English Grammar Hell

If you want to watch a Japanese person count mentally, ask them how many years they studied English. The answer will be "six" if they've graduated from high school, or "ten" if they've been to college. Although they do study English for many years, it's not uncommon for Japanese to not really master the language very well, in part due the dry, academic way English grammar is covered in school. Did you know there were five fundamental types of sentences in English? They're SV, SVC, SVO, SVOO, and SVOC, and although I studied linguistics in college I'm not sure what they mean, though ESL students here meticulously memorize them for the next test. The Japanese are also good at coming up with ways of remembering which verbs must be used in gerund form ("stop smoking" but not "stop to smoke") and which can take either gerund or infinitive verbs (both "I like to eat chocolate" and "I like eating chocolate" are okay). Seen from the viewpoint of a native speaker, it's quite unnatural to create a framework for comprehending English grammar that doesn't actually help you, you know, speak the language at all.

If English is your native language, go hug your parents right now.

Area 88: My First Manga

I've achieved a small milestone in my life, finally finishing the first manga I ever picked up. The series was Area 88 by Kaoru Shintani, the tale of a Japanese airline pilot shanghaied into joining a mercenary air force in the Middle East where he must fly combat missions for money if he's ever to return to Japan, and his fiancee Ryoko. Area 88 was one of the first Japanese manga comics brought out in English 22 years ago (ack!), and although the original English-language run didn't last long, it was the beginning of a big change for the U.S. in terms of accepting a new form of visual culture. Young people these days might not believe me, but there was a time when a person had to learn to read Japanese if he wanted to know how a particular manga story ended, which turned out to be a good thing for me since reading all the classic comics of the 80s and 90s exposed me to tons of useful kanji and vocabulary words, eventually finishing all 13 volumes of Area 88. If you'd like to try studying Japanese through its manga culture, J-List has some great tools to help you, from the Japanese in Mangaland series to many great manga volumes with furigana beside the kanji to make them easier to read.

I finally got around to finishing Area 88, the first manga I ever read, this time in Japanese.

Correct Way of Holding Chopsticks

One of the themes I cover a lot is how there always seems to be a "right" way of doing things in Japan, which feels odd when coming from the more diverse U.S. For example, every kanji character taught to children has a specific stroke order, and students who can write a character correctly but not in the proper order will still get it wrong on a test. The Japanese obsession with doing things the "right way" is so intense, their version of "chicken scratch" lines we use when counting in the U.S. is the character for "correct" (tadashii). There's one right way to hold chopsticks, too, although it's not uncommon for a person to develop their own style of chopstick-holding, and I remember having discussions with my ESL students about how this person or that held their chopsticks "funny" while eating. My son is one of those people who holds his chopsticks in a non-standard way, although I'll be darned if I can see any difference. Recently he got his first official girlfriend, and the two of them went into Tokyo to visit an amusement park and have dinner together. He was nervous enough about eating with chopsticks in front of his girlfriend that he went out of his way to order curry, so he could eat with a spoon.

As with most things in Japan, there one "correct" way to hold chopsticks.

Awesome New Anime Costumes for Halloween

J-List is declaring war on boring Halloween costumes this year, adding some outstanding new complete anime costume sets to our lineup for you. In addition to the already popular costume sets by Joybank Corporation, we're adding a new line of gorgeous ready-to-wear costumes from a new company, including Naruto Uzumaki, Kagome from Inuyasha, and the school uniform from Eva. Also, we've posted a great line of detailed anime wigs, including cool "spiky" Naruto hair that's great fun, whether you're planning a costume for Halloween or for your next anime convention. Browse our great costume items now!

