It cuts together various scenes from across the twelve episodes of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia to show Sitara's struggles and happier moments with the longer version of QUEEN BEE's beautiful ending theme song 星 (STAR) playing in the background. This anime was a special one which will stick with me for a while; I'm very happy to have the opportunity to revisit it again so soon.
While I don't think I'm going to make a habit of doing this for every QUEEN BEE release (or delve back into the back catalogue), I thought I'd post about STAR (星) in order to unbox my copy and delve into the lyrics. For the purpose of this article I will stick to the official English title of STAR but the song is originally titled 星 ("Hoshi") in Japanese.
I purchased my copy of STAR from CD Japan and the EMS shipment was delivered on 10/08/2026, which was a little after the official release date of 05/08/2026 and not bad for an international delivery.
This past Monday marked the 15th anniversary of QUEEN BEE's debut with a major label, together with the streaming event for the 2024 anniversary concert where more than five thousand fans tuned in live to celebrate the occasion and leave supportive comments.
Accordingly, entertainment news website Natalie has posted an affectionate retrospective of the band's album releases over the past 15 years together with personal commentary from journalist Amano Fumiaki. I'll summarise his comments below as I found them heartfelt and interesting.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the band's major label debut under Sony, QUEEN BEE's YouTube channel will be streaming their 15th anniversary solo live show 正正正(15) (Sei Sei Sei). The show took place at Yoyogi National Stadium 1st Gymnasium on 20/04/2024 and the set list for the broadcast can be intuited from the preexisting home video release of the footage.
I guess I'll report some minor QUEEN BEE (女王蜂) news! The 15th anniversary of the band's major label debut is approaching, with their first Sony album 孔雀 (Kujyaku / Peacock) having been released back on 07/09/2011. As such, there are a few special events to commemorate the occasion.
Prize draws will be held at the Shinjuku branch of Tower Records
There will be a special lottery for customers who spend ¥2,000 (pre-tax) or more on QUEEN BEE music and/or video products during their visit. Lottery tickets can be earned from 07/09/2026 to 21/09/2026, with the winners being announced on 25/09/2026.
The prize will be a 'historical jacket collection' t-shirt showing 28 of QUEEN BEE's Sony album/single covers from the past 15 years, up to and including 星 (STAR). Every ¥2,000 spent counts for one entry in the lottery and there will be 30 prizes available, all in Large (L) size only.
The same store will also be displaying oversized replicas of the historical album/single artwork during the celebratory period, and customers who can win one of the display panels once the exhibition is over! They will be ex-display condition and it's not possible for winners to choose which panel they receive. One entry into the draw is granted per purchase of a QUEEN BEE music/video product during the campaign period. Customers who make a qualifying purchase will also be eligible for a QUEEN BEE logo stamp, which can be applied to a stamp sheet provided by Tower Records or to anything the visitor brings with them.
Along with the album artwork, the store will be displaying a replica of the celebratory cake from the 超メモリアル (Super Memorial) jacket and a 'countdown poster' commemorating the past 15 years.
Lastly, there will be a 'notebook of support' installed in the store until 21/09/2026 where fans can add their own messages for the band. The book will be presented to the members of QUEEN BEE once the campaign is over.
More celebrations during QUEEN BEE's 2026 national tour 星 (STAR)
With the band playing five national tour dates in Japan between 11/10/2026 and 30/10/2026, the anniversary will also be commemorated at the venues. Although it will take place after the Tower Records Shinjuku lottery described above, the exact same 'historical jacket collection' t-shirt will be offered as a prize again during the tour. The method of entering the lottery will be similar - spending multiples of ¥2,000 on music and video goods at the tour venues (details still to be announced) - and there will be 25 prizes available per show. Once again, only Large (L) sized t-shirts will be available.
The single 星 (STAR) peaks at 33rd on Oricon's ranking
I am a little disappointed that STAR has not performed better but the single charted for two weeks and only reached the 33rd position in Oricon's weekly sales ranking. It's a melancholic song so perhaps it was never destined for chart success but I find it beautiful every time it wraps up an episode of Tenmaku No Jaadugar (and unlike HALF, which is a brilliant song with an average ending credit sequence, the accompanying animation is a really good fit for STAR). I would have thought that the coupling track being new might have driven interest too. Perhaps people are hungry for another upbeat single after PERSONAL?
qb RADIO returns with episode 16
The irregularly-broadcast 'qb RADIO' podcast returned with episode 16 on 05/08/2026 after a two-year break to celebrate the release of 星 (STAR). Avu-chan, Yashi-chan and Hibari-kun all appeared on the show together to chat about recent events. The band members were in good spirits during the discussion, which was recorded shortly before they headed to London/Paris to perform overseas.
During the show they took the opportunity to reflect on their hard work since the previous episode of the radio show and their memories of performing in Paris for the first time ten years ago, which was their first ever trip overseas. During rehearsals, the lighting technician had suddenly vanished to have lunch without telling anyone and everyone had been rattled by their sudden absence. While everyone understood the importance of mealtimes, Yashi-chan wished that they'd told the band what was going on. Avu-chan playfully pronounced 'Pardon?' in French as they all shared memories of those times.
The band noted that they wouldn't have so much time to go sightseeing in Europe as they were on a tighter schedule this time, and they were especially concerned about the heatwave and (apparently famous) lack of air conditioning in London and France. Avu-chan announced that they had resolved to defy the hot weather while Hibari-kun had high hopes for a handheld fan he'd bought. I hope that those tactics worked out for them; it really was unbearably warm at times and being on stage must be even tougher than being in the audience. Towards the end, Avu-chan also spoke about the struggles they've had over the years and growing as a human being; despite the gruelling workloads and emotional burdens it's very clear that the band members care for one another deeply and share a good bond.
qb RADIO is available on YouTube and on Podcast services such as Spotify.
