ONE OK ROCK Concert LA February 7th 2014 Recap

The Japanese rock band ONE OK ROCK had their first U.S. concert in Los Angeles, CA last night and my friend and I got a chance to see them perform. I wanted to recap some of the awesomeness that happen at the concert for you all. The venue was at Club Nokia in downtown LA so it’s much cozier and we can actually see them up close. There were lots of male and female fans there. I think I heard more male fans screaming and cheering than female fans in this concert.^O^

We got there two and a half hour early before the door opens and there was already a long line of people ahead of us. Also there was a group of fans who were walking around with a large ONE OK ROCK banner. We got to write messages on the banner before they deliver it to ONE OK ROCK. They started moving us in at 7 and we went upstairs and went through security check. We got the floor section tickets so we got to stand not too far from the stage. It was so worth it. I got a pretty good view of all the band members since we were in the middle.

Sound check took a little bit longer than normal but when ONE OK ROCk came out, everything was all good. There was so much screaming when they came out. Taka had such a good vocal. He was singing on his red microphone with red cord which was pretty awesome. Toru was really cool with his green guitar. Ryota was pretty build for a bassist. He perform shirtless throughout the whole show. Tomoya was so cheerful and he was smiling a lot throughout the whole concert. They brought so much energy in their performances. They were also really interactive with the crowd. Their member introductions were really cute. For a band that’s not fluent in English they were pretty good in the introductions.

Their live music sound so much better than the CD. They did about an hour and a half session. They sang a lot of the songs from the Jinsei x Boku album and a few of their famous songs from their previous albums. I got to hear them sing one of my favorite song “Kanzen Kankaku Dreamers” and the last song for the night was “The Beginning”. They came back for encore with a beautiful rendition of “Wherever You Are” This was definitely a great live concert. ONE OK ROCK concert was so much fun. I hope they come back to LA again.


I'll leave you with ONE OK ROCK video of the Yokohama Performance of "Wherever You Are" ^O^

Favorite Anime of 2013

The anime premiered in 2013 were pretty good. I've chosen to talk about them by categories rather than by ranking since numbers means nothing to me. I watched a lot of shows last year and many of them were quite impressive. There was a lot more light novel to anime adaption which is pretty cool. There were also the usual fan service shows, manga turned anime shows, and slice of life shows. I also notice the decline of original series. A little bit of everything for everyone.

Before we start, here's a quick recap of my 2012 Favorite Anime:

Best Anime of 2012: Fate/Zero (I adored this show so much. Ufotable please have the FSN remake out soon.)
Best Sci-fi: Psycho-Pass
Best Comedy: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
--> Honerable mention: Daily Lives of High School Boys and Tsuritama
Best Educational: Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers)
Best Slice of Life: Sakamichi no Apollon ( Kids on the Slope)
Best OVA: Thermae Romae (time travel, Japanese bath house/onsen and Roman architect..stuff happens)
Best Horror: Another (The last episode is crazy.)
Best Mystery: Hyouka (I Really enjoy this show.)
Best Shoujo: 3 way tie My little Monster, Kamisama Hajimemashita, and Suki tte Ii na yo (Say "I Love You")
Best Short Episodes Anime: Recorder and Randsell
Best Sports Anime: Kuroko no Basuke
Best Light Novel Adaptation: Sword Art Online
---> Honerable mention: Accel World and Kokoro Connect
Best Anime Movie: Wolf Children


Now to My 2013 Favorite Anime ^O^

Note: Some shows started in 2012 but ended 2013 so I'll count them for 2013.


Best Light Novel Adaptation: Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi

I didn't know what to expect because I thought this was a magical girl anime. O! I was so wrong. There are many story arcs in this show. I really like the depth of the story. It's unique and interesting. It's great seeing Ai's adventures in the outside world. Also her traveling companions were entertaining too. The series has many arcs that had its own strong point and it made me feel the feels toward the end of the series. It's a really well done anime.


Best Educational Anime: Gin no Saji (Silver Spoon)

Gin no Saji is a completely different feel than Arakawa sensei's FMA. Her new agricultural manga got an anime adaptation in 2013. It's funny and I find it really informative. I love the quirky characters and the strange agricultural situations they dealt with. It makes of think of animals and bacon differently. Its second season starts this year too ^O^


Best Horror/Drama/Sci-fi: Shin Sekai Yori

This was a strange show. I wasn't really sure what was going on until later in the series. The mole rat people are creepy and when you find out the truth of everything, it's just very sad. The show gets better as the story progress and its complexity kept me wanting more.


Best Comedy: Hataraku Maou-Sama

I just love seeing extraordinary characters in ordinary setting. Episode one threw me off. It started out really serious and became more lighthearted and comical later in the episode. I love Mao's character. His assistant is funny too. His fight with the hero Emi is really fun. I really love the characters' facial expressions in this show. It's a great comedy with a unique storyline. There were still so many unanswered questions. It definitely needs a season 2.

Honerable mention: Blood Lad-It was funny and it was short.

