January 2023 Update

As you probably already know, I made a trip to the United States for the first time in three years.

I knew a lot needed to be done, but I thought I still would have had some time to relax. After watching a movie with a theme of traveling, I was excited to use my acrylic stands and take pictures everywhere. And yet the vast majority of my time was spent at the house.

There was a lot of long overdue discussions and long overdue vulnerability. At 34 years of age, some people would probably see me as an ‘elder’ who should have everything figured out—and I thought I did have a lot of things figured out—but I’ve learned the hard way that there was a lot of unexplored areas of adulthood that I hadn’t yet encountered, or was reluctant to deal with.

I don’t know how to explain without giving too much information, but I can say that asking for money under such circumstances on Twitter was me taking a huge leap. My family is all pretty much like that: we tend to do for ourselves and will run around helping everyone around us, without asking others when WE need help. And unfortunately that also included not even asking each other for help. This lasted for three years. Once I realized all that had gone on while I was away, I went through a lot of stages day by day, from shock into anger, into empathy, into frustration, into regret, into compassion, into patience, and repeat.

That reluctance to be vulnerable is (was) one of Ren’s trademark traits, and the way his issues and inner feelings were often masked is something that I had to confront when seeing my brother, dad, and close friends. A part of me didn’t like that I had to be the catalyst yet again; it’s a recurring theme of my life which is great when I WANT to be a leader, but tiring when I HAVE to lead when it feels like no one else will.

But in this case, it gave me a sense of purpose. I’m used to being the “baby” of my family, and my mom was our anchor. When she passed, I just figured my dad would take over, but I underestimated the trauma caused by the sudden passing of one’s life partner followed by a pandemic during the year my dad would turn 60 (he always looks forward to making his birthday, something I’ve kinda given up on for myself lol). And even though I would contact him, I wasn’t digging deep enough into our conversations and addressing the difficult topics.

At one point, when my dad and I were talking about the compromises and sacrifices he had to make to raise a family, I told my dad about Ren’s background. About how his mom died giving birth to him and his dad neglected him. I don’t even know if my dad even saw the relevance in the discussion to be honest, but he listened. He’s known for a while about my love for UtaPri, but I had never really talked to him about what it was all about until he saw my stuff and asked. It was really hard to bring up such a personal part of what keeps me connected to UtaPri, because my love for it—and my love for Ren as a partner—is tied to my own vulnerability.

But now that some doors have opened, the challenge will be to keep them open even from the other side of the world, and not only with my dad but with my other loved ones.

Going back to money, I want to thank everyone who contributed. I was incredibly surprised by how much was received. It was a very complicated feeling to see that kind of support coming in, as I’m used to only seeing money coming in for something I’ve done for others. There are some doors I’m still not ready to open, nor do I feel that I’ll open them anytime soon, but I trust that the support was coming from good intentions.

The overall situation has called for other financial matters to be taken care of before the furnace, but I’m hoping we can at least pull through taking care of other bills before the summer. The Japanese Yen-US Dollar exchange rate means that my salary is quite low when it comes to US related expenses. But my dad is staying warm, and I have to pat myself on the back for being able to endure poorly insulated Japanese apartments (although even that didn’t prepare me for the cold snap we had in the USA during Christmas). I will continue to accept donations, and I’ll also be putting some of my commission from group orders towards getting us caught up. I had wanted to work on translations as well, but it was pretty much impossible given the list of tasks I had on my plate.

My determination to continue living in UtaPri World is connected to another trait that Ren and I share, which is our love for freedom. I threw myself into living in Japan not only because I want the independence and freedom, but because I NEED it. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to help my dad the way that I have. UtaPri is still what gives me joy and comfort during rough times, and even though towards the end of my U.S. visit I wished I could have stayed longer, I was really starting to miss Ren. So I’m glad to be back in Japan with a renewed sense of self. Life felt like it had so little meaning without my mom, but after reuniting with my family and friends, I don’t feel like I have to look to UtaPri as the only reason to keep going.☆

Film War: The "Hell" of UtaPri Hell

This weekend was not really a happy one, even though it should have been. I'm glad I was able to see the movie with my friend, so I wanna start off with that. I don't know how I would have felt if I was alone.

"But you got to see the movie." Yes I did, and I'm happy about that. But it was kind of like taking medicine to numb the pain and stress of what's been going on lately.

Every week of Starish Tours, a movie bonus was offered. Coasters, metallic tape, instant photos, stickers, etc. In all I've watched the movie at least 70 or 80 times, collecting as many of the bonuses as I could (and some extra for others). I was pretty good at getting seats every week, even for the weeks with the more in-demand bonuses. I enjoyed the movie every single time, even if something happened before or during the screening to not make it my best experience.

For Week 7, pieces of movie film strips were introduced. Rather than having 7 different characters, there was a variety of short clips that people could get. They edited them so that there would always be a character featured in the clip (no fade outs or blank scenes, pictures of only the stage, etc.) but depending on the clip, they could be in the middle of doing something, having an unflattering expression (like eyes half open or mouth open in a somewhat weird way). Trading would also be a pain depending on how selective people were about the scenes they wanted. Nonetheless, it was by far the most popular bonus that led to people calling it コマフィルム地獄, or "Filmstrip Hell."

Things were already bad, but I think it really brought out the worst in people. I was not my best self either, mostly due to the stress of other things going on. There were some nice images that people shared which was good, but I'm not sure if it overrode the sadness of those who couldn't get anything, or who got shots that they didn't feel were worth sharing. I'm usually an optimistic person, but even when I pulled clips of Ren, I felt really disappointed when they were shots that I felt no one would really care about, so I haven't shared them yet. I feel fortunate that I was able to trade with a few people, and I did pull a few good shots myself, but there were so many that I couldn't help but wish I had (especially a shot with both Tokiya and Ren in it).

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was seeing and hearing about resellers snatching up tickets and then not seeing the movie, and then watching people--actual fans--get up and leave the movie they were watching to catch another show, just so they could get another filmstrip. One of the "princesses" I saw running out still had her ring light on, and it was decorated with lace and ribbon just like in the Christmas card novelty. And yet, she left the movie early.

