Share Your Recommendations – October 2016
Found some fun Japanese media this past month? Share your recommendations on what people should be experiencing in October.
Answer in the comments:
1. What are you watching?
2. What are you reading?
3. What are you playing?
4. What are you listening to?
If you can, include the Japanese difficulty level of your recommendations.
Founder of Jalup. iOS Software Engineer. Former attorney, translator, and interpreter. Still watching 月曜から夜ふかし weekly since 2013.
Manga/Anime:
亜人 (3.5/5 difficulty)
Both read it and watch it. The anime follows the manga dialogue exactly so you can try to watch first, then read, then watch again for great practice.
Grammar is straightforward but there are certain words you will have to learn.
Movie:
君の名は (1.5/5 difficulty)
Beautiful movie, beautiful story, beautiful animation; a wonderful viewing experience. And very easy to understand; no excuse for subtitles!
Youtube:
Fischer’s-フィッシャーズ’s channel (2 stars difficulty)
https://www.youtube.com/user/MASAIandHamzael
Good for 5-7 minute videos of boys being stupid. Pretty funny and makes you feel like you’re in the room with the boys. Great for hearing real Japanese.
Also Youtube, look up 本棚紹介 to get videos of people going through their bookshelves. You’ll be introduced to new channels, will get to see people’s huge collections and can see what’s popular right now or what might peak your interest.
I’ve seen so much hype for 君の名は. Can’t wait for the DVD release so I can actually watch it.
Worth the hype. Happy I got to see it in theatres!
Will there be a Crunchyroll release? Heard the hype, too.
Really enjoying Fischer’s アスレチック playlist! All stuff I’d be too scared to try but awesome to watch haha. Also thanks for that keyword at the end! Love watching stuff like that
I have a gaming YouTube channel dump this month. What started as me trying to find pokemon let’s plays turned into my subscription list nearly doubling.
The following channels are where I’ve spent most of my time this month, with a good mix of male and female YouTubers. Unless mentioned, the channel has clear vocals and playlists organised by game. While sound quality varies channel to channel, I haven’t found any of those listed to be off-putting.
ろあのゲームチャンネル♪ (female)
– large variety of games: Overwatch, Minecraft, Pokemon, Splatoon, etc
– 5-20 minute video length range
– she sometimes talks really fast
柚子木しろ (female)
– large variety – seriously!
– Dead by Daylight, Destiny, H1Z1, Biohazard, Witcher, Monster Hunter, Pokemon…
– 15-30 minute videos
– A 60 VIDEO PLAYLIST OF STARDEW VALLEY WITH A JAPANESE LANGUAGE MOD. I’M SO HAPPY ;_;
sorcha1011 (female)
– pretty good variety of games: Minecraft, Biohazard, Super Mario Bros, etc
– 10-40 minute videos
– microphone quality a little unclear
– playlists are confusing since they don’t seem to be arranged by game
みとくのゲームチャンネル (female)
– large variety: Walking Dead, Bayonetta, Attack on Titan, etc
– 5-30 minute videos
kuroko777 (female)
– reasonable variety: Monster Hunter, Biohazard, Legend of Zelda, etc
– 15-37 minutes
あしあと (female and male multiplayer)
– mostly modded Minecraft with some other games like Dead by Daylight, etc
– 10-25 minute videos
実況者 ジュクスイ (male)
– almost exclusively Pokemon
– microphone a little unclear
– 20-50 minute videos
雑音♪ノイズのゲーム実況チャンネル (male)
– mainly Pokemon
– playlists organised by game & theme
– 5-30 minute videos
ピーマン (male)
– good variety: CoD, BF4, Monster Hunter, Pokemon, etc
– 10-30 minute videos
– microphone a little unclear
Fie, phi (male)
– mainly Pokemon + Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
– 20-40 minute videos
I second ろあのゲームチャンネル♪! I’ve been subscribed to her for over a year now. I have a hard time understanding her because she speaks so quickly, and I’m only about level 31 (quite a bit lower than that for listening), but she’s still fun to watch. Another channel I recommend who I subscribed to at the same time as ろあ is ポッキー / PockySweets. To use your format:
ポッキー / PockySweets (male)
– large variety of games: Super Mario Maker, VR games, Minecraft, smartphone apps, silly games, horror games, lots of random games
– 10-45 minute videos (shorter end for random games, longer end for large story-based games)
– plays both Japanese and English games, large and small, AAA and indie, etc
– he’s very silly, and his joy rubs off on you even if you don’t understand a word he’s saying. In horror games he reacts naturally, not over the top.
