I receive many emails and comments to the effect of “I can’t read Japanese so…” But you know, I couldn’t read Japanese either, at first. I learned – so can you. Here’s a free online tool to get you started, RealKana. Start by memorizing the syllables now and by the end of 2013, you’ll be able to read simple sentences. にほんごをべんきょうしましょう。Start now. There’s nothing at all stopping you from trying. ^_^ I’ll add other tools to the list, but this seems like a really good place to start.
Yuri Anime
Nozomi RightStuf has announced the extra that will come with pre-orders for Rose of Versailles, Part 2.
The second round of voting at Daisuki is up, and this packet includes some titles of interest, including Devilman Lady (which was SO gay) and Heartcatch PreCure (which was SO gay). So get those votes in and get some Yuri up on Daisuki!
***
Yuri Manga
Comic Natalie reports that Takemiya Jin’s Omoi no Kakera, Volume 2 went on sale today with variant extras, depending on the bookstore at which it was purchased. Speaking of Takemiya-sensei…tomorrow’s Okazu will feature an interview with her! So please make sure you drop by tomorrow for another look at a prime mover in the Yuri genre! (I can’t wait!)
15 -sai (15才) is one of those manga you just know is going to be filled to the brim with redeeming social value. (-_-)
Yuikan, Volume 5 (ゆりキャン) exists.
Because I’m perfectly comfortable judging a book by it’s cover, I think Bloody Lily (ブラッディ・リリィ) looks worth the time it will take me to read it. ^_^
Yuru Yuri, Volume 10 (ゆるゆり) streets today in Japan, with 2 different special editions.
***
Other News
maeydaygeist mentioned on Twitter yesterday that Monica Nolan, writer of Bobby Blanchard, Lesbian Gym Teacher (which I reviewed) and Lois Lenz, Lesbian Secretary (which I forgot to review last summer) has a new book, Mamie Mainwaring, Lesbian Dilettante. That is so on my summer reading list. Nolan has a way of portraying the innocence of another time in a way that is sweet and utterly excruciating at the same time.
Our own Bruce McF has a lovely article up, Experiments in a new media economy on crowdfunding for anime. It’s well worth your time to read it, as it is so rare to get an economist’s take on anything in this industry, much less an economist who knows something about the industry, as Bruce does.
For those of you in Tokyo on June 6th, Nakamura Ching-sensei will be participating in a retrospective of Taniguchi Natsuko’s art in Shibuya. Read the report on Comic Natalie for details.
ANN has this to hurt your brain: Former Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth murders Sailor Moon’s iconic line “In the name of the Moon, I will punish you,” before murdering people in this preview for his short film Tokyo Story, in which he plays a stoic assassin in Japan. Couldn’t be more typical if it tried. Just go watch. ^_^
The industry fights back in Japan, with various associations making their voices heard as new, more restrictive, legislation to fight child pornography is proposed that threatens people who draw and animate not-remotely-real characters.
I am finally sitting down with Yurist (百合人), a “magazine for people who love Yuri”. The contents start off with some statistics about Yuri fans. Of the self-identified Yuri fans questioned, 52% are female, 35% male, 11% other, 4% didn’t answer. This not far off my experience, I’ve been saying Yuri is relatively close to an even split in the West, as well. 62% of respondents are in their 20s. Only 2% in their 40s! But more importantly, 19% said they were teens, which means the audience is skewing younger. This is a good thing. Less hang-ups. 37% are “out” about their interest in Yuri, 43% partially so, or at least don’t hide it.
So the typical Japanese Yuri fan is a woman in her 20s who is comfortable with her interest and at least partially open about it. (In other words, probably not ranting at work about going to Comiket, but totally telling her friends.) So far, entirely consistent with my own findings here.
If anything else surfaces from this issue of Yurist, I’ll let you know!
***
Event News
AnimeNEXT is next weekend. I’ll be running a Yuri panel on Friday, June 7 at 6PM. I’ll be giving away loads of stuff! I hope to see you there. ^_^ Bring questions!
***
That’s a wrap for this week! Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge. Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!
