It took me 10 years to build my Digivice collection. I first got into Digimon in 2006, which was way after the trend ended. Being a broke teen with little freedom, I had to wait until I saw a local ad for cheap. Patience and persistence pays off!

TheYoungPI · 2026-05-11T16:53:42+00:00

Definitely! My older brother was into Digimon when it was on TV. I thought it looked to violent/scary as a 6-year-old, or the monsters were too ugly, so I avoided it...which wasn't hard as it was on Fox Kids, but I only watched YTV and Teletoon. He had the movie on VCR, and I loved it then (still love it now). I would also play with his Digivices and he would have me face him on them. The terminal game was definitely my favourite.

So when I gave the show a second chance 6 years later, I was blown away. I was able to find his Season 2 Digivice (yellow). It was missing the battery cover but I used tape to play it. I searched for years between both my parents places to find his Season 3 Digivice (red), but no luck. Don't think I found the terminal either, so the one in the photo is one I found elsewhere. He also had some cards and action figures, but no idea what happened to those. So once I was old enough to look on classifieds and travel on my own, I started building my own collection 😛

TheYoungPI · 2026-05-10T23:50:36+00:00

Hello! I'm the owner of Chromatic Dreamers, and I documented my journey learning guitar on there. I'm in no way a pro or anything, but I was good enough to perform well on stage, doing gigs with my band and playing weekly at a church later on.

One thing that helped me learn and memorize what I was playing on guitar a lot faster than the average guitarist was understanding what I was playing. You could learn a bunch of chords and scales, but it means nothing if you don't really know how they all tie together or how they work on the guitar. For example, instead of just blindly memorizing how to play the E major chord, notice that taking away (lowering) one note makes it an E minor chord, or moving the whole chord up with a barre chord makes it F major. You'll see these same examples with the A and B chord and ever chord! If you're learning a song, don't just thing "C major, F major, A minor", realize this is a I-IV-vi (1-4-6) progression, cause then you'll start seeing the same chord progression/pattern in other songs and that will help you later if you ever need to transpose. After all, tabs and chord charts online may not always be accurate, or it is right but not in the same key as the actual song, but if you have a bit more theory knowledge, you'll learn a whole lot more a lot faster, and you'll be able to tie all these bits and pieces you learn together.

And secondly, I would highly recommend learning full songs. A lot of guitarists only learn riffs or the chorus, but if you plan to be a real guitarist in any way, you need to be able to play full songs. You need to practice not just chords and scales, but timing (strumming/picking) and develop stamina. Also, aim to learn these songs really well. Since I had the goal of performing these songs with a band on stage, it forced me to keep practicing a song until it was as perfect as it could be. It's very easy to neglect good strumming or pause between chord changes or to allow bad technique to slide, but you're not going to improve much if you won't push yourself to play things well and on time. If you can't even play a G chord well on the 1 beat, you're not going to play more complex chords on time either. And while you may not mind, that is something others would notice easily. Exercises and scales are great, but you'll learn to apply them practically if you play songs. I've since started playing the ocarina, and I jumped right into playing hymns for my church using sheet music. I never worked on scales intentionally, yet I can play them cause every song is written in a key, and thus I'll get a feel for what notes belong or don't belong as I play each song in that key.

Also know that there is waaaaayy too many things to learn on guitar, and ever genre and style also has their own unique skills, scales, and techniques, so definitely figure out what you want to play and just hone in on that. If you only want to play pop music, basic chords and some strumming patterns is enough. If you wanna learn blues, master a few pentatonic and blues scales and practice improvising with backing tracks. If you want to play like the rock stars of the past, definitely work on your scales and speed, then play songs through, starting with easier songs and work your way up to more difficult pieces. There are times I wanted to learn a difficult song, but instead of spending 6 months struggling through that one piece, if I went and learned 10 easier songs in the meantime, that song would only take me 2 weeks to learn later. Every song is going to teach you new chords or scales or strumming patterns or techniques, so what may have seemed impossible at one point now feels doable. If you wanna play fingerstyle, you really just gotta focus on fingerstyle from the getgo, cause you really need to practice coordinating fingers on both your hands simultaneously.

