The newsletter is online! This month I wrote about the nice, efficient phrase 初めて言われました (Hajimete iwaremashita, That’s the first time anyone has said that about me). I think it’s potentially a nice way to gain a clearer understanding of the … Continue reading →
Feb 13, 2026 • Subscribe
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あっためて vs あたためて #learnjapanese
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Bury Me Deep / わたしを深く埋めて / Watashi o fukaku umete (1963)
Obscure Japanese Film #133 Jiro Tamiya Nakabe (Jiro Tamiya) is a lawyer returning to Tokyo after a long holiday in Kyushu. In his absenc...
Would あたためてくれないか？ Be Too Casual? #learnjapanese
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Suizou Ga Kowaretara, Sukoshi Ikiyasuku Narimashita. (膵臓がこわれたら、少し生きやすくなりました。)
In her last book about her physical health, My Alcoholic Escape From Reality, Nagata Kabi-sensei explained the circumstances that landed her in the hospital with alcoholic pancreatitis. We…
Dear Etranger / 幼な子われらに生まれ
It’s no secret that divorce is messy and complicated, particularly when children are involved. From the child’s perspective, it may be the moment that you realize your parents…
Lonely Glory (わたしの見ている世界が全て, Keitaro Sakon, 2023)
A thoroughly unpleasant young woman gradually begins to realise that other people have feelings too and she has no idea what she’s doing with her life in Keitaro…
Lonely Glory わたしの見ている世界が全て Director: Keitaro Sakon
Lonely Glory わたしの見ている世界が全て, directed by Keitaro Sakon, plays as part of the Japan Film Festival + 2023 season.
『どれが恋かがわからない』奥たまむし先生インタビュー（第一回）
THE YURI TIMESでは、漫画『どれが恋かがわからない』（KADOKAWA）の著者、奥たまむし先生にインタビューさせていただきました。
『どれが恋かがわからない』奥たまむし先生インタビュー（第二回）
THE YURI TIMESでは、漫画『どれが恋かがわからない』（KADOKAWA）の著者、奥たまむし先生にインタビューさせていただきました。
Noise, melancholy and escapism: わたしのココ
For some reason I tend not to like Vocaloid music or producers, but so far there’s a single artist, that I found many years ago by pure accident…
"Can I Say 温めてくれませんか at a Convenience Store?" #learnjapanese
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まとめる
Bringing things together - How to Japanese - February 2024
あとになってわかったこと
Collector's Mindset - How to Japanese - February 2025
或るバイトを募集しています
Aru baito o boshū shite imasu (或るバイトを募集しています) is a collection of eight short horror stories conveyed in the form of documentary-style found footage. Each story is prefaced by…
【LIVE】浦沢直樹 ~Rhythm & Drawing~ 2019.8.19 at 晴れたら空に豆まいて
2019.8.19 晴れたら空に豆まいて 代官山 浦沢直樹「~Rhythm & Drawing~」 Percussion / 林久悦 【LIVE情報】 URASAWA BAND Love Songs TOUR 2025 ~Rhythm & Drawing~ ＼チケット詳細はこちら／ eplus.jp/urasawanaoki/ ◆2025.8.31(日) OPEN 17:00 / START 17:30 東京・duo MUSIC EXCHANGE ゲスト：小室哲哉・坂本美雨・尾崎博志・voice four ◆2025.9.23(火) OPEN 17:00 / START 17:30 大阪・YES THEATER ◆2025.9.29(月)…
Grown-ups (わたし達はおとな, Takuya Kato, 2022)
A young couple struggle to reorient their lives while dealing with an unexpected pregnancy in Takuya Kato’s intense relationship drama.
Shigoto no Nochi Dakishimete (仕事の後は抱きしめて)
Aota Yui is a young woman with a dream – she wants to be a chef. To get there, she needs to be accepted by the restaurant’s Taisho.…
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
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…
飲ませられる or 飲まれさせる？ #learnjapanese
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Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 9 (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ)
When we left this series in Volume 8, there were rainbows and doves flying because an entire volume had passed without making me feel unpleasant thoughts in the…
Oshi ga Budokan Itterkuretara Shinu, Volume 8 (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ)
Yippee! A whole volume of this manga in which I never once wanted to shake the daylights out of the creator! Ahem. But seriously, Oshi ga Budokan Itterkuretara…
Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 6 ( 推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ )
In Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 6 ( 推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ ), we meet another local idol group, the Starlights, when the two groups end up in a double…
Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 7 (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ )
Until late last night, this review was going to be completely different. I had a whole review planned out and was all ready to joke about Path #5…
Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu Live-Action (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ)
For various reasons I have spent the last few weeks playing catch-up with everything I have meant to watch and read and listen to but never got around…
Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 10, (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ)
Volume 9 left me weak with relief as Eripyo and Maina actually had a conversation. But as we look at the cover of Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu,…
"Can I Say 温めお願いします at a Convenience Store?" #learnjapanese
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Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 11 (#しゃちされたい)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 11. Fushihara, Yuurei-chan, & Myaako celebrate New Years with Satsuki and Lily.