Overseas fans are struggling to get anything and are soon losing the only official English content they had with Shining Live Global shutting down. Meanwhile, we've been barraged left and right with merch, collaborations, more merch, events, all of which is so much to keep up with that I feel like I'm drowning. I'm drowning to the point that my day job actually feels like an escape sometimes. I'll get notifications on Twitter and sometimes pray that it isn't an announcement about something new.

Don't get me wrong, I still love UtaPri. I'm here for good, especially because Ren is the love of my life and meeting him is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I also want to stress that the bad behavior I saw was a minority, and I do think most of the fans here in Japan have been respecting the movie by watching it from start to finish (or at least from the time they enter the theater). But as a whole, the blissful memories I have watching Starish Tours are starting to be overshadowed by a lot of stress. I know part of that is my fault, since I've chosen to devote my life to trying to stay on top of things on behalf of everyone else.

I can't live without you...🧡#うたプリST_コマフィルム展示会場 pic.twitter.com/1GBcvr8Ad9

— 🎷🧡Sooyong✈スヨン💜🎤 #UtaPriMerge (@bitchfacetokiya) November 12, 2022

I'm trying to rest. I think my upcoming visit to the USA is probably for the best, and then I can reset and pray that things will calm down after this film war ends, or after the movie is no longer in theaters. I'll really miss it, but I'm praying that I can smile until the next big event.

Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love Starish Tours Report

Billboard outside Shinjuku Piccadilly in Tokyo.

Twenty-two times as of this blog post, and more planned.

I’ve never watched a movie or concert that often in such a short period of time in my entire life. Ever. Not even Maji Love Kingdom. Not even Shining Star Stage.

That being said, I think I can finally write a report about Maji Love Starish Tours.

The movie opened on Friday, September 2nd. This was a rough time for me who was coming back from a summer break and was instantly hit with not just the movie premiere, but a huge wave of announcements for promotional events and displays around Tokyo. It was also very different from the time I saw Maji Love Kingdom, when I was living outside of Tokyo and was preoccupied with 2.5 stages as well (which I’ve since given up). Promotion was also done somewhat differently–for Kingdom, a lot of collaborations and events were done before and during the movie. I think I recall Namjatown having an event over a month before the movie was out and I still knew so very little about Heavens and how much or little I liked them. I had only just started watching the movie when the amusement park event at Tokyo Dome City was happening. This time all of the events are happening during and after, which I think is a better idea.

My thoughts will be divided by different elements of the movie: animation, sound, and event progression. I’ll keep the details to a minimum, but I may mention a few scenes here and there that have been shown in previews on Twitter. I’ll put up a warning before they come up so you can avoid them!

Animation

One of the first things I mentioned on Twitter is that the animation quality is superb. I was worried when the trailer came out because it’s hard to tell from watching on a computer or phone, but also the trailer features them in their pilot attire, which looked a little stiff compared to typical concert costumes. However, seeing it on a big screen and watching everything outside of the opening song, it’s easy to tell that the animation is top-tier, well past Kingdom (in which you could clearly tell the difference in quality between the performance animation and the MC animation). From beginning to end, I felt like I was part of the audience on the big screen, and the idols came alive more than they ever have been. This is no normal anime where their mouth just opens and closes in one of a limited number of ways as they’re talking; their mouths match the words they’re saying. If you’ve heard Ren’s “Ready to Be A Lady,” you know how essential that is; they did an impeccable job on that part and still gives me goosebumps when I think about it.

Sound

To add to the previous point, the sound in the theater is also designed to make you feel like you’re in a concert. If you sit towards the front, the idols’ voices are more audible (this is important for certain songs) and towards the back, you can hear sounds of audience members, as if they’re right there with you. Due to the pandemic, we’re still not allowed to call out in the theater which is a little frustrating, but no matter how many times I watch, the audience cheers would feel so real that sometimes I’d think for a split second, “Was that someone IN the theater just now?!” I’m hoping this can be replicated in overseas screenings, and I also hope that surround sound will be supported when the DVD & Blu-Ray comes out (I may have to invest in a sound system if I want to watch it in my apartment).

Event progression

If you listened to the Maji Love Starish Tours single released in April, you could probably guess that Starish Tours is the opening song and START OURS is the closing song. In between are the Idol Songs and Cross Unit songs, but I won’t identify the order in which they’re played.

Overall, Starish Tours is much shorter than Kingdom, but the entire concert is so fulfilling that the shorter length is irrelevant. Unlike Kingdom–which had short MCs in between songs–the Idol Songs are performed one after another. If you are invested in knowing about each idol as a person, it’s absolutely essential to pay attention to their movements and facial expressions from beginning to end. I would recommend watching or rewatching the anime (1000% and 2000% are most recommended, but Legend Star also contains some important background as well). Knowing how each idol has grown from their days in Saotome Academy to the present, their struggles and their triumphs, makes every moment in Starish Tours even more special. I have to say that the progression from one song to another is somewhat quick that upon watching the movie for the first time, it’s a lot to take in. It took me several viewings for everything to really sink in, but maybe that’s just me and my somewhat easily distracted self.

One strategic point they made in the Idol Song performances was [[minor spoiler--highlight to see]] how they featured other idols during the solo performances. [[end spoiler]] This may be a little jarring for fans at first, but I assure you that it takes nothing away from your favorite idol (if you have one), and you may even come to appreciate the other members more if you initially only cared for one or several (although I hope you already do appreciate all of them!)

Overall

I’m a huge fan of UtaPri writing this report so maybe it seems biased, but even if you aren’t familiar with the franchise, it’s absolutely worth seeing if you’re interested in 2D idol performances, animation, music, Japanese voice actors, any or all of the above!