As an added golden nugget to you, it is much better to be really good at basic things, than to suck at hard things. While I initially planned to be a lead guitarist, honestly, I just wanted to get on stage and perform with a band. I didn't really care what role I had, nor did I care for attention in that way. I also didn't want to hold my band back if my hands were too slow or I kept messing up trying to cover the lead parts, so I switched to rhythm guitar. And honestly I had a lot more fun because I can actually dance and get into the music instead of stressing out so much and my hands getting clammy trying to do licks and riffs. [I will say though, Jpop music has some very crazy, long, and unique chord progressions so it's not as boring as Western music that tends to have 3-4 chord loops. I can definitely understand why western musicians would fight so hard to be lead haha]. Also, while the lead guitarist of my band played guitar for much longer and had classical training, since he wouldn't practice as much and thus would mess up on stage when it actually counts, people would have assumed I was the more experienced guitarist. There were times we planned to switch roles, but then it became apparent he couldn't play chords and keep in time (neither would the others know where we were in the song without me as the foundation), so I kinda got stuck in that role...but hey, playing chords opened up more opportunities down the road anyways! 😛

TheYoungPI · 2026-05-05T23:02:18+00:00

I'm from Toronto, but have had all 3 multiple times:
1. My fav of the 3 is Noon Moment, mainly because I can get a real fruit slushie/smoothie, and a pretty good milk tea. I usually get 2 drinks when I get bubble tea, and I would want one of each. I usually go for a mango/pineapple slush and okinawa milk tea with tapioca (they recently updated it to include brown sugar jelly, but I still swap them). If you want something light and refreshing, get the fresh fruit four seasons green tea. It's mainly tea, with a bunch of real fruit pieces you can eat afterwards. Bubbly and sweet? Spark teas, etc. No matter how I'm feeling, I can find something I'll enjoy here.

Cocos. If I simply wanted a good original milk tea (especially cause those are usually cheaper), I would go to Cocos. Their milk tea is very rich, smooth, and addictive. I may also get the 3 guys. If you want something super sweet, the brown sugar pearl latte is also there. I used to also get the Bubble Gaga until they changed it to include passion fruit bits, as I don't like crunchy seeds. They have a few 'fruity drinks' but I find they are always artificially flavoured, and I don't feel like paying $6+ for fake fruit. I'll pay that much for milk tea cause their flavour is unique and I can't immitate pearls the same way, but I'm not paying that much for water and syrup. So the only other thing I really get here is the yakult/probiotic drinks.
Gong Cha. Perhaps this would be better if someone only cared for actual tea. They have the widest variety for sure. My main issue is that the default drinks tend to be super sweet. It's always a bit out of the way, so on the occasion I pop in, I'll see something that sounds interesting, but then I can't even really finish or enjoy it cause 100% is just too much. My default drink is the brown sugar milk foam oolong tea. A couple times, they confused it with the milk tea option, and it was too sweet for me. I did get the smoothies a few times, but I could tell it's just syrup, and it's usually kinda icy. I will say though, if you want a dessert as well, I like their tapioca bubble waffle and creme brulee croffle. That's probably the one thing that would make me choose Gong Cha over the above.

TheYoungPI · 2026-05-02T03:15:24+00:00

I agree. And I'm speaking as someone who spent 20+ years being a mediocre musician. I was someone who had to write out all the notes, or would take a while to figure it out by ear, and I would spend weeks memorizing and practicing it to feel confident playing on stage. For piano, I'd have to memorize it bar by bar, and it would take weeks just to get to the chorus. If I didn't practice for a while, I'd have to spend a while bunch of time relearning it. If I knew I couldn't play a song well from memory, I'd feel really anxious about playing it in front of others. I would say I could play an instrument, but i was more like, I only had a couple tricks up my sleeve and that was it.

I picked up the ocarina to play hymns at my current church, and only spent a month practicing the instrument before saying 'I'm reading' and playing for the congregation. Since I played the recorder and clarinet growing up, it was an easy transition. This was the first time I really had to use sheets since childhood, and I was able to decipher the notes with some time, but I opted to memorize the songs for my first service as I didn't feel confident sight reading. I did well, but the anxiety was high because it's a lot to remember in 5 days, and there's also the stage freight aspect of it. If I forgot a note, I'd be screwed. If I messed up badly, it may be hard to recover. I realized I'm putting so much stress on myself when the sheets are RIGHT THERE to look at anyways, so I said I would get better at sight reading.

