The Thirteenth Book Worth of Photos: Long Matured Trip Alone

You know how many months I've stared at these walking into my room? I will miss you, Inorin's legs on a poster haha

You know how your friends are already married and even have kids but you're still single and studying abroad? Haha okay I better not make fun of Mina-chan lest she drops the marriage announcement on me I'm going to have to cry again lmao

I'm not sure I'll call this a photobook review or not (Edit: You'll see in the title already so yes haha this is not a fluke), but hey, the new calendar's here! So I guess I got short-changed for about 4 days in 2022 but that's fine, we shall start right now and hang this up so I can actually get rid of Inorin's legs- I know right why does it feel like I'm losing

Anyways, Mina-chan has them legs too so I'm not really missing out it's just not poster-sized but let's talk about this!

Kotobuki Minako Photo book Calendar 2022 "Cuppa"
[Limited Release on MusicRay'n Mall]

THE 2022 CALENDAR

As usual around November of last year, I was searching and also waiting around for some surprises of someone releasing a photobook, and am excited to hear from Kotobuki Minako after her overseas stay in England aka United Kingdom since April 2020 and don't ask how she can even go there lol, two announcements that made my day. She is coming back to Japan after more than a year and a half for her further education in case you don't know of it, but also, she is releasing a calendar book for her stay in foreign land. So yeah, that's how this happened. How they decided that this is a good idea to make it into a calendar with the mask on some photos to remind me where we are in 2022, but hey at least Mina-chan be making content other than YouTube after her long stay overseas. So yeah, I didn't hesitate to give anything else, it was on limited edition pre-order too which happened soon after the previous package got sent here, so I know this will only arrive by the new year which is fine by me.

THE UNBOXING

(Yeah, being elaborate here so we can get to the book quick haha)

Yay I'm SO glad it's here already I can't even

It's finally here...

THE BOOK

So firstly, before we start, let's talk about what this actually is. It was referred to as a "calendar book", so according to her in the livestream it's essentially a calendar along with a photobook and exactly what is on what is only going to be a mystery, but the contents are pretty obvious: It's about her long trip to England! The only thing I had to worry about is how to put this on my wall since I have a hook so small it can hardly hang my ego (BOOM) (Haha), I'm just glad it came with a big hole drilled onto it which means all I need is some string or thin rope and tie in a loop so I can hang it up. Otherwise, no much of fanservice as one would hope, but I'm okay since you know how old she is already? *laughs* Happy 30 year old Mina-chan lol let's check the contents

写真集 Kotobuki Minako Photo book Calendar 2022 "Cuppa"

Gotta show some skin on the cover haha

It's not at the abode where she stays but she did mention it had a garden and showed us in her YouTube videos

Real, real beauty, this Minako

You would think how awkward it is to do this on a telephone booth? Haha she eggin' me, eh?

Kiss you too, Mina-chan
(My girl when I was late for our date)

Cool Mina-chan that is not swimsuit? Okay

This is a very colourful shot, I gotta say

[January]
Hey it's now!
Afternoon tea with Mina-chan sounds SWEET hehe

So, as you can see from above, the book had a punch hole along with it, so the idea is that you put any string through the holes obviously through the front from the sides so most of it is at the back, and tie the ends so it can be hung on a hook on the wall. I'll show an example of this but changing over the months will be a pain lol that is a future me problem

Dear Ms. Kotobuki, may I have a seat?
*giggles*

[February]
Wow, how do you know I liked the London Tube?
Did not like masks though so
(Also, madman Mina-chan not standing to the right lol)

Yeah, people don't use phones on subways, read books and stay silent.
Try the metro here and you'll see the difference also Japan's is even more silent lol
(Wait, free 2 trips PER DAY?? What madness is this)

I'll not translate all the text shown in this book (besides the afterword) nor will I take photos of them, there aren't a lot and it's really just talking about her life there so don't expect to know her childhood interests from here lol she is 30-

[March]
Spring feels all over, and thanks for the cameraman on cameraman angle

I like how she kept note on the stuff she did in March 2020 and in 2021

[April]
Okay I can't keep this calendar in April forever but
(*giggles*)

Most beautiful forehead in the Japanese voice actress industry, everyone.
(Partially influenced by Kotobuki Tsumugi from "K-ON!" btw)

This is unlike that actual bath scene she did where she was in the bathroom all wet-

[May]
This is so, so adorable I'm just smiling and staring at her chest-

Where she describes the places she visited for the shooting, if you haven't been to the UK before

[June]
Black and white theme? Okay this is the real cool Mina-chan btw

In case you have not heard of this quote before, you're welcome.

