My J-Pop Collection 2023

The J-Pop Collection post for 2023 is not an exciting one and is starting off on a sad note. Unfortunately I had to declutter a large amount of my T-ARA Japanese singles at one point of the year. The story is that when I first got these CD's along with some others from Yahoo Auctions, they stunk of cigarettes. Like super strong! At the time, I managed to get the smell out or so I thought. The CD's that had the jewel case type were okay but the ones in cardboard sleeves were not. I always kept them in a separate box due to the smell and I came across the box whilst cleaning. The smell still hadn't gone from them and I decided it was a sign to clear something out of my collection. At least I still have the songs in my iTunes and maybe one day I'll re-buy them. Until them, my T-ARA collection has shrunk to just these five titles: two albums and 3 singles (one from the subunit QBS).

Everything else in the J-Pop collection is the same as 2022 as I didn't buy any new titles. No Zenmarket purchases as it is too expensive to import nowadays and some of the items I want are rare to find. I occasionally check Yahoo Auctions and I cannot find listings for some of the older CD's I want. No clue where I'll buy from Zenmarket again, maybe if the exchange rate is amazing. I'm thinking about getting some albums off iTunes as it is easier and I don't have to store the CDs which is totally up my alley as I'm big into decluttering in 2024.

Lately I have been listening to a few of my E-girls albums and I forgot how much I love E.G. Crazy! That album is so good and is full of great songs for the gym. That is where I have mainly been listening to it along with some of the singles like E.G Summer Rider. Crazy to think I'm still missing E-girls singles from this photo! Only a few more releases I need from them to complete my collection of one of each of their discography. Also my yearly compliant of the last Dream Ami single not matching the rest as it doesn't have an outer sleeve. Still bummed about that one.

My J-Pop Collection 2019

For my J-Pop Collection round-up for 2019, I decided to take photos of each group within my collection because it seems my collection has grown quite a lot since last year. Managed to pick up a lot of singles and albums this year that were great collector items and even found some super rare finds! I got most of these from Yahoo Auctions in Japan and others from sites such as Tower Records or CDJapan. Like in my 2018 collection post, I'll be posting the list of the entire collection at the end along with links to any reviews I did of singles or albums this year. A fun addition to this years collection is that I'll name my favourite tracks from each groups Japanese releases that I own as there is usually a few tracks that stand out the most for me.

First off is Rainbow which was a group I became interested in this year and definitely way too late as they had long since disbanded. I don't have many of their Japanese releases just yet but I've focused on collecting an album first so I get more songs at once compared to buying a single. Here is Limited Edition B CD+DVD and Limited Edition C 2CD of their re-release of their only Japanese album Over The Rainbow. I really enjoyed this release and Rainbow really was a great group! The Japanese version of Gossip Girl would be my favourite track from these two releases.

For AOA Japanese wise, I only got one new addition which is the Limited Edition B CD+Photobook of their second Japanese single Like A Cat. I had been looking for this for a long time and finally found a cheap copy recently. It's nice that it has a similar design to the photobook versions of 胸キュン Mune Kyun as you can stack them together. Favourite songs from this lot would be 胸キュン Mune Kyun of course as well as the Japanese version of Elvis from the Like A Cat single.

MOMOLAND has had a rough year as a group and recently lost two members and I'm just waiting for Daisy to leave because we all know that's gonna happen. Only two new additions to MOMOLAND this year with the Limited Edition CD+DVD of The Best ~Korean Ver~ and the Limited Edition B CD+Calendar of I'm So Hot. Boy was The Best one hard to find as I have been looking for years and finally snagged one this year. I do actually use the calendar in the I'm So Hot release as well! I put the new member card up each month near one of my CD storage areas. I didn't bother getting their first Japanese album Chiri Chiri as the release didn't interest me and I had most of the tracks already. I'll get it in the future sometime when it's cheaper but the cover art is just so boring to me as I'm not a fan of logo designs. Top song would be BAAM as that's my top MOMOLAND song in general.

Another new group was added to the collection roster with TWICE finally joining the team with two singles. I've always been into the group's Japanese releases over their Korean ones and I'm in love with the Japanese version of Fancy. I'd have to say it's my favourite song of 2019 and I can always listen to even over and over again. So that's the main release I picked up the Regular CD edition of Breakthrough and it came in a set with the Regular CD Edition of Happy Happy.

