April seems to be a light month for CD releases in the world of Jpop. Visual Kei on the other hand…1st week of April CD releases tempting my wallet:

aiko – 秘密

-OZ- – S.I.N

Not a lot. However there are a number from March I would like including Ayabie – Meltaway, the studs. – and hate, and these two:

RENTRER EN SOI – Stigmata

Jully – 待つ人／散った痣

Jully’s ‘Matsujin’… I hope I read that wrong because if not that amuses me beyond belief. Matsujin… Matsujun!

Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD @ Shibuya O-East

Shinkou Shuukyou Gakudan NoGoD, or simply ‘NoGoD’ are one of the more promising new visual bands to emerge in recent year along with heidi. and Megamasso. Despite my love for both those former bands though, NoGoD have something quite special that marks them a little apart from the rest: their melodies are so tight and they comprise five incredibly talented young musicians. Listening to them on CD reveals their ability to craft fun, memorable songs and Dancho’s superb vocal skills but live they really are something else.

O-East was comparatively empty but I must admit I was a little surprised to discover NoGoD had a oneman at O-East to begin with. I knew they were becoming popular but not that popular. O-East is quite a sizeable venue and it is a fairly cavernous modern venue with a high ceiling so that a half full room feels very empty. I can’t say I minded too much as the lack of people meant I could find myself a position about 1m from the stage in prime spot for dancing.

New Religion,Cult Band

My sakura search has begun! After potential private lesson cancelled on me I was wondering how I could spend my day so I decided to come to Koishikawa Korakuen. I had read that the sakura were particularly beautiful in this park. Koishikawa Korakuen is also one of Tokyo’s more ornamental garden areas with landscaping according to places of significance in both China and Japan. It is the oldest of its type in the city dating from the early Edo period. There is no place to picnic here so it is a park for photographers and onlookers only, although I am still very excited about the prospect of a proper hanami party. It was something of a mission to find though; leaving Tokyo Dome I had to walk a good 500m skirting an ornate wall to find the entrance to the park. I paid the Y300 privilege of entering and wandered inside.

The view that greeted me was of a carefully sculpted garden with neatly placed ponds between which the sakura trees stood sparkling in the sun. The park is awash with pristine white and pale pink blossoms floating gracefully against the blue sky as clouds of stark colour. I can understand the obsession with sakura after finally seeing them: I grew up with a cherry blossom tree outside my house in England and every spring time I was eager to see it burst into vibrant pink flourishes so the chance to experience cherry blossoms at their most famous have given me cause for an excitable sunny attitude since Mid-March. Nothing quite compares however to the elegant weeping sakura, trees with great canopies of pink envelope the senses from all angles, as does the regular click of keitai photos.

The Koishikawa Korakuen sakura are special too and I have just learnt why from an old lady sitting on the bench beside me. I decided to take a short rest and as another lady departed an elderly Japanese woman clad in a pink tweed jacket struck up conversation with me in Japanese. I was astonished at how well I managed to maintain the conversation and how much I understood. In any event we talked a little about the beauty of these trees in Japan and she explained to me that the trees in this park are ‘Shidarezakura’ and quite different from the other areas of Tokyo. For one they bloom with bright, white flowers as opposed to the usual pink. Koishikawa Korakuen is considered as a special spot to view the trees rather than Ueno which are, as the old lady said, full of ‘futsu’ or ‘ordinary’ sakura. She also pointed to the serene young Shirosagi (White Crane) stood in the water, complementing the white trees in an almost zen-like fashion. It was interesting to learn about the variants of sakura across Japan and the significance of each while viewing the trees here in Tokyo. The trees have such a very transient nature, in two weeks they will all be gone and the Japanese reflect on this as somewhat symbolic of life. I suppose at least witnessing the trees in bloom makes you quite happy to be alive and right now very happy to be in Tokyo.

A few more views of Korakuen:

l-r: Inzargi (vo), Gou (ba), Ryohei (gu)

So my days off came around once more and it was time for another live. This time it was Megamasso with the bizarrely titled concert, “Chelly of 14 Water Tanks: WinteRR ties 2 SprinGG’. Megamasso have been around for a couple of years, since Ryohei left his former band, Ayabie. They have gathered a large following partly due to the individual members’ popularity pre-Megamasso and partly because they are just simply a damn good band. Inzargi is a highly accomplished vocalist and everything they produce sounds so polished. It was interesting at the concert that so many men were in attendance; there were more males at Megamasso than there had been at any of my recent concerts combined. Megamasso are not the manliest of bands either: they are borderline oshare and I would have thought the cool metal sounds of Merry or the Plastic Tree likeness of heidi would attract more guys. Obviously, I was wrong.

