She's a popular trot singer in Korea. Known for adding a modern spin to Korea's oldest form of pop music, she's incorperated pop and dance (among others) into her music. If you are a fan or are interested in learning more about her, please check out her new Facebook fan page! Here!

Here's a couple samplings of her music! :)

Olle/Come | Oh My | Flower

So... for some strange reason I decided to log into GS again. I have no idea why. XD In my time away, which aside from my last blog (which really had no point to it), has been at least a year now. I've felt lots has changed for me. Anyone still floating around on this site who remembers may be saddened to know I'm not the gamer I used to be. In fact, the most I do these days is play a round or two agaisnt the CPU or with friends in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In addition to my gaming being slowed down, it seems my writing has also gone downward. It just seems the quality isn't there like it was before, and now the volume of works has also dropped.

I'm still a very motivated writer though, and I have tons of ideas, I guess I just need a little boost. Anyways, I thought I might as well let you guys know that much. Generally speaking, I've been alright. Though recently I've had to deal with a lot of emotional pain in the form of heartbreak, betrayal and abandonment. If I were to explain it, you might be reminded of an anime or Korean drama plot (oh yes... I'm still a crazy asian music fan, but it's extended into Korean and chinese now!). I imagine that these events which have really left me a mess (I've cried more this year than nay other in my life outside of childhood - stupid bumpbs in the orad getting in my way) may one day inspire something of my writing to give it that kick, but I feel lost.

I don't know what I want to do anymore in my life aside from the general notion I'm a good writer and therefore wish to pursue that and grow in some manner. That said, writing doesn't put food on the table. I'm 20 years-old, still stuck in pre-University/post high-school dribble, and my "talent" has been shaky on consistancy. Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure it out soon. Started to poke at my piano again, which been long covered by a beach towel since earlier this year. So, wish me luck guys I guess. Let me know how you've all been doing. I don't think I'll be coming back to GameSpot, but at the very least I will come back to hear what old friends have to share. :)

On Thursday, I entered Sick Kids Hospitla with enthusiasm, and cheer but by the time I left, I exited with pani, and a patch over my left eye. What I thought was going to be a normal eye check-up was actually an appointment for something called an ERG test. I'm not too sure what that stands for but all I know after the perliminary testing (very simple, look at the chart and recite what can be seen, and so forth). They decided to stick a contact lens in my left eye (my stronger eye), tape it up for some odd reason, making blinking quite painful, and went ahead with flashing bright lights similar to that of a camera using flash in my eye. The test was not fun at all, and if any of you ever have to do one, be weary. The beginning isn't bad, even when they put you into a dark room for around half an hour before the big test.

However, while the test itself was unpleasent, there's an even more important warning I have. Do not rub your eyes afterwards. I guess the fact they basically drugged my eye with eye-drops made it tender to this, but upon finishing the test I rubbed my eye. It was very uncomfortable, and seeking relief in such a manner, made things worse. What happened? I scratched the cornea in my left eye. Thank goodness, they only did the test on that eye (realizing that it was the stronger probably lead to this). The scratch was relatively small, at least that's what they said, but it was very painful. I had to wear a heavily taped patch (that stretched across the left side of my face, from my forehead to my cheek). It had to be taped to reduce eye movement, because when your eye moves, the pain has a good chance of increasing as I found out several times.

I only took the patch off a couple of times, and all of those moments of relief was met with more eye drops. For once, eye drops actually did something good, allowing me to sleep comfortably for a couple hours before getting up the next two mornings to visit the hospital again to check on the scratch's healing progress. Thankfully, by Friday night, I was able to keep my right eye open (which was kind of difficult with the tape, and such), and watch Ep. 35 of Death Note. Saturday morning, I was able to the patch off, the pain was mostly gone but my eye was quite blurry, and the light from outside was not welcomed right away. I continued to rest for the day as I did the previous days. It was only on Sunday I was finally able to briefly come on the computer. Text was still hard to read, so it was rather brief. Yesterday, my eye was finaly back to normal, still tender but I could see through it perfectly (or as perfect as I can see with my eye condition).

