Cool Products Wednesday, January 5, 2011

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 G's Magazine Feb 2011 Ring in the new year with the best all-purpose moe magazine out there! Dengeki G's covers the latest popular anime and games, in addition to boasting a large selection of unique, high quality manga (headlined these days by the brilliantly drawn and written Ore no Imouto). This month's special extra: a deck of Angel Beats karuta cards with full color screenshots and quotes. View products »
	Hip & T-Back Soft Key Met You'll never lose your grip on your keys when they're held firmly in "the position" by one of the most distinctive key holders we've seen. A wacky item indeed!
	Lucky Cat 'MIMI' Pen ~ Black & Red What better way to welcome the new year than with a Lucky Cat Manekineko pen, complete with adorable beckoning paws.
	2011 Japanese Calendars ~ Sexy Idols Next up, we have some of Japan's most beautiful bikini idols, JPOP stars and other cute 2011 calendars for you. I love Nozomi Sasaki especially.
	Totoro Ghibli Music Boxes, More See other awesome Ghibli products, too, including restocked ceramic Totoro music boxes, one of the best things to collect ever.
	Hello Kitty High School Mini Lunch Bag You've seen them in anime, manga and dramas, the signature blue canvas schoolbags used by Japanese high school students. These miniature versions are perfect for carrying your lunch or anything else in a sturdy purse-sized bag with a Sanrio-approved cute Hello Kitty theme! View products »
	Moe Moe Apps for iPhone from Japan Spotted at the iTunes Japan store: the moe-riffic Kyoani Clock", or check out the digital Da Capo magazine w/free stuff.
	Moe Moe Encyclopedia ~ Youkai (Ghost) Edition The ghosts and spirits of Japanese legend are brought alive in the pages of this encyclopedia, but with a unique moe and sexy flavor you'll love.
	Authentic High School Uniforms from Matsukameya One item I'm extremely proud to carry is our line of authentic high school uniforms from Matsukameya of Nagoya. We sell both guy's gakuran style uniforms as well as several styles of authentic girl's uniforms, and the quality of the custom-made uniforms are all outstanding. Don't forget the epic High School Briefcase, an authentic replica of what you see in anime. View products »
	Geisha Sexy Yukata, Gymnastics Uniforms Whether you're gearing up for a "coming of age day" celebration or looking for great cosplay, we have the uniquely Japanese outfits you need.
	Restocked Evangelion Head Interface Cosplay Transform yourself into Asuka or Rei from Evangelion, which were so popular the manufacturer had to make more. Totally cool!
	Fun Crafts from Japan Craft your fun with this new edition of the Mousse-chan clay sweets shop, the most artful and inventive crafts project you'll see, in pretty pastels!
	Restocked Traditional Products Hello Kitty wishing boards and omamori charms, a bamboo "frog whistle," and more awesome traditional items restocked.
	Awesome New Japanese Snacks Whether you're looking for some unique Ninja Food for dieting, an awesome chocolate/strawberry cookie in the shape of a take-no-ko (bamboo shoot), or would like to try the most awesome Gyudon (beef bowl) flavored potato chips ever, J-List's snacks and food section is well stocked. View products »
	Mame Shiba (Grape) ~ Japanese Food Drops The famous Bean Dog from San-X also looks a lot like a nummy green grape, and that's the flavor of these fun Food Drops candies.
