So many things happened in July. Every Saturday I had some kind of outing and that almost never happens to me. I already know that August won't be much different, with all the conventions I'm attending. The convention that's coming up... ahhh, I can't wait!!!!!! XDDDDD
Outings / Events in July:
- Hung out with friends overall x5. - Tweeted TAM a Happy Birthday! (now my Twitter is revealed, hahaha). - Coincidentally, my own birthday came and went (not on the same day as TAM's, but quite close). Even though I am older now... I will always be young at heart! - Attended the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra. - Attended the Pretty Heroes convention for one day with a friend. We checked out this really neat panel (Are We The Heroes of Our Stories?), and their Name That Tune event. - The tragic incident with Kyoto Animation... *bows* - The creator I mentioned some blogs ago had his heart surgery. He pulled through!! ^___^ - Had a Game Day with my sister, her hubby, and our friend. We played some more Root. - Celebrated my birthday with friends two times. They were good times! :) - Made Japanese curry poutine for the first time with a friend. - Made bulgogi for the first time with my sister. - Went karaoking with a friend. - Karaoked by myself x1. - Stayed over at my sister's place x1. - Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn achievements / news: -I've re-subbed recently, but haven't been grinding all my classes to catch up. I... just don't have that kind of time anymore. But I'll do something in that world before my subscription expires.
- Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius achievements / news: -My rank is currently 185 (yay I can leave the game alone for 15 hours and 10 minutes) -I'm being overwhelmed by all the events going on and all the daily login rewards. None of the banners particularly interest me right now.
Exposures:
- (Mobile game): Magia Record -- I didn't even know an app game relating to Madoka existed until recently. Aside from having such a low AP / energy cap (meaning you have to play it often if you want to keep using up the AP / energy before it caps out), I'm enjoying the game very much. I like that it uses some music from the anime, and I like that you can summon some of the girls from the anime. I can't wait to have Homura.
Finished...
Watching:
- (Movie): Searching -- This was really good. The pacing was very good and I enjoyed all the twists and developments. I highly recommend! - (Movie): Blade Runner 2049 -- It was good but really long. I liked a lot of the concepts it addressed, but my mind wandered many times during the slow moments. - (Movie): Justice League -- I enjoyed every scene with Wonder Woman in it. Ezra Miller was really good, too. Overall, a pretty good movie. - (Movie): Murder on the Orient Express (remake) -- It was okay. - (Movie): Rob Roy -- This was okay. - (Movie - Anime): Persona 3: The Movie #4 -Winter of Rebirth- -- I saw the ending I didn't choose in the video game. Wow. I'm gonna have to re-play the video game someday. - (Anime): Parasyte -the Maxim- -- Having read the manga series years and years ago, and knowing about the planned US live-action movie that went awry (thank goodness!), I wasn't sure how Parasyte -the Maxim- would be. It was everything I had hoped for. I might just have to blog about it sometime! - (Anime): Puella Magi Madoka Magica -- I cried when the credits rolled on the last episode. I had heard good things about this show before watching it, and it lived up to it all and then some. Truly -- sooo -- fantastic! Homura is my bae, hahaha. I'll have to track down the 3rd movie sometime and watch it. - (Anime): Beyond the Boundary -- I watched this as my way of paying my respects to Kyoto Animation. Overall, the series was okay. There were some touching moments.
Playing:
- Nothing this month.
Reading:
- Nothing this month.
Currently...
Playing (not all at once):
- (PS4): Dark Cloud - (PS4): Kingdom Hearts Final Remix (from Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix) - (PS4): iDOLM@STER: Platinum Stars - (PS4): Fez - (PS4): Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls - (PS4): Nights of Azure - (PS4): Plague Inc.: Evolved - (PS3): Borderlands 2 - (PS2): Drakengard - (PS2): Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis - (Xbox 360): Magna Carta II - (Xbox 360): Fable III - (3DS): Story of Seasons - (3DS): Culdcept Revolt - (3DS): Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker - (3DS): Miitopia - (GBA): The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition - (PSP): Persona - (Wii): Fortune Street - (PC): UnEpic - (PC): King's Bounty: The Legend - (PC): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)
- (Comic): Bodie Troll by Jay Fosgitt - (Manga): Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura (Volume 2)
That's it for July. Here are some pics I took this month plus a video and a couple YouTube videos.