[July]
Oh, it's the outfit from the cover!
(Sorry if this reminds me of that detective in Anime "Tada-kun", that was such a pose)

I'm that dude being like "what's this woman dancing along the crosswalk" lol
(I'll ask for an autograph though, screw it) (Haha)

Cheekiness in perfection.

[August]
When you notice the streets were wider than her bust-

So... I can kiss her??
(chu chu) (*giggles*)

"Don't mind the age and own fashion sense"?
Don't say that Mina-chan you're already in your 30s-

[September]
That forehead shining through the light, so bright...

Oh yeah it's her birthday month, she celebrated it there twice

This is just generic beauty right here, honestly

[October]
Beautiful sunsets are always better with beautiful women, they always say
(lol)

You might be impressed by the scenery on the boat trip but I'm just staring at rack lmao

[November]
Street art appreciation week, huh

If you need an introduction to the landmarks in London, this book's got you covered

No arrow to point out that this is Kotobuki Minako? lol

[December]
You know, Christmas dates.
Also, Christmas presents- Thanks for this by the way hehe

All I want for Christmas, is spending time together with the one I love-

Offshots!! The one on the top left is nice forehead tbh
(Second from middle bottom is when she live translated a baseball game if I'm not wrong?)

Really thought she would make her attempt in writing this in English too but uh, it's fine I can Japanese a bit so...

"Thanks for reading it till the end.

England taught me so many things. For me seeking a place to be,
England was sometimes nice, sometimes strict, and totally set (me) free

Thanks to (everyone) I have (the chance) to once again learn (everything)
Yes, somewhere in this country took me in and made it my home,
When I move the world changes, (and) when I don't it stays that way.
Just like that. It's super simple

Believing in my own courage and holding on to my own preparedness, till the end I held so much love (to England) and all.
My adventure will not end just here.
It's still the beginning. Along with a new determination.

Also borrowing this land, many thanks to the staff who made this photobook together!!

To everyone, 2022 is, also from here on (I) hope for (our) futures full of hope
If (you are) in doubt, hey, how about spending some time having tea?

With a cuppa and love, Minako"

Overall, I like how this is the easiest photobook review I've done considering it has the perfect balance of text to talk about, nicely themed and organized to describe her stay for about 20 months, and enough images of dear Mina-chan to justify this purchase. I'm pleased, Mina-chan. I know I missed out on a couple of bikini photobooks from you, and I hope this will compensate for my late arrival into the... the Japanese voice actress merch trend haha ah hey

This is it then, short write up to be honest even though I took photos of most of the book lol, but I'm so glad this happened today so I can continue the rest of the first week of work in 2022 which is nice, and this didn't happen tomorrow because livestream day lol they got Tokui Sora back as host so basically just three months with AIMI-san huh. *laughs* Cya all next time, and until then... someone fancy a cuppa tea? *giggles* I'm good I'll drink bubble tea or Starbucks lmao bye

P.S.

Didn't know this will be that hard to do because apparently twine isn't enough let's see how long this can last lol

The last thing we should do others is to crush their personality.

I thought of this when I was paying for the counter, and we have a missed order item that I also forgot, and they let out a laugh in apology. The point is, that if we show frustration for that laugh, it's training them to not laugh under these situations even though it might be meant for their own relief. Being like this may be being nice but, why not?

The Entertainment News 2022 Edition Issue #01

Hey, happy new year everyone! I guess I have to do this again in another month because of the lunar calendar but, uh, we'll worry about that then haha

Enjoying the last of my long break from work to be honest, because I don't think I will be taking breaks anytime soon... which sounds like a bad idea, but oh well. It's either that or I quit- Anyways haha, I've thought of what I should do on these breaks between Anime seasons and instead of reading Manga which I don't bother to now, I have a better suggestion: watching Anime movies. Yeah, those ones that were good and I should give them chance but have held back doing so mainly because I didn't get to sit in the cinema... or have a Netflix account lol, to watch then. So yeah, I just hope it's good haha ah hey just don't give me that "KimiSui" ending that one was total bull faeces-

Anyways, let's do this! This is going to be uh, hugely dependent on how good the one movie is haha but if you can't get enough with the lack of content from this post you can always go back to the Klassic Note Song Awards post from last year and the Christmas special before that to get your fill lol. Okay let's start.

アニメ Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi

This is just hard to watch, really.

