Tenso Shopping Service~!

Ok, so I know I said last time, that the next review would be of SID's M&W, but since then (as in Tuesday morning) my order that I placed using Tenso arrived! Eeeeeeeep! So now, I'm going to do a run-down of how it worked out. It's not really going to be a review exactly, but anyways. Also, this has ended up pretty damn long, I'm really sorry. ^^;; Here we go.

Now, this was my first time using a shopping service. I'm always extremely, probably unnecessarily, suspicious of buying anything online, especially when I've never ordered from a site before. I'd say the only website I feel 100% comfortable using is CDJapan. So deciding to use a shopping service was a pretty big deal for me. And plus, let's be honest here, most shopping services are really fucking expensive. Yes, maybe their own service fee isn't too unreasonable, but when you add on the cost of your original items, plus the shipping within Japan, plus the international shipping fee (almost all services use EMS)... you're looking at a pretty big number.
I've already briefly explained the reason why I ended up using the service, but I'll explain again quickly.
There were a couple of things listed on CDJapan from SUPER LOVERS that I'd been really wanting. I was just browsing the internet, and I decided to go to the official SL web store, to see the new seasons items, out of curiosity. It turns out that SL are having a huge sale right now (30~70% off!), to make way for the new stock. I checked out the sale, which is a really fantastic sale and if there are any of last seasons items that you were wanting, buy them now from the web store (http://www.rakuten.co.jp/superlovers/)! Even though CDJapan does have some SL things on sale, they have nowhere near as much as the actual web store. It turns out that quite a lot of the things I wanted were included in the sale, but I was able to narrow it down to two things that I wanted the most. Both were around 50% off. And neither of the two were on sale at CDJapan.

SUPER LOVERS uses Rakuten as their shopping platform, but unfortunately they do not ship internationally. So this is where I was like, dude, I need a shopping service. Now. I wasn't going to let this chance slip through my fingers. Obviously I had seen Tenso through Rakuten, and I had read many a good review of it around the internet. So I looked into it a little more, and I was pleasantly surprised. Their service fee is definitely the cheapest, and most reasonable. Yes, they do use EMS shipping, but they actually stick to the EMS rates! I'm going to go off on a slight tangent here. CDJapan MARK UP THE SHIPPING. A LOT. It's actually extremely obvious if you check the EMS Japan rates table, and then compare it to what CDJapan charge (http://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/charge/list/ems_all_en.html). I always thought their shipping was quite reasonable, but the heavier your order gets, the more they mark up the shipping. Back on track now, and long story short, I found that even with using Tenso shopping service, it was half the price of what it would have cost for the exact same order from CDJapan. I had to do it, I would have been stupid not to.

Registration with Tenso is free, and upon registering they'll send you and a Japanese address. That address will have your ID number in it, and you MUST make sure that you include that number when entering the shipping address info. You register with your own address, i.e. the address that you want Tenso to ship your package to once they receive it.
I'm not going to tell you exactly how to use Tenso because it's really quite straightforward, their way of breaking it down and explaining how it works is very clear (here's their guide, http://www.tenso.com/en/guide/flow/index.html). Anything you need to know can be found on their site. The breakdown of costs is also simple. It's just:

• Price of your items (from wherever you order from) + shipping fee (from wherever your order from to Tenso warehouse) + handling fee + international shipping fee (from Tenso to your door)

Essentially, the 'handling fee' is the service fee, and it's a very small fee. Their lowest fee is 490 JPY, and that's with orders up to 1kg. You're gonna need to figure out *roughly* what your order will weigh if you want to calculate the total Tenso charge before ordering, using their Calculation Tool, which is down the bottom of the page. But hopefully that won't be too difficult.

The bit that confused me the most was how to enter the Japanese address, because I can't read Japanese, so I didn't know which part of the address went where. Fortunately, I have a Japanese student who helped me out, and she had to rearrange to address in order for it to make more sense. [UPDATE] So Tenso actually have a page where they show you how to enter your address when shopping on Japanese websites, here is the link -> http://www.tenso.com/en/guide/buy/address.html
Their examples are actually still in Japanese, but if you play around with Google translate and just try to work it out as logically as possible, it should be fairly simple (as told by a friend of mine who recently ordered using Tenso). If you're still have trouble, then I recommend emailing Tenso with your query. They're really friendly and should be able to help you out.

So, go about ordering from the webstore the way you would any other site. When you go to check out, you'll need to use all your own details, like your own name, and payment details (like credit card, PayPal etc). Also, use your own email address. It's just when you get to the shipping address that you put the Tenso address you were given, not forgetting your number. That's all, all other information you enter should be your own. PLEASE NOTE, you pay for this order separately to the Tenso fee, i.e. you pay the price of your items plus shipping to Tenso when you order from the web store. Your payement to Tenso, for handling and international shipping fee, comes later, once Tenso actually receive your package (they will notify you via email once they do). Then proceed to checkout, and proceed to freak out, if you're like me. I joke, I joke, don't freak out. I only did because I'd never used a shopping service before.

