Ah I have never been so let down!

I was really excited when I was browsing through the movies playing this weekend and stumbled upon this. Like SUPER CRAY CRAY CAN'T KEEP IT IN excited. I've loved Conan since forever, a remnant from my teenage years (I've this weird crush on him, or more appropriately, Shinichi - the 17-year-old who Conan really is before he was poisoned by the Black Organisation and reduced to a 7-year-old boy). Whodunit + manga = perfecto.

Along the way, I stopped reading when left home.. until I discovered online manga. I am still very far behind from catching up, but it's so fun to re-read the old cases and remembering all the details -- for someone with my kinda memory, I think it's pretty remarkable how much I have retained.

So yeah, by the time I saw the ad, I realised that it was going off screen by next week, and that I only had yesterday to go watch. It was only showing once a day in Pavilion and MV GSC cinemas, but only MV's timing was good so I was pretty determined to brave through Friday's rush hour traffic to catch it. Got A to go with me, but I was so excited I would have gone alone. For some reason, I've never bothered with the anime (I've always preferred manga) so this was actually my first time seeing it in this format.. :)

But argh, this show just didn't do it for me. The plot was uninteresting - it was like watching a normal procedural drama on TV, and there was hardly any smart detective work, and there were too many new characters (FBI la, Ran's classmate lah, that Silver Bullet guy la.. I suspect they are from the previous shows - this being the 20th installment, but they just diluted the plot further), and the English lines were really, really bad (there was this line "say hello to Hunter in hell" that the writers must have thought was so amazing that they had the character repeat it, like what?! -___-"), and when the killer was revealed, I was like "huh?" than "wow!", and there were so many physical law-defying stunts, and the ending was kinda contrived and unimpressive.. I really didn't like it lah - and I had really wanted to. Sigh. A told me he fell asleep towards the end - yup, I don't blame him. Bleh.

Anyway, the plot, from wiki:

After participating in the opening ceremony, Conan, Agasa, Ran, and the Detective Boys are enjoying the view from the observation deck of the 635-metre tall Bell Tree Tower. Suddenly, a bullet breaks through a window and strikes a man's chest, causing everyone to panic. Conan stays calm and uses the zoom function on his tracking glasses to follow the path of the bullet to its source. At the other end, Conan spies a black shadow. "But sniping from so far away is impossible, it can't be--!" Conan and Masumi Sera pursue the fleeing sniper on Masumi's motorcycle, but the chase takes a violent turn when the suspect attempts to blow up police patrol cars. Even the FBI get involved in the chase, but the culprit and the mysteries of the sniping end up vanishing into the ocean.

The investigation turns up a connection to the special United States Navy squadron, the Navy SEALS and other former US military officers working in Japan. However, the first sniping was just the beginning; as more people are shot, the citizens of Tokyo panic! What is the meaning of the rifle case and dice left behind? As his investigation progresses, Conan soon finds himself in the sniper's crosshairs, only to be saved by Masumi who intervenes and takes the bullet in his stead. And, in the background, Subaru Okiya begins to make his move...

So I watched two other shows today. Hahaha! This is indeed an awesome weekend. IF ONLY TMRW'S NOT MONDAYYYY. *cries*

First up: Megamind. A was raving about it a few weeks back and insisted that I should watch this, together with Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. He said that the humour should be up my alley. So I watched la. J also caught it last night -- that woman is desperate hahaha! I think she's watched every single Hollywood produced movie or documentary out there (part exaggeration, but not too far from the truth hehe!). Well, she said, and I'm quoting her verbatim, "I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel"...

So, Megamind. I think it was pretty good, although I lol'd only like.. once? (when Megamind confronted the hero-turn-villain he created, Titan/Tighten, and told him that the difference between a villain and a super villain is in the showmanship -- okay, that doesn't sound funny when I wrote it down here, it's just something you just gotta see it to appreciate haha) But still, it was entertaining, and it's got a good storyline, pacing and likable characters.. if you're looking for mindless fun, this would be the show to catch.

Next, I watched The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, a documentary on this geeky outspoken (a.k.a. alpha nerd) co-founder of Reddit, who also worked on the development of RSS and Creative Commons, and helped lead the successful protest against federal copyright law PIPA/SOPA in 2012, etc. He believed that academic journals should be freely available (because many were funded by government grants/taxpayers' money and there's no reason why private corporations should make more money off them). Anyway, he was caught systematically downloading journals (by the millions) from JSTOR and was about to be prosecuted when he hanged himself.

