J-List side blog

"False" Dialects of Japanese in Anime

2010-02-08T20:13:00.000+09:00

Like other languages, Japanese comes in various dialects. Some of these are regional, like "standard" Tokyo speech or the more colorful Osaka-ben (Osaka dialect), while other speech patterns are based on sex, as illustrated by different first and second pronouns for men and women. One interesting aspect of the language is the existence of "fake" dialects which show up in anime or manga but which are never used naturally by any real Japanese person, ever. One of these is ojosama speech, a special way that pampered rich girls like Cerina Iori Flameheart from Ladies Versus Butlers speak to indicate that they're well-bred. Instead of saying yoroshiku, a casual way of saying "Nice to meet you," they'll use the more refined-sounding yoroshiku-teyo, which is no more authentic than a sign advertising Ye Olde Bookshoppe. Then there's the rough "old man" speech used by almost every elderly male character ever animated, in which the phrase so da ("that is so") always changes to so ja. (Aside: in Japanese versions of Star Wars, Yoda speaks this standard form of "old man" speech, which is quite a shame considering how much Yoda's unique dialect to his character adds.) Yet another example of a stylized dialect of Japanese in anime is the "kid speech" of characters like Rika from Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, who adds nano desu to any sentence, making her sound more feminine and cute. Learning Japanese through anime is a fun way to expose yourself to new vocabulary, but it's important to realize that the medium does have its limitations.

Anime features many "false" dialects that no one actually speaks, nano desu!

The Disappearance if Haruhi Thoughts

2010-02-08T20:07:00.001+09:00

This weekend was the opening of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, and since I'm one of the few people in the world who can say it's his job to watch anime, I went to check it out. It was excellent, with many twists and turns that Haruhi fans will surely enjoy. I'm a big fan of hardcore science fiction stories, and have read just about every book about time travel ever written, from Guns of the South to The Time Ships to Time After Time and even To Say Nothing of the Dog. It struck me while watching the Haruhi film that Western-style stories about time travel (or time dilation in space) are relatively rare, and the anime series that do deal with these themes have clear Western inspirations. In the case of Haruhi, many of the "future Mikuru" ideas are lifted from the Hyperion books by Dan Simmons (this is actually the book Yuki gives to Kyon in episode 3), and the Haruhi-as-Godhead story harkens back to the classic Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life." Gunbuster is essentially an homage to the awesome SF books Ender's Game and The Forever War, with skimpy uniforms added for fan service. When Japanese do create "timeslip" stories, they tend to be simpler, about a character who goes back in time to buy a red straw hat for his future girlfriend, or the well-trodden genre of modern Japanese person going back to Japan's "Warring States" historical period. Western time travel stories are sweeping tales about ~~Deloreans~~ man's mastery of technology and looking at society through different lenses, while Japanese time travel tends to be a device to put dramatic pressure on different characters.

So, what time travel books have you read that you can share with us in the comments?

Haruhi Suzumiya is back in a new movie, and it's pretty bad-ass.

Products for Espers, Time Travelers and Aliens

2010-02-08T20:06:00.001+09:00

J-List is loaded with fun products for Haruhi fans. First, we've got several outstanding T-shirts, like our popular "No Normal Humans" T-shirt that has gorgeous kanji, or the popular "I Would Die for Haruhi" shirt design. Churuya-san, a cute-ified version of Tsuruya from the series, is another popular shirt (nyoro~n). We love the detailed Haruhi Figma toys made by Max Factory, and we have all the best figures on the site for you to browse. Finally, I can't help but recommend the excellent magazines that are loaded with free stuff, like Nyan Type or Megami Magazine, available by revolving month-to-month subscription from J-List.

Cool Products Monday, February 8, 2010

2010-02-08T20:03:00.000+09:00

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.