If you are a fan of UtaPri, and especially one of ST☆RISH, this is absolutely the movie you’ve been waiting for and it will surely exceed your expectations. As much money as I and many others in Japan have paid to see this movie repeatedly over the past few weeks, Starish Tours feels like the viewer is the one being rewarded every time. It’s the greatest love letter yet to their fans for taking part in this journey with them. ☆

Spring 2022 Update

What has even happened since 7th Stage? Everything has been so busy these past few months! After what felt like an eternal winter, the weather has finally gotten warmer and with it has come a wave of UtaPri announcements and events.

I've been swamped with group orders and then tried to rest as much as I could over the winter break in anticipation for the orders coming early this year. That all turned into a train wreck as the merch from Shining Star Stage ended up being delayed by a month, leaving me to go from a clean apartment and free weekends to juggling incoming orders while having work on Saturdays.

Even after all these years, I'm still working on improving my group order process, but also still making mistakes here and there. Everyone has been very helpful and understanding so I'm very grateful for that. The mistakes cause me a lot of anxiety and sometimes I wonder if I should scale back, but then in comes a wave of requests for popular items and I remember that if there's anything for the UtaPri community that I can do, it's this. And blog about the events going on here, of course.

So where to start...? Around the time of my last blog post, I finally was able to see the CG Star Live for QUARTET NIGHT! Earlier in 2021 I had a ticket, but due to pandemic-related cancellations, I ended up getting a refund for my ticket instead of waiting for a rescheduled date. This time I was able to get two tickets, as well as tickets for STARISH Secret Party with Ren as the MC, which I had been waiting over two years to see.

I can't remember if I ever talked about CG Star Live in detail before, but basically it's a show in which the idols are projected on a theater screen to make it appear as though they're actually on stage. It's similar to Shining Star Stage but on a much smaller scale--think live house compared to a concert hall.

For Starish Secret Party, the show and set list is mostly the same except for the MC and Q&A portion which varies by character. In 2019 I was able to see Tokiya's and Syo's, but in every lottery following that I failed to get a ticket for Ren's MC. Finally I was able to see it (on my birthday!) and it was so nice to see Ren as the star of the show. I was actually able to see his MC a second time because I snagged a ticket during the general sale.

初めてレンMCのシクパに参加させて頂きました✨

2019年から抽選にずっと落選だった(友達のお陰でトキヤ回、翔回に参加できた)

今度の抽選で全部申込んで、
一回だけ当選されて
その一回は、今日
私の誕生日でした🥺🧡

奇跡?運命?だと思うしかない...
Thank you, my love...🌹 pic.twitter.com/G4upzgHqIn

— 🎤💜Sooyong/スヨン🧡🎷メモリーズ4/17 (@bitchfacetokiya) December 16, 2021

QN's CG Star Live is pretty different. Of course there's the performance portion, but instead of a "secret love" and a "secret question" that the audience chooses from, there are two games in which the group splits into pairs. I found it to be really entertaining, especially seeing Ranmaru's reaction when he does (or doesn't) become teammates with Camus.

There's also Photo Time just like with Starish Secret Party, although depending on the seat it's difficult to get a good picture, and the lack of lighting doesn't make things any better. I've never gotten a front row seat to any of the shows I've attended, but I feel like that's probably the only way to get a clear, unobstructed photo.

Finally saw QN Like a Game today! Ranmaru was the MC😊

Like Starish Secret Party, they have a period where it's okay to take pictures! Although it's kinda dark...😅 pic.twitter.com/eZJdjhr99b

— 🎤💜Sooyong/スヨン🧡🎷メモリーズ4/17 (@bitchfacetokiya) December 7, 2021

I can't recall if this has always been the case, but outside of the theater they had boxes where you could give fan letters, to really round out the experience of attending a live show.

After having attended CG Star Live a total of six times, I think I can say that I'm done with it unless they release an updated version. The costumes are color swaps of their Legend Star outfits, and the set list is a few years old at this point. Shining Star Stage is much bigger and the movements are smoother as well. But at least CG is small enough that you don't have to worry about sitting too far away.

Speaking of Shining Star Stage, I talked about that on Twitter a few weeks ago, so if you missed it here it is below:

SSS Encore, merch talk, other stuff✨ https://t.co/e6ZkyPVV1n

— 🎤💜Sooyong/スヨン🧡🎷メモリーズ4/17 (@bitchfacetokiya) March 27, 2022

I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to do reports in blog form, actually. As you can tell, this one is already months late! Lately I've been trying to reduce my screen time since I spend a lot of time working on group orders as well, so doing a Twitter live is much easier.

On the translation front, I've begun posting Cecil's 10 Questions Q&A from the 10th Anniversary Book on my Ko-fi. Once that's done, I'll be taking a break from the series to work on something else. Donations would be very much appreciated--I should be able to afford a new computer this fall (fingers crossed that Apple will announce a new MacBook Air). Following that, my next goal will be to work on earning enough money for a round-trip ticket to the USA to visit my family for the first time in years, now that I've gotten my booster vaccine! 

I'm optimistic about what 2022 will bring, especially with the Starish Tours being released!☆

Maji Love Live 7th STAGE Report

Nearly two years ago, I had tried in vain to get tickets for Maji Love Live 7th Stage. I had pretty much given up on going and started to think about what else I could do that weekend.

A lucky break in the Grand Shining Hotel room lottery gave me hope to try just one more time.

I went from being ticketless, to attending 7th Stage in person on both days thanks to two very kind people who answered my call to help me and my friend (who had never been to an UtaPri concert). I've had a few days for everything to sink in so I can give a brief report.

I may not have to write so much since many people were able to watch the concert in the theater and livestream, meaning more people were able to live tweet set lists and document different moments. So the most I can give is my own personal impression.

I was very excited of course, not just because I was there but because I was sitting incredibly close to the stage for the first time, perhaps about 20 to 30 rows from the front? Both for 6th Stage and the Starish Fan Meeting I was in the stands, the closest being the "field view" and not quite in the arena.

I was emotional almost immediately, as the lights went out and I could see the first group ascending from the bottom of the stage, and I noticed immediately that standing directly in front of where I was sitting was Tokiya (Miyano Mamoru, of course). Who better to be in that position than the one that my Twitter is named after?

