One Point Japanese Grammar Lesson: Verbs

The Japanese language is famous for being difficult to learn, and was once thought to be an invention of the Devil to halt the spread of Christianity in the country. I disagree -- I'm sure Japanese is no more or less hard to master than any other language, and its grammar system is definitely much simpler than the convoluted system we have in English, with influences from French, Latin and Ancient Greek. Still, there are certain aspects of the language that were a challenge to get down, such as the way subjects are often left off of sentences if the meaning is clear from the context. Another is Japan's "agglutinative" nature, which just means a lot information is stored in the verb form rather then having a lot of helping verbs flying around, like "he would have been able to go if his bike hadn't been stolen." In effect this means you have several conjugated forms to learn for any given verb, for example ikimasu / iku (formal / informal for "[I] go"), ikimashita / itta (informal / formal for "[I] went"), forms for causative and passive voice and so on, all usually following clear patterns. If you ever wondered what the difference between ganbatte and ganbare were, the former is the "te form" which is a polite request ("please do your best"), while the latter is the informal imperative form (e.g. "do your best!").

Japanese sentences store lots of information in the verb form.

Home From Australia

I'm done with my little vacation to Australia, which was loads of fun. Australia is certainly an easy place to visit when coming from Japan, since there's only a 1 hour time difference between Sydney and Tokyo, meaning less disruption in your sleep schedule than when going to California with its 16 hour time difference. Also, Australians drive on the same side of the road as Japan, which means less stress while driving, though I'm not sure how well the average Japanese person would do navigating British-style roundabouts. Japan is quite attuned to gift-giving, and we made sure to bring back lots of omiyage (oh-mee-yah-geh) souvenirs for the J-List staff, including a boomerang for our manga and artbook buyer Yasu, several packs of those dreamy Tim Tam cookies and lucky leather coin pouches made from...the part of a kangaroo that rhymes with "totem."

We had a lot of fun in Australia, though the kangaroos didn't look quite this nice.

On Japan, Death and Robotech

One of the first impressions foreigners living in Japan may get is that everything is "about death." This is likely because many of the unique aspects of Japanese culture -- and let's be honest, the invisible rules we foreigners are most likely to accidentally break -- are related to death and funerals. Don't stick your chopsticks in your rice (tachibashi) or try to hand food to another person chopstick-to-chopstick (awasebashi), and don't sleep with your head facing north (kitamakura), as these are all reserved for solemn funeral ceremonies. Seen from the outside, much of Japanese culture seems dedicated to remembering the dead, such as the August holiday Obon (pronounced "oh, bone!"), when the spirits of departed members of the family come home for a visit. Similarly, remembering a person's meinichi, the anniversary of their death, is quite important. (To the Japanese, the English word "anniversary" is always a happy, celebratory word, and they're shocked that it's used in this context.) April 17 happens to be the anniversary of the death of Carl Macek, the Gene Roddenberry of anime in the U.S., who had a great effect on my life on several levels, including inspiring me to bring my love of anime and business together. I will definitely raise a glass to Carl tonight.

April 17 is the meinichi of Carl Macek, the Great Bird of the Anime Galaxy

Awesome Eroge in English from J-List

In addition to carrying thousands of anime-related products from Japan, J-List is fighting the good fight for the most indy game genre there is: visual novels published in English, which are a great way to interact with Japan on a more intimate level. One game all fans should look at is Koihime Musou, the smash hit eroge from MangaGamer which we're publishing in a collectable package form. This fantastic game, which recreates the classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms story with cute bishoujo characters, is one of the best titles ever released in English. The game will be 100% DRM free, and best of all, it will restore the excellent voice cast in the game which was removed from the initial release due to licensing issues. It's got an all-star voice cast, too, including Norio Wakamoto. Preorder this outstanding game now!

J-List's Bento Sale is Still Going Strong

J-List has been selling the cutest and most awesome anime and character-themed bento boxes from Japan for years, and this month we're having a 2x J-List Points sale on our entire selection of bento boxes, to celebrate spring. Whether you want the most excellent Pokemon bento ever, or prefer the quality of Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service lunchboxes from Studio Ghibli or like Hello Kitty bento, we've got fun items for you to browse. Click here to browse all our bento boxes from Japan!

Cool Products Monday, April 16, 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.

