Bringing things together - How to Japanese - February 2024
Feb 12, 2024 • Subscribe
More like this
How to Japanese Podcast – Episode 48 – The 1,000-yen Haircut and まとめる
On the podcast this month, I continued the conversation about value in Japan, specifically looking at the 1,000-yen men’s haircut, which I think is one of the worst…
One Cut of the Dead / カメラを止めるな！
(Warning: this review contains spoilers about the structure of One Cut of the Dead, which I don’t think detract from enjoyment of the film.) One Cut of the…
ご多忙かと存じます
The Language of Job Hunting - How to Japanese - August 2022
Belonging (とりつくしま, Kahori Higashi, 2024)
The recently deceased watch over their loved ones from the vantage point of a familiar object in Kahori Higashi’s wistful drama.
Hold Me Back (私をくいとめて, Akiko Ohku, 2020)
A solitary young woman begins to reassess her life choices after developing a non-relationship with a perfectly pleasant colleague in Ohku’s quirky rom-com
~koto wo suru ～ことをする - Meaning in Japanese
What is ~koto wo suru ～ことをする, ~koto ga dekiru ～ことができる in Japanese? Examples and grammar.
~koto ni naru ～ことになる - Meaning in Japanese
The meaning of ~koto ni naru ～ことになる in Japanese. Examples and grammar.
~koto ni suru ～ことにする - Meaning in Japanese
The meaning of ~koto ni suru ～ことにする in Japanese. Examples and grammar.
God Seeks in Return (神は見返りを求める, Keisuke Yoshida, 2022)
A middle-aged nice guy decides maybe he should ask for something in return after all only to get more and less than he bargained for Keisuke Yoshida’s thorny…
Spring In Between (はざまに生きる、春, Rika Katsu, 2023)
A struggling editor at a magazine gains a new perspective while falling in love with an autistic artist in Rika Katsu’s romantic drama.
Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete, Volume 3 ( 私の拳をうけとめて)
In Volume1 and Volume 2, we met Soramori and Takebe, former rivals in high school gangs who have met once again as adults. Soramori confesses to Takebe that…
Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete, Volume 4 (私の拳をうけとめて！)
Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete, Volume 4 does something wonderful. But first…. Soramori and Takebe are taking a trip. To an onsen. Overnight. Yeah, and don’t think they…
All Around Us ぐるりのこと。(2008) Director: Ryosuke Hashiguchi
All Around Us ぐるりのこと。by Ryosuke Hashiguchi is a wonderful example of a mature drama that is told with subtlety and intelligence and it deserves to be much better…
When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty (朝がくるとむなしくなる, Yuho Ishibashi, 2022)
A young woman wrestles with a sense of failure and inadequacy after leaving the corporate world in Yuho Ishibashi’s zeitgeisty indie drama.
Memories of His Scent (においが眠るまで, Kahori Higashi, 2024)
A young woman travels Japan looking for the scent of her later father in Kahori Higashi’s gentle summer move.
Kimi no tame ni Sekai ha Aru (きみのために世界はある)
As you may remember, I’m a huge fan of Usui Shio’s series Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts. So when a collection of Usui-sensei’s work came out from Ichijinsha, I…
The Blue Danube (きまじめ楽隊のぼんやり戦争, Akira Ikeda, 2021)
An earnest soldier begins to question everything he’s been told thanks to musical intervention and a curious young man in Akira Ikeda’s absurdist anti-war drama
What does まどかが好きな人は二人いる mean?
Learn Japanese with Yuta: https://bit.ly/3hyXcYh Support me on Patreon: https://goo.gl/aiWNd5 Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatYuta Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatyuta/ Facebook: https://bit.ly/381qpHS Blog: http://www.yutaaoki.com/blog/
SQ Kimi no Namae kara Hajimaru (SQ 君の名前から始まる)
SQ: Begin With Your Name by Tanjiu is an absolutely delightful webcomic that runs on Chinese social platform Weibo. I’d heard about it some some time ago but,…
My Blood & Bones in a Flowing Galaxy (砕け散るところを見せてあげる, SABU, 2020)
A young man’s attempt to protect a bullied schoolmate leads him into infinite darkness but eventually also to the light in SABU’s poetic teen drama
Onaji Tokoro De Nemuru Made Matte (同じ所で眠るまで待って)
When I originally read Mizuno to Chayama, (水野と茶山) the thing that struck me, not in a positive way, was the lack of joy or humor or happiness. The…
Repast (めし, Mikio Naruse, 1951)
An unhappily married woman fed up with the drudgery of her existence considers other options but finally concludes there are none in Naruse’s bleak melodrama
Children of the Great Buddha (大仏さまと子供たち, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1952)
A collection of orphans attempt to support themselves as tour guides to the ancient capital of Nara in HIroshi Shimizu’s empathetic drama.
