who work for the agency. There is this Japanese fan who is known for being a crazy Yamada fan. At first I thought she was just this girl who wrote about how much she loved him though it was quite excessive. Then recently she posted on her story on her instagram to DM her for those who wanted his previous address. This made me realize that she is just as bad as the Heisei shojo gundan. Then she made a video about how she feels bad about it and is getting treatment for lovesickness but I don't think she learned from this AT ALL. She is still writing the same things on her twitter. It just frustrates me that she is this bad and does not realize that what she is writing is not something that people would think nicely of you. I feel like this has something to do with her parents as well since she said her mom is a janiwota. To be honest, I was quite bad back in elementary school but I was a kid and my parents were quick to point out if I said anything unrealistic. So I feel like this girl didn't have anyone to point these things for her other than people on the internet which I'm sure she just ignores. 
So I'm sorry that this post was all over the place but it really does annoy me that certain people don't see Yamada and basically any idol as human.

How Hey! Say! JUMP changed my life

A while ago, I rediscovered this blog called nihonchique and she had a blog post called "Why Do I Love Johnny's?" That post got me thinking how Johnny's specifically Hey! Say! JUMP affected and changed my life so I decided to share what they are. 

1.I was able improve my Japanese-Before I started listening to Hey! Say! JUMP, my Japanese wasn't the best. Growing up in a area where there isn't a lot of other Japanese people and not going to Japanese school on Saturdays really affected that. My Japanese was more of a mixture of Japanese and English so there were times when my relatives in Japan who don't know any English had a hard time understanding what I wanted to say. Also it was just limited in general. But after I discovered HSJ, I started watching variety shows and dramas which made me realize there's different ways to talk to people which is something you don't learn from just talking to your parents. Honestly I still use Japlish when I speak in Japanese but I really feel like it's gotten better. 

2. Gave me a goal-I realized how ever since I got into Japanese pop culture, I started to have more things I wanted to do and have a job based on the things I like which are music, filming and digital arts. Also I noticed how I set up goals for myself for when I go to Japan such as going to a HSJ concert or a Hello Project concert and going to a bunch of places meanwhile when I was younger, I kinda just went with the flow. 

3.My love for music grew-I loved listening to music ever since I was little but I was never able to explore different genres so I just listened to anime songs and songs that were on TV. But when I got into HSJ, I realized how I wanted to branch out to other artists so I would listen to a whole variety of music. Although the music I listen to today isn't as diverse as it used to be, I realized how much songs I know. Another thing is how I was able to get better at singing. My singing before I started YouTube was awful. It still isn't the best but I can least hold a tune now.  

So those are the things on how Hey! Say! JUMP changed my life. Honestly, if I didn't start listening to them or even discovering them, my life would've been so much different. I wouldn't have this blog, I wouldn't done YouTube and my Japanese would've still been crappy.

Breaks give me more time to think

Today is the last day of winter break which I am very sad about because I don't want to go back to school. Onto the main topic, I've realized how during these kinds of longer breaks give me more time to think about things I usually don't when I have school. So for the past few days, I've been thinking about why I haven't been to a Hey! Say! JUMP concert despite being a fan for a fairly long time. Looking up at the past tour dates and watching their older concert DVDs, it just makes me wonder why something that someone who lives in Japan can do as soon as they become a fan(or more easily than I can) is taking so long for myself. 

One of the answers I came up was I hesitate. Ever since I was little, I had a hard time speaking up. So I ended up not telling my parents things I actually wanted until years later. Another reason is I tend to overthink about everything. I start thinking about what my parents will say and how they would feel when they go to a place where I wanted to go to. So in the end, I just have a hard time telling people what I want to do because I would feel like I'm selfish. 

