Ai Otsuka Love Blog by DagaSkywalker

Ai Otsuka's songs charting on Recochoku

2011-11-11T11:17:00.001+01:00

To everyone's surprise, a couple of days ago some Ai-chin's songs appeared on Recochoku Top 100 (a ranking of the most popular digital downloads).

The ranking for 5th of November:

Planetarium #8
Sakuranbo #27
Daisuki dayo #57
Cherish #64
Ren'ai Shashin #70

The ranking for 6th of November:

Planetarium #8 (=)
Sakuranbo #21 (+6)
Daisuki da yo #37 (+20)
Ren'ai Shashin #47 (+23)
Cherish #54 (+10)
Kingyo Hanabi #82
Peach #83
Kuroge Wagyu Joshio Tanyaki 680 Yen #97
SMILY #99

As for today, Planetarium and Sakuranbo are still the most popular (charting at #21 and #32 respectively), Cherish and Daisuki dayo occupy place #97 and #98, and the rest of the previously mentioned songs are out of Top 100.

The reason why the songs started charting was a special price reduction announced on Ai's official website.

I think that this sudden burst of popularity of Ai-chan songs is evidence that Japanese people still remember about her and love her music after all :)

Sources: Recochoku | Channel-Ai | Ai's official website

Special thanks for Skeedatl :)

"Hikari" in better quality + photo!

2011-10-14T14:47:00.002+02:00

A better version of "Hikari" appeared on YouTube :) You can listen to it here:

This is, however, not the end of updates ^^ LittleBigHeart posted on Channel-Ai a photo of Ai-chin recording her newest song:

The only thing I dislike about this photo is that we can't see Ai-chan's pretty face... ;)

Source: Channel-Ai

Ai Otsuka - "Hikari" FULL SONG!

2011-10-12T18:02:00.002+02:00

The newest Ai Otsuka's song called "Hikari" is available on YouTube! You can listen to it here:

It seems that chokokokoa from Channel-Ai made all Ai-chan's western fandom very happy - he found the link and posted it on the forum. Thank you! :D

"Hikari" is a beautiful song, somewhat similar to her "LOVE LETTER" ballads. I love it, but I'm waiting for a better quality rip ;)

If you're looking for the lyrics, you'll find them here :)

Ai Otsuka - "Hikari" (lyrics)

2011-10-11T17:13:00.001+02:00

Although we haven't had an opportunity to listen to the song yet, we can read the lyrics. Is there somebody ready to translate? :)

「ヒカリ」 ("Hikari")

残った言葉何処にゆこう

残った明日どうして過ごそう

いちばん近くになったの

距離が離れて

心の距離が縮まった

ヒカリをみよう

貴方のコト想った

いつだってあたたかい

会えなくて泣きたい日も

あなたなら

いつだってこう言った

残った大好きずっとあげる

残った涙は奥底に溜まる

背中にあたったそこは静か

遠くで揺らぐ

ヒカリをただ見つめてる

ヒカリ灯から瞼に見える

君が笑った

夢のような幸せ

ヒカリをみよう

貴方のコト想った

いつだってあたたかい

会えなくて泣きたい日も

あなたなら

いつだってこう言った

いつだって笑っててよう

Romaji transcription:

Nokotta kotoba doko ni yukou
Nokotta ashita doushite sugosou
Ichiban chikaku ni natta no
Kyori ga hanarete
Kokoro no kyori ga chijimatta

Hikari wo miyou
Anata no koto omotta
Itsudatte Atatakai
Aenakute nakitai hi mo
Anata nara
Itsudatte kou itta

Nokotta daisuki zutto ageru
Nokotta namida wa okusoko ni tamaru
Senaka ni atatta soko wa shizuka
Tooku de yuragu
Hikari wo tada mitsumeteteru

Hikari tou kara mabuta ni mieru
Kimi ga waratta
Yume no you na shiawase

Hikari wo miyou
Anata no koto omotta
Itsudatte Atatakai
Aenakute nakitai hi mo
Anata nara
Itsudatte kou itta

Itsudatte warattete you

Itsudatte warattete you
Itsudatte warattete you
Itsudatte warattete you
Itsudatte warattete you

Source: Channel-Ai

UPDATE: Listen to "Hikari" (full song)

CONFIRMED: Ai Otsuka's new song: Hikari!

2011-10-08T19:18:00.001+02:00

Now it's confirmed - tomorrow, 9th of October, Ai Otsuka is returning with a new song, called「ヒカリ」("Hikari"). The song is going to be released only for the members of her exclusive fanclub LOVE9CUBE. As for this moment, it's unknown whether the song will be released physically on a CD.

Let's hope that somebody will record the song and share it with us :)

UPDATE: Listen to "Hikari" (full song)! | Lyrics

The info about the song: hiraga_tetsuo @ Twitter, avex_news @ Twitter

Is "Hikari" Ai Otsuka's new song?

2011-10-06T12:30:00.015+02:00

BIG UPDATE: Yes, it's confirmed and true. You can read about it here

EVEN BIGGER UPDATE: Listen to "Hikari" (full song)!

Japanese fans tweet about a new Ai Otsuka's song called 「ヒカリ」("Hikari"). The song allegedly is be released on 9th of October 2011. Moreover, Tetsuo Hiraga (a journalist who has recently posted a photo with Ai) mentions something about it on his blog.

However, since the official Ai-chan's site hasn't been updated since April and there's absolutely nothing new, right now I feel reluctant to get excited about all this new song story. Possibly the rumour is just a rumour and Ai still isn't coming back to music soon. Therefore, I think the best thing right now will be to follow the news from reliable sources. And this is what I'm going to do :)

Tetsuo Hiraga twitted that the song will be available on 9th of October for LOVE9CUBE members.

Hmmm... Does the rumour prove to be true after all? :) <-- Yes, it does ^^

Sources: 1 | 2

A new photo of Ai Otsuka!

2011-10-01T15:13:00.006+02:00

A new photo of Ai-chin surfaced which is a great news for all her fans :)

The man on the picture is Hiraga Tetsuo, a journalist from hotexpress who once interviewed Ai Otsuka during her "愛 am BEST" promotions. It was also him who uploaded the picture on his profile here. It was taken during a kind of happy meeting of him and Ai-chin.

Ai looks very slim in this picture, doesn't she? And the ponytail suits her, although I never saw her wearing such a hairstyle ;) It's so nice to see her after a year of complete silence. After all, excluding the wedding photos, this is one of the very rare pics of her we've discovered in 2011.

Sources: 1 | 2

[UPDATE] A FAN PROJECT: A TRIBUTE SONG FOR AI OTSUKA

2011-09-29T12:49:00.002+02:00

Have you checked out A Tribute For Ai Otsuka, the special fan project of Channel-Ai and Ai Otsuka Love Blog? If not, please do so, because it's going to be something huge!

AN UPDATE: there was a YouTube channel launched - tribute4otsuka. I uploaded there the song by AEnema and some basic information about the project. You can listen to the song in the player below:

Ideas? Comments? Suggestions? Write them in the comment here, on the YouTube page or simply write an email for us at:

Thanks for any contributions :)

Ai Otsuka Love Blog celebrates 20k hits!

2011-09-28T18:10:00.002+02:00

[SCANS] LOVE COOK Illustration Book

2011-09-20T13:41:00.003+02:00

Here you have the photos of the illustration book from “LOVE COOK” limited edition. Click the image below to see them!

I photographed them myself, using my own copy of the book. I didn’t scan the pages, because the book would fall apart in the process, so I used a camera (and two strings to hold the sides). The quality of the photos isn’t that great, but you can read the story (it’s in Japanese) and see the pictures with no problem.

While writing the review of “LOVE COOK”, I thought it would be a nice idea to share this with you, since I have it and the book is already out of print. I think every fan would be happy to see the original artwork and story created by our sweet and multi-talented Ai-chan ;)

You can put the photos on your websites etc., but don’t remove the tags and remember to credit Ai Otsuka Love Blog :)

Enjoy!

LOVE COOK - a review

2011-09-20T13:06:00.006+02:00

In 2005 Ai Otsuka released her third studio album – “LOVE COOK”. Its release, on December 14, 2005, was preceded by three singles featured on the LP: “SMILY / Biidama”, “Neko ni Fuusen” and “Planetarium”. The album was available in four versions: regular CD only and regular CD+DVD (the same cover) and two limited editions: CD + illustration book and CD + Photobook.

I’m a happy owner of the edition with the illustration book :) The book is about an adventure of LOVE-chan which Ai drew and wrote herself. You can see the pages photographed by me here.

“LOVE COOK” is Otsuka's best-selling album (835,333 copies sold) and one of the most popular ones (around a year on Oricon Top 300), but... is it really deserved? Let's have a closer look :)

I was kind of confused after listening to this album for the first time. Literally: I didn't know whether I liked it or not. In terms of individual songs, I was generally impressed, but when it comes to the whole... not really. Unlike “LOVE JAM” or even “LOVE PUNCH”, “LOVE COOK” doesn't seem to be cohesive at all. It starts flawlessly, but the rest is generally quite forgettable (as for Ai-chin), excluding some randomly placed brilliant songs. This album is simply uneven: some songs could be tagged as "epic", others as "anything but epic", the rest as "generic". If I was to say which album contains Ai's the least successful songs, I would say "LOVE COOK". However, since it features also several perfect wins, it is by no means a bad album.

Let's rate the songs now, as I said earlier that individual approach works better for “LOVE COOK” :) Rating will be done in frying pans, because of that:

Each song can score max. 5 frying pans. Let's go!

5:09am

Ai should do intros, if they are to sound like “5:09am”. Definitely it is one of her best songs in terms of vocal performance. Her powerful, loud and emotional voice here gives me goosebumps every time I listen to this. Ai needs to do more rock (but not in the cutesy rendition like in “Happy Days” or “Do Positive”).

Five frying pans out of five for a great opening to the album.

Haneari Tamago

After a strong rock intro, Ai sings a beautiful ballad which belongs to my best favourites (along with “Kumuriuta”). The melody is simply breathtaking and Ai's delicate, crystal clear voice fits it perfectly. It's a shame that it didn't become a single. I'm sure it could have been a success comparable to ”Ren'ai Shashin” and another #1 on Oricon...

Six frying pans out of... oh, wait. OK, so five it is... :)

Biidama

This track and the subsequent one are two main songs from the double A-side single "SMILY / Biidama". It's one of Ai's biggest successes, as the songs topped the Oricon charts and sold very well. “Biidama” is a cute mid-tempo song with nasal vocal (which seems to be extremely popular in Japan). What I particularly like in it is Ai's funny dancing in the PV and the carefree happiness which takes you over while listening to this song :) Moreover, the jazz arrangement used in Ai am BEST Tour is pure love :3

Four decent frying pans out of five.

SMILY

I hate to say that, but I really dislike this song. Even though I'm a loyal and dedicated fan of Ai-chin, I can't stand it. I'm not saying that it's bad, because it reached #1 for a reason, but the level of cutesy and upbeatness in it is over the top... even for me :P

Three frying pans for the number one. If it wasn't for that, only two pans would be granted.

U-Boat

This is one of the few forgettable and generic songs that Ai has ever made. It's similar to “SMILY”, but more moderate. However, the two songs are so close to each other (in sound and in placement), so you can only remember the exaggerate” SMILY”, so “U-Boat” goes on unnoticed... The PV, even though it's happy and full of summer energy, is also nothing very special.

Three and a half, because of the moderation and because the summery happiness is good.

Neko ni Fuusen

Strange as it sounds, this song, being fairly average, became a single and sold quite well, moreover, I like it very much :) Is it because of the feline theme? The song is dominated by acoustic guitar and Ai's sweet nasal vocal (so that she even sounds like a cat). What I don't like in it is the PV, which features digitally created cats. The cats are stiff as if they had advanced rigor mortis, so a hint for the animation director: work harder! :P

Four frying pans, because of my personal bias :)

Cherish

After a slight drop in quality of music, we're reaching the brilliance again. “Cherish” was featured on a tribute album “LOVE for NANA" and due to its huge popularity, also on “AI am BEST” compilation, even though it never was a single. This is a little dark rock song with a painful message that love is more about suffering than happiness. The lyrics are so different in comparison to other Otsuka's texts, that they really deserve some attention. The song is so good that it's a shame that Ai doesn't seem to follow this musical path anymore. As I said before, a little bit more of serious rock in Ai's discography would be awesome.

Five out of five, because it's a widely recognised pinnacle of this album and I share this opinion.

Ramen Sanpun Cooking

Yeah, a typical Ai-chan's prank - when the emotions are high, she suddenly brings us down to earth with something like “Ramen Sanpun Cooking”... Although Ai's fans prefer “SMILY” over this one, I like it better for a reason I can’t explain :P This song is weird and basically about nothing lyrical (cooking a soup?) which makes it a song which you react to with a confused grin and... rarely come back to. At least this is what I do. Generally, from all these jolly prank songs (e.g. “Katorisenkou”, “Mousou Chop”, “Babashi”, etc.) this one is the weakest.

Three frying pans. Enough to do some cooking :)

Tokyo Midnight

Ai-chan decided to do some jazz and appeal to the more mature audience with new classy sound... The effect is quite good, however, it’s evident that these were Ai’s first steps in this kind of music. Luckily, Ai is a good musical learner, so the next steps were far more successful which is best expressed in her fifth album “LOVE LETTER” :)

However, I give only three and a half, because we demand more from jazz than from pop.

Planetarium

This song is probably the fans’ favourite of all time. Most listeners admit that it’s one of the most beautiful ballads that Ai has ever sung, equally with” Daisuki dayo”. I agree that it’s a great song, but “Planetarium” isn’t my personal favourite (because it’s “Haneari Tamago” which blows my mind, of course). I love the imagery of this song, the PV and the starry cover of the single :)

Five frying pans are truly deserved.

Birthday Song

A song that all Ai-chan’s fans know from LOVE is BORN concerts :) I don’t listen to it very often, but it is one of the most adorable songs from Ai and I love every performance of it (especially the birthday cake part :D).

Four and a half for the unforgettable sentimental pleasure :)

LOVE MUSiC

Even if the content of “LOVE COOK” isn’t always very impressive, at least it is properly framed: both the opening and ending sound great. The flawless start demands an appropriate ending :) Luckily, it was achieved, because ”LOVE MUSiC” gently wraps up the album, settling the listener down. “LOVE MUSiC” is a sweet ballad – simple in melody, but rich in meaning. The PV for this song reflect the message of the lyrics. No words needed.

Five neat frying pans for a perfect ending!

We have reviewed the album thoroughly, so let’s now summarise what has been said:

It seems that “LOVE COOK” is a pretty nice album after all. Definitely it isn’t her best, but still it’s quite enjoyable. I think that it sold so well because of catchy singles and various tie-ins, not because of the extraordinary quality of the whole material. It’s a pity that all B-sides from the singles from 2005 are better than some album tracks (brilliant “Natsuzora” or “drop.”). Nevertheless, LOVE COOK is a nice title to have in the library for every J-pop fan. It contains a few tracks like “Planetarium”, ”Cherish”, “LOVE MUSiC” or “5:09am” which are always good to come back to.

