Flower-Guarding Hills

『Flower-Guarding Hills』

「Hokuto no Ken – Toki Den Ending Theme」

Lyrics, Music & Arrangement ： Kajiura Yuki
Vocals ： KAORI
Chorus ： Kaida Yuriko

During the summer
When the white flowers that dye the hills are in full bloom
I will remember these days I spent with you,
Won’t I?

It’s so very sad for me, but
In that beautiful moment
I knew all
About the joys of living

May I cherish the final glimmers of light,
Until the darkening land sings of eternity
With a gentle voice

Like the silent flower
That fell without saying a word
Do I have
Unwavering strength within me?

That’s a very small matter
For whenever it may be
My smile will never fade
As long as I have courage

To keep your memories in my heart
So they will exist in me who feels proud
I will speak of gentleness to others for you
From the sea of tears which never wither

The white snow that covered the hills
Is melting into the earth
The flower petals will likely bloom again
Over and over

While cherishing the final glimmers of light,
When the darkening land sings of sorrow
With a gentle voice
It sows the seeds of happiness
I will speak of eternity to others for you,
Of the future which you dearly loved

Japanese Lyrics : 花守の丘

花守の丘

『Hanamori no Oka』

「Hokuto no Ken – Toki Den Ending Theme」

Sakushi ・ Sakkyoku ・ Henkyoku ： Kajiura Yuki
Uta ： KAORI
Chorus ： Kaida Yuriko

Oka o somete shiroi hana ga
Sakihokoru natsu ni wa
Anata to ita kono hibi o
Omoidasu deshou

Sore wa totemo kanashii kedo
Kirei na hitotoki de
Ikiteru yorokobi no
Subete o shitta

Saigo no hikari o oshimu you ni
Kureyuku daichi ga yasashii koe de
Eien o utaidasu made

Nanimo iwazu chitteitta
Shizuka na hana no you ni
Mayoi no nai tsuyosa ga
Watashi ni arimasu ka

Sore wa totemo chiisana koto
Tatoeba donna toki mo
Hohoemi tayasanai
Yuuki o motetara

Anata no kioku o mune no naka de
Hokoreru watashi de irareru you ni
Yasashisa o katarimashou
Karenai namida no umi kara

Oka o umeta shiroi yuki ga
Toketeyuku daichi ni
Nandomo mata hanabira wa
Kaerizaku deshou

Saigo no hikari o oshimi nagara
Kureyuku daichi ga yasashii koe de
Kanashimi o utau toki
Yorokobi no tane o maku
Eien o katarimashou
Anata no aishita mirai o

English Translation : Flower-Guarding Hills

The Beginning of a Long Run

HnG!! gets its own post because Hinagiku is awsm.

Spring Season ‘09 – 3rd Platter

Asura Cryin’

Am jumping into this without reading the original material first as there is a possibility of the source spoiling the suspense for me. 3 episodes in and I can safely say, this is another keeper for me. I like me some fantasy, faction disputes and don’t mind the little bit of mecha. Most importantly, Tomo is a tolerable and even likeable protagonist, a key aspect pointed out by Impz and Zyl, and it’s the main reason why I’m not turning my eyes away. Add to it, a progressing plot, and the side characters are equally interesting in that they complement Tomo’s role well. Shuri is such a conniving businesswoman with delicious blade and fire power. :3

Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity-

Another harem series adapted from a visual novel. I’ve never played the game before. The only exposure I had to Tayutama is the character song album, which has one of my odd favorite tracks by Misaki Rina a.k.a Itou Shizuka, titled “Rainy Pain” (Tayutama gamers are probably thinking “Whaaaat. Why that song?”). So far, it doesn’t have enough appeal to keep me coming back for more week after week. I may tag along for the first few episodes, and then let this series pile up and finish it off in one shot.

Queen’s Blade -Rurou no Senshi-

F3AR my lethal weapons of mass destruction!!

Honestly, I spent almost the entire episode gawking and sniggering and gawking some more at how creative they can get with using the female chest apart from the traditional sex appeal image, comfort pillow, face-plant airbag and additional storage area. Hmm… An acid pistol, that’s new. Oh and mustn’t forget explosives. The power of yuri beckons but I find yuri siscon’s invitation to be less enticing. In the meantime, Queen’s Blade will be occasionally left in the backburner until I feel like chuckling at dynamic b00bs action…which could prompt an unhealthy marathon of some sort.

