Final Fantasy Distant Worlds Concert in Toronto

Final Fantasy Distant Worlds Concert was truly the highlight of this year for me. Audio clips for each song played during the concert are included at the end of this post. After a long 6-7 months of excitement building up since April this year, I finally got to attend the concert last Saturday.

Distant World - music from Final Fantasy

I didn’t bring my SLR with me and opted out to bring my Canon 860 IS point and shoot camera so pictures are not so good. In addition, I wanted to enjoy the music instead of being busy with taking pictures. Nobuo Uematsu attended the concert and sat with the audience on the front row

Nobue Uematsu-san passed by in front of me. Nice bandana ^^.

When the concert started, everyone was just dead silence and no one talked, not even to their friends who sat beside which was really nice. Arnie knew how to get audience’s excitement pumped out and he started the concert with Liberi Fatali from Final Fantasy VIII and To Zanarkand from Final Fantasy X. A nice way to start this awesome evening.

Battle scene from Final Fantasy VIII

After Liberi Fatali and To Zanarkand, it was followed by “Don’t Be Afraid”, battle theme song in Final Fantasy VIII.

Remember this scene from Final Fantasy VII ? feeling nostalgic aren't we ? makes me want to play Final Fantasy VII again

The next song was probably what everyone had been waiting for and everyone’s top favourite; it’s not other than Aerith’s theme song.

From Final Fantasy VII, Arnie brought us to the past with Final Fantasy I – III medley. The first minute of this medley is the soundtrack that we usually hear on start up screen on every Final Fantasy games.

Eagerly waiting for when “Dear Friends” would be played and Arnie seemed to be able to read my mind. The next song would be played is “Dear Friends” from Final Fantasy V. I have not had a chance to play it but just enjoy this song so much ^^

The great black mage, Vivi, made an appearance in Vamo' all Flamenco from Final Fantasy IX

For those who played Final Fantasy IX multiple times like me, next song, Vamo’ alla Flamenco, should be very familiar.

Remember those many hours you spent on Final Fantasy VII ? this upcoming battle song was something you were probably tired listening to; it’s Jenova.

This scene was from Final Fantasy XI official trailer where all nations went to war with Orcs twenty or so years ago

Another one of my favourite songs is next on the list. It is no other than Ronfaure from Final Fantasy XI, the longest game I had ever played in my life.

I was not familiar with the next song that they played which was Clash on Big Bridge from Final Fantasy V.

“Clash on Big Bridge” ended the first half of the concert. There was 10-15 minutes in between before we continued with the second half. The second half started with “Bombing Mission” from Final Fantasy VII.

“Bombing Mission” was followed by “Fisherman’s Horizon” from Final Fantasy VIII and I remembered listening to it and I even purposefully let my PlayStation running just so I could listen to Fisherman’s Horizon over and over. Hell, I even had a saved data specifically for Fisherman’s Horizon.

This image is on the original packaging for Chains of Promathia expansion pack for Final Fantasy XI

The next one is what made the name of “Distant World” and one of the most memorable song for me. It’s Memoro de la Stono – Distant Worlds from Final Fantasy XI and it’s the theme song of Chain of Promathia (One of Final Fantasy XI expansions) ending cutscenes. Good ‘ol time stayed up late doing Chains of Promathia missions.

Scenes from Final Fantasy XIII where Snow and Sarah went for a ride in the sky during fireworks

Arnie really knew how to please the audience as he played the next piece from Final Fantasy XIII, the Promise which is a main theme song for FFXIII.

Scenes from where Lighting beats up all the bad guys in the transport vehicle (first scene after you started the game)

Right after “The Promise” from Final Fantasy XIII, Arnie played another familiar piece from Final Fantasy XIII and it’s “Blinded by Light”, Final Fantasy XIII Battle Theme.

This scene from Final Fantasy XIV where you just arrived at Limsa Lominsa (assuming you choose Limsa Lominsa as your starting city) and of course, it's a great scene to accompany Navigator's Glory which is Limsa Lominsa OST.

Moving on after Final Fantasy XIII, it’s Final Fantasy XIV’s turn. Despite the lack of success as an MMORPG due to various items, the music is still friggin awesome. I was lucky enough to hear Navigator’s Glory, OST from city of Limsa Lominsa (one of starting main cities).

The next piece , I was really unfamiliar with and not really sure what stage of the game that this OST plays. It is Primal Judgement, another Final Fantasy XIV piece.