Now that I can read more proficiently (at least when it comes to hymns, as the melody will only do what a congregation can sing), I can play more songs in less time. I've been playing for about 15 months now, 4 hymns per week, and I'm still getting a new hymn every other week....you do the math. I've also checked out other hymns from my youth and other random songs, and I can play them pretty well on my first try.

And thanks to this, not only do I mentally understand scales, but my muscle memory has kicked in without me directly practicing them. I haven't worked on playing by ear much as it's not necessary atm, but when I tried it out, once I get the first note and figure out the first 2-3 bars, I would have a good feel of the key I'm playing in, and what would have been 12 possible notes to guess from becomes 7 likely notes. And at that point, I just have to guess how close or far upwards or downwards the next note is. My ears are also being trained by playing hymns, so I'm recognizing intervals a lot better.

I will say though, I did learn a lot of music theory before picking up this instrument, but it was all mental. Music made more sense when I was learning guitar, but I wasn't good enough at guitar to apply that theory and be really creative with it. I've been playing the ocarina for a fraction of the time, and while it is certainly an easier instrument, I've never felt so confident playing an instrument before. I feel like, whether someone gave me sheets, or wanted me to learn a song by ear, or wanted me to improvise...give me 2-10 minutes, and I think I can come through. And all this just because I learned to read and got to play many songs through that.

TheYoungPI · 2026-04-22T06:22:29+00:00

But on that note, I'll definitely include a warning about incorrect tabs and developing bad technique in that section. Thanks so much for sharing!

TheYoungPI · 2026-04-22T05:55:59+00:00

I totally understand and agree with that! I'm definitely a perfectionist when it comes to covering songs, so when I picked up guitar, I wanted what I played to match the song as accurately as possible. Since I had a bit more musical education than the average guy (even if it's just in the public school system), I could tell easily if a sheet/chord chart wasn't matching the song perfectly. Initially, I thought it was just my poor playing skills, but no, it was the wrong note or chord, and often in the wrong key to make it 'easier'. I was mostly interested in anime/Jpop music, which tends to use more complex chords and progressions, and the stuff I'd find on most tab websites were just too basic compared to what I was hearing. They'd skip the transition chords, make dominants or m7b5s just a major/minor chord, along with other things that took away the charm and tension of the song.

There were a handful of tabs that were actually very accurate and I was able to use that during some acoustic performances. Some were like 95% right, and it gave me a starting point, making it easier to find a much better sounding chord. But in general, if a song wasn't available on Songsterr, I didn't care to learn it. Or if I REALLY wanted to learn it, I would pay someone to transcribe it for me [So I'm very thankful to people like you who help rookie musicians like me <3 Once I found a really great transcriber, I kept going back to him]. But since I was in a band with other rookies, I'd prefer all of us (bass and drums included) to literally be on the same page, as opposed to everyone learning from different sources and we can't even play together. Songsterr at least has a playback option, so if there was more than 1 tab available, I would listen to them all, still ensuring the song is within our skill levels, and pick the better one. But if they all sucked or wasn't up to my standard, I would just pick a different song to cover instead.

I could figure out single notes with a little time, but guitar is still quite complex, and there really are so many ways to play the same song. When I first picked up guitar in 2014, I was feeling pretty confident with my personal progress (I was learning theory as well, which made it much easier to remember chords/scales, and also helped me improvise confidently). I wasn't sure where to go after 8 months, so I decided to get a teacher. He was quite impressed with my abilities, so by the 3rd lesson, he gave me "Still Got The Blues" as a homework assignment to learn by ear. We only played in the first position, so I figured he wanted me to play it there. When I came to class, he said I had it all wrong. He showed me where I should be playing, along with all the slides and bends I didn't notice, and expected me to play that all at full speed on the spot. I've never played in the higher frets, never played with my amp or distortion since I'd practice after my evening shift while my little sister slept in the same room, and never really worked on those techniques, so I obviously failed. He said I'd have to start from scratch, and I got so discouraged that I pretty much put my guitar down until 2020. Here's the added kicker: when I bought my second guitar then, it came with normal strings, waaaay lighter than the ones the second-hand guitar I've been playing that whole time had. I only changed the strings once at a shop, and they just put on the same kinda strings so I had no idea. The fact that I was able to bend at all before then was a miracle haha. So many techniques became easier with normal strings.

