Kpop #3: AOA

AOA [Ace of Angels]

A Korean girl group made up of 8 members but are promoting without the last member Youkyung. They debuted on July 30, 2012.

The group members consist of:
ChoA - main vocalist, dancer
Jimin - main rapper
Seolhyun - visual, vocalist, lead dancer
Mina - sub vocalist
Chanmi - main dancer, rapper, sub vocalist, maknae
Yuna - lead vocalist
Youkyung [not promoting with AOA]- MIA
Hyejeong - face, vocalist 

I thought ChoA was the face but apparently not. o.o

Synopsis
They are under the company FNC Entertainment. There are 4 different sub units including  AOA.

AOA Black [Band]:
Jimin (guitar)
Choa (guitar)
Yuna (keyboard)
Mina (bass)
Youkyung (drums)

AOA White [never promotes]:
Hyejeong
Seolhyun
Chanmi

AOA Cream:
Yuna
Hyejeong
Chanmi

The group AOA (and AOA Black) debuted with their first single titled "Elvis". AOA cream debuted on February 12, 2016 with their first single titled "I'm Jelly BABY".


Latest Singles
"Good Luck" is really very good. Like you will definitely be addicted to it :3
AOA - Good Luck M/V (2016)
AOA Cream - I'm Jelly Baby M/V (2016)
AOA Black - Moya M/V (2013)


Favourite Side Songs
Yup it's this section again. I hope you guys are actually going to listen to these songs 'cause they're pretty amazing and catchy. Anyways these are my current favourites so without further ado, enjoy!
AOA - Cherry Pop Lyrics
AOA - Still Falls the Rain Lyrics


Group Pictures
AOA


AOA Black


Reference: AOA's Wikipedia Page

Food #2: Favourite Korean Cuisines

Hi guys... I'm going to list my 5 favourite Korean cuisines so far. This is all 2016 restaurant data  btw :D Without further ado, here it is.


#5 Bibimbap with Spicy Squid in a Hot Stone Pot

A bibimbap (mix of stuff) is something you should probably try first if you have never tried a Korean dish. There's like a bit of every Korean food in here (kimchi, seaweed, mushrooms, bean sprouts, rice, sunny side up egg, some sort of vegetable, and a choice of meat). If you find that you don't like it then it'll probably be hard to like any other Korean dish. Prices range from $7 to $10.

#4 Noodles in a Black Bean Sauce (Jajangmyeon) 

These are noodles topped with a black bean sauce. They are typically around $7 to $9 for a bowl.


#3 Side Dishes (Banchan)

Side dishes are served with a dish you order in a restaurant (free, well not really)... You will love the kimchi, sweet potatoes (not in the picture), and bean sprouts! 

#2 Kimchi Fried Rice with Beef in a Hot Stone Pot (Kimchi Bokkeumbap) 

This is an easy-to-love dish because everyone loves fried rice, right? This dish is combined with kimchi, beef, and white/brown/purple rice topped with a sunny side up egg. The cost for this dish is around $7 to $10.

#1 Spicy Rice Cakes (Ddeokbokki)

Basically this a street food. The rice cakes are covered in a spicy Korean sauce with fish cakes and vegetables. Some restaurants include an egg and others don't :/ THIS IS MY ALL-TIME FAVOURITE KOREAN FOOD! IT IS THE BEST! YOU MUST TRY THIS OUT!!! The cost of this dish is around $5 to $9 (on a plate).

Most of these dishes are spicy so like... if you want spicy, try these dishes.


Some Korean restaurants you MUST visit if you ever come to Toronto:
Most of these restaurants are in Koreatown which is near the Bathurst Subway Station.

Yummy Restaurant

Prices range from $6.95 to $12. Tax is already included! :')
620 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M6G 1K7 -> In Koreatown


Korean Grill House

Prices are $10 not including tax for AYCE Korean BBQ! :)
214 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V 1Z9 -> In the fashion district, near Chinatown


Mom's Korean Food

Prices range from $8 to $22ish. Taxes not included.
612 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6G 1K7 -> In Koreatown


Thumb's Up Restaurant 

Prices range from $6 to $12ish. Taxes not included.
615 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6G 1K8 -> In Koreatown


Hancook Cheese Dakgalbi (I can't find a decent picture but it exists!)
Prices range from $6 to $18ish. Taxes not included.
605 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6G 1K6 -> In Koreatown, you'll see three staircases and it'll be one of the ones that go down... You'll know.


