くだけた会話 (9/27/20)

 りり：ねね、今いい？

はなび：うん。何か起こったの？

りり：あたしと留学生達って週末出かけるつもりなんだけど、行かない？

はなび：まあ、プロジェクトをしなきゃだめだけど、もうすぐ終わるだろうと思う。行けるよ。

りり：えっ？よかった！はなびちゃんとどっか行くのが久しぶりだね～

はなび：そうね。僕って色々な用事があったし、最近あまりゆっくりできなかったからね。あっ、所で、どこに行くの？

りり：あのう、そう言えば…

はなび：何って？正直言ってね。

りり：あたし達ってどっかに行くかまだ決められないんだけど。

はなび：やっぱりね。どこかバアーかいざかやに行ったらどう？お酒を飲むのが早く友達を作ることだろうね。

りり：そうだね。レストランに行くのを考えてたからそれでもいいと思うよ。

はなび：いいね。それにしよう。みんなと話した後で僕に教えてくれね。

りり：はいは～い。

言葉の表現 (9/20/20)

 日本語のオノマトペは面白いんじゃないかと思います。実は英語でそういうことがあまりないんですが、時々使われています。違いは日本語のオノマトペがどうしやけいようしや音などの代わりに使えますが、英語のがたいていけいようしや音の代わりにしか使えないんです。それで、日本語を話すのや聞くのが楽しくて好きです。よく何か日本語の音楽か配信を聞いて練習します。

読み方が少し上手になってから時間があれば、もし何か小説を読もうと思っていますが。日本に行った時夏目漱石に書かれた「こころ」という小説と太宰治に書かれた「人間失格」(Ningen Shikkaku)という小説を買ったので、その二つ読んでみたいです。もう英語で読んだし、楽しみにしています。

いつも日本語の使い方や色々な表現に興味があるので、いつもがんばっています。

私の出身地について (9/14/20)

 私はアメリカのイリノイ州のシカゴから来ました。シカゴは色々な名所や名物があるし、よく有名な所だと言われています。名物の中で食べ物が一番人気あるでしょう。たくさん上手に作った外国の料理やピザやホットドッグなどが食べられるからです。もちろん、ダウンタウンにあるレストランの方が高いんですが、安いのもあります。

その他は名所の中で、ミレニアムパークという所とネーヴィーピアという遊園地が観光する人の一番行きたい所かもしれません。この二つはシカゴの自然や建築(architecture)やビーチや楽しいイベントなどでゆっくり遊べるんです。やっぱりコロナで全部が変わったんですが、今は少しできるようになったそうです。

コロナの夏休みと学期について (8/24/20)

 実は今年の夏休みに何も別にしなかったんです。HIFプログラムで留学する予定があったけど、３月にキャンセルされたし、あまり安全じゃなかったんです。そして、コロナで他の時間がかかることを考えなきゃいけなくなりました。ぜひ日本語の練習をしました。話す練習もしたかったのに、聞く練習と少し文法の勉強しかできなかったんです。

日本語よりゲームで遊んだとか友達と話した方が時間がかかりました。もちろん、外に行かなかったし、いつも元気でした。4月の終わりに「ファイナルファンタジーXIV」というゲームで遊び始めました。まだ遊んでるし、すごく楽しくていいビデオゲームなんじゃないかと思います。音楽やストーリーやキャラクターなど上手にできたんです。

今学期はインターンシップを取りたいです。もう二つ目の面接ができたし、まだがんばります。他のしたいことは分かりやすいです。まず、病気になりたくなくて、授業を休みたくないです。それで、何か音楽を作ろうと思っているので、時間があればちょっと作るようにします。

Final Fantasy VII: Remake

I watched a lot of livestreams of people playing FFVII:R and ended up able to hear the Japanese dub of the game. The English subtitles (and voice lines, actually) are localized rather than directly translated, so understanding the Japanese was quite beneficial for gaining a better understanding of the situations and character traits being displayed over time. The game itself was breathtaking and will likely be a standard to which many future video games will be compared.

I'm not gonna lie, hearing Barret in Japanese after hearing the English VA do such an amazing job of capturing his character definitely caught me off guard (not to say that the Japanese VA was bad or ill-fitting, he was great, I just wasn't ready).

Also, Nobuo Uematsu remains one of my absolute favorite composers, he did a phenomenal job. The credits song, Hollow, is a beautiful piece that really captures a lot of the game and the dynamic ending to the game, which is excellent given how smoothly he layered it throughout other parts of the game's soundtrack.

