Anime Watch: Your Lie in April

Hiyo, Bunnies!

Have you ever heard of this series called Your Lie in April aka Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso [四月は君の嘘]? It was originally a manga series that started in 2011 but didn't get an anime until last year. It's a romance drama with gorgeous art!

The story is about a middle-schooler named Kousei who was a piano prodigy as a child until his mother's untimely death. She was his teacher and a very fierce one at that.

Since she passed, he had a breakdown and felt he could never play the piano ever again. Kousei saw his life going black and white. That is, until he and his friends, Watari and Tsubaki, meet Kaori.

Kaori is an amazing violinist who, unlike Kousei, is a free spirit and goes wherever the music takes her. She is able to take sheet music and turn it into her own masterpiece. Her very being allows him to see color in his world again. She makes him want to play the piano again. She makes him live and feel.

I read some of the synopsis of the series and see that it's supposed to be a tragedy. But I'm not sure how much more tragic you can get than by losing one's mother. I'm only up to ep. 8 so I will have to wait and see. It's a very beautiful series to watch and the art is just so amazing. The colors go perfectly with the mood of the scenes and the character designs are very nice to look at. It also features many classical pieces! (Wonderful for the classical music fans!)

I also love both the opening Hikaru Nara (光るなら; If You Will Shine) by goose house and the ending Kirameki (キラメキ; Sparkle) by wacci!

Check out the trailer to hear a clip of the OP~

If you love series like Boys Over Flowers, Full Moon O Sagashite, Honey and Clover, Kimi Ni Todoke, La Corda d'Oro, Sand Chronicles or even Nodame Contabile - I highly recommend it! I hear it could be the anime of the year!

And to think I only found out about this series because Tokyo Otaku Mode posted the release for the Kaori figure! So give it a watch!

See you soon! 

30 Day Lolita Challenge: Day 8 – 10 Songs That Inspire You for Lolita

Hiyo, Bunnies!

My apologies for no post last week. I was sick the week before and had a relapse because of the snow. But I am doing a little better and promise to be back on track now!

Today's post is:

Day 8

10 Songs That Inspire You for Lolita

This one was a little difficult for me. A lot of music I listen to doesn't necessarily work into Lolita and certainly doesn't remind me of it. So there are very few that inspire me. But I did my best in making this list and hope you will like some of the songs I have chosen. And if you are a gamer, a lot of these will be from video game soundtracks!

Enjoy!

1. Rin Oikawa - I'll Be Your Home

2. Nana Kitade - Kibou No Kakera

3. Kanon Wakeshima - Still Doll

4. Deemo OST - Angelic Sphere

5. Drag-on Dragoon 3 OST - Kuroi Uta (International)

6. Cytus - Light Up my Love (Ani feat. Moco)

7. Milky Bunny - Bunny Days♥

8. Final Fantasy 13-2 - Serah's Theme ~Memory~

9. Miho Fukuhara - Let it out

10. Che'Nelle -「Believe」歌詞付き

See you soon! 

Kawaii Review: Repede Plush from Tales of Vesperia

Hiyo, Bunnies!

Today's Kawaii Review is on merch that I have been searching for a long time from one of my most beloved video games. I am a huge fan of the Tales of game series and one of my top fave titles is Tales of Vesperia for the XBOX 360 and PS3. (The English release only came out for the XBOX 360 while Japan got the game for both systems.) For the games, there is always at least one non-human character, playable or not, that usually ends up as the cute mascot for the game its from. In Vesperia's case, this happens to be a pipe-carrying dog named Repede.

I follow a lot of Tales of news sites that have tons of information on any new game or merch releases. Being a long-time Vesperia fan, I was always after anything I could get my hands on. Especially since I waited too long and missed out on a lot of great items. But when it was announced that Bandai Namco would release a new Repede plush, I jumped right on it!

The online store for Bandai Namco products is called ♥The LaLaBit Market♥. But like most other Japanese companies, the products on these sites are available in Japan only. So if you live outside of Japan, you would need the help of a shopping service. I immediately sent the link to my trusted service, ♥From Japan♥, and hoped they could snag one for me. For a lot of Tales of merch, they go super quick! I was super lucky though and I was able to pre-order my Repede plush!

Finally, after a couple of months of waiting, this big box arrived at my house! With From Japan (FJ), you have the option to keep the packaging, your order came in or you could have them take it out. Leaving it intact as it arrived would cost more as Japan is one of the places that ships by weight instead of by size. I didn't know if there was any special packaging so I instructed to leave it in its original packaging.

The box arrived safely and in perfect condition with no tears or holes. Of course, this was the box FJ shipped it and when I opened it, I found out that I shouldn't have been worried or bothered with keeping the original packaging.

It was just another box! XD

And here he is! All nice and protected for anything and everything. 

Is this not the cutest puppy you've ever seen?! Repede stands (sits?) at a whopping 15 inches and does not fall over. Everything is soft and plush except for the chain collar. That is an actual chain! Like the real Repede, he has a pipe in his mouth and a dagger with sheath strapped to his body. The dagger does not come out but you can remove it from the straps. His fur is very soft, almost like velveteen and he has a little furry mohawk and furry chest.

He even has his own blastia just like in the game! (Blastia is like a source for magical power in Vesperia)

Aren't his paw pads just so cute?! 

Pros: 

 Details are perfect and it looks exactly like Repede

 Super soft and huggable (just watch out for the chain!)

 From Japan is an amazing shopping service!

Cons:

 It was a pre-order so there was some waiting involved (as expected of course) and the fangirl in me was too excited about finally getting this.

 It sold out super quick!

Overall:

    /5
I am super happy to finally have a Repede plush! It's perfect in every way! And I want to thank From Japan for helping me get one! And with no real cons, this was an awesome purchase!

See you soon!