Tuesday, November 19, 2013

New Music: Khalil Fong (方大同) - 'Lights Up' (2013)

Khalil Fong released a new song today (Nov. 19, 2013) !!! It's really good!!! It has a bit of JT feel to it too.

Track title: Lights Up
Lyrics/Composer: Khalil Fong (方大同), Fergus Chow

Listen below:



Lyrics:
Wutcha be like
It's a good life
In the limelight
With your heart of gold
I could tell you bout it
Make you doubt it or we could try release your mind and your soul

Wutcha feel like
Catchin' spotlights
In the crowd life
Put ya on a show
You be thinking bout it
Cause you can't let it go
Oh baby

If ever you can't fight the feeling
When the music is right you'll always be true
So stay close to me I can show you girl
Bout all of the things we can do

I got what you want
I got what you need
Just come out and see my world

Girl we gotta go
Girl we gotta leave

Turn the lights up
Put your shoes on
Get your groove on
Ain't nobody stopping us now
Before the night's up
Put your suit on
Get your move on
Get on the floor
I said...

Lights up
No other place I'd rather be
Lights up
Get away for a while girl
Lights up
Leave your worries and fly away

I'd be the one who
You could run to
Bout all the things that
Are out of your control
I could tell you bout it
But you already know

If ever you can't fight the feeling
When the music is right you'll always be true
So stay close to me I can show you girl
Bout all of the things we can do

I got what you want
I got what you need
Just come out and see my world

Girl we gotta go
Girl we gotta leave

Turn the lights up
Put your shoes on
Get your groove on
Ain't nobody stopping us now
Before the night's up
Put your suit on
Get your move on
Get on the floor
I said...

Lights up
No other place I'd rather be
Lights up
Get away for a while girl
Lights up
Leave your worries and fly away

Follow your way to the stars
Don't be afraid I'll be right where you are
We can go on like this forever, and though we're far apart
I don't care what the others say
We'll share another day, baby
I'm here to stay
Show me the way to your heart

Show me the way. Show me the way. Show me the way to your heart
Show me the way. Show me the way. Show me the way to your heart

I said...
Lights up
No other place I'd rather be
Lights up
Get away for a while girl
Lights up
Leave your worries and fly away
x2

Lyrics credit: jctmusicnotes

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Anime Review: My Little Monster/ Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (2012)


Genre: comedy, romance, slice of life
Release date: 2012
Episodes: 13

Plot
Shizuku Mizutani has learned to deal with life's disappointments by repressing her emotions and trusting no one but herself. She has only one focus and that is academic achievement. Haru Yoshida throws himself at life with every ounce of emotional power he has which would not necessarily be a problem except he deals with deep seated rage issues. He has seriously hurt several students over the years and consequently everyone is afraid of him. Shizuku sees no point in engaging the world around her and Haru doesn't know how to engage the world around him. All that begins to change when the two first meet and find themselves almost immediately attracted to each other. Their unlikely pairing leads both of them to begin to break out of their lonely, little worlds to see what life really has to offer. (excerpt from Anime News Network)

Review 

My Little Monster is a feel-good love story with very little plot. It's mainly about Shizuku falling in and out and back in love with Haru. However, it's interesting to watch because the main characters, Shizuku and Haru, are both socially awkward and both have no idea of how a relationship is supposed to work. In addition, they are both very forward with their emotions and voice them aloud, which is different from many other rom-coms. Thus, it makes the series quite entertaining and hilarious to watch.

Despite only 13 episodes, the characters in this anime are all quite well developed, and each has a unique personality that brings something interesting to the table. I enjoyed all the characters in this anime, main and supportive. The art (character design and scenery) and animation are excellent. The voice actors and theme songs are also well done.

Overall, My Little Monster is an interesting romance/comedy anime that is fun to watch. But the ending left me unsatisfied as it ended too abruptly and simply incomplete. I hope there will be a second season. (8/10)






Album Review: d.ear (디어) - 'Vol. 1 Love Graphy'

Album release date: 2013
Genre: R&B/Soul, Kpop

Rating: 4.5/5
Review by: jct

d.ear (Lee Hyung Seok) debuts this year with a full length album, entitled Vol. 1 - Love Graphy on January 22, 2013. The album intends to provide the different colours of love by exploring the spectrum of feelings of love that one may experience, and d.ear delivered it very well.

Passionate Tunes

This is an album where you can listen from beginning to end without skipping any tracks as there is not one song that is a filler. Most of the songs are very relaxing and they range from slow tempo R&B/Soul ballads to slightly up-tempo tracks. One of the notable tracks is the title track, "시간이 흐른다는 건 (Time Goes By)" which is a slow-tempo R&B track with gentle guitar and piano playing in the background. It is about pondering over a past relationship where he sings, "I'll never forget our promises. But now, it seems that I'm not important to you." There are many noteworthy tracks, but of note is "We Need to Talk" which features labelmate Brother Su, is a nice up-tempo R&B collaboration about trying to resolve a conflict in a relationship, where he sings, "We need to talk, don't try to avoid it. Runnin' won't do you good. It won't change a single thing."