Despite, all of this, it still wasn't the worst part - Friday morning, when I got home, the silver band I wear around my right wrist was missing. I have no idea where it is, and I fear I'll never see it again. I don't know how it could've dropped out of my hand, or perhaps I simply didn't notice that it was because of my eye pain, but I was pretty mad about that. I had bought it in Trinidad a few years ago, and it was something I really liked, not to mention it sort of symbolized my love for writing, I didn't wear it much for some time but when I started getting my poetry writing back, that very day I had it on. So, since then I always wore it. That said, it left me with one final gift, while resting my eyes, I put the computer on, and listened to the entire Deep River album by Utada Hikaru. And, wouldn't you know, I have an idea. I'm still working through it, and it's a large project - I'm thinking a novel would be the best written medium for it (a movie could also be possible the way I've pictured it in my mind). So, I'm very excited about pursuing this idea of mine, although it may require a visit to Japan, so I can really get in-depth in some of the aspects I've come up with.

Anyways, that's where I've been for the past few days. An odd thing I noticed was that during this time, my glases made things worse, making the blurryness more potent, and irritating to my eye. But, it's definitely good to not have that pain throbbing anymore. So, remember if you ever have to do an ERG test, never rub your eyes. It just makes it a lot worse.

Before I leave, I'd like to make note of my next upcoming blog, in which I will fill everyone in on everything that's happened since I briefly left GameSpot a couple of months ago, and what I have in-store for the future including the creation of The Japanese Music Union - looking for supporters at the moment, by the way. I'm sure someone will leave some kind words, so in advance, thanks to everyone. ^_^

Oh, one more thing, feel free to show your support with this (I love Utada Hikaru):

~Edward Elric

.::Avoiding Accidents and Anime Awareness::.

I'm pretty sure many of you are familiar with some of the oddities in the world that relate to anime. The most notable of these have been notes being left beside severed body parts in Belgium, with the proclaimation of being Kira, the main character in the popular anime/manga series Death Note. Yes, it's quite an odd event. However, the police dubbed 'Manga Murder' case has met a dead end. There have also been numerous incidents in which a student has written names of their staff, and school mates in a Death Note replica. Other than this, there hasn't been a whole lot going on, but last week that all changed, and anime once again felt the harsh spotlight of potential criticisms.

Last week Naruto headlined the anime news world, and this time it wasn't about successful manga sales. An 18 year-old had uploaded a video on YouTube in which he threatened students of his former school using a quote from the Naruto character, Gaara.

"The Corpse's Crimson Bitter Tears Will Flow And Mingle Though The Endless Sand Feeding The Chaos In Me And Making Me Stonger."

Her's the full article if you're interested. It's certainly a strange one, and makes you wonder about all the crazy anime fans out there. However, this wasn't the only news involving Naruto that surfaced. Now just to clarify, it'swell-known that Naruto is one of the most popular anime/manga series right now, very similar to the sucess of Dragon Ball Z. Additionally, it is also known that many younger viewers also watch Naruto, as we did with Dragon Ball Z. And, while most of us were able to keep things in perspective, that's not always the case., especially if you're only 10 years-old.

Earlier this week, it was reported that a boy had been hospitalized after attempting to imitate a scene from Naruto. Shortly after though, a follow-up was reported.

According to KOMO-TV, the ABC affiliate in Seattle, Washington, 10-year-old Codey Porter died at 3:35 p.m PST today. The boy was hospitalized on Saturday after suffering respiratory failure when he was buried, headfirst, in a sandbox. He had reportedly asked his playmates to bury him in order to recreate the attacks used by the fictional ninja from the Naruto anime's fictional Village Hidden in the Sand.

Porter had been resuscitated with CPR and taken to an Everett hospital and later transferred to the Children's Hospital in Seattle where he died.

A memorial fund has been set up for Porter on the Gold Creek Community Church's Web site.

