The Moe Algorithm of Infinite Straos

November 8, 2013, 2:13 am

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Somewhere in Japan there's a computer that runs an algorithm for generating "harem" anime stories, which I believe was used by Media Factory to create Infinite Stratos. It's a future in which warfare is dominated by powered exoskeletons which conveniently can only be piloted by women, though when a boy named Ichika is discovered to be able to control the devices, he's sent to the Infinite Stratos Academy where he's surrounded by fabulously beautiful girls. All the classic moe character elements can be found in the series: the tsundere childhood friend who's also a shrine maiden, the British ojosama who speaks in an aristocratic way, a plucky girl from China who's self-conscious about her flat chest, a "reverse trap" (a girl who pretends to be a boy), an eyepatch-moe warrior girl from Germany, and of course the "generic everyman nice guy" Ichika, who's not even aware he's at the center of a harem. At its core, moe is about the little imperfections and personality flaws that make the characters charming, whether it's extreme jealousy or shyness or yandere tendencies, and this anime has plenty to explore. If you like Infinite Stratos, you might like our English combat ero-RPG Pretty Soldier Wars A.D. 2048, which has a similar story.

The moe-tastic girls of Infinite Stratos. Which is your favorite?

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Japan and Entrepreneurs

November 8, 2013, 2:14 am

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I caught an interesting show on Japanese TV the other day called 子供に聞かせたい Kodomo ni Kikasetai! or "I Want to Tell This to the Children!" which featured some of Japan's most visionary business leaders talking about how they became successful. First Toshio Suzuki, the "business arm" of Studio Ghibli, talked about the challenges of managing the financial side of an animation studio and of securing the financing that made Hayao Miyazaki's amazing works possible. Another speaker was Kazuki Morishita, president of the company behind Pazudora (Puzzles and Dragons), the mobile game that took Japan and the world by storm and rocketed his company past Nintendo in market cap. Finally we heard from Kohzoh Takaoka, the head of Nestle Japan, which has been hugely successful in its 100 years of doing business here. He came to his superiors' notice when he thought up the innovative idea of promoting Kit Kat (which sounds like きっと勝つ kitto katsu or "you will surely win") to students preparing for university entrance exams, and he's also the guy responsible for all those incredible flavors of Kit Kat you love to buy from J-List. After the guests spoke there was a question-and-answer segment in which smart young people, including a girl who started a company making YouTube videos for fashion-related companies at the age of 15, received advice on how to succeed in the future.

I thought the program was important because one of the biggest problems in Japan is its lack of entrepreneurial spirit, especially among women. Although some of the most respected names in Japan's history are those who created companies, such as Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita or Souichiro Honda, who turned a tiny company making machine parts for Toyota into a famous worldwide brand, in reality there's often little respect for people with crazy dreams of starting a business. The Japanese are a very conservative people who tend to value security, and Japanese as a group aren't generally forgiving of failure, even though to try something and fail at it is an important part of life, especially for an entrepreneur. Then there's the fact that if you try to start a company and fail, your status is "reset" if you go to work at a new company, making you kohai (underling) to employees who are younger and have less experience than you. Having a TV show that put entrepreneurs in a positive light while showing young people interested in the idea of making their own businesses someday seemed to be to be a really good step forward.

A Japanese TV show to inspire young entrepreneurs.

Cool Products Monday, November 11, 2013

November 11, 2013, 2:52 am

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For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. You can view all new J-List products by clicking this link.

Today's New & Restocked Items

Newtype Dec 2013 Grab the latest issue of the number one magazine for anime fans! You get tons of feature articles on the hottest shows this season, including Attack on Titan, Kill la Kill, Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: The Rebellion Story, and Monogatari Second Season, with beautiful full-color art of all the cute girls you love. You'll also enjoy huge pinup posters for Kyoukai no Kanata fans. view this product »

	Koin Illustrations 2 Those who love the Haiyore! Nyaruko-san anime series will want to check out this new artbook with page after page of beautiful moe-tastic images.		How to Draw Manga - Bishoujo Character Design Level up your artistic skills to become a certified bishoujo illustrator, thanks to the help of this amazing How to Draw Manga book.
	2014 Anime Calendars We've got great anime calendars in stock, like Chihayafuru, the anime about karuta cards...but stock is limited so order fast.		Other Anime Calendars, Too We have all the top calendars for your wonderful otaku life in 2014, from Steins;Gate to Kantai Collection to Tony Taka.
	Cure Dec 2013 vol. 123 The new J-Rock and Visual-key culture magazine, Cure vol. 123 is here. Punk and Gothic style fans, don't miss it!		mini Dec 2013 See limited stock of the new issue of "mini," the fun fashion magazine that gives you cool free fashion accessories in every issue!
	Panda Style Zip-up Parka Beige Become a super soft and huggable panda bear, in this new parka from Japan.		Kawaii School Bags from Japan We've got fun Japanese school bags for cosplay or to carry your school stuff in. See this authentic randoseru backpack we posted!
	'Socks Glue' For Your Awesome Japanese Socks Japanese "Absolute Zone" socks are great, but it's a bummer when your socks don't stay where you want them. Solve the problem with Socks Glue!		Absolute Zone Socks, Other Fun Apparel Items We've got all the great accessories you need to dress up as your favorite character, with great socks, glasses, school uniforms and more.
	EXSTETRA An awesome new moe RPG for the PSVita! Features character designs by the great Tony, plus fun gameplay and tons of moe character events.		Madoka + Mami Figures In Stock The awesome heroines of Madoka Magica are back as these fantastic figures, newly reissued from the Good Smile Company.
	Raccoon Wars ~ Pompoko The wonderful Studio Ghibli film Heisei Tanuki Gassen (Raccoon Wars) is now available on Blu-ray with full English subtitles.		Beautiful Totoro Linen 'Noren' Door Curtains J-List loves Totoro almost as much as Mei and Satsuki, and we've got hundreds of Totoro products to browse. Here is today's ranking.
	Fun Silicon Ice Trays from Japan We love to find rare and interesting Japanese ice cube trays for you, and today we restocked the Naruto and Star Wars ice makers.		Evangelion Entry Plug Lights, Ice Cube Trays Brighten up the night with a light that can pierce even an AT field, great for all mech pilots -- plus many more Eva items ready for you.
	Traditional Scent Limited Edition Bub This limited edition Bub brand bath salts includes the scents of sakura, bamboo, autumn leaves (e.g. Kyoto) and Camellia.		JOUMOU KARUTA You may have seen karuta cards in the Chihayafuru anime, and now you can play this fun and educational game yourself!