Seor Ak San Restaurant 

Prices range from $9 to $15ish. Taxes not included.
357 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON M5T 2G3 -> In Chinatown

Food #1: Kit Kat

As many of you may know, Kit Kat is a very popular brand but what some of you may not know is its many different variety of flavours (if you are curious please continue reading :)).


Here's a couple of them:

Green Tea                                                               Ice Cream

Orange                                                                    Taro


Facts about Kit Kat (10)
- Created by Rowntree in York, England
- The Rowntree Company was acquired by Nestlé in 1988
- Each small package contains 2 bars
- The original candy bar is basically a wafer covered with chocolate
- There were pies named Kit-Kat served in a political group named the Kit Kat club back in the 18th century lol.
- The official title of the candy was "Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp" until 1988
- This confection is created in 16 countries now including Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and more.
- The design was originally red packaged but then it was changed to blue packaged and after WWII, it changed back to the original packaging.
- The Kit Kat bar was first released in 1911
- It can take in many forms such as the chunky version, size bites, and the regular two bar or 4 bar version.




Original Candy Bar Ingredients
milk chocolate (sugar, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, whey powder, lactose, soya lecithin,polyglycerol polyricinoleate, natural flavour), wheat flour, sugar, modified palm oil, cocoa, sodium bicarbonate, soya lecithin,yeast, and natural flavour.

Nutritional Value


Source: Kit Kat Wikipedia

Manga #1: Top 10 Shoujo Manga/Manhua/Manhwa

I've been having bad cramps and headaches all day today so I thought I'd write about something I REALLY like. Here goes.


#10 Orange Marmalade

Genres: romance, school life, supernatural, shoujo, psychological, comedy, webtoons, manhwa [good art]

If you want to read about a female vampire's life, read this. This deserved a 10/10 from me. It was an awesome read. Everything was relevant to reality (except vampires) and readers are able to sympathize with the female lead.

Chapters: 75+ complete


#9 Penguin Revolution

Genres: show biz, gender bender, school life, comedy, shoujo, romance [cute art]

I don't quite remember if there is gender bender in this manga but I do remember that show biz is in my top 3 genres whenever I want to read a manga! Penguin Revolution is about a girl who enters an agency named "Penguin Revolution" (I don't quite remember) and has to take care of a newbie idol. What is magical about her is that she is able to see potential soon-to-be-famous stars if she sees a pair of wings on their backs. I rate 10/10 for good and funny read.

Chapters: 30+ complete


#8 Goong: The Royal Palace
Genres: romance, shoujo, school life, comedy, manhwa [beautiful art]

If South Korea continued their monarchy, then it would probably look something like Goong. The story illustrates the life of a young female who suddenly has to marry a prince from the Royal family in South Korea. They go through obstacles with each other, the media, and the Royal family. I rate 10/10 for its in depth history and storyline. The characters are well-explored and art is amazing.

Chapters: 75+ [I think] complete


#7 Ao Haru Ride

Genres: romance, school life, shoujo, comedy, drama [cute art]

When I read it the first time, I was thoroughly amazed and heartbroken along with the protagonist. The story itself was very well constructed and I really like how the female lead always revisited her memories and places she spent with the male lead. It's kind of like humans in reality. We love to remember things, whether good or bad. The thing I didn't like was the overdramatic way of putting situations. Some of them could've been less... severe? Like, things don't need to be taken to the point where it's straight up out there. Not all manga readers are idiots and don't get the gist of things but... other than that, it was a pretty nice read. Great story, great art, and great couple. 10/10 for this one.

