The Buddhist Philosophy of Rinne no Lagrange

One show I've been enjoying this season has been Rinne no Lagrange, a fun-fun moe mecha anime with some yuri undertones which features a girl named Madoka (no, not that Madoka) who's asked to pilot a mech in order to save the Earth from bromance aliens. Always genki (happy, positive, energetic), she's essentially the opposite of the whiny, emo Amuro Ray from the classic Gundam series. Aside from the silly English add-on ("Flower declaration of your heart"), the title of the series was interesting to me, and I found myself wondering what it might mean. The word rinne (pronounced "reen-neh" and known by the name samsara in English) is an advanced concept found in Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions, describing the endless cycle of life, death and rebirth that people go through constantly (e.g. "you're born, you live, you go on some diets, you die"). Japanese people don't accept the rebirth/reincarnation aspects of Buddhism, however, and mainly use the word rinne to describe situations that will repeat forever, e.g. a daughter who doesn't show respect to her parents will find herself in the same situation when she has disrespectful children of her own, etc.

Who's putting Buddhist philosophy in our anime?

I Love Japanese Voices

The Japanese are masters of influencing emotions using voice, and I'm often amazed at the eerie beauty of the voices that enter my ear here. If you watch anime in Japanese, of course, you know how talented the Japanese seiyu are, and their ability to bring to life a character that would otherwise be (literally) two-dimensional and inert is one of the major attractions of the genre. But the strangely compelling beauty of Japanese voices isn't limited to anime: you can find females trained to speak in a uniquely pleasing way in various professions, too, such as female bus guides, who entertain passengers on long sightseeing trips; ground hostesses, those airport employees who call out your flight number in the most delightful sing-song tones; and Japan's legendary elevator girls, the uniformed women who stand in the elevator and announce each floor for you, although they've almost completely disappeared by now. I'll never forget the time I called NTT, Japan's sprawling telephone and Internet provider, to get help with some computer hardware. The voice on the other end belonged to an extremely kawaii-sounding female NTT employee, and bastard that I am, I actually expected her to take down my information and then transfer me to some male technician who would tell me how to fix my problem. I was quite surprised when the cute voice quickly proceeded to help me debug my router and fix the TCP/IP problem I'd been having, solving it in no time. I had to hang my head in shame for a while after that.

The voice of Kanna from AnoNatsu is a big part of her charm.
(Same voice actress as Madoka from Lagrange as it would happen.)

March the Season of Graduation and Tears

March is graduation season in Japan, a time for making tearful farewells to your classmates as you wait through a long-winded speech from the principal to finally receive your diploma. Compulsory education only goes through the end of junior high school in Japan -- high school is optional, though 99% of students attend -- which creates an interesting situation of everyone having two sets of friends: one group from elementary and junior high, who are all from the same area; and another group from high school, who tend to be closer in academic level to each other but may live in different cities. There are many interesting Japanese customs related to graduation, from groups of friends making a last visit to Tokyo Disneyland together to girls asking boys they like for their daini botan or the 2nd button from their school uniform, as a keepsake. The second button is closest to the heart, and every male student only has one to give, so if a girl is lucky enough to receive it she'll have a precious memory of her school days. Today my daughter graduated from junior high school, with lots of tears and hugs and promises to be friends forever.

March is the season of graduation and farewell.

Eroge Update: Yumina the Ethereal Official Website Updated

We're hard at work on our upcoming hardcore Japanese RPG Yumina the Ethereal, a super game with great characters, awesome gameplay and battle system which we're doing testing on right now. We've updated the official Yumina the Etheral page with character descriptions, which are fun to read through. If you're interested in this awesome full eroge RPG, you can preorder it now, or order the excellent Aselia the Eternal, a great all-ages game for Windows created by the same staff that created Yumina.

J-List is at Anime Conji in San Diego, How About You??

Are you in the San Diego area or vicinity? If so then make sure to come to Anime Conji, "San Diego's first, only and best" anime convention, which is shaping up to be one of the best new cons we've ever seen. J-List's San Diego staff will be there with lots of awesome T-shirts, dating-sim games and possibly some Tentacle Grape. Anime Conji is a great show, and we especially line the Anime Conji After Dark lineup of activities, which are relevant to our interests.

Cool Products Friday, March 16, 2012

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.

