My Top 50 Albums of 2013: 30-21

Okay, well now that things have calmed down a little bit, I'll finally be posting the rest of my countdown. I also have the stats for January and February all ready, so expect the both of those to be posted by the 15th! (That's my goal!) Anyways, sorry for the delay! Let's get right back into it! YouTube Playlist!

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

30. All About My Romance OST - Various Artists [189 Points] Released: April 24, 2013

Once again we have the cute and fun Akdong Musicians gracing the list! Now I enjoyed All About My Romance as a drama. It was fun a quirky with a political setting (which I was hestitant on at first). But honestly, with Dal Shabat, Tiffany, and various other artists contributing to the soundtrack, Akdong Musicians really grabbed me. I loved the Music Video released (which didn't really have anything to do with the drama) and was as cute and sugary as the song is itself. If you like K-Drama soundtracks definitely check out the All About My Romance OST, and if you like K-Drama, All About My Romance is definitely lolz worthy at times. If you enjoyed the previous Akdong Musician song (Kkong Ddeok Bing Soo) I think you'll like this one too! 

29. Eraser - ALi [192 Points] Released: January 30, 2013

So ALi has got to be one of my favorite South Korean solo female singers. Scratch that, just one of my favorite solo female singers. PERIOD. I love the uniqueness of her voice. Her first full album was released in the end of 2011 and I was immediately hooked. The tone and power of her voice just grabbed me, as well as the accompanying music video. Anyway, she came back with a mini album here (YAY!) and I was super happy. The main song is Eraser, a pretty ballad (and the music video down below). However, my favorite song of the album is Selfish, which has more of a pop-rock vibe and completely became my anthem for the first half of 2013. Unfortunately, there isn't a music video for Selfish, but HERE is a live video for one of her comeback stages. She sings Selfish and Eraser, but Selfish is first. I really implore to click HERE and be sucked into vocals made of amazing. She has released other songs since this album, but most of them have been digital singles or songs for dramas. Which are amazing, don't get me wrong, but I want another album, mini or full. Please ALi, bring us more music with that amazing voice of yours!

27. Letter From Secret - Secret [193 Points] Released: April 30, 2013

Yay! Secret came back in late April with a fun, summery feeling mini album. Secret (for those that don't know) is my favorite girl group in the Kpop industry! (Sorry but worldwide Spice Girls is still #1 in my heart!) I really enjoy all of their personas, from cutesy to super sexy spy/assassin/saloon girl (Poison anyone?). The promotion song for Letter From Secret is Yoo Hoo and more along the lines of their cutesy image. I enjoyed it and it was on my main playlist late into fall! Also on the album were three other songs that are ballads. I enjoyed them as well, but my favorite of the three is B.O.Y (Because of You) (can someone explain to me why a lot of these abbreviations are missing the last period? I don't get it. T_T). It's really pretty and stayed on my playlist almost as long as Yoo Hoo did! The Music Video is fun and summery, involving Secret's boat somehow leaving them stranded on an island. I won't spoil the ending, but it's cute and fun and silly, and will bring a little warmth into this crazy cold! :)

27. No. 1 - Teen Top [193 Points] Released: February 25, 2013

"La-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-laa-laaa" Teen Top presented fans with a full album late February. One of the songs, I Wanna Love, was pre-released digitally and had a music video. The promotion song is Miss Right (if you've heard the song, you understand the previous las) and also had a music video. I enjoyed both songs, but I think overall I like I Wanna Love just a tad bit more. Miss Right involves a silly video where the boys get stuck in jail with one girl (WHAT?) and sing about her. I enjoyed the dance a lot, and the Las as well as the "몰라몰라몰라몰라몰라." Honestly, those make the song for me. Plus CAP's hair. Back to the music, HERE is the link for I Wanna Love, my favorite of the two. It's more of a pop-rock-ballad-electronic mix (that's mixed well) and I really enjoy the song. The music video pretty much has them being sad (or eating unusually large amounts of canned fruit) and wandering the streets, out in the world! Once again, check both of them out! Let me know what you think in the comments between the two!

26. Boys Meet U - Shinee [197 Points] Released: June 26, 2013

Mid year Shinee released their second full Japanese album. I enjoyed a good chunk of the songs on the album, including a few from their previously released singles (Dazzling Girl & 1000年、ずっとそばにいて…). Of the new songs, their PV was for Breaking News (PV=MV in Japan), my second favorite song off the album. My first though is Kiss Yo which is just a fun song that has some hip-hop undertones with Key's awesome English rapping. Plus, I like to make fun of the ending. So the song starts off with the sound of a telephone ringing. At the end of the song we here a dial tone and then Key asking, "Hello? Would you like to kiss me?" I don't know why, but I always say the same stupid line and laugh to myself afterwards. But the music is fairly SM-like, focusing on Shinee's dance and close up of the members singing. But Shinee is a group of awesome dancers, so I'm not complaining! Above I linked the previous singles that were compiled into this album, although I think they're are a couple more. But I liked those the best. Also, what PVs that get posted on YouTube are almost always short versions, so if you would like to see the entire video, try here! PS: EVIL! You better watch all of them because I'm pretty sure you have seen them all. Bad Shawol! XD

