#fotw special final

[putschki1969]

hi hi! I've been listening to tons of Kalafina again lately and it amazes me how you're still keeping up with all the girls more than a decade after you've made the blog! the longest my interests lasted was 3 years xD so I just wanted to commend you for that and thank you for your work! I wanna ask is there any song you wanted them to perform more and is there a particular live that's your fave? I personally can't get enough of ksnsw and 9+one live is their most amazing one for me!

Hello there lovely anon!!

Haha😅Once I'm hyperfixated on something, I'm usually committed for life (in varying intensity). I tend to not get tired of consuming the same media over and over again so there's typically no need for me to move on and find new content to engage with.

You are very welcome 😊I'm always happy to spread the ✨KALAFINA LOVE✨

Oh, what a great question! Generally speaking, I don't have too many complaints in that regard. They performed most of my faves quite frequently so we got several solid audio/video recordings of them. However, I am quite sad about "Gloria", "Utsukushisa", "Yasashii Uta" and "Tombo" because those are the only full-length songs out of their entire discography which are not featured in any of Kalafina's official live video releases. Speaking of "Yasashii Uta", I am utterly heartbroken that there has never been a video release for any of their Acoustic/Christmas Lives. I also wouldn't mind having more recordings of songs like "sapphire", "Hokage" or "sandpiper" but I don't wanna seem greedy, I am honestly super happy with the existing performances.

As for my favourite lives, I am probably most attached to their "FOTW Special Final" and "10th Anniversary Live" since they were the first and last proper Kalafina concerts I had the privilege to attend. Truly the most amazing experiences ever. But really, it's very hard for me to choose a definitive favourite because there is so much to love about all of their home video releases. If push comes to shove I think I'd have to go with their "After Eden Live". I always thought it was pretty much flawless.

I can 100% relate to your feelings regarding KSnSnw. It's one of my all-time favourite Kalafina songs. Watching the music video back in 2010 was the thing that first got me interested in the group. My inner goth felt immediately drawn to the gorgeous aesthetics and all the angst/dramatics.

[bearmemesreviews]

FotW: SDMI - In Fear of the Phantom

Welcome back to Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated, and now we're getting into a problem many reboots and adaptions face - what happens when you try something different. Today's episode isn't really that special, serving as a bridging point between the next stint of episodes focused on the gang's love lives.

Except for featuring the Hex Girls of course.

Not to overshadow the main villain, which would be extra funny considering their backstory, but come on that's what y'all are here for.

Yeah, they got a bit of a redesign since their last few appearances in the two billion direct to DVD films. Fans DID NOT like this, and in a later episode they had to actually address the backlash while also scrapping these outfits for the original ones. They also steal Luna and Dusk's hair dye and gave Thorn's highlights a diminished role.

My personal opinion? Eh, I would've preferred a middle ground between the two, but for reboots I encourage designers to go all out since it's their own thing. So for Mystery Incorporated I would've either kept the redesigns or gave them completely brand new looks a second time. The OGs have a more cohesive aesthetic, but I like how MI experiments by giving each girl their own Alt style. It's probably Dusk who could probably use a new outfit though, since her Tank Girl getup doesn't mesh as well as Thorn's "Pagan School Girl" and Luna's "Lesbian Thespian" outfits do. Actually, maybe one of those Scene Kid reconstructions of School Uniforms would've worked better?

Oh yeah, this nerd.

Backstory: Like most lesbians Velma is a massive fan of The Hex Girls, snagging front row tickets for the Scooby Gang just in time for them to witness a "Phantom" try to murder Thorn on stage. As with every mystery the gang decide to take it upon themselves to do the cop's job to keep the concert going while protecting the band.

This leads to an exploration of the show's two main ships, Fredphe and Shoob - again, yes really.

This show is really good trust me on this.

Scooby outright calls Shaggy a cheater for going to prom with Velma instead of hanging out with him like they always do, and replaces Mathew Lillard with a wooden dummy much to Shaggy's chagrin.

Fred meanwhile comes out as nonbinary a teenage boy with emotions as he finally grasps Daphne's romantic interest in him. All thanks to an entire song written by Daphne where she uses Fred's special interest to get through to him.

Behold, one of the best songs made for a television show in history.

Before this spectacular moment of audio interposed with occasional Zelda CDI-level animation (to be fair are you even looking at the animation in the first place) we got some Phantom shenanigans. Mostly him responding to Scoob and Shag's ability to warp time and space by just setting them on fire, probably the most effective thing one these guys have attempted so far.

