Lovelyz: 2019 Lovelyz Concert Alwayz 2 Kit Video Review

Lovelyz held their second summer concert series Alwayz 2 for 3 days in Seoul from August 2nd, 2019 to August 4th, 2019 in Seoul. Woollim announced on January 20th, 2020 that preorders for the kit version and bluray version for Alwayz 2 would begin the following day and both would be released on March 6th. Furthermore there would be random Polaroids given through preorders. I blogged about ordering both version from Kmall24 here. I'll blog about the kit version here, and I've blogged about the bluray version here including the contents of the concert and making film.

Both exterior covers are really cute, going along with the concert's carnival theme! The kit version is blue while the bluray version is pink, and when placed together the carousal is completed.

The box is also really sturdy. And the touch is like velvet, it's really high quality. The dimensions are about 6" by 7.875" by 1.5".

The backside has the video info and holographic Woollim seal. Info:

• Video: 360P / 540P / 720P / 1080P
• Audio: Stereo
• Subtitle: Korean / English / Japanese / None
• Duration: 247 minutes

The lid is quite tight, but once you wiggle it off, Babysoul is at the top!

From left to right (top to bottom when inside the box) are the mini poster set, mini calendar, 4 cut photo set, and the kit video user guide, and at the bottom of the box embedded in a foam bed are the kit video and membership card. The foam has a strong smell.

Here's a closer look at the kit video and membership card in their foam beds. The kit video fits really snug, however the membership card easily slips out (like if you were to flip this upside down, the kit video would stay in place while the membership card would fall out).

Here are the backsides of the mini poster set, mini calendar, and 4 cut photo set. The mini poster set comes in a matte envelope where the front has a cutout for you to display a member's poster. The mini calendar and 4 cut photo set each come in their own clear resealable bag. The backside of all the 4 cut photos has the merry-go-round design further adding to the carnival theme.

Mini Poster Set

For the mini poster set, there is one per member and is made of matte cardstock. The photos are all really pretty and are from one of the concert promotion photoshoots. As you can imagine by the size of the packaging, these posters are truly really mini!

The backside of the mini poster is similar to the backside of the 4 cut photo.

Mini Calendar

Usually when Woollim releases 2 versions of a concert set, I would preorder the more expensive one (since that usually gets sold out) and then I would try and collect the other version later on. However Woollim's strategy was spot-on this time: release a bluray version which I would preorder, and include a 2020 calendar in the kit version. I'm still baffled that the only calendars Woollim released for 2020 were from Golden Child's Re-boot deluxe and normal version albums. What about the other artists? And what about season's greetings in general? So here Woollim provided a Lovelyz calendar within the kit version. Since this kit set was released in early March 2020, Woollim was even generous enough to make this monthly calendar for March 2020 through February 2021.

This mini calendar is similar to Woollim's desk calendars with a thick cardboard base and spiral bound top. There are 24 pages, one for each month from March 2020 to February 2021.

One side is a full-page photo. Excluding the first photo of the merry-go-round, the remaining 11 photos are from the colorful carnival photoshoot. There are two group photos, one group collage photo, and the rest are individual member photos in age order from Babysoul to Yein.

The other side is calendar for that month. Public holidays in South Korea as well as Sundays are highlighted in red.

Members' birthdays, Lovelinus' birthday, and Lovelyz' 6th anniversary are each marked with a heart.

This is such a fun picture of Mijoo! I like how she really interacted with the set.

Here is the other group photo.

I still can't get over Sujeong's cute bob! She looks so good with this hairstyle and I'm happy she had this cut for awhile throughout 2019.

And here is the group collage photo for the last month of the calendar.

Getting the kit version just for the calendar was worth it for me! Though it's inconvenient that the calendar portion is separate from the photo version, after February 2021 I can use this to display the members' photos on my desk without having to look at an outdated calendar.

4 Cut Photo Set

For the 4 cut photo set, there is one per member in their princess stage outfits! These are really adorable. These photos are like a gloss cardstock but thankfully aren't prone to fingerprints.

Membership Card

Each kit video set comes with a random membership card. I got Kei's! These cards are made of thick plastic, so it really does feel like some sort of ID card.

