bluemist anime blog

Losing Japanese

Friday, January 25th, 2008

It's been half a year since I came back to my homeland after the one-year stint in Japan, and I can say that I lost the memories too easily. I guess there is really no place like home, but still there are some things to think about. Like, was the whole year exposure to Japan worth it? Did I fulfill all my wants, needs, and err fetishes? Also, would I want to go back? These are some of the things that bug me everyday ever since.

I'm still working in the same company that brought me there, and so there is still a minimal need to speak and understand basic Japanese. I also tried the JLPT Level 4 (results pending) to see if Konata-style test cramming and general anime viewing works in a language test. Despite that, the best language learning style aside from formal education is really by experience. You have to be in Japanese areas and talking to Japanese people. I can say that I lost some of my knowledge indeed. Today I tend to get fansubbed stuff more than raws, and even if I watch the raws, I would still watch the subbed ones to confirm minute details. On one hand, I could say that I'm getting more meticulous in learning the spoken language by repeating what I have heard, but on the other hand, I was frustrated to discover that even I am struggling to understand dialogue on simple-dialogue shows like Clannad. What more if I go into complex-dialogued anime? Even worse is my ability to read kana and the few kanji I know. I feel so much 'slower' today in comparison. I remember every night I turn the TV on and tune to primetime Japanese shows. They have LOADS of text on-screen. It was fun to try to read those quick text, especially when my forte was in hiragana (simple Japanese alphabet) rather than katakana (alphabet for foreign-borrowed words) which is an unusual case for most people I know. Well I read less of them of course, but imagine the pain of inching my way through untranslated Shugo Chara manga. A minute for two pages is a very very turtles pace. Never mind the kanji. JLPT required me to memorize 100 of them. After the test… I basically forgot them all. Give me a pat in the back if I pass it ok?

Life in Japan is certainly hard, but if you have high ambitions to embrace its culture, I think you'll do fine. Well, at the very least do it in moderation, especially if you are into anime and stuff like that. Remember, despite the Densha Otoko boom and the mainstream popularity of anime and manga elsewhere in the world, any otaku-ish tendency is really frowned upon among the majority of Japanese. On the positive side, being in Japan, you would discover things that are possibly way more interesting than your lolis and animu. Come on, you are in another country! See the sights, go to nice places, meet interesting people. There's so many stuff to do over there, and even I haven't broken out of the Kantou or Kanagawa regions yet. It's so easy to go places, most anything is just a train ride away. If you're out to live in Japan doing the hikki, otaku or any similar way you're clearly wasting your time, and life. If that's really your drift though, let me tell you that Japanese are more likely to ignore a gaijin anyway, so mind your own business as they really are minding their own too. It's an interesting culture that embraces social interaction and politeness yet at the end of the day they basically don't care about people who are strangers to them. It is an extreme reverse of our own "bayanihan" (good samaritan-like) culture in my country, and is an interesting thing to notice.

Whenever I ride a train in Japan I have practically no one to talk to. It's not just the language barrier that hinders me, but of course even a Japanese won't talk to a stranger Japanese unless weird situations happen. Here in the Philippines though, everyday commute is a busy and social experience, from the random cab driver talking crap about politics to you while listening to the radio, to fellow commuters who always seem to ask questions to other commuters when they don't know where to go. After a year of gloomy air outside my workplace it feels rather refreshing to interact with a lot of people when I came back home. Of course, maybe my faint tunnel-visioned view on social Japan is too uninformed, but the experience was really different for me.

Well, weird situations do happen though. One time I was commuting in a train at night when one 'very drunk' middle-aged man… well… started to pu*e inside the freaking train! If it continues on it would be a smelly mess inside the cramped and crowded room. Thankfully some old-aged grandma helped the guy while a teenage girl gave her paper bag to do the thing. I understood their conversation a bit, and even though it wasn't their stop the grandma escorted the man outside the train when it stopped at the next station. Why is this rare? I've seen other drunk people having a hard time holding it in, and other bystanders merely just give them space… yep, they run away. Even if they have plastic or paper bags. Even me. I ran away. I wouldn't, and other people wouldn't, if we were in the same situation but in a different country. I can gladly say this is one example when losing a Japanese quirk can be a positive thing. Who would want to be anti-social? Sometimes I wonder why they look down on their own lowlifes or otakus when in hindsight they are essentially the same anti-social being on certain situations. Again, this is a very tunnel-visioned opinion based on experiences and it doesn't necessarily show the whole picture to me, so if I'm wrong about social Japan, sorry, and please correct me.

Sometimes being a gaijin in foreign land can have some advantages. Since we are more clueless than their own clueless people they can be more courteous sometimes. Sometimes I ask directions from the police, and they were so polite trying to hard to understand my broken Japanese speech. Sales persons are so attentive whenever I browse their products and ask questions. Ok, maybe it is not biased at all towards foreigners, service folk in Japan may be really good, but that's where the difference lies. I miss that kind of service. Here in my country, sales persons are so lame. sometimes they can't even sell their products right. There is a very notorious local tech shop here where the salesladies don't even know the products they are selling. It's horrible service… even if some of them are cute (lol). Also, some police here are control freaks, and their arrogance gets to be mile-high. You can't rely on them too much on mere asking of directions (that's why we do it on our own common folk). I certainly like the way sellers take my money away due to impulse buying because they really know how to market their stuff. Having a reliable policeman around would be very helpful too, which adds to the general peacefulness of Japan.