You heard the intro song? Yep, turn up the volume, that's in English by the way. And yes also, this is in Osaka accent, we be in Osaka now. Oh, and you know how girls bite like fish? *laughs* In this movie I've waited for the Blu-Ray release to watch just because and forgot about it for half a year lol (#JoseeTora), since it's the Year of the Tiger I thought I should start the year with some animation involving a society full of tigers...? Ah hey, this is not just "Toradora!", okay? *laughs* Anyways, let me summarize this movie in one sentence:

"Ask yourself this if you haven't already: What have you given up so far in life?"

This, is what I got from this story that made me cry. And I promise you, it has nothing to do with understanding disability, so hear me out. Story goes that Tsuneo is a dude living his life to the fullest, doing crazy amount of part-time jobs and studying and aiming to study overseas at some point. So yeah, your typical college student in debt lol. Well, not in debt, just we know, overseas scholarships aren't your sugar daddy so you gotta work for it. What he is really working for, we will know in a bit. But then in his life, some girl flew into her life (literally) who referred to herself as Josee (tis' in Spanish) and told him to not walk into the place where she and her grandmother lived. Quite a b*tch I would even say, as her harsh tongue did not stop her from further shunning away this unexpected guest who saved her life. Like really, is this what you do so people who saved you? Not even thanks? Okay, brat. *laughs* Moving on, the grandmother thought it would be a good idea to help Tsuneo on his journey to saving enough money to study overseas so she offered him a job opportunity: to take care of Josee, her granddaughter. Yep, you heard that right, his buddy at the diving school is already pissed but, he gets to take care of a woman. On a wheelchair. Well, by taking care also means you have to hear her every order, which kind of got to him within a month real quick, making all of us believe that this girl is nothing but a piece of sh*t within. That, we quickly found out that it is not so. Being with her granny for years and losing her parents from the start, it's not surprising to see Kumiko, which I will refer to her actual name now, being so pessimistic with life and literally only hyped by the daily walk she gets to do with the granny who is of course, not in a capacity to take her out because mahjong (lol) is afraid of all the "tigers" out there who can harm a weak person pushing on a weak person. One day though, Kumiko made herself scarce, which made her only guardian panic and thus Tsuneo helped to find her, but is surprised to learn of her desire for wanting to see the ocean. 

"Must be nice to be you, going to places you like."

And soon we sink in (literally) into a world of differences between Kumiko who dreams of going into the sea and Tsuneo, who has literally went on dozens of diving trips just because. Kudos to her walking out of her comfort zone though, because really the MVP be that lady on the street who showed that guy what's up, easily summarizing what it means to not be afraid of "tigers" walking on the streets. Overcoming that, this opened Kumiko up to so much more possibilities that would otherwise be impossible just because, and with the grandmother's afternoon naps the two sneaked out to visit the world around them together. Please, we call those "dates" haha hey nice rack Mai-chan you may have known Tsuneo to the core but they went out together to eat crepes so *dabs* Haha oh well, your experience may vary, as they say. *laughs* Kumiko's life has changed so much, even the grandmother and  the social worker who has persuaded them to let the girl start living by her own and get a job, be more than surprised on how much leaving the house is doing for her. Hope, guys, in case you have no idea what that is called in your life when you walk out of the house with no one stopping you, as you would every single day. They went to eat crepes, they went to buy art stuff so she can draw, and they went to the library. So this is likely the inspiration for this story, where Kumiko finds continuations to the book she liked which also got the librarian interested, making them friends and also letting Tsuneo know where her pet name came from, for Josee is a character in the book. Kumiko also experienced a lot more than these though, but I think I'm not going to cover all of them, for we will see them later anyways, involving the kids in the library who like to be read to and Tsuneo's co-workers at the diving school. No really gran, when your granddaughter starts to have to spend time to dress up before leaving the house.... *laughs*

"He called you Josee, how wonderful!" Haha Kumiko you walked RIGHT into your own trap lmao *wink*

