Koda Kumi - Dejavu Live Tour 2011

The third post in a row on yet another fabulous release from a Japanese artiste - Koda Kumi! This time, we'll be looking at her Dejavu Live Tour 2011 which ran Japan-wide last year despite the unfortunate 3/11 disaster that crippled the country.

Received this DVD along with ayumi hamasaki's 13th studio album - Party Queen. The Dejavu Live Tour may be one of her smaller scale tours considering that this time round, she performed in small theater halls instead of the grand arenas - probably due to the disaster. But nevertheless, boy did she deliver a fierce show!

"Why won't you come with me to my Dejavu~"

I know that sentence (taken from the introduction to the album) will make English teachers cringe but... Let's go!

Got myself the Hong Kong press version of the DVD from YesAsia and of course, it didn't cost an arm and a leg as compared to the Japanese press of the exact same thing. The quality is exactly and same and it still looks stunning. From the looks of it, she definitely kept her theme consistent with her studio album (unboxed/reviewed here) and I ain't complaining because it looks gorgeous!

A close up on the round sticker which explains that this box comes with 2 DVDs - one featuring the actual concert and the second one featuring over 70 minutes of "making of"s as well as the special videos played during the actual concert itself. Think they included those so that you can hold your own concert as well if you project those as a backdrop on a huge screen - if you can find one. 

The first press of the tour DVD comes in a cardboard slipcase sleeve and here's a clearer view of it minus the ugly plastic wrapper jailing our Pop Diva away. Loving the whole classic Kumi-sultry look and her hair is so cool! They could have done a better job with the title though - love the embossing effect but the colors are a little questionable.

The back of the cardboard slipcase sleeve with yet another photo of Miss Photogenic. I hope she can maintain her figure even after her pregnancy so she will continue to deliver stunning photos after stunning photos. Like most of her DVDs, the track list runs on the left of the packaging neatly. Well, unlike Party Queen, yellow works well here, no?

Details on the spine. Hmmm... On solid black, the effect actually looks pretty good. Perhaps it didn't work as well on the front cover because there were too many distractions and we don't need more distracting colors to rob our attention away from Koda Kumi.

Ta da~ Instead of just simply recycling the exact photo used on the slipcase, they took another one for the DVD casing beneath the cardboard case. This time, we see more of her face and for some weird reason, she looks like a teacher in that photo. Probably because of her hair. Who would mind having a teacher as beautiful as her, yes? :P I would make her sing in class instead of teach. :P

"You don't know~ You don't know~ How beautiful you are~~~" Again, the bad color choices of the font came back to haunt us. I think they could do away with just a solid color to make the whole look more classy and sleek as opposed to using these cheap gradients.

The track list is reinforced on the insides as well for the convenience of people who watch DVDs like me - slipcase at one end of the room and the DVD case on the other. I'm not the neatest person, okay~ I think the plastic DVD case is good enough to stand alone on the shelves of any CD store even without the slipcase. But the slipcase is definitely a bonus, don't you think?

When you open up the DVD case, you are greeted with 2 DVDs (duh) and a photo booklet. The DVDs come in Gold (the concert itself) and Silver (the making of). Nothing too special about it considering that the design is simple. Actually, there are not many physical CD designs that really WOW me these days. There used to be some in the past... Maybe when I'm too free or something, I shall go review those since they are sitting on my shelf collecting dust anyway...

Hello Lion! Phantom of the Gradient strikes back again! Not that I'm against gradients but I don't think it's appropriate here, yes? Anyway, here's the photo booklet for the Dejavu concert DVD. No lyrics... I wonder why...

The track list on the first page of the booklet. Well, since they didn't put lyrics inside, I don't see why they want to repeat the obvious again in the lyric booklet. Probably just to fill up that empty space? I don't know... What do y'all think?

I must say, the costumes of this tour are all extremely gorgeous! She opened the show wearing something like a blue oversized cape looking dress with red visors, almost Gaga-inspired and suddenly, she transformed herself into this modern Mad Hatter character in this striped look. Even though the stage is small, she still managed to blow my socks off with her performance.

I think girls will kill for this dress! I think it's one of the nicest costumes in the entire show! Loving how the skirt is done~ Well, even though this time round, I would say that her concert is a little disjointed because parts do not flow as well as they should and unlike her UNIVERSE or FANTASIA concerts, this one did not really flow a storyline so it was a little confusing for me but still, her singing rocks.

The cutesy-cutesy part of her concert. Lovely energy and definitely adorable look.

To end of this post, I shall take a photo of the DVD concert along with the album itself. See the ties in the theme? And notice that they used a solid silver color for the title on the album but chose to do the cheap gradient thing on the DVD jacket? They should have just stuck to the solid silver for that elegant look. Nevertheless, the album and the concert are still amazing~ Now, I just hope that she would do a JAPONESQUE tour after she's done giving birth and recovering because that album is packed with awesome songs and I can't wait to see her perform those in an arena (no small theaters please~).

