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Friday 30 December 2011

U-KISS performs 'Neverland'.... DUBSTEP style!?

Popular k-pop boy band U-Kiss recently performed on stage their new(ish) single, 'Neverland' with a little bit of an unexpected twist.


Okay, it never actually quite hits the genre on the head, but there's certainly some kind of seasoning from Dubstep
land in this performance. I'm not sure if I like this or not, but before I say anything else I have to admit that I'm not actually a U-Kiss fan. But perhaps this song could change my ways.

At the beginning it starts out as a little intro - oh, look, they're all dressing up as vampires today, la la la. I like their costumes but feel they could have been better. It was cool to see the cloaks disappear in complete sync though, and their style is fairly cool. (Little bit too much eye makeup though?)

The specific new take on the song begins at 1:55 in my opinion. That is when it starts sounding like a Clazziquai dance track. And I absoloutely love Clazziquai. The light 'wub' at 2:07 is quite good - I could only wish it was done a little heavier and the dancing at this specific point could have been a little more impressive. Sorry U-Kiss fans... I blame it on the fact I associate the dubstep sound with very highly skilled dance routines...;; And well... Your lovely boys are good at dancing, just not the specific style I was hoping to see.
Am I forgiven? Yes? Oh good. I'll continue then~~


The original version of the song is nice, I thought for some reason the dancing in the video was a lot better - but maybe it's because it's easier to see them? I don't know. The song itself has got me interested in what U-Kiss can do, and I will certainly be less dismissive of them in the future. I do hope that the current k-pop cliché to tell the 'DJ' to 'turn it up' will stop very soon. Honestly guys and girls of kpop land, it's really not cool.

Thursday 29 December 2011

TVXQ gives an outstanding performance!


Fans of TVXQ are currently buzzing over an exceptional performance on Maximum earlier today. The song itself isn't my favourite of the band's releases, but I absolutely love watching YunHo sing his heart out, and the dancing was amazing! Although I will always prefer the band to be with the full five members, this was pretty brilliant to watch.

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Music

"Music isn't as good as it was back in my day"
"I wish I was born in the 70s/80s"
"Music is all about auto-tuning and looks now."
"There is no real music of today"

These are just a few of the comments that makes me want to shout...

HELLO!?

Around the UK someone somewhere is complaining - (No surprise there) about the current music of today. Usually every month or so there's some celebrity or near celebrity complaining about modern music and teenagers, and it's getting to the point where it's getting a little bit silly. Every so often the tabloid dribbles it's own thesis, and even some of my dear friends have fallen into the trap of believing that music really is getting worse. Even I joined in believing the statement so blindly that is, until I went to university and listened to different kinds of music I had never heard before. And so, to make a change to the usual Yellow Kokoro standard, I'm going to challenge both statements.

"Music is getting worse"

Firstly, technology and the Internet has made music production a whole lot easier, and there is certainly a heck of a lot more music out there to listen to. All you Gothic rockers out there who criticise that "mainstream music" is a load of poo, well it could very turn out that your precious 'alternative' rock may as well be a mainstream genre for all the contributions it receives on a day to day basis around the world. With so much choice, you're bound to find some kind of sound you like - where in the past there was a time where you'd have to stick with the Beatles or cover your ears.

Because of technology new sounds can be made and thus new genres can be born - and well, if you don't like that kind of music - you can always go back to the more concrete and older genres - "older style" music is still being produced - and if you still, really, really can't stand any new bands or artists that come along in your preferred idea of your favourite genre, then you can just listen to your old music. Bob Dylan's albums and singles are still making money and the 70s and 80s have been able to secure track immortality. Since you can obtain a digital form of "older style" music, music can never essentially be "worse" for you. Instead it remains the same.

"I wish I was born in the 70s"

Do you really wish to be born into a world with a worse health care, less choice of music (and much more expensive means of obtaining music), and (for the UK readers among us...) Margaret Thatcher?

I didn't think so.

"Music is all about auto-tuning now..."

A lot of music do use auto-tuning, but again, there is as much music available that doesn't. Auto-tuning is interesting stuff - and some great songs wouldn't be able to exist without it. Just because a singer in the charts uses it in his or her songs, doesn't mean you have to worry about your precious genres becoming extinct. Recently there has been a trend of 'unplugged' versions of familiar songs - especially with newer bands who want an increase in popularity and admiration.

"Music is all about looks now"

Music has always been on par with style and image, even during the classical-music period. Lets take Adam and the Ants for example.



Sure, some bands of today have a less than desirable image compared to Adam, and some female artists wear rather disapproving outfits but-- That's society for you - and as there is SO much music around, you're going to find decent females who don't look like they're from a late night club down the road. (and for the record, I'm mentioning 'those' kind of clubs.)

