I wanted to write a review for this book because it deserves one.
(the other copy is a present for a friend)
I was hyped for the fanbook ever since the first rumors: a book dedicated to Butaotome?! Do want!!! At first, I was expecting something with a lot of fan contents because fanbook, but then… it’s a book for fans.
So, finally, a week ago I received my copy!!
I managed to order it from Melonbooks, so I got the paper case. It’s nothing special, but it gives a bit of dignity to the special CD. From what I saw on Twitter, the Animate extra seems to be the most popular one… but whatever. I wanted any extra and I’m really satisfied with my pick, but I’ll talk about it later.
The folded cover is reversible. On the regular cover we have Boushi-ko, but is possible to change it with Moni-ko. I reversed the cover because I prefer Moni-ko, she is my favorite Original-ko! (yes, the girls in the covers of the original albums have nicknames based on their album – Doubt-ko, Chess-ko etc. -, then we have the two Fanbook-kos whose name is based on an accessory they have – hat and morning star).
First of all, we have a short introduction about the pig and then their profiles, with various fun facts about every member.
Then we have a list of every album they made up until the C89 releases, with cover and tracklist and separated between Touhou vocals, best/acoustic CDs, Nekokenbans, originals, and even the live-exclusives. Kaen Ranzen and the acoustic mini-CDs are missing, the first one for unknown reasons I would say (it’s possible to see it in the bunch of albums in the symposium picture, though…). Then we have a release timeline, and then the goods collection: a gallery of their t-shirts! They are sold exclusively during their liveshows, and I don’t know if older ones are still available… If I have to choose one, I would pick the Ride a Pony one for the lulz (no, I’m not a pegasister). The first section ends with some backstage & live pictures from the Kashiramoji of Songs live shows (19th-20th September 2015).
Now we get to the second part of the book, with the members’ sections!
Ranko’s corner: for some reasons they used the term “gravure”, but apparently that word is mostly used for pictures of idols in bath suit… Sorry guys, she is normally dressed! That’s why I preferred to write a generic “photos of her”. Maybe this term can be also used for general pictures of posed girls in magazines? Anyway, they are basically what the title (Kensou no Naka de no Kodoku, “the loneliness in the tumult”) says: a lonely Ranko in the middle of the chaotic city (though that LOOK AT ME shirt…). Random trivia: these pics were made during the day of 14th October 2015 (they moved the livestream to Thursday just for that). You can view some offshoots here. A little note that most of those pics are different from the stuff you find in the book: a couple of those are quite closer to it, like this one.
Comp’s corner is a step-by-step guide of how he makes a generic track, with pictures: I was expecting more descriptions, but every step has its rough English translation, so I won’t translate it as I have planned! (I might make a page about it, though…) Anyway, it’s interesting to see the bear at work. And now I want to listen to a pre-Ranko recording track (since he sings them first).
Paprika’s recipes! I managed to translate them because they are really simple. And with this and the birthday posts, now Tiramisu Cowboy is a cooking blog.
And then we have Sistah’s corner: a selection of various artworks from the albums, some panels of her slice of life manga (with also two exclusive panels) and new artworks. Too bad some images are quite small, because they are beautiful (and yay, the GEN/SOU artwork is there :heart: ), she should release an artbook!! Among the exclusive illustrations, my favorite one is Shikaban Hyakkiyakou Emaki, mainly for its dark colors.
The third section starts with the symposium, which is basically an interview with the circle. I still have to properly transcribe it, but it looks interesting: from the bits I could catch they talk about how they learned about Touhou, the concepts of their albums and random stuff…
The glossary contains various terms and “memes”: some of these are pretty famous (Kimi no, Comu), while others are not really clear for me… (for example Tanoshiba 楽し場 °_°) I won’t be able to translate everything… ;_;
Then we have Ranko no Ane’s afterword, the lyrics of the new tracks and… a cuttable jacket for the special CD? I don’t want to ruin my book!! Now, that’s why the paper-case is the best extra 😛
The bonus disc is included in a plain envelope attached to the book… but now let’s comment the music:
1-2. Sixth original when?
3. Original Nekokenban when?
4. The fuck I listened?
…ok, serious review: Kiraware and Otona Gum are usual originals and I simply love both of them! Especially Kiraware (mainly for the first verses). I also really like Kiraware’s piano version, though is not at the same level of Mondai’s.
And the Ekaki uta… ROTFL I usually feel uncomfortable while listening non-Namahousou stuff sung by Comp or Paprika, but this is quite fun :°D I kinda underestimated the lyrics: they are full of puns, but I still want to translate it! Anyway, I tried to draw the Sis. I know, it’s horrible, I’m sorry orz
Overall, this is a really good book and I recommend it to every Piggy!