Support Ai by buying this album:

YesAsia | CDJapan | Amazon.jp

Happy 29th Birthday, Ai-chan!

2011-09-09T11:38:00.001+02:00

As every fan knows, 09/09 is Ai Otsuka's birthday. We're sending Ai our best wishes! <3

Because Ai-chan is currently on hiatus, there is no LOVE is BORN concert this year. But don't worry, we'll see her next year celebrating her 9th anniversary :) Meanwhile, you can watch the video below prepared by me for today's occasion - LOVE is BORN Digest 3th-7th. You can see there footage from all LOVE is BORN concerts :) Enjoy!

Tanjoubi omedetou, Ai-chan!

LOVE PiECE TOUR 2008 - a review

2011-09-07T18:38:00.007+02:00

A couple of days ago I watched my favourite Ai Otsuka’s concert: LOVE PiECE Tour 2008. I can’t tell how many times I’ve watched this show, seriously. I’ve seen all Ai’s DVDs and all of them are my favourite, but LOVE PiECE takes a special place on my list, not simply the first one – it’s much better than merely a number one :) It’s really hard to explain why it is so. While watching, I was wondering why I like this concert so much, so I decided to have a closer, even analytical, look at this, trying to figure it out. Now I realize that this review (or analysis) is going to be quite extensive, so I’m getting ready :)

Before I begin, I have to highlight one thing – forget about all those low quality DVD-rips which can be relatively easily found on the net. They don’t allow you to discover and truly appreciate the real quality of what you watch, no matter if it’s a movie or a music show. When you own a DVD or a Blu-Ray of the title you wish to see and you play it on your home cinema, the sensations and the experience is amazing. It’s impossible to have such an effect by playing an avi file on your computer. Yeah, it’s absolutely true that original DVDs usually are horribly expensive, but the quality of what you get is totally worth this price. I don’t mention that by buying a DVD you support your favourite artist, because it’s obvious :) OK, enough off-topic.

Before releasing her fifth studio album called “LOVE PiECE”, Ai Otsuka announced a new tour to promote the album. The tour commenced on February 2nd, 2008 in Hitomi Memorial Hall and it ended on May 6th, 2008 in Grand Cube Osaka. Meanwhile, there was one show recorded to be later released as a DVD. As the title of the DVD says, the recording took place on 1st of May 2008, at Pacifico National Convention Hall of Yokohama. The concert was released on July 30th, 2008. It charted #2 on the Oricon Weekly, which was a pretty decent result taking into account that this title turned out to be more expensive than any previous Ai-chan’s DVD.

The cover of the release

What about the tour itself? It was planned and prepared very carefully by Ai and her staff which was visible in any detail. This time, the concerts were meant to amaze the viewers by showing them something they had never seen before, so there were 3D visualizations included in the intro and the interludes, laser shows and Ai who dressed herself in unusual outfits and wigs... Generally, LOVE PiECE Tour brought something very fresh and modern to Otsuka’s tours. Before 2008, they looked quite simple – they were based on singing, playing piano and having fun. Since LOVE PiECE Tour, Ai has been creating her tours in such a way that they resemble more of the theatrical performances than ordinary concerts. This way, she has a broad field to showcase her creativity which is definitely an exciting thing for her fans, because one of the three gifts that Ai was profusely blessed with is her creativity (the other things are her talent and beauty, of course).

I’m going now to present you the content of the concert, including screenshots, some animations, my descriptions of what was going on and some random thoughts which appeared while watching it. You can treat it as an incentive to watch it too, and to get yourselves your own copy. Are you ready?

INTRODUCTION

In the introduction to the show, we can see a 3D animation whose general message is “the miracle of life” (at least this is how I interpreted it). There is a dynamic slideshow depicting different life forms found on Earth, then we are taken into space where we travel across the Solar System. Eventually we can see Ai singing samples from “Mirai Taxi”. The silhouette of the singer transforms from a beautiful green-eyed girl to a metallic humanoid which gives a sci-fi feeling to the show. At the end, the humanoid disappears, the lights go out and...

MIRAI TAXI

... the show finally begins! The opening song starts, the laser beams lighten up the scene and there Ai-chin appears, with a blonde wig on her head, pink lip-shaped sunglasses on her nose, a big colourful flounced dress and black heavy boots... I love the way she moves in this dress – the flounces flow like a sea waves :) Have a look:

Looking closely, her dress might appear ridiculous, but in fact, it’s perfect for such a show, because Ai needs to be well visible from the stage as she sings from its upper part and doesn’t come closer to the audience.

It looks amazing when she waves her hands like this and the viewers wave the colourful flashlights (or whatever it is) along with her :)

HANIKAMI JANE

The stage gets lighter and Ai descends from the upper stage to approach the audience. She sings this song with light heart and moves smoothly, letting her big dress flow and wave. The screens behind her show a slim lady passing a town and a park; possibly it’s this “shy Jane” the song is about. Ai sometimes marches just like the person on the screen which looks amusing :)

MACKEREL’S CANNED FOOD

It’s another song from the new album which was featured in “Tokyo Friends: The Movie” (a movie starring Ai-chin I will write about someday). The performance is edited to look like an old amateur recording or a documentary. I kind of like this stylization: the noisy picture and slow motion add to the song’s rock feeling. However, I find it somewhat funny: Ai’s happy jumping is shot in slow motion and simultaneously she’s screaming loudly “Genki, Yokohama?” ;) In this song, Ai took off her kissy glasses, so we can admire her pretty face. At the end of the song, when the lights go out, she unnoticeably gets rid of the big dress, appearing in a stylish flowery dress which accentuates her great S-line. Otsuka greets the audience and goes on to the next song...

YUMEKUI

... which is the second single promoting her new album. In almost complete darkness Ai begins singing about her journey toward her dream, and then when the light comes back, we can see the hippo-like creature from the PV flying behind Ai-chin. While the guitarist is playing solo, the camera shows Ai’s baby face smiling adorably. This smile always melts my heart... (even though I’m a girl! :D)

HEART

Right after “Yumekui” Ai goes on to singing “HEART” which had been released as a double A-side single five days before the show was recorded. I love the way she begins this number. While she’s singing “Ima sugu aitai, ima aitai...” the camera shows her tiny silhouette emerging from the dark, focusing on her gentle and smooth hand movements which perfectly fit the song’s flow. As the song continues, the mood becomes more and more emotional and romantic... Ai-chin knows best how to do that, doesn’t she?

HOSHI NO TANGO

Passionate feelings are still on, when Ai begins “Hoshi no Tango” – another new song from “LOVE PiECE”. The picture goes monochromatic and noisy, the instruments play quietly and everything is just peaceful and nostalgic (I mean: it’s supposed to be this way, but I can’t really feel it, because I hate the accordion :P) Ai involves herself fully in this performance, singing expressively with closed eyes. At the end of this song, Otsuka disappears in the dark letting her band play a longer instrumental part.

INTERLUDE 1

The viewers are shown another three-dimensional interlude. Once again the audience is flying in the space, but this time they find themselves in the abyss of time, a strange world, as if in a dream (or some drug-induced vision... :P). At some point the audience is eaten by a scary bug (I feel sorry for the poor things in 3D glasses, they must have been terribly frightened :D) and travels down its oesophagus to eventually land in an African forest. Then there are also other things, like exploding hearts and stuff. OK., the interlude is very psychedelic and I really hope that it was conceived by a person who didn’t have to resolve to some strange substances to see all that... Ahh, whatever :P The last image the screens present is a piano which is a sign that Ai is going to do this part of her concert where she showcases all her true talents: singing to self-accompaniment of piano...

MOMO NO HANABIRA / TEARS

There she appears: focused, emotional, beautiful... A single beam of purple light brightens the piano and the tiny girl feeling the instrument, playing some gentle notes as if she wanted to stroke it like a kitten... The song she’s performing is “Momo no Hanabira” in the acoustic version. Ai sings it slower than in the original version which makes it sadder and more nostalgic. The song is intertwined with another one: “Tears”. At some point, a violinist joins Ai and together they play a poignant piece of music which definitely touches everybody’s heart.

Once Ai-chin finishes the song, she thanks the audience for the applause and she talks for a moment. Unfortunately, my Japanese isn’t good enough for me to understand what she’s speaking, but I believe that it’s some kind of a message from the bottom of her heart or simply a few random thoughts before her next song :)

PLANETARIUM

One of the most popular and cherished Ai-chan’s songs – “Planetarium” in an acoustic version. The arena changes from a modern concert hall into a quiet temple of a peaceful night where the song seems to reach the starry sky. Ai sits on the stairs between two guitarists who provide a quiet accompaniment to her singing. This is one of the best performances of this song I’ve ever seen and I like this acoustic arrangement much better than the original one (but it isn’t bad at all :)).

KUMURIUTA

The emotional part of the concert isn’t over yet. The next song on the setlist is “Kumuriuta” which is a completely new ballad from “LOVE PiECE” (one of the absolute best in Ai’s career). This performance features original arrangement and additional strings which make it even more lyrical. The beginning has a great lighting – the colours seem to be so juicy and warm here. It looks like it’s just before the sunrise :) However, unlike the previous songs, this one has a more dramatic expression which is clearly visible after the second chorus. For me, the level of emotions at this point becomes almost unbearable (which results in a tear or two...). There are many reasons why I love Ai-chin – one of them are these moments.

KIMI NI KAERU

Ahh, it’s been a tender time! Now it’s time to calm yourselves down a bit. Another pretty ballad, “Kimi ni Kaeru” comes from the “CHU-LIP” single and it’s just a nice song (nothing more really). The performance was OK., but wasn’t anything special (except for the artificial snow made of lightbulbs :)).

REN’AI SHASHIN –HARU-

One of the best performances of this song I’ve ever heard. The piano-dominated, acoustic version of 13th single with Ai’s voice clear as crystal and simple yet meaningful words “Tada kimi wo aishiteru” make this part of the concert really memorable. I simply love it so much that being wordy about it would be just unnecessary.

INTERLUDE 2

...means that the romantic part is over. The beginning of one of the most WTF Ai’s songs, “Babashi no Theme”, destroys the mood in a split second... I can’t stand this creepy song, but whatever :P Let’s now skip to the upbeat part which starts with...

PEACH

Ai jumps on the scene in short bright blond wig and a shiny dress, inviting the audience to have fun. She dances and claps her hands happily during the instrumental part, infecting everybody with her irresistible enthusiasm :) I must admit that I love her hairstyle and even though blond hair doesn’t always look good on her, here her appearance is gorgeous!

FRIENGER

Fun is still on! During this song, Ai runs across the stage, pulls faces and obviously likes that :) The audience enthusiastically screams “FIGHT!” along with her which is a clear evidence that Ai’s upbeat singles are what the Japanese fans love!

KATORISENKOU

Ai loves surprising her fans in every possible way. Every album she releases contains at least one “unusual” song (e.g. “Mousou Chop”, “Pon Pon” on “LOVE JAM”; “Ramen Sanpun Kukkingu” on “LOVE COOK”, “Babashi no Theme” on “AI am BEST”, “Shachihata” on LOVE LETTER”). On "LOVE PiECE” it is “Katorisenkou” – a weird song about chasing and probably killing a blood-starved mosquito... Of course, Ai being a very creative and thorough person, made sure that the performance fitted the imagery of the song, so she came out with... a giant fan or whatever it was (probably a tool for killing the damn insect). Yes, Ai is sometimes (positively) wild which is simply another reason why she’s so lovely!!!

There are performers who like smashing guitars, but there are also ones who like smashing mosquitoes better. Simple as that.

PON PON

“Mainichi anata to ponponponponponponpon!” – on hearing that and the guitar riff at the beginning, the audience goes crazy! So does Ai... But unlike other artists who let themselves run and jump insanely on the stage, she doesn’t miss a single note, so her singing still sounds crystal and correct. How is she able to do that?

CHU-LIP

So we have reached the climax of the concert! Since releasing this song as her 14th single, Ai likes putting it in the setlist at the end of the performances, so I guess it has become a kind of tradition. This is such a twisted song that anything can happen while Ai is singing it. However, there is always a constant element in CHU-LIP – insane dancers called CHU-LIPPAS with incredible MONDO as the leader. After a short warm-up, Ai joins them and dances a funny dance which, with the addition of bursting confetti, showcases Ai’s best abilities to entertain the audience. I can’t imagine how it’s like to be there and experience it live – I guess it’s simply impossible to describe.

I love the way Ai involves the audience in having fun together. This time, before the song started, she divided the people into two groups (left: Mommas, right: Pappas), made sure that the people know where they belong, practised singing in turns and then, when the time came, she invited them to sing along with her and it all worked just fine. This is where teaching skills which she’d acquired before starting musical career come in handy :)

As this is the last song, Ai thanks everybody who came to see her concert (by running around and screaming “Arigatou, arigatou!”) and rushes out behind the scenes. The audience doesn’t stop shouting, so Ai-chan has no other options, but only to come out again...

ENCORE

In this part, Ai looks like a girl next door – natural and sporty. Dressed in a casual T-shirt, loose jeans and trainers, she performs immortal “Sakuranbo”, then “Rocket Sneaker”, “LIFE-LOVE CiRCLE” (and this is when she mentions about all the people who created this show: her band, dancers, staff, also the audience and her herself), “Ticket” and “Pocket”.

Between the songs, Ai interacts with the audience, talks a lot and smiles which is a clear evidence that she loves giving concerts and these moments are very important in her life. At the end, with teary eyes and unbelievable modesty, she thanks the audience, bows for a longer moment and in a very graceful manner expresses her gratefulness for all those people who came to see her spectacle. Strange as it may sound, the very ending of each Ai’s concert is probably the most emotional part of the entire show, because we can sense her deep sincerity and modesty. I love it when she bows several times in different places on the stage, as if she wanted to thank everybody individually and then she shouts “LOVE & PEACE” without her mic, so that everybody can hear her voice... She’s gorgeous and that’s about it.

So, to conclude... Why is LOVE PiECE Tour my favourite? Honestly, I still don’t know. Every Ai’s concert is perfect in terms of quality of sound, vocal performance, visual effects, amounts of emotions and fun. But I guess this one is special, because of the setlist (all my favourite songs are here), modern 3D effects and interludes, Ai being at her prime... There is a charm, magic, nostalgia, amusement, surprise, happiness, sadness – everything which is needed to make a great concert. Perhaps the balance of all these elements is the key? I wasn’t bored in any moment of watching the show, because no part lasted too long, too short or was overdone. Moreover (a random thought) I think that it takes a lot of skill to prepare such a show which absorbs totally the viewer without resorting to vulgarity, scantily clad dancers / performers, nasty lyrics etc. I’m very happy that artist who can impress the audience only with their musical skills still exist and that Ai-chan is one of them. This fact makes me even a bigger fan. Ai-chan, you’re great.

