13 April 2018

My strange music tastes

Not the usual post, but I guess it's still about my obsession? With the release of Hayley Kiyoko's debut album Expectations, I've decided to talk about my very, very strange music tastes.



I'm not someone you'd consider very knowledgeable in the music scene. As a former weeb the only songs I ever listened to are anime openings and endings and osts. Until now my music genre has always been soundtracks. Years ago with my introduction to Assassin's Creed, I was exposed to more english songs which are not my childhood. Lorde, Zella Day, Woodkid, to name a few. I even have a whole playlist for AC trailer music. Of all the artists featured in the playlist, only Woodkid stuck with me. We'll come back to it later.

Final Fantasy XV, after it's long 10-year development hell was finally released in 2016, alongside a single dedicated to the game by Florence + the Machine. Florence Welch is... incredible. Her music is soothing to my ears, unlike the more well-known pop artists. Most importantly, I can damn well hear what she was singing! I have been into ambient and alternative genres for a while, and Florence + the Machine just came at the exact right moment.



After this I started looking for similar artists, with little to no success. My specific genre for english pop/rock is alternative or folk. Aurora's eerie atmospheres are a recent favourite following Lana Del Rey's melancholic tunes. Then comes some synthpop from Halsey, upbeat funk from Janelle Monae (she looks so good in suits) and many other small indie artists. They all share a common aspect: I can actually hear what they're singing, even though they might not produce music of my taste. Famous pop artists like Lady Gaga are some of my go-to for upbeat pop, but rarely can I ever understand their lyrics, and they produce music for a wide variety of genres.









So my selection process for english pop is as follows: genre - audibility - lyrics/themes

And then there's Woodkid...

Woodkid is a really special and weird case. He's french, but produces english music. There's a thick accent to his songs, and sometimes I have no idea what the lyrics are. But his songs are my jam, my personal favourite of which is The Golden Age. It's hard to explain why I'm so fond of his style.



If I had a specific route for english music, then I have no guidelines for J-pop. My japanese music experience consists of anime songs, which can include all kinds of genres, the staple being pop and rock. While I lean more towards 'epic' types more than 'cheerful' or 'melancholy', if it's from my fave anime, there's no way I won't listen to it. I don't care who sings what most of the time; there was a time I had heavy metal and rap in my music libraries because the anime featured it! However in recent years I have been more picky with my choices. My japanese music preference is larger than my english one, so let's get started!

A major factor that influences my choice is the composer. Since many anime songs are produced in conjunction with the soundtrack, the composers get to write OP, ED and insert songs for the artists. Yuki Kajiura is one such composer, having not just involved in one, but two groups! FictionJunction and Kalafina has great vocalists and paired up with Kajiura's brilliance, had me stanning them since my childhood. Her collaborations with See-Saw also saw me getting hooked into Gundam SEED and its sequel. There's also Yoko Kanno, who worked on Macross Frontier and collaborated with amazing vocalist ORIGA (bless her soul). She is the reason why I'm still listening to Macross Delta's songs even though they're not as amazing as Frontier's, because I'm smitten with the franchise. Hiroyuki Sawano appeared in my radar in 2013 with the release of KILL la KILL and his unique and unusual music style, with breaks and the use of vocals, which I like A LOT. He even has his own vocal project "SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]", with albums that feature many artists including Aimer.







By now you might know I'm a big fan of vocal work. It's not surprising Final Fantasy XIII-2 has one of my favourite soundtracks, due to its massive vocal tracks. And you know who is also very well known for composing soundtracks with vocals - Keiichi Okabe. He is most well known for his work on generally-not-so-well-known Nier and very-well-known-and-praised Nier: Automata of 2017. He even got so many awards/nominations the director Yoko Taro got salty about it! His music is already in a playlist I named "Woke". If Okabe is well known, then I have another fave who isn't necessarily appreciated enough by the fans: Go Shiina of God Eater and Tales fame. He is responsible for God Eater's soundtrack, but sadly only ever composed for one Tales game which didn't really sell well. He did collaborate with series staple Motoi Sakuraba in Tales of Zestiria... but that's only one disc of his works. Go Shiina has a way of mashing music of very different genres together to make epic pieces, and like Sawano, has odd breaks and vocals mixed in. Honorable mentions go to Shoji Meguro of Shin Megami Tensei and Persona and Yoko Shimomura of Kingdom Hearts.






Nothing tops Sea of Rage. Nothing. But this will do.