	Nyan Type vol. 5 Vol.5 of the instantly popular Nyan Type, the brand new magazine dedicated to super-cute anime and bishoujo characters, is here. Great for fans of Megumi Magazine, since it's loaded with free posters.
	Dengeki Daioh Feb 2010 Then enjoy another issue of the popular Dengeki Daioh ("Electric Shock Great King"), featuring some of the best manga in Japan, from Shakugan no Shana to Yotsubato to Toradora and more. Free "Index" keychain in this issue!
	Girls Graph (Girl, Illustrated) Pie International publishing presents an amazing compendium of bishoujo "moe" art, featuring dozens of Japan's highest profile creators. Not only is every page of this heaven for the 2D art fan, the book is entirely in English!
	Oyari Ashito Chronicle Master of Bishoujo character design Oyari Ashito is back with a limited edition full color artbook featuring 100+ gorgeous art pieces from his previous works ranging from the years 1997-2009. Love the "sad eyes" in his characters.
	Bee Kawaii earphone ~ Blue We've got a new color of the cute standard earphones shaped like little bees, which work with your standard music players, computers and iPhone. They're kawaii and also very affordably priced.
	NARUTO DX Evolution Pencil Case If you haven't used one of the deluxe pencil cases from Japan, you don't know what you're missing. With many compartments and ways to organize all your writing instruments, these pencil cases make learning tons of fun for Naruto fans.
	Restocked Games for Sony PSP I am happy to see the popularity of the Sony PSP as a platform for dating-sim games, and today we're posting fresh stock of L no Kisetsu ~ Double Pocket and Like Life Every Hour, two excellent visual novels for you.
	KATAMETE-PON ~ ECO Powder to Dispose Oil This is an awesome item: a magic "eco powder" that you sprinkle over oil you've used for frying, and it become hard instantly, so you can throw it away without harming the environment.
	Haruhi Figmas Restocked See fresh stock of one of the most popular figures we've ever carried. We have Haruhi, Mikuru and Yuki all restocked, and ready for any pose you want them to make.
	'No Normal Humans' T-Shirt Do you hate normal humans? Would you prefer to hang around with espers, time-travellers and aliens? If so, then we recommend our popular original anime T-shirt, which has been one of our best sellers in recent months. Designed by Rios, the guy who made that incredible Haruhi Kinnetic Animation YouTube video (click the link to view it).
	iTunes Japan Prepaid Cards from J-List If you need a fix for Haruhi Suzumiya songs, the iTunes Japan store has a ton for you, waiting to be purchased and played via iTunes or your iPod/iPhone. Also fun to browse, this fan-made playlist of Haruhi and other anison, or this mix of current hit "CM" songs from TV commercials.
	J-List Reserve Subscription System If you're in the market for a really excellent monthly manga, we recommend Shonen Ace, a massively thick manga that features just about every red-hot story you want to read, from Haruhi Suzumiya to Macross Frontier Keroro Gunso and more. Comes with cool figures and other stuff each issue.
	Awesome Cosplay Eye Patch Restocked J-List loves cosplay, and wants to help everyone feel the joy of becoming your favorite anime character, just like I did when I made a Totoro costume for San Diego Comicon 1987. (I was a bit ahead of my time.) Today we've restocked those awesome eye patches for anime cosplay.
	Authentic 'Socks Glue' From Japan Also, for all those who love "Zettai Ryoiki," which is the space between the top of the a girl's over-knee socks and where her skirt begins, we've restocked the Japanese "socks glue." Also goes great with "loose socks."
	New Snacks from Japan Awesome new snacks from Japan: Meiji "Chopan" chocolate treats in two new flavors for Spring, plus Meiji Lychee and Grapefruit gummy and a fun Doraemon snack treat.
	Potato Chips Drops ~ Japanese Food Drops Enjoy a wacky new flavor of traditional Japanese "Food Drops" candies -- potato chips! Also see fresh stock of Goya Champloo (from Okinawa), Okonomiyaki (from Osaka) and Ramen (from Tokyo) candies.
	Lucky Cat Canned Bread ~ Green Tea Our Akihabara Bread-in-a-Can is a hit, as many customers pick up this wacky treat which you can usually only find in Akiba. Today see fresh stock of the Lucky Cat themed bread that's Green Tea flavor.
	Rice Burger Maker ~ Gyutto Pon Instead of making a hamburger for dinner, why not try your hand at a rice burger, using onigiri-style flat pieces of rice instead of bread? It's delicious, and easy to make with this handy tool.
	Chirashi Sushi Style Round Bento Box One of our favorite dishes is chirashi-zushi, literally a "tossed salad" of sushi fish over vinagered rice that's just delicious. Here's a new bento box that would be perfect for this, or for any lunch with foods you want to keep separate.
	Other Restocked Bento Boxes Then enjoy fresh stock of the smash hit DX Simple men's Bento, which is elegantly designed, large enough for any appetite, and non-kawaii. Also see the colorful Bento Special Gift Set restocked.
	Hello Kitty & Cinnamoroll Bento Items Then see fresh stock of several popular Sanrio bento items today, including the basic Hello Kitty Face Bento Box, one of our most popular lunch boxes ever, plus the matching Cinnamoroll Bento Box.
	Hello Kitty Microwave Rice Cooker Make delicious Japanese rice using only a standard microwave oven, thanks to the Hello Kitty Microwave Rice Cooker, which we have restocked today. A very popular item.
	Fun Onigiri Shapers Also: the extremely fun ball-type onigiri maker that you can use to make perfectly round Japanese rice balls, great for creating that Death Star Onigiri you've always wanted.
	Studio Ghibli 2010 Schedule Books Then: fun for Studio Ghibli fans, in the form of the last-ever stock of the popular 2010 schedule books for Totoro, Ponyo and Kiki's Delivery Service. They're frankly the most awesome things you've ever held in your hand, and awesome to use all year long.
	Other Fun Ghibli Items See other fun Totoro products, too, including a Totoro puzzle for learning hiragana,the awesome Swimming Wind-Up Ponyo toy and more.
	Bilingual Study Books For anyone studying Japan's language or culture, we've restocked the excellent series by JTB, including A Look Into Japan and Living Japanese Style.
	DX Long Study Flashcards for Study See fresh stock of some great tools for learning Japanese, including long flashcards that are great for memorizing full sentences of Japanese.
	Kuretake BIMOJI Real Fude Style Brush Pen A fude (foo-DAY) pen is an ingenious writing device that's just like using a classic writing brush, yet you don't need to use an inkwell. We've gotten in a really nice new one for you today.
	Vante 1/8 Figure ~ Queen's Blade Rebellion Preorder Wow, yet another awesome Queen's Blade figure for us to drool over, this time in the form of Vante, who has awesome iron gauntlets to crush her opponents with.
	One Piece Bobble Heads Preorder Like One Piece? Then the new One Piece bobbleheads we have up for preorder will be popular. Preorder all three now!
	Anime Pocket Watches -- K-On!, Railgun Preorder Talk about awesome: three pocket watches for anime fans, two featuring K-On! characters and one with Kuroko and Mikoto from A Certain Magical/Scientific Index/Railgun.
	Street Fighter Mousou Controller ver.1 Preorder Here's a fun item from Japan: a Street Fighter "Fantasy" controller you can carry on your keys which you can use to play real games of STII. The game is fully functional with full sound effects, but you play it in your mind.
	Restocked Toys for Grown-Ups See fresh stock of the amazing "double hole toy" based on the actual body of Nao Yoshizaki, complete with two places to receive healing, plus all varieties of the TENGA EGG stress-relief toy and fantastic "PLESTO" massager with three speeds.
	Cat Girl Alliance IN STOCK More good news: our awesome futanari cat-girl game is finally in stock and shipping, and you can order it now. Features tons of fun gameplay, eight unique endings, and just about every fetish you can dream of/ (Download orders for the game will be available in a week to give preorder customers time to receive their games.)
	Great Doujin Games from Japan Next up, we've got some fun doujin games for, which are like doujinshi parody versions of your favorite anime, but they're full games you can play. A parody of Toradora! and the awesome CG "Melancholy of Yuna" from Final Fantasy X.

Coming-of-Age Ceremony for Junior High School Students

2010-02-05T19:42:00.003+09:00

My son turns fifteen this year, and in accordance with a Japanese custom I'd never heard of before, he'll be participating in a school ceremony called risshi-shiki, the Ceremony of Attending Manhood (also called Genpuku or Genbuku). It's a revival of an old tradition that goes back a millennium or so in which boys who had reached the minimum age of adulthood had their hair cut in the fashion of adults for the first time, and after that point they could be called to go to war and kill with a sword. In these modern times, it's become a ceremony where boys (and girls) stand up in front of their teachers and other students and declare their goals, what they want to do with their lives in the future. My son goes to a special experimental immersion school in which 50% of the classes are taught in English, so he has to give his speech twice, once in English and once in Japanese.

When I was fifteen and attending school in America, I never gave a thought about where my life would take me -- I was too busy playing AD&D and M.U.L.E. on my Atari 8-bit computer. Do you think this is a good way to get young people to think more seriously about the future?

A rissho-shiki ceremony is an opportunity to reflect on your personal goals.

Sapporo Snow Festival

2010-02-05T19:41:00.000+09:00

Today is the start of the Sapporo Snow Festival, the famous snow-sculpting event in which a dozen or so teams work to create beautiful masterpieces out of snow. This is the 60th anniversary of the festival, which got its start in 1950 when the city of Sapporo decided to turn several local snow sculpting competitions into a regular event, and everything just sort of snowballed from there (sorry). Different sculptures are created each year, and it's always fun to see what the will be made -- one group is making a giant Miku Hatsune Nendoroid this year, for example. During my days as a single gaijin I did a fair bit of hitchhiking around Japan, and I visited the city of Sapporo but not during the festival. I'd love to go see it properly sometime.

The 60th Sapporo Snow Festival is going on right now. Wish I were there.

Asashoryu Bows Out of the Dohyo

2010-02-05T19:39:00.001+09:00

Japan's sumo world was rocked today by the announcement that Mongolian wrestler Asashoryu, the top-ranked yokozuna (Grand Champion) in the sport, would be retiring to take responsibility for an incident in which he got drunk and punched an employee at a drinking establishment. This was far from the only time the sumo star has been in trouble: he'd also been reprimanded for brawling with other wrestlers privately and was photographed playing soccer back home in Mongolia while he was supposed to be on medical leave for a back injury. One of the biggest problems with the wrestler, from the Japanese point of view, was that he lacked the hinkaku (dignity) that's expected in a person of that rank, yet Asashoryu refused to accept Japanese-style humility, often striking a "guts pose" after a tournament win and preferring a large Hawaiian shirt to his official sumo wrestler yukata while in public. Asashoryu was one of the strongest wrestlers the sport had ever seen, with an unprecedented 25 tournament victories in his 11-year career.

Asashoryu's name always makes me think of a Street Fighter special attack.