Still going with the Crayon Pop collection with some new single additions this year! Got the Limited Edition CD+GOODS of Dancing All Night for super cheap as well as both PCSC Editions A & B. These were a great find as you rarely see the PCSC ones and even harder to find them in complete condition. I was super happy to find them as I was bummed about never finding them when the single first came out. My favourite song of the group's Japanese releases would be the Japanese version of Bar Bar Bar because who doesn't love the group's iconic song?

MOMOLAND I'm So Hot (Japanese Version) - Single Review (Limited Edition Type B CD+Desktop Calendar)

After what seems like forever, I finally brought a copy of MOMOLAND's recent Japanese single I'm So Hot. I picked up Type B of the single recently from CDJapan which is my new favourite online store for Japanese releases. This particular edition of the single comes with some exciting goodies so let's take a look shall we?

MOMOLAND I'm So Hot Limited Edition Type B CD+Desktop Calendar

I'm So Hot is MOMOLAND's third Japanese single and it was released in May 2019. The single comes in three editions: Limited Type A CD+DVD, Limited Type B CD+Desktop Calendar and Regular CD Only Edition. I purchased the Type B edition which was the version I wanted to get as it had my favourite cover and design. The Limited Edition Type B edition comes with the following contents:

• CD - 4 Track Single
• Two jewel cases - One for the CD and one for the calendar
• OBI Strip
• Lyrics booklet
• Event Ticket (First Press Only)
• 12-Month Desktop Calendar (Six cards in total)

Now I'm all about this pink and aesthetic with this single design! It looks so stylish and pretty. The front cover has a photo of the group in various sitting poses. Now if you've read my other MOMOLAND posts and don't follow the group, you may notice there is only 7 members in this single and not the normal 9 members. I'm So Hot is a release in which Daisy and Taeha didn't participate and we are yet to know of their disappearance other than the standard 'sitting out due to personal and health reasons excuse. But more on that later as we shall take a look at the back cover of the single. Another gorgeous photo of the girls in the same outfits and some track listing information along the bottom.

August Favourites

It's the first of September finally so that means it is spring at last! The weather is still taking it's time to warm up with some cold days still floating about. I feel like I just posted my August Favourites so I don't have much to talk about this month. It's mainly the same old same old for me with just music and gaming so let's take a look shall we?

Gaming
A few weeks ago, I got a new order from Zenmarket of some J-Pop stuff as well as the guide book for わがままファッション GIRLS MODE よくばり宣言! (also known as New Style Boutique in EUR/AUS and Style Savvy: Trendsetters in NA). I've been wanting to collect this book for a while now and found one used for cheap that was in excellent condition. I'll talk about it more in haul post in the future, but here's a quick photo of the book in all it's glory.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has been keeping me entertained once again this month. I feel like we've had a billion events recently! Like one finishes and another starts straight away! Literally no break in between them. I'm enjoying them though and have completed the last few event sets. I mainly did the last one cause I wanted this silly pig thing from the fishing tourney. Look at adorable Bob admiring the campsite!

Music
This month has felt like I've literally only been listening to FEMM's FEMM-Isation album because it's the best thing ever! There's few albums that I enjoy all the tracks on and this is definitely one of those. Always trying to skip through songs on shuffle to find the FEMM ones. I mainly use shuffle on my car stereo because it's one of those new ones that doesn't like playing songs in order so I just use shuffle. As I mentioned before, I got a bunch of J-Pop stuff from Zenmarket that I'll post soon as well as my CDJapan haul I posted recently. Here's a bunch of songs I've been loving in August to round off this post!

CDJapan Haul - E-girls & MOMOLAND

Brought another bunch of CD's off CDJapan recently so let's take a quick look at them. I had been planning this order for a little while as a few of these items were ones I'd been after for some time. It seems CDJapan is the best place to get Japanese releases as they have a great selection on older stuff as well as great pre-order bonuses! In total, I got three E-girls releases and one MOMOLAND single.

First off is MOMOLAND's third Japanese single 'I'm So Hot' which I brought in the Type B CD+GOODS version. This single has been out for a while now but I only purchased it recently. I held off getting it as I wasn't too excited by this comeback as if you have been following the group, you'll know that there's something going on the member numbers. Two of the girls (especially one of my faves Daisy) has been MIA for ages and no word on whats going on. I'll talk more about my feelings on that when I post my review, but that was one of the main reasons I didn't pick I'm So Hot up earlier. I'm kinda just over the group which is sad and I'm not even excited for their first Japanese album. Anyway, here is Type B of I'm So Hot which comes with the CD and a calendar!