You'll get the automatic confirmation email from the web store you ordered from, use Google Translate if you want to double check things. And then you wait! Because the store that I ordered from only accepted credit card or cash payment, not PayPal, I had to wait a while for my payment to go through. But when it did, I got an email from the store that said, with the help of Translate, that my payment had gone through and my order had been posted to my Tenso address. Then, when Tenso receives your package, they'll email you with their fee (handling + international shipping) and you follow the instructions to pay for all that. Don't worry, I know this description is vague, but it will be very easy to follow if you use the service - they'll give you links and everything in their emails to you. Oh, Tenso allows PayPal. Once they've got your payment, they'll email you saying so and that your package is being processed, and then a final email saying that it's been shipped to you. Because they use EMS, you should get your shizz within 3-5 days! And that's it!

So, here's how the pricing, of my order at least, went:

• Item (1) - 3938 JPY 
• Item (2) - 2888 JPY
• Shipping (to Tenso) - I forgot, but it wasn't a huge amount. Maybe like 800 JPY?

The total of this is what you pay for first, with your own credit card or whatever. You pay it to the actual store you order from.

Then:

• Tenso handling fee - 490 JPY
• International shipping fee - 1000 JPY. I ordered when they were having a promotion, all international shipping was 1000 JPY, or something.

The total of THIS is the price you pay to Tenso.
So you make two seperate payments.

This is how they packaged my order. (Sorry, the second and third photos are the wrong way round. I'm learning~! Also, sorry for the crap quality... they were taken with my iPod camera x.x;;)

As you can see, there was a small rip on the back of the bag, but luckily it had an internal lining, and no damage was done to my stuff. 

My stuuuuff~ It's cute that they sent me the original bag, too.

Alright, I think that's everything covered. Reading back through this, I've realised that some things may not make much sense. I'm really sorry if that's the case, I just can't think of how else to explain/word it. Please, if you have a question, feel free to ask me! I'd be more than happy to help in any way I can. I have only used the service once, so I may not be the most knowledgeable, but I can try to advise and guide you, based on my own experience. ^^

I hope all this is useful to at least one person. If just one person gains something or benefits from this, then I'll be very happy. And I hope this has erased any doubts that you have about using Tenso. Believe me, I understand that you may be wary and that you can never be too careful. Tenso is a reliable and easy to use shopping service, their customer service is brilliant, and I would recommend them to anyone. Seriously. I'll never worry about ordering from Japanese web stores again. I can't say the same for other services, as I've never used any others, but from what I've found, Tenso is your best choice anyway. 10/10 all round. So get out there and get shopping, children!

NP - Recipe by vistlip

Review All The Things~!

Well, actually just two things...
Alrighty kids, so this time I'm going to do a review, of sorts, of AYABIE's new album ANSWER. Aaaand then next time, I will also do SID's album M&W! I'm aware that both aren't brand new, with M&W being a month old already, but hey, better late than never. Now, when I say review, I mean a Misa-style review, where I basically (let's be honest here) just fangirl about how awesome things are. I've already said it, I'm not very good at describing music and what it is I like/dislike about it, but I try, really! I'll try my best to keep things as brief as possible. Sometimes I can tend to ramble on a bit though... Hopefully it won't end up as long as my review of SuG's Lollipop Kingdom. And, just one more thing before I start, please remember that what I'm about to say is JUST MY OPINION. You know I will never say anything to intentionally hurt anyone's feelings or to just to be mean. Plus, I really don't have anything bad to say about this album at all. Both AYABIE and SID are special to me, so please bear in mind that just because I think one or two songs are 'okay', it doesn't mean I hate them or don't like them. Ok, without further ado, let's begin!