And this made me cry! It's so heartbreaking la, he was such a bright young man and his intentions are noble. Sure the documentary was one-sided, but a victim's a victim and everyone's got sides to take so I'm on his lor.. Watching this made me wish I was working with computers and not in communications, but that is a rant for another day...

So I just finished watch a tear-jerker J-drama, 1 Litre no Namida (リットルの涙, lit. "1 Litre of Tears"; also called A Diary with Tears or A Diary of Tears) about a girl who was diagnosed with an incurable degenerative disease at 15. Normally I would not touch this genre with a 10-ft pole, but Dz highly recommended it and a quick read of some reviews echoed that, so I decided to jump into it.

At 11 episodes, I thought it was pretty manageable for a weekend binge watching. I was also curious about my reaction towards tear-jerkers. After my previous outing with Anohana, I was admittedly a leeettle disturbed by the fact that I didn't shed any tear while the other reviewers were crying buckets. While I rarely, if ever, cry watching dramas and even think it's funny when say that I may have a heart of stone, I did wonder why I am like that especially because it doesn't jive with the emo person that I am.

But going into the show with those thoughts was perhaps where my "experiment" got off on the wrong foot. I knew it was a sappy movie, so my guard was up and I probably subconsciously kept it so throughout. And it being a drama, my patience started to wear thin halfway in, and that was after I discovered the Speed button on Youtube (where I caught the show) and proceeded to watch the show at 2x. That coupled with the lack of audio half the time due to music copyright issue resulting in me watching a lot of the second part of the show in silent, so I might have been a little detached from it all. The only tear I ended up shedding was from yawning. All these notwithstanding, I will try to give a somewhat objective thought on the movie, with the help of hindsight..

First, a quick synopsis (courtesy of Wiki):

Fifteen-year-old Ikeuchi Aya is an ordinary girl, soon to be high school student and daughter of a family who works at a shop that makes tofu. As time passes, unusual things start happening to Aya. She begins falling down often and walking strangely. Her mother Shioka, takes Aya to see the doctor, and he informs Shioka that Aya has spinocerebellar degeneration - a rare disease where the cerebellum of the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write, or eat. A cruel disease, as it does not affect the mind. The script is based on the diary Aya kept writing until she could no longer hold a pen.

So... after all those things I said earlier, I actually liked the show. While I'm not gushing about it, I think it has its merits and definitely more going for it than I give it credit for. For me, let's see.. I liked that it was based on a real-life account (with photos of the real Aya during each credit run) -- the thought that this really happened to someone made it more real, more sobering. Her optimism and strength was inspiring in the face of the nightmare her conditions were turning into (she would soon be difficult to walk, talk and even eat -- for a 15yo active girl, I couldn't think of a worse place to be).

I thought the acting all around was pretty good, esp the lead actress (Sawajiri Erika).. I could partially feel her pain, her fears, her not wanting to trouble people, and I cringed at her awkward attempts to walk, move, etc. However, I felt I was quick to distance myself from feeling too much. I think it's because the idea of losing control of one's body and speech and yet still having an alert mind deeply terrifies me and I don't really wanna dwell on them.

I also liked how her sister's character evolved, she who'd always lived in her shadow coming out into her own. I like her parents and their range of emotions and reaction. I think everything was believable (given that it's based on a real person, it should la) -- except mayyyybe the guy interest (then again, he's a fictional character, so maybe that's why.. even his family was kinda 2D and the tragedy linked to them cliched). But I liked that they didn't focus too much on the romance bit (esp since it technically didn't happen), but it was sad nevertheless knowing that they couldn't be together. Since the show is largely based on Aya's diary entries, I liked that they used actual quotes, again a reminder that this actually happened. But maybe because I've been watching anime a lot, I kept converting the scenes into animated sequence in my head as I watch the show. I thought that was quite funny. :)

Anyway, I don't think I'll be catching any drama anytime soon. I might make an exception if it was in anime format though.. but really, who knows.