I received this gift for my birthday! I'm not exactly a chocolate fiend... but there were some yummy flavours here!
How the Japanese curry poutine turned out. I call it Japanese curry poutine because it is made like a poutine, except that the gravy is substituted with Japanese curry. I quite enjoyed it.
I finally had a chance to use that seaweed seasoning packet TAM gave to me at IFFT. I sure hope I didn't drown the rice! I liked the flavour a lot. Thank you, TAM! ^-^
Something I backed on Kickstarter has arrived!
I've yet to try it out, hahaha.
Me karaoking "I've Been Waiting" by Lil Peep & ILoveMakkonen Feat. Fall Out Boy.
There is no video, only audio. So click "play" and do other things.
The volume may be soft.
You may also need to click "play" twice.
This is probably one of the only times you'll hear me swear while singing.
"NEXT TO YOU" from Parasyte -the Maxim-. One of my favourite tracks from the anime.
"Kid's Festival ~ Innocent Treasures" by Kokyo Active NEETs. It sounds sooooooo gooood! x3
Thanks for reading! As usual, if you have any questions / comments about anything, feel free. :) Depending on how things are, I might skip blogging this weekend. With my upcoming trip to Vancouver being just a week away, I gotta get ready!! Take care and until next time :)
As I usually say in my Weekly Thoughts blogs, this may not be very interesting for you! Re-Watching Attack on Titan So to get myself ready for watching Season 3 of Attack on Titan (I know, I am behind), I decided to re-watch the first two seasons. It was a very interesting experience! I paid more attention to certain character interactions and had a better understanding of the world (I'm doing my best not to spoil anything here). And of course, I wanted to see Levi and Mikasa in action, hahaha. The series is also still very good and emotionally gripping, at least to me. After all the character / story reveals that happen throughout Attack on Titan, I'd highly recommend re-watching from the very beginning! :) Being "Overwhelmed" by Phone Games So I think I have a slight problem. I've been playing too many phone games! This became very apparent to me when I was tapping away on my phone for pretty much the whole day yesterday. And I was hanging out with friends! We even ate out at a restaurant and I was still playing my phone games throughout the whole thing... (I am actually playing a phone game right now while I am writing up this blog...) I think I have too many main phone games on the go. I don't particularly want to give up on any of them, but they really are taking up too much of my time. I think for myself, I can only really focus on one or two phones games and then still have some free time to do other things. Right now, I am focusing on 3.5 games, and I just started a new one. This doesn't even count SINoALICE, a game I was really planning to focus on, but got delayed 2 days before release. I'm going to have to review all my current phone games soon and decide what to do with them. For anybody curious, below are my current phone games: -Final Fantasy Brave Exvius -Food Fantasy -Fate / Grand Order -Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 <-- this is my 0.5. I often set it to auto, but I do the bi-weekly events, and sometimes I try progressing through the story -Magia Record <-- this is the new game. My upcoming end-of-month blog should explain why I started this -One Piece: Treasure Cruise <-- I only really just log in these days, and then do massive summons when I have enough gems Also, for anybody curious, below are the phone games I have played (to the best of my recollection), BUT have stopped / dropped for the time being: -Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector -Notice Me Senpai -Pokemon GO <-- this was mainly 'cuz of space issues on my phone at the time. I might re-start this in the future -Fire Emblem Heroes <-- I stopped this for the same reason as above -Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp -Shadowverse -Mystic Messenger <-- I still have 2 story routes to go through. I do intend to play them. Just haven't had the chance to do so Mother's (NES game) 30th Year Anniversary Well, yesterday was the day Mother was released 30 years ago. I have yet to beat Mother... but I have always been interested in the Mother series. When I was in high school, I decided on a whim to try out this SNES game called Earthbound(AKA Mother 2 in Japan). I thought the graphics were nice and cute, and I thought some of the enemies were funny. What really stood out to me, though, were the elements / concepts I had never seen before in another video game at that time. For example, I loved the gameplay mechanic of Ness (the main protagonist) needing to call home every now and then or he'll get homesick. As for the concepts, I can't get into them because they would be spoilers. But for me, those concepts left quite the lasting impression. I will likely blog about this in the future. Since then, I've been "bound" to the Mother series. I don't necessarily have to experience everything Mother-related right away, but whenever I get to it, I will be very excited! So... Happy late 30th anniversary, Mother! :) And that's it. Thank you for reading! Take care and until next time (which should be in about 3 days)! :)