ANSWER
1. Prelude - This is the intro song, and honestly, it is lovely. I love that they made it to the tune of Ryuusei, which is the last song on the album. It makes a very nice mirror, and it was very beautifully done. It's understated and elegant, not too in your face. It was a perfect introductory song.
2. RISE - Great. Just, great. I don't know what else to say. The composition is great, it's position on the album with the way it flows from the prelude is great, it's energy is great. It really sets the album off with a bang, and I love it.
3. Reflector - The thing that I kept thinking when listening to this song was, this is a song with sass. It's got this awesome attitude, which I love, and it keeps up the pace with RISE. I actually wish they made a PV for this song, I imagine that it would be really sexy and sophisticated.
4. Kakusei Sprechchor - This song was released as a single, so we already know it. But that doesn't make it any less kick-ass. It's got this brilliant, catchy vibe and energy. And it's just a really good, cool song.
5. Niji - Ahh, this song was pretty cute. Although at the same time, it sounds kind of epic. It's quite magical and lovely to listen to. It's less intense than the previous songs, yet it maintains the energy of the album.
6. LOVE SONG - Damn, this song is smooth. It's almost jazzy, and it's really chill. It has a good relaxed pace, a nice break from the pumped up songs, but it's still fun - not dull at all.
7. Paradise Paradox - Oooh, this one is fun. It's quite techno-ish, I'd say it's probably the most electronic sounding song on the album, even though yes, I know, most of the songs are electro-ish in some aspect. It's a good, catchy song that makes you wanna dance. I love Yume's voice in the chorus! It also reminds me a liiiittle bit of LM.C's GAME of LIFE. It has an awesome transition into track eight, too...
8. MERRY GO ROUND - FUCKING LOVE IT. I already knew that. This song is easily one of my favourite AYABIE songs. Easily. I love it so much, I can't say anything more about it, other than KURU KURU KURU, FUWA FUWA FUWAAAA~!
9. Koma - the intro for this song is really good! It stuck with me. The song as a whole is very good, so AYBIE-ish. It's upbeat, with strong vocals from Yume. It uses an interesting mix-up of instrumentals/tempos/beats etc. I think the key thing about this song is the way it transitions into the next song. It's so smooth, I didn't even realise the track had changed...
10. SICs - Ohshit. Ohhhh shit. This song is probably my favourite new song on the album. The music is fanfuckingtastic, and Yume's voice is amazing. It's so fucking awesome and unbelievably kick-ass. The intro is just omfgasjgdfg. I really wasn't expecting it at all. It's almost like a little bit of DEATHBIE came through in this song, I love it.
11. HERO - Wow, talk about a turn around. There is a complete change in tone with this song. It's super happy and positive. It makes me feel like I can take on anything, and I'll be ok. It has a comforting cheerfulness, like, Hey! Don't worry, everything is gonna be fine! Don't worry! Just be young, have fun! It's a youthful song. It had me jumping around and dancing, smiling like an idiot the whole time. Takehito's solo was cute, too!
12. Season - This song is cute, Yume's voice is lovely. This song was on the MERRY GO ROUND single, so it's not new to us. But it's still a nice song. It's chill, cool. Yup. Personally, I wouldn't have included this song on the album. I'll be honest, it's not their best song. But it's still good.
13. Ryuusei - RYUUUUSEI~! This is also an easy AYABIE favourite of mine. It's just such a beautiful song. Yume's voice is gorgeous, the music is composed and arranged beautifully. It's a prefect song, from to beginning to end. I am so in love with it. It's magical and wonderful. Ahh, the riff! I lvoe Takehito's riff, and solo! The beat is perfect, the bass ties everything together and it just works. I feel so happy listening to this song, it makes me feel so secure. It's mirror with the prelude, and it's general loveliness, make it the perfect song to end the album with.

And so that's my thoughts on ANSWER. I don't really want to rate it, because it's really hard to detach myself from my fangirl love for them and look at it critically. So I won't. I would say the only problem I had, and it isn't even really a problem, was Season. There are other songs they could have chosen, but honestly, the album is perfect. It's intelligently arranged, so it has a continuity and flow to it that make the listen experience a real pleasure. Great work, AYABIE!

Please forgive my incoherent and frankly crappy writing and reviewing skill. I try my best. But I enjoy writing these reviews regardless. So, to anyone reading who is interested in SID, please look forward to my next post, which will be a review (in the same style as this) of M&W~!

Thank you for reading. ^^

NP - SICs by AYABIE 

Fuck You Days

Yay, its time! I mentioned in my last-last post that I would talk about SuG's new album LOLLIPOP KINGDOM next time. My bad. Well, here goes.
Just to make this clear, I'm not a reviewer, and this is by no means an *official* review. It's just my thoughts on the album/songs so far. I probably won't go into much detail, mainly because I'm not very good at describing what it is I like/dislike about songs and why. I just know whether I like something or not. Anyway, on with the show!

1. Lollipop Kingdom. Cleverly titled. Can't say much about it, it's what you'd expect an intro song from these boys to be. Gives a good impression of whats coming up in the album. Captures the essence/feeling of the album really well, but I guess thats what it is meant to do.

2.Pastel Horror Yum Yum Show. I personally love the name of this song, I think it's great, and so SuG. The song isn't all new, the PV was released a few weeks before the album. I actually love this song, it really grew on me. At a first listen it can sound a little messy and confusing, but once you get the flow of the song, it's fucking fantastic. Definitely a favourite on the album.

3. ☆Gimme×Gimme☆. Again, not new, but still so damn good. It's fun, it's positive, it's catchy as hell. There isn't a lot more to say about this one. This song had just been released as a single a few weeks before I got into SuG, so even though it wasn't the first song of theirs I heard, it still has a special place.

