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I'll be sure to, man. Thanks! Only part I'm "worried" about is that I'm going alone. But no friends were available and I really wanted to go either way so what can you do. Probably looking forward the most to Kyoto, specifically Arashiyama since it looks breathtaking.

Oh, yeah, two languages at once is definitely hard, especially when you're just starting out for both. Just take your time. I have read Himawari https://vndb.org/v210 and Asairo https://vndb.org/v1483 so far. Currently reading Dies Irae, even though the English translation is getting released at the end of May lol. Himawari is also translated.

Damn, being a manager doesn't sound bad at all. What are you doing exactly?

Yeah, I've seen some videos of Kendrick live shows but I'm sure it's on another level when you're actually there. I've heard the Sampha album once, thought it was nice.

Haven't heard or liked too many releases this year so far, still have a ton of catching up to do. Fantano giving out all these 8-9/10s lol. You watch his channel?

Aside from DAMN. , I really love Your Old Droog's album PACKS. Dude is mostly famous for sounding a lot like Nas but he has bars for days and his music really makes you feel like you're in NYC, highly recommend it. I also like King Gizzard & The LIzard Wizard's new album a lot. Psych-rock in general is pretty cool but the way they make it sound so funky and rhythmic on that album is amazing.

There is still a lot of good stuff to come though I feel somewhat let down by releases from Joey Bada$$ and Freddie Gibbs and stuff.

I had already written half of this fucking comment and accidentally clicked "back"... fuck me.

Ty, ty. Yeah, it really is, man. I'll be staying close to 4 weeks actually. 1 week in Tokyo, another in Kyoto, about 5 days in Osaka and another 4-5 days in Tokyo.

There are a lot of things you can do and resources you can use. The first thing I would recommend doing is learning Hiragana and Katakana as that is the most fundamental and simple thing to do. There are a ton of apps you can use to do this and it's definitely manageable in 1-2 weeks if you are dedicated enough.

I would then recommend moving over to grammar. http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar This is a good, comprehensive guide that teaches you the important basics while also relating the contents to English a little which most other textbooks and guides don't do.

While doing this you can already start learning kanji. I personally use an app called "Kanji!". It's available on iOS and should be on Android as well, would have to check though. The app is a little buggy and slow and sometimes gives you weird readings for certain kanji but it's still a lot more convenient than something like Anki imo. In case you're wondering, I wouldn't recommend practicing handwriting Japanese characters unless you really plan on doing something where you're required to. You will most likely never need it due to phones and PCs and you could be using your time to improve your grammar, listening, speaking etc. instead.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVx6RFaEAg46xfAsD2zz16w This channel is also great to learn or improve your grammar. Also helps a lot with your listening skills since it's in Japanese only.

Another thing you can do is get an app like HelloTalk or Tandem where you can talk to native speakers which is obviously the best way to improve your writing and such.

Lastly, you could read an untranslated visual novel. That's what I did after getting through Tae Kim's guide. It will most likely be very tedious and slow at first but it will pay off greatly if you're patient enough. There are programs that let you hook the text from the vn to a jap-eng dictionary so you can hover over any words you don't know. It's a really convenient way to learn since you get entertainment with it and the texthooking programs make it a lot better than reading a physical copy of a book for example. There are several good vns with pretty entry-level language so trying it is definitely worth considering imo. Feel free to ask me anything if you ever decide to read an untranslated vn.

Be sure to enjoy your time off, dude! Man, Coachella and that other lineup sound crazy good. I only went to a Lil Yachty concert in January and it was pretty eh lmao. Any music releases you've enjoyed so far this year?

Doing pretty well, man, thanks for asking. Helping out my parents doing office work atm, mainly to earn some money to be able to fund a trip to Japan. Which I'm going to do in August, can't wait.

Also finally going to start uni shortly after the trip, pretty excited for that as well.

Other than that, still learning Japanese and using that as an excuse for reading untranslated eroge, gym and other trivial stuff.