I found this anime through an unexpected route. It started when I was again feeling pretty much despaired at the state the world is in now, i.e. having another weltschmerz episode (first world problem much? sigh).. So I was reading the wikipedia entry for that word, when it explains it as a "psychological pain caused by sadness... caused by the inappropriateness and cruelty of the world and (physical and social) circumstances". It continues to say that weltschmerz "can cause depression, resignation and escapism, and can become a mental problem (compare Hikikomori)". So I clicked on Hikikomori which is what they call "reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from social life, often seeking exceptional degrees of isolation and confinement." Now, I am a little of all that resigned depresso escapee thingy and often dream about taking off to some remote corner of the world but this sounded really extreme and depressing! Anyway, somewhere in the page was also a note to how it's portrayed in popular culture, and anime/manga in particular. There was a list of probably 5-7 titles, and I randomly clicked on one of them and ended up on this wiki page. I kinda liked the synopsis, but I wanted some assurance that this is worth it so I asked Dz if he'd watched the show before and what he thought of it. Turned out, he has, and he'd thought of recommending it to me, but because I'd told him earlier that I wasn't super keen on tear-jerkers, he didn't. Glad I still found my way to it - perhaps it's meant to be hehe!

Anyway.... Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (あの日見た花の名前を僕達はまだ知らない。 Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, lit. "We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day.")(whaat a mouthful!!)(thankfully, it also goes by Anohana for short) is about "a group of six childhood friends who drifted apart after one of them, Meiko "Menma" Honma, dies in an accident. Ten years after the incident, the leader of the group, Jinta Yadomi, has withdrawn from society and lives as a recluse. One summer day, the ghost of an older looking Menma appears before him and asks to have a wish granted, reasoning that she cannot pass on into the afterlife until it is fulfilled. At first, he only tries to help her minimally because he thinks he is hallucinating. But since Menma does not remember what her wish is, Jinta gathers his estranged friends together once again, believing that they are the key to resolving this problem. All of friends join him, though most of them reluctantly. However, things grow increasingly complicated when his friends accuse him of not being able to get over the death of Menma, for Jinta is the only one who can see Menma's ghost and his friends think he is seeing things. But as things progress, it is realized that Jinta is not the only person in the group who is having trouble letting go of the past. It is revealed that a majority of the group members blame themselves for Menma's death and hidden feelings for other members of the group are rekindled. Along with feelings of bitterness from Menma's parents, the group struggles as they grow from trying to help Menma move on, to helping themselves move on, too." (Thanks, Wiki! =)

So, what was the verdict? :) I like it a lot, so much so that I think I love it! (Don't ask..) I'm still feeling the lingering sadness.. but it didn't make me cry... but then again, I'm a tough nut to crack in that department. I guess I'm just wired differently. Okay, I don't think my review will ever give this show justice, so I'm just going to copy+paste the best write-up on the show that I came across:

In terms of peripheries, the show delivers. The character designs are varied and pretty and the music is spot on for what is an emotional show. The animation has no readily noticeable flaws and the detail shown in the interactions between characters is one of the key qualities of the show's overall experience. The basic premise for the show is also a great starting point. The concept of close friends who have drifted apart is an affecting one and one I am sure most people can relate to without much difficulty. The breakdown of relationships, with all the regret and ill feeling that goes with it, is well portrayed and explored over such a short number of episodes. In terms of plotting, Anohana is a show that uses its runtime astonishingly well for the most part (exceptions will be discussed later) - the pacing is excellent and its emotional highs arrive without reservation or a hint of deviance. I never once got the sense that the show was wandering, the makers always seeming to have the plot and its steady progression well in hand.

In the end, with a show that centres on metaphorical burnt bridges, it was always going to be the characters and their relationships that would make or break this show. Jintan, the lead, is a character that it would be easy to hate; he is gloomy, static and prone to self-pitying sulks. The rest of the living friends aren't much better: Anaru is a weak-willed tsundere, Tsuruko is bitchy and snarky, Yukiatsu is hateful and creepy and Poppo tries so hard to be fun and carefree it is almost painful to watch (yet he is still the most likeable). But you said this show was good, I hear you say? It is, it is - that is the beauty of character development. Despite being quite negative characters, each one has at least something positive and emphatic that makes them worthwhile; the sheer volume of well-portrayed unrequited love amongst the cast and the individual ways that each character approaches those feelings and the feelings they have over Menma's death are varied, interesting and relatable. The frustrating aspects of each character never go far enough to be repulsive (not even Yukiatsu, though he certainly pushes it) and in the end I found myself backing each of them despite their more annoying aspects. Where the characterisation does go wrong is in the character of Menma. In a story populated by flawed but interesting characters, she stands out like a cardboard cut-out at a waxworks - coming across completely flat. It's understandable considering her position as a less developed (and less warped) character but even if she were to exist as little more than a plot device (she is more than that but her development over the series is definitely the most limited) then at least they could have made her a little less annoying. Just a little bit. She is certainly not a failure as a character, she is a core part of Jintan's growth, but I have met people who abandoned this series because of the volume of screen time she enjoys, especially at the beginning of the show.