My second answer is how I just hoped I would be able to go to Japan when there's a concert. The problem with that is how concerts(well at least some concerts tours) tend to be around the holidays or when there isn't school. As I got older, plane tickets became more expensive so I usually went around the cheapest time so early in the summer or around Thanksgiving Break. There actually was a time when I was able to go to Japan when there was a HSJ concert. Sadly I wasn't able to go because the trip was planned around a month before and you have to get tickets as soon as the concert tour is announced. This made me have some regrets. I thought to myself "maybe if I told my parents as soon as I saw the dates, I've would've actually gone" or "If I actually planned to go to Japan for it, I would've not have any regrets". But at the time, I was young and I just thought I can go next time. Obviously that still hasn't happened. 

In conclusion, it's basically my fault for hesitating and not taking the opportunity that was given to me. The reason I decided to write this post was because after seeing someone's post who just became a fan around last year saying how they went to the Countdown concert had me wondering what I'm doing with my life. It made me wonder what I have been doing for the past 7 years. It also made me wonder why I just gave up just because I stopped going to Japan for a period of time. Finally, I feel like this post made me sound like a spoiled brat haha. It's just that I felt kind of upset about this for a while. Also to end this, I'm thankful for the fact I can go to Japan. I don't go every year but I have an opportunity to do something so many people are dreaming of. Also a lesson is if you have a dream, go for it. Whether if it's going to a concert or becoming something, don't give up. Don't be like me who just hesitates just because you're with your family or friends who aren't interested in the things you like. 

JUMPing Car

Finally I got my copy of JUMPing Car. I actually forgot to tell my grandma about it, so I told her the very last minute and she said she couldn't get it. So I had to ask my dad to buy it on Amazon. He forgot to give it to me when he came back from Japan and yesterday, I finally asked him if he had it. I was actually surprised that this album had pretty good songs on it. I heard a lot of the songs were kid-ish so I was surprised that they were pretty mature. I am planning to do a album review on my idol blog so please look forward to that.

Late Birthday Haul

Even though this is extremely late and it is almost a month after my birthday, I still want to show you guys what I got.

 From my friends, I got some candy and a Hello Kitty piggy bank. All the snacks are so nice and I just love the piggy bank. I have not yet ate any of the candies and I will be willing to do that soon :) 

The next things I got are the things that my dad brought back from Japan. 

 The first thing is the latest Morning Musume'14 single! :) I think that both songs are great and I just like how different each song is. It also came with a picture of Kanon and a poster. 

  The 2nd thing is some of the issues of Watamote that I didn't have yet. Those who haven't seen the anime, I highly recommend it because it is very funny and those who are a little anti-social can definitely relate to it.

The 3rd thing I got was the 2014-2015 Hey! Say! JUMP calendar! I really like this years calendar and it has really good pictures. 

CDs! :D

Yesterday, I got a package from my grandma in Japan and I got two CDs! One of them is Morning Musume' 14's latest single Egao no Kimi no wa Taiyou/Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai/What is Love? and Hey! Say! JUMP's Ainoarika/Aisureba Motto Happy life. 

昨日、私のおばあちゃんから荷物がとどきました。その中に私が頼んだCDありました。Hey! Say! JUMPのAinoarika/愛すればもっとハッピーライフとモーニング娘'14の笑顔の君は太陽さ/君の代わりは居やしない/What is Love?を頼みました。

Apparently, this single comes with a picture of a member which I had no clue about. I got Sakura btw!

What?? Another HSJ scandal??

I started writing this post a few days ago so yeah....