Ahh, peace and quiet. While socializing is okay, there can be times when you want to isolate and refresh yourself. Japan's the perfect place for that. Even in noisy cities, there is an air of peace and prosperity such that you feel like nothing ever goes wrong. While there are rare crimes like any other country, Japan is very, very, very peaceful. I could go most anywhere without fear of robbers or stuff like that. Again, this might be tunnel-visioning, because I don't go to every street corner on the map. Anime and drama may depict yakuza or biker gangs or violent youths, but I don't see those often. In any case, when compared to my country the difference would be very vast. When you come down to it, this is a dangerous country, and I always have a sense of paranoia. I have ipods and cellphones which are thief magnets, so I hide them from plain view often. And I have my share of near misses coming from other people around me getting robbed and such. Again, it would depend on the viewpoint. A foreigner coming to our country may regard it as fairly safe in the same way I regard Japan as perfectly safe… mostly because we are going only to popular and usual places.

Finally, there's the animu. Admittedly, because of the busy life I lead over there in Japan, rarely do I give my fandom some refreshments, aside from the almost weekly Akiba trip. I rarely watch anime, and tune in to TV shows like some mainstream prick. I didn't buy a lot of Akiba goods, and some of those I even sold to other people by now. Basically, I didn't go all-anime frantic. Back at home though, I have lots more free time, and started to eat anime like crazy. I'm actually lagging in blogging anime reviews because I finished a lot of them lately. If I may so summarize some of them in one word:

Lucky Star: Fansservice.
Gurren Lagann: Epic.
Genshiken 2: Ogiue
To Heart 2 OVA: Ma-ryan!
Hitohira: Surprise!
Minami-ke: Azumangashimaro
Nanoha StrikerS: Lolis?
Lovely Complex: Nandeyanen?
Da Capo II: Zzzzz
School Days: Niceboat
5cm: Awww
Nana: NANA!

Hayate no Gotoku: Spoof-fest
Shugo Chara: Unlock!
Clannad: Kyou!
ef: WOW
Myself, Yourself: Backlogged
You're Under Arrest: Nostalgia
Winter Anime: LAAAME

While I am lacking in the Japanese gaming area (bishoujo blood not boiling yet), the past few months have been relatively fine. Consider the fact that I was so into gaming last year (it was an awesome year for PC games), having equally enjoyable anime time has been wonderful.

And so we go to today, having lost a bit of Japanese within me, and yet gaining memories of those times, some wonderful, some sad. Would I want to go back? ABSOLUTELY! Why not? It has been a very fruitful year, and a very transitional half-year after that. I hope you got a little glimpse of Japan through my tunnel-vision, and maybe you could share your own experiences too.

Posted in Japan | 11 Comments »

Da Capo II: Episode 4

Wednesday, October 31st, 2007

This is some sidestory on some Da Capo II fandisk I didn't play. In any case, Yoshiyuki X Koko is getting even more stronger, I may think they would pursue this all the way to the end. But no way, I shall never be swayed. I predict Koko is still getting the axe, although I hope not. Childhood friends don't get any love in many other anime except this one, and I'm really happy to see their relationship blooming. Darn, the producers of this anime may be too cruel because at this point it's total heartbreak if they cut off Koko in the next few episodes. I cross my fingers on what will happen next.

As a fanservice athletic meet episode though, this one FAILS. Again, the crazily inconsistent animation at fault, but yet again Koko is almost always well-animated. A little hurrah though goes to Anzu, she is a bit more prominent (and funny) here. The female Suginami starting to show her dark humor side. Awesome. Nanaka is too dere-dere for my tastes. This is NOT how a school idol acts. Minatsu gets relegated by the side, as well as Otome. Yume is not stepping up either, she's just Dark Nemu all the way. Hmmm, but at least Sakura returns a bit, and she looks more kakkoi.

All in all this episode is zzz. Fanservice filler.

Posted in Anime, Da Capo II | 4 Comments »

Da Capo II: Episode 3

Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

This episode is supposed to be about Nanaka… but no, it's still about Koko. Millions of Shirakawa fans scream in anguish unison.

This is a point where Yoshiyuki is admirable though. Rather than being an oh so generic male lead who can't decide which girl to pick, Yoshiyuki "sticks to one girl" (for now). He isn't easily swayed in romance, whether it be the annoying but cute robot or the legendary school idol of the century, or even his two cute sisters. I guess the "boyfriend failure" dialogue of Anzu did stick to him, and so he decided to know more about Koko by joining the band. If only this kind of situation persisted, we will really see Yoshiyuki X Koko all the way to the end of the series. Unfortunately, anime is not that forgiving to innocent lovers, especially with a dating-game based anime at that.