You can buy this DVD at:

YesAsia | CDJapan

Thanks for reading. May LOVE be with you. Always.

A FAN PROJECT: A TRIBUTE SONG FOR AI OTSUKA

2011-09-07T10:28:00.008+02:00

Ai Otsuka Love Blog is honoured to invite you to the special project commenced by AEnema from Channel-Ai - creating a tribute song for Ai-chin!

The song has already been composed by AEnema. We need lyrics (in Japanese or at least English) and a person who could sing the song (preferably a girl). Please read about it on the forum here, listen to the song and get inspired! :D

If you:

- get any idea about the song

- think about a theme for the song

- want to perform it

- want to write the lyrics,

- want to shoot a video (:D)

- want to contribute in any way

- have any suggestion

please write a comment here or send an e-mail at:

You also join a Last.fm group created for this project: here

Let's make something big of it! Let's show Ai-chin our love and let's show others that she's a great artist who inspires people all over the world! She has sung so many times for us and never let us down, so now it's our turn :) She's totally deserved it, no doubt.

Let's unite in this, Ai-chan's fans!

LOVE9CUBE PREMIUM MAGAZINE Vol.2 - first images!

2011-06-28T19:43:00.000+02:00

A small (big?) update!

The members of LOVE9CUBE (Ai-chin's mobile fanclub) are lucky to get the second issue of the special magazine LOVE9CUBE PREMIUM MAGAZINE. Devoted fans on Channel-Ai found a person so kind to give us three photos from the magazine! (Thank you, LittleBigHeart!)

The photos are shown below:

The images seem to be taken recently (02 May 2011). If it is so, Ai-chin looks absolutely great! :) OK, she always does :D

The second volume of the magazine is about Ai's beginnings in the music industry (2003-2004). We're waiting for more information about the issue and more photos!

First anniversary of Ai Otsuka and Su's marriage

2011-06-28T19:24:00.002+02:00

It's been a year since Ai Otsuka and Kazuto Otsuki (Su) tied the knot. Last Saturday (June 25) was their first anniversary :)

Ai Otsuka and her husband got married last year, 25th of June 2010. Nine months later, 24th of March 2011, their first child, a baby girl, was born.

Omedetou for the happily married couple!

____

Sorry for the delay in posting this, not to mention the recent lack of news about Ai-chin. She stays very quiet and there is nothing going on whatsoever, besides, I've got my exams and stuff... Hopefully this will change for better soon :) Stay tuned!

Photos from Ai's wedding! LOVE9CUBE PREMIUM Vol. 0

2011-05-02T15:42:00.010+02:00

There they are! Thanks to LittleBigHeart from Channel-Ai who found them somewhere on the net, we can admire the photos from Ai Otsuka and Su's wedding!

The photos come from LOVE9CUBE PREMIUM Magazine Volume 0 which is a special book available only for the members of Ai's fanclub in Japan.

Ai looked absolutely wonderful... Better than Kate Middleton (pardon me, the Duchess of Cambridge), I would say in my highly personal opinion :D I'm in love with our sweet Ai-chin right now xD

LittleBigHeart, you are my idol for bringing these stunning pics to us! Thank you!

***

Here are the pictures (click on the thumbnails to see the full size):

You can see all the pictures also here: Channel-Ai Gallery

EDIT (05.05.2011) - I found some entries on various Japanese blogs where the lucky ones who have the magazine posted some photos of the publication. The pics are definitely LQ, but it's better than nothing:

1 | 2 | 3

A new layout! / No a-nation for Ai-chan

2011-04-27T23:17:00.002+02:00

Hello, everybody!

A new layout has been created :) Winter is over, so I decided to make the blog warmer and more sunny.

*****

Ai Otsuka is not going to perform on a-nation 2011. The list of artists performing there has just been announced and it seems that this event will be held without Ai-chin. It's not a great news, unfortunately :( But let's keep the faith to see Ai anyway. Maybe she won't sing, but she'll show up to greet fans or something? I hope so :)

Ai Otsuka performing during a-nation 2010

I miss her sooo much!... But I perfectly understand why she wants to stay away from the public life and performing :) She deserves some time for her new family. Still, I can't wait to see her again :)

SOURCE: TokyoHive

Message from Ai Otsuka about the childbirth

2011-03-27T20:17:00.004+02:00

Ai Otsuka sent a message to her fans via her mobile fanclub LOVE9CUBE.

Ai wrote:

つい最近……

無事に女の子を出産できました
母子共に元気です。

ずっと逢いたかったこの子に
ありがとうでいっぱいです。
一生分の幸せをくれました。
よく来てくれたね、一緒に歩いていこうね。

隣で支えてくれた旦那さんにも
ありがとうです。

私を丈夫に産んでくれたお母さんにも、
ありがとうです。

安全に導いてくれた先生や助産婦さんたちにも、
ありがとうです。

これまでに、安産を願ってくれたたくさんの人にも
本当にありがとうです！

小さな小さな彼女は、お腹の中でも、この世に出ても、
一生懸命生きようとしてます。
あたりまえにある普通のことを、
恵まれた時代に見失いそうな普通のことを、
大事に、一つ一つを大事に、
教えられながら進んでいきます。

第二章、出発☆

Translation (Jpopasia.com):

Just recently….

I gave birth to a girl without mishap.

Mother and daughter are both safe.

I am full of appreciation (after seeing) this child who I have wanted to meet for so long.

I have been given a lifetime’s worth of happiness.

Thank you for coming, let’s walk on together.

Thank you, also to my husband who’s been supporting me by my side.

Thank you, to my mother who gave birth to a healthy me.

Thank you, to the doctor and midwives who led me safely.

And truly, thank you, to everyone who has wished me an easy delivery up until now!

This tiny, tiny her is trying to live very hard, in (my) belly, and (now) out in the world. I will continue on while being taught to cherish, to cherish one by one, the normal things that seem ordinary, normal things that we can lose sight of in this blessed age.

Second chapter, depart☆

Sources: jpopasia | barks.jp

24 March 2011 - Ai Otsuka gives birth to a baby girl!

2011-03-24T18:05:00.001+01:00

My dear Readers!

Today, 24th March 2011, the most beautiful day in Ai Otsuka's life has come - she gave birth to her first child - a baby girl!

Omedetou, Ai-chin! Omedetou, Su!

The name of the baby is still unknown, but it's only a matter of time when Ai shares this with us. I can't believe it! I'm so happy!

Ai Otsuka and Kazuto Ootsuki (RIP SLYME's Su) got married on 25th July 2010. Ai announced that she was 3 months pregnant during her live performance LOVE is BORN ~7th Anniversary 2010 in September 2010.

Sources: Channel-Ai | Yomiuri | Kumanichi | TokyoHive

Let's support Japan!

2011-03-22T22:56:00.000+01:00

It looks like everything is going to be all right in Japan. As far as I know, the thing with power plants looks a little brighter, so I don't lose hope. Yokatta, ne!

Nevertheless, the size of the disaster is incredible. Many Japanese people are in despondent situation - without food, home, loved ones... I believe that donating some money on charity is definitely a good thing a person can do for Japan. Let's help the people survive this hardship!

I heard that there's one more thing we can do to help Japan rebuild its economy. My dear Readers, the most appropriate time to buy original CDs and DVDs has come! As you probably realize, every yen directed to Japanese economy is crucial. And it's not only supporting the artists (who don't get much from their records anyway). Every price includes taxes which are later spent by the governement to pull the economy and the Japanese people out of the trouble they're experiencing now. Therefore, I support the idea of buying things in Japanese online shops, because it's beneficial... not only for the needy but also for you.

If you want to support Japan in their struggle, you can visit:

Japanese Red Cross | JRC (via Google) | Unicef

For shopping:

CDJapan | YesAsia | Amazon.jp | mu-mo

Even though this is a blog exclusively about Ai-chin, I recommend you to buy not only Otsuka's releases. Personally, I'm considering buying something from Namie Amuro and something from Ai, but I'm not yet sure what I will choose.

It's 22nd of March today... In few weeks or even days we can expect Ai to become a mom. I'm really happy for her and for Su :) I'm looking forward to any news from them. Let's hope it will be only good news!

Earthquake: Message from Ai Otsuka

2011-03-20T20:28:00.002+01:00

As it can be expected, entertainment is not a product which is badly needed these days in Japan. Last show of Music Station was full of sadness and gloomy atmosphere - all because the tragic earthquake and tsunami which devastated Japan a week ago.

The episode featured Ai-chin's past performance of "Ai" in the acoustic version. During the performance, there was a message from Ai-chin shown. Otsuka said:

地震から数日がたちました。みんなの無事を切に願ってます。明日のために今日は生きて。数年先のために乗り越える明日を先きて。がんばったねって抱き合いたい。強く強くあなたのこと想ってます。

It's been a few days since the earthquake. I hope everybody is safe. Let's live today for tomorrow and the years which will come next. I'd like to tell you "Let's be brave and fight". I keep thinking about you.

Translation: mine (absolutely not perfect, but the meaning is preserved)

Ai didn't appear live in the episode. Let's hope she's staying in a safe place and is not exposed to radiation in any way :(

Earthquake: Ai Otsuka is safe and sound!

2011-03-13T19:52:00.004+01:00

It's a truly difficult time for all Japanese people. As we all know, there has been a terrible earthquake and tsunami which took thousands of lives. Many people are still unaccounted for, if not dead. All the world is watching Japan struggling with the catastrophe, wishing all the Japanese lots of strength and hope in surviving the situation.

Many fans have been worried about their idols, but fortunately all of them are fine. So is Ai Otsuka and her husband Su - it's been officially confirmed, therefore there's no need to worry about them (sources: 1 | 2).

I'm very happy that Ai is safe and sound, but what still concerns me is the leak of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, which is located about 240 km from Tokyo. I don't know for sure where is Ai at the moment (there are rumors that she's in Osaka) and where she was when the leak occured, but I hope she hasn't been exposed to the radiation :( She's pregnant, so the risk doesn't concern only her, but also her baby. Obviously, radiation has a highly detrimental influence on unborn babies. So, I'm still worried and I hope Ai has a safe place to hide herself to wait safely until the danger is over.

My dear Readers - no matter what religious community you belong to (if at all), let's unite in prayer for all those who lost their lives in the recent disaster, who lost their relatives or beloved ones, who are left alone without help or are still waiting for it, who haven't got any place to live... Please, pray with me. Thank you.

May HOPE be with us all.

For all seeking comfort in this saddening situation:

LOVE IS BORN ~7th Anniversary DVD on Oricon

2011-03-09T20:47:00.005+01:00

The DVD and Blu-Ray are out now!

The release ranked #8 on Oricon Daily Chart.

Ganbatte, Ai-chan! Maybe through promotion in MUSIC ON! TV ASAHI SUPER DRY The LIVE NAVI the result will be higher in the weekly ranking.

EDIT (10 Mar 2011) - Ai dropped to #10. At least she debuted in Top Ten and is still there :/ Let's hope she'll go higher.

EDIT (13 Mar 2011): As of 12 March, the DVD is out of Top 20 (Daily Chart).

EDIT (17 Mar 2011): Ai is #17 on the Oricon Weekly Chart.

Source: Oricon Daily | Oricon Weekly

Special goodies for LOVE9CUBE members

2011-03-08T20:12:00.002+01:00

Ai's official website announced today that the members of LOVE9CUBE (Ai's mobile fanclub) will be able to get a special collection of 9 issues of LOVE9CUBE PREMIUM MAGAZINE (Volume 0 was mentioned here). The books will be released gradually, starting from April 2011 till August 2012.

The next issue is going to be especially interesting, because it's said to contain photos from Ai's wedding!

Moreover, the members will be able to obtain a special gold membership card with Ai's drawing and message.

I envy you, LOEV9CUBE members... :P

The good thing is that we'll probably have the pictures once they are published because you can always find someone so kind as to scan the pages :)

So, we're waiting! :)

EDIT: The website published two small previews of pages from the upcoming issues:

Volume 0

Volume 1

A bride, wedding dress, penguins... Cute ^^

Source: the official website

Ai Otsuka gives advice for pregnant women

2011-03-03T18:58:00.008+01:00

Ai Otsuka advises all pregnant women: Are you eating broccoli? You need to, because it contains a lot of folic acid.

Ladies! Let's eat broccoli for the good of our children!

In the latest episode of her weekly programme "LIFE-LOVE CiRCLE" (26 Feb 2011) Ai-chin talked with Yuka who, as it turned out, is also pregnant. Having learned this, Ai reminded all the pregnant listeners about the need of eating broccoli, because of its big amount of folic acid.

Let's mention here that folic acid (folacin) is a necessary element of the diet of pregnant women, as it prevents babies from neural tube defects.

Good job, Ai-chin! As far as I know, women still happen to lack knowledge about the needs of their bodies during pregnancy. It's vital to make women aware how they should care of themselves in this important time of their lives.

In addition to that, Ai revealed some details about her recent private life :) She said that being pregnant made her very happy :) She mentioned also shopping with her husband Su when they bought diapers for their baby. Speaking of Su, Ai thanked him for being such a supportive husband. Isn't it cute? ^^

As of March 2011, Ai is 9 months pregnant. She's expected to have the baby next month. We wish her easy delivery and all the best!

This episode of LIFE-LOVE CiRCLE and many others are available on the TOKYO FM official site :)
However, the podcasts and actual programme aren't the same. During the programme on air Ai plays music, talks with listeners, there are commercials and so on, while podcasts include only Ai reading letters and drawing pictures which are published later on the TFM website.

Source: Tokyohive

12 Mar 2011 - Ai appearing on ASAHI SUPER DRY The LIVE NAVI

2011-03-01T17:33:00.002+01:00

Great news for everybody dying to finally see Ai again!

Ai Otsuka is going to appear on MUSIC ON! TV ASAHI SUPER DRY The LIVE NAVI on 12 March 2011. The show will be aired on 12 March from 23:00 to 24:00 (13 March - from 24:00; 15 March - from 25:00).

It's not known whether Ai will perform. But since there's information about the event on Ai's website, then we can expect her to show up.

If Ai shows up on March 12, she will be appearing publicly for the first time since September 2010. We have missed her, oh yes, we have!

The only thing that worries me a little is the fact that Ai is already 9 months pregnant, so the appearance might be extra tiring for her. Nevertheless I hope that everything is going to be all right, both with her and her baby :)

Source: the official website

Calendar for 2011 from me to you

2011-02-23T22:51:00.001+01:00

Today I have a gift for all of my readers and all Ai's fans - a beautiful calendar for 2011 made by me.

(I know that almost 2 months of the year have already passed, but the long rest of the year is awaiting us :D)

A small preview:

The calendar consists of 14 pages - one per month plus two covers. You can print it and do whatever you want with it - I recommend A5 format for the best quality.

The days of the week are marked in Japanese. 月- Monday, 火 - Tuesday, 水 - Wednesday, 木 - Thursday, 金 - Friday, 土 - Saturday, 日- Sunday.

If you like it, please let me know :)

DOWNLOAD

(14 JPG files packed in one RAR archive)

Feel free to share the calendar with your friends :) You can put it on your website, but remember to credit me, because I made it.