So I am pretty sure almost everybody has heard the news now about Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) being burned down... I'll keep this short. When my co-worker told me about the news Thursday morning, I was shocked and surprised. Why would an anime company get targeted? What did it ever do, except create anime series? The "whys" (which are more than what I listed) still float in my mind every now and then. Whenever they do, I get really sad. From KyoAni's works that I've watched (which were sadly not too many), K-On! was my favourite. I loved the music, the overall cuteness, and the determination to stay together and keep working hard. I know that nothing I do or say can ease what's been done. The best I can do is something to pay my respects to this company that created wonderful series. And I did just that today -- at least in my own way. Today I went karaoking with a friend to help express the sadness we both were still feeling. I tried singing a song as my way of paying my respects. Unfortunately I messed up a lot of times, but I did my best.
My poor attempt at "God Knows..." from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
(one of Kyoto Animation's works). The first part was really messed up so I cut it out.
I'm going to keep practicing. If I record a better one I'll replace this video.
Extra thanks for my friend for providing the beatboxing!
This is audio only, no video.
KyoAni, thank you for all your hard work! The anime industry as well as fans and family will miss you dearly *bows deeply* To you who is reading this right now: Thanks for reading! Take care and until then! :)
This was my first time attending a Kingdom Hearts-themed concert. I mainly wanted to check it out because it was a video game-themed concert. It was great!
I had actually wanted to take a pic of the screen, but with the cosplayer posing there... I thought I'd include him, too!
Me and Kingdom Hearts
For the longest time, I had a strong interest in playing through the Kingdom Hearts series, but never really having the time. I bought the 1st and 2nd game on PS2, then Chain of Memories on PS2. After some years, I managed to play through the 1st game.
When I turned on Kingdom Hearts I for the first time, the thing that caught my attention most was the title screen music. It was very beautiful, but in an unearthly, serene, and yet hauntingly sad and lonely way. It tickled my soul to no end. Sometimes I'd stay on the title screen just so I could hear that beautiful music for just a little longer.
"Dearly Beloved", the title screen music.
I'm hoping this is the PS2 version that I heard all those years ago.
There have been so many iterations since!
Overall, Kingdom Hearts I was a pretty good game, but I didn't enjoy some of the camera angle movements, and I personally took issue with how it ended. I guess... to avoid spoiling it for somebody who might not have yet played through Kingdom Hearts I, I'll mention this issue in the "Spoilers" section (hahaha. I never thought any blog about an orchestra would ever have a "Spoilers" section).
Being so turned off on the ending in Kingdom Hearts I, I put off playing any of the other Kingdom Hearts games, prioritizing instead on playing other video games in my collection or doing other things. I still continued to buy the games, though, intending to play them eventually.
Then fast-forward to late January this year, when I hear about the upcoming Kingdom Hearts orchestra. Wanting to get more familiar with Kingdom Hearts music before the orchestra happened, I decided to try playing the games. I started playing Kingdom Hearts Final Remix to refresh myself on the 1st game's plot and music, and got as far as Hollow Bastion. Then Life got busy and I didn't get any farther, hahaha...
So that's my sad, pitiful history with the Kingdom Hearts series. I only played through the first game (PS2 version), and most of Final Mix (the upgraded first game), even though I have Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix, and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 on the PS4. I do intend to play through the rest someday. Maybe doing so will help lift the sour feeling I had from the first game's ending.
