gouyoku

12 April 2009 @ 10:16 pm

Whew. Another long shift, another episode review. A warning that this is a little over two pages long, one full page of which is lodging complaints against Mikitang. He got a lot more screentime, which is a lot more time to suck ass. Since they're manga scenes, it's a little more painful when he dogs them.

( Oh, Miki, you blow. Nope. Nothing to say about fine or my mind. You just blow. )

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10 April 2009 @ 01:25 am

(no subject)

Since I'm bored at work, I thought I'd write out my thoughts on chapter 94. I'm saddenned that in this chapter so full of Hughesy goodness that he's taken such a sharp dive in the popularity polls. Well, at least Old School Greed is getting up there... I always wonder why Envy's so high on the list. But then, I also wonder the same about Hawkeye, which shows I'm out of synch with a large chunk of fandom in general. Winry's really taken leaps and bounds upwards in the past few polls, hasn't she? Poor Armstrong was beaten by his sister in her very first appearance... and Izumi's dropped from the top 20 completely.

( Chapter 94 thoughts. Miki's gonna dog these scenes if they get done in the new anime... Even though he gets the best line... )

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05 April 2009 @ 09:26 am

HagarenFA episode 1 impressions.

Not that anyone cares, but in case anyone visits this; please feel free to jump in with agreements or disagreements. I like discussions on these topics and will try to pull in thoughts from other sources such as 2ch and the like so we can compare and contrast ideas and perceptions. People should feel free to link me to threads of interest, too.

( I'm very rambly, since I'm fresh off a 12 hour work shift, but.. )

What are everyone else's thoughts, if you're reading this? Feel free to violently disagree with me, particularly on Mikitang. I am 100% aware that I may have a strong bias here, so I need someone to talk some sense into me. If I can enjoy Mikitang, my ability to enjoy this series will jump considerably. I'd consider it a personal favor to be converted.

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22 September 2008 @ 10:05 am

Re: Search!

Now that everybody I had possibly intended to use off of the internet has been through the initial recording stage, I can slap the initial phase results up so far. While in Japan, students and teachers discussed what the commonalities were between all transfer students to Japan who intended to study Japanese as a second language. I have a grand total of five research subjects at present.. which is too small a sample to be anything remotely worth publication, and I have no PhD oversight on this, but it's interesting to me AND THEREFORE I SHALL DO IT.

First and foremost, people learning a foreign language from any form of media are not going to pick up the habits that speech teachers brand your tongues for--things like saying like, you know, Oh, wow, uhm, well. However, they're also perhaps likely to pick up ecclectic speech habits (guilty), something akin to having some things that make you speak like a New Bronx A slurrer, and others where you'd take up deep southern dipthong and make everything into a gerund. You have the textbookers who will have none of that, and will be closest to the Tokyo standard (which is spoken by news broadcasters, but not actually by general people in Tokyo, I am told?) but talk like robots. At least, these are the stereotypes and expectations. Granted, that some of them come from teachers who have seen quite a few foreign students in their day, or at least teach a second language to their own Japanese students, some of whom have been abroad and some of whom haven't, they'd know.

My subjects are all people going to Japan for their first time whom have been there less than a month upon the initial session:

Subject 1 - Black, Male, early 20s, NO Japanese training whatsoever. Anime/Game fan. (Business English Teacher prospective in Tokyo)
Subject 2 - Caucasian Female, early 20's, 4 years Japanese training. (Graduate internship, Tokyo; English capable roommates)
Subject 3 - Caucasian Female, early 20's, no formal Japanese training, 10 year + anime/manga/game/etc. fan, selt taught. (Transfer student, 6 months Hiroshima; No English Capable Roommates)
Subjet 4 - CFE20s, 2 years Japanese training, long term anime/manga fan. (Transfer student, 6 months, Osaka; no English capable roommates)
Subject 5 - CFE20's, 3 years Japanese training, anime/manga fan (Transfer student, Tokyo, 1 year; English Capable roommates)

Subject 1 has a few verbal 'quirks', which are admitted to be intentional (refers to self as Ore-sama, constantly. To everyone. All the time. Even when belittling himself. Uses English verbal place holders such as uhm/like. Uses 'anata' for you, exclusively.
Subject 2 uses Watashi and Watakushi, the only one who defaulted to desu-masu form. 'Ano' and 'eto' frequently as place holders when forming complex sentances. Always complete sentences. No characterizing speech particles.
Subject 3 has frequent grammar errors and tense switches. Does not use -te kuru/-te iku. Switches between desumasu and rude. Ends with 'ne' in somewhere around 1/5th of the total sentances spoken (I'll have to figure out how many sentances were said to get a good number on that). Uses 'atashi' and 'anta', and 'kimi' to children and pets. Emphatic yo particle seemed common but I haven't calculated her stats out yet. Tends more towards a 'dictionary' vocabulary ('zenbu' over 'subete', etc.).
Subject 4 - Watashi/anata, 'wa yo', 'da yo', Suiseki syndrome with informal copula, fluidly capable with longer sentances, clauses and verb forms; tends to adjectivial answers. (x.x If you read this and know who you are, I'm trying to make you prattle on naturally, damn it! The answers to the questions themselves are usually not important, so FALL FOR MY RESEARCH TECHNIQUE AND TALK MORE, DAMN IT)
Subject 5 - 'Watashi', unconfirmed 'you' pronoun, always complete sentences. 'Ano' speech holder mid sentance, only once before. 'Ne' ending particle used twice. Yo particle used once. I flubbed this research bit by failing to get all pronouns or a -te/kuru/iku/shimau formatting out of them. x.x I also misused -te kuru in attempting to prompt the subject towards this grammar type, which I'm pretty sure is all levels of poor research methodology but I just got off of a twelve hour shift when I go around to it, so fuck you all!

In case your wondering, because I am not in fact Japanese or even remotely academically credible in the language, I have a check list made up of traits suggested by professors and two Japanese students helping me with various local verbal ticks to look for. Poor Subject 4 will be the recipient of the most scrutinization there. I'm kinda glad you don't really follow my LJ internet adventures. I slap a check mark in a slot when I hear something and review it later; anything else I notice, I note simply for posterity.

Every one is a bit hesitant with numbers, from the guy who's never studied Japanese a day in his life to the chick who graduated as a Japanese/Business double major. This suprised me. It is entirely my unfounded prediction that they will quickly and without any pointed effort become quite profficient with numbers at least through the ten-thousands from basic daily spendings. Unanimously, it seems costs are converted from yen to dollar for their own memory, and when asked the price, they reconvert to yen. Given the yen is /sharply/ rising as of two days ago, that'll make for some interesting surprises (either good or bad, depending how conservative their monetary translation is) when they're checking up on their dollar accounts.

While I'd consider myself pretty well below most of my own study subjects, I, too, tended to think of every single currency in dollars. ^^;;; I 'naaa...' 'd constantly in one, and got caught up in my own echo. Verbal ticks include 'Sou ya...' and 'Kore/Sore wa' as well. Amongst all five recordings, I marked myself as using 'eto' exactly five times, while using 'to' itself as a nongrammatical particle... somewhere above twenty. x.x I'm not researching myself. I don't have a sheet.

I'm not sure if it's my own bias, but the three relatively big anime fans seemed to have a more natural inflection. I'm pretty sure I'm full of shit, as subject 2 had real Japanese teachers and HAS seen real Japanese media frequently enough. I may have some Japanese people listen to clips and commentate on inflections, but, I'm really more interested in having a base to see how slight word pronunciations and inflections vary. If only I had, like, twenty subjects, in five places, rather than five in three, I could actually render a tentative verdict from any of this.

This is not research. it is tantamount to saying "I know a guy/girl who..."

My actual research is on fictional speech patterns, of which there is abundant supply and no need for permission, stressing subjects, or my tainting of the sample. But, this is fun and interesting!

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16 September 2008 @ 12:52 pm

Meme Tagged.

I was meme tagged; under an RP journal name, but, this place seemed better for it.

( He she be? )

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30 July 2008 @ 03:35 pm

My Thesis. Let me show it to you.

In case any one was wondering what the hell I do between classes where all I seem to do is some Japanese theatrics and/or try to tie a damn obi. Inputs, insights, interests welcome. Just the preface, since the entire thing is even longer and more boring.

Preface

There’s a song in the modern American musical Avenue Q entitled Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist. The musical, particularly this song, is ripe with American stereotypes and cultural riffs that are difficult to translate to Japanese literally (‘no one’s really color blind,’) and perhaps impossible to concisely translate contextually (‘There's a plain going down. There's only one parachute. There's a rabbi, a priest, and…’, Polack jokes, Jesus’s ethnicity’s importance in debate). While each nation is ripe with stereotypes and may even share many stereotypes about the groups within the song, stereotypes are extremely cultural in not only the stereotyped element but from the culture they originate from. Social linguists have varied beliefs on the direction which most of the control flows in the circuit, but it is well supported that elements of language from vocabulary to grammar structure and beyond relate to thought. Language is a means through which thought is expressed, and some, such as Vygotsky, argue that it is through language that stimuli are categorized for memory storage at all (Maynard, 2). Stereotypes are a way of classifying something as different from the norm by connecting it with other deviating elements. Some are near universal (glasses, in most cultures, are linked to of intelligence and/or nerdiness). Some exist distinctly within a culture due to that culture’s history with the stereotyped element (Japanese stereotypical views of/jokes about Koreans or the North American southern United States redneck concept). A part of stereotyping is differentiating from the norm; thus, what the norm is will determine what is stereotyped. This is why the Japanese will have considerably less stereotypes and jokes about themselves than other nations will have about the Japanese. This is also why the Japanese alone will have stereotypes about styles of Japanese speaking, being the only major nation whose primary language is Japanese. English speakers have stereotypes about other dialects of English, but likely only their own if it is substandard to a greater cultural norm. Brooklyn English speakers may hold stereotypes about their accent, but, the standardized Midwest English holds few if any stereotypes in America. English speakers hold all Japanese language formats as so far outside of the ‘norm’ that to see deviations from a deviation from a norm would be like trying to tell the deviations in the reflection of a funhouse mirror while looking through warped glasses. The reverse is true for the Japanese of English. Through learning the ‘sub-cultural norm’ language, one can look at things besides the mirror with those glasses and get a feel for what deviations exist specifically from the glasses. From there, even if it is not a natural realization so much as a methodical break down, one is at least capable of discerning the deviations specific to the mirror, so to speak.

