Fansubbing

No, breathe easy. I'm not going into fansubbing.
I don't think I could put up with that kind of workload and stress.


I've been thinking a lot about translators and whatnot.


Basically, whine and complain about everything you want.
Bad TL, Typesetting, Editing, etc etc.

Just a short excerpt:

"5. People don’t actually give a shit about the quality of subs. Following from that, people don’t seem to give a shit about what the characters are saying on screen. Otherwise, there’s no way in hell Coalgirls and qIIq could get away with their subs. This isn’t even about translation “accuracy,” it’s about using half-decent English."

http://mogumogubakubaku.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/6-2/


*Clap Clap Clap Clap*
Right on the mark, in fact, this entire post is.


And I'm also pulling up really old posts.


I'll admit, I myself have really bad English. My marks in English are usually several letters lower then everything else.


And, no, posting a picture of a book on grammar in front of a computer doesn't make you an English major.
Nor does it tell anyone anything about the quality/consistency of your work.
No names here...


I have a high opinion of Hadena, not because of their work, but because I see that they are actively trying to improve themselves, and I respect that.








Random update: Rethinking blog. Expect 1-5 posts a month.

King of Thorn - Ibara no Ou

Coming to the united States on September 18th. Finally.

Originally manga, then it was adapted into a movie, with a lot of changes.

TOKYOPOP is/was selling the manga, but now the prices are all over the place, ranging from $2.99 USD + Shipping to $88 USD + Shipping.　I think it's out of print and some people are just trying to clear a backlog, while others are trying to make a profit off an out of print book (In english anyway, the spanish one is fine)

I would think it's safe to assume that they might be reprinting it, with the movie release in a few months.

いばらの王
Ibara no Ou
King of Thorn

Released in Japan May 2010
US release in September 2012


Despite the huge difference between the source material, and the animation, King of Thorn is still a great movie that is worth being watched.

CHARACTERS (4/5)

King of Thorn has a very small cast, and that cast gets progressively smaller and smaller and smaller.

  

 Now, at first, the cast seems to be, well, what they seem to be. Marco (above) seems a criminal, who somehow got into the Cold sleep program. Kasumi  (Glasses, left) the unassuming meganekko who leads the cast. Pecchino (Far right, the old man), appears to be, well, he is what he appears to be, so no surprises there.


As the story progresses, we see that the "lottery" to get into Cold Sleep, may not have been random, and the characters all have some deeper reason as to why they are there (Aside from Pecchino), and are revealed through the course of the story.


The voice actors, do a great job bringing their character to life. Even Especially in the beginning.


To you who read the manga. Zeus is not in the movie. At all, it's very interesting to see how one absent character can change the entire plotline, it's also why this doesn't get a 5/5 score.

SETTING/ANIMATION (5/5)



This getting a full score, I really just want to post pictures to prove my point. Sadly, it's hard to find something that both proves the prefect score, and doesn't spoil the story. So, you'll have to take my word for it.

The setting, is one of the most unique parts of the story. It takes the concept of a cryogenic sleep, and changes it around. The usual  setting for "Wake up in post-apocalyptic future" don't apply here. In fact, it may be seen as turning a dream into reality...



The use of color is also a major part to this "Sunrise Smooth" film. The scenes which show the different areas, are usually more saturated in different colors to emphasize the changes.

The Cold Sleep rooms, bathed in white, outside, painted in faded and washed tones, after they wake up, the presence of green everywhere to show how the world has changed (think Origin: Spirits of the Past).



STORY (4/5)

This, is where the movie also loses points. For fear of spoilers, no pictures for this part. The movie can be split up into several parallel stories at first. Kasumi+Party, and Marco and Peter. Though they are different in some ways, both parties are trying to accomplish the same thing in the end. Escape. King of thorn is a survival horror, and the mood set at the start is something that is easy to understand and relate to. Escape. They are in a strange place in a strange new world. Escape. They have to get up, and get out to try to find something familiar.

