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The Japanese Language Learning/Support Thread! I was talking with @itsukoii and @togz, and we all agreed that it would be beneficial to have a thread like this on MH. I'm not personally studying the language at the moment, but I know many of the users here are, or at least have an interest in doing so. So I figured we could all pull together as a community and help support each other in this common goal! So if you have any Japanese language learning resources or recommendations that you'd like to share, please post them here and I'll add them to this first post. Feel free to use this thread for questions and discussion related to Japanese language learning as well. However, DO NOT use this thread for translation requests. Also if you'd like to team up with your fellow Monochromians to form a study group or something along those lines, that's also welcome! Let's support each other. Yoroshiku! (just gonna tag a few people. Maybe you guys can provide some resources or words for people just learning the language or who've already begun their journey? Just to kinda get this thread off the ground. Every little bit helps! @hiroki, @Hakoniwa, @plastic_rainbow, @doombox, @Peace Heavy mk II, @WhirlingBlack.

Merry is a band that i leave alone for long chunks of time and then when i revisit them its always a pleasurable time. They also are a band that I purposefully try not to know much about the older stuff in their discography because I absolutely love randomly coming across gems like this one Speaking of their recent material, I think im maybe the minority that enjoys Beautiful Freaks a lot. Its the first album that i really sat down and listened to through out and it was very appealing. Hella good gems on there especially Zaa Zaa and The Cry against me. I need to listen more to Nonsense Market but i remember my initial opinion on it was that it was just an okay album. It didn't grab me as much. Either way, MERRY is a pretty special band in terms of sound and band chemistry. Their live stuff radiates this kind of genuine feel and you can tell that these guys really enjoy each other and what they do. Side note: That recent single of theirs is ballin.

Well I enjoyed that live tbh, and ofc it sounds like Lycaon, what do you expect from a band composed entirely with ex Lycaon members ? it's not going to sound like DIR EN GREY I hope someone recorded the live and will be able to post it on Youtube and/or DL section (even though quality will be shitty)

A LITTLE LOUDER in case those "hurr durr i am #1 gaijin fan i buy all types of cd durrr durrrrrrr i am best fan u all suck" people here didn't get the message. technically (according to jp girls) u arent a true fan unless you attend lives, buy cheki, attend in stores, buy merch. thats where their money is, of course, but its also ridiculous. so then who is a real fan? visual fans love to impose hierarchies of devotion onto each other, so think about how fucking stupid you look bragging about what you do compared to jouren or girls who actually do stuff for their band. at which point do u draw the line between a bandomen money sink or a true fan? exactly, there's always a bunch of people above you, so don't be a twat to those below. lets all be nice to each other, and support our bands as much as we want to without dragging others down because they support their bands in different ways u might not think is the best (except jouren/mitsu because duh). i hate to go on this off-topic rant but i think its important considering some of the behavior i've seen on here recently. also its none of my business *wink* BUT a lot of the people abroad claiming they are "good fans" because of buying 3 types of a cd or something (god forbid spending 100s on live dists on auction which give more profit to gya then the musicians) don't do much financial for bands considering how much of the cut they actually get from CD sales lmfao. NOW THAT I HAVE THIS OFF MY CHEST...LETS PROCEED. i wanna see kai in a band less mejibray styled and more djenty tbh, it'd suit his vox more.

DONT KNOW WHAT Y'ALL THOUGHT WOULD CHANGE LMAOOOOOO like seriously - Literally ex-Lycaon -Same Composers -Same Yuuki - Yuuki is the babe - TYPE B AND C - Lycaon: Season 2 - Initial L'ycaon MY BABIES ARE BACK <3 <3 <3

Yuuki's voice is still so irritating. Nothing special. Basic VK song for a basic VK band who search to be trendy.