Design: Obviously a homage to The Phantom of the Opera, and as we go through the series, you'll start to notice a lot more homages that Wikipedia will kindly point out for you. Though you can also see a bit of Comic Supervillain in his design, so much so that he doesn't seem to fit with the show's own aesthetic. He wears a black full body suit with a gigantic, taller than his own head, Dracula collar and grim reaper-esque hood. He has a fabricated piece of his outfit that goes over his shoulders like Football Pads, but with a sleeker design as it attaches his cape to the main costume. His cape is black but its interior is lined with a sparkling holographic material.

His mask, belt, boots, and glovers are all made of golden mechanical pieces, as they actually allow him to charge up bolts of electricity to fire at the teens in our show. This tech is never explained, and he really only uses it a few times before forgetting he has these weapons at his disposal.

His mask is the best part of the outfit, legitimately cool while evoking a gas mask. It's almost like it was made out of several pieces asymmetrically stuck to each other with large bolts, like if C3PO was mangled in an accident and put back together with recolored bits of R2-D2. There are several short, cylindrical ports on his gauntlets, boots, belt, and mask that occasionally glow green.

Reveal: Shaggy, with an extensive knowledge of obscure musical groups as we'll be shown time and time again, recognized the shiny material of The Phantom's cape as belonging to a One-Hit Wonder named Fantzee Pantz. And once that's discovered it's pretty obvious that the other suspect, The Hex Girl's manager, is not the culprit as he was just as responsible for Fantzee's obscurity as THG.

No, the true culprit is the girl's songwriter, who first attempted to sabotage them through badly written songs but was thwarted by the girl's talent and popularity - So he then turned to just trying to kill them, and Daphne. He ends up taking Scoob's dummy to jail with him, but the original duo patch things up by then - letting us look back at Velma who got sidelined so badly this episode.

2/5 Goofy as hell design for a goofy character, probably the most "Villain of The Week" we've encountered so far. In fact, he'd probably fit in better in Miraculous Ladybug than this show. Not that bad otherwise, just not as impressive.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

Open Heart FotW - Jan 1 - 7, 2023

✒️= Fanfic | 📱= Text Fics/Edits | 🎨= Fanart Ⓜ️ = Mature Content 18+ | 🔥 = Explicit/NSFW 18+ 🍾 = CFWC Holidays 2022 Final Week

Bryce Lahela x M!MC

Can't Win ✒️- @mydemonsdrivealimo

Ethan Ramsey, F!MC

Parking Lot Problems ✒️- @inlocusmads

Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Better Luck Next Year ✒️🍾- @socalwriterbee

Coming to You ✒️- @tveitertotwrites

(Further) Trials & Tribulations (Series) - @utterlyinevitable Part 4✒️ Part 5 ✒️Ⓜ️ (Ethan Ramsey x F!MC x Bryce Lahela) Part 6 ✒️ Part 7 ✒️Ⓜ️ Part 8 ✒️Ⓜ️ (Ethan Ramsey x F!MC x Bryce Lahela) Part 9✒️ (Ethan Ramsey x F!MC x Bryce Lahela)

Giveaway Fic ✒️- @hopelessromantic1352

Mistletoe Magic ✒️🍾- @headoverheelsforramsey

New Year, Same Us ✒️🍾- @heauxplesslydevoted

Snowy Thoughts ✒️🍾- @genevievemd

Special Treat ✒️- @potionsprefect

Summer Romance ✒️- @liaromancewriter

What Happened in Vegas (Series) - @jerzwriter Chapter 4: We did... ✒️

Tobias Carrick x F!MC

By Chance ✒️- @jerzwriter

CFWC FotW Main List

TRR FotW Main List

[okeuphemia]

For the Kalafina Song Meme! What do you think of Koibito no Mukashigatari no Yuugure no?

KYAAAA THANK YOUUUU best song ever♥

♫ What was your first impression of it?

I first listened to it in the FOTW concert, and YOU KNOW that performace was amaaazing. So I loved it from the very beginning.

♫ How do you feel about it now?

My feelings haven’t changed a bit haha though later I listened the studio version and I didn’t like it that much. Live kalafina forever.

♫ Rate the song on a scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the best rate)!

A ten, seriously.

♫ Describe the song in one sentence!

A mysterious vibe between amazing harmonies.

♫ How does it make you feel?

Ufff it makes me wish I have seen it live (Puts I know you red my blog I envy you very much right now -with love obviously hahaha-)

♫ What do you like most about this song?