The Little Details
Date of Concert: Saturday July 13, 2019 Venue: Sony Centre (Toronto, Ontario) Time: 8:00 PM Ticket Price Total: $123.34 Seating: Mezzanine Aisle 2, Row CC, Seat 34 Went with: Sister and a friend
5:30-ish PM -- @ Sony Centre
My sister and I got to the Sony Centre around 5:30 PM. There was already a small line so we lined up. The most surprising thing was that doors opened at 6 PM! That was the earliest time doors have ever opened for an 8 PM concert!
Like what I would always do at video game-themed concerts, I went straight for the merchandise table. There was already a line forming, but I was able to jump to the front because I was paying with cash. Lucky!
Unfortunately, many of the items were pricey. $45 for a T-shirt? $50... for a pouch that was just a little larger than a CD?? Also, not all of the items were present. Some items had to be ordered from an online shop and the online shop would only be available for the night of the concert. I gritted my teeth and got a couple items, just to commemorate my attending this concert. Below is what the merchandise table / online one-day shop was selling:
Official Tour Programme -- $50 T-shirt (Current Tour) -- $45 T-shirt (Last Tour) -- $45 CD (Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World of Tres-) -- $50 Poster -- $25 Pouch -- $50 Tote Bag (Online order ONLY) -- $35 Key Chain (Online order ONLY) -- $25 Orchestra Conductor Keyblade set (Online order ONLY) -- $99
Below is what I bought:
-Official Tour Programme -- $50
-CD (Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World of Tres-) -- $50
-Three fanart stickers -- Given as a gift! (More details on this below)
So here's the story with the three fanart stickers...
With lots of time left till 8 PM, my sister and I sat in a lounge area and chatted about random things. Then an attendee came up to us and said (to the best of my recollection):
Attendee: Are you here for the concert?
Me (nodding and smile): Yes.
Attendee: Would you be interested in receiving some stickers?
I looked at her inquisitively. Me: Umm... are you giving away some stickers?
Attendee (in a happy tone. I know I am butchering her words very badly): Yes. Because we're at this concert, I thought I'd give away some stickers just in the spirit of giving.
A moment of thought. Me (smiling): Then yes, I'd like some stickers.
Then the attendee reached in her bag and handed me three stickers. I looked at them quietly and smiled. They were so cute! After she handed the stickers to my sister...
Me: Did you make them?
Attendee: Yes.
Me: They are so nice!
Attendee: Thank you!
Then she went off to other attendees. I really wanted to ask if she had a business card, but I felt that would kinda ruin her intentions of the stickers being a gift. If anybody happens to recognize the stickers and know who the artist could be, please let me know! (please comment or send me a message through the Contact Form). I'm going to keep my eyes peeled at my next conventions (in case she would have a table in Artist Alley)!
We got seated around 7:30 PM (around the time we met up with my friend). I told my friend that out of all the Kingdom Hearts music I knew (which was very limited), I really wanted to hear the title screen music, the music from Halloween Town, and the music from Hollow Bastion.
Where we were sitting. A clear view of the orchestra! :3
Programme
I guess it was a good thing I bought the Official Tour Programme, or I would not be able to provide the setlist here. Kingdom Hearts was shortened to KH for this section.
KH III: Dearly Beloved KH I: Music medley Re: Chain of Memories: Music medley KH II: Music medley 358/2 Days: Music medley Coded: Pretty Pretty Abilities Birth by Sleep: Music medley Dream Drop Distance: Music medley Another Time: Music medley KH Series: Diabolic Bash
-- INTERMISSION --
KH III: Face My Fears -Kingdom Orchestra Instrumental Version- KH III (Hercules + Toy Story Worlds): Symphonic Suite: The World of Tres I KH III (Tangled + Monsters Inc. Worlds): Symphonic Suite: The World of Tres II KH III (Frozen World): Symphonic Suite: The World of Tres III KH III (Pirates of the Caribbean World): Symphonic Suite: The World of Tres IV KH III (Big Hero 6 World): Symphonic Suite: The World of Tres V Kingdom Hearts series: Overture to the Decisive Battle KH III: Simple and Clean -Kingdom Tres Orchestra Instrumental Version- KH series: Rhapsody in Tres for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra
Encore KH III: Don't Think Twice -Kingdom Orchestra Instrumental Version-
8:00 PM-ish -- First Half
The first half had some nice pieces, and some pieces I didn't really connect with (which I knew would happen). The first piece was Dearly Beloved (the title screen music), but it was an arrangement of the Kingdom Hearts III version, which sounded more uplifting and hopeful than what I was used to. Where were the unearthly, lonely piano touches that tugged at and tickled my soul?
