Anime

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For many people around the world, the first word that comes to mind when talking about Japanese pop culture is anime. Like manga, it has entered the youth vocabulary and needs no translation. Perhaps the main reasons it is such a big industry in Japan are that it has always been taken seriously and it has the diversity to appeal to all age levels, as has the manga format that gave birth to it and continues to seed it with new ideas. Popular manga sell in the tens of millions, so the fan base for any new manga-based anime is huge and loyal. Commercialism is never too far away, of course, and many popular kid's anime series have been developed to further the interests of toy and game makers rather than artistic integrity.

Tezuka Osamu (1928-89) is considered the father of anime in Japan. Like his U.S. counterpart Walt Disney, he was a renowned mangaka (cartoonist). He adapted one of his own manga to bring anime to the TV screen for the first time in 1963 with the legendary Tetsuwan Atomu (Mighty Atom), better known outside Japan as Astro Boy. The boy robot may have been cute, but the robot "mecha" genre that Tezuka and his disciples developed in the 1970s were far less so. The huge popularity enjoyed by series such as Gundam in the 80s still continues today and has spawned many other successes. Perhaps the most notable was 1995's ground-breaking Neon Genesis Evangelion (still image above) and its three movie spin-offs. That series started out as a post-apocalyptic mecha action series but later branched into the psychoanalysis of its characters. This is said to have been based on director Anno Hideaki's personal battles with depression and psychotherapy. Such is the depth and seriousness that underpin many anime productions.
There are as many anime genres as there are types of live action movies, varying from science fiction to melodrama to porno. There's shojo (like Sailor Moon) for girls, shonen (Dragon Ball Z, pic) for boys, kodomo (Anpanman or Doraemon) for younger kids. And then there's ones focused on baseball (Kyojin no Hoshi), soccer or just about any popular sport, street racing (Initial D), historical themes (Hotaru no Haka)...you name it.

Because of the language barrier, it was long thought that Japanese anime feature movies would probably never achieve much commercial success outside their homeland. But among those in the know - and following the 2002 Academy Awards that meant just about everybody - they have recently become so successful and popular that a special category, 'Japanimation', has been created for them. Usually people think of cult classics like Akira or Ghost in the Shell, both of which live up to Japan's image as a futuristic techno-world, or the elaborate fantasy worlds created by Studio Ghibli.
Ghibli, Japan's answer to Disney, is also home to its most famous anime director, Miyazaki Hayao. The studio has turned out a string of hit fantasy movies during the last few decades, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Oscar-winner and the most successful Japanese movie of all time, Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, 2001), and Howl's Moving Castle. Like the recent Hollywood animated features from Pixar or Dreamworks, these movies can now enlist the voice talents of major stars, giving them yet more marketability. The success of the Ghibli productions, supported by distribution through Disney, has given a real impetus to the industry and helped raise the profile of other recent big productions like Innocence and Steamboy. Despite all this success, the vast majority of anime movies never make it beyond Asia or last beyond the life of their marketing campaign even at home.

Hit TV anime series continue to be a popular source for movies. But these are almost always just extended versions of the TV shows and have little appeal beyond their captive audience. Many, such as Pocket Monsters, Anpanman or Crayon Shinchan, are also aimed very much at younger kids. They draw fans to theaters - especially during summer vacation - but make most of their money from the rental market and merchandising.
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Sony Corporation

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Sony Corporation is one of the world's largest companies are still growing until now and have almost all electronic products from small to large. distribution of products can be found in every country in the world, because of good management business.

Incorporated as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo in 1946 by (1921~99) and Ibuka Masaru (1908~97). Changed to its present name in 1958 and grew into Japan's leading manufacturer of audio and visual electronic equipment. The Sony trademark is registered and recognized worldwide. The first Japanese company to offer shares on the US stock market. Creator of such products as the Walkman, the PlayStation and the AIBO, a pet robot dog. The AIBO was available only on the Internet in June 1999, and the limited run sold out in a few hours. Due to huge demand, Sony went through several design changes and sold tens of thousands of the "pets."

In 1972, the company established the Sony Foundation of Science Education, which supports a Japan-US high-school-teacher exchange program. Recently, the Sony Group was divided into companies including Sony Corporation of America, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Electronics, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Online Entertainment. In April 2001, formed Sony Bank Corp, Japan's first Internet bank and the first established by a non-banking sector company.