When they break the formation in the live and they start singing the second verse (2:28 into the song I think), and then when keiko does that tiny bit of choreography with her body and then resumes the singing with a very strong feeling…(3:00)

Oh and I forgot, that bit of kaladansu in the instrumental part, you can’t stop looking at them O.O

♫ What’s your least favourite part about it?

The studio version, it’s missing the cool arrangements of the instruments.

♫ Best version of the song?

Do I have to say it? :D

♫ Favourite lines in the lyrics?

きらきらと  we push, push our way朝露を残した  through the tips of grass草の穂を   where we left behindかきわけてかきわけて  the sparkling morning dewこいびとの  the beauty of昔語りのうつくしさ   a lover’s reminiscence ♫ Thoughts on the musical arrangement and the use of instruments?

Well, the studio version is simply lacking. The electric guitar, piano and percussion in the live version is just flawless.

♫ Wakana, Keiko or Hikaru? Whose vocals are most impressive in this song?

The three of them. Really, for me it’s one of those songs that you can’t just listen to one of them. Keiko’s low register fits perfectly, and Wakana and Hikaru are simply amazing. 

♫ Share something creative related to this song (picture, gif, video, artwork, poem, anecdote, headcanon, interpretation etc…knock yourself out!)

Visually, this is my favourite part:

That women knows how to use her hands god dammit. 

[hikaru9]

Round 2, lets do it :D in case you haven’t done them already: FotW „Lapis“, 9+ONE „Magia“, Blue Day „Destination Unknown“ and last but not least, the Heavenly Blue MV. Have fun xD

OMG *O* Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to write these little messages and to think about requests!

“Lapis” @ “far on the water” Special Final coming soon!

As for Kalafina "9+ONE" at Tokyo Kokusai Forum Hall A “Magia” performance, I already did a set for that. It’s here. I LOVED that performance.

Same for “destination unknown” @ Kalafina THE BEST 2015 “Blue Day”. The gifset is here.

I did some sets for “heavenly blue” but they are quite old. I surely can do something new ;) In the meanwhile -> set 1, set 2, set 3.

So, “lapis” and “heavenly blue” coming soon~

[spwitti]

Kalafina’s All Times Best Looks/Outfits Challenge ～ Hikaru’s Official Live Releases Looks

 Ok... I couldn’t choose just three and I’m not sorry at all... I’m kind of in love with everything Hikaru wears, so...

Kalafina LIVE THE BEST 2015 “Red Day / Blue Day” at Nippon Budokan ~Second Outfits~

I really like these..! That sort of military uniform vibe, all the jewels and sparkly details, the colours, the cuts... All works great. The wrist accesory on the RD one is really nice, and the white cape-like thingy with the flowers on the BD vest is really cute too! These dresses are quite similar yet so unique... everytime you see something you haven’t seen before.

Kalafina LIVE TOUR 2015~2016 “far on the water” Special FINAL ~Third Outfit~

I’m reaaally, really fond of this live and all her smiling and laughing during the MC wearing this makes it even more beautiful ^^ ..!! That creamy palette is really cute, and all the handcrafted-looking details makes this looks kind of simple yet special. Is not one of those big, bright, full of layers outfit, but it’s kind of modest. For me, it’s kind of like her regular self haha The head piece is really cute too!!

Kalafina LIVE TOUR 2015~2016 “far on the water” Special FINAL ~First Outfit~ Kalafina Arena LIVE 2016 at Nippon Budokan ~Third Outfit~ (Encore) AKA: Hikaru On Pants!!

(Yes, I know I left the 9+ONE out) Haven’t heard the first person who doesn’t like Hikaru on pants. I mean, she looks really cool and it works really well for the choreographies and the Edgy-Hikaru-Mode. These outfits are quite similar too. Short boots, shiny embrodery all over the sides of the pants and some on the upper body part as well, no sleeves on the arms and some tummy here and there.. haha The vest on the FOTW one is really nice! The long part on the back side looks really fancy and I recently noticed there’s a fringe at the bottom of the front side. Really nice too! From the arena live one, I like the different textures of the leather-ish and the translucent parts. I think these pants outfits really fit Hikaru.

Well, that’s it for this time... There’s no much to add besides how much I like Hikaru’s outfits and how happy I am that she’s still around in Twitter. I had not realised how much I missed her until that Twitcast a few days ago... It made me so happy to hear her again ^^ !!

