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The Various Forms of うかがう
The newsletter and podcast are online: This month, the core topic I looked at was how easy and broadly useful is 伺う (ukagau) is, especially for folks struggling…
Storytellers (うたうひと, Ryusuke Hamaguchi & Ko Sakai, 2013)
Ageing residents of the Tohoku region keep the folktales of ancient Japan alive in Hamaguchi & Sakai’s strangely comforting documentary
行こう ikou VS 行きましょう ikimashou #learnjapanese
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Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau 7 (ささやくように恋を唄う)
We join our resident adorable high school love story as Himari and Yori-sempai share their first real kiss. This leads to them spending the night together after a…
Mayu, Matou, Volume 6 ( 繭、纏う)
The cover is a spoiler, there’s just no way to avoid the obvious, so let’s address that right away. We last left Hana, reaching into blackness, looking desperate. …
Mayu, Matou, Volume 4 (繭、纏う)
As have all the volumes of Hara Yuriko’s series, Mayu, Matou, Volume 4 (繭、纏う) begins with a short scenario. In this one we meet younger Youko and her…
Mayu, Matou Volume 3 (繭、纏う)
In Volume 2, I noted that this series is detailing a love triangle, but only one participant seems to have noticed. In Mayu, Matou Volume 3 (繭、纏う) by…
Mayu, Matou, Volume 5 ( 繭、纏う)
Three is a very fine balance in a story that has to be maintained. We have to care about the characters we’ve been asked to care about…we have…
Common Japanese Mistake No. 5 ～そう
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Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 3 (ささやくように恋を唄う)
It’s not like Takeshima Eku’s high school love story is groundbreaking. It’s not that it’s game-changing. It’s just that this story is so pleasant and full of such…
Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 6 (ささやくように恋を唄う)
It’s summer! It’s time for one last gasp of wholesome fun, hanging with your friends, eating ice cream, going on dates. Both Yori and Himari are very interested…
Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 10 (ささやくように恋を唄う)
In the wake of the final episodes of Whisper Me A Love Song anime finally seeing light of day, and the cancellation of a Blu-ray release, I wanted…
Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 2 (ささやくように恋を唄う)
In Volume 1, Himari saw Yori up on the stage playing with a band and was blown away by her. When she told Yori-sempai, Yori replied that she’d…
Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 8 (ささやくように恋を唄う)
In Volume 7, Shiho finally addressed the elephant in her room and admitted that the source of her bad temper was unrequited love. Having shot her shot, it…
Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 5 (ささやくように恋を唄う)
The battle of the bands is coming! Now that Yori-sempai has officially joined the SS Girls, they are raring to go. Only, they seem to have developed a…
"行こう is Just Informal and 行きましょう is just formal" #learnjapanese
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Sasayakuyou no Koi wo Utau, Volume 10 (ささやくように恋を唄う)
In the wake of the final episodes of Whisper Me A Love Song anime finally seeing light of day, and the cancellation of a Blu-ray release, I wanted…
you da ようだ - Meaning in Japanese
What you da means in Japanese.
you ni ように - Meaning in Japanese
What you ni ように means in Japanese. Grammar and examples.
Chainsaw Man, Gabriel DropOut, Cells at Work!, Ya Boy Kongming!, Gabriel Dropout Specials
you na ような - Meaning in Japanese
What you na ような means in Japanese. Grammar and examples.
Good Morning (お早よう, Yasujiro Ozu, 1959)
Frustrated by adult hypocrisy, two little boys go on a pleasantries strike to force their parents to buy a TV in Yasujiro Ozu’s charming family drama.
"ましょう Mashou Isn't Always 'Let's ___'" #learnjapanese
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Long Goodbye (さようなら, Yuuji Nomura, 2022)
A collection of dejected factory workers plot escape from small-town ennui by robbing their tax evading boss in Yuuji Nomura’s adaptation of his stage play.
ShinRa-Bansho – ははうさぎ (Mother Right Heron)
The other day I was looking for a feel-good song to use as a post theme for my Nagano mountains post and came upon this one, ははうさぎ, or…
Wash Away (うぉっしゅ, Ikunosuke Okazaki, 2024)
A disconnected young woman begins to rediscover herself while caring for her ageing grandmother in Ikunosuke Okazaki’s lighthearted indie drama.