	Restocked Japanese Snacks From Meiji Rich Chocolate Strawberry and Green Tea to "Felix the Cat" gum and Bull Dog Sauce that showed up in Oreimo all back in stock!
	Hello KITTY Pink Compact Bento w/ Chopsticks You can't be too thin or too rich...or have too many awesome Hello Kitty bento boxes from Japan. Several popular types restocked.
	'Ponyo loves Sasuke...and Ponyo Bento.' Take the adorable Ponyo with you wherever you go with this sturdy and cute Ponyo bento box! Licensed by Studio Ghibli.
	Ciao Animal Bento Cutter ~ Rabbit & Bear & Dog Make your lunch items in fanciful and cute shapes with these durable molded cutters, great for cutting dough, bread, meat, cheese, or anything else.
	More Rilakkuma Products I'm pretty sure this is a picture of Rilakkuma-shaped ice cubes in a glass of mugi tea, but they'd look pretty good in bourbon, too.
	Hello Kittify Your Bento "Kittify" your lunch today with our large selection of Sanrio official goods, from sauce bottles, picks, onigiri shapers, to bento boxes themselves.
	Kawaii Soy Sauce Bottles for bento A large restocking of soy sauce bottles for bento fans, shaped like fish, flying pigs, anything. Sometimes it's the little things that make you love Japan.
	Kawaii Hello Kitty Spoon & Fork, Chopsticks Also: the extremely popular Hello Kitty spoon and fork are restocked, great for little hands or yours, along with various chopsticks for you.
	Warm Hoodies with Kanji Messages We're entering the heart of winter, and what better to stay warm than a comfortable hoodie from J-List? In stock in San Diego and ready to send.
	Fun Japanese Study Aids Chibi Maruko is nearly as much an institution as Sazae-san, and we've got the kanji dictionary restocked. Also, bilingual books and more!
	Samurai Girls Strap & Cleaner ~ Tokunaga Sen *Preorder* Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls has shown that Japan's feudal history doesn't have to be dull and boring - check out these epic bishoujo phone straps!
	Kirino, KuroNeko Tote Bags *Preorder* The heroines of My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute Are on gorgeous display on these stylish tote bags. Preorder today!
	One Piece 'Scissors' & Messenger Bags *Preorder* "Scissors" bags make great holders for a wallet, phone, or MP3 player and so on. We've also got great messenger bags posted for preorder.
	Little Busters Ecstasy Perfect Visual Book If you're a fan of Key games such as Kanon, Air and Clannad you know about Little Busters, the latest magnum opus from the team that knows how to create an epic erotic visual novel. This book contains all the images from the extended PC version, as well as never before seen production art and an original story unique to the gorgeous hardcover volume. A must have for Little Busters fans! View products »
	Do You Like Bunny Girls? 2011 Sale It's the year of the rabbit, and that means a great new dating sim sale for you on two of our most popular G-Collections games! Get them now.
	Omanko Monaka Deluxe Onahole Set Giving gifts at the new year is a deeply embedded Japanese tradition, often coming in festive, lavishly wrapped boxes. Now you can celebrate this tradition of giving to either yourself or another with this feel-good novelty stress relief set! View products »
	Other Love Goods for Men & Women Many fun inflatable "doll" toys to play with today, plus the epic vibrators "DENMA" and "No Sound Good Thing" you can use anywhere.
	Nipprun Stick on Nipples for Body Pillow A product that is sure ti win the hearts of 4chan users everywhere, these are stick-on nipples for your favorite dakimakura hug pillow.

