This month I will be flying to Japan to do some sightseeing and meet with some old friends! I actually haven’t been to Japan in 11 years, so I’m curious as to how it’s changed. It’s also an opportunity to see how my Japanese has improved (or degraded) in the time since I’ve been gone!
I have posts planned for the weeks that I’m gone, so you’ll still be able to enjoy my posts in the meantime.
As for this month’s special Patreon sponsors:
General:
Johnny Trovato
Ko Ransom
Alex
Diogo Prado
Sasahara Keiko fans:
Kristopher Hostead
Yoshitake Rika fans:
Elliot Page
Hato Kenjirou fans:
Elizabeth
Yajima Mirei fans:
Machi-Kurada
Following up on last month’s poll about reviewing the new manga series Kimi xxxru Koto Nakare (or Kimi nakare for short), I decided to go with the good ol’ fashioned blog format. It’s where my strengths lie, and while I’m open to challenging myself by making YouTube videos and such, I’m just the kind of person who best expresses himself in writing. You can read the first chapter review here, but if you can either read Japanese or at least want to follow along visually the manga is actually free.
That being said, I’ve considered making videos just to help me practice and get better at speaking, which is more of a holistic quality of life change than anything else. I made a couple a while back but I just haven’t kept up. Though, I did just recently appear on the Veef Show podcast to talk about Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.
This month’s Genshiken review is the first after the conclusion of the Madarame Harem story, and it’s basically a prelude to a new school year. I loved this chapter because of all of the fantastic Ogiue presence in there, but I might be a tad biased.
Other articles that I think readers should check out are my look at the volleyball manga Shoujo Fight and its stylistic similarities to what is sometimes call “OEL manga,” as well as a sponsored post discussing the Popularity of Plushies among anime fans. Actually, Shoujo Fight reminds me that I never finished The V Sign, which is a classic volleyball title, and I really should get back to it.
I’ve also begun participating in a site called senpai.co as a reviewer. While Ogiue Maniax is my main focus, and Apartment 507 is my opportunity to try and reach a different audience, senpai.co is a convenient place to give some quick thoughts about recent anime that has a greater sense of permanence than Twitter.
Last topics for this month:
- I’ve been considering changing my blog design to something that doesn’t look quite so outdated. What do you think?
- I want to revive Gattai Girls. Is there any series people really want to see discussed?
OGIUE MANIAX 
Have a safe trip.
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Thank you!
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If you are staying for 2 weeks or more, these folks worked for me. You can set up from N. America over the phone as long as you have a mailing address in Jp to send the package to.. and an unlocked smartphone that does 2100mhz.
http://asahi-net.jp/en/service/mobile/lte/
Otherwise, plenty of cheap travel sims avail about the same cost if only staying a week, but i like thes folks.. No I get no commish
Use LINE for Jp, GVoice for N.American calls. Don’t expect too much free wifi.
Godspeed!
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More grotty details..
And of course, it gets even more complicated. Those travel sims are all data-only. A voice number means rental (expensive) or prepaid (also need the co’s phone), passport, address, blood sample, voodoo curse and a few other security things so that you don’t ORE ORE some grandma.
Best option: unlocked android 4.4 or better dual sim smartphone with LTE 2100 band capability. MVNO data sim as above for data. Prepaid sim regged up with a used flip-phone for voice. then retire ketai and pop into sim slot #2.
Hate this? Get a work visa and an address in Japan, then it will be Y1600 per month.
If you are only there for a week, go data only, grab a Y3000 data sim at the airport. There for a month or more, Asahi,net and Softbank, Y9000, carry a used flip phone ketai (from softbank, “white rom”, aka not hot) for voice and sms, android phone for data.
Btw, per your tweet, some Jp web sites want a Jp phone number and sms a confirmation back to you to register. I’d lend you my Jp ketai number, which I re-activate every year when I visit, but the conf sms wont reach it here in NA.
I have a few used Softbank ketai, but beter to ask a Jp friend to meet you at the airport with something found in their folks or friend’s kitchen drawer. Just make sure the company is the one you plan to get a prepaid plan for, and have Y3000 cash ready, as the gummint part of the initial prepaid reg-up is cah only. The rest at the airport will take your NA credit card, unlike in-town phone co kiosks..
And that’s the easy part of the drill.. (grin!)
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Have a blast in Japan! I just got back to the US from Japan a couple weeks ago, and I would agree that now is the time to go. Really nice weather in spring! I’d love to hear about your trip in a future post.
In response to your #2 above… I don’t really watch that many “giant robot” anime, I guess, so there are only a few shows I can think of off the top of my head:
1. Would you be willing to take on Evangelion with Rei and Asuka? They seem like two of the most visible females that I can think of in the giant robot genre, if not in all of Japanese pop culture fandom! (Okay, sort of joking with that last bit…)
2. I recently re-watched Aldnoah.Zero, and this time, I really noticed just how many women they have in that show! Granted, none of them are THE main character, but the women from Earth (as opposed to the women Martians, to an extent) are shown to be competent and important in the battle sequences. I would put Yuki, Inko, and Rayet up for consideration. Nina probably doesn’t count because while she does pilot something, that “thing” is a large SHIP and not a large robot.
3. Also, I hesitate to suggest it (because even though I love it, I know it’s ridiculous in every way), but would you ever consider including Code Geass in your “Gattai Girls” series? There are a number of named female characters from the first two seasons (I haven’t seen the OVAs yet) who pilot giant robots: Kallen, Villetta, Cornelia, Cecile, C.C., Nagisa, Anya, and even Euphy!
That’s all I can recall at the moment. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
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