Then it gets a little more complex...



MUSIC (5/5)

Not much to say here, fantastic soundtrack. Dark and full of a primal kind of energy (or was it fear?). Does much to enhance the story and set the mood.

The song for the movie is "Edge of this World" sang by MISIA.
Song via youtube (not mine)

OVERALL(4.5/5)

It is produced by Sunrise, and Kana Hanazawa voices Kasumi. It's good, the readers of the source material will be a little disappointed, but through and through, this movie is still a fine example of a horror anime done right.

Website Here

Japanese - Listening

This being a blog and all, I can't say much about speaking practice, but for listening, True Listening, most Drama CD's will do.

I'll actually have to admit, I think they are a tad slower then a native speaker.

Listening to this has multiple effects.

1. It helps you develop an ear for Japanese, and believe me, if you want to live and work in Japan, you will need an ear. They talk fast (Granted if you look non-Japanese they will speak slower)

2. Learn to pick out words you need to make an answer, listen for certain. Even when I speak and listen to Japanese, I rarely process the entire sentence, this is helpful on a test (say AP or JLPT), where they are speaking fast, and you can only make out a few words anyway.

Because that was all pretty badly written (re-watching IDOLM@STER right now):

tl;dr

Listen until Japanese doesn't sound fast anymore.

and by fast, I mean this:

Don't read the subtitles, just press play and then minimize the window. Pure listening. See what your up against.

I tend to find that when watching anime raw, they still talk slower then in real life, or on a CD.

There are also a lot of Drama CD's on CRAZY-CAKE

The Hyakumonogatari Original Drama CD is something I would also recommend.

Random note:

Season 2 when?

Did I miss the beginning of Summer?

The Summer 2012 Anime season has finally started.
I have to use simulcasts now, because of the ISP's, or until I can find a way around it.

Crunchyroll Summer 2012 Page - Here

Incidentally, I'm only watching 2 shows this season.

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse

For those of you who don't know what Muv-Luv is, get out it was originally visual novel, named Muv-Luv. Then a sequel Muv-Luv Alternative. From that is what this show is derived from.

I hear that it's more complicated then Fate/Stay Night, and better (then again, of TM's games, I've only played Tsukihime).

Episode 1 is out for everyone, 2 is only for premium members at the moment.

And I'm also watching

Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere II

Episode 1 simulcasts in 1 hour. I hate waiting
But it's here, it's finally here.

Take (竹)

http://sai-zen-sen.jp/special/takegarou/post-170.html

The name of this is "Red Dress"

VOFAN

http://www.wretch.cc/album/show.php?i=vofan&b=10&f=1676450916&p=41&sp=0

Unnamed, or I just could not find it.

Tales of Xillia

Bought this in Japan too, I'm gonna see if I can get through it without breaking something in frustration.

Not very far into the game, so Milla can still nerf everything.

The (animated) cutscenes are done by Ufotable, and they look very nice.

Old news, but a side note:

Tengoku Kara no Yell

Alright, so, I usually don't watch Live-Action movies (haven't turned on the TV in half a year).

This drama, translated as "Cheer from Heaven" is about a man who builds a Music Studio for kids to use for free because he doesn't have much time left.

It's based on a true story.
T_T

The trailer is on the official site. I would strongly recommend for you to watch this, even if you are not a fan of Japanese dramas'.


This is also a related music video.

I also just realized that I missed the morning post due to jet lag.

Japanese 101 - Suggestions (ます)

I know, I know, I said I was closing it.

Well, during my stay in Japan, I realized that many of the questions asked to me were suggestions, and then I spent a while wondering if I had ever added that to "Japanese 101". Checked 101, it wasn't there, so here you go

Well, like all the other general ます conjugations, it's easy. Take the ~ます ending, cut it off, and replace it with ~ましょう

So, eat (more accurately "will eat") 食べます, becomes 食べましょう, do you wan't to eat?

