Cool Products Wednesday, March 14, 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.

	Newtype April 2012 Get caught up on all the latest anime news with a fresh issue of NewType! You'll get over 200 pages of exclusive info and artwork from this season's hottest shows, plus a full 2012 calendar with art of cute anime characters. We especially liked the information on the new Space Battleship Yamato movie, plus AnoNatsu, Fate/Zero and more. Don't miss this gorgeous issue of Japan's most popular anime magazine! View products »
	Comptiq April 2012 You'll also want to check out the latest issue of Comptiq, the best magazine for fans of moe game girls. Comes with a huge Miku poster!
	Young Ace April 2012 Young Ace is a great magazine for Japanese language learners and fans of awesome manga like Fate/Zero. Comes with some cool omake!
	egg April 2012 Stay up on the hottest Tokyo fashions with a new issue of egg magazine. You'll be amazed by the beauty of these Shibuya kogals.
	Hardware Girls Ascend to nerd heaven with the Hardware Girls series of photobooks that combine cute Japanese girls with the high-tech toys you love.
	Kitty Gothic One-piece Dresses Get ready for the upcoming season of Cons, and arrive in style as a very cute neko maid, just like those found in Akihabara.
	School Swimsuits, Other Cosplay Items Restocked The cult of the suku-mizu (the Japanese school swimsuit) is seen in anime a lot, and we've restocked several for you today.
	The SASS Wear T-Shirts For Tohoku The Sass Wear is an independent street wear and T-shirt brand from Japan that got our attention recently by providing truly good quality shirts and printing, all done here in Japan. Best of all, the artist is dedicated to helping Japan's devastated northern region recover, and 25% of the proceeds from these shirts will be donated to help rebuild Tohoku. YouTube movies on the creators of this T-shirt line have been embedded in the products, too. View products »
	Solar Swing Flower mini Bring some cheer to your home or office with this delightful dancing flower toy. Solar powered, so the more light it gets, the happier it is!
	We Liked Hello Kitty Before She Was Cool Our popular Hello Kitty Glasses Stand is back, plus the Nori Punch and fun License Plate Accessory + the last restocking of Hello Kitty "shoulder massagers."
	The Spring of Anime is Near The iTunes Music Store has a fun new Spring Anime Song Collection for you to browse, plus the complete vocal collection of Macross Frontier.
	Restocked Japan-Related Books Restocked books, including the popular handbook for living in Japan someday, plus JLPT study guides and bilingual books.
	Awesome Study Tools Restocked The Japanese are great at coming up with ways to memorize information efficiently, and good way is the Zebra Check Set, great for learning Japanese, or just about anything.
	The (Soy) Sauce Will Be With You Although we love anime, Star Wars is a part of our DNA too. Today we're restocking the nerd-tastic R2-D2 Soy Sauce Bottles and Pepper Mills.
	Itazura Panda, Other Fun Toys from Japan From coin stealing pandas and cats, to lucky charms Evangelion car sunshades, we're sure you'll find something that you will enjoy.
	Tokyo and Osaka Style... Cheetos? These new Frito-Lay snacks will make your home feel like it's moved to Japan, with these flavors that are truly a Japanese experience.
	Other Restocked Snacks Enjoy Morinaga Hi-Chew Collection, March of Koala Creamy Cafe Latte (yum), Lotte Drink Mix Candy, Choco Banana, plus Bontan Ame candy you can eat, wrapper and all.
	White Lucky Cat Bento Box Set An amazingly kawaii bento that mixes traditional Japan with the modern bento lunch, that is sure to bring good luck.
	Other Traditional Bento Boxes Restocked, Too Plus some great old favorites from the world of yummy bento boxes, in stunning traditional styles and modern styles too.
	Onigiri Shapers & Other Bento Accessories Also: random bento items restocked including our most popular onigiril shapers, so you can avoid the embarrassment of improperly shaped rice balls.
	Fun Bento Accessories Then: see other bento items, including anti-bacterial sheets, since no one wants bacteria in their bento lunch, and <>kawaii rice ball wrappers.
	Fun Traditional Items Restocked Enjoy our most popular yokobue flutes which are ridiculously popular for some reason, plus Fujin and Raijin Lucky Cat, shrine chocolate and more.
	Fate/Zero iPhone4/4S Cases *Preorder* Deck out your iPhone with these fantastic covers featuring Saber from Fate/Zero. We have two equally beautiful versions, so pick the one you like!
	Puella Magi Madoka Magica Can Pen Case *Preorder* We also have this cute pen & pencil case with cover art of the girls from Madoka Magica. A great way to impress your friends.
	Strike Witches Stainless Mug Cup *Preorder* Feel like a member of the 501st JFW with this durable stainless steel cub bearing it's emblem. Great for camping, survival games, and everyday use.
	Ika-Musume, Jack Frost Nendoroid Figures *preorder* Aren't Nendoroids the cutest figures you've ever seen? Check out these adorable renditions of Ika Musume and Persona developer Atlus's Jack Frost.
	Other Preorder Figures We have tons more figures for preorder, like the beautiful Alice from Kami-sama no Memo-chou and an awesome Figma of Berserk's Griffith. Click to see.
	More Ecchi Artbooks Enjoy the sexiest artbooks straight from Japan, like Kyonyu Artworks for true breast men. Also, other fine artbooks by top erotic artists.
	Aphrodisiac Fragrance Lotion from Japan Spice up your sexual encounters with these premium lubricants from Japan. Now including Aphrodisiac Fragrance, a lotion that will get you in the mood.
	Air Dutch Dolls for Perfect Fantasy The "Air Dutch" doll toys w/onahole are really getting popular, and we've restocked several kinds. You can put clothes on them and everything.
	Deluxe 'Meiki' Onahole Toys & More Specially branded toys from a famous AV stars to get you in the mood? Heck yeah, we want those.
	Innovative Vibrators from Japan The Japanese make everything more interesting, and we've restocked several personal massagers that will make everyone smile.
	HOTCH KISS ~ Stapler Kiss Enjoy one of this month's best-selling visual novels, a masterpiece of moe whose beautiful art and lovable characters will capture your heart.
	Restocked Import Eroge from Japan Also enjoy several eroge from Japan including Little Busters, Custom AI-Droid, Quantum Girlfriend (I love that title) and MajiKoi!
	'H' Games by Internet Download Of course you can buy all our great English eroge titles via Internet Download, which is convenient, er, private. What games would you like to play?

