...the reverse side of beauty..//..Mantified

I've finally got myself to sit down and watch the Cartoon KAT-TUN series! I've been meaning to watch them, but YouTube only has snippets of funny bits and all that randomness. I'm currently only up to episode 19 (out of 152 for all 3 seasons). Season 1 features 100Q, where guests fill up the questionnaire sheet of 100 questions prior to the show. Some of them were interesting, others were pretty boring (you would think so too if you have to endure watching one episode after another for 3 hours straight!)

Most of it features Taguchi getting his ass kicked (literally!) by Koki in the beginning, and I do love the Smiley Olympics, which is mainly made of Nakamaru's epic failure to smile. XD



And now that I've got my sound back (YIPEEEEE!!!), have to catch up on the other Japanese dramas. I've been aching to watch the Japanese version of Hana Kimi for ages. Nakatsu is hilariously funny when he's talking to himself. Oh! The music! The music that always get switched on when Nakatsu sees Ashiya! Ah...comic relief! Now, I should go and getmyself some Gokusen and Wallflower. Oh, how I <3 those streaming videos!

Ore wa homo ja naaaaaaaiiii!!!

After weeks of waiting, I finally got to listen to KAT-TUN's No More Pain album properly. Overall, it's a very pop fueled collection and definitely so compared to Queen of Pirates, which is still my overall favourite album. The good thing is that it didn't take me long to like the majority of the songs. I certainly had a hard time coming to accept Break the Records properly. Maybe it's because I had high expectations back then?

I also think it may have something to do with the solo pieces. Not that I don't like Tatsuya, but when he's always singing about flowers in every song, it gets old - particularly as every piece has always been some ballad. Rabbit or Wolf? surely came as a pleasant surprise. Given I've never been a fan of Taguchi's solos, Love Music really came across as a brilliant change. It's easy to listen to, and it doesn't feature that weird crudeness (sorry guys!). What an improvement!

A joy to listen to. Even though we won't be seeing Jin in KAT-TUN anymore.

Firstly...the latest edition of Neo Genesis is out! May I just scream...I LOVE THEIR NEW LOOK!

The outfits certainly look really exciting, particularly the way the zippers run on Ruki's jumpsuit. Kai, for sure, looks more like Reita's brother with his new hairdo. And Uruha's sporting Miyavi style eye make up (which doesn't seem to suit him though).

I don't like Neo Genesis' new cover page layout though, I liked that white block of text with that font.

Okay okay, I'll stop here for now. Or else I'm going to be procrastinating even further more at this point. :P

But for now! Dig into KAT-TUN's latest PV No More Pain. It's got the Rescue look to it, really sci-fi with all that black armor. Kame, as usual, looks hot in that diva style eye make up, though I preferred it back in his Lips look. Tatsuya really stood out in this PV - that...I like. Why? Because he's normally shying away in the background in the other videos! Maybe it's that butterfly on his face doing it? LOL. He could probably start pretending to be Reita and put random things on his face. XD

Okay, back to work!

"見果てぬ地に向かう瞳は　何を映し出してゆくの？"

"Mihatenu chi ni mukau me wa
Nani wo utsushi dashite yuku no?"

"Eyes facing neverending lands
What do they reflect?"

Song of the Moment: 1582

Yes, this is Kame's song in his solo performance at the KAT-TUN Break the Records live. I have to admit that I'm still mesmerized by his song and beautiful dancing. Truly a piece of KAT-TUN masterpiece!

Please refer to my previous entry to watch his magnificence. I can't get his gorgeousness out of my head every time I hear this song.

Otherwise, I'll just let this video run through this post.

But you still have to watch his actual singing (if you haven't already). That's an order.

Oh my goodness...they truly went through the roof with my expectations! Other than the normal fire and laser effects used, a lot of water fountain and aerial performances have been used.

The most eye popping moment: Kamenashi's solo performance.
From his graceful flight to his self absorption of dancing in the fountain, it's probably the best solo dance I've seen in a long time. Who would have thought that Kame would look so seksi in a kimono??

With the HiFi fixed (finally!) I'm watching the Miyavi live of the beginning of the Neo Visualizm tour in 2007. In the middle of Ossan Ossan Ore Nanbo, I almost dropped my lappy off my lap from laughter. Totally a man with many talents in the Japanese music industry, you can't help but fall in love with his charisma - he's serious about his music, but certainly knows how to pull the audience with his drunk like guitar dance while sticking his tongue out in mock cheekiness.



Now, I'm just hoping that he'll add me back on Facebook soon. ^^

And the other DVDs I've ordered should be arriving by EMS tomorrow. Can't wait! A preview of what I will be watching below!

First up...KAT-TUN! Break the Records Live (break break break). From the looks of it, I really hope that they've topped the performance - because I have really high expectations from these guys, after watching the Queen of Pirates concert, you're pampered to that sort of really high standards. Especially if all 440,000 seats (for shows held in 8 consecutive days) at Tokyo Dome are sold out on the day it went on sale!



And of course...GAZETTO! the GazettE's DIM Scene Tour Finale I'm so excited to hear full live versions of Distress and Coma, Without a Trace and A Moth Under the Skin. Oh, I can feel a nosebleed coming up...please excuse me...

