How did you know Akiko Shikata?

how did you guys find out about this beautiful Japanese artist? I have attached a poll to this thread, make sure you vote and there and give comments! if you choose the option of "others", please specify it on your post.

for me, the first time I ever known someone named Akiko Shikata is through a game titled Ar tonelico. I had played this game quite some time ago, but when I re-played it again I feel like this game has a nice soundtrack so I went to find its soundtracks on the net. I was amazed by the songs she sang and composed, so I decided to try her other works as well, and here I am now.

Phio-chan recommended that I listen to some of her music, so I did. And it was awesome. ^.^

I found her through her work for Hanakisou. I saw the opening on youtube and fell in love with her work. She's now my favorite singer.

I knew her thanks to Umineko no Naku Koro ni OP theme and other songs releated! Then I passed onto Ar Tonelico and I'm actually in love with her <3

From Ar Tonelico 2: Melody of Metafalica. When I heard METHOD_REPLEKIA/. I was so amazed. High voice is high, after all

I first discovered her from the song "Waterway ~MIO", which I initially thought was sung in Korean. Until I discovered it was actually Pastallia Hymmnos. xD

From Shimotsuki Haruka I knew about Ar tonelico 1.
And got to know her from AT1.

<3 Chronicle Key.

I learned about her from Umineko no Naku Koro ni. It's been a while, so I don't really remember how I came about the visual novel, but I found her song to be really interesting. I then tried out some of her other songs, and now I'm hooked. Unlike most people here, I hadn't really heard her Ar tonelico releases until just recently. I can't really say that her Ar tonelico songs are her best songs, but there are a decent amount of good songs from her in the series.

I saw a feature for Ar Tonelico on CDJapan. That's the beginning. A lot happened after that before I realized I was listening to a single person called Akiko Shikata.

Em... I came to know about Shikata san through my granny ^^|| Granny was browsing through the web and found Shikata san's work during her vagrancy days. We purchased and downloaded her songs from her website and by the time I realise, I've been following her for nearly 10 years now. I'll have to say that, Shikata san really improved over the years, which in turn made me love her more and more XD

-ALT- wrote:Em... I came to know about Shikata san through my granny ^^|| Granny was browsing through the web and found Shikata san's work during her vagrancy days. We purchased and downloaded her songs from her website and by the time I realise, I've been following her for nearly 10 years now. I'll have to say that, Shikata san really improved over the years, which in turn made me love her more and more XD

OMG ALT!

THE MOST AWESOME GRANDMA EVER

From Umineko no naku koro ni: my friend sent me a link with the video of Katayoku no Tori for ask me if I knew the anime and now, thanks to her, I love Shikata-san and Umineko XD

ALT! Your Grandma is hip and happening!! :DDDD

Artesox wrote:

OMG ALT!

THE MOST AWESOME GRANDMA EVER

tiredEyes wrote:ALT! Your Grandma is hip and happening!! :DDDD

Wahahahaha! Thanks Artesox and tiredEyes! *hi5* I think that made Granny one of Shikata san's oldest fan?

Granny was actually a musician herself (she was a music teacher) and love listening to instrumental compositions, probably that was why she identified with Shikata san? Really wished that she had the chance to listen to more of Shikata san's pieces though

@ALT: O-M-G. That is purely awesome! You must be very thankful to her, eh? Such a unique experience, ahaha~ XD I wonder what was the first song that made her hooked to Shikata-sama.

@Bru: I did that to my friend, though it wasn't through Umineko, but Ar tonelico.

phio69 wrote:
@Bru: I did that to my friend, though it wasn't through Umineko, but Ar tonelico.

I'm doing the same right now : D

I had lent my ar tonelicos to a friend. And he is liking the game, and the music.

But he hasn't listened to Paja,Chronicle Key and Harmonious yet.
But he liked the opening : D

Artesox, bring him here!

phio69 wrote:@ALT: O-M-G. That is purely awesome! You must be very thankful to her, eh? Such a unique experience, ahaha~ XD I wonder what was the first song that made her hooked to Shikata-sama.

Hahaha~ Let me use an analogy. Shikata san was the one who casted the net, Granny's the one who found the bait, and I'm the one who got hooked

Our first song of hers is from Midori no Mori de Nemuru Tori~ I didn't really appreciate her voice at first, since the way she projects her voice can actually make people slightly uncomfortable. In fact, Petite four was the one which got me slightly interested~ I'm really glad that Shikata san improved tremendously over the years, with greater voice versatility and singing techniques

phio69 wrote:Artesox, bring him here!

ARTESOX, KIDNAP BRING HIM HERE NOW XD

The first Akiko song I heard was 'Uta Oka~Harmonics Eolia', from an anime music blog.
However, it was 'Reimei~Aurora', which I heard a year or two later (also heard from a blog), that stunned me greatly. After listening to it, I searched her music through the Internet.
She's a goddess.

From Ar Tonelico 2...hehehe...when I heard METHOD_IMPLANTA. and METHOD_METAFALICA.
that's make me cheers up...hehe...

From Ar Tonelico. ^^

I just played years ago and found that the hymmnos are very amazing. Then I look up for the songs and yay, Akiko Shikata XD

And ALT, great granny you have there XD

Yay for another-fan-who-know-a-goddess-through-an-infamous-game-called-Ar-tonelico.

freija93 wrote:Yay for another-fan-who-know-a-goddess-through-an-infamous-game-called-Ar-tonelico.

Say that again and I will report you to the admin ò_ó

Artesox wrote:

freija93 wrote:Yay for another-fan-who-know-a-goddess-through-an-infamous-game-called-Ar-tonelico.

Say that again and I will report you to the admin ò_ó

Well~ Phio chan IS the admin

LOL at the two of you. XD

Well, at least here among my friends, that game is not much known. To them it seems somehow girl-ish so they kinda avoid it. >.>

Em... so far, none of my gamer friends actually play AT. It's not well known over here either. I didn't play it too~ since I'm not that much into gaming~ hahaha

i know from Ar Toenlico series..

when i was downloaded some song in that game.. i found the name.. shikata akiko.. since that day.. i starting for collect many akiko shikata works...

I made a bunch of Google searches and found out that there are only a few AT pics compared to other games. xD

Too bad, Croix looks cute. XDD

@Chronos: Exactly the same case as me too.

@kazaki: Wha- Croix? Cute?! Gosh, "he" looks like a "she" at the beginning! I couldn't even tell whether "he" is a "he" or a "she". XD

@Phio-chan: If I were myself from years ago, I also would've thought Croix is a girl. See, back then I never saw ANY guy with long hair, since I was enrolled in a Catholic School. So yeah.

But now I guess I'm the opposite. Long-haired guys are cute, nyeh. Not to mention those "cool" types, not just Croix. There's Lelouch (Code Geass), Jellal (Fairy Tail), and some others from other video games. xD

Hate to say this, but now I don't like short-haired/bald guys. Except comedians who look silly, I guess. xDD

Hey, I was in Catholic schools as well!

Mm, I can accept Lulu. He is indeed charming, I agree absolutely. Since I don't know the other names... Well, okay. I think it's quite a nice refreshing once in a while to see different types of boys. XD

Actually, Croix and Lulu are the only main characters I know who are "cool". Most main characters are usually hot-headed, super-charged, spiky-haired, and yeah, you know. Like Naruto, Goku, Natsu (Fairy Tail), Tsuna (Hitman Reborn), and many more. xD

I seem to like the "cool" characters though, even if they're the villain. xD

I can't agree more with you on that.

How did I know Akiko Shikata?
Ask our beloved admin. XD

Aigoo~