[leebompi]

KALAFINA 27 WEEK CHALLENGE

Week 11 - Favourite Live Performances…

The list will keep on changing but these are the live performances I am currently hooked to :-

1. Oblivious - Seventh Heaven DVD live footage.

2. Kimi ga hikari ni kaete iku - Seventh Heaven DVD live footage

3. Hoshi no utai - Arena live 2016 @ Nippon Budokan

4. Sapphire - Red Moon live @ JCB Hall

5. Ongaku - The best live Red Day @ Nippon Budokan

6. Magia - The best live Blue Day @ Nippon Budokan

7. Koibito no mukashigatari no yuugure no - FOTW LIVE Special final

8. Red Moon - Arena live 2016 @ Nippon Budokan

Q. The songs like Natsu no asa, door, sorairo no isu.... Which genre of music do they fall?

[alteosamaryllis-blog]

Weekly Specials || Oct. 18th - 21st

We had a tough time choosing our Flower and Tea of the month, but it has finally been decided! 

Flower of the Week

For the rest of this week (Oct. 18 - 21) Alteo’s Flower of the Week (FotW) will be

DAISIES!  

Get your Daisy flower and seeds half off here at Alteo’s Amaryllis!

Tea of the Week

For the rest of this week (Oct. 18 - 21) Alteo’s Tea of the Week (TotW) will be

I LOVE YOU BERRY MUCH!  

Get your tea half off here at Alteo’s Amaryllis!

[ilboscoombroso]

6, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 18, 23, 25, 31

Thanks for the ask! I already thought no one was gonna do it sobs

Here goes

6) Favorite Kalafina B-side?  Uhhh a toughie. I guess In Every Nothing is rocking me now. And Mahiru. I guess strong feelings from seeing it live also plays a role.

9)   Own any piece of merch? Yes, some. FOTW vocal scores, mini posters from that tour, live pamphlet as well, Gogatsu hand towel, FOTW hoodie. Christmas live 2015 postcard set, plus few posters and tokuten if that counts. And a Consolation live tour pamphlet.

10)   Own any physical albums/singles?  All albums except the best ones. That including the live selections as well. As for the singles, only RYB vinyl edition.

11) Attended a Kalafina live? (If so, how many?)  Attended live in Paris 2014, and FOTW Special Finals in Japan 2016.

15)   Traveled out of your country for a Kalafina concert?  Lol kinda answered that question up above. Both those were out of my country, Japan being technically the other side of the world :P  And yes, if it weren’t for Kalafina, I wouldn’t go to Japan that soon, so it’s all thanks to them

16)   Talked about Kalafina with someone else (other than the fans)?  Yes. Sometimes I even awakened the curiosity too :D

18)   Do you have any ships? (Which one if so)  Hiikei, stand high.

23)   Name a Kalafina song that makes you cry.  Hmmm, there might be choices. Hikaru Furu made me shed a tear live in Paris, Mahiru and Seventh Heaven moved me very much in FOTW SF lives. Sprinter does move me for some certain reasons. From the newcomers, Yasahsii Uta can make me cry too.

25) Name a Kalafina song that you used to dislike but now love to death. Alleluia? Well I didn’t dislike it, just wasn’t so thrilled with it. But now, oh my. Also Yami no Uta. I didn’t much like it, but seeing it live gave me a whole new perspective and respect.

31)   What Kalafina member would you choose to show her around your hometown? I see Wakana being enthusiastic…but Hikaluuuu /hit

[erza-shidae]

Do you want everything? You want everything! ^_^ 1-55! Ready, steady, GO!!! XD

What’s the point of these numbers again? lol I’ll answer @machiwabiteitayoake​ numbers on these post as well so here goes! I’ll try not to Cakey everything for my answers *sobs*

1) First Kalafina song?To the beginning, was starting on Fate series since people have been saying that I’ll like Saber (which ended up being true only on the zero storyline)