Fun Sailor Moon Pointers, Pens and More The Christmas of Sailor Moon is upon us, and J-List is selling awesome Sailor Moon products left and right, Several products (some of the new pens, pointers and notebooks) had been removed from the site because we'd reached our preorder sales limits. Happily, we've been able to secure additional stock from the manufacturers

, so we've reposted them now. But fans should get your preorders in quickly as they will likely disappear again soon! view this product »

	Great New Japan Snacks Today Nice update of Japanese snacks, incl. Frutche Strawberry Dessert, Carl Stick snacks in curry flavor + Chip Chop "chocolate" Nachos.		Microwave Rice Try this microwave rice with authentic Japanese rice grown in rice paddies in rural Japan. Stock's limited so get one now!
	Glico Winter Pocky Our favorite flavor of Pocky is back, the winter-limited Pocky that's dusted with amazing cocoa powder. 4 sealed packs inside!		Tons of Restocked Pocky Today Lots of restocked snacks, too, incl. a huge update of your favorite Pocky flavors on this special day + Oreo Mini Bar, Hamburger Gummy + more.
	Great Traditional Bento Boxes Restocked Plus lots of other bento boxes and accessories, in a variety of colors and shapes, selected with our fantastic customers in mind.		Hello Kitty Onigiri Maker, Other Bento Products Making a cute bento is easier when you have the right tools, like these cool ones from Hello Kitty. She makes everything cute and fun.
	Fun Bento + Kitchen Accessories Restocked Then see other bento & kitchen items including ramen spoons for your ramen, mini pancake shapers, sandwich makers, vegetable cutters, and more.		Mt. Fuji with Sakura Gold Leaf Case Keep your treasures safe in the beautiful decorative box, with a traditional view of Mt. We love this!
	Lucky Cat, Other Traditional Products Posted Bring some extra luck into your life with these great new traditional items, of lucky cats, charms, straps and more. Display them in your home or office.		Rikka Takanashi Chu2koi Mug Cup Fans of Chuu2Koi will love this stylish cup featuring Rikka Takanashi from KyoAni's hit anime. A great way to show your love for the series.
	Shikinami Asuka Character Headphones True EVA fans listen to their Fly Me to the Moon remixes on these super-cool headphones. This version is modeled after Asuka's mech from the new movies.		Sailor Moon Moon Stick Chopsticks We found new chopsticks that are perfect for Sailor Moon fans. Introducing Sailor Moon Chopsticks that are so cute you can't wait to show them off at lunch time.
	Cecilia Alcott 1/8 Figure Swimsuit ver. Fans of the mecha fanservice anime Infinite Stratos will love this new figure of Cecilia Alcott dressed in a navy blue swimsuit.		Melda Deitz 1/8 Figure Yamato Girls Collection Check out this beautiful figure of Melda Deitz, the alien girl from Gamilas of Space Battleship Yamato 2199, available for preorder now.

New and Restocked NSFW / 18+ products

	The Best Magazine Special Dec 2013 - NO. 245 Everything from sexy lingerie to full-bare beauties. They don't call it The Best Magazine for nothing!		Sexy Photobooks Restocked See some nice photobooks restocked today, including the delightful first offering of Chika Kitano, Nana Ozaki and more.
	Life of H and Sexuality! ~ Ecchi Life Yuki Shin releases his much awaited hentai manga compiling his best erotic stories into one book. Lots of super hot ecchi action!		Great 'H' Manga Restocked Plus, lots of great new ero-manga in stock today. Get all the best like Anoko to Apaman and Life of H and Sexuality.
	We Love Yuri We've been posting yuri manga left and right, for people who love stories about girls who love girls.		Be Boy GOLD Dec 2013 More B-Boy action for yaoi fans! With over 300 pages of delicious boy on boy romance, you'll want to take this magazine home.
	Amazing New 'Ecchi' Figures from Japan Japan excels at capturing an ecchi situation in 3D figure form, and today we've got some outstanding new figures for you.		Ero Artbooks Restocked Today We've got great ecchi 2D artbooks restocked today, including Satoshi Urushihara's best works ever, Peas Soft 10th H Collection + more.
	Girl in the Box ~ Limited Hard Edition A deluxe, reusable toy that's perfect for stress relief, with realistic soft texture and super realistic design.		Ninja, Monster + Oneesan Onaholes Whether you're fascinated by the concept of sexy female ninjas, oneechan or monster girls, J-List has stress relief for you.
	Shakuhachi Simulator, Other Toys Restocked See the popular Shakuhachi Musume Oral Pump, a product J-List's customers love like none other.		Advanced USB Powered Onahole + Eroge One of the most amazing concepts from Japan ever, this is a USB powered stress toy + 3D Custom Girl simulation eroge.
	Tenga Arm Nap Pillow ~ Red or White We love carrying Tenga, the best designed stress toys in the world, and today we restocked the...soft Tenga arm pillows?		Iroha ~ YUKIDARUMA New toys for women from Tenga, each with their own special 'technique' to help you enjoy a your night.
	Today's Recommend English Eroge: Snow Sakura Want to visit Hokkaido and find love? Then enjoy Snow Sakura, one of our best English eroge. Let this tale of romance warm your heart this winter!		Restocked Eroge & More See a big restocking of the Muv-Luv game titles, plus Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi from Nitroplus and lots more.
	Momoka Nishina and Tsubomi Best Selection HD TMA releases super nice HD collections of scenes featuring the gorgeous Momoka Nishina and cute Tsubomi in 2 collector Blu-Ray made for fans!		Lesbian Drama ~ My Sister Natsuko These two housewives love to love each other, in this 2 hours DVD production. Fans of the more refined and mature lady will enjoy this.
	34 Year Old AV Debut - Shiori Hasegawa SOD introduces a real married woman in this debut release. Shiori Hasegawa, a unbelievably cute 34 years old Japanese woman.		Blonde Girls in L.A. ~ International Ecchi Massage Follow the crew of SOD in a trip to L.A., where they go hunting for hot California girls offering very special massaging services...

Restocked Ero DVDs and Blu-rays Finally enjoy a healthy update of "H" titles, including Tsubomi 64 Hours Premium Box, Premium Flat Idols 16 Hours and TMA Cosplay Complete Box, Female Director Haruna's Lesbian Nampa, Blonde Fairy International HD, Pantyhose Worship 8 Hours, Otokonoko Idol Serina Tachibana and more Otonyan works, awesome titles featuring Shunka Ayami, Kokomi Sakura and Rola Misaki, plus Akiho Yoshizawa as the Body Reception Wife and more. view this product »

Happy Pocky Day from J-List!

November 11, 2013, 2:54 am

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Today, November 11, is a special day for Pocky fans, designated by the Glico company as Pocky Day, since 11/11 looks like four Pocky sticks lined up, ready to be eaten. Let's all enjoy some delicious Pocky today, or better yet, find someone cute and try"the Pocky Game" with them. J-List carries all varieties of Pocky (and Pretz) from Japan, including the exotic seasonal kind you've never seen anywhere else. Why not browse our lineup of Japanese Pocky right now and see the new flavor offerings?

Japan and Mexican Food

November 11, 2013, 2:54 am

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When you come to a country like Japan, it's normal that you'll give up some things you might be used to having back home. This includes having access to ridiculously cheap buy-1-get-1-free delivered pizzas, having more than two varieties of cheese to choose from at the supermarket and enjoying things like turkey, Nutella or American-style peanut butter, all of which are difficult to find here. The joy of walking into a bookstore and leisurely browsing for something to read in your native language is generally denied to you, and certain rare drinks like Mountain Dew are all but nonexistent here, though availability of Dr. Pepper has improved steadily thanks to Steins;Gate. You also have to say goodbye to pretty much all Mexican food, as it's just something the Japanese never got the hang of eating. I'm from San Diego, where no one goes a week without getting delicious Mexican food from Roberto's or one of the other copycat chains, and it was surprisingly hard to give that up. The closest thing to Mexican food in Japan is Taco Rice, an Okinawan dish consisting of taco mean and salsa eaten over white rice, or possibly the chicken wraps from KFC, which aren't too bad if you close your eyes while you eat.

One does not simply eat Mexican food in Japan.