How about you?

happy bday man, hope you're doing well

I've been doing well, thank you! Helping out at my parents' office while I wait for being able to start uni next year. Also been learning Japanese which is going nicely. hbu?

Pretty good month. I hate J. Cole and haven't listened to Gambino's or Cudi's albums yet. Though I certainly plan on checking out Gambino's. Ab-Soul's album was pretty dope, not up to par with Control System but I like certain tracks a lot. Wish it would've been more dark and aggressive throughout because the tracks which had that vibe were the best on there, like RAW, Threatening Nature, Beat the Case. Absolute favorite is Injury Reserve's Floss though, you HAVE to check that out if you haven't already. They're from Arizona too.

Fav releases of the year were
Atrocity Exhibition
the new Tribe
Floss
Kero Kero Bonito - Bonito Generation
Blonde
Ka - Honor Killed The Samurai
Bottomless Pit
Imperial
untitled unmastered.
JEFFERY (don't judge)
Lil Boat (don't judge)
Open Mike Eagle & Paul White - Hella Personal Film Festival.
Still Brazy

still got a ton of stuff I haven't listened to though so that list is pretty incomplete. hbu?

Hello

This is where I post em. Yeah I mean the manga is objectively better visually, but the aspect that most made me fall in love with Kingdom was its OST/OP/ED's. Like I probably can't name an anime where they just got everything right from the music department, especially the ED's. Which is why I'll always recommend the anime first.

I've been super behind on fall series the past week, soon as I get caught up I'm gonna give it a go. Only the first three volumes got published by Dark Horse afaik. That was back in 2014, probably when I put it on hold haha.

Ahh YKA, such a gem that was. I need to rewatch it, and Penguindrum, at some point. Btw I wrote the MAL Rewrite synopses for both of them ;)

C;H is absolutely worth reading if you find the time. Top 5 VN's for me, and just a riveting experience. Watching though, absolutely not. Don't do it lol. Madhouse fucked up agreeing to 1 cour. O;9 is...I dunno. I'm enjoying it to an extent, but it's so out of left field in what it's trying to accomplish that it seems to blow out any steam it builds up. It's like DRRRR on sci-adv laced Shaft crack. Definitely the most eerie anime I've seen in awhile though, keeps you engaged even if keeping up is damn near impossible. But I'm pretty excited for C;C, I heard decent things about it. Not sure if I want to hold out for an English patch, who knows how long that'll take..

Wow, means a lot to hear that! And I do have several more chapters posted on wattpad(can't find anywhere better unfortunately), and am getting into the meat of the first volume, but I'd definitely like to get it on an obviously higher, more serious platform. Just gotta build up some steam first haha. Might help to watch it first, the anime is pretty well paced for the most part and will cut the reading almost in half. But, once you get into it, it's a pretty easy read, especially for a lot of the long war arcs(not so easy to read weekly lol)

Hmm I will have to give Girlish Number a try, that take on it sounds extremely intriguing. It was just one of those that I passed up without looking into it at all for whatever reason. Yeahh I knew Drifters' comedy bits would be jarring at times, and it was less so in the manga, but it does let you know not to take it too seriously haha. All I'll say is, it's going to get more and more insane every episode. It's been like 2 years since I kept up with the manga because the scans were so nonexistent, but it's a very underrated work. The action has so much potential and I feel like Hoods is really throwing a lot into it, so look forward.

Flip Flappers is pretty awesome, it's just a different trip every episode, but still solid overarching progression and character development. But, the animation alone makes it a must watch imo. The first episode alone is the biggest sakuga fest this year I'd say.

Yeah, I've been finding the time to rewatch some anime and do other weeb stuff but it's all pretty cramped lately. You're going to uni now? If so, how's it going?

