Sound! Euphonium: The Movie(劇場版 響け！ユーフォニアム〜誓いのフィナーレ〜) Thoughts

   Originally written by Ayano Takeda, Sound! Euphonium started out as a novel series that soon spawned a manga and anime created by Kyoto Animation. Two years ago a spin off film called, Liz and the Blue Bird was released focusing on two characters from the original series. Then this film, Subtitled " Our Promise: A Brand New Day"in English continues the series and a new anime was announced to be released sometime this year. Only one Sound! Euphonium novel is available in english published by Yen Press… I've seen it in American bookstores more than once. Where is the manga version? Looking at Y'all Yen Press……




    A group of high school students come together to in an orchestra club to prepare for a national competition. They must overcome their inner demons in order to play together at their best.

    The whole series isn't based on an overly complicated storyline: A group of students literally are in a club to play classical music. What's might be hardest about this film and the other media that comes with it is keeping up with the characters. There's enough personality here that makes you sort of want to know each character background. Especially if you don't give a damn about classical music… Not that it takes up a huge role anyway. Classical music is more of an excuse to get all these different personalities together for all the messy drama that happens between them. Sure, Classical music is the structure that gives the characters a "why" for the reasons behind their actions but people who are not classical fans will get just as much excitement watching the characters try to get their shit together. I'm not too familiar with Sound! except watching Liz and the Blue Bird on a whim a while ago, so seeing that film could be required if you want some connection to the characters. The original novel  series is long enough that I wouldn't read it myself unless I was really really into the story background…. which I'm not. Liz's characters make an appearance in Our Promise as more mature versions of themselves. You can defiantly see growth in at least one character. Like I said before, drama drama drama then more drama is all you really have to look forward to in a sometimes slow running 110 minutes. Events do stay realistic enough to keep you wanting more slice of High School Life pie…. Can we also talk a little bit about the underline lesbian vibe in both films. It comes out a bit stronger in this film, while it hinted at it a enough in Liz and the Blue Bird. I just wonder if anyone else who has seen both films felt that vibe too? I think it's a very interesting layer to add to the story. Those who love Classical music also will enjoy this film since there's still enough references to the music genre for you to appreciate how the film incorporates it in the story.

   Kyoto Animation always has been spot on in showcasing days of youth in how they draw the animation. from Full Metal Panic!, Haruhi Suzumiya, Hyouka, and Free! their skill drawing the shape of the face that matches the shape of the eyes in character models gives off a high school youthful atmosphere when watching their projects. Sound! fits right in with all the other hit anime to come from the studio. I also always enjoyed how all the characters never look too cute but still manage to be cute enough without me having to not take them seriously.

   I would go and watch the anime series for Sound! Euphonium out of curiosity. I would also check out the new series that's currently in the works. Sound! Euphonium as a series is defiantly growing on me. Watch if you like most of Kyoto's works.

WOODZ(조승연) - EQUAL Mini Album Thoughts(K-Hip Hop/ RnB)

    I never liked UNIQ's songs(or X1), so ofcourse, I wouldn't know who WOODZ was until now. Do you want to know something funny? I watched his music videos and was instantly confused. His music video he's using to promote his album has many backup dancers in it. So many other them that it looks like a boy group which caused me to think that WOODZ was a boyband until a few hours ago. Then I was WOODZ's other music videos where he was alone and I thought that that guy was a different artist. [INSERT ME LAUGHING]. WOODZ is in an idol group currently as the rapper. Equal is his first solo mini album.

Track List:
01. LIFT UP
02. Acccident
03. 파랗게 Love Me Harder
04. NOID
05. Waikiki (Feat. Colde)
06. BUCK (Feat. punchnello)
07. 주마등 memories

    Equal has some really good sounding tracks to take you though about the middle of the album. I'm not sure what's with Korean artists dropping the ball toward track four all the time but it happens frequently. This solo effort blurs the lines of idols vs. Korean indie singers because WOODZ could easily pass as a non idol if you didn't know his background history. Lift up starts Equal as the opening tracks and here we have the best put out right away. The track has a hip hop neo- soul sound that could could have fit on The Weekend's last album for it's mature dark beat that's strings along by Cho Seung Youn's extremely high vocals. Lift Up is a whole mood that could have been a theme working in favor of Equal's success. Sadly WOODZ goes the mainstream route with a title track that isn't bad at all. Especially considering ow the track keeps it's album's RnB Hip Hop theme but adds an alternative flare in using various Guitars heard all throughout Equal. It's also very danceable as you would expect from an Idol rapper. Accident's chorus has a lot of sounds going on in production. I love how I notice little things like a flute playing lightly in the background during the track's play time. You would think the track featuring COLDE would have been a bit less boring considering COLDE's music usually bangs real hard. NOID came on before Waikiki signaling the last good material on Equal. Punchinello does more rapping on BUCK than WOODZ did during this whole mini album…. Why does every mini album have to end with a ballad? Equal would have done better has a single in my opinion.




