animerevue

Well, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and we're all getting ready for a wonderful Christmas around here. My family got in from Japan a few days ago, and the kids are fully into "American Christmas mode," shaking all the presents to try to guess what's inside. The holiday is a relatively recent cultural import to Japan, and Christmas there can be a little different from what you may be used to. To the Japanese, Christmas is usually more of an excuse to have a fun party than a solemn time for family, or more recently, an extra reason for parents and grandparents to spoil the kids by getting them something from Toys "R" Us. Christmas Eve is also a day for lovers to go on that special date, generally considered more important than Valentine's Day, and if you want to take your sweetheart out to a nice restaurant you might have to plan ahead a few months.

I'll never forget my first Christmas in Japan. I'd not expected the Japanese to be very religious, so after arriving in my city I was surprised to find myself surrounded by a kind community of Japanese Baptists who ran a friendly church complete with a kindergarten for the local children. I enjoyed observing my new friends and seeing how similar they were to folks in the U.S. -- there seemed to be no differences at all, other than the language. In the grand tradition of Americans living in Japan, I was asked to play "Santa-san" for the kids, and I had great fun ho-ho-ho'ing as I handed out presents, as always being careful to speak only English, since that's what language Santa Claus presumably speaks. (I've since donned Santa suits dozens of times -- there must be something especially Christmassy about my personality as seen from the Japanese point of view.) I was of course surprised to find that Dec. 25th wasn't even a holiday in Japan, and driving in a traffic jam on that particular day takes some getting used to, I can tell you. One unfortunate aspect of Christmas for foreigners who haven't been "in country" too long is homesickness, since Dec. 25th is always a hard day to be away from family, no matter where you are in the world. Bottom line, Japan is a nice place, but the best place to enjoy Christmas is home with the people you love. All of us at J-List sincerely wish you and your loved ones a wonderful and warm Christmas holiday this year!

Merry Christmas from J-List and illustrator Shikei (creator of Snow Drop)

I'll never forget my single days back in college, surviving on foods like frozen waffles, Campbell's soup, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and that great friend to the pool college student, Top Ramen, which could be had for 3 for $1 back in the day. Japan has its own varieties of "bachelor food" too, so easy to make that even a single guy could handle it. First and foremost is the category known as "cup ramen," which seems to be as close to the hearts of Japanese consumers as cold cereal is to Americans. There are hundreds of varieties, from cheap noodles in a styrofoam bowl to the high-end "nama type" noodles which are fresh, not dehydrated, for a more authentic ramen experience. Next comes Bon Curry, boil-in-bag curry that allows you single men who can't prepare Japan's staple dish from scratch to enjoy it nonetheless. Poor men living alone love to eat "sea chicken" (tuna fish) mixed with mayonnaise spread over rice with a dollop of soy sauce, too. Japan is a country that puts great store in doing things the "proper" way, and when it comes to a single man (or woman) living alone, this is defined by cooking rice using a rice cooker on a daily basis. When I was living alone, everyone I knew would ask me "Are you cooking rice for yourself everyday, as you should?" almost as a greeting, not unlike "How are you?" They were invariably amazed that a foreigner could wash and prepare rice for himself without help.

Looking for a special last-minute gift for someone on your list? Then look no further than a J-List Gift Certificate, which lets you send a great personalized gift in any amount to the person of your choice. The PDF-based gift card is fully customizable with a message from you, and it can be sent by email either to you or directly to your recipient. We also think the Japan iTunes Prepaid Music Cards are an awfully great gift to get someone who digs Japanese music, and since they can be sent via email too, there's no time delay. The J-List staff are working extra hours to process these orders as they come in, for extra fast processing, so 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.

