Yu-chan no Megane

I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese drinks and sweets, quite likely due to my attraction to gorgeous packaging. Nonetheless, some Japanese do have funky taste buds (e.g. dango, natto) and I wanted to try something different from the typical Singaporean diet.

So this time, I tried a natural flavoured yohurt drink, aptly named OHAYO オハヨー, literally meaning “good morning”. That’s probably not terribly adventurous, but believe me, when you’ve had nothing but sweet yoghurt drinks in chocolate/strawberry your entire life, it’s pretty far fetched.

OHAYO just makes you want to wake up in the morning, for the amazing price of S$4.20!

The first thing about OHAYO that struck me was the sourness that is typical of yoghurt, which is even more pronounced when it’s not flavoured. The next was the semi-creamy texture. I thought it was pretty tasty and filled me up reasonably. Which, for the whopping price of S$4.20, it bloody well should. That’s pretty expensive for a quick breakfast! I’m guessing it goes for ¥180 or thereabouts without export costs.

The next thing I purchased at the supermarket at Isetan Scotts was this package of caramel which looks fairly dubious. It looks like a pack of cigarettes or else a condom package, especially with the word “milk” emblazoned on it and a tiny shy angel in the bottom left corner.

Enjoy the creamy taste of milk in this dubious little package of caramel

I think I was drawn to the caramel since I’ve watched too many anime that reference it. So I thought I’d pick up a package. There was another one that appeared a little too… oriental… and I skipped that.

The taste is typical of caramel, creamy and very tasty. It’s remniscent of Werther’s Original butterscotch candies, except soft like a chewy candy, not at all unpleasant. Quite on the contrary, really. Grab your pack today!

Tags: food

Well, it seems that my flat has been sold and we’re moving to another part of the same housing estate. It’s both good and bad. I don’t mind the new environment and the convenience of the local hawker centre in the vicinity where we’re looking to get a new place. However, I do mind the packing and clearing of years of accumulated sentimental crap.

I suppose that’s a good thing though. It’s time to zen-ify my life. It’s fascinating how humans manage to collect so many things. Honestly, I don’t know how the Japanese manage storing everything neatly in cupboards. Sometimes I wish I was that organised.

At any rate, time to seize the chance for some major overhauls.

In other news, I had the chance to try out the latest Japanese fast food place at Far East Plaza by Scotts Road called Mogu Mogu 『もぐもぐ』. I ordered a Curry Katsudon, if I remember correctly, along with miso soup, chawanmushi and a cup of iced green tea. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the presence of mind to eat in, so I did takeaway, which, after some time in a taxi, wasn’t entirely fantastic, but nonetheless quite palatable. It’s been there for a while and I’ve always wanted to try it, except I haven’t had the chance to do so.

What’s cool about the place is the order system where you key in your order via a touch screen and pay through the coin/dollar slots. Take a queue number and wait for your order. It was pretty nice. Very hi-tech and Japanese-y as far as ordering technology goes. There’s even a cute girl in maid costume ready to assist you. For the guys I imagine this must be a great perk.

Mogu Mogu 『もぐもぐ』 at Far East Plaza is worth a shot if you’re into the maid assistant and are interested in reasonably priced Japanese fast-food.

Try it if you haven’t.

Tags: food, news

There is nothing I love more than my gorgeous shiny white mac, but I’ve been off it for more than a month (maybe even two, horrors!) since my hard drive failed some time ago. Obviously, I’ve been lazy or else I could’ve gotten it back within a week if I’d bothered to troop down to the service centre.

Nonetheless, it’s back with a new hard disk and logic board and I’m blogging on it once again.

That’s not all though. Apart from the craploads of work I’m straining under, I’ve managed to wheedle some new anime into my schedule.

I haven’t had time to screenshot anything so the titles will have to do.