Wacky Subculture, Anime & Traditional Products from Japan

2010-02-05T19:38:00.001+09:00

J-List sells a ton of unique and wacky products from Japan, which I like to dig through for you. We love all forms of Japanese subculture, and whenever something becomes popular on the Japanese Interwebs, we'll be there to offer products to you, like our excellent lineup of Touhou manga, figure and cosplay products, or our fun Yukkuri! T-shirt. The Japanese always have a knack for coming up with fun new ways to explore our obsessions, and products like our "3D" Mouse Pads, which provide just the right wrist support an otaku needs, or those Evangelion earphones. Finally, there's a lot of crossover between "wacky" and "traditional" in Japan, and we like to think our line of hachimaki headbands are a little bit of both.

Cool Products Friday, February 5, 2010

2010-02-05T19:30:00.000+09:00

	Prince Animage 2010 Winter Prince is a special magazine published especially for girls who love all the best male characters in anime, from the handsome guys of Hetalia to Sengoku Basara's good-looking men to Code Geass. Free stuff, too.
	Moe Moe Fighting Girl Encyclopedia It's time for another fun Moe Moe guide to the the world, in this case all the various forms of fighting, from karate to judo to Brazilian Capoeira and much more, all with awesome illustrations.
	Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's ~ The Battle of Aces Awesome fighting game for Sony PSP featuring all the Nanoha characters rendered in 3D, with a fun original story.
	Restocked Love Plus, Queen's Blade games Then, we've restocked the awesome 3D animated dating-sim game Love Plus, which made headlines on CNN when a Japanese man "married" one of the characters in the game, plus the fun Queen's Blade fighting game with an ecchi "armor damage system."
	POND'S Bamboo Charcoal Black Facial Cleaner We've been carrying more make-up and skincare products from Japan, which our customers enjoy being able to buy. From Pond's we've got two fabulous items that are made with sumi, that is bamboo charcoal, to make your skin extra-clean.
	Nail Clipper with Lens for Multi-use This is cool: a really well made pair of fingernail clippers with a built-in magnifying glass to make it easy to see what you're doing. Made in Japan, and very sharp.
	Chirimen Hello Kitty Gama-guchi Mini Purse These are awesome: Hello Kitty coin purses made of chirimen (traditional kimono fabric). Two colors available.
	Rilakkuma Bath Ball Have fun in the bath next time with this awesome ball that fizzes and turns your bath into a relaxing onsen hot spring, while revealing a Rilakkuma toy at the center.
	Keep Warm the Japanese Way This year yutanpo hot water bottles are a hot item (sorry for the pun) because they're eco (ecologically good for the Earth) because you put hot water in them and they keep you warm all night. We've restocked our most popular (and kawaii) items today, plus the popular Hot Hand Cream.
	Authentic School Briefcase Don't look now, but we've restocked the Japanese school bag that's used by thousands of real high school students in Japan every day. Made by the famous Matsukameya of Nagoya, who also create the authentic school uniforms we sell.
	New Snacks from Japan Today's new Japanese snacks are very nice: a new flavor of Meiji's Mushroom Mountain, little cookie mushrooms with chocolate tops, in Strawberry Tart flavor, plus fabulous Porte in Creamy Raisin Whip, and new Shigekix.
	Akihabara Canned Bread is Good Food for Otaku We've restocked the Space Battleship Yamato bread-in-a-can, a popular omiyage (souvenir) from Akihabara that's fun to eat, or just display the can on your anime shelf.
	Ukiyoe Drops (Azuki Flavor) Got even more traditional Food Drops candies for you too, this time in delicious Azuki flavor. Also restocked other popular flavors like Kushi Katsu and Takoyaki from Osaka, Buta Don and the "Going To Hell" spicy candies.
	Food Pencil for Bento Nothing makes a man happier than having a heart drawn on an plate of omrice (omelet over rice) by a woman he loves. You can do that and much more with the Food Pencil set, restocked today.
	Sugar Bunnies Sanrio Bento Box Set Today we're posting a really kawaii bento featuring the new Sanrio character Sugar Bunnies. This bento box comes with everything you need: tight lunchbox with interior compartments and chopsticks w/case.
	Red KIKU Flower Art Lacquered Stacking Bento Box Then see restock of the beautiful jubako (stacking bento box) type bento box with vibrant images of kiku (chrysanthemums) on it.
	Make Onigiri for the One in Your Heart Show that special person in your life you love them with the fun heart-shaped onigiri shaper we're restocking today. Other fun shapes also restocked.
	Hello Kitty Bento Items Also, see some great bento accessories restocked, including the Hello Kitty DECO Bento Set which makes cute Sanrio-shaped onigiri and furikake images, one of our most popular Sanrio products.
	Rilakkuma Items Also: the Rilakkuma salt and pepper shaker is restocked, a popular item that will add many cute points to your table.
	Oil Brush for Takoyaki Maker Our popular Takoyaki maker is a fun way to make authentic Osaka-style octopus batter balls, as well as other fun foods like pancake balls with sausage inside and syrup on top. We've restocked the special brush for applying oil before cooking.
	Awesome Ghibli Playing Cards Then for the Studio Ghibli fan in you, we've restocked the fun playing cards for Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away. I've spent hours with these cards, playing with my own kids.
	Lucky Panda, Ninja Relaxation Toys Next, see fresh stock of our great Hidamari no Tami inspired items, including Lucky Panda and Lucky Ninja. They never need batteries!
	Fun Japanese Study Aids J-List stocks hundreds of products to help you learn Japanese, and today we've restocked the Chibi Maruko Kanji Dictionary, as well as the Kanji Drill workbooks used by Japanese kids.
	Kanji Practice Flashcards Also, we've finally gotten the popular Kanji Flashcards from White Rabbit in stock in San Diego. This is nothing less than the single best Japanese study item J-List has ever carried, in my opinion.
	My Japanese Coach for the Nintendo DS Another great item for students of Japanese: we've restocked My Japanese Coach for the Nintendo DS in San Diego, which is a great way to start learning Japanese. Compatible with all DS systems in the world.
	Restocked Traditional Items Making some tea? Why not do it in our awesome Lucky Cat Tea Pot, which we've restocked today. Also enjoy the Gold Lucky Coin Key Chain, "Surprise" Daruma whose eyes pop out at you, Kyudo Archery Set and a fun wooden ninja sword.
	Uncho Kanu Figutto Action Figure Preorder I have to admit, Uncho is not the character I think of when I think "cat ears" to myself, but she sure is awesome in this new figure that we've posted for preorder.
	Sasara Kusugawa Figutto Action Figure Preorder Another fabulous cat ear figure, this is a unique sculpt of Sasara from the popular eroge ToHeart2. Comes with various optional parts.
	Sora Kasugano 1/6 Figure School Swimsuit Preorder From the (slightly ecchi) folks at Griffon comes this new figure of Sora from Yosuga no Sora, wearing a sexy swimsuit that she's having trouble keeping on, apparently.
	Chingcame 4 Deluxe Photobook Without a doubt my favorite series of photobooks from Japan are these, the chinkame line of small photobooks filled with stylish and elegant photography. So glad to see the series has started up again.
	Champion RED Mar 2010 A fun monthly manga that's filled with the most delightful ecchi artwork and themes, which will entertain any fan of cute anime and manga girls and bishoujo style characters. Not only do you get 500+ pages of awesome content, you get a cool figure, free.
	Otome Senshi Lovely 5 A nice new offering for fans of yuri (lesbian) themes, this is really special collection of stories that combine beautiful characters, goth-loli outfits and more.
	Chooooo Skinship Love Plus Doujinshi In Japanese slang, cho means "super" or "extremely," so the title of this full color Love Plus parody doujinshi becomes clear. I would love some skinship with those three girls.
	J-List's Valentine's Day Sale Remember we're having a great Valentine's Day special on all our "H" games. Here's how it works: buy Bazooka Cafe, a great game to play this Feb 14th, and get $5 off. Then get $5 off for each additional game you buy together, which adds up to a huge savings!
	The Virgin Great Pussy You know, I've lived in this country for long enough to think that I wouldn't be surprised every time I got out of bed. But I am surprised by the incredible hole toy we've just posted which simulates a very special event.
	TENGA Flip Hole, Brush Massager Restocked Even more sock of the popular TENGA Flip-Hole, which is incredibly well-designed and popular with our customers, as well as the innovative Electric Ecstasy brush and popular Pururun Lotion Bath.

