Saiyuki - SALTY DOG 3

Ohaiyo to yooouuuu~~~ After previously posting about a favourite OST of mine, I've decided to follow up with a post on several artworks by Kazuya Minekura featured in her illustration book named "Salty Dog 3" (this is the 3rd volume of the series. for now, there's a total of 6). I will show you some of my favourite ones & explain why it is so. Bear in mind that I'm not entirely sure if Kazuya-san did both the drawings & colourings on her own or by her assistances (she's a VERY private person) so I cannot state on whom the credit goes to specifically but I will put it in general by Kazuya-san. This article will just be an easy read in comparison to my reviews/introductions on songs/MVs. Hope you enjoy the artworks & maybe learn something new~~

The eye-catching feature for this piece was the ability of the background in making the character stand out so much despite the minimal use of colour. Even his outfit - coloured in black - had a glossy effect in contra to the water-paint sky. What I find cool about the whole artwork is that the rain drops not only create an atmosphere defeat or possible loss (notice the wounds & blood smears on him) but also gives a sort of vintage feel to the picture. According to the story, this guy was a friend of Sanzo back in his old temple but things got bad & this guy was consumed by the red beaded necklace he's wearing. See the veins popping out on his arm & chest? And that talisman paper stuck on his chest? In the end, he died. Knowing the character makes this image even more meaningful as you know what he had gone through.

I'm feeling a little torn about this piece. The character drawn is not a favourite if mine (he's the villain) but I LOVE the effect Kazuya did in making this illustration deceiving. On first look, I honestly thought he was under water with those petals(yes those are petals) looking like air bubbles floating up. That certain glow emitted on the character & rocks creates the illusion of being underwater, sun shining down. There's also a SLIIIIIIGHT blur around the edges of the character, making the underwater effect even more believable. Feeling wise, the falling petals & cool choice of colours gives a peaceful, serene feel but the skull he holds onto puts a glitch in the serenity, instead giving a feel of suspense & chill. This guy is in fact a zombie who should have been dead but lived with the help of a mahjong tile piece embedded into his abdomen. Creepy huh?~~

I just simply LIKE (with a capital L) this picture of Sanzo dressed in casual clothes. Sanzo was presented as a character of serious & no-nonsense, grumpy half the time but has his soft-hearted moments. The props used in this picture - basically a mask - fits in with him. The details nicely drawn on the mask makes it just cool to wear (hehehe). I do have some doubt on the proportion of Sanzo's head in comparison to his body but maybe that's just the angle played with. Overall, I find this one of the GOOD pictures of Sanzo as a normal guy & not a priest.

This artwork is just awesome (O___O). The small details on Sanzo's hair creates a soft texture, almost as if moving. This in fact is a trademark in Kazuya's style where the character's hair are usually done in much detail, especially the thin strands. The gold shades were placed nicely to create a glowing-blurry effect, making the whole picture soft. The angle of Sanzo's face, although maybe a bit cramped, comes out quite well. There's a balance of hair, face & neckline showing; a close-up shot if I may call it.

Here we have the leader of the good guys & the leader of the bad guys. Well, bad up to a certain point. There's nothing extravagant about the artworks but I was just amazed at the colouring texture done on both of them. Its like a sort of paint brush scratched effect(?). The point of glow comes from their chest, as if the inner part of them are glowing. The colour matches both characters but I do think purple suits Sanzo even more ATHOUGH blue is my favourite colour ^^ Just a simple piece of inspiration.

And lastly, a collection of all 4 main characters (from left; Sanzo, Goku Gojyo, Hakkai). Again, another simple yet eye-catching piece. The whole thing just feels cool & happy, bright & pure from all the stains in the world. The highlight of each picture is the colour of their hair, standing out brightly against the bright white back ground. The expressions draw matches each of their personalities, from Hakkai's serene smile to Goku's childish grin. A simple form of pleasure~~

That's all from the 3rd series. There are many more from the book but these are specifically my favourite :D if you're interested in looking at the rest of the photos, just google "Kazuya Minekura Salty Dog 3" and a few gallery-themed websites should pop out. If you are interested in buying it, you can find it in Kinokuniya and will cost around RM120. If they don't have it in stock, you can just have them ordered & shipped it in (that's how I got mine). Have fun exploring~~~~ ^^  byebye!

Saiyuki Reload OST - Fukisusabu Kaze No Naka De

This time round, I'll be taking a detour from the usual K-pop/J-pop road and take a step into anime OSTs :D  The song I'm about to introduce was used in Saiyuki's Reload anime series as its second ending OST. This song may be of age but nothing has yet replaced the coolness I find in this song. There's actually nothing much I can say about the song. It was hard to find the accurate translations; although the ones I did find was hard to make sense of :P sorry for the short introduction this time round buuuuuuuut I thought it'd be best to just share a old song I love. There are a couple of others from Saiyuki as well but I'll introduce them in a separate post. Below is the MV played at the end of every episode (more specifically, the later ones in Saiyuki Reload).

MV:  

Just to say a bit, the start of the song (that sudden climb & bam!) held my ears to wait for the rest of the song. I love how unique the melody sounded; mixture of rock with a bit of pop & sliiiiiiiiight ballad-ish in the vocals. Despite not understanding the words, I can just sing it out with pleasure ^^ the song also fits Saiyuki's image just right!!!! Making this song an even better choice of playlist~ The band featured in the song is called WAG. I haven't done much research on the band but I will soon :) So just sit back and enjoy one of the several best compliments to Kazuya Minekura's Artwork~~~!!!! I may post articles on my favourite manga artist & their artworks ^^ stay tune.