	New Japanese Snacks. We've got some really great J-Snacks for you, including Mushroom Mountain in Caramel and Macadamia flavor, Meiji Chelsea candies (Hokkaido Milk), and a delicious item, Morinaga Koeda in Kiman Tea Flavor.
	Re-ment "Let's Go! Panda Class". Re-Ment is the company that makes really cute miniature toys, and the new series features something really cute: panda bears who are going to school. And baby pandas are definitely the cute thing for Christmas 2007.
	Cinnamoroll Shaped Lunch Box. We've got a cool new item for bento fans: a Japanese lunch box shaped like Cinnamoroll, the cute new character from Sanrio who makes you think of delicious cinnamon rolls. Comes with dual compartments for separating your food nicely.
	My Melody Curry & Stew Plate. Then, we've gotten in these super-cute Curry & Stew Plates featuring My Melody. These are deep plates especially made for enjoying foods like curry and stew, two treats the Japanese love to eat.
	Some Cool Traditional Items. Another nice item: phone straps featuring Ninja Swords on the ends, which you can attach to your cell phone, keys, Nintendo DS, PSP, or just about anything.
	Restocked Chocobo Plush -- White Mage ver. Chocobo is the super-cute character from the Final Fantasy games, and we've restocked our cute White Mage versions. A very huggable item from Japan!
	Progressive Knife Replica *Preorder*. Here's a rare item for the Evangelion fan: a replica of the weapons the EVAs used for close combat, rendered in safe PVC and plastic materials. Available for preorder now.
	Totoro *Jumbo* Playing Cards. My kids and I like playing card games (called "trump" in Japanese, using the British term), and these extra large Totoro playing cards are really great for large or small hands. I recommend them.
	Various Stationery Items. See some stationery items back in stock, including authentic origami paper (150 sheets included!) as well as tape that helps you learn hiragana -- fun!
	Finally, Restocked Snacks. Lots of snacks back in stock today, including the hugely popular "Melty" Kit Kat in Apple flavor as well as Vanilla Beans Kit Kat, Almond Crush Pocky, and Pretz in Tomato and Green Tea flavor!
	Sola Aoi in Doll House. How cool would it be to have the gorgeous Sola Aoi (aka Sora Aoi) trapped in a miniature doll house, going about her daily routine of bathing, getting dressed while you watched in through the windows? That's a question we'll leave up to the philosophers.
	New Manga Volumes. Today's new works include Ero Wife Communication, featuring plenty of experienced married women being naughty, and Love Affair, featuring eleven individual stories of extremely satisfying "H."
	Idol Forever -- Kyoko Ayana, Monbu Ran, Mai Sakashita. Next, enjoy three of the hottest JAV idols of the past, re-mastered to bring you the most detail possible. Big "oppai" queen Kyoka Ayana, delicious Ran Monbu (whose name sounds like the French dessert Mont Blanc) and the fabulous Mai Sakashita, are all waiting for you.

I've caught the "Lost" bug, and am enjoying watching the series on DVD here in San Diego. One interesting aspect of the show are the sub-plots involving Jin and Sun, a Korean couple who are marooned on the island. Since the husband doesn't speak English, there are large swaths of dialogue in Koran, which makes me think I'm back in Japan with my wife watching Hanryu Dorama or the South Korean soap operas that are so popular these days. Although Japanese and Korean have a similar grammatical structure, with "particles" that mark the subject and object of a sentence, and similar word order, the two languages are quite different. The only words I can pick out of Korean are Chinese-derived words, like "promise" "goal" "air current" and so on -- not nearly the level of ability to read Chinese that I get for "free" by leaning Japanese (about 20%).

When I came to Japan in 1991, I was extremely motivated to learn Japanese, which was a good thing since the idea that you can learn a language through osmosis just by living in that country is flat wrong. I took advantage of every opportunity to advance my studies, listening to JPOP music and watching anime and Japanese dramas, which helped me get lots of vocabulary input. When I encountered a Japanese person, I'd engage in a brief "language battle" with them to determine which of us had the higher language skills, and thus which language I'd speak with that person -- and I hated to lose. Then one day I was in Tokyo, looking for a coin locker to put my bags in, and a middle-aged salaryman who was clearing his out said "Please use this one" to me in English. I thanked him in fluent Japanese, but after that I realized that I'd done him a real disservice. This man would probably have only have a few chances to use his English each year, and yet I had stubbornly refused to oblige him. Since that day, I've resolved to speak English to Japanese people more, which usually causes their face to brighten just a little. And if you really want to make a Japanese person's day? Compliment them on their English and ask if they've studied in the U.S. or England. It's usually pure B.S., but they'll be happy all day long.

One thing gaijin who attain fluency in Japanese can attest to, though, is that the more you learn Japanese, the more some doors close. Japanese often think of foreigners as fun to be around, and part of that fun flows from both sides not being able to understand each other perfectly, which somehow makes us more "exotic." If you go out to karaoke with Japanese, they'll enjoy themselves more if you sing a ridiculous version of "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire than if you're able to belt out the latest enka hit by Daisuke Kitagawa. At bars and clubs, too, foreigners who don't speak much Japanese can find themselves more popular with Japanese girls than gaijin who can read all 1945 characters of the joyo kanji (the characters designated for "general use" by Japan's Ministry of Education, which defines what it is to be literate in the language). Foreigners who learn too much Japanese might find the dating scene to be somewhat different, too, as some girls who might be interested in the exotic feel of a "real" gaijin might be turned off by our extensive knowledge of the late Edo and Meiji Restoration Periods (stuff that the average Japanese never cares about). Of course, I wouldn't want to go out with a girl who was turned off by me having too much interest in her country and language, and all people are different -- my wife was interested in me specifically because of my fondness for memorizing odd Japanese proverbs.

