Next month I will finally have a home, till then, I just got my goodies from the Japan Expo. This year again, Shiitake was present and she signed my doujinshi! She is really a beautiful artist, and she was wearing a yukata.

Sadly no, I don’t have another photo of her booth. Anyway, she had 2 doujinshi which she had released in April, Hanaotome and Eternal Wings, 32 pages each. Hanaotome is themed around traditional clothing, meaning yukata. Eternal Wings features, well, wings. This time I took photo of the book, but not with my usual point and shot; I borrowed a Nikon D300S.

Book opens on one of her old illustration, which was featured in previous doujinshi, as well as a little message in Japanese. THe version in English, French, Korean and Chinese aren’t translation, it’s the usual description she puts for her circle when she travels.

The book is quite impressive as it’s printed in A4 format, rather than the usual B5 format and is bound by stapples. Printing is good. For this illustration thought, it seems like the copy on the right was upscaled, but that would be the only complain I will have on quality.

Most of the art seems recent, though some illustrations are from her older style.

I experimented a bit on the photo end as well, as I shot at least 5 times before being satisfied by the photos. This one is particularly bluffing as it can fool people into thinking that it’s a scan.

The end of the book got comments on each illustration as well as the rough sketch and a quick showing of her CG step by step of the cover under SAI and Photoshop.

You can buy the doujinshi easily since it’s available for worldwide shipping:
Asianbeat

And to be frank, I have a preference for Eternal Wing, but it’s mostly about my taste since I quite like angels and so on; and butterfly wings are beautiful as well.

Here is the first loot of the Japan Expo; at the Wasabi Record booth, Kanon Wakeshima’s new album collector version. It will be released tomorrow in Europe, and on the 27th for the rest of the world ( not only Japan ). Since it has yet to be officially released, I will just provide some sample and a bit of history. Anyway, it’s certainly already available in download somewhere on the intraweb.

Kanon Wakeshima is certainly known to western public thanks to the ending of Vampire Knight, Still Doll. I’m quite surprised over the fact that she has her album released abroad, but other than that, I greatly welcome the move and hope that other singer will follow this path.
Now, let me be frank, the ending of Vampire Knight didn’t leave me an impression; meaning I didn’t download the ending single and I don’t remember the name of the singer. It was very dark, fitting for the anime, maybe too dark for my taste. But I became interested in Kanon Wakeshima thanks to a small concert she held at Paris’ Maison de la Culture Japonaise ( House of Japanese Culture ). She did it at the beginning of a gothic lolita fashion show for a very small audience, maybe 200 persons max. She opened with Still Doll, which allowed me to recognize her. Other than being a great singer, she is also very beautiful and a great violoncellist.

Now the two other song certainly marked me most, and having such a small room and audience for a concert was bliss for the ears. Shinku no Fatalism and L’espoir ~Mahou no Akai Ito~ are bright compared to Still Doll. All 3 are featured in her first album, Shinshoku Dolce. This album is a mix of genre, but it is quite on the dark side.

Now, Shōjo Jikake no Libretto: Lolitawork Libretto is a little bit less dark, and more gothic. It also seems to me that her style is more definite in this one. The theme is based around girls’ imagination. Limited edition includes a cardboard jacket and a DVD with the PV for LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO ~Storytelling by solita~.

The european package includes 2 booklets, 1 in japanese, the other one is the translation in english of the lyrics. There is also a card featuring Kanon’s drawing, and her photo on the other side. Now in term of music, there is 13 tracks on the CD. Like Shinshoku Dolce, there are 2 smalls instrumentals one for prologue and epilogue.

First vocal one is Kajitsu no Keikoku, starting first with the instrument, and of course, her cello. Ok I can cheat since I have the translation and tell you that it’s about a forbidden fruit. But for an opening, it’s quite close to how Shiku no Fatalism opened Shinsoku Dolce; strong cello, impressive vocal.

Second vocal is Heroine Syndrome. If you liked these 2, I think you will like the rest. Afteral, this was for a me an impulsive buy, without having ever heard one song from this album, and in the end, I like it overall, which is quite rare. Sellers told me that I had good taste, and that it’s rare from a man ^^;.

Now for those who love her dark style, it’s a lot less present, but the most dark one is certainly celmisia, but it doesn’t trump Still Doll.

Last track, is not the epilogue surprisingly. It’s LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO ~Storytelling by solita~ which is also on the DVD. The PV is quite impressive, featuring a wicked world of literature and fairy tales. Of course, she has a beautiful dress and you can see 2 of her 3 cello. Now, there is also someone else in the PV, solita, a young french vocalist. Now, even if I’m french, I had a hard time to understand since it’s too creamy, but that’s certainly a wanted effect since the song is based around call and response. I regret not having seen the 3D version at the Japan Expo as it seems like something which would profit from it. I didn’t plan to put the full PV, but since it’s already on Youtube, there is little point. Of course, Youtube quality sucks and doesn’t do it justice.