漫画家・浦沢直樹、YouTube始めます。Hello YouTube from Naoki Urasawa, a Japanese Manga artist
漫画家・浦沢直樹の「浦沢チャンネル」始めます！今回はYouTubeバナー&アイコンに使用するイラストを描いてみました。 A Japanese Manga artist Naoki Urasawa has launched his own YouTube called ”Urasawa Channel”! Now he draws some pictures for its banner and icon. Don’t miss it! #浦沢直樹 #NaokiUrasawa #あさドラ！ ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー ◆浦沢直樹新作「あさドラ！」最新第5集購入はコチラ https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09861078 ◆【無料試し読み】「あさドラ！」第1話はコチラ https://bigcomicbros.net/work/6398/ ◆浦沢直樹公式Twitter https://twitter.com/urasawa_naoki ◆『浦沢直樹の漫勉neo』新シーズン決定!! 毎週水曜日…
![Featured image for Hold Me Back 私をくいとめて Director: Akiko Ohku (2020) [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20210811/1628698394.19178.44807.jpg)
Hold Me Back 私をくいとめて Director: Akiko Ohku (2020) [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]
Director Akiko Ohku and lead actor Non make a dream team for the film Hold Me Back, a romantic-comedy which reflects the concerns of modern women. 私をくいとめて Director: Akiko…
My Father’s Tracks (僕と彼女とラリーと, Renpei Tsukamoto, 2021)
A struggling actor rediscovers his sense of purpose on returning to his home town in the wake of his father’s death in Rempei Tsukamoto’s heartwarming drama
Ani no Yome to Kurashiteimasu., Volume 7 (兄の嫁と暮らしています。)
Kuzushiro’s Ani no Yome to Kurashiteimasu. (兄の嫁と暮らしています。) lurches along, awkward, uncomfortable, neither a romance nor something else, and yet, I cannot look away. I last reviewed Volume 5,…
People Who Talk to Plushies Are Kind (ぬいぐるみとしゃべる人はやさしい, Yurina Kaneko, 2023)
A collection of sensitive uni students pour out their worries to cuddly toys to avoid burdening others with their fears in Yurina Kaneko’s charmingly empathetic drama.
甘える
Brute forcing difficult words - How to Japanese - January 2023
Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru, Volume 1 (君としらない夏になる)
Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru, Volume 1 (君としらない夏になる), subtitled in English “Throw away the suit together,” is one of my favorite reads currently in Comic Yuri Hime…
When I Get Home, My Wife Always Pretends to be Dead (家に帰ると妻が必ず死んだふりをしています。, Toshio Lee, 2018)
A dull and aggressively conventional salaryman is confused when his wife develops a habit of pretending to be dead when he gets home in Toshio Lee’s marital comedy.
![Featured image for Memories of His Scent においが眠るまで Director: Kahori Higashi [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20240303/1709504770.80315.118649.jpg)
Memories of His Scent においが眠るまで Director: Kahori Higashi [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024]
Memories of His Scent においが眠るまで, by director Kahori Higashi, is a gentle and melancholy tale of a teenage girl searching for her late father through smell and visiting…
Manga Kodomo Bunko (まんがこども文庫) OP - I Am Reading (よんでいる)
Sung by (歌): Mitsuko Horie (堀江美都子) Lyrics (作詞): Eriko Kishida (岸田衿子) Composition and Arrangement (作曲・編曲): Seiichirō Uno (宇野誠一郎) Very special thanks to PopKorn Kat for transferring and scanning this record!
Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World Re：ゼロから始める異世界生活 Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu
A hikkikomori, fit, single-child boy who stopped going to school one day after failing to make friends, experiences nausea after leaving a convenience store and the world distorts.…
Mabataki (まばたき)
Mabataki (まばたき) is a collection of short stories by Battan, creator of Run Away With Me, Girl. This is another manga I picked up while in Japan (I…
You’re Not Normal, Either! (まともじゃないのは君も一緒, Koji Maeda, 2021)
A nerdy maths teacher turns to his student for advice on how to seem more “normal” little knowing she has an ulterior motive in Maeda’s charming rom-com
Will I Be Single Forever? (ずっと独身でいるつもり？, Momoko Fukuda, 2021)
A series of young women find themselves contemplating the meaning of a modern marriage in Momoko Fukuda’s empathetic social drama
Koi To Yobu Ni Wa Ao Sugiru, Volume 1 (恋と呼ぶには青すぎる)
Right now on Yuri lists across the Internets, there are a number of Yuri + Food stories. If you are a regular reader here you know two things…
~ru ～る Verb Suffix
ググる, サボる, テンパる: the ~ru ～る suffix used to create new verb words in Japanese.