Japan, Karuta and Culture

November 11, 2013, 2:55 am

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The Japanese are masters when it comes to committing information to memory, like the man who memorized pi to 100,000 decimal places by using mnemonic hooks that made it easier for his brain to visualize each successive number. My wife regularly amazes me by being able to call up archaic information from her mind, such as the square root of 5 or the first two dozen or so elements in the periodic table, which she's able to do thanks to phrases all Japanese memorize in school. For example, the square root of 5 is 2.2360679 which maps out somehow to 富士山麓にオウム鳴く Fuji-sanroku ni ohmu naku, or "at the base of Mt. Fuji, a parrot squawks." Another fun information memorization tool is a 500-year-old game called Karuta (from the Portuguese word for "card") in which players will line up cards with phrases on them, and when a "reader" starts to speak that phrase the players will try to grab the corresponding card before anyone else. It's used to teach hiragana to small children, though you can teach just about any information using the game -- my kids learned the vocabulary of music notation using a version called Musical Karuta, for example. The most famous Karuta game is 百人一首 Hyakunin Isshu ("100 people, 100 poems"), a collection of waka poems based on historical figures from the Heian Period (794-1185) making it something like Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, but there's a local version for J-List's home prefecture of Gunma called Joumou Karuta, which teaches respect for the various cultural treasures of our prefecture. Before switching to computer games, Nintendo manufactured these cards, and until 1963 they were known as the Nintendo Karuta Corporation.

Karuta, a game for learning hiragana and culture.

How Japanese Grammer Works

November 11, 2013, 2:56 am

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Grammatically, Japanese is quite interesting, seemingly unrelated to all other languages, though one theory suggests a link to languages like Hungarian through a 40,000-years dead hypothetical linguistic ancestor. One interesting aspect of Japanese is the use of grammatical "particles," words that denote the topic and subject (wa and ga), the object (o), whether or not the sentence is a question (ka on the end), and so on. One use particle is の no, a particle with a "glue-like element" (to use the words of my Japanese teacher from SDSU) that binds two words together, for example to show possession. ピーターの車 Peter no kuruma ties the words Peter and kuruma (car) together, therefore denoting the car that belongs to Peter. Back in the Golden Age of anime fandom, the first Japanese most of us learned was ダーリンの馬鹿 Darling no Baka, the words Lum says before she gives Ataru a lightning bolt. This phrase ties the words darling and baka (stupid) together to produce an insult to Ataru. (Fun fact: Lum's pet name for Ataru is a reference to Bewitched, which was a huge hit in Japan. The Japanese mis-translated Samantha's husband Darren's name as "Darling.") When Japanese retailer "Gentleman's Fashions no Aoki" opened branches in Taiwan, they inadvertently altered the local language: the の particle is so convenient to write it caught on with the Taiwanese, who started substituting it for 的 teki, the character that performs the same grammatical function in Chinese.

It's also Azusa-no-Tanojobi today.

Cool Products Wednesday, November 13, 2013

November 13, 2013, 2:24 am

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For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. You can view all new J-List products by clicking this link.

Today's New & Restocked Items

Huge Update of Anime Calendars Posted Every year J-List stocks hundreds of excellent calendars from Japan, which feature huge poster-size pages and beautiful glossy printing. We got in a big order of excellent anime calendars today, with dozens for you to browse and buy, including Attack on Titan, Psycho-Pass, Railgun, Infinite Stratos and more. view this product »

	Awesome Kyoani Calendars Posted Today We also carry the gorgeous calendars of Kyoto Animation, which are very hard to get inside Japan. Grab your calendars quickly!		Other 2014 Calendars, Too We also posted a huge update of gorgeous calendar of Japanese idols and actresses, cute dogs and even JAV stars, if you're into that.
	Dragon Age Dec 2013 This super-thick monthly manga magazine is popular with J-List customers because it offers so many pages of new fanservice manga people love.		Dengeki Girl's Style Dec 2013 Dengeki Girl's Style is a bimonthly magazine dedicated to all the awesome otaku girls (fujoshi).
	Arpeggio of Blue Steel Vol. 1 & 2 Check out our new manga by Ark Performance about cute battleship girls and exciting naval warfare action. Enjoy Vol. 1 & 2.		Other All-Ages Manga Posted See some fun manga posted, including the ultra moe Hyperdimension Neptune Comic Anthology, Kamisama Drop + Touhou.
	Koakuma Ageha Dec 2013 Pick up the latest super issue of Koakuma Ageha for fans of the popular Harajuku influenced fashion world.		Restocked 'Moe' Encyclopedias We love to carry those awesome books that give us useful information in moe form, like famous witches in history and literature. Click to browse!
	We Love Shimapan Some of the best things in life are striped, and we carry a variety of shimapan for cosplay or other uses.		Popular 'Otokonoko' Products We have a nice update of products for fans of Hideyoshi and Yukimura, if you know what we mean. Great for "trap" fans.
	Awesome 'Hachimaki' Headbands Channel the spirit of Japan or use these to focus your concentration in study or in life -- these headbands will put you in the right frame of mind!		Sexy Photobooks Restocked See a nice update of sexy photobooks, including one dedicated to the "Absolute Airspace" between a girl's thighs.
	PlayStation Vita TV Play your favorite anime games on in your living room in beautiful high-def. Fully compatible with all the anime and moe games J-List sells.		Great Moe Games for PS Vita Score some great Japanese import games from Japan, which are fully compatible with all Vita hardware, incl. the new Vita TV.
	Prepaid iTunes Japan, PSN Cards Score some awesome anime, JPOP or Japan-only iOS apps for your iDevice, or browse a world of Japan-only PSN games from Sony!		Gorgeous Anime Figures In Stock See our gorgeous anime figures in stock from kawaii pop star idol Ranka Lee, to yandere girlfriend Kotonoha Katsura, and more.
	Anime Playing Cards See fresh stock of our anime playing cards, or "trump" as they call them in japan. Enjoy Evangelion, One Piece and more!		Japanese 'Fude' Pens and More Practice your Japanese shodo (calligraphy) skills without the mess of preparing a brush and ink, thanks to these great brush pens.
	Morinaga Choco Ball - Cola Morinaga's Choco Ball is a delicious treat from Japan, and now they've made it a little weirder by adding cola flavor.		Puella Magi Madoka Magica Wafers vol.5 (Set of 2) Japan's shokugan culture continues to thrive and these cool trading cards by Bandai are here to show you why!
	Kyoto Candy, Other Japanese Snacks Posted Enjoy the traditional candies from Kyoto and all across Japan, in lovely shapes and colors. We love selling traditional candy like this.		Japanese Snacks Restocked Our amazing selection of deliciousness from Japan doesn't stop, with many yummy favorites. Check out the yummy matcha Picola.
	Gorgeous New Bento Boxes A nice update of traditional and stylish bento boxes, including the new Pink Sakura 2-tier bento + others restocked. And all on sale!		Mini Rice Cooker A stylish rice cooker from Japan that's perfect for dorm rooms or small apartments. Cooks 1.5 cups of rice easily!
	Random Bento & Kitchen Items Try our tools for cutting sandwiches and seaweed into cute shapes, now restocked. Plus, this month only, they all have x2 points!		We Love Kawaii Tea + Coffee Cups from Japan Someday we'll tire of posting really awesome tea and coffee cups to the site for our customers to browse. Today is not that day.
	Warm Hand Lotion Dual action moisturizer and body warmer, this body cream will protect your skin from the winter cold. Only from Japan.		Sake Related Items Too Why drink sake out of a boring cup when you could use an awesome traditional sake cup from J-List? Also see our sakebito shirt!
	Fun Traditional Products Posted A nice update of our most popular owl-shaped Japanese tea cups, plus Lucky Cat and other fun traditional items.		Sailor Moon Chopsticks Just a reminder: the Sailor Moon chopsticks are selling fast, and fans should get their orders in as quickly as possible. Thanks!
	NakaImo, Danganronpa, and Strike Witches Figures We have a huge update of Anime figures for preorder today including Nakaimo, Danganronpa, and Strike Witches.		Love Live! Beach Queens Figures WAVE's Beach Queen figures are among the best figures we've seen, and now you can preorder these kawaii idols from Love Live!
	Female Hunter Kirin Nendoroid Preorder this cool Monster Hunter Nendoroid figure from Capcom that comes with some great accessories and additional facial expressions.		Robocop 1.0 Play Arts Kai Action Figure From the remake of the classic sci-fi action film series, Robocop, comes this cool Play Arts Kai Action Figure of Robocop.