To be fair, I have to say that some bands are focusing a little too much on their nails and less on the sound.
And I'm not talking about American or European bands here, I'm mentioning my beloved Visual Kei. Suddenly I've just woken up the jrock readers here.
Recently, a lot of new bands have emerged from the Visual Kei scene with an exciting image, only for their tracks to sound the same as the previous dozen bands that debuted a month or two before them. Please freshen up Visual Kei genres...
Saying that, there will always be good old Kra to turn back to, and Dada-san from Velvet Eden who is always contributing to music and usually making a post or two on facebook...
And some good bands will eventually be born out of the dead buds...

"There is no real music of today"

If you truly believe that - you cannot love music. There has never been a year of outstanding quality and quirkiness when it comes down to music and new sound - you've just got to find it. And next year is just going to get even better....

Thursday 24 November 2011

L~Arc en Ceil set to preform in London!

I am happy to announce that L~Arc en Ceil is visiting the the UK capital's O2 Arena to preform at April the 11th.



And about time too!
Tickets cost a whopping £55, with £111 being the price of 'special' tickets. We're not sure how 'special' these tickets are, but there's a rumour going around they're for a meet and greet. It'd be insanely awesome to see the band up close by my goodness it's expensive. I've not decided if I'll go yet, but... This is such a rare opportunity, I'm seriously tempted.

Over to Kpop world,
 C.N.Blue and F.T.Island have confirmed that they are also due to preform in the UK! There is no date set, but it's meant to be 'early next year'. I only hope it isn't as late notice as the SHINee concert....

I think it's time to start saving up your pocket money UK readers, because it looks like next year is set to be busy!

Monday 21 November 2011

Korean Music - My guilty addictions

Korean music can be so brilliant and amazing. Take Tablo's new song, Airbag which is just gorgeous!



And then, theres the new song with Kyuhyun and Yoon Jongshin which is so beautiful....


Admit it, you wanted him to take off more than just his scarf. Didn't you? Yes, you did.

So now you have a taste of good, clean, excellent music, it's time to introduce three Korean pop songs which we know for some reason we really shouldn't like them, but for some reason or another, it turns out that we're actually COMPLETELY ADDICTED. Yes, I'm going on about those kind of songs. And what better way to start of than with SNSD's Gee.



The song is cheesy, far too cute, and very repetitive. Usually I'd absoloutely hate a song like this, but Girl's Generation has a specific charm that no human being can resist. Somehow, I'm pulled into this magical power, and I'm going all Gee Gee Gee Gee for S-N-S-D.

Random Fact:This song is so loved by k-poppers it was used at a flash mob in London.
Also, aren't coloured jeans supposed to be in fashion now? Looks like this band is way ahead on trends ;)


Yes, I love this song. And you will too, once you've listened it a couple of times. SHINee's Ring Ding Dong isn't my worst guilty k-pop addiction, because if you listen to it, it's actually pretty good. I'll be honest, I didn't notice this at first but after a day or two this became the song I was listening to all day ! I love their groovy dancing.

Random Fact: SHINee recently preformed in the UK!
Whoever managed to see them was very lucky =__=
Next up is a song by one of the biggest Hallyu stars, he's appeared in multiple hollywood films, and have created many albums of awesomeness. And now for his most guilty pleasure song ever created...


Rainism -- song, danced, acted, entertained by the one and only Rain Bi. There really isn't much explanation needed in this one, even the lyrics are something that would cause me to stop watching this video. But.
It's.
Just.
Far.
Too.
Sexy.

You also have to understand that Rain Bi a king, he can get away with having a big ego, having the power to stop random people growling at him, and just having that aura of cool.

Sadly, he's joined the military now, but I look forward to his come back in two years time...

Random Fact:  Did you know that Rain Bi has had a dance of with Stephan Colbert?


It was such a funny video, but all I could find was a Korean news report about it.
Still quite entertaining to watch though!


And that's it for this post! Let me know your thoughts below, and stay in tuned for a part 2...!
(Because we all know that these kind of songs are made quite frequently...)

Edit:

The Hallyu Wave hits the UK papers

I'm never 100 % happy when my beloved fandoms enters the UK media, ever since the cosplay-expo incident. Nevertheless, the Hallyu Wave has snuck right in, landing an article in the London tabloid, 'Evening Standard'. I found out about the news here which pretty much says exactly what the actually article says here.  In this blog however, I'm going to review the article in a slightly different way.

By looking at it with a stupidly bias method to provoke absoloute insanity amongst readers.
^ That wasn't the original sentence I was going for. I actually wanted to add a really good emoticon, didn't find any on google images but did found this on page 8 while searching the key phrase "suspicious face".


Kim JaeJoong comes up on 'Suspicious Face'?
I should warn you know this blog entry will probably remain quite crazily stupid.
So anyway, I start reading the article, and with my suspicious face on I saw this. Already my bias grows tenfold.

" Every few minutes, a video camera zooms in on the action."

Damn you journalist, you're just referring to this awful camera work from the new Super Junior single... Which was also quite a disappointment as it sounded pretty much the same as their other songs....


Okay, the journalist probably has no clue about this, but I'm very pleased about my excuse to put this video in my blog. The camera work is so awful it can make one feel very sick, so please don't watch it for too long and continue reading the rest of the post to make you feel better.