And in case y'all want to know what I got for my Mini Japan toy from YesAsia, I got a bread keychain that's so soft and smells like coffee! I hung it on my shelf so I can smell it and squish it every now and then because it's so adorable! 

In case you don't know, if you buy 2 eligible Japanese CD or DVD from YesAsia, you get to pick a free Mini Japan toy. Even though they are randomly picked for you (i.e. you do not get to choose exactly what you want but you get to pick which machine your toy comes from), it's always surprising to open up your shipment to see what freebie you got. Really cool~

Well, that's the end of this entry. I hope you enjoy the photos, yes? I'm still waiting for my next shipment to arrive and it consists of 2 more DVD concerts from ayumi hamasaki and Namie Amuro. So excited! Not only do I get things to photograph and write about, I get concerts to watch. :D

Till next time y'all!!

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Koda Kumi - JAPONESQUE (CD+2DVD)

Last week was a week of mails. When I came back home on Friday, I have stacks of parcels and a couple of letters on my table. Amongst the pile is this A4 box which surprised me. I know that I ordered a Koda Kumi 10th Anniversary FANTASIA in TOYKO DOME and her latest album but I have no clue why the box was so big because it was only 2 small items.

Sure enough. When I opened the box, I was greeted with the FANTASIA DVD but there was something else inside and it wasn't scary - thank goodness. Here's what I saw...

TA DA! I know that I've ordered Koda Kumi's latest studio album - JAPONESQUE but I did not know that it was to be packaged like this. The first press of the Hong Kong version which I got came with an A4 plastic file! Weeee~~ Surprise surprise! Other than the A4 file, the album is packaged in a really cool digipak. This has to be one of the best packagings in my collection so far.

My second avex file after ayumi hamasaki's FIVE, also the Hong Kong press bought from YesAsia! Just have to show it off~ In case y'all didn't know, Koda Kumi is pregnant and I think she did this creative for her album to show of her slim body before she gets out of shape with a baby in her tummy. Hopefully she doesn't stay out of shape for too long because that would ruin her signature, no?

The back of the plastic file with the title of the album. I think JAPONESQUE is pronounced like "Japanese", yes? The logo representing the album is also interesting - looks like some emblem that came out from Power Rangers or something. But again, Power Rangers originated from Japan so I guess that's fair...

To save my wallet, I got the Hong Kong version of the album from YesAsia. JAPONESQUE is Koda Kumi's 10th studio album and was released in January 25, 2012 in Japan. The version you see here is the CD+2DVD but there are also other versions like the limited edition one (which you can click here to see - presented to you by Meatpao, one of the bloggers I read) and the CD-only version as well as the CD+DVD version.

Here's a close up of Koda Kumi's thigh the sticker on the album. Basically, it introduces the album and describes the content roughly. The CD+2DVD version contains the album's CD as well as 2 DVDs - one containing 17 music videos of the tracks in this album (just like what they did for KINGDOM) and the other DVD featuring some of her live performances as well as the CMs of her previous studio albums. Interesting stuff.

The back of the digipak with the obi on. The Hong Kong press' obi isn't that visually appealing with all the Chinese words on it but it does a pretty good job in terms of informing the buyer of what's inside the box. Here, you get to see the screen grabs of the music videos as well as more information that's left out from the tiny sticker you see at the front.

I love the creative of this album - the use of really "Japanese" props and costume with a modern Koda Kumi interpretation. It's like high fashion meets music! Had to take a photo of the album without the obi and the sticker because it looks so much better.

Here's the back of the digipak with her in another pose. This album is filled with tonnes of really good photos - thanks to the wonderful creative and photographer, and I think it's really a masterpiece. With the obi removed, the back reveals the track list neatly printed on the side. Clean and clear.

Just to give you an idea of how thick the digipak is - it's slightly thinner than a VCR tape. The quality of the digipak is good - made of hard cardboard, it's pretty sturdy and good to hold.

The first thing you see when you open the lid is a close up of Kumi in a beauty shot on the right and the lyric booket on the left, slotted away at the back of the cover.

Behind the beauty shot is where the discs are stored. Unlike the recent digipaks which can't be bothered whether the discs are kept properly or not, this packaging makes sure that your discs are kept properly and scratch free in these jewel casings inside the digipak. This is how digipaks should be like! Not those slot-your-disc-into-a-pocket thing~

The design on the disc is pretty elaborate as they made use of motifs ranging from Japanese styled objects and patterns to a poker card Queen? Look closely in the photo - above Koda Kumi's name. I swear that's the Queen from the poker cards, no? A little out of place if you look closely but other than that, the CD looks good.

