#even novels!!!!

[benkyoutobentou]

What I’ve Been Enjoying Lately - Japanese Media Update

Welcome to the third installment of the series where I tell you what I’ve been immersing in so that you have some recommendations to choose from!

📚 Books:

人間失格　ー　太宰治: I’m sure you’ve heard of it before, this is a relatively short classic that is also the second best selling book in Japan. It follows a young man who is stuck between traditional Japanese ideals and new western ideas being introduced at the time. Although its certainly not a cinch to read if you’ve never jumped into Japanese classics before, this was easier to read and digest than I expected. I was helped along by an audiobook of this (available for free on YouTube!), but it also kept me at the reader’s pace, so I might go back and reread this one at a later time. I do feel like this is a good introduction to adult classics in Japanese, but if you’re interested in reading it, I also suggest looking up the content warnings beforehand.

ちょっと今から仕事やめてくる　ー　北川恵海: I read this one entirely on audiobook and it was a wonderful time! This follows a man who is unhappy with his like, especially regarding his job, who meets a mysterious man who claims to be an old classmate of his. I really liked the characters in this one and the way they talked about life was also really enjoyable. One of the characters speaks Kansai Ben as well.

さよならローズガーデン　ー　毒田ペパ子: This manga series is a historical romance that follows a woman named Hanako who travels from her home in Japan to England in order to meet her favorite author. There, she meets a woman named Alice who tells her that she will help her find this elusive author so long as she agrees to one condition, Hanako must kill Alice. This series was so sweet, and it didn’t shy away from showing the difficulties of being homosexual in Britain at the time. I had initially read volume one a while back and struggled a bit with it, but when I eventually picked up the second and third volumes, it was much easier and such a great way to see my own progress. This series is completed with three volumes and uses lots of keigo, but has furigana on everything.

雪の妖精　ー　芹澤知: In this oneshot manga, a wildlife photographer from Tokyo ends up stranded in a Hokkaido snowstorm and is taken in by a local. The art in this was gorgeous and the romance was adorable as well! It reminded me a lot of リスタートはただいまのあとで so if you liked that manga, then I really recommend giving this one a shot. I also hope it goes the same route of getting a sequel because I could definitely use more of these two. Honestly, I’m just a sucker for countryside romance manga. This doesn’t have furigana but I found that a lot of the vocabulary was words that I was actively studying outside of reading it.

📺 Shows and Movies:

犬王: This quickly became one of my favorite movies, but it was also incredibly difficult for me to understand. Following two cursed boys and their journey to tell the stories of fallen Heike Samurai, this movie features lots of music and singing, and historical language, both of which added to my personal struggle to understand this. However, I still have to recommend it because, yes, it is just that good! I would recommend this for advanced learners or for everyone willing to watch with your language’s subtitles.

同級生: My running total as of posting this is a whopping nine times having watched this movie. Based on the manga of the same name by 中村明日美子, it follows two boys at an all boys school preparing for a choir festival and how their relationship grows from there. This is my favorite movie and I watch it any time I can justify it. The language in this is fairly simple and straight forward. I also recommend the manga and all its many sequels if you enjoy the movie!

美しい彼: This show is about a high school boy with a severe stutter who falls in love at first sight with a delinquent in his class. As time passes, the two get closer. With only six episodes, this one’s pretty short and I binged it in one day. It was super cute and highly addictive, and also made me realize that I don’t like the bad boy trope. It’s also based on a book series if you want to check that out as well! Bonus points: if you watch it on Rakuten Viki, there’s an option for Japanese subs!

Zombieland Saga: This anime follows a high school girl whose dream is to become an idol, but is suddenly hit by a truck on her way to school. When she wakes up, she finds herself surrounded by zombies. Zombieland Saga is a comedy anime revolving around an all-zombie idol group. Comedy can be a bit hit or miss for me, but I wound up liking this one way more than I thought! Although I didn’t find the vocabulary used to be particularly difficult, I would recommend it for more upper level language learners due to the different ways Japanese is spoken in the show. There’s a character who speaks in old fashioned Japanese, a ヤンキー character, and a character who speaks like he’s got a mouthful of marbles (and a character that my brain decided to tune out every time she spoke. Honestly don’t know what’s up with that). Highly recommend subtitles for this one lol

📹 YouTube Channels:

スカートで旅するCHIEKO: One of the few channels I’ve found that has commentary over travel vlogs. I love the way she features trains alongside the actual destinations. Her videos are always super well put together as well.

ほんタメ: A more typical booktube type channel with two people discussing books together rather than just one talking to the camera. My Japanese tbr is never ending with this channel, it seems like there’s always something to catch anyone’s interest.

🎙️ Podcasts and Audio Dramas:

Station Idol Latch: I discovered this by stumbling across a poster for it in Tokyo Station and thinking that train station idols was the funniest concept in the world, but I’ll admit it. I’m hooked. This is an audio drama that follows 30 idols who all represent one of the train stations on Yamanote Line. The first season of the audio drama is available on YouTube and the second season is available anywhere podcasts are available, and is also coupled with Station Idol Latch Radio, a podcast hosted by Karino Shou, the voice actor for Minato Wataru (Hamamatsuchou Station). He’s hilarious and brings a great vibe to the podcast. Station Idol Latch also releases music, there’s an ongoing manga series, and there are also plans for a game, novels, and an anime series.

ボタニカルラジオ: This is a short podcast series about plants! Each episode is around 5-10 minutes long and is a super relaxing listen. The host has a great voice and the episodes are interesting as well.