	Animedia Mar 2012 A new issue of Animedia is here, and it's loaded with beautiful artwork from the best anime airing today, from Inu x Boku S to Fate/Zeto to Guilty Crown and more. You'll get tons of special features, interviews, preview, and free omake gifts like pinup posters of your favorite characters. Don't miss it! View products »
	Nakayoshi April 2012 Enjoy today's best manga for girls with a new issue of Japan's oldest manga magazine. Features Precure, Jigoku Shoujo, and AKB0048.
	Re-ment Hello Kitty Dagashi We love it when Hello Kitty comes to us in cute alternate, and delicious looking version, like these Japanese wagashi.
	Star Wars Hanafuda Hanafuda just got a lot cooler with these Star Wars cards that are worth buying simply for their art alone -- Japanese flavored Star Wars.
	Great Nendoroid Figures in Stock Check out these adorable Nendoroid figures of Kaminomi's Elucia in cute winter clothing and magical girls Mami and Homura. Homu-homu!
	Gorgeous Figma Figures, Too We always stock lots of awesome Figma anime figures, and have the last-ever Kirino figurs in stock now, plus many others to browse.
	Fun Japanese Fashions Restocked Stay cute and comfy with the best in Japanese fashion, like Hello Kitty mufflers, gothic lolita skirts, and furry pouches for all your essentials.
	Japanese Socks, Socks Glue and More We love the 3-cm space between a girl's over-knee socks and where her skirt begins, and we've restocked Japanese socks, sock glue and more.
	Puella Magi Madoka Magica Portable Live the story of Madoka Magica with this newly-released PSP game! Limited edition has some awesome omake, including an exclusive Madoka Figma. Wow!
	Tokimeki Memorial ~ Girl's Side Premium 3rd Story The latest edition to the Girl's Side series is out -- where you, the player, are sought after by many handsome men looking for your affection.
	Study Japanese with your Nintendo DS It's never been handier to study Japanese than with our comprehensive lineup of software for your Nintendo DS. Highly recommended!
	Yubisashi x Hello Kitty, JLPT Books Learn about Japanese culture and language with our large supply of cool textbooks and fun software designed to help you learn fast.
	First Stage ~ Yumehito Ueda illustrations Known for his mesmerizing artwork in series such as IDOLM@STER, Yumehito Ueda presents his best illustrations in this stunning new artbook.
	Gorgeous Huke Artbook w/ Figure Restocked Plus we've restocked our best and most popular artbooks, for manga art snobs who only want the best.
	Ghibli Blu-ray w/full Subtitles! Did you know? We've got the gorgeous new Ghibli film The Borrow Arrietty in region free Blu-ray disk with full subtitles & dubbed tracks. Laputa & Howl, too!
	Hatsune Miku Concert Blu-rays, Too Get caught up on the world's hottest digital idol, or continue collecting her kawaii goods. We have something for all levels of leekgirl fans.
	Tanuki Sake Bottle & Sake Cup Set  There is no luckier way to have sake served than to have a Tanuki serve it to you. Makes a great gift for sakebito (alcohol lovers).
	Epic Nyanpire Plush Toys Restocked What's cuter than a cat? A cat who's a cute vampire, as in the Nyanpire anime series. These popular plush toys have been restocked!
	Health Items from Japan Restocked Some fun health items restocked, including Celnon body massager brush for cellulite, chocolate "medicine" if you become lovesick, and Bub fizzing bath tablets.
	Secure Stamper, Emotion Faces Stamp Protect your private information from identity theft with this product that stamps over sensitive information with cute faces.
	Chocolate Stick Silicon Tray - Animal Treat Maker Japan is having a "silicon boom," with hundreds of fun an innovative products being released into the marketplace, from those Star Wars ice cube trays to lots of cool bento products made of long-lasting, heat-resistent silicon. We posted more Pocky Decorating Molds so you can make the most amazing Pocky snacks ever! View products »
	Great New Japanese Snacks With spring comes one of the best candy seasons in Japan, including delicious Sakura Mochi Candy, Taiyaki shaped candy and more.
	Fun Gift Snacks & More Restocked Then see a nice restocking of Japanese snacks, including Mystery Neri Ame, Chocolate Medicine for the Love Sick, and gift wrapped Hello Kitty chocolates.
	Modern Bento For Men Eat your lunch in style with these sleek and modern bento designs that look like they came out of a sci-fi movie. For the discerning gentleman.
	Fresh Stock of Kawaii Bento Accessories A bento by itself is fine, but with great accessories like cups, separators, and cutters, you'll really show off the cuteness of your creations.
	Restocked Miso Soup Bowls Enjoy a bowl of steaming hot miso soup in the mornings before you head out for work. Several awesome miso soup bowls restocked!
	Cool Kitchen Items Restocked From taiyaki makers, ramen bowls, Pikachu shapers and microwave waffles makers, we've got an awesome supply of Japanese kitchen wonders.
	Fascinating Photobooks from Japan We like to surprise you with awesome photobooks you never expected to see. Today visit the ruins of Battleship Island and see all Japan Underground photobooks.
	GANBARE NIPPON Lucky Cat, Others Restocked Fun Lucky Cat products restocked today, including the awesome cat that tells Japan to ganbare! ("don't give up, do your best!") plus bowing Lucky Cat.
	Mikumo Original Collection #06 *Preorder* Enjoy this unique and amazing take on Miku, in a very traditional Japanese geisha outfit. This is truly the spirit of Japan.
	Kurama 1/8 Figure ~ Yu Yu Hakusho *Preorder* From this hit series comes another great figure, this time of Kurama. Excellently styled and ready for display once it is released.
	Winged Evangelion *Preorder* Sweet. From Revoltech comes these highly posable, extra amazing Evangelion figures that will get you pumped for the upcoming last movies.
	Shizuo Heiwajima Figure ~ Durarara!! *Preorder* Durarara's coolest character comes to you in figure form, complete with sunglasses, smoke, and street sign for bashing heads in.
	Akira Midorikawa Cast Off Figure The sexiness of this figure will melt your mind, and that's before you remove what few clothes she has on! This, plus other smoking hot figures.
	Onanyan! Vol. 1-3 ~ Cat Girl Stress Toy The Japanese are good at creating innovative ways of relieving one's stress, and here's a fun new parody onahole toys with a catgirl theme, for fans of cute anime girls with neko mimi or cat ears. Three completely unique toys to try, great for different days of the week! View products »
	Stress Toys of Your Favorite Anime Characters Relieving stress is even easier when you do it with your favorite character in mind. Check out these toys based on the cute girls of Amagami.
	Awesome Personal Vibrators Restocked See the hit new Ageha Vibrator Twin (w/ LED light, important for guys who want to see what they're doing) plus the last last Hello Kitty vibrators ever.
	Koi Kishi ~~ Purely Kiss (Love Knights) The ultimate eroge for fans of girls in (easily removable) armor is back in stock at a new low price. Don't miss this opportunity!
	We Love Master is In Stock After a long wait, we're very happy to get this excellent eroge from MangaGamer out to our great customers.