• Code Geass is back with a vengeance in its second season. I loved it from the very first episode but haven’t really caught up with the latest releases. The version I’ve got is a very large .mkv file which makes watching on my Windows Vista machine a real pain. I’m not sure how it’ll fare on Macbook here, but we’ll see. It’s on my “must watch eventually” list.
• xxxHolic is back as well, this time, named xxxHolic kei, whatever that means (like I said, no time to check it out). I’ve got the first two episodes but have yet to watch them. Really loved the hilarity of the first season so this should really be a good watch.
• Itazura na Kiss is a shoujo anime about a girl from the F class who comes to live with her crush after a series of mishaps. Unfortunately for her, her crush is a cold, handsome young chap from the A class in her high school who hates stupid girls.
• Special A. is a fun shoujo anime that reminds me a little of Ouran High School Host Club in terms of its character style and overall art. It’s about two eternal rivals in wrestling, both in high school, who have been at loggerheads since they were young. She thinks about beating him in every sphere while he goads her on. He loves her, though she is unaware of it. It’s pretty slapstick and I really enjoy what I’ve seen of it so far.

The slapstick (and adorable) cast of Special A スペシャル・エ. If you enjoyed Ouran, you’d probably love this too.

Tags: anime

… was completely and utterly brilliant!

I watched In the Shadow of Beethoven by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, featuring conductor Claus Peter Flor, Zhang Manchin on the viola and Ma Yue on the clarinet.

While I thoroughly enjoyed Wagner’s Tannhauser: Overture and Bacchanale (Paris version) and Bruch’s Concerto for Clarinet and Viola in E minor, Op. 88, the icing on the cake had to be Brahms. The majestic start and the crescendos and decrescendos were just mouth-watering. I haven’t been moved by classical music for a long time. There’s a huge difference listening to it performed live and on mp3. There are just some things that are impossible to capture on recording.

I wish I could’ve taken a photo but sadly photo-taking and video recording were not allowed. I did have my camera and was sorely tempted but I didn’t want to be rude. My first orchestra experience was just wonderful and I wish there was some way of commemorating it.

For now, violin lessons would have to do. (-_<)

Chiaki of Nodame Cantabile, played by Tamaki Hiroshi 玉木 宏. My first love for classical music developed from this very dorama. Behold the power of JCulture.

Tags: brahms, classical

Rachmaninov has probably got to be one of the greatest recent composers of all time. I don’t know what it is about his music, but for some reason his orchestral arrangements call to me.

My favourite: Piano Concerto #2 in C minor Op.18 1st Movement. This piano concerto was written between 1900 and 1901 and is really the story about Rachmaninov’s depression and his eventual release from it. I first heard it on Nodame Cantabile and have loved it ever since. The story resounds with me a great deal. I don’t claim to know any musical history at all, but that’s what I learnt from Wiki, although I did get a sense of that when I listened at first to its haunting bell-like tolls and its gradual movement towards a victorious melody. I have to admit that I’ve never really been a classical music buff, nor have I been classically trained (I’m eager to learn at this point though).  But I’m starting to love it. Quite like the old fogeys.

I’m not sure what inspired this post, but I guess I want to share this with you. (^-^)

Tags: classical, rachmaninov

I knew that one of my favourite seiyuus, Sakurai Takahiro 櫻井 孝宏, would, at some point, take on voicing a flat-out yaoi character. After all, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion 『コードギアス反逆のルルーシュ』 was fairly suggestive being a Clamp-characterised anime. This is the first time I’ve encountered his voice in such a production, but if I’m mistaken, do let me know. I tend to be a little outdated.

The yaoi anime in question is Kirepapa 『キレパパ』 (lit. meaning: beautiful dad). I’m a little late in picking this up simply because I don’t watch exclusively yaoi anime and I’m far too busy with work to keep up with things on a regular basis.

Kirepapa is based on the manga kirei na PAPA 『きれいなパパ』 and as its title suggests is the story of a pretty father, Chisato Takatsukasa (voiced by Midorikawa Hikaru 緑川 光 who also voiced Shi Seiran in Saiunkoku Monogatari 『彩雲国物語』), who has an equally pretty son. Unfortunately for Chisato, due to some event in the past, he has a complex and refuses to allow anyone to get too close to his son. Even worse for him, his son has a relentless friend, Sakaki Shunsuke (voiced by Sakurai), who remains too close for comfort regardless of his many sabotage attempts. Things change, however, when Chisato is confessed to. How will it end?

Chisato’s antagonism is fairly obvious despite Sasaki’s beauty.

Hell, I don’t know but I do know they tried to squeeze as much plot as possible into one episode. Some say it’s messy but I thought it was reasonable considering how yaoi anime tend to be fairly short. I’m not sure how many OVAs there will be at this point but suffice to say I’m looking forward to more slapstick comedy. A fun watch, but beware please as content is very very R.

