SayakaSU

 Who's That Pokémon? It is Amaura ! Amaura, also known as a Tundra Pokémon, is a Rock- and Ice-type of Pokémon. Since it was introduced in Generation VI, it is a rather new creature, so you cannot find it in many scenarios. An example where you can find it though is the Kalos Region, at the coast. But this Pokémon is rather difficult to obtain as well; it is often gained by Trading or having a special Fossil Stone in hand. This Pokémon also has an Evolution called Aurorus! Amaura is a Fossil Pokémon, which makes it look like an icey blue dinosaur with crystals on its body and structures with soft hues of pink and yellow on top of its head. Amaura is a calm Pokémon that lived over 100 million years ago. It lived in a cold land to avoid predators. In the anime, this Pokémon can even create beautiful auroras! Amaura is not Immune to any Type and is Weak to Fighting-, Ground-, Rock-, Grass-, Water- and Steel-Types of Pokémon. But it is Resistant to Flying-, Ice-, Poison- and even Norma...

Ganguro (in Japanese, 顔黒 or ガングロ, meaning "black face") is a part of some Japanese girl's fashion. Ganguros are characterized by their overly tanned skin, pale & tufted hair, a lot of makeup around the eyes and by their white lips. This trend started out in the mid-1990's, and in the 90's, it was popular to match all of this with platform shoes, white panda makeup, very bleached hair and colourful clothes. Ganguros dominate the streets of the Shibuya area in Tokyo, Japan. The girls buy a large part of their wardrobe at the Shibuya 109 department store. Yamanba (ヤマンバ) and Manba (マンバ) are terms used for the "extreme" ganguro fashion. However, Yamanba and manba should not be mixed: Yamanba has white makeup just above the eye, while Manba has makeup both below and above the eye. They wear stuffed animals, bracelets, watches and hibiscus. The male counterpart is called a "center guy" ( ā ンター街, Sentāgai, Center Street), a pun with the name of a...

Japanese anime is very popular around the world. So popular that many people decide to learn Japanese because of their love for their favorite anime shows. But one problem with learning Japanese through anime is the kind of Japanese you’ll absorb this way. The characters in anime live in their own universe, where everyone tends to use slang, casual language, informal pronouns and even made-up words. It’s very easy to spot people who learned Japanese exclusively through anime; you’ll see 20-year-old boys talking like 10-year-old kawaii girls, or 20-year-old girls talking like a yakuza, for example! Needless to say, native Japanese speakers may not take them seriously!  Despite this, it can actually be useful to incorporate anime into your language learning routine. Anime has a lot to offer to every Japanese student on any level: - It improves your listening skills. Listening skill are, ofcourse, related closely to pronunciation. - It gives you more than just a glimpse into ...

Today, I will be talking about the successful Code Geass series and their protagonist, Lelouch Lamperouge / Lelouch vi Britannia . Code Geass is a famous anime and manga series, followed up by games, dramas and several light novels. The full name of the anime is actually Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (in Japanese, コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Rurūshu ), but to cut it short, it becomes Code Geass. This anime has 25 main episodes (with OVAs), and when it comes to genres, it focuses on Action, Drama, Sci-Fi & Mecha. It aired from October 6th 2006 to July 29th 2007, so it is a fairly old anime. "In the year 2010, the Holy Empire of Britannia is establishing itself as a dominant military nation, starting with the conquest of Japan. Renamed to Area 11 after its swift defeat, Japan has seen significant resistance against these tyrants in an attempt to regain independence. Lelouch Lamperouge, exiled prince of Britannia, unfortunately finds himself caugh...

 Who's That Pokémon? It is Altaria ! Altaria, also known as a Humming Pokémon, is a Dragon- and Flying Pokémon! It's not every day you spot a Dragon AND Flying Pokémon, right? So this sure is a special little creature!    When Altaria sings high up in the sky amongst the clouds with its beautiful opera voice, everything and everyone gets sucked into a happy daydream. Its soft, cotton-like wings are perfect to catch winds with. Altaria is a blue- and white-coloured Pokémon. Its body is light blue and its fluffy wings are white. Altaria is also an Evolution of the Pokémon Swablu, but it does not stop there: A Mega Altaria exists, who is a Dragon- and Fairy-Type!    Altaria is Immune to Ground-type, Resistant to Fighting-, Bug-, Fire-, Water- and Grass-types, and Weak to Rock-, Ice-, Dragon- and Fairy-types of Pokémon. The moves Altaria can learn are Sky Attack, Pluck, Peck, Growl, Astonish, Sing, Fury Attack, Safeguard, Mist, Round, Natural Gift, Take Down, Refres...

