Cool Products Wednesday, August 10, 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.

	Prince Animage 2011 Summer Lovely otaku girls who want beautiful, handsome anime men should look no further than Prince Animage, specially created for awesome fujoshi fangirls who like yaoi, BL and otome games. Great omake items too. View products »
	Kuro Neko & Kirino Kosaka Figures Speaking of otaku girls, here are two great figures posted featuring Kuroneko and Kirino shopping for doujinshi at Comiket. Nice!
	To Aru Majutsu no Index Nendoroid Set These great Nendoroid figures will certainly be a great addition to your collection. Includes 4 characters from the series in this great set.
	Restocked Figuers Going Fast Lots of our favorite figures have been restocked, and are ready to ship out to you. Most are in limited quantities, so browse quickly.
	Itazura Cat & Dog Coin Banks Restocked The most popular kawaii item on J-List these days is the Itazura Cat Coin Bank, with a cat who steals your money.
	Senjou no Valkyria 3 iPhone Cases See the gorgeous Senjou no Valkyrie iPhone 4 cases in stock now -- with gorgeous quality, they will make your phone special!
	Evangelion Edition Earphone and Other Headphones Sure, you can keep using those little white earbuds you've had for the past two years, but they won't show your fandom like these will.
	Nichijou ~ Uchuujin (Alien) Once you are finished watching the TV anime series, jump back into the world of Nichijou with this entertaining new PSP game. Very cool.
	Erasable Bath Crayon Let your children (or the child inside you) make bathtime into a creative experience with these washable ofuro crayons. So much fun!
	Black and Purple Striped Stockings These knee-high socks are really popular this year, undoubtedly due to the smash hit "Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt." So awesome to wear!
	Anti-Bacterial 4 tier Filter Health Mask A great health item that captures the awesomeness of Japan, this is an advanced "health mask" that will keep your germs from reaching others even while it prevents other germs and pollen from affecting you. View products »
	Hello Kitty Key Cover Take hello kitty with you everywhere you go. She will make sure your house or car key is safe and sound. Very cute and unique.
	Fun Totoro Products Restocked That awesome Totoro Tree House that the included plush Totoro can fit inside, a Totoro music box, plus...study hiragana with Totoro!
	Other Traditional Items Practice your kanji the traditional way with elegant calligraphic brushstrokes and traditional sumi ink that you grind into the stone holder.
	Kawaii Tea Cups and Mugs This cute cup features a very cute red riding hood with an umbrella cap and tea strainer. Fans of Japanese cuteness will love it.
	Today's New Japanese Snacks Today we've got awesome Chicken Wing Flavor Pretz, smokin' and delicious. Also, a new Nabisco Oreo Stick that's so delicious!
	Nisshin U.F.O. Yakisoba, Ramen Even if you can't travel to Japan this summer, that doesn't mean you can't experience the great flavor of Osaka.
	Tentacle Grape is Back Then, so popular we sold out in just a week, we've gotten more Tentacle Grape carbonated soda in stock. Buy it buy the case and save!
	Restocked Japanese Snacks Our staff has restocked some amazing Japanese snacks, including Meiji Poiful, Puccho Balls Grape, Pocari Sweat Powder, and Watering Kiss Mint Gum!
	Restocked Traditional Bento Boxes Also, see fresh stock of several traditional bento boxes with great styling that make them a joy to eat out of. Upgrade your bento life today.
	Awesome R2-D2 Soy Sauce Bottles, Pepper Mill Although we love anime, Star Wars is a part of our DNA too. Today we're restocking the nerd-tastic R2-D2 Soy Sauce Bottle!
	Natural Bamboo Picks and other great Bento items Some fun bento related items restocked, including real bamboo picks for eating your lunch the traditional Japanese way.
	Other Accessories for your Bento Help kids learn about the world with these flags for your bento. Also, popular silicon bento cups that can be reused hundreds of times.
	Japanese Pens, 'Check Set' and More Some great pens that help you memorize any information (for example Japanese) are restocked, along with other popular study products.
	Miso Soup Bowls from Japan We love healthy miso soup, and carry many fun items for miso fans. Today we're restocking several popular miso soup items.
	Super Mario Balance Block *Preorder* An awesome item for Super Mario fans, a "Jenga" game of stacking blocks. Note, do not confuse with "Tenga."
	Other Amazing New Preorder Figures More awesome preorder figures: Black Rock Shooter Figma, Dog Days, Black Butterfly Mask and more -- love them all!
	Madoka Kaname 1/8 Figure by Good Smile *Preorder* Then, fans of Puella Magi Madoka Magica will not want to miss this gorgeous new 1/8 scale figure made by the fine folks at Good Smile. Prepainted and ready to display, it's really something special. Don't let it sell out before you get yours. View products »
	The New Office Lady's Secret Resume For fans of OLs, the Japanese "office ladies" or sexy and experienced female office workers, we have a fun new magazine + DVD in which the ladies show you their secret skills. View products »
	Otokonoko Jidai vol. 1 Next, for fans of joso or "trap" characters, or the more contemporary term otokonoko (referring to boys who want to be girls), a new photobook.
	As One ~ Azusa Yamamoto A gorgeous photobook featuring Azusa Yamamoto, one of our favorite bikini idols. The quality of this is just amazing to see.
	Restocked Photobooks Restocked awesome photobooks too, incl. Pet's Eye (girls seen from the POV of small pets, heh) plus J-List's most popular cute girl photobooks.
	Pure Days Here's a great manga about...I can't tell, the oppai on the cover are too large and awesome for me to comprehend much. Great story and characters, I'm sure!
	Love Hotel na Oshigoto 3 The fun Nagashima Chosuke is back with a great new manga about running a love hotel, and all the good things that go on there.
	Twins Sister Sandwich ~ Chihiro & Chitose This is...quite a product. A total simulation of two awesome twin girls, Chihiro and Chitose. Each package comes with an advanced onahole stress toy, plus shimapan in each girl's proper color, a CD "voice novel" to listen to plus lotion. View products »
	DX Massager 'DENMA' If you've watched a few JAV titles, you've probably seen this, designed to bring maximum stimulation to certain parts. Restocked today.
	Other Fun Stress Toys Restocked See restocked stress toys, including the 'sexy twins' simulators, the Honor of Great Manko, our famous lotion and more -- click to browse them all.
	PSP Eroge Restocked Next, check out one of the most awesome games ever seen for the PSP format. A super development for "H" game fans on the go.
	We Love Eroge in English The hottest yuri game ever is currently at the top of J-List's eroge ranking, and that makes me happy since it's a really fun game. Click to see.
	Great 'Cast Off' Figures Posted We carry many naughty figures with clothing that can be reconfigured, and today we've got some really gorgeous ones in.