Also, the です ending, can become でしょう, which can be used to suggest non-verbs.
It's a bad example, but 冒険でしょうでしょう (Boken Deshou Deshou) the name of the Haruhi ED, is saying "It's an adventure isn't it?" so, basically suggesting that something is an adventure.

I'll add this to the Japanese 101 page.

ただいま！

I'm back from my short hiatus, and I am more or less recovered. I hope you all don't mind that 90% of this post is "Ex Post Facto".
By the way, this post will hammer your bandwidth.

The first order of business, Happy Tanabata everyone!

For those of you who don't know what Tanabata is, it's the Star Festival. It's about the stars Altair and Vega (Known as Hikoboshi and Orihime in Japanese), and they are two lovers that can only meet one day of the year (7/7).

Or something like that, I grew up around the Chinese version, so my mind is a little scrambled about all of that.

You write a wish on paper and hang it on a bamboo tree. It's seen in a lot of anime, I don't have any screencaps handy though :/

Second, now that I am back, I can resume TL'ing Sora no Otoshimo PICO.

Third; The weather in Japan sucks right now. Don't visit Asia in the summer.
Aside from that, the people there are really nice and helpful, the streets are very clean, and unlike America, it doesn't take a million hours to get out of the airport.

Saw this in the electronics district in Osaka, too bad I was there 2 days before the release, otherwise I would have gotten Robotics;Notes (a relapse prevented me from leaving to get it two days later)

Oh, also, at the time of my first post, 化物語（上）was the only Japanese book I owned. After this trip, that is not quite the case anymore.

The Zaregoto Series (Bought book 4 twice)

 

Various NisiOisiN (Actually, just Medaka Box and the Monogatari series)






TYPE-MOON








The PIXIV 2011 annual, and Golgo 13









This book was quite interesting:

 
I don't know how well you can see with the resolution (phone camera) but the book is bilingual.

And the most important thing:

Hehe, I guess I'm still not that good at writing, this post turned out to be mostly pictures.
give me some time, I believe in Laconic phrases, and it will take a while to change that.

I did have pneumonia, and I'm told it got quite bad after the first relapse (WBC count at 20k), I'm a lot better now though.

The Lack of posts

I apologize for my current lack of posts, but I seem to be coming down with pneumonia.

Depending on how I feel later, we may have an afternoon and night sunday music, thanks for your understanding!

Infinite Stratos Review

インフィニット・ストラトス
Infinite Stratos

A light novel adaption (of the same name), one that I believe is still going on.

I came into this show thinking it would be a horrible show, I'll admit, it was pretty bad in the beginning, but I walked away from it, liking it a lot

CHARACTERS (4/5)

Well, IS is a harem show. With a small cast, one could expect character development for everyone, but that is not the case. Until the end, much of the time is split between the 6 characters, and we don't get to see that much of most of them.

Our main character Shiro Emiya Orimura Ichika (The Guy) with 5 other heroines, Houki Shinonono (Black Hair), Cecilla Alcott (Pale Blond Hair, Blue hairband), Rin Fan (Short Jumping one), Charlotte Dunoa (Blond hair), and Laura Bodewig (Grey hair, on end).

Given the lack of development for most of the characters, I would give it a much lower score, but the voice acting really brings them to life, and for Charlotte, Laura, and Houki, enough time is devoted to their backstories and character development to warrent a higher score.


SETTING/ANIMATION (3/5)

The setting is generic, one guy at an all girls school, I've never seen that before... There isn't much to talk about there.

What really saves this category are the fight animation's. Unlike SOME shows *cough* *cough* *Fate/Zero* *cough* *cough*, the CG (when used) looks like it's actually in place, it melds well with the traditional animation, and it in general looks very nicely done.

STORY (3.5/5)

Story? Well, that's an interesting one. You would expect a harem to have, well, no story. That seems to be the case at first, but then we delve deeper, and we learn, it's a good story given the scope of IS and the time they had to tell it. No pictures here, if you really want to know, then watch it.