The Really Big Numbers of Avatar

2010-02-03T20:03:00.001+09:00

The other day I was talking with my wife and daughter about an article I'd seen, which said the film ~~Space Pocahontas~~ Avatar had earned an unprecedented 2 billion dollars in ticket sales. "How much money is that?" my daughter asked, so I tried to tell her...then fell flat on my face. Numbers are notoriously difficult to work with in Japanese, since instead of the Arabic system that's based on the unit 1,000 they use the Chinese system which uses 10,000 (mahn) as a base unit, followed by oku which has a value of 100 million. Numbers themselves are exactly the same, of course, and a Japanese math book would have the same written formulas that a Western one would; it's the act of verbally expressing large numbers that's such a challenge. In the end, it took the three of us several minutes of intense discussion to figure how to express the number $2,000,000,000 properly in Japanese yen.

Which works better for you? I think I like the Disney-animated one best.

The Adventure of English

2010-02-03T20:02:00.000+09:00

If you've been reading my twitter feed lately, you might have noticed me writing about an interesting BBC documentary I'd come across. Called The Adventure of English, the 8-part series follows the evolution of the English language from its early Anglo-Saxon roots, through centuries of refinement by the likes of Chaucer and Shakespeare, and finally to its arrival as England's most famous export to the world during the Colonial Era. For a "language otaku" like myself, the show was awesome linguistic pr0n, and I loved every episode. One of the themes of English is how it was changed by other languages it came into contact with, especially after the Norman Invasion, which led to 300 years of rule by French-speaking kings and is the reason 50% of modern English words are French in origin. This mirrors another island nation I'm fond of. Japan also had a linguistic "invasion" in the form of kanji from China around the 6th century AD, which the Japanese adapted to their spoken language. Today, every kanji used in Japan has two basic readings, a Japanese one for the simpler concepts like mizu for "water" or sora for "sky," and a Chinese reading that's used to create more complex compound words such as suiso for "hydrogen" or and kuuatsu for "air pressure."

I enjoyed the BBC documentary on the history of English, but then I'm a "language otaku."

Setsubun: Out with devils, in with happiness!

2010-02-03T20:01:00.000+09:00

Today is Setsubun, a fun day for anyone with kids in Japan. A remnant of a festival that took place on New Year's Eve during the old Lunar Calendar, it's a day when oni (devils) will be symbolically chased out of the house so that happiness can reign during the New Year. The father of the house will assume the role of a devil, wearing a paper mask that makes him look scary. When the devil attacks, the children pelt him with baked soybeans and chase him off, shouting Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi! ("Out with devils, in with happiness!"). When the devil is properly vanquished, everyone is supposed to eat their age in soybeans to help guarantee good health in the coming year, which is easy for a child of eight or so but more difficult for parents who are getting up there in years. Setsubun is also a day to visit your local Shinto shrine, where people gather to be pelted by soybeans thrown out into the crowd by sumo wrestlers and kabuki actors who have been invited to take part in the festivities.

Feb. 3rd is Setsubun, a day for casting devils out of your home.

Valentine's Day Sale on Dating-Sim Games

2010-02-03T20:00:00.002+09:00

J-List is happy to announce a special Valentine's Day sale on all our dating-sim games, which are great fun to curl up with in front of a warm computer. Here's how it works: buy the outstanding game Bazooka Cafe, which includes the free Valentine Special bonus game, and we'll send you a $5 coupon via email for a future J-List purchase. Want to save even more? Add any other game(s) to your order and we'll send you another $5 coupon for each game. Buy a total of four games and get a coupon for a $20 coupon back, in addition to the automatic 15% discount for getting four titles. This offer is available for both download and shrinkwrapped package games costing $14.95 or more. Although have Bazooka Cafe? We'll still honor the $5-per-game credit for other titles you pick up. Click here for more info.

