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My kpop awards

By

On Dicembre 28, 2023

In kpop

Hello everyone!

Last year, I wrote my first kpop awards ever, starting a new end of the year tradition for this blog; well, actually I’ve been doing the same for otome games in the past, but since I’m still on hiatus for that hobby, I’ve decided to write my opinions about my favorite kpop releases of the year again!

If you’re not into kpop, but you’re still interested in music in general, give these a chance and you might be surprised! Since I started listening to kpop again, I was able to drag 2 of my friends into this mess with be, so be careful: these songs are addictive and these boys are extremely good looking, so if you dare to watch their MV, you may descend to hell as well.

You’ve been warned!

BEST B-SIDE: NCT DREAM- Broken Melodies

I loved this song immediately, in my opinion this is good enough to be a title track; I’m glad they decided to promote it as a prerelease, it would have been such a waste, as a track listened only by fans! Their vocals are insane, when I watched the Dreamies recording this song I truly admired their dedication and efforts to hit such high notes; Renjun voice is my favorite here, but they were all amazing.

MV OF THE YEAR: TXT- Sugar Rush Ride

Even if I’m not a huge fan of this song, the video itself is absolutely stunning: it looks like a fairytale, but also a nightmare at the same time; it takes you on a wild trip, with sexy random moments and unexpected twists. I can’t take my eyes off the screen every time I watch it.

BEST PERFORMANCE: ATEEZ- Halazia

When it comes to delivering a powerful performance, Ateez is always the first group that comes in my mind. Halazia is breathtaking. It’s so dramatic, I can feel all their emotions and it gives me such an overwhelming feeling every time; this is not “powerful” only as “strong, impactful”, it also touches the audience deeply.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: ZEROBASEONE

I have a lot to say about this topic, but I’ll just keep it short as much as I can.

I’ve watched Boys Planet since the very beginning, when the first video came out, so I’m emotionally attached to the show and the boys, even the ones who didn’t make it to the final lineup.

My expectation for their debut were huge, since I know their skills pretty well.

When In Bloom was released, I was really disappointed: I felt like they could show much more, with a concept that could suit the image of the group better.

Crush is more my stile, their performace are amazing as usual, so I feel like Wakeone is finally on the right path. But I admit it openly: if I didn’t care about them from Boys Planet and I had to choose my favorite rookie of the year based on their songs, stage presence and variety skills, my choice would be different.

I’d choose Boynextdoor anyday.

Their songs are catchy, those boys have a lot of talent and charisma, but they also seem very humble and entertaining, while watching their shows. I’m sure they will keep growing their fanbase really fast, they deserve it!

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: NCT2023- Golden Age

I absolutely love every song, since there’s a good mix of genres and different vibes: Baggy Jeans is catchy, Kangaroo is cute, The Bat is sexy; That’s not fair is also amazing, I’ve been listening to it even more than the title track probably, I wish there was a video too. This albums shows perfectly the different charms of every member and their versatility, which is probably the main point of having 20 people in the same group.

SONG OF THE YEAR: ENHYPEN: Bite Me

The funny thing is, I’m not even a huge Engene! I know their songs, I’ve watched I-land, but I’m not emotionally attached to this group; but when a song is that good, it speaks for itself.

I fell in love since I’ve heard a few seconds of it, even before the official release; I realized immediately, it was going to be a huge candidate to be my favorite song of 2023. And I wasn’t wrong, as months passed by, I never got tired to listen to it.

Many amazing songs were released this year, Seventeen’s Super was also great and I thought for a long time, to give it my personal award.

But in the end, Bite Me won over my heart completely.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR: NCT2023

Choosing them as a full group, instead of just picking my favorite sub unit, it’s probably cheating; but I don’t care, it comes from my heart!

Golden Age was my favorite album this year and I absolutely love the chemistry they have reached now, despite them being 20; they are different in many ways, every sub unit has its own charm, but when they gather together on stage, like at NCT NATION, you can feel the impressive power which comes from the full group. I miss Lucas and I wish him luck; I miss Shotaro and Sungchan, but I’m sure they’ll find their own path in Riize.

Next year the Japanese unit will be added, so the whole picture will change once more.