MUSIC (3.5/5)

Wow, something that isn't a 5/5. The music is actually divided into two subcategories worth 2.5 points each, half for the score itself, and the other half for the presentation, the score isn't bad, if anything it's well written. It's just not used well. The score can also be a little overdone at times, and it seems somewhat generic (in the case of Charles for example). Often when there is music playing, it often competes with any onscreen talking, or action, rather complementing it. At the end, this mostly fixes itself.

OP via youtube (not mine)

Personally I like the ED better...


OVERALL (3.5/5)

A poorly done story at first, carried only by the voice actors and the animation, comes back in the second half and ends strong. Needs a second season, it really needs a second season.

C3 (CubexCursedxCurious) Review

シーキューブ
C3
or CubexCursedxCurious

This show aired winter 2011 I think
Adapted from a Light Novel of the same name.


Before I say anything, this is a weird show. It's a really weird show.
I don't know what I was smoking when I decided to watch it, and when I finished, I left with mixed feeling about it.


CHARACTERS (4/5)

It's a small cast, with one male (Haruaki Yachi, left) and every other major character is female. The female lead is Fear Kubrick (Right), who is a cursed tool. We also meet several other characters, the most notable being Ueno Kirika. Lets.... Not talk too much about that. THAT scene gave me the shivers....

The personalities of the cast can seem somewhat generic (think Taiga, or Touma) at first, but as we go further into the show, we find that is not quite the case.


That being said, the dual nature, as well as some of the backstories/hidden facades some of the characters have, make for a very interesting story. I will also praise the voice actors for delivering a very well done performance of their characters, it's things like that which help to bring the cast alive

SETTING/ANIMATION (4/5)


I won't speak too much about the setting, as it's a common school/town setting. C3 wins points for the animation. Not so much the character animation, but the backgrounds, the animation shifts, and the color palette.


The changes in style of the animation are reminisce of Bakemonogatari.

     

And color is used very nicely to show shifts in the mood of the show.
In general, Red is something that is deeper, and blue is the shallow daily lives of the cast. Aside from Haruaki.

STORY (2/5)


I'll have to admit, the story is weak. Despite the events that happen within the show, the pacing can ruin certain moments, hint: Indulgence Disks, or Kuroe's entrance into the show. This being an adaption, is hinting at a next season, which I assume will explain more, and in general be better, but whatever that is, the first season feels underdeveloped.

MUSIC (5/5)


Another high point of the show, unlike a certain other show I am watching presently, the score is both well written, and plays well. The music adds to the scene, and it never feels like it's fighting the voices of the characters.


Having a beautiful opening video's doesn't hurt either
Via youtube (not mine)

OVERALL (3.75/5)


This isn't bad show to watch. If you can get over all of the... Eccentricities...
It's not an entry level show, but if you are into grimdark and violent with stark contrasts, then you will like it. It's also something I would not recommend the casual viewer.

So you want to read manga?

A somewhat informational post, or not.

(A hopefully long post incoming)

0. Preface

1. America

    -1A. Names to know

    -1B. Manga near you

    -1C. Kinokuniya

    -1D. Importing

    -1E. Scanlations

    -1F. Mangafox

==================================

0. Preface:

So, what is manga? When looking at that question, it is important to remember, that "Manga" is sometimes used as a blanket term, and comics from other parts of Asia, are sometimes added to this term. 

Manga, like every form of entertainment is split into your typical genres, mystery, horror, drama, comedy, romance. And also is split into 4 demographics, Shonen, Shojou, Seinen, and Josei. Those demographic terms should not be used as black and white, as they only really act to categorize things. Take Cardcaptor Sakura or Sanzae-San. Believe it or not, manga was actually influenced by America, at the end of World War II, because of the American occupation. In fact, a lot of Japanese pop culture is influenced by America.

Manga, local to Japan at first, gained worldwide popularity, and now has a worldwide audience and a market as well.