And... we reached the climax of the story. There's good news and there's bad news. Good news is, Tsuneo is finally reaching out for his dreams of studying overseas. What is not known though, is that he applied to study in Mexico specifically to go diving there and see one of those fishes he has admired as a kid, the one he gave as a lighting plaque or something to Kumiko, however he did not tell her of his plans in the future. Bad news is, someone's grandmother passed away. Man, how? Then again, it is story progression, she has done her job tbh, and man I can't believe even now that this had way more impact to the story than ever, because imagine if Kumiko didn't have to think on her own two feet think by herself, with her life now alone and with social workers barking up her alley every other day. Yeah, think about it. With that though came more problems, as Tsuneo's friends literally came in at the wrong time asking Kumiko to let him off? Come on, Mai-chan, stop adding fuel to the fire. *laughs* As we will learn soon though, but that is also where the girl learnt of Tsuneo's plans to study overseas in half a year but also, and I really won't say this unless I'm a b*tch from those Taiwanese dramas, but I promise you this is the last time I'll talk about discrimination related to disability specifically here, that the idea of Tsuneo may be doing sympathy for Kumiko because of her being on a wheelchair. I mean, we know that's not true and Mai-chan pretty much turned from cute to being evil already so there's that, but that is probably what flipped Kumiko. As she attempts to go to the sea again with Tsuneo, she let this be the time they say farewell in an attempt to free him I guess is the point, and here is where she might have made a misstep. What happened afterwards was as regretful as it would have been accidental, but it is also at this time to know why we have attachments in our lives. Because, just because, you can't just let them go.

"I no longer want to reach out to anything!"

I really thought they'll make it real bad, but let's just say Tsuneo is fine besides a serious fracture of his right leg which is bad enough because as he described to his professor who suggested someone else go to Mexico in his place also how dare you, is that he will not be able to see his beloved fish underwater no more. Well, that is not worst case scenario as we have learnt later, but it's hard to imagine how such an incident would not have you think like our other disabled friend here. So yeah, I'm not going to attempt to experience that because not having freedom of your two legs really suck I know for a fact so I cross roads properly lol, but yeah, you can imagine how much Kumiko is lamenting herself for this incident, and how much Tsuneo wants to kill himself at this point. Interestingly, with the egging from Mai-chan again and technically she did it first, she confessed to temporarily disabled Tsuneo just because. Once again, proving that things you want to do are just such a hand's reach away. Just like how the dude decided to go overseas to study and see his favourite fish, and how Kumiko at some point thought of being an artist despite only impressing kids at the library at this point lol. But because of love I guess, Kumiko did not want to see Tsuneo lose all his hope in life, and decided to help him out. Very discrete though, I would say, as much as a brat would be to express her feelings for the dude. *giggles*

"With the wings of your heart, you can go anywhere!"

As Tsuneo was starting to recover from physiotherapy and his buddy getting him out of the hospital intentionally, they were brought to the library, where Kumiko is there this time around, to read a story for all to remember. I'm just going to summarize, but it's pretty much the story we have here, but since it's a kid's story they had to make things up by making Kumiko the mermaid and Tsuneo that angel who saved her time and again haha ah hey. *laughs* It's similar in premise, things happened, however the dude in the story Kumiko wrote did not give up and went for his goals eventually, which probably is what is required to his Tsuneo to complete his recovery and reach for his goals once again. Hey, not giving up on the stuff you like and want to do is important, in case you do not know. Doesn't even matter if it's the one audience who liked it lol that kid who stayed by Kumiko, but yeah, look at this blog and you'll get what I mean. *sob* Haha okay let's move on I'm just wiping tears at this point. Eventually, Tsuneo did make the trip to Mexico to study hehe here's the plot twist there was enough time for him to recover lmao, but more than that, he learnt of who brought him to where he is today despite the endless cycle of being saved and saving that specific someone who is Josee. *giggles* So yeah, you can see the final romance parts yourself, it's just a confession before they actually say goodbye. Also, Kumiko is older than Tsuneo though? Haha okay by a couple of years probably but who cares

Best scene in this movie price me wrong
(Okay maybe when they were at the beach was better than this tbh)

Literally me on the left as I am watching this movie haha

All in all, I loved the story. It was definitely a roller-coaster ride though, maybe too much of one there were so much to talk about I can't even as you can see from the previous paragraphs, but suffice it to say that it was a good one. It's like if I am a thrill seeker and had to rate one of those rides in the theme park, the good ones, I'll say they are good, even if I'm not a fan of those. This is a good emotional love story with a twist which is just someone on a wheelchair but who cares, which you would then realize that can break down many barriers which will justify the storytelling here, but that's the whole point: It takes someone without a cell phone to let them see the world out there. *laughs* Okay just joking, but it's always feels like this, and I promise you that is not the case. What is the case though, is how much they made the happy and sad times real good, from the couple going out on afternoons even if it's 2 hours and seeing the people around them, to how they pulled each other up despite what the other might think otherwise, but if not for that part-time paycheck disability their love for fishes and the ocean for each other they would not have done it together. Okay, I promise last time joking about this stuff, but you get the idea, it's just a catalyst for making such a love story more wholesome then you can imagine. And I did not regret giving this a watch, and you should too. I don't know if Eve singing the theme songs will make you like this even more, but I think it worked for me. Now I can only be Tsuneo's friend Hayato and dream of dating fishes or something because no one landed on me yet. *laughs* Okay, maybe it's because I didn't do part-time jobs? Damn, I missed out haha if this what you get I would like to babysit a wheelchair bound girl around my age who hates my guts lmao you're welcome Tsuneo I described your girl perfectly

[TL:DR; Lest did I not tell you that the best part about this movie was every single time kawaii Kumiko looks up from her wheelchair hehe what fetish do you even call this anyways?]

