This is “Nova Scotia” in katakana. This is the province of Canada (カナダ) in which I live. While largely the same latitude as Japan, it is a world away, with a 13 hour difference between Atlantic Standard Time and Japan Standard Time. This difference becomes an even 12 hours during daylight savings time. Continue reading
It’s working now but, I am truly horrified and exasperated whenever I find out that in spite of my best intentions, and despite checking things in Chrome, the spoiler tags I use are easily broken and made inoperative in Firefox, which I don’t want to use anymore because it’s a bloated piece of garbage lately.
I don’t know what the best plugin is for this, but if anyone has an idea, I’m all ears. For now I’ve fixed the problem, and for a long time I shied away from using spoiler tags because I knew it ran the risk of catastrophic failure, but this is getting just ridiculous. And unworkable. I can’t write about anime without dealing with spoilers at some point…
Now, the point of this review is not to spoil the plot. It is to write in detail about various things of interest to the Gundam community, especially details which are not explained within the four corners of the movie itself.
But, no discussion of these things without spoiler tags. So, let’s dive into the spoiler space, minna-san!
So for people who didn’t want to go through all those details, here’s my simple, spoiler-enhanced short version of a review. But, it too will be under spoilers. See the non-spoiler review for er, a non-spoiler review.
And that’s all for now. Comments welcome. Anyone reading this post has been repeatedly warned, so don’t bother worrying about spoilers in the comments.
Thanks. – J
Spoilers, under appropriate tags, will be included in a separate post. This post is spoiler-free so that I can link back to it for people who don’t want to know any of the plot. Continue reading
You may have noticed from the last couple of posts, but I am not feeling well so I am not doing intensive writing. Rather, I’m trying to point people to other good content on the Web.
Why is this, you might ask? Well, let me give you one little piece of Japanese culture: cluttered web design. Kanji encourage Japanese people to use every millimeter of visual space. It doesn’t work as well as it ought to when translated into English. So, pointing to something specific can perform something of a public service.
In this case, try this specific link to Traditional Dishes of Japan, hosted by the English language version Japan National Tourism Organization web page. It’s a public resource, so why be shy?
Since 1up.com was kind enough to put a link to a list of its Editor’s Picks for interesting stories in 2010, and more than a few touch on Japanese culture in general and gaming culture specifically (and certain personalities thereof), feel free to follow this link and take a look.
When I don’t have time for thousand-word posts, I do want to be useful and direct people to good content. I think this is a good example.
I don’t know how many of you have actually paid attention to this Catherine game coming from Atlus. To me, it’s something I want because it has that Persona look and feel. Here’s the thing, though: the marketing has been huge teases, all sorts of stuff on the character herself, the cast, and this being vaguely about some supernatural horror stuff. Continue reading
I saw this word being used as a cultural principle over at the Japan Times in an article about a modern production of the Tale of the Forty-Seven Ronin (known natively as the Chuushingura – “chuushin” (中心) means loyalty). They are also known as 47 Ronin, 47 Samurai and so forth, in the West. Continue reading
A yakuwari can be a duty, a role, or a part to play. The first kanji can be read as “of use,” which is a concept used in service (for if you are of use to the Emperor, you serve him and his interests). The second kanji is emphatically read as divide, as if splitting a log in two. Consequently, if this is a part, it is a part created through the division of labor. Continue reading
Before diving into the spoiler space, here’s a general impression.
I really was surprised by how much I ended up liking this show, and the ending was particularly strong.
Greater than the sum of its parts and a surprisingly enjoyable experience. Strongly recommended for anyone even remotely interested in mecha, sci fi, comics and/ or Iron Man.