Composers influence my choice of soundtracks (and some Jpop), but without them, it's an entirely different story. There are a few artists that I listen to exclusively, some because of their genre, some because of their voice. Continuing my love for vocal works, Akiko Shikata to me is the master of them all. An indie artist, you won't see her in mainstream media, unless you know about lesser-known Gust (of Atelier fame) franchise Ar tonelico. That's as mainstream as she gets. Though she has contributed to Akatsuki no Yona and Tales of Symphonia OVA in the past few years... Partnered with Haruka Shimotsuki (indie artist and otome games vocalist) and Noriko Mitose, both great vocalists, they brought me into the world of Ar tonelico through their singing. at first it was only the three of them, until KOKIA (along with others) joined the party with the third installment.


One of Akiko's older songs.


With Haruka Shimotsuki (red) in Ar tonelico 2.

KOKIA oh boi. This woman, like Florence Welch, is incredible. If Florence + the Machine was alternative, KOKIA was folk. Her songs are rarely upbeat or cheerful, mostly hopeful and soothing, like a cool breeze on a sunny day, sitting in the garden under the porch with tea and biscuits. The most epic you'll ever hear are the ones she did for animes and games, and even then they sound sorrowful and bittersweet. And here's the kicker: she contributed to the Final Fantasy XIII-2 soundtrack. She's even in Dark Souls!





After KOKIA there's... Ayumi Hamasaki. Her genre is a far cry from my usual alternative/folk. She's a pop star! Her songs are a mix of pop and all kinds of electronic. How I came to like her music is still a mystery to me, but it definitely started with the openings of Tales of Xillia and its sequel. Out of all the opening songs, hers was the only one that didn't use the beginning, but the middle chorus. Try as I might, I have no idea why they did it; is this the brilliance of her composition? Sad news: she's becoming deaf. Universe bless her.







Straying from Ayu, I sometimes listen to Utada Hikaru's music, thanks to Beautiful World which was introduced to me when I was 12??? I think??? From a Jpop compilation lyric book??? It took me around 3 years to realise the song came from EVA, then some when I started Kingdom Hearts. MIND BLOWN.


Her english songs are also ~amazing~!!!

So the process is mostly anime - genre - composer - artist. But I mostly go for epic vocals. But my music tastes always change.

27 December 2017

Year end money spending (aka Comic Fiesta 2017, and other stuff)

Ayy!!! It's the end of the year! Finals are close! I'm almost dead from the semester!

Out of all the new year resolutions I did for 2017... I only completed like, two? Granted I didn't make a physical list, but it's always at the back of my mind.

When the end of the year approaches, you know things get hectic. People clearing out paid leaves, stockdates, parents bringing their children to vacation and coming back last minute, back to school shopping, kids with unfinished holiday homework, extreme Christmas and new year sales... the usual.

For me a years' end marks the start of week-long planning in order to attend CF2017. Every damn year I spend a week deciding on outfits, commute and best routes so that I may get in and out as soon as possible. Record time for this year (on day 2) is 30 minutes.

A post shared by Red River (@yuefei.redriver) on


A post shared by Red River (@yuefei.redriver) on


The venue for CF2017 is great, KLCC has all the space to house various booths and ample of walking space (except for that one lane). However, as good as the place may be, the layout is stupid. The entrance is at the very far end, where the exhibitors are. After that you have the premium artist booths, then lastly the basic artist booths. The exit is around that corner. I have ZERO interest in the exhibitors. What I wanted the most was fanzines and doujinshi in the artist booth, and they're at the very far end of the hall. I'M PISSED. For two days I had to squeeze through hordes of sweaty people and some who just stand there in the middle of the lane to look at booths. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE. When I finally get to the artist booths there's another looooong queue for the cosplayer booths that block the lane, AGAIN.

The ticket price is another thing that shocked me. RM30 for a day. 2015 in MIECC was only 20. 20! The venue was decent! Last year at PWTC was 25, and even then the venue absolutely SUCKED. I hope the rise in price was because of the venue (KLCC is a great place in the city centre after all). I can't afford to attend CF if the ticket price goes any higher.

Living with my aunt was a new experience, in a weird way. Her home looks like a haunted house among the renovated buildings. Her bathroom reminds me of my grandmother's bathroom, and it has no shower or water tank. The kitchen has a broken stove and a refrigerator possibly from the 80s! The floor downstairs is like the one at home, and the stairs is made of wooden planks similar to my grandfather's now abandoned house. The floor upstairs has the classic early 2000s wood blocks which come off whenever you step them with wet feet. No big tiles, no ceiling fan, no water heater. I thought I was living at my grandmothers'.