Ling Tosite Sigure (in Japanese: 凛として時雨, Hepburn: Rin Toshite Shigure, literally "Cold as shower in late autumn", stylized as Ling Tosite Sigure) are a Japanese rock trio, consisting of 345, Pierre and TK, formed year 2002 in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The band's style resembles post-hardcore and progressive rock, often incorporating rapid changes of tempo and mood framed in complex guitar melodies and technical drumming. They utilize both male and female vocals ranging from soft singing to loud wails and screams. At the very start of the group's debut, LTS released several demos before actually letting out a proper song. Over the years, Ling Tosite Sigure has become a successful band because of their uniqueness, but also because they have sung and played for a lot of anime Openings and even movies. The most popular OP piece they have made was probably " Unravel " from the internationally famous Tokyo Ghoul , which gave LTS a huge amount of fans and po...

Would you like to know more about Japan? Well, maybe you already know much, but did you know about these things? How many of these did you know of? Here are 8 random facts & trivia about Japan! 1. Japan has the second lowest homicide rate in the world, but it is also home to the famous "suicide forest” Aokigahara that is found at the base of Fujiyama. It is the 2nd most popular place in the world for suicides, after San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. 2. Yaeba, or crooked teeth, are considered attractive in Japan. It is actually so "attractive" that girls go to the dentist to have their teeth purposefully unstraightened. 3. Raw horse meat is considered a delicacy in Japan. It is called basashi and is sliced thinly and eaten raw. The Japanese consume about 7,461 tons of horsemeat each year. 4. There exists more pets than children in Japan. 5. The world's oldest company, Kongou Gumi, was from Japan. It operated for over 1400 years, between 578 AD to 20...

Character of the Week? Our very own Tsundere queen, Taiga Aisaka from Toradora!   Toradora! (in Japanese, とらドラ! ) is a Comedy, Slice of Life anime, manga and light novel series, written by Yuyuko Takemiya and illustrated by Yasu. The series includes 10 novels released between March 10th 2006 and March 10th 2009. 3 volumes of a spin-off light novel series were also created, titled Toradora Spin-Off! . A 25-episode long anime aired in Japan between October 2008 and March 2009, and it is the anime I will base this information on. "Ryuuji Takasu is a gentle high school student with a love for housework; but in contrast to his kind nature, he has an intimidating face that often gets him labeled as a delinquent. On the other hand is Taiga Aisaka, a small, doll-like student, who is anything but a cute and fragile girl. Equipped with a wooden katana and feisty personality, Taiga is known throughout the school as the "Palmtop Tiger". One day, an embarrassing mistake...

 Who's that Pokémon? It is Alomomola ! Alomomola, also knows as a Caring Pokémon, is a Water-type Pokémon who [obviously] lives in the sea, as it is a sea creature. This pink fish-like Pokémon was introduced in Generation V, so two examples of Regions where you can find it is in the coasts of Kalos and Unova. When Alomomola finds wounded Pokémon out in the open water, it sweeps them carefully under its special fins to heal them and take them to the shores. This Pokémon does not have an evolution. Its height is 1,2 meters and its weight is 31,6 kg. It is not Immune to any Type, and Weak against Grass- and Electric-types, but Resistant against Fire-, Water-, Steel- and Ice-Type of Pokémon. The moves Alomomola can learn are Hydro Pump, Wide Guard, Healing Wish, Pound, Water Sport, Aqua Ring, Aqua Jet, Double Slap, Heal Pulse, Protect, Water Pulse, Wake-Up Slap, Soak, Wish, Brine, Safeguard and Helping Hand. This is a Pokémon I love having! If you need a Water-type Pokémon, Alomomola i...

Kakegurui is a 12-episode-long School, Drama, Shounen and Game anime, consisting of 2 seasons with the same amount of episodes (the second season named "Kakegurui xx"), but I have only seen Season 1, so this review is purely based on that. Kakegurui had its premiere year 2017 but, if I am not mistaken, it was added a year or so ago to Netflix, and that is where I found this anime. It seemed like people really liked and enjoyed it, so I decided to give it a try... and now, it is time to reveal my honest thoughts about it! Hyakkao Private Academy is a normal high school by day and a crazy casino by night. At this school goes rich girls and guys, aspiring to make it big. You see, in here, having high grades does not matter one bit. What matters is your reputation, luck and skills as a gambler. It's all about the money, and all students are clearly infatuated with playing cards, raising bets and so on. The school's system is very cruel, and like the saying goes when it ...