2) First Kalafina album?I actually had to look up my files for this lol, I mostly dl-ed singles that I like and ignore the whole album for bands that I started to like, anyhow, my first full album was The best blue (both IRL and digital I guess, I had to buy the album from AFATH for the signs) 3) Favorite Kalafina song?Alleluia, without this song I wouldn’t care for the band as much (as in I won’t bother listen to the rest of the B-sides trying to find songs like this one lol)4) Favorite Kalafina album?Winter Acoustic :P I’m just trash for pianos5) Favorite Kalafina single?To the beginning I supposed…6) Favorite Kalafina B-side?屋根の向こうに wish they’ll perform more of this7) Tough question: Favorite member?Not so tough considering it’s me but yup Keiko. I didn’t know her name (and not bothered to look it up haha, I’m just that bad) and calls her the manly-onee san from Kalafina before, although she is the one who caught my attention with just her vocals back then too, then my friend was like, watch Aldnoah.Zero she’s singing for it too! Then I started watching the MVs, follow you people on tumblr, read her interviews because I’m so free and bamph, look who’s a Cakey trash now :/ All this doesn’t mean that I don’t like the other two though, I love Hikaru, especially her talk session and Wakana’s heavenly voice, it’s just that I’ll get more hyped (and annoyed for many reasons) when it comes to Cakey8) Favorite Kalafina look/attire?The recent black-gold x’mas live looks so good (especially on Keiko…) but overall with all three members it would be their Blue day outfit?Do you…9) Own any piece of merch?T-shirts, parka, pamphlets, yeah those kind of stuffs10) Own any physical albums/singles?All the full albums, will buy the singles soon but I’m not in a hurry since I’ll have to buy 3000 yen at every concert I attend for their special posters or whatever they’re givingHave you ever…11) Attended a Kalafina live? (If so, how many?)ahaha here goes01.23 8th anni01.30 FOTW special final day 101.31FOTW special final day 209.15 Arena live day 109.16 Arena live day 211.19 Acoustic Album release event11.30 X’mas special for FJC12.03 X’mas live12.23 X’mas live12.24 X’mas liveBought tix already list :01.23 9th anni01.27 LisaniSent my name for the ballot listKalafina 9+104.16-17, 05.13, 06.03-04

12) Watched any of the shows/movies they have performed for?Fate/Zero, Aldnoah.Zero, Kara no Kyoukai 1-5, Eve no Jikan and of course Starlight with Keiko, she’s such a brat :P13) Met them (in a greet-and-meet)?NOPE T___T14) Gotten their autograph?Not personally, but yes, I asked my friend to go for the AFATH signing session for me, and now she’s loving Wakana :P and oh that TGU sign t-shirt15) Traveled out of your country for a Kalafina concert?Yup, for the 8th anni and FOTW lives, regretted it half way through since SNSD ended up coming to Thailand on the exact day of the FOTW live….but hey, second row from the front :316) Talked about Kalafina with someone else (other than the fans)?Teachers, by now my sensei would be like, Kalafina concert AGAIN? haha and some of my friends since I have no one to talk to *sob*Random Kalafina questions:17) What’s your favorite fact about Kalafina?They’re dorks :/ especially Hikaru during her sales corner, I wish they wouldn’t edit it out cause people will definitely love her more if they see it18) Do you have any ships? (Which one if so)Not really19) Is there any random, non-Kalafina related thing that for some reason reminds you of Kalafina?More or less everything in life is now related to Kalafina, I mean I see shark and that’s wakana, cats then Hikaru, snakes and its Keiko even their colour scheme reminds me of them so yeah20) Is there any food that remind you of Kalafina?Obviously Karaage = Hikaru, Gyoza = Wakana, Meat+ Chocolate = KeikoName a Kalafina song that… 21) You love - Red Moon22) You never get tired of - RYB (in the silence)23) Makes you cry - Alleluia24) Makes your day a whole lot better - Yasashii Uta25) You used to dislike but now love to death - Ongaku (concert reasons)26) You listened to over and over until you got fed up :p - I removed musundehiraku from my on-the-go playlist, but I can listen to it if it randomly pops up back at home, so it’s not that ‘fed-up’ lol27) Can transport you to another different world with its beauty - Red Moon (I have such a dark world :P) or Kimi no gin no niwa28) Inspires you to be creativeTTBWhat Kalafina member would you choose to: I’d do everything with Keiko29) Go shopping? Not a fan of shopping, but I’ll gladly hold any of the three shopping bags for them :330) Make pizza? Keiko 31) Show her around your hometown? All three, although I don’t know about home that well haha32) Go to the movie theater? Considering Wakana loves love story, not her… Hikaru or Keiko movie tastes would go along with me more I think33) Play videogames? Probably Keiko, I just love winning at video game and it’s more fun playing with someone who’s competitive and not like, ‘I’ll give up’34) Go karaoke? All three 35) Go bungee jumping? I’m scared of heights so the only person who could drag me out for this would be Keiko…all the things I’ll do for her if she ask :/36) Go fishing? Wakana or Hikaru, the two seems more like a relaxed person and could sit down for days, not so sure about Keiko on this lol, she’s just so energetic at times.37) Go to a museum? Probably Wakana or Hikaru, depends on the museum38) Rob a bank? Why are we doing this anyway lol, well if it’s something that I’ll never do then it’s gotta be ‘with Keiko’39) Do a prank call? on friends? anyone to be honest :P40) Make a garage band? All three 41) Go to a picnic? All three again, the more the merrier42) Bake a cake? Kubota Keikooo 43) Go to Disneyland/world? Keiko 44) Backpacking another country? again Keiko 45) Re-design your home? Assuming Keiko has a very flowery taste and my house wouldn’t look so different with the current one with her help, Hikaru please lol, she seems like a person who likes minimalism.46) Go to a library? Hikaru, don’t think Keiko’ll make it through an hour without getting up and moving about47) Help you with homework/tests? mmm, Hikaru I guess, she seems like the most reliable one when it comes to stuff like this48) Vandalize a building? Again with the I won’t do it if you wouldn’t ask, so Keiko49) Go to a concert? Keiko 50) Go jogging? obviously Keiko, but maybe Hikaru since we’ll both be like jogging? let’s go back to sleep51) Kill that hideous spider in your room? (Before you blow up your house :p)? ANY HUMAN CAN HELP ME WITH THIS52) Go to a zoo? Keiko53) Hide a corpse? Hikaru? she’s the calculative one I mean54) Use a ouija board? (Lol wtf is wrong with me?) considering I’m someone with 6th sense, I wouldn’t play it, even if Keiko’s asking me to, just no, I can watch though55) Go to a party? Hate parties so the one who can get me there is Keiko…