  

25. XOXO - EXO [208 Points] Released: June 3, 2013

Oh EXO, I was super impressed by the promotion songs they released for XOXO, both the normal and the repackage versions. Below is the first, Wolf. This song has some parts that have odd lyrics, but has a fun chorus! I showed it to my roommates and Billy kind of walked around for a few days randomly going "a-wooo." She probably will now since she's listening to the song again with me.... but that's beside the point. I thought the drama version was cheesy, but I really enjoyed the dance. And the vocals were really good, especially during the crooning parts. And for those that haven't seen the lyrics for it....some of those lines. Here's a link, the official video is below and doesn't have lyrics.  As for the second  promotion single, I actually like Growl more. It has a really good R&B feel to it. Also the dance is pretty cool and the music video is all filmed in one shot. I like things like that. The only thing I don't get is why are they dancing in an empty warehouse? Eh...it's SM. Oddly lit rooms for everyone! Check out Growl if you haven't already! Especially if you like more of the songs that have good head nodding grooves. Just saying; I head nod to it. You should too.



24. Re:Blue - CN Blue [209 Points] Released: January 14, 2013

In January of 2013 CN Blue released their fourth mini album, Re:Blue. The promotion song for Re:Blue is I'm Sorry, a good pop-rock song. I really enjoyed the mini album overall, my favorite songs are I'm Sorry, 나란 남자 (Guy Like Me), and Coffee Shop. They also released a song completely in English called Where You Are. I enjoy Where You Are, although sometimes it makes me laugh at how it can be misconstrued as a stalker song. "I'm searching where you are." Although if it's where I am, why is he still searching? I don't know, but I enjoyed the mini-album overall. Another fun lyric: "Oh please touch my body and my face." It just makes me giggle. Don't mind me. If you're a fan of the more pop rock style and looking for something Korean (or just foreign), definitely check out CN Blue and this album (also FT Island {speaking of FT Island, anyone else watching Bride of the Century and completely addicted already?}). Check out the links above for the other songs I enjoyed, otherwise just watch the video for I'm Sorry. It involves CN Blue playing on a rooftop and kind of just being miscreants around a city. Plus Jonghyun has his hair styled up, and goodness gracious does it look good. Plus we get to see his forehead/face. Just saying. :)



23. The Blessed Unrest - Sara Bareilles [211 Points] Released: April 23, 2013

Oh my goodness this album. I love love love Sara Bareilles and was so happy and excited when she announced a new album. I immediately got The Blessed Unrest and still have a few of the songs on my main playlist. What would be considered the promotion song in Korea is Brave. The song itself is amazing, with such a wonderful message lyrically, but just has a melody that makes a person feel good. Well, at least it's a feel good song when I listen to it. As for the other songs, some of my other favorites are Hercules (the video has some info about the name of the album before her singing), Little Black Dress, and I Choose You. My favorite song off the album, with over 60 plays (just in 2013 - it's gone up since then) is I Wanna Be Like Me. I find it completely empowering (like most of Sara's albums and songs) and was completely sucked in only after a few seconds. It's got some fun background sounds and is a good mix of string instruments and more electronic tones. Seriously, I can't fully express how much this song means to me both musically and how it just generally makes me feel. Please, please, please listen to it and share it with anyone and everyone. It needs to be heard. So check out the fun music video of people dancing in random areas and pay attention to the great lyrics!



22. A's Doll House - Ailee [213 Points] Released: July 12, 2013

Ailee came out during the summer, promoting with the diva-licious song U&I. I love Ailee and I love this mini-album. Ailee has such a powerhouse of a voice and definitely in my top three female solo artists in South Korea (with ALi and BoA). U&I has some big trumpet parts and gives it a little bit of a big band vibe, which I find completely awesome and music-licious. Apparently Ailee just has -licious descriptors. Back to the music, Ailee is one of the singers referred to as Korea's Beyonce, with her power voice, strong rapping and snazzy moves. To top it off, I also give major props to Ailee for not being obnoxiously stick thin. She's got some thunder thighs and some curves, and a lot more sexy to me than some of the really popular girl groups out there. Most of the other songs on the album are more ballady, but I really enjoyed No No No and Rainy Day. Honestly though I love everything Ailee's released so far. Her voice is so pretty. Excuse my fangirling, but really. If you enjoy Beyonce and power vocals, definitely check out all of Ailee's stuff. Plus she just debuted within the past couple years. Big stuff already! Also if you didn't notice, most of what I linked above are the live versions. Yes, she's pretty good live as well!



21. Black Box - Brown Eyed Girls [214 Points] Released: July 29, 2013

So I have to say, Brown Eyed Girls definitely popped back up into the top of my rankings with this album. A big part due to the promotion song Kill Bill. The normal music video (posted below) is a fun take on Quentin Tarantino's hit movie series Kill Bill. Now for the actual song, I love it. The girls and back-up dancers look cute and sexy in their western/cowboy styles and the opening dance move in the dance version...holy guacamole! Plus...let's just say I have a thing for cowboys...and dancing....and the back up dancers.... <_>_>... So the music video is a fun parody (but more serious than most parodies are), the dance is fun and sexy (as one would expect from BEG), and I just overall love Brown Eyed Girls and the more mature material they grace all Kpop fans with! 