bitch get the fuck off here and talk to me lol

i just saw this thread in the recent activity box so let me drop a few of my favorite links http://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/ weblio's example translation corpus is highly underrated and i use it all the time for professional translation work because it has examples from daily conversation, business emails, novels, history books, contracts and law, etc etc. you can input English or Japanese, so if you need to know how something is expressed in Japanese or don't understand the meaning of a Japanese construction, try pasting it here and see how it's been translated by others. i started using this when i did shitty 12012 blog translations and i never looked back http://jn2et.com/JLPT.html if you're studying at an intermediate+ level you might find that Japanese explanations of grammar constructions are much more useful for understanding the minutiae between similar constructions, i used this one a fair bit in conjunction with jgram.org & japanesetest4you.com. http://nihongo-e-na.com/jpn/ http://nihongo-e-na.com/eng/ a good ass portal site for Japanese learner resources to close and as a semi-introduction, hi, i do freelance jp>en translation and i just completed a "high level" japanese course at Nagoya University. i'm definitely not a master and still have plenty to learn myself but if there's questions feel free to post them there and i'll see if any texts i have can provide a satisfying answer -- i'm sure other learners will happily pool their resources too. i'm pretty good at バンギャ用語 too if you're trying to read naughty messages about bandmen in forbidden message boards, so if you have questions about that i'm happy to help here or via PM lol 9月に名古屋大学でいわゆる上級日本語コースを修了したのですが、 ご質問などありましたらそのコースの資料などを使って答えるように頑張ります♪

Happy life is a banging single, y'all. One of their best, actually and it totally fits with their current mindset. Plus, the acoustic version MERRY's been playing live recentIy? Pfff... talk about gorgeousness! You can tell MERRY are in a really good place musically and mentally. They seem to be really happy with the band and themselves. You should've seem them live, especially now that テツ is back. They are always smiling, laughing, cracking jokes about each other. The mood seems to be excellent. Confident in their habilities, but still hungry to prove people that they are still relevant. NOnsenSe MARkeT was such a big step to them and quickly became one of my favorites. MERRY is a band that I've loved since the beginning and this one I can say from almost the very beginning. I've been following them for over 14 years (since 個性派ブレンド!). They always had good and bad moments, ups and dows in their career. When MERRY went major in 2005 was a bit wierd, they had some cool songs here and there, but there was something off. Then, joining sun-krad and FIREWALL DIV., and trying to become a DIR EN GREY clone was also a baffling mistake (from an artistic standpoint and maybe even a financial one, it just didn't make sense to alienate your fanbase like that...), Still, I think they created some good albums during the Victor-era, especially revisiting some of them now. For exemple, I love M.E.R.R.Y. and I think it's criminally underrated among the western fanbase. And, Beautiful Freaks, while uneven (and, truthfully, not very good) had some really, really great MERRY moments, so yeah, they recovered. I think they have complete freedom to do whatever the hell they want now, and also a level of maturity that makes sure that, since 2014 with NOnsenSe MARkeT, they are able to combine all the aspects of their catalog and create some cool things. 平日の女 is kinda like that, it has the retro-feel and モダンギャルド-ness that I love, but with their current production values (that I'm not really a fan, to be honest, ネロ sounds like crap and 健一 and 結生 sound too fuzzy. But that might be a stylistic choice, albeit a poor one). All in all, I'm happy that MERRY seems to be in such a good place and I'm really looking forward to their new album next year. (or maybe even THIS year, who knows... there's still time!) It just makes me glad being a fan.

Oh wow, life in the Merry thread. Needless to say they are my favourite band ever, the only one I've been a proper fan of. Their music just hits all the rights spots in my brain and never seems to get old. Maybe because it's pretty "old" in the first place, not tied to some fad. I'm really happy with their current direction and I feel like ever since NOnsenSe MARkeT they've gone back to being themselves so to speak. What happened with the Beautiful Freaks era is a combination of things I think. I sort of blame Kyo as well for some of their bad decisions, I mean he was credited as producer on their releases back then. Kyo and Gara weren't even speaking for years, but then Kyo reached out to him after Merry had left Victor and were in disarray, and I think him caring and wanting to help made Gara a bit too prone to his suggestions. I do think Kyo is brilliant in his own way and I appreciate him helping Merry get started on their career, but he really shouldn't be meddling in their music at this point. That's why I'm happy he started Sukekiyo, since he clearly doesn't have any time or interest in getting involved anymore. Thank heavens for that! It's not all his fault though. From what I've read in interviews, the members were well aware that they'll never be able to outdo the brilliance of their eary compositions, so that's why they were trying to find a new direction, but it didn't really work out. Heijitsu no Onna is the product of realising you should stick to what you're good at. The period around the switch to Free-Will was also a generally miserable time for them. They didn't particularly want to join Free-Will, the fans absolutely hated it, Gara was having constant problems with his back, people close to them were dying and just when things started looking up, Tetsu broke his neck and was out for years. It's not like BF is even close to unlistenable, the basic song-writing is still there, but the arrangements are just too simple and the sound all muddled and boring. Merry is not the kind of band who should be sending their tracks to Sweden or where ever to be finished either. It's of no benefit to them. I think they sound better than ever live at the moment. At least based on the two lives they've already broadcast on nicovideo this year. They were pretty stellar. The only song Gara struggles with is the A-side of Heijitsu no Onna, but it's no wonder, since it goes so high. Thankfully the B-side version is made for lives. In case someone didn't know, they're broadcasting their 15th anniversary White Sheep/Black Sheep live tomorrow, as in 16 hours, so don't miss out! Put it on timeshift beforehand, if you don't have time to watch live or pay the 540 yen for premium membership. Epic acoustic versions to be expected. http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv280746643 BTW, I noticed the other day that someone had upped the entire nico live this summer on Youtube . The acoustic versions of Makka na Aoi Haru and Happy Life are so good!

