The Concept of "Giri" Obligation in Japan

If you've read a few novels by James Clavell, you might come away with the impression that Japanese are highly motivated by family honor and would gladly commit seppuku to save face and avoid shame to their ancestors. While these concepts don't have much real play in Japanese life, one that does is giri, translated as "social obligation." If you receive a gift, you're expected to give an o-kaeshi (a return gift) that's equal to half the value of the original...this is why chocolate companies created White Day on March 14th, a day for men who received chocolates from females on Valentine's Day to return the favor. If you get invited to a Japanese wedding you're expected to bring a cash gift of $200 or more, but don't worry -- when you get married that couple will be obligated to attend your wedding, giving you back your $200, so no one has lost anything. The other day I went to the dentist to get a crown replaced so I could finally stop making Haganai jokes, and the wife of my dentist took me aside to ask me if I could find an English teacher for her. I didn't know of any good candidates and tried to decline her request, but she pressed a bag full of toothbrushes, dental floss and free samples of gum into my hands...and now I have a giri obligation to find someone to teach her English.

Marisa gives Reimu a Yukkuri as a White Day gift.

Happy Geek Pride Day!

Today is Geek Pride Day, a special day for all of us to celebrate the nerdier side of life, from AD&D to Firefly to action figure collecting to anime and manga. Being a geek means embracing what you're passionate about whether it's seen as socially "cool" or not, and keeping a part of your childhood close to your heart even after you've grown up. As I type these words in the office I share with 400+ Star Wars figures, I can certainly say the last couple decades have been great for those of us with less socially-acceptable hobbies, and the joy of being able to pursue one's passions no matter how nerdy they are is wonderful. I've been a geek all my life (I even won second place at the science fair in high school) and I never thought it was such a bad thing to be, though I once caused offense when I mis-read a college student's GREEK WEEK T-shirt as GEEK WEEK, though I couldn't understand what the guy was upset about. May 25th is also the 35th anniversary of the opening of a little film called Star Wars, which along with Japan is one of two great influences on my life. Happy Geek Pride Day!

Happy Geek Pride Day, everyone! You make us proud!

New MangaGamer Games Posted!

As you know we're very dedicated to fans of English eroge visual novels, and this week we've announced the epic School Days Deluxe Collector's Edition as well as shipping the legendary Koihime Musou game with fully restored vocal track. Now we have even more good news: we're announcing the availability of two great eroge titles. First there's a great deluxe version of DearDrops, a great story of music, love and rock n' roll, followed by Harem Party, about a harem of fantasy game characters who pop out of a game and into the real world, with sexy results. Both titles will be in great package form with extras, and will be fully DRM free!

How Japanese Names Work: School Days Edition

I often think the themes in anime and games must be potentially confusing to some viewers, even when everything is translated into English. In Japan students are strictly segregated by year and class, which creates various social barriers between different groups of students, and I sometimes wonder if concepts like senpai and kohai (senior/junior in a school or organization) are difficult for fans to figure out at first. My own high school in San Diego was very different from Japan, going from 8th grade to 12th grade, with students from different years studying together in some classes like Spanish 101, something that would be unthinkable here. The way names work in Japan is also potentially confusing. In a scene from the upcoming eroge School Days, Kotonoha Katsura starts dating a boy named Makoto Itou. At first they call each other by their family names, e.g. Katsura and Itou-kun, a more-or-less neutral way to refer to a classmate by name. Kotonoha becomes jealous when Makoto calls another girl (Sekai) by her first name, implying a closeness that Kotonoha doesn't yet share with her own boyfriend.

Kotonoha was jealous Makoto called another girl by her first name.

Cool Products Friday, May 25, 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.