Just like with other video game-themed concerts I've attended, the orchestra was on the stage while a big screen was above to show accompanying game footage to each piece. Even though I hadn't played many of the games, I watched the game footage, thinking that it could help connect me with some of the pieces. I made a mental note to make myself erase everything I saw weeks later, because I'm sure I saw some serious spoilers for some of the games (I don't like spoilers!).
I especially enjoyed the music medley for Kingdom Hearts II. It was a nice mix of light and fast-paced tunes. Also, the music from Hollow Bastion was included in the medley, and it sounded great.
I also really enjoyed Diabolic Bash. Unfortunately, by that time, my mind started to get tired of trying to process and connect all the unfamiliar game footage to the music. Close to the end, I decided to observe the orchestra, and was wowed. The orchestra was playing so intensely and with so much energy! The conductor was also waving her arms and moving around with lots of conviction.
I should have been observing the orchestra much earlier!!! XD
9:00 PM -- Intermission
Nothing happened during intermission. I stayed in my seat and spoke to my friend about the concert. Unlike me, my friend had played all the Kingdom Hearts games so the concert was a wonderful, nostalgic trip.
9:15-ish PM -- Second Half
The second half focused more on Kingdom Hearts III, and featured the Disney side of the game (i.e. the worlds). The game footage was much easier to follow, as it showed the story of each accompanying world. Sadly, that meant I got super-spoiled for, well, everything in Kingdom Hearts III! So much for trying to stay in the dark for that game, hahaha...
Pieces I especially liked were the suites from Toy Story, Frozen, and Big Hero 6 worlds. For one part of the Toy Story suite, many of the orchestra members started snapping their fingers. It was so unexpected and amusing! Some audience members also joined in. I wanted to join in, too, but wasn't sure if it'd disturb any attendees around me. I smiled, though. :)
While I watched the game footage for the Pirates of the Caribbean world, I was wondering if I got spoiled for the movie series, hahaha... (I had only watched the first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies).
The Overture to the Decisive Battle was a little too long, but it got nice and exciting by the end.
Rhapsody in Tres was kinda neat. It was performed while credits rolled.
When the last piece ended, the audience gave a standing ovation, myself included. We stayed clapping and cheering as the conductor walked off the stage. A minute later, the clapping died down and we sat back down.
Then the conductor popped her head out and pointed at herself, at which point the audience started clapping and cheering again. I interpreted her gesture as "You do want me to perform one more piece, right?". I wonder if others interpreted it the same way.
10:20-ish PM -- Encore
While Don't Think Twice didn't hit too many chords with me, I really enjoyed the game footage. I thought it was really sweet. The show ended around 10:30 PM.
Overall Experience
In the end, despite my LACK of familiarity with the Kingdom Hearts games and music, I really enjoyed the concert. If it ever comes back, I hope I'll be more caught up with the series so I could really appreciate the music. But please -- please play the original version of Dearly Beloved!! Hahahaha.
After the concert, the merchandise table was surprisingly NOT packed. It usually would be crazy packed after a video game-themed concert ended. I wonder if that was because many people needed to get home quickly to make some online orders before the day was over? Or maybe it was because the doors opened so early that everybody was able to make all the purchases they wanted before the show?
The merchandise table BEFORE the concert. Not crazy crowded, but still a crowd.
And now...