Yeah, I’m at a lower listening level and she talks way too fast for me sometimes but it’s still enjoyable.
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve not come across PockySweets. I’ll have to check him out!
Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Podcasts.
You would not believe how nice it is to lie down and listen to audio dramas, or to get an endless stream of new passive listening material.
Anime:
** My Last Day
Short animated video depicting Jesus’s crucifixion, as seen by one of the criminals who was crucified with him. PG-13 version – the suffering is shown in some of its gruesomeness.
** 魔法使いの嫁 (The Ancient Magus’ Bride)
Girl loses everything, gets sold into slavery, and gets bought by a sorcerer. Said sorcerer takes a liking to her and trains her in magical arts… and apparently marriage. This anime is a prequel, depicting the girl losing everything. Despite the dubious premise and questionable implications, it turns out that I’m a sucker for white knight stories.
Audio Dramas:
** 屋上にて君を待つ (Waiting for You On the Roof)
A girl tries to commit suicide, and the boy does not treat the situation seriously. Equal parts farce and cringe.
*** ゼロと白 (Zero and White)
A girl lives in the shadow of her deceased mother – an author. The girl then develops a relationship with a boy who read her mother’s works. Romance with a bad girl.
*** 春にとける (Melt into the Spring)
Boy meets girl who is his mother’s newest medical patient. The girl writes stories, and he agrees to be her reader. This is not a medical drama – the focus is on relationships and writing itself. Seems like ‘girl authors meet boy readers’ is this month’s theme.
*** きくドラ (Audible Dramas)
Weekly podcast that adapts works of literature into a fifteen-minute audio drama. A lot has to be cut – Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar got reduced to Caesar’s death, Brutus’s speech, and Mark Anthony’s speech.
Games:
* VOEZ
Mobile rhythm game where the tapping areas move around in sync with the music. This, and the slick production values, set it apart from other mobile rhythm games.
**** シヴィライゼーション V (Civilization V)
You’ve probably heard of this one. The newest entry in the long-running Civilization series, on sale in anticipation of Civ 6’s release next month. Only $12.50 for the base game, every expansion, and every DLC through Humble Bundle, and comes with Japanese support if you get the Steam version.
Newspaper:
**** ウォール・ストリート・ジャーナル (The Wall Street Journal)
You’ve probably heard of this one. Focuses on business, economic, and international news. Although the price is steep ($30/month) for digital), it includes every other WSJ publication, including the regular one. If you can find someone to split the subscription with, the cost drops very quickly.
Podcasts:
*** KBS WORLD RADIO
South Korean news. Some local, some financial, some international. Updates every day except Sunday.
*** オトナカレッジ聞く図書館 (The Adult College Audible Library)
Professors discuss topics, seemingly focused on business and international politics (the Tokyo hotel scene, the East and South China Seas). Updates weekly.
*** そんなことないっしょ
*** そんない雑貨店
Not sure how to translate these two… Both podcasts are part of the same network. The hosts talk about and discuss whatever interests them at the moment (iPhone 7, the Paralympics). Trivial infotainment at its finest. Both shows update weekly.
*** 週刊 日経トレンディ (Weekly Nikkei Trendy)
Talk show about business topics (the advertising possibilities of Pokemon Go). Updates weekly.
*** 新刊ラジオ (New Publications Radio)
Show where the narrator introduces a recently published book. If it’s a nonfiction work, he gives a summary. If it’s a fiction work, the beginning of the book gets turned into an audio drama. Updates weekly.
*** Dream HEART
Talk show where the hosts invite a guest and discuss what the guest does. Just beware the cringeworthy Engrish intro. Updates weekly.
*** Round Up World Now
International news, with the hosts providing commentary. Updates weekly.