Cool Products Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Animage Sep 2009 We love Animage, the magazine which popularized the term anime after all. The new issue is filled with good information on the newest shows, including the awesome yuri show Aoi Hana that I talked about on Monday.
	Excellent Punitto -- Itsuki Akata illustrations A dynamite artbook by Itsuki Akata that captures all of his amazing characters, from the kawaii to the sexy to the panchira.
	B's Log Sep 2009 If you love the genre of gaming in Japan known as otome games, with stories centered on girls finding love among beautiful boys, we present a great new issue of B's Log, the best resource to gaming for girls there is.
	Egg Oct 2009 Then it's time for another issue of Egg, the darling magazine of Shibuya and Harajuku fashion culture, with a special focus on gyaru ("gal") fashions and more.
	Naruto Cosplay set, Naruto Anime Wig J-List is declaring war on boring Halloween costumes with a bunch of great new complete anime costume sets. First see our awesome Naruto costume and equally cool Naruto "spiky anime hair" costume, which are great any kind of anime-related use.
	Inuyasha, Evangelion Cosplay Full Sets We've got new complete anime costumes for girls, too, including Kagome from Inuyasha that's very kawaii, plus the classic Evangelion school uniform.
	Japanese Style Eye Patch Then see an awesome new Japanese eye patches, which are great for creating that "battle damaged" look in anime cosplay this Oct. 31st or for your next anime convention.
	Dragon Ball Sound Kamehame-Ha Another fun item from Japan, this is a device you wear on your wrist that allows you to make the classic Dragonball Turtle Destruction Wave attack. Great fun!
	Queen's Gate -- Iroha (Samurai Spirits) Fans of the Queen's Blade book-based combat RPG, which can be enjoyed as really excellent artbooks even if you never take up the game part, rejoice: we've gotten in fresh stock of the runaway hit Queen's Gate book featuring Iroha from Samurai Spirits.
	Gurren Lagann YOKO Portraits We love Gurren Lagann around here, and have fresh stock of the fabulous photobook that's filled with nothing but images of Yoko, the hottest anime babe this side of Fujiko from Lupin III.
	Saber Lily Nendoroid, Macross Valkyrie If Saber from Fate/stay night fought a Valkyrie from Macross, which would win? You can find out, since we've gotten both of these cool anime figures in stock.
	Suzumiya Haruhi Special Premium Figures Then, see two great sides to Haruhi Suzumiya with the figures we've restocked today, including the Haruhi Special Premium Figure w/ Guitar and the purely awesome Goth-Loli Haruhi.
	Amazing Snacks from Japan See Nabisco super-crunchy Arial snacks which are really amazing to eat -- like chips but with multiple layers -- plus FritoLay Garlic Maniac snacks we're pretty sure they don't sell in the U.S., Meiji Chip Chop cookie snacks and Smart Time gum for weight loss.
	Hello Kitty Sakura Petal Small Dish Then: we've got fresh stock of those amazing sakura petal-shaped dishes for serving any food you like. It's one of the coolest Sanrio kitchen items I've seen in a while, and that's saying something.
	MIFFY Round Shaped Tight Sealed Bento Box Bento lovers, we've gotten in the super kawaii tight bento box featuring Miffy, which is both beautiful to look at ad very functional. We also have the matching non-slip chopsticks made of real bamboo.
	NATURAL LUNCH Kin-Chaku Style Bento Bag A really nice natural cotton bag for bringing your bento lunch in, this is a standard kinchaku (drawstring) bag that's the perfect size for your Japanese boxed lunch. Three colors in stock.
	Restocked niKyoro Bento Boxes, Onigiri Shapers The Round 2-tier Bento from niKyoro is back in both blue and black. Nearly the most perfect bento box ever because it's so functional: you have a large lower section for rice, a middle area to put the rest of your bento lunch, and the top becomes a soup bowl. Also restocked, some of our most popular onigiri shapers.
	Japanese Food Dictionary Here's a really special item: a complete dictionary for finding words related to food in other languages. Includes words in English, French, Italian and Chinese.
	Cool & Hot Foot Relax Pillow Apparently people like squishing little pandas and frogs between the toes, as these "food relax pillows" are a very hot seller. Both varieties are restocked today.
	Sushi Candle set Next up, one of the coolest sushi related items we've ever seen, this is a realistic set of delicious-looking wax sushi that you can light . They come in a wicker basket for storage, too.
	2010 Calendar -- Heart of Garden J-List is loaded with 2010 anime, kanji study, J-POP and bikini idol and other calendars right now. I especially love the nature scenes that capture Japan in the four seasons. Click to browse the calendars we've got in stock!
	Kyoto Dyed Hand-made Origami J-List does love to find fun items from Japan for you, and here's a deluxe package of origami made using a special dyeing method still used in Kyoto. The designs are brilliant to see.
	Star Wars USB Hubs, Remote Control Toys What's the coolest USB hub in the galaxy? My vote would be this awesome R2-D2 hub which has four ports on the front to allow you to connect devices, no doubt quoting obscure lines from the film as you to do. Restocked today.
	Restocked Nintendo DS, Sony PSP Games First see Let's Play in Japanese, a great game for teaching elementary nihongo that's compatible with any Nintendo DS in the world. Then we've restocked the nice Series of Haruhi Suzumiya game for fans who want to interact with Haruhi!
	English Guide for Tokyo Then, we love bilingual books that give you both English and Japanese right on the page, and this is a nice book that helps you learn about Tokyo in both languages.
	70 Japanese Gestures See fresh stock of the popular book that teaches you Japanese gestures, as well as a perfect guide to classic anime shows, the Guide to Etiquette in Japan and more. Stocked in San Diego.
	Queen's Blade Rebellion ~ Shigi *preorder* If you're a fan of Queen's Blade, there's a new book coming that you'll want to preorder. It's the book about Shigi, an armored Japanese nun who looks ready to do some awesome battle.
	Chopper Man Hat ~ One Piece *Preorder* Here's a fun cosplay item that you'll like, a plush hat worn by the character Tony Tony in One Peace. Both fashionable and geek-chic.
	Poogy Plush -- Monster Hunter *Preorder* Monster Hunter is one of the hottest properties in Japan these days, and this is a pair of cute plush pigs from the series, featuring pink and blue stripes that seem somewhat shimapan-esque to us.
	The Season of Miu -- Miu Nakamura Last Photobook This is the "sayonara" photobook of cute idol Miu Nakamura, filled with her sultry and sexy photographs.
	Restocked Photobook Love We've got restocked items for you too, including two gorgeous AKB48 "graduations albums" plus the awesome Scene of busts, with Tokyo girls showing the camera their oppai freely.
	Gush Sep 2009 Another thick and satisfying issue of Gush, the yaoi manga that gives you 480 pages of BL stories by the top artists in Japan today.
	The Best PC Dating-sim Games in English J-List has the most awesome example of Japan's bishoujo gaming culture available for you to try, and they're translated to English so you can enjoy the story. We recommend The Sagara Family, one of the best games ever made and a favorite with all fans. CD-ROM or convenient Internet Download Edition!
	Naked Star 1/5 Cast Off Figure by Oh Great One of the greatest artists to grace a manga page is OH Great, who made the Tenjho Tenge manga as well as many classic "H" comics. This is a 3D cast off figure of his popular character creation. 1/5 scale!
	QUEEN'S BLADE 3&4 (Blu-ray Disc) The Queen's Blade anime is one of the most enjoyable to come along in a while, since it's got a great story and characters depth. Who am I kidding? It's ecchi as hell, and glorious to watch on Blu-Ray.