Cool Products Wednesday, February 3, 2010

2010-02-03T20:00:00.001+09:00

	Dengeki G's Magazine Feb 2010 New issue of Dengeki G's, the square-backed anime magazine that's filled with awesomeness if you love anime and bishoujo games. This issue gives you a free Love Plus "waterproof" shower poster and karuta game to learn hiragana!
	Queen's Blade Hide and Seek vol 3 & 4 Queen's Blade is in the air these days, and we're happy to be posting two volumes of the popular manga. It's also a manga series that keeps going in and out of stock with the publisher, so if we run out, we'll get more later.
	Strike Witches Plush Toys I am a fan of Strike Witches, which combines the genre of moe with World War II-era magical girls with furry features. Enjoy these gorgeous large plush toys we have in stock now.
	Yui Hirasawa Figma Action Figure Then for fans of the awesome anime K-On! we have the new Figma of Yui, which is positively awesome because she can make any pose you like. Of course she comes with her guitar, case and stand.
	St. Sister Sexy Cosplay set To the Japanese, western nuns, which the Japanese always call with the English word sisutaa (sister), are enigmatic and mysterious. Here's a fun cosplay outfit from Joybank.
	Japanese School Bag ~ Sports Type If you watch five minutes of anime, you'll probably see these "sports style" school bags being carried by all the high school kids. Now you can own one yourself -- awesome.
	Awesome Restocked Totoro Products Then, got some outstanding Totoro items for you, including the soft Fuzzy Totoro Keychain series, a restocking of those dreamy ceramic Totoro Music Boxes, and more.
	Evangelion Interface Earphones Then: see fresh stock of the Evangelion earphones featuring the distinctive red or white "head interfaces" of Asuka and Rei. Compatible with any standard music player such as the iPod / iPhone.
	Unofficial Hatsune Mix vol 1 & 2 J-List carries dozens of great products for fans of the Vocaloid singing idol Miku Hatsune. Today we're posting fresh stock of both "official" manga volumes.
	Youkai Encyclopedia ~ Shigeru Mizuki Japan highly stylized world of yokai or "folk monsters" is simply fascinating, and we've restocked the awesome encyclopedia of the most famous of these traditional Japanese ghosts by the creator of GeGeGe no Kitaro.
	New Snack Goodness from Japan Today we've got Japan Kit Kat in delicious Maple flavor, UHA Puccho Gummy in Orange Gummy & Yogurt flavor (the package these come in is fabulous by the way), plus Meiji Sweets Gum that tastes like blueberry cheesecake yet is sugarless.
	Ukiyoe Drops (Kinako, Soy Sauce flavor) We have two more flavors of traditional ukiyo-e "food drops" which feature traditional Japanese flavors (kinako and soy sauce) in Sakura Drop-style tins with beautiful art on the side. A fabulous idea!
	DELI-GOO Happy Bagel Bento Case Introducing the pinnacle in the development of bento boxes from Japan: a lunchbox for your bagels. It holds everything you need for an awesome original lunch.
	Restocked Hello Kitty Bento Boxes Every time I check the top 50 bento box list at J-List, I can be pretty sure that the top selling item will be this Hello Kitty traditional bento, it's that popular. Fresh stock today.
	Hello Kitty 3D Cookie Cutter I love finding wacky stuff like this for J-List customers. It's a "3D" cookie cutter which you can use to make a fun Hello Kitty cookie that can sit up and be displayed. Can also make Hello Kitty shaped toast.
	Japanese T-Shirt 'The Absolute Zone' (2XL We just love our popular tribute to zettai ryoiki, the "absolute zone" which is a tiny patch of skin visible between the top of a girl's over-knee socks and where her skirt starts. We love it so much we made a T-shirt of it.
	The Best Kanji Poster In The World You say you want to learn kanji? Do you? Do you? Then this is your kanji poster, an outstanding giant sheet of laminated thick paper that shows all the kanji character you ever need to learn. Back in stock today.
	DX Green Tea Container ~ Lacquered Sakura Pattern Another beautiful traditional item from Japan, this is a high quality container for green tea, which is made with an elegant lacquered wood styling and sakura petals on the lid.
	WASHI Yu-zen KIMONO Shaped Coaster Set Also cool: coasters made of washi paper featuring beautiful images of kimonos. A super conversation piece for your guests.
	Bamboo Mini Sake Cup We sell a lot of cool items from Japan, and one of my favorite categories of products are our sake cups, so fun for throwing some back with friends. Made out of a single natural piece of bamboo.
	Love Plus T-Shirts Preorder Cospa is bringing out these Love Plus T-shirts, and I know I'm going to have a hard time picking which my favorite girl might be. Manaka, the pure girl who loves guys good at sports? Rinka, the tsundere of the game? Or the grown-up Nene?
	Mari Illustrious Makinami 1/6 Figure Preorder Mari is the new character in the Evangelion 2.0 movie, and she was an instant hit with fans due to her fan service, I mean her hard-hitting action scenes. Enjoy this very nice 1/6 scale figure that's up for preorder now.
	Revoltech Queen's Blade Cattleya Figure Preorder Queen's Blade is the popular artbook-based RPG that's become an anime and figure sensation. Enjoy this Revoltech offering of Cattleya, so detailed and able to assume any pose.
	Ameri Kawaii 1/8 Figure ~ Tayutama Preorder Tayutama (A Kiss on my Deity) is a Japanese visual novel/eroge by Lump of Sugar, and this is a fantastic sexy figure of Ameri-chan for your collection.
	Hadaka no Reon ~ Reon Kadena One day, Yasu looked up from his computer and said, "Well, I've found the most beautiful girl in the world." It was Reon Kadena, and we were compelled to agree with his assessment. Enjoy this dynamite zenra photobook, back in print after many years.
	Restocked Artbooks Then, what's the best artbook J-List has ever carried? While opinions might differ, I'd have to go with the amazing Dendrobium from master ecchi illustrator Nishieda. This dynamite book, which comes in a protective sleeve, is restocked today.
	Valentine's Day Sale: Bazooka Cafe Remember, J-List is having a great Valentine's Day sale! Just order the popular game Bazooka Cafe, and you'll get a coupon for $5 off for every game you buy. Want to get three other titles in addition to Bazooka Cafe? That gets you $20 off, in addition to any other discounts.
	Subarashiki Hibi Preorder The latest magnum opus visual novel from writer Suka-ji, known for his work on H2O -Footprints In The Sand-, Integral After And Another, Sakura no Toki, and others. Preorder this game and get it when it ships!
	Himari 1/8 Scale Figure w/Stretchy Underwear Preorder Then an extremely cool prepainted figure from the popular manga Protective Charm Himari: a cat girl figure with cloth pantsu that you can really pull down. Fun!

All Things in Life are Like Peter's Photoshop Job

2010-02-01T18:49:00.001+09:00

The other day, I was rolling up my sleeves to start a Photoshop job, cutting out a large image so I could separate it from the background, which we find ourselves doing a lot around here. I'd gotten about five minutes into the work when suddenly the breaker went out, which caused my Mac to lose power along with all the other computers at J-List. I groaned at the prospect of starting my Photoshop job again, when Shingo (the guy who handles technical support for our dating-sim games) noticed what I was doing and said, "If you need that file with layers separated, I've got one in my computer." This was a classic example of the Japanese proverb ningen banji saiou-ga-uma (nin-gen BAHN-gee sai-OH ga oo-mah), meaning "All things in life are like Sai's horse." This refers to an old Chinese story about a man named Sai whose horse ran away, causing everyone to be sympathetic about his bad luck. But the horse returned soon with another horse in tow, so it turned out to be good luck. Then Sai's son fell off the new horse and broke his leg, which was bad luck -- although because of his injury, he didn't need to go off to war when his village was called to fight, so it was good luck. The moral of the story is, when something good or bad happens, no one can say for sure how it will be in the end.

One of the many tidbits of wisdom from China.

Great Service in Japan

2010-02-01T18:47:00.003+09:00

The tradition of retail establishments offering excellent service to customers is one of my favorite aspects of Japan, and if I were in the restaurant business I'd look to see what ideas I could import. Like the excellent custom of handing out hot towels called oshibori to customers who've just sat down to order -- there's nothing that makes you feel positive about a restaurant like cleaning your hands (and face, although it's bad manners) with a steaming hot towel. Another innovation I'm a fan of are electronic buttons you press when you're ready to order. The staff of the restaurant can see your table number light up on a board, and they instantly appear. Another idea which might have potential in urban areas are restaurant ticket vending machines. If you want to order, say, a bowl of ramen, you insert your money into the machine and press the button, getting a ticket that you give to the cook. All monetary transactions are done by the vending machine, so the restaurant doesn't need staff at a cash register, allowing the cost of the meals to be lowered.

(By the way, the Japanese achieve this higher level of service without ever taking tips, and in fact a Japanese person would be confused and insulted if you tipped them for doing their jobs. What an amazing country this is!)

I love the steaming hot oshibori towels they give you in restaurants.

Jobs for Gaijin in Japan

2010-02-01T18:47:00.001+09:00

There are certain jobs in Japan that are naturally better filled by foreigners, such as employees in certain ethnic restaurants, the cast members at Tokyo Disneyland, or a minister who performs Western-style wedding ceremonies. Teaching English as a Second Language is another job best done by a native speaker, and there are many expats working here as English conversation teachers or other types of language instructor. By its very nature, translation from one language to another goes more smoothly if the person doing the translating speaks the target language natively, which provides another career path for foreigners wanting to work in Japan. This rule isn't strictly followed however, and there are some who work as proofreaders or "rewriters," essentially cleaning up English translations made by non-native speakers. Before I started J-List I worked for my city as a "Facilitator of Internationalization," essentially being a bridge between the foreign community and the city government, and I did a fair bit of this kind of clean-up work. Once I even proofread a translation done by an American who'd lived here since the 60s, so long in fact that his English needed to be checked for errors afterwards. I wonder if I'll ever get like that? (We have some interesting guidebooks for living and working in Japan, by the way.)