I’ll warmly welcome those 6 boys too, but in my heart, NCT2023 won’t be replaced.

Well, 2023 was overall a great year: there were many amazing comebacks, but also debuts which will probably make a huge impact in the industry. I’m sure 2024 is going to be epic too!

Christmas mood is here already!

By

On Novembre 15, 2023

In Personal stuff, Senza categoria

Hello everyone, how are you? Are you mentally preparing for Christmas?

In Italy every shop has a Christmas tree already, which souldn’t be surprise, but still it feels kinda early to me; shopping centers have amazing decorations, it looks like a completely different place and I can’t complain, it looks beautiful.

I honestly don’t care very much about Christmas, I probably stopped being excited when I started working and my holidays were not as long as in my school days, when I always stayed home for like 3 weeks; those were really days worth celebrating!

Until last year, while working in a retail store, December was hell for me: no time to rest, no days off, a huge crowd at every hour… what a nightmare!

This year is completely different since I’m unemployed, but I also don’t feel in the mood to meet my relatives who always repeat on loop the same questions; I guess you all imagine easily what I’m talking about.

When I was in college, they all asked me when I was going to graduate and get a job; when I moved with my boyfriend, everyone’s main concern seemed to be when I was going to get married; then, it evolved in the question I’ve always hated the most: “when are you having kids?”.

I don’t know if people are just genuinely curious, or if they enjoy putting pressure on younger relatives; just leave me alone and live your own life! We all have different timing and goals, they should worry about my well being, instead of making me anxious.

I’m sure many people understand pretty well, how annoying those family meetings are.

There’s still a whole month ahead, so let’s talk about something nicer.

Have you noticed, how my blog changed recently?

If you’re reading this on mobile it probably looks the same, but if you actually open my blog on PC or tablet, you’ll find it completely different.

In January, when I decided to give a new life to this blog, I was determined to leave the header and the main theme as it used to be, since most of the post here are about otome games; I can’t say it was a bad idea, but I wasn’t sure that it was going to work in the long term.

Honestly, I think at this point I needed something new, a breath of fresh air.

Of course, it doesn’t mean I erased old posts, it took me years to write that many and I’m still very proud of what I accomplished, but I don’t think it makes sense to keep its appearence as an otome blog either; there are plenty of otome games reviewers now, way better than me.

So, what’s the point of pretending nothing changed?

I want this blog to look more like myself. The “me” as she is now, not the “me” I used to be from 2013 to 2022. It doesn’t mean I’m a completely different person, obviously: if you talk to me on twitter, I’m still the same; but posting in an otome themed blog after spending almost 2 years without playing any single route, felt like some kind of a joke.

There’s no point in being too attached to the past, let’s embrace changes!

When I chose this new style, I was looking for something simple, which would give me a sense of inner peace: black and white, but also colorful flowers. Do you like it?

Don’t worry, if you are still here for my otome reviews, in the bottom right there’s still my review list, where you can find everything you’re looking for.

For everything else, like TOP10 or drama cd, there’s a tag search, you should be able easily to navigate though the blog anyway.

I understand how it gets a bit more difficult, for readers who always come here just for otome stuff, to find immediately what you are looking for; but it makes me feel better, as if I took a huge step towards accepting the new me and changing.

If you still will come here, thank you; if not, thank you for coming these past years, it truly meant a lot to me!

I’m late, but here’s some kind of blog’s anniversary post!

By

On Novembre 4, 2023

In let's talk!, my life, Personal stuff, Senza categoria

Hello everyone!

I’m almost embarrassed to write this post actually, for 2 reasons: the first is that last month I promised I would be more active here, but in the end I updated regularly for 2 weeks and then I almost disappeared again; I’m sorry!

But I swear, I wasn’t lazy. Sadly, my father has a serious illness and he was hospitalized for a week, so I went there every day to meet him and I did my best to lift up his mood a bit; now he’s home while he’s waiting to start treatment, so I spend a lot of my time at my parents’ house to keep them company since they can barely go outside.

I guess you understand, while I wasn’t in the mood to write.

