Anime has really gotten big in the U.S. in recent years, changing the face of popular culture as people are more in sync with the anime world. This isn't a new phenomenon in Japan, of course, where animation has been a part of everyone's lives since the old days of Mighty Atom, Giants no Hoshi and the original Gegege no Kitaro. One thing I've often noticed is that the voice actors -- seiyu in Japanese -- in anime are often extremely famous in Japan, with many of the top stars essentially becoming household names. When legendary voice actor Yasuo Yamada, who provided the voice of Lupin III, died in 1995, it was a national tragedy, and everyone grieved to lose the original voice of Lupin. (He was replaced by a comedian who did Lupin III impersonations on variety shows.) Some other voice actors who are well-known to the average Japanese person include Akira Kamiya, voice of Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star, the muscular Kinniku Man, and Ryo from City Hunter, and of course Tohru Furuya, who's played Amuro Rei from the iconic Mobile Suit Gundam along with a host of other roles. Perhaps the most famous voice actor of all is Nobuyo Oyama, the voice of the lovable robot cat from the future, Doraemon. When she retired in 2005, my kids stopped watching the show entirely, since they couldn't accept Doraemon with any voice other 
than the original. My wife watches lots of American TV dubbed into Japanese, and it's quite fun to play "pick the anime voice actor" while watching an episode of CSI: Miami with her. Oh, that's Inspector Zenigata!
One thing I've noticed is that people from all countries will reduce complex words into smaller chunks to make them easier to work with. In Japanese, it's common for various words to be abbreviated and reduced, to make them easier to say, especially English words which can be cumbersome when rendered into the Japanese phonetic system. For example, the Nintendo Entertainment System was sold here as the Famicom, short for Family Computer; similarly, if you want to go out to eat at a restaurant like Denny's or Coco's, just ask for the nearest famires (family restaurant). Words that are hip with young people tend to get abbreviated the most -- such as diji-kame (digital camera), ge-sen (game center) and sutaba (Starbuck's). Often companies will go out of their way to get people to think of their products in these abbreviated versions, advertising names as Pure-ste (Playstation) or Dora-Kue (Dragon Quest) to make them more familiar to customers.
The Japanese are famous for being polite, even when visiting Presidents throw up in the lap of the country's Prime Minister, as Bush I did on a visit here. It's quite silly, but when I first game to Japan, one small bit of culture shock for me was feeling that stop signs were "rude," because they used the informal command verb tomare ("Stop!") rather than some longer, more polite form. Although the Japanese generally are considerate, there are times when foreigners like me might consider what they do to be rude. First of all, the Japanese love to read over a person's shoulder, and if you're typing something in Japanese on a laptop, well, don't be surprise if a crowd gathers behind you. My mother taught me not to reach over people's plates when eating dinner together, but to ask for someone to pass the item to me; apparently the Japanese didn't get that memo, as it's common here to reach across the table to get what you need while eating. Similarly, Americans don't usually drink soup out of bowls, however it's almost a requirement that you do so here, since there are no spoons. Oh, and while eating any noodle dish like ramen or soba (not spaghetti!), you're expected to slurp your noodles as loudly as possible, and not doing so will likely elicit comments about how quietly you eat.
We've got some good news for fans of PC dating-sim games: the newest title from G-Collections, Snow Sakura, is in stock and shipping now. A super game that will appeal to a wide range of gamers, Snow Sakura puts you into the role of Yuuji, an average Japanese youth surrounded by a circle of beautiful girls (lucky guy). Although you grew up with your energetic cousin Saki, why Kozue, enigmatic senpai Rei, ditzy Misaki and your clumsy teacher Misato, for some reason you can't remember much about those days, only that you made a promise to one of the girls under the magical Snow Sakura tree, which somehow blooms year-round, even in the dead of winter. A great game in the tradition of the best interactive visual novels from Japan (*cough* Kanon *cough*), that we recommend for its great story and characters. Best of all, we've decided to give everyone a little present, and have lopped $5 off the price of the game for all new orders as well as existing preorders. This super game is now it's in stock -- make your order now!
Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.
 | Transformer Encore 03 Soundwave. First, we've gotten in some more fun Transformers toys in stock for you, with cool retro styling and (of course) full Transformability. This is Soundwave, the 80s style ghetto blaster that was so cool back in the day, and still is. |
 | Sunshine Buddies Handy Eco Bag. The Sunshine Buddies series is all about being kind to the Earth, since they run forever via the magic a solar power. Here's a cool related item: a cloth "Eco Bag" that you can carry easily. |
 | New Japanese Snacks. Got some delicious Japanese snacks for you today, including Toppo in Coffee Mousse & Milk Cake flavor, delicious chewing gum called Purumi, and new Hi-Chew soft candies in (wait for it, wait for it...) Aloe Yogurt flavor! |
 | Dengeki Maoh Dec 2007. This is a great magazine published each month featuring a fabulous phone book 'o manga, with 500+ pages of top stories like, Tales of Symphonia, Basara and more, as well as lots of free stuff for you. |
 | Restocked 2008 Calendars We've gotten in a bunch of great new 2008 calendars for anime fans, including the fabulous Studio Ghibli calendar (loaded with *all new* Studio Ghibli illustrations, which often provide insights for fans), Bleach, Death Note and many more. But this will likely be the last stock of many of these items, so don't delay. |
 | Various Anime Figures Ready to Ship. We've gotten several of the preorder figures on the site now, including the amazing "Girl with No Name" with awesome cowboy hat and old west gun, the coolest Tachikoma you'll see in a long time, and more. |
 | Hello Kitty KAIUN Chirimen Magnet with Lucky Charm. A cute item for Sanrio fans, this is a kimono fabric Hello Kitty plush toy with a magnet inside, that you can put it on your fridge, the white board at work, etc. Also brings good luck! |
 | Restocked Hello Kitty Merchandise. We've gotten in lots of fun Sanrio items today, including the Hello Kitty eye mask, the Hello Kitty Tight 2-Tier Bento Box, and a favorite item of mine, the Hello Kitty Onigiri Maker, which makes Kitty-shaped rice balls! |
 | Kanji de Manga Vol. 5. A useful book for learning to read kanji in the best way possible, through the visual medium of manga. A popular series that we recommend a lot. |
 | Otoko Moe Soundrop -- Full Set of 6. "Moe" (mo-EH) is the primary concept in otaku culture today, describable as the warm, fuzzy feeling you get when contemplating your favorite anime character. This is a great Soundrop series featuring the most excellent yaoi / BL / bishounen archetypes. |
 | Miku Hatsune Nendoroid Figure *Preorder*. Miku Hatsune is the amazing computer generated idol, a popular CG character who sings in a voice that's completely artificial, thanks to an incredible software program from Hitachi. Now you can have this amazing character on your desk. Yes, she has the stupid onion in her hand. |
 | Restocked Kitchen and Bento Goods. Various back-in-stock bento and kitchen items today, including the cute Panda-shaped bento boxes, our popular Cup Noodle Mug Cup, and authentic chopsticks from Japan. |
 | Even More Delicious Snacks from Japan. Finally, see some great restocked Japanese snacks, including Meiji Wata-Pachi cotton candy w/ pop rocks inside, Hi-Chew Peach Soft Candy, Black Black Caffeine Candy, and Toppo in French Style Caramel Mousse. Yum. |
 | Snow Sakura is Shipping. As mentioned above, Snow Sakura is in stock and shipping now! Best of all, we've decided to give everyone a cool Christmas gift by lowering the price by $5, to say thank to our fans for their support. |
 | The Top DVD Magazine No. 109 Sep 2007. The Top DVD Magazine tracks the top JAV actresses and DVD releases, and is a great way to stay on top of the always-changing video world in Japan. Comes with a great 200 minute DVD, too. |
 | New "H" Manga from Japan. Two great "H" comics from Japan for you, with great themes for fans of ropes and tying. First there's Lustful Glance with eight chapters of nonstop action, then Inbaku Byoto with stories centering around obsession, futanari and more. |
 | Restocked Manga, Too. Today's restocked manga volumes include the amazing Voluptuous Woman by Grifon, You must be a Incredible "M," Doubles, futanari super work Hatsu-Inu, It's Okay to Look, and the oddly named visual treat Alignment You! You! Click to view these items now. |
 | Shizuka 1/8 Cast-Off Figure ~ Queens Blade *Preorder*. A super "cast off" figure from Queens Blade, with clothes that can be, er, cast off. Fabulous detail, great for displaying in your home or office. |
 | Ultimate & Extreme Bobbers Selection 4 Hours. We just love titles like this -- so wacky, it could only come from Japan. If you love girls with very large oppai, you should bag this super 4 hour DVD release from Million. Kyoko Ayana, Mai Haruna, Megu Ayase, and many more! |