Of course this is incredibly sad. You can't blame the anime, nor could you blame the kid because he's simply to young to differientiate fiction from reality. So who do we blame, if anyone at all? Do we blame the parents for not stopping the kids from playing? That wouldn't b very logical if all they were doing was playing in a sandbox. So, who else is there? Do we blame the perception that anime is merely intended for children in North America? If you were to relate this to gaming, many would probably say that parents should be more aware of what their kids are watching in the same way they should pay attention to the games they buy their children.

Is this even a viable argument to make, and what's the solution? Anime hasn't gotten to the same heights as gaming, so it may not get its own personal Jack Thompson or attention from the government but I think this perception of anime being intended for children is a problem. Animation in general has been mainly used to either entertain the young minds with show like Spongebob Squarepants, or Fairy Odd Parents or for humor with shows like The Simpsons, and Family Guy. Outside of that animation isn't used in the same way that we see with anime. Where we can see the struggles of two borthers who've lost everything but each other, and embark on a journey to correct their mistakes. You don't see animated shows that can provide that sense of emotion.

I'm not saying that anime is the greatest medium, and is suited for everything but what I am protesting is that I think North America as a whole should open up more to animation, and watch movies like Grave of the Fireflies, and understand why it' a bad idea to create a live-action movie, or see the wonderful depth it can carry as a medium for truly deep, and entertaining stories with all of the potential to make someone laugh, cry, and flat out enjoy the ride. And, while there's nothing to say for someone who's just off the ball in regards to their fandom. I think if this happens, we can avoid cases like the ones I've mentioned because I'm quite sure that if this boy's parents knew the intended audience of Naruto, and its contnet. That little boy would still be alive today.

~Edward Elric

Why am I writing this blog I ask myself. I'm not known for writing small, and meaningless blogs yet here it is. It's 5:45AM, I've been playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the last 5 or so hours. In short, its awesome, and even though I'm not particularly tired. I think I should go to sleep now. So, farewell everyone. If you also got Brawl then we should have a big party soon.

~Edward Elric

It's one of my favourite anime of all time! So, why not honour its greatness with a topic containing some neat little videos for all of you to enjoy? Here are three of my personal favourite Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu Videos!

God Knows... - Straight from the concert episode, Aya Hirano surprises everyone with quite possibly the best insert song in all of anime. And, there was also "Lost My Music" but this is the better of the two songs and there wasn't as much of "Lost My Musi" was performed. Essentially, this was the highlight track.

Hare Hare Yukai - One of the most interesting dance routines you'll ever see. The song, "Hare Hare Yukai" (it means Sunny Sunny Happy) is the ending theme to the anime but within the credits the whole routine wasn't shown. However, thanks to the DVD releases, we get to see Haruhi's crazy little dance in its entirety. What makes it even better is that she gets everyone to join in the fun, even Kyon!

She's Just Oblivious - It's an AMV, yes but the song in this one and the quality perfectly matches that of Ms. Suzumiya's personality and anime. It's the best Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya AMV I've ever seen, though if you were to remove the animation from the song. I'd probably hate the song to bits (just not my genre). But it works, and I really don't mind (in fact it's grown on me a bit) because in this context, it's great.

So those are three of my favourite Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu videos. I guess all that's left for you is to watch them. :)

~Edward Elric

Following a blog about how great things have been the last couple of weeks, comes a blog about something that's actually rather sad. And, no, this has nothing to do with the delay of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I'm actually quite glad since by the time March 9th comes around I'll have the money to buy it right away. Not to mention, the delay will ultimately benefit the game. I'm a strong believer in the following words:

"A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever." - Shigeru Miyamoto

Instead, this blog is about one of my favourite Japanese singers, Ayumi Hamasaki (alongside, Aya Hirano and Ai Otsuka).

