Second Chances: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon began an expansion of Naoko Takeuchi's manga series Codename: Sailor V. The series didn't feature Sailor Moon, but was centered around Sailor Venus who later becomes Sailor Moon's companion in the extended series. The mangas have been adapted into several animes, a live action and musicals. Today, we're focusing on the animes only. The mangas are certainly on my reading list. I have seen an episode or two of the musical, namely for having a cameo by Shazna's vocalist, Izam.

Super 90s anime style

Back in the 90s, Sailor Moon was a popular anime that I didn't like. I felt that the characters could be quite annoying overall when I saw the dubbed version that aired on Toonami in 1998.There was so much that I disliked about the anime that I never gave it a second chance. Sure, this was probably blasphemy since magical girl anime is the cutest thing ever. I'm fairly sure that I blacked out most of what I'd seen of that version.

Super gorgeous updated style

It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I found myself with the real desire to watch the updated version released in 2014. The art was quite lovely which is what I expect from an anime aimed at a female audience. I like the soft feel of it. It's updated, while still keeping a similar feel to what they tried to do on the previous version. I feel like this is a good balance of the old and the new as far as the animation is concerned. Toei does soften the animation even further for season 3, but I don't mind the change at all. Actually, I kind of like it a bit better because the transformations don't feel as cgi.

            90s version                                               2014 version       

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Crystal has spanned three seasons so far. I ended up sitting in front of the laptop, starring at the screen as I absorbed episode after episode. I was enraptured with these characters that I once found annoying. Usagi is an adorable, complex character. Chibiusa is just as adorable as Usagi is. The other characters like Ami don't seem as brash as they seemed in the previous version. I keep finding myself wanting to see every episode and they don't come fast enough. I want to see what happens to these women (and Mamoru) next.

I've heard from a reliable source who has read all the manga, seen the original anime and watched Sailor Moon Crystal that the updated version follows the manga more closely. This gives me hope that I'll enjoy the manga as much as I've enjoyed Crystal. This is a huge change for someone who disliked the original so badly that I didn't want anything to do with it at all. Hurry up, Toei! I need more episodes!

Second Chances: KAT-TUN

Surprisingly, it took me some time to like and accept Japanese pop music. I enjoyed a handful of jpop songs, but when it came to Johnny’s Entertainment, I was enamored by Jun Matsumoto through his acting and cute face. I looked into his group Arashi and labeled myself a fan, although I was extremely casual about it. Later I got involved with KinKi Kids through Domoto Koichi’s acting and handsome features. Both of these groups I stuck by because of the music. There wasn’t a purely shallow connection for me.

I remember talking to one of my former role play partners about her love for KAT-TUN. Similar to MBLAQ, I kinda teased her a little about it and, I believe, her favorite was Kamenashi Kazuya and in return she teased me for picking Arashi over KAT-TUN and the slightly contagious MatsuJun love. For the longest, I could not understand KAT-TUN’s massive appeal other than their good looks and Jin Akanishi and Kame’s acting. At the time, I only knew their skill set in Gokusen Season 2. Later, I developed an attraction toward Kame over Jin through a drama called Suppli. Before Jin left the group, I was addicted to “RESCUE”, a track used for Yuichi Nakamaru’s drama with the same name. If you were part of Muddy Cult since the beginning, you would have seen my first music video comparison between KAT-TUN and DBSK, before the split.

One day, I decided to give the group another chance as the title suggests and slowly their music and charm grew on me through “Love Yourself”. I wasn’t able to listen to LANDS, but I tried to listen to as much of Jin’s solo work before his major involvement in the U.S. I still kinda regret skipping out on his first solo tour in the U.S. It was saddening that his stops on the second tour consisted of only locations on the usual west and east coasts. Like everyone else, I mused myself with the fanfiction-like reports concerning him and his wife Meisa Kuroki. As for the rest of the group, I casually follow them. I even developed a love or attraction toward the other members over Jin. A strong emphasis on Koki Tanaka and Ueda Tatsuya somehow.
I’m not sure whether Jin will recover from his slump, but it’s interesting to follow both sides. I don’t think I’ll be a hardcore fan of KAT-TUN’s, but I have found the appeal of these young men. I might even like them a little more than Arashi.

Second Chances: Big Bang

Sadly, this is a very fuzzy story, but years ago when I was getting my toes wet in the kpop world, I kept seeing the name "Big Bang" every where in the fandom. So, I checked out a couple of their music videos and I honestly laughed. This self proclaimed hip-hop quintet were trying too hard to be "urban". Their appearance turned me off completely and their music didn't stick either. Forgive me for not remembering exactly what music video I saw to make me think that way. I'm just going to throw out a video as a guess, because this really reminds me of B2K. ^^;



Later, I gave the boys another chance. Yet again, I don't remember what redeemed them for me. If I had to guess, I think it was a solo music video that reeled me in. It was either G-Dragon's "This Love" or Tae Yang's "Pray". It's been so long so...I'm sorry, but I do remember introducing my friends to them through "La La La" and establishing favorites despite lack of knowledge of names. I also remember that "Number 1" and "Haru Haru" were my most played songs. To this day, I have yet to reach "VIP" status and I'm not aiming for it either.

