Mei-chan no Shitsuji

I recently finished Mei-chan no Shitsuji. Kind of late, I know. It's a good drama but some parts get annoying. For example, the lack of self-confidence Mei has it's immense. I can't believe she's also very naive and kind. The plot is somewhat good because of the actors and some other characters but I really got annoyed often with some character's personalities.

For the people who don't know what I'm talking about, the story revolves around a young woman named Mei (Eikura Nana) , who was rescued as a young girl by someone calling himself her "butler." With only a vague memory, though, the experience seems like just a dream. But one day, after her parents' accidental death, he appears: Rihito (Mizushima Hiro) comes from a line of outstanding butlers, and he has been appointed to serve her! Now her ordinary life has completely flipped, as she discovers that she's actually the heiress to a fortune, and is forced to transfer to St. Lucia Girls' Academy, where all the students have butlers! As a result, her childhood friend Kento (Sato Takeru) decides to enrol in a butler school so that he can stay close to her. Yep, I did take it from Drama Wiki because I was too lazy to write it on my own. But Mizushima Hiro looks so handsome as a butler. I was completely surprised because I saw him before in Hana Kimi where his personality was definitely the opposite. Also, having such handsome butlers must be heaven! I also watched this drama for Oomasa Aya, which is an actress I really admire. I've seen her in a lot of roles that really suited her. Seeing Osamu Mukai, who's one of my favourites Japanese actors. I seriously didn't know he was the so called bad character, Shinobu. That guy has a seriously scary smile when he wants to. It freaked me out all the time, and the close-ups, even though I was drooling over his nice features, he still looked weird.

So, in the end, the story seems uninteresting but the whole concept of friendship and love which comes throughout the drama makes it better. It's good, I can assure you that it's not a waste of time.

Music to the Ears (Yang Yoseob's Caffeine)

Oh, one song I completely forgot about is Caffeine. Yoseob's voice sounds so resentful and somehow, has a tent of regretfulness and enthusiasm. Don't ask how I figured that out. Anyway, I was a little surprised when I saw the music video. I was expecting to see a story, to see the lyrics being acted into the video. I haven't been dissapointed at all. The whole plot looks somewhat veridical so that's fine. The background looks too classy and maybe a little overused. The idea itself isn't innovative. But I liked it and it's a pleasure to watch it.

Something that doesn't seem to get well with the song is actually Yoseob's face. I know he is a grown up, young adult; he's not a boy any more, he's a man but damn that baby face of his betrays everything! He's so cute while being mad, he's even more adorable in the happy moments, I couldn't focus on anything but his face when I first watched the video. However, when you listen to the song without watching it, that's completely different. It's my favourite song from his solo album and it touches me deeply. It's a story sang by someone with an incredible voice and so, the message gets a different tint.

Music to the Ears (TVXQ's Humanoids)

Have I been blind all this time? I mean Changmin look really handsome lately. He caught my eyes in the Humanoids video far more than Yunho who's like the supreme hotness walking. The song is really good. I can't say any bad things about it. I love the introduction of it and there are some parts in the middle of it which just get me to like it even more! I also love the dance. I find it harder and better than Catch Me's which wasn't very...it was a show off but not in a way I wanted. It wasn't something that would blow my mind.

Like we've been used, the music video is in a few rooms, one which I can swear Super Junior filmed in too, and some sort of plot that doesn't make much sense. But the song captivates your attention so well that you don't really care about the surroundings...except maybe their faces which are what also captivates the fans. I believe there are also some small misspellings but who cares? Well, I do but anyway, it doesn't affect the coolness of the song.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

So, I've seen The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey today and it was...AWESOME! It's seriously one of the best movies this year. It has the same scenery and the same feelings Lord of the Rings had. There are some characters which appear in both parts and the story goes somehow on the same concept. However, the story itself makes Lord of the Ring more clear. You realize some aspects and it gives more details. However, the movie has something different and that's the ending. Lord of the Rings had a clear ending, which made people smile content. The Hobbit it's all about dwarfs trying to get their homeland back with the help of Gandalf and Bibo Baggins. Sounds familiar huh? He's also in Lord of the Ring too but as an older man....hobbit and he has some connection with Frodo. I'm sure you remember.