Did I get any pictures of cosplayers? Yes, only one of Luna in her wedding dress. Then there was another Luna but she seemed busy so I didn't ask for a picture. I saw a few Promptos and a Ignis. Was hoping I'd see more western cartoon characters, but didn't find any. I'm always on the lookout for Steven Universe and Miraculous Ladybug cosplays. Also DDLC. If you are one of them, please tell me. I will want to take your picture. I was thinking to try cosplay this year because I have a lab coat but ditched the plan last minute because I didn't have the appropriate outfit. I was actually kinna stupid to not cosplay as Tae Takemi from P5. Really really stupid me. I keep thinking of Shinra from DRRR but Tae may be easier. Maybe. I have no idea where to get the strap heels tho.

After day 1 of CF me and aunt went to see The Last Jedi, because there's nothing left for us to do. I didn't know it came out on the 14th. The movie was great! I loved Rose! I loved Finn! I loved Poe! I loved Phasma! I loved everyone! And you know what! I don't care if people say SW has become SJW shit because it hasn't!!! Still a great movie!!! WHy can't we all just enjoy things??!!

TLJ could do without the potential Rose/Finn or Rey/Finn because I need platonic M/F relationships and if Rose/Finn is really a thing I don't want Rey to be the other jealous love interest. No. Stop it. We already have that in plenty of movies. Stop.

Last month I went to see another movie - Justice League. It was not in my watch list but since I've never gone out with my classmates in the middle of the night before I thought it wouldn't hurt to watch a superhero movie. Justice League was a little... eeehhhh... but still good in its own way. I have a few doubts and questions though...

One: does Aquaman have amblyopia??? His eyes has been bothering me since the first time he appeared on screen! Second: Flash is so cute. Ezra Miller is so cute. He is the DC equivalent of Marvel's Spiderman. Third: I love Batman, but I also love making fun of him. Whenever he comes on screen I do the signature throat cancer voice and say "I'm Batman" to my other two classmates sitting next to me. One is annoyed, one thought it was funny. Fourth: I love how everyone in the cinema agrees that Wonder Woman is the best. When she appeared on screen everyone cheered (softly). Fifth: best line in the whole movie, when Batman is asked what his superpower is, he answers "I'm rich." Sixth: My classmate finds my annoyance on Superman's shirtless-ness funny. I could not concentrate on the following scenes just because Superman loses his top but his pants are still intact and in good condition. HOW. Seventh: How can Superman's girlfriend fly away with him to the stratosphere and not die of oxygen deprivation??

Then comes a week-long Christmas holiday before our study break, which totals in two weeks of extra time to study. Bad news is, the one subject that needed the most study time is the first paper on the first day. And I haven't started on anything yet. I've been saying I'd get a PS4 since last year, but I might really buy one next year during my semester break. I have seven PS4 games sitting on my shelf, waiting for me to play them. Caligula OD is coming to PS4 soon, so I'm praying for a localization. There's Ni no Kuni 2, I might get the newest Dragon Quest (srsly I'm in need of more JRPGs to play), Nier Automata may be kicked out of my wishlist, but I really don't want to, because the music is great... but I suck at action games so...

Anyways my first paper is on the 8th so I better start studying eye lesions with plenty of gross pus on eyelids.


I'm featuring a new series of music I find interesting/obsessing/relevant to the current gaming scene. Guess which one this belongs to. Btw I've already heard this song waaaaaay before I knew of Death Stranding, in Thomas Sanders' Steven Universe playlist. Go listen to that playlist if you haven't. There's some amazing songs in there.

23 October 2017

Dead inside, but still manageable

I was rotting in my nest for the past week because of holidays.

As soon as Tuesday comes I have a practical test which, surprisingly, I'm not too worried about. Mostly because it's my first practical test and I know I'm not going to do too well in it. A total of 12 tests performed in 30 minutes or less. Talk about pressure. I hope I don't get a patient with visual aid (psst only me and another girl have visual aids. Lucky me).

The mobile game Tales of the Rays came out recently in July, and I'm playing that along side with the JPN Rays (which is 5 months ahead) and Tales of Asteria. There's also both versions of FFRK I'm playing at the moment so I'm juggling 5 mobile games at once! I was thinking of getting Dissidia Opera Minia but you know what, I have my hands full as it is.

I was really skeptical of Asteria at first because of the character gacha system (which I undoubtedly dislike), but at least the story didn't feature any original characters like Link, so I'm good. I'm all for a character system like FFRK, so Rays definitely won my heart.