Square Enix has done it again. In more ways than one.

Roll Credits




Hollow

Anime Catch-up: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency

The intro for Part II of JoJo did things to me that I really was not expecting.

I've heard music from the anime before and knew that there would be some jazzier and funkier pieces at some point, but Part I did not have much of that. As such, when Part II's intro came in with a completely different tone and approach, I was pleasantly surprised and, for the first time in a long time, never skipped the intro after listening for the first few episodes. It's really good (and, similar to Part I, highlights a lot of what comes later without directly spoiling anything of great importance).

Joseph was an interesting and alarmingly logical protagonist to follow in Jonathan's footsteps given his heritage. His personality and intuition is befitting of the Joestar family name, but his more peculiar and childlike nuances allow him to stand outside of his predecessor's shadow.

Another thing that I appreciate about the show is that it's quite easy to figure out which parts are likely used as memes despite having never really gotten into many JoJo memes. The scene where Joseph's secret weapon for a threat to save himself, his friends, and the general public near the fight is "にげるんだよ、SMOKEYYYY" is absolutely hilarious given the insanity that took place beforehand.

Overall, I had a fantastic time watching Part II and still look forward to watching the remainder of what is currently released. I might even read through everything once I've done that (and subsequently get ahead since the manga remains ahead of the anime).

Anime Catch-up: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood

It's been a long time coming.

I watched Part I of JJBA (2012 version) around a month ago to finally get started (since the quarantine left me with enough time to do so comfortably). I'm not going to lie, the show is insanely good for what it is. It feels like exactly what people have said it would be, which is honestly a rarity for anime given the wide variety of explanations people usually have. The flamboyant and dynamic character interactions and battles were an absolute thrill to watch, and the music was certainly up to the praise often given. Roundabout, the ending song, never felt out of place, even moving into Part II.

I found it very easy to identify certain character traits and relationships based on word choice in the Japanese dub, where characters such as Dio and other villains refer to themselves rather pompously without any form of regard for those before them.

Sidenote: Dio is so insanely evil, I really...did not expect him to actually start off that problematically. I can certainly understand how the JoJo bloodline remains in conflict with Dio and similar evils for so long after this.

Anime Catch-up: Fate/Zero Ending

So I watched the remainder of Fate/Zero sometime last month and it was a fascinating series of events. The consequences of the various actions taken and not taken leave the plot heading in an interesting direction.

Gilgamesh showed himself to be every bit the powerful force he had built up to be, and seeing Kiritsugu's relationship with Kotomine manifested in their fight was equally worthwhile and satisfying. Beyond that, there are a great deal of horrible people in this series (both prior to the show's timeline and during) who have left things in a problematic spot. Despite this, there were some incredibly well-scripted moments for characters, including Iskander in his fight with Gilgamesh. Overall, I think that the writing did a solid job of establishing the philosophies of the servants and having them fully represent it through both their words and their decisions.

聞く宿題：Fate/Zero's Climaxing

I watched 4 episodes (don't have much left until I can watch Unlimited Blade Works and then Heaven's Feel). Most of what I saw was Kiritsugu's backstory, which...was interesting in certain aspects. It certainly explained specific things and characteristics. On a more amusing note, however, there was something in one of the episodes that made way more sense in anything that wasn't Japanese. A young girl in Kiritsugu's youth couldn't pronounce his name properly, so she nicknamed him Kerry. The problem is that this conversation is obviously voiced in Japanese if you're watching the subbed version, so hearing someone say "Kerry" in Japanese (amongst other things) and say that they cannot pronounce "Kiritsugu" feels strange to me.

Beyond that, I enjoyed it. The show is certainly getting into it's final stages in a wonderfully engaging way. I look forward to seeing how everything falls apart.

聞く宿題：Even More Fate/Zero (2/23/20)

I appreciate the way that each character gets a healthy amount of development and explanation behind their mentality throughout the series. I watched 10 episodes this time and a fair amount happened. There was even an entire episode devoted to defining what makes a true king, since three of the characters ascribe great value to kingship and its proper fulfilment.

I can also certainly say that the dialogue has yet to disappoint me in terms of expanding the depth of the show's characters, including accentuating particular personalities. There are a lot of high quality quotes that encapsulate the mentality of the Servants, some for which I wonder if the English translation does proper justice. Gilgamesh continues to be as excellent on screen as I expected. Iskander had some excellent moments.

