More delays

I hate to saturate the first page with slowbro posts, but yeah, I blew my deadlines and then some. Suffice it to say that the ol' IRL has been fairly pressing this summer. I thought I'd be able to get out at least a draft before the deluge arrived, but nope.

Anyway, in lieu of anything substantive, I will leave you with my Hijiri-summoning kit.

Jimi, da ne

I don't recall how I got there, but some time ago I ended up reading an article titled "Japanese Women's Diaspora: An Interview". It's about the phenomenon of Japanese women leaving Japan (for a period of time, like for study abroad) and seeking romance or marriage with Western men. The author identifies the cause of this longing (憧れ akogare) as the romanticization of the West and "internationalism" coupled to dissatisfaction with female roles in Japanese society. As academics are wont to do, the author labels the former as the "pull" factor, and the latter as the "push". She also makes the interesting point that while women with akogare are seeking to escape patriarchal societal norms in Japan, they are still willing to accept them elsewhere to a lesser extent; they are looking for a kinder, gentler patriarchy.

What really got my attention, though, were the interviewee's closing words:

There is romance in Japan; it's not that Japanese men can't be romantic. But it's plain (jimi). Right now Japanese men are so frightened. Women are much more progressive. Men are lagging behind.

There's that word, jimi, which should be familiar to anyone who's watched Kannagi. In the context of the OP, it's kind of cutesy and coquettish, but more importantly, it's accomodating. To the target demographic, it's a reassurance: yes, I, goddess, will accept plain, boring romance. But to the outside female observer, it just reinforces otaku stereotypes and may well be a death knell for romantic possibility: it's going to be so plain.

I should note that the article dates to 2000, and the interview within it is with a 30-year-old woman in 1993, so things have probably changed a great deal. It's peculiar that a country so saturated with romantic film and literature can be so stuffy when it comes to real-life relationships. There's got to be a generational shift somewhere.

GAH

daisuki nante arigatou

watashi mo zutto suki dayo

motto kyou wo

motto ashita

jiyuu na iro de hirogetai

Sigh

So I took the GRE yesterday. I could have done better, but I did well enough, I think.

Anyway, I went to Kinokuniya afterwards. I got more stuff than I had anticipated:



From left,
よつばとしろとくろのどうぶつ - Yotsuba & Monochrome Animals
この世界の片隅に（中） - In This Corner Of The World (middle volume)
ぱにぽに６ - Pani Poni 6
お茶にごす。１ - Ocha nigosu. 1
もっけ８ - Mokke 8
アリア７ - Aria 7
さよなら絶望先生１４ - Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 14
へうげもの７ - Hyouge Mono 7

I got the Yotsuba book on a whim. It's pretty much a children's book, fairly minimalist.

In This Corner Of The World is by Fumiyo Kouno, the author of Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms. I really like Kouno-sensei's art...

I picked up Ocha Nigasu because I was intrigued. I was hoping for more tea ceremony stuff, but for most of volume one it seems like a gimmick. It's largely just delinquent stuff. The art's kinda cheap/minimalist, but there's some good puns.

Ordered more stuff from bk1 last week. I got sea shipping this time, so we'll see how long it takes to get here...

DreamTech Kagami & Tsukasa Hatsumoude Set

So, this is what happens when you decide to get that Kagami miko figure. You look at the price, and think, hmm, why is it so expensive? So then you see the limited edition Kagami + Tsukasa with stand and think, might as well get the set for 8000 yen. Then, of course, you choose EMS when you meant to get SAL originally.



The Japanese blurb about Kagami says "tsundere kei" (ツンデレ系), and the English one translates this as "aloof-chummy type". I think we can agree that this characterization is fail.



The base includes a shrubbery, probably stolen from someone's railroad diorama. It sheds little bits.



Well, here it is. Ain't it nice. But here's the perverse part: I didn't realize this when I ordered, but the skirts are molded separately from the legs. Maybe that explains the price, but it sure makes me feel dirty. I guess these are fairly modest as far as most figures are concerned.



They're definitely gouging the Lucky Star fanbase (i.e. me) but I'm happy with my purchase. I gotta say, the Haruhi figure is a much better value.