🎤 Music:

火の鳥 - QUEEN BEE

風の便りをおしえて - Easycome

Creation - Pop Never Dies

Nick & Renee - YMB

[elucubrare]

i firmly hold that it's my duty as a reader to believe it when an author tells me at the beginning of the series that the dragons are gone forever and never coming back. but god it's a struggle sometimes.

[charbroiledchicken]

reblog if you're a writer but would rather drink straight cyanide than show any of your family members your work

[lazylittledragon]

cringe culture needs to die because when i was 17 i printed out the entire player's handbook and monster manual with my unlimited school printing credit and also wore a black velvet cape the first time i ever DMed and somehow still thought i was too cool for dnd novels. who tf did i think i was fooling

[elfboypussy]

someone please tell them theres other rooms at this inn

[hawkeyequeerce]

I don't know how Terry managed it. There's just nothing on this earth like a Discworld book. I'll be listening to a book I've read countless times over and suddenly, a single line I've never even really noticed before will tear me open. They just reach right inside me and open my ribcage to expose my very heart.

Tonight, it was Hat Full of Sky and Granny Weatherwax saying, "The world is unfair. Be grateful you have friends." On their own, the words are unremarkable. But juxtaposed together, with the context they are operating in....they had tears flowing down my face before I knew what was happening. The world is unfair; sometimes, the wonderful happens when it shouldn't (and/or when you feel you deserve a divinely wrathful torment) because you have friends. The world is unfair. That doesn't just mean that the horrible happens when it shouldn't. It means that the beautiful does too. Be grateful you have friends. They are the hub on which that beauty spins, turning the theft into gold.

A lot of people I've introduced to these books haven't liked them — they find them too silly, or preachy, or nonsensical, or even puerile. I am never upset or really disappointed when they don't like them. To each their own. But I will never understand it. They are baked into my being in a way that few things are and I am better to myself, to other people, and to the world because of it.

Sir Terry, you were a gift nonpareil. Thank you for your words and for shaping my world.

[lucidloving]

Mieko Kawakami, Heaven // Langston Hughes, Good Morning, Revolution: Uncollected Social Protest Writings // Madeline Miller, Circe // Bob Ross // Cameron Awkward-Rich, "Meditations in an Emergency" // Mary Oliver, "For Example" // @catadromously // J. R. R. Tolkien, The Two Towers // Maria Hornbascher, Waiting // @catadromously

[benevolenterrancy]

Scholarly peak is catching up on recent literature

[lostlegendaerie]

there's something deeply gutting about being a writer right now. watching studio execs brag about starving people like you out of your very house just to not pay you anything above the pennies you currently make. watching some people cheer over AO3 being targeted for a DDOS attack. the complete lack of profitability of writing commissions or writing in general in transformative spaces, especially in contrast to fanart. the pivot of so many social media platforms to be video and image based near-exclusively.

I don't know. it just makes me sad to know that the hobby that kept me alive while growing up homeschooled with dial-up internet and local antenna TV... is only ever gonna be a side job with minimal engagement. I know this site is good about supporting libraries and the concept of books but, do me a favor? Reach out to a writer friend you know. Leave a comment on your last five read stories on your favorite website.

Tell us you care.

[ffcrazy15]

Someone needs to do an analysis on the way the Kung Fu Panda movies use old-fashioned vs. modern language ("Panda we meet at last"/"Hey how's it going") and old-fashioned vs. modern settings (forbidden-city-esque palaces/modern-ish Chinese restaurant) to indicate class differences in their characters, and how those class differences create underlying tensions and misunderstandings.

[echoed-salvation]

I love how the orv fandom has collectively decided to put any problems they may have with the manhwa adaptation aside to agree that kim dokja's design in the newest chapter (217) serves an unbelievable amount of cunt

[sp0ng3art]

You were right to leave. I always thought that you were failing this world. But, if you were happier on Earth, maybe... this world was... failing you.

pink diamond is a character i am constantly thinking about and turning over and over in my mind. i wish we got more of her. i think the depth of her character was greatly overshadowed by the popular bad faith interpretations of her character present by the end of su future.

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

forever obsessed with dynamics between vampires, specifically that of a maker and fledgling, as a way to explore abuse. the creation of a vampire itself can so easily be a literalization of the lasting impacts of trauma and also much more simply the ways a perpetrator might shape their victim’s very identity. the extremes of isolation in the way that the new vampire, in most narratives, must cut all ties to their mortal life, or else go through an elaborate charade to maintain the facade of humanity, while forever still being removed from it. and the sheer dependence and vulnerability of being in an entirely new state of being, wholly uncertain of what it entails, and relying on another person to define… everything.

[aerequets]

I'm sure this has been said before but it's so funny how super spy extraordinaire Twilight cannot see the big fat elephant in the room that is Damian's crush on anya

you got this kid basically going down a checklist of "how to say you have a crush without saying you have a crush". like by the book. and twilight is worried that him dancing with his crush is gonna make them grow further apart. like...

(on the other hand it's probably a good thing bc who knows what plans he'd concoct knowing Damian's soft spot for Anya)

[lutzlig]

188:35 / The 73rd Demon King, VII - "Let's meet again, Yoo Jonghyuk."

canon version under cut

every time bro has an emotional moment with his wall on i see this face in my brain

and everytime we kiss i swear dokja dies🔥👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

[the-lost-profile]

I love this art by Touco Shino (The Apothecary Diaries LN artist) with Maomao playing Go.

It reminds me of THEM

I'm too weak for this whole plot.