Well that's all for now! Stayed tuned for the last two parts of the this countdown, as well as countdowns for January and February! Any comments or questions, leave them below! Until then my music loving peeps! YouTube Playlist!

Stasi ♫

My Top 50 Albums of 2013: 40-31

So I’m back with the next ten (finally)! I’ll try to get the rest posted asap, soon followed up by my review of January 2014! So without further rants, let’s get to it! Once again, here is the link to the video playlist on YouTube!

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

39. Block B – Very Good [171 Points] Released: October 2, 2013

 I was excited for Block B’s comeback with their new company. I loved what they did with Very Good, just the craziness I’ve come to like and love from Block B. The song is very fun, as well as the music video. I like the almost 50/50 split between rap and vocals, and boy do they have some talent from both spectrums. It just has me dancing and singing along. Releasing this album also got me back into their older songs and I became addicted to Go Crazy again (probably my favorite of their songs so far). As for the rest of the song, on a more ballady side they also released a music video for Be The Light. It’s a slower song, but still powerful, just not in their usual way. I liked it a lot, just not as much as Very Good. If you haven’t see any of their videos and like some of the more hip-hop styled K-pop, definitely check them out!

39. Lee Hyori – Monochrome [171 Points] Released: May 21, 2013

 The return of Lee Hyori definitely started off the summer hits. I was excited to see what she was coming back with and I wasn’t disappointed at all. She pre-released Miss Korea and it completely blew me away. The message just said more than anyone could’ve possible expected, and even though I’m a Caucasian woman living in America, I found a lot of perspective and empowerment through Miss Korea. Hyori’s next music video release and promotion song was Bad Girls. This music video was gold. With the comic book styling and just outrageous situations I was hooked. The song was really good as well and every time I heard “bad” I would instantly sing “b-b-b-bad girls” in my head. She also released another music video for Going Crazy which included Hyori cross-dressing. I found the music video entertaining, but I think I was more impressed and hooked with Miss Korea and Bad Girls. Below I have Bad Girls, but if you want to check out Miss Korea or Going Crazy, click one of the links posted throughout this rant!

38. MBLAQ – Sexy Beat & Love Beat [176 Points] Released: June 4, 2013

 So I've included the repackage here since they’re pretty much the same album (as I did with other repackages), but this album has one of the best songs of the Summer (in my opinion). Smoky Girl just hooked me right from that first beat and the R&B flavored with smooth vocals and dancing quickly morphed into a type of electronic club song and you couldn't help but start dancing.

37. Master’s Sun OST [182 Points] Released: August 2013

 Oh, Master’s Sun. This drama was magic and the soundtrack was as well. First of all, I think Master’s Sun is the best drama of 2013, and I even got my roommate Billy to watch it with me! And she doesn’t watch Korean Dramas. Funny side note, I was watching Answer Me 1994 the other night on the Roku, and she turns to me and says, “I want a second season of Master’s Sun.” How cute! I think I got her hooked! Anyways, the soundtrack really brings a lot of good fluffy memories back for me, both in the drama and the experience of watching it! Probably my favorite song on the compilation is Seo In Guk’s single (big surprise). Tasha a.k.a. Yoon Mirae’s song also popped out of nowhere and surprised me completely. I knew she could sing, but I’ve mainly only heard her more R&B and rap stuff she’s put out, but I loved her drama ballad florae. Other notable artists from the soundtrack are Gummy, Hyorin (SISTAR), Jung Dongha, and Melody Day. I’ll post Seo In Guk’s glorious ballad, but definitely check out the other songs I've linked too if you enjoy drama soundtrack songs!

36. Hong Jin Young – Boogie Man [183 Points] Released: March 22, 2013

 Boogie Man is a piece of Trot amazingness. I am a fan of trot, Korean’s almost precursor to pop music. It’s more of a traditional type of music, but I love it soooo much. Especially this song. I will say this was my favorite Trot song released this year. As soon as it was released I had this song on repeat. It’s just good Trot, and a little modernized to attract younger crowds. I just wish she would release more. Here’s hoping Hong Jin Young will release something else in 2014! If you like Trot and haven’t heard this song, definitely check it out! Plus she sang it this year at one of the Daejun’s! Totally surprised me!

34. Arashi – LOVE [185 Points] Released: October 23, 2013

 Oh Arashi. This album honestly should be a lot higher in the rankings. If only it’d come out sooner in the year. Starting with the main song PARADOX, oh my goodness fangasm. The moment I watched the PV for PARADOX I 100% back on the Arashi train. I always love Arashi, but PARADOX has such a  great beat and melody. On top of all that, the dance is sexy and Sho’s low register rap, holy cow! I don’t want to fangirl too much, but oh my gosh is this song good. On top of collecting their single released since their previous full album, we also got a small collection of new songs, including solo songs for each of the members. I think my favorite solo song would have to be either MatsuJun’s Dance in the Dark or Sho’s sugar and salt. I think besides those my other favorite song of the album is Rock Tonight. Also, as a side note it has been officially 11 years since I first listened to Arashi. And this year in September will be their 15^th Anniversary. If you haven’t joined the Arashian fandom, please join me now! I promise it’s awesome!