Japan Suicide + 1

Sadly, Japan is a country with a high suicide rate, at around 30,000 annually, which is approximately the same number as in the U.S. despite Japan having less than half the population. The situation is getting worse with the bad domestic economy, and it's feared the number might be the highest ever this year. There's one more sad death to report: former Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa was found dead, presumably due to an overdose of sleeping pills. He's the guy who gave a press conference at the February G7 summit in Rome while extremely inebriated, causing much embarrassment to Japan when videos of his slurred speech were broadcast all over the world. He'd supposedly been depressed after he lost his bid for reelection in the Japanese election in August.

The Japanese Peace Sign

Over the weekend I went to my daughter's annual school bazaar, which means that my life became a "school festival" episode again. At these festivals, each class or school club puts on different events for visitors, like a haunted house or a maid cafe or a food stand selling yakisoba noodles. One group of girls had done an especially good job setting up a hot dog stand with a parody of the Subway logo that I thought looked cool, so I got out my camera out to take a picture. Almost immediately, the girls struck that most Japanese of poses, flashing the "peace" sign at me as they prepared to have their picture taken. While I'd always assumed the "V" for victory gesture had entered the Japanese popular culture as a result of the occupation of Japan by the Allied soldiers, perhaps as some sort of cultural exchange negotiated between the Sanrio company and Winston Churchill, it seems to be a more recent phenomenon. According to one theory, U.S. figure skater Janet Lynn came to skate in the 1972 Sapporo Olympics and fell on her butt, and when she got up, she made a cute "peace" sign to the Japanese cameras. This was supposedly the moment when the gesture entered the Japanese DNA, and why you can't take a picture of a Japanese person today without them making the "V" sign.

The "peace" sign is a very Japanese gesture to make.

My Favorite Thing About Japan: Trains

One of my favorite things about Japan are the trains. Perhaps it's because I'm from a country where "rail life" isn't that big a part of the culture, especially on the West Coast, but I've always been quite taken with the convenience and aesthetic beauty of Japan's trains. It's quite common for various train lines in Japan to become famous around the country, like the Yamanote Line that runs in a loop around Tokyo, or the Arashiyama Line that goes through some of the most beautiful parts of Kyoto. Currently I'm watching an anime called Aoi Hana (English title "Sweet Blue Flowers"), an amazing story about yuri -- beautifully expressed love between females -- and the 19th century novel Wuthering Heights, of all things. The show is set in the Kamakura area south of Yokohama, and prominently features the Enoshima Electric Railway, a quaint single-track train line that seems to transport you back in time to a simpler era. The already beautiful characters in the anime are made even more interesting thanks to the imagery of this iconic train.