Translators have the task of making it such that something so substandard (the foreign language) can be related to the normal world. They must me able to provide a ‘prescription’ for flawed vision to provide something as close to normalcy as possible. But while reality is stable, what ‘vision’ is considered the ideal? If translating a line into English, which English is correct? The irony of a bespectacled lens crafter comes to mind. And, what can be considered a source of ‘normal’ to then compare to the funhouse mirror, if this is a house of mirrors? With this in mind, I would like to share with you just a few deviations of Japanese and English, as well as any deviations in understanding made by other lens’s attempts to align the two. Light, vision, is all too happy to refract and scatter, argued by super positioning to have no true transient state at all. Keep in mind this is but another lens; in the words of the song quoted in the beginning of this preface;

Everyone’s a little bit racist; it’s true / But everyone is just about as racist as you!

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08 July 2008 @ 07:53 pm

But I don't want to be a transvestite hula dancer! I want to be Fujiwara Keiji!

Teaching the Japanese to appreciate their own bouty of vocal treasures through shameless seiyuu song pimping, my music player came upon the seiyuu ten song karaoke tracks; it was decided that, while my voice (unfortunately) sounds nothing like him, I am Nomura Kenji by value of the feel he gives off in his singing and song choice. While this is, at first, a good feeling because his track is very enjoyable (as someone else put it upon hearing the first song of it, the man is taking you on "AN ADVENTURE!"), I pointed out that if possible, I'd really rather be Fujiwara Keiji, because Fujiwara Keiji is quite badass, and seems to be making himself quite prominent during my stay in Japan.　As they listen to the Fujiwara track, the two girls decide in an awkward twist of being unaccomidating to someone's every spoken wish, that, no, I can not be Fujiwara. Why, you ask? He sounds too stable, too supportive, too well rounded.

"....Oi."

You could depend on him to help you when you're on trouble.

...And that makes me....?

Well, they said they could count on me to kick someone's ass if they called on me, but, that Fujiwara would stay after and comfort them, whereas I'd just hurry home afterwards to watch Keroro Gunsou.

I can't say this isn't true, if they happened to call upon me directly when Keroro Gunsou came on, but, still. Ouch.

A few days later, I pointed out that I could totally just catch the after midnight playbacks or something, and that the only times I'd have to rush home for Keroro Gunsou would be Wednesdays at seven or Thursdays at ten thirty. Or Saturday morning, or Sunday around 6:00.

...Instead of ammending their opinion, they, and others now in on picking seiyuu for people (The genius first year I have dubbed Kugimiya Rie for being the tinieest most adorable mammal on earth. Next to the actual Kugimiya Rie) for my enjoyment, have declared that I'd still hurry home to watch something else, and probably only end up helping them because I was pissed I got a call that interrupted my otaku-time.

This is rediculous, you see.

I don't have a phone for them to call in on and interrupt my Otaku time.

(That said, in your comments, if you know seiyuu, leave which seiyuu you'd like to be, who you think you'd end up being, or who you think my seiyuu is in your head. I will either give you songs or cast you. )

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18 June 2008 @ 05:45 pm

My Bachelor's Disease / I hear they make a pill for that, now...

My cooking is a bit legendary. I have injured myself and caused a microwave to explode by making chocolate milk syrup. I have considered attempting to make pancakes with a plate on a stove, lacking a steel or metal grilling pan substance, until told that such will expand the natural faults of the ceramic and make it explode at me. I have made cookies with red pepper. I have left the eggs out of brownies, thinking that if fewer eggs meant a fudgier mix, no eggs would mean an even thicker, fudgier brownie, which lead to a black brick in a pan. I have nuked popcorn in two different ways; one, leaving the microwave on a four minute setting and wandering off to gather chairs of guests only to return to find half of the bag black, and, the second time, here in Japan. I put the bag in the microwave, with the propper side down as instructed, turned on the timer, sat, watched without wandering, and waited. On the microwave is a switch, one with a picture of a cup with some steam coming out of it, the other with a picture of some water droplets over some meat. I have never messed with this, leaving it on the default setting for safety's sake, as I have no idea how general cooking utinsels work. I assume if it's on default, it's a microwave, and it can't be that hard.

....It's been a full minute, with no popping. Hmm. Curious. I suppose it's been a while since I've made some; maybe it doesn't pop until later, on some brands.

....Smoke from the bag. Holyshit. The popcorn bag is smoking. It's popcorn. Why isn't it just popping?! As I frantically push buttons, I turn the switch from the meat with water over to the steamy cup thingy, and it suddenly starts popping. The smoke isn't too thick, so I can still see inside. Awkwardly, I open the door, air out the smoke, and close the door again. The timer picks up, and it pops. However, when it stops and I try to take it out, the bottom portion is... melted. To the glass plate. I have some how melted black kernels, like plastic, to glass.

The rest of the popcorn was just fine, though, after scraping the bag out.

As I was also told that, no, I can't flip pancakes with just a spoon or a fork or something, I must use a spatula and, yes, it needs to be flipped, I broke down and purchased both at the 100 yen shop. Only, it wasn't really a pan, persay, so much as it was a stainless steel tin, but it had pictures of chicken on a rack on it, and cookies on the packaging, so, I figured it would work.

Turning on the stove with faith, Soldier A... ... found that his tin was sizzling, making scarry popping noises, and denting. I wasn't sure if this was standard fare for when using a tin instead of a pan, propper, so, I continued to watch, until the tin started to smoke, and a black circle formed. An ordinary man would be deterred by this, but I am no ordinary man. My presence in the kitchen forms a stronger form of stubborn, impulse-driven stupidity that is like ubermachinating my Y chromosome. The blackening of the pan clearly just meant that it was ready for the pancake mix.

I followed the instructions to the letter... which is to say, I had no measuring cup, but it said add 2/3rds cup water, and I filled /a/ cup with about much, using that same cup as the standard for the cup amount of mix. The instructions said to add more or less for thicker or thinner pancakes, so, I assume how much water isn't direly important. It also says mix with a wire whisk, which I assume a spoon substitutes just fine for. So, yeah, applie pie order, baby. Tashikashikarubeki.

Anyway, I pour the mix on, and... there is no abnormal degree of hissing or smoke! Huzzah! ...But then the mix runs. It won't circle out naturally or anything, and the ends are thinner, and only one side is becoming thicker and spongey.... I try, on the other portion of the pan, to lump it on with a spoon, instead, to no avail. Quickly, I try to flip the pancake, even though only have of it is solidified, merely because that one portion is blackening underneath. It breaks apart, with portions of the mix that spread out thinly baked into the tin, blackening in the center still. None the less, I did get a few chunks of fluffiness ripped off from various attempts with my mix amount. Those bits were quite delicious. The syrup I microwaved became warm and delicious without incident. I am still scraping bits of hardened baked dought off of the black tin, though.

Someone onec said that the water you boil spaghetti in has to be boiled, THEN have the spaghetti put in, then that water and noodle mixture boiled AGAIN to softness. Having just put cold water in a bowl with some noodles and microwaved it to softness, I assumed the call for butter or grease was equally as frivilous. Many's the time I've not buttered cookie, cake, or brownie pans, and I've noticed scant difference in the results! With cakes and brownies, I am very prone to simply mixing the ingredients right there in the cooking pan, after all!

....I've been told that a simple grease spray will, indeed, solve both the rounding problem, the moisture/thinning problem, and the sticking problem, when trying to flip them. I suppose it saves me from wasting precious mix....

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11 June 2008 @ 03:30 pm

I just got to teach wide eyed Japanese students about sperm banks. They'd never heard of them.

I know. I win.

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10 June 2008 @ 04:11 pm

美　Ｂ　伊　ｉ　知　ｔｃｈ

In speaking with students, we've had a bit of fun with language. Language is, in general, a very fun thing; it infuriates me, certainly, in the case of carelessness and misuse. Dubs, for example, short of parodies. Don't be so frivilious with language unless your frivilouty between mediums is the purpose; a bad translation, even of comedy, is a shame. That said, I have found comedy in tragedy.