How to get Japanese Citizenship

Last time I talked about Donald Keene, the Japanese scholar and translator who came to Japan and took Japanese citizenship, and I thought I'd expand on that a bit. It's quite easy for residents of Japan to become naturalized citizens if they desire it, with the basic rules being five years of consecutive residence in Japan, a history of good behavior, and basic Japanese language skills. In the past anyone wanting Japanese citizenship was required to legally take a Japanese name in officially-designated kanji characters. While I'm all in favor of writing Western names in kanji characters, this requirement led to strained relations with Japan's large Korean minority, who maintained South or North Korean nationality in part because they were insulted by the idea of taking a Japanese name. While most countries including the U.S. have no issue with allowing dual citizenship, Japan officially requires that anyone desiring to be naturalized renounce citizenship in any other country; however this appears to be a classic case of tatemae (a facade, a social rule that's ignored by everyone in practice), and the requirement is not enforced in practice. Incidentally, I live in Japan on a permanent residence visa (eijuken), not bothering to get Japanese citizenship because, as my wife points out, I'm more interesting as an American than a Japanese who's is bad at kanji. (If you have more questions about possibly living in Japan, there's a handbook for that.)

It's quite easy to get Japanese citizenship.

White Day 2012...and Black Day?

Today is White Day, an event created to serve as a "return gift day" when men in Japan will give something to the girlfriends, wives, daughters or female co-workers who gave them chocolate on Valentine's Day. While it's obviously an example of a fake day created so that shops can sell stuff, it's also a good example of Japan's highly evolved custom of gift giving, which requires that a gift be reciprocated with a return gift (o-kaeshi) equivalent to half the value of the first item. While Valentine's Day is generally about chocolate, there are more options for White Day, including cookies, marshmallows, or the ever-popular flowers that actually contain panties. While Japanese-style Valentine's Day and White Day are spreading across Asia, South Korea has a unique event for single men, held on April 14. It's called Black Day, and single men who haven't managed to find girlfriends by that date will gather together wearing black clothes, eat a black Korean noodle dish called jajangmyeon, washed down with black coffee.