J-List and Changes

As you can imagine, Japan has changed a lot since we founded our little company offering wacky bento boxes and Hello Kitty personal massagers and thrice-weekly slice-of-life emails from Japan. The year was 1996, and new companies like Yahoo and Netscape and Amazon had all just been founded. Instead of "Googling," people were doing web searches with Alta Vista, the first halfway decent search engine that crawled web pages for content. Then, as now, it was common for Japan to take a "wait-and-see" attitude about new technology, and everyone here was wondering if this new "Internet" thing was going to stick around, but I was pretty sure it was. Japan was in the middle of its "lost decade," the long period of economic malaise after the busting of the Tokyo land bubble in 1991, and everything was in flux, which was probably a good thing, now that I look back. At the time the idea that a gaijin would start a corporation doing business in such an unorthodox way was unthinkable, especially out in rural Japan where we're located, but the rapid changes of recession-racked Japan and the Internet helped us realize we could achieve anything. The role of women has also changed a lot in the last 15 years. Back then the idea of a company run by an intelligent, capable female president would have been quite rare -- we'd have probably been on televisionJ- -- but now perceptions have really changed.

It can be fun to reminisce about the early days of the Intern- ARRRGH!!!

A New Generation of Adults in Japan This Year

Now that January is here, Japanese who turned 20 years of age since last April are preparing for their Coming of Age ceremony, a day when "new adults" celebrate their status as shakai-jin (lit. "society-person"), or full-fledged members of society. Each year's crop of new adults is a bellwether for the current generation, and as Japan ages and fewer Japanese are born it seems that every year brings depressing new milestones. Two years ago it was the news that the number of new 20-year-olds was fewer than the number born in the last Hinoeuma year (1966), when a widespread superstition that girls born in the fifth cycle of the Year of the Horse would be unlucky, headstrong girls who "devour" their fathers and husbands, causing a dip in the number of babies born that year. (This is based on the 400-year-old story of Japan's most famous arsonist, Oshichi, a girl who fell in love with a boy while fleeing a fire in Edo, so she tried to start another fire a year later in the hopes she could meet him again.). This year the bad news is that the number of new adults is less than 1% of the population for the first time ever.

New 20-year-olds will celebrate becoming adults soon.

Happy New Year 2011 from J-List!

Happy New Year to everyone, and best wishes for a safe and peaceful 2011 from your friends in Japan at J-List!

We had a nice quiet holiday here, going to our local Shinto shrine for the official first prayer of the new year, then we did aisatsu (greetings) with various Japanese relatives who probably never expected to have an American in their extended family, though they think nothing of it now. The Japanese have a tradition of giving money to children on New Year's Day, called otoshidama (lit. New Year's Coin), although inflation has raised the amount to around $30-$50 per child depending on their age. It's quite a good tradition, as it means children have a reason to happily come along when visiting relatives, cheerfully engaging in polite conversation because they know they'll be compensated financially. Even my daughter, who'd much rather be playing her Nintendo DS or watching Katekyo Hitman Reborn on YouTube was happy to tag along with us without complaint.

There are many rabbit-themed images in Japan now.

Bunny Game Sale, Other New Products

We're revving up for 2011, bringing out some awesome new products we think you'll love, from fun Totoro items to unique earphones for anime fans. Since this is the Year of the Rabbit by the Chinese zodiac, there are plenty of rabbit-themed products on the site, including the kawaii Usa-Pyon matching phone straps, traditional displays for the new year and more. We're also declaring a special sale in honor of the Year of the Rabbit. For the month of January, get $5 off the popular Do You Like Horny Bunnies? eroge series, a fun "harem" style dating-sim game series that's fully translated to English.

Cool Products Monday, January 3, 2011

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.