I have found a Japanese dub so poor it is in par with the many dubs I bitch about bimonthly. Not in a personal sense of frustration, as I'm far removed enough from it and any fanbase it may have in any language to only know that it's poor on a basic level, the level of failure of this partiuclar dub is one that is perhaps due to insurmountable cultural odds. There are certain things that are worse off dubbed than others. Haunted Junction, Keroro Gunsou, anything involving DaCider, cultural-ethnic things or those rampart with linguistic puns. On Sundays at midnight, the Japanese dub of a series of rather stock black stereotype comedy animation called Boondocks airs. I'd seen it once and did the appropriate facepalm reaction. I was ambiguous about watching it again, but, when nothing else was on when GiTS2 came on, and when I didn't want to suffer through that even while just trying to sleep (what, you think I'm going to turn the TV OFF to sleep, when the cable and electric bill are already paid as part of my overpriced plan?), I resigned myself to my once a month bathing ritual. As I step out and wonder what's next, on comes Boondocks.

I think I have a secret masochistic fetish going or something. For the worst possible episode to dub, it was probably the best thing I had seen all night. Given that Atobe was in that evening's Prince of Tennis, that's saying something. In this week's episode, the main character of the story is taught the importance of how to properly call a woman 'bitch' and demand her obedience and subservenience when his wife becomes enthralled with and is supposedly cheating on him with famous American rap star Usher. I know nothing of Usher, thus, I can say nothing at all on his dubbing. However, the character decides to randomly break into song about breakup later, which they decided to leave in English with subtitles. Sadly, I understood the subtitles more clearly than the actual English rap lyrics, which unfortunately makes for a sign of a failure to carry the obscure if not creative language use in the original... At any rate, that it cuts to a phone call with the Japanese voices mid scene, then continues, is a riot. The best is yet to come, however. As he sulks about the house, the willey old grandpa takes it upon himself to educate the young man in the ways of love. What better method than to call upon A Pimp Named Slickback?

For those of you not in on the joke, the character's full name is A Pimp Named Slickback. He is not to be called Slickback, etc., etc.

"Watashi wa A Pimp Named Slickback" doesn't work.
"A Pimp Named Slickback-san?" doesn't really do it, either...

Even more hilariously, however, is how much trying to make a Japanese voice use bitch with anything sounding remotely authoratative. Even if it's a joke in English, the difference in the laughter is that in this case, you're laughing at the teller of the joke not getting the very joke they're telling; it's an awkward, pained laughter had only by the sickest, most sadistic of men. As he practices saying 'bitch', I have flashbacks of trying to explain the nuances of saying something 'sucks' in English (by the way, teachers, how does anyone get to third year English without knowing the phrase/conjugation this/it/that/ sucks?).

In the end, he gets into a fist fight with Usher, after calling his wife a bitch, and his daughter cries. Typical American cartoon happy ending.

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28 May 2008 @ 09:50 pm

(no subject)

１８
Ed
So how's our affinity?!

Ed and your predicted relationship?!

Ａ　You should be able to get along great!
Ed and you are eachother's ideal partner. It's a very mutual relationship, as the part of you that's alike is half and then there's the half that isn't alike. In this way, the
relationship is like that of Ed and Izumi. Ed can be sincere in what's weighing on him and such, more and more in the various in depth conversations that the two of you would have,
making it so that your intimacy should probably keep rising up and up! In the end, you two could be the existence most genuinely getting along with eachother!!

B　You're not gonna be able to get on great but...
You're not going to be able to meet and hit it off, that's just the way it's going to be with you and Ed... But, there's no need to get yourself down!!! Like Ed and Armstrong,
from the first meeting he's going to be a hard to approach existence but, if you turn that inside out, it means that if you meet many times over, you could be said to be getting
along during those times. If you're able to get on well lots of times, then your bonds must be said to be growing stronger. If you're a girl you could take to it with an all out attack, you could
even make it to lovers, maybe!

C　Ed and you have the highest affinity!
The feeling of you and Ed is totally sharp! Whatever Ed doesn't bring, you follow up with; whatever you don't have, Ed will follow with, lending to a mutuality like Ed and Al's, the
highest kind of affinity! From your first meeting you'll be able to become fast friends, and if you take time bit by bit to form a relationship based on trusting reliance, you're the type who
can definitely and without a doubt become one-and-only best friends! If you're a girl, you could even become lovers?!

D What's called fighting friends!
You and Ed have the affinity of what you'd call a fighting ally. Like Ed and Winry, every time you meet you'd end up fighting over the smallest things. But the fact that you end up fighting, despite itself,
is proof that you're alike. From talking together about yourselves deeply, you should be able to be on the best of terms! If you can manage to get along, with similar tastes and hobbies,
you'll become an irreplecable existence!

E If you have to put a name to it, it'd be a Rival Relation!
As for you and Ed, it's be, more than what you'd call friendship, a mutual sense of always being on the other's mind as a kindered spirit! Your affinity itself is fine but, like Roy and Ed,
you might be an existance more like a rival?! In profesional and private matters, in the midsts of dispute, bit by bit, a type of affection is born; it's that kind of relationship.
If you two go the quick route, knowing what you've got in common is going to be important. Try to talk things out thoroughly if you want to make for a good feeling.

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28 May 2008 @ 05:19 pm

(no subject)

The price of milk dropped an entire twenty five yen! Yiae!

In other news, the students who come to practice their English included a raging Otaku today who actually knew and followed seiyuu. Her other partner during the meet said that she and I should go to anime stores together, but Otaku chick says she is afraid that she will be too crazily obsessed during the outing. God that's awesome. We started prattling about seiyuu and anime--lucky bitch gets a channel that currently runs Zombie Loan, which she also loves. She's pretty hardcore FMA, too. I'd actually found a new huge doujinshi shop with the cheapest prices yet, connected to yet another little figures and goods shop, and another used books shop; I'm doing pretty good at finding new shops, but I intend to stalk this girl. One, for grand conversation (her friend couldn't stop sniggering at our CD drama vs. Anime staff ranting), two, for being lead to obscure shops. I WILL find Greed/Ed goods!

When she asked who my favourite seiyuu was, I ended up having a long internal debate between Midorikawa, Suwabe and Ohkawa. Ohkawa did damn good in Amatsuki and Geass lately, so, I went with him; she identifies him as Mustang and I through out other roles. "That one soldier who died in episode 1 of Geass..."
"Bah, who cares about that..."
"WHO CARES ABOUT THAT?! IT WAS A PERFORMANCE THAT MADE THAT CHARACTER INTO SOMETHING!" ;.; (Unlike my blaming fire breathing dub rants, this was a sulky 'Ohkawa is going unappreciated as an actor...' phase. I think it's the variety, depth, and ability he brings that ended up putting him even over Suwabe's unparalleled enthusiasm and charm, and Midorikawa's standing as my patron seiyuu.)

Finally, someone who will understand my love of listening to the narrator of Keroro Gunsou sing faggy ballads.

..Wonder if she still worries about being too zealous around me. It was great to prattle with someone who could talk about what actors brought to the role or put in to the role, how the role shaped their voice use or their voice shaped the character, who sounds superficial in interviews, etc...

The other chick glanced at an FMA book I brought along for translation purposes; a college student didn't know the kanji for 'Hagane.' This stunned me; not only is it one of the 2,000 kanji required for basic highschool literacy, a very common word I'd imagine (steel; must certainly apply to pots, pans, cutlery, general discussions), but she says since it's not used much a person forgets it quickly. It's one of the first ones I remember knowing--not even for FMA, but from RPGs always having steel swords and bangles and the like. When I explained this to her in suprise, she gives me this wonderfully bland look. "Yes. That's the kind of Japanese YOU know. Even if you're not Japanese, you have words you can not expect NORMAL Japanese people to know." She says. In English. Ouch.

...I still stand by my statement that steel is not otaku vernacular, but I don't think the girl is an illiterate idiot or anything...

Also met a Tales Series Otaku. Gamer! I didn't think to ask her to see if SHE knew about roleplaying and such in a sense outside of stats, numbers and consoles.

Ah, also, for you-who-knows-who-you-are, I snagged you a hilarious Al x Scar; yes, even with an uke-Scar as you requested. Found a Kimblee/Roy flashback doujinshi non-smut, for the other one who knows who they are, as soon as I get an address. To another person who will know who they are, probably, interesting little story; we were talking about why girls in Japan are so brand name conscious, and one said that she had to have a certain brand of handbags even if they were expensive, because Hirano Aya uses them, and she wants to feel like Hirano Aya. I thought that sentiment would make you tingly. She's very popular here, even among girls.

Why, yes, 90% of my conversations per day are with chicks. It's 'cause the bitches love me.

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27 May 2008 @ 06:43 pm

... de arimasu!

The other day, I was walking to the dollar store (or the 100 yen shop, which is actually the 105 yen shop with tax) to consider my dinner options, a coupon for the nearby McDonalds tucked into my pocket in case I felt particularly luxurious in my gustatory desires by the time I would arrive at Nonami station. I leave school around 10:00 PM, so, it's dark, but, McDonalds (this particular one) is open until 11:00, and the dollar shop gloriously 24/7. En route, I see a man with two very active dogs that seem just mad about the idea of running out into the street. As I pass by and the man waits to cross the street, the dogs seem distracted from trying to run--and who am I to pass up petting dogs when I can pass it off as some kind of act of charity? As I pet them, he asks if I can speak Japanese; confirming thusly, he asks me back to his house to translate a bit of something.

For someone who can't legally work, it's amazing the little jobs that fall into place simply being a native English speaker. Given that I'm in a town where 50% plus of the local college students are studying English, I would almost feel bad if I weren't so selfish, that the single factor landing me most of these side jobs is the fact that I look like someone who speaks English and therefore am presumed to do so, naturally advertising this native born linguistic ability. There are certainly students here who can speak Japanese and English in tandem enough to be of far better service than I given that my Japanese is extremely limitted to colloquial summaries.