4. Toy Soldier. Now this is something that I didn't understand; another song that has already been released. I don't really think putting two singles next to each other is a good idea, but hey, thats just me. Whatever floats their boat. As for the song itself, well, meh. It's not a favourite of mine, it's certainly not one of their best. But its alright. It's fun to listen to, especially the "You ready? Yes sir!" bits. I like to do the little salute when I listen to it.

5. No! More! War! Wow, did this song surprise me. It really threw me, I'm not going to lie. To me, it sounds loosely 90's hip hop inspired, and at the moment I'm not sure that I like it all that much. But, I'll keep listening, and see how it goes. I may well come to love it in time.

6. crispy. I think the name of this song is really cute. And the song itself is pretty cute too. It has a chill feeling. It also sounds a little 90's hip hop inspired, so I suppose it flows nicely with No! More! War! Again, I'm not so crazy about this one, yet. I'll keep listening!

7. Howling Magic. Oh my god. This. This song is EASILY one of my favourites, if not the favourite. I can't explain what it is about this song, but it's so good. So fucking good. I'm sorry I can't be more descriptive, I just have too many feels for this song.

8. sleazy ARMY blood. I was a little worried about how this one would sound, what with its name and all, but I was pleasantly surprised. More than pleasantly, this is also one of my favourites. It has this really kickass feeling to it, lots of energy. I feel so badass walking down the street listening to it. I love the use of sound effects and such in this song, particularly the sirens. They're well placed in the song and really compliment it. Also, on a sort of side note, it makes me wonder why Takeru knows the word sleazy. Of all the English words... hah, I guess its actually just like him.

9. yellow strider. Mainly, I just want to say, why in the hell is this not a full song?! This is just one of those interlude type songs that SuG love to throw in. But seriously, this song is so incredible, it's actually another of my favourites, even though it's only 1 minute 29 seconds. I really, really wish SuG had made this a full song. It would have been so good.

10. SWEET COUNT DOWN -Album Ver-. As I'm sure a lot of others are, I'm already familiar with this song, as it was included on one version (I don't remember which) of SuGs last single before the album was released. I loved it then, I love it now. It's another song with that great, kickass feeling that SuG pull out every now and again, and they pull it off. I really like that theres an actual countdown in the song, and it's done well. I actually didn't notice the countdown until about the third listen. Herpaderplol.

11. Kitanai Kotoba. By this point I was beginning to wonder where the slow song would come in, and here it is! There always is one or two. What can I say about this song. It's really, really beautiful. It's stunning. It sent shivers down my spine. I love it when SuG come out with songs like this. You know, slower, where you can really feel Takeru pour all his heart and emotions into his words. The instrumental parts are really sweet sounding. It reminds me a lot of Kaori, from TOKYO MUZiCAL HOTEL. (When it comes to slow SuG songs, though, Misora is still, and will always be my favourite).

12. Fukanzen Beautyfool Days. I like the placing of this song after Kitanai Kotoba. You're left with all these intense feelings, and then Beautyfool Days comes on, and it brings the album back up to an upbeat, positive vibe. It's very uplifting. When I first heard the preview for this song, I was left feeling a little disappointed, as the extract they chose made it sound like it would be the same as their previous releases. But it really isn't anything like Toy Soldier, or Gimmie Gimmie for that matter. I love it. It's positive, in a way that isn't too peppy or oshare. It's a song that is really well put together.

13.DOKI DOKI TV CREW. Ahhh. It's fun! Really, it is! Its name sort of tells you that it's gonna be a fun, energetic, upbeat song.  This one sounds 50's swing inspired, especially the guitar solo/instrumental parts. I don't quite love it, yet, so it's another one I'll keep listening to, I have a feeling I'll grow to love it.

14.Fancy Cake Yum Yum Show. Last but certainly not least. It's actually very different to Pastel Horror Yum Yum Show. But I think thats why it works. They compliment each other, which is, I'm pretty sure, what was inteded. Pastel Horror has a more, well, spooky, mysterious feel. It's darker, in a way. Fancy Cake is showy and glitzy, and feels more light-hearted. It feels like the last song that would be performed at a show, and it is, as for my edition it's the last song on the album. The last scene. You can almost visualize the curtains closing on this insane, spooky, magical show that you have just had the pleasure to witness.
~

So, as you can probably already tell, I adore this album. It's spooky, yet cheerful. It's military, yet magical. It's different, yet familiar. It's everything you could ask for in an album and more. SuG pulled out all the stops with this one, and really succeeded in creating an incredible 3-D listening experience.

Damn, I wrote a lot more than I intended. I'm sorry if I wasn't much use, or any good as explaining things. I'll try do a better job next time (if there is a next time)!

NP - Howling Magic by SuG