	Dragon Age June 2012 The super thick manga magazine with all the great comics based on the stories and anime you love! From High School DxD, GOSICK, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka and more. This issue is a great one with 800+ pages with a free KoreZon premium booklet. View products »
	B's Log July 2012 For the latest news in otome games and BL, B's Log is your number-one source. This issue brings you more art, previews, and free stuff.
	Schick x Evangelion HYDRO 5 w/Figure Even through the EVA pilots don't have facial hair, this new special package from Schick is the best way for fans of the series to get a close shave.
	Himo Noren ~ Azusa Nakano from K-ON! Before the summer starts, get your hands on a Japanese noren, like this new one of K-On! She will bring a touch of moe moe kyun to any room.
	More Touhou Keychains We've expanded our collection of Touhou keychains for all our fans of the series. Reimu, Marisa, Orin, Flandre Scarlet and more!
	Revoltech Anime Figures in Stock If you're a Fullmetal Alchemist fan, then you'll definitely want to check out today's new stock before they sell out. Also, Gurren Lagann!!
	More Anime Figures Posted Make room for some more awesomeness, we've got figures from Metal Slug, Erio Towa, Yu Gi Oh!, Fate Zero and more.
	Madoka Magika Figma In Stock! Madoka Magica fans should not let this Sayaka action figure pass them by, or they'll be saying, "I really am an idiot" (Sayaka's trademark line).
	Random New Fashions from Japan Posted We carry lots of epic Japanese fashion items, and have posted some colorful T-shirts and one-piece dresses for summer. Also cosplay items restocked!
	Epic Cosplay Products Restocked A great fashion never dies. Check out these new knee high socks, the perfect fashion item for trendy girls this summer.
	Steins;Gate PS3 Edition It's finally here! The Steins;Gate PS3 edition makes this epic game easily available for all owners of a PS3 around the world. We have the Fan Disc too!
	PERSONA 2 ~ Eternal Punishment Updated with new graphics and gameplay, this is the new Persona 2 for the PSP. Fantastic updated art, we love it!
	Macross Blu-ray Complete Box (Blu-ray Disc) Experience HD deculture for the 30th anniversary of the series that showed the world that anime could be more than just Japanese cartoons, but an epic drama.
	Joke Beer Glass, 'ASCII Face' Sweets & More For those wacky gifts that are perfect for that special someone, like cute plushies and fun toys from famous Japanese brands.
	Totoro Purple Morning Glory Holding Fan  Cool yourself off during the summer months with a traditional fan that has a bit of Ghibli magic. Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Princess Mononoke. Nice!
	Other Ghibli Products Enjoy today's Totoro & Ghibli items including the Totoro Mini Towels (aka washcloths) and handkerchiefs plus plush toys and more.
	Hello Kitty Holder for iPhone or Android Hold your smartphone or iPhone in this cute stand, perfect as a desk charging station. Works with both iPhone and Android phones!
	One Piece Chopper Plush Pen & More This kawaii Chopper pen would be great to have when you are in trouble. Chopper never gives up, and you won't either when he is near.
	Kuttsukiboshi - Inseparable Stars Part II (Region 2)  For yuri fans, part II of this sweet anime about two girls in love. Amazing quality for a doujin anime!
	Awesome Japanese Textbooks, Too The popular Complete Japanese textbooks are restocked, plus bilingual books like 100 Recipes from Japanese Cooking, Ghostly Japan and Buddhism.
	Delicious New Japanese Snacks for you to Try Delicious snacks from Japan, starting with the super awesome Shigekix "super tart hard gummy" which is one of my favorites because you can take all day to eat a pack. It's fun to eat the super tart candy and give it to friends without warning them what it is. Also posted, new flavors of Hi-Chew from Morinaga! View products »
	Japanese Food Drops Restocked We have even more fun Japanese "Food Drops" in stock, including Sushi, <>sake plus a favorite of mine, <>shochu (perhaps known by its Korean name of <>soju.
	Restocked Japanese Snacks A great updating of Japanese snacks, incl. Calorie Mate, Toppo, Sakuma Drops, Country Ma'am Vanilla Cookies, Royal Milk Tea + Neru Neru Nerune!
	Love Heart Pink 2 Tier Bento Box Aishiteru -- words of love in Japanese. Give your loved one a bento box that they will treasure everyday.
	We Love Kawaii Kokeshi Bento Japan excels at making kawaii bento boxes. Check out the cool samurai and beautiful geisha boxes, plus lots of other cute kokeshi and bento items.
	Hello Kitty Bento Picks ~ 10pcs Make your lunch time even more fun when you add some color and excitement with the help of Hello Kitty.
	Nobody Makes Cute Sandwiches Like Japan There's no sandwich like a Japanese sandwich, and we've restocked our sandwich makers which make your lunch kawaii. Highly recommended.
	Nodoka Manabe 1/8 Figure ~ K-On! *Preorder* The calm, cool, and collected class representative from K-On!, Nodoka is a reliable friend to Yui and the other girls.
	Strike Witches Rubber Strap Box *Preorder* Plus, we've got these great keychain straps for our fans of the always entertaining Strike Witches. Cool.
	Nano, Hideyoshi Petanko Figures *Preorder* Kawaii! We have two new "Petanko" figures featuring Nano from Nichijou and Hideyoshi from BakaTest. These figures will look great lined up on your desk.
	Hibari 1/8 Figure ~ Senran Kagura *Preorder* Then enjoy this gorgeous figure from the popular 3DS game Senran Kagura. With her cute expression and pose, you know you want her in your room!
	BLOOM ~ Saki Okuda Popular Japanese AV Idol Saki Okuda shows off her beautiful G-Cup bust in this delicious nude hardcover photobook.
	Groomin - Stealth Onahole for men Hairwax you say? No. This is a new stealth stress relief toy for men hidden in a small hairwax container! The very discreet Onahole that stays unnoticed!
	Your Favorite Anime Parody Stress Toys Then enjoy a big restocking of ero ero stress toys from Japan, including Madoka Magika, Yozora and Sena from I Have Few Friends + Mayo Chiki!
	Love Body Miyu + Onahole Restocked Stress can really pile up on you if you're not careful, which is why J-List stocks innovative tools to take the edge off. Make her wear clothes!
	Great Oppai Products Restocked Sometimes a man needs to squeeze something soft and round, and for all those times J-List has our popular line of "oppai" toys. Click to see now.
	Draculius There are a lot of games about beautiful moe vampires, and this is one of the best. Great story and characters in this excellent import eroge title.
	Restocked Import Eroge Titles Too Many restocked games too, including Full Metal Daemon MURAMASA, Material Brave, MajiKoi, SuMaGa and Love, Election and Chocolate. Yum!
	DEARDROPS Limited Edition *Preorder* A superb visual novel about music, love and rock n' roll, DearDrops is one of the most popular visual novels released in recent years. Comes with tons of extras!
	Harem Party *Preorder* Then enjoy this great nukige about a fantasy gamer who is surprised when the characters in his game come out of the computer and appear in his room. Woot!