==================================

1. In English

I'm going to assume you, the reader, are American, because I can't say much about outside America or Japan. Now then I hope you know something about the process to books.

==================================

1A. Names to know

In America, there are several large publishers of Manga.

Dark Horse Comics - They seem to publish some of the darker, and older Manga, as well as CLAMP titles

Yen Press - I think they have a monthly Manga magazine, like in Japan

Tokyopop - Ok, these guys may be defunct, I'm not entirely too sure, because, they did stop publishing, but beyond that, I am unaware of their future plans.

Del Ray Manga - Subsidiary to Randomhouse, they have quite a lot of titles liscenced

Viz Media - Who also sit on the rights to Bleach (Which is ending soon).

If you buy from these companies, you will help expand the R1 Market (America, and Canada). Less will go to the author, and more to the publishers. This in turn will help them make more money, to get licence more manga, make more money ect. ect.

I believe, you can also contact a company and request a title, if enough people ask for it, then they may attempt to get the licence, and start publishing. Similar to anime, the Japanese ask for ridiculous licencing fees, which is why, if you want to see something officially released in your region, buy from your regional publishers to help them.

Typically, manga in America is around $10, and in Black and white.

==================================

1B. Manga near you

Ever been to your local library?

Bet you didn't know there was a manga section.

In every library I have been to, there has been a manga section (even the school libraries).

Publishers also will take requests for donations to libraries as well (Take Viz Media for example).

Look around, you may be fairly surprised where you can find Manga

==================================

1C. Kinokuniya (Click title for site)

Kinokuniya, is a Japanese bookstore chain that has 7 Stores in America.

Everything they sell is in Japanese. It's a little overwhelming at first, but if you want to support the authors more, then buy from here. It's somewhat overpriced, but short of going to Japan, or importing, it's the next best place.

==================================

1D. Importing

Importing is expansive, but the names for that are:

CDJapan

Mandarake

Amazon JP

Dont use Amazon JP, scroll down to the bottom of this page to see why.

Now then, to pull a page from the buyfag guide:

I don't import, so you are on your own there...

==================================

1E. Scanlations

I'm sure we all know what these are. Opinion seems fairly divided about it.

Well, use 'em or not, the choice is yours.

But this brings up our next point....

==================================

1D. Mangafox and NOEZ

Read this Batoto thread to get a better grasp.

Mangafox and NOEZ are evil. Don't ever use Mangafox, unless you have an ad blocker, so that way they won't be making any money off of you, or scanlators.

==================================

Thanks for reading!

==================================

Oh yeah, for scrolling down to the bottom, see

"Kodansha Bilingual Comics" for a good reading and learning aid

they do exist!

Sunday Music 17

The song to end the day will be,
Happy Crazy Box, sang by Minami Kuribayashi
As you can tell, I really like Medaka Box

Song via youtube (not mine):

I expect this video to be taken down soon, because of an ironclad copyright.
Listen while you still can!

Sunday Music 16

The afternoon song today will be:
Ohanabatake ni tsuretette, sang by Medaka Kurokami (CV. Aki Toyosaki)

This will be the best show of the season.
I know it.

Song via youtube (not mine):

Sunday Music 15

Sorry for missing the 9:00
Was playing Stranded II
The morning noon song will be:
Real Folk Blues, by Seatbelts ft. Mai Yamane

Cowboy Bebop ED
Song via youtube (Not My video):

Also the shorter ver:

IDOLM@STER Special PV

Thanks to the fine folks at UTW (Not my video)

Brain Damage...

Almight

Almight, an AVG cross-platform engine.
runs off HTML5, and most devices with a modern browser support it.

It's on the app store, and the google play store

Check out the site here

This is wonderful!
but I don't have a smartphone, or a tablet, or a handheld device that uses HTML5

Welp, another great thing I'm missing out on.

Technocrati

I recently submitted my site to Technocrati, but then, I read the FAQ

There goes that....