It's so hot here that it could be a sauna if there was more humidity. Can't go to sleep or get out of the bath without sweating like a pig! I also got deodorant for my feet. It's stupid.

I still haven't bought a PS4 yet, even though I'm really close to getting one during the past week. If I really got one I'd probably fire it up to play Zestiria first thing. I need to get P5 too. And my Bayonetta disc died. I'm so sad. Did I mention about completing P4? I finished it during last sem break and started P3 FES. It's a wonder why I didn't choose to finish KH when I'm already in the final dungeon or Legendia (again, final dungeon). Switching from P4 to P3 is a tough job because everything is different and I can't date Akihiko.

Anyways, life is cool I guess, there are many things to look forward to this semester. 2017 is near its end too and it's bizarre.

13 August 2017

2017书展+七月书集!

嗐嗐,书展!虽然书展每年会去,不过现在已经没像以前那样买那么多书了。以前中学时代最常买的就是台湾小说,因为很多空闲时间看嘛。现在生活忙得要疯了,看书的时间也少了,只能看漫画过生活……

这次书展跟Khei Lai,龙小姐和干女儿去,看着他们买正经书(我买的全都是漫画啊啊啊)感觉自己好没出息。除了书我在书展收获最大应该就是音乐CD咯!买到了最终幻想歌曲集!其实还看到了Halsey的专辑,好想买!可是钱已经花去买漫画了,所以只能买一个……

几天后跟老豆去KLCC和姑姑吃饭,当然就顺便到KINO去看(买)书。就这个时候看到传说系列的画集,所以买了两本。老豆的那种责问的眼神看着我……(汗)

再过后我跟龙小姐有去了KLCC,我又在KINO买了一本画集(和漫画设定集)。

七月尾,Amberly从美国回来了,我和奕廷就到KLCC去和她见面(听说她搬到那附近了)。我们吃饭聊天后就去买戏票,然后KINO,我买了声优杂志,由Amber帮我介绍各位声优们。坐下来谈谈天,时间到了去看电影,出来吃晚餐,回家。说好八月尾再约无聊家伙洁仪。


这个是书展到七月尾的收获!有几本是书展买的,有些是趁机到KINO去买的……哈哈上个月的零用钱花光了。

好呗重下面开始!

一)本土幻想 LOKAMADE 画集!!!想要买很~~~~~久了,可是好贵啊啊……90块……不过因为是作者自己出版的说以不会减价,终于在书展时买了。

二,三,四)啊啊传说系列角色设计画集!都是在KINO买的,同样是书展那个星期,不过是不同天买。平常是不会想要买游戏系列的画集,不过比起最终幻想系列,传说系列的书好收集多了,自从去年买的15周年纪念全集,心里就有点痒痒,想再买……

五)贵死的日本声优杂志!85块多!!!最近想要开始认识日本声优所以问了刚从美国回来的家伙有什么好介绍……妈呀好多我只能认样子认不到名字。

六,七)几个星期前预定的少年到了!啊哈哈这个系列追到现在都还没完啊啊……

八)呃呃呃呃好贵的书有减价!!!所以买了。有没有时间看就另外说了。

九)这本漫画全集我其实看过了,三本漫画我都有了,不过这个中文版特别全集有多几页extra,所以就买咯。还以为刚出版时会一下子就会卖完没货,不过在书展是还看到一堆,而且还便宜了……所以看来我猜错了。

十,十一,十二,十三)在书展买的漫画!以前不知道在哪里看过长歌行,还上网找过,就是忘记是几时的事了。只要是关于食物的漫画我90%会买。我就是那么贪吃。

十四)啊啊啊啊啊少女月刊野崎同学!的!官方设定集!!!其实也没那么兴奋啦,不过当我翻到中间的彩页时……啊啊啊啊啊啊啊是人气榜啊啊啊啊啊啊?????有特别插画啊啊啊啊啊!!!!!!

买了那么多书,七月的零用钱都花光了……尤其是为了买传说系列画集……不过还好前几个月有留下一百块,不然我真的会破产!

七月的VAX和CAFKL都没去,所以也省下了一笔钱,不过下个星期就是AMG了……钱也即将飞走……还有年尾的CF……呵呵。AMG过后都不知道够不够钱花(票有要一笔钱,唉)。

19 July 2017

So...

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS VULGAR LANGUAGE AND SQUICK TOPICS. READ AT OWN RISK.

Something happened today and Fridge Brilliance dawned me (actually it's more like Fridge Horror but anyway) so I'm dedicating a whole post to this... thing.

I doubt anyone remembers the review I wrote about the shittiest novel I read that is required in schools. I'm disgusted by that book honestly. Why did I suddenly remember about this shitty book?