These are my only figures so far, and to some extent I'd like to keep it that way. I can tell it's a slippery slope. The only other figure that calls out to me is that Tsuruya waitress one, but I can resist. Maybe.

Manga café economics

Someone's opened up a manga café in San Francisco. What are the rates? $5 for the first hour, $1.25 for every additional 15 minutes. So basically $5/hour. Given that English-translated manga runs $10 a volume, $5/hour is pretty good. I figure if a typical volume is 200 pages, and I spend a generous 20 seconds on every 2-page spread, that's approaching two volumes per hour.

The going rate in Japan seems to be a buck per hour. (Or more for swankier places, I guess.) So indeed, staying up all night (or sleeping) in a manga kissa would be a pretty economical way to live. And a really economical way to read manga, needless to say.

I also found this fond remembrance of the "jazz kissa". It really sounds wonderful: jazz cafes everywhere, listening to cutting-edge music, reading avant-garde manga and magazines. Youth subculture, indeed. Now I need to find some Japanese free jazz.

Change of topic: I was reading this thread at AnimeSuki, and have been enlightened as a result. Namely, I had previously believed that buying directly from Japan entailed either 1) amazon.co.jp or 2) some random Japanese export service. The main problem with amazon is ridiculous shipping -- $20 plus $3 per book. The problem with export-type sites is that they either specialize in finding stuff, or require more Japanese comprehension than I am currently capable of.

Enter bk1. They can ship via SAL! And their website is fairly obvious. So this means I'm going to buy stuff. Like the Maison Ikkoku reprint. And widebans of Kimagure Orange Road to complete my set. Pani Poni. Seto no Hanayome. And maybe Yume Tsukai, but I'm more interested in earlier Ueshiba Riichi stuff, like Discommunication / Seireihen. But bk1 doesn't have older stuff, so I'm wondering what's the most economical way to find such things. (What I really need to do is visit a BookOff. I go to NYC a few times a year for work, but wasn't thinking about manga the last few times I was there. The alternative is to take a bus down to LA... hmm.)

Oh yes, trashy manga. I was thinking of buying a few. Like A Girls, which appears to have been panned by the amazon reviewer. And quite deservedly so; but I still want to know what happens after the first volume. Well, now that I think about it, it's probably fairly cliché. After all, it's from the same team that brought us volumes upon volumes of Boys Be. Maybe I should just read it at a manga café.

Consumerism

So I'm about to plunge deeper into this subculture, by putting lots of money into it. It will be a downward, vicious cycle of spending and obtaining; I can feel it. Though, arguably I started this behavior sometime ago. I was at Kinokuniya today and ended up buying 9 volumes of manga. That I am unable to read, mostly. They join the rest of my manga in my bookcase, which has been growing at an exponentially increasing rate as of late.

But, buying "raw" manga doesn't worry me that much. I feel a certain responsibility to buy the series that stand out, after having read so many scanlations. In my book, buying J-pop is more worrisome. After all, I'm not so big a fan of pop music in general. There are a few standout artists that I feel compelled to support, though admittedly I view J-pop through the limiting lens of anime openings and endings. I think what makes buying J-pop more worrisome is that I have to import it. And it's $30 an album, or $12 for a single. That level of pricing gives me pause. Still, I've filled my shopping cart and am waiting for a sense of finality -- some comparison shopping shows that yesasia doesn't carry some of my items. I guess I'll sit on this basket for one more day. Or not...

The most serious threat to my wallet and my ego, however, are figures. I posted a picture of the older version of this Haruhi some time back. I think I'm going to get it now. Hopefully the molds aren't shot.

I wouldn't be thinking seriously of getting figures if it wasn't for good ol' Heisei Democracy. I have a serious itch to get that Kagami, even at $40ish. They're definitely sucking the fanbase dry on this figure -- the design is nowhere near as complex as other figures at this price point. So, uh, somehow that makes me think that getting the Kagami + Tsukasa set is a good idea. Seriously. I'm walking a fine line between semi-restraint and full-blown goods fiending. After the figures come square pillows, and then long ones. (I don't know Polyphonica, actually, just couldn't find the Hinagiku dakimakura on this site. There seems to be a towel though. :3)

sola = art?

So there's this umbrella sold at MoMA...