Funny Product Names

Recently I wrote about place names around the world that are famous here because they sound funny in Japanese, the grand daddy of these being the town of Eromanga, Australia. (I am so going there someday.) In a similar way, it's common for product names to have unintended meanings in other languages, something the Japanese run into occasionally (want some Collon cookies, anyone?). The Mitsubishi Pajero is a popular 4-wheel drive vehicle whose name means "wanker" in Spanish, and Honda's Fit (also called Jazz) was supposed to be called Fitta until someone realized this is a very bad word in some Scandinavian countries. Whenever I'm in the supermarket I smile when I see the popular canned alcoholic beverage for women called Slat (pronounced "slut"). Of course, no matter what name a company picks for its product, it's going to mean something naughty somewhere. One day J-List's web designer, who is from France, was laughing at something he'd seen online about "petite bites," which apparently means "small male organs" in French.

Small dicks. Big compliments.

Cool Products Monday, March 12, 2012

What cool stuff can you get with the iTunes Japan prepaid cards that J-List sells? Just about anything, it turns out. First of all there's a ton of anime songs, with virtually every OP and ED (er, opening and ending theme) from all the current shows. If you're a seiyu fan you fan find great albums by your favorite voice actresses too, like Eri Kitamura or my waifu, Rie Kugimiya. There are Japan-only iOS apps to enjoy, too, many of which are free if you have an iTunes Japan account, like the new Zero no Tsukaima app, or try a complete game like Memories Off. iTunes Japan cards are 100% compatible with the iPhone/iPod/iPad/iTunes you use now, and the Japan account works alongside your normal iTunes account. Order a card today!

Eternal Questions About Japan

There are certain eternal questions that foreigners have about Japan. For example, the word ao (AH-oh) means "blue" yet is regularly used to describe green traffic lights, which are always perceived as ao and never midori (green), although they're the same color as every other country. Confusion can arise from names, too. Once I was reading the kairanban (a kind of circular newsletter that goes to everyone in our immediate neighborhood; when one family reads it, then put a check by their name and take it to the next house on the list) and I noticed that 11 out of 19 families around us had the same family name as us (Yanai) despite everyone being apparently unrelated. About a kilometer away, there's a patch of houses with families whose last names are all Hosoi, but they, too, are not related to each other, and no Japanese person can tell me how this might have come about. Other questions come up at random times. Why do some trucks play the Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade theme song to let you know they're backing up? Why is the Japanese word for an all-you-can-eat buffet "Viking," and why is it such a challenge for the Japanese to write "harem" without turning it into Harlem? The biggest mystery may be, why do Japanese never notice these things about their own country until foreigners come along and ask questions?

So, what's your Japan "eternal question"?

Some "eternal questions" about Japan.