It's a good 15 minute walk to his place, but only five minutes off of the path from Nonami, so, since it's practically en-route, that isn't a problem until we start from the highway down a long dirt road. Eh heh. Long, dirt road, in the dark, some guy who speaks slurred drunken Japanese in what I assume is a greeting following and murmuring to my 'patron' half way does not put me thinking the safest thoughts; to this point, my patron had been speaking of his Korean friends taking him golfing in Korea soon. I'm half inclined, from my complete inability to understand what the drunkard is saying, to think this is one such friend, if not for the fact that this guy had said earlier that he doesn't speak a word of Korean and thus will be dependant on them when he goes.

Anyway, drunkard staggers off partway during the walk, but this doesn't leave me without the paranoia that this is some kind of well staged jump-the-gaijin set up, given I'd met the guy on the part of the walk from school to Nonami that coincides with my usual school to apartment route. In the end, the prospect that the poor guy really does just need a bit of language help compells me to even go on into the house; given that I'm pretty sure I can take one or two people, I keep my back to the walls like a paranoid git.

No attacks happen. All this built up to tell you he handed me a simple English language "Welcome to XYZ Korean Flight Booking Company Website; this is your login name and password. If you ever move, please let us know your new residence so we can send you offers, blahblahblah." As soon as I look it over and say "They don't want any money or anything, it's just about an airplane ticket you'd already paid for..." he repeats "Ryoukin nashi" ("No fee?") and is completely uninterested in the rest of the translation. He pulls out a credit card for use in Korea and says it's his new card and he thought it was related to that. I check over the print on the card, which is Japanese, and see nothing to suggest even the same company and say thusly.

...He totally could have stuffed those two things in his pocket and asked pretty much anyone at the cafe he was walking his dogs to (where his wife worked---he mentioned that while he were walking) or any student at all on the street. At any rate, I got a free orange juice (unopened, though, still paranoid, I ended up not drinking it until I was at home) and he gave me three bucks and a ride the rest of the way out to Nonami. McDonalds was closed by then, but, I was able to buy a damned good dollar-five parfait I'd been drooling over the idea of eating for two weeks now.

Other little jobs tossed my way include reading over Master's Thesises to correct the English, checking English teacher's papers for fluency (not all of the English teachers are native speakers), teaching grammar and slang to students (I did finally get some flack for over-slanging them; "Why the hell did you teach them what Over The Hill means?! in Japan, age is reverred, but when my students start throwing that term around in front of me..." and "I hear you're the cause of the virus spreading about the campus known as White Fever?") and writing little things that teachers don't have time to scribe into English from Japanese when projects require both languages. I've been offered small sums of cash and manga.

I always ask people here why they're studying English, if they come to me just to talk (I have a non-officially-paid job sitting in a conversation salon at lunch where people just come and practice English conversation) and don't bring their own topics. I get three answers.

1. Flight Attendant (Grand Hostess, for ze laydees)
2. English Teacher
3. I don't know, but it will be useful in my Office Lady (OL) job/Sallary Man job/any job at all. (A job a woman has in an office as a secretary until she gets married and then starts doing traditional family work instead)

I used to think the people who went with door number three were really making a stretch for some resume filler there when they could be learning a real and useful skill, since everyone else's learning English, but, there really is a high demand for it... The teacher I was home staying with's wife pulls in a couple hundred a week just teaching English, too. Man, if I had a working Visa...

In other news, I'm falling more and more in love with Keroro Gunsou. That show rocks; I schedule when I eat lunch based on when it's airing on each specific day. The little details of watching it each day have gotten me hooked; when I'd watched before, the fact that Koyasu's character is actually a twisted little pervert (in today's episode, Keroro mentions his age ray as being invented for kinky reasons--in a kid's show that airs right before Elmo's World, in Animax, mind you...) is wonderous. Dororo's trauma switch wrong and therefore hilarious on so many levels (he goes into fits of catatonia based on childhood memories of abuse and torment, used as a comedic device).

And to think, one of the few reasons I bothered watching at all when it came up was "Eh, Fujiwara's a charming narrator and butler; I'll go ahead and follow since it's airing."

Megami says it's a little too much for me to know the name of a voice actor who does a narration on a show her three year old watches and that they just ended a Happy Meal promotion for; proceeded to have her listen to Angel Heart; she says that it's well and good that he's talented, but that I shouldn't devote my head and attention to such things as who narrates Sergent Frog.

Gods never have understood the toils of the mortals.

Zombie Loan is coming to one of the channels I get in June! Fucking NUTS about Zombie Loan manga and its drama CD's/songs (even if Don't Love Me Baby will ultimately be, in my head, Greed and the Nest Crew pulling off a con to avoid rape by Gluttony's tongue); great cast, grand story, well developed, action packed--for all that, I can overlook an animation/design style that doesn't quite settle well with me yet. Admittedly, Violinist of Hameln took a few volumes to get used to back in the day, too.

I was asked if there were any anime I don't like. Not hate. Just don't really get into. Short of anime I actually hold an annoyed agenda against, they do exist. For example, Akagi. Just can not make myself take interest in it. The animation style, while experimental and new in a real anime or manga doesn't convey or express the things 'traditional anime style' does so well and was developed for (there's a reason 'anime eyes' as you think of them are so large). People say it won't catch on because the fanbase wants bishounen and the designs and character style don't allow for that; I am inclinded to say that I am specifically uniterested, unintruiged and pointedly not drawn in to the characters much less their story because of the style, but, I'd hesitate to say it's based on its lack of shiny prettiness. Probably, I just need to watch it more to appreciate it it the same as I probably just need to listen to Fukuyama Jun more (particularly in Code Geass; I love Lulouch, but I find myself less interested in him and thus the story when his voice switches to 'Zero' as the actor utterly fails to carry the role in my opinion) to get the thrill that everybody gets from him. As it is,Fukuyama (who won the recent seiyuu awards) and Akagi (popular on 4chan, though I don't know how the rest of the world feels about it) are elements of otakudom I'm dead numb and dull to. Such things exist. Just because it's anime or related does not mean I'll like it; there's a strong chance, but, I'm not completely undiscerning.

But I'm totally hard up for Keroro Gunsou so, consider that before you go thinking I'm some kinda connesuer.

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23 May 2008 @ 09:48 pm

A preview, kiddies!

For kicks, mark which answer you get. I'm typing out the answers when I have more time, so, over the weekend, put down what letter you got, out of interest. I'm a type A, whether I go by roman letter stroke count, katakana, or kanji.

With the outer grid, the number of points of different people will be used. (Examples are pictured below in the text; I'm not going to describe them.
Either do your own name in Katakana or count the stroke count of the normal writing, whatever squishes your melons the right way. Also, I'm not going to hamper on transcribing
instructions here word for word. I'll just explain it so you can do it, mostly. These instructions are in Japanese order; if you want, reverse the first name and last name
instructions for a more traditional outer grid in Western format, I'd imagine.) 
If your first or last name each have one character, add the number of strokes for the first character of your last name and the last character of your first name.
Adding them will become your outer grid. If the total comes to two digits, take the latter digit. If your last name is three symbols, take one and two of your last name and the last
symbol of your first name and add the stroke total. If your first name and last name are three or more symbols, add the first two symbols' totals of your last name and the last
two totals of your first name for your starting grid. With this, each person will have a different place from which they start. Please answer all of the questions of the affinity
assessment honestly, yes? In the end, you will surely come to know how you and Ed will get on!

If your stroke counts equal 3, 7, 8 or 9, start at 1. 
If your stroke counts equal 1, 2, or 4, start at 2. 
If your stroke counts equal 5 or 0, start at 3.
If your stroke counts equal 6, start at 4.

1. Tomorrow you will date with Ed! The night before, what are you doing?
Hurrying to go to bed early for tomorrow! (Go to question 6)
Thinking and planning about what to talk about tomorrow. (Go to question 7)

2. It's come to a situation where you're giving Ed a present. What in the world are you giving him?
A hand made photograph. (Go to question 5)
A good looking accessory. (Go to question 6)
Automail Oil. (Go to question 7)

3. You're out shopping with Ed! If told "I was thinking about buying this but..." you would...
Say "Let's look at some other stuff!" and go to other shops, too. (Go to question 5) 
Agree with Ed and say "That's nice!" (Go to question 6)
"Since you've thought it over, let's just buy it already!" is what you'd say. (Go to question 7)

4. For your first meeting with Ed, what way of meeting would be good?
Being introduced by a friend. (Go to question 5)
Having a run in on the road for a first meeting. (Go to question 7)

5. Ed's looking like he could laugh! As for you, what do you do?
End up breaking out in a huge laugh. (Go to question 9)
You can suppress your laughter. (Go to question 10)

6. Ed and Al are caught up in a discussion about Alchemy. What'll you do?
Even though you can't really make it out, participate in the conversation. (Go to question 8)
Change the topic of conversation to something else. (Go to question 9)

7. Ed did a huge screw up in Alchemy! As for you, what do you do?
"Doesn't that suck?" and meddle with him. (Go to question 8)
Tell him "It's all right!" and comfort him. (Go to question 9)
Leave him be. (Go to question 10)

8. Ed's gotten busy with his military work and can't really meet up with you... In your case, what do you do?
Since it can't be helped, deal with it. (Go to question 11)
You can't bear it and you go to meet with him. (Go to question 13)