Each romance series has its own share of weird coincidences so here it is lol
(Kumiko be like "I'm on top of him" haha)

Each romance series has its own share of weird coincidences so here it is lol
("She's on top of me" lmao)

P.S. "You only get summer of 22-year-old only once!" Haha hey Hayato guess what happened to mine lol nothing I kept myself at home "Yeah, yeah" Haha I'm Tsuneo apparently

P.P.S. "Don't say that, not everything will go your way" Hey, the grandma's correct HELL YEAH and that's why romance stories are great haha

My retirement goals be like
(An armchair, a fan and an afternoon nap; Tell me if you have at least 1 of them)

Me on weekends Saturdays my bed every night after work be like
(lol)

音楽 This Week on Klassic Note

New year, new songs they say, but ironically I tried to find songs from previous years to listen, but not all defined the new year as much as I wanted. But then again the Song Awards just happened and we used to have a larger break from music every year so... Oh well. *laughs* Kuso Iinkai's new album is nowhere to be seen on streaming platforms, so meanwhile I've listened to Bearwear's new album which isn't that bad but I can't point out what their strength is tbh, and Cwondo's new album which is if you know No Buses this is just the vocalist singing electronic tunes and... it's as much as you expect. I gave all the not so electronic-heavy tunes haha ah hey

New week, new news, and on Twitter on the new week, excuse me, "year", we have a lot to talk about. Disbanded NEGOTO's vocalist Aoyama Sachiko is releasing her first solo album end of January thanks to Scenarioart talking about it so maybe I'll give it a listen after missing out for a year and a half, Ohara Yuiko's new music video for Anime "Takagi-san" is a meh but you know it'll get into you once you watch the new season, more Waki Azumi concept mini-album previews on Twitter in case you missed it here is "night four" and "night five", Rie fu appears to be awaiting for an album release in 2022 so I hope it comes out sooner than later, cinema staff's song has reached 3 million listens on Apple Music I don't think I contributed much to it lol, we have more GLIM SPANKY live footage on YouTube which is nice, Scenarioart released a new song in the new year claiming that this is their best song so far lol we shall see about that, Horie Yui is releasing a new album in March following her album release three years ago it looks like (wait for it) a sequel, Ryokuoushoku Shakai's new song release on digital is for their upcoming album, and last but not least Sangatsu no Phantasia is releasing a companion novel for their upcoming album featuring a cast of release dates for 10 chapters and... you just hope someone translates it in English and even then I probably won't have the mood to sit down and read them all. They are, however, revealing a new song by the end of the month though, so take note of that at least.

Next week, I'll dive into Eve's EP from 2020 because of the movie review (I held back from even listening to him and the music video I can prove my actions through my watch history) (but we know it's because they are super popular this is double A-side with another Anime theme song by the way), before we transition into Amamiya Sora's best albums (yes, there are two) which I don't think will make much difference because I've heard of the new song previews and I'm not impressed and I honestly don't think there will be songs I can give from this solo idol singer. *silence* And if all this fails I'll continue on my new year journeys into some artists I've been intending on exploring including No Buses, Kitri and Sisters In The Velvet. We shall see.




Damn, what a way to end this week of break. I can't exactly tell you some of them lol it involved playing porno games lmao yep that's a thing, but as I see the new calendar coming my way hopefully next week and yes we will do a review of that don't you worry, we are transitioning away slowly from arguably best girl of 2021, Minase Inori. *giggles* No really, she got me into poster hunting this year. You see the one poster hung in my room? Still there. Not the fanclub subscription though. *laughs* Cya guys next week then, and hopefully until then I'll hang up a new calendar that is... did I mention who it is? You all forgot? Okay then you can find out next week haha

P.S. No really, do you know there's a survivor game where you can harvest raw materials to build your own house AND have sex with girls on the island? You have no idea lol (PM me on Twitter if you want to know the name lmao it's "AI x Shoujo" ok I'm bailing haha)