Ame, Muon, Madobe Nite.

Some more sad news about my figmas. One of Nagato's hands snapped off. No kidding. I am really gentle with my figmas, but I guess not gentle enough. I am pretty sad... :(
I took these pictures about a week ago,,, before I broke her hand. The pose is the same as her character CD.

Have a nice day/evening~

Figma Kagami

You are all in for quite the post today. Not only do you get to see Kagami cosplaying, as Nagato Yuki, but you also get to laugh at me for breaking my figma.

Its actually quite a sad story. I was carrying my figma and then one of her twin tails snapped. Its quite inevitable that one of my figmas broke, and I am just glad it wasn't a really important part like an arm or leg that broke. However, since I am a very proactive person, I decided to think about solutions.



It just snapped.



Kagami is quite distressed at her current predicament. How can she just have one twin tail???



Kagami is sad. I am going to help her though because I am a very resourceful and crafty person.



Scotch tape what else?



As good as new, no?









And there you go. Your dose of cosplay and a how to article all in one.

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Actually, I truly am thinking about better, more permanent solutions. I am thinking some kind of good glue would be the best idea. If anyone has any ideas please share them.

First Figure- Asakura Ryoko 1/8

I apologize for not posting in a few months. I have been quite busy with school. This Christmas I got a Max Factory Asakura Ryoko figure, a Nagato Yuki figma and a Hiiragi Kagami figma. I was free this afternoon so I decided to try a photoshoot. This is my first ever figure photoshoot, so please bear with me as the pictures are not amazing quality. I just used the natural light from my window to light the picutres, so maybe they are kind of dark. Actually, today I focused on pictures of Asakura-san with a few of Nagato. I didn't take any of Kagamin today because her left twin tail is in need of repair:(

For this, I used a 1/12 scale chair from my mom's old dollhouse. It fit Nagato perfectly.

Nagato is borrowing Kagamin's manga.

I think the blue color of my walls goes well with Asakura's hair color and uniform.





The floral background in this is actually just my jacket.



By now, you are probably wondering why I don't have and pictures of Asakura-san and her knife. Well, to be honest I am too nervous to try and take off her hand. The bag is kind of fragile and I am scared that I will break it if I try to take it out..



Another 1/12 scale doll house chair.

キターーー(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ーーー

The CDs I ordered two weeks ago came last Saturday! I have listened to all of the songs and I will say that they are all amazing.

Kyon's Character Album:

１．倦怠ライフ・リターンズ!/kentai life returns!
This song is a good representative of Kyon's personality and feelings about being dragged into Haruhi's brigade. He is a very good singer and expresses his emotions quite clearly. I was surprised at the nice harmonies in the song.
２．ハレ晴レユカイ ～Ver.キョン～/hare hare yukai ~ ver. kyon
This is a great alternative to the original Hare Hare Yukai song and is done in a soft, acoustic way. Kyon again sounds great and is true to his character.
３．倦怠ライフ･リターンズ！　Off Vocal/kentai life returns off vocal
I usually do not listen to this much because it is a bit ordinary without Kyon singing.
４．ハレ晴れユカイ～Ver.キョン～　Off Vocal/hare hare yukai~ ver. kyon
I love to listen to this song, as it is great by itself.

冒険でしょでしょ?/bouken desho desho?

１.冒険でしょでしょ?/bouken desho desho?
The full version is amazing, and does not sound like just a stretched out version of the TV size version.
２.風読みリボン/kaze yomi ribbon
This song is pretty good, but not excellent. A fun song to listen to, but kind of forgettable.
３.冒険でしょでしょ?　Off Vocal/bouken desho desho? off vocal
Almost as pleasant to listen to as the original song.
４.風読みリボン　Off Vocal/kaze yomi ribbon off vocal

涼宮ハルヒの詰合/suzumiya haruhi no tsumeawase

１.恋のみくる伝説/koi no mikuru densetsu

This is the opening song to SOS dan's amateur film, Koi no Mikuru Densetsu (the song and film have the same name) and is sung by Mikuru (Goto Yuko). Even though the song is meant to be amateurish, it doesn't get annoying, no matter how many times I listen to it. Mikuru's innocent voice is so soothing.
２．God Knows...
One of the best songs to come out of the series, God Knows is amazing. It is a great rock song with amazing vocals and gutair. Unlike the version shown on the episode "Live Alive", this song is longer and the vocals are harmonized.
３.　Lost My Music
This song is much like God Knows, but is seems happier and more upbeat. I personally like Lost My Music just as much as God Knows.

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Here are two drawings that I did; one of Kyon and one based from the artwork on the back of the 涼宮ハルヒの詰合 album.