Remember this cute scene with the little chocobo that's always on Sazh's head ?

What would a Final Fantasy concert be without “Swing de Chocobo” song? I felt nostalgic listening to this ost as it reminded all the mini game of chocobo digging that I did through out all Final Fantasy series that I played.

Another everyone’s favourite song came in next and it’s no other than Maria and Draco from Final Fantasy VI. Not my personal favourite but it’s still great regardless.

The concert was coming to an end at this point and as a closing piece, Arnie played “Terra’s Theme” from Final Fantasy VI.

Do I even need to explain where this scene is coming from ? 🙂

You thought it was done but no, one special piece as Nobuo Uematsu joined and sang with the choir “One Winged Angel” from Final Fantasy VII.

Audio Clips

I managed to record the whole concert on my iphone but the quality is not so great. Regardless, I would love to share them with some of my readers who wanted to go but couldn’t make it due to various reasons. I hope you guys enjoy these clips. (Click on ‘Play’ icon to play each song)

Final Fantasy VIII – Liberi Fatali

Final Fantasy X – To Zanarkand

Final Fantasy VIII – Don’t Be Afraid

Final Fantasy VII – Aerith’s Theme

Final Fantasy I, II and III – Medley

Final Fantasy V – Dear Friends

Final Fantasy IX – Vamo’ alla Flamenco

Final Fantasy VII – Jenova

Final Fantasy XI – Ronfaure

Final Fantasy V – Clash on Big Bridge

Final Fantasy VII – Bombing Mission

Final Fantasy VIII – Fisherman’s Horizon

Final Fantasy XI – Memoro de la Stono – Distant Worlds

Final Fantasy XIII – The Promise

Final Fantasy XIII – Blinded by Light

Final Fantasy XIV – Navigator’s Glory

Final Fantasy XIV – Primal Judgement

Final Fantasy – Swing de Chocobo

Final Fantasy VI – Maria and Draco

Final Fantasy VI – Terra’s Theme

Final Fantasy VII – One Winged Angel

Thoughts

It was truly an amazing experience to be in this concert and money well spent in my opinion. I paid $120 something for my seat since I was waiting for my friend’s confirmation so I couldn’t get a cheaper seat, however, considering the experience, I would have paid $200 if I need to ^^;;. For me ,it’s truly more than worth it (as I probably said so many times already on twitter, facebook). In addition to gameplay and storyline, I believe music is what made Final Fantasy into what it is today and cannot really separate music/OST from Final Fantasy brand.

More pictures from the concert below

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

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Tohsaka Rin – Unlimited Blade Works

Good Smile Company will be really spoiling me next year with all these pre-orders and I can hear my wallet is crying. Another one in my wish list from Wonder Festival 2010 Summer is Tohsaka Rin -Unlimited Blade Works- version and she is currently available for preorder.

Her hair is just goergous and I always love dynamic pose figure. It just feels more realistic than a normal standing figure.

I am slightly worried that the figure whole weight is only supported by one of her legs. Even though it's not as bad as my Saber Triumphant Excalibur, hope it does not fall after couple months ^^;;

I like how GSC includes her seals on her right hand and also her heart jewel that she uses to heal someone.

Too bad that they does not include more swords/blades because in my mind since this is UBW version, there should be more swords/blades and her base could have been made wider even though her retail price may increase ^^

Tohsaka Rin is arguably the most favourite master in Fate/Stay Night world and no, it's not Shiro because he is so useless ^^;; (maybe not so much in UBW but he sure is useless in Fate route)

By the looks of it, her right arm seems to be detachable and I assume it's interchangeable with her dagger, Azoth.

Images via AmiAmi

Additional Tidbits

Manufacturer	Good Smile Company
Scale	1/7
Original	Fate/Stay Night
Release Date	Late May 2011
Retail Price	¥8,380 (Price varies due to discounts or other promotions for each store)
Available for pre-order	Hobby Search, Ami Ami, jlist, Play-Asia,Otacute, Hobby Link Japan

Saber -Triumphant Excalibur- is almost perfect

Saber -Triumphant Excalibur- can be said as an almost near perfect figure and Good Smile Company surely lives up to everyone’s expectation as one of the top figure manufacturers. Does it worth the price tag? Let pictures be the judge.

Saber's side armor has a metalic finish and those bolts on the side add a steel-like material to the her armor even though it's made from PVC. Painting is well-done such that it produces this kind of result.

