Tag Archives: culture

Ben-Tou Anime Review/ Impressions

Food Fight! Summary: Tasty, but pack your suspension of disbelief and a thick skin with your lunch box.

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Thoughts On Japanese Idols, In General

Just A Few Thoughts I was reading up on Japanese Idols, which, believe it or not, isn’t something I normally get into whatsoever. I’ve been focused on other areas and, well, I avoid anything that smacks of obsession like some people … Continue reading

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Even Gundams Get Snowed On

This is a life-sized, 1:1 model Gundam (making it going on 60 feet in height) that exists in real life in Japan. Gundam was Japan’s first “realistic” (that is, realistic style) leading robot in Japanese animation (i.e. anime). You can … Continue reading

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A Short Tale of a Novel

It had taken me many years, but I finally tracked down the first novel of the Record of Lodoss War novels. I’d seen the OVA years before and was a great fan of it for many reasons. It took a … Continue reading

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When Japanese Corp Culture Goes Bad

A Sobering Report Those interested in Japan should take a good look at this story by Reuters, titled Special Report: The masterminds of the Olympus coverup. I’ll paste two key paragraphs here due to cultural importance, because this really shows … Continue reading

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Sensei’s Corner, Dec. 9, 2011

Nothing Bad It’s been a while since I’ve been writing in this blog, but it’s not really because of anything bad. Actually, a number of minor and major problems have been fixed so I feel like I have the luxury … Continue reading

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On Sacred Seven

Sacred Seven is a 12-episode anime by Sunrise with high quality imagery in a “tokusatsu” style, reflective of popular shows like Kamen Rider, but with the sweeping visual power anime can provide. It is a little about love, a lot … Continue reading

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On Katanagatari

Katanagatari (“Katana Tale”) is ostensibly about swords, but it is really about people. It is epic in various senses. It is 12 episodes of 50 minutes. It is beautiful, yet simple; frivolous, yet deadly serious. It is an experience. It … Continue reading

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Kobe Beef

A Somewhat Modern Tradition Until the Meiji Restoration, consumption of beef had been banned in Japan for about a thousand years! This reflected not only Buddhist cultural prejudices, but to keep penalties severe in case anyone was tempted to slaughter … Continue reading

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So, Why I Like Japan

There’s a serious danger in trying to rant about something across cultural barriers. A Japanese native saw a re-post of my post yesterday on not hating Japan and thought that someone, either the poster or the writer (me), hates Japan … Continue reading

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