Christmas is fast approaching, but J-List is still humming to get orders out the door in a timely fashion in both our Japan and San Diego orders. We've got thousands of great items in stock right now, from plush toys to 2008 anime calendars to our delicious wacky T-shirts and hoodies, let us know what we can do for you. If you're in a hurry, we highly recommend our ultra-convenient J-List Gift Certificates, which can be sent via email to you or to your recipient as a high-quality PDF for instant printing. Or, if they like music from Japan, consider giving them an iTunes Japan Prepaid Card, which let you buy all the best music from Japan for 150 or 200 yen per song, and they work great with your iPod and even the iTunes stores in your iPhone / iPod Touch!

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.

	Evangelion Police Costume Figures. Okay, these are just too cool -- a re-mix of the Evangelion girls Rei and Asuka dressed as police girls, or specifically, "Mini-Skirt Police" (it's kind of a Japanese fixation, don't ask us).
	Brand New Snack Items. Today's new snack items include delicious Aero Cocoa in Green Tea flavor, yummy Meiji Chopan Chocolate Millefeuille, and something delicious-looking called Zackl in Caramel Flavor.
	COSMODE 019 - Super Cosplay Magazine. This is the #1 magazine for fans of cosplay is COSmode, and this is another great issue filled with pictures of top Japanese cosplayers. You also get a pattern included in the book, too, as well as stickers.
	SHODO Calligraphy Brush. Shodo ("the way of writing") is the art calligraphy brush writing, and J-List has many products for people interested in this art. Here's a nice deluxe brush for calligraphy writing that goes well with other products we stock.
	CHO-CHIN Old Style Lantern ~ DARUMA. Here's a cool item: a traditional Japanese lantern shaped like a Daruma (aka Dharma, if you're a "Lost" fan). Decorate any room with this cool item.
	Totoro Scenery Music Box --Totoro Bus Stop. Studio Ghibli is the studio founded by Hayao Miyazaki to make his fabulous movies, and we've gotten in a great new ceramic music box of Totoro, Satsuki and Mei waiting at the bus stop in the famous scene from the movie.
	Restocked Hello Kitty Fluffy Hood. Keep warm this winter with the ultimate Sanrio item, a warm and fuzzy Hello Kitty Fluffy Hood that ties around your chin and protects your ears and head from non-cute coldness. Back in stock!
	Restocked Tattoo Girls Design Book vol. 2. Tattoos are cool, and very popular in Japan. Here's a book that shows you great pictures of what kinds of tattoos are being done in Japan, with large color photos in case you want to copy some of the work. Best of all, you get tattoos designed by the likes of Junko Mizuno. Back in stock!
	Detective CONAN Nurie Coloring Book. This is a very popular anime from Japan about a boy who solves mysteries. Now available in a fun "nurie" (nuri-e) coloring book for all ages.
	3D Oppai Mouse Pad -- Alice Parade ~ Lingerie version. We just love these 3D mouse pads, which really bring anime girls alive in, er, three dimensions. A fabulous item from Japan that's slightly "ecchi."
	Restocked Seven Days in Japan. Now you can visit Japan for under $10, with this great documentary made by student film director and anime fan Joe Doughrity, who fulfilled his lifelong dream of coming to Japan and made a DVD of it. Back in stock!
	More Interesting Pens from Japan. J-List has a great selection of unique pens from Japan, from easy-to-hold pens to meticulously crafted pens with tiny tips to pens for sushi fans. Today we're posting the Pentel New Stylish Gel Ink SLICCI pen set, a gorgeous set of multi-colored pens from Japan.
	Restocked Stationery Items, Too. See the StitchLock paper stitcher (which never needs staples), great restocked pens from Pentel and Signo, and more, too.
	Fresh Stock of Bento Boxes. Today we're restocking several bento items, including the Uneri Bento Box sets (both colors), elegant chopsticks, and other items.
	Ero-Kame ~ erokame. Super "H" magazine from the publishers of Urecco featuring some of the hottest JAV stars in Japan. Really great photography as only Japan could produce.
	Overflowing Love -- Ai Arakawa. Ah, here's a lovely photobook item for fans of beautiful Japanese women. You'll surely love Ai-chan's gorgeous "ecchi" pictures here.
	New Manga Volumes. Our new manga include New Equal Bloomers (aka Inner Bloomer), a great "ero" work from Toshiaki Kaneko and Megastore, and Girls Garden, featuring a collection of "H" game stories from the most popular games of today.
	Osana Najimi to Amaku H ni Sugosu Houhou Official Fanbook. Then here's a cool artbook for fans of the "H" game Osana Najimi, featuring art and character info from the game, with lots of glossy pages to drool over.
	Yulia 100-Shiki Cast-Off Figure. Here's a really amazing cast off figure, with clothes that you can remove (HEEHEEHEE). This is figure of Yulia 100 from the manga series by the same name. Top quality figure, available for preorder now.
	Outdoor Whale Shower -- Rio. Tina Yuzuki, the lovely half-Japanese, half-Portuguese AV star, has changed her name to "Rio" now, supposedly because she wants to make a change -- she wants to be less of an "AV idol" and more of an "AV actress" is what we're told by her management company. Either way, here's a bold new release from our favorite honey!
	Sports Acky! -- Akiho Yoshizawa (region 2). Get ready for more fun with Acky, aka Akiho Yoshizawa, in a wacky sports release from Moodyz. She does it all -- extreme volleyball, swimming, track and field, even traditional Japanese archery. Great for fans of Zenra Sports!

