J's Chimes: Welcome Aboard The AFA Bus...

Seems like preps for the coming Anime Festival Asia 2011 is well under way and ads have started appearing in all shapes and sizes... Yep, even to our transportation vehicles. Seems like they Ita buses to advert this event. Hopefully this is gonna be good too because this is also the very first AFA event in which I've bought tickets to watch the concert. A pretty hefty price I must say but it well worth it with all the famous idols coming to Singapore for the concert.


AFA will be held in Singapore on the 11 November 2011, an auspicious day indeed for many people around the world to get married too... Well that's what they believe... In any case, 111111 also marks the launch of a much awaited game by Illusion soft too which may excite lots of fans around the world too... Not gonna spoil it so soon so wait for more updates later on...

J's Chimes: AFA Is Back!

The Anime Festival Asia is back once again and am so looking forward to it. Reason being that I've also bought the tickets for the concert. Though it cost a bomb, I guess it's worth it once in a while since this event only happens once a year. AFA 2011 will commence from 11 Nov to 13 Nov 2011 and am hoping it be the best out of the other 3 years previously. And of course, that includes purchasing of more models and anime in that coming event...


Am also looking forward to Hatsune Miku's concert which will happen on the 11 Nov 2011. Heard it be the same as the 3D projection performance that took place back in Sapporo Japan recently too. Still, there's about a month away from all the excitement so trying to contain myself for the time being and update more of AFA when it's closer. For more information about AFA, you can view their website at http://www.animefestival.asia/

J's Chimes: Let's Talk Anime...

So J's Chimes is finally back... And had so much to talk about now about animations and stuff because 5 months + had gone by... And of course, the coming new season is fast approaching with all of this season's anime ending soon. Coming season would probably be a blast with many good animes like Shana, Fate and Persona airing. Of course there are none other than all time faves Working, Bakuman, etc. Can't wait to watch the other animes coming up soon too.


Lots of OVAs and specials also coming up next season which includes Kimi Ni Todoke, Seitokai Yakuindomo and such... I am so already filled with much of animes to watch this season and hopefully would still be able to catch up soon for the ones coming next season. Anyway, J's Chimes will start off soon by looking back into animes we enjoy from the present to the past so stay tune for more updates...

J's Chimes: We'll Be Up And Running Again Soon...

After much consideration, I had decided to carry on with blogging here instead because of the website's flexibility. Facebook does have its limitations so it really is not a viable option to startup a discussion there. Anyhow J's Chimes will soon be able to receive new postings soon... Catch more updates later this week.

J's Chimes: It's Been A While...

It's been 5 months since J's Chimes had stopped posting and entered a long hiatus all thanks to the new change of lifestyle am in now. Yep, university is finally over and getting ready to step out to the real world... I believe many would had thought that J's Chimes is long gone, but somehow it's the beginning of a new platform that I would be creating. After much consideration, I had decided to start a new group named 'Japanimation Themes' in Facebook. This new group will focus on all the Japanese anime opening and ending themes from the past till now. It may take a while to fully make this operational but it is under way. Nevertheless, J's Chimes will not be shutdown and would probably be link to the new group depending on circumstances. We do hope that you could join us when the time comes... Watch out for new updates...

J's Chimes: Failed Toys...

One of the many reason why toys shipped to Singapore has to be checked other than its lead content and whether it should be safe for kids to play with... However, some toys really are extreme in a sense that they might look innocent but turns out to be really wrong...


Does that reminds you of the Nazi from world war 2? This toy would definitely cause some stir among people...


Just as the package said... But why the heck is it for Ages 5 and up?


Does that look like something that adults would think of? And best of all, it glows too...


Innocent but deadly... Imagine having kids to fiddle with that thing while playing with this cuddly toy... With a bonus to squirt too!


The best ultimate failed toy... Ok, so the toy is named Zorro but why the heck is Batman in the picture? I can explain the horse by the side but this is ridiculous... What's worse is that the action figure is Spiderman instead... Epic win!

J's Chimes: Gantz In Singapore...

It is strange that the live action movie Gantz is still not yet showing in Singapore due to the fact that it has already been out for quite a long time. Heard that Malayysia is already showing it i the movie screens on the 7th April. However though the movie does have some critics and such because of the massive censorship that that might added in. Not to mention the extreme gore content and violence in the manga. Whether or not it is truly devoted to the manga no one is ever sure unless we watch it. But seriously Gantz has already gone to greater heights and change of storyline in the latest episode of the manga series... This movie is just the beginning of a much more terrible story later on....

J's Chimes: To Japan Or Bust...