9. (Some of these questions have pictures from the manga; I feel it pertinent to point out that this particular question
has a shot of the fanged unicorn statue Ed made at one point, and that the question adjacent, 6, has Ed and Al argueing over Ed's sense of style.)
Let's say Ed's going to give you a present for your birthday. What do you want?
A book that explains alchemy. (Go to question 11)
Something relating to western fashion. (Go to question 12)
Something Ed transmuted. (Go to question 13)

10. When you're not doing well in your work or studies, what do you want Ed to do?
You want to be comforted. (Go to question 11)
You want to be left alone. (Go to question 12)

11. You've ended up in a fight with Ed over something trivial! You...?
Don't speak to him until he apologizes to you. (Go to question 14)
The apology comes from you. (Go to question 15)
Meet in order to thoroughly talk it out. (Go to question 16)

12. Ed is looking severely pissed off. Why do you think that is?
You said something to get him mad. (Go to question 15)
Ed got himself mad all by himself. (Go to question 16)

13. Ed is looking severely downtrodden. Why do you think that is?
He's thinking that he can't move forward towards his goal. (Go to question 16)
It's because he quarrelled with Al. (Go to question 14)

14. You told Ed about something that was very touching for you today. What do you think his reaction will be?
He will listen with an absent「Hnnn.」 (Go to answer B)
You will have him feeling touched alongside you. (Go to answer D)

15. You saw a touching movie together with Ed. On the verge of crying, you...
Bear through it without showing your tears. (Go to answer C)
End up crying without bearing through it at all. (Go to answer E)

16. Ed's returned from his travels with big talk and boastings. If it were you, what would you do?
Ask 「And then, and then?」and listen earnestly. (Go to answer E)
Give an absent [Hnnn.」　and such curt responses. (Go to answer A)
「Sure, sure」　and let him talk. (Go to answer D)

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21 May 2008 @ 09:42 pm

The opposite of home sick would be called...

I was thinking today, as I do every day during my rather euphoric daily adventures in which simply waking in the morning to find anime playing just as it was when I fell asleep and surely will be when I return from my daily activities, that Japan is a wonderous place. Certainly, the meals are expensive, I can't work, old ladies take a seat, glance over at me, and huffily rise and stalk to another seat, glaring as if I had turned into a white man through some sort of ninja magic only after they had sat in order to play cruel tricks on them, and I'm a bumbling idiot bringing frustration and irreverrant shame to their culture in regards to tea, but, none the less, one can not help but feel that euphoria. For, there is anime and manga everywhere, in this glorious land where stories and all who take part in its development recieve their exposure to the world their brilliant little minds process! Here, when one speaks of anime and manga, no matter what their little fannon skews, views, ships and the like may be in their minds, we are speaking of the same work, the same characters, the same nuances that we then process through our own to test against those of others to meddle out bias for a true grasp of that character and that work! For here, there are no dubs, and never need you become frustrated that someone is merely speaking of love--be it passing 'I enjoy that' or deep hot desire to hypothetically plug its digestive track from both ends--of some uncoordinated mesh of summaries and misrepresentations! Maybe they haven't seen all of it, maybe I haven't seen all of it, but we're talking about the same work!

And, contrastingly, willing to discuss a topic indepth, the masses wish to discuss the series and its truths; whatever biases you bring, while pointed out for discussion, nobody gives half a hot fanservicingly flashed bishoujo's ass whether you believe in the flying spaghetti monster, giant balled racoons raping farmer's daughters or zombies who want you to eat them (as apposed to the reverse). So long as you consider that biased slant of your own in your assessment, it is not of concern outside of how it pertains to the immediate argument. Or rather, if you're discussing a law, whether it's right by a given religion, for example, is said to be important only if that religion is pertinent to the law as a whole being; there is no attempt to force its importance. It is in bad form to challenge their biases, as it detracts from the topic (and because they just don't want to get into personal issues, some theorize). One must only challenge when it is so strong or pervasive into the topic that that bias makes rational flat line discussion of a topic impossible. The ability for very well focused thought and discussion, even if its root is arguably avoidance of depth in other areas, is refreshing.

...That said, Vic Mignognia has managed to piss me off even in Japan. I'm so far removed from dubs here that I can forget they exist beyond a brief memory of horror when someone asks if I watch it in English or with subtitles here. Yet his failure crosses the great Pacific Ocean itself.

And then I come to the internets, where some asshat informs me that Code Geass is running on TV dubbed in the US when I mention that R2 is one of the series I get and can follow on my limitted cable.

"Damn it, I was happy not knowing anything about that! I'm free from dubs! Why'd you have to go and kick me in the cock like that?!"
"Why should I be the only one who's miserable?"

Sure, I never have to watch a dub, any more at home than I do here, but such failure of fans whom I will inevitably interact with as well being an English speaker and one who generally wishes to discuss anime leaves me feeling the opposite of home sick. I don't want to return to that place where there are dubs of things I enjoy and people who watch and make them. It's like going from your literature club to your job at K-mart full of hicks, from discussing actual works of literature to listening to people talk about movies or SNL parodies with bases in those things, and believe themselves to know the work. Reading about a book on Wikipedia does not make you well read.

Anyway, Vic's rage incitement can be witnessed <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KKaEG1r2VQ&feature=related">here</a>. Warning for those of you prone to intelligent religious debate (both on the side theistic and non), you get a double whammy of head banging.

For starters, if you're going to tout it as a serious discussion, that does not mean one must stray from discussing anime at a convention and panel about anime. The first four minutes or so are entirely related to religion (or 'spirituality' as he calls it, even though it is, other than the opening attempt at separating the terms; given that he then delves into the specific histories and beliefs of his brand of 'relation' to the supernatural, it can only be deemed religion), in such a way that does not relate to the thesis he attempts to make. If religion is the excuse of many to do dispicable acts and if religion has lead to many kind acts and if spirituality is different from religion and if it is about a very personal aspect and take on matters are granted as a foundation, that does not explain the link to the specific person (one fictional Edward Elric) to any specific stance.

Jesus was a rebel! Read his book!, etc. is wasted protheletizing time Shoko Asahara is also a rebel, buddy. Most religious histories and <strike>other</strike> classical fiction works star rebels. Where's the relation to Ed? Just because he has reason to be angry at an existence does not mean belief for the sake of that anger's outlet.

Furthermore, for one who touts looking to the source of things (read the bible, etc.) his inability to cite such sources in his discussion of the actual topic for which he was given a panel, anime, and one he had taken a paid stance upon the leading role within, weakens his argument significantly. Edward speaks specifically to a lack of belief in dieties during the incident in which Scar says he will give him time to pray before killing him. This is not made in the same spirit of not depending or trusting in a diety to help one attain their wishes and goals, as his theme is in episode one; though, the dub had altered that sequence of lines such that it didn't suggest alchemy instead of as apposed to alchemy as a counter to religion and in favor of reason (the dub suggested Roze pick up an Alchemy book if she want her problems solved, the original has the flavor of 'alchemy produces quantifiable results and research).

If one believes Ed to 'come around' at the end, as he's been quoted to say (no source on this line exactly; if someone wants to toss a source at me of him saying he thinks Ed changes his stance, welcome to it; I rarely hace computer access with sound here), what evidence is there for a change of a world view based on empiricism?

On the note of empiricism, he defines agnostic wrong. An agnostic is not 'don't know/don't care', but rather 'can not know.' Don't know/don't care, if one were to assign such a case to our protagonist, in the case of Ed's espousements of lacking a personal belief, would be classified as weak atheism. Ed is agnostic towards human transmutation; he states in games and novels that because one doesn't know the order in which the soul and body are created and combine, that it is impossible to know if it can be performed. He takes the moral stance that it should not be attempted at first on the grounds of hey-this-shit-will-fuck-you-up and, after the latter half in which he interacts with Homunculus and in particular, Sloth, for what it means and implies about selfishness and human life. Certainly, he develops what one could label as a less selfish or nihilistic moral code, but, the events suggest and leave nothing of spirituality. Even upon entering Munich, he turns to rocket science even in an atmosphere of mysticism to which his father took with the Thule society.

As for his belief in a soul, in the FMA series, souls are a proven, quantifiable existence; he is able to interact, manipulate, and be effected directly by a being known as a soul through transmuting and transfixing a soul to armor. He has the mathematical proof of such existences. He's not a Flat Earth Atheist.

This angers me on the grounds that it not only shows his inability to separate himself from the role (you don't have to be an atheist to play one; Paku, in the Aniplex hour shows, when taking the character quiz, says she prays without thinking in dire straits) but that he, as a leading force in the development of not only a character but a theme of the series, failed royally. One of the lines made key is the stand and walk on your own two legs line; this is harped on hardcore by Roze when she makes her return, and, in the movie script book (thought it didn't make it into the movie) is the final line of the movie, said to her kid. One of the big themes of the entire damned series, much less the brothers, and especially to Ed, is taking responsibility for actions and what that does and doesn't mean. Does it mean getting back what was lost? It's a moral quandry of his in whether he has a right to seek it, or if it's just greed. Does it mean going after what you want, or is that greed? Should one harp on their guilt and try to rectify their sins, or is that just selfish? What does moving forward mean, and how? How each character does that in what ways is one of the main points of the mother fucking series. While standing on your own legs doesn't necessarily mean a lack of relation to or interest towards a diety, the last stretch of the series is a matter of Ed learning to consider the strength of others and cooperation as a means of movement (though accepting/realizing Roy's help/concern, understanding his goals, realizing how much Winry wants to help, realizing his dad keeled over to send him home, in the movie, working with a team of rocket scientists as apposed to taking an instructor and then settling to research alone with his brother). He's shown to bond to people. He's shown to keep his empiricism in his methods and his skepticism in political stances and motives of others. What portion ever suggests spirituality in any sense? Dude, you voiced the key line of the series (which Paku Romi, in an interview in Fanbook 1, said was the heaviest and favourite line of hers, back around the time they were only up to episode 11, and continued to hold that line as key to the character throughout the series in other interviews; either good research and grasp on her part, or good interaction with the director). Why do you talk about it like you've never actually seen it?