Japanese vs. American Elections

The U.S. presidential election is going strong, with candidates trading barbs in the news media about their various policies. Elections in Japan are much different than in the U.S., and I thought I'd talk about them today. First of all, Japan is organized around a British-style Parliamentary system, so people vote for the representative of their chosen party, with the Prime Minister being chosen by whatever party wins a majority. Just as companies aren't allowed to make direct comparison to other products in advertising, it's rare that Candidate A would specifically tell you why he was better than Candidate B, and few of the really negative aspects of U.S. elections are seen in Japan. In the U.S., an advantage is given to whichever party is best able to use new technology to get their message out, but in Japan candidates are forbidden from using services like email, Facebook or Twitter...though I'd prefer these methods to the current "drive around in a loud-speaker car shouting your name outside Peter's house" way. Another big difference between Japan and the U.S. is that religion of a candidates is never discussed, and is totally unknown except with politicians affiliated with the New Komeito Party, which was founded by the Sokka Gakkai, a young "evangelical" Buddhist religion founded in 1930. I wondered whether this policy extended to the U.S. election and sure enough, none of the Japanese staff of J-List had heard that Mitt Romney was a Mormon, and that this was a rare event in U.S. political history.

The staff also did not know that Taro Aso, the anime-loving former Prime Minister, had been Roman Catholic.

Interesting "Western" Foods in japan

You probably don't think of Japanese foods like omurice (an omelet served over rice with a ketchup heart drawn on top) or katsu (Japanese pork cutlet) as "Western" foods, but in Japan dishes like this are all referred to with the word yohshoku, meaning foods from Europe or the U.S. The yoh kanji (which literally means "sea") is found in quite a lot of common everyday words, like yohfuku, which the Japanese use to mean "clothes" though it actually denotes Western style clothing, e.g. shirts, jeans etc.; youma, a Western-style living room with a sofa and chairs instead of tatami mats; or yohshiki, meaning "Western-style" like a toilet you sit on rather than squat over. The opposite of yoh is wa, a character that denotes peace, harmony and Japan, and if you want to eat Japanese food, the word you want is washoku. If you're interested in exploring Japanese variations of "Western" foods, we've posted a new cookbook you might want to check out.

The Japanese eat some interesting "Western" foods.

Koihime Musou is In Stock!

There sure has been a lot of good news for fans of English visual novels. First we announce the School Days Deluxe Collector's Edition, and now we've got more happy news: the epic English eroge Koihime Musou, the smash hit eroge from MangaGamer, is in stock and shipping in San Diego. This fantastic game, which recreates the classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms story with cute bishoujo characters, is one of the best games ever released in English. The game is 100% DRM free, and restores the excellent voice cast in the game which was removed from the initial release due to licensing issues. It's got an all-star voice cast, too, including Norio Wakamoto. Order Koihime Musou now!