Uuuh, I guess the singles of it are nice, Lyk Dis and Get Bigger. But the whole album is in that same vein sound-wise so just listen to it in full if you feel like it. I should give that Solange record a listen. Have you checked out Bonito Generation by Kero Kero Bonito? It's hard to describe but it's hella cute and catchy af, wholeheartedly recommend it! Yeah, the A$AP Mob tape was pretty alright, nothing too special but a few songs were pretty nice. Makes me wonder what Ferg was doing with that last album when he can still sound this good on a mixtape... Telephone Calls is a real highlight though, that song is crazy good.

Hey! No worries, thanks for the read, and the kind words! Yeah I definitely try to emulate some of Kingdom's gritty nature. What's funny is I'd had most of the story figured out way before I knew anything about Kingdom, but after watching/reading it gave me soo many ideas haha.

Well Natsume is my clear favorite forsure, being as perfect as it is. Drifters is going to be pure insanity once it gets deeper in, so it'll be right there behind Natsume. And Bungou 2nd season has been great so far, loved the past arc. Other than that, Yuri on Ice is definitely legit(too bad MAPPA couldn't put this much effort into DAYS), and I'm really enjoying Flip Flappers(biggest surprise) and All Out, and 3-gatsu to an extent. Hibike and Haikyuu are what I expected them to be, and Long Riders is appeasing my cycling and CGDCT needs. Shuumatsu has looked really good but I'm concerned with its longterm merits. Not giving up on O;9 yet, but it hasn't looked particularly good. I'm a bit disappointed in Working, it just hasn't been very funny or even charming yet(translation is killing the humor to some extent). Same with Nanbaka, a shame as I was pretty hopeful considering who's directing it.

Oh, To be Hero is a must watch, comedy of the season lol

Don't worry, I'm guilty of doing the same way too often. That's nice, should probably think about getting a physical copy as well.

Yeah, I think it's great that he went in this direction, esp. coming of XXX and Old which were both not exactly conventional hip hop albums of their own. Fuck, I have trouble picking real favorite tracks but those would all be among them, love those samples on Lost. It feels like a funky, chill track until those horns kick in and then you can really hear his personal struggles and problems in the song. Always love how he handles those topics on his albums.

Not much tbh, though I have to say I hardly broaden my horizons and usually stick to hip-hop, maybe R&B with some electronic and pop here and there. That being said, I'm really enjoying this NxWorries album, you should check it out if you haven't. Hbu?

Hey, that shit is fucking insane and easily my AOTY so far. The production is just other-worldly, when Ain't It Funny came on for the first time I was speechless. The fact that he goes out of his way to rap on those instrumentals and it all sounds this good makes it one of the most enjoyable albums I've listened to in the past years. I was already pretty hyped when Pneumonia and When It Rain dropped, Really Doe elevated that even more but the end product is fucking fantastic. Also glad to see he didn't lose anything when it comes to lyrics since XXX (he still showed it on Old but that record was half party anthems). "I'm like Kubrick with two bricks/I'm like Spielberg with ill words". What do you think of it?

I'll definitely try to get back to you about some of the stuff we last wrote about since the were some things I'd really like to talk about!

Shameless plug, as promised ;)
http://myanimelist.net/blog/AlexTheRiot

haha no biggie, I'm always the same way..we shall be lazy together!

ooh how're you liking the Macbook? haha I still haven't touched SnU, for some reason I started playing IMHHW and stuck with it, pretty high quality even if the writing falls apart after the common route lol. Welp, Rewrite has been a pretty big letdown to be honest. Ever since the episode count came out I readjusted my expectations, so I've certainly enjoyed it, but it ultimately feels like a big slap in the face to the fans, from Aniplex for screwing Key with the episode count, and from Key for allowing it. Even though it's enjoyable and the original route might be interesting, 8-bit and Aniplex have committed many sins with this low budget adaptation to the point it just seems like a cheap advertisement for Rewrite+, and the sales in Japan show it, so I'm fearful for Key's future with anime :/ Though I'll say, IF there is a second season for the true route, it will be a masterpiece no matter what, but with all the foreshadowing it looks like it might be picked apart and crammed into this original route somehow.