New and Restocked NSFW / 18+ products

	Super Kawai Real Gal Amateurs If you love hot Japanese girls with awesome style and looks, you'll love this new hardcore digest magazine coming with tons of action pictures and 2 DVDs.		'Super Pose Book' Ero Artist Photobooks Nana Ogura poses for Manga Illustrator in this nude super pose photo guide. Smoking hot, and a great reference for artists too!
	Kuikomi wo Naoshiteru Hima wa Nai 2 The much awaited volume two of Joji Manabe's popular hentai manga series, Kuikomi wo Naoshiteru Hima wa Nai is here!		Rennyu Tales Talented bishoujo artist momi presents an outstanding ero manga with some of the hottest and cutest girls we've ever seen. Plus more h-manga selections!
	Fun Ero Manga Restocked New restocked H-manga including Ijimetai Oppai Hajimemashita, Oshikake Riot, Hentai Kansoku, Boy Meets Harem, and more!		Updated Selection of Artbooks Artwork of Masamune Shirow, the renowned artist behind Appleseed and Kokaku Kidotai (Ghost in the Shell), and many more great artists.
	Gorgeous New 'Cast Off' Figures Fans of legendary bishoujo illustrator Tony Taka will love this cast off figure of Rikka Himegami from Tony's original illustration series; T2 Art Girls Saihate no Shirayukihime.		Silicone Beautiful Girl The Tamatoys crew bring men a new high quality stress relief toy, made of new genre of silicon that makes your onanie experience better than ever.
	The Best Parody Onahole Toys Enjoy the best parody dolphin polishers Japan has to offer, from Accel World to Attack on Titan to Railgun. Because stress is bad.		Fellatio Hole with Saliva Lotion The newest genre of personal stress toy are onaholes that simulate a really excellent B.J. from a cute anime girl. Click to browse.
	Sword Art Online, Other Parody Onahole Toys Experiment in fun ways with these onahole which accurately simulate the experience of anal. Silica is willing if you are!		High Quality Japanese Condoms, Lotion We stock popular personal products from Japan, including the thinnest and best condoms in the world and awesome lotion. Browse now!
	DEARDROPS is Back From MangaGamer, Deardrops is now at a lower price, making it an even better reason to pick up this great title.		'Authentic' Eroge from Japan We've got dozens of great titles for you, stocked and ready to ship. Check out hardcore titles like Immoral Hospital Ward and Warrior Woman Minerva.
	100 Million Idols! 8 Hours Blu-ray Special! The KMP/Million label has gathered an awesome new compilation in Blu-Ray, featuring 100 hot stars from the late 00's to today, for the first time in HD!		AV Debut - Mayu Sato 6 months was a long wait for fans of the SOD Star labels, which always bring some of the cutest and hottest stars to AV.
	Prestige Premium Treasure - Aozora Yamakawa For those who still have to discover the cute Prestige girl, Aozora Yamakawa, or simply for fans who want to complete their collection.		Reversible 'H' Shooter - Chika Arimura The hot Chika Arimura looks fantastic in this nice adult parody of Black Rock Shooter, a high quality cosplay focused release brought to you by TMA.
	Outdoor Lesbian If you're a Yuri fan and can't get enough of schoolgirls love dramas, you'll absolutely love this new lesbian release from Hibino.		Ecchi Anime DVDs, Too Enjoy Japanese hentai releases, including the futanari masterpiece Milk Pot, plus Bakunyu Maid Hunting by the famous Mogudan (all volumes).

Restocked Ero DVDs, Blu-Ray Finally, a healthy helping of popular DVD and Blu-ray titles restocked, including "I Became H With Hatsune Miku," the always-popular Flat Tits Twin Tail Collection, 8 Hours, Aimi Yoshikawa Super Best and First Nakadashi Onsen Trip, Rental Bishoujo 8 Hours, Super Escape with Shunka Ayami, plus Futanari JK Lesbian Stalker and more! view this product »

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The PS Vita TV is Here!

November 13, 2013, 2:25 am

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Everyone is excited about the newest game console to be released. We're not talking about the Playstation 4 or Xbox One, mind you, but the brand-new PS Vita TV, a super-awesome "micro-console" that plays the many, many anime games, visual novels and Hatsune Miku pantsu viewers rhythm games on any HDTV in gorgeous quality yet is very inexpensive itself. As with all Sony game platforms, the PS Vita TV is fully region region free and very otaku friendly, allowing you to play any game you life from anywhere in the world. The PS Vita TV also supports streaming and remote playing of PS4 games, as well as Internet video streaming, though compatibility with these services might not be supported outside Japan. It'll also play anything the Vita plays, including PSP and PSOne, and will work with U.S. PSN accounts. So why not order a PS Vita TV from J-List, along with some awesome games?

More Ships, Moe Problems

November 13, 2013, 2:26 am

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I've been watching an anime about naval ships represented by super-cute moe girls. You may think I've gotten my hands on a pre-release version of the upcoming anime for Kantai Collection, the popular game in which the Japanese ships of World War II are reborn as anime girls, but in fact I'm talking about the new anime Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio, aka Arpeggio of Blue Steel. In the year 2039, several fleets of mysterious sentient warships suddenly appeared, laying waste to the navies of the world with unearthly weapons and blockading all trade between countries. Each of the advanced ships is represented by kawaii anthropomorphic avatars called "Mental Models," who naturally come in twintail, tsundere and similar varieties. No ship can stand against the invaders, except for I-401, a submarine with a mysterious girl named Iona as its avatar, who seeks out Gunzo Chihaya, the son of the famous commander who was victorious against the invaders 17 years ago, and asks him to become her captain. It's quite a good show with a unique world-view and enjoyable characters, and I'll keep watching for sure.

Did you think it was KanColle? Too bad, it was just Arpeggio of Blue Steel!

Japan Jobs Best Done by Gaijin

November 13, 2013, 2:27 am

≫ Next: The "Common Sense" of Japanese Anime Companies

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In Japan there are certain jobs that best performed by gaijin, a word that means foreigner, though in practice it nearly always refers to Westerners rather people from nearby Asian countries. Someone playing Santa Claus for Japanese children will have more of an aura of wonder and mystery if he's a foreigner, and the same is true of the cast members at Disneyland, since having an American or European actress playing Cinderella is just more magical than a Japanese person would be. Near J-List there's a wedding hall called Georgian House which attempts to recreate the splendor of early 18th century England in its architecture. In addition to having real gaijin ministers to marry couples (though they're just English conversation teachers making some money on the side, I know a few of them), the photography staff is also made up of foreigners, which lends an extra je ne sais quoi to the atmosphere of the place. Recently Japanese consumer products company Sunstar started running TV commercials for fluoride-enriched mouthwash. The commercial features a foreigner wearing a white lab coat and holding a clipboard, so you know the product must be effective.

Certain jobs should be done by gaijin.