How to Get Slapped by a Woman in Japan

Although I do my best to be a gentleman, there are times when I've inadvertantly been less than chivalrous to the opposite sex during my years in Japan. I learned early on that reading manga was a good way to help my Japanese improve since it offers "living" examples of spoken language you won't find in a textbook...though the series I chose was the post-apocalyptic Fist of the North Star, which lead to some embarrassment when talking with Japanese females while I un-learned all the hilariously manly-sounding words. Gaijin-in-Japan Rule #26 states that the likelihood of mis-pronouncing the word "mango" goes up the prettier your waitress is, and most foreigners in Japan have made this particular faux pas. For women the line between oneesan (meaning older sister, or a young woman aged 18-25 or so) and obasan ("aunt," or any older woman above the age of 35) can be a fine one, and I've accidentally caused offense by choosing the wrong word for a person I was addressing. Then a couple of months ago I was walking in Akihabara and happened by a shop where two female employees were showing off Apple's iPhone 4S. I'd been meaning to try the just-released Japanese version of the Siri "voice assistant," so I asked the girls to show me Siri...which lead to a gasp of shock, since Siri (pronounced shiri) means "butt" in Japanese, and the shop employees apparently had not known about this feature of the iPhone.

Siri (shiri) means "butt" in Japanese.

Cool Products Wednesday, May 23, 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.