Chapters: 35+ complete


#6 Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama

Genres: romance, school life, comedy, shoujo

OMG I LOVE THIS MANGA!!! It pretty much explained EVERYTHING THAT ANYONE WAS INTERESTED ABOUT!! I ship the female and male lead together so hard. Anyways, this story is about a female president of a school who keeps her job a secret to her school and the male lead finds out about it. The art is amazing, the characters are hilarious, and the storyline flows; this keeps readers on the track and not confused about situations. It is well directed. Make sure to read it. 11/10 for this one.

Chapters: 75+ complete


#5 The One

Genres: show biz, shoujo/josei, romance, slice of life, psychological, comedy, smut

This manga is an all-in-one type. It focuses around a female who likes a director in the entertainment industry and meets a peculiar homeless person on the bench. I haven't read this in a while so I don't recall how it began...lol... so just like find out about it yourself. It's AMAZING in the sense that you won't regret reading it -if you can take its contents. 12/10 must read!

Chapters: 100+ complete


#4 Lovely Everywhere

Genres: Romance, shoujo, school life, drama, manhua [cute art]

Lovely Everywhere is one of those mangas where we have an annoying yet not annoying protagonist and male lead. The female lead is a very cute and sensible person but sometimes she doesn't take action to many things and decides to just mope around. The male lead however is more douchebag-worthy than the female since he loves to play around -although he is smart and kind awhduewhfoew. I think what attracted me to this was the art at first because it's pretty cute but then the plot itself got me to keep going. So I'd definitely recommend this to everyone who likes the following genres. I mean I read it more than 5+ times lol huehuehue. Oh I'd give this a 11/10 :)
P.S. I'm reading it again rn lol

Chapters: 15+ [I think] complete


#3 Red River (Anatolia Story)

Genres: historical, action, romance, psychological, shoujo/josei, comedy, smut, tragedy [good art]

I know. The art is pretty old. I'd have to agree. The art certainly did not attract me for this manga. I think what did was the time-travelling part when I read the synopsis. The protagonist is dragged back in time to be a sacrifice of the current queen of somewhere (I forgot) so her son could become the king. This is one of those mangas that have every little thing so it's really very gooooood :D 12/10

Chapters: 100+ complete


#2 Nekota no Koto ga Ki ni Natte Shikatanai

Genres: comedy, school life, shoujo, fantasy, romance

LOL This manga makes me laugh and cry so much! The protagonist of the story deals with seeing a cat face on one of her classmates -who is the male lead. Anyway, just read it. It's the bomb xD 14/10

Chapters: 10+ ongoing


#1 Skip Beat

Genres: show biz, slice of life, comedy, school life, supernatural, fantasy, romance, shoujo

Skip Beat changed my life man. It's like my bible for life (not really lol). The protagonist of the story is a strong female who strives to take revenge on her childhood friend for leaving her. She goes into the showbiz world and meets the male protagonist. They first start off horribly but slowly they become colleagues and respect one another. This manga is a must-read for anyone who hasn't read it yet! 200000/10 ┌( ಠ‿ಠ)┘

Chapters: 200+ ongoing

Anime #1: Top 5 Shoujo Anime

Hey peeps. So I know everyone's been anticipating (I'm so lame cries) for this. As the title explains, I will be sharing with you the top 5 Shoujo, romantic, comedy, supernatural anime for me of all times.


#5. Ao Haru Ride [Blue Spring Ride]

Genres: romance, shoujo, school life, drama, comedy
Girl meets guy again after a few years pass and what happens...?

I'm sure many people know this anime well and question why I put this as 5th. Well as a person that reads tons of manga I know the manga is way better than the anime since manga explains more about characters, plot, and whatnot. The main character can be very relevant to real life; we feel her emotions and the guy is a nonchalant person but we know where he comes from (history, background).
I think the anime was a bit overrated (everyone loved the manga) but nevertheless good (I mean I loved it, I'm a sucker for these genres), just a bit overrated. So my suggestion is to watch the anime and then read the manga or just straight up read the manga and then watch the anime after finishing the series.


#4.  MÄR [Märchen Awakens Romance]

Genres: adventure, action, supernatural, fantasy, shoujo/shounen, romance
Guy goes into a different dimension to save both that and the Earth.

