Referensi Komik Bagus : Ajin: Demi-Human

Akhirnyaaaaaa~ posting lagi tentang referensi komik bagus! It's been so long since my last post about comic reference...

Kali ini adalah salah satu komik yang menurutku sih underrated ya. Walaupun udah pernah diangkat jadi live action, daya jualnya masih kurang nancep buat di Indonesia ini. Film-nya sendiri juga udah hampir 5 tahun lalu, sekitar tahun 2017~

Kira-kira ada yang bisa tebak??

Yap!!! Judul komiknya adalah AJIN: DEMI-HUMAN!!!

Ada yang udah pernah denger pasti, yekan~ Live action yang dibintangi oleh Takeru Satoh dan Go Ayano ini bisa dibilang cukup seru lho. Sayang aja waktu itu kurang hype. Btw aku sempet nonton di bioskop waktu itu sama temenku, dan soundtrack film-nya gak lain adalah The Oral Cigarettes dengan lagu Black Memory!

Oke, back to the topic..

Ajin: Demi-Human (next kita sebut Ajin aja cukup ya) udah sempet ada anime-nya juga, lho! Bahkan itungannya di Jepang anime Ajin ini cukup populer. Tapi yaa, mungkin karena ceritanya yang sedikit berdarah-darah jadi entah kenapa kurang diminati di sini.

Jujur, walaupun aku dulu udah sempet nonton filmnya dan mulai memutuskan buat koleksi komiknya, masih aja terasa berat buat ngikutin. Waktu itu baru beberapa volume juga sih yang terbit, dan ceritanya beneran 11-12 sama yang di film. Jadi kayak, meh~ Yaudah deh setelah itu tetep beli dan koleksi komiknya, tapi belom sempet dibaca lagi.

Baru deh beberapa saat lalu di kala koleksi uda mencapai volume ke-16 (tamat di volume ke-17), mulai aku membacanya dan... BOOM!!! Seru banget dong~ Bahkan aku yang niat baca suka mood-mood-an aja pas baca itu uda berasa kayak lewat aja, cepet banget selesainya! I enjoyed the series so much!

Jadi, buat yang penasaran sebenernya Ajin ini tentang apa? Ajin: Demi-Human ini menceritakan tentang sesosok makhluk yang gak bisa mati. Udah jelas ya dari judulnya juga? Lebih tepatnya bukan gak bisa mati, tapi tiap kali dia mati pasti bakal hidup lagi. Mantep gak tuh? Tokoh utamanya bernama Nagai Kei, seorang pelajar SMA biasa yang bercita-cita jadi dokter buat bisa nyembuhin penyakit adiknya yang langka.

Terus kapan ceritanya mulai? Tentu aja mirip lah kayak sinetron wkwkwk, jadi Kei ini lagi mau nyeberang tapi karena dia selalu belajar dimanapun, eh gak sadar deh lampu udah merah dan tertabraklah dia. Di saat badannya uda kelindes truk jadi dua, saat itulah Ajin mulai tampak. DIA HIDUP LAGI! Hayo sapa yang gak parno klo liat kejadian itu? Nah, Ajin sendiri di Jepang ceritanya masih langka alias yang ketauan cuma dikit, lainnya gak mau ngaku karena klo ngaku nanti bakal ditangkap sama pemerintah karena dianggap berbahaya.

Hal yang sama terjadi juga sama Kei, dia mendadak jadi buronan semua warga Jepang. Sampe-sampe ada bounty buat yang bisa nyerahin Kei ke pemerintah, udah kayak One Piece aja yak wkwk. Trus klo udah ketangkep nanti Ajin-nya diapain? Ternyata jadi bahan percobaan dong~ Karena tau mereka gak bisa mati, jadilah badan si Ajin dibuat percobaan dengan dibunuh berkali-kali.