The funny thing about this calendar is that you can re-use it in 2039 :D

Enjoy! ♥

LOVE is BEST promotion (13 Nov 2009) - photos

2011-02-23T15:04:00.001+01:00

Kind of old, but still interesting news. I found some photos on Max Matsuura's blog (the president of Avex): Ai Otsuka appeared in several shops (HMV and TSUTAYA) in Shibuya, two days after the premiere of her second compilation album LOVE is BEST.

Ai's hair from LOVE is BEST era is soooo sweet! When I had longer hair, I used to style it in the same way :D

A new frosty layout / Pocket PV

2011-02-23T02:11:00.000+01:00

Today I felt like re-designing my layout :) The idea came to my mind when I was listening to "Pocket". The song fitted very well in this situation, mostly because it's so cold in Poland right now that I can't think about going out without having cold chills on my back :P

How do you like the new frosty layout? :) I think it looks very nice and it fits current weather (at least in my country).

The funny thing is that I didn't mean to make the colours and the general graphics so cold, even frostbitten xD It just turned out at the end, when I finished and evaluated the design. It's all because of listening to "Pocket" and watching the PV today :)

Speaking of which:

As I said some time ago, Ai-chin can even make the winter look brighter :)

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T23:42:00.007+01:00

PEACH / HEART booklet scans in HQ

2011-02-14T21:26:00.000+01:00

Today I have for you a nice portion of HQ scans of Ai's single PEACH / HEART. This single was released on 25 July 2007. It's Ai's last single to sell over 100.000 copies, unfortunately. Let's hope she'll do better when she comes back to music :)

Here you are:

COVER:

PAGES 1-2

PAGES 3-4

PAGES 5-6

Enjoy! :)

LOVE IS BORN ~7th Anniversary DVD Trailer

2011-02-10T21:21:00.002+01:00

On the official website we can watch the trailer of the new DVD:

I think the trailer lacks some energy characteristic for Ai-chin's concerts, but maybe this time it's deliberate :)

LOVE IS BORN ~7th Anniversary DVD Cover

2011-02-03T22:38:00.001+01:00

The cover for the new DVD and Blu-Ray release of Ai Otsuka looks like this:

It's kind of scary... :P Tears that resemble blood?... No, it's only paint! There are so many colours inside the eye that they overflow. This is the only quite plausible (and not scary) reason.

Do you like the new artwork? Express your opinion in the poll on your left! ^^

Oh, btw.: Did you know that the show recorded for DVD release will not include Sakuranbo? This is outrageous! :(

Official: LOVE IS BORN 7th Anniversary on DVD and Blu-Ray

2011-01-20T21:50:00.005+01:00

As the official site announced today, the release of LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary on DVD and Blu-Ray is planned on 09.03.2011.

The concert for the DVD and Blu-Ray release was recorded 12 September 2010.

The setlist:

1. Ai

2. Is
3. Zokkondition
4. Hanikami Jane
5. Action 10.5
6. Always Together
7. Momo no Hanabira
8. Neko ni Fuusen
9. Kingyo Hanabi
10. LOVE LETTER
11. Ren'ai Shashin
12. Planetarium
13. Birthday Song
14. Rocket Sneaker

15. Sakuranbo *
16. Mirai Taxi
17. LUCKY STAR

encore:
18. CHU-LIP
19.I love xxx

* allegedly cut out from the show

DVD: 4,999 yen

Blu-Ray: 5,999 yen

Pre-order:
CDJapan: DVD | Blu-Ray
YesAsia: DVD | Blu-Ray
Amazon.jp: DVD | Blu-Ray

Members of Ai's mobile fanclub LOVE9CUBE who will purchase the product will be privileged with special bonus: LOVE9CUBE PREMIUM MAGAZINE Vol.0 which includes a collection of unique photos from all concerts LOVE IS BORN (3rd - 7th). Unfortunately for worldwide fans, this mobile fanclub is available only in Japan :(

Source: the official site

Anyway, I'm so happy! :)

A photo of Ai and Su together ^^

2011-01-13T17:55:00.007+01:00

Yeah! Ai Otsuka and her husband Su together on one photo!

Don't get too excited about it, though...

Because it's fake.

I made it by myself today :P This is DagaSkywalker's self-made Ai and Su's "ren'ai shashin", so to speak :)

I wondered how the couple would look together on a "real" photo, so I decided to blend two pics into one. I know the result isn't perfect. Making it totally perfect wasn't my point.

I added such a sweet pun on the left hand side... ^^ For those who don't know Japanese: the first two characters are 愛 (ai / love) and す(su / first syllable of suru - to do). Together with る (ru), we can read the whole as "to love".

Smart, isn't it? ;)

How do you like it? :D

EDIT (15.01.2011): I changed the pic, because it turned out to be too meh, when I looked at it closely. The new one, which I made just a moment ago, is much better ^^ Forget about the previous pic. It was never here :P

Action 10.5 lyrics (kanji + romaji)

2011-01-13T00:43:00.004+01:00

Ai Otsuka - Action 10.5 / アクション10.5
written by: 愛

友人が表したリアクションだ
がんばりは
時を超えてくる
星のように
誰かが噂した
ハクションだ
変われば世界も変わる
扉の向こうに

Yūjin ga arawashita
Riakushon da
Gan-bari wa
Toki o koete kuru
Hoshi no yō ni
Dare ka ga uwasa shita
Hakushon da
Kawareba sekai mo kawaru
Tobira no mukō ni

イメージ…ステージ…
自分の脳を光らす
ディレイ…キレイに…
あるがままに加えて
しゅらゆら…
ちゅらゆら…
波が応え光らす
以来は、意外に、
踏み出すコトは簡単

Imēji… sutēji…
Jibun no nō o hikarasu
Direi… kirei ni…
Aruga mama ni kuwaete
Shi ~yurayura…
Chi ~yurayura…
Nami ga kotae hikarasu
Irai wa, igai ni,
Fumidasu koto wa kantan

TVの中はフィクションだ
アドリブが
後に効いてくる
過去の総集編
強者の達のセッションだ
0.5の未知数が
混ざる解けない感動編

Terebi no naka wa fikushon da
Adoribu ga
Go ni kiite kuru
Kako no sōshūhen
Tsuwamono no tachi no sesshon da
0. 5 No michisū ga
Mazaru tokenai kandō-hen

クレイジー…ノイジー…
経験がぶつかる
PRAYにPLAY
大事なもの
失くさないように
ひゅわふわ…
じゅわふわ…
雲が太陽に向かう
LIKEもLOVEも
持ち合わせたミラクル

Kureijī… noijī…
Keiken ga butsukaru
PRAY ni PLAY
Daijina mono
Shitsu kusanai yō ni
Hi ~yuwafuwa…
Ji ~yuwafuwa…
Kumo ga taiyō ni mukau
LIKE mo LOVE mo
Mochiawaseta mirakuru

今まさに立つ
ジャクションだ
最後の決めては
パッションだ。
10.5アクション!

Ima masani tatsu
Jakushon da
Saigo no kimete wa
Passhon da.
10. 5 Akushon!

友人が表した
リアクションだ
がんばりは
時を超えてくる
星のように
誰かが噂した
ハクションだ
変われば世界も変わる
扉の向こうに

Yūjin ga arawashita
Riakushon da
Gan-bari wa
Toki o koete kuru
Hoshi no yō ni
Dare ka ga uwasa shita
Hakushon da
Kawareba sekai mo kawaru
Tobira no mukō ni

星のように…
扉の向こうに…
今アクション10.5!

Hoshi no yō ni…
Tobira no mukō ni…
Ima akushon 10. 5!

Source of kanji: link

^ Thank you very much! ♥

At last! I thought I would never find the lyrics! :) I will try to provide ~~romaji~~ and translation as soon as possible :) I don't want to publish here a Google translation, because you know how inadequate it usually is.

EDIT: Romaji added. If somebody spots a mistake in the romaji transcription, please let me know.

Ai-chan's hiatus is driving me crazy!

2011-01-12T20:32:00.004+01:00

I don't have any thrilling news about Ai-chin, unfortunately. I've been checking my secret trusted sources twice a day since October and... NOTHING! Even Channel-Ai has become a quiet place recently. I'm afraid such a silence will be on till Ai delivers and then comes back to music industry...

Even though my greedy fan nature shows itself in this anxious impatience, I repeat to myself that I should wait and wish Ai all the best, instead fidgeting and sifting through Japanese sites searching for new photos or whatever... I'm such a bad fan!... :P

Of course I wish Ai all the best, lots of piece and joy... I think about her well-being every day :)

I watched "LOVE PiECE Tour 2008" concert yesterday and I must admit that it helped me a little bit in coping with my yearning for Ai-chin. It's such an amazing performance! I have to write a review someday, especially because I have never written anything about Ai's DVDs. Hmmmm...

And I made another avatar for my Last.fm account. I got bored with my old one (with Ai and Kuu) and I created a new one as a tribute to Ai performing Action 10.5 during LOVE is BORN 7th Anniversary. OMG, I loved this part of the concert so much!

OK, enough my ranting. I'm sure you also can't wait for Ai-chin to appear publicly again, so here you have a sweet photo of Ai holding a picture of LOVE-chan as a sweet surprise ^^ I found it somewhere long time ago and this pic always made me smile :)

Aaaah, Ai-chin, I miss you soooo much... Su, remember to always affectionately take care of your cute wife! :D

Ai Otsuka draws a pregnant girl in LIFE-LOVE CiRCLE :)

2011-01-02T22:40:00.016+01:00

こんにちわ、みんな！

We're meeting for the first time this year. And today I have something for you which is related to Ai-chan's pregnancy :)

As you probably know, Ai Otsuka is having a baby in April. Generally, we don't know much about the pregnancy, as Ai stays aways from the public eye. She only appears in her weekly LIFE-LOVE CiRCLE program on Tokyo FM (the official website is here) and that's it.

The news below come from a rough translation provided by chokokokoa from Channel-Ai.

Yesterday, Ai-chin had her first program this year aired. She wished everybody a happy new year and briefly summarised her professional achievements of 2010 (she mentioned also obtaining the driving license ^^). Then she expressed her delight and disbelief that she's a mother (still didn't get used to the growing belly? :D). What's the most interesting for us, chokokokoa claims that Ai used the words 女 and 女の子 (female and a girl) several times...

Is it telling us indirectly that she's going to have a baby girl? (No, I'm not suggesting anything!)

If so, then the dreams of many fans about Ai having the cutest baby in the world are coming true! ^^ (it's mine dream as well).

At the end, Ai-chan mentions she feels like eating mochi...

Here you have the picture for today's episode:

I'm in love with the cuteness and simplicity of Ai-chin's drawings!...♥

It's doubtful whether the woman in the picture is Ai herself.

I have some doubts concerning the kanji character on the left. At first glance, the character resembles this one: 女 which means female or woman. The kanji in the picture (安) has a small "roof", which makes it a different kanji than 女. According to my kanji dictionary, this "roofed" character means safety, peace or peace of mind. Therefore - we can't assume that Ai drew it next to a pregnant woman to express the child's gender, because despite the initial similarity, the kanji here has a different meaning. I don't know what to think about it... I will have to ask my Japanese teacher to clarify this issue :)

If you want to listen to Ai's sweet voice (her sweet laugh!) every Saturday, you can download podcasts with her program from the Tokyo FM official site: http://www.tfm.co.jp/love/circle/

I definitely can't wait till April!

EDIT (03.01.2011) I learned some important things about the news above. Both kanji characters in the picture put together mean easy childbirth or easy delivery (according to flintandtas @ Ch-Ai). Moreover, chokokokoa added that this picture was probably for a friend of Mizuki-chan (whose message was read by Ai in the program). The person to whom this pic is dedicated is pregnant, so Ai probably wanted to wish her easy delivery. We wish the same for Ai-chin :)

Summary of 2010

2010-12-27T00:11:00.003+01:00

This year is slowly coming to its end... As always, the last weeks of December are the time of summaries and reflection over the 365 days which are becoming our history :) What happened in 2010 in the sweet Ai-chin’s world? It seems that recently attention was paid to her personal, rather than professional, achievements – her marriage and pregnancy were hotter news than three new singles, I guess :P Let’s see what this year was like for Ai-chin.

JANUARY:

It was announced that LUCKY STAR would be used as a theme song for The Olympic Games in Vancouver.

FEBRUARY:

20th single to be released: double A-side containing LUCKY STAR and Zokkondition.
Tie-in with Asahi Slat – featuring Zokkondition in the commercial.
Announcement about Neko ga Mitsuketa Akai Fuusen – a picture book written and illustrated by Ai herself.
Rumours about Ai and SU dating.

MARCH:

17.03.2010 - LOVE IS BORN: 6th Anniversary released on DVD and Blu-ray.
31.03.2010 – release of Neko ga Mitsuketa Akai Fuusen.

APRIL:

07.04.2010 – release of Zokkondition / LUCKY STAR in CD and CD+DVD versions. The single runs the charts for 5 weeks, peaking at #6.
Ai promotes Zokkondition / LUCKY STAR in live events like FM NACK5 Festival.
Ai’s performance during a-nation ‘10 officially confirmed.
Promotion of Neko ga Mitsuketa Akai Fuusen: mu-mo shop starts selling gadgets connected with the book.
Ai announced to perform a theme song of this year’s NHK School Contest.
28.04.2010 – first performance with a new song: I love xxx.

MAY:

Ai’s song “Ai” will appear on “Best Hit Selection” (a-nation compilation). Other artists included in the album are: Ayumi Hamasaki, Koda Kumi, BoA, Mary J., Ami Suzuki, ICONIQ, TRF, GIRL NEXT DOOR, AAA, alan, Every Little Thing, Do As Infinity and Yazima Beauty Salon.
LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary – dates and venues announced.

JUNE:

Ai present on KDDI presents Music Lovers Live. The performance included Zokkondition, Planetarium, I love xxx, Is, Mirai Taxi and Rocket Sneaker.
23.06.2010 – release of LOVE is BEST Tour 2009 Final on DVD and Blu-ray.
25.06.2010 – Ai Otsuka and Kazuto Ootsuki (SU) tie the knot.
26.06.2010 – the world gets to know the news above ;)

JULY:

Announcement about the release of 21st single: I love xxx.
Another tie-in: Ai Otsuka’s new song called Action 10.5 to be used in a Panasonic mobile phone commercial. It’s unknown whether the new song is going to be a single.
Ai-chin’s a-nation 2010 goods available in mu-mo shops: T-shirts, towels and other nice gadgets like PEACH ice cream :D.
Action 10.5 released as a digital single. The song reached #54 on the Recochoku weekly charts.