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!

Talking with people from other cultures often requires a sense for words that's quite unrelated to speaking a foreign language. Sometimes, someone says something to you that just makes no sense at all, and it's up to the deep part of your brain responsible for language processing to make the connection. Before I started studying the language, we had a Japanese foreign exchange student who stayed at my house. Once she praised me for something by telling me I was "good head." After more than a little confusion, I figured out that she was telling me I was smart, and this is indeed how you express this concept in Japanese (atama ga ii, lit. "good head"). Soon after arriving in Japan, I had a conversation with a student who was trying to tell me how good Mitsubishi vehicles were. "They are very good. They make...army's car. You know, boom!" My cranial density kept me scratching my head, until I realized he meant tanks. Whenever my wife comes to San Diego she has varying degrees of success communicating with my American family, who can't always figure out that when she says something about "the glass" being green all year round she's really talking about grass.

"I hate it when someone smorks in my face." For whatever reason, the English word "smoke" is often rendered as "smork" in Japan. The issue is how the Japanese perceive certain sounds, especially the "r" phoneme that's not familiar to them. Because Japanese is a syllable-based language in which you can express sounds like ka, ki, ku, ke or ko, but not the consonant "k" by itself, English words like "hello" "goodbye" or "beer, please" must be forced through this rather alien phonetic system, resulting in haroh (the final "h" representing an elongating of the previous vowel), guddobai and biiru puriizu. The very first fast food I ate in Japan was a McDonald's clone called First Kitchen (home of the world famous scrambled egg burger, yech), and I remember some confusion as to whether the company was First Kitchen or Fast Kitchen. Without the full repertoire of English sounds, the Japanese render the latter as fasuto and the former as fahsuto, with the longer middle vowel serving the role of the "r" in "first." This rule gets over-generalized in some words, which is why the long middle sound of the word sumo-ku (smoke) ends up as "smork."

Every year a single kanji character is designated by the Kanji Examination Association which represents the events of that year, and this year the character is...itsuwari, which translates as falsity, lies or deceit. It was a big year for being lied to in Japan, with many scandals in the headlines. First, the problems with missing Social Security payments, which meant that thousands of workers wouldn't get credit for money they paid into the system decades ago. Learning that the freshness date on the food they order may not be accurate also shook the trust of consumers in Japan -- McDonald's got caught changing the dates on salads so leftovers could be sold the following day, and they'd been doing it for years. The scandal at the Ministry of Defense, in which Deputy Defense Minister Yoko Yamada demanded various perks in exchange for the awarding of lucrative contracts, resulted in a raid on the Japanese version of the Pentagon by prosecutors. Today there was an official ceremony at beautiful Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in which a famous Buddhist priest wrote the character with a large calligraphy brush while hundreds looked on. The kanji for previous years have included inochi (life) in 2006, during which so many young people committed suicide; ai (love), after the birth of Princess Masako's daughter Ai in 2005; sai (disaster), in tragedy-laden 2004; and tora (tiger), celebrating the Hanshin Tigers victory in the Japan Series in 2003.