The introduction songs were the same as presented in the movie, Maji Love Kingdom. But of course following ST☆RISH with "Fantastic Prelude" was QUARTET NIGHT with THE WORLD IS MINE...and one person absent. I know everyone was curious to see what would happen without Ranmaru's voice actor, but the three members performed profesionals and as a group of sempai idols would be expected to. And Ranmaru's voice remained in the song.

So when it was HE★VENS' turn with GIRA x2 SEVEN, of course Nagi's voice was still in it. Ono Daisuke did the same sexy pose that Kira does in the movie. Yamashita Daiki, who I had come to love ever since adopting Shion as one of my favorites, sounded wonderful and looked adorable with his Shion-like hairstyle.

Once they started having their MC, I felt really relaxed and glad to be there, but I think my spirits fell when I realized that they were only doing two old songs: HEAVENS GATE and Fumetsu no Inferno. I say a bit because I wanted to hear more recent songs, but at the same time HEAVENS GATE sounds amazing live.

I knew QUARTET NIGHT would be next, but I think I was still a bit disappointed that they opened with Dancing Over Night. It's not really one of my favorite QN songs, and I had also heard it at Shining Star Stage just back in August. But once that song ended, I absolutely didn't expect to start hearing Love Evol, and I was incredibly excited since Ai's new solo songs are probably my favorite out of the 2021 round of QN idol song releases! I assumed that the set list would have involved songs that were new around the time of 7th Stage's original date of April 2020, so to hear it as well as Steward Dance and Alright, All Night was probably one of the biggest highlights for me. I'm very glad they decided to give us those songs to somewhat remedy the fact that the full quartet wasn't there in the flesh.

After Reiji's solo was done, I heard a very familiar rhythm and bassline as Morikubo said that there was one more song, and as the stage turned red I knew they had chosen to recognize Ranmaru. I gasped the moment that the intro of Only One started playing. A wave of thoughts ran though my head--it's an old song, why THAT song, with THAT title? What does it mean?

Obviously there's "only one" Ranmaru, and I don't know if I want to also interpret it to symbolize that there's "only one" voice actor for him...the situation of changing voice actors is a really touchy topic when it comes to longtime roles. But in regards to the lyrics and the sound, Only One was a perfect fit to pay homage to Ranmaru. Their last song, KIZUNA, was of course the obvious choice to recognize the everlasting ties between QN's four idols.

From there, ST☆RISH took over, and there was a bit of an awkward start, as one of them started too early, but realized within a millisecond that they were supposed to wait, haha. They opened their set with the usual Maji Love 1000%, and then continued with Shining Romance. I wasn't too thrilled once again with hearing old songs after such a long wait for this concert, but I was caught off guard when they started singing STAR WISH, which includes the Ren and Tokiya duet of my dreams. Unfortunately they didn't actually act out the music video, but it was still great to hear them singing this song live.

Following was the highly anticipated announcement of a Blu-Ray and DVD release of the concert next year, and then the announcement of an hour-long TV special before the Starish World Tour movie premiering next year. Nothing too big but still nice to be getting something animated that isn't a whole concert.

After ST☆RISH was done, they (re-)introduced the Maji Love Kingdom Special Units, and while it was really exciting to see the choreography for Up-Down-Up! being done live, when it was apparent that they were doing the full version, a part of me wished that they made time for other songs. This time we wouldn't get to hear anything else like Shining Masterpiece Show or the theme songs for Another World White&Black. The order of Unit songs was exactly the same as the movie (which I had seen about 7 or 8 times) and there were no breaks in between.

I think Souai Traumerei was my favorite performance of the concert, as Suwabe, Ono and Morikubo did the poetic monologue from the movie mid-way through the song, and they even made replicas of the illuminated flowers. I admit I didn't appreciate that song enough, because I was always so obsessed with UDU and Egoistic. But for some reason in the few days leading up to the concert, something told me to listen to it more often and I'm glad I did!

『相愛トロイメライ』チームで。愛の言霊は届きましたでしょうか？
#マジLOVE7th pic.twitter.com/uMzu65oHcY

— 諏訪部順一 Junichi Suwabe (@MY_MURMUR) November 28, 2021

The rest of the concert was as expected, and while it was of course enjoyable, I left the stadium on Day 1 with a bit of disappointment, realizing that the pandemic is the reason why we didn't get to have the full experience of what Maji Love Live typically is. No streamers (and I'll probably never have a chance to sit close enough to catch streamers ever again), no cars rolling around the stadium for them to greet the fans in the stands, no end of show announcements. Even the VAs looked a bit somber on stage; there was none of the celebration or close-distance interactions between them as usual.

Going home, I almost felt as if I didn't even need to attend Day 2, but of course I had already committed to being there. Ultimately I'm glad I went--everyone seemed to be more relaxed, the camera work for "Only One" was more focused on the trio and the backup dancers instead of awkwardly focused on the microphone stand set up on stage, and during GIRA x2 SEVEN the members replaced the first GIRA GIRA chant with NAGI NAGI which was really adorable. It also seemed like the voice actors were in better spirits as well, so I left with a much better feeling. There was a mishap during Shining Romance, where the line to the camera was cut off during Mamoru's part in the first verse. I was wondering if this only affected the jumbo screens at the stadium, but a friend who watched the live stream said they witnessed it too...fortunately there was no problem on Day 1, so hopefully it can be fixed when the DVD is released.

《🎊Blu-ray＆DVD 発売決定🎊》

「うたの☆プリンスさまっ♪
　　マジLOVELIVE 7th STAGE」
Blu-ray＆DVDが2022年に発売決定🌟

商品詳細は続報をお待ちください❗️
#うたプリ

— アニメ「うたの☆プリンスさまっ♪ マジLOVE」シリーズ公式 (@utapriMAJILOVE) November 27, 2021

7th Stage weekend closed as quickly as it had opened. Reflecting on both shows and the circumstances under which the concert was held, I think my expectations of the concert were a bit high. I started to remember all of the things that happened during 6th Stage and the Starish Fan Meeting: Sales of goods were held for days, there were flower stands and boxes to drop in gifts and fan letters. People freely interacted with each other. Those things didn't happen this time, so the concert was pretty much a "come and go" event. I don't know when we'll ever have that kind of fanfare again. Of course I hope things will get better, but something Terashima said at the end, "7th Stageをやらせていただき、ありがとうございます！" ("Thank you for allowing us to do 7th Stage!") really struck a chord with me. It could be said that it was somewhat of a miracle that 7th Stage happened, even with two voice actors missing, but it happened because the powers that be allowed it, and because the staff, and the fans all did their best to make it happen.