My school starts tomorrow, so I might be busy for some time. However, I will try to post semi-regularly (at least once a week). Also, a huge thank you to everyone that reads and comments on my blog. I really appreciate your support^^

Japanese Music at the U.S. iTunes Store

I have decided to write an informative article today that not only covers the choices of J-pop in the U.S. iTunes store, but also touches on my music tastes. I hope that this article gives you some helpful suggestions about music and if you are a current iTunes user, perhaps it will help you find J-pop more easily. Here is a movie to watch while you read.

To start, I will tell some advantages in purchasing music from iTunes. First, the price is significantly less than if you were to import CDs from Japan. For example, lets say that you wanted a single that contained an A-side, B-side and its respective karaoke versions. To import this, it would be about $10 + shipping. If you were to purchase just the A and B side from iTunes it would only be $2. Another advantage of iTunes is that it is a quick and legal way to get music. However tempting it is to download music for free, it is not right, and it is important that you buy the songs to support the artists and labels. Lastly, iTunes has lots of extremely rare and out of print CDs for many artists. However, iTunes does have its drawbacks. It has a fairly decent selection of J-Pop, but it has very very few anime songs. Also, the music is in protected AAC format, which is a huge drawback to those that do not listen to music on iPods. However there is a completely free and easy way around this protected format. I will post about that tomorrow. Even if you are not a fan of Apple and do not own an iPod, it might be a good idea to check out their J-pop selection.

Here are some of the J-pop music iTunes has. I will split it into 3 different groups. I will list some artists of note along with my favorite song of theirs and will provide a link to the iTunes page for each song.

Avex
Hamasaki Ayumi- Vogue
Otsuka Ai -Sakuranbo
Every Little Thing -suimy
hitomi -Go my way
globe - Get it on Now
dream -Shine of Voice
Do as Infinity - Wings 510/Van Tomiko -Flower
Day after tomorrow -Starry Heavens /misono -Kojin Jyugyo
BoA - every heart ~minna no kimochi~
AAA Hurricane Lili Boston Mari
Namie Amuro - Come
m.o.v.e - Deep Calm

Hello! Project
Morning Musume - Resonant Blue
Matsuura Aya -Ne~e?
Berryz Koubou -21jimadeno Cinderella
C-ute -Ookina Ai De Motenashite
Goto Maki -Gennshyoku Gal Hadeniikube!
Kusumi Koharu - Chance!

Other:
Mosaic.Wav - Magical Hacker ~kurukuru risk~
Utada Hikaru -Automatic
L'Arc-en-Ciel -Daybreak's Bell

CDs to be ordered tomorrow!

Here are some CDs that I think I will order tomorrow. I feel funny posting this after just saying that I wanted a figma so badly and now I go and order some CDs. However, after thinking, I think some new songs will serve me better at this time as school is almost here and I will need some tunes for studying. After sort of recently buying Nagato Yuki's CD and falling in love with it, I decided I would get some more Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu songs. By the way, it must seem like Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu is the only Anime that I like. It is just the anime that I am obsessed with at the moment. I decided to buy these 5 CDs:

Let me justify my choices. It may seem strange that over Mikuru and Haruhi's albums I have chosen the character albums of minor characters. On the Suzumiya Haruhi no Tsumeawase album that I am planning on getting, Haruhi sings the two amazing songs God knows and Lost my music and Mikuru sings her amazing Koi no Mikuru Densetsu. I feel that I will have enough of Haruhi and Mikuru with these songs for the moment. I will probably order their character CDs along with Tsuruya-san's later anyway. Also, for these CDs, I gave in and decided to buy the domestic US versions. They are a lot less money on Amazon and I can get free shipping.

Do you think that these CDs are good choices? Should I rethink this before ordering?

Wishing for a Figma figure...

Lately, I have been wanting a figure because I currently own none. I have been wondering which would be a good buy. What I have decided is that whatever figures I get will be from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. I am interested in the “Figma” brand because they can be given endless amounts of poses from the anime, which would yield many opportunities for pictures. Also, they are much less money than regular figures. I especially like the Nagato Yuki Witch Figma that will be coming out in September. I think that I will for certain get that one at one point. I was also interested in getting either a Kyon or an Koizumi Itsuki figure. I want both so they could play together, but since they look so similar, I think I will just get one.

Kyon

Koizumi

Mecha mecha kawaii desho?
The screenshots were taken from the official Figma site.

Since Figma made an alternate version of Nagato, perhaps they will make alternate versions of the rest of the members of the SOS dan. They should make Haruhi in her bunny suit with her guitar, and Mikuru in her maid outfit. I would also love to see alternate versions of Koizumi and Kyon in their Day of Sagittarius suits:

Which Figma would you rather have? Kyon or Koizumi? Also, where do you like to buy your figures from?