Ajin selain Nagai Kei? Tentu banyak~ Cuma the most villain di sini yang diceritakan adalah Ajin bernama Sato. Awalnya dia pura-pura baik nolong Kei, tapi lama-lama Kei sadar klo Sato ini tuh jahat. Jadilah inti cerita di dalamnya adalah cara Kei dan Ajin baik lainnya (termasuk pasukan penelitian Ajin yang berbalik jadi bekerja sama bareng Kei) melawan Sato cs yang berdalih memperjuangkan kesejahteraan kaum Ajin.

Serunya dimana? Ya di perjalanan gimana caranya Kei dkk berusaha melawan Sato. Karena emang ini si Sato tuh unik banget, jago, dan cerdas gitu lho. Untunglah Kei ini ceritanya gak kalah sama Sato klo soal kapasitas otak (calon dokter kan, pinter cuy!). Jadi ya, sebenernya mereka perang pemikiran cuma ditambah adegan action-nya yang mantuls di komik.

Selain Kei dan Sato, tentunya ada beberapa tokoh pendukung yang gak kalah penting. Misalnya Tosaki, Kaito (temen masa kecil Kei), Nakano, Shimomura, Tanaka, Takahashi, dan Okuyama.

Yah, walopun ku ceritakan gak begitu detail tapi pokoknya ini komik cocok jadi rekomendasi komik yang wajib dibaca. Selain karena plotnya yang jelas dan gak bertele-tele, adegan actionnya juga seru dan gak menye-menye. Terlebih masih masuk logika juga sih (menurutku ya~). Tentunya karena komik ini masih underrated sekali, jadi aku coba masukin ke kolom referensi komik bagus kali ini.

Komik Ajin volume 01

Ajin Live Action Poster

Beberapa karakter pada cerita Ajin

So, buat yang masih galau mau baca komik apa lagi? Cus deh, baca Ajin: Demi-Human! Dijamin wow dan gak nyesel~! Klo males baca, ada juga versi anime atau live action biar lebih kerasa real wkwkwk.

That's it! Cukup sekian Referensi Komik Bagus kali ini, see you on the next reference~! and thanks for reading!

_karin0punx_

Album Review: ONE OK ROCK's SKYFALL

Howdy, guys!

Good evening -here- from my desk even though it's past 6 p.m already :')

ONE OK ROCK

Skyfall Album Art

Yeyeyeyeyees! Today I wanna write a review about a phenomenal album (I demand!). This album is called "SKYFALL" from ONE OK ROCK. Most of you probably know this band already (sorry hasn't review it yet). ONE OK ROCK is a Japanese rock band as you find in the wikipedia page. I knew this band before from one of my best friends. I remember that she said this band is cool and high recommended for me. She also stated that the singer's English is good despite his Japanese blood. And I started to hear few of their songs and TA-DA! This is fvcking good! xD

Ambitions Album Art

Back to the main topic. Few days (or weeks?) ago, ONE OK ROCK kicked off their Japan Tour for their newest album "AMBITIONS". WTH? Then what about SKYFALL? So, the album SKYFALL is special. This is a limited album that only sold during the show. So! So, this album is not for sale. NOT FOR SALE! And then I cry... Why did I cry? Because this album is freaking awesome! With only 3 (three) songs included, it really makes your ears burnt out because you keep playing on repeat!

Not only those magnificent songs, but also the guest vocalists! Oh-My-God! You can list Japan's best singers right now as coldrain's Masato, Crossfaith's Koie, and SiM's Mah featured in it. What could I say? It's a fvcking freaking awesome combination in one! All of them is my favorite, hell yeah!!

The first song titled same as the album, Skyfall. Those guest vocals is on this track. First time I heard it, I just couldn't say a word. The music literally bewitched me. Moreover it's like a fusion between four colours of music -ONE OK ROCK, coldrain, Crossfaith, and SiM-! And of course the lyrics is on English except one sentence on the Riff. I don't know any techniques, but for me it's the best combination so far! The music, the lyrics, and of course the vocals. I said that this track is the hardest one in this album. I'll give it 5/5. Rocks! xD

coldrain's Masato

Crossfaith's Koie

SiM's Mah

The second song is called Right By Your Side. This song is softer than the first one. But I didn't say that it's soft. Just softer. It's still have their rocks vibe. You can find their 'nature' in this track cause when I heard this song is remind me of their other songs. And don't ask me whether it's good or not. Of course you will coddle your ears with it. The lyrics? Just read the title. The music? Freaking good! I'll give it 4/5 ;)