A Hentai DVD Sale at J-List?

We've got some good news for fans of "H" anime DVDs: a huge sale on all our titles! And not only are we slashing prices on all discs, we've also restocked some of the best ones, so we've got plenty titles for you to browse and buy. Click here to see the sale ecchi anime discs!

Hello from Twin Peaks

Well, that was a fun weekend. We had a great time at the Twin Peaks Fest, visiting different sites from the show, then hobnobbing with several cast members. I'd never been up to Oregon and Washington, and it's been a real treat, taking in the beauty of this part of the U.S for the first time, and even being lucky enough to get some sunshine. It was also a fun road trip to take with my San Diego friends, and an excuse to sample some famous restaurants and breweries, visit the most awesome bookstore ever, and generally have fun.

It's always interesting to visit a new part of the U.S. and observe the people you see there, and we enjoyed talking with folks we met on our journey. Since we'd crossed the "Soda/Pop Demarkation Line," I was curious to see if people referred to carbonated beverages in cans as "soda" (as we generally say in California and on most of the East Cost), as "pop" (as they do in most of middle America), or perhaps "Coke" (what it's called most often in the South). Everyone in Washington State seems to have worked for Microsoft at one point, and has some interesting and/or angsty story to share about the company -- that was also fun to listen to.

A fun vacation in Twin Peaks; Pop vs Soda, one of the major linguistic questions of our age.

Japanese People Cannot Read Japanese?

A strange aspect of written Japanese is that many Japanese people cannot read their own language. While the vast majority of Japanese can read the 2136 joyo or "general use kanji" (the standard characters all Japanese must learn by the time they graduate from high school in order to be considered literate), there are many very difficult characters that fall outside of the "official" lists, and thus, many people aren't sure how to pronounce them. Family names are notoriously difficult to read, and the kanji for my wife's family's name -- Yanai -- is read as "Yanagi" in almost every other part of Japan besides our city, which means she's constantly correcting people about what her name is. Place names are also very difficult for Japanese to read, unless they happened to grow up in that area. In the aftermath of the terrible March 11 earthquake and tsunamis, it was common to see newscasters from Tokyo reading off lists of cities and towns in rural parts of the country, yet they were unable to correctly read the kanji place names and kept stumbling, apologizing to the viewers for getting them wrong.

It's not uncommon for Japanese to be unable to read unique kanji names.