Basquash!

Oh gawd. I’ve never seen such a hot-headed lead since Kouichi’s early hoity-toity days with Linebarrel. Dan’s passionate outbursts are bordering on friggin’ annoying at the moment but casting that aside, Basquash! is another pleasant surprise. Maybe it’s not so much of the basketball concept itself but rather the influence of the sport on the other characters through Dan’s deemed legendary feat at one of the BFB games. Am also watching this for Eclipse (temporary seiyuu idol trio of Tomatsu Haruka, Nakajima Megumi and Hayami Saori), which promises many wonderful insert songs à la Macross Frontier. I’m already (and unduly) attached to Hayamin’s performance of “moon passport”. Finally, big praises to Hong Ying Animation for their outstanding job on the background. I’ve never seen quality like that except in high budget OVAs and movies. It’s undoubtedly worthy of credit seeing how most studios tend to pay more attention to the foreground. A rich background makes a difference to the visual experience; at least it does to me.

Do As Infinity New Single – ∞1

Do As Infinity has announced their first new single since their reunion last year. Their last single was “TAO” in 2005, making this their first in nearly four years.

The single is titled “∞1″ (read as “Infinity Ichi”) and will contain a total of four songs. One will be “Timeless,” which is being used as the ending theme of the TV Tokyo show “Gekisou! GT“. The single will be released on June 17.

News from DAI’s Official Website, and quote from Tokyograph.

T’is sweet news indeed for DAI is one of my most loved artistes of all time. Was quite sad when they announced their disbandment in September 29, 2005. I mostly followed Van Tomiko’s solo career after that and many of her new singles and albums carry a similar nostalgic tune with the songs she used to perform with the band. Then again, the true magic of DAI’s music ties her powerful vocals with Nagao Dai’s compositions and Owatari Ryo’s backup vocals + guitar riffs. Here’s hoping that “∞1″ is a sign of more future releases to come.

The CD contains a total of 4 tracks. DAI’s website has partially listed the content as
> Umare Yuku Mono Tachi e
> MERAMERA
> Timeless

…whereas Neowing apparently noted “∞1″ as being one of the songs.

17 June 2009, memo. Time to start setting aside a bit of cash again…

Spring Season ‘09 – 2nd Platter

Tears to Tiara

This series is so…dark. I had to tilt and adjust the brightness of my monitor several times to see what’s happening on screen. Neway if I needed an excuse to watch Tears to Tiara, it’s Octavia. Never mind that she’s a minor side chara. ^^

Saki

Hur… GONZO. >_>
But that’s not gonna stop me. And neither is the complete lack of knowledge in mahjong. I admit I missed out on a lot by taking the Manga lightly – blazing through the mahjong sessions and only reading thoroughly when the game’s terminologies aren’t plastered all over the speech bubbles. Nonetheless, I’ll be a loser fan and watch this for loser fan yuri. And of course, the stellar cast list.

Hatsukoi Limited

To echo 53rg10’s words, Hatsukoi Limited is one of the most addictive romance series I’ve ever read. It’s little wonder that J.C.Staff picked this up. I’m not really a fan of the genre, but Hatsukoi has won me over with its chaste, lighthearted, sometimes whimsical and sometimes distorted (lol) outlook on love. Add to the fact that the story branches off to explore a different view on each character’s lives, and eventually weaves their romance journeys together makes for one intricate yet neat and charming love dramedy. To top it off, Kei. Is. Awesum. Was thrilled when I heard Itou Shizuka is her VA and was further thrilled when I heard she’s hosting Koiiro Limited with Ise Mariya (Ayumi’s VA) besides the ongoing Minato Station. Shizu-sama Doctrine compels!

