Tanegashima, Gateway to Japan

Japan, of course, is a volcanic archipelago made up of four main islands, which are Honshu, the largest, about the half the size of California; Hokkaido in the North, famous for dairy products and potatoes; Kyushu in the south, always first to be exposed to new ideas from the outside world, from Buddhism to Christianity to American movie theatre chains; and Shikoku, where Ehime pearls come from. Being an archipelago, there are thousands of smaller islands (6000+ actually), including Sado, where heretical Emperors were banished back in the day; Yakushima, the unspoiled tropical island that served as the basis for the jungles of Princess Mononoke; plus a few silly rocks that are causing much drama and rending of garments between Japan, China and South Korea.

Another interesting Japanese island is Tanegashima, a 57 km long island south of Kyushu that's unique for several reasons. First, it's the site of the first contact between Japanese and Europeans, and it was here the first Portuguese trading ships landed from Macau to establish the nanban ("southern barbarian") trading network. I like to imagine what it must have been like when the two worlds touched for the first time -- something akin to a UFO landing, I'm sure. Since the Portuguese brought the first guns into Japan, the island's name became synonymous with firearms, and for centuries the Japanese flintlock rifle was known by the name of Tanegashima. The island is also the home of Japan's space program, which has caused it to enter popular culture as Japan got better at launching sattellites into space. At least two recent anime productions, the gorgeous 5 Centimeters Per Second and Robotics;Notes, have been made with Tanegashima as the exotic setting.

Tanegashima is an island with a fascinating history.

Tipping Culture in Japan

It's the calm before the storm as J-List gets ready for the San Diego Comic-Con next week, preparing the T-shirts, plush toys, horse head masks and English-translated eroge we'll be offering at our booth. We hope to see you at the show this year!

One of first cultural differences between Japan and the U.S. we encounter is the difference in tipping culture. While we're often expected to pay gratuities in restaurants, hotels and taxis in the U.S., there's no custom of tipping at all in Japan, despite the fact that the service you receive in shops and restaurants is nearly always excellent. There are times when I'd like to be able to leave a tip to reward especially helpful service in Japan, but if you tried to give tip a Japanese person they'd be confused and possibly even insulted, since it would feel dishonest for them to take any money other than their normal hourly wage. While giving a fair tip for good service is certainly reasonable, sometimes there can be problems. A couple years ago I took our Anime Expo booth staff out to a restaurant called Trader Vic's, and we all ate a pretty large meal. Not noticing the fine print on the bottom of the receipt that said "a 20% gratuity will be added for parties of six or more," I left a large-ish tip in cash for the staff, who seemed to be smiling more than usual for some reason. I noticed the automatic gratuity later and was saddened the restaurant staff hadn't had the honesty and integrity to tell us that a tip had already been added to the bill and nothing further was needed, which would have ensured that I return to the restaurant every year rather than boycotting them. The Japanese staff members who were with us shook their heads sadly, since restaurant staff angling to get a double tip would have been inconceivable in Japan.

Tipping culture is nonexistent in Japan.

Manga Sale on J-List This Month!

This month we're having a very nice promotion for you: a great 2x points sale on all manga on the site! This includes the gorgeous all-ages manga we have, from Evangelion to Yotsubato to Highschool of the Dead, as well as the ecchi manga products we have, with very genre you can think of and a few you can't. Click to browse all manga volumes on the site now!

Japanese vs. Gaijin

I'm often asked how Japanese view the gaijin that live in their midst, disrupting the harmony the country is so famous for. It's quite a complex subject, which reaches deep into the Japanese psyche and across Japan's 470-year history of dealing with these smelly, tall and hairy barbarians from across the sea. For the most part Westerners in the Japan of today exist in a special place where the rules don't apply, at least the same way they do for the natives. Western foreigners are mysterious, physically different from Japanese in obvious ways, and every time an American or a Brit or Australian enters an electronics store to inquire about a product, the Japanese staff get a little nervous. In addition to being fearful they'll be called upon to use English (even if we are speaking fluent Japanese to them), from the point of view of straight-laced Japanese people, we foreigners are awfully good at doing things no one expects, which is a source of stress for them. Often the first (and sometimes only) contact a Japanese person will have with a Westerner over the course of their lives is the happy, outgoing eikaiwa (English conversation) teacher they had in school, and often the image of Westerners is defined by this first cross-cultural exchange. As a result, the Japanese generally go through life expecting foreigners to be happy, energetic and positive, expressing their emotions openly...which pretty much matches my own personality.

Japanese feel some anxiety when it comes to dealing with gaijin.

Anime Expo 2013 Wrap-up Post

Well, we're done with another Anime Expo, and this one was loads of fun as usual. We greeted many fans who stopped by our booth to say hello, sold a ton of our English-translated eroge and visual novels, moved more than a few pairs of shimapan striped panties ("for cosplay or other uses"), and sold a bunch of our popular anime grab bags. Our customers were happy to receive our trademark J-List pocket tissues, as well as the new J-List anime glasses, which you can also get when you make an online order shipped from our Japan or San Diego offices. Thanks to everyone who came by!

At the show, we had an official panel where we introduced our wonky little company to fans and also made some announcements of visual novels we'll be releasing in English. These included the future release of the Steins;Gate PC edition; the upcoming third volume in the Lightning Warrior Raidy yuri dungeon crawling series; Shiny Days, the gorgeous sequel (prequel actually) to the smash hit game School Days; the fandisc for My Girlfriend is the President; two very ecchi new games by Code Pink; and a gorgeous witch training game Little Witch Romanesque. The panel was a big success, except for a snafu with the convention staff that caused us to be given a much smaller room than in previous years (sorry again to the fans who were not able to get into the room). You can read the complete list of newly licensed visual novels on the JAST USA development blog, and if you want to get your hands on our newest game catalog, which features one of three new posters on the back, just make an order from our Japan or San Diego offices and we'll send you one with your order.

Anime Expo is my favorite fan event for various reasons. First, everyone is in the room is the same "tribe," largely on the same wavelength about anime and Japan despite the fact that some may be passionate about Touhou while others are off in an entirely different genre, cosplaying Attack on Titan. (Some of them might just be a little punch-drunk.) While I also love more general shows like the San Diego Comic-Con, the reality is that only a small subset of the attendees there are focused on Japan and its various forms of popular culture, and as a result many of the people who stop by our booth there have no idea what that "fat gray kitty" is (his name is Totoro, he's not a kitty). During the show I had some deep discussions with friends and fans who tagged along after our panel on the most existential of questions, how to properly pronounce names like Evangelion and Madoka Magica. In Japanese, both names contain a hard 'g' sound, Evan[geh]lion Madoka Ma[gi]ka, despite the tendency for the human brain to apply the rules of English spelling and soften the 'g' sound. This one reason it's a good idea to make sure you learn the hiragana and katakana writing systems, even if that's all the Japanese language you ever study: it will help you read and pronounce the Japanese you see more accurately, and it's also kind of cool to learn to read a writing system other than the English alphabet. We have great Japanese study tools like the Moekana and White Rabbit flashcard sets in stock if you want to browse them.

Anime Expo was a blast, with lots of cool fans; fans were happy to see Steins;Gate is coming.

Do You Want Some Anime Glasses?

Remember, we've got a new set of J-List Anime Glasses designs for 2013, which are free with any purchase! When we brought out the first set of fun cardboard glasses two years ago, our customers loved them, and now we've got a whole new set of glasses for you with awesome new designs. You'll receive one random set of anime glasses with each order (either shipping from the U.S. or Japan), while supplies last of course.