クールジャパン

I was browsing Youtube when I found this clip from the 2011 movie Isoroku, about Fleet Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, Commander in Chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II. This clip displays the quandary Vice Admiral Nagumo underwent during the Battle of Midway: whether to resume the assault against the US base on Midway Island or to refit his planes with torpedoes to attack the newly sighted American carrier fleet. Ultimately, the US fleet had already launched its aircraft, which quickly destroyed or forced the scuttling of the Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryuu, and Soryuu. I noticed several instances of grammar from recent chapters; within the first dialogue one can hear at least two uses of a " ましょう " form. At the 0:44 second mark, an "- んです " appears when Admiral Nagumo's Chief of Staff says, " どうするんだ？ !" Also, at both the 0:27 and 2:33 minute markers, I noticed that " ふたじゅう " is said instead of " にじゅう " to re...

Thermae Romae is an original manga adapted both into anime (which I watched) and two live-action films about an ancient Roman architect named Lucius Modestus who inadvertently finds himself able to time travel to modern-day Japan. There, he learns the intricacies of Japanese public bathing culture, which he tries to recreate in Rome. My favorite part in listening to this show is noticing how Japanese handles Latin and Roman terms. At one point in episode 4, Roman soldiers call out to their centurion with the quite literally translated term 百人隊長（ひゃくにんたいちょう）どの! Also, Japanese culture has added honorifics to the characters that the ancient Romans would not have used: the emperor Hadrian is referred to as 皇帝陛下（こうていへいか）and Lucius as ルシウスどの.

Maison Ikkoku ( めぞん一刻)  is a rom-com  anime adapted from an original manga by the famous Takahashi Rumiko (Urusei Yatsura, Inuyasha, etc) about young college student Godai Yusaku who falls in love with his apartment building's new manager, Otonashi Kyoko. However, their fellow tenants will stop at nothing to create misunderstandings and confusion between the two. I remember that last semester I posted about the opening theme song of this show, and now I decided I’d write a きくしゅくだい about it. It’s probably my favorite アニメ ; I remember how upon finishing it almost a year ago I couldn’t pay attention in my classes for a week because the ending was so emotional, and after 96 episodes, one really does become attached to the story and characters. I’ve attached a link here to watch it on Youtube; unfortunately, the only high-quality Japanese dub I could find is subtitled in Portuguese, so がんばって下さいね . Also there is some mild nudity in the first few episodes. Sue me. As I wat...

五月日本にいって、日本のビールをのみたかったです。お酒がおいしくなくて好きじゃないので、ほしくなかったです。店のビールはたいてい二百七十円します。私の一番好きなのはオリオンです。ざんえんでしたが、オリオンは東京にないので、あまりかいませんでした。それじゃ、せきにんをもってのんで下さい。

Nobunaga: King of Zipangu is an NHK drama from the early 1990s that follows the life of Oda Nobunaga, who fought to unify Japan during the Warring States period of the sixteenth century. The first episode is about his father's struggle to establish control over their home province of Owari amidst interference from the lord of Mino, Saito Dousan, and the shogunate's nominal governor. He must also decide an heir, since Nobunaga, despite being his eldest son, is unpopular due to his perceived stupidity and femininity. In the background throughout the episode is a story about certain Portuguese monks who were the first Europeans to visit Japan. The Japanese spoken in King of Zipangu is very different from what I have heard in other Japanese media. The characters use very formal styles and vocabulary; for example, 御座る seems to be preferred to ある.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes ( 銀河英雄伝説 ( ぎんがえいゆうでんせつ ) ) is a space opera 110 episodes long about the fortunes of two soldiers, each serving one of the two warring states that have colonized the galaxy by the year AD 3600. Yang Wen-li, who had enrolled in the army college only to study history for free, is a commodore in the Free Planets Alliance fleet, and Reinhard von Lohengramm, whose sister was abducted for the Kaiser's harem, is an admiral in the Galactic Imperial fleet. These two nations, one democratic and the other autocratic, have thus far a 150-year long war, but Yang and Lohengramm may see the war's end, perhaps even by their own hands. As I watched the entire show, I was able to recognize several phrases that were repeated very often. I noticed that many ordinal numbers are formed by 第 ( だい ) # (e.g. 第 ( だい ) 13 ( じゅうさん ) 艦隊 ( かんたい ) means 13th Fleet).   Given the show's setting, I learned many military terms and governmental honorifics and titles, su...

先週、うちにかえって、おかあさんにあいました。木曜日に犬（いぬ）といっしょに　さんぽをして、サンクスギビングのごはんをたべました。ほかにだれもいません、だが、たのしくて　おもしろかったです。金曜日に　おとうと(little brother)に　エアポートで　あって、あいつら(they)の学校にでかけて、じてんしゃのレースをしました。それから、うちで　ゆっくりして、大学にきました。