Happy New Year!

For those that never actually made it to the end of my 2009 Year in Review post!

Happy New Year!

I updated the About Me page for the new year. I also added an explanation to the name of my Conflict Productions as I feel compelled to document the history of the name before I myself forget.

I will be really busy in 2010 so I will try my best to update. Hopefully it won’t be half-baked updates either, but I never know. I aim to do more reviews and hopefully start a series post of some sort, as I don’t like the idea of just reaction posting or doing posts that basically everyone else in the blogosphere are doing too.

My personal goals for 2010 are to pick up 5A for yo-yoing. I will be taking up an officer position for the Rutgers Yo-Yoing Club so I would like to improve and represent accordingly, even if my skills are not particularly impressive right now. On top of budgeting my money, I’d still like to indulge in the little things that make me happy. I’ve already decided that I have to go see POLYSICS, so I’m already on my way to that goal.

Also, I went back to my older theme as upon second thought I actually really like it. Courtesy of CharlesNguyen, I have a new and improved version of my Priceless LinLin banner. What do you all think?

So let’s look forward to a great new year. Or at least we can look forward to February 14th, when the REAL new year begins XD.

2009 Year in Review

As it is the end of year, I take this time to reflect on all that I can remember about this year. There’s no way I can remember the sheer amount of things that happen over the course of like 350+ days unless it sticks out. And this will be an overview of what stuck out for me. The review is separated into early winter, spring, summer and fall/winter seasons. Long post, but that’s only because I have a lot to say about some things and I like writing a lot. By the by, those links sprinkled here and there are links to the relevant post I made over this year.

• Early Winter (December 2008 – February 2009)
  With the inauguration of Obama, the year 2009 started with a slow start. The early winter of 2009 was a blur, as I don’t recall much. I had just gotten into Perfume late last year and was catching up to them. So in retrospect, January was relatively boring especially since school was just starting up again. SNSD and Buono! were quite prominent during this season.

  

  Early in the winter of this year, Korea was going crazy over Gee. I happened to grab the PV on JPS (back when it was still on its old system) and watched it cause I had it. Gee is an excellent song and I cannot deny that. Meanwhile, the Wonder Girls were sitting around doing nothing. Who would ever guess they’d end up touring America as an opening act to the Jonas Brothers. Seriously though, that one came out of nowhere. But other things did eventually distract me to the point where I never did really get to know the SNSD girls. And my time with K-pop for this year stopped here.

  
  So what distracted me? Buono! did. During the winter I had started listening to Buono! I remember fondly, studying for finals and getting Rottara Rottara stuck in my head. In February, their Buono! 2 album was released. That album was one of the best albums this year. And that album alone really solidified Buono! in my listening ranks. Buono! and the major spring event following effectively barred me from getting into K-Pop.

• Spring (March – May)
  Spring was filled with sprinkles of disappointment glazed over good parts. Elder Club graduated from Hello! Project. Dragonball. Hangry & Angry! and more. Though those are only the couple things that I really remember.
  The biggest event of the spring is arguably, Elder Club’s graduation from Hello! Project. The Elder Club represents a very big foundation of Hello! Project and a big part of my history as a fan. I was quite sad about it and it wasn’t until recently that I finally sat down to watch the longest graduation concert ever. It was an excellent concert and I wound up catching 660 screencaps (one of which is posted above). Watching the graduation even made me feel the sensation of tearing. And this happened even with someone else in the room. T_T I miss them already.

  Despite Elder Club’s graduation, Hello! Project did not sink all of a sudden. In March after a long almost 2 year wait, Morning Musume released Platinum 9 Disc. Among Momusu’s 9 major albums, there are only 2 albums that I find to be all around good. Platinum 9 Disc is one of these two albums. SONGS is my favorite of the album songs and it really represents the new level that Momusu has reached beyond its older roots. Also around this time, I started actively watching concert DVDs and getting a real appreciation for their performances. Meanwhile, Buono! released MY BOY which is my favorite song from them this year. I just had to throw that in there.

  
  In America, Dragonball Evolution the movie was released. And let me tell you that movie… was … lol. I recall hearing about a Dragonball movie way back from junior high school. The fact that it was really done and released made me curious. The best/worst part was that Hamasaki Ayumi herself was singing a tie-in song, Rule. I only intended to watch the movie for the song, but I watched the whole thing just for laughs. At this period in my life, my opinion of Ayu’s music really changed and I basically stopped listening to her recent music.

  Hangry & Angry made history as the first real Hello! Project act in America (Hawaii doesn’t count). From what I heard it was a great experience for those who went to Sakura-Con. This didn’t mean much to me though, since I wasn’t following them at the time (as a matter of fact, I still have not started). But it was a start and a premonition for bigger things to come. Buono! was to be going to Europe. That wound up being cancelled however, to the disappointment of many fans.