The backside of the membership card follows the same merry-go-round design, with the addition of the "MEMBERSHIP NO." being that member's birth date!

Kit Video

The kit itself is a plastic cartridge; it feels very old school, like a cassette tape. There is a plastic button at the top.

I like the design of the kit; it feels like any other media packaging with the front cover design and wording on the side.

The backside also has a design and the product credits, and the side also says "LOVELYZ".

This is my first time trying a kit video, so I figured I'd share my brief experience of using it. I also have the bluray version so I'll blog about the actual contents of the video in that post.

Opening up the kit video user guide, the front side reveals the video tracklist, merry-go-round design, and instructions in Korean on downloading the app, connecting the kit to the app, watching the contents on the app, and ways to beam the contents onto AppleTV, Andoird TV, and Chromecast.

These same instructions are printed on the backside in English and Japanese.

I followed the instructions on the manual and downloaded the KiT Player app. Then with the physical kit, I clicked the white button at the top to start connecting the kit to the app. Silly enough the manual says to place the kit directly at the bottom of your phone and use your phone to press the button, but you can just press the button yourself and keep the kit nearby the phone as it downloads. It took less than 10 minutes for the connection to complete.

Once the connection is complete, the concert menu will appear like above. You can scroll through all the scenes at the right or play all the contents at the left.

Scrolling down also reveals the digital photobook, which includes 110 photos.

There is also the option of choosing the digital skin of the kit. The default is the blue one similar to the physical kit, then there is one skin per member, as well as some skins with generic patterns.

It turns out, even after connecting the kit initially, to actually watch the content you need to either stream with data or download the content directly onto your phone. Either way, according to the manual, you will always need to connect the kit to your phone before playing the kit's contents. Because of all this hassle, I will just watch the actual content from the bluray version, and will blog about the video contents in that post.

Within the app you can also view all other available kits. Here is the 2019 Lovelyz Concert Lovelyz In Winter World 3.

When selected, it shows the tracklist and contents included in that kit.

The idea of these kit videos is interesting, but seems a bit outdated - it seems like you'll need to carry around the physical kit every time you want to watch its contents (and it's a hassle to always connect the kit to the app, especially when it took almost 10 minutes to connect this concert kit), and it's tiring watching so much content on a mobile phone or a hassle to hook up your phone to a larger monitor. Furthermore all the contents are on this kit app; if this app goes under, you can no longer view any of your kits (unless you screen recorded all the contents which is also a hassle). But of course because this is an official product of my favorite artists, I have to buy them nonetheless.

Overall, as far as kit videos go, I'm really happy with this boxed set! All the physical inclusions are really high quality and though the mini poster and mini calendar are small, the size gives them a cute charm. I'm most happy about the calendar as that is definitely what I'll be using the most and displaying on my desk. As for the kit video itself, it's an interesting idea, but I'll be sticking with watching the content on the disc version.

Rocket Punch: Red Punch 2nd Mini Album Review

Rocket Punch has finally made their first comeback! They released their second mini album Red Punch on February 10, 2020. Unfortunately this promotion period falls under the coronavirus outbreak along with Yunkyoung's injury, so most performances were without Yunkyoung and all shows were without a live audience.

The packaging of this album is really cute, and I like that the formatting mirrors Rocket Punch's debut mini album Pink Punch. The photobook packaging comes in a clear plastic resealable pouch.

The backside of the pouch lists the tracklist.

Rather than blatantly tearing off the top, I carefully cut open a long slit at the top to preserve the packaging.

Here is a comparison of the packaging for both mini albums. The spines also look similar. The biggest difference in my opinion is that there's a pretty sheen over the Rocket Punch logo in the center of the album cover.

Here is a closer look at that sheen, along with the graphic design of Red Punch. There's a carival theme this time, along with rocket ships and hot air balloons. The album dimensions are 7" by 7.125" by 0.375", the same as Pink Punch.

Like the first mini album, this mini album also contains 80 pages and follows a comic book style. The first page has a cute, more simplistic design than the album cover.

The next page has a group photo from the black photoshoot, along with the tracklist.