best trash I've ever heard Yuuki's voice <333 Okuri Hi sounds soo beautiful but Im mostly excited for Type B, Labyrinth in special

yo did Nihit always not follow Kai and 39 on twitter or is that new 👀🔎

This man has been on the scene for like a decade and still only knows how to make 4 different songs

if u were ever wondering what the worst song of the year was....here u go

the issue is moreso that overseas/digital success doesn't really equate to financial gain or success with the "core" fan, the fans who attend shows. it makes sense after all: if you're attending lives, you buy the tickets (maybe more than one), depending on things you might be negotiating and working with the fans from other bands for spots/ticket purchases/etc, you buy the merch and plaster it everywhere, you develop the band's "culture" like the furi (whether making it or participating in it), you buy the CDs etc. etc. etc. etc. and you use SNS to talk about all of these things. because of this the live-attending fans can be dismissive of net gya/ongen gya (girls who buy CDs but don't come to shows) as ~not real fans~ which is obviously dumb as hell but the fans that go to lives tend to be the $$$ and can very much get all Regina George about it. having a lot of net/ongen/foreign fans isn't bad at all but if you can't match them with bodies at shows, it won't necessarily endear you to event organizers etc. in the same way... and people will shitpost about you.

their kaisan oshirase blog tweet got like 300 retweets, which seems pretty low i think even more flop bands got more attention on theirs LOL. more people are inclined to tweet members' selfies rather than to spread their disbanding notice, so this is kind of hilarious. even for a band with mostly netgya i don't think anyone cares about their music LOLOL. this is why u dont fill ur band with hotties cuz it'll flop they would have flopped anyway but thats none of my business cuz they suck wink wink

Hello, I'm Yuutsu, live in Poland. I love vkei bands especially Malisend, The Gallo, ZigZag and Vexent. My hobby is not only Japanese but also art and calligraphy. Feel free to message me ^^

be nice then , 'cause so far.... Then about that, I think you misunderstood some of the opinions of so called people who are claiming they are good fans It is 100% obivous that bands get NOTHING from the CDs that are sold on auctions, and get almost nothing from the CDs they sell on shops. It's a fact, whoever thinks the opposite need to read some articles about VK and stuff. It is also a fact that a fan in Japan, and a fan oversea are clearly not the same AT ALL. JP girls buy god knows how much copies of each CDs, to get all the privileges possible, they go to every lives of the bands they love, buy tons of chekis, go to instores, some "date" bandmen etc, and when the band stops activity they sell everything on auctions 'cause they are pissed off, that's what I'd call a normal "real" JP fan. Saying they are crazy, they are spending too much money etc, is our own judgments. That's just how it goes in Japan (maybe happens too oversea for some artists, idk, not paying that much attention to that here) Being a fan of a band oversea is SO different from that, you obviously can't go to lives, instores, etc, or at least 3/4 of us can't. Everything you do oversea means NOTHING to the band itself, they probably don't even know/care about oversea fans, so what you do as a fan oversea is just buy CDs/DVDs (regular and live limited releases) for yourself, to enjoy their music as much as possible, and thinking buying a CD here is supporting the band is a complete mistake, it doesn't, it just supports you pride of owning their music, and supports also your joy of listening to them, that's all. Saying spending 100$/€ on a live limited release is stupid is, once again, your own judgment, people can agree or not, I tend to agree with that. Those are two different concepts of fans, as long as people udnerstand those, they're good. I'm probably not 100% accurate on this, that's the way I think it is for me at least So yea for once, I'd agree with you @emmnythere's always someone above you, especially if you are oversea, nobody in here can compete with gyas, and gyas probably can't compete with some others Japanese fans, that are more hardcore than they already are (if that is possible)