34. Henry – Trap & 1-4-3 [185 Points] Released: June 7, 2013

 Another Happy Birthday to Me this year was Henry’s first solo EP. I was super excited for Henry to get some more spotlight in Korea, and I was completely blown away by this EP. I love Trap, especially the different openings he did on the music programs. I love the original piano opening, but the violin one also had a special twist to it. Also, his back-up dancers wear Bronco Jerseys in the video (and on a couple live performances). GO BRONCOS AT THE SUPER BOWL! Anways, I also really enjoyed 1-4-3. I placed them together since 1-4-3 was on Trap, but then later released as a digital single. The digital single included an Englishversion of Trap as well as an acoustic version and remix of 1-4-3. And as those who know me are aware of, I love acoustic versions of songs. It’s just so magical. Anyways, I’m linking 1-4-3 so definitely check it out beside Trap!

32. f(x) – Pink Tape [186 Points] Released: July 29, 2013

 First of all can I just say I was skeptical of the promotion song Rum Pum Pum Pum since I am not a fan of The Little Drummer Boy, AT ALL. But I was pleasantly surprised with Rum Pum Pum Pum and that there were no other references to Drummer Boy. f(x) really hit it out of the park with their quirky style again. I love this song, both through the awesome metaphor and the cool round robin verse they had in there (my favorite part of the song). For those that haven’t seen lyric translations of the song, it’s drawing similarities between first love and someone’s first wisdom tooth. Hence the headache lines and such. I also enjoyed Shadow off the album, but my favorite song is Rum Pum Pum Pum.

32. Dal Shabet – Be Ambitious [186 Points] Released: June 20, 2013

“Boys be ambitious!” This was another song that was a summer anthem for myself. Dal Shabet returned with another mini-album of amazing. I really like Be Ambitious. I found the music video hilarious, and just enjoy the more disco-y feel of Dal Shabet’s sounds. I was excited to see what they were going to release since the last thing they did was Have, Don’t Have (also made of amazing). I wasn't let down at all, and still listen to Be Ambitious quite a bit. The other song I really enjoy is Let It Go, which actually had the lyrics written by Serri, one of the members! Please join me in the amazingness that is Dal Shabet! (Side note: They’ll be in my January countdown with their new song B.B.B. Preview: I love it!)

31. Seo In Guk – I Can’t Live Because of You [187 Points] Released: February 4, 2013

Bringing up the end of Part 2, I bring you Seo In Guk’s single I Can’t Live Because of You. This song features Verbal Jint, a good rapper and perfect for this song opposite Seo In Guk’s vocals. I can’t tell you specifically what it is about the song I like the most, but this is most likely my favorite of all of the songs Seo In Guk has released so far. I love this song, it almost has a ballady feel, but it’s a little more up-tempo and has a little bit of a pop feel to it. It just makes me feel happy and warm when I listen to it and I can’t help but sing along and give in to the feels!

Okay, well this wraps up part 2. Look for part 3 soon (very soon) since I’ll want to finish posting them before I start on January’s countdown! Here is the link for the YouTube playlist one more time! Till then!

Stasi ♫

Moving On

So once again, I am a huge slacker and am taking forever to update my blog. I'm sorry. But, at least I made it back to have an end of month post for September! So I made a list of what to go through on this post and it's pretty long. I'll just get into the thick of it! CAUTION: Long Rants Ahead!

So, first off, I thought I'd catch up on things I mentioned my last post (on the 8th). So the weekend after my last post was NDK! I had a lot of fun. There were a few small issues, but it wasn't the fault of the Con, but people there. I just tried to ignore it and enjoy what little time I had there! I was able to go to quite a few panels this year! Most of them were costuming/wig panels, but we also got to head to a few others. Also, I went to the AMV contest (like every year I've gone). It was good this year, but I was a little disappointed with the variety of animes selected. I don't know if it was the NDK judge's fault or just what the submissions were like. I did enjoy the ones that I saw though! I also got to finally see Derek and Travis. Oh how I've missed those two boys! Especially Derek! Things have been pretty different without him around. Hopefully we'll get more chances to hang out soon! Since, I have a lot more I could say, but I want to try to keep things short, I'll end my NDK stories here! I did buy a lot of artwork and a couple really cute plushies! If you want to know more just leave me a comment or send me a message and I can let you know more! I also need to upload the few pictures I took off my camera. Yes, I know, I fail.

Myself and 1 of my new plusies, NemuNeko (Sleeping Cat)!

Okay, so I'm going to try to keep this short, and a warning for those that have gotten this far, there will be a lot of fangirl rants later on! But you'll know more if you actually get that far! XD Anyways, continuing on... Before I get too much into the next few rants, I just wanted to to send out a little promo for my Examinations Blog! I'm currently doing a 5000 Question Survey (broken into parts) and would love to have more people check it out. There's a link on the side bar or you can just click above or here! Anyways, I'd love to have more people check it out and let me know what they think. Also, if you have any quizzes or surveys or psychological tests or anything you want to share, don't hesitate to send them to me! I'd love to take them, post my results and share them with my other readers!