	Dengeki Girl's Style June 2012 It's time for a new issue of Girl's Style, the number one magazine for fans of otome games and yaoi / BL games for girls. Comes with tons of cool stuff, like posters, CD jackets, and more! If you're a fujoshi, this is pretty much the magazine you need to be reading now. View products »
	Animage June 2012 You'll also want to check out the new issue of Animage, packed with beautiful art from this season's best anime. Best of all, more free posters!
	Sheryl Nome FINAL ~ Macross F Visual Collection Dozens of beautiful illustrations of your favorite interstellar diva in this amazing artbook. Highly recommended for Sheryl fans.
	Hiragana Times June 2012 NO. 308 Study Japanese while brushing up on current events with a new issue of our favorite magazine for Japanese learners. A great way to learn Japanese!
	A Geek in Japan, Other Books About Japan Immerse yourself in Japanese culture with some of our great guidebooks and study aids, like A Geek in Japan, The Japanese House, plus study books.
	Cool Overhead Headphones We've got some amazing headphones for lovers of music and Bakemonogatari that fold for extra portability.
	Persona 4 Anime Plates? Awesome!  What better way to show off your Persona 4 fan spirit than with a set of decorative plates sporting your favorite characters. Click to see!
	Gothic Lolita Apron Show off your cute body with equally cute apron that can double as cosplay wear.
	Black Open Ribbon Knee High Stockings Becoming one of the top fashion items in Japan, these long stockings will make your legs look slim and beautiful.
	Denim Short Pants ~ size XL Check out these cool short shorts, stylized for that vintage look. Goes well together with out large selection of Japanese stockings.
	Restocked Shimapan, Other Fun Cosplay Items And for all you lovers of Japanese cosplaying and fashion, we've got Shimapan in stock in a variety of colors and sizes, even for men (ahem).
	Several New Figures In Stock Two of the most kawaii girls in anime are coming to you in figure form. Check out this barely-clothed Erio and super-genki Menma, now for preorder.
	Darth Vader Star Wars Ice Cube Trays, More The power of the dark side is strong in this drink, with Sith shaped ice cubes from Japan. Also check out the Star Wars Hanafuda cards restocked, I love these!
	Evangelion iPhone Cases Our most popular iPhone case ever is the Evangelion NERV case, now in stock along with the Rei plugsuit, Asuka plugsuit, and other great iPhone cases.
	Rilakkuma Vibrating Personal Massagers? Massage those painful places on your body with a portable personal massager. Great for relaxing tense muscles anywhere you may encounter them.
	Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Book ~ Kyary Born Known for her wacky style and fun music videos, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a new JPOP sensation rising to the top of the charts.
	Gorgeous Photobooks Restocked Then see fresh stock of some of our favorite photobooks, including random "Oppai" in Tokyo, Iho Hasegawa's Sun Shower, and other glossy photobook goodness.
	Awesome Japanese...Umbrellas? J-List carries the awesome generic clear umbrellas that can be found everywhere in Asia -- an ironic way to keep dry just like the Japanese do.
	New OreImo PSP Game In Stock Enjoy hours of fun with Kirino, Kuroneko, and all the OreImo girls in this awesome game for PSP. How many endings can you get?
	Big Restocking of Popular PSP, PS3 and PSVita Games Also see fresh stock of GALGUN (the pantsu game for PS3), the best dating-sim and ecchi titles for PS Vita, K-On! for PSP and more.
	The Best Pens from Japan Japanese pens are the best in the world, and we've restocked several today, including the Zebra Sarasa (my own favorite) and Tombow AIR PRES.
	Hiragana Practice Notebooks, More In Stock See fun Japanese notebooks that help you learn Japanese, plus that Cutting Edge Business Notebook w/iPhone and Android App for accurate scanning.
	FritoLay Yakitori Corn Snack Two Flavors (Negima & Tare) Enjoy Japan's love for skewered BBQ chicken at home with these fun snacks from Frito-Lay. They're totally fun to eat!
	Tiger & Bunny Wafers (Set of 2) Collectable and edible, this is the perfect treat for fans of the Tiger and Bunny series. You get delicious chocolate wafer cookies plus Tiger & Bunny cards!
	Delicious Food Drops Candies Restocked Learn about Japan with fun traditional food drops. Today we have Osaka-style Kushi Katsu, Okonomiyaki and other flavors for you to try.
	Happy Kitchen Doughnuts, Other Snacks Restocked See Puccho Ball Ramune, Meiji Wata Gum cotton candy gum, awesome Shigekix Super Ramune, FritoLay Izakaya Menu Cheetos and classic Kyoto Candy!
	Pink Rabbit 3D 2 Tier Bento Box w/ Elastic Band ~ Usagi We always enjoy seeing super kawaii bento boxes on display, especially when their insides are as delicious as their outsides.
	Gorgeous Lacquered Bento Boxes I love a well designed bento box, and the Onigiri Style Bento Box, which stores three rice balls for you. Other great bento boxes are restocked today too!
	Restocked Sauce Bottles for Bento We love those cute little bottles for bringing soy sauce, mayonnaise and other condiments, and we also have "anti-bacterial sheets for bento" in stock.
	Kihon no Youshoku ~ Japan-style 'Western' Food So if you want to learn how to make delicious Japanese versions of "Western" foods, here is one of the many great books we have for international chiefs.
	Hats from J-List In addition to a great line of professionally embroidered hats, J-List stocks awesome felt beanies of Domo-kun. Now available at a lower price!
	Restocked Traditional Awesomeness Today we have fresh stock of our elegant lacquered cases for storing your tea leaves and other delicacies, plus traditional Kompeito candy from Japan.
	Kneesocks Figure ~ Panty & Stocking *preorder* Wow! Check out this huge and detailed figure of a smoking hot demon babe. Guaranteed to make your mouth water and your nose bleed.
	T-elos Figma ~ Xenosaga Episode III *Preorder* If you love hot robot girls, then don't miss this sexy and posable figure of T-elos from the Xenosaga RPG series.
	Super Sonico's 'Cast Off' Figure Super Sonico is the headphone-wearing moe idol of Nitroplus, and a revealing figure featuring the character has just been released. Are you moe moe kyun-ing yet?
	New 'Cast Off' Figures for Preorder Plus we've got some excellent NSFW figures for preorder, like Mukai-san, Yuniko and many others, which will get your blood pumping.
	Perfumed Natural Pantyhose of Working Woman Add on a new layer of reality to your toys with this pantyhose set that comes complete with a women's scent.
	Fighting Girl Onahole Toys The Ikki Tousen toys are popular because they're large, realistic, and based on our favorite ecchi characters including Koihime Musou.
	'Shakuhachi' Simulators While a shakuhachi is a traditional Japanese flute, it's also slang for a girl giving a very special gift to a man with her mouth. Fun toys restocked.
	New Air Dutch Dolls In Stock Enjoy your spare time even more when you can share it with an amazing companion like Minami, the stylishly sexy air doll.
	Koihime Musou DX Edition In Stock! The popular eroge is finally in stock in San Diego, so order your copy now. Deluxe packaging w/extras, plus no DRM and full voice restored!
	Dousei LoverAble Move in with a cute girl, no strings attached! Five cute and sexy girls are waiting for you to join them in the romantic life of your dreams.