Best Paranormal/Slice of Life: Kanata no Kyoukai

Combo of slice of life with paranormal and a moe megane bishoujo. It has loveable characters and awesome fight scenes. It's strange. It's different. It's fun. I'd also give this show the best bishoujo award too because of the megane moe Mirai-chan.

Best Original Anime: Kyousougiga

Based on original ONA and 5 more ONA eps that came out in 2011, this anime expand the Kyousougiga world. It's really good. Kind of like a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass in alternate universe with a bit of Japanese culture. The coloring and animation reminds me of FLCL but the story here actually make sense.

Best Game Adaptation Anime: Devil Survivor 2: The Animation

I don't know what happen to Devil Survivor 1 anime but Devil Survivor 2 anime stands on its own. It has an excellent casts and great animation. Hiroshi Kamiya and Sakurai Takahiro ❤❤❤. The story was really well written and dramatic in a way. Overall an excellent anime.


Best Shoujo Anime: WATAMOTE (Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!)

O man. How I laugh so much in this anime. Not the typical series I'd choose for best shoujo anime but it should be considered one. It stands out and is really different. Kind of sad in a way but she's just trying so hard.

Best Short Episode Anime: Senyuu

A mess up RPG world with crazy character. So funny.

Best Fantasy: Red Data Girl

It's a different type of anime that's hard to describe. The story is really well written and the animation is really good.

Honerable mention: Log Horizon-It brought the usual stuck in the MMORPG world type of anime up a notch. Very promising title.

Best Sport Anime: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club

Is it because of the manly triceps and biceps? Maybe. All in honesty, Free! is just one of those show that is fun to watch. It involves high school swim club, teamwork, and friendship. Perfect combo.

Honorable mentions: Yowamushi Pedal, Daimond no Ace-these two are really fun so far.

Best Sentimental Anime: Uchoten Kazoku

This show came out of nowhere. It's about a tanuki(raccoon) family that lives normal lives posing as human. It focused on four tanuki brothers with their incompleteness and their mother living everyday while trying to find out how their father died. It's quirky and had lots of build up and lots of feels. A really great show.

Best anime episode: Episode 8 of Uchoten Kazoku
Watch the show and you'll find out. Lots of feels.T0T

Best Sci-fi: Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

The premise of this show is really interesting. Seeing a teenage boy from a different world trying to live in a dystopian less advance Earth filled with his giant mecha is really interesting. Can't wait for the sequel.

Best Anime Movie: Garden of Words

It's so beautiful. It may have a strange set up since it's about a high school boy who wants to make ladies' shoes who met an older office lady during a rainy day. It's the conversation and the relationship that builds up that turn this anime into a great film. It has a really wonderful music and beautiful story that made me feel the feels.

*Note: I haven't seen Studio Ghibli's Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises)yet so I'm not sure how this will compare to that film.

Best Animated Short: Little Witch Academia

It's cute. It's short. It's solid. The story has potential.

Best Anime of 2013: I chose two series as my favorite show of the year. Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)and Psycho-Pass

Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)

I don't have to say much about this show. I'd give it best manga adapted into anime too because the anime did the manga justice. It has beautiful animation, great fight scenes, the giants are as creepy as ever in animated form. This show has a great storyline and great casts. It's not for the faint of heart but it's just an amazing show. I can't wait for the next season. (I would recommend for those who wants to know what happens next to read the manga ^O^)

Psycho-Pass

Although Psycho-Pass premiered in Fall 2012, it didn't end till Winter 2013. It was my favorite sci-fi series of 2012 and it continues to become my favorite of 2013 too. After I finish watching the last episode, I'd would have to say this is one of the most fascinating sci-fi/psycho thriller series I've ever seen. The story was written by Nitroplus + the character design by the manga artist Akira Amano who did Katekyoushi Hitman Reborn. This means gorgeous characters and awesome/complex sci-fi story. There may be some loopholes in this series I just adored it so much. I love both the protagonists and the main antagonist in this show. It also had an excellent casts. It's really nice to hear Seki Tomokazu voicing a cool guy gain. Also Sakurai Takahiro voice a great villian. This serie went above and beyond by expectation. Love the fight scense and the suspense in this show. The cycle begins...Can't wait to see what season two is going to be about.


That is all my favorite anime of last year. What were some of your favorite show of 2013? Feel free to comment below ^O^

My Top Anime Songs of 2013

Hope everyone had a Happy New Year. Here's a little post summing up my favorite 2013 anime songs. Some are Opening song (OP), some are Ending (ED), some are insert song, and some are theme songs.

Log Horizon ED1- Your Song by Yun*chi- It's super catchy and cute.



Free! Iwatobi Swim Team OP-Rage On by OLDCODEX and ED-Splash Free by Style Five



Devil Survivor 2: The Animation OP- Take Your Way by Livetune feat. Fukase -Upbeat and catchy



Devil Survivor 2 Episode 10 Insert Song-Each and All by Oikawa Rin-A beautiful song



Garden of Words ending song-Rain by Motohiro Hata



Kyoukai no Kanata ED-Daisy by Stereo Divine Foundation



Kyoukai no Kanata insert songs-Yakusoku no Kizuna



Kyousougiga ED-Shissou Giga by Teppan



Toriko ED8-Akai Kutsu by Salley



Psycho-Pass OP2- Out of Control by Nothing's Carve in Stone



Shingeki no Kyoujin OP1-Guren no Yumiya by Linked Horizon-I'd be crazy if I don't include this epic opening song.