	Dengeki Girl's Style May 2012 It's time for a new issue of the No. 1 magazine for girls who love otome games! Enjoy over 250 pages of the hottest guys from games like Starry Sky and Uta no Prince-sama, plus cool omake including posters and more! Yet another awesome reason to be a fangirl in anime today. View products »
	Newtype Ace Vol. 8 2012 Coming at you with a brand new issue of Newtype Ace here, the magazine that brings you the best of Japan's cutting-edge manga.
	Comptiq May 2012 And check out the latest issue of the moe filled Comptiq, with a cool demo of the upcoming game Da Capo III! Wow.
	Macross Frontier Visual Collection ~ Ranka Lee Page after page of amazing full-color official artwork of the Macross F series' teen idol, Ranka, in kawaii sugiru poses. A fan's must have item.
	Gorgeous Anime Figures In Stock If you're a Fullmetal Alchemist fan, then you'll definitely want to check out this super-cool action figure of Al. Makes all sorts of stylish poses.
	Nyanpire Mug Cup We love Nyanpire at J-List, so here's a mug cup featuring a cute black vampire kitten. This is a great addition to your Nyanpire collection.
	New Shimapan in Several Colors, Too And for all you lovers of Japanese cosplaying and fashion, we've got Shimapan in stock in a variety of colors and sizes, even for men.
	Darth Vader Star Wars Ice Cube Tray, More The power of the dark side is strong in this drink, with Sith shaped ice cubes from Japan. Also check out the Star Wars Hanafuda cards restocked, I love these!
	Awesome Anime Games for PSP and PS3 Restocked The most popular Hatsune Miku pantsu simulator rhythm games are restocked, plus I Have Few Friends and both Madoka Magica PSP games.
	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."
	Totoro Blankets Restocked Some super kawaii blankets and other fluffy Totoro toys are now restocked and available for shipping directly from Japan.
	Rilakkuma Portable Cup Amazingly portable drinking cup and pill case featuring Rilakkuma. Small enough to fit into your pants pocket! Great for when you're on the go.
	Amazing Japanese Pens & More Restocked Professional mangaka (manga artists) know that nothing is more valuable than a good pen when it comes to making great artwork.
	ZEROHARI Paper Stitcher, More We always have fun stationery products from Japan. See the ZeroHari magic stapler, Secure Stamper for hiding personal info, and more.
	Great 'Tatami' Sandals Restocked Your feet will feel like they are walking though Kyoto with these relaxing and comfortable traditional sandals. Large size for gaijin too!
	Genuine MINO Cup ~ Happy Love Owl With a style that stems back the age of samurai and ninjas, is will make for a fantastic addition to anyone's great collection of Japanese glassware.
	Awesome Doritos and Cheetos from FritoLay Japan We love finding strange and wonderful versions of your favorite snacks, which is why we carry plenty of Japanese Kit Kat and Oreo products. Today we've got amazing Korean Bibimpap flavored Doritos and Cheese Gratin Cheetos Balls posted to the site. View products »
	DIY Microwave Panda Treat Build your own panda... then eat him in this easy to make home snack kit, plus other fun DIY home snacks.
	Restocked Japanese Snacks, Too Enjoy Sakura and Green Tea Gum, Ninja Food for making smart ninjas, Takoyaki Pretz w/real sauce (!), and traditional Hello Kitty candy.
	Temari Rabbit Bowl Lunch Box w/ Kinchaku Bento Bag Enjoy a Japanese style donburi lunch with this cool, portable and eco-friendly lunch box. Comes with its own carrying pouch too.
	Kawaii Panda Bento & More Restocked Our bento box sale continues through the end of April, so browse our selection of panda bento boxes and other decorative designs, now restocked!
	Awesome Bento Cups, Food Separators See restocked bento food cups -- including one that teaches you hiragana! -- plus other fun ways of keeping your food separate in your lunch.
	Other Fun Kitchen Items Restocked And you'll find some great bento making tools and accessories newly restocked, like character shapers, silicon molds and even cute cooking chopsticks.
	Bilingual Manga Restocked We carry the bilingual Ghost in the Shell manga -- which features all the content cut from the U.S. release. Plus other great bilingual comics and books!
	Mini Magic Sakura Tree Spring is here, so celebrate like the Japanese do with this magic sakura tree that blooms right on your desk! Makes you want to drink some sake.
	Beautiful Kimonos and Yukatas from Japan Live the life of a samurai or geisha with these cool, authentic kimonos from Japan, for both men and women.
	New Strike Witches Figures *Preorder* Check out these posable figures of Yoshika and Mio, two of the cutest girls from Strike Witches. For fans of pants-less action.
	Denpa Onna Miniature Set *Preorder* Ten adorable Denpa Onna miniatures await in this fantastic set. Fans of this series' cute and quirky girls won't be disappointed.
	Killua Figure ~ HUNTER X HUNTER *Preorder* From the ultra-popular shonen manga comes this cute and cool figure of Killua Zaoldyeck. Features two great poses.
	Great Restocked Photobooks We have some outstanding photobooks, including Tsubasa Amami's popular release plus that we restocked for you, great for JAV fans.
	Goro Horikawa Sexy Cast off Figure *Preorder* Plus, we've got some great "for adult eyes only" preorder figures featuring the amazing creations of Goro Hoikawa. Nosebleed warnings!
	Duram Sheriff 1/7 Cast off Figure *Preorder* This armor-clad babe is sexy enough already, but wait until you get a load of her with her clothes off! Smoking!
	New Air Dutch Dolls ~ Minami Enjoy your spare time even more when you can share it with an amazing companion like Minami, the stylishly sexy air doll.
	Popular Anime Parody Onaholes, Dolls For guys who love strong female characters, we've got our Ikki Tousen toys restocked, plus the popular Love Body Ren doll + hole series. So realistic!
	Futanari Stress Toy, Bokkin Boy Beast Restocked A stress toy for Hideyoshi fans, and two Dragonball Z-inspired rings that can help a guy last longer. Pretty darned awesome.
	The Perfect Manko Principle Onaholes Stress toys made from casts of your favorite JAV stars, now that's a great idea. A big restocking of these popular toys posted today, incl. Miharu Kai.
	Yuri Ghosts on the Rooftop Liarsoft's 30th game is a lighthearted story of yuri romance between cute girls. Over 6 different couples to enjoy in this all-yuri game!