But I can’t just spend my days thinking about sad stuff, I also try my best to be positive while distracting myself with my hobbies; that’s how I remembered about my blog anniversary, which I completely forgot about last year. What a pity! I guess my old job was really sucking the life out of me. And so it comes, the main reason while I’m kinda embarrassed of myself: I completely messed up the date!

I have no idea why I was sure I opened this blog on the 5th november 2016, but looking back at my old anniversary posts I realized it was actually on the 2nd… which means I missed it again, this year!

I probably should have checked it out sooner, but I had no doubts! I’m getting old guys, there’s no way I could have made such a mistake in the past.

Anyway, it’s been 7 years already, since I opened this blog to write about otome games: I still remember how it felt when I first started, it was such an exciting journey and I worked really hard to bring some content almost every day… I swear, I miss the old times and the otome community, even if I’m sure it changed a lot.

Since I’ve been unemployed, a little voice in my head has been telling me to get back to this hobby and play some more, at least to complete the games I was almost done with. Yes, I’m talking about Cendrillon Phalika. The good news, is that I actually made some progress, even if it’s very slow, so there’s still hope to see my review here. I can’t see myself going back to being an otome blogger, but you shouldn’t be too surprised, if some kind of review comes up sooner or later.

Even if the old days are not completely gone, I still decided to sell part of my collection: if I ever come back fully to this hobby, I’m sure I won’t replay some of the games which didn’t really leave a great impression on me, that’s why I’m more than willing to sell them to someone who will experience them for the first time and maybe enjoy them more than I did.

If you’re interested in something, you can find them on twitter and also in my previous post!

Lately this blog has mostly become some kind of diary, and I think it’s still better than just stop updating completely. Thanks to everyone who has been reading since the beginning, but also thank you to everyone who comes here from time to time to check if there are some kind of updates.

I can’t promise there will be new otome posts very soon, but I’ll do my best at least to write my usual end of the year personal posts: my 2023 recap, my plans for 2024 and probably my kpop awards.

Well, I guess trying to come up with a plan for the new year while I’m still unemployed and my father’s health makes me too worried to start looking for a new job, doesn’t seem like a good start. But we can still hope at least, right? Life has ups and downs, in the nearly future I’m sure I’ll be able to stand up again.

I’m selling some of my otome games!

By

On Ottobre 28, 2023

In Senza categoria

Hello everyone, how are you?

Sorry if I disappeared for a while, my life has been kinda busy lately, but I’ll explain what’s going on in a few days, since my blog’s anniversary is coming soon.

Today I’m here just to let you know that I’m selling some of my otome games!

My collection is huge, I have more than 70 otome, but I haven’t played for more than a year now, so I think I should sell at least a small part of it, to someone who will enjoy them.

If you’re interested, you can contact me here, on twitter @kyumymiracle or on instagram @ otomelandblog.

The price obviously depends on where you live, since shipping is kinda expensive outside Europe; but if you buy more than one, I’ll give you a discount for sure!

My games are all in Japanese, I’ve never bought localised games, so keep that in mind please!

I guess you all know Brothers Conflict, there’s not much to say about it; it was my first otome so I have it for Switch and PsVita, but I don’t need both versions.

Dairoku Ayakashimori.

If possible, I’d like to sell the main game with the fandisk for Tierblade, Yunohana Spring and Shiro to Kuro Alice.

But if you just want one, we can still talk about it!

Reviced is a LE!

This is all for now, even if there are a lot more games I’m considering selling.

If you’re interested, just ask me and we can talk about the price, I’ll do my best to make it affordable for you despite shipping fees; seeing all these games just sitting on my shelf kinda makes me sad, I’d like to sell them to someone who will give them a chance to shine again.

So don’t be shy!

How I got into a car accident and what I’ve learned from this awful experience

By

On Settembre 28, 2023

In my life, Personal stuff, Senza categoria

Hello everyone!

Today I’d like to share a recent event that made me reflect a lot about life, since it was kinda traumatic: at the beginning of August, I got into a car accident.

This is actually the second time I experience this awful situation, but compared to the first time this was way worse: we were on a queue, since a car in front of us stopped abruptly to turn into a very little street on the left, which I assume it was the only way to their house; it was unexpected, so my husband and another car had to stop immediately.