In 2005, Welshman Howard Stringer became the first non-Japanese CEO as the company found itself with several business sections operating in the red and the brand struggling to maintain its world-leading status. Several months after his appopintment, Stringer announced a major shakeup, with 10,000 job cuts among its 150,000 employees worldwide as part of a 3-year restructuring plan. Headquarters are in Tokyo.


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Working In Japan

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The economic boom in English-speaking countries like the US and Ireland together with the stagnation of the Japanese economy has made Japan a less popular working location in recent years. The chances of meeting a wealthy Japanese person in a bar or on the train who is willing to give you wads of cash just to sit and chat in a cofee shop are not what they used to be. But the obsession with learning English continues and the fact that it's still possible to get a reasonable, or better, working wage simply by virtue of being a native speaker of a foreign language continues to bring new faces to the country every year.

many people see Japan as a land of future opportunities. Changes to the economic landscape are being wrought by deregulation and the Internet and more foreign companies than ever are expanding into this, the world's second-largest market. Language and cultural barriers have long been embedded in the distinct Japanese style of doing business, but even this is beginning to change. There is hope for a higher English fluency rate in the not-too-distant future but teachers will always be needed.
Long-standing cornerstones of business practice, such as guaranteed lifetime employment and rigid keiretsu corporate affiliations are being undermined. Foreigners have been brought in to make some painful changes, such as the massive cuts at Nissan, that local managers just can't seem to bring themselves to carry out. So whether you're interested in making some yen to finance a back-packing trip around Southeast Asia or taking over the helm at a future multinational corporation, we hope we can be of some assistance.
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BONSAI (盆栽)

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Bonsai, on the other hand, means 'pot plant' and the art form involves raising living trees, often over a period of several years. While they are small, bonsai are not actually different from the trees we see around us, they are not miniature species. Rather they are small branches of a tree, carefully chosen, pruned and cultivated so that they look like smaller versions of their own species. They are also displayed in a way that shows off their best features, usually in a simple, shallow pot.

Bonsai is about the combination of the plant and the pot. There are many different styles of bonsai such as: broom style - a tapered trunk topped by a symmetrical area of foliage; cascading style - the pot is kept on a platform and the branches 'cascade' down below it; windswept style - resembles a tree that has grown up in an area exposed to strong winds. Saikei is similar to and often confused with bonsai, but is actually closer to ikebana. Different species of small trees as well as other plants, rocks and sand are used to create miniature landscapes.
Gardening in many forms has been enjoying something of a boom in Japan in recent years and those with limited space have been rediscovering the charms and challenges of this part of their native culture. As I said, bonsai are real trees in miniature and are not usually suitable as houseplants (some species have been developed for indoors). Usually they are hardy and can handle most weather. In fact, their growth may be adversely affected by artificial (ie. indoor) light and heat conditions, depending on your climate and the origin of the tree species. Even a small city apartment balcony can be big enough to build up a collection, something of an oasis for many urban dwellers. The smallest of bonsai, called mame (bean) can be just a couple of inches tall and a collection may also have trees a couple of feet high. The most popular are about 6 inches to a foot.
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Morning Musume

2:11 PM Posted In
Morning Musume Lineup as of April 2008:

Takahashi Ai, Niigaki Risa, Kamei Eri, Tanaka Reina, Michishige Ayumi, Kusumi Koharu, Mitsui Aika, and Chinese members Li Chun, Qian Lin.

(Former members in the order that they left: Fukuda Asuka, Ishiguro Aya, Ichii Sayaka, Nakazawa Yuuko, Goto Maki, Yasuda Kei, Kago Ai, Tsuji Nozomi, Abe Natsumi, Iida Kaori, Yaguchi Mari (photo below), Ishikawa Rika, Konno Asami, Ogawa Makoto, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Fujimoto Miki.)

When we worn-around-the-edges foreign veterans of Japan want to let off a bit of steam about the country's pop culture, one of the easiest targets (and believe me there are a lot of easy targets) is Morning Musume. By anybody's standards a cliched, manufactured money-spinning venture, this girl pop group epitomises everything we love to hate about J-Pop. The only problem is that some of their tunes are actually quite catchy. A lot of it is down to production and a group singing reasonably in tune being infinitely better than the nasal whine of a solo Kahala Tomomi or Morisaka Chisato.

