Vocaloid | Ten Faced Gumi Original PV and Review

In the following song, 【Gumi】 has been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder, otherwise known as Multiple Personality Disorder. (lol) Titled Ten-Faced (十面相 Juu Mensou), the song tells the story of Gumi and her 10 different personalities in an attempt to win the love of Mr Namacha Panda. ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ

（＾ｖ＾） Mission: Can you identify the 10 different personalities of Gumi? *Answers to the mission can be found below. here.

【Gumi】 Ten-Faced

 

The song is produced by YM and was uploaded on Nico Nico Douga in 2011. Do visit his page and mylist his video to show support.   (*´・ｖ・) You would need to create an account in order to browse the site. Easily create an account using your Facebook account or an email address. You can browse the site in English by changing the language setting.

The song is really catchy. The pace of the song gets even faster in the 2nd half; it makes my blood rush. I particularly like the chorus a lot. It is difficult to describe the song well so listen to it. ;D On one hand, it is an upbeat song but on the other hand, the song seems filled with anguish. The song conveys the girl’s frustration with love. Like many, she hopes for the one she love to love her back. At the same time, in the 2nd half of the song, it also displays the man’s confusion regarding Gumi and her split personalities. From the lyrics of the song,

Whenever you come to me
You act as if you’re a different person
My heart chokes a little every time I see that
But at the same time, I was drawn to you
But you know what? I’ve got to tell you
Even though I’ve already said this to the other you’s
I can only love one person
And I can only choose one personality

(Source: animelyrics)

Fortunately, the song ends on a good note since the man clearly accepts Gumi and Gumi returns to her normal self.

Do I have a split personality?
Why am I smiling?
The ten girls inside of me
Have all realized
The reason why they were born
If their sole reason was to obtain one single love
Then it’s already over
Come now, at this last moment let us all smile
Good bye and welcome back
My original self

(Source: animelyrics)

I shared the raw version which is untranslated because I find it easier to enjoy the song and the animation without the overcrowding subtitles. (lol) You can watch the English-subtitled version here by vgperson. Also by vgperson, you can find the kanji and romaji lyrics here. Personally, I find the English translations from animelyrics easier to understand. Not being very well-versed in Japanese myself, I can’t decide which translations are more accurate so pick for yourself. As for now, let us take a look at the rest of the lyrics. Go grab some popcorn and enjoy the somewhat short melodrama by Gumi.

【Gumi】 Ten-Faced

(Source: deviantart)

Originally, I was a timid girl
Failing in love, I shut off my emotions
And started creating new personalities
Thus, our emotions take turns to work

3, the memories we don’t want to accept
4, we consider them a different personality
5, we act as if it’s someone else’s problem
6, that’s how we defended ourselves
7, we don’t share our memories
8, neither do we know of each other’s existence
9, in the course of time
10 of us are now sharing this same place

The inhabitants inside me all fell in love with the same man
But none of those worked out as the man’s answer was
“I will love only one person inside you”
My heart is accelerating please
Hold down my racing heartbeats

(Source: animelyrics)

In addition, let us enjoy a dance cover of the song brought to us by two lovely girls from Japan. I love everything about this video – from the dancers (あまから amakara) to their costumes (particularly the pullovers and leggings) to the man balancing plates in the background.

【amakara】 Ten-Faced 十面相 odottemita (I tried dancing) HD

 

(original video: Nico Nico Douga)

The following video shows a different dance cover to the same song, this time round featuring a 10-person version. Yes, there are 10 of them (not 9). Look carefully.

【ehimeroido＋α】 Ten-Faced 十面相 odottemita (I tried dancing) HD

 

The tenth one got me. What about you? ;D

Shingeki no Kyojin

Shingeki no Kyojin has brought about a lot of excitement. The title literally translates to “advancing giants”. Indeed, it is an anime series about the humans’ attack on the titans. The series revolve around the idea of the strong preying on the weak. 進撃の巨人 could be considered a masterpiece in the world of anime. It is popular for a reason. 進撃の巨人 not only has a good plot, its captivating storyline is full of suspense and horror. The titans struck fear in my heart and they somewhat reflect the harsh and cruel reality of wars. At the same time, the anime captures the beauty of human kindness and love. The richness of human emotions displayed by the characters in the anime is overwhelming. 進撃の巨人 is a work of class. It is art.

The characters in the story are dynamic. Amidst the increasing chaos and fear brought about by the titans, we would see each character struggling with their own weaknesses. As the story progresses, I anticipate the weaker ones to break down whereas the stronger ones would have to boost the morale of the group while keeping their own sanity. The character development is thus far one of the most promising aspects of the show. The show also celebrates the idea of team work and camaraderie. It is heartwarming to see the humans supporting one another in times of difficulties.