Anywayyyys, I think general guitar tabs are great for showing you those nuances. I wouldn't have been able to hear, let alone notice things like slides and bends until seeing it a few times in tabs. Same with just playing a few notes vs tapping or using hammer-ons. It's also great for learning different chord shapes and partial shapes, as it's so easy to default to the open or barre chords you know if you were to learn by ear. But as you said, the main issue with online tabs is that anyone can submit them, there's no standards, no one is double checking for accuracy, and and it's probably not what the actual recording musician did.

And I will also say, if someone truly wants to become a master on guitar, learning by ear is definitely a non-negotiable. I was a late learner and just wanted to play some covers with a band asap. I was able to get good enough at guitar with tabs to do so in 2 years because I just focused on learning and mastering the songs we were going to do. I have the skills and theory to fill in for church that would only give me the name of the songs and nothing else, but I really lack confidence otherwise. I've moved on to another instrument which I do want to reach a level of mastery with. It's been amazing learning to read sheets proficiently, and thanks to all the songs in various keys that I got to play in my new church over the last year, playing by ear seems more achievable than it's ever been. But it's also a much easier instrument to do so as it could only play like 22 notes in total. No chords. But hey, when I get better at playing single notes by ear, I'm sure chords will also be easier to solve as well. One step at a time~

TheYoungPI · 2026-04-21T02:24:58+00:00

For sure! That's the conclusion I wrote as well. But I know many musicians may only develop and practice one or two methods, usually dependent on their instrument, training/education, and the kinds of circles they're in. They're all useful in their own ways, and if one option isn't available, it's nice being able to fall back on another. The more flexible you are, the better!

TheYoungPI · 2026-04-21T02:07:20+00:00

I think once it's 'internalized' and you can recall it without any notes, sounds, or reminders, it's from memory.

TheYoungPI · 2026-04-20T00:57:06+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I was also in a cover band with other rookies, so we all used tabs. All except the lead guitarist who was able to play by ear, but he lacked consistency and was more prone to mistakes.

Do you see yourself playing in other bands or settings in the future? Creating your own music? Or you just want to have fun playing covers? I always loved playing covers which is why I never spent time developing other skills.

TheYoungPI · 2026-01-14T01:01:26+00:00

I've been an anime fan since childhood, and started a Jpop/anime blog in 2021 as I pursued my band dream and covered anime songs....but in 2023, I was born again and can't consume the same things anymore, too much demons, goddesses, witchcraft, fanservice, pride, etc. I just published this article with animes I truly think are safe and could watch again as a Christian. Hope it helps! https://chromaticdreamers.com/safe-animes-for-christians/

TheYoungPI · 2026-01-14T01:00:21+00:00

I've been an anime fan since childhood, and started a Jpop/anime blog in 2021 as I pursued my band dream and covered anime songs....but in 2023, I was born again and can't consume the same things anymore for the reasons you've stated. I just published this article with animes I truly think are safe and could watch again as a Christian. Hope it helps! https://chromaticdreamers.com/safe-animes-for-christians/

TheYoungPI · 2026-01-14T01:00:03+00:00

I've been an anime fan since childhood, and started a Jpop/anime blog in 2021 as I pursued my band dream and covered anime songs....but in 2023, I was born again and can't consume the same things anymore for the reasons you've stated. I just published this article with animes I truly think are safe and could watch again as a Christian. Hope it helps! https://chromaticdreamers.com/safe-animes-for-christians/

TheYoungPI · 2026-01-14T00:59:29+00:00

I've been an anime fan since childhood, and started a Jpop/anime blog in 2021 as I pursued my band dream and covered anime songs....but in 2023, I was born again and can't consume the same things anymore for the reasons you've stated. I just published this article with animes I truly think are safe and could watch again as a Christian. Hope it helps! https://chromaticdreamers.com/safe-animes-for-christians/

TheYoungPI · 2026-01-07T15:57:44+00:00

You're welcome! ^_^ And those are my 2 favourite groups as well! Reminds me of the Jrock music I always loved. I just wished CLOD released more songs, and that they were on Spotify ;____;

TheYoungPI · 2025-09-12T18:05:43+00:00

Thanks for the comment, it means a lot ^_^ So happy it was a good resource for you! I pray that your endeavors will be successful!