And still, the crack team of J-List employees is churning out packages left and right, making sure that orders both in Japan and San Diego go out in a timely manner. J-List's unique position, actually being based in Japan, really allows us to bring you a huge selection of mind-blowingly unique products from Japan, like our good luck Poop Hat, or those cool Santa Lucky Cat display items, or the cool Christmas ornaments we have on the site now. You can browse all new items using this link. Having trouble making up your mind what to give? We've got a few ideas for you.

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.

	New Year's Kagami Mochi. You can't think of Japanese New Year's without kagami mochi, the beautiful decorative "mirror rice cake" displayed in homes after New Years. Mochi (which is just white rice pressed into a firm shape) is one of my favorite foods. We've got several sizes and styles of this great seasonal treat.
	Delicious New Snacks. We've gotten in some great new J-Snacks today, including Meiji Coffee Beat (they look like coffee beans, but they're mocha chocolate), chewy Puccho candies, and more.
	Ryuk Book Stand ~ Deathnote. A fabulous item for Death Note fans, a set of bookends that feature Ryuk on both halves, top portion on one end and bottom portion on the other. An eerie and cool way to display your books.
	DX TOKONAME Ware of 12 Animals ~ Rat. Every year, there's a really special yunomi (traditional green tea cup) created in the image of the Chinese zodiac anime for that year. This is the cup for 2008's animal, the Rat, a real treasure. Collect one each year!
	Tetsuya Ishida Illustrations. This is a great collection of paintings by an amazing Japanese painter and illustrator. Absolutely fascinating the way he combines human beings with technology.
	Transformer Encore 01 Convoy. Check the coolness of Optimus Prime, whose name in Japanese is the slightly less cool "Convoy." Fully transformable and very detailed, based on the old school designs from the 1980s.
	Hello Kitty Mini Folding Speaker. Also for Hello Kitty fans, a cute portable speaker system that you can hook up to your iPod or other music player for cool sound anywhere. Also great for use as computer speakers.
	Illuminated Ear Cleaner. The Japanese are nothing if not clean, and we've gotten in a great ear cleaner that lets you really see what's going on in there.
	Studio Ghibli Items. Various restocked items, including the Totoro and Cat Bus 2008 Schedule Books, the fun Totoro Wall Pocket for organizing your room, and more stock of those soft, soft Totoro blankets.
	Study Items, Bilingual Books. Check out our back-in-stock study items, including bilingual books like Once Upon a Time in Jolly Japan, Family Style Recipes, and The Guide to Japanese Systems.
	DMM July 2007 with DVD (Region ALL). DMM is the new leading magazine of JAV culture, and each issue is loaded with delicious models promoting their newest DVDs. You get a killer DVD, too.
	Chocolat -- Shoko Hamada. Nothing is more exotic to the Japanese than English, unless it's French, which is why they love naming things Chocolat, the French spelling of Chocolate. And exotic is exactly the word we'd use to describe the gorgeous Shoko Hamada, with her cute but naughty smile.
	New Manga Volumes. Fabulous "H" manga for you today, including Love Juices Abound (with "nakadashi" themes), a new Insult Fighting Musume with lots of video game girl parody, and more.
	Kurumi Imari 1/8 Cast-Off Figure School Uniform ver. ~ Bible Black *Preorder*. Bible Black fans won't want to miss this outstanding "cast off" figure of Kurumi Imai, rendered in 1/8 scale with a uniform that can, ahem, be cast off. Preorder now.
	Petra 1/7 Cast-Off Figure Illustrated by Shunya Yamashita *Preorder*. We're big fans of Shunya Yamashita around here, whose gorgeous 2D illustrations looks amazing in three dimensions. This is a "cast off" figure based on one of his fantasy creations, which you can preorder now.
	Alice Pink File -- Bunko Kanazawa. A super *all remastered* Alice Pink File release from Kuki, with 240 minutes of her best performances remade with super detail, including visible "oshiri" just like in the indies titles.
	Kyonyu x Kyonyu - Super Oppai Special. A really special offering from Glay'z, featuring a huge number of pairs of kyonyu (large oppai), with top rated AV stars with cup G or greater working their magic on you.

Remember that J-List has a huge selection of delicious snacks from Japan, such as Pocky (all the unique flavors from Japan, not just the two flavors they sell at your local supermarket), all varieties of Japan Kit Kat including Green Tea, rare and fun chocolate treats like Meltykiss, and much more. Most snacks are available by the case, allowing you to buy a shrinkwrapped box for a special 15% discount. Why not browse our Japanese snack section now?