I have a shitty event/project today where me and my groupmates run around looking for stuff (explorace, kinna). While walking around a shopping complex looking for a specific shop, I saw this banner that raises more than a few questions in me. It literally says 'vagina tightening'. I'm too horrified to notice if it's a service or a consumable product (I think it's the latter), but at first I wasn't sure about its meaning and I asked a Malay classmate. She outright told me it's vagina tightening.

Yeah I'm scarred for life.

She saw me cringe and said "Hey, it's a part of life! Women have to do this once in a while after marriage, if not your husband might go out to find other women." SAY WHAT.

I disagree. But what can I do? They think that the sole purpose of marriage is sex. Nothing I say can change their way of thinking. I have heard people spit even more horrifying things before so this is meh~ but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Going back to the novel. I was only half joking when I wrote this:

Aisayh is rich, good-looking and most importantly, YOUNG. Young probably means a virgin, and maybe also a tight figa.

Figa is Italian for vagina. Ehhh so apparently Intan Maliana isn't kinky enough and doesn't have a tight enough vagina (laughs).

But seriously I read somewhere that vaginas don't get loose. It's a muscle for fucks sake!!! So if a penis person leaves a vagina person because said vagina isn't tight enough... just no. That's bullshit.

09 July 2017

Review: Tales of Rebirth (video game)

Current mood: KUUUUREEEEEEAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

This is, once again, a review based on a lets play of ToR. Rebirth was never localized but it is infamous for its shouting meme. And what a shouting meme it was...

23 May 2017

I'm not dead yet

I know I haven't been really active these past months... my last decent post was December last year and wow was that long ago!

I'm trying my best to juggle school work and extra-curricular activities so that I can graduate safely. No, life is not in the equation. I don't have a life.

Besides the crippling realization that I'm getting older every subsequent year and thus moving farther and farther away from being a child plus all the responsibilities I have to face as an adult, I'm actually fine. By fine I meant internally screaming every hour or just generally crying about not having a PS4. Yep.

What happened in the past months:

The semester is almost over (lmao) and it feels like I haven't leaned or studied anything at all, due to massive workload in the form of a whole week of events, including reports and assignments AND roleplay and model assignments, industrial visits (I enjoyed it), going out trying to convince people to come to our events, blah blah, the usual.

I got to listen to great music though. I bought my first ever album from Florence + the Machine; jammed to Tales Orchestra, 20th anni version and 2016 version; Nier Automata came out and I got into Nier's awesome music by Okabe; Hiroyuki Sawano is now one of my faves alongside with Yuki Kajiura and Yoko Kanno; Sheryl will be revived for Macross 30th; surprisingly I was addicted to Tales openings, to the point that hearing them makes me sad. I found out that Tenmon was the composer for most of Shinkai's movies. Gosh that guy has mad composing skillz.

Bought a few PS4 games, was worried that some might be faulty, that's why I want a PS4 so badly. I got most of the games I wanted already, but I'm sill waiting for HD collections of FF Type0, AC3 Liberation and KH 2.5 remix. P5 and Tales of Berseria can wait, since they're quite recent, and Nier Automata was not in my list to begin with. Heck I didn't even play the original Nier! Also I can't believe I bought the newest Star Ocean. I don't know what got into me. Might be because I'm starting to get bored with the same four JRPG series. I'm excited to play Zestiria even though people are talking shit about it. I made some progress in Mass Effect 3, I don't have a clear playthrough cause I'm just mashing through the dialogue at this point. My shooter skills still suck.

Didn't buy any books since last time. Still have many books waiting to be read. I hope 2 weeks is enough to finish a quarter of them. My artist instincts still impulse buy notebooks and stationery, but I'm saving up for cons and a PS4.

I'm having fun playing global and JPN FFRK. It's going to develop into a bad habit I assure you.

18 February 2017

Review: Tales of Vesperia (videogame)

Current mood: fuck my life...

...bc goddamn ToV is too good.

Ok I didn't exactly play the game, but I'm thinking of getting the PS3 version even if it's in Japanese. Have to figure out where to get it though. So. In order to fully appreciate and enjoy the soundtrack of Tales of Vesperia I watched TalesOfCreed's let's play on YouTube and man was it great! I spent every waking moment for 5 days watching all 123 episodes worth of story and battles. I'm tired, my body is tired but my mind? My mind never stops thinking. Also for once I didn't spoil myself by skipping videos.

In this review I will only comment about the story aspect of the game, because like I said I don't have the game.