Oh gosh, I blush I don’t even know the emoticon for that).
Its also up at Voices on the Square and Daily Kos, but if anyone were to want to sign up to one of the community blog postings to comment, correct, extend, amplify, the Stars Hollow Gazette posting linked to in the News would be a fine pick. Voices on the Square is a bit more intense, and daily kos suffers from a bit of election season hangover, with gangs of self appointed vigilantes roaming the halls.
& of course twitter users can also comment / correct / extend / amplify @BruceMcF ~ I’ll surely see it in a day or two even if I’m not on a twitter binge.
You can try this (=^_^=), if you’d like. ^_^
Tah, used it in the retweet.
Another point for the Stars Hollow Gazette is its one of the blogs where mishima posts “Random Japan”:
http://www.thestarshollowgazette.com/diary/8136/random-japan
Too bad ‘Denno Coil’ wasn’t part of the list. I’ve been meaning to check that one out for some time now and would’ve definitely voted for it.
Thanks for the heads-up on RealKana! I’ll see how far I can get with it!
I wonder about Denno Coil. Honestly, I would have thought it a relatively cheap series to license, without much competition or complication, but since it has not yet been licensed, I guess I’m wrong. ^_^
I’ve seen rumors that the original creator is for some reason dubious about licensing in North America, but nothing sourced that I can recall. But I do believe I recall an interview that indicated it took quite an effort by Siren to get the Australian license.
That would explain that.
From what I’ve heard, I think it was on ANN, the company wanted a real old school deal for licensing including a television broadcast and that it took the Australian company two years to license it.
Ah, that would be really difficult here, I could see where it would complicate things. Thanks!
I have been studying Japanese as a hobby for a very long time. Once I got down basic grammar, one tool I have found particularly useful is the iOS app Japanese Flip (as have two of my children, both of whom have gone on to proficiency in Japanese by taking classes). It’s a flip-card program, but its algorithm for choosing new cards to drill is excellent. I haven’t found anything comparable for Android, yet. It’s my one game I play regularly on my iPod Touch, and it’s given me reading recognition of several hundred kanji and compounds in a couple of years.
The (free!) dictionary program Imi-wa? is also quite nice, and has a great feature that lets you copy looked-up words for insertion into a flip-card program like Japanese Flip or Repetitions. Combined, these make reading manga a relative breeze, which in turn speeds recognition.
Back in the days of PDAs, I had a Kanji recognition program called Hanabi which not only passed time for me in meetings, it considerably raised my reading level.
Every little thing helps. Thanks for the suggestion!
I’ve been studying Japanese for… twelve years? And a lot has changed since then, so hm. I have more book recommendations than app recommendations.
For those with iOS or Mac OS ability, there is a native Japanese dictionary that is turned on automatically when the Japanese keyboard is added. This helps, but you have to already have some knowledge.
For beginners, “Human Japanese” is good; it provides context for lessons, and not just in the “here are some words” way. I also like Tae Kim’s grammar guide a great deal, as it encompasses basic grammar with easy explanations (and up to intermediate-advanced grammar).
I use Midori as my dictionary, but J-Edict also works well. I’ve just found Midori has more contemporary usage and phrases in its database, and is pleasant to use – I use it all the time on my phone.
Thanks Kit! I’ve been using Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC for ages. It’s really only for Kanji, but I can almost always get by with that, Excite’s translation tool and my old Sanseido dicionary. Cool idea for iPhone folks.
I also use Rikai-chan or Rikai-kun (dictionary plugin for Firefox or Chrome, respectively). Helps with understanding verb forms and kanji, too.
KanjiSpy for iOS is a virtual tour around Hiroo in Tokyo, with photos of everyday street signs. Includes romaji and hiragana reading, translation and literal translation and audio for each word. There’s also a vocabulary quiz (English Japanese) a full glossary with audio + culture notes on shops and Japan in general. A fabulous way to learn common kanji. Have a look:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/kanjispy-tokyo-street-signs/id584213033?mt=8
Thanks Russel. A disclaimer would be nice, though. Clearly you’re involved with this app, so your recommendation isn’t unbiased. ^_^