The Japanese Government Decides to Support the Anime Industry

I saw a report on Bloomberg that talked about anime as "Japan's most influential export" in the 21st century, as well as new efforts by the Japanese government to subsidize the industry with $700 million in public funds to help create growth. It's a laudable goal, but there are some issues I don't think they're thinking through completely. Back in the 90s the export market for anime was huge -- it cost $70,000 to license Sailor Moon for the U.S. per episode, and that's just one country out of many -- but all this came to an end with the bursting of the anime licensing bubble, the bankruptcy of most anime retail shops (anyone remember Suncoast Video?) and the general rise of the Internet. Spending public money to try to recapture those days seems ill-advised, at best. Promoting popular culture from the top down can be ineffective, as South Korea learned when it spent millions trying to create brand awareness for manhwa, Korea's version of manga, which basically went nowhere. Finally, if the Outbreak Company anime has taught us nothing, it's that Japanese politicians and civil service workers have no business meddling with something as complex as our collective perceptions of what is "cool" about Japan and its anime culture.

A shot in the arm for anime as a business? We hope so.

The Japanese Concept of "Aisatsu" (Greetings)

All around our city there are these metal plates put up by our local PTA on which are written interesting no-nonsense slogans for raising happy children, like 弱気な子は過保護から yowaki na ko wa kahogo kara meaning "weak-minded children are caused by over-protective parents" or 親孝行見せぬ人の子供が真似る oya koukou misenu hito no kodomo ga maneru, or "those who don't show filial piety and respect to their parents won't receive it from their children." Another of these slogans is 挨拶できる子は非行なし aisatsu dekiru ko wa hikou nashi or "a child who can greet others properly will not encounter difficulties in life." The Japanese concept of 挨拶 aisatsu, simply meaning "greetings," is quite an involved one, going well beyond the salutation you give to an acquaintance when you see them in the morning. Japan is a very "vertical" society, with people organized in senpai/kohai (senior/junior) relationships in school, club or work environments, and one of the rules of this system is that junior members should go out of their way to greet senior members as soon as they see them, which makes social relationships work more smoothly. The word aisatsu is also used to describe formal greetings like meeting your finance's parents for the first time or greeting someone in the new year, as well as the long, drawling speeches given at formal events.

The concept of "greetings" can be quite complex.

Attack on Dust: Big Cleaning in Japan

Now that Christmas is over, Japan is getting ready for New Year's Day, the most important day of the year to the Japanese. Stores here are well stocked with traditional products like kadomatsu, traditional New Year's decorations made from freshly cut bamboo and pine branches which symbolize the renewal of crossing into a new year, and mochi, the super sticky rice cakes that are delicious to eat with soy sauce poured on top. Shops are also selling cleaning supplies, some of them surprisingly cute, since the end of December is when Japanese do their 大掃除 oh-souji or "big cleaning" in their homes, a tradition that grew out of the custom of ritually cleaning Buddhist temples in preparation for the new year. J-List finished our big cleaning yesterday, with all staff members scrubbing and wiping and vacuuming every inch of our company, throwing away a year's worth of trash and junk and getting everything fresh and new for 2014. It's a great feeling.

Attack on Dust: J-List finished our "big cleaning" for the year.

Anime Calendar Season is Here, But They're Selling Out Fast

We started 2014 Japanese calendar season with nearly 250 different calendars, including anime, manga, popular Japanese idols, JAV and more. Thanks to our best Christmas ever, we've sold more than 70% of these calendars completely, and several dozen of our existing calendars are about to sell out. Browse the top calendars now, before the ones you want disappear forever!

J-List's Sale Runs Through January 3

Here's some good news: we've decided to extend our EMS sale through January 3rd! You can get a $25 in store credit if you buy $125 or more on the site and choose EMS shipping, or a $50 back if you buy $250 or more. EMS is ridiculously fast, comes with insurance included and is also fully trackable. J-List store credits can be used on either the JLIST.com or JBOX.com websites, and they never expire. Get shopping now!

Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from J-List. We hope you are having a warm and special day surrounded by loved ones.

Christmas is, of course, the most important cultural and/or religious holiday to many throughout the world, especially in the West. In Japan it occupies a slightly lower peg on the cultural awareness scale, a fact I was reminded of when my Japanese wife asked me, "What day is Christmas this year?" as if it moved around from year to year like American Thanksgiving. One challenge to enjoying a nice, quiet Christmas in Japan is being so busy, since December is a very busy time. In addition to the seemingly endless stream of 忘年会 bounen-kai or year-end parties you have with co-workers and friends, you have to find time to do 大掃除 oh-souji, the "big cleaning" that must be done before December 31st, so that you can enter the new year with a clean slate. (Companies do this cleaning, too -- J-List does ours tomorrow.) One of the biggest bits of culture shock foreigners will experience when coming to Japan for the first time is that Christmas isn't a holiday here, and I remember getting stuck in a traffic jam while commuting home from work my first Japanese Christmas back in 1991. It was really odd.

Christmas in Japan can be a busy time.

Chopsticks and Japan

One thing everyone knows about the Japanese people is that they use chopsticks to eat with. It's true: except for certain Western foods like spaghetti or curry rice, the Japanese eat most every meal with chopsticks, and they're so ubiquitous here no one gives them a second thought. Children learn to use chopsticks around the age of three, often using training chopsticks to get started, and the first real peer pressure a child will experience is having to eat in front of the other children at preschool, with the fear of embarrassment if they're behind the other kids at chopstick skill. Although I've lived in Japan for more than 20 years, I still get an occasional お箸が上手 ohashi ga jozu ("you use chopsticks very well") compliment. We have tons of fun chopsticks from Japan in stock, with everything from Star Wars light saber chopsticks to Totoro and Ghibli, Pokemon and lacquered bamboo (the best kinds of chopsticks for foreigners to use since they're easy to grap food with). Why not browse now?

Using chopsticks are a big part of life in Japan.

Live Action Anime Series Have Few Friends

There are certain things I will never understand about Japan, like their fascination with the number of creases a person has in their eyelids. Eyes that are 二重 futae, with two eyelid creases resulting in a larger "gaijin-style" look, are said to be preferable to 一重 hitoe, eyes with only one eyelid crease creating narrower "Asian" eyes. I'm also at a loss as to why the Japanese love making live-action versions of popular anime series so often. Whether it's a stage musical version of Steins;Gate, the drama adaption of Ouran High School or the upcoming Kiki's Delivery Service film, live-action versions of already-beloved anime series seem guaranteed to receive negativity from many fans. This is an interesting question to ponder: why are the Sailor Moon musicals considered classics by most fans while production stills from the upcoming I Have Few Friends movie resulted in much groaning and facepalming online. One reason might be the strength of our existing attachment to the characters in anime form. I hadn't seen the anime version of Nodame Cantabile so I had no problem enjoying the live-action series, and the 20th Century Boys film trilogy (based on the manga, with no anime series made) is among my favorite Japanese films. Spending money to create live-action versions of anime series despite low interest by fans is one sign studios are ネタ切り neta-giri, a phrase that can be translated as "out of fish pieces for making sushi," or in this case, out of fresh ideas.

I'm not a fan of most live-action anime adaptions.

2014 Anime & Japan Calendars Are Selling Fast

We started 2014 Japanese calendar season with nearly 250 different calendars, including anime, manga, popular Japanese idols, JAV and more. Thanks to our best Christmas ever, we've sold more than 70% of these calendars completely, and several dozen of our existing calendars

J-List EMS Shipping Sale Extended Through Jan 3!

Here's some good news: we've decided to extend our EMS sale through January 3rd! You can get a $25 in store credit if you buy $125 or more on the site and choose EMS shipping, or a $50 back if you buy $250 or more. EMS is ridiculously fast, comes with insurance included and is also fully trackable. J-List store credits can be used on either the JLIST.com or JBOX.com websites, and they never expire. Get shopping now!