     WOODZ probably loves The Weekend. His music shows this. From the high vocals to the beat choices. Equal was basically a little less version of After Hours. I'm not hating on him though. He just needs to work on being more consistent in his sound instead of what he and his label think that the public want to hear. Korea has enough singers who are trapped in mainstream validation.

  Equal is a mini album where I would recommend the three songs I liked. Then scrap the rest of it unless those are to your taste. He would be a great indie artist but I don't think he wants to leave the idol life behind….. NOT THAT BEING AN IDOL IS A BAD THING. I'm just not into the shady stuff……

WHY TOKYO GHOUL: RE HAS AN ONLINE HATE TRAIN? 東京喰種トーキョーグール: RE

   Tokyo Ghoul is a mega popular Japanese animation and manga series created by Sui Ishida. the series is well known worldwide for it's violent dark story that shed light on the problems in society when given separation between two species. Ishida continued the series with a continuing ark titled Tokyo Ghoul: Re that came in manga formate then spawned an anime soon after it's release. There's also other forms of media that accompany the main series such as novels, games, two live action films, and spin off one shots. A sudden hate train started online after the second part of Tokyo Ghoul: Re was released. This wasn't so much from the Japanese fans but more so the international fanbase who complained that the anime "isn't as good as the manga" or that "they changed up the story in the second part." I have a different opinion on the series as a whole now that it's officially over because I don't follow what others say. I've always had a mind of my own. Even if I might lend an ear to the criticism.




   First off, Lets talk a little bit about the original Tokyo Ghoul manga. Content here is very stripped down to the harsh reality: A reality you might want to look away from due to the view being so bleakly depressing. Still, the story is a wild ride that holds no punches back from the reader. By the conclusion you aren't given a sugar coated answer to the problem which was the charm of Tokyo Ghoul. I was satisfied with the ending because it was true to a harsh reality that can't be controlled. The anime takes a slightly different path than the man but it still had the same raw feel overall. I was introduce to the anime before the manga and my experience wasn't ruined at all. Instead I was introduced to the manga where I could enjoy the contrast. In my opinion, Tokyo Ghoul's manga counterpart had the better ending.

   Now, Tokyo Ghoul: Re comes along bring a whole new vibe to the world constructed around dark humor. Light hearted fair enters the story to change to whole new dynamic into an action mystery. Manga content does a better job building the suspense to what's going on while the anime lets the cat out of the bag very early on. Maybe the problem was that I had read half the manga before I watched Re in animation form too. Having a front seat look into the supposed "enemies"was a nice twist on the story but the new form Tokyo Ghoul was molded into resembled nothing of what it's original was.  What I will say is that Tokyo Ghoul: Re's anime had more action packed episodes than Tokyo Ghoul did. Some TG episodes were just dialogue which I don't mind. Wherein Re defiantly stays flexing like  a man hopped up on steroids all throughout the show.

    Where? When? Why? did the hate train for Tokyo Ghoul: Re start? I honestly think that it was a big misunderstanding mixed with some anime fans trying to know more than what they actually know. Point number one is that Tokyo Ghoul Re's anime follows the manga almost to a tea. Only thing that's different are minor things that don't effect the story. I'm really not sure where people are getting that the anime started changing the story toward the end? The anime I saw was a copy of the source material. Problems come in when Ishida tries to conclude such a dark world wrapped up in a nice red bow. Bad enough the source material starts getting unstable with all the time jumps and character identity issues. Lord… Those poor characters get put through a complete rewrite like their former selfs didn't exist…. Could we call this personal growth? I'm not sure cause the decisions some of the characters make in the sequel are ones that the characters I grew to love would never do. All this leads to an ending that I was quite disappointed with when finishing the manga. At least the anime gave a bit more emotional context to the ending that made me feel a bit more something. The music was amazing across the whole series. We can all agree on that.

     Now we all can have a hate train for Tokyo Ghoul: Re if it's for the right reasons. The anime itself wasn't bad because it strayed away from the manga. It was bad because it didn't have the spark that made the original Tokyo Ghoul amazing. Ishida clearly trips over himself trying to make the sequel to his series as good as the original. Problem was that he got caught up in his ambition to make another masterpiece that he started rewriting qualities specific to his universe he created. Can we all frown at how Touka went from being an independent cold female ghoul to being a soft hearted female ghoul who waits in a coffee shop half the damn season. That's not the Touka we know……. Anyways, I had my gripes with the sequel but even with that being said, I still enjoyed watching episodes enough to finish up the series. People who hate something online need to make sure they have the correct reasons to hate before you start going around online talking shit. Many jump on the hate train cause they see others doing it and it scares new viewers from checking out the series. I'm here to tell you that Tokyo Ghoul as a series is one to not be missed. Just beware that Tokyo Ghoul: re comes off very different from it's counterpart.