I'm satisfied with the show as it currently stands.

聞く宿題：More Fate/Zero(2/17/20)

There were far more nuances in terms of character relationships that could be determined from the style of speech used than in the first episode. Due to my knowledge of formality in Japanese, I had a better idea of what a character was implicitly saying about their relationship with another character through their conjugations and word choice. Gilgamesh's Master, for instance, is more or less a sycophant and uses unnecessarily formal language because he doesn't know how else to deal with someone like Gilgamesh, which is ironically one of the worst ways to deal with him I would argue.

The stakes are certainly rising, and the various Masters are beginning to show their hands to begin pulling in any advantages that they can. I watched two episodes and look forward to seeing how they try to outwit one another.

聞く宿題：Beginning Fate/Zero (2/10/20)

I have not watched any of the Fate series, but the ridiculous amount of exposure to it that I've gotten through my brief time with Fate/Grand Order (the associated gacha game) and the consequent interest in certain parts of the series from that game and my time as an anime and manga fan have made me vaguely familiar with many things in the series. The first episode was world building and motivation introduction for the characters, so I cannot comment on much until I see what direction it takes. It definitely looks...interesting.

This is going to be an entire project, since I need to watch all of the anime and the movies, hopefully in an order that makes sense narratively given the sensitivity of the plot.

I am optimistic for the direction of the show, and ufotable's animation is of course spectacular; however, I continue to dislike the distance between the characters' eyes in multiple scenes. Beyond that, it should be fun. My study of Japanese did not particularly aid in anything other than understanding what they were saying. Nothing of cultural or linguistic significance arose.

リスニングのしゅくだい：Shing02

Shing02 is a Japanese hip hop artist who, due to his upbringing and experience, produces and works on music from a variety of genres and does so in both English and in Japanese. My introduction to him was through Nujabes, a Japanese producer who played a large role in inspiring me to produce music. He unfortunately died in a car crash in Tokyo shortly before his career was truly going to begin a rapid growth and upward trajectory.

Shing02 worked on a six-part project with Nujabes known as "Luv(sic)", and this interview covered the beginning of their relationship. I found it interesting how Shing02's account of Nujabes highlights characteristics that others who worked closely with him (or with him at all) also appreciated.

Interview

リスニングのしゅくだい：地縛少年花子くん(1/27/20)

This anime is...interesting. It seems to be about paranormal activity, myths, and other such happenings. It's not a shounen, but it's not a slice of life either. I bring up the shounen point primarily because the OP feels aggressively shounen to me, but not quite there. Beyond that, the music and sound design for the show greatly satisfies me.

The first myth covered is the urban legend concerning a ghost supposedly bound to a specific stall in a high school bathroom who grants wishes when confronted and a specific thing is recited.

The voice actor for Hanako, the ghost, reminds me distinctly of the voice actor for Meliodas from Seven Deadly Sins (七つの大罪). I thought that the show was pretty cute overall. My girlfriend will probably have me watch it with her as it comes out (she had me watch the first episode to begin with). I can certainly say that I enjoyed Hanako's personality and quirks, as well as the unique style for the art and animation.

リスニングのしゅくだい：天気の子 (1/20/20)

It was a truly entertaining movie. I do believe that the backstory of the male protagonist could have been fleshed out a bit more, but I think, given the length of the movie, that it was exceptionally well-structured. The characters felt fitting for their roles and actions, and there were a great deal of funny moments and not-so-subtle references (the protagonists of 「君の名は」made an appearance, for example). I really did enjoy the overall dynamic of the cast. Nagi, the female protagonist's younger brother in the picture below, was honestly a highlight of any scene that he was in, especially if it involved his strange ability to attract girls his age.

Aside from the various sentiments expressed and parts of conversations that I understood, I had a stronger appreciation of the location (Tokyo) and certain plot points because of my prior knowledge of specific things in Japan. For example, when the presence of a gun became relevant to the story, I understood how and why it would elicit the particular reactions and ramifications that it did. In fact, I was rather surprised myself when it appeared. There were also other little things that likely made sense to me because of prior exposure. To be entirely honest, I kind of missed Japan a bit after seeing certain places that I had the pleasure of visiting last summer. Regardless, the movie was well worth watching in my opinion.