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Greetings From J-List

2/8/2012

It's fun to observe the way visual memes move from one anime series to the next, always evolving and changing in interesting ways. One anime I'm watching this season is Inu x Boku SS (pronounced Inu-Boku Secret Service), a show about a girl who is half-human, half-youkai (Japanese magical spirit), watched over by a "Secret Service" (a full-time bodyguard) who she starts to feel affection for. The show is a treasure trove of contemporary anime memes which were often invented by other shows but adapted and built on by this series, including the hawt tsundere with the "Absolute Zone" stockings-and-skirt fashion, a nosebleed-prone yuri comic relief character, and the dashing fox-spirit bodyguard with mismatched color eyes. (Incidentally, we carry many interesting manga series on J-List including Inu x Boku SS, as well as epic anime magazines like Megami and NyanType, loaded with free posters from currently-running shows.)


There's a lack of "entrepreneurial spirit" in Japan; Inu x Boku is filled with delicious visual memes.

No country is without problems, and the list of challenges Japan faces in the 21st century is certainly not short. Sometimes we foreign expats in Japan take it upon ourselves to point out the things we perceive as being "wrong" with the country, something I've been known to do in my J-List updates, for example taking the government to task for massive construction projects like the Shinkansen bullet train to Hokkaido or the building of new universities despite the coming drop in the Japanese population. To be sure, foreigners pointing out Japan's faults can go too far: there's a book called Dogs and Demons in which longtime Japan resident Alex Kerr lays out every problem he sees with the country, which was so depressing to read I had to take breaks between the chapters. Still, the desire to not be viewed in a negative light by its foreign community can be a powerful agent for change, like when Japan was finally embarrassed into passing a law requiring the use of child safety seats in the 1990s, or home smoke detectors a few years later. One area I'm regularly concerned about is the lack of "entrepreneurial spirit" by the average Japanese, who are much less likely to seek interesting business opportunities than people in the U.S., China or South Korea, and it'd be great to see the government do more to support start-ups and small businesses.

One of the more enjoyable aspects of getting used to life in Japan, at least coming from California, is the train culture. Trains run everywhere here, and they're very convenient to ride, especially in this era of always-on Internet connectivity through iPads and cell phones. While people living in J-List's home prefecture of Gunma probably need a car to get around conveniently, it's not difficult at all to live in Tokyo without one. The most famous train line in Japan is probably the Yamanote line (yama-no-teh, lit. "mountain's hand"), the loop line that goes around the Tokyo area, which takes you to convenient places like Shinjuku, Shibuya and Akihabara and is almost the only train you need to go most places in the city. Since the train travels in an endless circle, you never reach the end of the line, and there are drinking games college students and gaijin play as they pass through each of the 29 stations. Today we got in some rather cool towels featuring the iconic signs of the Yamanote train line!

Ever since we launched our "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend" kanji T-shirts more than a decade ago, J-List's T-shirts and hoodies have become an otaku institution. We've got wacky parody anime shirts, awesome Internet memes you can wear and kanji T-shirts that might just get you interviewed on Japanese TV, as happened to one customer of ours once. We love the "indies" shooting game Touhou so much we decided to create an awesome "Bad Apple" Touhou T-shirt for our customers -- do you like it? All shirts and hoodies are printed by our talented staff in San Diego, not mass produced in Asia.

Today's New & Restocked Items

Young Ace Mar 2012

Young Ace Mar 2012

The new issue of Young Ace is out, and that means its time for more awesome manga like Fate/Zero, Evangelion, Another, and The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan. You also get awesome omake, including a Black Rock Shooter pencil board and a set of cute Evangelion straps! We're happy to carry this outstanding manga and recommended it to everyone. VIEW PRODUCTS

Japanese Anime T-Shirt -- Bad Apple

Japanese Anime T-Shirt ~ Bad Apple

Touhou is the indies shooting game (specifically known as danmaku or "bullet curtain" due to the number of on-screen objects trying to kill you), and it's become the primary generator of popular culture in Japan today. Here's a tribute to the "Bad Apple" video from Touhou, one of the most awesome things to come out on the Internet in many years. If you don't know what I'm talking about, click through and watch the YouTube video now. VIEW PRODUCTS

Glico Pretz -- Butter Soy Sauce Set of 3

Amazing New Glico Pretz Varieties

We at J-List love Glico and their huge variety of tasty snacks. Check out these new flavors of Pretz, Glico's famous pretzel stick. We have caramel pudding, octopus ball, and even butter with soy sauce for your enjoyment -- you apply the sauce to the prezels while you eat! Each is a unique taste sensation that you'll never find outside of Japan. VIEW PRODUCTS