So now that I got that out of my system, I also want to do a small rant here. I know this should probably be at the top, but I wanted to say something to all of you! Thank You!! I really do feel happy when I see that someone is reading my posts. I haven't really gotten many comments, but that's okay. I just hope that I'm not boring you too much with all my randomness and weird rantings! There is a reason that I'm bringing this up though! I was messing around in the statistics area of the new blogspot dashboard and found something interesting. As of this morning, I have had viewers/readers from the following countries: USA, Argentina, Philippines, UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, Indonesia, Russia, and Brazil! I honestly thought that most of the people reading were in the US, but I feel happy and amazed that people from so many countries have come across my blog! Anyways, thanks to all my readers! I hope that I keep you entertained until I stop writing!

The readers chart from the statistics area!

So there's something else I want to post in my blog, but I think I'll wait a couple more days before I post it. It's the longest rant of all the ones I have planned, and I think I'd prefer to just do a  post about it and not really have it surrounded by other happenings. I will be posting within the next week (for the first October post), so keep your eyes peeled for that! Speaking of October, it starts tomorrow! I'm so excited! I love October! Fall is my favorite season and Halloween is my favorite holiday. Also, my good friends Billy and Curtis are getting married this month as well! I'm really excited for the weather to start changing (hopefully *knocks on wood*)! I also need to start figuring out what my Halloween costume will be. I'm currently floating between a few ideas, but I need to make a decision fast so I have enough time to make my costume before it arrives!

Okay, so before I start on my Asian Pop group fangirlisms, I am watching a LOT more American TV shows this season. It's crazy. I don't think I watched this many shows before I was watching more Japanese and Korean shows. But anyways, there are a lot of good shows this season, so I thought I'd share what ones I'm watching and let you know my quick thoughts! First off, I'll mention those that haven't premiered (or I haven't watched yet). ABC's Private Practice premiered last night, but I'm still only about halfway through Season 4, so I need to catch up first before I start the new season. Also, one of my favorite shows premieres October 12th! It's USA's Psych! I love this show! Shawn and Gus are hilarious and I can't wait for this show to start back up! Also premiering in October is ABC's new show Once Upon a Time. It starts on the 23rd and is created by the writers of Lost. I watched the first half of season one of Lost and enjoyed it, but I missed one episode and got lost after that (ignore the bad pun). I really enjoyed what I watched though. Anyways, it looks to be about fairy tales and looks really good from the previews. I'll definitely be watching the first couple episodes and then decide from there!

Ignore the date and time! Psych now airs on Wednesdays!

As for shows that have already started airing, and I've seen I'll just do a quick run through. When I start the shows mentioned above, I'll be watching a total of 11 American shows this season! I don't think I've ever watched that many before. Anyways, I'll do this by days. I am watching three shows that air on Tuesday evenings. My favorite of the three is CW's new show starring Sarah Michelle Gellar (I love her) in Ringer. I am really addicted to Ringer. It is so freaking good. Plus, I'm really happy to see Sarah Michelle Gellar active again! She's one of my favorite actresses. It is really good. I really recommend this show to a lot of people. Anyways, I'll stop ranting about Ringer and move on. The other Tuesday shows that I'm watching are Fox's Glee and New Girl. This is the third season of Glee, but honestly, I'm only watching it for Harry Shum, Jr. He's such an amazing dancer! As for New Girl, I'm really enjoying this odd comedy. Zooey Deschanel is awesome (as always) and I'm really loving here character Jess! If you are into comedies, definitely check it out! Moving on, the only Wednesday show that I watch (until Psych starts) is the CW's America's Next Top Model (ANTM). We are on Cycle 17 (I can't believe I've watched 16 seasons before this) and Tyra has finally decided to do an allstars season! It's been interesting so far, and I've been loving the photo shoots! The last one had the models on stilts! So crazy! Thursdays leave me with new episodes of ABC's Grey's Anatomy and CBS's The Big Bang Theory (and eventually Private Practice). Both shows are two of my favorites! The Big Bang Theory is starting Season 5 while Grey's Anatomy is currently in Season 8! The only other day that airs shows I watch are Sundays! That leaves me with Discovery's Storm Chasers and CBS's The Amazing Race. Both are really good shows, but completely different. For those that don't know, Storm Chasers is a series that follows meteorologists and storm chasers during tornado season. The Amazing Race is a reality show where there are teams of two and it's a race around the world. What I really enjoy about Amazing Race is that they get to participate in cultural activities, that sometimes leave me feeling so jealous. So those are the shows that I'm watching this season. I've linked all them to their websites (if you didn't notice) in case you want to learn more! I hope I've helped you a bit with Fall TV line-up! Feel free to comment below and leave me any recommendations!