AUGUST:

Campaign promoting I love xxx commenced.
06.08.2010 – Ai Otsuka performs on a-nation ’10. The setlist includes: Action 10.5, Planetarium, I love xxx, Zokkondition, LUCKY STAR.
Ai performs on J-WAVE event: Neko ni Fuusen, One x Time, I love xxx, Action 10.5, Zokkondition, LUCKY STAR.
Ai turns up at Tower Records Event as a surprise guest.
Ai performs on ZUSHI Festival: Planetarium, Kimi Fechi, Zokkondition, LUCKY STAR.
Preparations for LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary: the opening of the official website of the event.
Ai Otsuka’s and LOVE-chan’s calendars for 2011 announced to be released.
NHK Minna no Uta featuring I love xxx.

SEPTEMBER:

08.09.2010 – release of the 21st single: I love xxx in CD and CD+DVD versions. The song peaked at #6.
Gadgets from LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary available in mu-mo shop: T-shirts, posters, towel and much more.
11.09.2010 - LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary in Yokohama Red Brick Park Outdoor Stage. Ai-chin announces pregnancy!
12.09.2010 - LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary (second concert, the same venue). It's last Ai's live event this year.
NHK Minna no Uta featuring I love xxx.
Interview and photoshoot for excite.co.jp.

OCTOBER:

Secret wedding ceremony of Ai and Su.
LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary broadcast by WOWOW.

NOVEMBER:

The video to I love xxx chosen by the jury of Works Japan Media Arts Festival Entertainment Division as an excellent work in media art.

DECEMBER:

Well, nothing really...

Sources: avexnet.or.jp/ai/news/ & Channel-Ai

As you noticed, Ai withdrew from public life shortly after the announcement about pregnancy, so month after month we heard from her less and less. She’s probably taking rest after quite a busy period in her professional life, embraced warmly and cosy by her husband’s love and support, having sweet thoughts in her mind and waiting to celebrate the New Year :)

Let’s hope Ai-chin will come back to music next year and she will rock the charts better than before :) I wish her lots of joy and success both as a mother and a singer.

And of course, I wish all my Readers all the best in 2011 ^^

Plagiarism is a very bad thing

2010-12-15T23:59:00.003+01:00

Hello, everybody.

No, the title of the post doesn't refer to Ai-chin at all. We know very well that all that she creates is genuine. She doesn't even cover other artists' songs. But it's not that I would like to write about today.

Recently I have noticed that somebody used a lot of content of my blog - copied and pasted my articles and graphics on his or her blog without acknowledging that this content isn't his / her own.

This is called plagiarism.

If you write an essay and you plagiarise other people's work, you are very likely to be expelled from school. I'm giving you such an example only to make YOU realise that this is serious and very inappropriate.

When I saw it this evening, I didn't get angry. All that I was thinking about was - what's the point in keeping your blog, if you, the author, don't want to put any effort in it? Is it laziness? Is it inability to write? Is it having a blog for... having a blog? Think about it. It's a very interesting reflection.

I don't forbid you using my materials - you are welcome. However, if you cite me or want to insert my graphic on your blog - just ask me first and give a link to Ai Otsuka Love Blog. It's only a few clicks more.

Don't steal. It's just wrong.

Thank you.

Top 50 of Ai Otsuka's songs - a big poll!

2010-12-08T20:14:00.002+01:00

Our affiliate Sunao Otsuka runs a poll in which you can vote for your top favourite Ai's songs. The purpose of this poll is to get to know what songs are most popular among fans from all over the world.

The choice is huge, as you can vote on whatever Ai's song you like, except LOVE's releases.

The procedure is very simple: you write your name / pseudo and then you choose your 10 faves. You put them in an order, starting from your best best best song till the last but not least favourite.

The poll is here: http://haru.suano.free.fr/top50.php

Let's vote! And spread the word :) The more participants vote, the more reliable the poll is.

I have already voted, but I won't tell you which songs I picked ^^

Illustration book by Ai Otsuka: "Neko ga Mitsuketa Akai Fuusen"

2010-11-21T20:28:00.002+01:00

It's sort of old news, but still a nice thing to know about :) Our multi-talented Ai Otsuka published a picture book titled "Neko ga Mitsuketa Akai Fuusen" (「ネコが見つけた赤い風船」- "A red balloon found by a cat"). The book was released on March 31, 2010 and it turned out to be a big success.

What is this story about? "A cat is fed by a shopkeeper of a bookstore. One day, the shopkeeper leave behind the cat, and a feed and an air ball are left for the cat. The cat goes for a long walk with the air ball, and finds out that it changes every time something happens. . ." (blurb from CDJapan).

The story, pictures and handwriting were created by Ai-chin herself. The simplicity of the book makes it a good book for kids. For sure Ai knows very well how to create stories for children, as she must have been trained in storytelling during her kindergarten teacher practice. I wonder if Ai will read this story to her baby... That would be sooo cute :)

As you problaby noticed, the idea bears strong resemblance to "Neko ni Fuusen" song :)

If you'd like to read the book, you can click here to view the scans of the book provided by LittleBigHeart from Channel-Ai. If you download, don't forget to thank that person :)

@ LittleBigHeart: Thank you very much for giving me permission to publish your scans on my blog :)

Of course, you can still buy the book on CDJapan.

LOVE LETTER review

2010-11-17T01:33:00.007+01:00

‘LOVE LETTER’ was released in 2008 and up to now it’s the last studio album of Ai Otsuka. ‘LOVE LETTER’ topped the Oricon Daily Chart on 17th December 2008 – the day of its debut. At the end of the first week it sold 104,232 copies which resulted in the 3rd place on the Oricon Weekly. The album stayed on charts for 16 weeks, selling 179,670 copies in total. It was a relatively low result comparing to previous albums, as ‘愛 am BEST’ sold 727,192 copies altogether, ‘LOVE COOK’ – 835,333. Nevertheless, some say that this album might be one of the best Ai-chin’s works ever and I strongly agree with them.

Definitely this album sounds different than any of the earlier albums: in ‘LOVE LETTER’, Ai-chin left her typical youthful image and cute mood of music, heading into a more mature style: more piano-dominated ballads, a small flirtation with jazz, also, which is interesting, a brand new dimension of upbeatness. Apparently, Ai felt that it was time she had grown up and this is it – as she said in the interview for Excite: “I feel I have matured a lot in this album”. It could have been this definite change which caused the sales to decrease. In fact, such songs as ‘Sakuranbo’ or ‘SMILY’ always sold better than ballads, even as good as ‘Kingyo Hanabi’ or ‘Daisuki da yo’.

The booklet also reflects the growing maturity – no more Ai-chin throwing fruits, pulling faces or staring at you with a frying pan in her hand... Instead, we have an exquisite collection of photos of a pretty young woman, delightful in her delicacy and feminine charm. There is Ai dressed in a too big blue sweater revealing her neck and thighs in a seductive yet tasteful manner... Ai-chin with meaningful eye expressions: either full of nostalgia or filled with curiosity... And finally Ai with her pretty face lightened with joy of love... She shines! However, there is one big BUT: the technique used to take these photos spoils some of their charm - most of them are unsharp, blurred and generally out of focus. Maybe there was a reason why those photos look like they had been taken by some amateur (sorry, Mr. Photographer), but it doesn’t appeal to me at all... At the beginning of the booklet there is a fabulous panoramic photo with great light and sharpness – why couldn’t all the pictures be like this one? I believe that a traditional school of photography would unveil the natural beauty of Ai-chin better than some sort of artistic experiments...

What about the music? The whole impression about the album could have been better if the songs flew smoothly from one to another – instead we have a set of songs which seem to be just piled up without any thoughtful arrangement. Three ballads, then two faster songs, then ballads again, then an ‘experiment’ and then a ballad once again. This messed up order of songs doesn’t allow you to truly appreciate their value, which sucks! As far as my experience is concerned, I often skip “Creamy & Spicy” and “Do Positive” simply because they spoil this precious nostalgic feeling aroused by having just listened to “Kurage Nagareboshi” and “Ningyo” before... Those two skipped songs are fine as well, but I can’t really see it as I find them disturbing in that particular place.

The album consists of songs which could be classified into 3 groups: ballads, “neo-upbeatness” and experiments. I didn’t want to describe the songs one by one, because that would be too long. Moreover, as I mentioned above, there’s no point as the order spoils the impression... Thus, let’s stick to my classification. Here we go:

The album includes 7 ballads. It’s more than a half of the album and the first time Ai has included so many of them in one album. All the ballads here feature piano, soothing voice and deep love message. The new thing about them is that two of these ballads (“LOVE LETTER” and “Ningyo”) go without almost any decorations – we can say that they are almost raw. There is also Ai singing a cappella at one moment, which is definitely a new idea. In my opinion, in this album Ai-chin has shown us the real mastery in touching the listener’s emotion using only soft voice, self accompaniment of piano and a little bit of strings. She doesn’t offer any majestic sophisticated ballads such as BoA’s “Winter Love”, but still she reaches the very bottom of our hearts with her simple melodies – it’s truly fantastic. Of course, not each ballad is like that. “Pocket” starts relatively softly, but then it evolves into a magnificent piece of music with piano, strings and startlingly strong Ai-chan’s voice. It’s the same with (unfortunately underrated) “Kurage, Nagareboshi”. It’s pure perfection.

I’d like to say also some things about “Kimi Fechi” and “One x Time”. Well, these two have revealed the new, up to now unknown, nature of our sweet singer... Ai singing about love with implicit but still recognisable sexual undertones? Yes... “Kimi Fechi’ lyrics seem to be the most sensual ones in her discography. Nevertheless, even while referring to the close relationships between a man and a woman, Ai leaves a wide margin for our imagination and chooses the words carefully, so that her text stays away from any nasty explicitness. Some say that “One x Time” is also a kind of “erotic” song, but more because of the music than the lyrics. I can agree to some extent with that claim, but I don’t think I can precisely determine the nature of this sensual music :P “One x Time” is such a good song that I don’t usually think much about it, only immerse in delight...

(Note: neo-upbeatness is a term in otsukalogy invented by me, so don’t claim as your own xD)

What does it mean that Ai-chan has become neo-upbeat? Well, simply that there are less upbeat songs in the album and they are much different than previous happy songs. Let’s take “Rocket Sneaker” as an example. Ai has never done anything like this before – a hyper song whose main instrument is... piano? That sounds incredible, but in fact the song itself is incredible. I love this song mostly for the freshness of idea and the way Ai and Ikoman showed the piano’s power of expression. No more thinking that piano is reserved only for ballads, Skywalker, no more... I hope Ai-chan will create more songs like “Rocket Sneaker” ^^ She has to use all potential of such an idea, definitely!

The rest of neo-upbeat zone isn’t that impressive. Of course, the songs are great, but they are simply not as innovative as “Rocket Sneaker”. I like “Bye Bye”, because it’s a catchy and sweet pop-rock song. What’s interesting is that it was written by Ai in the “LOVE PUNCH” era. I wonder why Ai waited so long to release it on her 5th album...

As I mentioned above, “Creamy & Spicy” and “Do Positive” lose some of their value only because they were poorly placed. It’s a pity, because such a funny nasal singing should be more appreciated...

Experiments are those songs which are so peculiar that they don’t belong to any of those groups above or even come close. Ai has always liked a little bit weird ideas for songs and realised them on her CDs (for example: “Mousou Chop” called by me as “The R2-D2 song” or “Babashi”). This time however, the outcomes of Ai’s crazy drives please me much better than any of the previous “jokes”. But I have to warn you – these ones don’t have anything in common with anything created by Ai before. “Shachihata” is interesting for sure. At the beginning it puzzles everyone, especially because the singer seems to be someone else than the expected person :P I can assure you that it is Ai who sings :P She only uses a very low voice, completely different than her usual high-pitched tone. This attempt in creating a pure jazz song turned out to be fairly successful, at least in my opinion. Ai always knows what to do to astonish her listeners :)

What is left is “360’”. I can’t describe this song. I can only say that it’s addictive. And the PV is scary. I’m confused every time I see it. I can’t say anything more :P

OK., so what can I say about ‘LOVE LETTER’ after a pretty thorough analysis? I still claim that it’s the best Otsuka’s album. I like that Ai still doesn’t stick to one pattern and follow it just because it sells well. She wanted to grow up, show us her maturing soul and she did it, even though after such an album as “LOVE PiECE” she could have re-used the ol’ good recipes for hits and wait for the money to flow. Fortunately, Ai has proved that she’s a great artist who creates music to express herself, not to rule the charts at any cost. Generally, I don’t see much faults in this album – I guess the biggest of them is the bad order of songs. The rest is almost flawless. If Ai-chan decides to continue recording albums like this one, I will definitely be one of those people who buy the CD. I really hope that when Ai comes back to music with her pretty head filled with joy of love and maternity, she will delight us with more “love letters” :)

BUY THIS ALBUM: YesAsia | CDJapan | Amazon.jp

Otsuka Ai - Kimi Iro Omoi photobook scans

2010-11-08T22:44:00.000+01:00

Today I have for you the scans of the first Ai-chin's photobook called "Kimi Iro Omoi". These scans are provided by Daness.

The scans are available on Daness's website here. This site is a great place for everyone craving for the latest issues of the Japanese magazines :)

Good job, Daness! Thank you! :)

Aww! I love such smiling and colourful Ai-chin! ^^

A new wallpaper for you

2010-11-02T21:45:00.000+01:00

Hello! It's been a while since I last wrote. Today I have a brand new wallpaper which I made a couple of days ago. You can't imagine how I like it :D Although I know that it's not perfect (I'm not a professional 'photoshopper' so to speak), I think that this one is my best so far :) At least it looks nice on my screen - there is plenty of room for icons so that you can arrange them in a logical and clear order. In addition, the background is just one colour which makes the screen eye-friendly :) What do you think?

I can't help it that I like the 'Rocket Sneaker' promotional photos so much! ^^

The resolution is 1280x800 px. If you want a different size, feel free to ask me about it!

Here you have links to my previous posts with wallpapers: 1 | 2

If you like my works and you download them, it's always a good idea to say 'thanks' :)

LOVE-chan gadgets in my local store! O.O

2010-10-22T00:02:00.001+02:00

Wow! I can't imagine that I'm holding these in my hands! Two LOVE-chan key chains which I bought - where? In a normal gift / gadget store in my city for less than 1$ for one item!

How did I do it? It all started really simple. On my way back from college I felt like some window shopping in a mall - just like that, without any particular reason. The first shop I entered was a gift shop called Flo. I was wandering, looking at stuff (mostly either cute or a little bit kinky things, sometimes both :D), laughing at some of them - generally enjoying the paradise of unleashed consumption :P I didn't expect to find anything particularly interesting or worth buying...

BUT...

One look in that direction was enough to make me stand and stare at loss. LOVE-chan. Black. In front of me. Here, in Poland. Just like that. Affordable.

How come???

Nevermind. The fact that it was there, within my reach, was the most important thing at that moment. Forget all those eBay auctions from strange people from Hong Kong, Taiwan or wherever who want you to pay 20$ for an 1 inch mobile phone charm...