We've been here about an hour now so we're quite excited," cries a young male voice through the noise. "Big Bang, yeaaah. 2NE1, ahhh," two girls then shriek at the camera, each hoping to get a place inside the tiny venue.

To be honest I see no fault here, it's pretty much true.
Fanboys, screaming girls, tiny venues... That's just how it is. In fact, I feel kinda sad for the Hallyu stars to have to under go all this screaming when they go through airports..

Infact, lets look at these two videos...

This video is what's going on in fangirl and fanboy heads when they see a Hallyu star...


This is what really happens, and believe it or not, this was one of the quieter vids...

Sometimes fans in kpop world can be really, really screechy.

Anyway, back to actually criticising for article for no good reas---
Hold on WHAT?

"K-Pop's three biggest groups - Big Bang, boy group Super Junior and girl pop rappers 2NE1 - have generated more than 45 million YouTube hits between them for their recent singles."
  
 "K-Pop's three biggest groups - Big Bang, boy group Super Junior and girl pop rappers 2NE1 - have generated more than 45 million YouTube hits"

"K-Pop's three biggest groups - Big Bang, boy group Super Junior and girl pop rappers 2NE1"

""K-Pop's three biggest groups"???
.........
LIESSSSSS

Let me correct you Miss Victoria Stewart...
Well done for writing about something you know very little about in quite a nice and honest way..
But never claim to know the three biggest kpop groups in South Korea....
Because otherwise you'll anger these crazy fans and make them chase you...



Ok, I'm just going to post this insanely late post and catch up with everything I've missed.
Sorry for the late replies,
And Miss Victoria Stewart - Thank you for writing about kpop ^^

Sunday 16 October 2011

Yellow Kokoro part 4

These flowers seem to grow everywhere in Bath.

Haven't updated in a while, but that's because I've just started university, and it's taken a while to get the Internet up and running. But no worries, as it's given me quite a long time to think about new and exciting future posts, yay!

I won't spam too much about my personal life here, but things are going very well, and I'm really happy right now. I'll probably spam Rainbow Kokoro at some point about it.

One more thing I would like to mention... how the heck did my views suddenly go up?? It baffles me that the page views have seemed to have doubled since I left for a bit, but it has defiantly been a great surprise. Yay, thank you my random viewers for checking out my blog :)

Poll Results:
Seems like 80 % of viewers on Yellow Kokoro likes anime and manga the most. Also a little odd as I don't post about that so much but maybe that will change soon!

Tuesday 20 September 2011

JYJ's best single yet "Get Out" is released!


Popular band "JYJ" has recently released new single "Get Out" which got me completely hooked! Their sound, dancing and overall performance has dramatically decreased from their debut -- come now, enough of that hate. You really can't deny the increase of quality with new songs such as "Get Out" and "In Heaven"  compared to "Ayy Girl".

Really?
(Watch at your own risk.)

The one negative point I would like to point about is that "Get Out" has a storyline that has been overused in the kpop generation, and personally, I think Taegoon's "Call Me" uses the whole "Two/Three timing girlfriend who actually isn't a nice girl and the guys call her and ask her what's going on" thing better. I'm sorry JYJ, but innocent Taegoon actually gets shot because of the evil girlfriend. By JaeJoong, one of the members in JYJ coincidentally enough!


Actually, if I think about it, when TVXQ were together, didn't they have a song...


And so does SHINee!


Okay, it's official. South Korea loves phones. 

Attempting to move slightly back on topic, JYJ is certainly becoming a professional band of their own, with their own style, and their own talent. I think the history between TVXQ and JYJ will be for another blog, but I can't help but miss the harmony when the five boys were together. If you hear a great song from TVXQ, or a great song from JYJ, just imagine how MORE GREAT that sound could have been if they were together...

Monday 19 September 2011

The many reasons why I would not buy directly from Tokyo Toys.

If you're from the UK and you're wanting to cosplay, you have three choices available to you. Choice One, the Internet. Bid on ebay for goodness knows what kind of quality you'll end up getting, or buying from some unheard of shop that may take your money and leg it. Choice Two, you can buy all the materials yourself and make something. But you know what'll happen, yes, you do. You'll buy the materials and they'll still be sitting there when London Expo comes and you'll run out of time to make whatever that cosplay you had in mind that you once believed would be 'easy'. (Oh yes, that's a common practice for cosplayers, I should know.) And then... There's the Choice Three.


And by goodness, you really, really don't want to shop there.

Now, credit where credit is due, they do have a lot of items on sale and it is nice to see so much anime and manga items on sale in the UK! And yes, they do have quite a considerable of range of merchandise as well, from cosplays to soft toys to manga, and yes, the shop location is inside Trocodero, one of the coolest places for an anime fan to be in London minus ChinaTown and the Excel Centre during Expo. But really guys, just look around and leave your wallets at home. And if you're a female, for your dignity I'd recommend going round the back and avoiding the man at the desk. He's freaking creepy. And yes, he will talk to you. It was probably his decision to add the girl in the photo too. You have been officially warned.