Here is a trailer to get a glimpse of the action:

 

At the beginning, I was hesitant about watching the anime despite the good reviews. Firstly, I was not very interested in a story about fighting giants. Instead, I was actually looking for some comedic relief to kill time. Moreover, I was skeptical of the good reviews. I had thoughts along the line of “Is it really that good?” and “What if the titans give me nightmares?”. (lol) It is unfortunate but I am no fan of horror. (´＿｀。) I thought that it might be better to skip the series.

Do you have similar thoughts like mine? With regards to point one and two, I would suggest to just give episode one a try. Let go of any expectations and high hopes for the anime. You might find yourself enjoying the show. I did and the show fascinates me. I am glad that I did not give up the anime. （＾_＾） For point three, if you can sit through the one-minute long trailer, I think you would be fine.

For sure the titans had me fidgeting in my seat (lol), but the anime is not as gory as I thought it would be. Unlike High School of the Dead and Mirai Nikki, I did not have nightmares. (lol) My only concern is episode one. It could be a little disturbing in the first episode. To watch someone’s mother get torn apart and eaten alive (or dead for a matter of fact) can get a bit unsettling. The scene was a little bloody. Yes, the titan’s smile was creepy but it is all over in a few seconds. Just in case, try not to stare too hard at the titans. While I say that it is all over in a few seconds, creepy is creepy. (lol) Unless you are really fainthearted, it should be possible to last through the show. I managed eight episodes and am anticipating for the next release. （＾ω＾）

Here is a synopsis of 進撃の巨人:

Titans are large creatures resembling humans. They can range from 3 to 15 metres tall, with some exceptions (ranging up to 60 metres). The titans are not predators. They attack and devour humans on instinct; and their purpose is to annihilate the human race. For the last century, humans were on the defense against the titans. They lived in cities protected by extremely high walls. In Year 845, the city walls were destroyed by a colossal titan. After witnessing the destruction of his home and the death of his mother, Eren Jaeger vows to take revenge on the titans. He seeks to annihilate the titans and explore the outside world. The story centers around the lives of Eren Jaeger, his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman, and their friend Armin Arlelt as the humans go on offense against the titans.

My favourite character is Armin Arlelt. It could be that I have a soft spot for weak characters. Armin is after all comparably weak physically and emotionally. He hates himself for having to rely on his friends for help and believes himself to be incompetent. However, he is simply unaware of his strategic intuition which has helped salvaged situations. His demeanor is attractive when he spoke excitedly of the outside world. Perhaps it could be his blond hair or his name but I simply find Armin endearing.

Here is a teaser of the other two main characters:

Eren Jaeger

Mikasa Ackerman

Disclaimer: Credits go to their creators.

The powerful opening theme song of 進撃の巨人 itself has generated a lot of hype too. Many had made dance covers to the song or had made parodies of it. Do look at my previous post and the website here if you are interested in the videos. (^^) I would post one of the dance covers here:

 

I thought the costumes were very well made. The tiger mask also adds a powerful impact to the overall performance of the song. I hope that this post is useful to people who are doubtful of watching Shingeki no Kyojin. Do watch it if you have the time to spare and I hope you would enjoy the show as much as I did. (^^)

Happy Synthesizer / Bad Apple!!

♪ Hello world. It has been a long time since I had last updated. I have many topics that I want to write on yet I am stuck at how I should proceed to doing it. My command of the English language has deteriorated ever since I had decided to write in Singlish (which basically translates to broken English). Don’t laugh at me. In this post, I would be writing about 「Happy Synthesizer」.

I wanted to dance to a vocaloid song and the first song that came to mind is Happy Synthesizer. The dance is very fun to do once you get the hang of it. I am still barely halfway through learning the dance but I’m determined to learn the whole dance. It is an accomplishment whenever I can dance to a full song. I hope to get that sense of satisfaction! Ha-ha.

Many had covered this dance. My favourite cover is by Butsudankamen, Tadanon and Ririri. I love the way 仏壇仮面 dances. He dances with precision and his moves are sharp and accurate. He is very cool. I like him. Ha-ha. ただのん dances with personality. His freestyle and carefree way of dancing captivates my heart. I know he has many fangirls. I can proudly say I am one of them. 😛 りりり is my inspiration. That little girl dances with enthusiasm. I am a little envious of her because she discovered her passion at a young age. I am turning 20 this year and I still have not discovered my passion. (I have no childhood but my life story is a story for another day.)

I love this trio. They also did a dance cover for the song 「Bad Apple!!」. Both the dance and the song are very cool. This dance has a higher difficulty level than Happy Synthesizer. When I get better at dancing, I might try to learn it. Ha-ha. I watched the dances three times each because each and every one of the three dancers are worth watching. I would post the videos below. Do check them out! They are really good dances and dancers. ^^

「Happy Synthesizer」 \ 【ButsudankamenとTadanonとRiriri】

「Bad Apple!!」 \  【ButsudankamenとTadanonとRiriri】