PS: Here's a glimpse of Minekura's art pieces from her illustration books.

XIA - UNCOMMITTED

Konichiwa minna~ or whoever is reading this :P keke~ truly sorry for the long (relative period of time) absence from blogging. I had to go through some interchanging phases in LIFE. Mainly, University LIFE ~!! To make up for my absence, I will be posting several posts in a short period of time. To those who do read my reviews/post, I truly appreciate it. Hope it was entertaining.

The star of today’s topic is the ever-so-sexy-but-still-cute-duck-butt XIAH JUNSU who made his US debut through the latest single, “UNCOMMITTED”. This single was released on 24th August 2012 and is fully sung in ENGLISH. To those who are familiar/fans of TVXQ in the old days, you would know Junsu’s level of ‘engrish’ :P surprisingly, Junsu made a good effort in trying. With a few confused-pronunciations here & there, it’s good enough to get the whole song. In contrast to his previous track “TARANTALLEGRA”, this song came out with a more softer, RnB-ish melody which personally is my sort of tune ^^ Flowsik of Aziatix is featured in this song with his small rap parts.

MV: 

As titled “UNCOMMITTED”, the song depicts the feeling of a man being accused as a player by his lover whom in the end left. What’s interesting to me is that rather than actually being caught playing around, his lover accuses him of being a player on the basis of his past. This interpretation gives the music & video a whole new meaning as to what we would perceive a normal guy playing around in leisure is instead exposing his true reason of moving from a girl to another. Generally, a player is someone who flirts around with the opposite sex (but it does imply to homo as well I think), having short-term relationships without giving it much serious thought or commitment. In the lyrics, Junsu expresses his frustration in not understanding why his lover accuses him of such when he’s not doing it.....at the moment. How can he “fix something” he “cannot see”? The repetition of “baby, I don’t really get it” allows us listeners to fill pity & sympathise with him as he’s implying a being accused & nothing else. Who would like to be accused of something but with no further explanation or advice given? I find the line “...you’re not the right type only good for one night” a stab in the heart. OUCH. Not only is he being accused of a player, his lover does not find him good enough. Poor Junsu~~ the whole lyric consist of repetitions of the same chorus BUT there is suddenly a glitch in the 3/4 section where Junsu actually questions himself of really being a player. Before, he repeatedly says that he does not understand & could not believe the accusations but now, it’s possible that those accusations may have reached his heart, causing doubt to himself. At this point, I was able to analyse the song as an alternative explanation as to why some people become players themselves for real. Rather than desiring it, Junsu was forced into the mindset of being a player. Wow~ I wonder if this really does happen in real life.

Lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/x/xiah_junsu/uncommitted.html

The video was presented with a simple plot of Junsu according to the lyrics but I was slightly confused at first due to the interchanging of sections/girlfriends in his life. This is just what I see & perceive!! The blonde girl was the lover who accuses him of being a player, hence the scenes of them being happy yet fighting/arguing. After breaking up, Junsu enjoys himself in a club to kill off the sadness felt. By using money & alcohol, he dances the night away. He then meets a brown-haired girl & was attracted to her. They started getting cosy, emitting a possible intimate relationship. It was during these scenes that Junsu sings the sudden-glitch lines of actually being a player. The repeating lines of “Uncommitted, I’ll never admit it but I’ll never get it” tell us how Junsu will never be uncommitted yet not understanding what it really means. Towards the end of the video, we catch a glimpse of Junsu hugging the brown-haired girl whilst giving us a mysterious look behind her back. What was actually on his mind? Will this relationship end in cycle? Will history repeat itself? We won’t know unfortunately as the video ends with him and a new girl. To the players out there, were you able to relate to this song?? To the solos out there, do you find the whole accusing thing justifiable?? I’ll leave that to your own thoughts~

Melody wise, this is definitely by far my favourite song of Junsu’s as I’m not a fan of his other more experimental ones. The slow piano emits the melodramatic feeling of confusion & frustration while the drum(?) beats gives a fresh feel to the song every time I hear it, making “UNCOMMITTED” one of my very-often played songs. According to Junsu, a traditional korean gong called Kkwaenggwari is used in the chorus to add in a Korean element(culturally). Vocally, Junsu keeps his voice alive by inserting soft high notes at intervals, creating a wave to avoid being monotonous yet easy-going at the same time. SUPER credits to Junsu for practicing his pronunciation very well in this song in comparison to TARANTALLEGRA. I have heard a number of kpop idols singing/speaking in English & some just . . . . . . . . . . . yeah.

Overall, I very much recommend you to give Junsu a chance in hearing his latest single UNCOMMITTED, especially if your a fan of RnB-ish music. I do hope Junsu releases more music like this BUT I do WANT him to publish a wider screen MV (-___-) UNCOMMITTED was just too narrow. Or maybe there was a reason for this?? Another element in complimenting the song?? Perhaps~ That’s all for this round. I hope you find it helpful if you had a hard time understand Junsu’s singing or video :P  next to come is . . . . . . . please anticipate the next update~ ^^ hahaha~

PS: there wasn’t much scenes for me to catch. Here’s a few. I find the MV best enjoyed as a video rather than pictures. Junsu, you pull off that blue hair just fineeee~ ;D