Planetarian was great though lol. Aside from the few gripes I had with the climactic scenes that took some impact away, DavidPro did a fantastic job. What did you think of it? And how do you feel about Rewrite?

Yep I love the rising of LN's, I just hope the release rate starts to pick up drastically, especially for things like Monogatari and Index. haha good thing I never touched Hatsukoi then, but yeah Handa-kun is okay, I laugh every now and then. I do wish Deen would have gotten it though lol, screw diomedia. Well it's good to have the willpower to hold back, I keep trying but end up with around 20 shows every season :c

Yeah Ushio, AssClass, and Re:Zero definitely took it by the end of spring. Well Re:Zero is still taking it and then some, I don't see much standing in its way of AOTY honestly, do you? Drifters and Natsume S5 are the only things that will come close for me.

Hmm, HakoMari is really hard to adapt unfortunately. Main reason is due to the narrative tricks I mentioned where you're not sure exactly who is narrating at times, or the narrator's appearance comes into question, some of the mystery would be nearly impossible to present in anime format, same reason Ever17 never got an anime imo. The second reason, which is the gritty, gruesome imagery used, has been sort of quelled by Re:Zero's adaptation. Some of the things it's doing that make you feel like you're going to lose your sanity if you keep watching, reminded me of HakoMari's grittiness and kinda gave me hope that it could happen someday.

Ooh good choice, Ergo Proxy is one of my personal favorites. How'd you like it? And yesss to Chihayafuru ;D Ya know I don't think I ever mentioned having finished Nana and how much it broke me...like it was a over a month ago and it still feels bad lol. A very bitter experience, as it was such a masterpiece of storytelling and character relationships yet everything ended with such a bad taste and no sign of the story ever finishing :/

Sorry for replying late again, bud, I've been a complete failure at being consistent with comments...

Oh damn, I certainly wasn't working hard either but I still made it through without much effort, in the end. Mind briefly explaining what you do in family studies? couldn't find it on google (I didn't look that hard but it wasn't shown on the first page so I had to ask :D). But yeah, nothing wrong with changing your mind about any future paths.

I've already heard great things about Amanchu's first episode, that true? I'm a little reluctant to watch it since I don't know whether I'll be able to endure the weekly wait. I'll try to at least wait until episode 2 is out or something.

About untranslated VNs, at least Baldr Sky is getting an official translation, not sure if you're familiar with it but it's pretty highly regarded among those who have read it and I've been interested in it for a while, so there's that to look forward to.

Oh man, a Death Grips concert is a fucking workout, I can imagine. Nice, I really like Vince as well, he has killed every feature I've heard him on and Summertime '06 was pretty good as well. Haven't listened to Hell Can Wait yet though. Although I can't say that I like Kodak Black lmao. Well, a great album I've unfortunately discovered only recently is Since I Left You by The Avalanches. It's a sample-heavy instrumental hip hop album, much like Endtroducing but much different in sound, being closer to electronic music at some points. They also dropped a new album on Friday called Wildflower which is definitely among my favorite releases of the year so far. I've also been listening to One For All by Brand Nubian which is a nice example of 90s jazz-rap, it's really funky and fun. My list for favorite releases would not have included some of these if I replied a little earlier but it would be:
ScHoolboy Q - Blank Face LP
Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered.
YG - Still Brazy
The Avalanches - Wildflower
Death Grips - Bottomless Pit
Denzel Curry - Imperial
Open Mike Eagle & Paul White - Hella Personal Film Festival
clipping - Wriggle

there's still a lot I need to listen to but these are what come to mind. Please tell me yours and what you've been listening to as well.
Oh and I was actually gonna ask you where Madvillainy was on your old list of favorite albums but now it's there, nice. You ever listened to Piñata, the album Madlib did with Freddie Gibbs?