Okay so this morning, I saw a picture of Keito Okamoto and actress Kasumi Arimura. At first, I was really happy and thought they were a cute couple but it somewhat started to bother me as the day went by. I started thinking things as like "who else has a girlfriend in HSJ?" Is Yamada going to be next?? and I also thought of really unrelated things such as, a Hello Project member announcing her graduation in the month or so. As for the H!P thing, after Morimoto's scandal, Ogawa Saki from S/mileage announced her graduation so that's why I thought a graduation was going to be announced :/ It started making me really stressed and I couldn't sleep because of it. Keito is actually not my favorite member in HSJ but it made me scared on who's going to be next. I know everyone is going to have a relationship someday and I am totally accept that but at the same time, it makes me kind of sad. But the number one thing that bothered me is, how were those pictures leaked and why didn't Keito delete those pictures or put them on his computer where it is nice and safe? But according to something I read on Arama, Keito took his phone to a phone shop and one of the employees found the pictures and sent them to Friday. Anyways, although I'm not as concerned as I was on the day it was on Friday, I really do think they are a cute couple. Also I am 90% prepared to cry myself to sleep if Yamada gets a girlfriend and the pictures get leaked XD

Come on a my house!

I finally got Hey! Say! JUMP's new CD yesterday! ^-^ The version I got was the limited edition 2. I honestly didn't like the song at first but now it is growing on me :) But I really like the coupling tracks on this so because of those songs, it really want me to get this single. 

 I also got Sexy Zone's latest single, Real Sexy/Bad Boys! ^-^ I was originally planning to get this single when I go to Japan but it turns out we weren't going this summer so I just had one of my relatives get this for me. I think the main song Real Sexy is sort of a cute song and happy while Bad Boys has some rock to it and has a more cool sound to it.

Since I got the regular edition for the first time ever, I got Sou-kun! ^-^ I actually wanted Mari or Shori but I'm satisfied on who I got. I'm planning to buy all the regular versions the next time I go to Japan and see who I get but that'll cost me a lot of money so I might not do that. 

 

Lastly, I got a mini july 2013 issue! ^-^ I wanted this because Takahashi Ai wrote on her blog that she was doing a photoshoot for the magazine. Also since Mini is one of the magazines I buy, I really wanted it. The problem was that in the Kinokuniya that I go to, they only have one copy of it and I can't go there anytime I want so I just decided to get it online. 

 

 That is all the things I got! ^-^ I should do more of these but I feel like it won't be as special since I get a magazine every month.

 

JUMP WORLD

I got this about 2 weeks ago but yeah...I love this album! ^-^ I originally wanted the regular edition but I'm glad I got the limited edition. The cover for it is actually really interesting. I like the first one better but my favorite songs in this has to be "Hurry up" and Sam & Pinky.

Some Hey! Say! JUMP stuff :)

Yesterday, my grandpa came to visit and he's staying for a week and he brought me the things I told my grandma to get for me. :) I had to wait for Super Delicate for over a month but I'm glad I got it. It wasn't the version I wanted but I'm glad I still have it. ^^ I wanted the regular edition because it comes with the instrumentals but oh well. I guess I'll just ask for the instrumental on YouTube :P 

Also, I got Gintama mangas! ^-^ I love the anime so I asked if I can get the mangas and I got them. :D Those who haven't watched it yet, please do! I think it is super funny and for those who don't really like things that doesn't conclude in one episode, I think this anime is good to watch since a lot of the episodes conclude in one episode. 

Lol, their DVD case is so fancy. This one comes with pictures of the members. 

It's a little but I finally got the calendar! ^-^ I really think it's cool and I think it'll come in handy for me. 

The pictures came with the calendar and I got Yuto, Daiki and Inoo from Hey! Say! JUMP, Nikaido and Tamamori from Kis-My-Ft2, Nakayama Yuma and Sato Shori from Sexy Zone. To be honest, I was a little down when I got Shori because I like Marius but yeah...and I kind of feel bad for Shori fans who didn't get a picture of him. I just hope if I get the regular version of Lady Diamond, I'll get Marius but I think that'll be about a 20% chance. 

SCHOOL!! and Ryutaro Morimoto smoking?!

