Japanese Books

I've been looking for motifs to use in polymer and metal clays for jewelry, and this book has a stunning collection of faces. It also has several wonderful Hiroshigi's and Hokusai's (particularly and ocean wave I'm fond of). While I'm not sure that the designs will work out as transfers, the book is still enjoyable. I found several artists about whose work I was previously ignorant. Something new to contemplate.

I was waiting for this book to come out for at least a month before buying it. After I got it, I just devoured it. Ensign Ichiro Ogami's straight-laced behavior is a major contrast to the laid-back (okay, so some of them aren't as laid back as Yoneda) theatre group.

Iris adds the right amount of cuteness to the story, and I don't mean pink hearts and teddy bears every where that'll make you sick from all the cuteness. Maria and Sumire add in there share of more mature behavior, although Sumire can be very demanding. Sakura herself is pretty much a Kagome-like character.

I got into it right away because I'm from a Naval background. If you've read InuYasha, you'll like this book too. It has demons, dangerous men in uniform, wandering robots that attack the city, sailors a.k.a. ensigns *_* , and a mix of different characters from Japan.

It's not placed as far into the past as InuYasha (it's in the early 1920's actually), but still a good read. I can't wait to get the 2nd volume! If the star scale was larger, I'd give it higher than a five-star rating. ^_^

I have been studying the Noh drama in printed English translations, and find the translations in this volume to be quite good. The selection is tasteful, and the format is very accessible. It is surprising to me that there is still so little in the way of Noh performances in the US, and I live in a large metropolitan area where there is a considerable Japanese-American community. Thus, I have to content myself with English translations in books. Some more recent Noh translations also contain elaborate stage directions, something lacking in the Keene volume. Thus, the Keene collection is of value primarily for the literary interest of the plays. Nonetheless I highly recommend it.

Anyone who has not read anything by Motoni should definitely begin with this. It is a breathtakingly emotional tale of two men, who, despite having lustful feelings for each other, are "bound" to their girlfriends, and have made a promise not to make a move on the other for a certain period of time. As the story progresses and we see these men give in to their lust, they begin to spend more and more time with each other to the annoyance of one's girlfriend and the encouragement of another's. It is a complicated story (not unusual for Motoni), but an extremely beautiful one. And very real too. The love is not "pure". There are fights, breakups, rape and a whole lot of angst. But that's what adds to the reality of the story, and that's what makes it such an amazing read.

The author Koh-ich Hattori is one of Japan's foremost composers. He examines the evolution over the past hundred years of Japan's prolific musical life. Today, the music of Japan is a rich blend of Western and Eastern traditions. This book tells you exactly how it happened with adequate explanations. Kyo Takahashi

Good book with good case studies.
We implement RTT software and this provides some ideas.

3X3 Eyes: Blood Of The Sacred Demon is the fourth and latest graphic novel of the popular manga (Japanese comic) series by Yuzo Takada, about an immortal three-eyed demon girl who yearns to become human and the cursed, indestructible young man with whom she shares her soul. Pai has had her memory and her third eye sealed away, and she is leading a normal life blissfully unaware of who and what she really is. Yet Yakumo is determined to reawaken her, if only because the evil forces that seek to subvert her power can never be beaten back while she remains unaware. Fans of the animated version will notice significant variations in the original source comic, including a different twist ending to the pair's battle with a ruthless marionette! Highly recommended for fans of dark fantasy action-adventure, as are the previous three volumes: House Of Demons, Curse Of The Gesu, and Flight Of The Demon.

This continuation of the PMK series keeps you on your toes the entire time mixing in twists only found in the manga as it still follows the anime's story plot essentially. Truly a must have, even if you can't read Japanese!

I didn't actually buy this, but what's with that price? Unless it's wrapped in plastic and never been touched by human hands before, this book isn't work 80 bucks. I know for sure that this book is selling for ¥460 on other sites; that's roughly $4.00... Whoever is selling this book isn't going to have much luck at all...

NOTE: The following review contains very major spoilers and crucial plot points that take place past the end of the anime and current English manga releases. If you do not want this story completely and utterly ruined for you, DO NOT read any further.

Volume 9 of Narutaru has a lot of new aspects that haven't really been touched on before, and this is a very good thing. A good chunk of it--almost half--focuses on Shunji Tamai, main character Shiina's father. He's an interesting man who was often an afterthought, and is at first just there to be Dear Old Dad to Shiina, but it's now evident that his story has a lot to do with the central shadow dragon plot. Here, he goes off to Russia to train some new jet pilots, but before you know it he's in the middle of a local fairy tale come to life. Author and artist Mohiro Kitoh puts the fantasy back in the story that seemed downright science fiction for a few volumes now, and that's a relief. For those of us who were fascinated by the virgin princess in volumes 1 and 5 (English 6), it's great that there is another human one who makes an appearance, as well as one impressive dragon. Now the mystery gets bigger, for from volume 2 we knew that there were dragons outside of Japan, but now we've actually seen one and it's a majestic sight.

Over in Japan, Shiina is in a happier mood after her injuries from volume 8 have healed up, but since there is no one to take care of her at home, she moves into a different home: the warehouse where dragon bearers Takeo Tsurumaru and Norio Koga live! Her classmates are puzzled by this, and the whole dynamic of her personal life changes, but it really opens up a new realm of character interaction. Takeo is thrilled and Norio is suspicious, while Shiina stays pretty calm and contemplative. The three become foils of each other, and the plot device of "best friends who are exact opposites" works surprisingly well. And Mamiko Kuri, the naked girl who hung out with Sudo in volume 5 and is now a Banda Academy student, gets a little more development, and seems to have both a heightened interest in Shiina and the power to disappear. She didn't seem important when she was first introduced, but she gets more and more important as the story goes on, so be prepared.

Of course, even if you've simply taken a glance through one of the manga's volumes, you will be prepared for strange alien creatures, strange storylines, and gorgeous artwork that is cleaner and more realistic than most crowded Japanese comics. In addition to all of that, there is some action with the evil teenage villains, who have joined with the Japanese government and are helping politicians find more dragon bearers. However, their REAL plan is to destroy their pursuers from inside-out, which is exactly what you'd expect they want to do. As with all of Narutaru, it will be hard to understand book nine without the first eight, but if you do have them, fasten your seatbelt and get ready for one of the best rides of your life you can imagine within a paper medium. Volume 9 gives followers everything they've been begging for, and who can argue with that?