My Kiss of Fire Artbook by Nitta Youka ordered from Amazon US arrived today :3
The damage? Approx US$20 w/o shipping.
I contemplated getting the out-of-print (still available as pre-owned copies but lots more expensive) Japan version… but the prices range from 2~4 times higher than the DMP-licensed US version *shrug* If it is the first press Japan version Kiss of Fire that came with an additional booklet, you can expect the prices to be even higher.
So, following the good advice from my friend akiyama, who owns the Japan copy, I decided to be a rational person (not a crazed, irrational fan lol~) and went with the US one since Amazon US is giving a discount now. Erm, yeah kick me if my irrationality overtakes me one day and I end up buying an additional Japan version copy ^^”
Well, the US version artbook looks pretty much similar to the Japan version ^^ so I’m quite happy with it. The cute thing about it… it comes with an envelope and a few sheets of paper that look like love letters exchanged between Katou and Iwaki XD Well, I was pleasantly surprised <3
The contents are lovely… flipping through the book is a different feeling from viewing the artwork on the monitor screen 
well, I admit I have the scanned pics that can be found online. So I salute the people who did the scans. How did you do that? It is not possible to make those nice scans without killing your book. o_O
Since it is the US version, it has a “explicit contents” sticker pasted on the front. Fortunately that can be removed. Phew~ it seriously spoils the look of the cover (-_- |||)
Yeah, I’m a happy girl. My other stash of BLCD and music CD orders from HMV Japan arrived today too… yea~ double the dose of happiness :3
aha congrats!
Good illustration, rite? In fact i don’t recall if the Japanese version have those love letter look-alike. It’s for US version only perhaps?
i think some people able to do it without ripping the book, i think my hubby do tht in his office (back then) we don’t have scanner so i ask him to scan my saiyuki artbooks (Salty Dog) and he didn’t damage the book at all.
Thou i doubt tht he can explain to you coz his english poooooor.
ooo..the explicit content is only sticker? i tot it’s printed on the cover. No need for parental advisory sticker, i’m sure the book already giving some ‘XXX’ aura ^^
Well, you have no prob with censor board and now you may indulge yourself in the sexiness of K and I. *meoooow*
XD thank you! The package was expected to arrive in early June LOL~ it reached early kekeke… Mmm… I wasn’t expecting the letters. It was a nice touch ^^
I think it also depends on the binding of the book, as well as how the layout of the images are done o_O Its unlikely to scan Kiss of Fire without opening up the book really widely. hehe… I’ll be quite heartache if I have to do that X3
Yea thankfully it is only a sticker ^^” cos it is so ugly. But US regulations la… cannot be avoided. I think the box went right through and wasn’t inspected ~phew yup yup… its nice to be able to hold the book and flip through the pages… our couple is really sexy ne…
Oh oh… and I received my copy of Goldfinger too ^^ You’re right… it is too short la the CD. I had it on replay consecutively lol~ nice. My mum said she like it too!
I’ve not watched the DVD yet tho’
Oo..you buy Goldfinger CD+DVD ver?
Give some review okie abt the DVD.
Well dun scan anything from tht Embracing Love, it’s your most private collection.
it’s like seeing a real photobook, right? it’s as if K and I posing and Youka Nitta drawing them or snapping their picture.
and the penis is blurred Ha Ha Ha.
Yep yep! I bought Goldfinger during the HMV JP 2x points promo lol~ XD I’m glad I bought the one with the DVD cos I’ve not watched a shamisen performance before. I’m really amazed by how you can produce the variety of sounds on it. As I was watching I kept wondering… wow how he do that? Since the way the bachi (I checked the wiki for the name of the tortoise shell pick Kazuhiro-san used) moved seem to be the same but it produced a different sound :O But it is also too short leh the omake… only 2 tracks (-_- |||) A bit disappointing… I ended up replaying it a few times oso LOL~ Oh and I noticed he ate chocolate at the studio? Haha… so cute. He really loves chocs so much ah~ XD
LOL~ why she blurred the penis… must be the 18+ rating problem again ^^” The phone-sex one is HHHOT
but I especially like the 2 panels where they were smexing. One panel shows Katou’s POV and the other one shows Iwaki’s POV of the exact same scene. Somehow I find that very sensual :3
Agrees! It feels just like a real photobook of real models/film stars keke… I think the only complaint which I think is shared among many fans is that many of the illustrations are spread across 2 pages and that chops up and spoils the look of the pictures
You know, I’m trying very hard -not- to succumb to the typical otaku syndrome of getting more than one copy of the same thing just for safe-keeping (T-T) *struggle struggle*