Now, let's turn our attention to the lyric booklet that looks equally amazing even though Kumi is not on it.

As you might have guessed, the lyric booklet is packed with lots of stunning pictures as well. The first one that you see here is also cover-quality. In fact, all the photos are cover-quality throughout the entire production. I hope ayumi releases something like this soon though - her latest album's cover "Party queen" doesn't look promising to me.

Another gorgeous photo! I'm not even going to go into how the lyrics are well laid out because the photos just snatch all your attention away.

I WANT THOSE PANTS! But I think I'm too short to wear those. But again, I don't think she's very tall either considering that she's Asian like me. :P Kumi is so versatile, no? She can do sexy and masculine and fierce and everything~

This shall be the last photo of this entry even though there are so many more photos that I would love to share with y'all but I would rather you go buy the album to experience the beautiful packaging for yourself. This album is definitely one of the best packaged one so far because it ticks everything that I'm looking for - creative and unique packaging, stunning photos, a place to store your CDs without scratching them and of course, free gifts!


Okay. That's all I have for you after typing on this entry and doing all sorts of random stuff for over 2 hours. The next few weeks will be busy for me (in fact, it's been pretty packed these weeks) so I guess I will have to go on hiatus again from blogging but rest assured I will continue come April because at that point, I will be pretty free~

Can't wait for June 6~ Freedom is awaiting...

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Koda Kumi 10th Anniversary FANTASIA in TOKYO DOME

Well I know this is definitely a late purchase because I can't find this DVD anywhere on the shelves of any Singapore CD stores! And I didn't want to just get this one alone from YesAsia because the shipping fees cost an arm and a leg. But anyway, I've finally gotten my hands on Koda Kumi 10th Anniversary FANTASIA in TOKYO DOME!

This concert is to commemorate Kumi's 10th anniversary and was performed at Tokyo Dome. Well according to the sources (considering that I've only watched like a couple of Koda Kumi concerts on DVD), the stage in FANTASIA is bigger and better than her previous concerts. Talk about celebrating with a bang, yes? In addition, this concert was not a tour so she only did it once. So exclusive, no?

As usual, even before I actually watched my DVDs, I take pictures of them and rant about their packagings and anything else I deem worthy/unworthy. Well, let's get the ball rollin' for this one!!

This spread caused me tons of wasted time, no thanks to Photoshop for being so anal about colors. Some settings messed up the colors during saving and I spent hours trying to remedy it just so that y'all get nice looking things to look at. So dedicated and shameless of me, no?

Back to Koda Kumi's 10th anniversary concert DVD. Here's the cover and you'll have to agree that this is probably SIMPLEST and sleek looking cover ever! I love how she photographs here because she is so relaxed even with mind in her face. The fonts on the cover are embedded gold and it keeps the whole look really simple but royal.

I wonder when will they realize that DVD region code is nothing but a huge pain in the puwet. As usual, in order for me to enjoy my DVDs without having to fumble with region locked devices, for instance my laptop and PS3, I have to get the Hong Kong press. But even if I have region free devices, the Hong Kong press is the way to go considering that it's so much cheaper than the Japanese counterparts. Here's the sticker on the Hong Kong press DVD and it roughly translates to... something to do with 46 songs of Kumi and it also includes the making of the concert.

The back of the casing is not that attractive though. Here we have the track list of the concert - and it doesn't suggest anything about 46 songs though. Maybe I read the Chinese character wrongly but anyway... I like how the fonts are clear and easy to read but her face is... I don't really understand her face. It looks gentle but you can tell that she seem to be struggling to keep her eyes open. Probably from all the wind. Not liking the photo.

In case y'all want a clearer view of the track list. Weeee~~ She started the concert with the very first song that got me listening to her songs - Butterfly! Before I listened to Koda Kumi, I used to think that she's slutty because of the image she portrays but after listening to Butterfly, I kinda fell in love with her raw voice. Then, I went on to get her KINGDOM album and fell in love with the way she does ballads! Really amazing singer she is!

Let's look at the insides now. This concert comes in 2 DVDs with the first disc being the main concert while the second being the encore plus the extra bonus stuff. It also comes with a booklet of photos. Yes - there are no lyrics this time round. Saving on paper perhaps?

A close up of the simplistic design of the disc.

Here's the booklet included inside this set. Reminds me of KINGDOM somehow - the brown tone and the very royal feel.

Well personally, I think there's nothing much to be fascinated about with this booklet because it basically just contain screen grabs of the concert to show off the really gorgeous looks of Kumi and her wardrobe but other than that, there's nothing more to it. It's not like there are that many photos inside as well - only a couple of pages.