Then another car from behind, without realizing what was going on, crashed into us at full speed, (somehow the driver didn’t realize we stopped for a reason, even if there were like 3 cars ahead of us; I assume he was on the phone, or at least he wasn’t paying much attention).

I heard like the sound of a bomb exploding behind my back; if this wasn’t enough, our car was pushed forward, crashing onto the car in front of ours.

It lasted just a few seconds, but I remembers thinking: “again?? I won’t survive this time”.

When it was over, I was scared to open my eyes and look next to me: what if my husband is covered in blood? What if he’s dead?”; these were the thoughts running in my head, as I heard people from the other cars saying stuff like “I can’t get them out of the car, call the ambulance!”.

Gladly, my husband got minor injuries and I was just bruised; but when I got out the car and took a look at it, I realized that we were really lucky, to be able to stand on our legs.

Gladly everyone involved was safe, but our car was completely crashed; when the ambulance came, they found it hard to believe we only got minor injuries, considering how destroyed it was.

We have to buy a new one, since it would more expensive to repair it.

That made me realize something that should be obvious, but I never thought about enough: life could change or even end at any moment; we spend most of our life planning a future that maybe will never come, instead of living the present.

Of course, it’s important to have long-term plans, life goals; but what if your life will end tomorrow, and you just spent your last days working and saving money because you’ll need them when you get old? What if you never reach that age?

When I was working really hard, I remember some of my coworkers telling me they wanted to quit too, but they were afraid of not finding a new job immediately, because “when I’ll get old I will relax, now I need to make money”. True, but… what if you don’t even reach the retirement age?

Of course, I’m not here to say you should live carelessly, as if the world is going to end tomorrow; but still, try to think about it. We don’t realize how precious our time is, until it’s too late.

If your life ends today, are you satisfied with what you accomplished so far?

But most importantly, are you happy?

That’s my cup of tea for today, see you with hopefully funny topics very soon!

My favorite 2023 debut boy groups!

By

On Settembre 25, 2023

In kpop, let's talk!, music

Hello and welcome back to my blog!

Today, instead of talking about my favorite groups, I’d like to share my opinions about all the newly debuted group so far, this year.

As you probably know already, I mostly listen to boy groups, so we’re not talking about girl debuts here; here’s some of my favorites!

8TURN were a nice surprise. Their company is kinda small, so when their debut was announced I didn’t have high expectations, but their songs are catchy and their mini albums are really good too!

I highly suggest you to listen to their b-sides, some are great and they show how much potential they actually have; I hope their company won’t mess them up.

RIIZE is the new group from SM, which was highly anticipated since 2 members were previously part of NCT. Even if I find all the members charming, their debut song didn’t stand out to me, so I admit it was slightly disappointing. But they are talented for sure, so I’m waiting for their first comeback.

BOYNEXTDOOR are produced by Zico, an artist I’ve always respected and admired since his early days as leader of BlockB. When it was announced that he was going to work on a boy group I was very excited, even if I admit I imagined a very different concept for them, more aggressive and bold, as BlockB used to be back in their active days. But still, their songs are catchy, so I was fairly satisfied.

ZEROBASEONE came straight from Boys Planet and since I excitedly watched the whole process, I had such great expectations, it was probably easy to let them down; and so it happened.

I don’t think all the members suit such a pure concept, somehow it makes me feel a bit awkward and I hope their comeback will show their strength and energy instead of…. random flowers.

EVNNE also were Boys Planet contestants, even if none of them made it to the final line up; I personally was really happy to see Park Hanbin debut, since he was one of my favorite from the show and he obviously deserved a chance. Their song “Trouble” is one of my favorite this year, it’s so catchy I kept listening to it on loop for days.

FANTASY BOYS is a group formed through another survival, which I watched weekly, but honestly without much hype; I didn’t agree with the ranking most of the time, which made me frustrated. Anyway, their debut song is kinda catchy, not really my style, but the album was good so I’m looking forward to their next comeback.

Xikers debuted under KQ entertainment, which is Ateez’s agency; isn’t it enough, to explain my excitement? I’ve been watching even their predebut reality, waiting patiently for their debut.