Morning Musume started in 1997 as a five-girl unit put together on the TV Tokyo talent-search show Asayan by producerTsunku, up till that point best known as vocalist of the moderately successful group SharanQ. The criterion for being allowed to make their professional debut was to sell 50,000 CDs in five days. With TV crews on hand, the teeny tots (actually they ranged in age from 12 to 24!) did a circuit of stores and radio shows, made street-corner appeals and used the newly popular medium of e-mail to spread the word. Guerilla marketing is nothing new but with the kind of backing these kids had there was never any real doubt that they'd succeed. Their debut single Morning Coffee got to No 6 in the charts and next thing you know there's suddenly eight members in the group. Another couple of singles and there they were, at the top of the charts and the talk of the town. Their own TV show was a natural next step as well as doing the music variety show scene.

There's no doubt that these girls have ambition and worked hard to pull off their image as a genki, polished team. And while not setting any new standards for originality, Tsunku has managed to put together some half-decent pop songs. Their 2000 hit Happy Summer Wedding had an infectious enthusiasm and a catchy melody. It was definitely not a song you wanted to hear before going to work in the morning 'cause it would haunt you all day long.

There are now even spin-off groups, Pucchi Moni and Mini-Moni as well as groups made up of MM members and girls from other groups in the "Tsunku Family". It's has all been expanded into what's called the "Hello! Project", that includes over 40 girls and young women. From a marketing point of view, these various groups give unlimited ways to sell CD's and other products. The sad thing is that the Japanese market seems to have no saturation point for this stuff. Early 2001 saw the release of MM's first greatest hits album but with new blood added every so often - the youngest members are sometimes not even in their teens - these guys are going to be around for a while yet.

But girls will be girls. As some members have grown up as stars, they have also simply grown up. And that means boys. But as members of Japan's premier idol group, they are not allowed to indulge in relationships, even if they're already in their 20s. In April 2005, leader Yaguchi Mari was discovered to be in a relationship with a young actor and had to quit the group, though she was 22 at the time. Kago Ai was caught smoking at the age of 17 (the age limit is 20) and put on disciplinary leave for a year. But in March 2007, and still only 19, she was spotted by a weekly magazine spending the night at a hot spring resort with a man twice her age and smoking in his car. End of career.

That left Tsuji Nozomi, Kago's partner in the spinoff duo W, in the lurch. A new group was quickly put together for her, but then she found out she was pregnant and announced she was planning to marry a handsome young actor (well, at 26 Sugiura Taiyou was young but seven years older than her) known for playing the super hero Ultraman. That would make Tsuji just the third former Musume to get married, the others being Ishiguro Aya (2000) and Ichii Sayaka (2004).

With the constant morphing of all these spin-off groups and changing of members, it's hard work trying to keep this section up to date! 2007 saw the group's 10th anniversary and the arrival of the first non-Japanese members, with the addition of two Chinese teenagers. This was just the start of a new era for the group as, like other J-pop stars, it started to make the most of its large fan base across Asia. The first concerts in Taiwan and South Korea were announced for the spring of 2008.

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My Boss My Hero(マイ★ボス マイ★ヒーロー)

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Genre: Comedy, School
Total Episodes: 10
Japan Casts:
Nagase Tomoya(Sakaki Makio),Aragaki Yui(Umemura Hikari), Ichimura Masachika(Sakaki Kiichi), Kikawada Masaya(Sakaki Mikio), Murakawa Eri(Hagiwara Saki), Osugi Ren(Kuroi Teriyuki), Tegoshi Yuya(Sakurakoji Jun)

This drama tells about Sakaki Makio, also known as "Tornado" is a tough 27-year-old high school drop-out. By academic standards, he's pretty dumb. His father decides to force Makio to return to high school to receive his diploma and he asks an old friend who happens to be the principal of a nearby school to admit Makio. If Makio doesn't graduate, the position of boss will be given to his younger brother, Mikio.