The "Common Sense" of Japanese Anime Companies

November 13, 2013, 2:28 am

≫ Next: Cool Products Friday, November 15, 2013

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A couple of updates ago I wrote about the word 常識 joshiki, meaning 'common sense,' and how one of the worst things a company can do is attempt to do business in one country while operating under the joshiki of another. Doing this creates a kind of "perceived schizophrenia" which causes stress among fans, who wonder what in the hell Japanese companies are thinking when in reality they're just operating by a different set of mental rules. While J-List is loaded with awesome 2014 calendars from Japan, don't bother looking for AKB48, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu or Johnny's-kei calendars, as the companies that manage these artists have found it more profitable to force fans to join fee-based fanclubs and sell calendars to them directly. (No, non-residents of Japan are never allowed to join these clubs.) The reason for those $100 Sailor Moon T-shirts is similar: Bandai decided to sell these direct to customers, jacking the price way up and removing distribution to third-party shops like J-List. (It's not our fault!) I remember hearing that Japanese companies excelled at "long-range thinking" but this is a real knee-slapper: in reality they're terribly conservative and would rather make too few of a product than risk it sitting around in a warehouse, which is why we encourage fans go get your Sailor Moon preorders in as early as you can, lest the item(s) you want be removed from the site. Other things that can be frustrating to dedicated fans include when Japanese companies sell products via lottery, or when they make limited edition Gundam models or Pokemon 3DS units but make no way for people outside Japan to buy. The Japanese companies aren't trying to frustrate us on purpose, they're just handicapped by trying to operate a global business with fans all over the world while maintaining a "common sense" that's only compatible with the Japan domestic market.

Sometimes it's impossible to figure out what companies like Bandai are thinking.

Cool Products Friday, November 15, 2013

November 15, 2013, 2:51 am

≫ Next: J-List Loves PS Vita!

≪ Previous: The "Common Sense" of Japanese Anime Companies

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For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. You can view all new J-List products by clicking this link.

Today's New & Restocked Items

Animedia Dec 2013 Enjoy more great art and cool omake with a new issue of Animedia. A great way to check on the hottest shows whether currently airing ones or upcoming like Magi Season 2, Kuroko no Basket Season 2, Attack on Titan, Free!, Little Busters ~Refrain~, Infinite Stratos 2, Unbreakable Machine Doll, Yowamushi Pedal, Kyoukai no Kanata, and other great shows. Also get free omake stuff like an exclusive Infinite Stratos 2 Clear File and Free! Post Card. Supplies limited so get one now! view this product »

	Bomb Dec 2013 Welcome to November edition of Bomb magazine, a super offering for fans of Japan's lovely bikini and JPO Pidols.		Kyubey Kigurumi Blanket From Puella Magi Madoka Magica comes this cute blanket of the iconic mascot, Kyubey, allowing you to make your own contracts ^_^.
	New All-Ages Manga Enjoy the new issue of Nakayoshi (w/Sailor Moon content!), My Live with Suima san, new Shirow manga + more.		Watamote Official Fanbook We have great news for Watamote fans, the Official Fanbook is now available at J-List. Packed w/ lots of fun stuff and illustrations fans will certainly love.
	Huge Update of Anime Calendars Enjoy a special 2014 with your favorite anime series on your wall We oisted a large update of great calendars to browse over the weekend.		Kyoto Animation Calendars, Too We also go out of our way to carry the Kyoto Animation calendars, which are gorgeous and which always feature 100% original art. Browse now.
	Naruto Calendar, More The large Naruto calendars are always a hit with our customers, and today we also got in fun Naruto chopsticks too.		Dragon Ball Z...Hair Wax? This is cool: officail Dragionball hair way to make your hair stand up just right. You can re-fill it with any other hair product when you run out.
	Cool Touhou Backpacks Show your love for Touhou with our great selection of Touhou Bags that's nice, spacious, and with lots of compartments. Perfect for school.		Warm and Soft Spats, Shimapan & More Keep your behind warm this winter with an extra soft pair of Japanese spats. Also great for protecting against panty-shots.
	Over Knee High Socks One of the must have fashion styles for all girls and young ladies alike, the over the knee sock style is one we also love to carry.		Random Cosplay Products Posted Anime glasses so you can look like your favorite anime character. Our plush "poop hat."Moe eye patch, and more!
	Octopus Ball Maker - Takoyaki Electric Cooker Takoyaki or breaded octopus conveniently shaped into small bite sized spheres, is a popular food item originating from Osaka.		Woody, Danboo Revoltech In Stock And we've got a lot of wonderful figures in stock today too, like the super cute chibi Kurisu figure from Steins;Gate and the curious Yotsubato robot.
	Attack on Titan Swing Set of 5 Fans of the epic anime Attack on Titan will want to check out this cool Attack on Titan Swing Set featuring your favorite characters.		Colossal Titan Tea Strainer & Mug Cup Set Oh, my! The Titans have invaded your mug! Check out this cool Attack on Titan Mug Set featuring the Colossal Titan as a tea strainer!
	Cute Anime Cups, Tumblers See fun anime cups in stock, including Totoro, Hello Kitty, Pokemon and more. Cho kawaii!!		Fun 'Mug Cups' Restocked Speaking of cups, we love to find rare coffee cups from Japan and post them to the site. Browse today's restocked items now!
	Smart Pants 2.0 Set of 8 ~ Panties for your Phone? Those wacky Japanese underpants are back. Now in brand new designs for your iPhone or Android phone to wear!		Hatsune Miku iPhone 5 Cases Looking for some new Vocaloid stuff? How about a case for your iPhone 5 featuring beautiful artwork of your favorite virtual idols? Click to see.
	PlayStation Vita TV The latest Playstation hardware from Sony is here, the Playstation Vita TV is now available at J-List for our customers worldwide!		GOD EATER 2 Wield giant weapons against colossal monsters in this sequel to the hit monster hunting game + more games restocked.
	Star Wars Ice Cube Makers Restocked The most popular Star Wars product in J-List's history is restocked. Enjoy Han Solo in your bourbon, or try making chocolates or vodka Jello shots!		Kawaii Japanese Crafts Restocked Also, the awesome kami nendo or "paper clay" molds featuring the cute character Mousse-chan are restocked today. Molds are reusable for other crafts!
	Bath King Fizzing Bath Tablets Japanese families love to take baths, and whenever possible at an onsen (hot spring) with others. See today's restocked bath items.		Kanji Notebooks Restocked Great tools to help you learn Japanese, with text books, note books, pens, and official Kanji training booklets.
	Huge Update of New J-Snacks Meiji's entry into the "stick" snack market, these are crunchy, this is Meiji Fran. Also check out Oreo Nuts Praline Chocolate Mini Bar plus other yummy snacks.		Felix the Cat Bubblegum, Other Restocked Snacks A big update of restocked snacks, incl. Kracie Choco Neri liquid candy, Oreo Macadamia Nuts, Country Ma'am cookies + more.
	Big Restocking of Totoro Bento Friends and family are very important, and no one knows that better than the lovable Totoro. Browse our selection of Totoro bento now!		Lucky Owl Soup Bowl and Chopsticks Set for Gift We found this gorgeous Lucky Owl Soup Bowl and Chopsticks Set that's perfect as a present for couples. Check it out.
	Cute Totoro & Spirited Away Chopsticks In Stock We have a huge update of kawaii chopsticks featuring Totoro and Kaonashi (no face) from Spirited Away. Click to see.		Fun Accessories for 'Deco' Bento Super cute and super easy to use, these great bento accessories will have you creating delightful lunches in no time. Checkout what's back in stock.
	Cute Cat Wall Scrolls Decorate your home with some very kawaii wall scrolls. We've got two new ones added today, just for our customers who love cats.		Restocked Traditional Items. A wonderful item from Japan for your vehicle: a lucky charm that says kotsuu anzen or "safe driving" with a mikoshi or portable shrine attached.
	Kimonos, Traditional Footwear for Summer Live the life of a samurai with our geta and sandals for the traditionalist. Several varieties restocked today, including extra large sizes.		New Sailor Moon Products. "Change your music life" with this cute Sailor Moon Earphone with a design taken from Sailor Moon's iconic Crystal Brooch plus a Luna cord slider!
	Miki Hoshii 1/7 Figure ~ THE IDOLM@STER 2 Idolmaster fans are in for a treat with this gorgeous figure of Miki Hoshii based on her Evergreen Leaves costume from The Idolmaster 2.		Leafa 1/8 Figure ~ Sword Art Online Leafa is ready for preorder with this wonderful figure by Kotobukiya. Sword Art Online fans should not miss this.
	Free! Charapuka Figure Box Set Fans of Kyoto Animation's Free! will love this set of figures featuring your favorite handsome boys from the swimming club. Preorder now.		Even More Preorder Figures And see our other wonderful preorder figures including Shining Ark's Shanon, Vividred Operation's Vivid Yellow, and Senran Kagura's Ikaruga.