Donald Keene, a Friend to Japan

I saw a news report that Donald Keene had been granted Japanese citizenship, and thought I'd write a bit on that topic. Dr. Keene has definitely been one of the more interesting Japan-bilingual foreigners during the 20th century, and he's led an amazing life. A university student fascinated with Japan and kanji characters in 1938, after Pearl Harbor he joined the U.S. Navy and was sent to China to serve as an intelligence officer, translating diaries of Japanese soldiers, which made him aware of the human side of the enemy. In the 1950s Japan's literary world began flourishing, and Dr. Keene was able to help it gain popularity in the West by translating some of the most important works into English while hanging out with the likes of Yukio Mishima, Yasunari Kawabata and Dazai Osamu. In the aftermath of the terrible earthquake last March 11, Dr. Keene announced his intention to immigrate to Japan forever, a fitting final chapter to an amazing career with Japan.

Donald Keene has been a friend to Japan for six decades.

Cool Products Monday, March 12, 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 April 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 comes with a full 175 page premium manga with 6 different additional stories to enjoy, and a 64-page High School DxD artbook. Awesome! But hurry as we're sure this will sell out fast. View products »
	Gorgeous 'Gothic' Photobook Stellar photographic artwork that takes a look at the inner and outer beauty of the female figure, framed in epic Goth-Loli fashion.
	IDOLM@STER Magnet Box, Chocobo, More In Stock New kawaii items in stock. Try the Idolm@ster magnet set, Chocobo coin case, and beautiful figures of Denpa Onna's Erio and Katanagatari's Togame.
	Fruits Apr 2012 No. 177 The latest issue of the hip FRUiTS magazine is packed with nothing but pages of full-page fashion plates from the trendiest streets of Tokyo.
	Striped Stockings, Shimapan Restocked More than just shimapan (striped underwear) we also carry a wide selection of similar styled stockings and socks to match.
	Fun New PSP Anime Games Today See great new PSP anime games today, including eroge Sharin no Kuni plus ASELIA the ETERNAL, a super title for fans of the CAPS LOCK KEY.
	Restocked PSP Games Too Also: fresh stock of the Miku Hatsune pantsu simulators, I mean games, plus the fun Nendoroid Generation game and I Have Few Friends Portable.
	Restocked Tiger & Bunny Artbooks For Tiger and Bunny fans, the popular Official Hero Book is restocked, a great collection of awesome art and information on the series. Enjoy!
	Evachu T-Shirt, Now in size XXL Our hilarious Evangelion x Pikachu crossover T-shirt is now available in XXL size, for our larger sized otaku. Imagine the comments you'll get with this on.
	When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Totoro We love the plush Totoro toys with suction cups that let you stick them on your car window, and we've restocked them today.
	The Borrower Arty Blu-ray Enjoy Studio Ghibli's latest movie "The Borrower Arrietty" in Blu-ray with full English subtitles, published by Ghibli directly.
	Hello KITTY Silicon Coaster, Chocolates Hello Kitty is here in silicon from to protect your living room and kitchen with cuteness! Plus many other kawaii items for home and kitchen.
	Nendoroid Complete File, Clannad Plush *Preorder* For fans of all things kawaii, we have a Nendoroid photobook (Saber Nendoroid included) and a plush of Botan from Clannad for preorder.
	Fun Ways to Learn Hiragana We restocked that Kawaii Hiragana Towel which helps you learn the basic writing system of Japanese while you get clean, plus the new Moekana cards!
	Other Japanese Study Products See our waterproof flashcards and memo pads which I use for recording ideas in the bath, plus other fun ways to study nihongo.
	Behold the Awesomeness of 'Ninja Food' Eat the food of ninjas in portable hard gummy form. Packed with valuable energy for stressed out ninjas.
	Japanese Oreos are Back Also: to comemorate the 100th anniversary of Oreo cookies, we've restocked some fun Japan-only Oreos. Slightly different but really delicious!
	Restocked Snacks, Too We have restocked snacks too, including Royal Milk Tea mix, Choco Baby and Choco Ball, Honey Caramels from Morinaga and the last (?) Winter Pocky for this year.
	Microwave de Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki We have lots of ways to enjoy Takoyaki and other fun Japanese treats, and today see fresh stock of our microwave Takoyaki cooking set.
	ASCII Art Bento Boxes & More Then, we've restocked the popular ASCII bento, a great lunchbox with a cute face made using Japanese ASCII characters. Nerd ho!
	Good Shape Onigiri Maker ~ Gutto Sand The cool way to make onigiri rice balls with little to no mess. Creates the ideal triangle shape every time, as seen in anime.
	New GLIT & BRILLIA Onigiri Case, Chopsticks And make sure to keep your onigiri safe with small, portable and easily washable onigiri lunch cases. Matching new chopsticks too!
	Perfect Sushi Molds, Other Items Restocked Then, make sushi the right way with these excellent sushi molds for making the perfect nigiri-zushi every time. Click to see.
	Kawaii Bento Cups Restocked Bento cups are important because they separate your white rice from the okazu, that is, the meat or vegetables in your bento. Great restocking today!
	Restocked Japanese Pens, StitchLock We've got some Japanese office items, like remarkable pens of all colors and shapes, staple-less staplers, highlighters and more.
	Samurai Sword Keychains & More Also enjoy miniature samurai sword keychains, plus our famous "transforming towels" with girls whose kimonos vanish when they get wet.
	Lucky Cat Coin Bank ~ White or Black Give your lucky coins an extra boost with these lucky cat coin banks, available in white or black. Yes we Nyan! Enjoy fresh stock of these fun items.
	Megurine Luka Figure - Tony Design *Preorder* Feast your eyes on this beautiful Luka figure designed by none other than Tony Taka. Put some music on and you'll swear she dances!
	Tiger & Bunny Glasses *Preorder* Plus we've got some great preorder goods featuring those handsome mech pilots Tiger and Bunny, and all the other pilots from the series too.
	Gorgeous Persona 4 Preorder Products Get your Persona 4 fix with a beautiful Konohanasakuya action figure, plus cups with art of all your favorite characters.
	EVA-00 USB Desktop Fan *Preorder* This preorder will be released just in time for summer, so rest cool while others fry with this USB-powered N2 rocket fan supported by EVA-00.
	Wonderful New 'H' Photobooks This photobook shows off the beauty of the shapely woman's behind, all in public spaces, some really letting it out. A very fun book.
	Maken-Ki! Full Color ~ ULTIMATE A real treat for fans of Maken-Ki, this volume compiles the manga's sexiest episodes and presents them in full color with extras. Wow!
	Tony Taka's Epic Artbook, More Restocked Enjoy the gorgeous ero ero art of Tony Taka in his most famous artbook, plus other works too. All artbooks and manga on sale this month!
	Amazing Bishojo Cast-Off Figures *Preorder* Based on the designs of Goro Horikawa, these cast off figures are definitely NSFW, unless you work at an office as cool as J-List.
	New A10 Cyclone INNER CUP Toys Add some extra tight fun for your A10 Cyclone, ranking top class in the field of automated male pleasure devices, with new attachments and add-ons.
	Various Love Dolls Restocked The Japanese love finding new ways of making the time-old act of loving more fun. See our Love Body Ren, Pururun Angel Bust and more!
	Great Oppai Products Restocked J-List prides itself on its wide variety of oppai products for lovers of soft breasts. Try Angel Bust, the oppai hole, and more!
	Amazing Onahold Toys Restocked And check out our awesome selection of adult toys, sure to meet the needs and wants to everyone's very selective tastes in relaxation.
	Song of Saya Japanese Version Get the amazing original from Nitroplus before the official English release is out later this year. Wonderful story by the creator of Madoka and Fate:Zero!
	Secret Wives' Club for NTR? NTR is a slang word meaning netorare or cuckoldry, e.g. the fetish of one's woman being taken by another man. Great game with hot graphics!