Higashi no Eden

I was strongly attracted to Eden, specially thanks to four individuals in the credits:
1. Kamiyama Kenji
2. Kawai Kenji
3. Tamagawa Sakiko
4. Hayami Saori

Now THIS is what I call quality. And it’s not even a movie or an OVA. In my biased view, Eden has the big arsenals to make me pin it as the most appealing first episode among the spring season Anime. Understandably, Production I.G. tapped into a bigger budget to produce a superior TV series compared to some of their past works. With a small-dosed brilliant production team complemented by one of my ol’ favorite voice acting vets and rising young stars, Higashi no Eden will be one series which I’ll religiously follow until the end. Oh, did I mention the initial premise of having a naked, amnesiac man (危険人物!!) running up to you clutching only a mobile phone and a GUN is dreadfully fascinating? I would run the hell away if I were Saki. And um…is there going to be an uncensored version in future Blu-ray and DVD releases?

Drags ^^

It’s one of those days where a short break is pushed into the regular schedule, hence filler.

I haven’t been lurking in the 2chan seiyuu boards much lately but it seems I should. I’m missing out on too many good things.

Disclaimer: The author shall not be held responsible for any possible eye damage caused. Kindly proceed at your own discretion.

Old photo is old but a second look isn’t all that bad.

And now we shall resume our normal agenda.

Spring Season ‘09 – 1st Platter

Given enough time, I’ll probably have a sneak peek at any good available pilot episodes of the spring series but in the mean time – priority list first. Most of them consist of original works which I’ve dabbled in before, but there are a few which are new to me, having a premise and a cast list attractive enough to catch my attention.

Senjou no Valkyria

I haven’t touched the game before (too broke to afford a PS3 anyway), so I’m not sure how the story goes. Reminds me of Pumpkin Scissors in a way. I have the occasional weird affinity for the military genre so I’m sticking with this for now. And LOL Susie (I’ll be counting the number of times she’s fainted). Btw, what’s up with those lines in the shadings? ^^;

Pandora Hearts

I’ve read Volume 1 of the Manga and…I’m feeling kind of unmotivated to continue reading. Maybe the fabulous stuff are supposed to happen later? I’m giving this series a second try via the Anime adaptation because I’m a lazy bum and I prefer to watch rather than read. Plus, I’m jumping on the bandwagon for the delicious trio of Minagawa Junko – Kawasumi Ayako – Toriumi Kousuke. I wish they’d kept Tamura Yukari for the role of Alice (she sounded delightful as the insane B-rabbit) but Kawasumi is a damn fine substitute. It’s been a while since I’ve heard her in a tsundere role. Apart from that, Pandora’s music is seasoned with the return of Kajiura Yuki to the TV series score composition scene and the opening is garnished by her vocalist team of FictionJunction. Yeah, they pretty much played all the right cards to keep me watching. But ugh… I think I’ll wait for the widescreen broadcast. 4:3 cropping haet.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

I cringed at the ending of Season 1 and the movie overall, but I cringed even more when they announced they had changed nearly everyone in the cast list. I’ll definitely miss Toyoguchi Megumi and Ohkawa Toru but in my exaggerated opinion, it was a mortal sin to replace Neya Michiko. If they had to swap her, I was hoping for someone like Yukino Satsuki. Still… Oririn is one heck of a talented seiyuu. From the few lines she had in the first episode, she may well change my stubborn and fixed view of Riza Hawkeye in the long run. Oh, and Inoue Kikuko’s evil voice is as sexy as ever (and she sings well in that sexy evil voice too). Plot-wise, I’m glad they scraped Season 1’s non-canon ending, and simply continued from the point where things haven’t gotten screwy yet. To top it off, I *BIG HEART* the Opening. :3

K-ON!

Like 53rg10, I need several episodes to permanently seal my interest in a series but all K-ON! took was one to get me hooked. Not even my narrow-minded abhorrence for TBS’ 4:3 pan scan will deter me for now, although it’s very likely I will re-watch the episodes once BS-i starts broadcasting the 16:9 version. I’m all for K-ON! mainly for its comedy and likewise, I’m anticipating epic insert songs and KyoAni to deliver in terms of realistic animation. Speaking of which, awesome Ending is awesome. Scatterbrain Ritsu is currently my favorite but the more I playback 「Don’t say “lazy”」, the more my loyalty begins to falter…and you know it’s due to who. In the same vein, it seems I found a new seiyuu-singer to keep my ears and eyes on in Hikasa Youko.
PS. If you want Hikasa to happily play the bass guitar for you, just bribe her with a strawberry cake. ;)

First platter done!