The last song and the one you can chill with is named Manhattan Beach. This is the slowest song included in this SKYFALL Album. I couldn't say much about this track. You better hear it on yourselves right now! Honestly, this song is making me calmer. When you hear this song it's like you're in a beach, lie under a palm tree (or coconut), and someone especially sing for you. Ahhh.. so calm :) Even now when I write this part, I'm listening to it and it calms me down. Then~ I'll give it 4.5/5 :*

Okay that's all my review. I didn't say much cause I don't really know how to write a review in a right way (LOL). I just say what I wanna say when I hear about it ;)

But again, you really should -like right now- hear these tracks! Well, I don't know how to get this limited CDs to be honest. But I demand you should listen to it.. someday...

WHY THE HELL THIS ALBUM IS LIMITED!!! T^T

_karin0punx_

Referensi Komik Bagus : DEAR BOYS -End-

Good Afternoon, guys!
Finally I'm able to write something again...
If you look at the title, you'll see the title in bahasa. So, this time I'll write this post in bahasa too. Let's check it out!

DEAR BOYS Vol. 21 Act III (End)

Jadi, sesuai judulnya Referensi Komik Bagus : DEAR BOYS -End-, beberapa tahun (gile uda lama aja) yang lalu aku post tentang yang judulnya itu. Isinya referensi dan pengenalan tentang komik yang judulnya DEAR BOYS ini. Nah, kenapa sekarang aku pilih lagi judulnya sama? (kecuali akhirannya, sih)

Usut punya usut (ceile), komik basket karangan Hiroki Yagami-sensei ini sudah mencapai akhirnya. Alhamdulillah, yaaah... Beberapa bulan yang lalu tepatnya di Jepang, seri terakhir perjalanan Aikawa cs sudah menuai ujungnya alias tamat. Cukup lama juga untuk ukuran komik lama ya... Memang, 26 tahun lamanya dari seri pertama dikeluarkan (volume 1 act I) hingga yang terakhir beberapa waktu yang lalu (volume 21 act III).

Beberapa bagi yang sudah baca komiknya pasti tau betapa penuh perjuangannya tim basket SMA Mizuho buat memenangkan Interhigh yang udah dinantikan. Tentu aja lawan di final pun gak gampang, tim basket unggulan sekaligus juara bertahan, Tendouji. Tim yang merupakan asuhan ayah dan kakak Aikawa dan juga mantan tim pemuda tersebut.

Tetapi karena tidak menemukan rasa yang dicarinya dalam bermain basket di Tendouji, akhirnya Aikawa Kazuhiko memutuskan untuk pindah ke SMA lain. Dan bintang basket SMA itu memilih Mizuho sebagai tempat bernaungnya. Tim basket Mizuho yang kala itu sudah diambang kehancuran, sedikit-sedikit mulai bangkit walaupun hanya beranggotakan lima orang: Aikawa Kazuhiko, Fujiwara Takumi, Miura Ranmaru, Ishi Tsutomu, dan Dobashi Kenji. Mulailah perjuangan penuh keringat dan air mata bagi kelima pemuda SMA Mizuho tersebut.

Singkat cerita sih komik ini tentang basket. Mirip-mirip sama SLAM DUNK di kala itu. Karena komik ini termasuk komik jadul, jadi begitu membaca volume 1 act I, pasti akan kaget karena gaya menggambarnya yang masih jadul dan terkesan sedikit berantakan. Namun, bagi pembaca setia seri ini, pasti menjadi saksi bagaimana komik ini terus berkembang mulai dari segi cerita, plot cerita, sampai teknik menggambar Yagami-sensei. Mengagumkan!