This photobook contains a total of 3 photoshoots, with the first section beginning with a group photo from the red shoot.

This section contains 12 pages of individual member photos. Majority of the photos are individual member shots, along with a few group photos sprinkled throughout the photobook.

Some pages have cute little graphics too.

Each song has a two-page spread, complete with song credits, song lyrics, and artwork matching the song.

The next section contains 6 pages of individual photos from the black photoshoot. I am just blown away with Sohee's haircut; it seems tough to pull off but she really rocked this style in all 3 shoots!

The following section contains 6 pages of individual photos from the yellow photoshoot.

Next is another set of 6 individual photos from the red shoot. That cat petting Suyun's head is really adorable.

There is also another group photo from the red shoot.

Next is another set of 6 individual photos from the yellow shoot. I like how the boxes in this shoot have a few lyrics from "Bouncy" on them. Other pages from this shoot also have some of the lyrics printed on top of the photos. Also Yunkyoung pulls off crimped hair well! I haven't seen this style in so long.

And a group photo from the yellow shoot.

Following is another set of 6 individual photos from the black shoot.

And another group photo from the black shoot.

There is one last set of 6 individual photos from the red shoot.

And closing off the photos is one last group photo from the red shoot.

The following 4 pages contain the group and each member's Thanks To messages.

The last page contains the album credits. My photocard was also placed back here.

Each album also comes with a bookmark; mine was slipped inside the photobook.

Here is the front side of the bookmark and random photocard (1/6). I got Yeonhee for the photocard!

Here is the backside.

A sticker sheet should also be included, but oddly enough I couldn't find anything of the sort within my photobook...and it's definitely not Kmall24's fault since this was a sealed album, so I'm not really sure what to do :( (Update: Kmall24 helped send me the missing sticker sheet!)

The sticker sheet format is similar to that from Pink Punch, with the members' printed autographs and motifs found throughout the album.

The very back has a slip for the CD.

The CD design is really pretty and differs from the album cover.

Lastly, there are also 2 exterior first press posters. I got the one from the black shoot; the other poster is from the red shoot.

This mini album includes the following tracks:

1. RED PUNCH - Composed by CODE 9, this instrumental intro track blends smoothly to lead up to the title of this album.
2. BOUNCY - The title is created by CODE 9 and PURAVIDA, who also created masterpieces from Golden Child Re-boot album "Fantasia (Y solo)" and "Go Together (Jaehyun & Jibeom & Bomin unit)". CODE 9 also created Rocket Punch's "Lucid Dream" and "Do Something". Just the opening right away is really strong and gives off that spunky Rocket Punch vibe.
3. So Solo - This is the promoted B-side, and definitely continues on with girl crush concept.
4. Fireworks - is a pop song that bridges the more powerful tracks at the beginning of this album with the slower ballads in the latter half of the album.
5. 종이별 (Paper Star) - is a beautiful ballad co-created by J. Yoon, who also worked on Golden Child's "Spring Again", as well as several of Golden Child's intro tracks and Lovelyz' and Infinite's B-sides.
6. 다시, 봄 (Lilac) - is a pop ballad created by Egae and Yongbae, who also created Rocket Punch's "Pink Punch" and "Bimbambum".
7. 여자사람친구 (Girl Friend) - is another pop song to round out the album.

When it comes to Woollim's music, I generally love it all. Even though it may take a few times for me to warm up and eventually fall in love with a Woollim song, I end up loving it and will put my new album on repeat. And I absolutely loved all the tracks from Rocket Punch's debut mini album (even though it did take me a bit to like "Love Is Over" but I love it now!). But unfortunately none of the songs from Red Punch stuck with me; it definitely shows a different side of Rocket Punch and I will continue supporting the girls and future Woollim artist debuts, but I think it's time for me to slow down...

Overall, I'm really glad that Rocket Punch has had their first comeback! I love how the album layout and packaging are consistent with their first mini album, creating a brand for themselves and I wonder if future albums will follow this format as well. Also this girl crush concept and these songs broaden Rocket Punch's spectrum. While I don't really like the songs on this album, I'll look forward to what else Rocket Punch has in store and will keep on supporting them.