If you're talking about a topic, cite topical sources, and link everything to the topic. I enjoy the idea of Greed as a prison legend baseball star who had an amazing ride in a chocolate factory before being sealed away by security guards in a giant vagina where we can only presume he still resides awaiting rescue by the hands of those meant to recieve the drunken prophecy. I will pontificate and enjoy the details of this false extention at length (long story short; someone I know gets hammered, and we record him talking, which leads to a really long, hilarious saga which often links to Greed, prison, and buttsex, often all three related.)

But I don't mistake it for the actual god damned series. The association sometimes takes me a moment to step away from, but it is possible with minimal effort. This gives us a greater understanding of the actual source material by testing away things we don't realize we've failed to chip away or lights we've failed to notice. If you wanna write Ed-finds-spirituality fics, power to you; I'll get pissed at your OOC display unless it amuses me, but, on a completely different level, as it would not be touted as an actual assessment or validated viewpoint of events, much less made a public and touted as a respectable and view. Fucked up fanon is often annoying (and often funny, intruiguing, well thought out, and positive things, too) but not enraging.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find some people who don't even have to consider dubs and meld into their mindset to enjoy anime and its fandoms, to select fanons of interest and stimulation, to have healthy and moderate annoyance at those opposite, and celebrate the fact that I will never have to brew tea again.

I don't want to go home. I'm really quite free from such things here. If I were to stay here, I'd really never have to deal with dubs or dub fans again, much less in their abundance... ... probably. ... I'd still want RPGers, and RPGing is, in the sense of stories, entirely unheard of, here. It's either a video game or a stat and dice game rather than a potential independant story development thing. The latter is a baffling concept I'm working on explaining here--but, this may just be in my area and those I'm speaking to. I've not actually dipped into genuine otaku crowds. Still, their casual anime base pleases me more than the English anime 'hardcore' crews.

Pardon my wanking mess. But, in Japan, it's not a crime to masturbate on your private property, even if others can see you prominently, from off of your property.

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16 May 2008 @ 03:59 pm

It's not like Greed is a perfect synonym for selfish. The greedy can give, on nonconsumption goods.

Hora yo. Started translating that book in figure set, Red; got a whole one vote for the Ed horoscope bits, so, went and did the first fourteen pages of the book in red. Enjoy at your leisure.

Book in Red Part I

Edit: I just spilled mac and cheese all over the floor and exploded my fridge, all in the process of making chocolate milk. Everyone here thinks I underestimate how much I suck at cooking. No. I really, really can't cook. Here, cocoa milk powder requires you to mix it with water and boil it into a syrup. I put it in a bottle in the microwave and it went BOOM, knocking my bowl on the floor and exploding syrup on the inside. Luckily, I scooped my mac and cheese off of the floor to eat it, and scraped most of the chocolate out of the microwave's interior back into the bottle. In the end, I think I only lost about a third of a 500 ml drink's worth of chocolate powder. Phew. It took quite a while, though.

For the record, I cleaned my floor last night, so it was clean. .. Ish. .... Shut up.

Though, this will be the third time I have the Squall Leonhart scar going on. I got one in highschool, one in college, and this time the miscowave door busting open got me in the nose. Rather than a mostly clean little cut, though, this time I've got some swelling going on. But, it missed my eye, and I have my 500 ml of chocolate milk, so I am happy.

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15 May 2008 @ 05:34 pm

My story about Greed has brought good luck to Greed in the manga. See? He can AND will fuck you all.

A lot of things have happened, none of which are all that exciting. I've taken to doing a lot more teaching in the language lab, such that I feel kinda bound here until closing; it's not really a bad thing, as travelling costs money. What am I gonna go out and do, anyway; look at shops and not spend the money? In the end, explaining English grammar in Japanese is much easier than explaining Japanese grammar in English, probably. Japanese grammar is easier, without many irregular verbs and a very intuitive structure. I say this being a native English speaker and a piss poor Japanese student. What amuses me most is that my rough speaking style doesn't phase too many people, but as soon as we get past my anime, manga, and gaming hobbies, my other hobby of martial arts (because they press that I must do some exercise, as I don't have the fat unshaven pimply greasy otaku look going--damn it! How will any other otaku know to talk to me on the street?!) is what suddenly makes them all ask if I'm some kind of gangster or street thug. This is further made issue of if I mention that I like to play hanefuda... So, playing flowery card games and doing martial arts makes me into a much worse person than speaking as if saying 'Fucking' every other word and using words to refer to people that make it sound like I'm calling everyone 'that punk', 'that asswhipe', etc...

In other news, I spent the past week excitedly telling people about things in the latest manga developments, as well as anime. I got to talking about Code Geass and seiyuu. They could follow that, as I was mostly talking about acting ability (in episode 1 of R2, Ohkawa lands a bit part that he does amazing on; I've also been really impressed with his work in his role in Amatsuki. In contrast, I am still utterly unimpressed by anything Fukuyama Jun has done, despite him winning the big awards recently) and vocal quality. I'm not suprised no one knows Ohkawa. Even though he does some amazingly great mood creation (even if somewhat typecast, seeing him in more slimy roles helps me compare well with the feeling being created with less smug and less bastardish roles; you don't realize how unsmug of an unbastard Roy is until you compare with some other roles... this is, I believe, not due to his acting developing but a conscious choice, given his grand range to the anti-smug anti-bastard that is Normal McNormalPants Jiroh Tomitake. Also, in R2, he doesn't have that 'nice bastard' (think smiling sadist stereotype) undertone he does in Amatsuki), it's a shame he won't be recognized unless he's doing a bishounen. But, I kept pressing for seiyuu someone would know; there was a group of Sailor Moon fans I spoke with last night. They didn't know about the Ami-chan minimovie, so we found it on Youtube and e-mailed them the links (no sound on these lab computers). Didn't know Hisakawa Aya or Mitsuishi Kotono, which are the big names in Sailor Moon, even though one was an Ami-chan fan in her youth... Interestingly, the girls remarked, upon watching the silent rendition of Ami-chan no hatsukoi, that they would like to wear a Sailor Fuku again one more time...

In an awkward silence after each one goes "me too, mee too..." I fill in awkwardly with "... Never done, wouldn't know."

...........They were somehow suprised at this.

Oi, oi. This is the same crew that was shocked when I mentioned a guy back at college wearing one for Halloween...

It makes me wonder, though... does every Japanese schoolboy end up in a fuku at some point, through some sort of perscribed life of highschool hijinks?

Everyone seems to know Conan's seiyuu; I thought Megumi Hayashibara would be better known, but it seems Minami is tops, lately. Well, she is a bit of a pop singer, too, and the new Conan movie is out, so I guess that's related.

In other news, while most could follow that, even when talking in Japanese, my excited FMA rants made no sense to anyone. Damn it, I want us all to celebrate the return of Greed-Greed taking over that little bitch Ling (whom Ed has decided they will know call Greelin)! Ed also volunteered to become Greed's subordinate! Havoc made an appearance! Hawkeye had hints of a life and/or personality (which then got squandered with the possibility that it was entirely for work...)! Armstrong's family made an appearance, Olivier challenged him for the family estate (and owned his ass so absolutely hardcore they didn't even bother to show the battle, just his father, about to retire and go on vacation, getting him, Katherine, and his wife ready to leave for a vacation to Xing with dialogue in the background 'You're trying to kill me!' 'Damn right, that's the point!!').... Though, there are no signs that Armstrong fought back even a single punch, so, take that for what it's worth. He was able to see through her plan to save the family by making them leave the coutnry, however. We're promised at least a slightly longer series, as Roy comments that it's winter, and The Big Day It's All Gonna Go Down is in spring.

....But, what if the series ends, then?

.....This made my exciting rambling, much like now, go into depression. The nice people in the lab didn't understand a word I said, but tried to comfort me none the less.

I suck at traditional Japanese arts. I suck so much at tea stuff that the teacher recommended I go to a club meeting Monday; I'm taking this as the Japanese polite way of saying 'go to this remedial class'... Gah, who cares how the fucking hell you FOLD YOUR DISH RAG. It's a bar wiping rag. You wipe tea powder with it. It also doesn't matter whether your tea is stirred clock wise, counter clockwise, whether you turn right or left, take three steps or two to cross the mat... It's this stubborn failure to feel the importance of the tradition's propriety that makes me fail so hard. It's not that I don't think it's important to teach and preserve it... I just, for my sake, don't care and only walk away with dejection. I have no desire to serve or be served tea. In the language lab, students have commented that my Japanese becomes much more simple, as if I've lost confidence, after that particular class (every Thursday afternoon, rather). The fact that it's taught more or less in keigo throws me totally off of my ball for Japanese for a few hours. I know a guy who got better at Japanese when he was drunk. I wonder if I should take to sake and get shit faced wasted before that class and see if I become the next Sen no Ryu?