The following quote came from this ANN Sound Decision article: (which is also worth reading if you're a Ayumi Hamasaki fan or just someone looking for some great music)

"Most pop singers are fairly normal people who just happen to have very public careers, and they chuckle at exaggerated stories of overcoming obstacles to reach stardom. But Hamasaki is different. She had a rough childhood; you might even say she never was a child. Hamasaki's father abandoned her and her mother when she was only a toddler. She began modeling at the age of seven in order to earn money for the family. Eventually, the modeling world kicked her to the curb, and she dropped out of school in 10th grade. These aren't the kinds of wounds that fame and fortune heal."

As you can see above, her childhood was far from the best but it's truly inspiring that she was able to rise above everything and become such a success. And considering that, it's really sad that Ayumi Hamasakihas lost hearing in her left ear. Thankfully, she isn't completely deaf and she isn't slowing down one bit. Here's the article about the hearing loss.

Now, I'm pretty confident that this minor rock in the otherwise successful road that is the career of Ayumi Hamasaki will not affect future projects and that when that new project is released, it will continue to deliver on the powerful ballds and emotion that only Ayumi Hamasaki can display. And, much like Beethoven (who was completely without hearing), she simply has way too much talent for this to be a real obstacle.

And, much like the Elric brothers, I truly believe that she will persevere and continue her success despite the hardshipsshe's faced(had to include a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist in there). Furthermore, I'm currently working on a poetry book of sorts (initially as an assignment) and I think I got a great idea for a poem, inspired by Ayumi Hamasaki and this recent bit of news. Perhaps, I will share it with you all.

Anyways, I wish Ayumi Hamasaki all the best, as I await for another amazing song to be released soon.

~Edward Elric

Yes, I've titled this blog after the legendary Hare Hare Yukai. Why? well it's pretty simple really, Happy Holidays followed by a Happy Birthdayhas leftme feeling "Sunny Sunny Happy." In the time that passes between Christmas and Jan. 10th - My Birthday, many great things are unwrapped (literally) and so here's a list of the gifts I've received for both Christmas and My Birthday that have tempted me to attempt the dance in the above link.

Anime

-Fullmetal Alchemist Box Set - Season 1 Part 1
-Fullmetal Alchemist Box Set - Season 1 Part 2

Fullmetal Alchemist Box Set - Season 2 Part 1 will be coming out on Feb. 5th, '08, so it's great that I didn't have to buy these myself.

-Princess Mononoke
-Spirited Away

My collection of Hayao Miyazaki films is slowly increasing, and even though I did put some of my money towards the purchase of Spirited Away it was worth it. Porco Rosso and Kiki's Delivery Service are probably next to go along with these two and Howl's Moving Castle.

So, as you can see, I've got a lot of many in the last couple of weeks. I haven't checked out the Box Sets yet since I'm currently watching the repeat of the series on YTV but I certainly didn't want them to be a part of a collection where if someone even touches the plastic I'll go crazy. The only downside to this was the lack of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya DVDs. I knew they'd be hard to find but it really would've been awesome to experience Haruhi's craziness that Christmas morning.

Besides the gifts, it would seem both YTV and Teletoon (yeah, I was surprised too) decided to give me a little gift of their own. On New Year's Eve, YTV decided to air the Fullmetal Alchemist movie and the nine episodes of Death Note that had previously aired before that Friday's episode which was #10. Teletoon on the other hand decidied to air Akira. I was quite impressed by its technical merits considering its a film made in 1980 but as a whole it was pretty awesome. Additionally, Appleseed was aired this past weekend. The CG and animation were great and the story was neither good nor bad. I enjoyed it though and I am quite excited to see what Armitage III Polymatrix has to offer next weekend.

Alright, enough anime talk.

Gaming

-Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
-The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
-Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
-Spyro: A Hero's Tail (GC)
-Rave Master (GC)

Isn't it awesome? I got all three of Nintendo's big titles of '07 and they were all gifts. ^_^ I was quite glad when I got Super Mario Galaxy and Phantom Hourglass Christmas morning. I was expecting it but I couldn't wait to get my hands on them and in both cases they have proven ot be exactly what I expected. Super Mario Galazy is just so much fun and yet I've barely scratched the surface but even so, I can honestly say that Super Mario Galazy was the Game of the Year (this is my opinion of course).

