How Sez Sees It

Amazingly, SID (pronounced 'shido') have been around for over 10 years now! To mark the occasion they released several compilation albums before closing out the year with Outsider, their latest studio offering. The album kicks off with the electronic sounds of 'Laser', which sounds futuristic and fresh. The rest of the album has a more jazzy feel and I always imagine Las Vegas when I listen to this album. That is, except, Mao's beautiful vocals are all in Japanese. Mao has a beautiful range and his ability to hold a note is almost shocking. The bass lines are heavy throughout and glorious, once again proving Aki's exceptional skill. Aki is one bassist who is likely to change your views on all bass players as musicians. The long running joke of bass players as failed guitarists is blown out of the water by Aki. Then again, the guitarist, Shinji, ain't bad. This is an understatement. There are not many who can riff like Shinji and his solos are powerfu...

The latest album by Japanese rock band One OK Rock. I do agree with some of the critics’ comments that this is the most ‘American’ sounding of their albums to-date, but I feel they bring their own flavour and, as a result, it is a fun album full of excellent tunes and some proper anthems. Many will know the songs ‘Mighty Long Fall’ and ‘Heartache’ from the closing credits of the final two Rurouni Kenshin films. If these are the only songs you listen to though then you are missing out. As seems to be the norm now, the album opens with a thumping musical intro written by front man Taka. There isn't much of a gap between songs on this album and most feed into the next without stopping. This means the album has a fast paced feel to it and this is not a bad thing at all. This is the case right from the beginning as the intro moves into track two, ‘Take Me To The Top’. You’ll love this track by the way and you will be singing along in no time. Notable tracks include ...

Kuroshitsuji – Black Butler This long running manga began on 16 September 2006 and is still running to this day. It is the hugely successful manga by Yana Toboso and has spawned many spin off media such as anime, a live film, drama CD and live stage musicals. There is a range of merch, but the manga is still the most popular version of the story. Kuroshitsuji, or Black Butler in English and other translations, follows the tale of 13 year old Ciel Phantomhive who is head of the family and Earl to the Phantomhive Estate. Ciel is also the head of the family company, Funtom, who specialise in toys and confectionary. After his parents are killed, Ciel is kidnapped by a religious cult where he will be used alongside other children as a human sacrifice. While in captivity, Ciel makes a Faustian pact with a demon who he names Sebastian and who takes on the role of Ciel’s butler. Sebastian has to support Ciel in his capacity as the Queen’s Guard Dog, policing the underworld and also in...

This is not tricky, this is just my favourite J-Rock and J-Pop songs and bands. Most of them on this list are fairly modern ones, though there are some better established ones too (which you'll see below). I thought I would let the music do the talking so I have put some facts and figures down and some video links for you to look at. Let me know what you think about it all (P.S sorry for the video quality, some of them pre-date HD). Pics and video copyright where it is due. SID (pronounced 'shido') Members: Mao (Vocals), Shinji (Guitar), Aki (Bass) and Yuuya (Drums) Formed: 2003 (though it was announced on 14 January 2004 that Yuuya and Shinji would be permanent members so they count this as the band's 'birth') Style: Visual Kei Albums : Renai (2004), Hoshi no Miyako (2005), Play (2006), Sentimental Macchiato (2008), Side B Compilation Collection (2008), Hikari (2009), Dead Stock (2011), M&W (2012), SID 10th Anniversary (2013), Side B Compilation Coll...

The other day I wrote about some of my favourite films from Japan. This time I am sharing a selection of TV and anime with you. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but this is some of my favourites. Princess Princess/Princess Princess D (2006) - these are two different beasts but I am putting them together and you'll soon see why. Princess Princess is closely based on the manga of the same name. Toru Kouno transfers to an all boys school and is chosen to join Yuujiro Shihidani and Mikoto Yutaka as Hime or 'Princesses'. As there are no girls, first year boys are chosen to dress as girls and effectively act as cheerleaders while being given incentives, such as free food, to do so. Toru and Yuujiro enjoy it while Mikoto is worried his girlfriend will find out. There are elements of 'yaoi' or 'boys love' as Yuujiro and Toru pretend to be lovers to get his adoptive sister/cousin to stop obsessing over him. At the end of the year Toru has to decide whethe...

I was going to do one long blog on Japan and why I love it, then I realised it would be too long so I am cutting it down to component parts and doing each bit separately. This first blog covers some of my favourite Japanese films. This is by no means the full list of films I have seen, but they are some of my favourites and I would thoroughly recommend them to anyone. Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler/Kaiji 2 (2009/2011) Starring one of my favourite actors from Japan, Tatsuya Fujiwara, this is based on the manga/anime of Kaiji who is a loser gambling addict. After losing a huge bet, Kaiji must work under ground for a tyrannical business group to pay off the debt. The other option is to walk between two beams between the company towers hundreds of feet in the air with no support and, to make it more interesting, the beams are electrified so they cannot be touched. Fujiwara's real life friend, Ken'ichi Matsuyama has a small part in the first film and the moment on the beam for both...

Ok, so 'Room 101' is a reference to the torture room in Orwell's famous work '1984' about a society which has every aspect of its life under surveillance and documents are re-written to keep the public controlled. 'Big Brother' is watching your every move and the 'Thought Police' are coming for you if you deviate in any way (and you might not consciously realise you had deviated). We are heading that way as the Government in the UK would like to do away with the European Human Rights and would like to monitor all electronic communication in real time. Scary stuff. Still, that is a diversion...for now. 'Room 101' is the place your ultimate nightmare exists to break your spirit. Since the show that started in the 1990s on the BBC the idea has become one where you can deposit your pet hates. In that spirit, here are mine. Facebook 'share this' items. If you are on Facebook you will have encountered these at some point. They run along...