Di volume terakhir yang beberapa hari lalu baru aku beli dan baca, tentunya menceritakan akhir perjuangan mereka yang menang lawan Tendouji. Bener-bener, deh, air mata ini tidak bisa terbendung lagi. Gimana enggak, dengan kondisi tim yang hampir semua pemain utamanya cidera (3 dari 5), akhirnya bisa memanfaatkan peluang kecil buat serangan balik yang menjadi penentuan. Selain itu yang bikin baper lagi itu pas flashback ke cerita-cerita sebelumnya. Taulah, ya, kalo komik mau kelar kan pasti banyak mengingat-ingat kejadian yang dulu jadi tambahlah nangisnya... Apalagi waktu perpisahan kelas 3 sama junior-juniornya. Sedih atuuuh :'(

Plus lagi itu ya pas abis baca kata-kata dari Yagami-sensei di akhir volume. Bagaimana dia berusaha mengakhiri cerita Aikawa cs yang udah berlangsung selama 26 tahun lamanya. Juga bagaimana akhirnya dia memutuskan bahwa Aikawa yang menjadi 'gong'-nya. Selain itu Yagami-sensei juga cerita suka duka selama menggarap seri DEAR BOYS ini. Benar-benar bikin semakin terharu! :')

Jujur, aku bahagia baca seri terakhir DEAR BOYS karena memang udah lama menantikan bagaimana cerita itu berakhir nantinya. Tapi di sisi lain ada juga sedihnya karena gak bisa membaca cerita Aikawa cs lagi. Untungnya, sih, aku memutuskan untuk koleksi komik ini dari awal act I sampai akhir act III. Jadi bisa dibaca berulang kali sebanyak yang aku mau hehehe :)

Akhir kata, sih, terima kasih buat Hiroki Yagami-sensei yang telah membuat sebuah karya yang sungguh menarik dan juga karena tidak pernah menyerah dalam pembuatan komik ini sehingga komik DEAR BOYS bisa selesai. Sebagai fans DEAR BOYS, saya benar-benar berterima kasih *bow* :))) Semoga kedepannya bisa membaca karya-karya lain dari sensei, yaaa.. Oh iya, denger-denger ada side story setelah tamatnya act III ini, lho... Ayo kita nantikan bersama!

See you all! Thanks for reading :*




_karin0punx_

Band Review: coldrain (Japan)

Heyho! Long time no post, guys!
Now I'm back to review a band, amazing band called coldrain!

coldrain - Vena

coldrain (コールドレイン Kōrudorein) is a rock band from Japan, precisely from Nagoya prefecture. Their genres come around post-hardcore, metalcore, alternative metal, and screamo (but I guess it's post-hardcore mainly). coldrain formed in 2007 with their original members who last until now, they are:

Masato David Hayakawa (マサト Masato) as lead vocals
Yokochi (ヨコチ Y.K.C) as lead guitars and programming
Kazuya Sugiyama (スギ Sugi) as rythm guitars and backing vocals
Ryo Shimizu (リョウ RxYxO) as bass and backing vocals
Katsuma Minatani (カツマ Katsuma) as drums.

Masato

Y.K.C

Sugi

RxYxO

Katsuma

coldrain has four studio albums already. Their first album, Final Destination, came out in October 2009. The second album, The Enemy Inside, came out in February 2011. The Revelation then came out in April 2013. The forth album, Vena, came out in October 2015.

Vena, their latest album, is one of my favorite album in 2015. This album consists of eleven tracks including the song 'Runaway' which Papa Roach's vocalist took part of. The track listing is:

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Vena"	0:58
2.	"Wrong"	3:32
3.	"Divine"	3:36
4.	"Gone"	4:12
5.	"Words of the Youth"	3:31
6.	"The Story"	4:09
7.	"Whole"	3:45
8.	"Runaway" (feat. Jacoby Shaddix)	3:46
9.	"Pretty Little Liar"	3:46
10.	"Heart of the Young"	3:48
11.	"Fire in the Sky"	3:24

I like almost all of the songs in this album. Well, I could say they did a really great great job with this album (It's also the reason why I fallen for them now!). The melodic and the drum's beats blend perfectly with Masato's vocal which very fluently in English. All of the songs are in English, by the way. No wonder, Masato is half Japanese and half American! xD

My favorite among favorites is The Story. Not only due to the music, but the lyrics too. I'm always enjoying my time to sing that song. But once again, I like almost -I guess now all- of the tracks tho.