"これいる？ vs. これ欲しい？" #learnjapanese
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Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 10 (Christmas #しゃちされたい)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 10. Yuurei-chan & Myaako learn about Christmas and Santa-san.
Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 12 (Finale #しゃちされたい)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 12. The oni mikogami Miko-chan warns Fushihara of impending misfortune.
Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost (Series Review #しゃちされたい)
AstroNerdBoy reviews the anime Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost, better named Shachiku-san Wants to be Healed by a Little Girl Ghost
Genjitsu Touhishitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi Manga (現実逃避してたらボロボロになった話)
Who could have imagined in 2016, when we all first discovered Nagata Kabi-sensei’s honest and touching diary of her struggles with mental health, that we’d be tuning back…
And Then They Never Die / そして誰も死ななかった
The protagonist of And Then They Never Die , Ushio Oomata, is a sleazebag. He’s crass, rude, and a fraud—he’s a mystery novelist, but the on...
New Moomin 48/52 - The Broken Necklace (こわれたくびかざり) (1972) (English subtitles)
The snows are approaching in Moominvalley, and Moomin and his pals are making their own necklaces while they still can. My, jealous of Nonnon's beautiful necklace, attempts to…
Cross Game 50 (End) もう終わりましたょ。世界中で一番のアニメかもね TT_TT Too good, no...
Cross Game 50 (End) もう終わりましたょ。世界中で一番のアニメかもね TT_TT Too good, no words.
Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 02 (Too Adorable! #しゃちされたい)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 02. Yuurei-chan comes to Fushiharai's home. Fushihara's kohai gets freaked out.
Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 09 (Autumn Activities! #しゃちされたい)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 09. Yuurei-chan & Myaako go shopping. Tsukimi and Halloween arrive.
Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 07 (Summer Activities #しゃちされたい)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 07. Fushihara celebrates Yuurei-chan, then takes her and Myaako to a festival.
Watashi ha Ongaku de Naguritai: Band Yuri Novel (わたしは音楽で殴りたい: バンド百合小説)
Watashi ha Ongaku de Naguritai: Band Yuri Novel (わたしは音楽で殴りたい: バンド百合小説) by Yuruico Vraisravana is the very last item I picked up in February 2019 when I was in…
Love in the Mountains / わかれ / Wakare (‘Parting’, 1959)
Obscure Japanese Film #145 Haruko Wanibuchi and Isuzu Yamada Teenager Kimiko (Haruko Wanibuchi) helps out at a ryokan (traditional inn) i...
Hiroshima (ひろしま, Hideo Sekigawa, 1953)
During the post-war occupation of Japan which lasted until 1952, the censorship regulations which replaced those of the militarist era perhaps ironically made it more or less impossible…
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,…
~ni shite ～にして - Meaning in Japanese
The meaning in Japanese of ~ni shite ～にして. Examples and grammar.
Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 06 (Adorable Yet Sad #しゃちされたい)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 06.Myaako tells a story about her brush. Yuurei-chan dreams of her mom.
Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 03 (Enter the Kitten! #しゃちされたい)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 03. Fushihara and Yuurei-chan adopt an abandoned kitten, who has a humanoid form
Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 04 (Sisters of Sorts #しゃちされたい)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost 04. Yuurei-chan gets jealous of Myaako, but the two become friends in adversity.
"Can I Say したい Instead of ほしい?" #learnjapanese
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Onna Tomodachi to Kekkonshitemita, Volume 1 (女ともだちと結婚してみた。)
If you are a regular reader here, you probably know how much I like Usui Shio’s recent work in Comic Yuri Hime. I’ve been really happy with Kaketa…
Onna Tomodachi to Kekkonshitemita, Volume 2 (女ともだちと結婚してみた。)
People are complex systems. Relationships are complex systems made up of complex systems. Even with clear boundaries, even when sex is not an issue, relationships get messy when…