Unfortunately, I haven't played Metroid Prime 3 yet, and have played only a bit of Phantom Hourglass but if that wasn't enough, along with the fullmetal Alchemist Box Set, Super Smash bros. Brawl is expected to be released and when I pick that up. Who knows when I'll play the other two but that's still a month away. So don't worry, I won't let them go to waste.

Now, the other two games, I obviously had no interest in but Rave Master ended up becoming quite the hit at my Birthday party. It's a really simple game and the mechanics are far from smooth yet it managed to replace Super Smash Bros. Melee (though, we did play it for some time and I had no other multi-player games). To be honest, I'm not sure how the Single Player game will work out but as a multi-player game, it's quite entertaining. Other than that, I finally got a GameCube Memory Card and in only two days of working on it, I've unlocked Dr. Mario, Young Link, Math, Roy, and Jigglypuff.

Music

-Cowboy Bebop OST 1
-Cowboy Bebop OST: Vitaminless

I'd like to thank queen_valentine (Celes) for these soundtracks. I'm a huge fan of Yoko Kanno, she's pretty much my favourite music composer tied with Michiru Oshima (can't help it, the Fullmetal Alchemist OSTs were just amazing) and closely followed by Joe Hisaishi. The fact that Kanno is able to venture into so many different genres (in this case jazz and blues)of music and continue to deliver each and every time is truly inspiring and the music within these two OSTs are some of he most notable. You just can't beat songs like "Tank!" or "Black Coffee" - which is quite amusing to say the least.

The other gifts I received are pretty insignificant but if the cake counts, then that was certainly deserves mentioning. Unfortunately, that's as far as it will go, there's only one piece left and I'm not sharing it with anyone. So, that's pretty much it. My Birthday party was great, my friends and I watched National Treasure 2, had tons of Pizza and Chicken Wings and devoured the birthday cake till there were only a few pieces left for me. And, right now, that last piece is calling me so, take care everyone!

I should add my attempt to do the Hare Hare Yukai dance was a great failure.

~Edward Elric

Since last Christmas I haven't really gotten a lot in terms of games. I bought my Wii at the beginning of January with the money I received and thereafter I enjoyed Wii Sports, and the three games I got that Christmas - The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, Wind Waker and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Until today those were the only games I had that I played on my Nintendo Wii. Well, it may have taken an entire year but finally I have a new game to occupy my time with along with many other neat little gifts that's overall made this Christmas a very good one and one of the better ones in my seventeen years on this planet.

Now, this year I didn't ask for a lot, considering everything that I got but despite that short list I made. The morning proved very satisfying. I pretty much got everything I asked for with the exception of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya DVDs, which I knew would be a problem to find. However, what I did receive was fantastic and to start off this blog of gifts, I think it's only right that I start off with what may be the greatest 3D platformer since Super Mario 64. And of course I'm talking about Super Mario Galaxy!

I haven't played it a lot yet but I must say, I am thoroughly impressed and am having a great deal of fun. The various planets are so awesome to explore, and I can't help to make the comparison of Shigeru Miyamoto being the Hayao Miyazaki of gaming because some of these planets are simply amazing, not to mention Miyamoto's games are all unique and are of the highest quality. And this is where the title of this blog comes into play. Last year my blog noted a Christmas featuring only The Legend of Zelda and Fullmetal Alchemist. This time however it features all of the people who've influenced my life greatly.

To begin, let's start with Shigeru Miyamoto, aside from Super Mario Galaxy. I got another game, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Unfortunately, my DS went dead, so my time with it was limited, thus spending more time with Galaxy however the game seems to carry the same great charm as The Wind Waker and looks to be one of my favourites in the series.

Moving on, the person who I just noted a comparison to Shigeru Miyamoto also had a place in my Christmas. Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke made its way into my hands this morning upon shredding the gift-wrapping. I was so happy to finally own such a great film. It's probably my favourite movie behind Grave of the Fireflies and is undoubtedly one of the greatest films of all time. However, this wasn't the only bit of anime I got.

