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まとめる
Bringing things together - How to Japanese - February 2024
Basic Japanese Sentence Structure No. 18 やめる #learnjapanese
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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…
いる vs ある #learnjapanese
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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.
あっためて vs あたためて #learnjapanese
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持つ vs ある to Mean "Have" #learnjapanese
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いる vs ほしい to say "to want" #learnjapanese
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I Quit, Being “Friends” (友達やめた。, Ayako Imamura, 2020)
Director Ayako Imamura turns the camera on herself and her sometimes awkward relationship with a friend who struggles with communication
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.
Road Warriors (あやめ笠 喧嘩街道, Tai Kato, 1960)
A penniless wander is caught up in intrigue after encountering a woman travelling alone for the purposes of revenge in Tai Kato’s Toei chanbara.
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…
Dragonball Evolution vs. Knights of the Zodiac: Stop! Stop! He's Already Dead!!
It's a phrase that has brought about terror from almost all anime & manga fans who have heard it spoken: The "Hollywood" Live-Action Adaptat...
The Scoop! (新米記者トロッ子 私がやらねば誰がやる！, Keiichi Kobayashi, 2024)
A young woman learns a few life lessons about the importance of press freedom after enrolling in the literature club to meet her idol in Keiichi Kobayashi’s teen…
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 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.
~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.
![Featured image for Episode #76 (S10E5) – Getting Any? [みんな〜やってるか!] (1995)](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20240228/1709108171.80025.118324.jpg)
Episode #76 (S10E5) – Getting Any? [みんな〜やってるか!] (1995)
We’re going lighter this time with comedy podcaster Chris Andersen. In this episode, we discuss Getting Any?, Takeshi Kitano’s 1995 comedy/parody film about a middle-aged guy obsessed w…
Yuri Manga: Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 8 (やがて君になる)
Since I cracked open the fantastic Bloom Into You Premium Box Set earlier this week, and plan on finishing it up tomorrow (except for the cheesecake, which will…
Episode 119 – It’s Time To Stop
We are finally caught up with the manga (at the time of this recording). Our friend from Life Lessons, Colton is here to talk about chapters 648-650 of…
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
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…
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…
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 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.
"これいる？ vs. これ欲しい？" #learnjapanese
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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…
11 Steps to Stop Being an Incel
Incels, or involuntary celibates, are men with an unhealthy view of women and of life. Many, of course, would disagree with that statement. They view themselves as more…
Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi, Volume 3 (百合と声と風纏い)
In Volume 1, we met Matoi, a high school senior with a talent for music and vocals. Surrounded by people her age who are in an out of…
Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi, Volume 2 (百合と声と風纏い)
In Volume 1, we met Matoi, a high school senior who is a talented songwriter who doesn’t understand love. She meets Yuriko, older by a few years, attractive,…
Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi, Volume 4 (百合と声と風纏い)
When we met Matoi, she was an uncertain high school student, with a crush on an older woman who had returned to their town. Yuri was a young…
Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi, Volume 3 (百合と声と風纏い)
In Volume 1, we met Matoi, a high school senior with a talent for music and vocals. Surrounded by people her age who are in an out of…
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…
One Day, You Will Reach the Sea (やがて海へと届く, Ryutaro Nakagawa, 2022)
A young woman finds a new accommodation with loss while searching for her missing friend in Ryutaro Nakagawa’s moving indie drama.
"Doesn't 入る mean to enter?" #learnjapanese
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Why we need to stop comparing RahXephon characters to Eva
One of the first things I ever wrote on this blog was about the common comparison between RahXephon and Evangelion. In a nutshell, people will often go with…
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
Kanagawa Police Stop Issuing Skirts to Female Officers
A sexist symbol of Japan's past is no more: As of February 2025, Kanagawa Police say new female recruits will only receive slacks.
Yagate Kimi ni Naru Koushiki Comic Anthology, Volume 2 (やがて君になる 公式コミックアンソロジー)
Bloom Into You has undeniably had a pretty big impact on the current Yuri audience, with the original manga, light novels, anime and an official comic anthology in…
漫画において重要…！脇を固める役者の描き方 Important to Manga! How to Draw Superior Side Characters
漫画家・浦沢直樹の「浦沢チャンネル」。「あさドラ！」第7集発売を記念して、脇を固める役者たちの重要性と描き方、そして年配の方を描く際のポイントについてお話ししました。 “Urasawa Channel“, a Youtube channel by a Japanese manga artist, Naoki Urasawa. In commemoration of publishing “Asadora!” Vol.7, Naoki Urasawa explains the importance of side characters, how to…
Yuri Manga: Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi, Volume 1 (百合と声と風纏い)
In Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi, Volume 1 (百合と声と風纏い) Matoi is a young woman who doesn’t really get love. She can see her sister and her friends…
Goukaku Tame no! Yasashi Sankaku Kakei Nyuumon ( 合格のための！ やさしい三角関係入門)
Mayuki is determined to get into the school of her choice to be close to the girl she likes, her old sempai on the basketball team, Akira. But…
"Stop Using Plushies"
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Stop saying ‘trap’
“Words have connotations, and that’s why words like ‘trap’ are problematic when used as terms for anime character archetypes”
おやすみ、東京
Atsuhiro Yoshida’s 2018 linked short story collection おやすみ、東京 chronicles the adventures of a cast of slightly odd characters with subtle connections to one another. Each of the stories…
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