There are a few anime of the last two years you just don’t want to miss.
Houseki no Kuni (unique style)
Made in Abyss (just watch it)
Uchouten Kazoku (you’ll want to go Kyoto and look for tanuki)
Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo (funniest anime ever)
Black Clover (Just Fun)
Princess Principal (Steam Punk fun)
Some simple phrases for traveling in Japan:
東京便は何時ですか
toukyou bin wa nan desu ka
When is there a flight to Tokyo?
この電車は横浜へ行きますか
kono densha wa yokohama e ikimasu ka
Does this train go to Yokohama?”
次の駅は新橋ですか
tsugi no eki wa shinbashi desu ka
Is Shinbashi the next station?
空港までお願いします
kuukou made onegai shimasu
I’d like to go to the airport.
券売機はどこですか
kenbaiki wa doko desu ka”;
Where is the ticket machine?
Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka or Is the Order a Rabbit?
Probably the easiest anime of the Spring 2014 season to understand.
The main themes are rabbits and coffee.
There are no demons, aliens or monsters.
So the phrases and vocabulary is routine everyday stuff.
It will test your Japanese but not as much as most.
Sidonia no Kishi is perhaps the most interesting of the Spring 2014 season of Japanese Anime.
It’s dark, very dark.
Literally, the primary colours of the art is black and white, with only a little colour.
The mood is very dark.
There is something tragic about the characters.
They are waiting to die.
In fact many do not last more than an episode or two.
An hard scifi story with more than a little of the mood of a Philip K. Dick story.
It could be a classic.
Some more Japanese with the bear:
熊はどんな足を持っていますか。
素足。 (すあし)
なぜ。
熊は靴を履くないから。
(履く はく to wear, to put on)
What kind of feet has the bear?
Bare feet.
Why?
Because the bear never wears shoes.
Really simple eh?
The bear is very useful for teaching English. With some work it’s also useful for teaching Japanese:
熊はどんな冷蔵庫をもっていますか。
空冷蔵庫。 (かられいぞうこ)
なぜ。
だから熊はすごく腹がへった動物だ。全てを食べます。
What kind of fridge has the bear?
Bare fridge.
Why?
Because the bear is a very hungry animal and eats everything.
…now that was easy.
You have four words, which one is the odd one out?
Easy, yes? But what if the words are not words but kanji?
Then it gets harder when you reach level 2.
Odd One Out kanji style – a fun way to test your Japanese with 55 questions on 2 levels.
It’s not so easy, even if you are Japanese and I got that from the ‘horses’ mouth.
もしもっとビールを飲んだら日本語を完璧に話せるだろう。
moshi motto bi-ru wo nondara eigo nihongo wo kanpeki ni hanaseru darou
If you drink more beer you could speak perfect English Japanese.
Here’s a new anime from Japan that’s so wacky it almost makes Kill La Kill seem unwacky.
Sekai Seifuku Bouryaku no Zvezda – translated as Zvezda‘s Plan for World Conquest.
She may be short, she may be flat chested but she has a plan to conquer the world.
She has the best talent to help her.
She wages war on smokers and has a lot of fun doing so.
The costume designs would make most established fashion designers jealous.
Nobody can stop her.
Japanese Corner 