Cool Products Monday, August 8, 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 Sep 2011 Another great issue of Shonen Ace coming at you this month with some great omake (a free gift) -- a Nichijou portable hand-held fan. This is a great monthly manga, with all your favorites in it! View products »
	Otomedia vol. 3 Lots of great things coming in this issue of Otomedia, perhaps the best magazine for fujoshi (otaku girls). Great posters and omake too.
	Cutie April 2011 Always wanting to stay with the fashion trends in Japan? Cutie is a great place to start, with lots of cool cloths for the fashion conscious woman.
	Red Star One Piece Border Dress Japanese fashion is usually at the tip of the fashion trends, just like this great rock star inspired dress. Great fashion from Harajuku!
	Authentic Cosplay Goods from Japan Enjoy "socks glue" to keep your socks from falling down, authentic Japanese eye patches, cool Gothic Lolita items and more.
	One Piece Fans Rejoice We've got some cool plush figure pre-orders for characters from the international hit One Piece: Bepo, Hollow Ghost and more.
	One Piece Chopper Plush Ballpoint Pen Also: 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.
	Shimapan Restocked And don't forget that we've got plenty of amazing shimapan on the site, including a fresh new line with different colors and packages.
	Moe Moe Cthulhu Encyclopedia, More See fresh stock of awesome Moe Moe Encyclopedia artbooks incl. Cthulhu and Military Uniforms, plus many other cool artbooks.
	Totoro *Memory* Stamp ~ Omoide Our classic Totoro wood-and-rubber stamp is restocked, featuring a cool image of Totoro drawn by Hayao Miyazaki himself.
	Lucky Cat Wearing Yukata w/ Katoributa Display Show the world that you not only love traditional Japan, but you are also a fan of the Japanese neko (cat). Very nice figure to place at your home or office.
	Monster Hunter Headphones Restocked Get your Monster Hunter groove on with these stylish headphones styled after the cute game mascot cat-creature Airu. Restocked today.
	Other Monster Hunter Products Also: we've restocked the cute Airu Furi Furi Mascog Keychains, and other fun "MonHan" (as it's called by Japanese fans) items!
	Kanji Drill Workbooks, Other Study Items Restocked We always have fun Japanese study tools, and today we're restocking the Basic Kanji Drill series, since repeatedly writing kanji is a great way to learn. Study the way Japanese children do! View products »
	DS Japanese Study Products Learn hiragana and katakana with Doraemon, test your kanji with Perfect Kanji or the Kanji Test DS Training, and more.
	Japanese Pens! Other great study products also available, like these Hi-Chew pens, lucky cat pens, and compact Scissors. Very useful Japanese items.
	Ningen Gakki Restocked An interactive toy that generates sounds when your body completes the circuit. Fun with music! There are...many interesting ways this could be used.
	More San-X Cuteness Also, we restocked some more fun Rilakkuma products, the plush headphone holder and study cards, as well as Mamegoma stuff!
	FritoLay Doritos & Chips for Drinking! Don't settle for average snacks when you can have snacks that are made for a drinking party, with Japanese original flavors! We're always ready to help you increase your understanding of Japan through its delicious snack culture. View products »
	Other Snacks, Too These are some wonderful Japanese Fit's gum and Hi-Chew gummies that will bring a blast of powerful fruit flavors to your mouth.
	Restocked Snacks and Candies Also: a huge restocking of popular snacks, incl. Sakuma Drops, Wata Pachi cotton candy with pop rocks, Novel Sours Gummy, Japan Oreo and more.