Chisato and Sasaki faceoff after one of Chisato’s sabotage attempts from which Sasaki escaped unscathed

Links:

• Kirepapa Official Website (JPN)
• Anime News Network Site

Tags: anime, seiyuu, yaoi

I don’t know about you, but I have a pretty bad habit. I loooooooooove to procrastinate. It just so happens that everytime I have something important to do (or in this case quite a number of them), something must inadvertantly distract me away from the pure path.

As you can probably see, this time, it’s this blog. I’ve been having a fantastic time creating a whole bunch of header images and tweaking things here and there. I’ve also added a few pages which, although yet to be completed, took me some time.

I know people who have a great sense of duty and who are hell bent on pursuing their career. However, I’m just a small anchovy in the big scheme of things. What’s to worry? I think this relaxed attitude will get me into trouble of craptastic proportions.

So right now, I shall hie me off to work. Kinda.

Just like Jun in the Sunrise Nippon PV

Tags: blog, vices

While I realise it’s easy to be cutesy and sprout all sorts of quotes from favourite manga and doramas (e.g. “Iku iku! GO! GO! Ore GO GO! — Nakatsu Shuichi, Hana Kimi), it’s not quite the same kettle of fish trying to communicate in Japanese to a native.

I came to this conclusion after doing my hair at Komachi Hair Cult at Liat Towers.

I’ve only been to Komachi twice, by reservation of course and it is replete with Japanese hairstylists and customers. Amid the snipping, buzzing and occasional comical antics, you do hear a background of steady Japanese flowing back and forth. My requested hairstylist, Nakamura Minako-san, is a sweet gentle lady who really knows what to do with my hair despite the fact that I don’t.

I suffer from two ailments when it comes to opening my mouth and sprouting some good ol’ Japanese. Firstly, what if I say something stupid or completely wrong… or even worse, RUDE? Secondly, will I be able to catch what they’re saying? The first time I went, it was purely English communication, with the aid of an assistant who tried his best to interpret for me. The resultant hairstyle was brilliant although frankly, that had nothing to do with me making any requests.

The second time, however, I managed to ask Nakamura-san whether she was doing okay. And that started a whole string of Japanese conversation. Mind you, I didn’t speak very much, but we communicated in Japanese throughout though I got stuck in a few places. Like when she asked me what I wanted to do with my hair. Well, I didn’t quite know what either.

I must also mention Jirou-san, an assistant who washed and massaged my scalp. He’s a slight fellow, but his fingers are so strong. The head massage was just fantastic. My scalp felt all hot after that purely from the resultant blood circulation.

Sooooooo… next time I head to Komachi, which should be in three months time or less, I will hopefully have gained even more confidence to speak up. In a couple of years, you might hear my voice on some anime playing a cutesy fangirl.

Ehehe!

Miyano Mamoru 宮野 真守, notable seiyuu from series such as Death Note and Gundam 00

Tags: beauty and fashion, japanese language

Well, hi there and welcome to yet another domain much to my chagrin. This blog is an extension of my former blog at yukaguri.com. However, that domain is now defunct thanks misinformation and now here we are.

The sad bit is that I’m completely unable to import my posts without tweaking wordpress.php file in the import folder and since I know close to nothing about php, I think I’ll take a raincheck on screwing things up (unless some kind soul is willing to point me in the right error-free direction). I suppose it could quite possibly be my fault for changing to a new host and forgetting that I had yet to upgrade the Wordpress installation in my old one. Ah humbug.

As it stands, I’ll construe this as a fresh new start (again) and try my best to keep to keep my posts at least decently informative if nothing else. In addition, I’m trying to limit my categories so things don’t go all over the place.

Since it’s a new site, I’ll be revamping the way it looks and reconstructing my pages of interest. Give me some time. Actually, make that lots of time since I really shouldn’t be procrastinating at the moment. Impulses really do strike at the most inopportune moment. Bah.

One thing is for certain: this site will be replete with ikemen. That is all. (>_-)v

Oguri Shun 小栗 旬 as Koyama Kazumi 小山 一美 in Binbou Danshi 『貧乏男子』 on NTV, Japan

Tags: blog, ikemen, jdorama