Overall, though, this series achieves what it set out to do. The strong characterisation and solid story pacing allows for those big drama moments to hit hard and it rounds itself off as an enjoyable, beautiful spectacle throughout and especially at the end. If you are looking for a subtle, affecting show then this is not it but it is a well written, beautiful and often moving show and well worth a look for those looking for a little less 'animé' in their animé.

[full review here]

Haha, that was easy! Sorry I took all the shortcuts but I really just wanted to do a quick post about this show.. I thoroughly recommend this series! Stream it here.

One more thing: one of the best things about this show was the ending song. I usually skip the opening and ending songs when I watch anime (except for first episodes, just to check the songs out), but I made an exception for this show. This was the first time I'd listened through the entire opening and ending song every episode. Super love it!



Secret Base
Kayano Ai & Tomatsu Haruka & Hayami Saori
Ending song to the anime Anohana

君と夏の終わり　将来の夢　
Kimi to natsu no owari shourai no yume
大きな希望　忘れない
Ookina kibou wasurenai
10年後の8月
Juu nen go no hachigatsu
また出会えるのを　信じて
Mata deaeru no wo shinjite
最高の思い出を…
Saikou no omoide wo...
The end of the summer with you
Our dreams for the future, the big hopes, I won’t forget them
Believing that I’ll meet you again in August, ten years from now
The best memories…

出会いは　ふっとした　瞬間　帰り道の交差点で　
Deai wa futto shita shunkan kaerimichi no kousaten de
声をかけてくれたね　「一緒に帰ろう」
Koe wo kakete kureta ne "issho ni kaerou"
僕は　照れくさそうに　カバンで顔を隠しながら
Boku wa terekusa sou ni kaban de kao wo kakushi nagara
本当は　とても　とても　嬉しかったよ
Hontou wa totemo totemo ureshikatta yo
Our meeting was that one moment, on the way home at the intersection
You said to me, “Let’s walk home together”
I hid my face behind my bag, but really, I was very very happy

あぁ　花火が夜空　きれいに咲いて　ちょっとセツナク
Aa hanabi ga yozora kirei ni saite chotto setsunaku
あぁ　風が時間とともに　流れる
Aa kaze ga jikan to tomo ni nagareru
嬉しくって　楽しくって　冒険も　いろいろしたね
Ureshiku tte tanoshiku tte bouken mo iroiro shita ne
二人の　秘密の　基地の中
Futari no himitsu no kichi no naka
Ah, the fireworks bloom beautifully in the night sky, a little sad
Ah, the wind blows along with time, being happy, having fun
We went on many adventures too inside our secret base

君と夏の終わり　将来の夢　大きな希望　忘れない
Kimi to natsu no owari shourai no yume Ookina kibou wasurenai
10年後の8月　また出会えるのを　信じて
Juu nen go no hachigatsu mata deaeru no wo shinjite
君が最後まで　心から　「ありがとう」
Kimi ga saigo made kokoro kara "arigatou" Sakendeita koto
叫んでいたこと　知っていたよ
Shiteita yo
涙をこらえて　笑顔でさよなら　せつないよね
Namida wo koraete egao de sayonara setsunai yo ne
最高の思い出を…
Saikou no omoide wo...
The end of the summer with you
Our dreams for the future, the big hopes, I won’t forget them
Believing that I’ll meet you again in August, ten years from now
I know you shouted, “thank you” from your heart, till the end
Holding tears back, smiling a goodbye
It was sad, the best memories…

