Japanese Lesson (8)

let us talk about my banner that says: just appreciation that is 日本

If you haven't figure it out yet, 日本 means Japan.
and actually if you separate those characters, it will mean something different.
日 = counter for days; day; Japan; sun
本 = generally means book (and other things that aren't important--just look in a dictionary for specifics)

Yes, if you split the kanji, you get something different. Like letters that make a word, putting kanji in a certain pattern, you get something different/new.

But just because you know a meaning of a kanji combination, doesn't mean it'll read out the same. For example and in this case, "日本" is pronounced as 'nihon' (NEE-hohn) and/or 'nippon' (Nee-POHN).
If you're talking to a Japanese local, your best bet is to refer Japan as 'nippon' as that is the more modern name for it.

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back from an unofficial hiatus

Hello!

I've been (not-so) busy with school/life/relationships that watching anime brainlessly made me forget other responsibilities I gave myself.

So, I'm back on--not for the fame, traffic, money, and the like. Just that I need something to use as an outlet to get rid of this punt-up energy of this desire to share my knowledge/findings of life, but in this case, anime and japan-esque quibbles.

So, I'm back and not going to give an eff what others want/think 'cause that hasn't gotten me anywhere really. I've noticed people have been on (or stumbled unto) this blog probably in passing and leaving since this blog isn't recent. 'course carrying on hoping someone is reading and commenting might have been too much of an expectation. So I'm throwing that out the window.

So then, onwards in building up my posts once again. And excuse as I look through my posts and refine them somemore and get rid of broken links. Sorry about that.

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Anime Epiphany (2): Digimon style

nice long gap we got here...
Well, this is out of my own leisure this time; and no imaginative pressure this time


SO, I've been watching Digimon Adventure in Japanese which is pretty awesome. A few things that are rather annoying of course like the repetitive digi-volving or should i say the "shinka" haha.  *shrugs* It is an anime aimed at kids...Everyone remembered Digimon?  Good times in my childhood.  I'm currently watching it in Japanese. In the end, the difference between the original jap and the dub US version isn't terrible compare to say Cardcaptors? Hah. Still, I fully recommend you watching it in its original Japanese voices :]  There's a lot of fun jokes in there that U.S. translation wouldn't pick up hehe.

Anyway, being the anime nerd that I am, I picked up Hikari's voice which sounded pretty familiar which gave me a bad feeling... it's that bad feeling of an annoying anime character. What popped up? Chibiusa...  Looked it up and I was right.  It's somewhat a shame since I adore Hikari, but at times when she speaks up... That cursed pink-haired chibi thing pops up.  (Sorry Chibiusa fans, but she just rubs me the wrong way). I looked it up and well I was right heh.  Araki, Kae...Not sure if she's done anything recent lately... Hard to tell unless I want to go through that list... and I don't haha.
Another one popped up. Our lil Pinocchimon (aka Puppetmon) sounded very familiar.  So, seriously, I think this seiyuu is starting to become my favorite. Afterall, she is the voice of the kawaii Chi-chan! It just works for someone psychotic; in yet, retains a cuteness that you can't just... shy away (TAMAMA-DESU!) First thought was indeed Private Tamama! And yes, I was right.  Kozakura, Etsuko is too awesome-DESU.
I think i'll start uploading the episodes...

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Anime Review (1): Aria the Animation

Picture this: Italy on Mars paved with endless blue, blue sea. Then you have gondoliers as your tour guides around this Neo Italian city. A smile on this young female tour guide showing the lovely sites. Everyone seems content and relaxed. This is what this anime provides. It shows you the wonderful world of Neo Venezia through the eyes of Akari Mizunashi as she trains her way to be a professional gondolier meeting new people and experiences.
Oh Aria... Such a wonderful Anime. The ultimate slice-of-life anime out there with a fantastical edge. :]
My top favourite anime out there. I full-out recommend it. Like most slice of life, not a lot is progressed in the series. But after you watch season 1 and 2, a lot of changes happen in the last season (there's 3 seasons in total) in the most epic way. It's one of those series where it gets better in each season. Each character is likeable, relateable and has a story.

You can purchase it on DVD here :]

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Japanese Lesson (7): Pronouns

Very different from English, the Japanese language has various, variations (haha) on how to describe "I" and "you"
It mostly just depends on how you see yourself as in terms of femininity and masculinity.
Here's the mostly used-terms for "I":

• 私 watashi (unisex, standard); sounds like WA-ta-SHEE
• 私 atashi (female use); sounds like AH-ta-SHEE 
• 私 watakushi (selfish); sounds like WA-ta-koo-SHEE
• 僕 boku (male); sounds like BOU-koo
• 俺 ore ("manly" male); sounds like Oh-leh

In Japanese culture, it's really not polite to use "I" every so often. But when prompted, these are the terms you would use. Japanese people are usually seen as indirect and unselfish being that's their culture and they value of being discreet. Which is why they probably view the U.S. as stereotypically obnoxious whenever we use our pronouns.

Here's the mostly-used terms for "you" (which are all not usually polite to use, unless there's no choice in the matter)

• あなた anata (general); sounds like Ah-nah-tah
  note: wives usually refer to their husbands as that term though I'm unsure if the kanji is different, but the sound is the same.
• あんた anta; sounds like Ahn-tah (more informal and sometimes rude)
• 君　kimi; sounds like KEE-me (used for friends and probably little kids)

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Anime/Manga & Japanese Lessons (3&6): Kansai and ラブ★コン

何でよね！

Like any country, there are various dialects that is somewhat different from its standard language. One dialect in Japan I'll be talking about is Kansai dialect. It's a pretty funny dialect that is often used in Japanese comedic groups. It's most prevalent in the city of Osaka in the Kansai region.

In the anime world, characters from Osaka are often seen as side characters. You can say they're like the 'hick' part of Japan. Often teased about by the way they talk and their different customs. It's nothing to be offended about since we do it ourselves when you think about it.

A great anime to watch with prevalent Kansai dialect would be Lovely Complex (usually seen written as ラブ★コン　in Japanese media). When you watch plenty of anime and then watch Lovely Complex, you start to hear differences. Honestly, rarely you would find the main character with a Kansai accent/dialect in various anime. This is a great recommendation to notice standard Japanese and not-so standard haha.

Don't forget kids, that the U.S. has various dialects as well. We can understand each other (most of the time), we just sound different and sometimes funny.

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A short Anime/Manga lesson (3): Seiyuu

For those wondering, the term seiyuu (pronounced as SAY-you) just means voice acter/actress usually for anime.

It's seen written like this 声優. A nifty thing to note is that the kanji for  声 means voice.

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