Furthermore, he must pose as a 17-year-old during school hours and in the presence of any classmates or teachers outside of school. If his cover is blown, it would be the end of his high school career as well as his hopes to become boss. Things start out rough and tough as Makio's violent temper is tested. As the lessons and days go by he learns there is much more to school than just tests and studying.

this drama is similar to the korean movie with the same title, but the film does not clearly depict the life of makio day-to-day. Love story that is also just a girl with the introduction of the victories, while in the drama told how makio the love that is not aware and he is a natural first love. But makio know that the difference between the age limit for marriage in Japan is 10 years old(makio 28 years old, umemura 17 years old), then makio also failed to love umemura more and then makio know that umemura very hated yakuza, which is a profession makio outside the school as a yakuza boss
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The Sky Crawlers animated movie

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The Sky Crawlers

Japanese animation studio Production I.G’s new animated movie The Sky Crawlers スカイ・クロラ is based on the best-selling five-volume novel series of the same name by Hiroshi Mori
The books which have sold 800,000 copies tells the story of a fantasy world in which children living in perpetual adolescence are enlisted to be pilot fighter planes for public entertainment.

The animated feature which opened in Japan during summer is directed by Mamoru Oshii (”Ghost in the Shell”) with the film’s score written by Kenji Kawai 川井 憲次 (”Ghost in the Shell” and “Death Note”). The voice cast includes Rinko Kikuchi (”Babel”) and Chiaki Kuriyama (”Kill Bill: Vol. 1″).

The film breaks new ground in blending 2-D and 3-D animation techniques that are highly innovative.

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Lolita Style

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Lolita is a childlike innocence and old-fashioned elegance. It's distinctive style is most obviously from the Victorian and Rococo eras to look like porcelain dolls, but you will see a lot of influence from the Edwardian period and even some 40s and 50s American clothing styles - any time period in which fashion was elegant and beautiful. The bell-shaped skirt provides the typical silhouette, but it is neither what makes something lolita nor is it required of all lolitas. There is no one item of clothing or a color or trim that embodies all that is lolita - it is a unique aesthetic that's hard to perfect. To some there's a lifestyle attached - not only wearing the clothes as often as possible but also taking part in lolita activities and following a certain code of etiquette - but to others it is merely a clothing style. Lolita can be an escape from the mundane, or an attempt to return to a more innocent time in life. It's something a little bit different to everyone, but what lolitas have in common is a shared desire to wear really awesome clothes.

Elegant Gothic Aristocrat (EGA) (also sometimes referred to as Gothic Lolita Aristocrat (GLA)) is a line of Aristocrat fashion-style clothing created by Japanese musician and fashion designer Mana for his store, Moi-même-Moitié. It has branches in Shinjuku and Nagoya, Japan as well as online through CDJapan. Another brand that makes EGA/GLA-like clothing is Atelier Boz.

Aristocrat fashion as a whole is often labeled in Western fashion as “Elegant Gothic Aristocrat” or “EGA”, but the term applies only to the line of clothing in Moi-même-Moitié.

The style itself centers on the concept of androgyny and often has identical outfits for both men and women. The clothing is usually limited to black, white and dark colors, and the main image is founded on elegance and simplicity. EGA makes up half of the Moi-même-Moitié fashion lines; the other half being EGL, or Elegant Gothic Lolita, which differs from EGA in that it’s strictly dresses, combining Goth fashion with Lolita fashion: the image of expensive French porcelain collectors’ dolls.

The clothing lines are usually simple and tight, with pants or long skirts that stand in contrast to the Lolita style. Typical gothic piercings and tattoos are not particularly compatible with the clothing; however dark, heavy makeup may be worn by both sexes.

EGA is a preference among older people who feel they’ve outgrown or are too old for the Lolita fashion and Gothic lolita styles. Many of these people will turn to EGA as a more mature alternative
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L'Arc~en~Ciel (虹) History

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1991 Febuary, Osaka, Tetsu formed L'Arc~en~Ciel with hyde on vocal, hiro on guitar,tetsu on bass, and pero on drums. The name L'Arc~en~Ciel was chosen by leader Tetsu, and this name means "an ark in the sky " in french, which literally means rainbow. This was a name of a french movie that tetsu watched, and he thought that the name sounds nicehe chose it for their band name. Of course he wouldn't have known how much this name actaully can reflect their band right now, and probably become one of the most significant words in the late 90s of Japanese rock history...