OK, I realize that the tone of my description above is far too much pompous for such a situation xD Especially because the bunnies are most likely some Chinese stuff without any license. I'm aware of my exaggeration, don't worry. I'm just enjoying my writing :D

A minute after I woke up from my daydreaming, I noticed the second version of the bunny - a pink one ^^ On the spur of the moment I grabbed both of them and rushed to the checkout. The price I was asked to pay seemed to be ridiculously small, so I wondered for a second whether it wasn't a real dream. 'I'm going to wake up and feel an overwhelming disappointment...', I thought. In fact - no! :D

There they are: one hanging on my bookshelf, the second one (pink bunny) is going to be a present for my imoto-chan, who has been listening to 'LOVE.IT' on her phones almost all the time :) But shhhh! It's a secret for now ;) Don't tell her until tomorrow!

I'm so happy! Both for Ai-chin's personal issues and my today's shopping!

Ai Otsuka and Su's secret wedding ceremony

2010-10-21T21:58:00.002+02:00

According to this site, 13th October 2010 Ai Otsuka and Kazuto Ootsuki (alias Su) had a small private wedding ceremony which was attended by around 50 people. This celebration was a secret, therefore no media were present there. As far as I know, there aren't any photos of the wedding, but hopefully they will appear in time :)

Omedetou, Ai-chin and Su! :)

At the moment we can only imagine how charming Ai-chin was that day, but this is not so hard, especially because we can admire her beauty in her calendar for 2011:

Unfortunately, this photo is of very poor quality (even though I did my best to make it look better). Anyway, enjoy!

UPDATES: Ai Otsuka gives birth to a baby girl | Photos from Ai and Su's wedding

LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary 2010 - New photos

2010-10-13T16:32:00.012+02:00

A nice pack of new photos from LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary 2010:

I'm beginning to love this concert more and more...

^ One of my favourites so far ;)

^ CHU-LIPPAS... No, no, no... Still too weird for me... :P

^ My first glance: 'Hey! Which one's Ai???' :P

^ Some kind of 'omedetou' to Ai? Anniversary? Wedding? Baby? I wish I could comprehend Japanese...

^ Kawaii!

^ I have such high hopes when it comes to this concert... So far it looks amazing.

...if you happen to know when the DVD is going to be released, tell me asap :D

All these images above come from this site: http://www.hotexpress.co.jp/live_report/101007_otsukaai/

If you know Japanese, you can read there about the event as well. I can't, so it's impossible for me to provide a translation... I wish I could... :(

I have to study more diligently!

'I love xxx' - another live performance

2010-10-10T21:59:00.001+02:00

Here you have a new performance of 'I love xxx'. Unfortunately, I don't know any details about this one (like when or where it took place), if you happen to know these, please let me know :)

Nevertheless, I think that this performance is one of the best of 'I love xxx'. Ai's voice sounds perfect! Moreover, I can't say anything bad about the choir - I love the new enhanced arrangement. What about you?

One more thing: Ai's hair. So feminine, romantic, excellent! :)

LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary Photobook

2010-10-08T13:49:00.000+02:00

I found something very interesting for all fans of Ai Otsuka, especially those who value pretty HQ photos from her live events. On this site you can design and buy a special "custom-made" photobook from LOVE IS BORN 7th Anniversary concerts which took place 11.09.2010 and 12.09.2010 in Yokohama.

To make a photobook, you simply choose 32 photos from 100 offered, then arrange them in any order you like. After you have paid 3,200 ¥ (~ 39 $), the photobook of your design is shipped directly to you. Sounds interesting? Yeah, sure it does for me! But there is one thing - you can compose a photobook either from concert from 11.09 or 12.09, you can't have a compilation of both sets of images. If you wanted to have all the photos from the 2 events, you would have to buy 8 photobooks altogether.

Hmm, the choice is difficult, indeed. I picked 5 photos from both sets which I found the most appealing. Have a look:

For the rest of the photos (unfortunately all of them are spoiled by this "sample" text everywhere), click here and here.

Moreover, five random people who order so called "secret selection" get a goodie signed by Ai herself.

If somebody by any chance orders this photobook and gets it, please write in the comment what it actually looks like :)

Ai Otsuka announces her pregnancy - YouTube

2010-10-07T20:10:00.002+02:00

I have found a video on YouTube which is a piece of news from Japanese TV about Ai-chin announcing her pregnancy during her live concert LOVE IS BORN 7th Anniversary on 11.09.2010. You can see her there smiling while delivering the news and gently touching her (still flat at that moment) belly :)

Later in the clip, when the speaker comments on the event, Ai is singing "I love xxx" as if she was singing for her baby. This looks so sweet, doesn't it? :)

Ai Otsuka Love Blog Anniversary

2010-10-04T16:55:00.003+02:00

Ai Otsuka Love Blog was created nearly a year ago, the very first post was posted 21st October 2009. However, it's not the time of the first post that marks its creation - the blog wouldn't have been started by me if I hadn't listened to Ai Otsuka's music... This day when I first listened to 'Sakuranbo' and 'Kingyo Hanabi' was a year ago - 04.10.2009. This date brought a total musical revolution in my life, making it more meaningful, also full of dreams, plans and brighter look into the future. It was Ai-chin who brought me into world of j-pop, then into world of Japan - my love for its culture and language. I owe her so much... This time was also the moment when I realised that Ai Otsuka deserved for better recognition throughout the globe. That triggered the creation of this blog. Now I noticed that you have visited this site over 3,000 times in a year. Maybe it's not very much, maybe this result is still quite humble. But if I knew that let's say 5 visitors from all these people got to know Ai-chin, fell in love with her and became her devoted fans, I would feel like the most successful blogger ever :) Thank you for this year together and I wish you all the best!

I decided to level up the counters to mark this first year as an era that has ended.

Additionally, on the left I added banners of 2 shops selling Ai Otsuka's official releases. Please support Ai-chin :)

LOVE IS BORN: 7th Anniversary & Ai Otsuka is pregnant!

2010-09-15T18:26:00.014+02:00

LOVE is BORN 7th Anniversary! The live concerts took place 11th and 12th of September 2010 in Yokohama (strange that not in Osaka and not 09.09., but nevermind). The tickets sold out very quickly, which wasn't a big surprise :) Especially because the campaign promoting the events was well-organised and rich in attractions: lots of unique merchandise, like photos and posters: see them here. Moreover, there is also some sweet stuff, like chocolates ^^ These and much more cool LIB stuff are presented on the special website: click here to see.

The setlist:

1. Ai

15. Sakuranbo
16. Mirai Taxi
17. LUCKY STAR

encore:
18. CHU-LIP
19.I love xxx

Here you have 2 photos from the event:

Near the very end of the concert on Saturday, Ai-chin opened her heart and announced that... she's pregnant! Ai said: September 9th, it was my birthday and I spent the day with my husband, but it was actually the birthday with the baby too. Although the baby is still very, very tiny, I wanted to tell you guys first. I can't see you guys for awhile in live, but I will look forward to see you later again. (Source: Oricon style). According to Ai, she's 3 months pregnant, so the delivery should be around April 2011. The news was spread throughout the whole world by the Internet in no time, making everyone both shocked and happy :) Omedetou, Ai-chin and Su!

Pregnancy means that our lovely Ai-chin will disappear for some time, but don't worry :) She'll be back for sure. She's been a really busy bee for the last 7 years, so she deserves for some time just for herself and her new family. I'm sure that Ai will be a great mother and the child will be the most important for her. I wish Ai, Su and their small penguin all the best! :)

UPDATES: Ai Otsuka gives birth to a baby girl | Photos from Ai's wedding

'Action 10.5' full version

2010-09-15T18:07:00.004+02:00

Do you remember the song used in Panasonic mobile phone's CM? The full version of 'Action 10.5' leaked and its short version is now available on youtube here:

As for me, 'Action 10.5' could be included on 'LOVE.IT', because it sounds just like it, which is great!
This song is Ai's third digital single.

'I love XXX' single is out!

2010-09-15T18:00:00.001+02:00

'I love xxx' which is Ai Otsuka's 21st single is out now! It's available in shops since 08.09.2010 in two versions: CD and CD+DVD. This single doesn't have any b-side (again...), but on the other hand this makes it a little bit cheaper, so don't hesitate to support Ai: here or here.

I love xxx PV and... PV :)

2010-08-13T13:01:00.006+02:00

Hello! I have a great news for you - the official PV for 'I love xxx' is available to see now, here you are:

It's cute, isn't it? :) Even though I wanted to see Ai herself in the video, I like it. It seems that Ai-chin is now into kind of conceptual videos, more than ones centered on her... Well, it's always a kind of breaking the routine ^^

And here you have Minna no Uta version - it's a sweet animation :)

CHU-LIP animation created by me!

2010-07-31T20:12:00.004+02:00

Hello everybody! Yesterday I sat all day and worked on a small and kind of cute Flash animation whose preview you can see above. The animation itself can be seen here:

My kawaii CHU-LIP animation!

My family was flabbergasted after seeing it and they said that I had gone crazy... But in the end both my mum and my sister ended up humming "CHU-RIPPU no koi moyou..." :D

All this thing was made by myself (except of the song which is sung by Ai Otsuka, of course): from the graphics till putting the sequence into animation. It was great fun for me, because I love dabbling in my favourite graphics application (Fireworks CS3) and creating such kawaii pics ^^

How do you like it? Don't hesitate to tell me if all this effort was worth the time :) Maybe I will create something more in the future xD

Thanks for watching!

"CHU-RIPPU no koi moyou"... Now this line is stuck for good in my head!

'I love xxx' covers and promotional photos

2010-07-31T19:42:00.011+02:00

Hello everybody! Here you have the official covers of the upcoming Ai's single - 'I love xxx'.

CD only:

CD+DVD:

Two new promotional pictures:

The single will be available September 8, 2010, but you can pre-order it already here or here :)

What do you think about these pics above? They are wonderful, IMHO! I can't wait to get this single...

New commercial with Ai-chin's song!

2010-07-22T18:10:00.004+02:00

Speaking of commercials, here you have the freshest one with a brand new Ai-chin's song in the background. It's an advertisement of a Panasonic mobile phone (Viera P-06B) and the song is called 'Action 10.5'. It sounds like LOVE-chan's melody to me, but it's OK, since such electronically modified tunes fit the most hi-tech gadgets :) Some people hoped to see Ai herself in this ad, but unfortunately, she didn't appear there. Too bad, but not so bad, because the new song seems to be cute ^^ I hope that it will be released as a single!

The commercial from YouTube:

And here, on the official website of Panasonic (better quality):
http://ch.panasonic.co.jp/index.html?contents=02347

Enjoy!

Ai Otsuka and commercials

2010-07-14T17:46:00.004+02:00

Hello to every Ai-chin's fan from hot Poland! The weather is killing at the moment - so scorching that I can hear my poor skin sizzling :P But it's not a big deal, as long as you have something cold and delicious to drink! I have recently found two cool commercials with Ai Otsuka - she's advertising a new product of Asahi brewery: a low-alcohol drink which contains fruit pulp. Ai says it's delicious :P

Here is the advertisement from 2009, with 'Bye Bye' in the background:

And here is the new edition of the same commercial, with 'Zokkondition' in the background:

I wonder what it tastes like...:D

Ai Otsuka got married!

2010-07-07T19:04:00.016+02:00

Hot news! As the official Ai's website informs, 25th June 2010 Ai Otsuka married SU (real name: Kazuto Ootsuki) from RIP SLYME. The news was published a day after the event, moreover, all that was known about Ai and SU's relationship was that they MIGHT be together. Allegedly somebody saw SU leaving Otsuka's house, somebody else claimed that Ai gave SU keys to her house.... All this were just rumours, so barely nobody thought about them seriously. And now... Well, apparently there was a really huge grain of truth in this gossip.

Even for a typical small gossip about somebody dating somebody, this one was a hot topic. In addition, it was spread not only throughout Japan - even in Polish magazine about manga and anime there was a brief mention about Ai and SU being together. I was kind of puzzled that they were writing about some unproved hearsays and not about the professional achievements of both concerned - especially because the page where I found this news was to be about J-POP MUSIC only. There were many relevant things to write about - 'LOVE is BEST' tour, 'Zokkondition / Lucky Star' single...

Speaking of 'Zokkondition' - I felt that these lyrics must mean something! I only didn't think much about this deep meaning, because officially Ai didn't have any boyfriend... And I admit, I didn't have any time for thinking about it. Now it occured to me like some epiphany that nobody writes such suggestive words about getting married if they don't have nuptial vows in mind. And they are in love. It is clear and completely transparent that Ai was in love like hell when she wrote 'Zokkondition' lyrics - read it once again to see.

Yeah. Marriage. Like most of Ai's fans, I'm still lost for words when it comes to the latest Ai-chin's deed. Especially because lots of people on Channel-Ai threaten that if SU dares hurt Ai, 'there will be blood spilled' (said by user skeedatl) :P They say that SU is a lousy playboy, so the newlyweds won't be happy together, at least not for long. Well, I don't know SU that much, so I don't know what he may do, but I strongly believe that since Ai-chin chose SU as her husband, then she can see something precious and good in him, moreover, she can see a common path for both of them. I hope that they will live happily ever after and they will belong to this happy half of married couples who don't divorce :) I wish them all the best and I hope that our sweet Ai will write more beautiful songs full of love and passion. (But Ai, please, write and perform on your own - WITHOUT HIM - because one 'aisu x time' is enough :P)

For those who don't know Japanese - news in English from Tokyograph.

UPDATES: Ai and Su's wedding ceremony | Ai Otsuka gives birth to a baby girl | Photos from the wedding

Yasumi kara, ureshii desu yo! ^^

2010-07-02T14:21:00.000+02:00

Hello, everybody! I guess the holidays have already strated for all of you, so all I want to do now is wishing you lots of fun, rest and wonderful moments :) Stay with me during this summer and be just like Ai-chin: cheerful, positive and crazy!

Listening to SMILY and enjoying the moment... ^^

(Summer makes you like everything: much as I hate SMILY, I feel great listening to this annoying holiday song ;)

My letter to Ai-chin

2010-05-20T17:59:00.009+02:00

My dear Readers, I have a nice thing to announce. Yesterday I sent a letter to Ai-chin in which I expressed my best admiration for her music, art and everything that she gives us. Writing this letter was a great adventure and a challenge for me, because I thought carefully what to write – and – how to write, since I decided to use only Japanese. Despite the fact that I’m a mere beginner relying only on myself and on the pile of language books which I have been collecting, I think that I did quite well with this task, at least I hope so. Maybe some of you, dear Readers who know Japanese well, will enlighten me about my mistakes :) Here is the letter. The mystery of correspondence keeps me away from translating it into English :P OK., OK., I’m just a little embarassed.

All in all, the letter is already sent. I only hope that if Ai reads it, she won’t be offended by my miserable language attempts or potential socio-cultural improprieties (hope that it isn’t so bad...). I tried to write using some ‘safe’ sentence structures, in order to retain the message, even if I wrote anything in a some unheard of dialect of Japanese. I remembered to refer to Ai as ‘Otsuka-san’ and not ‘Ai-chin’ or ‘anata’, even though Ai seems to be so friendly and close to her fans. Generally, writing this letter was a relatively difficult task, but also very rewarding and satisfying. I think that I did my best to write it correctly and neatly. With time and further studying, when reading this letter once again, I certainly will find some errors or awkward expressions which shouldn’t be there. But as for my current knowledge in Japanese, this is more less acceptable.