Very expensive pricing

You have to remember, Tokyo Toys recieves no competition with their overinflated prices on any other days other than on the Expo Days, where they run a stall with heavily discounted goods. (That's when you grab the bargains and RUN!) Tokyo Toys can over charge what they like for pocky, and for cosplay merchandise especially and you have to be very weary at that. Also, if you're paying £1.50 or more for a box of plain old pocky you're being ripped off. ChinaTown stalls and shops sell them at quite a cheap price, and if you're going to Expo, you have no excuse for not going to ChinaTown aswell.

Bad service

I would also like to warn you about the service the shop actually provides online. And I quote,...


"I've recieved today the "Tsubasa: "Plush - Mokona 18in (45cm)" but I was surprised to see that the Plush didnt had the 45cm as its says in name but only 22cm.
I am disappointed, because it was to be a gift.

And the reply:

TokyoToys - Sorry we got the size wrong in our listing, our staff confused it for the bigger version, we have correctly updated the size. I am sure your friend will love the product as the quality is really good :D"

Hold on... What...
"I am sure your friend will love the product as the quality is really good :D"
 


To me, that sounds like TokyoToys just pulled a big 'LOL' face on the customer and didn't really care that they ripped the customer off at too! Doesn't give me confidence, what about you?

Overall review:
In conclusion, I really don't recommend Tokyo Toys for the serious cosplayer, or for the serious fan. Unless you really, really need your daily dose in a hurry, Tokyo Toys is a big thumbs down. That is... Until Expo anyway, then my friends I give you amazing discounts that are very, very tempting.

Sunday 18 September 2011

GLEE COVERS KPOP BAND SUPER JUNIOR.

It's been confirmed!
The Hallyu Wave has crashed into popular series Glee, and will be preformed by Harry Shum Jr who plays "Mike Chang" , funnily enough described by my friend as an Asian guy who once held the title of "can't sing". Oh boy, dearest Harry Shum Jr, you have got a big weight on your shoulders to get this right. Of all songs of Super Junior, he has been given this one which is defiantly not Suju's best single...


That's right, of all songs to represent Super Junior they choose Mr Simple. Ouch. Will this be a good moment for the Hallyu Wave to spread its wings over the world, or will it be a moment where kpop fans lower their heads in shame? I fear the worst.

Wednesday 14 September 2011

V-Rock Disney

When Disney and Jrockers collide, you get...

V-Rock Disney!

I'm so excited about this album, someone very amazing has already began uploading the videos and I'll be posting them on this blog. Amazing well known Jrockers have covered exactly eleven well known and loved songs from the classic Disney era, including 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' from Lion King, preformed by Aoi which I am completely elastic about! I'm so happy to see NIGHTMARE (Twice!!!!), and Sadie, and Plastic Tree and THE KIDDIE on the list and I am so cheered up by listening to the songs that my worries about uni has faded away! I'll probably edit this post to make more sense in the morning.With thanks to Jpop Asia I bring you the song list of the V-Rock Disney album.

V-ROCK DISNEY 2011.9.14
01. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (‘Fantasia’) – NIGHTMARE
02. Friend Like Me (‘Aladdin’) – NIGHTMARE
03. Beauty and the Beast (‘Beauty and the Beast’) – Kawamura Ryuuichi
04. Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride (‘Lilo & Stitch’) – PENICILLIN
05. Chim Chim Cheree (‘Mary Poppins’) – Plastic Tree
06. This Is Halloween (‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’) – Sadie
07. Can You Feel the Love Tonight (‘The Lion King’) – Aoi
08. Supercalifraglisticexpialidocious (‘Mary Poppins’) – THE KIDDIE
09. When You Wish Upon a Star (‘Pinocchio’) – NINJAMAN JAPAN
10. Heigh-Ho (‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’) – CASCADE
11. You’ll Be In My Heart (‘Tarzan’) – DASEIN


The Sorcerer's Apprentice -- NIGHTMARE

Friend like me -- NIGHTMARE


The Hawaiian Roller coaster ride -- PENCILLIN

Chim Chim Cheere -- Plastic Tree
This is Halloween -- Saddie

Can You Feel The Love Tonight -- Aoi

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious -- The Kiddie


When you wish upon a stair -- Ninjaman Japan

Heigh Ho --- CASCADE

 Now after all that excitement... I should get some sleep. I'll update this blog again tomorrow.... Good night!

Sunday 4 September 2011

Yellow Kokoro, part 3

I'm very happy to annouce that Yellow Kokoro has achieved over one hundred views! The most popular topics seem to be Visual Kei, so I hope that my jewellery post below will be of some interest to the readers =)

In my life things have also been well. I've finally got accommodation sorted which means I have somewhere to live when I go to uni ;-) Always a handy thing! Also, I've started a new project, Rainbow Kokoro, which I've been meaning to start for some time, and have some exciting plans for Yellow Kokoro too. Expect more Doctor Who posts and a big Torchwood mention, and possibly a new and much more yellow layout. Well, it's not called yellow for no reason. That said, should I then make Rainbow Kokoro rainbow coloured? Hmm. Anyway, I'd like to give a big heads up to a new friend of mine, Adam, who mentioned my blog in his. Thank you very much Adam! His blog is quite different to Yellow Kokoro, but it's brilliantly funny and entertaining. I recommend a visit to his trusty water blog, http://everyauthorwhoeverlived.weebly.com/.