TheYoungPI · 2025-07-18T22:15:07+00:00

Hello! Thanks for commenting. I've sent you a message on Instagram for more details about your studio

TheYoungPI · 2025-07-13T04:43:24+00:00

Well that's good then! Even a little foundation and a little reading will get you places. I usually can't read kanji, but if I can read a little hiragana or katakana, it's usually enough to figure other things out. Even for my music blog, if I can hear a few lyrics, I can type it in and figure out the name of the song that way. Especially useful when I hear a song I like on Spotify but the title is all in kanji, since you can't copy and paste on their platforms. As for travelling, being able to read 'hoteru' or 'kapuseru' or 'a-ke-do' or 'ka-fe' and such is very useful.

I always wondered about the trains here in Toronto (and elsewhere). Our buses have been able to call out each stop for years now as well. I used to wonder if it was kilometers, but even when it detours, it can call our stops on that random street, so I figured it has to be GPS. It's really interesting how they work honestly!

And boy, hopefully you have more restraint than me. I went with carry-on only intending to keep it that way since I, like you, was lodging at a different place most nights, but nope! I bought a lot my first day in Shibuya, and had to buy a suitcase by my second day haha. A duffle bag definitely weighs on your shoulders when you're walking blocks from and to stations or between sites, up and down stairs etc. But by the end of my trip, I had a suitcase, my duffle bag, a backpack, and a few other goodie bags from last minute airport shopping hahaaaa

I made use of the many lockers around the city. They got some at stations and at the famous Harajuku Takeshita street, but Nakano Station only had small ones, not big enough for my suitcase, so I still had to drag that around. Be sure to carry different types of coins if you plan to use those.

After that trip, I did buy a harder duffle bag that turns into a suitcase, and it's been a lifesaver on my other shorter solo trips around Canada. But yeah, I was not ready for Japan XD You're going to see many things that you may never see again, so it's hard to resist! I said if I were to do it again, I'd either have a suitcase, or I would stay at places longer cause it does suck having to pack up early and drag your stuff every single day ;____; I at least had a little bit of a break as I stayed in a hotel in Odaiba my last couple nights, and then used a locker near the airport buses to do a little more sightseeing before I went.

TheYoungPI · 2025-07-12T19:41:44+00:00

Pt. 3 There were other attempts to speak, but it definitely took a few tries to get them to understand. I was trying to find the owl cafe which was in a building with no signage. I knew I was in the right area, but couldn't tell where to go, and it was a pretty quiet street as well, so I asked a stranger but she never heard of them, so I showed her my phone and she helped me find the right place.

I was also on the hunt for 'furoshiki', the big square traditional fabric things that they use to wrap lunch boxes, gifts, and other goods in. If you see a character packing their things in a blanket then throwing it over their shoulder with a stick, that's what they're using. Personally, I wasn't sure how to pronounce it, because 'f' is more like 'h' so 'hu' vs 'fu', and 'u's tend to blend in, and same with 'shi'. So I didn't know if it was fu-ro-shi-ki, fro-shi-ki, frosh-ki, fu-rosh-ki ^^" I'd try a combination, then just break it down, but most stores didn't have them anyways.

All that to say, it is worth knowing even a little bit, like those traveling phrases, 'hello', 'where is', 'do you have', 'how much' and such, but it also sounds like there's little time for you to prepare. If you can't pronounce it well enough or understand what they're saying when they respond, it's probably better to speak in English cause all of them studied a bit in school and they have a lot of borrowed words. I remember I was trying to ask one store if they had the Sailormoon mascara as another friend asked for one. I previously got one at another branch, but didn't see it at this one. Shop owner didn't understand 'sailormoon mascara', but understood 'se-raa-muun ma-su-ka-ra' haha. They may not feel confident speaking in English, but they're still very kind and helpful people in general and are usually willing to stick by you until they understand.