あぁ　夏休みも　あと少しで　終わっちゃうから
Aa natsuyasumi mo ato sukoshi de owacchau kara
あぁ　太陽と月　仲良くして
Aa taiyou to tsuki nakayoku shite
悲しくって　寂しくって　喧嘩も　いろいろしたね
Kanashiku tte sabishiku tte kenka mo iroiro shita ne
二人の　秘密の　基地の中
Futari no himitsu no kichi no naka
Ah, summer vacation is almost over
So I hope that the sun and moon get along
Being sad, and being lonely
We fought a lot inside our secret base


君が最後まで　心から　「ありがとう」叫んでいたこと　
Kimi ga saigo made kokoro kara "arigatou" sakendeita koto
知っていたよ
Shiteita yo
涙をこらえて　笑顔でさよなら　せつないよね
Namida wo koraete egao de sayonara setsunai yo ne
最高の思い出を…
Saikou no omoide wo...
I know you shouted, “thank you” from your heart, till the end
Holding tears back, smiling a goodbye, it was sad
The best memories…


突然の　転校で　どうしようもなく
Totsuzen no tenkou de dou shiyou mo naku
手紙　書くよ　電話もするよ　忘れないでね　僕のことを
Tegami kaku yo denwa mo suru yo Wasurenaide ne boku no koto wo
いつまでも　二人の　基地の中
itsumademo futari no kichi no naka
I can’t do anything about a sudden transferring to another school
I’ll write letters, I’ll call you, so don’t forget me
Inside our secret base

君と夏の終わり　ずっと話して　
Kimi to natsu no owari zutto hanashite
夕日を見てから星を眺め
Yuuhi wo mite kara hoshi wo nagame
君の頬を　流れた涙は　ずっと忘れない
Kimi no hoho wo nagareta namida wa zutto wasurenai
君が最後まで　大きく手を振ってくれたこと　
Kimi ga saigo made ookikute wo futtekureta koto
きっと忘れない
Kitto wasurenai
だから　こうして　夢の中で　ずっと永遠に…
Dakara kou shite yume no naka de zutto eien ni...
I talked to you at the end of summer
Looking at the sunset and watching the stars
I’ll never forget the tear that rolled down your cheek
I’ll never forget you, waving your hands till the end
So forever, like this, in our dreams…

君と夏の終わり　将来の夢　大きな希望　忘れない
Kimi to natsu no owari shourai no yume Ookina kibou wasurenai
10年後の8月　また出会えるのを　信じて
Juu nen go no hachigatsu mata deaeru no wo shinjite
君が最後まで　心から　「ありがとう」叫んでいたこと
Kimi ga saigo made kokoro kara "arigatou" sakendeita koto
知っていたよ
Shiteita yo
涙をこらえて　笑顔でさよなら　せつないよね
Namida wo koraete egao de sayonara setsunai yo ne
最高の思い出を…
Saikou no omoide wo...
The end of the summer with you
Our dreams for the future, the big hopes, I won’t forget them
Believing that I’ll meet you again in August, ten years from now
I know you shouted, “thank you” from your heart, till the end
Holding tears back, smiling a goodbye, it was sad
The best memories…

最高の思い出を…
Saikou no omoide wo...
The best memories…

You know how I always say I don't like female singers because their voices get to me? Apparently that reason doesn't really hold with Japanese singers. I don't know why. I've been listening to a number of Jap songs these few weeks (including this metal band and of course, this robot), and they are all sung by female singers. Maybe it's the language barrier. Maybe just so happen that I haven't yet come across any nice songs by male singers (except these covers, but maybe I'm biased). Maybe it's a seasonal thing. Let's see.

This song is my current obsession. It's such a happy, laidback song. With the political circus that is the Selangor MB crisis going madder by the moment, this song has been a wonderful respite. ^_^



Our Password 僕らの合言葉 Bokura no Aikotoba 
Natsumi Kiyoura
13th ending song of the anime Keroro Gunso

Sono chiisa na karada de, kimi wa boku o hagemasu
Hora hora hora
Sono ookina hitomi de, kimi ga boku ni warau yo
Hora hora hora
その小さな体で君は僕を励ます
ほらほらほら
その大きな瞳で君が僕に笑うよ
ほらほらほら
With that small body you continued to encourage me
Look, look, look
With two big eyes you continued to smile at me
Look, look, look