With all that's happening right now in Japan, it is truly a tough decision for people like us not to go to Japan. Have always dream of going there since my childhood days but it seems like it's not possible now. The question now is would you still go to Japan even after this incident? Yup, I would probably be going there in a few years time and hopefully the situation gets better soon... Let's pray that Japan will be able to stand up again after this incident.

J's Chimes: Learn To Count In Japanese By Rapping

A nice way of learning Japanese is by doing something really whacky to keep it stuck to your brain. One such is by rapping some seriously lame song with numbers as the lyrics in Japanese. Even so it does help you to remember a couple of it. Anyway you can learn a bit of Japanese from this website here which created this video. Well it does help a bit but at least they're teaching you Japanese for free...

J's Chimes: SOYC Cosplay 2011

Finally managed to skim through the photographs and uploaded it for viewing... Anyway the Start Of Year C ended yesterday and I must say it's a lot better than last year given the fact that it's much bigger and such. Having said that, here are the photographs taken at the event. However do be warned that some of the photographs are of extremely low quality as photobucket resizes the photos even more somehow... Anyway you can view the photos by clicking here or from the tab bar on the right.

J's Chimes: Fukushima Now A Ghost Town...

The bustling city of Fukushima has now become nothing more of a ghost town since the incident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. One would wonder how long will this land be free of radiation again after the cleanup but it would probably be years and maybe decades for it to happen. Past Chernobyl photos have given us an idea of what really happens when the town is contaminated with radiation. Thus it is saddening that such would also be happening to Fukushima too...


The empty road of a town in Fukushima... Cables run above houses that once serve the town's power supply...


Stores and shophouses are shut down and abandon... Eerily quiet at this time of day...


Abandon household items and kitchen... Looks like people evacuated in a rush and leave unnecessary items behind.


What used to be a sink has now been long forgotten and be un-use for many years to come...


Furniture in disarray and stuffs lying on the floor... Shows pretty much panic from the owners who's in a rush to evacuate the place...


A lonely stool in the middle of town... Looks like the vending machine will not be use for a long time now...


Poultry and farms are abandoned... Livestock are gone and would probably be un-salvageable anymore...

J's Chimes: Weird Flavors Of Kit Kat

Only in Japan will you be able to see common products in not so common flavors in stores. Take this watermelon flavored Kit Kat for example... The only Kit Kat we would commonly see in our stores are chocolate and also strawberry flavor.


However the flavors doesn't stop there and even weirder flavors are introduced instead... Heard of baked potato flavored Kit Kat?


The flavors didn't end just yet... There's also a Soy Sauce flavored Kit Kat... Oh man this is seriously weird... Would you eat Kit Kat with a seasoning used in food?


For coffee lovers, there's even an Espresso Kit Kat... The funny thing is why isn't it available in Singapore...


There's even Kit Kat with Read Bean Soup flavor...

J's Chimes: S.O.Y.C. Cosplay Event

The 'Start Of Year' cosplay event continues again this coming Saturday at the Ngee Ann Poly Convention Center. Due to certain reason this event has been pushed back to April this year but it seems like this event has become larger than ever with more bigger sponsors to boot. Am pondering still whether to go or not... Regardless, the entry price would be $3 for pre-orders and $5 for door entries. Find out more in their website here.

J's Chimes: Now You're Playing With Power...

Old advertisements for the classic console game Nintendo sure looks kinda weird and exaggerated thanks to the advancement of technology now. looking back, such commercials are what's cool from before but may look a bit lame for the audiences and customers now that the next generation consoles are dominating the markets. However those are the days where games are of originality and style unlike modern games now that copies one another and targeting what the customers really want and I would believe most of it are action pack games...


Imagine bringing this back to the past... It will surely dominate the classic Nintendo many times over... Trule a big gap in power, graphics and whatever may be for the gameplay....

J's Chimes: New Animes Coming Near You...

It's already that time of the year again... Yup, you guessed it... New animes are coming up this Summer from March to May. Plenty of nice animes that am so eager to watch and look forward to including Kampfer, Dog Days, Hanasaku Iroha, etc, etc. This season is really gonna be a blast just like last Autumn (HOTD). Click for a larger picture of this coming season anime.


In fact I do believe that this season's animes are probably the most... Probably due to the upcoming manga ban? So I guess may be producing all they can now before certain stuff takes effect... For example Seikon No Qwaser no doubt. Plentt of OVAs, specials and such are also airing coming season... Looking forward to a great new season of animes coming near you...

J's Chimes: Fractale's Fail Tale...

Anime Fractale ended abruptly with only 11 episodes and a cliffhanging finale that keeps you wondering whether everything's all for naught. Even at the beginning, there were criticism being that Nessa and Phyrne's hair color are supposedly to be purple instead of brown as depict in the manga...