@*littlelambOh no, your posts were very helpful and not cringey at all! There was this one about Gara's radio dorama that still makes my day any time I think about it. (If you remember that, would you happen to have a link to the actual recording still?) By the way, recently made subtitles for the BURST EP DVD concert, the translation a mix of my imperfect efforts, mitsu's and Dely's (Russian) translations. If it could be useful to anyone, here (video here).

Haha, I cringe just thinking about my old posts and even more so someone reading them now, but I'm glad if they've been helpful! And no need to thank me, Merry is pretty easy to love. It is almost unreal that they are still going after all they've been through and it just shows how dedicated they are and how much they love their band. It's not like they even have a big fanbase as in a monetary incentive to keep going, pretty sure they're broke most of the time. The fact that they're still making music and letting me watch them live every now and then from my sofa for a nominal fee is something I will never take for granted. They are special! As for the lives, "better than ever" may have been a slight overstatement, more like better than for the past 6 years. The BURST EP DVD is still my all time favourite. That Gekisei! Must've listened to it 50 times at least.

https://mega.nz/#!nQwXzIIb!-3YPIjy722yO3iYZw8QkV67Fvc8cR-04Cyjd5OcqkmI Too sleepy to make a topic, but y'all can do what ya want with it.

Last night's set list @ Ikebukuro RUIDO K3 Que sera! sera! is so much fun!!! :DDD I mean all their songs are fun live, but yeah. haha (Que sera! sera! is the towel song) Also, Ryo looked DAMN good lol We must've looked like we were having a really good time cos all of them were commenting on how much fun the crowd was having and how happy they were to see our smiling faces etc Also, Yukia cut his bangs! lol <3 AND! I got to be saizen for the first time!! yay!! <3333 They'll be in Nagoya (11/11 @ Nagyoa ell.SIZE) and Osaka (11/12 @ Nishi Tenma LIVEHOUSE D') next!! Tra's 2nd one-man is coming up on the 25th too!! <33

That's a nice news, pity that probably won't be able to hear this like the previous one. Anyway the title of the single is: 碧落の暁り (ヘキラクノサトリ) Tracklist: 1) 碧落の暁り 2) 鴉食 Whoever will be able to get this, good luck.

Oh yesss littlelamb! <3 Sorry for the over-familiarity, ever since I fell for Merry and started looking up things on them I've just happened on so many old posts by you around the internet. Just thank you for loving them, ok? The way I remember that interview, Kyo and Gara were still speaking, just not about music. May be mistranslation or just information getting corrupted along the way, shouldn't really matter now. I agree, it is miraculous how Merry survived everything and... do I have the right to say I am proud with them, or at least proud of being their fan? Because I am. I also love NO SMART, there's just so much humanity and integrity to that album. [ @midi:netteNah, I loved Happy Life too. Straightforward songs like that are also needed, and the message is just right. Though my favorite song on the single is 臆病者の眠り方 by far.] I also believe Merry can still grow. So many new songs by Nero and Tetsu! And they did eventually get better at writing songs out of their mold. Time will show on that one. Still about the lives, I may be misjudging here. I do feel Gara's voice hasn't been at his strongest (even as his control is stellar), but I have been watching the '09 concerts a lot recently, so that may be setting the bar too high and screwing my perspective. The fact that we are talking about a niconico recording (and a crappy rip in the case of the last DVD, as I can't afford to buy it at this point) isn't helping. I really hope you are right, as it is something I've been worried about - at this point I have reason to believe they can survive anything else. So hyped up for tomorrow!