**** 聞く日経 (Audible Nikkei)
The main headlines of the Nikkei, with a short description following it. No commentary, just news. Sadly, the link seems to be broken now. If I remember correctly, updates weekdays.
**** マーケット・アナライズ・マンデー (Market Analyze Monday)
Exactly what it says on the tin. Updates weekly.
Youtube Channel:
*** you 日本人のための日本近現代史 (you – Modern Japanese History for Japanese People)
Man produces five minute videos on Japanese history while putting humorous (and usually anime-related) images in the background. Think Extra Credits or CGPGrey and you’re halfway there. Just… always be careful when studying history.
I did almost nothing Japanese this month but I have 2 things to talk about:
Manga:
俺物語 (1/5 difficulty)
I just got the last volume in the mail today and I read through it in a few hours. This series is AMAZING and I highly recommend it to everyone starting out. I went from henpecking words and meanings in the first volume to actually looking up maybe 10 words while reading the last. It’s a romance that doesn’t fall into any of the terrible romance tropes, and stars the best wingman of all time, Suna. The lead is the manliest shojo protagonist ever, so even guys can like this.
Honestly, just read anything by Kazune Kawahara. Her style is super easy and really great for beginners. I’ve read 2 of her series and I will have to buy another very soon.
Anime:
遊☆戯☆王デュエルモンスターズGX/YuGiOh GX (1.5/5 difficulty)
I was browsing through crunchyroll for easy anime, and I clicked on Yugioh GX for grins, but it turned out to be one of the easiest anime I’ve ever watched. I feel like 1/4th of the dialogue is loan words, and another good 1/3 is just people reacting to things which makes for excellent listening practice (vs. trying to listen to a minutes long-conversation and getting lost in it). Yes, it can kind of melt my brain sometimes, but it’s just amazing listening practice and I’m actually invested because well, it’s in Japanese.
Also, if you suck with numbers like I do, it’s a good show to watch. Lots of talk about attack points and life points.
This isn’t a recommendation, it’s more like a request of recommendation. Does anyone know any youtubers who make videos about Japan? You know, in the style of Happy in Japan, TheJapanChannelDCom, or J-Vloggers like Rachel and Jun, Sharla in Japan, Abroad in Japan, etc, except in japanese obviously? It’s very possible that there isn’t any good ones but if anyone knows of some I would really like to know; I’m addicted to watching this type of videos so if they could count as study time that would be amazing!
EDIT: Just to clarify, I’m really talking about people who are SHOWING japan, not just talking about it. Like, I love people like Unrested but he mostly talks about topics related to japan, doesnt show japan a lot, if you get what I mean.
I’ve been searching for similar youtubers for a while but haven’t come up with anything exactly matching. Even searches in Japanese just come up with j-vloggers like Sharla and Rachel/Jun.
YouTube has a wealth of more documentary-style videos in Japanese, both short and long. If you’re interested in watching videos on nature, culture, history, etc even without the vlogger personality.
There are some YouTubers who occasionally discuss culture or visit places. An example would be くまみき. She tends to focus on fashion, but has made videos where she visits
Didn’t finish before commenting >.<
She has visited NYC and some shops. The main problem with her is that she sometimes uses English hard-subbing on her videos.
Peaceful Cuisine has done travel blogs outside of Japan. He also has English subs but you can turn those off in the settings.
I know it isn't exactly what you're looking for so I hope someone else can offer some better recommendations :)
Thanks for your recommendations nonetheless! What would be some of these documentaries? While different, I would still enjoy these!
Searching for a topic in Japanese plus “ドキュメンタリー” usually gets you some good results. I’ve also found a variety of NHK documentaries by searching “NHKスペシャル”. Sometimes people have tried to bypass copyright by editing the video size, so some may be better for just listening material if the video puts you off.
Here are a few to get you started!
A 55 minute documentary on exploring/rock climbing a canyon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hLGcghCHR0
A 30 minute documentary on the future of grouse in the Japanese Alps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blh3Wp9zXxA
A short 15 minute video on Anago Sushi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Z_WY-CsDM
A 30 minute video on environmental improvement. The first half discusses England, the latter focuses on Japan. It does have a couple of English interviews with people in the first half.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLFGECp7X_A
I hope that helps! :)