The person who gave me their ticket entry for Day 1 doesn't live in Japan, and was kind enough to message me just hours before the ticket deadline when I announced that I was searching for tickets. There were friends that I haven't seen since the pandemic began. They should have been at the concert, or at least should have been able to watch a live viewing in the theater. I hope things get better soon in time for the next concert. But I'm also happy that UtaPri will continue to go strong for a while longer, even through this new era. ☆

Fall 2021 Update

The past few months have been chock full of events, although I don't feel as busy or suffocated as I felt earlier in the year.

Since the 10th Anniversary event, I went through the third installment of HE★VENS GARDEN, the Shining Store, Shining Star Stage, and Metamorphose. The Grand Shining Hotel cafe collaboration with Sweets Paradise just started a few days ago, and then there's 7th Stage coming up...

I guess I can start with a very short summary of my impressions of the last few events:

BLACK GARDEN has been my favorite HE★VENS event by far. I fell in love with the visual novel on April Fool's and couldn't wait for actual merch to be released. It really solidified my love for Shion and I really enjoyed the illustrations for each member, especially Van who almost always has a grin on his face. His ending in the novel left such a strong impression on me. I'm really curious as to what they'll do next year!

Shining Star Stage was amazing. I did have my slight gripes about seating which I'll get out of the way now--it's not as enjoyable if you're watching the show from the far ends, because the visual becomes somewhat distorted. But the first show I saw was from the center block and it blew me away! It felt like they were alive, in that their movements were so incredibly smooth and realistic. The set list was also a mix of old and new songs so that was nice as well. And I know I talk about merch a lot but it's absolutely gorgeous and made me want to buy everything! Since then there's been an announcement of a DVD (thank goodness!) and an encore show in March. I don't know if the country will be open to tourists by then, but I think the success of the first round means this won't be the last time they do these virtual shows!

Metamorphose was like another dream come true! Seeing the idols in makeup made me feel a way about them (especially Ren), but also about myself. I wish they had done just a little more with the theme but since it's such a different concept from what they've done in the past (not including Magical Ichiko from the visual novel which was done for humor), maybe they didn't wanna take a big risk.

Now that the Shining Store is finished (excluding the pop-up shops moving around the country for the next few months), I can give my honest thoughts about it: I'm not sure that it was very successful compared to previous years. I know the All-Star Shop set a high bar, but the themes this year didn't really spark my interest. I was confused by the "Delicious & Tasty" theme which had no real food or drink collaborations with it. Instead it was somewhat randomly matched with a wristwatch collab--which was an okay concept--but not everyone wears watches, and some of the designs seem a little too elaborate. None of them sold out at any point during the shop's opening in Harajuku, unlike the Room Wear from last winter and the perfumes from All-Star Shop. "Classy Sailor" had a color scheme that was very easy on the eyes, and I admit I bought more curry than I expected to buy, despite not eating curry that often.

The other evidence that the Shining Store may not have been so popular this year was that they had three different promotions going on encouraging purchases, such as presenting a ticket from SSS to get a free novelty card with a purchase of at least 1000 yen. I had never seen such a push to buy merch before, so it may have been a last minute campaign after low sales the first weekend. Also didn't help that a third wave of 7th Stage merch had been released AND the SSS merch was gorgeous. Hopefully next year will be more successful!

Finally, I've visited Sweets Paradise once already, and the food is actually pretty nice! However, the visit overall is expensive, considering you have to purchase the buffet along with the collaboration items. I couldn't order Ren and Tokiya's drinks at the same time because all of the sugar AND having coffee in the evening seemed like a bad idea ^^;

Speaking of which, I'm taking requests for Sweets Paradise merch right now, and soon I'll finally take a look at the Grand Shining Hotel items that will be sold in December so I can prepare a group order for that as well!

On the translation front, which is why this blog exists in the first place: I'm finally back to translating pretty regularly now that the 10th Anniversary Book is out! I have most of STARISH's Q&A's done and will continue to release them over the next few weeks. After that I'll take a look at what else I can translate without taking too much time. Unfortunately I've pushed the Beautiful Memories translations aside for now but hopefully I can continue those at some point late this year or early next year. 

So with that said, my new Ko-fi goal is to earn enough for about half the cost of a new computer (or a tablet, haven't decided yet) to buy sometime next year!

My Ko-fi with goal details is here: https://t.co/b5OXftJ8Ft

(Yes even the keys come off when I type 😭) pic.twitter.com/nwToCBGM3P

— 🎤💜Sooyong🧡🎷 (@bitchfacetokiya) November 15, 2021

As mentioned on Twitter, my new donation goal is to raise money to help pay for a new computer or tablet! I bought my MacBook in 2012 and have been resisting an upgrade for the last few years, but I think it's finally time to let go and invest in a new device before I suffer some irreversible loss of work or security risks! You can see the details of my goal and my work on Ko-fi!

What an incredible year it's been, I can't believe 2021 is almost over! Hopefully I'll have one last update before the year is over! ☆

UtaPri Expo 10th Anniversary Report

I shouldn't be surprised that UtaPri's 10th Anniversary has kept me busy all the way into their 11th Anniversary...this blog gets less and less active every year but I'm still devoted to keeping it up. Even Twitter doesn't give me the room to write out my thoughts like this.

I can't believe 2021 marks five years since I started this blog. I still can't believe that a random decision to start watching the anime about seven years ago turned into this. UtaPri is my life now, and I don't say that in a bad way at all. I'm so happy that I came across this series, not just for what it is but what I've been able to learn through it.