The Great Touhoku Earthquake: One Year Later

This Sunday marks the first anniversary of the terrible 9.0 earthquake and tsunamis which caused so much pain and loss of life in the Touhoku region of Japan. The quake was the strongest ever recorded here, moving the country 2.4 meters towards North America and slowing the Earth's rotation slightly. Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, and if it had only faced the quake, it would have come through with flying colors thanks to its excellent building codes. It was the unprecedented waves that did the real damage, an unstoppable wall of water that reached as high as 40 meters (133 feet) and stretched 10 km inland in places. Now the names of towns like Kuji, Ofunato and Namie live in infamy as regions which were greatly damaged by the disaster -- in the single hardest-hit area, half the town of Minami-sanriku's 18,000 inhabitants were carried away by the waters.

While March 11 marked a terrible tragedy, there were bright spots, too. Television images of people calling out for loved ones, fearing the worst yet being reunited with their family members in the end. A baby, found alive and unhurt in the midst of so much destruction. One happy tale was the "Miracle of Kamaishi," a town in windswept Iwate Prefecture that had strictly adhered to a regiment of disaster preparedness drills in its schools when most other towns were lulled into a sense of security by their offshore breakwaters. As a result, 98.8% of the town's 2900 children were able to evacuate safely. The aftermath of the destruction was touching, too, as the entire world moved to help Japan get back on her feet, from the U.S. military's "Operation Tomodachi" relief mission to the huge amount of help from the Red Cross and people like you. The popular Japanese picture sharing site Pixiv was filled with images of support by artists from Japan and all around the world. Although the new Japanese tourism slogan of "Japan. Thank you." is somewhat cryptic and odd-sounding, the country is very thankful for the help she received.

(Speaking of thanks, March 9 is called "thank you day" in Japan since san-kyu sounds like "thank you" when pronounced in Japanese. Hatsune Miku's name kanji can also be read as san-kyu, so today is known as Miku's Day by Vocaloid fans, too.)