They are really talented and unique, even if their music is slightly different from the current trends, so it may be not everyone’s cup of tea.

So far, these are the debuts which impressed me the most; some others are scheduled for October, and I’m curious to see if big agencies like Pledis or JYP will treat us with a new boy group before the year ends.

I think Riize will win this year’s Rookie Award since they are from a huge agency and 2 members already had a dedicate fanbase, but this year’s debuts were all very promising for the future of kpop; the 5th generation looks great!

Struggling with Korean

By

On Settembre 23, 2023

In let's talk!, my life, Personal stuff

Dear friends who are trying to learn a language, how is it going?

Are you excited like you should be, or are you frustrated like me?

I’m joking, I love studying Korean and I’d never get angry over an hobby, but still I’m sure sooner or later you’ve felt the same way. It’s so annoying, when you put daily efforts into something, yet it feels like you aren’t making any progress… it makes you wonder why you are even trying so hard in the first place, since basically every youtube shows is subbed already.

Back in the old times, when otome games got little to none localisations, I had no other choice but learning Japanese, if I wanted to enjoy my hobby to the fullest.

But gladly, Korean companies knows perfectly that the foreign market brings a lot of money, so every show comes out directly with English subs, as soon as it’s released on the official channel of the group; it feels like another world, compared to the old times when I used to listen to Japanese music and watching their music videos on youtube was impossible.

I still don’t get why sharing their work to potential foreign customers could damage in some way a Japanese idol, but that’s a mystery we’ll never solve.

Anyway, I’m done with my 2nd Korean grammar book, which means (as the book’s author states) that I completed all the basics all the language.

How come, I feel like I barely understand some words here and there, when I listen to music or watch reality shows? I guess I lack vocabulary?

Also, I feel like my textbook focuses too much on standard level Korean, basically ignoring the most common words used in informal contexts, like between friends; that’s why I completely lack that kind of knowledge, which is honestly what I mostly want to reach.

As I did a decade ago while studying Japanese, I set a very specific goal to my learning process: I’d like to watch shows without relying completely on subs, being able to grasp their jokes; I’d like to understand songs without having to search for the lyrics, that would be cool; I’d like to sing along without my words sounding like some kind of gibberish.

I guess I’ll try to improve my listening skills a bit, watching youtube videos for beginners, before I start the 3rd grammar book (which I hope will focus more on informal language, finally!).

Anyway, to anyone who is struggling like me, keep it up! We’ll get it there!!

About friendships and changes

By

On Settembre 21, 2023

In let's talk!, my life

Hello everyone, how are you?

I’m keeping my promise to update more often and I admit I’m kinda proud of myself, it reminds me of the good old times when I used to be an active member of the otome community.

Now everything’s changed, but that’s life, isn’t it? I’m still the same person, so maybe some of you will stick with me anyway.

I was watching the 10th anniversary video of a youtuber I’ve been following for years, and while he was talking about all the ups and downs of his career as “influencer”, I realized some of his words hit me hard, even if I was writing my reviews for passion, not as a real job; he said that his favorite hobby at some point became a chore and he was in “anime burnout”, after forcing himself to watch and review every single anime coming out every season. At some point, he decided to switch the content of his channel, even if he feared that no one of his suscribers would keep up with the change; luckily for him, he’s still really popular despite brining a different content.

Even if I can’t say I used to be some kind of “influencer”, still his experience resonated with me and it gave me a little bit of hope, that someone will be happy if I’m still here.

Anyway, it’s been really hot in Italy lately, even if it’s supposed to be almost autumn already… I guess this awful summer doesn’t want to end. Actually, maybe I shouldn’t hate it, even if everything that happened a couple months ago at work was crazy. I’m glad I quit, I don’t have regrets.

The best thing I got from that job is one of my ex coworker, who became my friend and once a week comes to my house, to fangirl over kpop groups with me. Those nights spent fangirling over idols, screaming like crazy teenagers and singing along, truly make me happy.

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so free to be myself in front of someone who is not my husband; I can’t be completely honest even with my parents, since they would probably give me the weird look. Am I immature? Yes, for sure, I know.