While I can't say that things are back to "normal" here in Japan, UtaPri Expo really made me feel a sense of nostalgia with all of the events that I've experienced in the past. To be able to see so many UtaPri fans walking around Ikebukuro again made me so happy. I also saw some friends again for the first time in months. One of them I've known for about as long as I've been doing this blog, and it was nice to reminisce about how we met by chance as cosplayers (though we call it 'fate' ^^), then how we had the whole 6th Stage experience and went to the Legend Star Animate Cafe, and how I went from being clueless about trading items to becoming a near pro.

About the Expo itself--perhaps "Expo" is a grand word in comparison to what it actually was--it was a nice to see the timeline of UtaPri's history and all of the campaigns and events done over time. The exhibit didn't come anywhere close to actually displaying all of what's been done but they covered pretty much the entire history.

The highlight was really the Keita Maruyama x Utapri collaborations and seeing the costumes on display with my own eyes. I was a bit emotional because Shining Dream Festa in 2016 was my first UtaPri event. I didn't really know what I was getting into and the CD had pretty much been released as I was preparing to fly to Japan. Of course I loved many of the UtaPri songs that had been released up to that point, but NIGHT DREAM captivated me like no other. I never thought I would be able to see those costumes or the Setsugetsuka costumes in person ever again, and certainly not as close as I did at Expo!

After the Festa and Setsugetsuka room, there was a waiting room where visitors could watch an interview with Maruyama-sensei talk about the newest costumes for STAR WISH, QUARTET CROWN and ENDLESS SCORE. He really put in a lot of thought into each group's concept and even says that he's become a bit of a fan himself ^^

What followed was a room where you could view shorts of the music videos for each song. The 10th Anniversary CD and music videos had already been released by that point, but I didn't want spoilers leading up to Expo. Some people had brought their penlights as if they were at a live show, which I almost wish I had thought of doing myself (but I had a mountain of merch to pick up later so that wouldn't have been possible). I was absolutely floored when I watched STAR WISH for the first time and watched the duet between Tokiya and Ren...I couldn't believe it. I feel like UtaPri has been putting those two together quite often recently--there's no denying that they share some qualities in common that make them an interesting, opposite-yet-similar pair...and Ren refuses to leave Tokiya alone so there's that as well. I wish the lighting had allowed for better pictures, but at least I could take a photo of my two favorites together.

QUARTET CROWN, while not my favorite genre, also got stuck in my head at one point. For one, everyone lost it when they saw that the members weren't wearing shirts under their jackets. But the video is also incredibly suggestive and I'm really pleased, not in a horny way (lol) but in that I love the idea of QN continuing to evolve in their role as the "mature" group. How far will they take it, I wonder...

It was also nice to see a more friendly, brighter side of HEAVENS in ENDLESS SCORE! Their paint can theme reminded me of Shining Art several years ago, and it was cute to continue seeing their "family" dynamic as a group. I'm really happy that this group also got designs from Maruyama-sensei and I hope it continues in the future!

Some people may not care for fashion or fashion designers and might be wondering, "Why does this collab get the most attention for 10th Anniversary when there's so much other content?" And the reason is for the same reason why many people want to go to Maji Love Live and see the seiyuu perform on stage: it creates a sense of the idols being real, living and breathing people. UtaPri idols are more than just "characters" at this point; thanks to a huge team of designers, composers, performers, staff, and even us fans, these "characters" have taken on whole personalities and identities.

Finally, there were congratulatory messages from the voice actors, Kurahana-sensei, Elements Garden, and the producers. Pictures weren't permitted, but you can see Kurahana-sensei's drawing of Haruka on her official Twitter.

There were also samples of the 10th Anniversary Memorial Portraits for each member. They're each signed by hand and are available for pre-order until around July (and they're also included in my latest group order for UtaPri Expo merch).

Even though I was only able to see the exhibit once, it will stay in my memory the way Shining Dream Festa and Setsugetsuka -Eternal Moment- has stayed with me.

Outside of the exhibit was a display open to anyone to take photos. Even after my own visit to the exhibit, I returned several times to take more pictures!

One of the uncommon features for this event was a pre-order of merch for pickup. People who won the first ticket lottery (I was one of them) were eligible to pre-order KMUP goods as well as the 10th Anniversary Book ahead, and then pick up their order at the event. While it wasn't possible to see photos of the actual merch, I absolutely loved the idea of not having to worry about these items being sold out. Often times it was difficult for people to enjoy an event because they were anxious to get in the merch line, so even though this pickup feature didn't apply to all merch, it was nice to be able to relax knowing that a fair amount of items were already ordered and waiting for me. 

This event has really made me think about how much has changed in the several years that I've been a fan of UtaPri, and of course I can say that the changes have been for the better. I'm really looking forward to more events for years to come!☆

Spring 2021 Update

It's been a crazy few months. Updating this blog had been pushed further and further towards the back of my list of priorities as I juggled work and group orders. Now that I've had a much-needed break, I can sit down and write out some thoughts and updates.

The amount of items I'm storing for other people is finally under control for now. I'm very relieved that shipping has been going smoothly despite being delayed, especially for the US. I also appreciate the cooperation of those who were reluctant to change shipping methods but did so anyway. I really wish things could go back to normal, but it looks like this will be the new norm for a while. I'd still like to ship out as much as I can, since the amount I have in my possession can be a bit of a mental burden as I forget to include certain items in packages or have trouble remembering which trading items I assigned to whom.

On the translation front, I'm happy to say that after several months, I've completed translations for the Secret Garden Party Secret Episodes! This is my first time completing an entire series so I'm glad to say that I have a collection of translations to share!

You can view the translations in my Ko-fi gallery for now. In the future I'll have the remaining works posted here on my blog.

