Category Archives: Japan

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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Japanese Told: Less Heat This Winter, Bundle Up

It’s hard to put a good spin on this story, and I think it would be wholly dishonest to do so. This is the government broadcasting that it’s cool with less warmth in winter, less AC in summer, and a … Continue reading

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Today’s Random Anime Lesson, Oct 31 2011

When a leading male arrives in an unfamiliar town and breaks up in laughter at seeing a house, commenting about how terrible it looks and what awful taste the owner must have, it is invariably the house of his leading … 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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You Hate Japan? Well I don’t.

Warning: Rant Engaged So a friend of mine showed me this post about “I hate Japan some more.” The writer lives in Japan and teaches classes there. He has found a new reason to hate Japan, and I do not … Continue reading

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Today’s Random Japan Picture, Oct 25 2011

From a festival in Kyoto. Kyoto literally means “capitol” and was once the long-time capital of Japan. To this day, it remains a great cultural epicenter.

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Quick Hits: Guilty Crown ep 1

Just A Quick Word I don’t have enough time to do as much blogging as I’d like, but more to the point, I hadn’t actually watched much anime for a while. In this case, I took a look at Guilty … Continue reading

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When Will Japanese Ministers Stop Insulting Disaster Victims?

そこまで! (That’s far enough!) Normally, I wouldn’t deign to be defending the Japanese people against their own government, but even I have my limits. Just how many elected ministers will go down in flames insulting their own disaster victims? This … Continue reading

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