My Atomic Aunt (波の向こう, Kyoko Miyake, 2013)
Documentarian Kyoko Miyake explores the plight of those left in limbo after the Fukushima nuclear disaster through the story of her pioneering aunt Kuniko
AI翻訳について思うこと
翻訳を使っていない人間がそれについて言及するのはおこがましいと思ってちょっと好きな作品の翻訳をAIに任せたのだけど、出てきたのがぜんぜん使えなかった。意味が違う、面白みがないのは仕方ないとして、文章としては自然で整っているから返って危険なんですよ。正しいって人を騙しやすいから。 ここでいう正しいとは「文章が自然体で正しい文章に見える」のことです。中身は歪曲されていたら、欠落あったり、明らかな…
Kōji Nanke (南家こうじ): Anime’s Eclectic Musical Poet
Animation and music, when crafted and combined well, make for an exhilarating duo. Innumerable cartoons from the Golden Age of American animation, in particular, relied on the visuals…
you ni suru ようにする - Meaning in Japanese
What you ni suru ようにする means in Japanese. Examples. Grammar.
you ni naru ようになる - Meaning in Japanese
What you ni naru ようになる means in Japanese. Examples. Grammar.
ka no you ni かのように - Meaning in Japanese
What ka no you ni かのように means in Japanese. Grammar and examples.
Laughing Under the Clouds (曇天に笑う, Katsuyuki Motohiro, 2018)
A cheerful former samurai chooses laughter as the best weapon against existential anxiety in Katsuyuki Motohiro’s big budget adaptation of the manga by Karakara-Kemuri.
Six Singing Women (唄う六人の女, Yoshimasa Ishibashi, 2023)
A man finds himself trapped in a strange place after travelling to the mountains in the wake of his estranged father’s death in Yoshimasa Ishibashi’s surreal dra
The Cheese & The Worms (チーズとうじ虫, Haruyo Kato, 2005)
Documentarian Haruyo Kato captures the transience of the everyday while while living with her grandmother and terminally ill mother in her rural hometown
The Burden of the Past (過去負う者, Atsushi Funahashi, 2023)
A series of former prisoners struggle to find a place for themselves after leaving prison in Atsushi Funahashi’s pressing docudrama.
The Floating Castle (のぼうの城, Isshin Inudo & Shinji Higuchi, 2012)
A provincial castle’s division to stand up to an invading army sends shock waves through the feudal order in Isshin Inudo & Shinji Higuchi’s lighthearted historical drama
Like a Savage (野蛮人のように, Toru Kawashima, 1985)
A blocked writer is dragged into intrigue while searching for “adventure in the night” in Toru Kawashima zeitgeisty drama.
Don’t Call it Mystery (ミステリと言う勿れ, Hiroaki Matsuyama, 2023)
Totono is one again swept into intrigue in this big screen instalment of the TV drama.
Welcome to the NHK! NHKにようこそ！NHK ni Youkoso!
Tatsuhiro Satou is a hikkikomori, one who secluses himself at home and finds it difficult to have a job or go out of the house. He meets a…
Difference Between ともだち (friend) vs ゆうじん (friend) #learnjapanese
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君たちはどう生きるか/The Boy and the Heron
Hayao Miyazaki and his team are undoubtedly masters of their craft. It’s been ten years since Miyazaki directed a film (the wonderful, if divisive, The Wind Rises). This…
Cat, the Great Detective / 猫には推理がよく似合う
Cat, the Great Detective is a mystery novel that, you may have guessed from the title and cover, features a cat. Our protagonist is Kaori T...
The Zen Diary (土を喰らう十二ヵ月, Yuji Nakae, 2022)
A mountain ascetic gains a new perspective when confronted with mortality in Yuji Nakae’s contemplative foodie drama.
colorless 猿楽町で会いましょう Dir: Takashi Koyama (2020)
colorless 猿楽町で会いましょう Dir: Takashi Koyama (2020) is a well-acted drama about the grit behind the glitz of Shibuya’s fashion industry.
It’s All Right, My Friend (だいじょうぶマイフレンド, Ryu Murakami, 1983)
Bandmates help a stranded alien recover his ability to fly to Ryu Murakami’s forgotten surreal countercultural blockbuster.
Goodbye CP さようならCP Director: Kazuo Hara, Producer: Sachiko Kobayashi (1972)
Goodbye CP さようならCP Director: Kazuo Hara, Producer: Sachiko Kobayashi (1972)
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Wash Away うぉっしゅ Director: Ikunosuke Okazaki [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024]
Wash Away うぉっしゅ, the sophomore feature by director Ikunosuke Okazaki, may have an unlikely premise but it works well as an existential examination of loneliness. It plays at…