Moshimo kurayami no naka kimi ga michi ni mayottara
Boku wa sora no sukima ni hikari o atsumete
Kimi o tsukamae ni yuku yo
Matte ite
もしも暗闇の中　君が道に迷ったら
僕は空のすき間に光を集めて
君をつかまえに行くよ
待っていて
If you were in the dark and you don't know where you are
I'll gather all the lights and bring them to the sky
I'll come and catch up with you
Wait for me

Shinjiteru yo Shinjiteru yo
Bokura no aikotoba
Keshite karenai
Keshite karenai
Kokoro ni saku hana wa
Kimi no egao da yo
信じてるよ信じてるよ
僕らの合言葉
決して枯れない
決して枯れない
心に咲く花は
君の笑顔だよ
I've always believed in, I've always believed in
Our password
Everlasting, never dying
The blooming flowers in my heart
They're in your smile

Sono ryoute ni afureru, yume o sora ni egakou
Hora hora hora
Mita koto no nai hoshi ga, kira kira to kagayaita
Hora hora hora
その両手にあふれる夢を空に描こう
ほらほらほら
見たことのない星がきらきらと輝いた
ほらほらほら
Let's draw the dream that overflows in both of our hands in the sky
Look, look, look
The star you have never seen before sparkles and glitters
Look, look, look

Moshimo tabi no tochuu de, kimi ga nakitaku nattara
Boku wa kaze o norikoe hana o dazusaete
Kimi o nagusame ni yuku yo
Matte ite
※もしも旅の途中で　君が泣きたくなったら
僕は風を乗り越え　花を携えて
君をなぐさめに行くよ
待っていて※
If, in the middle of your journey, you suddenly felt like crying
I'll ride the wind, carrying a flower with me
I'll reach you and confort you
Wait for me

Shinjiteru yo Shinjiteru yo
Bokura no aikotoba
Tooku tooku hanarete te mo
Kokoro wa tada hitotsu
Kimi o shinjiteru
信じてるよ信じてるよ
僕らの合言葉
遠く遠く離れてても
心はただひとつ
君を信じてる
I've always believed in, I've always believed in
Our password
Even if we're separated by a very far distance
Our hearts will always be as one
I'll believe in you

Moshimo tabi no tochuu de, kimi ga nakitaku nattara
Boku wa kaze o norikoe hana o dazusaete
Kimi o nagusame ni yuku yo
Matte ite
※もしも旅の途中で　君が泣きたくなったら
僕は風を乗り越え　花を携えて
君をなぐさめに行くよ
待っていて※
If, in the middle of your journey, you suddenly felt like crying
I'll ride the wind, carrying a flower with me
I'll reach you and confort you
Wait for me

Shinjiteru yo Shinjiteru yo
Bokura no ai kotoba
Tooku tooku hanarete temo
Kokoro wa tada hitotsu
信じてるよ信じてるよ
僕らの合言葉
遠く遠く離れてても
心はただひとつ
I've always believed in, I've always believed in
Our password
Even if we're separated by a very far distance
Our hearts will always be as one

Shinjiteru yo Shinjiteru yo
Bokura no ai kotoba
Keshite karenai
Keshite karenai
Kokoro ni saku hana wa
Kimi no egao da yo
信じてるよ信じてるよ
僕らの合言葉
決して枯れない
決して枯れない
心に咲く花は
君の笑顔だよ
I've always believed in, I've always believed in
Our password
Everlasting, never dying
The blooming flowers in my heart
They're in your smile

[via]

I would like to remember that I stumbled upon this band called MUSH&Co. today while walking in Watsons (thank you Shazam!) and absolutely love these two songs by the band. It's a girl lead (surprise, surprise) and I can't seem to find much info on them in English though -- WHY OH WHY CAN'T I READ JAPANESE? Why did I stop my Nihongo lessons back then!? This is frustrating. Kthxbai. Oh btw I think these songs are from this movie The Liar and His Lover (Kanojo wa Uso o Aishisugiteru) which is from the eponymous manga series which I will totally check out. When I have the time. Ah, so many interests, so few minutes!

Alice.

I love me a serendipitous find, and I love that I found Alice. I love how it sounds ethereal and poignant at the same time, like a beautiful sadness of sort.. and the words evokes a kind of wistfulness that I can't quite put my finger on, so yeah, this has been driving me blithely loopy this whole week.