• Summer (June – August)
  Summer brings a lot of big developments for everyone. Almost everything major happened in July for me. Perfume released Triangle, Momusu came to America, Subgroups! and more.
  Perfume released their much anticipated album, Triangle. I love the singles after GAME. But the album was somewhat of a disappointment for me. GAME had a much more powerful variety whereas Triangle seemed to lack the punch that GAME had on its album tracks. Though one track really stuck out for me and that was Zero Gravity. I don’t think I’ve heard a single person who likes that song XD.

  Already you can tell this year is very biased towards Hello! Project. It is because I had a big resurgence in fan following, especially because of IntlWota. But that’s not to say other musical entities weren’t capturing my attention. Avex celebrated its 20th year anniversary by releasing Trax. Ravex made this amazing album full of dancey and rave tracks. I love this kind of music too and it really hit the spot when I needed a short break from H!P style music.

  
  Now that that short break is over, Hello! Project made a big retro splash by reviving the subgroups of years past. I was intrigued and in the end I approve. I find it nice that Hello! Project is willing to bank on nostalgia while promoting their current and future selves. I also look forward to the next wave of Hello! Project concerts and hopefully the subgroup songs that follow. Unfortunately, Kanna who had been out of action for a while was finally confirmed as returning to the “normal life”. I wonder what happened…

  The biggest event of the summer was arguably the death of Michael Jackson, Morning Musume @ Anime Expo 2009. By this time I was a regular in wotachat. I looked forward to reading the updates and news throughout the three days, all of which I was scheduled for long days of work. While I wasn’t there, I enjoyed the coverage from IW, Hello! Party, and the fun time in wotachat. It’s one of my more memorable wota experiences, even though I wasn’t really in on the action. Though, I guess this was mental preparation for the next big step in my fandom of Hello! Project.

  
  Lastly, in the summer Momusu released their 40th single, Nanchatte Renai. I have a fond memory of seeing Yaguchi on a mini-tricycle, pedalling hard for her life in the burning sun while hearing Nanchatte Renai. ^__^ That should be the PV right there, Pinch Triker.

• Fall / Winter (September – December)
  A lot of big things happened this fall/winter. I tend to remember the end of the year more because I’m much more active because of school and not lamenting on the routine feeling of summer. That and of course, it just happened recently ^_^ The end of the year was very much Hello! Project filled for me as Hello!StoreUSA opened as well as a surprise visit by Kago in America. It was also an unfortunate downer with graduations.
  
  JPS played a big role in J-pop fandom. It was about the fall time that JPS moved to their current system. One day, I was looking through my RSS reader and was pleasantly surprised to find a new m-flo song. And so it was m-flo’s 10th anniversary this fall. I have loved m-flo’s music for quite some time and SOUND BOY THRILLER was a welcome addition to m-flo’s fantastic library.
  Hello!StoreUSA was announced sometime in September and opened up to a server overloading rush. Since it’s grand opening, I’ve gone way over my budget and made 5 orders. But I don’t regret it, not one bit ^_^. I’m pleasantly surprised that they have gone the extra mile for everyone, due to setbacks from customs. And I look forward to seeing what they’ll bring to us in 2010. Other than rising prices >.>

  
  My biggest memory for winter was in November when I got to meet and shake the hand of former Momusu, Kago Ai. It was a great experience and I feel great that I made the journey to Mitsuwa for it. I do feel somewhat sad that I don’t have the same feelings for her as she is now, but it’s a natural part of life. That doesn’t stop me from following her on Twitter, though ^_^.

  
  And now the sadness of this year. Erika graduated from C-ute. Koharu also graduated from Morning Musume. These are two pretty big developments since they’ve both been in their respective groups for quite a while. But perhaps the biggest graduation of them all is the ANNOUNCEMENT that Kayo will be leaving POLYSICS. She’s been in the band since 1998. This announcement was literally made during the time I spent writing this post… that’s how big and recent it is! T___T 2009 will forever be the year of graduations in my mind.

And so that is a review of the year from my end. Great things happened, but there were also other things that balanced the good. The saying that all good things must come to an end rings true so much more than it has before. Still, it’s a good year.

Happy new year everyone and let’s look forward to what 2010 will bring us!

~Siggy, who spent too long writing all of this, but got it all done before 2010 at least…~

2009 Year End Hello! Project Rankings

As a mark for me I’d like to remember this year as this year is one of the more important years in Hello! Project history. As far as I can remember I may have lightly sprinkled a ranking before, but I have never really solidified my rankings. And I would like to see year by year, through major developments and small subtle influences, how my rankings differ. Since becoming a fan of Hello! Project, many things have changed, many people have come and gone, and my likes and dislikes have varied.

As for the year 2009, the collective group known as “Wonderful Hearts” was made the real core of Hello! Project with the mass graduation of Elder Club. As we see above, the core consists of Morning Musume (9), Berryz Koubou (7),    C-ute (7) and Mano Erina. That’s a grand total of 24 girls.

This year Berryz Koubou is the only group that hasn’t seen any change in members. C-ute was silently dropped to 6 girls soon after FOREVER LOVE. Kanna was later officially announced as resigned. Erika graduated in October. Finally, Koharu graduated earlier this month dropping Morning Musume down to 8 girls. This makes for a grand total of 21 girls in Hello! Project (excluding Eggs).