In addition to the letter, I included a picture of my own, which you can see on the right. This is the ‘Love Letter Tour’ doll whose story intermingled with the songs during the concert. I love those small cute scenes – both for their plot and the realisation. The beautiful classic animation and those girl’s big, sad blue eyes appealed to me immensely. Inspired by the show, I took a pencil and I started sketching... Finally I ended up with a picture finished with soft pastels which gave the beautiful depth of colour. The scan doesn’t look as good as in reality, but believe me that the colours are lovely. Definitely, it’s my best work ever, even though I know that it isn’t perfectly ideal, e.g. the fingers are weirdly drawn. I wish the picture was ideal... Anyway, despite its faults, I liked the picture so much that I decided to send it to Ai as a gift. She does her best in creating music, making me feel happy and relaxed everyday, so I wanted to let her know that I appreciated it with all my heart by sending her something precious to me. I felt a little bit sorry to put the pic into the envelope and send far away with no possibility of getting it back. Nevertheless, I’m happy that I sent the original version. Sending a print would be just wrong :P I wonder if Ai-chin will be able to see it at all...

And when it comes to that, I admit that I have doubts whether this letter will reach Ai at all. I didn’t mention about it, but in December I had sent my first letter to Otsuka – care of Avex Trax. I included an IRC with a stamp, so Avex wouldn’t pay a yen for sending me anything back. But in fact, they haven’t replied me yet and I haven’t received any return of my letter, but it’s been 6 months now and I almost lost all my hope for getting any reply. In cases like this, I tend to get very impatient and anxious, so waiting in vain for something I care for makes me irritated. That’s why I decided to sent the letter one more time, but somewhere else – to Tokyo FM, where Ai has her weekly radio programme ‘LIFE-LOVE CIRCLE’. Maybe it will result in getting Ai read my ‘love letter’ and send me her autograph or at least an original promotional photo; maybe it will be another waste of time, energy and money. There are 2 options: the probability of reaching Ai-chin is 50%, so I’m trying to be optimistic :) However, even if Ai never sends anything to anyone, but she reads the letters and my gift could make her happy for the fact that she has devoted fans in faraway Poland, that could be enough for me (provided that I know about it, of course).

When I think about it, having anything from Ai would be great... I was extremely excited when I got a photo with the autograph of Hugh Laurie alias Dr Gregory House (my most favourite fictional character ever ^^). I know that I would be even more exhilarated holding Ai’s original photo... It’s my dream and I hope it will be fulfilled :)

Two new wallpapers for you

2010-05-11T20:40:00.002+02:00

Hello, my dear Ai-chin's lovers! I have a new gift for you - two new wallpapers with Ai created by me. If you like them but your screen resolution isn't 1280 x 800, don't hesitate to contact me and I'll try to make a version the wallpaper that will suit you :) Have you seen my previous ones? Click here to see them!

Enjoy and let me know if you like them!

Wow, Ai! Do you read my blog?

2010-05-05T20:09:00.004+02:00

As you probably know, our dear Ai-chin has recently presented her new song called ‘I love xxx’. This is the theme song for this year’s NHK School Choir Contest. You can find the performance and read a discussion about it here.

Now that you have seen it, let me explain the title of the post. If you read my previous review on ‘Zokkondition / Lucky Star’, then you should know that I criticised Ai for many things and some of her faults I found unforgivable. I expressed a small hope for a little improvement in the future, but really... I didn’t expect so much. Especially in the instant mode! However, my little distaste caused by the recent Otsuka’s artistic deeds disappeared and made me stare at the screen at a loss – once I have listened to her newest song! Ai, this is totally brilliant!

First of all – after a reasonably agreeable single as ‘Zokkondition / Lucky Star’ I wanted the next release to be something like ‘Kurage, Nagareboshi’ (generally I meant a sweet, perfectly sung ballad). You want it, you get it? It seems so... ‘I love xxx’ is a lovely piece of music with a beautiful tune, showing the entire excellence of Ai’s voice. I love the arrangement and the choir! It sounds magnificent... Already while listening to ‘Ai’ on ‘Love Letter’ I thought that choirs went well with Otsuka and I wondered if she was going to do this again. It seems that our dear singer knows what’s good for her :) Everybody is happy like the SMILY face for this ballad, Ai-chin!

Another praise – for the lyrics. You know that I’m rather against mixing up languages in one piece of text, but this time I will make an exception. My dislike to English-Japanese songs originates rather from the way that the song is sung. Japanese people tend to convert English into Engrish and there’s no point in complaining about it; it’s just the way it is. However, I strongly believe that if a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing it well, which means that if you want to sing in English, work hard on your pronunciation. I wasn’t impressed by Ai-chin’s miserable attempts in English; she got scolded for it from me, as you know. And now... Something’s changed! It looks as if my desperate message for Ai to make her rethink the careless use of English finally hit home... (OK., I’m not serious; Ai doesn’t waste her time on reading thousands of blogs about her... :P) Nevertheless, the outcome is what is taken into account: Ai’s pronunciation improved a lot that she’s fully understandable and her English sounds very soft and nice – just like it should.

The last thing – Ai-chin’s hair... I know that hair is maybe the least important thing here, but I’m glad that she got rid of this awful blonde wig from ‘Zokkondition’ :D Brown, shiny and natural hair is best on Ai’s pretty head.

Yes... Dreams come true. When it comes to my dream connected with Ai, it was fulfilled exactly as I wished. OK., maybe I would like the song to be released as a single so that I could buy it, but all in all, I'm perfectly satisfied with life.

Here is the performance, enjoy!

May the Love be with you!

20th Single: 'Zokkondition / Lucky Star'

2010-04-08T19:43:00.015+02:00

At last! The newest, 20th single ‘Zokkondition / Lucky Star’ is out, awaiting you in your favourite music store. Fortunately, the single wasn’t released only as a mp3, as many fans feared, but it has got a CD, a cover and a plastic case, which is the set that many of us like ;) Not only because we still like CDs which are tangible and together they really create a collection, but also because of the lossless quality of sound and, last but not least, the availability. As many of you know, Japanese digital releases are accessible only in Japan, so, dear non-Japanese, even if you really cared for Ai’s position on Oricon chart, you couldn’t help her, if she published her new song as a mp3 only. Luckily for her and for us, she didn’t do it, so feel free to buy the 20th single here or here. Once you have done it, enjoy the brilliant sound, bless Ai-chin for still caring for her fans-audiophiles and feel proud of yourself for increasing her chances in reaching the top :)

What about the single itself? I must admit that ‘Lucky Star’ which was a song dedicated for Japanese sportspeople taking part in the Olympic Games didn’t impress me, really. Surely the song is positive, so all the people for whom this piece of music was composed had their morale elevated. However, ‘Lucky Star’ hasn’t got this magical something that would make it noticeable. I would say that it is rather... average. Except of the mildly catchy chorus, the song doesn’t have much to offer. What I particularly hate about ‘Lucky Star’ is English which shouldn’t be there! Ai has always had quite poor English pronunciation; whenever I listen to her speaking / singing in English, I barely understand anything. It’s too bad, since only a half of the chorus is in Japanese... What is even more annoying is the lack of sense in this catchy chorus. The random mixture of Japanese and English words is... well, an eyesore. (Sorry, Ai, you deserved it this time...) ‘Love, so family, sea, 空, 夢に見たstar, つかんだ今 CHANCE! / Love, so family, sea, 空、心にLUCKY STARはこかむ今日Sunny day’ – it doesn’t make any sense! What is she singing about? I’m constantly asking myself this question whenever this song gets stuck in my head. Anyway, if I was to assess ‘Lucky Star’, I would give it 3,5/5.

The second track on the single is a completely new song which has leaked to the net quite recently: ‘Zokkondition’. Now this is something that I call a BANG! Somebody on Ai Otsuka’s shoutbox on last.fm moaned that Ai doesn’t write crazy songs anymore... This person must have discovered their mistake by now ;) When it comes to my feelings, I definitely love this song, even though my love had to mellow – it came after 4th listening (for me, as usual). I was delighted to learn that there was a PV planned. According to the fans writing on last.fm, ‘the preview is as random as “360º”’. I didn’t watch the preview, because 1) it’s only a preview, 2) everything might change, 3) it would spoil all the fun. It doesn’t mean that I wasn’t curious, of course I was. The alleged randomness attracted me like hell! When the PV finally appeared on YouTube, I clicked the Pause button and while waiting for the clip to buffer, I was fidgeting and biting my nails in excitement. A few moments later I made up my mind about the video...

My thoughts about ‘Zokkondition’ in a nutshell:

It isn’t random at all! The video has got a scenario. The story is consistent with the song’s lyrics: a girl dreams about marrying her boyfriend but she’s afraid that the man won’t feel like it. She is sad and full of doubts, dreamy and absent-minded, busy doing simple domestic things such as picking up a paper or feeding a goldfish (it looks like a reference to ‘Kingyo Hanabi’ - ‘goldfish swimming in my heart’). However, when she’s expressing strongly what she wants (‘With all my heart, I want to marry you, and have my HAPPY LIFE’), she becomes a seductive and beautiful star (see point 2 below), trying to convince her beloved one to decide... When he eventually appears, our cutie turns into a regular, somewhat blue, wannabe housewife. It turns out that he has finally made up his mind and Ai gets what she wants – an engagement ring. Well, without knowing what the song is about, we might assume that the video doesn’t make sense. That’s why many fans felt puzzled and disappointed after watching ‘Zokkondition’ for the first time. That’s why the video was proclaimed ‘random’ and ‘senseless’. It’s too bad, really, that you don’t read the lyrics, people! You can find the full text and the translation here.

I don’t like Ai-chin’s alter ego. The one with blonde hair. I can’t explain why, but in this video I can’t say that she’s pretty. I don’t know... It’s very hard to tell why, because I loved blonde Ai in CHU-LIP, A-Nation '09 and even in Aisu x Time. In ‘Zokkondition’ her fair hair look highly artificial, in addition the colour doesn’t go together with her complexion... I think that Ai’s stylists just overdid it. She was meant to look extremely glamorous and sexy, the effect is contrary. She looks much better as a normal girl than a celebrity, compare:

Once again! I hate this blonde wig!

OK., enough my complaining. To sum it all up, I must admit that ‘Zokkondition / Lucky Star’ isn’t the best Ai’s single. It’s quite good, but I know that she can do better. I hope that her next release will be something like ‘Kurage, Nagareboshi’, which had a wonderful A-side, not less brilliant B-side (‘H2O’ was so good that it should have become a single...) and a beautiful PV with absolutely breathtaking Ai Otsuka. Good luck, Ai-chin! ;)

Don’t hesitate to share your opinions with me, dear readers! :)

Zokkondition - lyrics and translation

2010-04-08T19:25:00.002+02:00

Here you have the lyrics and the translation of the newest Ai Otsuka's hit: 'Zokkondition':

Kanji:
「格好悪い」とか「照れくさい」とか
そんなもんで　二人の愛を　冷まさないで
思ったら気を使う前に　言い訳を言う前に
熱い告白で　あたしをワクワクさせて!

あなたとゾッ婚したい　あたしのHAPPY LIFE♥
あなたとゾッ婚したい　あたしのHAPPY LIFE♥

怖いもんなんかないよ　たまには信じて
無神経はNGよ　やきもち妬かせないで
いつだっていいわ、HEARTはOK!

あなたとゾッ婚したい　あたしのHAPPY LIFE♥
あなたとゾッ婚したい　あたしのHAPPY LIFE♥

「めんどくさい」とか「忙しい」とか
優柔不断で振り回さないで　泣かさないで
あたしのちょいわがままくらい　可愛いもんだと思って
強く抱きしめて、チューして、来週旅行につれてって!!

あなたとゾッ婚したい　あたしのHAPPY LIFE♥
あなたとゾッ婚したい　あたしのHAPPY LIFE♥

あなたとゾッ婚したい　あたしのHAPPY LIFE♥
あなたとゾッ婚したい　あたしのHAPPY LIFE♥

Romaji:
"Kakkou warui" toka "tere kusai" toka
Sonna monde futari no ai wo sama sanaide
Omotta ra ki wo tsukau mae ni iiwake wo iu mae ni
Atsui kokuhaku de atashi wo wakuwaku sasete!

Anata to zokkon shitai atashi no HAPPY LIFE♥
Anata to zokkon shitai atashi no HAPPY LIFE♥

Kowai monnan kanai yo tama ni wa shinjite
Mushinkei wa NG yo ya kimochi yaka senaide
Itsudatte ii wa , HEART wa OK!

Anata to zokkon shitai atashi no HAPPY LIFE♥
Anata to zokkon shitai atashi no HAPPY LIFE♥

"Mendokusai" toka "Isogashii" toka
Yuujuufudan de furimawasanaide naka sanaide
Atashi no choi wagamama kurai kawaii monda to omotte
Tsuyoku dakishimete , chu shite , raishuu ryokou ni tsuretette!!

Anata to zokkon shitai atashi no HAPPY LIFE♥
Anata to zokkon shitai atashi no HAPPY LIFE♥

Anata to zokkon shitai atashi no HAPPY LIFE♥
Anata to zokkon shitai atashi no HAPPY LIFE♥

Translation (not mine):
Don't come between our love
Saying things like "This is lame", or "It's embarrasing"
When I think about it, you need to spice it up, tell me you love me,
And make me feel excited about us before you fuss over stuff and make excuses

With all my heart, I want to marry you, and have my HAPPY LIFE

Sometimes I believe that I'm not scared or anything like that
Being insensitive is NG, don't make me jealous
I'm always okay, my HEART is OK!

With all my heart, I want to marry you, and have my HAPPY LIFE

Don't abuse me with your inability to make decisions, don't make me cry
Saying things like "It's too much trouble", or "I'm busy"
Say you think it's cute how I'm a little bit selfish
And hold me tight, and kiss me, and say let's go on vacation together next week!!

With all my heart, I want to marry you, and have my HAPPY LIFE

Who is Ai Otsuka?

2010-04-08T19:20:00.029+02:00

Ai Otsuka (born 09.09.1982 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese singer and actress, but she's more known for her songs than movies. It’s hard to determine one particular music style that she follows. Saying that she's a j-pop singer seems to be an overgeneralization. Although her musical career started with a typical j-pop album (‘Love Punch’, 2003), Ai didn’t stick to one genre. Her style is a combination of upbeat pop, touching ballads immensely appealing to the listener’s emotions, a little bit of rock and also a sprinkle of jazz. The music created by her is generally very enthusiastic, positive and energetic, but there are also songs which make you feel relaxed and nostalgic. Some say that Ai Otsuka is so musically talented that she could perform any kind of music with a great success, even black metal if she wanted.