Edit:
Poll results have came in!
Seems like the most popular kpop bands are DBSK, MBLAQ, and SHINee according to the Kokoro poll!

The best Visual Kei Jewellery available online

Sometimes its hard to find suitable Visual Kei style products to buy, and when you do, they're usually very expensive. To help you in your search for Visual Kei style products to buy for your collection, I have compiled a series of wonderful suggestions for you to look at, which all have good professional service, and products similar to the Kei genre without breaking your wallet. If you have any feedback on any of the links below, or want to recommend your own, please feel free to leave a comment.

LadyLuna

One of my personal favourites, LadyLuna is not simply an online shop. It's far more than that, as you enter the sight you'll be stunned at it's professional look and mystical atmosphere. It's a portal to a new, alternative world full of enticing and beautiful works of art, and the best part of it all is the quick and friendly service and the bargain prices. It's a fairly new shop and I'm very enthusiastic about it. Perhaps in a couple of months time I'll be writing about LadyLuna's achievement as possibly the number one for unique, alternative jewellery. If you're a Visual Kei fan, you'll love what LadyLuna has to offer.

Inspired by Angela Pyke

Also a favourite of mine, this website is made by the lovely and very creative Angela Pyke, who's talent is simply unending. In particular I have to recommend her necklaces, and her pocket-watches. Her products are bountiful with colour yet are smoothly in style and defiantly a must-have for the fashionable Visual Kei in you. I personally believe you'll be amazed at Angela Pyke's extraordinary designs.

Bead Me Up Buttercup

This is a new, sister site to Inspired by Angela Pyke. At the moment it offers only a small selection of pocket watches, but it's defiantly a good idea to keep an eye on this one.

Gloomth

Created by Taeden Hall, based in Canada, this website has a small collection of Visual Kei jewellery, and quite a modest collection of clothes. I enjoyed their interesting and very unique layout,  atlhough it seems to be in a few teething stages. Although the prices may be at the high end of the budget, they're certainly stylish. In particular, their chokers stand out on the edge of cool.

Milanoo

Milanoo is a very big website that does not specialise in Visual Kei genres or in Jewellery, but still has a wide selection to browse from. Perhaps a site that is more suited for Lolita fans, it still has numerous bargains and always has special offers loaded into the site. Perhaps it is not the most colourful, or the most appealing website, but it's products are most defiantly worth a look, and the customer service are always happy to answer your questions.

The Gothic Catwalk

And finally, I end with The Gothic Catwalk, which has plenty of jewellery and other items on sale and with generally good prices. After just recently going through an exciting new look, the website looks well and truly gothic, and although it does not mention Visual Kei specifically it's defiantly worth a look. You won't be disappointed by browsing through their chokers in particular, which are well priced and look fantastic. They update their website regularly, and are very creative with their new designs.

I hope you find this post useful, as always feel free to leave a comment below!

Monday 29 August 2011

So you wanna be like Visual Kei?


The GazettE, a popular Jrock Band

Have you ever wanted to look a little bit... Different? Wanted to completely and utterly stand out from the crowd? If Visual Kei is your thing, then here's some cheap and easy suggestions on how to achieve your own unique Visual Kei look. Remember, the biggest thing about this style is that it should be completely unique to you. It's no good simply cosplaying a band member you like and wearing it as your own style. Be brave, be wild, and just go for it! That is how Visual Kei was born, and that it is how it should live.

The Eyes

Visual Kei loves eyes! They are an open palette to paint as crazy or as simple design as you want. They are the key to your uniqueness, and your own design. This is the section where there really are no rules. Contacts or no contains, mega heavy eyeliner or nothing at all - everything goes.


Cheap and easy to use!

Top tip! ---  I find jewel stickers a great and cool addition to add below along the cheek below the eye - they are cheap, don't require any glue, and they can come off easily when you want to remove them!


Miyavi shaved his eyebrows.
 What is common though is for Visual Kei artists to shave their eyebrows.
Now I personally don't recommend this, because when you're older you might regret having to draw in your eyebrows all the time or having to trim them to stop it going really bushy.

The Hair

Arguably the most important aspect of Visual Kei! There are some rules you have to consider if you want Visual Kei hair.

Rule N#1 --- Must have some kind of extreme-ness.
Rule N#2 --- No Visual Kei hair obeys the laws of gravity.
Rule N#3 --- If you don't use any kind of hair spray, you're doing it wrong.