 If one is interested in the literary world, one should definitely know about this author! Haruki Murakami is a globally famous Japanese novel author. His way of writing books is inspired by the Western world, which he has recieved a lot of critique about since it is not very "japanese", but he has nevertheless won multiple big awards and Murakami's work has been translated to 50 different languages. Even though his books are old and very different compared to other Japanese novels continues millions of copies to sell, both in his homeland and outside of it. Murakami usually directs to the next generation, for older teenagers, young adults and adults, when it comes to his books. Today, I would like to go through the novel that was the beginning of his high status as a professional author, and this novel is called "Norwegian Wood"! Norwegian Wood is an older story about Toru Watanabe , and plays out at the end of the 1960s in Tokyo, during the main character...

Clannad (in Japanese, クラナド [Kuranado]) is a Romance-Slice of Life-Tragedy visual novel, game, manga and anime series, though, it all started with the visual novel. It was first released year 2004 by the visual novel studio Key for Windows PC, rated for all ages (unlike Key's other works). It was later ported to several consoles such as Xbox 360 and Playstation. The game was ranked as the best-selling PC game sold in Japan for the time of its release, and charted in the national top 50 several more times afterwards. The anime series was aired from October 4th 2007 to March 27th 2008, with 23 episodes creating it. " Tomoya Okazaki is a delinquent who finds life dull and believes he'll never amount to anything. Along with his friend Youhei Sunohara , he skips school and plans to waste his high school days away. One day while walking to school, Tomoya passes a young girl muttering quietly to herself. Without warning she exclaims "Anpan!" (a popular Japan...

 Who's that Pokémon? It is Aipom ! Aipom, known as the Long Tail Pokémon, is a Normal-type creature with the resemblance of a monkey appearance-wise and personality-wise. It was first introduced in Generation II, so it is a Pokémon you probably recognize if you've played any of the series' games (it is unobtainable in a few games though). Johto and Alola are two examples of Regions where Aipom exists. It usually lives in forests, often tropical and exotic ones. Aipom is a tinier Pokémon; 0,8 meters tall and weighs 11,5 kg. Its body is a mixture of purple and yellow, while its big, round eyes are black. Aipom uses its long and strong tail like a hand for attacking, eating, moving at a faster pace... just about anything. Its real hands have lost their function due to Aipom relying so much on its hand-like tail instead. Fun fact: It can evolve into its one and only evolution that is called Ambipom! Fun fact nr. 2: Aipom's favouriote food is Bounsweet, so try giving it to y...

 Be ready to jump on the feels train, because we are going to talk about Anohana today! "Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day", or "Ano Hi Mita Hana No Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai" in Japanese, is a Coming-of-age anime, manga, movie and live action. I'll be only talking about the short, 11-episode long anime though, as that is the only thing I've seen. Jinta Yadomi, nicknamed Jintan, used to be an open child who was the leader of his and his childhood friends' group "Super Peace Busters" (which is also the name of the creators of the story!)... until one of the group's members and their fellow best friend Meiko Honma, nicknamed "Menma", died at a young age from an accident that affected everyone in the group and made them quickly and tragically enough drift apart. As time went by, best friends became strangers, relationships develops or crumbles and they grow up to become individual teenagers with individual lives. Everyone...

This time I am going to talk a little bit about the religions of Japan. Now, this will mostly be about their native religion, Shinto , but I will also quickly cover up their other religions. First, according to surveys from year 2006, these numbers when it comes to religion came up: 51.8% Shinto and Atheists, 34.9% Buddhism, 4% Shinto organizations and others, 2.3% Christianity, and 7% No answer. So, that one covered, I will talk a bit about Shinto . "Shinto is the traditional religion of Japan that focuses on ritual practices to be carried out diligently to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient past", is a pretty nice summary from Wiki. More information, Shinto is as old as the Japanese culture. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the historical records of the Kojiki (the oldest extant chronicle in Japan) and Nihon Shoki (the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history) in the 8th century. The religion has other n...

"In 1972, a popular student in Yomiyama North Middle School's class 3-3 named Misaki passed away during the school year. Since then, the town of Yomiyama has been shrouded by a fearful atmosphere, from the dark secrets hidden deep within. Twenty-six years later, 15-year-old Kouichi Sakakibara transfers into class 3-3 of Yomiyama North and soon after discovers that a strange, gloomy mood seems to hang over all the students. He also finds himself drawn to the mysterious, eyepatch-wearing student Mei Misaki ; however, the rest of the class and the teachers seem to treat her like she doesn't exist. Paying no heed to warnings from everyone including Mei herself, Kouichi begins to get closer not only to her, but also to the truth behind the gruesome phenomenon plaguing class 3-3 of Yomiyama North. Another follows Kouichi, Mei, and their classmates as they are pulled into the enigma surrounding a series of inevitable, tragic events, but unraveling the horror of ...