A friendship is always a blessing, but even more for me, since I’m a really introverted person and I find it hard to meet new people and make friends.

If you’re like me, keep in mind that there’s always someone willing to become your friend, if you just try to open up; she’s very extroverted, unlike me, so I just had to win over my fear of being myself among people, for having her naturally trying to click with me. It took me like 3 years, since I hate showing my true self to others (maybe in fear of being hurt? Or judged? I don’t get why I’m like this), but I’m glad I made a move.

I just wanted to share my feelings today, I hope you enjoy this kind of content too!

Sharing my love for NCT127

By

On Settembre 19, 2023

In kpop, music

NCT127 will make a comeback very soon, and since they are one of my favorite groups, I guess it’s time to celebrate while sharing some of my favorite songs!

Let’s start from the very beginning: NCT127 are a sub unit of NCT, debuted in 2016; current members are Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Mark and Haechan.

“Kick it” was the song that made me fall in love with the group at first sight: I mean, how can you resist singing along? As they say, let me introduce you to some new things:

The refrain is really catchy, it sticks in your head after the first listen; the concept is unique, it makes them stand out from all the other groups and gives them those “neo vibes”, which you can feel in each of their songs.

How can I choose a bias in this group, since they are all extremely talented and good looking?

“Sticker” was the first song that made me notice Jungwoo in his blonde perfection, I couldn’t stop looking at his handsome face the whole video and now he’s my forever favorite member.

Last year, they made an impressive comeback with 2baddies, which ended up becoming my song of the year (if you haven’t read my kpop awards, go check them out!)!

How can you blame me? Everything about it is addictive, at some point even my husband was singing along in the car! He will never openly admit he was enjoying it, but I’m sure he was.

Needless to say, I’m very excited for their new album, which will be released on October 6th.

The title track is called “Fact Check” and from the first trailer alone I can feel it’s going to be another masterpiece; maybe it will be my favorite song of the year, again?

Just enjoying freedom

By

On Settembre 17, 2023

In kpop, let's talk!, Personal stuff, Senza categoria

I’m back everyone!

Well, not as an otome blogger (for now), but at least I’m here writing after a couple months.

A lot of stuff happened in my life recently: the most important event, is that I decided to quit my awful job, which honestly has been ruining my mental health for 4 years.

Now I’m trying to recover before I make a new start somewhere else, since I don’t feel ready to find a new workplace yet; I don’t want to push myself too hard, I swear I was almost having a burnout not too long ago. If you’ve known me for a long time, you probably get how hard it was for me.

Recently I’ve been enjoying a few new hobbies: reading and bullet journaling have always been some of my favorites, but now I’m also studying Korean hard.

I guess you already know how much I love learning languages, I even tried Finnish and German years ago and I’ve always wanted to learn as many as possible if I had enough time.

Well, now I’m free, so Korean was my first choice!

I’m almost done with my second grammar book, which should be enough to give me at least the basics; I’m obviously very, VERY far from being decent, it’s a long process which makes me excited every day. What are you up too, lately?

I’ve seen the new otome games which were shown at the last Otopa and I admit some of them got my interest… maybe I’m almost ready to get back to gaming? I’m not sure, I change my mind easily, but since I finally have free time there’s no excuse.

Actually, I don’t know if someone remembers that I’m still stuck on the last Cendrillon Phalika’s route; it’s been more than a year.

I’m kinda moody lately, I wasn’t used to have time for myself since that job sucked all my energy and will to live everyday; this freedom is such a blessing!

Now, I wake up everyday with new ideas and goals; I may even get back to blogging regularly, even if I still won’t post about otome stuff for a while, probably.

If I write about my life, my hobbies and my progress with learning Korean, will someone be interested? I don’t think so, but if I’m in good mood and share my feelings, maybe it will be enjoyable for someone anyway. What if I set at least 3 posts every week as a goal? I used to do even better in the past, it’s not impossible at all. I hope someone will give me any kind of feedback, since it kinda feels new compared to the past.

I know I announced a new start like an year ago and then I disappeared almost completely, but this time I want to keep up for real and be more constant. Let’s see what I can do!

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