Furu Anime Panikku

Finally a post in a long time.

This post is not related to anime/figurines, but I decided that I should blog about my favourite Jrock band anyway.

I first was exposed to BUMP OF CHICKEN’s music last year. After watching one of the One Piece movies(cant remember which one), I was addicted to the ending theme. I went around searching for the song,and found out that it was named “sailing day”. Downloaded it from kaizoku fansub and before I realised it, it became the song on my replay list. I can’t count how many times I have listened to it since then.

Then, I decided to search for the artiste of “sailing day” on a Jmusic torrent website and found out that the artiste was a Jrock band named BUMP OF CHICKEN. At that time, there was a well-seeded torrent of BoC’s complete discography, so i decided to give it a try.

プラネタリウム

At the start, I only listened to their 1st album, Flame Vein. The songs were good, especially ガラスのブルース　and とっておきの唄. Then, I went on to the other albums and before I knew it, I was hooked. My mp3 player would often have BoC songs on the now playing list. When I went to Japan last year in December, it was BoC’s songs which accompanied me on the Shinkansen. Of course, without saying, I bought all the BoC albums as well as a few singles while I was there,together with a luggage + box of figurines(lol).

I almost forgot to introduce the members of the band.

Top to bottom : Fujiwara Motoo(Composer/Lyricist/Vocalist/Guitarist), Masukawa Hiroaki (Guitarist), Naoi Yoshifumi (Bassist) and Masu Hideo (D

BoC has played quite a part in me becoming a otaku,although a Jrock band would seem to have totally no connection with anime. One of their songs アルエ was dedicated to Ayanami Rei of the anime series Evangelion. I obtained the series after looking at the translation of the lyrics,which seemed quite interesting. Of course, I turned out to be more of a fanboy of Rei than of Asuka(I so want to be able to afford the 1/2.5 Rei Figurine). It was only after I watched Evangelion that I began watching anime intensively.

More BoC

One might ask: Why do you like BoC? My answer would be : I just like it. Doesn’t really answer the question,right? Well, I myself am not sure why I like BoC so much. I think their style must have really captivated me. Although BoC is under the genre of hardcore Jrock(I don’t know why they are categorised under that), their music seems to be somewhere on the lighter edge of Jrock. Some people might say that Jrock must be like bands that dress up in Gothic attire and stuff, screaming their voices off, but I never liked those kind of bands. It’s like the saying goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and BoC’s music is like a beautiful girl to me. The lyrics of the songs are superb, all thanks to Fujiwara-san. Every song tells a unique story. I even once used the translated lyrics of the song K, in an examination essay. The tunes of the songs are really simple,yet attractive. Maybe that’s what made me like BoC so much. I seem to like songs with simple tunes and poetic yet simple meaningful lyrics.

涙のふるさと

BoC was also what exposed my to Jpop and other Jrock bands, like Asian Kungfu Generation, which I am also a fan of.

My favourite songs by BoC? I like all of them,with every song being unique. If i had to list them, I would be listing their entire discography.Also, another thing worth mentioning is their hidden bonus track in every album. Those tracks are really fun.

I really hope that I will be able to go to a live BoC concert to watch them perform at least once. I read that Fujiwara-san’s voice is even better live. Too bad that they dont have any concerts in Singapore. I doubt they have much of a fanbase here anyway. When i tell people i listen to Bump of Chicken,they will start laughing and say “what the hell is that” or “haha what a stupid name”. Also Singaporeans are stingy and not willing to fork out money to buy import Japanese Cds. Another reason for me to work hard so that I can fulfill my ultimate goal : To study,work and live in the land of the rising sun.

On a final note:

BUMP OF CHICKEN 万歳！！！