Next up is the E-girls singles! I finally got the CD Only editions of One Two Three and Follow Me which were the group's early singles I was missing. I brought them brand new as CD Japan is one of the only places I've seen them and haven't come across them for a decent price on Yahoo Auctions. I also picked up the group's latest single シンデレラフィット Cinderella Fit. First time I've actually brought an E-girls single as soon as it was released. 

I did get a poster as a pre-order bonus which is of the following photo of the group. I would've rather one of EG-ENERGY as I prefer that song and concept more. But at least I can thank them for including the song as the B-side because now I get that killer instrumental. Gosh I love this song, it's probably one of my top E-girls songs. I cannot decide on my ultimate fave so I have a few. And can I say how much I love this neon colour on the OBI strip! Ah so amazing! More OBI strips need colour on them like this.

Dream Ami Good Goodbye - Single Review (CD Only Edition)

Dream Ami's latest single Good Goodbye is finally here so it's time for a review. I love reviewing her singles as they are always aesthetically beautiful and have great tracks and instrumentals. Good Goodbye is no different so let's take a look!

CD Only Edition of Good Goodbye

Good Goodbye is Dream Ami's eighth single and was released on January 30th 2019 as a digital single and on March 13th 2019 as a physical single. The single is available in two editions: CD+DVD edition and CD Only edition. This is the second Dream Ami release to only have two editions and I'm guessing it will be the standard from now on. Not sure if rhythm zone has dropped the One Coin editions as I haven't seen them for other E-girls releases either. I got the CD Only edition as it's the usual one I collect and it comes with the following contents:

• CD - 6 track single
• Lyrics booklet
• Jewel case
• External bonus from CDJapan - A3 sized poster

CD Only Edition of Good Goodbye

 The concept for this single is super fun and has Ami portraying six different images of her self in the MV and single photos. I loved this concept and the bright colours of the single design. I think yellow always looks great on releases and it matched well with the pink tones. Now to talk about the one thing that I hate about this release - the removal of the cardboard sleeve. All of Dream Ami's other CD Only editions have come with a cardboard sleeve which you will know about if you read my other reviews of her releases. This was my favourite part of the single design and it was great when it had a different image to the jewel case design. The sleeves were always had that beautiful matte feel and gave the singles an elegant look. Now without the cardboard sleeve, this single looks out of place with my other Dream Ami releases. I did some searching on Instagram and it seems the CD+DVD edition has the cardboard sleeve but not the CD Only one. Not sure why this is the case as both editions have always had the cardboard sleeve in the past. No clue why rhythm zone went with the removal of the sleeve but I feel they've been dropping the ball with the quality of her releases lately. Waiting to see what the editions of her next release are like and then maybe I can work out if rhythm zone is just cheaping out on releases now. Anyway here's some pictures of the back of the single showing the 6 tracks included on the CD Only edition.

The cute dots design continues on in the interior of the jewel case. The CD design is super adorable and is simple yet stylish. Underneath the CD is some production credits and a photo of the bench from the MV and promotional material. At least I got a OBI strip with this edition which makes up a little bit for the lack of cardboard sleeve as I do love me some OBI strips. I don't know what it is about them that I'm so crazy about, but I just find them so interesting and get excited whenever I buy a used CD and it includes the OBI strip.

April Favourites

Somehow April just flew by and we are already nearly a week into May. Time just goes so quickly nowadays, it's hard to keep up with what month it is. I know it's a little bit late, but here are my favourites for the month of April!

Gaming
Still playing Animal Crossing Pocket Camp and there was a fun event last month which was a fishing tourney. I managed to collect all the items and this tourney wasn't as hard as the Nintendo themed one. Loved the school uniform items you could collect and here's a cute picture of my workmate and I in the game wearing the uniforms. Don't we look adorable?

Actually been playing a little bit of Style Boutique last week because I thought of doing another One Item Challenge. This time it will be an item from Brooke Bridge and no idea when I'll post it as I haven't had the time to create all the outfits just yet.