Very nice sculpture on Saber's boots which is something that it would have been done if it's not from Good Smile Company (GSC). They do put a lot of effort on every part of this Saber -Triumphant Excalibur-

An amazing scaled figure should always come with an amazing base. I think having a good base, it adds some extra points on a particular figure's attractiveness. It seems to be the case with this Saber -Triumphant Excalibur-. Most figure manufacturers underestimate the importance of having a good base. It's not just only for support but it also adds values to the figure itself.

Saber's Invisible Air (インビジブル・エア, one of her Noble Phantasam) is also included within this figure package and wind effects are added and circles the invisible sword. Characters are also engraved on the sword itself. It trully amazes me on how much time the sculpture spent to achieve this kind of attention to detail.

Another shot on her back.

Oopsies, no pantsu everyone ^^ and kneepits shot for a fellow blogger, LightningSabre 😉

Another marvelous attention to detail on painting to give look and feel of steel-armor surface for her gloves.

Golden colour decoration on Saber's dress beneath her armour.

Detailed engraving on Excalibur similar to the one on her invisible sword.

Now, this is little bit different than the original one. Based on my quick search on google, the crescents are supposed to attached/touched to the bottom border (golden yellow colour). Does anyone think so too ? Additionally, was the splotchiness intentional ? I just don't the reason why it's necessary.

I did a quick check on Saber in the anime series (Episode 24) and took this screenshot. As you may already notice that, the two crescents touch the bottom part. Hmmm, not cool >.<

Neck armour is well-painted with blue but it's not the case with her armour as seen below.

Question for fellow owner of Saber -Triumphant Excalibur-, does the paint on her armor look like mine ? Her armor (blue part) was not painted properly. It could be that it's just a matter of a manufacturer defect in my case.

Not a big fan of how the figure is attached to the base. I doubt that it will last for a while and I guess I will give it a year before it bends ^^;;

Close-up shot on Excalibur. Nice sculpture and paint on the sword.

Thoughts

Very very happy with how this figure turned out based pictures on my preorder post back on February 2010. It has everything that I am looking for in a figure: paint, sculpture, base, dynamic pose and how close it is to the original. I would have given 10/10 if it’s not for minor paint issue on her front armour, a minor difference  between the figure and the original on the crescents, metal support between figure and base and splotchyness . I guess watching Fate/Stay Night series more than 50 times definitely helps when I do a figure photo shoot review ^^;;. While writing this review, I had a hard time rating this figure. I was back and forth between 9 and 9.5 but decided to go with 9.5 since it fulfills all the requirements in what I look in a scaled figure.

Rating: 9.5/10

Additional Tidbits

Manufacturer	Good Smile Company
Scale	1/7
Original	Fate/Stay Night
Release Date	Mid September 2010
Retail Price	¥9,333 (Price varies due to discounts or other promotions for each store)
Price	¥9,513 (¥7,933 + ¥1,580 for SAL shipping)
Availability	Hobby Link Japan, Play-Asia

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

Nendoroid Kirino Kousaka

Another preorder two days after my previous preorder is definitely not good for my wallet, however, when Kirino is this cute, it’s too hard to resist. The name of “Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai” is not just for show after all. If you haven’t already, please check out my first impression of “Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai” anime which starts running this fall season.

It's kinda cute that they include her cellphone which is a trademark of Kirino

There is nothing more cute thatn grumpy/angry face of Kirino. Her agnry face is just priceless.

I think we have a winner here. Kirino's happy/moe face whether she's talking about her hobbies. I think we all agree that our face is probably like that too when we receive our anime goods ^^;;.

Another cute item included with this Kirino Nendoroid is DVD and a bag. Could the bag be from Comiket ? I wonder which eroge is it on the DVD ? Looks like the fighting game SisCaly. Does anyone know ?

Images via AmiAmi

Additional Tidbits

Manufacturer	Good Smile Company
Scale	Nendoroid
Original	Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
Release Date	Late February 2011
Retail Price	¥3,333 (Price varies due to discounts or other promotions for each store)
Available for pre-order	Hobby Search, Hobby Link Japan, Otacute, Play-Asia, Ami Ami, Jlist

Nendoroid D.C.-da capo- Nemu Asakura

As you probably already know that I am not into nendoroid in general with some exceptions like if they are from my favourite series, for example, Fate Stay Night. I have three Saber nendos so far ^^ and now, Nemu Asakura nendo will gladly join my nendo collection. Due to recent security issue at Hobby Search, I will be pre-ordering from AmiAmi from now on.