It's considered very "authentic" to have a wedding performed by a gaijin minister.

Traditional Japanese Candy & Snacks from the Showa Period

2010-02-01T18:46:00.000+09:00

J-List sells a lot of fun Japanese snacks, from Pocky to Meltykiss to the amazing Japan Kit Kat. We also go out of our way to carry many types of traditional candy from the Showa Period, called dagashi in Japanese. These traditional Japanese sweets are loads of fun for Japanophiles, since everything is so mysterious and old-fashioned, yet delicious. The most popular of all these mysterious Japanese candies has to be Kompeito, the star-shaped candies seen in the animated film Spirited Away, or perhaps the fun Bubble Ball fizzing ramune candies. I love the sweet Mochi Candy which is very chewy and comes in several flavors, as well as Bontan Ame, candy that comes in a wrapper made of rice, so you can eat it wrapper and all. Morinaga's Black Sugar caramels are a solid hit with J-List customers, as are the legendary Sakuma Drops, seen in Ghibli film Grave of the Fireflies, which have spawned an interesting line of other "drops" candies. Finally, Felix the Cat bubblegum is one of the most popular products we've ever carried. Best of all, these traditional candies from Japan are often very inexpensive, so you can try a bunch of different ones and see which you like.

Cool Products Monday, February 1, 2010

2010-02-01T18:45:00.000+09:00

	Dengeki Maoh Feb 2010 It's time for yet another thick and satisfying manga from Japan, in the form of Dengeki Maoh, which gives you 640 pages of a manga awesomeness like Persona 4, Toradora!, Spice and Wolf and more.
	KAWAII Bread Shaper ~ 4 shapes What's better than a sandwich? Four little sandwiches in cute shapes. This is a Japanese sandwich cutter that turns boring sandwiches into shapes of a dog, a boat, a car and a train, without wasting anything in the center.
	Ein Figma Action Figure An excellent figure based on the gorgeous Requiem for the Phantom anime, which was based on the eroge that made Nitroplus famous. I know I will be getting one of these awesome figures myself.
	Hello Kitty Pink Quilting Round Cosmetic Pouch If you wanted to carry a fashionable bag with you, you could shop at Channel or Louis Vuitton. Or you could be smart and get this awesome Hello Kitty "quilting" bag instead, which looks just as good and is way cuter.
	Hello Kitty Wallet, Camera Case, Too Also released in the same series: a cute camera case to hold a standard digital camera, plus a very smart-looking wallet you can use to carry money, credit cards and so on.
	Restocked Striped Panties, Swimsuits Today we've restocked the popular shimapan striped panties, worn by so many cute anime characters from Mio of K-On! to Lucchini of Strike Witches. Also restocked: the actual swimsuit worn by Izumi from Lucky Star.
	Rubber Ninja SHURIKEN ~ Hexagon Style These things are cool: realistic ninja throwing stars that look real, but they're made out of safe rubber. We have a new set of shuriken posted to the site today.
	Fun Games for Nintendo DS Players We always have fun anime games compatible with your Nintendo DS and Sony PSP, and today we're posting the IDOLMASTER Dearly Starts idol-growing game plus the Rilakkuma relaxation game.
	Restocked Artbooks, Moe Moe Encyclopedia See some awesome restocked artbooks today, including the Joso Shonen Collection for fans who are fascinated with anime boys dressed as girls, plus the Moe Moe Ghost and Story of Three Kingdoms books.
	Edamame Senbei Puff Snack Here's a fun treat from Japan: traditional senbei chips made from delicious and healthy edamame soybeans which go so great with beer. A large package for you to try.
	Ukiyoe Food Drops ~ Green Tea, Plum Flavor The traditional "food drops" from Japan that we carry were already beautiful to behold, with images of exotic Japanese cities and delicious food on them. Today we're posting beautiful traditional candies with real ukiyoe (oo-ki-oh-eh) art on the tins.
	Other Awesome Food Drops Restocked Also see a great restocking of some of our most popular "Food Drops" flavors, including Sasebo Hamburger from Kyushu, Miso Ramen from Hokkaido, Cherry Boy from Yamagata, "Moe" Drops from Akihabara and real sake candies.
	950ml Volume Lacquered Bento Box Set Here's a really outstanding traditional style bento box from Japan's famous Hakoya lunch box maker that's recommended for anyone with a large appetite. Features a large 950 ml size for heavier eaters.
	Picnic Style Lacquered 3 Tier Bento Box Set That awesome 3-tier "picnic style" bento is back in stock, too, such an awesome product from Hakoya. Everything you need is included: three sections for rice and other foods, chopsticks, frame to carry it and a belt to keep it closed.
	Moon & Rabbit Lacquered Style Onigiri Bento Box Also, see fresh stock of those awesome traditional onigiri cases, which essentially function as smaller bento boxes with separate sections for rice and the rest of your lunch.
	Microwave Rice Cookers Got fresh stock of our popular rice cooker that makes it easy to get hot, steaming white rice just like the Japanese love, without the expense of buying a rice cooker. A hugely popular item.
	Lucky Cat & DARUMA Fortune Telling Chopsticks Avoid the embarrassment of not having enough chopsticks in your home with this set of 20 disposable pairs. They feature daruma and Lucky Cat images, and tell your fortune.
	Restocked Kitchen and Other Items We've restocked our Sankaku Corner for Kitchen, which is where Japanese put their nama-gomi or "raw garbage" since there are no garbage disposals in Japan, plus the Onigiri Sponge and "paper clay" refill for all your craft products.
	Huge Restocking of Totoro Plush Toys We have restocked several of our most beloved Totoro plush toys, from the soft Fuka Fuka Totoro plush doll to the large "smiling" Totoro and more. Make your life happier with Totoro.
	DECOLE Kawaii Bird 2 Way Mini Plate Here's a wonderful double sided mini plate set in a cute bird design. This measures approximately and has two sides with a wavy divider in the center. A great conversation piece for your home.
	Japanese Study Tools Today's restocked Japanese study tools include the actual 2009 JLPT level 1 & 2 for you to prepare for this year's test, plus the popular Basic Kanji Drill workbooks for practicing those kanji characters.
	Restocked Kanji Practice Books, Pens Also, see fresh stock of the highly useful kanji practice notebooks, great for writing kana and kanji characters repeatedly until you've memorized them. We've also restocked the Soft Touch Color Fude Pen and the official Kanji Entry Pen for Elementary School.
	Shinsen Gumi Traditional Fans The shinsen-gumi were a group of elite samurai who fought on the side of the Shogun during Japan's struggle to become a modern nation, and they're extremely famous today. See two beautiful folding fans featuring their kanji slogans.
	Lucky Cat Tea Cups, Other Traditional Items Then see a bunch of awesome traditional items restocked, including the popular Lucky Cat Tea Cups which can be displayed, then turned upside-down to drink tea out of them, plus our traditional 3 Legged Crow Ear Cleaner, "O-Tachi" little samurai sword keychain and a jewel box made of beautiful paper.
	Alien SCI-Fi Revoltech Figure Preorder What's the single coolest toy in the world, nay, in the galaxy? My vote would have to be the Revoltech Alien, an extremely detailed and full posable xenomorph. Preorder this awesomeness now.
	Grendizer Revoltech No.085 Preorder Also very cool: the amazing Grendizer robot created by Go Nagai is now available for preorder. Can be put in any pose you can imagine.
	Toeto Soft Vinyl Figure Preorder Toeto -- a cute version of the Vocaloid Megurine Luka who wears cute cat ears -- will soon be released in a kawaii soft vinyl version, and you can preorder her now.
	Mizuho Kazami 1/4 Cast off Figure Preorder You know that I love Please Teacher and Please Twins, because I regularly make pilgrimages to the places where the anime series were "filmed" (Lake Kizaki and Karuizawa). Here's a new cast off figure of Mizuho that is very grown-up. 1/4 scale!
	Akiho Yoshizawa Complete Box This is a super item for JAV fans that will blow your mind: a fabulous box of goodies for Akiho-chan's fans including a 2010 calendar, a full DVD, a photobook, a "clear file" document protector and a pair of underwear matching that worn by Acky in the book.
	Awesome Dating-Sim Games by Internet Download I was recently asked what my favorite bishoujo game was in a podcast interview. While this is a difficult question, since we have so many awesome visual novels in English, a serious contender would have to be Yume Miru Kusuri. Available as a convenient Internet Download Edition!
	Tony Works Ciel Chronicle Master of Bishoujo character design Tony is back with a new full color artbook featuring 100+ gorgeous art pieces from collaboration games like Ciel and Arcana, or never printed on a book before limited posters, telephone card and game packages art and more. Whatever you do, don't miss this book!
	Muv-Luv Memorial Artbook One of the most popular dating-sim games/visual novels to be released in the past decade, Muv-Luv is a super game that's loosely based on the legendary Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Ni (The Eternity That You Wish For). The double-thick artbook is in stock now.
	USB Urasuji Kun ~ Vibrator USB has changed our lives, giving us a way to connect devices to a computer easily. It will also relieve your stress at the end of the day, with this great novelty USB massager, which can be used by guys as well as girls.