If you want a really special Japanese train experience, ride the Enoden.

J-List Loves Domo-kun

At J-List, we've been finding awesome things from Japan for years, and it's a job we take very seriously. When Domo-kun was adopted as the official spokesmonster for NHK's BS ("broadcast satellite") channel, we were there with interesting plush toys and other fun products. J-List has a great of official Domo-kun T-shirts, hoodies, embroidered caps and other fun products, allowing you to express your Domo-kun style any way you like. Kids sizes of shirts and hoodies are also available. Why not browse our Domo-kun products now and se what we've got?

And just a reminder that J-List is celebrating our birthday this month by giving you a gift certificate worth $5 for every $100 you spent on the site in October. Whether you're looking for some interesting Hello Kitty bento products, some interesting tools for studying Japanese or awesome cosplay items for Halloween, throw a few more items in your cart and save!

Cool Products Monday, October 5, 2009

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Megami Magazine Oct 2009 Although there are interesting challengers, Megami Magazine is the #1 selling anime magazine at J-List because of all the awesome anime posters and other visual goodies they give you in each issue. The new Megami is in and it's filled with fabulous stuff for you!
	Dengeki Daioh Oct 2009 Also got the new Dengeki Daioh ("Electric Shock Great King"), featuring some of the best manga in Japan, from Shakugan no Shana to Yotsubato to Toradora and more. Get a free folding fan with this issue!
	Micro Pets i ~ Intelligent Electronic Pets! Meet the cutest pets from Japan, called Micro Pets-i, incredibly intelligent little friends that can do many things, like go for a walk around your house, move around objects that are in the way, play with a ball and even talk and sing with each other. Four types in stock now!
	More 2010 Calendars To Browse See another 12-15 gorgeous Japanese calendars that are being posted to the site, ready for you to preorder. From the new Joy of Sushi calendar to the fun Night Views of Japan to a personal favorite of mine, Traditional Japanese Rooms, there are some great calendars waiting for you to discover them.
	KERA Maniax vol. 13 Absolutely gorgeous issue of Kera Maniax featuring the best in Goth-Loli photography and culture from Harajuku and Shibuya. Perfect bound issue, looks great on a shelf.
	Touhou Project Maid Cosplay set (Sakuya Izayoi) Halloween is coming, and J-List has a huge selection of gorgeous anime costumes for you to choose from. Today we're posting another Touhou offering, the Sakuya/ This is a complete costume with everything you need included.
	K-On! Rock Neckties In Stock Rock out with these cool official neckties from Cospa, made just for K-On! fans. Will you choose shy Mio, or outgoing Ritsu? Clumsy Yui or calm and collected Tsumugi? Be warned, most of them sold out through preorders, so get the one you want soon.
	Evangelion Wrist Watch EVA-02 It's an awesome time to be an Evangelion fan, as cool products are announced left and right. This is an EVA-02 version of the popular Eva watch, which we're posting for preorders now.
	NARUTO Shippuden Aluminum Pen Case This Naruto pencil case is so awesome, it makes me wish I were a student again so I could use it to carry my pencils, pens and other stuff. If you've never gotten into the fantastic pencil cases they have in Japan, this is a great time.
	Nia & Yoko Summer Beach Figures Then for Gurren Lagann fans, we've gotten in those gorgeous Nia and Yoko figures, featuring a great pose in bikini for summer. Both figures included in the set, and in stock now.
	Hunter Daizen G Next, for fans of the phenomenon that is the Monster Hunter game series, this is the brand-new illustration book capturing the best creations from the series. Awesome item for artbook fans of Mon-Han (as Monster Hunter is called by fans here).
	Kanji T-Shirt -- Germany (Deutschland) On the heels of our cool T-shirts featuring the U.S. and France written in kanji, we're posting one for Germany, too, featuring the archaic (but cool-looking) kanji name for the country.
	More Chocolate Goodness from Japan "For you, who does battle with our stressful society" (from the package), there's Gaba, delicious pure chocolate to help you clear your mind. Also, delightful Sasha chocolate snacks in two classic flavors.
	FritoLay "Ikameshi" Bento Snack Japan Limited!! Then, I have to give it to FritoLay for not just bringing American snacks to the Japanese market, but developing unique tastes for their Japanese customers. Here's the most amazing offering ever, chips flavored like ika-meshi, the famous eki-ben from Hakodate, Hokkaido. Yum!