Well, keeping on with TV Shows, but jumping to Asian ones, I'll start off talking about the Korean Drama Protect the Boss. I honestly can't remember (and don't want to backlog) if I've mentioned it before, but I love this show. It's one of my favorite Korean dramas hands down, and definitely my favorite of the year. The main actors play really childish characters and there's so many funny moments. I've gotten several people hooked to it, so have seen up to episode 10 at least 4 times already! The last two episodes aired this week, so by the beginning of next week the English subs should be up so I can finish it. I'm sad it'll be ending, but at the same time I'm happy. Some American shows go on WAY too long. Also, with Asian TV shows, Skip Beat! the Taiwanese live action drama has released an airing date. I've heard two different dates (December 18th and 24th), but since they're both in December, I'm pretty sure that it'll start then. I'm sad because it's still a couple months away, but then again I've been waiting over a year for this, so a couple more months won't hurt! Plus, I know that it's already been filmed!

Keeping with the same thought train, the new chapter of Skip Beat! was released on the 20th! I can't believe we're already on Chapter 180! So this chapter started out with a flashback. We see Ren back when he was Kuon in an alley (presumably in the States) beating up some Americans. Suddenly...I think his name is Rick...runs up and tries to convince Ren to stop fighting. While thinking about his flashback, Kyoko appears and is confronts him about his reactions (more specifically the smile) during his fight with Murasame-san. I'm excited for this because we are learning more and more about Ren's back story. I can't wait until it's all revealed! Also, Ren is super cute in this chapter. Most of the chapter takes place in their hotel room, and Ren is like huddling under the blanket. The end of the chapter leaves us with Kyoko stepping out of an elevator (she went to the convenience store) and Ren in front of it draped in the blanket. As a side note, I was talking with Pri about Skip Beat! earlier, and she mentioned that we haven't seen Sho lately. I wonder what he's up too, but guessing off previous frames, he's probably sulking somewhere picturing Ren and Kyoko on dates! The next chapter comes out on October 20th, so we have a little bit of a wait. I don't mind though. It's more normal to have an update monthly, and it's way better than the two month streak we had a little bit ago.

Okay, so now I'll start the more serious fangirl things. I'll start off slowly though, which means the smaller rants! I'll also be starting with my Japanese fandom, Arashi! It has been released that Arashi will be singing the theme song for Sakurai Sho's new drama Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but it's a new Japanese drama! It starts airing for the Winter Season (I believe) and stars not only my bias from Arashi, Sakurai Sho, but one of my favorite Japanese actresses, Kitagawa Keiko. If you've watched any Japanese dramas before, she was in Buzzer Beat (with Yamapi). She's also in the Japanese Movie adaptation of Paradise Kiss (which I really, really want to see). I just hope to finish the last drama Sakurai-san was in before this one starts (Tokujo Kabachi). Actually, now that I think about it, I'm pretty behind overall in Arashi dramas since My Girl.

So moving on to Korean fandoms, Brown Eyed Girls made their comeback! They are one of my favorite girl groups out there! Not only are they older than most of current groups, but they are so strong. I really think that they are the Queens of the girl groups. Anyways,  the new song is awesome. It's kind of an onslaught to the senses though with their vocals and the instrumentation, but from the second listen onward I was hooked. This is one of the few songs I rock out to when I have to walk anywhere. These girls are so talented, plus this MV and song is sending a message. What's nice is that everyone can interpret the message differently, but at the same time everyone also understands that it's also sending a message to the censor board that pretty much reads as "Fudge You!" (I rarely cuss. Don't hate!) I really recommend you check out their new song if you like music. Oh, I forgot the most important part, it's titled "Sixth Sense." They've also done their comeback on the music shows, and boy are these girls amazing live as well! I'll give both links to the MV and LIVE here. Just as a side note, I'm going to stop embedding the videos here on my blog to help with the play counts. Please still check them out though!

Quickly, before I get to my main fandom, I wanted to share a little bit of TVXQ and JYJ news. TVXQ has released an album in Japan! I really love the song B.U.T. (Be-au-ty). It's a good one to walk too as well. I'll link you to the MV! Also, JYJ has released their album In Heaven. The songs on this CD are so good. I really love these songs so much. Plus, what makes it even more exciting is that these boys had a hand in each of these songs, with some of them being completely composed, lyricized, and arranged by the members. I am such a fan of this CD that I caved in and bought a copy. I'm not buying at least two of each version (like with Super Junior), but I did want to show them my support. I'm going to have an Asian artist poster on my walls that isn't Super Junior! But anyways, they've released two MVs with the CD. The first is In Heaven which is a ballad song that Jaejoong composed, arranged, and wrote the lyrics for. I just want to give a little background. The story in the MV is about a man (played by Junsu) and his girlfriend that dies. In reality, Jaejoong wrote the song after a friend of his committed suicide. The second MV is Get Out and one of my favorite songs off the CD. This song is also one of the ones on my walking playlist! The music and lyrics were written by Jaejoong and Yoochun. Jaejoong also helped in the arrangement of the song. Anyways, check them out. If I had to choose just one for you to check out though, I'd go with Get Out. It's one of my favorite songs, of pretty much all Korean music. Not many artists other than Super Junior have made that short list!