Japanese 101 - Closure

Ahem, so it's been a nice month.
I am closing Japanese 101.

Thanks for reading!

==================

この日は「日本語その一」の最後日
皆さん、読みました、ありがとうございました！

Sunday Music 14

The song to end the day will be,
Hishoku no Sora (Scarlet Sky) sang by Mami Kawada
This song was used as the first opening video to "Shakugan no Shana"

Shakugan no Shana aired in 2005-2006 winter season
If you are thinking of watching this series, watch everything. Everything.
Season 1, the movie, season 1 specials, season 2, season 2 specials, season 3, season 3 specials.

Song via youtube (not my video):

Japanese 101 - Counters Part 2

Continuation of Part 1

~さつ  is the counter for books, ~さい  is the counter for age
The both follow the same pattern.
いっさつ for one、はっさつ for two, then use the general number ~さつ for the rest
いっさい for one、はっさい for two, then use the general number ~さい for the rest

~ほん is for long cylindrical objects. It follows an irregular pattern, so I will list them

いっぽん - 1
にほん - 2
さんぼん - 3
よほん - 4
ごほん - 5
ろっぽん - 6
ななほん - 7
はっぽん - 8
きゅうほん - 9
じゅっぽん - 10
After 10, just use #~ほん

~まえ is the counter for flat things (paper for example)

You can use counters make your Japanese sound more natural.

For instance, if you wanted to say 5 pencils, you could say
五えんぴつです (5 pencils) or
ごほん (these 5)

Makes you sound better.

hm. This wasn't as long as I'd anticipated

Japanese 101 - Household objects

いす [いす] chair	鉛筆 [えんぴつ] pencil	携帯電話 [けいたいでんわ] cellular phone
消しゴム [けしゴム] eraser	ごみ箱 [ごみばこ] trash can	雑誌 [ざっし] magazine
辞書 [じしょ] dictionary	座布団 [ざぶとん] cushion	写真 [しゃしん] photograph, picture
新聞 [しんぶん] newspaper	机 [つくえ] desk	床の間 [とこのま] alcove
電気スタンド [でんきスタンド] desk lamp	縫いぐるみ [ぬいぐるみ] stuffed toy	端書き [はがき] postcard
箱 [はこ] box	筆箱 [ふでばこ] pencil case	布団 [ふとん] Japanese-style mattress and quilt
本棚 [ほんだな] bookshelf, bookcase	物差 [ものさし] ruler	徒弟 [とけい] clock
庭 [にわ] garden, court	鞄 [かばん] bag, handbag	雑誌 [ざっし] magazine, journal
自転車 [じてんしゃ] bicycle	町 [まち] town, city	Enjoy!

Small not for でんきスタンド, dont use it.

It's strange, it literally means "Electric Stand" , and the Japanese would not normally use it do describe desk light.

Something like 机の光, or 机の上に光 would be a better word

Japanese 101 - A small reading

Typed up something for you all to read and see.

Ok, just so you know, this isn't really a "correct" jikoushoukai per se, but just something to read and use to gauge yourself.

Looking in retrospect, it really is funny to read, given how awkward the phrasing is.
I didn't even follow the sentence structure.

TXT files

Mediafire - Here
Public Dropbox - Here

You may need Kochi Mincho, which can be downloaded HERE

If you are a windows, extract, and put the file in your "Fonts" folder, which can be accessed through the control panel.
I have no idea what to do for Macs though

Japanese 101 - School words

Because every show has a high school cast.