For someone who's known as Edward Elric, it'd be just wrong to not have a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist involved in my Christmas. And the Fullmetal Alchemist Box Set Season 1/Part 1 is certainly more than a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist. It includes four DVDs, consisting of the first sixteen episodes, thus eight hours of viewing pleasure, all placed comfortably in the shin box that sheltered them and the guidebooks. I haven't begun watching them yet but I'm definitely familiar with Hiromu Arakawa's brilliant story and it's only a matter of time before I experience it again.

Besides those four gifts there wasn't much else, I got a really nice sweater, a third-party GameCube memory card, an Axe gift set, some chocolate coins and the most surprising of gifts, a 5-pack of Pringles! Yes, Pringles! However, that all changed when I decided to see if anyone was online today. It just so happens, that my good friend queen_valentine was online and wouldn't you know it, she got the first Cowboy Bebop OST and the second, titled Vitaminless. And, thanks to her kind heart, the songs were ripped and sent to me, thus adding the last of my greatest influences in Yoko Kanno.

So overall this was a great Christmas! Some of Shigeru Miyamoto, Hayao Miyazaki, Hiromu Arakawa and Yoko Kanno's greatest works made up all the gifts I received this Christmas and I certainly can't complain. For everyone else, I hope that you also had a Merry Christmas and that the holidays will treat you nicely. In addition, I'd like to thank queen_valentine (Celes) once more for the great music.

~Edward Elric

Hurry Xmas! Two words I think most everyone is thinking these days. After all, Christmas is such a great time of year. Spending time with family and friends, playing the snow (well that hasn't happened in a long time, dueto the lack of snow surprisingly) and of course the dozens of gifts under the Christmas Tree. However, Christmas has a habit of coming early at times. Bringing with it some neat gifts that seem to lead to even more excitement of the already long anticipated morning of December 25th. This is one of those years but what did I get exactly?

Well to begin, this past Wednesday I finallygot my hands onthe Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 1 manga, along with Vol. 11. Finally! Finally, I can read the Fullmetal Alchemist manga from beginning to end! Of course, Vol. 12 onwards I'll buy when I can or when I finish reading. Which might take me a while since I'm in the middle of reading the first FMA novel and The Joy Luck Club for school. But that doesn't matter much because I finally have Volume 1. As for the two novels, so far both have been good to say the least but there's much more besdies books

Today will be my first full day as new leader of The Legend of Zelda Union! I cannot wait to get started on everything I have planned, which isn't a great deal but I will make sure the Legend of Zelda Union will continue its greatness under my wing. I'd like to thank Gary for his decision to promote me. So in other words, Edward Elric is leader of The Legend of Zelda Union. Kind of an interestingcombination there, no? And in other Gamespot news, November 19th, the launch day of the Wii makred my one year anniversery here on GameSpot.

Moving on, I have obtained L'Arc~en~Ciel's new album, titled "KISS" and it's absolutely fantastic! I'm a huge fan of L'Arc~en~Ciel and have heard many of their songs and have several albums. "My Heart Draws a Dream", "Daybreak's Bell" - of Gundam 00, "Link -KISS mix-" - it's a slight remix of "Link", the opening theme for Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of Shamballa, and the slight change makes it slightly better than the original are some of my favourites. Then there's their latest single... which was also the last song on the album. It's called "Hurry Xmas". It's an awesome song that is much different from a typical J-Rock song and is instead more of a Christmas theme.

Thanks to YouTube.com, you can check it out HERE! I hope you like the song as much as I do. And even if you don't we can at least agree on one thing; for Christmas to come as quickly as possible! As you can see from the picture above, Haruhi's got the right idea! It's too bad she isn't the one breaking into my house, taking away my precious cookies and milk. Hmmm, I wonder if she has my copies of Phantom Hourglass and Mario Galaxy in that bag. ^_^