Volume One: Looking Back on 2008

• Profile

• 
• 16.Jan || Profile
• The Value of a Diva: 2008 and the avex Plateau || Vee

• The age of superidols is over, and it was that age which gave us these stars. Perhaps it wasn’t so much a prevailing desire for superidols as it was a public willingness to bite the marketing hook that avex started baiting so expertly in the late 90’s.

  Vee considers how the past year went for the top three fillies in the Avex Trax stable.

• 
• 
  About Vee: Vee is a novelist and J-Pop blogger living in Florida. She dedicates most of her free time to cosplay and singing, between lazy jags.

• Review

• 
• 16.Jan || Review
• Visual Kei Albums that Marked the Year 2008 || Asari

• Albums don’t just mark one’s career but also the year in which they were released, becoming a unique memento of that period’s mood and spirit. Here is a retrospective on albums that marked the year for the Japanese Visual kei movement.

  Asari considers the best full-length releases from the past year.

• 
• 
  About Asari: Asari comes from Croatia and owns a Japanese rock and Visual kei review oriented English-language blog named Rockerica (Croatian for Rock girl).

• Idol Theory

• 
• 16.Jan || Idol Theory
• The Year In Idols || MorningBerryz

• 2008 became a year for reflection. In the simplest sense much of it can be attributed to economic temperament, as not even this cultural phenomenon could escape its wrath. The history of idol groups has long seen the pitfalls and triumphs which follow trends, popularity, and other aspects that drive the community.

  MorningBerryz looks at the significant shifts and persisting truths that defined the world of girl group idols this past year, and shares hopes for 2009.

• 
• 
  About MorningBerryz: MorningBerryz is a Japanese/Okinawan who loves Japanese music & culture, music in general, collecting things, and NASCAR. She is the author of an eponymous Vox blog which is a valued resource not only for reviews of new releases, but also a historical perspective on Japanese idols

• Fiction

• 
• 16.Jan || Fiction
• The Eye of the Living Is No Warmth (Part Two) || Justin Isis

• He overemoted constantly, but without any intrinsic feel for the lyrics; the effect was like listening to a broken machine parroting human song. The words, intended for a young girl’s voice, seemed to warp and coarsen in the air. Towards the end he stood up and danced.

  The conclusion of the story that began here.

• 
• 
  About Justin Isis: Justin Isis is a para para dancer and science fiction writer who divides his life between New York, Tokyo and Perth and spends most of his time reading issues of Men's Egg from the late nineties.

• News

• 
• 05.Jan || News
• The Year in Jrock || Go

• In January, Kagrra moved to King Records and put out “Core,” and who’s listened to that recently? Viored broke up and aren’t missed much, but a little. X Japan released a so-so song, foreshadowing a year of circus-like goings-on.

  Go looks back at the highlights of 2008 in his own inimitable manner, and anticipates 2009.

• 
• 
  About Go: Go is the writer of Jrocknyc, one of the longest-lived and most respected English-language blogs about Japanese music.

• Meta

• 
• 18.Jan || Meta
• Volume One Poll

• You’ve read the articles.

  Now tell us what you think!

  n

  What article did you most enjoy in Volume One?

  • The Value of an Idol by Vee
  • Visual Kei Albums That Marked The Year 2008 by Asari
  • The Year In Idols by MorningBerryz
  • The Eye of the Living Is No Warmth by Justin Isis
  • The Year in Jrock by Go

  View Results