	We Love Kawaii Kokeshi Bento These cute little samurai and geisha bento boxes are so kawaii and surprisingly useful! Perfect for lunch at the office or in the park.
	Microwavable Products Restocked Also restocked, Microwave Rice Cookers, which make it easy to prepare steamed rice for bento. Rice scoops (shamoji), too!
	Panda Chopstick Rests ~ Kawaii! I love these -- ceramic pandas that act as chopstick rests, to hold your chopsticks while you eat. K- Kawaii! Restocked today.
	Random Restocked Kitchen Items from Japan We've restocked our Sankaku Corner for Kitchen, which is where Japanese put their nama-gomi or "raw garbage" (good for composting too).
	Traditional Tea Containers This green tea hold is sure to keep your loose leaf tea fresh, but conveniently available. Also many beautiful tea-related items.
	Hanafuda ~ Japanese Traditional Playing Cards Hanafuda is a Japanese card game with beautiful flowers printed on the cards. It's been played in Kyoto for, oh, 1300 years or so.
	Super Mario Mushroom Salt and Pepper Container *Preorder* Nintendo fans who are also food lovers, you will want to have a set of these neat Super Mushrooms in your kitchen.
	Figure Tamaki 1/7 Figure ~ ToHeart2 *Preorder* Take a look at this gorgeous recreation of Tamaki from ToHeart2. Excellent detail. She is so stunning with her sword, shield and armor!
	Puella Magi Madoka Magica iPhone 4 Cases Some stellar iPhone4 cases for preorder with characters and scenes from the hit anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica. There's nothing like having your phone be protected by the power of Madoka and her friends. View products »
	Lingerie the Best ~ Sexy Lingerie 4 set The Best's Lingerie edition is back with everything you would expect, from hot women doing amazing poses for the camera. A wonderful treasure for collectors of ecchi Japanese photography. View products »
	Horu Chichi DX ~ All Holstein Big Pai Pai Girls For the H-manga lovers out there who want something extreme, we've got your back. Horu Chichi DX features huge oppai and extremely ero action.
	DX New Tenga Stress Toys These amazing sex toys for men are designed to be left on display -- they look like works of modern art when turned inside-out. Comes with a classy display case and everything. Click to see the new lineup! View products »
	Bible Black Stress Relief Toys Fabulous new stress toy for Bible Black fans, which can promote health and make facing work tomorrow a little more bearable.
	Japanese Lotion, Other Personal Items Restocked Also, enjoy the awesome Pepee lotion, the most popular personal lotion on J-List. It's so popular, Japanese artists make fan art of it (click to see).

Idols in Anime: IDOLM@STER Edition

I'm one of the lucky few people in the world whose job it is to watch anime, and I've been checking out THE IDOLM@ASTER, a series based on a popular game about cute girls trying to make it in Japan's professional JPOP idol world. Anime has a long history of stories about girls becoming idols going all the way back to Super Dimensional Macross (which turns 30 years old next year, by the way), when Lynn Minmei rode the general wave of JPOP idols in the 80s to become the first "anime" idol singer, though she would not be the last. THE IDOLM@STER is a fun anime that deconstructs both idol groups and what makes them tick as well as moe characters in general. In the first episode, the new manager asks the girls why they want to be idols, and he records each girl's answer. "It looks like a lot of fun!" came one girl's reply, followed by "I want to sing...that's all," and "I don't know, I just always yearned to become an idol someday, ever since I was a child." I'll keep watching this show and see how it all unfolds.

Idol culture crosses over with anime quite often.