The animation quality is really annoying. They don't animate the girls good enough. The worst victim is still Yume, my poor Yume. Minatsu is second-worst, and Otome and Nanaka's isn't as consistent either. Surprisingly, Koko is the best-drawn girl in the series so far, which is more of a solid hurrah for her growing fans. No really, I think her fandom is growing by this episode, because girl bass guitar players look cooler than stereotypical singing school idols. And yes I'm trying to instigate the Nanaka vs. Koko war. School idols are so 2003 (or 2002), girl band members are the wave of the future!

Seriously though, Da Capo II aside from the animation quality is getting better in terms of story. It sticks to the original game faithfully and at the same time gives me a cloud of uncertainty by establishing more of the Koko relationship. I'm betting 2 episodes MAX before she gets baked… and then there will be cake. Delicious and moist.

Posted in Anime, Da Capo II | 5 Comments »

Da Capo II: Episode 2

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

Minatsu the tsundere robot. Surprisingly, this episode is quite faithful to her actual canon story. Having recently finished her scenario, I was quite happy so see this annoying brat animated.

Yume's character design is really dropping. I don't like her face, she really looks so Nemu now. Otome is oh so out of the loop… and Nanaka is NOWHERE. Is Anzu really relegated to being a side-character? Say it ain't so!

I think Wataru's reaction to Yoshiyuki X Koko is a wonderful sign of things to come. I'm eagerly awaiting the now-eventual Wataru-Koko-Yoshiyuki-Nanaka love quadrangle. Very exciting stuff!

YAY for banana jokes? This is the first sign of fanservice in this anime, and as a non-fanservice fan, I hope it will be the last.

Please keep in mind the opening sequence of this anime. WHY the heck is Minatsu the "last" girl in the OP? This is something really fishy. What's more, she is looking at the sakura tree in the sequence… something which I didn't even encounter in my playthrough of the game. Don't they dare cut off the true Otome-Yume-Da Capo stories unless they announce a second season or some other sequel… otherwise this will just be To Heart 2 all over again. And my bold prediction will be for Yume, but that is my Yui Horie bias talking.

But this episode was rather good, except the sappy Koko-Yoshiyuki scenes. Yoshiyuki here is a wuss for not taking their relationship any further. I mean… "holding hands"? they are freaking childhood friends, that's something rather easy to get over and done with right? It's a wonderful intro to Minatsu though, considering that she probably has the least fans. She's not (To Heart) Multi level, but at least tsundere+robot=rare… right?

Posted in Anime, Da Capo II | 5 Comments »

Da Capo II: Minatsu Amakase

Tuesday, October 9th, 2007

Robot classmate Minatsu borrows her robotics almost exactly from Da Capo Generation One's Miharu Amakase, down to the hole in her back which is used for some sort of system maintenance. On the attitude part though, I could say that Minatsu is quite different from Miharu. Miharu is an energetically positive girl full of happiness, while Minatsu is an energetically tsundere girl full of angst. Her character follows the basic cookie-cutter meaning of the term actually. But as the story progresses, she will deal with a very positive emotional transformation. Nevertheless, she is a very fun girl, whatever her moods may be.

Disclaimer: Lacking Japanese will mean lack of story details. I expect that there will be a LOT of errors in the way I understood some events, because I rely only on the spoken dialogue. To the Japanese-literate game players who may have found this page, please do help me in case I have mistaken in understanding some parts of the story. Please do post a comment or contact me.
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Posted in Bishoujo, Da Capo II | 3 Comments »

Da Capo II: Episode 1

Thursday, October 4th, 2007

Summary:
- Why only 13 episodes?
- Gah, more Engrish from yozuca*
- Anzu didn't get any OP lovin.
- Why is Minatsu a prominent figure in the OP? She was in the last scene.
- Yui Horie should have played Nanaka, the new eternal goddess of Da Capo II.
- They are not following the game from the get-go.
- Hooray for Koko fans!
- Another good song by CooRie.

I'm looking at the voice cast, and it seems like a strange mix-up. Only Sakura (yay Yukarin!) and Suginami reprised their role, and Yui Horie as Yume is a miscast for me.

And Yume looks like Nemu in this anime. This can't be! Yume in-game is much cuter!

The worst part of it all this is that I "feel" DCSS vibes. That's not a good thing. Its deviation from the original game though is quite interesting, it will keep me guessing. Maybe we would have a reverse-play or mix of Koko and Nanaka's stories? How would they handle the other girls now that they've made a surprising Yoshiyuki-Koko connection? The 13-episode limit still worries me, and Minatsu's prominence seems out of place. Da Capo II lives up to its name, a "da capo", back to the start again folks.

We deserve to know the true stories in the game, and so I will "try" to play the game once again to finish Minatsu, Otome, Yume, and Da Capo (Sakura) scenarios. I hope Da Capo II doesn't turn crappy because when it does I will lose interest. In any case, if you haven't already, please do read up on three of those characters on this project page:

http://bluemist.animeblogger.net/dc2/

All-in-all, this is a somewhat average start. I'll be keeping eye on this still though.

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This is a Summer of Bishoujo 3 feature