New and Restocked NSFW / 18+ products

	Short Hair de First H 2nd J-List carries the best of best Japanese ero magazines, featuring a wide range of genre, amateurs and stars. Click for today's new titles.		Beautiful 2014 JAV Calendars We got in a big volley of the most popular ecchi 2014 calendars, with all your favorite JAV stars and sexy models.
	Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou 4 In this fun romantic comedy manga, humans live alongside cute monster and animal girls like centaurs and harpies. Volume 4 out!		Other Ecchi Manga Too We've restocked our favorites including Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou, Mahou Senshi Clover Witches, Bitter Sun Rapturous Moon, Innyu Mazo Oyako, and more.
	Naughty Anime Figures Yet another big update of popular anime figures with naughty "cast off" features, incl. Senran Kagura, Walkure ROmanze and To Heart2.		Cocoro @ Function! A new visual novel set in the future, where a mysterious computer program allows people to broadcast their thoughts brings you & 5 cute girls closer than possible.
	Moe Ana Trinity Special Hole Here's a fun new toy for self pleasure made of realistic materials called "bungee touch." Definitely the most fun you can have while relaxing alone.		Onnanoko no (i) ~ Learning to Love Boy, people really love this new onnahole toy, which is super realistic and a great way to take the edge off at the end of the day.
	More Parody Stress Toys If you love cute anime girls like Misaki from A Certain Scientific Railgun, we've got some Japanese stress toys you might like.		Other 'H' Toys Too We have a huge update of other popular toys, including a Fellatio simulator, Nurse CQ Clinic, Girls Fight, Hello Kupa Body Hole + more.
	Perfectly Erotic Hips! 8 Hours The Bazooka label releases this awesome Blu-Ray compilation featuring 21 gorgeous girls: Haruki Sato, Risa Kasumi, Anri Okita and many more... In HD.		Miracle Lost Virgin - Erina Nagasawa Alice Japan introduces a unbelievably cute cherry girl, Erina Nagasawa, who performs for the first time while we watch.
	Beautiful Blonde American Girl - Lala Brooks Then see a new work featuring a Japanese AV director taking on Lala Brooks, an American actress who is surprised at the things they maker her do.		Brazilian x Japanese Paipan Bishojo - Elen Experience the allure of haafu, half Japanese and half Brazilian, with this lovely new ero release.
	No Mosaic Lesbian The Lady x Lady label understands Yuri fans better than any other and shows it in this mosaic-free new release.		Yulia Nova DVDs Restocked J-List, of course, is the place to find the delightful Yulia Nova, the Russian idol who the Japanese love. Big restocking today!

More 'Ecchi' DVDs and Blu-ray Titles Finally, enjoy a healthy selection of ero titles, including Futanari Lesbian Complete Box and Newhalf Complete Box, amazing Flexible Girls Who Love Girls, Waap Super Best 6 Hours with Reiko Kobayakawa and Sarian Takeuchi, Nozomi Asou's Beautiful Lady's Deep Kiss and Lewd Lip (whatever...), the Finest 10 Moments in the career of Yuma Asami, plus *50* H scened with Hitomi Tanaka, lovely! view this product »

J-List Loves PS Vita!

November 15, 2013, 2:51 am

≫ Next: Evangelion vs Kill la Kill

≪ Previous: Cool Products Friday, November 15, 2013

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Remember that J-List stocks the cool PS Vita TV, a super-awesome "micro-console" that plays anime games and visual novels for the PS Vita on your big screen TV. Like Sony's other platforms, the Vita TV is region-free and will play compatible games from any region, though please note that currently it's not possible to log in with PSN accounts from the U.S. or Europe. You can of course create a Japan PSN account with one of the handy prepaid cards we sell, which gives you access to demos and other Japan-only content, or play compatible shrinkwrapped Vita games from the U.S., Japan etc.

Evangelion vs Kill la Kill

November 15, 2013, 2:52 am

≫ Next: Some Japanese Grammar: Iru and Aru

≪ Previous: J-List Loves PS Vita!

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"The distance from Earth to space is the same as from Tokyo to Hakone, about 50 miles/80 km." This was a tidbit from a Japanese trivia show which illustrates that outer space isn't really all that far away, about the distance of a short drive from Tokyo to Hakone, a pleasant area near Mt. Fuji. I'm planning a trip to Hakone with a friend next week, and since it's the setting for Evangelion, I thought I'd re-watch the Rebuild of Evangelion movies so I can figure out what 聖地 seichi "holy lands," e.g. real places that appear in anime, we want to visit. There are a lot of changes in new movies compared with the original 1995 series, including tightening the story and tweaking the characters. (Asuka is less of a classic tsundere, for example.) Another change is the arrival of Hollywood-style product placement, and everything from Lawson Convenience Stores to Yebisu and Kirin Beer to UCC coffee and Doritos is clearly visible to viewers in the new films. No company benefited from the trend towards product placement and anime cross-marketing than Pizza Hut, who signed promotional deals for everything from Code Geass to Oreimo to the new Eva movies, raking in money whenever otakus in Texas or the U.K. or Santiago, Chile get hungry for some pizza while watching anime. I'm quite happy when they put real products in anime, like the official Totoro caramels or those Grave of the Fireflies candies, since it allows us to share an emotional connection with products the Japanese also love.

After finishing up with Eva for the evening, I was still in a Gainax-ey kind of mood, so I turned on a few episodes of the new Kill la Kill. (It's not actually a Gainax show, but is made by the director of Gurren Lagann and some animators from Hideki Anno's animation studio Khara, so it sort of is, spiritually.) Kill la Kill is a hard anime to describe: it's basically Gurren Lagann meets Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt meets スケバン刑事 Sukeban Deka, aka Delinquent Detective Girl, an 80s TV series about a street-tough high school girl who fights crime undercover using her "battle yo-yos." Everything about Kill la Kill is meticulously designed, from the low frame-rate style of the retro animation to the outrageous battles in each episode, and it's just what the doctor ordered for fans who are feeling a touch of "harem anime fatigue." A lot of the references in the show will doubtless fly over the heads of most foreign viewers, such as the character Mako, whose design is based on a 1982 anime called Macchingu Machiko-sensei, and the flamboyant fighting scenes are an homage to a 1986 series called Hono no Tenkosei, or Blazing Exchange Student. Of course, "Gainax" has a long history of extensively referencing classic anime series: one of my favorite shows is Gunbuster, the story of the battle between humans and an alien race that spans 12,000 years...yet it's all one big homage to a 1970s tennis anime called Aim for the Ace.

I'm a fan of the frenetic "Gainax" anime Kill la Kill; the trend of product placement in anime.

