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Greetings From J-List

2/22/2012

The current anime season is an extra-good one, with several interesting series I want to follow, and I've had to really juggle my schedule to create enough free time to watch them all. (Sometimes being a dedicated Japan/anime blogger can be hard work). One show I'm liking a lot is Mouretsu Uchu Kaizoku, translated as Bodacious Space Pirates, though I shed a tear that the original novel's title of Mini-Skirt Space Pirates wasn't preserved, since girls wearing mini-skirts in zero-G spaceships is...well nevermind. It's a well-made space opera about Marika, a genki high school girl who learns that her father was a famous space pirate, and is told she must take over as captain of his ship. As usual, it's common for elements of the story to potentially cause confusion. In one scene, captain-to-be Marika calls the intelligent Chiaki (also known as "Kuroneko...In...Space!") by the familiar name "Chiaki-chan," which causes the mature girl to take offense. This is the kind of cultural issue you might counter when watching anime that can confuse you even if you have subtitles -- in this case the chan name suffix is only added to people who are younger than you or below your station somehow, and some females dislike having it added to their names.


Space pirates in mini-skirts certainly are bodacious; the "sailor uniform" is an endangered species.

If you've watched more than an hour of Japanese television, you'll know that school uniforms are a big part of life in Japan. School uniforms were introduced during the reforms of the Meiji Era, with the iconic "sailor uniform" appearing in the 1920s, based on a British fashion from the 19th century. Today nearly all junior high and high school students are required to wear uniforms; elementary school students generally don't wear them, except in the case of private or religious schools. There are a lot of benefits from uniforms, including removing the differences between wealthy and less-well-off students (which appeals greatly to the Japanese), and adding a degree of discipline that I certainly lacked growing up. While the sailor style uniforms have become a world-famous image of Japan, this style is actually fading away, replaced with the more modern "blazer" type. (Haruhi's normal uniform is an example of a "sailor" uniform, and her dark uniform in Disappearance an example of a "blazer.") Incidentally J-List is fortunate to carry the authentic Japanese school uniforms from Matsukameya of Nagoya, male and female uniforms which are sewn to your exact measurements and sent to you. The quality is fabulous, and we recommend you check them out.

Like many Japanese young people my son is into Japan's ubiquitous BBS 2ch (pronounced ni-channeru in Japanese), where all manner of anonymous Japanese net users post news, debate issues and sometimes make rants that are amusing to read. As he reads the matome (thread summary) sites, he knows it should always be on the lookout for good neta for me. This is a Japanese word with many definitions, first and foremost referring to the top part of a piece of sushi (the fish part that sits on top of the rice, which is called shari if you were curious). The word neta has other meanings, too, including material for a joke, or in my own case, ideas for these little missives I write here. The word for "spoiler" in Japanese is netabare (neta-bah-ray, lit. to expose an idea to everyone), and whenever Hollywood tries to make a motion picture based on an anime, fans accuse them of being netagire (neta-gi-reh, meaning "completely out of ideas"). And the word for "NSFW" (not safe for work, meaning material that might be too ecchi for some situations) is shimoneta, basically "ideas related to the lower half of your body." Now you know some random Japanese words.

I've been playing through our working copy of the upcoming epic RPG Yumina the Ethereal, and I'm amazed by how much I like the heroines. The main character Yumina is the classic upbeat "genki" girl whose antics are both hilarious and charming. Then there's Kirara, the leader of the Debate Club, whose cuteness contrasts brilliantly with her sly and sadistic personality. And finally, we have Ai, a cool and collected blue-haired girl who often says things that will leave you wondering, "What planet is this girl from?" You can see detailed profiles for these characters at the official Yumina the Ethereal site, or visit the product page to preorder the game now!

Today's New & Restocked Items

New and Restocked NSFW / 18+ Products

CHIBUSA no Aru Fukei Scenes of Breasts

CHIBUSA no Aru Fukei ~ Scenes of Breasts

This unique photobook collects scenes of women baring their beautiful bodies in some of the most famous places in Japan. It's a great new photobook that combines an amazing photographic concept with one of our favorite things, beautiful Japanese girls. As usual in Japan, the printing quality is out of this world, and we recommend this item a lot. VIEW PRODUCTS

  • Erokawa Zenkoku Meimon Joshidaisei Seitai Zukan

    Erokawa Zenkoku Joshidai

    Meet the college girl of your dreams in this great magazine full of hot university co-eds who strip, suck, do much more for the camera. view products
  • Otome Drops

    Otome Drops ~ Girl Drops

    Enjoy a new erotic manga anthology full of cute, sexy women who learn what being a girl is all about. Over 200 pages of grade-A sex. view products
  • Yarasete Bunnys

    Yarasete Bunnys

    Do you like horny bunnies? Then you'll love this erotic manga featuring big-breasted girls in bunny suits, maid outfits, and lots of other costumes. view products
  • Ero Swimwear Anthology Comics

    Restocked 'H' Manga

    Enjoy some fun restocked manga, including Ero Swimwear Anthology, Menkui!, Kono Hentai Yarou! plus the excellent futanari manga Read Me! view products
UNICORN Pink

UNICORN ~ Pink Personal Massager

Here's a great new offering for our poor stressed-out female customers: a well designed simple massager that's easy to use yet has many features, including ten vibration modes. Fully waterproof, you can use it in the bath -- wow. We also restocked several popular products including the classic Japanese "egg rotar" [sic] that every girl should have in her "special" drawer. VIEW PRODUCTS

Thanks for 10th Anniversary Million 100 AV Actresses 12 Hours Special ***3 Discs 12 Hours***

A Great Restocking of Ero DVDs, Blu-ray Discs

Finally, enjoy some of our most popular JAV titles, including Thanks for 10th Anniversary Million 100 AV actresses 12 Hours Special, Very best of Million on Blu-ray, Hitomi Tanaka's Bakunyu Instructor and Wife's Sister releases, Water Pole Best 12 Gals, Working Ladies Tight Skirt 4 Hours, Costume Play Festival with Touhou, Lingerie Sex 4 Hours, Stop the Time! plus great Pure Love Lesbian releases. Enjoy them all. VIEW PRODUCTS