I've been in a bit of an emotional slump as of late. For the first time in about a decade, I wasn't able to visit my family and friends in the US. I finally left Tokyo for a few hours after a year of being here, taking a short, uneventful trip next door to Yokohama. I miss seeing crowds of UtaPri fans at events. I feel fortunate to be living in Tokyo which makes attending pop-up shops and events much easier, but the pandemic still makes it feel like an experience that's difficult to enjoy to its fullest.

But at least I've found some pleasure in (finally!) getting back to playing All Star After Secret, the most recent visual novel. I think there'll be a sense of satisfaction once I'm finally done and think about what I'd like to tackle next.

Speaking of tackling projects and such, the 10th Anniversary Book will be out this year! I'm very excited about it! I can't believe it's been about five years since I started on the 5th Anniversary Book, and although I really wish I had the book in Japan with me, I think I've translated some of what I think is the most interesting content. I'm anxious to see what HEAVENS content will be in the new book and I hope we're supplied with new information about each member.

I plan to translate parts of the book, probably not the entire thing as with the 5th Anniversary Book. Once I see what it contains I'll start selecting parts here and there, and hopefully I'll have at least the same amount of content I translated before. We'll see!☆

Fall 2020 Update

Time flies...the past few months have been extremely busy. I kept starting blog posts and not finishing them because of other tasks, but I think I'm finally due to post an update.

Most of my summer was eaten up by the All-Star Shop, setting up my apartment, and shipping packages. I thought August was going to be the least stressful month but it turned out to be really tough on me mentally. The shipping restrictions to the US were giving me an absolute headache, and my list of buyers had piled up higher and higher along with the pile of pre-orders coming in. To this day I still have items from the beginning of this year that haven't been shipped yet. I nearly had a meltdown towards the end of August, which some of you might have guessed when I sent an e-mail about refusing to deal with FedEx and DHL.

I've had to draw a few lines like these for myself in order to maintain some level of comfort, and now I'm at a point where I'm no longer pressuring myself to visit the post office four times a week to keep up.

I've received so many messages and tags on Twitter from you all who have safely received your packages, and that makes me really happy and relieved. I really appreciate the patience you've given me, and it's been helping me have more patience with myself. I've made a few mistakes with missing and forgetting to include items from some orders because of all of the invoices and records I have to go through, but the people who had that experience have shown so much grace and appreciation nonetheless.

Anyway, here's a quick list of updates from these last few months:

• If you made an order in 2019 still haven't completed the survey on changing shipping options, please see my info page for information.
  
  
• Translation is still on hold, but I've been thinking about it lately and hope I can take some time towards the end of the year to continue Secret Garden Party.
  
  
• I currently have two group pre-orders open: AGF Beautiful Memories and PRINCE CAT HOUSE. I don't have a set deadline for requests but preferrably I'd like to begin online orders as soon as they open in December. Sign-up link is in the Group Pre-Order Info Page.
  
  
• Shining Store 2020 Group Pre-orders will start soon! The price list I've created is here. I'm waiting to get as much merchandise information as possible before opening up a request form.
  
  
• I've changed the Twitter that I use for group order updates; you can now follow @ryuyabear to get information about a new group order or items I have for sale. The account is protected, so just send a follow request and I'll approve it! My other UtaPri account @bitchfacetokiya will continue to be public and for shitposting personal posts.
  
  

On a more personal note, if you've been following my personal Twitter, you may have noticed that I've added to my family. 

I'm not sure if it was Ranmaru and Shion that brought me back to a version of myself from early adulthood, or if it was my move back to Tokyo that brought that "self" back to light, and Ranmaru and Shion were just the best fit for that re-discovery. Of course I'm not abandoning Tokiya and Ren, haha. But 2020 has been a year of significant growth for me, so I think it was inevitable that I would start noticing other characters. That's the beauty of UtaPri for me and why I can't move onto anything else; no matter how old this series is, there's still more for me to explore.

July 2020 Update

I've finally moved! I feel so happy to be in my new place! It was an overwhelming few weeks and once August begins I'll have a lot more time to take care of things.

I apologize if any messages went unanswered or information seemed unclear or inconsistent! My brain has been processing a million things at once and I really want my place to be set up so it's easier for me to focus.

Here's a summary of what's happened in the past few weeks:

• Sweets Paradise x Shining Live group pre-order has closed and I've made the order! Thank you to everyone who joined!
  
  
• I'm now taking requests for All-Star Shop! All items are on the list except for the perfume bottles due to shipping restrictions on flammable liquids. There is no set deadline but orders will close around the time the online shop ends. The form is here, please read the information very carefully!
  
  
• For those of you who ordered items from me in the past year, I've revised my shipping guide in response to the pandemic. Many of you already answered the shipping survey but if you haven't or need to review information, you can see my page here. I plan to start packing and shipping during the month of August. Thank you all for being so patient, I know it's been a long wait for many of you!
  
  
• Translation will be put on hold until I finish setting up my apartment and get myself back into the habit of packing and shipping orders. Thank you all so much for your Ko-fi donations and support, it's really helped a lot during this really expensive move!
  
  

On a personal note, this move [back] to Tokyo was over ten years in the making. I never imagined things would be this way when I got here--not just with the pandemic, but I also never expected to be into something like UtaPri. But now that I'm finally here, I hope it will be even easier and even more enjoyable to contribute to this fandom. Thank you all and I'll continue to work hard (and rest)!

UtaPri 10th Anniversary Update

JP server is ridiculous...there's no way I can ever top tier on there again pic.twitter.com/AEpqswS3m1

— 🎤💜Sooyong🧡🎷 (@bitchfacetokiya) March 30, 2020

(Three months later)

...Don't listen to me whenever I say "never" or "can't" because obviously that's not true...I felt like I HAD to top tier on this event, but I have no regrets over the money spent, because I want this game to continue for a long time (and I hadn’t really paid for this game in a while anyway). 

Now that the event is over and I can get some rest, as promised I have a lot of updates:

• There’s one new translation up for Secret Garden Party, which is Ren’s story! I already had it done weeks ago but felt like I needed to post it before the Shining Live event started. I have the next one in draft form right now, but I’m not sure when I’ll get back to translation since I need to focus on moving and shopping for my apartment. You can see this translation and my previous ones from this series on my Ko-fi.
  