Hijacked Youth – Dare to Stop Us 2 (青春ジャック 止められるか、俺たちを2, Junichi Inoue, 2024)
Junichi Inoue paints a larger than life picture of director Koji Wakamastu in a semi-autobiographical tale of the later dayd of Wakamatsu Pro.
![Featured image for What to Do With the Dead Kaiju? (大怪獣のあとしまつ, Satoshi Miki, 2022) [Fantasia 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220805/1659659340.41307.71209.jpg)
What to Do With the Dead Kaiju? (大怪獣のあとしまつ, Satoshi Miki, 2022) [Fantasia 2022]
A fallen kaiju presents a new problem for the governing authorities in Satoshi Miki’s satirical comedy.
Struggling Man (私はいったい、何と闘っているのか, Toshio Lee, 2021)
A dejected middle-aged man experiences a crisis of masculinity when his home and work lives come under threat in Toshio Lee’s warmhearted comedy.
Till the Day I Can Laugh about My Blues (ブルーを笑えるその日まで, Karin Takeda, 2023)
A lonely young woman begins to rediscover joy in the world after being gifted a kaleidoscope by a mysterious old woman in Karin Takeda gentle teen drama.
Totsuzen Nantonaku Tonari no Seki no Douryou to Kiss Shitaku Narimashita.(突然何となく隣の席の同僚とキスしたくなりました。)
I am so pleased to be reviewing this book today. Miura Kozumi’s Totsuzen Nantonaku Tonari no Seki no Douryou to Kiss Shitaku Narimashita.(突然何となく隣の席の同僚とキスしたくなりました。) is the first Yuri collectio…
Farewell: Comedy of Life Begins with a Lie (グッドバイ～嘘からはじまる人生喜劇～, Izuru Narushima, 2019)
A womanising magazine editor gets more than he bargained for when he hires a beautiful woman to pose as his wife in order to break up with his…
TV 『咲うアルスノトリア すんっ！』ノンクレジットOP／ハナウタ（第五寮）「はじまりへと続く場所」
■公式サイト：https://www.arsnotoria-anime.com/ ■公式Twitter：＠arsno_anime(https://twitter.com/arsno_anime) ■推奨ハッシュタグ：#アルスノ #すんすん オープニングテーマ ❀タイトル：「はじまりへと続く場所」 ❀歌唱：ハナウタ（第五寮）[アルスノトリア CV:久野美咲、メル CV:花井美春、小アルベール CV:富田美憂、ピカトリクス CV:幸村恵理、アブラメリン CV:松井恵理子] ❀7月7日各音楽サービスにて、配信開始 https://lnk.to/hajimarietotsuzukubasho 魔法（べんきょう）のあとは とっておきのティータイム ￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣ ニトロプラス原作のTVアニメ『咲う(わらう) アルスノトリア すんっ！』 2022年7月6日（水）より放送中❀ 【 あらすじ 】 ここは全寮制の魔法学園都市《アシュラム》 ペンタグラムと呼ばれる少女たちが〈真の淑女〉を目指し、教養や礼儀作法、そして魔法を仲良く学んでいます。 生徒のひとりである少女・アルスノトリアは、同じ第五寮に所属するムードメーカーのメル、無口でマイペ―スな小アルベール、委員長気質のピカトリクス、クールなアブラメリンといつも一緒。 授業を受けたり、係活動をしたり、"あの部屋"で放課後のお茶会を開いたり…… 少女たちが送る、楽しく・賑やかな日々をお届けします！ 【 放送情報 】 2022年7月6日（水）TV放送開始 TOKYO MX…毎週水曜23:00～ ＢＳ日テレ…毎週水曜24:00 ～ AT-X…毎週水曜21:30～ ※リピート放送 毎週（金）9：30 …
Smile of the Arsnotoria the Animation, Asura, Marchen Awakens Romance
![Featured image for Alone Again in Fukushima ナオト、いまもひとりっきり Dir: Mayu Nakamura (2021) [Yamagata International Film Festival 2021]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20211018/1634536955.23457.49872.jpg)
Alone Again in Fukushima ナオト、いまもひとりっきり Dir: Mayu Nakamura (2021) [Yamagata International Film Festival 2021]
Alone Again in Fukushima sees director Mayu Nakamura visit an interesting samaritan who remained behind to look after abandoned animals. Alone Again in Fukushima ナオト、いまもひとりっきり Dir: Mayu Nakamura…
Wind, Woman and Road (風と女と旅鴉, Tai Kato, 1958)
A wanderer returns home and finds himself torn between a desire for acceptance and revenge in an early Tai Kato jidaigeki.
A Look At – For Elise -エリーゼのために-
Hioki is an incompetent, shiftless salaryman, stuck grinding in a thankless job at his company. He has a crush on coworker Chitose, but keeps his feelings to himself.…
