Update

For about a month I was completely without internet, without any way to post reviews or really anything else. Today I finally was able to get it installed (all the paperwork and scheduling took way longer than expected here in the land of Japan.

You should be seeing the reviews that I am in need of posting, though due to the fact that NaNoWriMo is coming up, I'll be reading a lot less this upcoming month and instead writing :D

I'm also going to Tokyo for a once and a life time performance (Sayumi Michishige, from Morning Musume '14's Graduation Concert).

Happy to be back on the web.

Japan Interlude: Sailor Moon Crystal Episode One Review

Do you know what today is?

No?

Well, today, Sailor Moon Crystal finally debuted worldwide after years of waiting for it to be finished. As I'm in Japan, I personally watched it on NicoNicoDouga in Japanese without subtitles (but my knowledge of the language + the fact I have the first few episodes of the season memorized already after doing a research paper on the differences between the sub and dub that reflect cultural differences... yes... a Sailor Moon research paper... but yes, anyway it means I had no trouble following it)

So as a huge fan of the original anime (sub and dub), manga and thousands of fan fiction based on the universe, I thought I might jot down a review of my initial impressions of the series.

If you don't know what Sailor Moon is at all, here's a fast and dirty explanation. This is the most iconic "Magical Girl" anime that has ever come out of Japan. It was a widely popular set of comics, and show in both Japan and all over the world. A group of girls find out they are actually a group of super heroes with powers based on the planets (the Japanese names for the planets include elements such as water and fire) and have to defend the world against baddies that the police cannot take care of, all while trying to get through Junior High and then High School.

Also, talking cats.

Now for the review:

Japan Interlude: Morning Musume '14 Again

I've mentioned my love of Morning Musume '14 here, but seriously guys I devote almost as much time to keeping up with this group and being generally super geeky about them that I do reading/reviewing books.

Case in point was today. I went to what is called a "Cheki-kai" Cheki are are tiny polaroid pictures and a "Cheki-kai" is an event where you can go and get your photo taken with singers/idols.

I acquired a ticket for this via buying a box set. This is Haruka Kudou, and we just played some Rock Scissors Paper, and I totally won.

Of the girls, Haruka and Haruna are the biggest readers. Haruka is into Shonen manga, she has a huge One Piece obsession, while Haruna is into pretty much any manga she can get her hands on. She actually writes a column in a magazine reviewing and recommending her favourites. Her all time favourite manga, however, is JoJo (which never took off in the west, but is the longest running series in Japan, if I remember correctly).

Haruna is awesome, because she has no problem showing how geeky she is, despite being an idol.

E-Readers & Japan

I thought I might update random things related to Japan on Sundays when I think of something, or if I think it might be interesting or relevant to my book reading life!
So today, I thought I might talk about what I've noticed when it comes to Japanese and E-Readers.

I have owned e-readers for a pretty long time. My first one was a Kobo that I got the Christmas of 2010 (It broke twice within its guarantee period, god they were fragile). It was really useful since I'd always had problems choosing what books to bring with me to college. I also have had a Kindle and currently have a Kindle Paperwhite (which I love). These have been essential in Japan, as I could only bring about ten books with me from the States and it makes buying new books in English way easier and faster.

The thing about Japan is that E-Readers haven't really caught on.

In the Fall of 2011 I did a study-abroad in Chiba and brought my Kindle. No one had ever heard of an e-reader out of my Japanese friends and they were intrigued by it. I also didn't really see advertisements for them anywhere. I think they might have been around, but it was only the beginning of their arrival here.

When I came back in August 2013, most people I talked to still didn't know of e-readers, but Kindle as a brand name was very well known from the Kindle Tablets.

There is however advertisements for them around. So who is the e-reader king of Japan? Surprisingly, Kobo Books snatched themselves a rather good deal. They formed a partnership with the Amazon.com of Japan, Rakuten. Rakuten has found its way into many bits of Japan life. I'd say they're a bit more non-internet-user friendly than Amazon as there seems to be a presence. There is also ads for Rakuten EVERYWHERE.

English Rakuten logo w/kobo

Due to this Kobos, are known as a brand name as well here. Of course Nooks might as well not exist.

I bring my Kindle to work and it's always really interesting to see my co-workers responses to it. One even mentioned she was thinking of getting one and wanted to inspect mine. The hardest thing to explain in Japanese, however, is e-ink, the reason why I love e-readers in the first place, but it seems like I get the idea across.

Does anyone know how e-readers are seen in other countries? Is it just as prevelant in Europe as it is in the States? Before I came to Japan with it, it was really easy to assume EVERYONE knew about e-readers lol.