Second Chances: D'espairsRay

When I was a jrock newbie, I occasionally judged groups by their looks. Yes, I admit my shallow mistakes. Before I gave D'espairsRay a listen, I thought their sound would be too dark, gothic, and heavy for me. Because of this perception, I turned down an invitation to their first U.S. show with a couple friends. Some time passed and I decided to give them a try. I was introduced to them through a live performance of "MaVERiCK" from Beauti-fool's Fest 2003. [Fyi, the video below isn't exactly it, so...]



From there, I further explored their music, PVs, and background and became attached. At the time, "Reddish -Diva version-" and "Forbidden" were my favorite songs. Thanks to them, they shattered my perceptions and I was able to enjoy other bands like Merry and Kagerou. I was fortunate to see them live in 2008 and it's ashame they disbanded so soon. Despite their disbandment, I'm willing to support their future endeavors and wish Hizumi a full recovery.

Second Chances: Kiryu

Every now and then, I seek out j-indies bands to try out and Kiryu was one of them, upon their debut. Their visuals were beautiful and their sound was nice. When I listened to their first single, I believed they had potential to grow into something great.

When I got around to cleaning my collection, sometimes I back track to those j-indies bands I hardly listen to to see if I still have interest in them. I only have so much space on my external drive and I don't like wasting it on things I'm not going to keep up with. Apparently when I relistened to them on iTunes, I no longer heard talent in Kiryu. The vocals needed some work and their PVs were a bit dull despite their costumes being beautiful. So, I don't listen to them anymore and I tried to find some good from them now, but no luck.

Second Chances: M.I.A

I was introduced to this eclectic rapper on The N (or Teen Nick now) and the music video for "Boyz" came on TV. I thought the video and song seemed cheap and chaotic. It seemed like they were promoting her a lot there and on MTV. I was very disinterested, especially live with her odd style and noisy music.



It wasn't until her hit single "Paper Planes" came to the scene and after replays of the song on TV and radio, I became hooked. It had a catchy melody and an amusing, memorable chorus with silly words and gunshots. I delved more into her discography and "20 Dollar" became one of my favorite songs. "XXXO" was also an interesting track that stuck even though the video seemed cheap, but I understood the intention behind it.



Currently, I think she is a rap innovator with good intentions for society, despite controversies and censors misunderstanding her intentions with her music such as "Born Free", which was banned from YouTube. Ignoring her inappropriate gesture at the Super Bowl this year and that horrible collaboration with Madonna and Nicki Minaj, I love her and her unique rap style and what she's trying to do for the world with her charity and educating us with cultural issues. "Bad Girls" is my drug right now.

Second Chances: MBLAQ

This is the first official post of Second Chances on the Cult. This was a random idea that came to mind and I asked around to my readers if they would be interested in hearing my trials and tribulations with certain artists/groups/bands I might've disliked or liked in the beginning and now I feel the complete opposite about them. If possible, I will post the music video that turned me off or made me like them and then a music video that changed my mind. So, let's get right to it and I hope you enjoy this new idea. Comments are appreciated!




It was around the time rookies B2ST, U-KISS, and Infinite entered more prominently and into my iTunes library. As you all know, I am a big Rain fan and when I heard about him departing from JYP Entertainment to do his own thing, I was curious. Rain had several projects going on under J.Tune Entertainment, one of them being a new boy group by the name of Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality or MBLAQ. Being the Rain fan that I am, I had to check them out and, honestly, I was disappointed. The costume choices looked like Rain's wardrobe rejects or his leftovers and "Oh Yeah" was a weak, annoying debut track. "Y" didn't help their case either. Therefore, I ended up ignoring them, continued supporting Rain's endeavors until his military departure, and enjoyed G.O.'s vocal contribution to one of my favorite NassuN songs, "O-IWI-O".



Shortly after the release of Hello Baby Season 5 Episode 2 or 3, I watched the boys interact with three multicultural children. Somehow, I fell for their charming and goofy personalities. The show helped me learn the members' names with faces and personality and made me enjoy the series due to their chemistry with each other and the children. This convinced me to give the boys a second chance musically. Coincidentally, a close friend listened to "Stay" three days before I gave them another chance, I believe I had a short negative response, and it ended up being the song that redeemed them for me. I apologized to her (if I didn't, sorry ._.).



So far, I like "Stay", "Cry", "Mona Lisa", and "Run" and I have grown attached to Lee Joon and G.O. Although, listening to "Cry" is a little frustrating because it feels like they're holding back on their vocals. I also remembered why I disliked them in the beginning as well...and I have decided not to revisit or investigate their debut days. Keep improving, boys!