Another one of the many looks in this 10th anniversary concert. Looking through the booklet, I realized that her hair changed again and again. I wonder how many wigs she has and which look is actually her real hair. Nowadays, fake hair look so real it's so hard to tell apart and it's really confusing to me. But so long as the artistes sing wonderfully, I don't really care if they have hair or not. :)

Well, that's all I have for FANTASIA. Can't wait to actually have time to watch it because judging from the photos and track list, the concert sure looks promising. Anyway, stay tuned tomorrow for yet another Koda Kumi release - her latest album "JAPONESQUE" gets reviewed right here on wordshutter!! :) 

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Koda Kumi - Dejavu

And to think that I actually thought that the chances of me getting my albums that I bought off YesAsia was quite slim but no! The 2 albums I ordered had finally arrived! In this post, I shall feature Koda Kumi's latest studio album Dejavu.

Dejavu has been out for quite some time already. In fact, it was out in Japan on March 2, 2011 and it's already May right now! That's because I didn't get the Japanese version because it's so costly (but I slightly regret it now because the first press from CDJapan came with a calendar but anyway~) and because I wanted the Code 3 DVD so that my PS3 can read it.


Haven't got the chance to listen to it but I shall post the pictures of this album here anyway but before that...

Look at what I got this time from YesAsia - Boo from Super Mario! This little toy with wheels is a free gift that YesAsia gave me when I purchased 2 or more Japanese CDs from their online store. For more information, do visit my previous blog via the "reads" section on the right of this blog on my review of CDJapan and YesAsia. More details there!!

The Hong Kong press CD+2DVD press of Koda Kumi's latest studio album - Dejavu! Loving the cover because of all the details and props. What I don't really like about Hong Kong presses though are that the stickers are not in Japanese but other than that, all the rest of the things are more or less the same. Besides, it doesn't matter what version you get so long as you support the artiste by purchasing LEGAL, ORIGINAL goods.

The back of the album. There's the CD featuring 15 tracks including "Lollipop" from her "Gossip Candy" single, "POP DIVA" from her well, "POP DIVA" single and of course, "好きで、好きで、好きで。" It also comes with the promotional video DVD, just like most Japanese albums and the first press version comes with a Live concert - the Dream music park concert! Don't think I will have the time to watch these DVDs though but when I do, I'll definitely have something to keep myself busy!

The album without the plastic covering and obi. In case you're wondering (because you haven't been to my blog before), I took all of these pictures by myself and edited them by myself so do not take them and claim them as your own or use them on your sites without permission. Once, I had someone use my photo on a forum and good thing, people weren't stupid to track it back to my blog. Good~ Free publicity but I don't really need that, thank you very much.

When you open up the cover, you are greeted with 3 discs - CD on the left and DVDs on the right. Oh how I wish I can pause time right now to go watch all these DVDs but sadly, time is ticking and there's nothing I can do about it. :( Stupid army - time waster!

Close up on the CD - design inspired by a grandfather clock. Clever, no?

This is the lyric booklet! I say~ The cover of the booklet is good enough to of an album art itself (probably like an instrumental album). I wonder where they found that clock though because it's so cool!

Koda Kumi gracing the first pages of the lyric booklet with the track lists of all the discs printed on the right. Somehow, her hair and her look reminds me of ayumi's "Rock 'n' Roll Circus" photo shoots because the artistic direction was also the London feel - UK flag, red hat, whatnots. Coincidence? Hmmmm~ More suspicious though~ Or maybe avex has something up its sleeves... Even having said that though, Kumi looks good here!!

Slightly controversial photo of her kissing a statue. Well, it isn't the first time we see her kissing something/someone now, right? :) Hey~ At least she is brave okay - to express herself!

Speaking of controversial, do you know that Lady Gaga's new song "Judas" is banned in Singapore?! That angers me! It's just a song - a form of artistic output and honestly, I don't see what's so offensive about that song that it has to be banned in Singapore. Banned because of religious thingies? OUTRAGEOUS I SAY! They better not censor any part of her album when it's released because I would be damn pissed if they did! Stupid MDA.

Koda Kumi looking like a doll. Get her album to view the other gorgeous photos inside! It's a pity she did not release a photo album alongside with this album because there are so many things that she can do with these props.


Well, that's all I have for Koda Kumi's album - Dejavu. Overall, I like the photos and I believe (I hope) that the album is good because of the good singles that she released prior to this production. Plus, the theme seems very English so I'm having high expectations for the songs. Anyhow, anything is better than UNIVERSE so... :P On top of that, the release of the album with the concert is clever because it makes the album even more worth the money.



Be sure to stay tuned for the next album that came along with this shipment - Do As Infinity's 8th studio album, conveniently titled "EIGHT". The blog post should be out next week (unless I'm happy, I might push forward the publishing date. :D)

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