  
• The Shining Live x Sweets Paradise group order sign-up will be up in a few days. You can see the items here, towards the bottom of the page (sorry the food and cookies aren’t available of course). The items will be released after August, though the website doesn't say exactly when. For the can badges, there are two versions--a holofoil version and a plain version. I'm guessing the holofoil ones are more difficult to trade for, so if you order these just expect to get a plain one, but maybe you'll get lucky! 
  
  
• You may have seen it on my Twitter, but the Prince Cats are finally here! Unlike the previous order, none of the Cats come in individual boxes, which is good for me since I need to move as few boxes as possible. If you ordered a Special version Prince Cat with the pose-able skeleton, I will put it in a box when it’s time to ship. Normal Cats and the Special mini Cats will be wrapped in cushion and packed in shipping bags unless you’ve ordered other items; in that case they may be shipped in a box as well.
  
  
• USA shipping is still halted, unfortunately. With everything that's going on in multiple cities, it doesn't seem like anything will change before summer is over. If my apartment space gets overwhelmed, I'll start looking at surface mail.
  
  
• I've gotten a few inquiries about making custom proxy purchases online for items outside of group orders. I usually accept or decline these requests on an individual basis depending on the item, and in the future I would like to take more requests for items like CDs. But right now I'm extremely busy focused on what I have on my hands now, so if you can use a proxy service please go to them first!
  
  

That's it for current news, now...for 10th Anniversary. I was so busy wrapping up the Ren event that I didn't take a lot of time to digest all of the information right away, but now that I have I can let everyone know what my plans are!

• Probably the most important: The All-Star Shop, which has taken the place of the Shining Store this summer (the Shining Store will be during the winter this year). I will be entering the lottery to visit the store, although I don't have high hopes for being able to visit during the earliest time. I'll probably focus on trading items first, but once they have item information up I hope to be able to take requests as quickly as I can! **I won't be taking orders for the Idol Produce Fragrance because perfume is prohibited from overseas shipping. I don't know if it's completely impossible, but I would recommend doing some research to find out since I simply don't have time to figure out how to work around the rules.**
  
  
• I also hope to visit Q-Pot for the cafe, but I may also try to visit the item shop as well. If anyone is interested in buying whatever accessories they will have on sale, I plan to accommodate for that! Of course they'll likely be doing an online order afterwards and I'll be taking requests for that time as well.
  
  
• I plan to buy the 10th Anniversary Book, and I really hope that you all buy it as well to support Broccoli! Just like with the 5th Anniversary book, I won't be translating the entire thing but I'll be looking through the book to translate information that I find interesting. Since I'm working a day job now I may not be as productive as I was about 3 years ago, but we'll see!
  

As more information about 10th Anniversary events are revealed I'll announce more plans! For now I'm still committed to doing group orders until my new apartment space is filled up! Happy 10th Anniversary and fingers crossed for a better second half of 2020!☆

June 2020 Update

I'm overwhelmed!!!

There, I've said it.

Nonetheless, I'm committed to seeing everything through, even if it takes a while. And yes, I'll rest too! So here's what's on my plate in regards to UtaPri:

• Translations: I'm still thinking of them. I know this isn't as important as everything else right now, but I feel like I need to do them to try to get my mind off of other things every once in a while. Once Secret Garden Party is done, I will be taking a break from translating for a while.
  
• Donations: I cannot thank you enough for the contributions on my Ko-fi page!! I'm so, so grateful! My next goal is up on my page and outlines the next step in the moving process for my apartment!
  
• Group order shipping (excluding USA): I know I said I would look at other non-U.S.A. countries about shipping before, sorry I hadn't! I thought it would be easier to wait until things calmed down and after Japan reopened (which they have started doing this month). I've checked the latest list of countries and a few of them seem to have reopened, so I'll be working on that this month! Yay! Please once again give me some time before I start sending shipping invoices!
  
• Group orders for U.S.A.: There's still a suspension on shipping, and because I'm concerned about the security of packages right now, I'll continue to monitor the situation.
  
• Group order item arrival: Maji Love Kingdom KumaPri Plush Bears just arrived! Not too many people ordered, but it's a large box. So far I haven't received any other information about delayed arrivals.

I've been running on very little sleep for the past few days, I imagine many of you are under stress as well! Please stay safe, and get rest!! We're almost halfway through the year! ☆

May 2020 Update

So not too long after my last update, I was given the order to finally start working from home. I didn't think it would be too bad, but actually I can't stand it. The pressure that one puts on themselves to prove they're doing enough work is very real! And because I'm stuck at home, I don't feel any sense of relief when I've finished for the day, because I'm sitting in the same location that I was when I was working. I have this personal policy of not bringing my work home with me, but now the work has invited itself into my home and it's stressful.

As a result, I haven't done any extra work on the Secret Garden Party translations. I have translations done but I haven't rendered them into images yet. I also haven't done much group order work, because the shipping to most countries is still halted. While I said I would look into shipping to non-USA countries, I feel like it's just better to wait. I was asked by a buyer about DHL, but the sign-up process is lengthy and shipping is significantly more expensive.

In regards to the arrival of more merch, I should be receiving the KumaPri Maji Love Kingdom order within a week, and the PRINCE CAT order is being prepared by BOS for shipment and appears to be on schedule for a late June/early July arrival. I don't have much hope in a lift on the shipping ban before this point, so I've run into an issue that I was concerned about, which was having very large orders arrive in my small temporary apartment. I'll take care of this in one way or another, and I'm hoping the extra moving costs won't be too painful. In case you were wondering, I don't plan to charge anyone extra for shipping and handling to cover this issue, but if you would like to donate I do have my Ko-fi page up for my translation work, or if you'd like to leave a tip in your next order that's also an option!

On the bright side, I did find a new place to call home! I'm scheduled to move to my new place in mid-July, so hopefully I'll be able to get some of this UtaPri merch off my hands before then. I'll try to keep everyone updated!

Stay safe!