Nendoroid D.C.-da capo- Nemu Asakura by Good Smile Company

I couldn't help but laughed when I saw this image. I think this is the main reason why I decided to get Nemu nendo despite not being a nendo fan. I am willing to make an exception for one of my favourite series, Da Capo.

Not as good as Nemu's angry face but her shy expression is just kawaii~

I am glad that Utamaru is included in this nendo, otherwise, it wouldn't have been perfect ^^

Nendo collectors and DC fans out there, is this in your buy list ?

Images via AmiAmi

Additional Tidbits

Manufacturer	Good Smile Company
Scale	Nendoroid
Original	Da Capo by Circus
Release Date	Late March 2011
Retail Price	¥3,333 (Price varies due to discounts or other promotions for each store)
Available for pre-order	Hobby Search, Hobby Link Japan, Otacute, Play-Asia, Ami Ami

Claymore Chapter 109 : Bonds of The Warriors

Chapter Summary

After clash between Claymores and Awakened beings in Holy City of Labona, Yagi diverts our attention back to the organization. Dae, one of organization members, has brought something back the organization headquarter. It was no other than Raki, himself. Last time, he was being stabbed by those spears from the Destroyer and captured by the organization. While waiting for Dae’s return, Raki was being researched by other members to find out why he manages to survive this long and avoids corrosion. The secret lies on his back.

Back to our Claymores at Holy City of Labona, Helen guides Galatea outside Holy City of Labona to determine if the lump of flesh that she and Deneve brought back. Even the mighty Galatea, who is well-known for her youki sensing, cannot sense if Clare is inside the lump or not. The only things that Galatea knows is that it emits youki and both Clare and Priscilla are in there. Attempting to save Clare can only mean that Priscilla will be freed also and we all know how powerful Priscilla is. In addition to Clare, something else also sealed Priscilla’s movement together with Clare.

While Galatea and Helen are busy examining the lump of flesh, they are surprised by sound of two swords clashing with one another. In the east part of the holy city, Deneve and Tabitha exchanges blow between one another. Deneve tries to stop Tabitha’s foolish attempt to go alone to the organization in order to find Miria. Since Deneve is one or two levels above Tabitha, she easily gains the upper hand and as Deneve is about to land a final blow, Cynthia blocks her attack and Helenn grabs Tabitha from behind to prevent those two from killing each other.

Deneve thinks that Miria is an idiot and thinks highly of her skill. Seven of them were training in the North and vowed to destroy the organization, however, Miria betrayed the group and didn’t fit to be their leader. Hearing Deneve belittles Miria, Tabitha cannot hold her anger and punch Deneve on her face. After, Deneve told Galatea that she does not believe that Miria is dead and plants to go to the organization. The rest of Claymores agree to Deneve’s plan and getting ready to leave.

As they are about to leave, Dietrich, organization no.9, appears and tells them the debt has been paid more than what they owed. She asks whether what happened in the Holy City of Labona was part of the organization’s plan. Deneve does not answer her directly, instead, she invites her to come with the rest of them to find the truth by herself.

Thoughts

Thank you, Yagi. It’s about time than we know something about Raki as it’s been a while. Judging from Dae’s reaction, Raki might have himself injected with youma’s flesh so that he becomes a Claymore. Could the flesh be from part of Priscilla’s body ? The only reason Raki survives until now despite being stabbed with two spears from the Destroyer, is because he has Priscilla’s flesh running through his body so it creates an immune system. As far as I know, those spears failed to corrode Priscilla in previous chapters.

Since there is a possibility that Clare is still alive, I somewhat foresee that the final battle may happen between Clare and Priscilla since Clare is our main heroine and Priscilla is her ultimate enemy. Assuming Galatea manages to bring Clare back, there is no way that Priscilla won’t be revived either as Galatea said in this chapter, reviving Clare also means to revive the winged, one horn monster.

Ever since Miria’s dead, Claymore’s readers/fans are divided into two faction; one believes that Miria is still alive and other believes that Miria is dead. I am part of the latter ^^;;. Sorry to those who still believes that Miria is still alive, I find it hard to believe after what happened to Miria and the way Yagi kills characters through out chapters increases the chance that Miria is already dead but since I am not the writer, I can be wrong, right ? ^^

With the rest of Claymores heading toward organization headquarter, could it be that we are reaching climax anytime soon ? I feel that it’s an appropriate way to end this manga soon instead of continuing unnecessarily.

Thoughts?

Claymore chapter 109 can be read at somemangas.com