Using English Words with Japanese: Suru and Na Adjective

One aspect of the Japanese language is its heavy use of foreign loan words, usually borrowed from English. Since the grammar of the two languages is different, however, something is needed to "bridge" the two, and conveniently there are two such grammatical aides built right into Japanese. The first is the adjective particle na which allows a foreign adjective to be plugged into a Japanese sentence without breaking any rules, and you can hear phrases like surimu na onna (a slim, slender woman), hansamu na otoko (a handsome man) or torendii na dorama (the latest trendy drama on television) spoken every day in Japan. The Japanese can get quite creative with these English adjectives, and I've heard "almighty" and "epoch-making" used in this fashion -- e.g. epokkumeekingu na ibento, an Earth-shattering event. The other linguistic aid that helps foreign words be used in Japanese is the catch-all verb suru which means "to do." Some common examples include getto suru (GET-toh suru, to get or find something), doraibu suru (doh-RAH-ee-bu suru, to go for a drive), kamingu auto suru (kah-min-GU AH-oo-toh suru, to come out of the closet about something), and one of my favorites, sekkusu suru (to have, well, you know). The staff at J-List uses lots of English in their Japanese, too, and you can hear terms like sukyan suru (to scan a product) or pikku suru (to pick products in preparation for shipping) being used everyday.

I tried to getto suru  one of these limited Hatsune Miku origami, but failed.

Having Fun in Australia Nau

My wife and I have been having lots of fun this week, making our first visit to Australia for a short vacation. We've been quite impressed with the country so far, doing various tourist-ey things while I try to sample every brand of beer in the country. (I don't think I'm going to get to them all.) Of course coming to a new country always means discovering various oddities, like the sound cross-walks make to tell you it's okay to cross, browsing for interesting local snacks (Tim Tam chocolate biscuits!!), and puzzling over colorful local words like brekkie, sunnies and uni for breakfast, sunglasses and university. I often write about the kokumin-sei or "national character" of different countries, and I've done my best to make observations here, people-watching in pubs over a few pints. As far as I can tell, the spirit of Australia can be summed up by the words "no worries," which are pretty good words to live by.

I'm having fun down in Australia right now.