何年生　ですか。 [なんねんせい ですか。] what grade are you in?	学 [がく、まなぶ] learning, study	校 [こう] school
年 [ねん] year, age	生 [せい] life	学校 [がっこう] school
中学 [ちゅうがく] middle school	来年 [らいねん] next year	今年 [ことし] this year
学生 [がくせい] student	何年生 [なんねんせい] what year/grade	掃除 [そうじ] cleaning
部活 [ぶかつ] club activities	国語 [こくご] (one's own country) language	体育 [たいいく] Gym/ P.E Class
音楽 [おんがく] music	歴史 [れきし] history	地理 [ちり] geography
美術 [びじゅつ] art, fine arts	経済 [けいざい] economy, economics	化学 [かがく] chemistry
生物 [せいぶつ] biology	数学 [すうがく] mathematics	家庭科 [かていか] home economics
保健 [ほけん] health	昼休み [ひるやすみ] lunch break	自己紹介 [じこしょうかい] self-introduction
紹介 [しょうかい] introduction	私立学校 [しりつがっこう] private school	公立学校 [こうりつがっこう] public school
部屋 [へや] room	今 [いま] now	科目 [かもく] school subject
技術 [ぎじゅつ] industrial arts	だいがく [だいがく] college, university	Enjoy!

Small note: Something like けいざい would be your classic econ course, while かていか would be something like foods or fabric arts.

Sunday Music 13

The song for the afternoon today, is
A Cruel Angel's Thesis, but rather it the acapella version sang by Eri Kawai

Eri Kawai died on August 4 2008.


Song via youtube (not mine):

Japanese 101 - Counters - Part I

Counters, they can be very useful in Japanese.
They can make your Japanese sound more natural.
They are also, not that difficult.
I'd go as far as to say the hardest part of Japanese isn't the grammar, but all the Kanji.

This will be lengthy, so I'll split it up.

General Counters
Each one, is "# Thing"

One thing - ひとつ - (一つ)
Two things - ふたつ - (二つ)
Three things - みっつ - (三つ)
Four things - よっつ - (四つ)
Five things - いつつ - (五つ)
Six things - むっつ - (六つ)
Seven things - ななつ - (七つ)
Eight things - やっつ - (八つ)
Nine things - ここのつ - (九つ)
Ten things - とうつ - (十つ)

After ten, you can just use normal numbers ~つ, this goes for any counter.
Unless stated to use normal numbers, or their own special (like below), it follows the numbering pattern of the general counters

The Counters for people is ひと, 人
You only have to use special numbers for the first two, then normal numbers ~ひと for the rest.

One person - ひとり - (一人)
Two People - ふたり - (二人)

The counters for cups and machines use normal numbers
Machines can be, computers, phones, ect. ect.

Machines: ~だい
Cups: ~ばい

Sunday Music 12

The song to start off the day will be,
Nephilim, by Abingdon Boys School.
Used as the Ending Theme of Folklore

Song came out in 2007.
Must of you probably know ABS from Soul Eater, D.Grey-Man, or Darker the Black

Song via youtube below (Not mine):
It's not the... Best quality video...
240p...

Horizon II PV

(Not my Video)

Hm... I never noticed that scar before.
I wonder how he got it.

30 Days left

Happy June everyone.

Just to remind you all, on July 1st most major American ISP's will start policing internet for illegal downloads.

The RIAA seems to want to create a cartel to control the internet, because the US government won't do it for them.

皆さん、気をつけて.

This better get to the supreme court.

Silver Rain

So, today I'd like to direct your attention to something called "Silver Rain".
This is purely interest, and has nothing whatsoever to do with Japanese.

This is a webgame, illustrated by  Koyama Hirokazu from TYPE-MOON.

Link to page here: http://t-walker.jp/sr/
Click on "ゲームを始める" (Start game) to get to the game.

After that, click on , to get to the character creation screen.
You're on your own after that.

This has too many words for my own liking.

Japanese 101 - Time

Telling time in Japanese.

