Infinite: Infinite Only 6th Mini Album (Limited Edition) Review

Infinite has finally returned with the release of their latest mini album, Infinite Only! I gave a brief introduction to this comeback in my post about the normal version of Infinite Only here, and in this post I'll blog about unboxing the limited version. This post is more of a continuation of the normal version post, as most of my focus is contrasting the photobooks of the two versions. Throughout this post, I will also refer to the three photoshoots as black, white, or b&w, which I explained more in the previous post.

I ordered the limited version with a folded poster from Ktown4u for roughly $36USD, including shipping. (Truthfully, my order glitched and didn't include the free poster, but I contacted Ktown4u via their 1:1 Service; they responded promptly and were so friendly in adding the folded poster to my order). It shipped on the 20th and arrived in exactly 14 days (non-business days included).

The front cover is matte black and showcases the solar system pattern with the members' names sprawled across the rings. The album logo is metallic red, which is the accent color for the limited album.

The back cover continues the solar system pattern. Something interesting to note is that none of the sides have the album information printed; they're either matte black or have the silver lines continuing on.

I absolutely love the packaging of this album. Like Infinite's One Great Step Returns concert DVD, this album is really hard and thick, and the lid just slides off from the top. Because of its sturdiness, it arrived in almost perfect condition.

On top is the photobook, and underneath is the CD case.

This is the front of the CD case. The solar system design is also apparent here.

The back of the case showcases the solar system design.

On the left is the tracklist and on the right is the CD, intact via a foam center.

The photobook cover is really pretty with the metallic red design against the matte black background.

Sadly the photobook cover is made of cardboard paper, so the spine was tearing as I opened my album >.<

The first pages of the photobook are the credits, and tucked inside our the stickers.

The limited edition comes with two stickers.

Here is the backside of the stickers.

The photobook has 96 pages (and thankfully page numbers), broken into 3 sections. The first 55 pages are from the b&w photoshoot, which the normal edition photobook does not include. All of these photos are in black and white.

This is also the only section that includes photos of sub-groups. There are many photos of Sunggyu-Sungjong, Dongwoo-Hoya, and Woohyun-Sungyeol-Myungsoo.

Pages 56 to 69 contain images from the white photoshoot. Most of these photos are different from those in the normal edition photobook, and if they are included in the normal one, those in the normal one are cropped.

The remaining pages 70 to 95 display images from the black photoshoot. Many of these photos are included in the normal edition photobook, but there are several images in the limited edition photobook that aren't included in the normal photobook (like this one of Myungsoo).

Spread throughout the black photoshoot pages are the tracklist and song lyrics. Like in the normal photobook, the limited photobook illustrates the tracklist in the same constellation-like design.

The song lyrics are displayed in that format as well. The last pages of the photobook contain the "Thanks to" section.

For the poster, I got a duplicate of the black photoshoot one.

Overall, I like the normal version more as it contains the random member pages. But I do still like both versions! I just hope Infinite can continue with comebacks as OT7 instead of releasing an album once a year.

Infinite: Infinite Only 6th Mini Album (Normal Edition) Review

After over a year since their last Korean release as OT7, Infinite has finally come back on September 19th, with their sixth mini album, Infinite Only! Similar to last year's Reality mini album, Infinite Only has a limited version and a normal version. Here I'll blog about the normal version, and my next post will be about the limited version.

As I mentioned in my previous post here, my friend got this album for me from Hottracks on the first day of release, guaranteeing counting on the Korean music charts.

The front cover is beautiful in its simplicity. In certain lighting, the album appears matte black and the logo is raised. You can also faintly see the solar system design with the members' names printed. 

At other times, the album has a dark, iridescent sheen.

I love how the format of this album follows that of all of Infinite's other mini albums. Like how the back cover has a photo of OT7 and the tracklist is listed at the bottom in the same design layout as usual. You can clearly see the iridescent sheen in this angle.

Like the front cover, in certain lighting you can also see the solar system design on the black part of the back cover.

The photobook is on the left, and the CD is on the right, embedded in a hard plastic casing.

Infinite Only consists of three photoshoots. Here I'll identify the all-black outfits with the smoky black aura as the black photoshoot.

The above white outfits and white background, I'll classify as the white photoshoot.

The third photoshoot consists of Infinite wearing tough, white and black outfits with a black background. I'll call this the b&w photoshoot, however these photos are not included in the normal edition photobook.