Summary: Ed became Greed's bitch, Greed collected two new chimera subordinates, Hawkeye might stop sucking/pissing me off so much (not holding my breath on that), Olivier is badass, so is her father ("Oh, you want me to retire because i'm an old fogey, huh? ...Oh, Hi, Alex. Hey, fight your sister. Now. In the dinning room."), and the series might be drawing to an end--but, I've been fearing that since volume 13. A story should always seem to be moving towards something big and finalish. But, this end draws all the arcs together well.... The potential end of Hagaren makes me sadder than tea, which makes me pretty fucking sad.

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07 May 2008 @ 08:42 pm

NHK ni Yokoso!

I answer my door on Tuesday wondering if somehow I've made yet another mistake about what days we have off; with dread so appropriate I have no idea, I peel open the door, standing there in my football boxers and the shirt I slept in, as I hadn't really seen much reason to get out of bed just to sit about, watch some anime, and translate. A man blinks awkwardly and asks if I speak Japanese, saying he's from the NHK (the Japanese national broadcasting service). In a navy blue uniform with an intimidating looking electronic fanny pack (it was more intimidating than I'm describing it as, you know), he hands me a pamphlet which I glance at saying "Don't want any" reflexively; however, the pamphlet reads that it's Japanese law as he informs me that all owners of anything which can recieve broadcasting must pay a fee. In the end, simply by owning a TV which isn't even owned by me, I'm forced to pay thirteen dollars, after having saved up so hard on eating on a mere 200 yen a day with just spaghetti noodles and very carefully rationed sauce, boiled in the microwave for fear of running the gas and having to pay for that, too...

I've been told by my former host family that they've known people who've gotten out of it by making a big fuss and saying "I don't watch it anyway! Just take the damn TV if you want! No, really, go, take it!" I wonder if I should have done that...? But, against a man wearing a uniform of the legendary NHK conspiracy army, would I have been getting into something far over my head...? Maa, with that thirteen bucks, I could buy half of the Prince of Tennis series! I could buy an entire set of FMA figures! Ha! Next time, you bastard, I'll be prepared to take you on!

...So I say now, but, just remember what he said as he walked away with my money leaves me with a strange feeling.

"Welcome to the NHK." (NHK ni Yokoso)

On that note, I went to an anime book store that day that was near my former host family's place and thought to ask for a cash-in-hand job, or if I could do any work they'd just hand me manga for or perhaps buy me some milk over; my host family father said the Japanese are more than willing to bend rules that don't obviously hurt anyone (such as, if you have a grant budget and can only spend x on item z, but have some budget for a and b, they'll change your reciept to match your limits and say that instead of an expensive z you bought a cheap z and some a and bs). I lost my nerve, in the end. Maybe it was hearing them throw out all that Keigo at customers, maybe it was how busy and active it was, maybe it was the fact that I would be asking for something technically illegal... even as I saw so many things I'd have been willing to work for, even as I was hungry, even as I eyed the sign that said the staff is there working out of LOVE of manga, I ended up slinking out without asking for a job.

....... .... I didn't realize the irony of the timing of those two events until writing this now. I wonder if anyone reading this has ever even seen NHK ni Yokoso?

On a note made in the beginning, I'm doing translating as I study. Any requests on what you guys want translated? I've got some Hagaren books with games and character notes (the red book in figure and blue book in figure have a lot of neat stuff, from facial structure study to various games including a fight against Greed, a dog hunt, personality and compatability tests), interviews, the Hagaren Housoukyoku, a few doujinshi (including the K2 Ame no te book which I haven't seen a scanslation of, or even a high quality enough scan to read the kanji of until now)... Please vote if you have absolutely any interest.

Hagaren Book In Figure Red
   Interview with Hiromu Arakawa
   Analysis of figure by Ed and Al
   Ed's horoscopes by name and face.
   Your compatability with Ed.
   Al's horoscopes by name and face.
   Your compatability with Al.
   Winry's horoscopes by name and face.
   Izumi's horoscopes by name and face.
   Rescue Al from Greed Game
    (Includes minigames such as a personality test, alchemy puzzles, etc.)
Minicomic of Ed giving Winry her earings (EdWin fans, it's quite possibly the most anti EdWin story possible short of WinryBitchSyndrome fanfic, I'm afraid.)

Hagaren Book in Figure Blue
    Interview with Hiromu Arakawa
    Relation chart
    Analysis of figure by the military gunbu
    Roy, Armstrong, Hughes, Hawkeye and Military Gunbu's facial structure horoscopes.
    Split personality test.
    A game with in which you find a dog (Dog Days). Includes a maze and a few other small games.
    Minicomic of Roy and the gunbu with a Hughes flashback. (HuRoy fans, it's not very HuRoyish, I'm afraid)

Hagaren Housoukyoku
   Aniplex radio show. Various discussions of events, letters, stuff, for Hagaren, hosted by Paku and Kugimiya. Many have guests including Toyoguchi (Winry), Ohkawa (Roy), Fujiwara(Hughes), Yamaguchi(Envy), Satou(Lust) and Okiyau(Scar). There's also one with the director. Paku is pretty much high on crack the entire time. Please ask which shows/topics/seiyuu you'd like. While listening, if your topic comes up, I'll go ahead and transcribe that show. There's one where Paku entertains the idea that Mustang might want men in the military to wear miniskirts, too, commenting that RoyEd is pretty popular. Ohkawa seems flustered at the idea. Kugimiya is the world's tiniest mammal with a voice of cotton candy in a whirlwind of lace and giggling unicorn puppies prancing through rainbows.

FMA CD dramas
   If I do one, it will be downloading and recontinueing the Itsuwari no Hikari, Shinjitsu no Kage one about the false watches that Hughes, Armstrong and Ed investigate. Will also translate the mini-comic if anyone wants, or if someone can scan theirs to make a scanslation for others.

Doujinshi - One great Roy and Hughes war story, a RoyEd, an AU gag EdRoy in which Roy is put into dept by rediculously high rent to landlord Ed (not fond of it myself and will probably trade it in for another book unless someone has interest; I don't like AUs).

Star Ocean CD drama 01 - Because I do have interest in things that aren't Hagaren, too, actually.

Anything else of interest?

Also, I've gotten e-mail requests for this and that. I can't fucking translate something for you that's embarassing for me if someone walks up behind me while I'm doing it, so don't ask me to translate weird things! I've told you this! Also, can't run games, so I can't translate squares of that, either. Sorry! I'm interested, but I can't install any software here, thus can't run any games! Unless you wanna screencap something particularly troublesome, I'm useless there for now.

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02 May 2008 @ 07:57 pm

Greedy enough for two golden weeks.

So, my tutor says to me on Friday after our meet that we can't meet on Tuesday, as she doesn't have classes that day. I ask why, and she says because there are no classes. How helpful. Well, whatever; nobody had mentioned this to me, so, I assume this is a graduate school thing and nod; she asks when I'm next free, and out comes my schedule. My Mondays are pretty packed, so, she says she supposes we can't meet until next week; the rest of her schedule must be quite busy... Which, given that the only times we can meet are Monday and Friday, I suppose are a given. So, I goes home for my weekend, tralalalala, I go to school on Monday and suffer through my complete ineptitude at caligraphy, go home, get up the next morning and head in to school and... there's no one there. Anywhere. I wander about the buildings, noting every door--particularly those with computers, which are my interest--to be locked. Well. Not a staff member in the office. Curious. I head home and click on the TV, which is running Golden Week programming. Huh. In Tokimeki, it's usually the next week, but, okay, what do I know? It's clearly Golden Week, even if I didn't get Monday off! I do recall one teacher mentioning that she cancelled her Monday classes to go to Hawaii... ah, must be Golden Week. Only, it's not. NEXT week is the golden week we get off. Gah.But this is technically Golden Week, too?

So, this means my anime channel is running specials. One day is the Honey and Clover II OAVs which I watch purely for Shou/Fujiwara, and for that Hughes feeling. The next day is Ema, which I don't care for as much; on this day, I went out to Nagoya station and found Animate. Animate, being in a bit of a deal with Squeenix, seems my best bet for Hagaren goods, as Hagaren, my current hardcore obsession series, is a bit hard to find goods of as the anime is over and this is a world of fads. The manga is still running, but manga doesn't draw in quite the same money as anime. As a side note, did you know that aside from Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma, Inuyasha, etc.), Hiromu Arakawa is the only female mangaka to have their series win first place for most popular shounen manga? Arakawa was a big fan of one of Rumiko's shoujo series (Maison Ikkoku). I wonder if she'll follow in her steps and become an insanely rich manga-ka? I certainly hope she takes after her tradition (Rumiko tends to do very, very long series...) and continues with Hagaren for a very long time even if it seems like the beginning of the final plot arcs winding up, with Ling's plot being pulled back in.... She's going on with another series from her doujin days, but I don't care for it as much, yet.

I also hit some doujinshi shops, where I bought TEH BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVAR for a certain Armstrong fan. Can you believe that in three doujin shops, Animate and Mandarake I couldn't find one single Greed/Ed? Or even Greed/anyone? Also dissapointing was that there was not a single Roy-seme-Hughes-uke. It seems Roy is only fit to seme Havoc (In the very small Havoc uke section of Mandarake--they separate things out by who the uke is, rather than by pair?) and Ed. There was an interesting EdRoy book with a funny little scene where Ed says something demeaning about Roy and on the next page, you see him with a bloody nose and the dialogue is written as if he has a very funky slur; 'Sawhy. Ahy ovahdid hit, heven hif dif ish a Roy-uke book. Sawhy. Reawy. My bahd.' The K2 books are running pretty cheap, though, the $6.00 one I was waiting to come down in price since it was only 10 pages or so are sold out now. Ah well. I'm sure they'll turn up again; I got a really good HughesRuyHughes war story one that captures the feel of them nicely. Very well drawn, as well.