I love the effects by Moon Light Down & the 'Black Night Kiss' Part so much.

idk but i thoroughly enjoyed the entire live. every song sounded fresh and new and i really loved yuuki's voice. definitely buying the singles. at first i decided against it because i had a feeling initial'L would slightly disappoint but BOI THEY SURPASSED ALL MY EXPECTATIONS, NOW TAKE MY MONEY BITCHES

i mean the transition from Memento Mori -> Kuroyuri to Kage actually was an increase in quality just overall so it's not like it's totally impossible for shitcore to rise from the ashes

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've been on any kind of forum, so I thought it'd be best to introduce myself. Name's Huniefoxx, I'm an young English girl with a strong interest in Japanese culture. I've loved music for years, and discovered Vkei a couple years ago through the GazettE. I'm a Jpop fan as well, except much, much less. As for bands, I love Nocturnal Bloodlust, Dadaroma, Kiryu, and basically any band that can scream well. Other than Dir En Grey. When I'm not getting yelled at for blasting metal out too loud, I like writing stories and playing games. I sold my soul to Mystic Messenger. Thank you for reading, and don't hesitate to ask me anything!

bring the hate, its a Lycaon thread What is trash is, VK bands fronting like they are brutal when their harsh sucks, and are just trying coping the west! sorry mom

waking up at 5AM for Initial'L was the BEST DECISION I EVER DAMN MADE. everything about that live i LOVED

i don't even listen to meteoroid,but such news makes me afraid of visiting this site and see something like: "kuroyuri to kage will disband" "dezert will disband" "archemi will disband" "the gallo will disband" "gossip will disband" and many others...these bands are my life,but we can always expect shit like this,unfortunately

lynch. announced they'll be performing at COUNTDOWN JAPAN, a pretty major multi-genre event. i'm gonna be honest i'm worried, the only other visual act is Golden Bomber.......... otherwise we're just midway through the tour for THE NITES OF AVANTGARDE, i'll just aggregate the good stuff in one place for anyone who wants to know instagram live videos 10.20 Osaka - THE OUTRAGE SEXUALITY 10.20 Osaka - KILLING CUNT 10.22 Kagoshima - EVIDENCE 10.22 Kagoshima - NEEDLEZ 10.23 Fukuoka - DAMNED 10.26 Kyoto - F.A.K.E. 10.29 Takamatsu - KILLING CUNT 10.29 Takamatsu - NEEDLEZ 10.30 Hiroshima - DAMNED (Halloween outfits) 11.03 Hamamatsu - Happy 42nd Birthday Reo 11.04 Yokohama - EVIDENCE 11.04 Yokohama -PLEDGE Halloween Costumes (Hazuki as TDK Joker, Reo as Brandon Lee from The Crow, Yusuke as a spooky scary skeleton, Akinori as Rob Zombie!, Asanao as a Killer Clown, staff as whore grab bag)

I can not wait to see your new works!! <3

how many walmart mejibrays do we need

It here

R指定 new maxi single "-SHAMBARA-" will be released on 2016/12/21 (2 TYPE). limited edition (1,944yen) will include CD+DVD (including "-SHAMBARA-" PV & PV making), and regular edition (1,296yen) will include CD only. [CD track list] 01.-SHAMBARA- 02.インザコンクリート(in the concrete)

heavy? its pretty soft its more heavy rock with bit of metal inside than real pure metal. which I hate. if I hear metal I want metal 3～5min long. nothing soft or lesser wild inside. really cut of clean singing and I would have liked it maybe. I dig deviloof more. lol.

God Bless Lycaon Threads <3

its still wild to me how fucking crazy good that live dvd that came out around the same time as the BURST EP is, that one's like... unreal

Probably I was expecting more... but i have mixed feelings on this track... not so bad but neither a masterpiece worth of Lycaon... the only question is... why Yuuki abused so much with the auto-tune? By the way I want to hear the rest of the release for a better critic...

oh i remember why i left here, douchnozzles. byeeeeeeeee.

God has returned. (As in Yuuki) Bitches, hot damn, Initial'L for the win.

Ohh I love it! Also I'm experiencing major hair jealousy lol Also damn they are selling so many tshirt bundles wth how am I supposed to choose just one...

got my alarm set for 4:48 AM for the initial'L livestream. THEY'D BETTER SLAY BECAUSE MY HYPE IS SO HIGH

MERRY 15th anniversary live, "Greatest Hits or Not Greatest Hits ～Special 2night 【白い羊】【黒い羊】～” will be broadcast live on Nico Nico Douga http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv280746643