Bou, ex-member of An Cafe. He generally has more
of an Oshare Kei style, a sub genre of Visual Kei.
 Despite these rules you can be pretty flexible with this. Visual Kei hair is open to any colour, (as well as any ethnicity, as all good things should be!) so you don't have to dye your hair if you don't want to. Then again, if wild streaks are your kind of thing, GO FOR IT! It'll scream Visual Kei. Wigs and hair extensions are completely fine! Darker colours such as blacks, reds, browns, and purples tend to be a common in Visual Kei. But blond is also big, just take Bou for example (right), or Reita from The GazettE. Generally the use of lighter colours in hair as well as clothing, nails, and everything else is called Oshare Kei instead of Visual Kei.

If you'd like a little inspiration with hair, check out my earlier blog post, Visual Kei Hairstyles, which could inspire you.

Also remember that Visual Kei hair is for boys and girls, so don't feel that you have to make compromises because of your gender!


The Gear

Sometimes in the fashion world of Visual Kei, clothing and accessories get so mixed together they truly become One. I'm not going to break that bond, but instead list a few things Visual Kei'ers have done in the past. I hope it inspires you. Some of this will be pretty obvious.

    
    What can be certain is that the Versailles love their gear!
    
  • Chains - Any kind of chain, as as many as you want!
  • Hats - This can be anything, to paper hats, to top hats, to mini Gothic Lolita hats
  • Spikes
  • Ties - These can be ordinary ties to very Visual Kei ones like this!
  • Buttons of all sorts
  • Goggles and glasses
  • Eye contacts
  • Hair clips, head bands, bows, etc
  • Bandages
  • Hand bands
  • Feathers
  • Collar shirts
  • Coats. Lots and lots of coats.
  • Studded jackets
  • Long black boots
  • Trainers & multi coloured laces
  • Wristbands
  • Tattoos / fake and otherwise.
  • Ripped material jackets, shirts, skirts, trousers
  • Chokers, necklaces, earrings, pendants, rings
  • Tights, leggings
  • Gloves, arm-warmers
  • Zips, usually far more than needed!
  • Pockets
  • Masks
  • Piercings
  • Victorian/Edwardian style clothing and accessories
  • Futuristic style clothing & accessories
  • Wigs, hair extensions
  • Pocket watches
  • Ruffles
  • Belts
Of course, in the real world of Visual Kei this list would be far more bigger! Hope you enjoyed the post, thank you for reading!

Sunday 28 August 2011

Yellow Kokoro, Part 2

Minus the two posts before, I've had a little bit of a gap in blogging recently, and I'd just like to mention that recently I've managed to get a place in university! I'm overjoyed, and I will be writing even more for now on to try and improve the quality of my writing. So that means more blogs on Yellow Kokoro! Yay!

My first aim is to achieve around 100 total page views by the end of September. Tough challenge, but I made it onto UCAS so anything's possible.

Other updates:
First poll results...
What do you like the most?
  2 (50%)
Music
  2 (50%)
Food
  1 (25%)
Fashion
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The Hallyu Garden is beginning to wilt. // [ Kpop post ]

I have been a big fan of kpop for quite sometime, and I have watched the rise and fall of TVXQ, enjoyed reading Allkpop and moaned about it's bias, loved the selection of new rookie bands yet now, perhaps, resent them.

There are too many flowers in the Hallyu Garden. They all look the same. They all do the same. And because of this, the garden is beginning to wilt.


Lee Soo, CEO of SM Entertainment and the slave contracts.
Hallyu Whaaa?

First of all, I should perhaps explain what I mean about the Hallyu Garden. For those of you who do not know, the Hallyu Wave is the most widely accepted term for the hugely growing entertainment buisness in South Korea. Korean pop and dramas have spread world wide, and tourism has also grown considerably because of this.

I refer to the Hallyu Garden as the whole logistics of the Hallyu Wave. It doesn't just refer to the the kpop stars or actors, but also to the CEOs of the entertainment industry, such as Lee Soo of SM Entertainment. The Hallyu Garden has everybody involved in the wave inside. The beautiful flowers of the truly talented stars, and the dark wrath and thorns of Lee Soo, and other CEOs.

So what exactly has happened?

Lets start with the rookie bands.



There has been a lot of new rookie groups lately, and I mean A LOT. So much, even Allkpop doesn't know what to say about them anymore. These three -- nothing truly against them, I'm sure they'll be err, 'oh so talented'. But these bands are by no near as creative as the ones last year, and far less than the year before that. What we see here, is the creation of generic bands. Furthermore, the creation of Evil.


Yes. That's right.
EVIL. 

Because I am afraid of english-reading neitizens, I'm making a reference to bands who are unoriginal, not nessecarly the ones above. But seriously, some of the names... 'Chocolat', and even worse 'Boyz'.

The Older Bands...

It really should be mentioned that this stench of unoriginality has swept towards our beloved older bands too. Single after single... Style after style... Ever heard of the saying been there done that? The Hallyu version is been there, done that, wore this, got the album to prove it. I really don't want to name any bands but seriously kpop...  Stop with the 'cash crop single'. It's killing your precious wave.