His vocals are consistent throughout the entire album and also very gentle and pleasant to listen. He is able to convey the emotions expressed at different moments in love very well. He also handled the whole album entirely by himself where he wrote, composed, arranged and produced all the songs.

Overall, Love Graphy is strong debut album with strong, passionate tunes about love and life. d.ear certainly proves that he is a well-rounded and talented artist that could become a force within Korean R&B/Soul industry in years to come.


Trackslist
01. Intro
02. Love U
03. 너를 그리다 (Draw you)
04. 그래도 (Though)
05. No Matter What I Do
06. We Need To Talk (Feat. Brother Su)
07. You Make Me Feel Good
08. 시간이 흐른다는 건 (Time Goes By)
09. 12월24일 (December 24)
10. Good Night

Friday, November 1, 2013

Anime Series Reviews

Reviews of past anime series that I've watched.

Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Genre: action, comedy, drama, supernatural, mafia
Release date: 2006-2010
Episodes: 203
Reborn is an interesting and well-written story involving hitman, mafia and supernatural powers.  In the beginning, it was pretty slow as it took 20 episodes to introduce the characters. However, from episode 20 and onwards, it became more serious with captivating story arcs, enjoyable comic relief, and lots of great action scenes!
Rating: 9.5/10


Yamato Takeru

Genre: action, adventure, fantasy, magic, mecha, sci-fi, space
Release date: 1994
Episodes: 37
A well-written story with a good balance of adventure and dark-sci-fi. It explores friendship, trust, maturity, and conflict. The character development is also a key highlight of the show.
Rating: 9.5/10


Cardcaptor Sakura

Genre: adventure, magic, romance
Release date: 1998-2000
Episodes: 70
A lovely story that focuses on friendship, love (crushes vs true love), and relationship between siblings. The characters are all likeable and their interactions are enjoyable.
Rating: 9.5/10


- Bleach


Genre: action, comedy, super power, supernatural
Release date: 2004-2012
Episodes: 366
The main storyline is engaging with lots of great action. There is a lot of characters in this show; some of them are fairly well developed, some not so much. However, they are all interesting with their own unique weapons and abilities that make the fights entertaining. The main drawback is there is a lot of fillers and some are quite random.
Rating: 8.5/10


- Natsume Yuujinchou 

Genre: fantasy, supernatural, slice of life, drama
Release date: 2008-2012
Episodes: 13 episodes/season (4 seasons total)
A beautiful, moving story that involves a boy who releases various yokai from contracts that they had previously made with his grandmother a long time ago. The main character is realistic, sympathetic and very relatable. The story also captures many themes that one can relate to, such as friendship, family, and solitude.
Rating: 9/10


- Death Note

Genre: mystery, supernatural, psychological, thriller
Release date: 2006-2007
Episodes: 37
A gripping story that is very original and suspenseful that raises many interesting questions about morality (what is consider good/evil; humans passing judgement on another's actions). It also has compelling characters that are well developed.
Rating: 9/10


- Ao no Exorcist / Blue Exorcist

Genre: action, fantasy, supernatural, exorcist
Release date: 2011
Episodes: 25
It has an intriguing plot about a boy training to become an exorcist to defeat Satan. There is many great action scenes and interesting characters.
Rating: 8.5/10


- D. Gray-man


Genre: action, adventure, comedy, exorcist
Release date: 2006-2008
Episodes: 103
It is a captivating, dark story about exorcists and demons. The beginning is somewhat slow-paced as it provides us some background information and introduces the characters. The story then moves along nicely with lots of intense action. The characters are also pretty unique.
Rating: 8.5/10


- Avatar: The Last Airbender

Genre: action, adventure, fantasy, comedy, romance
Release date: 2005-2008
Episodes: 61
Avatar is a fantastic series for all ages. It provides the right amount of humour and lightheartedness while it explores darker themes. It also has great action scenes and very likeable characters.
Rating: 9.5/10


-  Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Genre: action, adventure, fantasy
Release date: 2012-2013
Episodes: 25 episodes
A fun and interesting story about magic. It does get darker and more serious as the story progresses. The characters are likeable and well developed. The action scenes are exciting, and the art and animation are excellent. 
Rating: 8.5/10


- Hunter x Hunter OVA series 1 Genei Ryodan

Genre: action, adventure, super power
Release date: 2002
Episodes: 8
I particularly enjoy this OVA as it is a lot darker and more suspenseful than the regular series. The action scenes are perfect with some twisted characters.
Rating: 9/10


- Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle

Genre: adventure, fantasy, magic, romance
Release date: 2005
Episodes: 52
This anime is an excellent portrayal of parallel worlds. The story is about a group of people searching for a girl's memories, which were scattered in various worlds in the form of feathers, to help save her soul. The story gets more complex when clones of the main characters become involved.
Rating: 8.5/10


- Sword Art Online

Genre: action, adventure, fantasy, game, romance
Release date: 2012
Episodes: 25
The key highlight of this anime is the art and animation, which are fantastic. It is a story about a group of people playing an online game and suddenly gets trap in it. The plot is not bad, but I didn't like the second half of the show. They should of spend more time developing the first half and wrap it up right there. There is also some unnecessary and annoying time skips and fillers.
Rating: 7.5/10