[putschki1969]

I'm just really curious if there's a particular reason (aside from tiredness) why keiko kneels on stage during some of her performances? Like in some lives of one light and heavenly blue. Whenever i watch her do that, I'm always worried that she might stumble, she's running on heels after all. And i think it's the audience who should kneel down to goddess keiko 🤩😆😆

Hi there!

While I wouldn't call it part of the official "choreography", this is most definitely something that Keiko has incorporated into her personal performance style. She likes to walk towards the very edge of the stage, lean forward, crouch down or even kneel on the floor to get a bit closer to the audience. It's something artists regularly do during the climax of a song to appeal to fans. Little gestures like this can make the performance in a big venue feel much more intimate. And obviously, it looks pretty damn cool on camera so that's always a bonus.

Keiko is a strong woman and she has great control of her body. She probably knows how to reduce the force of her drop by using the strength in her legs, this way she can "fall" to her knees without causing any damage. As for her heels, they are almost always platforms which provide added support to help with balance.

I don't think there's anything to worry about.

On a side note, I would probably die if Keiko knelt down right before me. At the FOTW Special Final I was super close to the stage but when Keiko got down on the floor during their One Light performance, she was on the far right of the stage so I didn't get to experience it up-cose T_T

[bearmemesreviews]

FotW: SDMI - The Song of Mystery

Well, it looks like we have a special case on our hands, as we have not one but TWO creatures for our fifth MI review. For this occasion, we'll do things a little differently than usual. Can our new ghouls beat the Crab Man as our current contender for best monster so far? No.

However, we still have to review them so let's talk about Que Horrifico and the use of Mayans in Horror Media. Yeah, we gotta address this at some point. Cultural influence is unavoidable in all genres, but there is a tendency to use a very quickly researched creature or even deity from other cultures to give a name to what might as well be an original demon or spirit in a kids cartoon or other horror media. This can range from passible, and sometimes informative, deep cuts in mythology getting representation in the mainstream for future creators to further research and enjoy - or it can result in what happened to many Indigenous Spirits I cannot name.

Not gonna' go deep into the Cannibal Deer furries white people call a name you aren't even supposed to state if you don't want to bring misfortune upon yourself but understand that I think the "let artists do what they want" mantra is a cowardly and reductive way to excuse poor research and abysmal treatment of Non-White folklore. Though sometimes, like today's episode, we're just talking about a fully original entity who's meant to "evoke" a culture rather than represent it.

Lets talk about the Made-up Mayan Monster from the talking dog show.

Backstory: During a random stint of babysitting for Daphne (genuinely the weirdest member of the gang to use for this role, and she never does this again), she hears a pan flute being played outside of her kid's house. Before she can check it out, a commotion draws her to the boy she was sitting to find him transformed into a monster. Now "Spookified", as the show puts it, the child proceeds to attack Daph and chase her out of the house.

The kid doesn't follow her as she runs outside, but Daphne soon discovers that the entire neighborhood has had its children turned into monsters. Before the intro, we see the mummified pan flute player disappear into some mist.