The characters are well made and played. There's nothing to comment about the actors. Some places seem a little forced but that fine. It's not too obvious.

What intrigued me is that after 2 and a half hours of having my eyes glued to that screen, I was expecting to continue for about half an hour more but no. It ended a little bit too fast and I remained there, stoic, not understanding what was happening. The movie overall is very good and has some awesome special effects and gets you entranced into the action but it ends so abruptly! Aish...but still, Warner Bros makes the best movies.

Mnet Asian Music Awards 2012

Hey guys!Have you watched MAMA 2012? I did and even though I was a little disappointed regarding some awards and some performances, overall it was pretty awesome. I do give the credit to Mnet because it was well organized and everyone was pretty good but I hoped there would be more fans around there. Maybe it's my perception because of EMA, where the arena was really crowded, or maybe the Eurovision, where there was no free seat, but yeah...However, the show was good.

In case you couldn't watch, since there's a problem with the time zone (while in Hong Kong was late evening here was about midday) let's see who won and at what category.

SONG OF THE YEAR : GANGNAM STYLE - PSY

ALBUM OF THE YEAR : SUPER JUNIOR

ARTIST OF THE YEAR : BIGBANG

BEST GLOBAL GROUP - MALE : SUPER JUNIOR

BEST GLOBAL GROUP - FEMALE : KARA

BEST LINE AWARD : SUPER JUNIOR

BEST MALE ARTIST : G-DRAGON

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE : EPIK HIGH

GUARDIAN ANGEL WORLDWIDE PERFORMER : BIGBANG

STYLE IN MUSIC : GAIN

NEW ASIAN ARTIST GROUP : EXO

BEST NEW ASIAN ARTIST (CHINA) : TIME Z

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (JAPAN) : AKB48

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (PHILIPPINES) : SARAH GERONIMO

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (VIETNAM) : MY TAM 

BEST NEW ASIAN ARTIST (THAILAND) : NATTHEW

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (CHINA) : LI YU CHUN

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (INDONESIA) : AGNES

BEST ASIAN ARTIST (SINGAPORE) : TAUFIK BATISAH

TVB'S CHOICE : JOEY YUNG

BEST MUSIC VIDEO: PSY

BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK: SEO IN GUK, JUNG EUN JI (All For You)

INTERNATIONAL FAVORITE ARTIST: PSY

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE - GROUP : DAVICHI

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE - SOLO : K.WILL

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE - FEMALE GROUP : f(x)

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE - MALE GROUP : SHINee

MNET PD'S CHOICE: B.A.P

BEST COLLABORATION: TROUBLE MAKER

BEST FEMALE GROUP : SISTAR

BEST MALE GROUP : BIGBANG

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE - SOLO : PSY

BEST BAND : BUSKER BUSKER

BEST FEMALE ARTIST: IU

BEST NEW MALE ARTIST: BUSKER BUSKER

BEST NEW FEMALE ARTIST: AILEE

From my point of view, it was YG's year. Psy came back with the phenomenon, Gangnam Style, which won many awards world widely. Also, it is me or Super Junior didn't really make an actual show? I really expected more from them. Also, I was looking forward to EXO's performance. I can't say I had been blown away by it, though. 

Some good parts would be Ailee's performance which was incredibly touching. That girls has great talent and I'm happy she won Best New Female Artist. Also, I was really enthusiastic for Psy's live. It was definitely something. Adam Lambert and B.O.B have also made great show. However, by far, the best performance was Big Bang. Now, I may be subjective because I'm a VIP but really...it's been INCREDIBLY WELL THOUGHT AND AMAZING! They used Crayon when they needed something different, something out of nowhere and that giant skull and their performance overall was so good. It was seriously the best, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Of course I can't say I liked Seungri or GD's outfits...one was white and made him look bigger while the other was very eccentric ..yeah these styles definitely characterize them. And TOP in pink...extreme pink actually...but he looked hot.