Ah. It's been awhile since I've watched this anime, maybe I should watch it again -when I'm not fricking busy lol. This would've easily been in my top 3 had I not watched the others. The art is pretty good for an anime this old and the tracks for this anime is amazing. Like I-still-listen-to-it amazing. Anyways, the anime's plot explains a lot -I mean it has a beginning and an end- and it's different from many of the other shounen-based animes. One of the greatest things to see is the evolution of the main character throughout the show. He is just one of those people who are very optimistic and hardworking, makes people want to cheer him on. My suggestion is to stop whatever it is you're doing and get working on this anime instead :)


#3. Kaichō wa Maid-sama! [President is a Maid!]

Genres: romance, shoujo, comedy, school life
The president of a school that doesn't permit working is caught doing...?

This is a rather cute anime. I thoroughly enjoyed it but it is also one of those animes that have a manga so since I was reading the manga beforehand, the anime was -which I thought was originally not going to be as great- was actually pretty decent. I mean I still love and prefer the manga over the anime but the anime was pretty descriptive and ended in a way which watchers wouldn't be left with dissatisfaction. So watch it and read the manga anytime you want in whichever order.


#2. SA [Special A]

Genres: comedy, romance, school life, shoujo, drama
Meet the female lead, who is always second place. Meet the male lead who is always first place. Setting: a rich and beautiful school filled with rich students who are envious of the SA -a program with the top 7 highest marked students in the school.

I LOVE THIS ANIME. I ALSO LOVE THIS MANGA. It is one of the few things in my childhood memory. The setting is pretty cliché but guaranteed, you will learn to fight alongside the female lead while loving the male lead. Aside from that, it is a comedy and although there aren't a lot of jokes made literally (not meant to be jokes); we see a bunch of them. 
Spoiler Like a rice ball that cracked the cement floor LOL I can't. 
Maybe your humour doesn't go that far but I laugh at things that normal people don't usually laugh at (I'm usually a serious person). So if you want to watch something that'll boost your mood positively; then I suggest watching this anime. Even if you're happy already STILL. WATCH. ITTT. :)


#1. Hakuōki-Shinsengumi-Kitan (Season 1) and Hakuōki Hekketsuroku (Season 2)

Genres: tragedy, supernatural, action, historical, shoujo, romance
Female lead tries finding her father at night and runs into...?

I'm not a sucker for tragedies (I'd rather avoid them and happily skip) and I was pretty scared of this anime on the first episode tbvh; but I got used to the stuff and the plot is one of the best out there. There's hints of romance in this which made me ship so badly and desperately. The ending made me cry buckets full of tears out of sadness and then happiness. I'm going to assume that you are going to do so as well (no spoilers attached). I can't really say much about this without giving it all away so I'm suggesting you to just quickly go in and come out of the anime 2 days (or however long it takes you to finish) and tell me how you felt about it. We can ship and start a whole fricking conversation about this. Remember to have tissues beside this because a lot of bad stuff happens. I knew I was going to give something away for this... dammit all. Watch it anyways. 

ALL OF THEM ARE GOOD... JUST THAT THIS IS MY LIST RIGHT NOW...

Edit: You may also want to try Sugar Sugar Rune, Itazura na Kiss, Glass Mask, Kaze no Stigma, and La Corda D'oro. These are also A-MA-ZING! :D

Kpop #2: SEVENTEEN

SEVENTEEN

A 13 member Korean pop boy group. The name 'Seventeen' explains their average age of the members. The group is divided into three groups: the performance, vocal, and hip hop team. The group debuted on May 26, 2015.

The group members consist of:
Performance Team
Hoshi - vocalist, main dancer, leader of performance
Jun - sub-vocalist, dancer, martial artist, (handsome)
The8 - sub-vocalist, lead dancer, aegyo
Dino - dancer, sub-rapper, sub-vocalist, maknae, son

Vocal Team
Woozi - lead vocalist, leader of vocal
Joshua - vocalist
DK - main vocalist, mood setter
Seungkwan - main vocalist, mood setter
Jeonghan - vocalist, pretty af, mother

Hip Hop Team
S. Coups - rapper, overall leader, leader of hip hop
Vernon (Hansol) - face, lead rapper, (handsome my BIAS o//_//o)
Wonwoo - main rapper, king of making bad jokes
Mingyu - rapper, visual, cook, father


Synopsis
Seventeen is under the company Pledis Entertainment. They were all on a reality show (Seventeen Project: Big Debut Plan) which aired from May 2-26, 2015. They debuted with a single track named 'Adore U'. They group shortly released another single track named 'Mansae'.

