Vis-kei band that isn't really a vis-kei band anymore Dir en Grey is set to play two gigs in LA this weekend. November 20th and 22nd will see them bringing their nu-metal rock sound to the House of Blues Sunset Strip.

Tainted Reality is offering up the chance for 10 lucky bastards to win a pair of tickets, five pair for each show. The only catch is that they will be giving away the tickets on their call-in show on November 19th, accessible only though Skype. So fire up your cyberphone and check out all the details on how to connect with them below.

Tainted Reality will also be airing an interview with Versailles Don't Forget To Add The -Philharmonic Quintet- So We Don't Get Sued during the show, so even if you don't win, you'll win!

Hit the jump for details and some video action.

Back again with lucky show number 113! It's another one of them there radioator Japan cast pods.

This week, lots of cool new news and music from the likes of Utada Hikaru, HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, An Cafe and a closer look at Boom Boom Satellites in the Artist Spotlight.

Hurry up and put this 13 behind you as fast as possible by downloading the show immediately!

NOTE: I goofed and recorded my voice track and a super-low bit rate. Deal.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 113

DIRECT
TORRENT

We've been reporting on the line-up changes to the band HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR for some time now. Well, we will now get the chance to see those changes manifest when the band hits the stage at Sakura-Con next year.

The three day event in Seattle takes place from April 2nd to the 4th. This will be the first time HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR has trod upon American soil since singer Makii left to pursue other activities. Their new singer, HALCA, has since stepped in. The band released their new album swamp man earlier this year.

So what say you, H&MC fans? Are you already booking your tickets?

Here it is! The new episode of Japanator Radio! Just a little late. Nothing to panic over. Jeez!

This week, some UVERworld, some Ali Project, some Bloodthirsty Butchers and Quinka With A Yawn in the Artist Spotlight. Fun!

Let's make up for lost time together by downloading the new show right now! Go! Go!

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 112

DIRECT
TORRENT

In his defense, this is labeled a "beginner" drawing lesson.

Woof.

I'll just let you take care of this in the comments. I just...that hand...wow. "Beautiful" indeed.

Watch this (unintentionally) useful lesson after the jump.

[Thanks to @andrewfulton for the tweet, and for being an actual amazing artist]

...as not only being a mortal man, but one likely to be a bit older than most would expect. But then again, who could blame anyone for thinking that Gackt, a shimmering slab of enigmatic man-meat, was anything less than a youthful sprite.

In fact, he's 36 years old.

So, OK, in a way, this does make him look pretty young considering that the singer/actor usually tries to sport the "I'm a vampire and at least 200 years old on a good day" sort of shtick. And let's not forget that some of his contemporaries, like Hyde of L'Arc~en~Ciel who will soon turn 40 and Takanori Nishikawa (aka TM Revolution)  who is hovering around 78, aren't exactly spring chickens themselves. But it does come as a bit of a surprise that Gackt would public dash the hot hot hot fantasies of young girls (and boys, come on...admit it) after working the undead aristocrat angle for so long and considering the rise in supermodel vampire emo fiction as of late.

Oh, and let us not forget that this announcement came during a press conference in which it was reveled that Gackt would be taking part in a play called Full Moon Swordsman, as the character Nemuri Kyoshiro. Raizo Ichikawa played that role through 12 films from 1963 to 1969, when he died at the age of 37. In May of 2010, when Gackt takes the role, he will then be 37 himself.

Welcome back from your left-over candy hangover. I hope it was worth it. Oh look, we are still handing out free Japanator Radios, and you don't even need to be dressed up to get one! Aren't we nice?

This week, new music from Kalafina, exist-trace and LITE, and the always fun-time Kiiiiiii in the Artist Spotlight.

Remember. Eating leftover candy is a privilege, not a right. Treat it with respect and you will live to eat another day.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 111

DIRECT
TORRENT

What do you get when you cross a last name and Twitter with a zillion mindless moe-humping drones? In the words of genius musician Susumu Hirasawa, "a nightmare."

See, there's some anime show called K-ON! that has a few characters that are named after the members of an early Japanese new-wave band called P-Model. While the band's line-up changed over the years (the band was officialy active from 1979 to 1999) their main songwriter and front man  through it all was Susumu Hirasawa. He has continued on as a solo act and composer of some of the most amazing soundtracks you'll find anywhere, like that for Paprika (which was actually taken largely from his album Byakkoya.)

Anyway, recently Susumu started to wonder why his Twitter account was gaining followers so rapidly. He wondered aloud if maybe people were confusing him with Yui Hirasawa from K-ON!. Which of course only made things worse. His follower count jumped from 3,000 to 8,000 overnight and currently seems to have leveled off at just over 10,000.

All of this came to light over on atemonai.com. The translation provided shows Hirasawa slowly starting to freak out over all the popularity. He reacts to a comment of "Whaaaat is this music? It’s disgusting" with "That’s me. I’m not cute." The best line comes the next morning, "3000 more followers overnight? This is a nightmare."

The comments to the post point out that Susumu's account could just be a spoof, but regardless, his site has been seeing increased traffic, which is only a good thing. The man is a national treasure. Check out the jump to find out why.

Bleh!

In case you didn't notice, the best holiday of the year is coming up this Saturday. Halloween! I mean they named holidays "holiday" because of Halloween. More like halloday, am I right?

Wow, that was terrible. More like terror-able! *high-five*

Anyway, this will be the third time the dead have walked the Earth since the start of Japanator Radio. This year I felt it might be best to highlight those two thrilling shows, especially since the old direct download links have rotted away into dust. And because I put a bit of work into both of them, and because they are pretty awesome. They are perfect for blasting throughout your neighborhood as the poor unsuspecting little tykes go gallivanting around in death masks and Sexy-Zombie-Billy-Mays costumes. Neither show has my stupid voice to break up the gloomy mood, just non-stop aural chills and thrills. Oh, and not exactly a lot of Japanese music. That's because death is for everybody.

So, this week, please to be re-enjoying Japanator Radio episodes 08 and 60.66. Because when October dies, all we are left with is, *shudder*, cheer and good will toward men. And that's the real horror.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 110

DIRECT 08
DIRECT 60.66

RSS Feed

Random updates via Twitter.

Track-lists after the jump!

You may recall that we showed you the very first stirrings of a Doctor Who anime project earlier this year. Well, creator Paul "OtaKing" Johnson has kept at it, releasing a couple more short clips from the project.

Johnson's strength seems to lie in his more technical subjects, like the Daleks and Cybermen. As he himself says, his love of anime comes from "watching Macross II a million times." The Doctor also looks pretty well designed, but I'm not so sure about all the more generic old-school anime girls.

Check out the two newest clips after the jump and decide for yourself. I know I'm loving the over-the-top Cybermen stuff.