Genki Japan Blog はじめまして。

I had several ideas for this post, but in the spirit of lazyness, I'll start off with this one. It's no secret that the Japanese live a lot longer than we do. By "we" I mean anyone who isn't Japanese (save for this little place in Pakistan). Their secret? The Japanese diet, of course! I love Youtube's Psychetruth channel ! It fuels my hatred for the medical system, particularly my anti-psychiatry stance, but more on that in my other blogs, and just for the record, I'm also anti-Scientology. Anyway, get ready to learn why the Japanese live a long time!

You've got to love how the Japanese manage to create the craziest gadgets! This time they've created a little robot that shoot a "web" at mall theives, thus making it like a Star Wars Spiderman! "The T-34 is an upgraded version of Tmsuk's earlier security robot, the T7S, which came in the shape of a Triceratops dinosaur and had cameras in its eyes. The company produces a range of 30 machines, designed to do everything from the housework to act as a receptionist or in a hospital." It's also an expensive little bugger, and I'm actually not sure how useful it would be in practical use, particularly in the home, which is next on their agenda, but it's cool, nonetheless, and it comes directly from Japan.

This is a really great game for anyone who likes a good story to be told! It has an intriguing plot, interesting characters, and great gameplay. This game has been hailed many times as one of the greatest RPGs ever! It's techinically for SNES, but you can now find it for the Nintendo DS. This review is for the SNES version and the Playstation remake only, as I have never played the DS version and am unsure as to whether gameplay elements have been changed or not. Plot Overview: Crono, a young man, has been placed in a situation where he must travel through time to save the world, in each and ever era, from certain destruction. It’s very complicated to explain, but trust me, the plot is very good and well-thought-out. Artwork: The artwork looks a lot like DBZ, but I don’t care. If you look really closely, the artwork is slightly different in the Playstation remake than in the original – the characters are shorter and fatter in the Playstation version, which I found to be kin...

I figured for my next study tool review, I'd do a positively free one, Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese . This is an amazing website, and it's as close as you'll get to a free online book. It has its flaws, but it is one of the best tools to help you learn. First of all, it has lessons and even practice exercises in the kana. Although Power Japanese worked best for me in this regard, Tae Kim does a great job of reinforcing your knowledge as well. It also has basic grammar, which you will need to know soon, and advanced topics, although it doesn't flow quite as well as a textbook. He also has a forum, a wiki, and a blog, all of which will help you as you go along. I should also mention that it's been translated into 9 or 10 languages, so your non-English friends can also check it out. Now, I wouldn't recommend using this website as your sole source for studying. It's great for reinforcing knowledge, and you might learn a thing or two here and there, but ...

The whole world has gone to pot, even Japan. I should have forseen this when various Japanese cities that share the same name as the new president had celebrations when we won the democratic nomination. The link to my personal blog is on the right, and there is my commentary regarding Obama's inauguration speech to anyone who is interested.

This is one of the best "serious" beginner's books in Japanese. It is supposed to be able to teach college students, high school students, and adults learning on their own, although I think it was definately meant for the former. If you are going to self-teach with this book, although if you're already doing things via the input method (reading, watching tv and movies, and listening to a lot of Japanese) then you can skip the workbooks and CDs. You can practice for free via Lang-8 and get the pronunciation correct through lots of listening. It uses everyday examples, which is a whole lot better than using business-type settings. Basically, you follow Mary, an American foreign exchange student, as she goes through University life, making friends, watching movies, ect. This structure gives the book a good flow, and it helps introduce Kanji gradually. By the end of these two volumes, the JLPT 4 or even 3 should be no sweat. Building a person's vocabulary is one thing...

Time for another Friday Review that was written on Saturday. I've changed the layout to make my thoughts flow a little better, and in fact, I may go back and do that will all my previous posts. Now you won't have to read through an entire essay just to check up on a certain something. Here goes. What happens when you try to revive this fantastic gothic horror story at the peak of mahou shoujo anime? You get Magical Vampire Pretty Miyu! No, it’s not that bad. It’s actually pretty good, but be warned that this isn’t a true sequel to the OAV. Think of it more as an alternate universe and you’ll feel much better. Plot Overview: Miyu’s back, and she’s still hunting those pesky Shinma. Unlike the OAV, the TV series’ focus is entirely on Miyu, with most episodes showing events through her point of view. Because of this, some alterations were necessary, but what the writers ended up doing is quite novel, or cliché, depending on your point of view. Miyu is attending an all-gi...

I'm well aware that I'm not the only self-taught Japanese student out there, so I'll be reviewing different products meant to teach Japanese. This isn't part of my Friday Review series (in case you can't tell that it's nowhere near Friday), but a regular post. The product in scrutiny: Power Japanese! This software is very handy for forcing you to learn the kana. I'm one of those people who can stare at flash cards all day an never ever get the hang of them. I liken it to trying to learn the periodic table of elements just by staring at a chart, which is why I failed the test for it in eighth grade. Power Japanese starts you off with hiragana, making the argument that learning the sounds of language first will not only help you with pronunciation, but will also ensure that you're not totally illiterate if you go to Japan. I agree very strongly with this approach, especially since it can be tricky to get your words just right. That pesky American acc...

I read this article over at the Japan Times and thought it was perfect for a New Year's post. If you really want to know why I haven't been updating and stuff, see my personal blog. But I'm back, and what a better way, or worse way, to start the new year off than to post about J-pop. From the article it would seem that some Japanese pop singers are making stabs at US recognition, most notably Hikaru Utada of Kingdom Hearts fame. She kind of tried before and failed, but she's at it again. Since you can read all of that info on the article itself, I'm just going to give my $.02 as for this phenomenon. Here in the US we really need some foreign stuff. And I particularly don't like it when foreign artists try to become "American" by singing in English. Give me the original language, please! For example, how many Americans (besides me) actually listen to classical and opera music on a day-to-day basis? Yet, walk into any music store and you'll fin...