Happy White Day, everyone.

I Still Don't Know the Name of the Alien We Saw On That Day

It's funny the way a person's perceptions of a place can be influenced by stereotypes. For example, there are many famous images of Japan, from ninja to geisha to the idea that Japanese live in paper houses, which we hopefully realize are not totally accurate today. (Actually, the paper houses part isn't completely wrong, as my house has many shoji paper doors that separate rooms.) I once had an interesting conversation with a man from Iran -- interesting in part because were were speaking Japanese, as he didn't know English, and we were both naked in a public bath at the time -- who had somehow come to believe that Hollywood action films were an accurate representation of life in America. I did my best to correct this mistaken views, and wondered what erroneous beliefs about his country I might be holding. In a recent episode of the popular anime Ano Natsu de Matteru, aka Waiting in the Summer, glasses-wearing red-headed alien Mizuho Kazami Ichika Takatsuki confesses that she is in fact not from Earth. But she's very nervous about giving away her secret. "What if the 'Men in Black' find out? Would they try to do an alien autopsy on me?" It made me smile.

AnoNatsu is an anime about love, summer and aliens.

Random Awesome Products from Japan

J-List considers it our mission to delight you with random and fun anime and other products from Japan, and we take this job seriously. From unexpectedly cool Star Wars products to those dreamy new Nichijou figures to anime hug pillows and our popular Evangelion x Pikachu crossover T-shirt. What can J-List do for you today?

J-List Will Be at Anime Conji in San Diego, March 16-18!

Are you in the San Diego area or vicinity? If so then make sure to come to Anime Conji, "San Diego's first, only and best" anime convention, which is shaping up to be one of the best new cons we've ever seen. J-List's San Diego staff will be there with lots of awesome T-shirts, dating-sim games and possibly some Tentacle Grape. Anime Conji is a great show, and we especially line the Anime Conji After Dark lineup of activities, which are relevant to our interests.

Cool Products Wednesday, March 14, 2012

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.

