Game, cash, author

This week I'm hitting a variety of subjects. These include a game, a saying and an author I recommend for mystery fans.

fukuwarai (face game) 福笑い

kane no kireme ga en no kireme (the end of the money is the end of the relationship) 金の切れ目が縁の切れ目

Ôsawa Arimasa 大沢在昌

In the near future I'll be doing several more entries related to Japanese religion as some have expressed an interest in having more such material. Another focus I have been working on for some time is aspects of contemporary life as this is an area of interest to many fans of anime, manga and live action shows.

Real Rock and Roll

Checking the Japan Times this morning I noticed two interesting articles, so I'll pass them on:

The Ventures: still rocking after 50 years

Mad about deke-deke-deke

gender, food and vids

This week I'm adding some terminology anime and manga fans will be familiar with, and a tasty type of place to stop off for a cuppa tea.

As is often the case with the terminology entries the one for OVA does not have example from a specific anime or manga (yet).

This weeks entries are:


futanari (hermaphrodite) 二成 or 二形 or ふたなり

kanmikissa 甘味喫茶

OVA

Got comments? Leave them here so folks can join in.

Kin-Yoobi Con 2008

On Saturday August 9th I'll be doing a panel at a local con.

Kin-Yoobi Con 2008.


I really enjoy the energy of small cons and am looking forward to this one.

Oh yeah, what is my panel?

I'm doing the Older Titles for Newer Fans panel I did for the first time at Fanimecon earlier this year. It was a fun panel that ended with everyone going and have a discussion in another room for about an hour. I'll have video clips from several titles that newer, and many older, fans are likely to not know about and I think should check out.

Little houses, a folding weapon and a shogun

This week I have three items with no direct relation to each other.

hokora (small wayside shrines) 祠

karakuri jitte カラクリ實手

Tokugawa Ienari 徳川家斉


I'm also curious what subject areas or types of material you would like to see more of in the Anime Companion Supplement. Write a reply to these posts and let me know.

I have a very large database of possible entries and am interested in what areas you would like more coverage on.

Yen Plus

I was recently given a copy of the first issue of Yen Plus, a new manga, manhwa and comic anthology magazine from Yen Press.

It is about an inch thick and as it has a mixture of original English works as well as translated Korean manhwa and Japanese manga the lay out is interesting. For the English and manhwa works you start from the part that opens right to left as with American magazines. for the manga you flip the volumes over so it opens left to right as the images are not flipped.

The manga titles are interesting ones. The better known ones include Soul Eater, Bamboo Blade, and Higurashi When They Cry.

The English and Korean titles seem pretty good at first glance, it seems to me that the quality of such works is improving and that Yen Press is getting some good ones.

Yen Press is putting out a nice anthology with Yen Plus, keep an eye out for it. If you local shops don't have it you may want them to consider stocking it.

Edo cop stuff

This week I have 3 new entries. Not that I'm about to increase my output, it just happened that these are inter-link so well I put all four up the same week.

dōshin (lower-grade samurai rank) 同心

jōmawari KANJI STILL NEEDED

kaginawa (hook rope) 鈎縄