How about you guys? What were your favorite anime song for 2013?

Fall Season Anime 2013: Sampling + First Impression part 1

October is a great month for new season of anime. Fall and Spring tends to come out with the better one. There is a lot of shows out this October so here's a quick first impression for you all.

* This is purely base on what I thought of the first few episodes of the show so my opions may change

Kill La Kill

Kill La Kill is one of the most rave about show to come out this season. I can't stop thinking that it has similar style as Gurren Largenn(since it's from the same producer) so I had a pretty high expectation for this show. At first it reminded me of classic anime but more bizarre and a bit crazy but overall super fun. The battle scenes were quite impressive. At first I thought the girl wanted to be a banchou but I was completely wrong. The sailor outfit fan service was not my cup of tea though >o<. What makes up for the show is the awesome action scenes. It's pretty cool so far so I'll definitely tune in to this show. What I learn: Sailor fuku drinks blood

Yamukashi Pedal

This is a manga turned anime about high school bicycle racing club. I was reluctant to watch sport anime because I haven't watch that much of it. I thought I'd give the show a chance and it was funny and interesting. It's an anime about an otaku boy who'll join the high school bicycle racing club. Ep 1 shows a few of the main characters in this anime and we see that the main character is not interested in bicycle racing but he has a natural ability and high endurance. So of course his sidekick is this cool dude who's a super awesome bicyclist. Will keep on watching to see what will happen.

What I learn: hime..hime..hime..(princess..princess..princess) You'll find out what I mean after watching the end credit of ep 1.

Outbreak Company

I has no idea what to expect from this show and it was a bit strange but pretty interesting. Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to introduce the world of anime to a fantasy RPG like world in an alternate universe? This was what the main character has to do in Outbreak Company. I don't know how this anime will go but look like the boy is stuck in that world until he fulfill his anime ambassador position. I like the character design and the animation. It does feel that this anime is gearing toward hardcore anime fans(so many moe scenes from the elf girl). Will keep watching.

What I learn: Maid half elf moeness.

Galilei Donna

Interesting premise. Descendents of Galileo are being targeted in order to find Galileo's inheritance. The character design is nice. Looks like it focuses on the three sisters of different age. There's a college law student, a normal high schoo girl, and a genius elementary school mechanic. The mecha design is not too shabby either. I'm hoping to see some interesting story in this one. Will continue watching.

What I learn: Mecha goldfish is cool.



That's it for now. There were a lot of new anime series that I watch so I'm planning to write a part 2 in a little bit. ^O^

Dareka no Manasashi (Someone's Gaze) Animated Short

Dareka no Manasashi is an animated short film directed by Makoto Shinkai (5 Centimeter Per Second and Voices from a Distance Star). He's becoming one of my favorite anime director. It's a story about young woman growing up and facing difficult situations in life and her relationship with her father. I find it very sentimental and heart warming.

Also if you like this, definitely check out his latest film Garden of Words. It's beautiful. Here's the Garden of Words trailer below.

Anime Review: Code:Breaker

Code:Breaker
13 episodes + 2OVA?

Why is this anime so short? The manga is over 200 chapters long and they shrink the series into one arc --> 13 episodes. I haven't read Code:Breaker manga before I started watching this anime. After I finish watching it, I thought it was not bad. I had a bit of problem getting use to the character design but I guess they kept it like the manga style. The story was interesting. Rei and Sakura duo was really entertaining to watch. Sakura was just a very righteous and Rei was just the danger she should not get involve with. The other code:breaker were cool too. There were some twist here and there to keep the story going. I can also recognize some of the seiyuu in this show right away. Some are quite popular. I can tell that Suzumura Kenichi was Toki and Saiga Mitsugi was Rui. Miki Shinichiro voiced Hitomi, which was really well done. Lastly, it was very cool to hear Nobuhiko Okamoto voiced Rei, the main character. Rei's character was more calmer than when he voiced Rin in Ao no Exorcist.

The animation quality was good. The fight scenes were engaging and well drawn. There was so many unanswered questions in this show though. If only there was a season 2. There were just 2 OVA out after the series so I'm not sure if there will be anymore Code:Breaker anime. I guess this series was like an intro into code:breaker. I've read that there was so much more left out. Therefore, I shall go read the manga to find out what happen next.

Overall:
Fun show. Not bad. Should go read the manga.

Space Pirate Captain Harlock CG Movie Trailer

I remember when Captain Harlock was an anime. Now here's the trailer for the CG movie of Space Pirate Captain Harlock movie out in Japan in September. Shun Oguri and Haruma Miura provide the voices of the two main characters. This movie looks really cool.