I forgot to mention the other day: the KAT-TUN Tour Finale DVD Break the Records will be out 16 December. Yup, exactly the same day as the GazettE! *squee* Fantastic, I got some cool bishie dancers to watch as well as some seksi dark manliness from both groups. XDDDDDDD

Yes, I will admit over again that I have fallen in love with the GazettE because of the Neo Genesis magazine cover. But in my first entry about the group, I don't think I was specific enough on why I liked them (other than using the words hawt and seksi as description). I suppose that at the time, I was still feeling the after effects of designing menswear from the previous term - and after receiving a pile of old Japanese male fashion magazines, I've rediscovered the joys of looking at male idols with the spirit of a young teenager, which I haven't done for nearly 10 years. In my opinion, the celebrity value from the west has been going downhill during this time, especially as I didn't even fancy Brad Pitt, Daniel Radcliff (Harry Potter - he's gotten better looking in the recent years, but definitely doesn't get my blood rushing), and I have to ask myself why the hell would anybody even want to look at Pete Doherty. If it wasn't about drugs, it was about some womanizing stuff. I've decided to stop looking at famous men altogether. And Hong Kong singers are just wannabes.

But KAT-TUN came along in my sight in 2007, but I didn't really pick up on their stuff back then, other than noting that they're ridiculously talented dancers. To the point where they're the only group to play 7 consecutive shows in a row at Tokyo Dome, which is a record for Japan. I didn't touch much on KAT-TUN again until December last year, when I started doing my research on menswear to start preparations for menswear designs. That was the moment when I remembered that Japanese fashion should be looked into if I didn't want to do European style suits like Armani, which, to me, are meant for men in their 30s rather than their 20s. I wanted to design something hip, so I started looking for KAT-TUN items, ranging from buying their music and concerts to looking up their images online and watching music videos. I think that was the moment when I found my way back to admiring men once again.

And I wasn't wrong. The KAT-TUN boys wore things like loads of feathers combined with embroidery, sequins, and weird cuts with lots of accessories. It was almost like looking at human Christmas trees. The songs, videos, outfits and dance routines that were put together were simply amazing. I think only Japanese people could do such cool combos. Even things like black nail polish, reshaped eyebrows and big dangly earrings were normal. Add all that together and you get 6 androgynous men running the show.

When I first presented the idea to my teacher, she said it was all "too much". I could still remember that day with a bittersweet taste in my mouth. Imagine being really enthusiastic about the design to the point where you could start making the outfit straight away just to have that bubble popped in that one millisecond. I was disappointed that I had to modify the design at the time, but in the end, I at least managed to prove them wrong that sequins and feathers can still go together. (And I made an average looking guy into one hot male model.)

And the holidays came once again. I had a feeling of loss when I didn't need to focus on menswear anymore. Even when searching for magazines, nothing decent came up. That was until when I walked into a CD store and spotted the magazine.



Indeed, it was a mainly black, white and red cover that spelled hard metal rock (which I'm not a major fan of except for some stuff from Garbage, Linkin' Park and Marilyn Manson). But when you look closely, the poses, details of the outfits, menacing looks and make up all add up into some form of androgynous silent fierceness. When you see a cover like that, you know that the inside would be filled with Japanese fashion that can be used for future reference. Flipping through the magazine in the comforts of the home couch, I was almost drooling at the GazettE's photoshoot. But when I looked further into the magazine, there weren't any more groups that were as well dressed or presented as the cover boys. At that moment, I knew I had to look into their music. Lucky for me, the song Distress and Coma was released only a few days before so I was able to see clearly what they were wearing in the music video. It was rock alright, but a softer, electrical, mysteriously menacing tune filled with raging emotion that could pierce right through you. I think it's partly due to Ruki's deep voice that added the sex appeal. But overall, the video really did it: the dirty, crazy and distressed ballerina, the dark dingy rooms, the black and white settings, Ruki's dark vampire red wine coloured outfit with lace gloves, blonde hair and yellow (I think?) contacts, the fire raging through in the final leg, snow flakes falling... And Ruki's "oyasumi" (meaning "goodnight") completed the full seduction before blowing fully into the final chorus.

So I'm now really using the group as one of my current main sources of inspiration. I actually want to copy their make up, hair style and outfits and add them to my design. Even my classmates now have noticed that I've been adding a lot of punk rock style into the way I dress recently.

I've talked enough for now, I desperately need sleep. But before I go, here are some eye candy.

This photo is taken when the group released Leech last year. A song that I'm not particularly fond of, but the PVC certainly makes a statement.



I don't know what song was released with this look, but Ruki looks a bit like a pimp with the aviator sunglasses and silver suit. The others still look really cool though.



And finally, one of my favourites from the group, Cassis. This is actually a love song and if the English translation of the lyrics are accurate, it's a truly beautifully written song. And the best thing I like about it? It's not cheesy - like...Boyzone pop cheesy.


The GazettE - Cassis with English subtitles -

Btw, I've fixed the video for Distress and Coma. Youtube is busy being ghey and I can only access imeem at the moment. Thank goodness I've got a new entertainment source!

Oyasumi.

It's been a while since I did those Song of the Moment (SOTM) entries. I feel like a teenager again! =P


kattun - Rescue - Kattun

But yes, the latest one that got stuck in my head is KAT-TUN's latest release Rescue. Initially, I didn't even like the song that much, but after watching the video twice or so, it sort of grew on me a bit. Mainly because I love the black and white theme and the dance sequence. And Nakamaru's beatboxing sounded really cool here. Cooler than what he did in Lips. Of course, other than Akanishi and Ueda, they all have new hairstyles, which is refreshing.