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Some Japanese Grammar: Iru and Aru

November 15, 2013, 2:53 am

≫ Next: Cool Products Monday, November 18, 2013

≪ Previous: Evangelion vs Kill la Kill

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I often talk about the various unique aspects of the Japanese language, in part because I just think languages are cool, but also in the hopes of helping anyone interested in learning Japanese get their bearings. Naturally Japanese is very different from English, featuring a different word order (SOV instead of SVO as we use in English), the ability to casually omit the subject and object in sentences if the meaning is clear from context, and so on. One aspect of Japanese grammar that proves challenging for students early on are the verbs います imasu and あります arimasu, which both mean "to exist [in a place]." The catch is that imasu (pronounced ee-mahs) is used for animate objects, anything that's alive ike a person or a cat, and arimasu (ah-ree-mahs) is for any inanimate object. A good basic sentence might be, 私は東京にいますが、家は大阪にあります watashi wa Tokyo ni imasu ga, ie wa Osaka ni arimasu, which means "I am in Tokyo, but my house is in Osaka." I remember tormenting my teacher with questions about these verbs, asking which I should use if referring to an android that was indistinguishable from a human, or an undead zombie, or a Venus Fly Trap, as my brain sought to define the boundaries of the new concepts I was learning. When I came to Japan I happened to meet a small child who mistakenly referred to cars driving down the road with imasu instead of the correct arimasu (the cars move, though they're not alive). I felt a strange kinship with her, since I might have made the same error myself. (For the record, the Japanese staff of J-List reports that zombies and robots would use imasu since you can interact with them, but all plants would use arimasu.)

Another example: Where is the scary clown? He's standing right behind you.

Cool Products Monday, November 18, 2013

November 18, 2013, 1:31 am

≫ Next: Fuku-bukuro Season has Started at J-List!

≪ Previous: Some Japanese Grammar: Iru and Aru

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For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. You can view all new J-List products by clicking this link.

Today's New & Restocked Items

New Masterpieces of 100 Eshi Generation 2 The much awaited volume 2 of New Masterpieces of Eshi (Artists) is here! As the title suggests, this huge and thick artbook has gathered 100 of Japan's top professional bishoujo and moe artists to present their works of art for the whole world to enjoy. Features works by Coffee Kizoku, Range Murata, Kantoku, Tony Taka, Haruhi character designer Noizi Ito and more. A truly special book that all collectors should own. view this product »

	Animage Dec 2013 Here's a new issue of Animage, the magazine that has shaped how we view animation more than any other.		Madoka Magica The Movie Official Manga! Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: The Rebellion Story is now adapted in manga form written by Magica Quartet and art by Hanokage.
	Yotsubato & Danboo Products In Stock It's been a great year for Yotsubato toys, and we posted some great ones. See the Monochrome Animals figures plus the awesome Danboo speaker system!		New Figures In Stock We have the awesome Danganronpa Monokuma figure in stock, plus Youko Kurama from Yu Yu Hakosho, plus Hentai Woody and more!
	Monster Hunter Earmuffs Check out our brand new Monster Hunter Earmuffs that's so cute, soft and cuddly you don't want to be without one.		Monster Hunter Slippers Also, we've got cute plush slippers to keep your little feets warm during the winter, great while playing MonHan!
	Awesome 2014 Anime Calendars In Stock We've got a ton of great 2014 calendars available, from Kuroko's Basketball to Ganganronpa to Blur Exorcist and Railgun.		2014 'Moe' Calendars Available, Too We love to stock calendars by Japan's top artists, like Coffee Kizoku, Shirow and Tony Taka. Browse and preorder yours quickly!

J-List Fuku-bukuro Lucky Bags Available Now! In Japan, they have a fun custom around New Year's for stores to sell sealed "lucky bags" filled with unknown contents to customers, which feature items valued at much more than the price of the bag. These "fukubukuro" grab bags are so popular, you can see lines of customers waiting to buy them at department stores. By customer request we've posted these grab bags to the site early so you can grab the grab bags you want, and perhaps use the contents as Christmas gifts. view this product »

	S Cawaii Dec 2013 S Cawaii (Super Cawaii) is a wonderful Japanese fashion magazine following the latest trends in Tokyo, and we just got the new issue in stock.		Japan Fashion Trends We've picked up some great fashion items from the streets of Shibuya and Akihabara, for both cosplay and daily wear. Check out these new items.
	Even More Shimapan Restocked Japan wouldn't be Japan without wonderful shimapan, the striped panties seen in anime. We have size M and 5L in stock.		Gorgeous Japanese Striped Socks And we've got some fun accessories you'll want to have around. We're especially big fans of these over-the-knee socks from Harajuku.
	Plush Poop Hat, Cute Nyanpire Nekomimi Hat From the always-popular Plush Poop Hat to stylish Nyanpire Nekomimi Hats, we've got what you need to be otaku cool!		Popular Anime Magazine Subscriptions J-List carries the best anime, manga, hobby and ero magazines by monthly subscription. We now offer Dengeki Girl's Style!
	Cute Plush Toys + Yutanpo Hot Water Bottles Be warm this winter with a Japanese designed yutanpo, perfect for the eco-conscious, in a cute bear plush style.		The Japanese FUTON set for KOTATSU (Pink) We have stylish new futons (blankets and bottom sets) for your kotatsu, a great way to keep warm all winter long.
	SAKURA Hole Puncher You know what's cool? A hole punch which, instead of making boring round holes, makes cool sakura shaped holes and sakura petals to scatter around.		Professional Manga Pens, More Restocked Get some great Japan-only pens to make your art look better than ever, including the official pens used by manga artists + more.
	Customized Japanese Calligraphy Board You can get any message written in Japanese, via our custom calligraphy service. Our native Japanese staff will help you pick just the right kanji!		Japanese Study Items From gourmet goodies, to super study tools for killer kanji, we've got just about everything you need, for any level of Japanese speaker.
	Today's new Japan Snacks See some great new snacks from japan today, including Soft Oreos which are delicious to eat, plus Meiji White Born and more.		Bubblicious Energy Gum Bubblicious, the juicy gum bursting with flavor with every chew, is also in Japan with phenomenal Japan-only flavors for you.
	Wasabi Related Products Posted Enjoy delicious spicy wasabi with the wasabi we posted today, including related products like Rice Crackers and Pretz and Wasabi Mayonnaise.		Restocked Sakuma Drops, Other J-Snacks Finally, see great restocked snack items, including Grave of the Fireflies candies, Lotte Drink Mix Candy, Shigekix Energy Drink Ramune soft candies.
	New and Restocked Bento Boxes We love bento boxes and are having a great bento sale this month. See new sakura themed bento boxes + traditional items we love to stock.		Bento & Kitchen Lucky Bags Posted Our customers enjoy getting random items form Japan through our Fuku-bukuro or Lucky Bag system, and we've got a nice bento lineup this year, too!
	Cute Bento + Kitchen Products Restocked See a nice update of traditional bento items too, including Mini Microwave Steamer, Spring Onion Cutter, Bento Tweezers for making "decoration bento" + more.		Kawaii Wiener Shapers We've restocked several cute Wiener Cutters which turn boring sausages into cute flowers, penguins and other shapes, which are so much fun.
	Shisa Spirit Gardians One of the most famous images of Okinawa is the shisa, stylized lions which are a fixture on the island. New display item today!		Year of the Horse Traditional Products 2014 s the Year of the Horse and we've posted great horse-themed products to make your home or office look beautiful.
	Sailor Moon Mobile Charger We're loaded with Sailor Moon products, from figures to plush toys to the Moon Stick pens, pointers and more. Browse the top items now!		Girls und Panzer All Purpose Rubber Mats We have two lovely rubber style play mats featuring the Anglerfish Team from the fun anime; Girls und Panzer. Preorder now.
	Akane Isshiki & Aoi Futaba 1/8 Figure From the fun anime Vividred Operation, here's a superb figure of Akane and her best friend Aoi posing together, through the magic of white spandex.		New Beach Queen Figures For Preorder It's always summer with these cute and sexy Beach Queen figures. See our new Vividred Operation and Oreshura selections.
	Wendy Marvell 1/8 Figure Swimsuit ver. ~ FAIRY TAIL Fans of the action adventure anime Fairy Tail, check out this sweet figure of Wendy Marvell aka the Priestess of the Sky.		Kuroneko 1/7 Figure MIZUGI ver. ~ Oreimo And for all you Kuroneko OreImo fans, you've got to see this kawaii, gothic lolita swimsuit figure by Orca Toys. Can you resist her cuteness?