	Newtype April 2012 Get caught up on all the latest anime news with a fresh issue of NewType! You'll get over 200 pages of exclusive info and artwork from this season's hottest shows, plus a full 2012 calendar with art of cute anime characters. We especially liked the information on the new Space Battleship Yamato movie, plus AnoNatsu, Fate/Zero and more. Don't miss this gorgeous issue of Japan's most popular anime magazine! View products »
	Comptiq April 2012 You'll also want to check out the latest issue of Comptiq, the best magazine for fans of moe game girls. Comes with a huge Miku poster!
	Young Ace April 2012 Young Ace is a great magazine for Japanese language learners and fans of awesome manga like Fate/Zero. Comes with some cool omake!
	egg April 2012 Stay up on the hottest Tokyo fashions with a new issue of egg magazine. You'll be amazed by the beauty of these Shibuya kogals.
	Hardware Girls Ascend to nerd heaven with the Hardware Girls series of photobooks that combine cute Japanese girls with the high-tech toys you love.
	Kitty Gothic One-piece Dresses Get ready for the upcoming season of Cons, and arrive in style as a very cute neko maid, just like those found in Akihabara.
	School Swimsuits, Other Cosplay Items Restocked The cult of the suku-mizu (the Japanese school swimsuit) is seen in anime a lot, and we've restocked several for you today.
	The SASS Wear T-Shirts For Tohoku The Sass Wear is an independent street wear and T-shirt brand from Japan that got our attention recently by providing truly good quality shirts and printing, all done here in Japan. Best of all, the artist is dedicated to helping Japan's devastated northern region recover, and 25% of the proceeds from these shirts will be donated to help rebuild Tohoku. YouTube movies on the creators of this T-shirt line have been embedded in the products, too. View products »
	Solar Swing Flower mini Bring some cheer to your home or office with this delightful dancing flower toy. Solar powered, so the more light it gets, the happier it is!
	We Liked Hello Kitty Before She Was Cool Our popular Hello Kitty Glasses Stand is back, plus the Nori Punch and fun License Plate Accessory + the last restocking of Hello Kitty "shoulder massagers."
	The Spring of Anime is Near The iTunes Music Store has a fun new Spring Anime Song Collection for you to browse, plus the complete vocal collection of Macross Frontier.
	Restocked Japan-Related Books Restocked books, including the popular handbook for living in Japan someday, plus JLPT study guides and bilingual books.
	Awesome Study Tools Restocked The Japanese are great at coming up with ways to memorize information efficiently, and good way is the Zebra Check Set, great for learning Japanese, or just about anything.
	The (Soy) Sauce Will Be With You Although we love anime, Star Wars is a part of our DNA too. Today we're restocking the nerd-tastic R2-D2 Soy Sauce Bottles and Pepper Mills.
	Itazura Panda, Other Fun Toys from Japan From coin stealing pandas and cats, to lucky charms Evangelion car sunshades, we're sure you'll find something that you will enjoy.
	Tokyo and Osaka Style... Cheetos? These new Frito-Lay snacks will make your home feel like it's moved to Japan, with these flavors that are truly a Japanese experience.
	Other Restocked Snacks Enjoy Morinaga Hi-Chew Collection, March of Koala Creamy Cafe Latte (yum), Lotte Drink Mix Candy, Choco Banana, plus Bontan Ame candy you can eat, wrapper and all.
	White Lucky Cat Bento Box Set An amazingly kawaii bento that mixes traditional Japan with the modern bento lunch, that is sure to bring good luck.
	Other Traditional Bento Boxes Restocked, Too Plus some great old favorites from the world of yummy bento boxes, in stunning traditional styles and modern styles too.
	Onigiri Shapers & Other Bento Accessories Also: random bento items restocked including our most popular onigiril shapers, so you can avoid the embarrassment of improperly shaped rice balls.
	Fun Bento Accessories Then: see other bento items, including anti-bacterial sheets, since no one wants bacteria in their bento lunch, and <>kawaii rice ball wrappers.
	Fun Traditional Items Restocked Enjoy our most popular yokobue flutes which are ridiculously popular for some reason, plus Fujin and Raijin Lucky Cat, shrine chocolate and more.
	Fate/Zero iPhone4/4S Cases *Preorder* Deck out your iPhone with these fantastic covers featuring Saber from Fate/Zero. We have two equally beautiful versions, so pick the one you like!
	Puella Magi Madoka Magica Can Pen Case *Preorder* We also have this cute pen & pencil case with cover art of the girls from Madoka Magica. A great way to impress your friends.
	Strike Witches Stainless Mug Cup *Preorder* Feel like a member of the 501st JFW with this durable stainless steel cub bearing it's emblem. Great for camping, survival games, and everyday use.
	Ika-Musume, Jack Frost Nendoroid Figures *preorder* Aren't Nendoroids the cutest figures you've ever seen? Check out these adorable renditions of Ika Musume and Persona developer Atlus's Jack Frost.
	Other Preorder Figures We have tons more figures for preorder, like the beautiful Alice from Kami-sama no Memo-chou and an awesome Figma of Berserk's Griffith. Click to see.
	More Ecchi Artbooks Enjoy the sexiest artbooks straight from Japan, like Kyonyu Artworks for true breast men. Also, other fine artbooks by top erotic artists.
	Aphrodisiac Fragrance Lotion from Japan Spice up your sexual encounters with these premium lubricants from Japan. Now including Aphrodisiac Fragrance, a lotion that will get you in the mood.
	Air Dutch Dolls for Perfect Fantasy The "Air Dutch" doll toys w/onahole are really getting popular, and we've restocked several kinds. You can put clothes on them and everything.
	Deluxe 'Meiki' Onahole Toys & More Specially branded toys from a famous AV stars to get you in the mood? Heck yeah, we want those.
	Innovative Vibrators from Japan The Japanese make everything more interesting, and we've restocked several personal massagers that will make everyone smile.
	HOTCH KISS ~ Stapler Kiss Enjoy one of this month's best-selling visual novels, a masterpiece of moe whose beautiful art and lovable characters will capture your heart.
	Restocked Import Eroge from Japan Also enjoy several eroge from Japan including Little Busters, Custom AI-Droid, Quantum Girlfriend (I love that title) and MajiKoi!
	'H' Games by Internet Download Of course you can buy all our great English eroge titles via Internet Download, which is convenient, er, private. What games would you like to play?