	Shonen Ace Feb 2011 Shonen Ace is one of the most famous manga magazines in the world, with Evangelion, Haruhi Suzumiya, Keroro Gunsou, and many more of the most famous manga and anime all packed inside its pages. With furigana phonetic characters next to the kanji for easy reading, and coming with a special extra each month, no wonder it's one of the most popular manga magazines we carry! View products »
	Neko Bus Square Pouch This is a joyful new item from everyone's favorite neighbor Totoro! A Ghibli-authorized pouch of the cute cat bus that's perfect for holding your stuff.
	Evangelion New Movie Stereo Earphones Whether your flavor is unit 00, 01, or 02, these new stylish earphones let you compliment your Eva and Nerv swag in style.
	Katsuyuki Hirano Artworks One of the hidden treasures of the character design world, artist Katsuyuki Hirano comes into his own with this gorgeous artbook, containing work from his commercial products (games, light novels) as well as his doujinshi. Super moe!! View products »
	Outstanding Visual Novels for Everyone While many of our visual novels are for mature players, many are not. The otome (girl-centric) romance game Yo-Jin-Bo is a great title we recommend to you!
	Gakken Otona no Kagaku ~ 8mm Projector The Gakken science projects magazine for adults keeps getting more amazing - now you can build your own 8mm projector with English instructions!
	Fruit Fly Dying House We all hate flies, and this is a useful device that will help rid them from your life. This popular item is restocked today.
	Bring Luck in the New Year Bring good luck to yourself this year with omamori good luck charms. They come both in traditional and the moe variety.
	Anime Songs from iTunes Japan It's fun to browse the top anime songs on the iTunes Japan store. Recently spotted, the OP for Amagami and the Panty and Stocking soundtrack.
	mini Feb 2011 Everything cute and stylish from Japan is gathered in mini your up to the minute guide to sensible fashion. Brand new issue for the new year!
	Japanese Cypress Fragrance Incense Stick The soothing scent of cypress will fill your room with this Japanese cypress incense, sure to calm the nerves and refresh your atmosphere.
	Bath King Japanese Traditional set  If you really want enjoy bathing like the Japanese do, try out these fizzing "BUB" bath tablets from Bath King. Let the fizzing heal your soul.
	Totoro China Tea Cups & China The whimsical Totoro makes his way to your home in this high quality set of teacups sure to delight anyone who sets eyes (or lips) on them.
	More Ghibli Plush Toys, More It's always nice to have some Totoro plush toys in your life, and we've restocked several today. Also the awesome Totoro Go-Round Clock.
	Fun New Japanese Snacks for 2011 Enjoy new "Crazy Salt" Doritos from FritoLay Japan, since finding bizarre and awesome versions of your favorite snacks is our specialty. Also see delicious "Crunky" strawberry chocolate cookies, plus traditional nama choco (fresh sakura chocolates). View products »
	Delicious Traditional Candy from Kyoto A traditional treat from Japan's historical capital, a great way to sate your sweet tooth and experience a unique flavor of Japan!
	Restocked Japanese Snacks, Too And we've got more of your favorite unique snacks from Japan, from Fujiya Milky Balls to Black Seafood and Basil & Cheese pasta snacks.
	Smile Panda 2-tier Bento Box w/Elastic Band One of the cutest bento boxes we've ever stocked is back in a new version, the classic black and white panda that will keep your meal safe and secure.
	More Totoro Bento Boxes And even more bento! We never get tired of Ghibli, and these Totoro boxes are especially sweet. Who else would you want to eat lunch with?
	Niko Niko Seaweed Punch, Other Accessories A fun way to decorate your bento lunch is to use one of the nori punches we sell to cut sheet seaweed into interesting and cute shapes, like ASCII art.
	Hello Kitty Pink x Black Microwave Rice Cooker Then, make rice without buying an expensive rice cooker! We've restocked the awesome "goth-loli" themed Hello Kitty rice cooker.
	Rilakkuma and more Cute Character's Amigurumi Another J-List update, another kawaii Rilakkuma item. This is a book filled with beautiful crafts. I feel more relaxed just looking at it.
	Cool Photobooks from Tokyo What if Tokyo had no people in it at all? Find out in the great photobook we've restocked today. Also, lonely but awesome train stations throughout Japan.
	Parody Crab Leg Action Ball Pen  Why write with a normal pen when you can write with this cool crab pen? This and other fun Japanese pens restocked today.
	Keep Warm This Winter, Japan Style We have some great ways of keeping warm in Japan this winter, including the toasty hanten warm kimonos. All sizes restocked!
	Squeezing Soft BUDDHA Restocked Find both stress relief and enlightenment with this soft Buddha that you can squeeze whenever the 108 temptations that human flesh is subject to get you down.
	Japanese Magazine Subscriptions from J-List J-List offers awesome Japanese magazines by revolving (pay-as-you-go) monthly subscription. Why not make 2011 with a new subscription?
	New PSP 'Index' and 'Railgun' Games *Preorder* You can get in on the action in A Certain Magical Index in this brand new PSP title, and see Mikoto in action too with an amazing figma! Preorder open.
	2011 Japanese Calendars for Adults Then enjoy the most beautiful women of Japan all year long with the large glossy calendars. Saori Hara, Rio, Akiho Yoshizawa, Tsubasa Amami and more!
	Tomoe 1/8 Cast off Figure 2P Color *Preorder* An epic "2P color version" of Tomoe from Queen's blade, with her miko outfit removable to see all the fanservicey beauty beneath. Preorder open.
	Big Restocking of TENGA Products TENGA is the most awesome stress-relief hole toy for men ever invented, since it's gorgeous, works great and is extremely well designed. Building a safer, healthier society by providing a way for the normal pressures everyone feels to be released privately. View products »
	A Very Special Bunny Sale Happy 2011! We're having a sale this month only, lowering the price of the popular Do You Like "H" Bunnies? series by $5 per game!
	Great Visual Novels in English Also, we've got a selection of other games for you to see the most popular ones, incl. the new My Girlfriend is the President game!