Music
I have a massive amount of haul posts to put up on here of my recent additions to my collection. I posted a review of CD Japan the other day so check that out if you haven't seen it already. I was quite impressed with the site and will definitely be using it again. Here are the two CD's I got from there and I'm super excited for Dream Ami's new single which I've been listening to like crazy.

At the moment I'm reorganising my music collection which is a massive project. The idea behind this is that I'm having a huge pain trying to sync things between all these tech devices we have nowadays. Plus my new car doesn't have a CD player so I can't play my CD's in it anymore. A few years ago, I had an issue with my computer and it busted up my iTunes making the files all weird. Like I still have all my old stuff, just not the original files and everything is just one single file. So I decided the other day to refresh my whole collection and start from scratch. I want to make sure everything has a physical file now and a back-up in case I ever lose anything. Plus it will help me discover old tracks that I love and forgot about. Speaking of which, I've been listening to some old stuff recently from my collection so I'll post some in this months music favourites section.

Beauty
So the Lipsmacker Kiss Natural lipbalms that I loved are now out of stock where I live sadly. Luckily I still have some left to use up. I did however manage to melt one of them in a hilarious stupid fashion. I couldn't find my lipbalm at work and wondered where on earth I had lost it. Turns out it fell out of my backpack when it was unzipped in my car. So the lipbalm had been sitting on the seat the entire day and melted into the pill shape of the container. Like you can still use it, it just looks really silly now.

CD Japan Review

Finally caved in and tried out CDJapan for the first time and let's just say I was impressed! The turning point for me to finally order something off the site was that you got a external bonus if you brought Dream Ami's new single from there. So that's what I brought along with a E-girls single I was missing from my collection.

CDJapan is a online store based in Japan that sells a variety of items from CD's, DVD's, gadgets, figures, etc. There's plenty of things to explore on the site and they even have services called Proxy Pickup where you can purchase concert goods. For example, you can currently place pre-orders for items from TWICE's Japan dome tour and most stuff was sold out so it seems to be popular. I only really collect CD's and DVD's so that's what this review will be about.

From the site, I brought Dream Ami's latest single Good Goodbye in the CD Only edition and E-girls first single Celebration! in the CD Only edition. If you purchase first press or place pre-orders on CDJapan, you will get a little bonus! For the Dream Ami single, I got a poster as an external bonus and another example is MOMOLAND's Japanese single I'm So Hot comes with a special photocard if you purchase it from CDJapan whilst the offer is available. CDJapan seems to be one of the only sites left with brand new copies of the earlier E-girls singles and I rarely see used copies of them on Zenmarket. So that's why I brought the Celebration! one from here and it was reasonably priced.

CDJapan has a great points system where you accumulate points when you purchase items or when certain events occur such as your birthday or coupons. The site offers some good deals during the year as well such as spend a certain amount and get a coupon for 200JPY off. I feel CDJapan has better deals than YesAsia as it encourages you to continue making purchases through the site. For example, I have quite a few points already which I can use to get savings off my next purchase. Or bonuses are always a great incentive! I'd rather spend a little bit more and get a fun item for my collection than buying Japanese releases off YesAsia.

Now for a quick look at the two CD's I brought! First off is E-girls first single Celebration! which is a trip back in time. All the members look so young and different! This single is one of my favourites as I love the songs Celebration! and Dreaming Girls. The later was meant to have a physical release for dream (the group that sings it) but it was cancelled and the song eventually ended up on here.

Next is Dream Ami's latest single Good Goodbye which is my favourite Dream Ami single ever now. Love the single design, love the songs and love the instrumentals. Everything is perfect with it except for one thing. Can you guess it? If you've seen all my other Dream Ami posts, you'll probably know whats missing and it's the one thing I love the most about her releases. It seems this edition comes without the cardboard sleeve!! No!!! I was so disappointed when I saw it and I was rather confused at why it was omitted. After some searching on Instagram, it seems only the CD+DVD edition comes with the cardboard sleeve. I feel rhythm zone has been dropping the ball with the last few of Ami's releases. First we get less versions (i.e. no One Coin anymore) and now the CD Only edition has no cover. It's not the biggest deal in the universe, I just loved the cardboard sleeves and it made all her singles look amazingly aesthetic on my shelf. Now this single looks out of place with the others. Well I'll just have to wait till her next release to see what the next design will be. Anyway, this single is amazing and I love all the songs!! I got a cute poster with the single which is the promo picture Ami was using to promote the single.