WinteRR ties 2 Sakura Season

In this world there are three types of swindlers:
Those who defraud other peoples’ money, Shirosagi
Those who deceive others by manipulating their feelings, Akasagi
And then, using the Shirosagi and the Akasagi as his only source of food, is the ultimate swindler in history.
A swindler of swindlers. His name is…Kurosagi
~opening to Kurosagi drama~

I have been anticipating the Kurosagi movie for quite a while. Yamashita Tomohisa or Yamapi took the lead role and he has been fairly central in my love of Jpop for the past four years (I blame him and Kimura Takuya for giving me an interest in Johnny’s). Kurosagi was also one of my favourite dramas of recent years; with tight, exciting storylines, a theme of revenge that took some cues from Shakespeare and a sweet semi-love story. Kurosagi was another drama that was originally a manga, although this time one that was not quite so well known, especially among western audiences.

That I loved the drama though also gave me reason to approach the movie with trepidation. I wanted Yamapi to do well. I wanted NEWS (whose song has become tied to the movie) to do well. Moreover I did not want the drama to be ruined. I have now seen Kurosagi and it was a … strange experience. I really wanted to love this film. I wanted it so much to be a great ending to the drama but alas even my undying love for Yamapi cannot blind me to its flaws…

As a film it seemed all over the place with subplots that wove in unexpectedly and unexplored potential of genuine conflict between Kurosagi and his mentor/boss/enemy, Katsuragi (Yamazaki Tsutomu). Instead it felt like an extended episode with some tacky references to Julius Caesar, as if the comparisons already being drawn between Yamazaki (Caesar) and Kurosagi (Brutus) were not already obvious. The line ‘Et tu Brute’ was said at least three times. Horikita Maki and Aikawa Show were vastly underused. Maki appeared in small cameos simply as the annoying neighbour rather than a force of conscience as she had been in the drama. The attempt to give her a plotline revolved around her University friends putting on a play of Caesar, except that all we saw was the set they built, upon which Kurosagi and Katsuragi played out their drama. Aikawa Show meanwhile, as the Police Officer, Kashima was relegated to making commentary on how they needed to catch Kurosagi but were failing. There was little of the tension between Kurosagi and Kashima that we enjoyed in the series. As for the actual plot… it was based over a complex swindle that went wrong when a death inconvenienced it and then right again. Again the potential of this death to reveal a grave baddie was not explored and Kurosagi essentially went unchallenged. He was smart, ok, but unchallenged. I shouldn’t reveal too many details but suffice to say the resolution of this story made me cringe.

Yet despite all this criticism I enjoyed the film. I put aside plot for the focus on characters and some of the scenes were beautiful. The female ex-love interest of Katsuragi was particularly interesting, as was watching the pain in Kurosagi’s face as he realised he couldn’t kill Katsuragi. The theme of betrayal came up time and time again and for some reason one could empathise with Kurosagi as he found it impossible to put the katana closer to Katsuragi’s neck. I though Yamapi did very well in his role and the cinematography was stunning. It contained some beautiful aerial views of Tokyo and Shibuya in particular. One shot over Roppongi gave the city a distinct LA feel. I want to rewatch with subs in case I missed anything. The basic plot criticisms will still stand but I feel I should give the film a proper subtitled watch before making a final judgement (on a personal note though I am astonished as to how much of the film I could understand without subs!). It is a great film for Yamapi watching though. There are some awesomely funny moments, including Yamapi speaking English (that made me so very happy) and watching some of his more clever tricks pull off. He is also gorgeous throughout: I think this has influenced my enjoyment a great deal and I will probably buy the DVD when it comes out!

So there we have it. Kurosagi the movie: for fans of Kurosagi or Yamapi only.
I was right to feel some of that fear…

Meanwhile… the cinema, Cine Front was a nice auditorium and I have heard the only one resembling a cinema back home. Others don’t have concessions stands! After a day of work I felt super peckish so bought an ice cream filled crepe which was tasty for a cinema-bought crepe. When I first received it though it was rock-hard; if I hit someone it could have done some damage! I also discovered an interesting quirk of Japanese cinemas: they sell movie merchandise! For 600 yen I bought the Kurosagi program, a delightful memory of the whole drama (for me) and a Yamapi photobook.