Self Introductions and Humility and the Japanese

Recently J-List hired a new Japanese employee to oversee the shipping of packages, and on her first day the entire staff gathered in a circle, each person bowing in turn and doing jiko shokai, which means "self introduction," although it's actually quite a deep cultural concept for the Japanese. In almost any situation where people will be interacting, be it a classroom, a job situation or the local PTA board, a new member will always stand and make a formal self introduction, telling the others their name (including how to write it in kanji), where they're from, what their hobbies are, and so on. Giving this information to the other members of the group allows everyone to categorize the newcomer properly, and afterwards the others will do their own jiko shokai in turn, which the J-List staff did. One interesting aspect of Japanese people is their tendency to show humility, and that always comes to the surface during formal moments like these. The new employee apologized to her new co-workers in advance, saying she'd surely cause inconvenience to them by taking a long time to learn the job properly. Do people do anything like that in your country?

Self-introductions are a big part of life in Japan.

A Few Fun Things from Japan

J-List takes our mission of bringing delightful Japanese products to you very seriously, and whether it's rare and unique flavors of Japanese Kit Kat, Black Black Caffeine Gum from Lotte, fun Popin' Cookin' sushi candy from Kracie or Sakuma Drops candies from the WWII period, we love the products we carry. We also specialize in high quality visual novels and eroge translated into English, like the upcoming Koihime Musou package edition, with no DRM/copy protection and a fully restored voice track.