   Viz Media needs to license the two spin off series: Joker and Jack in English as a final goodbye to the series. PLUS...Dear Funimation…. Tokyo Ghoul S live action film would be nice as well since we got the first live action film released state side awhile ago.

WeiBird Wei(韋禮安) Sounds of My Life Album Thoughts(Mando-pop)

    As a long time foreign listeners of Mandarin pop music, I've listen to William Wei's songs over the years and the music that comes from him was always songs that make you long for a certain special emotion that only he can bring through his lyrics. Wei's songs aren't ones that I really listen to all the time but I remember his music enough to come when I hear his name. Sounds of My Life is his newest release that hit store selves last month. If you look at the track number, you will see why it took me so long to say anything about this album(also there's the fact that I'm always late writing about stuff….).

Track List:


01.        Sounds of My Life             
02.        See You on Monday             
03.        Interlude (XYGX)             
04.        房客             
05.        貓咪共和國             
06.        不用告訴我             
07.        Interlude (I WROTE A SONG FOR YOU)             
08.        一口一口             
09.        沒有你的世界             
10.        而立             
11.        這樣好嗎             
12.        聽我的             
13.        Interlude (YOU WROTE A SONG FOR ME)             
14.        Brand New             
15.        記得回來             
16.        I Wrote a Song for You             
17.        Credits

 


   Let's keep this kind of short in contrast to the many tracks on Sounds of My Life….. Some parts were for me then, other parts were not. Certain moments on the album pulled me in as songs began with promise only to lose the charm to keep me invested till the song's conclusion. Mind you, Wei is a well seasoned artist that's received more than a few awards for his work and the emotional depth her experienced through life is solidly produced well into the tracks. I just didn't feel as excited to hear more as I bumbled through each track. He goes for mostly soulful acoustic sounds that fit him but need an extra push to really be rememberable songs. The hard rock sound stands out like a sour thumb which isn't revisited anymore after the first time. English tracks lack strong writing. I'm not a fan of choruses where the same phrase is sung over and over again. I've said this numerous times in my other posts. for example, Wei could have used repetition to his advance had the lyrics been written a bit smarter. Most tracks run together in this same fashion until I decided to revisit the album later. A part of me was disappointed that the album wasn't thought out more in production. You can tell he was writing songs for himself. Those tracks titles told NO LIES. Well, it happens....

   I would listen to Sounds of My Life again. Saying that the album is downright awful would be something I don't want to do right off the bat. I'll sit down and try to really take in William Wei's art before deciding to totally discard this large album into my laptop's recycle bin.

Hwasa(화사) - Maria(마리아) 1st Mini Album Thoughts(K-Pop/RnB)

   Hwasa is a singer that's a part of the well known group female Mamamoo. The group is known for their dynamite stage presence and soulful powerhouse vocals. They kinda remind me of a new generation version of Brown Eyed Girls, minus the arthouse visual music videos. I have to admit that i'm not a big fan of Mamamoo. Talented as they are, Mamamoo's music doesn't do much for me. Hwasa's solo music has impressed me though so, when she dropped her first mini album, I listened to it as soon as I could.

Track List:
01 Intro : Nobody else
02. 마리아 (Maria) *Title Track*
03. Kidding
04. WHY
05. I’m bad too (Feat. DPR LIVE)
06. LMM
07. 멍청이(twit)





    Hwasa's first mini album was introduced in an interesting way which made me hopeful as a listener. Hwasa teased fans almost a year ago with the digital single entitled Twit. My ears perked up right as I ran across the track. It's pop urban production packs a solid punch in the dynamics of the beat rhythm that no other Korean pop song had going for it at the time. The instrumental also hugs Hwasa's vocals comfortable enough to cause her performance to shine. Such a good track already held Hwasa's first compilation to a high standard. She keeps the expectation met with her newest single Maria: a pop dance number featuring an infused Spanish tempo change midway through the song that's very fun to listen to. Kidding also falls into this mature womanly vide that I was looking forward to from the singer. Things started to get a bit messy after these songs however…. I'm Too Bad would have been passable but the chorus is too noisy thanks to DPR Live overproducing a track that really only needed her vocals and his rap part. Same thing happened to Why. Loud beats can kill a track's potential. Some producers need to learn how to lower the instrumental a little bit.  LMM is a good song vocally if you like ballads. You know all the same dynamics appear here, Piano then some Violin that sounds pretty at the track's closing. Overall, Maria came slightly below my expectations. She should be a bit more opinionated in the studio next time…. Her mini album kinda lost control toward the middle.

     I can see Hwasa having a long career as a solo singer even after Mamamoo is over. She sings in a style that's all her own but also heavily influenced by Black music(Like most Korean artists). I would like to hear her challenge her vocal range more. I'm not certain what she can do cause her solo music doesn't give all that she clearly can offer. Not that she doesn't sing well in the music she's released so far…. To me, her best vocal performance was Twit.