I'm not sure if the title is based on Alice in Wonderland (there's a footnote in the video description that indicates such, but I don't know if it was just an opinion or if the author meant it that way) but I was drawn to the video by the name alone.. Growing up, AiW was one of my fav books, and even though I pretended to get flustered when people teased me by that name, I've always felt an affinity to it. I don't suppose this song has to do with her though, the lyrics tell of a different story, and based on the author's description about the song, it's something like this:

There are two of them, let's call them A (girl) and B (boy). It's a song from B's point of view, who's keeping an eye on A. I don't know if A realized B's feelings. They are always together, helping or counting on each other when facing troubles, but somehow they are not able to be in love with each other. And B did reckless things, and lost many things.—

Such is the story. I think that there are many people who have experienced this in them. And if you heard a sigh in this song, it means you have an experience which had passed your own happy summer.

Make what you want of that. Btw if you think that the singer sounds like a robot, it's because she is. The singer, Hatsune Miku (初音ミク), according to wiki "is a humanoid persona voiced by a singing synthesizer application developed by Crypton Future Media, headquartered in Sapporo city..." And she is personified as a 16-year-old girl with long turquoise pigtails, like this ----------------------------->

I think she's cute and I could see her appeal and if I had the chance I would like to attend one of her concerts (yes) just for the kick of it. I like robot machine android thingamagic. What's not to like about them? Predictable, efficient, objective, cold as iced cola on a hot sunny day what? Hmm, I think it's the same reasons I like cities. Blocks after blocks of dour, stately facades with a million stories behind their walls. Err what? And I can't explain this, but it's also why I'm for Germany this World Cup. Haha, let's move on before I lose you completely.

S said something yesterday that almost got me saying YES! out loud - "Sometimes I think my heart will burst from having too much feels." That's my exact thought, esp every time I ber-emo and ber-drama. How I wish I were a robot sometimes! I don't trust emotions too much cos I've seen the damage they could inflict and yet I'm brimming to the rim with so much feels I don't know what to do with them! If only it's transferable, I think the hub could use with a good dose =) But how terribly dull life would be without a good shot of zealous passion every now and then kan? I think I'll take leave now, right after I say amen! to Adam's quote below. =)

#WiseOwl Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/6JEkwxoykW
— Owl City (@owlcity) July 2, 2014

Romaji Toi, toi, waraenai hanashi Itsuka, boku ga inakunatta nara Fukai, fukai mori ni ochita Kimi wa hitori de yukundaze Tsunaida te ni wa yawaraka na taion Nigitta yubi ga yururi, hodoketara Kareta neiro no kane ga naru Kimi wa hitori de yukundaze Sono mama futari ayunde hitori Usotsuku koe mo mou taedae ni Utsumuki futari kage ga hitotsu Boku mo hitori de yukundaze? Kimi wa awai koi ni ochita Takai takai gake ni saku hana "Todokanai naa." Wakatteru kuse ni Kondo wa hitori de yukundaze Toi, toi, waraenai hanashi Itsuka, boku ga inakunatta nara Fukai, fukai mori ni ochita Kimi wa hitori de yukundaze Sore kara hitori aruite hitori Usotsuku koto mo mou tsukareta. Utsumuki hitori kogane no heya Kimi to futari de itandaze Boku wa fukai mori ni ochita. Kuroku susukete yogoreta kajitsu Sore de owari sore dake no hanashi Kimi wa hitori de yukundaze

English A long, long time ago, in a tragedy If ever comes a day that I go away Deeper and deeper into the forest I'll fall From that moment on, you’ll go alone Feeling a warm temperature in the hands we hold If ever comes a day they gently unfold A dry bell will sound echoing on its own From that moment on, you’ll go alone For we are two of a kind, when we walk, we are one The sound lies being told disappear like the sun And now we both bow our heads, only a single shadow Didn’t you know that I was also going alone? You fell into love of a gentle kind With a flower on top of a high, high cliff “It’s so hard to reach”, I know you know So this time, you’ll have to go alone A long, long time ago, in a tragedy If ever comes a day that I go away Deeper and deeper into the forest I'll fall From that moment on, you’ll go alone And I am one of a kind, when I walk, I am alone I’ve grown weary of lying to the bone Now I bow my head in this golden room I was here with you, and now it’s gone too soon In a forest deep, I sank and I knew I’m a charred and dirty forsaken fruit And that is the end, there’s nothing more to recount From this moment on, you’ll go alone