A couple of keitai photos of the book:

Much manic laughter ensues….

The following video by popular boyband, 関ジャ二∞/Kanjani8 is on my musical radar somewhat at the moment. I confess to rather liking 関ジャニ∞ although their spate of recent releases have left me cold. They are meant to be the Johnny’s Enka band and are still releasing under the enka label, Teichiku although their music has dramatically changed from those early ‘modern enka’ releases. I personally tend to think of 関ジャニ∞ as the ‘Comedy Band’ in Johnny’s Entertainment; the majority of their songs and videos are lighthearted and comical with a certain amount of stupidity to them.

The imaginatively titled, Wahaha is a great example of this comical attitude becoming such an irresistibly catchy song that a mere listen is banishing the gathering clouds over Tokyo from my mind. It is the kind of song that you probably shouldn’t like so much (it is a little childish in sound) but the sunny appearance of the boys, especially in the promotional video is grabbing me. It gets under your skin like crazy! I believe the appropriate word is ‘Argh’, except this song makes me very happy so I don’t want to berate myself for liking it.

I should probably add as a disclaimer though that I do genuinely adore the 関ジャニ’s ‘colleague’ band, NEWS. Despite being a Jpop and a fan of the Japanese boybands there is still a certain amount of embarrassment associated with 関ジャニ∞. There should not be really; they are a rather fun bunch of mental Osakans but then again their releases in 2006 such as the dire Osaka Obaachan Rock means they did shoot themselves in the feet a little.

Track listing:

1. Wahaha
2. Dare yori ga suki dakara
3. Wahaha (Instrumental)

Y1000 plus the shame of taking that horrible CD cover to the cash register! Good song, bad cover art!

Ume, or Plum Blossom heralds the onset of Spring in Japan and the start of a blossom season when the nation goes crazy for gazing at trees. Ume flowers tend to bloom quickly, as early as late February when the days are still bitterly cold and there still remains a chance of snow. The bright white flowers set against a typically blue winter sky is quite magical and one can understand a little of why the Japanese are so keen on this season. Interestingly due to this early bloom date, the Chinese consider ume to be a symbol of winter instead and together with pine and bamboo is one of the Three Friends of Cold.

The Japanese have a lot of use for ume. It is frequently found inhabiting the centre of onigiri as the sour tasting, umeboshi, or creating the sticy sweet flavour of umeshu (plum wine). As one might expect there are auspicious reasons behind the use of ume; the Japanese believe that it wards against misfortune and will plant ume trees in the north-eastern corner of the garden, the direction it is believed that evil comes from. Eating a sour ume for breakfast is also intended to have the same effect. I don’t however think that hanging an ume charm from a keitai is beneficial. Evil can easily dodge something that is only occasionally pointing north-east.

I will be honest though, Ume blossoms quite skipped my mind until the day my Dad left in January and gave me a parting gift of the ume charm from Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto. Rather than warding off evil, the charm hanging from my phone served as a daily reminder to find an Ume matsuri. Such as the one held at Yushima Tenjin shrine near Ueno. The main festival was held until March 8th, a festival I managed to miss through usual lack of organisation. Undeterred however, my friend, Lauren and I decided to catch the tail-end of ume season with a short stroll around Yushima Tenjin.

Despite the lack of awe factor that an entire courtyard of white blossoms would have offered, the remaining flowers were still incredibly beautiful and bountiful in number to somewhat appreciate the event. A few matsuri stalls had hung around too with one selling the sweet amazake wine and a bread based snack. At home I always felt a touch of amusement about having parties to watch flowers but when I stood to properly admire the flowers I could understand the obsession. The setting of crisp white flower and austere Shinto shrine was a perfect balance of elegance. The blossoms were full, large flowers in stunning hues of pink and white and one didn’t need too many to achieve a beautiful effect. Sakura season will be incredible; my friends and I are already planning a Hanami picnic and this time we will not miss it!

The only camera images I have are from my keitai but they offer some idea of the beauty of these flowers

It is not surprising for mp3 applications on mobile phones to be advertised by celebrities, it is however somewhat strange for those celebrities to be accompanied by a cute hiphop squirrel. Then again, this is Japan. In the UK an advert for a mobile phone will try and make the brand sleek and sexy to appeal to adults; here in Japan only Softbank seems to bother doing this with Cameron Diaz pouting all over their cms. The provider of my mobile phone, AU, have a squirrel mascot. Docomo, meanwhile, favour a mushroom – cute, as ever, is the order of the day.