The photobook has 51 pages, conveniently with page numbers included. The first half of the photobook consists of photos from the smoky black photoshoot while the second half is from the white photoshoot. All photos are individual shots, except for the two group photos, shown above where I classify the photoshoots.

The first 19 pages contain photos from the black photoshoot. The above image of Sungyeol is one of two (the other being Sungjong, directly below) images from the black photoshoot that are included in the normal edition photobook but not in the limited edition photobook.

The tracklist and song lyrics are spread out throughout the photobook. This photo of Sungjong is one of the few images included in the normal edition photobook but not in the limited edition photobook.

I love how they lay out the tracklist like that. There are 7 tracks, and "그 해 여름 (두 번째 이야기)" is a hidden track! Of course, most Inspirits refer to this as "Hey Hello"; I asked my Korean Inspirit friend, and she said K-Inspirits also call it "Hey Hello" or "그해여름2"!

Pages 20 to 36 contain photos from the white photoshoot.

As for the remaining pages 37 to 49, it is a special section dedicated to one random member! How could Woollim do this...it seems like the normal edition is much more special than the limited edition. The first page is a translucent sheet, similar to the random A4 poster from Infinite's IDEA photobook.

There are 5 pages of Hoya from the white photoshoot.

Followed by 6 pages of Hoya from the black photoshoot. Some of these photos are exclusive to this random section, meaning not all of these photos are included in the limited version photobook. More specifically, out of these 12 photos, only 1 of the white photos and 2 of the black photos are also in the limited version photobook.

Tucked into the center of the photobook are the photocards. On a side note, the song lyrics are spread throughout the photobook. Like the tracklist page, I love how the song titles are also laid out in that style.

The normal edition comes with 2 photocards, out of 14 types (2 per member). They're the same dimensions as Infinite's smallest photocards, like Reality. One set of photocards is from the the black photoshoot, while the other set is from the b&w photoshoot. All of the photocards from the b&w shoot are in black and white, while the other set of photocards are in color, though very dark. Both of my photocards are from the non-smoky photoshoot.

The backside has the member's signature and a message. This is the first time OT7 has provided a message on their photocards!

The poster I received is from the black photoshoot. Sadly my rolled up poster was dented a bit in its packaging so there's a huge crease on everyone's heads -.- There are three types of posters; the other two are one group photo from the white shoot and a collage format from the b&w shoot.

Please do read my blog post for the limited version as well, because there I contrast the photobook images and point out what photos are and aren't in each version. But in general, there are a few photos that are only specific to the normal edition.

"아가씨 (The Handmaiden)" Movie Screening

Amazon Prime Videos occasionally hosts premier movie screenings of upcoming films that Amazon Studios has purchased the U.S. rights to display. I was lucky to be invited by a friend this past Thursday, October 13th, to see the screening of the 2016 Korean movie "아가씨 (The Handmaiden)" (the literal translation is "Lady"), set to release on Friday, October 14th. Pictured above is one of the posters in the theater.

This was the voucher I received as I entered the theater.

And here is one of the official posters of the movie. "The Handmaiden" is one of the most suspenseful thriller movies I've ever seen. It's very complex and very well done,but is definitely not for the faint of heart and not for a younger audience. The story is set in Japanese-controlling Korea where a Korean conman and thief plot to deceive a wealthy Japanese maiden of her money. I won't say any more about the plot! Overall, it's definitely a very complex movie that is full of twists and turns. But it's too tough of a movie to watch over and over again; once was enough^^

My Mini Korean Haul!

Today I received a special package from my college friend who has moved back to Korea. Not only did he get me Infinite's latest album and poster, but he also got me so many Korean snacks. I just wanted to take the time and blog a bit about my happiness^^

Though my friend wanted to get me the limited edition of Infinite Only, I convinced him to just get me the normal edition since I would always get the limited edition regardless, and usually don't buy the normal edition of a limited edition album I already plan to buy. I made sure that he bought it from a store that counts on the music charts, so he bought it from Hottracks^^

The last thing I want to point out is the Ppeppero snack with Beenzino on the front, along with a QR code.

Scanning the QR code takes you to a website promoting the product, and a chance to see Beenzino in concert or to attend an Exo-K fansign event. Here's the initial page (and URL) that the code took me to.

Scrolling down, you see the promotion for the Beenzino concert and Exo-K fansign event.

That third tab takes you to Exo-K's page with several hologram 3D videos.

The back of the box has an advertisement between Ppeppero and IAB Studio (a new company that is featuring Beenzino?).

I'm going to savor these snacks while I blog about my latest Infinite album!