Daphne draws the rest of the gang into the mystery, and they soon discover that the entire town of Crystal Cove has slowly been overrun by the monster kids. The adults in town - including those without children possibly? - are then literally driven away, unable to return to their homes as the kids remain Spookified even during daytime hours. Effectively abandoning their kids to their own bestial devices.

This will not be the worst parenting you'll see in this show.

The first suspect, and not just for the Mystery Gang, is Luis de Potrillo, an exchange teacher for Honor's Social Studies. It is through his class that the cast find out about the fictional "legend" of Que Horrifico, who has no real origin but acts as a Pied Piper-esque boogeyman for South America.

Mr. Potrillo also suspects himself, believing that he's turning into the monster like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Sometimes these weird one-off characters show up in future episodes, but it feels odd when some just drop off the face of the earth like this guy. Especially since he's one of the few adults in town who don't treat the gang like garbage.

Reveal: The culprit is fairly obvious since she's the only other newly introduced side character of the episode, child genius and Fred's current Civics tutor Mary Anne Gleardan. The children turn out to not be actual monsters, as a turned-on television eventually makes them break character just to sit down and watch a cartoon. The kids were merely dressing up as miniature ghouls at the behest of Mary Anne who promised them "Utopia" - before finally getting their full cooperation with the promise of free candy instead.

Jamie Neutron here wanted to be part of the Town's council, since she's obviously smart enough to actually run it, but was rejected for her age. And like most child geniuses, she had the technical skill and smarts to create a convulated scheme to scare every adult out of Crystal Cove to turn it into some kind of Kinderstate. However, she still retains the child-like logic of not realizing what that actually entails since she'd have to eventually create her own police state filled with nothing but toddlers in Halloween makeup.

They canonically throw this child into jail for how much money the town wasted on trying to merchandise Que Horrifico.

Design: Que Horrifico, which you can tell with a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish means "How Horrific", is a "Mayan inspired" monster that is otherwise a fully original creature. It wears a semi-golden mask and ragged poncho based on the South American culture. Its mask is evocative of a monkey, with those Rangda teeth that jut outwards and "earring"-like shapes built beneath its molded ears. There's a metal piece attached to the "hat" that's also part of the mask, resembling those antennae-shaped features you'd see on a samurai helmet.

The show surprisingly never makes an Egyptian mummy, which is a staple of Scooby-media, and instead makes Que Horrifico a mummified ghoul with dull blue skin, black nails, and tattered bandages wrapped around most of its body with a few gaps for easier movement. Its hair is also long and white, connecting its design to the Spookified kids in a cool way.

As for The Spookified, they all resemble the child extras under the makeup, but with longer white hair and eyebrows, clawed extremities, fangs, and glowing yellow eyes. They mostly act like Gremlins and use their youthful energy to leap and flip around like a swarm of fast zombies. They're clothing is also torn up a bit, and they resort to hissing and growling while in-character.

I'm at odds with Que Horrifico, though I think the creature kids are a decent design for what amounts to a non-zombie "Horde". It feels odd how they avoided actually drawing any inspiration from real mythology and mostly did a South American "take" on the Pied Piper. It's not even bad, just weird, but as a Horror enthusiast who's experienced the way media and their fandoms butcher cannibal spirits and Hoodoo it does make me more forgiving when a show plays it safe.

In a way, I feel like Que Horrifico WOULD exist as a folktale, but specifically one made up by locals to scare tourists into behaving better. ESPECIALLY, if they're dragging their kids along for the trip. It's design is also just really cool, I can't comment on the mask because it could just be utter nonsense from a Geographical or Historical standpoint - I'm not the crazy teacher, I don't know what those masks specifically mean.

From a quick glance though, the semblance to a monkey might be intentional because Howler Monkeys in Maya culture are considered wise and are often connected with artistry - fitting both the culprit and her gimmick.

Final Ratings

Que Horrifico: 4/5

The Spookified: 3/5

Hmmm, maybe I should review the creature design of Maya and the Three...

[okeuphemia]

Song of the day♫ 

Misterioso - Kalafina

(sorry for the lame quality, just sharing this amazing version of the song)

[putschki1969]

Dear Sarah, Have you ever been to KALAFINA live? Unfortunately, I have never been to Japan itself :(

Hello there lovely anon!

Yes, I have but not as often as I would have liked to unfortunately. The first time I saw them in person was back in 2012 when they were a guest act at Animagic in Germany. I never considered it a “Kalafina Live” experience but it was fun nonetheless. In 2014, Kalafina appeared at another convention in Europe (Japan Expo) so obviously, I was there for that as well. Yet again, it wasn’t a proper live experience for me but it was neat.

