Today's Alice Nine Member: Tora, and Word of the Day!

Greetings readers! So, first of all I'll introduce today's word of the day: kakkoii (かっこいい ). Kakkoii is an adjective most often used to describe men or inanimate objects/situations, but never women. Kakkoii means attractive, cool or stylish, even 'hot,' if used to describe a stylish man. And today's word is the perfect way to describe today's Alice Nine member. Tora is one of the two guitarists in the band, as well as being the second oldest and the tallest member. Tora was born Sept. 17, 1980 as Amano Shinji, and early on learned, like Nao, how to play the bass guitar, before switching to the electric guitar. He is also rumored to play piano. Among other things, Tora loves spending time with his cat Chikin, who was the subject of a photoshoot for one of the major Jrock magazines last month. Tora is one of three members who smokes, the only member who has kept his facial piercing (the stud under his lip) and is the only member to have any visible tattoos (the heartagram thing on his index finger), though he is rumored to have another on his chest, which he never shows. Tora is a big fan of the band Korn, has a specific cat/tiger symbol that he goes by which is now on his amps, and his favorite colors are said to be black and white. My personal opinion of Tora is the strong, silent type that's just a little quirky, but hides it most of the time; he also seems like the most manly of the group, but that's just my own opinon.

Despite his cool, seemingly hard rock appearance (he has had the wildest hairstyles of all the members), Tora is unfailingly dedicated both to his work and to his fans. As I previously mentioned, in 2008, he suffered from a herniated disc in his back that kept him from being able to perform at many concerts, thus halting the progress of the band. Even so, there were times when he would perform without feeling in his arms, until finally, at the urging of the other members, he went into the hospital, where he had to sleep sitting up because laying down caused him too much pain. Even so, he worked hard at his physical therapy to be able to return to the stage and fulfill the bands promises to their fans. Shou mentioned, regarding that time, that it was quite scary to hear Tora actually voicing his discomfort, because Tora was the type who bore everything without complaint, who was hardworking and didn't let anything set him back, thus all the members were terribly worried when he finally admitted to the troubles he was having. Even so, Tora has made a recovery and is back being the amazing guitarist he is, working hard to show his love to his fans through music. Today's song is the strong, catchy "White Prayer." I don't love the two-tone mohawk that Tora's sporting in this vid, but all the same, I think the nice melody mixed with the great guitar parts fit Tora, so, enjoy!