The group gained enormous success and recognition from both singles and first released a mini album named '17 Carat' (for the 'Adore U' period) which stayed on Billboard's 'Top 10 Kpop Albums of 2015' chart for 11 weeks (rank 8). Afterwards, they released 'Boys Be' (for the 'Mansae' period) and placed 1st on Billboard's 'World Albums' chart. They were also named the most promising future Kpop artist, and were under Billboard's "21 under 21" chart. They later received and were nominated for some group awards at the Seoul and Golden Disk Awards.

They came back this year (2016) with a single track named 'Pretty U'. This is a song which sounds pretty normal at first but like I said previously on I.O.I's post, if we listen to it more; this is a song which is hard to stop listening to.

SEVENTEEN - Adore U M/V

SEVENTEEN - Mansae M/V

SEVENTEEN - Pretty U M/V

Basically, they are very amazing and everyone should give this group a chance (and subscribe)!
*Cough they produce most of their songs cough*


My Favourite Side Songs
There's a lot to choose from for this artist. I mean, they're known for their exceptional music. Here are a few that I like exceptionally (for now):

SEVENTEEN - Adore U Vocal Unit Lyrics

SEVENTEEN - Say Yes Lyrics

SEVENTEEN - Still Lonely Lyrics

SEVENTEEN - Popular Song Lyrics

This looks like a performance outfit theme from the 'Mansae" era.

From left of picture: [top] Mingyu, The8, Wonwoo, Woozi, S. Coups, Jeonghan, DK, Jun, [bottom] Vernon <3, Joshua, Hoshi, Dino, Seungkwan

Reference: SEVENTEEN'S WIKIPEDIA PAGE

KPOP #1: I.O.I

I.O.I (Ideal of Idol)

An 11 member Korean pop girl group which debuted on May 3, 2016. 

The group members consist of: 
Jie Qiong (Pinky) - face, vocalist, dancer
Sohye - sub-vocalist
Yeunjung - main vocalist
Chungha - vocalist, main dancer
Mina - sub-vocalist, dancer
Somi - face, lead vocalist, maknae 
Sejeong - main vocalist 
Chaeyeong - sub-vocalist 
Nayoung - sub-vocalist, main rapper, dancer 
Yoojung - vocalist, lead rapper
Doyeon - vocalist


Synopsis
The members of the group were decided through a competition show (Produce 101) which aired on 2015-2016. The girls are all from different companies signed to the CJ &EM company. 

They debuted with their titled track "Dream Girls". This is a song which may sound mainstream at the first listen but if you give it a couple of listens; you'll love it! The lyrics are very meaningful as well, unlike some other kpop songs nowadays. Give it a shot :)

Link to debut music video: I.O.I - Dream Girls M/V

Link to debut song with lyrics: I.O.I - Dream Girls with Lyrics


My Favourite Side Songs 
All the other side songs are A-MA-ZING as well but these are my favourites so far. Have a listen at them as well (click on them!). 

I.O.I - When the Cherry Blossoms Fade

I.O.I - Knock Knock



A Live Performance (May 10, 2016)

I.O.I - When the Cherry Blossoms Fade and Dream Girls Live

A photo shoot of the full group

From the left of the picture: Chaeyeon, Pinky, Mina, Somi (sitting on bench), Sejeong, Nayoung, Sohye, Chungha (white shirt), Yoojung, Yeunjung, Doyeon

Reference 
I.O.I - Wikipedia Page

VVELCOME

Hello fellow page viewers, bloggers, kids, teens, adults, you name it; and welcome to my BLOG. Starting from tomorrow I will be posting random stuff depending on my mode  (LOL I spelled mood wrong) so stay tuned for goodies to come.






Spoilers*cough Kpop, Kdrama, anime, manga, quotes, outfits cough*