I attended my first REAL live in Japan in early 2016 (FOTW Special Final Day 1&2) and it was honestly a life-changing moment for me. Nothing compares to seeing them live in a proper show and not just as a short gig. I wish I had gotten the opportunity to go to any of their 2017 events/lives but that year was really busy for me since I had just started a new job. Truth is, it is one of my biggest regrets in life. if I had known it would basically be their final year of activities, I would have found a way to make it work.

At least I made it to their 10th Anniversary Live in 2018, I am forever grateful for that experience and will treasure it until the day I die. 

Their disbandment was a real wake-up call for me. I didn’t want to have any further regrets so from that moment onwards, I swore to myself that I would attend as many of their solo lives as possible. Thankfully, that new job I had gotten in 2017 gave me the financial stability to be able to travel on a more or less regular basis. As a result, I went to quite a few lives in 2018 and 2019 but then the pandemic happened and I was once again stuck here without a way to see them live *sobs* I am just glad that live stream options are a thing now, they have been a real game changer. But as much as I appreciate those streams, it’s just not the same as actually being there at the venue.

I still can’t believe that I will be seeing Wakana live in Japan this Christmas. It came at a very high price but I just couldn’t wait any longer.

I hope you will be able to travel to Japan soon. I have faith that Kalafina will return one day so let’s all be sure to work hard so when that day finally comes, we will be ready for it!

Also, here is a link to my live report tag in case anyone is interested.

[putschki1969]

Hi Puts, I was thinking of buying Kalafina stuff and was wondering something, do the girls and Yuki still get royalties or something for their work in Kalafina? Another question apart, although very specific, I was watching Far on the water live, after they sang "Ring your bell" Hikaru said something and Keiko and Wakana laughed, I can't find subtitles or translation, do you know what Hikaru said? Thank you so much as always

Hello again!

First question: This topic is very tricky so please take everything you read here with a grain of salt. The structure and practices of the Japanese music industry are pretty complex and not at all straight-forward. There are regulations of course when it comes to royalties and such (look up JASRAC for more info on that) but the practical implementation is rather lacking and all over the place.

When you start your career as singer/talent/idol etc in Japan, you typically sign a contract with an agency and become their employee. The agency (in Kalafina's case that was Space Craft) will handle everything for you, including collecting royalties so it's usually them who have the rights to everything, the singer just receives a normal salary - depending on their success/popularity that may be quite high. So basically, I don't think the Kalagirls have ever received royalties in the traditional sense of the word nor are they gonna receive any in the future. With Yuki it's a different story since #1) she is the creator of the music and 2#) her contractual relationship with the agency was most likely of a different nature (less hierarchical and more of a partnership?) so I am pretty sure she has received royalties in the past and continues to receive them. I believe Space Craft may also still receive royalties so I guess if you bought Kalafina stuff you would be supporting Yuki and Wakana by extension (since she is still with Space Craft).

Second question: I did provide a translation of all MCs during the FOTW Special Final HERE. Please enjoy! There is even a gifset. And another one here. I could have sworn there was also a video of Hikaru's Sales Corner with subs floating around somewhere but I currently cannot find it.

[putschki1969]

Do you have the 10th anniversary live for downloading. Thanks.

Hi there!

Here is a download link for you!

〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→ CLICK ME (5GB)

Please be sure to get it quickly because I will be deleting the file again in a couple of days (I need the storage space in my Google Drive).

Also, here’s a quick heads-up. All the Kalafina lives are currently available on Youtube (in pretty high quality I think). Seems like Sony or (whoever) don’t really care anymore. They used to take down everything Kalafina-related tback in the day but right now, there is a lot of Kalafina content to be found on Youtube.

Kalafina 10th Anniversary LIVE 2018 at Nippon Budokan

Kalafina “9＋ONE” at TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORUM HALL A

Kalafina Arena LIVE 2016 at Nippon Budokan(+ Day 2)

Kalafina LIVE TOUR 2015 ~ 2016 “far on the water” Special FINAL at TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORUM HALL A 

Kalafina LIVE THE BEST 2015 “Blue Day” at Nippon Budokan 

Kalafina LIVE THE BEST 2015 “Red Day” at Nippon Budokan

Kalafina Live Tour 2013 “Consolation” Special Final at TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORUM HALL A

Kalafina “After Eden” Special LIVE 2011 at TOKYO DOME CITY HALL

Kalafina LIVE 2010 “Red Moon” at JCB HALL ~Kajiura Produce 3rd Anniversary LIVE TOUR~