How Sez Sees It

The dodgy knee This is the sort of thing you say to someone before a performance or before they get married or something. It is not meant to be taken literally. I have not broken my leg. I have done something to my knee though. Not sure what. I was sat at work, minding my own business, when a colleague needed some help with the photocopier. I am blaming the photocopier for this injury because we have a hate/hate relationship...there's previous. Anyway, I got up to help my colleague and felt my knee crunch and a pain shot through the joint. The next thing I know I can't put any weight on it and it keeps crunching and hurting. I spent the whole weekend like it in absolute agony. I went to finalise details at the wedding reception venue and had to go careful on the stairs and in the car park. Then walking back to my car at the end my knee went again and I was in agony again. I went to my local town and got a bandage to sort it out. On the Saturday night I was going out w...

I used to have a subscription to the largest British weekly music magazine dealing with rock and metal. I stopped that subscription and I had some very good reasons for doing so. The main reason was that I had just moved house and I couldn't justify the subscription fee every few months. I just figured that it might be better to buy it on a weekly basis if there were any articles I liked. For example, a wonderful human I know was in the magazine a couple of weeks ago because his new band were in a feature on the 'New Grave' scene. Regular readers will know that I have been supporting Solace in Nightmares for about a year now and it was this band being featured. As I lead their street team I kind of figured that I should buy the mag just for that article. The other reason is basically around the content. I had already decided to cancel my subscription but I was fed up that my favourite bands were not getting the coverage. Just as I cancel they all start getting featured...

I adore anime but boy does it deal with fanservice! For those not in the know, ‘fanservice’ is basically a fulfilment of a fan group’s expectations and desires. Like, showing a popular character naked or pairing up two popular characters in a suggestive situation/encounter. A big part of this seems to be the portrayal of women. Take the popular series ‘Black Butler’ (‘Kuroshitsuji’). This is set in Victorian England, a time and place so conservative about clothing that a flash of ankle was deemed scandalous. However, there are characters always getting into various states of undress in the anime. Series two has a fancy dress party and maid Mey-Rin and Lizzie’s chaperone, Paula, both wear very little and have unfeasibly big breasts. Even Alois Trancy’s maid, Hannah, gets naked for no apparent reason…where’s her under garments? To be fair, this doesn’t happen in the manga and the undercurrent of yaoi (boys love) remains between Sebastian/Ciel and the advances of Grelle (spelling fro...

Recently I have finished the surreal and brilliant '1Q84' by Haruki Murakami. This isn't really one book but rather one story told in a trilogy. It is based on George Orwell's '1984' but it is more complex than that. The story follows two main characters, Tengo and Aomame, as they navigate towards each other in a parallel world to 1984 called 1Q84. They have both made their way into this world which is a world ruled over by 'little people' who create the 'air chrysalis' and one with two moons in the sky. There are strange religious cults, mentions of philosophers, classical musicians and so much more. Tengo and Aomame haven't seen each other since they were 10 but in this world they are drawn to one another for the first time in 20 years. Tengo seems to be an ordinary cram school teacher and writer while Aomame has a secret second career behind her usual one of a fitness instructor. Both become privy to a secret from a religious cult, one t...

I am going to use the naming convention that the Japanese do where the family name goes first and the given name goes second. I thought I would go into more detail about some of my favourite actors and actresses from Japan and some of my favourite films/TV shows that they have been in. These are my opinions and the information is as correct as I could find where I didn't know something myself. Copyright images/videos where they should be. Sato Takeru Born: 21 March 1989 (age 26 at time of writing) From: Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama Sato Takeru Sato was in senior high school in Tokyo when talent agency Amuse Inc scouted him. He made his acting debut in 2006 in the ‘drama’ (lose sense of the word) ‘Princess Princess D’. He really gained a following after appearing in the ‘Kamen Rider Den-O’ series on TV and in the films. In 2009 he appeared alongside his stable mate and real life best friend, Miura Haruma, in the drama ‘Bloody Monday’ which ended up running into a second s...

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...

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...