And why are things all for naught? It's be told that the world as we know it is controlled by the fractale system as constructed by 'The Gods' and is crumpling away without rebooting the system. The temple guardians are supposed to reboot the system every thousand years and thus created the key and that's where Phyrne and Nessa comes in.


However some rebels who wanted freedom from the Fractale's control are fighting and preventing such from happening... However in the end, the system is rebooted and many died for naught with nothing being done except to help in getting back Clain's lover... Strange enough but that's what's happening... Well the fact that an end with both main characters back together again is good but somehow or rather the story is blurry...

J's Chimes: April Fools...

Alodia Gosiengfiao, a famous cosplayer in Philippines had us all fooled when she said that she's gonna quit cosplaying soon because of studies... And I so thought that she's really gonna quit and such but it turns out to be an April Fools Day joke... darn, can't believe am pwned by someone I don't know as a friend instead of my other friends...


What she really means going back to school was actually cosplaying in Haruhi's school uniform to promote the Suzumiya Haruhi anime in Animax instead... Well, that's one way to advertise something... In any case, Alodia is back in cosplay thank goodness...

J's Chimes: Metal Gear Casts...

I didn't know Metal Gear Solid had this much characters in all the episodes until I found this picture drawn by some fans (Click to view a larger picture of it). Are you able to name them all? I didn't really get to play MGS5 and some of its latest series so probably won't be able to.

J's Chimes: Weird Signboards...

Quite often, English is very much misuse in Japan and such has created many hilarious moments for tourists. One such example would be 'Beef Bawl' which supposedly be 'Beef Bowl' instead... The definition for Bawl is to shout or cry. To do that to beef is a little off...


Ok... So 'uncaged' animals are not allowed (Err, is there such a word?)... But what about uncaged bottles, cans and plastic bottles?


Sometimes I wonder what is this trying to advertise or is it a motto or short description for a shop? Wonder what does it have to do with the marshmallow...


Can you really enjoy life with a new socks style? Perhaps tutuanna can help...


I don't know what this shop is trying to say but probably something to do with pink...


A park for foots! Probably a massage parlor but this still gets to me...

J's Chimes: Season's Top 10 Anime

There are plenty of interesting animes this season and some of which grabbed our attention like Oniichan no Koto to Puella Magica. A ranking is made among fans for this season nonetheless and yield interesting results. Here are the top 10 animes this season:

1.) Kimi Ni Todoke
2.) Beelzebub
3.) Level E
4.) Puella Magica Madoka
5.) Gosick
6.) Infinite Stratos
7.) Oniichan No Koto
8.) Mitsudo Moe 2
9.) Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka?
10.) Yumekui Merry

Surprisingly, Level E is 3rd on the list... Perhaps of its creative and fresh plot? It's a shame that Oniichan No Koto is rank 7th as I kinda laugh out loud watching this...I guess harem animes are now getting less popular these days which include Infinite Stratos and Kore Wa Zombie... No surprise however that Kimi Ni Todoke is ranked amongst the top because it has always been my favorite ever since...

J's Chimes: Animes Of 2010 That You Would Recommend...

There are plenty of nice animes last year which captures our hearts and attentions last year. Having said that, there are a couple of animes in which you'd also would recommend to a friend because of its interesting plot or artwork. Thus here are some of the popular animes that are most talked that would be recommended to all:

1.) K-On!
2.) Seitokai Yakuindomo
3.) Gundam UC
4.) Bakemonotagari
5.) To Aru Kagaku No Railgun
6.) Sore Demo Machi Wa Mawatteiru
7.) Highschool Of The Dead
8.) Ful Metal Alchemist
9.) Panty And Stocking With Garterbelt
10.) Shinryaku! Ika Musume

It is unclear as to why Baka Test or Gurren Lagann is not in the Top 10 as recommended. However jokingly, Qwaser is not in the list of them...

J's Chimes: Anime Papercrafts

I do not know what computer program is used for making these papercraft works but it looks amazing nonetheless and serioulsy would require lots of work just to make a model. An example would be as shown above where Holo from spice and wolf is being experimented on...


And the results? Looks pretty much like a Nendoroid except that it's made of paper instead... Didn't know paper could be bend in this manner and still looks good...


Though at times upon closer inspection ya could see the bend and blocks of folded areas of the papercraft works...


However, simple ones like these are cute enough and looks pretty well done despite some imperfect edges here and there...


I guess Hatsune Miku is my favorite once again and it reminds me of the Nendoroids that I have...


More detailed ones like these required more folding and designing techniques. I believe some of which could be sold in Japan. And even more detailed ones could reach the level of scale models live size figures like the previous post on Link Papaercraft...