Something that surprised me was...or were, the performances on the red carpet. I couldn't take my eyes off BAP and Block B. Have you seen that at one point, later in the show, when Victoria started to talk in Chinese...Kyung's face was epic? He was smiling but at the same time it was clear he was thinking what the fuck? Haha. Also, EXO seemed very out of there. I can swear at some point DO, with his big eyes, was somewhat looking into GD's back. Don't know why but it was fun. So, this year's MAMA was entertaining and like I said, had good performances...and some that I didn't really like. I guess I just thought it would be bigger than EMA but it wasn't. Actually, we can say they were on the same level but more classy. The idols and other stars came in some quite nice clothes. I liked Park Shin Hye's dress a lot and the young girl from Davichi (sorry I forgot her name) she also had a nice dress.

Into the Wind

This is my version of Into the Wind. I recognize I've taken an example from B1A4's album title but hey! Free World! Anyway, I know it doesn't sound great and doesn't expresses what I wanted to because I have a shitty recorder. I know some parts sound like I've played them from 10000 km afar and some parts sound very high and go from normal tone to pitch tone. Sorry but I seriously can't find a good recorder. However, I would be very thrilled if you would give a listen to it and if you want tell me your opinion, be it bad or good. I really work hard as a soon-to-be composer.

Good Year-Best Albums of 2012

Until now, there have been a lot of new releases. A Hell lot of them! From my point of view maybe just half of them are really good and entertaining. The industry of K-pop, most of the time, is concentrated on the looks and on the perception of the fans, who love a good looking guy more than a talented one so the companies tend to make danceable songs so the hot ones would show off. However,  this year brought a lot of truthfully good songs. The older bands improved a lot and the rookies have done a great job. There are just 5 albums in my top and I asked more than just a few people for an opinion. I also asked non-k-fans who have been very helpful.

On the first place, in my point of view, is Blockbuster. No matter how you look at it, the album has everything it needs, from bad ass rap songs to melancholic ballads. Also, fans have been very receptive mostly because this album was long awaited for. Every song makes a deep impression and that's been proved. So Block B's Blockbuster is definitely the best album of 2012.

Second place goes to Big Bang's Still Alive. Besides the fact that I'm a VIP, their comeback came like a serious bang. Every song comes from their own experience and it's obvious they've grown very much since their début  which was a few long years ago. Their vocals also improved and eve if TOP's dance moves are bad, like always, they know now how to make them funny and attractive. Daesung's voice is amazing and he has a lot more parts now where he shows a cool side of him. They've done something more emotional, more personal and it sounds good.

On the third place is SISTAR. I'm not such a big fan but Hyorin's voice always attracts my attention. She's also really pretty and the dance moves these girls pull off aren't that easy as they look. Their mini-album, Alone, is one of my favourites. Their voices bring something different to the songs mostly because of their different tones. But in the end they're very good entertainers and they have professionalism. That's an important factor and they are pretty famous because they do an awesome job.

The fourth place is taken by B1A4. Why? Because the latest album is so cool and sounds so different and bohemian and has some melancholy in there, some piano, a few soft female voices and overall it's a pleasure to listen to it. In the Wind wasn't on my list but after I listened to it I realized I'm stupid. It has everything it needs, it sounds classy but at the same time very new. It's definitely a good album.

The fifth place would be GaIn's Talk about S. Her mini-album captivated me simply because it breaks the barriers. There's sexuality, there's seriousness too but overall everything comes together and it sounds very good. It's not necessarily the gender I listen to a lot but her album was much better than others.  I also like her style when it comes to singing. She's not a bad ass but she's not some princess either you know. She's a woman and I like that she expresses her feminism and sensuality so well without being too much.

Other good albums which haven't been included here are:

BAP's No Mercy

Yoseob's The First Collage

Exo-K (and Exo-M)'s Mama

and others that I seriously can't remember right now :)