When I bought my new phone in December the AU shop gave me a gift of this plastic squirrel, a gift that I discovered to be a money box when I looked at it more fully once at home. Until recently though, I had not figured out what the orange oblong it holds was meant to be – thanks to the Exile commercials I know it is actually meant to be an mp3 player. It appears that combining these seemingly conflicting elements makes marketing genius in Japan because the recently released Lismo compilation album has hit 7th on the Oricon charts.

This is the advert in question:

If it weren’t for EXILE, I would love this advert and all because of that cute ‘bo’ squirrel. Take note, UK!

This is the plastic moneybox by the way. I decided to save 1 yen coins in it and find out how much in terms of 1 yen pieces I have accumulated in 3 months. As a result it is called the Yen Squirrel.

My days off this week were particularly ‘gig-filled’ considering that Friday was heidi. time. heidi. are growing fast in popularity with their interesting sound that combines hints of Merry, MUCC and Plastic Tree with Western artists like Feeder. I was very thankful of the gig that afternoon since the heaven’s decided to open while I was busy missing the friend I was meant to meet in Harajuku. Late trains, forgotten wallets and a communication breakdown added up to failure on my part and I spent the hours waiting for heidi. by wandering Harajuku alone. The rain was at least a convenient occasion to go to a particular Jpop related store.

I arrived at heidi. at 6:10 to pick up my guest pass from their delightful manager. She recognised me from the previous time I attended a heidi. live. Second heidi. concert and second time to work at it. I don’t mind at all, rather I love the chance to promote the artist and despite its critics, JaME is becoming quite connected now. I eventually will write about the concert in full for JaME but suffice to say that the guys played excellently. heidi. may not have the same playful attitude to their music during a concert as Merry do but they manage their performances with style and technical precision. Vocalist, Yoshihiko missed a couple of notes during hard songs but otherwise his voice was beautiful and clear. Nao, the guitarist, on the other hand, was perfect and looked just a little spookily like Ryutaro of Plastic Tree that night. It amused me then to see this after the gig:

I must admit that I caved to the tour tee…. at only Y2500 it seemed a fair price for a shirt that has a big lamb printed on the back saying ‘Music saves the Earth’.

heidi. announced their first oneman tour that evening, in addition to another reminder that on 23rd April a new album is coming. The Tokyo date of the new tour is at the end of June at Akasaka Blitz – that announcement was greated by a loud noise of impressed approval. Blitz is no small fry livehouse. heidi. are moving onwards and upwards, fast. If they stay together they will be signed to a major label, of that I am sure.

Today it was time for Many Merry Days 4.

Merry, Japan and I have a special connection; I blame Merry for bringing me into the world of live music here. In 2003 while on my first tour of Japan I became introduced to this eroguro, modern avant-garde band by way of Ultra Veat magazine and CD samples in Tower Records. I was impressed and sought out more about them when I returned home. I had discovered early on that, despite being in Japan at any point, the internet is still the best way of finding information. The blend of jazz, metal, ska and retro rock ensured Merry soon became my favourite band: they were so fresh, so exciting and so very different from anything in either the European or even the Japanese music scene at that time.

Fast forward to 2005, March. Together with a friend we were debating whether to go on holiday to Japan at some point. Originally we thought perhaps 2007; give us some time to save for it. Then we found out that Fatima (an old visual band that she loved) were disbanding whereas Merry were being promoted to a major label. This meant a disbandment live for Fatima and a ‘Last Indies’ live for Merry. Somewhat irrationally and spontaneously we decided to go to Japan for a month in order to encompass both concerts with a few more concerts and a bit of regular sightseeing thrown in for good measure. It seems rather childish on reflection that I spent almost £1500 on a holiday essentially see Merry. Because Japan is expensive, this £1500 became £3000 making the endeavour seem all the more reckless. It was great fun though.

Now it is 2008. I have been living in Japan for 3 months and have tonight attended my second Merry concert. This time while I at least came to Japan for the sake of Japan and for the sake of attending concerts in general (since I have a particular disposition for Japanese rock) when I stood in Shibuya O-East this evening I still felt reminded of that impulsive time in 2005.

Merry however deserve that impulsive attitude; they are one band who never fail to impress. Tonight’s concert was slightly lacklustre compared to the Yokohama concert in December but a lacklustre Merry is still miles above any other band I have ever had the pleasure of watching.

Number 4 Start!