The merchandise table AFTER the concert. Some of the items look like they were sold out, particularly the programme and the CD.
Now... some cosplay! There were a lot of cosplays at the concert. If I recognized more of the characters I probably would have gotten more pictures.
I don't know who this character is. I just like the vest and tie.
I don't know which character this is... but the cosplay is great, in my opinion.
If you have played and enjoyed the Kingdom Hearts games (and enjoyed its music), I would highly recommend Kingdom Hearts Orchestra to you. If you had played it through the years, it would likely be a very nostalgic experience.
Thank you so much for reading!
If you have any comments, feel free. :)
So I'll do the scrolly thing and the "Spoilers" section will appear after that. Then I'll add some more scrolly things after the "Spoilers" section in case anybody wants to comment, but not see the spoilers.
I personally took issue with how Kingdom Hearts I ended.
So my only issue was at the very end. Please note that this is based on when I beat the game years and years and YEARS ago, so I might be remembering things incorrectly. If I say something wrong, please correct me. So...
Mickey was thrown off to another planet. The current planet Sora and Kairi were on was breaking apart. Just before Kairi reached Sora, a crack formed between them. Then they stood there looking at each other while the crack got wider, and they got separated -- again. All at once, I thought 'Why didn't Kairi just jump over the crack and join Sora?! They were a few steps away from each other!'. And then I thought, 'They kept Kairi and Sora separated just so there could be a sequel...' :/
Maybe I missed something while playing it years and years and YEARS ago. Maybe there is a rule or law that stipulates that once a crack is formed on a planet, it'd be impossible to jump over it. If there was, I missed it and was just left with a sour feeling.
If you read my spoiler, thank for reading it! Now to finish with more scrolly things.
I mentioned in multiple earlier blogs that I might write about this. Seeing as how half the year has already gone, and I'm nowhere close to finishing my New Year's Resolutions... I figured this week would be as good a time as any. And -- well -- I don't have very much time this weekend to spend blogging. I gotta do other things... like trying to make poutine... hanging out with a friend... trying to do some decent sketches to try celebrating somebody's upcoming birthday (if I'm successful, I'll mention it in my July recap blog!)... and more. My weekends are actually quite busy this month. Next month as well... hahaha. :) Anywho, I'll try to keep this short and sweet. So... when I was really young -- like around middle school -- I wondered to myself, 'What is the most expensive gift somebody could give to somebody else?' I never cared very much about owning brand name, costly items, so for me, any answer relating to huge sums of money was out of the picture. Also, I thought "expensive" when it came to money could be very subjective, depending on the recipient's age, income level, personal tastes, etc. Also also, I was kinda looking for a universal answer -- something that couldn't really be argued against. Then, one day in my middle school life, I had my answer: Time. Sharing your time with somebody else is the most expensive gift. Here is what I thought (and I still think it now): Each and every one of us is born with a certain amount of Time. I personally don't think we can do anything to actually lengthen our amount of Time -- only actions / consequences that would either maintain or shorten it. Once Time is spent, it's gone. It cannot be recovered. So the thought of somebody wanting to share some of their limited Time with you, specifically if it's somebody you also want to share some of your limited Time with -- I think it's pretty wonderful. And that's it. To this day, I still value Time very much. It's also crossed over to other aspects of my life, where I often ask myself, 'Is this worth my Time?' or 'Should I spend my Time on this?'. Now... while I have such strong values on Time, I'm starting to realize that "Time as the most expensive gift" is still a subjective answer. In the end, it still depends on the recipient and their own values on Time as a gift. For example, if somebody wanted to share their Time with somebody else, but the desire was NOT mutual, then it may NOT be perceived as a gift at all... And then, other times, it could end up being a gift that sadly can't be received right away. Life just gets in the way sometimes... Even though I feel this way, my overall value on Time will probably never change. I still don't think it can be argued that we all have a limited amount of Time. So... Thank you very much for reading!!! You will probably never know just how appreciative I am for whatever Time you give to this blog space -- but know that I am appreciative! *bows* ^_^ Have a wonderful weekend and until next time! :)