The Celebrities

Kpop is also becoming like British and American celebritizm. -Face palm- <-- So elegant.
Not only that, but the Hallyu personality only comes in 5 flavours. Here's a typical kpop boy band. Think how many you can link this too.

The Sexy Leader - This guy is usually meant to be the sexiest guy in the band, and usually the most popular. He is tall, and isn't always very cute at all, but he's dang sexy. If there are occasions to be cute however, he has been trained very well to master the oh so unoriginal face of cuteness.

The Girly One - This guy should be a girl. He has more make up than the average girl, he cares about his looks - especially his skin and face. This type is so surprisingly common that (look away now neitizens!) either 1/4 of the kpop population are gay, or at least 1/2 of these girly guys are putting it on.

and/or

The Cutie - You've always got your cute guy. Either the shortest, or the youngest. He delibrately tries to act cute, poses, and tries to make the crowd go 'awww'. Some may try to out-cute him, only to make this guy go even cuter.

The Loner - This guy is less likely to smile, tries to act tough, and always thinks he's hot for doing it. More common in dramas than in bands, but he's snuck his way into kpop.

The Reject - This sad little guy is clumsy or stupid or both. Sometimes he's the cute one. Usually he's the worst at English, having the most fobby of all accents. Sometimes he has some kind of 'ugly but cute' feature, such as his head is a little differently shaped from the rest, or his teeth are from a crocodile or whatever. More and more often, this persona is becoming common.

The Corruption

And finally, the corruption.
The corruption is all the chaos that big cat companies in South Korea are causing by using Slave Contracts which pay these stars, these beautiful flowers - very, very minimal salaries. There have been so much more scandals that have happened recently, and to be less left wing (blaming on the big industries all the time) I'll blame the fans too. That's right. The fans are tearing the Hallyu Garden apart. They are far too obsessive, treating all their favourite idols like a Korean Justin Beiber. It's just scary. The glory and beauty that made kpop so special is fading away.

I don't want my Hallyu Garden to wilt. Please, can someone spray a little bit of fresh breeze inside?

Doctor Who Series 6 Review

I told you they'd be Doctor Who in this blog somewhere...
Didn't intend for this post to be so late...

It seems like forever since the first part of Series 6 has ended, and what a cliffhanger it's ended on too, if anyone actually understood it. I think I did but we're about to find out. Here's an episode by episode series 6 review.

Episode #1 The Impossible Astronaut

Episode number one was set to be the steady foundation of an explosive series. The beginning of yet another mad and exciting plot thought up by Steven Moffat. It was meant to be a sturdy introduction of things to come in the Doctor Whoiverese.
But it just made me incredibly confused.

I'll try and explain this in non-spoiler terms.
Random astronaut says hi to Old Matt Smith.
Bad stuff happens.
Then Young Matt Smith comes and the whole scene is pretty much forgotten, and moves on to a new random plot for the rest of the episode.

That was most likely the worst summary of what happened ever but...


Geeking Out


The whole thing was rather confusing, and dramatic. When confusion and drama collides all you get is LAME.
Hear that Steven Moffat.
Confusion + Drama = LAME.
However, the rest of the episode IS much better, and I enjoyed the dialogue here. With many thanks from PlanetClaire...

The Doctor: Swear to me. Swear to me on something that matters.
Amy: Fish fingers and custard.
The Doctor: My life your hands, Amelia Pond.

"The Doctor: Mr. President. That child just told you every you need to know, but you weren't listening. Never mind, though, 'cause the answer's yes. I'll take the case. Fellas, the guns? Really? I just walked into the highest security office in the United States, parked a big blue box on the rug. You think you can just shoot me?
River stepping out of the TARDIS: They're Americans!
The Doctor: Don't shoot! Definitely no shooting."

 Loved it.
 In particular, I really liked Canton for some reason that I struggle to put my finger on. I thought he was a great character. Down to earth, funny, friendly face. Great acting there Mark Sheppard.

The monstersThe monsters in this episode were basically the cousins of the Weeping Angels first seen in Don't Blink. Instead of losing your head though, you only lose your memory. Not so bad, but still rather spooky as you can't exactly remember why you have so many numbers on your arm.

Overview
Overall the episode was alright. I really disliked the beginning, but the episode got better as it went along. Dear Moffat, giving us questions is fine. Giving us far too many questions at once is a little too much to digest. And this episode was a cliff hanger too...

Episode #2 Day of the Moon

Lots and lots of complicated timey-wimey things happened in this episode than the average human being will struggle to understand.

Perfect prisons. More Silence. And more confusion.

It's not even worth reviewing, as it's pretty much exactly the same as episode #1. I'm starting to miss Russel T Davies at this point.




Episode #3 The Curse of the Black Spot

This episode was REALLY good. I'll continue the summing up tradition.
Pirates. LOTS OF PIRATES. Pretty Amy. PIRATESSSS.
The ending wasn't the best but WHO CARES. This seemed like the first 'proper' episode of the series.