Confusing Japanese is Confusing

2010-01-29T19:56:00.000+09:00

Words are complex things, and one of the challenges a person learning a language like Japanese faces is parsing everything properly. Most people know about the -san suffix that's placed at the end of a person's name for politeness, e.g. Yamada-san to mean Mr. Yamada. Another san that pops up quite often in normal use is written with the character for "production" meaning "...made in," so next time a character in an anime asks for Bulgaria-san no marmalade you can figure what she's saying. It's used in the kanji name for the Nissan auto company, which literally means "Made in Japan." Another word that causes confusion is kau, which usually means "to buy" but (when written with a different kanji) means "to keep a pet," and we poor gaijin always go through a period of confusion about why our Japanese friend is "buying" a dog before we figure it out. The word for "to cut" in Japanese is kiru, but when written with a different kanji character it assumes the more specialized meaning of "to kill with a sword," which is another concept that's easy to get wrong.

Tthe name Nissan literally means "made in Japan," in case you were wondering.

Korean Invasion!

2010-01-29T19:54:00.003+09:00

We're having a bit of a "Korea Boom" in my house right now, courtesy of my wife. Like millions of other Japanese women, she's decided that Korean dramas are the neatest thing since sliced sashimi, and has been watching them on Japanese TV and rented DVD almost every night. (She even has a calendar of handsome actor Hyun Bin in her office.) When I ask her what's so interesting about the shows, she gets very animated. "Oh, they're nothing like Japanese dramas," she says. "They're more intense, and the characters are deeper and more interesting. I can always guess how Japanese dramas will end, so they're boring." I've often thought that her love of Korean dramas was a lot like my own feelings for Japanese animation -- she even complains when she has to watch them dubbed instead of with subtitles, just like me when watching anime. My theory is that the brain has a fundamental craving for the fresh and unique, and when something fills this need for an "other-ness" it's hard to resist embracing it. Supposedly Korean dramas remind Japanese of the good old days of the Showa Period, which may be why so many fans in Japan are in their 40s and older.

I decided to check out the anime version of the Korean drama Winter Sonata, which was interesting on several levels. It was a long time since I'd needed to pay attention to subtitles in anime, but since I was watching it in the Korean language, my eyes needed to stay glued to the TV if I was to understand the story. I found I'd been taking my knowledge of Japanese cultural iconery for granted, and parts of the anime were difficult for me to identify easily, since it was different from Japan. There were other cultural differences, too, like a scene in which a high school girl berates another for pretending to be a natural beauty even though she'd had plastic surgery, which would be unthinkable in Japan. As with watching the Korean-language scenes in Lost, it was fun to try to pick out the tiny smattering of words that are the same in Japanese, like yakusoku (promise), heikin (average) or kando (to be moved emotionally by something).

Korean anime presents new cultural learning experiences; my wife has also started serving kimchee with every meal.

Wacky Japanese T-shirts & Hoodies from J-List

2010-01-29T19:54:00.001+09:00

Ever since J-List brought out our first "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend" T-shirt more than a decade ago we've sold a huge number of wacky Japanese T-shirt and hoodies to customers all over the world. The "Girlfriend" shirt has been our top seller, closely followed by our wacky "Beware of Perverts" design and the always-fun shirt that says "In Emergency, Commit Seppuku Along This Dotted Line." J-List helped make Domo-kun the world-famous character he is today, and our Domo-kun line of shirts, hats and hoodies has always been popular with our customers. Recently we've been banging out some great new designs, like our K-On! "Afternoon Teatime" shirt or our tribute to tsundere anime girls. Our T-shirts are printed by our hardworking staff in San Diego (not mass-produced in Asia) and all sizes are full U.S. sizes (not tiny Japanese ones). Click here to browse all our products, or here to see the top 50 this week.