Well I guess that's enough for tonight. If you curious about this band, just go to Youtube and listen to few of their songs. I bet they're worth listening! Just believe in me ;)

Good night! Boo-yah~




_karin0punx_

Review Album: Madness by Sleeping With Sirens

Last Tuesday, March 17th 2015, was the release date of Sleeping With Sirens' newest album Madness.

Madness is Sleeping With Sirens' forth studio album and released under Epitaph Records label (their previous albums were released under Rise Records label). Beside that, this album is the first record with the new guitarist, Nick Martin, who replaced former guitarist Jesse Lawson.

Band members:
Kellin Quinn: lead vocals, keyboards
Jack Fowler: lead guitars, programming
Justin Hills: bass guitars
Gabe Barham: drums, percussions
Nick Martin: rhythm guitars, backing vocals

Production:
John Feldmann: productions, mixing

The track list are (Madness Deluxe Edition):
1. Kick Me
2. Go Go Go
3. Gold
4. Save Me A Spark
5. Fly
6. The Strays
7. Left Alone
8. Better Off Dead
9. We Like It Loud
10. Heroine
11. November
12. Madness
13. Don't Say Anything
14. Parasites (Bonus Track)
15. 2 Chord (Bonus Track)

Now, let's review some of the tracks.

1. Kick Me

One of my favorite track in this album. Kick Me has post-hardcore influence and fast beat tempo. There're some Kellin's screaming parts. Well, I think this track is easy listening because first you heard it, you'll like it.

2. Go Go Go

I like this track at first sight when I saw its music video. I said this track is bit lighter than Kick Me or Better Off Dead or We Like It Loud. But still, it worth listening (sure!). Because the way they play the music or sing, somekind make us feel light and happy.

3. Fly

Fly is one of the track in this album that has unique beat. The Kellin's voice strength mixed perfectly with the instruments. Also the lyrics as good as always. I think it's one of the track that you should listen to.

4. The Strays

Kellin said that The Strays is his favorite track in this album. I can't disagree with him because this track is so good and has deep meaning. Maybe Kellin wrote this song based on his experience in the real world. So when he sings this song it seems he sings it whole-heartly. The music also support the lyrics perfectly. Well, it's good to hear really!

5. Better Off Dead

It's my favorite track in this Madness album. I like it as I heard it for the first time through Epitaph's youtube channel. This track has deep emotion that everyone feel sometimes (or more times). It's about being left, alone, rejected, and somekind of that. So she thought better off dead than living that way. The lyrics touch everyone who listening to it so they could feel it too. Beside that, the music's great from my perspective. I like this kind of music (the lyrics too!) Maybe through this song, SWS's members want to show their love and say that we should appreciate ourselves no matter what happens.

6. We Like It Loud


Beside Kick Me, maybe We Like It Loud is the right track that has post-hardcore influence. Like their songs before, this track has more screaming parts than any other track in this album (is it right?). Maybe if we want to hear little bit resemblance of their's previous album songs, we should hear We Like It Loud.

7. Madness

Madness title same as the album's name. This track is half-acoustic. It has great guitar parts. The tempo is medium (maybe?) and the music is little bit slow. Kellin's parts are prominent and it's good to deliver the meaning of this song. I think this track is good to a accompany you in your sleep.

8. 2 Chord

So far I know, this track is the full acoustic track in Madness. The guitar parts and Kellin's voice mixed harmonically. This really good acoustic song!

Yeah, those are some track reviews from Madness album. Overall, I enjoy listening to this album. There're happy tracks, bit sad tracks, and deep meaning tracks. I love it! Maybe for some people this album a bit different from their previous albums. But, it's okay. Maybe this is some part of their musical journey, right?

Well, it's all from my perspective and of course my perspective could be same as yours or maybe different. So, write your own review and tell everybody what do you think about this Madness album!

So pick it up! Yeaahhh!! \m/



_karin0punx_