Okay, so finally to the big boys (hee hee), Super Junior! there is actually a lot of information that's come out with Super Junior since my last post, but I'll just keep it down to a few major happenings. First, Mr. Simple Version C, the repackage has been released! The title track is A-CHA. They have released the MV and performed it LIVE. There were three other songs that were added in the repackage as well. Oops! (featuring f(x)), A Day, and Andante. Andante is another one of my favorite ballads, and once again composed by Henry and Leeteuk. I also really like A Day (which features all of the members). Oops took me a bit to get used to, but the turning point was when I read the lyrics to the song. Leeteuk, Donghae, Heechul, Eunhyuk, and Shindong wrote the rap for the song and knowing what they are singing really makes the song a lot better. But, back to A-CHA! Once you listen to A-CHA, I am warning you that it will be stuck in your head. I though Rokkugo was bad, but A-CHA is at a whole new level! This song is very, very addicting! I recommend you check out both the MV (which I have some issues with) and the live to see some more of the dance! Honestly though, the MV bothered me a bit. The only saving grace it had was that the boys looked amazing in it. Anyways, that's a whole different rant. Just a reminder, if you didn't click them before, check out the MV and/or LIVE of A-CHA!

For a smaller and quicker rant, Heechul has finished his four week basic training. He started his service yesterday. I am glad to see him complete his training and to hear that he's back living in the dorm with our boys, even if he isn't promoting with them currently. I just hope that the fans and reporters stop harassing him and let him do his duty in peace. It was wrong for him to be accosted like that. It also bothered me a bit that they are showing more interest in him now that he's not promoting anything and trying to live as a soldier or citizen and not an idol.

Kim Heechul at training.

Leeteuk, our dear leader, has started Season 4 of Hello! Baby with Sistar. There are five episodes out so far, but I've only seen the first one. I tried watching it when it first came out, but I was so confused and got a little bored not being able to understand...pretty much anything. There has been only one episode released with good subs, so I'm still waiting for more. But, Leeteuk is so cute dealing with the baby Kyumin. He's so adorable! lately, many different things have made me think about having a family and more specifically a baby. One of the things to blame is this show and Leeteuk. Anyways, Leeteuk Appa (Dad in Korean), Fighting!

Okay, so there is one more small thing I want to mention/rant about before I leave you. Our Shindong's birthday was on the 28th of September. I sent him a small message on twitter that day, but I wanted to say a small message to him. I know that he most likely won't see it, but I still want to write it out and post it on that small chance!

To Shindong:

Happy Belated Birthday! I hope you had a wonderful day! I did see the celebratory message and picture you shared on Twitter. I just wanted to say thank you! You've made me so happy to call myself an ELF. You really are someone that has had a rough time being in Super Junior, but I and ELF love you. I know that I've said some things about your surgery, but I honestly don't really care. You will always be the same Shindong to me! Whether you lose 15 more pounds, or gain it all back, I will always support you! I wish that I was in Korea to send you things, or spoke Korean well enough to send you this message and hope that you see it and understand it, but I'm happy knowing that I can still do my small part from America to support you and the Super Junior family. Forgive me for rambling on. I just wanted to say Happy Birthday! and Thank You! You really have given me hope and laughter and can always brighten my day when I'm feeling down!

One of the photos Shindong tweeted. He's with the other Super Junior members!

Okay, so you didn't really have to read that, but I just wanted to get it out. Anyways, I'll leave you with the customary gif! This week's gif is the birthday boy Shindong!

Shindong from the A-CHA MV Teaser.

Ja ne~

Stasi

Updates Out The Wa-Zoo!

Hisashiburi desu ne! So it's been quite a long while since I've updated! Bad me. *wacks self * Anyways, a lot has happened since I've last posted. The biggest and best part is that I was accepted to study abroad in Japan!! I'll be leaving in late March! I can't wait. I'm really excited and nervous all at the same time. This will be my first time leaving the United States and only my third time on an airplane (The first and second was to and from my aunt's wedding in San Diego the summer after 8th grade). Right now, the most stressful thing is money. My mom finally got a job about a month ago though, so that's really exciting! At least she has some sort of income now, although she's getting less than she was on unemployment. On the plus side, I'll have good insurance again and won't have to have UNC's way too expensive insurance. But anyways, back to the whole money issue...well...it sucks. That's pretty much it. Back to the more exciting topic of Japan, I'll start a new blog under this account that'll be specifically for my travels and life in Japan. As of right now I'm also planning on doing an accompanying Vlog, but I might not get to that, so there'll just be random video postings. We'll see how things go when I get there! The first part is a home stay so I'm REALLY excited about that! I'll try to keep updating until I leave, then everything will probably switch to the other blog. XD

As for anime, I haven't really watched many lately. I saw a few episodes of series I've seen at the beginning of the semester at Anime Club, but then I got busy and couldn't really attend anymore. A lot of other people were busy as well, so the club kind of got put on hold. I have been more into Dramas lately, especially Korean ones. This might be me planning on doing too many things again, but I was considering doing another blog under this same account for drama reviews and updates and such! We'll see. At the very least I'd want to place my list somewhere online for reference. I was looking at some of the sites that are similar to http://www.myanimelist.net/ but I haven't found one that I really enjoyed. Right now I have it all in an Excel spreadsheet. Maybe I'll mess around with some of the free website programs around.