New and Restocked NSFW / 18+ products

	Fuku-Bukuro 2014 - Adult/Sexy Set Every year our customers go nuts for these ecchi grab bags which are filled with top quality naughty stuff. Grab a grab bag now!		Smoking Hot Photobooks Posted Enjoy the Unbalance offering of hot MILF Marina Shiraishi, plus "How to Draw Manga" photobooks, which happen to be very sexy.
	Sister and Me ~ Onesan to Boku A young man is forced to live with his stepsister who happens to be the hottest teacher in his school. New ecchi manga by Kino Hitoshi!		Inya Kouro ~ Traveling Down the Shadow Road A nice hentai volume brought to you by Tenjiku Rounin and Wooooo! featuring hardcore sex and fantasy stories that will blow your mind away.
	Epic Ero Manga Too A healthy update of ero manga too, including TS I Love You for futa fans, the popular Bishoujo Club, the gorgeous naughtiness of Analism and more.		Ecchi Artbooks Restocked A nice update of ecchi artbooks today, including the popular Hinata Katagiri, Samurai Bride, Push! Illustration Carnival and more.
	Onnanoko no Karada ~ Love is in the Air This is a new air doll from A-One, which you can use with the popular Onnanoko no (i) toy series for a very special time.		Catgirl, Monster Girl Onaholes See fun new onahole toys, including the Trick Girl Cat Girl simulator, "Onashee" (ona sheet) monster massager + more.
	'Air Dutch' Dolls, Sexy Twins Onaholes Enjoy fun "Air Dutch" (apologies to our friends in The Netherlands), with several popular love dolls restocked today, plus similar onahole toys.		The Legendary Cat Tail Butt Plugs are Back One of the biggest hits of 2013 so far is the Cat Tail Anal Plug, which turns the wearer into a cat with a real tail! Restocked for you today.
	Awesome Massagers from Japan We've restocked some other fun products for our female customers, including Nipple Attack, the only nipple vibrators you need, really.		Today's Recommended English Eroge We love eroge because there are many themes to explore. In Otoboku, you play a guy who pretends to be female in school, with sexy results.
	Yakata ~ Kannou Kitan (House of Pleasure) A great Japanese import "H" game in which you play a lucky man who must choose between a wealthy heiress and her two daughters.		Top Import Eroge from Japan See restocked eroge too, incl. the USB powered toy + 3D Custom Girl games, Fault!! Service by Tony Taka, Sangoku Hime and the first Rance game!
	Ai Uehara 8 Hours Special Collection 2 Ai Uehara fans will love this nice 8 hour compilation from Crystal, gathering 4 sexy titles on Blu-Ray and HD for the first time.		Perfect Black Gal - Nana Ogura If you love Black Gyaru and Nana Ogura you will love this new Max-A release, in which Nana-chan appears all tanned and oiled up, in this new Max-A title.
	Drunken Czech Girls Czech is known for being the world's 1st alcohol consumer, and the Japanese staff from Apache is determined to get their hands on hot drunk Czech girls!		Cheerleading Club Lesbian Training Camp Another wacky release from Rocket, this time showing us off what happens backstage of an all-girl cheerleader unit!

Lots of Restocked Ero DVDs & Blu-ray Finally, see a great new update of ecchi titles, including that bizarre Plush Toy "H" that grabbed our customers' imaginations, plus the AV debut of Mayu Sato, Aimi Yoshikawa Super Best Collection, Black Long Hair Bishoujo starring Mana Sakura, Three Play Lesbian Special and more, Kana Yume as the Bishoujo Slave Pet and Dream Gymnastics Girl, plus hentai anime that you will love. view this product »

Fuku-bukuro Season has Started at J-List!

November 18, 2013, 1:35 am

≫ Next: Beyond Maid Cafes

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Announcing the start of Fuku-bukuro Season! Every year J-List prepares Japanese "grab bags" filled with great products for you to discover, from random Japanese figures and plush toys to bento boxes and related products to some very ecchi items. This year we've got a great lineup, including Anime & Toy, Bento & Traditional, Doki Doki Random and the always popular 18+ Grab Bags. Each grab bag contains a value of up to 2x its price, so why not grab some grab bags now and enjoy cool random stuff from Japan?

Beyond Maid Cafes

November 18, 2013, 1:36 am

≫ Next: All About Wasabi

≪ Previous: Fuku-bukuro Season has Started at J-List!

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Maid cafes have become one of the more famous images of modern Japan, and when foreigners visit Akihabara they'll often make a point of visiting one of these establishments and ordering omurice with a heart drawn on top in ketchup. But no industry can survive without evolving, and the basic maid cafe concept often shows up with interesting variations, such as Imouto Cafe Nagomi (the girls all pretend to be your younger sister, calling you oniichan as they serve you coffee and cake); a "role playing cafe" where customers and staff all pretend to be attending a school in a fantasy kingdom; St. Gracecourt, a "sister cafe" where the waitresses pretend to be nuns; at least one "trap" cafe based on this game; and various "butler's cafes" for girls, including one staffed by handsome gaijin men who say "yes, my princess" to female patrons. There are other fun "concept cafes" to explore, such as the now-famous cat cafes where you can play with friendly cats while enjoying some slow time for yourself, a "planetarium cafe" at Haneda Airport where you can drink coffee while looking at the stars, and Capcom Bar, an official bar celebrating the company's contributions to pop culture. The place I want to go to is the Thunderbirds Cafe, which is filled with classic memorabilia from the 1960s British sci-fi series by Gerry Anderson.

Some interesting "concept cafes" in Tokyo.

All About Wasabi

November 18, 2013, 1:36 am

≫ Next: Strange Things You Might Hear in Japan

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There's a lot of food to love in Japan, from sushi and sashimi to large nabe (pot dishes) like sukiyaki to delicious tonkatsu (breaded and fried pork cutlet) topped with Kirino's sauce. While the Japanese aren't generally into eating food that's very spicy -- Indians and Koreans secretly laugh at them for being unable to eat really hot curry or kimchee -- they do love to flavor certain foods with wasabi, a spicy green paste that's often called Japanese horseradish. Wasabi is very good with sushi and sashimi, as well as cold noodle dishes like soba and udon, and nothing cleans out the old sinuses like using a little too much wasabi in your food. The wasabi root is cultivated in different parts of Japan, most notably Shizuoka Prefecture near Mt. Fuji, but it's very hard to grow as it requires perfectly clean water and a specific type of climate. As with most interesting things you encounter in Japan, wasabi has a long history, being first mentioned in official documents in the Nara Period, 1300 years ago. If you're curious, we've got some great wasabi-related products on the site today, along with cookbooks in English for you to get cooking ideas for Japanese foods.

I'm a big fan of spicy wasabi on sushi and sashimi.