There's actually quite a bit of good cheap stuff here, though, I can't bring myself to spend money. I found out that while electricity and water are free under my plan, gas is not; thus, I have to pay for heating. I don't care how cold it gets at night, fuck if I'm paying for it. I don't need comfort just while I'm sleeping! Since the water is probably gas heated, too, it's cold showers from here on in. Bah.

Speaking of cheapskates, it anyone wants any manga or doujinshi or anything, it's cheaper than dirt, here. It's about the only thing that is, mind you, but, while I can't speak for shipping, feel free to ask me for prices on various things. Complete series on manga bundles are very well prices--I've seen PoT sets ranging from $13.00 for 1-15 (including 10.5), to $18.00 for 1-30, here and there. Let me know what you're looking for, about what price range you're looking at without shipping, and I'll see what I can find. I'll confirm with you that I've found it and the price before buying. If you're a stranger sent here by someone else, I'm gonna hafta ask for the money first, but, if I know you and can hunt you down easily enough, we can send off at the same time. I don't know how shipping will be, but I'll not charge you more than shipping actually costs. Unless otherwise requested, I'm just going to send it the cheapest route possible. I won't demand it, but a little tip for the effort'd be nice. I'm really hungry here. Two bucks buys me only 1000ml of milk. As for doujinshi, give me details, what art style you like, etc., and I can try to pick something out for you. Just lemme know what you're after and what you have. If you have a cover picture of something specific, I can look for that, too.

Today, for Golden Week (which is not actually Golden Week; son of a bitch! I missed two days of classes to your lies!), they ran the entire 13 episode Prince of Tennis OAV. It reminded me that, no matter how much I may enjoy PoT, it does run very cheap at some points. I remembered why I dislike Eiji--the doubles-single-playstyle thing was just fucking cheap, buddy. Also, you guys blew the match in order to have a homo moment. Yes, I know the two of you just achieved gay-man-love-golden-high (for, playing doubles is obviously innuendo for unyeilding love in this series) but did you have to decide that instead of beating Hyoutei, you had to hold hands? Also, Momo, I can suspend my imagination enough to believe in a 9th grader pulling off the Tezuka Zone, but your magical Zen powers were eye roll worthy. And I like you most of the time, Momo! Also, even having seen it before, I became more worked up for Hyoutei, wanting them to win. It's the same as being that stupid kid in history class who gets depressed whenever they study the civil war thinking 'this time, the south will win!' But, Hyoutei's defeat feels crushing. Here they were given the lucky draw chance in the finals, licking their wounds from a loss they all felt so hard, all for nothing. Gah, it depresses me every time. Yet, some how, Atobe is stupendous (and marvelous; read, gaygaygaygaygay) enough that with his loss, it doesn't feel too bad. The last stand was pretty badass; even Ryouma had to comment on it. Though, Ryouma's falling spotlight score was pretty rediculous, I can't believe the officials wouldn't, y'know, call the game on that exchange...

Anyway, all of this made me want a Hyoutei jacket. I saw one for about $25.00 at a shop, but, I'd rather make one myself if it'd be cheaper. They have sewing machines here, but, in the end, I shall decide to save my money rather than buy cloth. Shame. Fulltime cosplay would lead to more people on the street or in parks with similar interests striking up potential conversation. I want to meet more otaku.

As for new anime I'm watching, I've taken to Dennou Coil, which is pretty fun to rewatch. My channel also reruns Prince of Tennis, so, I can catch episodes I missed (and things like the OAV; note to an Inui fan, I must sit you down in front of the Beach Volley episode, if nothing else). Persona, which I had avoided watching when it came out due to being afraid of being hooked and then cut off dry mid-run, is also shown! They did a playback catchup run; lucky! Code Geass was run, too. Strangely, Lu's seiyuu just doesn't do it for me like the rest of the cast. I like his character a lot and he has some great scenes, but I'm not sure what it is about his seiyuu that's not hitting it home for me. He's my favourite character, but my least favourite acted. This definitely means I'm missing something integral to the character, and thus the series, which is really bugging me. What is that aspect to his voice that I dislike that's so powerful and what is it trying to represent, via the director? I must study harder.. ... on... his.. voice?

Also, discovered a new anime that's actually pretty old. Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo! It's hilarious! It's like Ranma 1/2, only switch the martial arts with police shnnanigans, fiances with Japanese stereotypes, and limit the gender swapping to one cross dressing wonderous Nuriko type. It's a painfully simple program that I love the ever living bean paste ouf of. It's something you can watch entirely out of sequence, something you can just catch when you're doing home work or getting home and enjoy. They even sing their own 'sit in a bright room' warning before every episode (te-te-terebi o miru toki wa / akarui heya shite / hanarete mite ne! ).

...An entire post and week pretty much dedicated to anime. That, and study, but it's probably even less interesting still to read what kanji I've studied. I study to read manga and anime books, as it is. Other people would spend this time going to shrines or famous sites. I hunt down anime shops and calendars of big cosplay and anime events at these shops (though, I've been to two shrines now, not much to write home about in 'em. They had some overpriced goods and tea at one, and a bunch of Buddhist preachers who talked about all that forsaking worldly obsessions BS). I am that damned foreigner who came to Japan purely thinking anime that everyone bitches about on 4chan.

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24 April 2008 @ 04:28 pm

The bitches love me 'cause they know that I...

Gentlemen. My offer for people to come stay with me while I'm here for cheaper lodgings, guiding, and tourism than they'll ever have in their life has just gained a new perk. Hot Japanese chicks want to party with me. I have a crew who wants to have a takoyaki party with me. Some want to do karaoke some time, others have bought manga I've mentioned liking so we can talk about it. I don't know if it's my oozing masculine prowess or just the fact that I'm good English practice or what, but seriously. Dudes. Get over here. (Ladies I know are welcome, as well; I'm certain we'll find you some bishounen) Japanese girls are the sweetest fucking things ever, and the conversations are a blast. I got to explain the concept of yellow fever to two chicks at lunch the other day. They were complimenting my hair and such and I said that it was just because it was different that they thought anything of it. They said they're really into foreigners and their looks. I said that if they go to America or something, plenty of people have Yellow Fever, so they'll be in good shape. They declare that they have White Fever (after I explained where 'yellow' came from, and what 'red', 'white', 'yellow', and 'black' are). While I don't think such a term exists ('red/scarlet fever' is an actual disease, and 'black fever' as it would be called has different terms), if it becomes a part of the Japanese lexicon, what the hell? They said they don't have much of an official term for such a thing, even though lots of people are hot for whitey here.

"The teacher you were living with is an American with a Japanese wife. I will ask him if he has Yellow Fever!"

"You, uhm, might not wanna do that. It's not the most polite question in the world. It's the equivalent of discussing one's sex life preferences."

"Oh. We have White Fever!"

So glad they want to tell me about their sex fetishes. But, they say that since I have such rude Japanese, I'm very easy to talk to about weird subjects that are hard to approach with others. The last thing they're worried about with me is crossing an offensive line. That probably means that, while being rude, I'm giving a pretty accurate display of myself, then...

Anyway, Japanese chicks want to party with Americans. Where the hell are you, Americans?! They want to do karaoke and talk about our geeky hobbies. Sure, it's only because I'm foreign and good English practice, but everyone wants to go do lots of fun things. Being foreign is like playing Tokimeki with a cheat code put in to make your social knowledge/appeal score maxed out. I just hope nobody introduces me to Mikihara.

Gentlemen, I promise not to introduce you to Mikihara if I meet her. I haven't found Yuina (though, I do talk to /a/ Yuina regularly, she's definitely a Nozomi), but there are lots of Yukos and Yumis. In my sports class, there are some Nijinos. I think I know some psudo Ayakos. Am I teh Rei? No. I am not rich, nor do I have a phone.

This must make no damned sense to those of you who haven't played Tokimeki.

Yes, it's true. Pretty much all the Japanese people are thin with fantastic hair and fashion, just like anime. Though, it is very fad driven; when asking the White Fever crew what they liked, they said they liked American music. I asked what they liked about it and they said "it's popular."

"Ah, but what do you like best about it, yourself?"

"Oh. Uhm."

"Vocal quality?"

"Uhm..."

"Lyrics (they're pretty good at English, I don't think most song lyrics are beyond them)?"

I must give them credit for not lying. Most Americans, I think, who just go with the flow would make up an excuse or take one of the reasons I offered. They did agree, however, most modern American pop has very synthesized voices that don't have a clear natural sound like most Japanese modern music does (most, not all. Of course, singers still get their pitch fixed in the studio, but it's the same timbre and tone.). They said Brittany Spears and April La-something, whom they liked, sounded like they sung through techno filters, and they weren't really nuts about that, but.... The only American music I know is whatever I picked up at home with my mom or dad playing it when I was a kid, and that's mostly old stuff so it's not known here at all. They said most American pop songs tend to be very specific, whereas Japanese songs tend to be about a vague feeling or emotion instead of a story. I listen to whatever seiyuu sing, which are usuallly image songs, so I guess I took that as a given or anoddity or my non-specific tastes. My Japanese pop and rock is pretty much limitted to opening and endings, or songs by groups that do openings and endings, so... Any way, it was weird to be taught about American current music by them.

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