Cool Products Friday, April 13, 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 May 2012 The latest issue of Newtype is here, and it's full of juicy info and beautiful art from hot anime like Fate/Zero and Accel World. Plus you'll get lots of great omake, including exclusive posters and a cute figure of Fate/Zero's Saber in a swimsuit! These issues sell faster than you'd believe, so don't wait! View products »
	Dengeki Visual Art's 2012 Spring Pick up the latest issue of Dengeki Visual Art's, the premier art magazine for fans of Key and other Visual Art's brands. Comes with a Kud Wafter shower poster!
	Dragon Age May 2012 Check out the newest issue of Dragon Age, the magazine that is always full of amazing, top ranking manga like High School DxD and Triage X.
	Other Epic Anime Magazines from Japan See some of our favorite anime, moe and fashion magazines, like Dengeki G's, Nyantype, and the final issue of GeMaga, all about to sell out soon.
	Hatsune Miku Figures and More In Stock Plus lots of restocked and last chance to pick up some amazing character figures like Hatsune Miku, Tooru, Erio Towa, Sayaka, Evangelion and more.
	Cutie April 2012 For the cutest fashions in Tokyo today, there's no better resource than Cutie. Plus you get free fashion accessories with every issue of, including this one.
	Purple Border and Black Shirt Set (Purple) Give yourself the gift of style with amazing Japanese fashion, like today's cool set that features two matching tops that go great together.
	To Aru Kagaku no Railgun Style School Uniforms With this set you'll look like you've stepped out of a Certain Anime High School, and we've got all the popular sizes ready for every cosplayer.
	Japanese School Swimsuits, Shimapan & More Also great for cosplay or casual wear (?), authentic Japanese style school swimsuits and those great striped panties restocked.
	Anime Long Cushion Dakimakura In Stock Make each night more enjoyable when you're accompanied by a friendly and sexy companion dakimakura (body pillow).
	Toilet Poop Super Ball? They are back, and this time with toilets inside. A wacky idea that could only come from Japan. Makes for a great gag gift for your friends.
	Atelier Elkrone ~ Dear for Otomate From Gust and Otomate, the latest game in the Atelier series is packed with all the handsome guys and stirring romance a girl gamer loves.
	Great PC Games from Japan Restocked We stock the best anime-related games from Japan, and today we posted Steins;Gate, Air, Sonicomi, Little Busters and several Touhou Project games.
	Japanese Strange English Examine the common follies of Japanese English (Engrish) in this manga study book, written with Japanese explanations. Quite a fun book!
	Restocked Japanese Study Books, Too Fresh stock of one Japanese study books too, like the popular Catchy Japanese Phrases series, flashcards, kana guides and more.
	Genuine KUTANI Ware Cup ~ Gold Leaf & Camellia Drink from a cup that houses the artistic senses of the ancient Japanese heart and mind, with these kutani cups from Japan.
	SUMI-BAN ~ Charcoal Strong Deodorizer Cleanse the air you breath with the power of natural charcoal, nullifying the effects of nasty odors.
	Fun Anime Canned Bread from Akihabara Fun and amazing, these anime themed cans contain... bread? Not only that, but delicious bread? Great for collectors, campers, or those stocking up for the end of the world. Today we have five different varieties, but supplies are limited so we don't know how long they will last. Pick up yours soon before they are gone. View products »
	Coconut Pocky, New Wata Gum Flavors Great chocolate snacks like these limited edition pocky flavors, like coconut, almond and peanut. Wacky flavors from Japan.
	Limited DX Japan Kit Kat in Gift Box Nice news for Kit Kat fans: we've restocked several of the Japanese Kit Kat gift boxes, plus several other awesome Japanese snacks, incl. Panda Cookies.
	HANAKUMA-SAN 2 Tired Bento Box w/ Trio Set A very kawaii bear themed bento that comes with matching fork, spoon and chopsticks. 2x points this month too!
	Rilakkuma Chopsticks & Case ~ Paris Travel Don't use disposable utensils when you go picnicking or camping. Take your own personal pair of cute chopsticks, with safety case.
	Kawaii Items for your Kitchen Enjoy random cute items like the Heart and Rabbit/Bird Cooking Shaper Sets, a way to make cute pudding and gelatin, plus other random items.
	Ribbon-Holic Hello Kitty Memo Pad  Super stylish with four different note designs, this note pad is the perfect fit for those who want to keep organized while remaining cool and fun.
	Restocked Japanese Pens, Other Stationery Items See fun Japanese pens today, plus random fun items for your office, like Meku-Ribbon, the cute finger grips for flipping documents.
	Also: Fundoshi, Hachimaki, More We have more stock of surprising Japanese traditional products, including fundoshi Japanese underwear plus kanji headbands for showing your samurai spirit.
	Other Traditional Products Restocked Enjoy the 3D Mt. Fuji Crystal which our customers love, plus Samurai sword letter openers, traditional Kyoto candy and more.
	Gorgeous Saber Figures Posted for Preorder We love Saber from Fate/stay night, and have several epic figures posted to the site today. Look at the detail on this swimsuit figure!
	Kirino and Kuroneko Figures, Too Then, if you can't believe your younger sister could be this cute, we've got new Kirino and Kuroneko figures that will make you moe moe kyun.
	Asuka Kazama 1/7 Tekken Figure *Preorder* From the Tekken series comes the sexy Asuka Kazama, with her heaving chest and rock hard body. Another great preorder that will be released soon.
	Yukiko Amagi Figma Action Figure *Preorder* Oh my, this Figma is gorgeous and I love her. A great new offering for Persona 4 fans that you should not miss. I love her detailed poses.
	More Gorgeous Preorder Figures Posted See a fistful of other figures posted too, including Inori from Guilty Crown, Akane Senri from Rewrite, Izumi from Queen's Blade and more.
	Yuri Moe - Awesome Japanese Girls This wonderful yuri photobook brings you 160 pages of Japanese girls in intimate situations. Guaranteed to set the yuri fan's imagination on fire.
	Restocked Ecchi Pose Photobooks This is a serious artistic tool, not merely a book of gorgeous women in different poses. How could you think such a thing??
	Panic Bunnys Fans of bunny girls should definitely check out this erotic manga anthology. Features some of the most outlandish situations we've ever seen.
	Nakuru Narumi Cast-Off Figure *Preorder* An amazing view of fan service from the series Mayo-Chiki!, modeled in stellar 1/4.5 proportions that allows nothing to be left for the imagination.
	Ero-Cheki!? Onahole series Speaking of Mayo Chiki, we've got a great line of high quality parody onaholes that allows you to spend some quality time with your favorite characters.
	Shakuhachi Musume Oral Pump, More Restocked A huge restocking of our best onahole toys and more, including Bubble Shake, Airi Himekawa Air Doll, and more. So much fun!
	Nipple Papillon Give that gift that keeps on vibrating with these light-up clip-on accessories for you or your special friend's oppai.
	Popular Lotion, Massagers & More We've restocked the popular Onatsuyu ~ Female Nectar Lotion that has brought stress relief to so many, plus other popular items.
	Mahou Tsukai no Yoru ~ Witch on the Holy Night The wait is over! Dive back into the Nasuverse with this highly anticipated visual novel from the creator of Fate/stay night and Tsukihime. Featuring powerful magic, gripping battles, and a cast of characters both familiar and new, this game is sure to be an unforgettable experience for Type-Moon fans. Supplies are limited, so act now! View products »
	We Love Master is In Stock Remember, the long-awaited yaruge (er, an eroge where the main focus of the story is, er, getting to the action right away) is now in stock!
	New Hentai Anime Releases from Japan And if princesses are more your thing, try this 6-episode hentai anime about a warrior princess whose strength and pride are put to the ultimate test.