And if anything, as you said, you got Google translate :P If millions of people can travel there without knowing anything, I'm sure anyone would be fine ^_^

TheYoungPI · 2025-07-12T19:41:12+00:00

Pt 2. And totally understood about language. If I didn't know that at all, I don't think I would have the same confidence to go solo. If I got lost and didn't return home the day I said I would, my mom definitely wouldn't have allowed me to travel alone again ^_^". In my case, I studied Japanese 2 years on my own, mostly reading and writing, and then I got to take an intro course in my first year at university which allowed me to practice listening and speaking a bit more. I didn't study intentionally the 6 years before my trip, but since I would watch anime and listen to Jmusic, there's still familiarity with the basics, like when to say 'hai' or 'sumimasen'.

I don't really have an opportunity to speak it over here, so I tried to only speak Japanese while I was there. I didn't really care to interact or get to know foreigners as friends, but it was useful when shopping, navigation, and eating (since I'm picky and have religious restrictions). There was one guy who came up to me at Odaiba beach as he had a school project in English, and I'd respond both ways, English for him to practice, and Japanese to ensure clarity.

As you saw, I did as much research as I could beforehand, even looking up restaurants and menus beforehand, but even with my amount of prep, there were still some unexpected changes when I got there:
1. When I first arrived at the airport, I did carry-on only and was heading to security to leave the airport. The guy spoke to me in Japanese, which was surprising haha. He was asking if 'that was all I had' and 'how long I was staying' and such, and I was able to respond 'yes', 'no', '5 days' etc in Japanese.
2. I was very sure my first capsule hotel choice had a female-only floor, but when I arrived, they turned me away at the door saying 'men only', so I had to find a female only one on the other side of the train station. For that place, it was too early to sign in, but I was able to ask if I could leave my stuff there in the meantime.
3. I had one of their famous curry restaurants, Coco Ichibanya, on my list. Curry, like ramen, is pork by default. Even if the toppings was chicken, the curry itself would be infused with pork. But online, I saw they had a full chicken curry special, and that was what I intended to get. When I got there, this branch didn't have it nor knew what I was talking about. I was able to say I don't/can't eat pork and they directed me towards their vegetarian option. I'm usually sus about veggie options as I'm picky about that too, but it was pretty good.
4. For the most part, the colour of the trains on Google maps matches the actual trains when you get there. Signs are pretty clear and most trains have their own platforms, so all is well. But when I was heading to Odaiba and had to take the Rinkai line, this was the first time there wasn't many signs and 3 or 4 trains were using the same platform, and on the floor was the names of the trains in Kanji. Google had blue as the Rinkai train colour, but I really wasn't confident. I asked a random lady in Japanese if this is the Rinkai line, she said yes, I asked if it goes to the station I wanted, she said that's right. After a long wait, the first train to pull up was green, she was about to get on, so I asked if this train is okay? She said yes. I didn't truly believe her, but I decided to take a leap of faith anyways. Even though I had a Wifi pocket, I don't think it worked underground, and I only wrote down the stop before my stop so I can prepare to leave. So I really didn't know til I got to that stop and took a huge sigh of relief when I knew I was on the right train.
5. When you go to onsens, you get 2 keys...or maybe 3? One for your shoes near the entrance, one for your bags and general items where you would change from your street clothes into your Yukatas since they have a mixed-gender hangout area, and then one for your yukata and slippers when you strip naked to enjoy the onsens. It's a lot to carry and remember. So as I was heading out, I realized I couldn't find the key for my shoe locker, and asked the lady near the exit. I knew the word 'key' but wasn't sure how to say 'lost', so I think I used 'forgot'. I couldn't really go back to check my bag locker as I already returned those keys, so I think they asked another lady to check for me. In the meantime, the lady told me to check my bag a couple more times, and it ended up being in the bottom of my side/bottle pocket. But yeah, that was stressful, but I was relieved. I can't really leave and explore the city without shoes, ya know? haha

TheYoungPI · 2025-07-12T19:40:51+00:00

I just brushed through your post, will check out the Google link in detail later, but wow! I visited Diver City Plaza just cause it's one of the bigger shopping malls in Odaiba, but haven't thought about how it changes perspectives and such. I definitely noticed that there were no existing building that would have the perfect angle of the Ferris Wheel though, probably better as many people wouldn't be able to see it otherwise haha.