For hours, it is "Number"じ (時)

So 4:00 would be よんじ - (四時)

Use normal numbers,  but for seven use しち instead of なな

Minutes would be "Number"ぷん/ふん

I don't when to use ぷん over ふん, it's some strange rule. But I don't think it will matter, because the Japanese will be able to understand you anyway.

minutes follow hours

So, 4:25 would be よんじにじゅうごぷん - (四時二十五分)

To say half and hour, use はん, ぷん/ふん is not needed after a はん

so 4:30 would be よんじはん - (四時半)

To say approximate times, use ごろ

To say, it's around 4:30, it would be よんじはんごろ - (四時半ごろ)

To say, __ Minutes before use まえ - (前) after the minute

So 4:55 could be said ごじごぷんまえ - (五時五分前)

Listen carefully when using this, because if you miss the まえ, your time will be off

To express PM/AM

use ごご and ごぜん

ごご being PM

ごぜん being AM

These are used before the hour

So 4:30 AM would be 

ごぜんよんじはん - (午前四時半)

Hyakumonogatari (百物語)

I've decided to add Hyakumonogatari onto my planned list.
Page HERE.

This I actually intend to work on, unlike Bakemonogatari.
So, don't have this yet...

This will start after I get over my jetlag from Japan, I hope.
By then I will have it.

Here we go again....

Puella Magi English Stream

The dub is crap anyway, most dubs are inferior to subs.
I'd watch it for the Japanese subtitles, to help with reading.

I might join in, thoughts on this?

Happy Memorial Day America

I just marched in a parade.
I had to wake up early.

Happy Memorial Day...

Go the the beach, have a picnic, but most importantly, if you see a veteran, don't forget to thank them for making all of this possible.

Sunday Music 11

The song to end the day, will be "Anamnesis" by Annabel

The show itself was alright, there were some plot holes, and the ending felt a little off, but it was a good show nevertheless

Song via youtube below (not mine):

Japanese 101 - Using Clothes

This post will be about how to say "I am wearing _____"

The Japanese have 3 words for this
きます - Above the waist clothing
あぶります - Headwear
はきます - Below the waist

Remember, if you are wearing something, put it into the ~ている/~ています (Gerund) form

Use the proper particles, when dictated. Typically the を particle.

I am wearing a red hat
いま、僕は赤い帽子をかぶています

I am wearing a blue shirt
いま、僕は青いシャツをきています

I am wearing a pair of green pants.
いま、僕は緑ズボンをはいています

来週の日本語の授業

来週の日本語の授業は

①ナンバー

②時間 (じかん)

③助数詞 (じょすうし)

Next week we will be focusing on numbers, time, and counters.

Japanese 101 - Clothes

Words for Articles of Clothing.
Yeah... Lots of Katakana in this list

シャツ shirt	セーター sweater	T シャツ T Shirt
ジャケット jacket	ワンピース dress	水着 [みずぎ] bathing suit, swimsuit
朽つ [くつ] shoes, boots	ジンズ jeans	スカート skirt
スニーカー sneakers	ズボン trousers, pants	パジャマ pajamas
ブーツ boots	アクセサリ             accessories	イヤリング                     earrings
ネクタイ tie, necktie	時計 [とけい] watch	眼鏡 [めがね] glasses
サングラス sunglasses	帽子 [ぼうし] hat, cap	row 2, cell 2

Japanese 101 - Inviting Mini-lesson

To invite someone to do something is also very easy in Japanese.

You invite in the negative form.
See here for negative

Examples:
えいがをいきませんか？
Literal: You won't go to the movies with me??
TL: Want to go to the movies with me?

ほんをよみませんか？
Literal: You won't read that book?
TL: Want to read that book?

To answer yes, say
いいえ、VERBましょう

Because, remember, they asked if you will not, so if you will, you have to respond with negative

The  ~しょう ending, though not covered earlier, is a suggestion, so, to use it as an example:

A: えいがをいきませんか？
B: いいえ、いきましょう

A: Want to go to the movies with me?
B: Sure, lets go

Sunday Music 10

The song for the afternoon will be;

"Loup de Debut" sang by the character of Nate Argente Loup Mitotsudaria

who is voiced my Marina Inoue

Oh, and I think that the words were written by the author of the books.

I know I heard something about eating and wolves in this song.

Song via youtube (not my video):