Hana Awase New Moon -Himeutsugi Volume- is the Nintendo Switch rerelease of the second game in the Hana Awase tetralogy, which originally debuted as a series of Windows PC games back in 2012. The Switch port from dramatic create (HuneX) comes with an extra short story as a bonus with each volume, as well as multilingual translations (text only) and an upgraded card battle system.
I played the previous game (Hana Awase New Moon -Mizuchi Volume-) back when it was first released on the Nintendo Switch in English in late 2023, and really liked its blend of unhinged plot twists, menacing love interests and hanafuda tournaments, so it was only a matter of time before I got to the second game in the series: Himeutsugi Volume. Each of the four games is based around a specific love interest (or love interests) from the 'Five Brights', the star pupils of the card-battling school the main character attends.
A while ago I backed the Kickstarter campaign for Battan's The Golden Fly (Kinbae) doujinshi to be translated into English and distributed by The Beguiling's BDP Press. Having discovered it by happenstance I didn't back it for any particular reason; I simply liked the artwork and this description:
"The Golden Fly showcases Battan's dreamy art and writing perfectly, a short story that showcases all of her talents. In her gorgeous, inventive layouts and breathless art The Golden Fly tackles class, yearning, loathing and the subtle, complex eroticism within, proving yet again she is one of the most important creators in yuri manga today."
Goodness, it's a been a long time since my last post! Since KobaP left Capcom and Sengoku Basara news dried up entirely, I guess I lost the passion to maintain this blog. I loved that series so much.
However, last week I had a wonderful experience seeing 女王蜂 (QUEEN BEE/Ziyoou-vachi) live at two different London performances in two days, and I couldn't resist putting a few words down about the shows.
A little background: QUEEN BEE (I'll refer to them using the official English name they used at the shows) are a Japanese rock band who dabble in experimental styles (as well as fashion). They have become massively more well known in the last few years as their music has been used in popular anime like Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, Fire Force, Hell's Paradise, Undead Unluck, Raven of the Inner Palace, Chainsaw Man, Oshi no Ko and Dororo, and many years after constantly stumbling over their music when looking for a certain niche CD series with a similar name to the band's, I finally got the chance to see them live.
The band were initially announced to be playing the HYPER JAPAN 2026 festival at Olympia on 24/07/2026, which I usually attend anyway, so of course I bought tickets for that. Then, since they were in the country already, an announcement was made that they would also play a solo live at the Electric Ballroom in Camden on 23/07/2026. Even though going to a standing concert the evening before a three day convention felt unwise, I couldn't pass up the rare opportunity to see them twice.
I've never been a person who likes to do things halfway. Fortunately, I'm really glad that I went to both shows; both had similar setlists but I think I got more out of the second after having seen them the day before.
Whew. There are a lot of heavy-hitting sequels this season, and also quite a few cases of series changing streaming services in between seasons, so putting this first impressions post has taken absolutely ages. Shoukoku No Altair, Ballroom He Youkoso are both continuing from the Summer season and on top of that my schedule is already pre-filled with a staggering number of follow-ups to beloved titles, which means that anything brand new has a harder job than usual to get my attention. I also decided to try out a HIDIVE subscription since it isn't all that pricey and they snagged a couple of titles I wanted to see; the lack of apps is still disappointing. I can't get the service running on any of my usual devices at all. Please hurry up with a solution, HIDIVE, or stop enforcing exclusivity!
I don't have much time to moan about the state of streaming in the UK this time, partly because I want to go and clear New Danganronpa V3 as soon as I finish this post and partly because actually, we're in a very fortunate position now. Animax UK is as good as dead, Viewster gave up on simulcasting, and the US anime distributors finally remembered that we exist. If HIDIVE sorted out the app issue and Netflix would just stop blocking legal simulcasting from titles which would otherwise have appeared on Crunchyroll, everything would be close to perfect.
So with all of that said and done, I'll move on to the first impressions of all of the new anime content!
Another season has come and gone. Summer 2017 wasn't the strongest season of anime I've followed; in fact, it was rather weak overall, which is probably for the best as there are suddenly plenty of interesting games I want to play! I'm currently working through New Danganronpa V3 and the mobile port of Gyakuten Saiban 6 (or Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice, to use its long-winded localised name). Both are fantastic and titles I have been looking forward to for a long time, so it's going to be tough going to tear myself away and watch all of the first episodes for the upcoming season in between gaming sessions!
A final impressions post requires the usual completely arbitrary top three, and accordingly here it is.
1. Tsuredure Children 2. Owarimonogatari second season 3. Saiyuuki Reload Blast
Tsuredure Children was simply the best. I looked forward to it every week despite it being different to my usual favourites in every conceivable way. Owarimonogatari was its usual self and worthy of a spot despite having a short run. And Saiyuuki was sort of average except I needed a third series for the list and it felt good to revisit the past every week.
One notable omission from the full list below is Hajimete No Gal (My First Girlfriend Is A Gal), which I finally dropped two thirds of the way through the season for being persisently mediocre after all. I had hoped for something better; instead, it got worse, and there wasn't even any worthwhile fan service to make the plot feel less awful. I also discovered later on that all of the creepy child molester jokes were actually added for the anime, a fact that is probably going to haunt me for life. I'm not easily offended but they weren't even slightly funny and just added an awkward atmosphere to something which wasn't good enough to rise above the poor taste; what on earth was the team thinking?