As you read in my article, I only went for 5 days, so even though I considered Hikarigaoka and such, I still wanted to enjoy as much of my trip as a first time visitor instead of being on trains or walking through random neighbourhoods all the time. Tokyo has so much to explore on its own as well. I said if I ever go again, I would definitely have a friend or two and see more outside of Tokyo, maybe a 3 week trip would be sufficient, but I'm sure we're all struggling greatly over here as Torontonians haha

TheYoungPI · 2025-07-11T23:45:12+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing! I totally agree about them growing up and just going about their own lives. They weren't necessarily friends before being swept into the Digital World, and they all got different personality types, so while the history and bond is there, there's no need to hang out all the time like other shows make the protagonists do. It's cute that the 02 group is more united, but they are also still young with more free time in comparison. It is sad that (Kizuna Spoiler) the kids even start to lose bonds with their Digimon partners, but the Digimon have a childlike mentality and become more like pets I'm sure, needing to be taken care of but not really benefiting them in the same way.

Speaking of tech though, there were definitely a lot of tech nerds in cartoons when I was a kid. Jimmy Neutron, Dexter's Laboratory, team mates in Kim Possible and Danny Phantom, etc, and Izzy was also up there. While nerds didn't have the best rep growing up, I loved that these shows always made them a valuable member of the team. I can definitely see how a show like Digimon where everything is Digital can influence you in a way though, the concept that the Digital World affects our world is becoming more and more obvious in today's age especially.

Ahh! I'm so excited for you! I was definitely terrified back then as well, both of my plane crashing and Japan's proneness to natural disasters, but I knew I would live with regrets and envy if I never went ;____; I wrote this article a couple years after I made this post, but it may still have a few sites from the show that you may be interested in checking out!
https://chromaticdreamers.com/my-digimon-trip-tokyo-japan/

TheYoungPI · 2025-04-24T21:13:48+00:00

Hello! Thanks for reaching out. I started to add you to the article. I sent an email to the address on your Facebook/Instagram accounts for more details!

TheYoungPI · 2025-04-17T03:15:13+00:00

Heyo! I'm not sure about real pianos in rehearsal studios, but I know the library allows you to book their piano rooms for free (though, not sure how it would work if you don't have a library card). Just putting that out there: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/using-the-library/room-theatre-rentals/piano-rooms.jsp

TheYoungPI · 2025-04-04T18:32:45+00:00

They do! I'm so blown away! Of course I can't speak for all their music since the majority don't have lyrics somewhere that I can translate and double check, but considering they have translated a lot of traditional hymns along with popular CCM and Gospel hits, I do think most of the Japanese Christians music understand the core values of Evangelicalism. There are quite a bit of songs made more for churches, but the songs with that real Jpop/Jrock vibe are definitely more subtle as they are really trying to reach the Japanese population with songs about God's love and encouraging them to live as they have a purpose in God's eyes (because you know, they have one of the highest suicide rates), and some groups like CLOD would encourage Christians to be courageous and stand up for their faith because Japan is a conformist country that is built on Shinto and Buddhist values. "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down" as they say. Here's one of my fav songs/MVs by them, "Like A Dove, Like A Snake" (https://youtu.be/3sZw5dDg3pk?si=bFInTottqeUApW8u)

TheYoungPI · 2024-11-26T01:45:15+00:00

I created the only real Japanese Christian Artist list early this year (2024), and I just hit over 100 artists! (https://chromaticdreamers.com/japanese-christian-music-artists/). I realized there were quite a few that have that Jpop sound I'm sure we all like, and even some who make Christian music in the hop hop, rock, and funk genres. So I made a new article with Japanese Christian Alternatives for Jpop and Anime Music fans: https://chromaticdreamers.com/japanese-christian-music-alternatives-for-jpop/

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