The records are not everything that makes a great artist. Ai is widely known for her perfect live performances - she doesn't use playback and her voice live sounds almost equally well as on CD. Apart from singing, Otsuka plays piano as well. She performs most piano parts on her records, the same during the concerts. Sometimes she also tries different instruments, such as acoustic guitar or even violin.

Ai Otsuka creates her music completely on her own – she writes the lyrics, sometimes she makes up the whole pieces of music. Her songs are basically about love. Everything connected with Otsuka is somehow linked with this emotion, even her name in Japanese means ‘love’. She writes about its both aspects: emotional and physical. When it comes to the latter, Otsuka is gentle, delicate and indirect, so that her lyrics are not nasty or vulgar.

In addition to all that, Ai is also keen in art, she likes illustrating her music with pictures. The limited editions of her albums contain comic books written, drawn and painted by Ai herself.

Ai Otsuka drawing a cat

When it comes to Ai's drawings, we can't forget about Love-chan – a small, white female rabbit created by her. She’s her mascot and an official gadget. Moreover, it has recently become also her additional musical project: Ai, under the pen name of Love-chan, released 2 singles and one mini-album in a completely different musical style.

For those of you who are interested in Ai's discography, I'm listing here all her albums:

LOVE PUNCH (1st album, 2004),
LOVE JAM (2nd album, 2004),
LOVE COOK (3rd album, 2005),
愛 am BEST (1st compilation album, 2005),
LOVE PiECE (4th album, 2007),
LOVE LETTER (5th album, 2008),
LOVE is BEST (6th album, 2009).

For more information, please visit Discography section.

If you feel like getting to know something more about Ai Otsuka, feel free to explore this blog and I hope this will help you discover this pretty, kind and extremely gifted artist. May Love be with you.

Beautiful Wallpapers for Your PC

2010-03-07T21:17:00.002+01:00

Hello, everybody! Here are some wallpapers which will enhance the looks of your desktop :) If your resolution is 1280 x 800, feel free to download them and use. All those pics were created by me. Enjoy and tell me if you like them :)

'Pocket' High Quality Scans

2010-02-21T21:26:00.007+01:00

Hello, everybody ;) Today I decided to upload high quality scans of 'Pocket' cover and booklet. Enjoy :)

COVER:

PAGES 1-2:

PAGES 3-4:

PAGES 5-6:

BACK COVER:

Ai looks fabulously here, doesn't she? The 'Pocket' scenery is the only positive thing about winter ;)

Ai Otsuka Full Singlography

2010-02-18T20:41:00.005+01:00

Hello, everybody! Here is a complete list of all Ai Otsuka's singles. I hope it will be useful for you :) Let's begin...

「桃ノ花ビラ」('Momo no Hanabira'):

Momo no Hanabira
Himawari
Momo no Hanabira (instr.)
Himawari (instr.)

「さくらんぼ」('Sakuranbo'):

Sakuranbo
Kaerimichi
Momo no Hanabira (live studio version)
Sakuranbo (instr.)
Kaerimichi (instr.)

「甘えんぼ」('Amaenbo'):

Amaenbo
Ameiro Parasoru
Sakuranbo (live studio version)
Amaenbo (instr.)
Ameiro Parasoru (instr.)

'Happy Days':

Happy Days
Hoshikuzu
Happy Days (instr.)
Hoshikuzu (instr.)

「金魚花火」('Kingyo Hanabi'):

Kingyo Hanabi
Coco Natsu Vacation
Kingyo Hanabi (instr.)
Coco Natsu Vacation (instr.)

「大好きだよ」('Daisuki da yo'):

Daisuki da yo
Friends (Sabakan version)
Daisuki da yo (instr.)
Friends (instr.)

「黒毛和牛上塩タン焼680円」('Kuroge Wagyuu Joshio Tanyaki 680 Yen'):

Kuroge Wagyuu Joshio Tanyaki 680 Yen
Hon Maguro Chuutoro 300 Yen
Tsukune 70 Yen
Kuroge Wagyuu Joshio Tanyaki 680 Yen (instr.)
Hon Maguro Chuutoro 300 Yen (instr.)

「SMILY・ビー玉」('Smily / Biidama'):

Smily
Biidama
Smily (instr.)
Biidama (instr.)

「ネコに風船」('Neko ni Fuusen'):

Neko ni Fuusen
Natsuzora
Neko ni Fuusen (instr.)
Natsuzora (instr.)

「プラネタリウム」('Planetarium'):

Planetarium
.drop
Planetarium (instr.)
.drop (instr.)

'Frienger':

Frienger
Amai Kimochi Maru Kajiri
Frienger (instr.)
Amai Kimochi Maru Kajiri (instr.)

「ユメクイ」('Yumekui'):

Yumekui
Tears
Yumekui (instr.)
Tears (instr.)

「恋愛写真」('Ren'ai Shashin'):

Ren'ai Shashin
Hanikami Jane
Haneari Tamago (live version)
Ren'ai Shashin (instr.)
Hanikami Jane (instr.)

'CHU-LIP':

CHU-LIP
Kimi ni Kaeru
CHU-LIP (instr.)
Kimi ni Kaeru (instr.)

'Peach / Heart':

Peach
Heart
Ren'ai Shashin - Haru
Peach (instr.)
Heart (instr.)

「ポケット」('Pocket'):

Pocket
Ticket
Life-Love Circle
Pocket (instr.)
Ticket (instr.)

「ロケット　スニーカー　・　ONE x TIME」 ('Rocket Sneaker / One x Time'):

Rocket Sneaker
One x Time
Sora to Kujira
Rocket Sneaker (instr.)
One x Time (instr.)

「クラゲ、流れ星」('Kurage, Nagareboshi'):

Kurage, Nagareboshi
H2O
Kurage, Nagareboshi (instr.)
H2O (instr.)

「バイバイ」('Bye Bye'):

Bye Bye
Bye Bye (instr.)

'Zokkondition / Lucky Star':

Zokkondition (released also as a digital single)
Lucky Star (released also as a digital single)
Zokkondition (instr.)
Lucky Star (instr.)

'I love xxx":

I love xxx
I love xxx (instr.)

'Action 10.5':

Action 10.5 (released as a digital single)

My Happy Days :)

2010-02-16T21:56:00.003+01:00

Hello, everybody! I'm very glad to tell you that these horrible exams about which I mentioned several posts ago are already gone and I was successful :) It's really a big relief. After a month of constant cramming barely without rest, I felt dog tired. I didn't have time for my blog... for hundreds of different things as well. However, I'm glad that I did my best to pass the exams and there was no re-sit awaiting me :) The free time that I'm enjoying now is a decent pay-off. As you can see, I wrote a nice review of 'Love Punch' (see below!) and I fulfilled one of my dreams about which you know: 'Love Letter' CD :D It was my first shopping on eBay. I was quite unsure about the outcome of this transaction, because, you know, everything might happen. But I can tell you that in the end I purred like a cat with happiness :) The CD that I bought arrived in one week (quicker than parcels within my country!), factory sealed, untouched and brand new... I was afraid to touch the booklet, since it was so clean and 'virgin'... The first thing I did when I came back home for my winter holiday was listening to the CD. I waited so long to hear 'One x Time' in CD quality... It was THE moment I realized that I was home and everything unpleasant connected with school was over... Pure happiness.

It's not all :) Do you remember the auction seller from whom I bought 'Love Jam' and 'Love Cook'? She had 'Love Punch' for sale too, so I didn't hesitate any moment. I will upload HQ scans of the booklet, since I have it and, as I wrote, the content is lovely. Btw, I didn't see anywhere scans of the pages with Ai playing vegetable-ball on the net. The assumption is that someone has to do it ;) If you are eager to see it, stay with me and wait - as soon as I get a scanner, the images will be posted in the Gallery (at last there will be something).

During these holidays, I decided to brush up my Japanese a little bit, since I haven't been studying it for a long time. I must admit that I made a nice progress :) Now I know how to conjugate verbs (-masu, -tai forms), how to deal with i- and na-adjectives, moreover, I learned some vocabulary and I trained myself in writing. It was hard work, but very pleasant and motivating. Now I want to discover more and more about Japanese! Despite the difficult nature of this language and the fact that I rely only on myself and books, I am determined to learn as much as I can. It's a sweet escape from English which is the language that I'm studying (7 hours a day might be nasty, regardless of how much you like it). Besides, it's the native language of our cute Ai-chin :) Her lyrics are my favourite training texts. And listening how she speaks/sings in this beautiful language is perfect music for my heart.

OK, now stop boasting how fine you are now, Skywalker :P I hope you are as happy as I am :) I wish! The only thing that could improve my mood from 99% to 100% is spring... I hate winter, snow and cold. I really wish I could feel so hot in sweater, like Ai on today's pic... Even in my thickest sweater I feel only chill. ;)

May the Love be with you and see me soon!

LOVE PUNCH - Review

2010-02-15T13:56:00.005+01:00

‘LOVE PUNCH’ was my first encounter with Ai Otsuka’s music. And, yes, it was a punch :) However, before I played this album, I learnt some things about the artist to know what to expect. I learned that Ai likes to mix various genres of music, but generally she creates very enthusiastic, positive and happy music. So, I expected ‘LOVE PUNCH’ to be something like the first album of Britney Spears (‘Baby One More Time’). If you, dear reader, think the same as I used to, then I have to warn you. If you think that ‘Soda Pop’ is an unlistenable, pink bubble gum pop song, then you do not know that there might be even more cute and extremely upbeat song. Moreover, not only one, but at least five of them. All included on one album. And far, far, farther than you imagine, better than any American pop, conceived and written by a professional think tank and performed (only!) by an adorable cutie ;)

First of all – a few words about the booklet. And the cover, of course, which is definitely sweet. Have a look and see by yourself – it is kawaii. It is just Ai being Ai – naturally pretty, flirtatious and absolutely girlish. She is a living proof that you don’t have to wear heavy make-up to look just fine... However, the cover itself isn’t much except of its cuteness. Much better things to see are inside the booklet... and there is Ai-chin playing various sports: basketball, volleyball, baseball, tennis... Nothing particularly strange, however, look at the ‘balls’ that she uses. It can be an onion, a cabbage, an orange, whatever. Moreover, she has such a serious face on these photos, like she really was convinced that it is possible to play with vegetables and there’s nothing odd about this! Well, at least it is original. Do you usually expect a CD booklet of a sweet debuting starlet to be something like cabbage bowling? No, you don’t. Does it draw your attention? Yes, it does. And that’s the point :)

Ai-chin playing volleyball with a watermelon...

When it comes to music, I admit that the whole impression about ‘LOVE PUNCH’ is mostly created by the very first track – ‘pretty voice’ (no, I have no idea why the title is always in lower case). The song is extremely energetic, fast and hilarious – perfect as the alarm clock tune (when I get bored of ‘MAGIC’, I will switch to this one). Every time I start my day with ‘pretty voice’, it turns out to be somehow more successful, brighter, the weather is always nicer and the people smile wider... I love this song. I really do.

However, there are more songs more or less like this. We can mention ‘GIRLY’ (more moderate, but with repeatable catchy chorus), or ‘Ishigawa Osaka...’ (kinda funky, yet... well, irksome). There is also, of course, both famous and infamous, loved and hated, known and wish-not-to-know... 「さくらんぼ」(‘Sakuranbo’). Some say that this is Ai’s greatest success, when it comes to sales and other very commercial things. The truth is that almost every young person in Japan who was interested in J-pop music circa 2003/2004 knows the tune of this song and at least once tried to get it out of their head. This song, being nearly annoyingly catchy, funny and cosmically upbeat, may serve as Otsuka’s trademark. It was her first song in this characteristic for her style, then there are ‘Happy Days’ or ‘SMILY’ (more insane is only ‘Pon Pon’, but it never was a single, so not everyone knows it). Even though Ai has matured a lot since then and already in ‘Love Jam’ era she began writing touching and deep ballads, people still associate her with the image of big, dark, sweet, innocent eyes and small lips holding a pair of red cherries (above). Think whatever you want about ‘Sakuranbo’, but it’s good to remember that if it hadn’t been a single, Ai might have not fully developed her promising career. The fact is that Japan (and then a quite big part of the world) discovered Ai and fell in love with her just because of this song. Her previous single (‘Momo no Hanabira’) wasn’t regarded as a big success. Despite the fact that it survived (on low positions, but still) on charts for quite a couple of weeks, it was rather not popular. What’s curious, it’s what Ai herself thinks about her first musical break-out. Well, she once described ‘Sakuranbo’ and ‘Happy Days’ as her ‘schoolmates’. A lot of things and assumptions were made up after these words, because Ai didn’t really explain what she meant. According to the fans speculating on this matter on Channel-Ai, she could have had in mind that she kinda liked those songs, however, she treated them as a certain level in her career progress; something that must have been created and performed. Maybe Ai-chin didn’t expect those pieces to be so successful and she was confused that the songs which weren’t her best, became so easily recognisable? Well, any interpretation may be the right one. Read the discussion on Channel-Ai here.

As we mentioned ‘Momo no Hanabira’ earlier, it’s the moment to say some words about the ballads on ‘LOVE PUNCH’, because they play a very important role in Ai’s music career. Her first attempts in writing slower and more meaningful songs are especially interesting for us, because while listening to them chronologically, we can follow her artistic development and, sometimes, try to predict where she is going now. The first album includes 4 ballads, from which 2 of them were released as singles (‘Momo no Hanabira’ and ‘Amaenbo’). The rest are ‘Ame no Naka no Melody’ and ‘Shabondama’. I like all of them, but especially ‘Amaenbo’. For me, this song reveals Otsuka’s true talent and gives us a clue that she hasn’t shown the best of her yet. It’s easy to guess why Ai returned to this song while preparing the material for ‘LOVE IS BEST’ – this piece is simply beautiful, both music and lyrics. ‘I had always searched for this great loving feel, I'm surrounded by it, in your arms.I want you to hold me tighter and never let go’ – yes, every single girl dreams about it deep in her heart :)

To take it all over and summarize... hmm, it’s not as easy as it seems to be. In isolation, with no knowledge about Ai-chin and her next albums, ‘Love Punch’ is a light, cool and generally entertaining album which is perfect for a party or simple jumping in pure happiness on the bed. Or if you want to improve your mood, of course. However, when you are already familiar with Ai’s music, this album may not fully satisfy you. Yes, it is good and very Ai Otsuka, but there is something missing... There is too much immaturity and playing just for playing, no further message included. But as for a debut album, it couldn’t be better, either. It’s a common fact that the first release of any artist is only a foreword to their real artistic possibilities. Think about any artist you admire – even Michael Jackson’s first solo CD sucked at times ;) Since ‘Love Punch’ got generally good marks in reviews everywhere, it seems that Ai made a very good start. She created a solid base for her further artistic achievements. The very next album which includes such outstanding pieces as ‘Kingyo Hanabi’ or ‘Daisuki dayo’ is an ideal proof of this statement.

Happy-go-lucky Ai from 'LOVE PUNCH' era... :D