In that year's May 30th, they had their first LIVE in Nanba Rockets, they became very popular inside the indies circle and from that point on they've started a lot of activities around Osaka. They had many mor elives in Nanba Rockets.

In 1992, guitarist Hiro left the band and tetsu called his childhood friend Ken right away, since they desperately needed a guitarist for a LIVE that's upcoming. At that time Ken's still in University in Nagoya studying architecture, and under Tetsu's pushing and persuading..Ken decided in 3 days that he'll stop his studies and return to Osaka to join L'Arc~en~Ciel.

After that they continued their activity, and in October 1st they recorded "Voice" for the Omnibus CD "Gimmick" And 1 month later, Nov 25th, they released their 1st single " Flood of Tears" (c/w Yasouka) and it was only a limit of 1000.

However, in Dec 30th, drummer Pero left the band after a LIVE performance at Osaka Music Hall. Tetsu then called up Sakura and asked him to be their drummer. However, they didn't even know Sakura, and Sakura was in Tokyo. Tetsu had just seen him in some lives before and thought of calling him up. Sakura doesn't even know L'Arc~en~Ciel either..but he still travelled from Tokyo to Osaka to see who they are. In 1993 Jan 16th, Sakura joined Laruku.

That year April, they released their 1st album "DUNE". However some songs were written by Hiro, and they couldn't use it in their album so they got in quite a lot of trouble. During the recording of DUNE laruku members had to live in the weekly mansions in Tokyo And the album " DUNE " got #1 in Oricon Indies Chart in May Then following they had the tour ' Close to DUNE", " Feel of DUNE" from June to the endof that year. It had been a lot of trouble for them since they live in Osaka, they always have to drive back and forth from Tokyo to Osaka in ther "laruku car". Tetsu was the driver because hyde drives so extremely slow that everyone couldn't stand him. and Sakura doesn't know the road very well and he always end up going in big circles and Ken's such a reckless driver that although Tetsu always falls asleep, he can't even sleep when Ken's driving coz he'd have to pay attention for him, and ending up not sleeping which made no difference..so he decided to drive. In Sept 93, all members of Laruku slowly moved to Tokyo to persue their career. But haido didn't really want to move to Tokyo..because he that would mean that he would not be able to meet his friends and parents very often,and Tokyo just seemed like a metropolis with not very friendly people..litte trees..dirty streets to him.

In 1994 Feb, there was a TV Special " L'Arc~en~Ciel Valentine TV Special" called " Nostalgic no Yokan" and in Sept, hyde stared in an Axia tape CM. Their success continued till 1997 with release of videos, singles, and tours and with their 1st million seller album "True".

Unfortunately, in 1997, Sakura was arrested for some drug related problem, and he officially left L'Arc~en~Ciel on 1997 Nov 4th. The release of the single "the Fourth Avenue Cafe" was also cancelled. Laruku then stopped their activities for a few months, and they came back in their Reincarnation 97 Live in Tokyo Dome with new drummer Yukihiro (ex DIE IN CRIES), breaking the ticket sales record of Tokyo Dome with a sold out in 4 min. They then released the album " Heart" and continued to release big hit singles like Winterfall, Dive to Blue, and they made it to the Kohaku of 1998 for their first time with their million seller single HONEY. In July 1st 99 they released 2 albums at once "Ark" and "Ray" and sold a 5 hundred million. They then had their national Grand Cross Tour 99 with over 650,000 fans. They then continue to spread their music to other parts of the world, and had a promotion trip to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand in Sept 99. They crossed the year 2000 with 55,000 fans in Tokyo Big Sight in Reset Live and also making their 2nd apperance in Kohaku, also releasing their 1st single in the new millenium NEO UNIVERSE/finale on Jan 19th 00. In the summer of 00, they released their album REAL, which again proved their talents as muscians. After REAL and REALIVE, they released their first best album Best Clicked Singles 13 with 13 songs all voted by fans across asia online. Their promotion even went over asia into the US and started a whole L'Arc America campaign. On top of that, their new single "spirit dreams inside" was used as an ending theme song for the movie Final Fantasy (spirits within) all across the world. Since then, each member began to indulge in their own solo work.

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