Death Planning in Japan

Today (December 23rd) is the birthday of the current Japanese emperor, Akihito, who happens to be the 125th ruler in an unbroken line that stretches back for 2000 years. The reign of each emperor has an "era name," with the current one being Heisei ("peace everywhere"), and since 2013 is the 25th year of Akihito's reign the year is nearly always referred to as Heisei 25 inside Japan. It's unknown how many more years the Heisei Era has left, since the Emperor is getting up in years, having reached the age of 79 with health problems ranging from prostate cancer to a heart condition requiring bypass surgery. Last month the Emperor did something quite remarkable: he released a document outlining his wishes for a funeral and burial for himself and his wife, Empress Michiko. This was unique because, for all the "death culture" that foreigners observe when they arrive in Japan, there's very little forward thinking about preparing for death. In America, it's quite common to write a will outlining your wishes or create a living trust to protect your family's assets from undue taxes upon your death, but these kinds of preparations aren't done in Japan at all, and even bringing up the subject is a big taboo, as I've learned by accidentally raising the issue with my Japanese in-laws. Hopefully with the Emperor's embracing of the subject, more Japanese will think positively about making preparations for the future.

The Emperor and his wife are thinking about the future.

Japan, Christmas and Christmas Cake

Well, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and we're all getting ready for a nice American-style Christmas in Japan. Being a relatively recent import from the West, Japan's idea of Christmas is likely to be a little different from your country. While around 1.5% of Japanese are Christians who attend mass at local churches (there a dozen or so Catholic, Baptist and Mormon churches located in the cities around J-List, and even one affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church), for most Japanese Christmas is a fun excuse to have a party with loud firecrackers, spoil children with presents from Toys "R" Us and maybe perhaps go on a date with that special someone. It's common in the U.S. for people to lament how "commercial" Christmas has become, though this is not a new problem -- it's a theme found in the Charlie Brown Christmas Special which has been around since 1965. Sadly Japan is no exception to this trend, and shops are filled with so many plastic Christmas-themed products it can sometimes be hard for gaijin living here to get into the proper mood. One idea I'm fascinated with is whether it's possible to quantify the cultural importance of a thing by how many related fanart images are posted to websites like Pixiv. If this measure is at all accurate, Christmas is very important to Japan, based on the thousands of cute images of anime characters dressed up as "Santa-san" that exist. If you want to see some of these pictures, follow the J-List Facebook, Tumblr or Twitter feeds!

One of the most famous images of Christmas in Japan is "Christmas cake," a delicious cake that's either handmade from scratch or ordered from a bakery to be picked up on December 24th. The custom got started in 1910 when confectionery company Fujiya -- the ones who make those delicious Milky caramels -- introduced the British tradition of Christmas cake to Japan, though the local version is usually a standard sponge cake with strawberries and a whipped cream-based icing. One big trend over the past few years has been the rise of convenience stores selling Christmas cakes featuring licensed characters like Madoka Magica, Pokemon and even Attack on Titan. Convenience stores have become a popular way for animation studios to reach new fans, and by creating limited products like Lawson's Eva-themed Christmas cake that comes with a metal Spear of Longinus knife to cut your cake with, convenience store chains can bring a lot of customers into their stores.

The Japanese love creating Santa-themed art; you can't have Christmas without a Christmas Cake.

Consider J-List Gift Certificates for Gifts

If you missed anyone on your list this year, there's still time to get them the perfect gift: a J-List Gift Certificate, the gift that says, "I think your nerdiness level is over 9000." J-List gift certificates can be used on either the J-List or JBOX.com sites, and they never expire. They can be sent directly to your recipient via email, or sent to you, so you can print it out and present it to them in person. Order a J-List gift certificate now!

Our EMS Sale Goes Through January 1st

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