	Moe (Akihabara Limited) ~ Japanese Food Drops We've been carrying exotic "Food Drops" candies from all over Japan, so it was only a matter of time before Akihabara got into the act. These are delicious "moe drops" flavored like ichigo miruku or strawberry milk, a famous drink in Akiba. Also see fresh stock of other flavors like Miso Ramen from Hokkaido.
	Ramen ~ Japanese Noodle Strap Everyone loves a good bowl of ramen, and here's one you can take with you! This is a super detailed phone strap that looks good enough to eat. Carry it with you on your phone, camera, keychain, Nintendo DS and so on. iPhone okay, too!.
	COCOLON DX Bento Set Personally, the bento set I like the best is the zippered pouch with separate containers to hold your various bento parts, and we've restocked the excellent thermal bento today.
	MOTTAINAI Eco Bento Boxes The Japanese word mottainai (mo-TAI-NAI) literally means "what a waste!" and is a great theme for this bento box series, since making your own boxed lunch certainly uses a lot fewer resources (and money) than eating out. This bento series has been restocked, too.
	Waku DECO Bento Shaper Set it's fun to see what interesting bento creations you can make, and this set of onigiri shapers (which can also cut vegetables) will give you lots of fun ideas.
	NATURAL LUNCH Bento Box Band 2pcs Then, avoid the agony of having your bento lunchbox open with these bento belts, which will firmly hold your lunch closed until you're ready to eat it.
	Evangelion ~ Girlfriend of Steel 1 & 2 Ever wanted to be romantically involved with one of the girls from Evangelion? We've restocked both of the popular Eva dating-sim games for Sony PSP, which feature full voice and multiple endings for you to explore.
	The Familiar of ZERO Anthology Comic One way to learn Japanese is to read, read, and read some more, and today we're adding the very nice Zero no Tsukaima official doujinshi anthology. Also: the Code Geass Knight series has been restocked.
	Anime Ehon 30 ~ Ponyo on the Cliff by Sea J-List loves Studio Ghibli and carries hundreds of awesome products. We also love the new film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, and today we've restocked the Ponyo Picture Book, with easy to ready Japanese and beautiful artwork.
	3D Oppai Mouse Pads We just love the 3D anime mouse pads they have in Japan, and sell a ton of them every month on J-List. If you're a fan of the awesome Macross Frontier anime, we recommend the super-realistic mouse pads, with super wrist support.
	WAGARA Flat Long Purse If you're going to carry your stuff in something, why not make it a beautiful symbol of Japan? Here's a highly functional wallet/purse that will hold all your important things, made of kimono fabric.
	Traditional Toys From Japan Restocked traditional items include TAKE-TOMBO, the bamboo helicopter toy that's been played with in Japan for hundreds of years, plus ukiyoe chopsticks, wooden kokeshi dolls for each season, a Lucky Cat traditional phone strap, and more.
	Hiyori Sarugaki, Nelliel Figures *Preorder* Bleach fans, we've posted a pair of really nice figures to the site today, for you to preorder. Both are fabulously painted and are begging to be displayed in your room.
	Hanzou Hattori 1/8 Figure *Preorder* The most famous ninja in Japanese history was Hanzo Hattori, and this character has been revised with this super-cute anime figure version. Kawaii!
	Evangelion Mesh Speaker -- EVA001 Type *Preorder* Then for Eva fans, a new treat: a fully functional anime speaker for use with any portable gaming unit or iPod which features great art from Evangelion. Fill your room with cool music with these anime speakers.
	Evangelion Overhead Headphone -- EVA001 *Preorder* Or add Evangelion style to your body directly with these really awesome Eva headphones, featuring Eva-00 coloring or the famous NERD NERV design. Preorder these now.
	More Microwave Erasers, Origami Boxes Also: see a general restocking of the eraser molds that let you create your own amazing erasers using your microwave oven. Sushi, hamburger, cake and chocolates have all been restocked.
	Main Star -- Kaori Ishii Then enjoy a photobook featuring Kaori Ishii, dubbed the "Snow White for the 21st Century." A pure and delightful girl who wows us in her many glossy photographs, including being pleasantly ecchi.
	Maka-Maka vol. 1 & 2 If you are interested in yuri, the beautiful themes of lesbian love, we certainly recommend the full-color glossy Maka-Maka vol. 1 & 2, a seriously classy story about to girls in love.
	Private Nurse Looking for a really special dating-sim game experience? I can't help but recommend Private Nurse, a downloadable H-game in which you have your very own beautiful nurse to take care of your every need (heh).