So here we are read more for my rankings for Hello! Project as of December 2009.

Pucchi Best 10: The Year of Many Groups

As the year draws close we remember all of the things that happened this year and look forward to what next year brings us. While, this is not my retrospective year end post, it will make up a portion of my look back as the Pucchi Best 10 album features one of the most shocking developments of the year. 

Surprisingly, Hello! Project is really reduced to nearly this few girls.

That’s right, it was a big deal when it was announced… what just before summer? I’m talking about the revival of the sub-groups. Read more for my retrospective (you can call it a review too) for the album.

Warning… this is actually legitimately a long post, what with my required background check and all. Though if you are familiar with the sub-groups you may opt to skim/skip through it. I just felt like taking that stroll down memory lane ^___^. Also, do read the alternate text for images, as they contain some extra commentary.

Kusumi Koharu Sotsugyou Shimasu

When I hear that (the title), I understand what it means. Because I know what  sotsugyou, (卒業) means. Literally, I was introduced to this Japanese word long before I even knew of Hello! Project. But ever since Hello! Project the word means so much more. It’s a phenomenon that every Hello! Project fan has to contend with. Yes, I’m talking about the almighty banhammer that UFA wields, graduation!

For those who don’t know what this particular “graduation” is you can read below for a brief explanation, otherwise I assume anyone reading this already knows what this is about and can simply read more for the full article.

Graduation: By definition is a process in which one receives acknowledgement and his/her/their status is changed. Students graduate from high school when they have finished their required coursework. In Hello! Project, the groups have a graduation method in which a member leaves the group, having run their course, to do other things, to go back to living a normal life. These graduations to the fans mean a lot, very much like a school graduation means a lot to the parents of their respective child(ren).

Meeting Kago Ai

In my current lifetime, I’ve had the chance to meet several people who mean something to a great number of people. What they do is what fascinates us to the point where we celebrate them. This is of course, a celebrity. There are all kinds of different celebrities in so many fields: sports, music, acting, writing, science, being but a fraction of the possibilities.

I have met several “celebrities” over the past years. When I went to Video Games Live, I had a short 2 minute conversation with Jason Hayes, the composer for the popular game, World of Warcraft. It’s funny, I noticed his badge and just initiated casual conversation. He was a very nice guy and he really wanted me to play the game so that I could listen to the music. But I still haven’t nor plan to get around to doing it. Really, Jason Hayes was not a celebrity for me. I didn’t know who he was before being introduced (looking at his badge). In this sense, celebrities are very subjective.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting for all intents and purposes, my first TRUE celebrity, the one and only…

Kago Ai, ( 加護亜依 )

Read on further for my thoughts and recap of the event. You may skip the next paragraph, as I assume you already are familiar with Aibon.

For those who may not know who Kago is, here’s a short rundown. Kago Ai joined the popular J-pop girl group, Morning Musume, at the young age of 12. She was a very popular member throughout the years until she graduated with fellow 4th generation Morning Musume member, Tsuji Nozomi, to continue singing together as W. In 2006, a scandal broke out revolving her smoking underage. This caused her to go under arrest and a subsequent scandal caused her to be fired altogether from Up-Front Agency (the agency managing Hello! Project). She has since returned to show business.

The Chronicles of Mitsuwa: Kago Ai Edition

So, this past Sunday was a landmark in my life. I met the one and only, Kago Ai. Not only that, I shook her hand!! But I’ll leave the thoughts and coverage for another post as it is way too much for what I may want to say.

I spent a good portion of my time there taking random footage for updates and memories. After about 2 hours of cutting and editing (and creative decisions) I produced a condensed 15 minutes (including credits) of the footage I got.

Halloween

Although yes, Halloween is well half a month past, I finally got the pictures. I wish I had more pictures but don’t really. Then again, I didn’t have that many more opportunities for pictures. Anyway, for Halloween I dressed up as a “wota”. For those who don’t know, you can consider a wota to be a fanboy. In particular, a fanboy of Japanese idols and/or music.

Hello! Store USA part 2

It should be no surprise that I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Nine Smile merchandise would come up during a time that wasn’t surprisingly inconvenient for me. Lol… I seriously wrote “surpris” 3 times in that sentence. At any rate, I camped out for the raid on Hello Store last week. Originally the plan was just to get 1 order. That ended up becoming 2 orders… Surprisingly, I got the second order first before the other one seems to even be near completion. I’m going by the information reflected in my Inbox. Not too long ago, I saw H!S tweeted that they’re bogged down on the high volume of orders. Well, I guess I have a while to go before my other order comes. For the spoils of war, read on!

Airi wants you to read on, she promises you won’t leave unhappy ^_~

Hello! STORE!!! USA

I wish I could say I knew it was coming, but I certainly didn’t. I was quite surprised at the announcement of Hello! Store USA a while back. But I was determined to check it out and buy something to support my favorite girls. So about a week ago, was the midnight opening (PST) of Hello! Store USA. And I waited for it… to 3am in EST…