Cool Products Friday, January 29, 2010

2010-01-29T19:49:00.000+09:00

	Young Ace vol. 7 Gorgeous thick manga filled with the best and most interesting stories for you to read, this is Young Ace. Celebrating Evangelion with an Evangelion card case for you as omake (freebees).
	K-ON! Super Illustrations vol. 1 This is a superb book for fans of the popular moe moe kyun! anime series K-On! which is loaded with new art from the original creator, Kakifly.
	Meiko Vocaloid Plush Japan's really been releasing some great anime plush toys, which we've been happy to carry. See a large plush toy of Meiko that would just love to be hugged by you.
	Drossel/SR Fire Ball Gashapon Figure Full Then we've gotten in a great line of Drossel capsule toy figures that are beautifully designed. Put them on your desk at work to increase your geek cred. Available in full sets or random individuals.
	Nanoha Takamachi 1/7 Figure Preorder This is one of the coolest Nanoha figures we've seen, with incredible detail paid to every part of the figure, from the hair to the face to the body and pose. Most stock sold to preorder customers so hurry if you want one of these.
	Revoltech Queen's Blade Elina, Echidna Figures I think these Revoltech toys are just great, since not only do they resemble the sexy fighting females from the Queen's Blade universe, you can pose them any way you like. In stock today.
	Code Geass Knight vol. 05 ~ For Girls One good way to learn Japanese is to read, read, and read some more. Here's vol. 5 of the great Code Geass "boy's love" anthology with great stories you'll love, and furigana by the kanji to make it easy to read.
	Ikki Tousen, Evangelion Games for PSP The awesome 3D side-scrolling fighting game featuring all the hot and juicy characters from the Ikki Tousen/Dragon Destiny has been restocked, with its "Costume Destruction Battle System" that causes the girls clothes to fly off. Also see fresh stock of the Evangelion Battle Orchestra game.
	Shakugan no Shana Cosplay set J-List's complete cosplay uniforms are popular with our customers, and today we've posted a gorgeous Shana costume, one of my favorites. Click to see all our complete anime cosplay outfits for girls.
	Momoeri High Heel Slippers Next, stylish Japanese "high heeled" slippers for walking around your home, which look great and will keep your legs toned. Designed by ageha fashion queen Eri Momoka.
	Quick Microwave Rice / Boiled Egg Cooker J-List's microwave rice cookers that let you easily boil rice for bento or Japanese meals are a smash hit. Here's a new rice cooker that will boil rice for you in no time, and also boil eggs!
	Green Tea Puff Chocolate w/Sushi Yunomi When you go to a fine sushi restaurant, there's a specific kind of yunomi (cup for drinking green tea) that has the kanji for various types of fish printed on it. Now you can own this awesome cup, and get some delicious matcha chocolates, too.
	A Globe Style Peace Paper Balloon This is the most amazing thing I've seen in a while: a traditional kami fuusen, or paper balloon, that you can inflate by blowing into the hole. Instead of the normal type, this paper balloon is a globe of the planet Earth!
	Split-Toe 'Tabi' Socks Tabi are the split-toe boots that ninja wear, and they're also traditional socks that are popular in Japan. See four versions of these unique socks posted to the site now.
	Choco Gumi, Kiss Mint Gum Today's new Japanese snack offerings include "Choco Gumi" from Lotte, making a pun on the word for "group" (gumi) as in the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza organization, plus new Watering Kiss Mint Gum.
	Hello Kitty Individual Pack Seaweed Also: for all your Hello Kitty seaweed needs, we've gotten in individually wrapped (or should we say "warped"?) nori featuring Japan's most famous cat printed right on them.
	Gorgeous Lacquered Bento Boxes I'm extremely proud of the gorgeous traditional bento boxes we've been able to find for you, and the two lacquered bento boxes we're adding to the site today are gorgeous. Click to see.
	WAON Traditional-Modern Bento Box Set One of our most popular bento box sets, which blends both traditional design elements with modern functionality, we've restocked both the red and black WAON ("sound of Japan") complete bento sets today.
	Hamburger-shaped Bento Boxes Then see fresh stock of that wacky bento box that looks like a giant hamburger. Take the sections apart to reveal space for your rice, for meat and vegetables stored above, and it even holds a knife and fork for you.
	Hello Kitty Bento Accessories We love to carry Hello Kitty bento items, since they go hand-in-hand so well. Today we've gotten in fresh stock of the Push Style Onigiri Shaper, which creates the cutest shaped rice balls.
	Restocked AKB48 'Graduation' Photobooks AKB 48 is the red-hot idol group that's extremely popular in Japan, and we're posting some great photobooks by their "graduating" members, like Hitomi Komatani.
	iTunes Japan Prepaid Cards from J-List Speaking of AKB48, you can find their awesome J-POP songs easily at the iTunes Japan store (iTunes link), along with the cutting edge in K-POP musicians like Tohoshinki.
	Awesome Totoro Products See a ton of freshly restocked Totoro items, including the Totoro Doll Collection toys, the Giant Neko Bus with Totoro that can ride inside, Totoro rubber stamps and more.
	2010 Anime, JPOP & Other Calendars Also, we're reducing the prices of all of our remaining anime, idol and other calendars. There are still some fabulous gems in stock, like the Totoro calendar that becomes a picture frame with 2010 is done, plus K-On!, Yotsubato and more.
	Other Traditional Items Also, see our Lucky Cat Display with Bell and Happy message and 3 Lucky Cats phone strap, the origami cake shop and traditional "paper balloons," plus some great traditional omamori good luck charms for health, money, love and victory.
	Creator's Labo TSUKASA BULLET FIGURE Preorder Another gorgeous prepainted figure from Japan to tempt you, this is all ready to be displayed in your home or office. The detail is great, and you can enjoy her from any angle.
	Rin Kagamine 1/8 Figure Hard Mix ver. Preorder Next, I never imagined that Rin could look so cool. This is a preorder figure that shows the popular Vocaloid character as she tears up the stage with her guitar.
	Tiana Lanster DX Action Figure Preorder Next, a cute Nanoha figure with magical guns and twin-tails? I am instantly in love with this super cute figure, which is available for preorder now.
	Sabra Magazine Feb 2010 We love the great Sabra Magazine because it always brings us the most incredible women Japan has to offer. Enjoy this new issue, loaded with Japan's most beautiful women.
	Great H-Games by Internet Download Remember, you can now buy great PC dating-sim games from J-List and never have to worry about the old V-Mate DRM system, since DRM-free patches and installers have been released. Windows 7 and Vista 64-bit are now fully compatible, too. What interactive visual novels can we interest you in today?
	Love Cover Kumi The future of male stress relief is here, and it's an inflatable girlfriend with a two-sided cover you can put around the pillow. It's the most realistic girlfriend replacement yet.
	Miku Hatsune, Other Hole Toys Restocked See fresh stock of the hugely popular toy that simulates Miku Hatsune's most private place, the ultimate otaku item. Also see the A10 Cyclone advanced hole device, classic Pepee Lotion for couples, plus our most popular "rotar" [sic] for women.

Vagueness in Japan

2010-01-27T20:15:00.001+09:00

I've written many times about how the Japanese language can be vague and imprecise, with chunks of meaning often left out. One example common in anime might be a boy who confesses his love for a girl by saying suki desu, literally "[I] love [it/you]" with both the subject and object omitted. Usually the meaning would be clear, but then the boy loses his nerve and adds the word "...ramen" to his statement, so that now he has just said that he likes noodles instead. Another example of Japanese being too vague for their own good is the use of pronouns to stand for words which aren't entirely clear. The location-based pronouns in Japanese are kore (koh-rey, "this one"), sore (soh-rey, "that one, near you") and are (ah-rey, meaning "that one over there, farther away"). Many Japanese will say something like, "What shall we do about 'that'?" using the word are, but it's quite easy for others to not understand and have to ask for clarification. The word for people who use these unclear pronouns too much is are-byo, literally meaning "That" Sickness.

If you haven't seen it, the independent film Fumiko's Confession is pure genius. Enjoy.

Gaijin Indecision 2010

2010-01-27T20:14:00.001+09:00

Besides making the freeways here actually "free" -- a policy that's received surprisingly little support once people realized the horrific traffic jams that would likely ensue -- Prime Minister Hatoyama's government appears to be moving ahead with a plan to give foreigners in Japan with permanent residence status the right to vote in local elections. The idea is to make foreigners who embrace living permanently in Japan feel more like a part of society as the country comes to grips with its new role in the 21st century. Much as I'd enjoy being able to vote for local politicians then blog about it, I don't think for a moment that this plan will actually go anywhere due to Constitutional and other concerns, and everyone from a group of prefectural governors to the Capcom game company (go figure) has come out against the idea. For the record, this proposal isn't really about gaijin like me at all, since 91% of the "foreigners" holding permanent residence status here are zainichi Koreans, descendents from the Koreans who lived and worked in Japan mostly from 1910 through the end of World War II. Nearly all of these people were born in Japan and often don't speak Korean, yet for historical and cultural reasons that are difficult for me to fathom go through life holding a passport from South or North Korea, despite the fact that they can become Japanese citizens very easily. It speaks volumes of Japan's society that they could have a national discussion about a topic like this without actually naming the group that the legislation is really about.

Should foreigners here have the right to vote? The DPJ says yes.