Monsters:
The Siren.
There aren't many monsters in Doctor Who that one could fall in love with. The Siren is one of those exceptions. Her alien, mystical melody is enchanting and her blue (and red) aura is awesome. The fact that she happens to be marking the crew with an evil dark black spot makes her all the more intruging. I'm pretty sure The Doctor prefers bad girls anyway.

Overview:
Finally a 'proper' episode in the series. The story was good. The action was good. The cast was good. And, come on, Amy with a cutlass? Priceless.

Episode #4 The Doctor's Wife

This is when the real treasure of Steven Moffat comes to life. No more pirates, but a new lass called the TARDIS. The dialogue is hilarious.

Idris: Did you ever wonder why I chose you all those years ago?
The Doctor: I chose you. You were unlocked.
Idris: Of course I was. I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Time Lord and I ran away. And you were the only one mad enough.

The Doctor: Do you have a name?
Idris: Seven hundred years and finally he asks.
The Doctor: What do I call you?
Idris: What do you call me? Sexy.
The Doctor: Only when we're alone.
Idris: We are alone.
The Doctor: Oh. Come on then, Sexy

Amy Pond: She's the Tardis?
The Eleventh Doctor: And she's a woman! She's a woman and she's the Tardis.
Amy Pond: Did you wish really hard?
[raises eyebrow at The Doctor]
The Eleventh Doctor: Shut up! Not like that...
Idris/Tardis: Hello, I'm sexy.
The Eleventh Doctor: Still shut up. 

I could quote all day. Thanks IMDB for the quotes.

Monsters:
I had to look up the actual 'monsters' for this episode, as I really couldn't remember. They must have left -that much- of an impact. Unfortunatly, my research didn't get me that far. All I can say is that I think it was something to do with the planet or something...

Overall:
The episode was a good one-off with a very nice dialogue script. Some of it was a little too far out, but overall it was great to watch.

Episode #5 The Rebel Flesh and Episode #6 The Almost People

So we had two great episodes.
And then we get this.
Oh dear.

What I want to talk about first is the great, complex emotion between the "Almost People" or Gangers as they called themselves, and the "real" people. It was cleverly made into one of those cliché 'clone' debates for the audience. That in itself was a good thing, until the ending when the father died and the other, not real father replaces him. Did I spoil that? Oh dang. But don't worry, the episodes weren't that great anyway. That particular event was annoying, but not as annoying as the cliffhanger in episode 6.

Suddenly, Moffat's love of giving us questions comes back to haunt us.
And it hurts the heart.

The reason the episodes stink is because they don't actually -end-. There is no clear beginning, middle and end like in episode 3 and 4. Episode 5 and 6 are just a large blur, that leak into the finale, and spoil it, like getting a weak bitter gravy on your trifle.

Monsters:
The 'gangers' I suppose.

Overview:
Bleurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

Episode #7 A Good Man Goes to War

A lot of things happened in this episode - and just incase you haven't happened to watch it yet - I'll try not to spoil it.


Lorna Bucket - played by Christina Chong
This character was interesting, and it was really annoying how her story suddenly... Stopped. I found her interesting but it was the famous Unanswered Question Time which ruined her completely. Damn you script writers...

I'm going to skim over the episode because I was so disappointed. The story was far too complicated.
River's story is revealed, but because of this, it only gives even MORE questions.

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Visual Kei Hairstyles

Reita from The GazettE

We all love them, we all admire them. If manga hair was ever possible, these guys would pull it off. Say hello to Visual Kei hairstyles.

Visual Kei?
If you don't know what Visual Kei is, then you probably haven't heard of Japanese Rock, as the two fit together as snug as a granny and her slippers. Or a jigsaw if your granny doesn't like... Slippers.
Moving on.
Not all Japanese Rock artists are into Visual Kei. But the ones who do usually have more extreme dancing skills, more extreme outfits, and more gravity defying extremely awe-strucking hairstyles. There's a lot of different types of Visual Kei, but that's for another post. Time for some hair-raising images.


Kanon from AnCafe
I personally love An Cafe. Their music, their style, their... Hair! Here's Kanon's, my favourite member in the all male band.


Yuuki from An Cafe
 This is Yuuki from An Cafe... Fairly normal hair style.

Ex-member Bou from An Cafe
And this is Bou from AnCafe.
Isn't he the prettiest guy you've ever seen? Bou is known for his long, blond hair and his feminine looks. And you thought this post was to be about only punkish styles right?

Alright, I'll stop being childish now. Here's some more... Rockier versions of Visual Kei hair. Enjoy to the extreme.


DOGinTheパラレルワールドオーケストラ

Versailles -- They really should be featured under 'fashion' for their extreme clothing too. 

Ex Sound Bee member Yuichi

Can't forget Miyavi!

Malice Mizer
 There's many more but google is your friend. Or we at least let them think that.
I hope this has given you a little insight to the world of Visual Kei hair.

And so, I leave you with a question. "What Visual Kei artist has the best hair?" Feel free to leave me a comment below.