I haven't done a drama review for like what? 5 months? So anyways, on Wednesday I finished watching the drama SCHOOL!! What I liked about the drama is that the main character never gave up. I know that's common in many stories but he would talk to his students one by one and would help that student with a personal issue he or she is having. Normally principals would just walk around the school like nothing happened especially elementary school principals. I know that not all principals is like that but normally, a principal wouldn't go far as going to the students house and asking if theres any problems at home. So SCHOOL!! is about a man named Naruse Seiichiro who worked at construction sites for 20 years and suddenly it went bankrupt. With no job, before the construction site went bankrupt, the former principal of his elementary school came to his construction site to pay him his favor. The favor was for Naruse to be the principal of his elementary school. However due the changes cause of time from when he went to elementary school and now, things had changed but cause of enthusiasm, he is willing to make some changes such as the kids going outside more to play, setting events etc. 


On the other hand, which is completely unrelated, it is found that Hey! Say! JUMP's Ryutaro Morimoto has been smoking. According to Tokyo Graph, due to the fact that he's a minor, he is going to be indefinitely suspended. In Japan, the legal age to smoke is 20 so the fact that he's only 16 he has broken the law. There has been two photos of him smoking. One was when he was 14 and the other was when he was 15. And according to sources, he has been smoking openly for a long time. People has told that it would be bad if he gets caught but he would brush it off without worry. Due to the fact that's he suspended, Hey! Say! JUMP will be a 9 member group and Morimoto would get removed from their new single cover OVER. I have to admit, I was really really shock to hear this. I figured it out today at like 3:00pm and it was shocking. It reminds me of Kago Ai's scandal but worse. I hope something like this would never happen again but who knows? It might. And I know Morimoto isn't the lead or anything but he's a fellow member of Hey! Say! JUMP so I'm really sad to hear this. 

UPDATE: 
It turns out Morimoto isn't going to be removed from the single cover

I want to do a cover!!

Okay so, on May, I only made one video. The reason was because I was sick. :/ But this month, till school ends, I'll be busy plus I have lines to record for projects. Right now, while I was doing my homework, I felt like I want to do a cover. I promise I'll do a cover soon! ^-^ I'm planning to sing Ultra Music Power by Hey! Say! JUMP so please look forward to that! :)

NYC CD and Hey! Say! JUMP 2011-2012 Calendar

On Thursday, I got a package and it had the new NYC CD Yume Tamago and the 2011-2012 calendar. 
I was really happy about it. I this Yume Tamago is a very cute song. I thought the calendar wasn't bad but the 2009-2010 is my favorite one. 

Arigatou-Sekai no Doko ni Itemo Cover thoughts and blooper story

A week ago, I sang Hey! Say! JUMP's new single since it was a request. I like this song myself and I'm glad that I was able to sing it. I wouldn't have sang it if it wasn't a request because I am afraid of getting really mean comments from Japanese people.

I think I did a pretty good job on it except the timing. The timing was pretty bad. Audacity drives me nuts. It messes up the timing and I'm always too early. It took me 2 days to finish it and I had a cold when I sang it so yeah. And I thought that I ruined Yamada's part but I really liked it so I did it. Overall, it's pretty good but I think I could do a little better on the song or not.

Hey! Say! JUMP and YUI CD

Hey guys! Happy 2011!! ^^ Wow, I'm doing 2 posts in a day on the 2nd day of the year lol. My last post was about the Morning Musume audition. Honestly, I love Morning Musume. I think they are very talented and they all have different personalities. I was going to audition for it and I heard that people from overseas were auditioning but I didn't feel like it. Anyways, my mom went to Japan for the holidays and bought these two CDs. 
One of them is the new HSJ single and the other is the YUI album Holidays in the Sun. I like YUI too and I think her voice is adorable. =D I'm planning to cover at least one song by her someday but I think there are way too many YUI covers so I have to think about it. 

Hitomi No Screen

After so many takes on this, I finally did it! But this is not the best one sadly.=( I'm still recovering from a cold so yeah. I've been coughing but I still wanted to sing this. You could probably hear the coughing sound in the background