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January 2024

Japan

Before I work today, I have a post I need to make.  I’m making this post because I need to make it.  The only real choice I have, really, is whether I post it privately, or publicly, and for now I chose publicly. Japan hurts, and I don’t know why. When I first started learning Japanese, I did so because I felt a strong attraction to the language, country, and people.  I don’t have this feeling about any other country.  There are countries I absolutely loathe (Russia, North Korea), countries I… Read More »Japan

Why I Love Anime, But Not Anime Fans

I started learning Japanese in 2018, which is about six years ago.  I haven’t progressed nearly as far as I’d like, but I guess one could make the argument that the slow burn was helpful in making sure that what did stick, actually did.  So maybe it was the right pace for me, even though it’s really frustrating for me. I stayed away from anime for the longest times, because I didn’t like the “community”. Maybe a year or so ago, I started to watch anime for real, and found I… Read More »Why I Love Anime, But Not Anime Fans

Reductive Theming

I changed this site’s theme. Why?  Because I can. I don’t love it but I don’t hate it either.  At least everything matches for now.  It proved to be almost impossible to do what I really wanted to, but I’ll try again later. I picked a slightly reductive font for the header.  Why?  Because it’s fun.  After all, this blog is about Japan and Japanese stuff.  Right? Well, if you don’t like it, you know how I feel about that by now, I guess. Will I be posting more?  Probably,… Read More »Reductive Theming

Good Riddance to Bad Localizers

Or, I finally found a reason to learn Japanese. One thing I’ve noticed as I study Japanese is that the translators often aren’t very good.  They tend to make choices that seem designed to water down the message the mangaka is trying to send half the time. For example, one of the first animes I watched was “Sound! Euphonium” which was a great anime, one of the best.  At one point there was an interaction between Kumiko and Asuka.  Kumiko says something translated correctly as “Welcome back” or some such. … Read More »Good Riddance to Bad Localizers