What else is there to update? Oh! Skip Beat! Chapter 150 came out this morning, so I just have to wait for it to be subbed. The last chapter was absolutely amazing!! I was fangirlling and squirming in my chair and most likely was smiling like a goof. Um...I can't remember when I last updated, but the we are still on the Valentine's arc. Um...to sum it up, Sho got jealous of Kyoko not being angry and focusing on her revenge anymore. He brought her flowers and put a piece of expensive chocolate in her mouth. When she wasn't expecting it, he kissed her and "took the chocolate back." As a result Kyoko's first kiss was stolen and hating Sho came right back to the forefront of her mind. Ren tried to calm her down by having her think that it was professional and that if she does, then she doesn't have to count it as a real kiss. She tries, but of course she can't help but brood when having down time. To distract her, Ren kisses her on the cheek (and assume fangirl mode) and thanks her for his birthday present. The last chapter (149) started out with Kyoko being consumed by the kiss from Sho and talking about how he has taken over her body with hatred. At the end, she was confused and consumed by the kiss from Ren; taken over in a completely different way. It was really nice to see Ren finally do something, and I can't wait to see how Kyoko is going to figure this out. After Ren kissed her cheek, Kyoko couldn't even film her Mio scenes. I can't wait to see how she interprets everything and if she finally comes to realize that Ren has feelings for her and she for him. Oh, but then again I could be hoping for too much in one chapter. Before all this kissing stuff happened, this arc was getting a little drawn out. I'm just happy that things are picking back up into what made me love Skip Beat! in the first place. Oh and Yashiro has a wonderful scene with Ren in this past chapter. I wish he would have more parts! Yashiro for the win!! XD

Arashi update!! In early September I got the 10 year anniversary limited edition 3 Disc compilation CDs, All the Best! 1999-2009! It's absolutely amazing. I just wish I could go to Japan to see the tour. I'm finally getting closer to being caught up on Arashi no Shukudai-kun. Only 40-something episodes left. I've seen a bunch of piece of episode 162 and can't wait to watch the whole thing! They have their new Christmas photo shoot out and the amazing ll13jl made wallpapers and icons out of them! Check them out here: http://ll13jl.livejournal.com/8640.html?view=318144#t318144 I have the first few episodes of Aiba-chan's first leading role in a Drama, My Girl, but I haven't watched it yet. I know that it has a lot of drama and that a lot of people cried, and lately I've been in a more comedic mood. For example, I've watched the amazing Korean Drama You're Beautiful about three times through now. The last couple episodes have a more depressing and mellow mood, but the show overall is amazing. But anyway, back to Arashi. Their new single My Girl came out. It has two other songs on it. Tokei Jikake no Umbrella is one and it is the theme song for the mini drama 0 Gōshitsu no Kyaku (Guest in Room 0), which stars a lot of J&E boys. Riida is in the first couple episodes. I really like this song and it is pretty different for the tone and style of most of Arashi's songs. The other song is Super Fresh. It's pretty good as well, but then again I haven't found an Arashi song I didn't like. They also had a song released with their 5x10 All the Best! Clips 1999-2009 DVD that has all of their PVs and special introductions for each. The song is called Attack It! and it is one of my favorite Arashi songs! It was a little odd at first hearing them all rap, but the entire song is full of so much energy and it just amazing! Let's see, is there anything else to update about my fangirlism, oh well my list has rearranged. I was reading about the boys and just watching their various interviews and variety shows and have come to realize that I really like Sakurai Sho. Before he was just king of there, but I've been learning a lot more about him and I've come to like him as a person even more. There are things he says and does that just makes me take pause and improve my impressions of him!

As for other fangirlisms, I've been listening to a lot of FT Island lately as well. The lead vocal Lee Hong Ki was Jeremy in You're Beautiful and sang some of the insert songs. I found their CDs and started listening and I still can't figure out why I just passed over them earlier. Right now my current favorite song from them is "Bad Woman." The music video is really nice and Hong Ki just belts out the chorus. It just sits right with me and the mood I've been in lately. I've also been listening to abingdon boys school a lot as well. My current favorite song that I've been listening to a lot from them is NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. Of course, I've also been listening to both of the You're Beautiful OSTs. And all of this Japanese and Korean music has been in between spurts of Christmas Music! XD

Speaking of Christmas, most of my presents are bought and taken care of. I just have to get my dad's (although I know exactly what I'm going to get him) and finish making my Favorite Grandpa's! I also need to start digging out my address book so I can send my Christmas Cards here soon. I already have them all bought, I just need to find addresses and put stamps and names on the envelopes!

Well, I think I have run out of things to update. I should be getting my NDK New Year's Eve cosplay gown and wig soon! That'll be a lot of fun. I'll definitely update after Christmas and after NYE. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (just in case I don't get back on before either holiday XD)!!

~Ja Mata

Stasi <3