We first have, perhaps the most famous kind of Otaku, the anime and manga Otaku. Many people will fall into this category because it’s not that difficult to be placed into this of Otaku style. What an Anime/Manga Otaku is basically about is the love for anime and/or manga. It can be that you love anime and/or manga by reading it, watching it, collecting it, etc. But it doesn’t always mean that you love all anime or manga out there. In some cases, we also have an anime Otaku who only likes a certain anime, a specific style, genre, etc. But the most common Otaku regarding anime and manga is a person who really loves it all. You might have seen meme’s, articles and so on, saying that you have to know this many characters or watched this many different kinds of anime and etc., if you want to be able to call yourself an Otaku. Which isn’t true because from experience, you can be called an Otaku just by mentioning an anime that you love or even watch. An Anime/Manga Otaku is the most popular kind of Otaku you can be referred as and people who hear about these Otaku, often have a positive look about them. It’s a normal thing these days, while some years ago, it would have been a little more taboo. Now, because almost everyone you’ll meet will say they have at least watched some anime series or movie, it’s much more easy to be accepted as an Anime/Manga Otaku. With manga, it’s perhaps a little less popular outside of Japan to understand what’s so good about it, and when talking to a much older person, you’ll definitely raise some eyebrows. But with the so called youth, it is as accepted as anime.

Here is where it gets interesting, an Cosplay Otaku is basically a person who loves anime, manga, video games, etc. so much that they want to dress up as them. It doesn’t always have to be that black and white. Normally it means that this Otaku loves roleplaying and to dress up as different kinds of made up characters. They have existed for so long and I can most definitely say that everyone has been an Cosplay Otaku in some way or another at some point in their life when growing up as a child playing dressing up as a cowboy, Batman, Spiderman, a princess, etc. A Cosplay Otaku does this for pure joy to actually having this as a hobby and loves dressing up to be able to feel like someone else. A Cosplay Otaku has it a little more tough though, because they'll always get a strange look if they walk around with their outfit. But, what’s great about this is there are tons of events and shows where it’s much more appreciated to see die hard fans (Otaku) dressing up as their favorite character, or in most cases, dressing up as any character from a popular or unpopular movie, anime, comic, or video game. They have become more accepted lately because some take it really serious, and some are very talented Cosplay Otaku's.

Similar to Anime/Manga Otaku, a Game Otaku is also one of the most common kinds of Otaku. Simply put, a person who love games. It can be a computer game, console, or an action, drama, adventure game, etc. It might be one of the more expensive type of Otaku to be a part of because, as we all know, video games aren’t cheap. When it comes to the actual Game Otaku, they come in different styles. Some love to collect old games or new games, but also they can be very fond of one specific kind of game series or platform. Outside of Japan, I believe the right term is Video Game Nerd?It might have a bad ring to it, but it has become more popular with most of these Otaku actually being the founders of some of the greatest companies in gaming, who have made some of the best titles that we all love. The Game Otaku is a kind of person that is growing in popularity by being more recognised, making it more accepted. It used to be that a Game Otaku was a person who only sat at home with no life and just played games all day. Well it has become more and more accepted making it much easier to find events or tournaments that exists all over the world. Today, just because a person is a Game Otaku, doesn’t mean he/she doesn’t have a social life. Sure in some cases that’s true, but it’s easy to come together with like minded Otaku these days.

For most anime viewers, their main exposure to this trend is through the original Sailor Moon series. Usagi is always waking up late and rushes to school while eating her toast. This is seen in a great number of episodes throughout the series. In addition to Sailor Moon, Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi has done this, Kallen in the last episode of Code Geass R2 does it, and even Rei in Evangelion exhibits this trait (though it was a parody). This happens so much in anime to the point that others may think that art is imitating life. That's what I thought prior to moving to Japan, and I really do not blame anybody reading this in making the same conclusions. How did this quality come about? Does it come from real life? Nobody knows for sure but in anime, it is officially the signal for “I’m late for school!” Some Japanese sites believe it originates from a number of classic titles from Shoujo, but the series that comes to mind to some Japanese experts is Patty no Hatsukoi, or Patty’s First Love, from 1968. Some fans think it is meant to symbolize “Slice of Life,” while others think it is meant to be some sort of reflection of that character’s personality of always being in a hurry, but nobody conclusively knows the origins and why it continues to resonate. Sailor Moon may have been a western audience’s gateway to Japan’s education system with its rigorous exams, sailor uniforms for girls and gakurans for boys But does it accurately portray other aspects of the average life of a Japanese student such as running with a slice of toast in one’s mouth if they're running late?

For an entire six years spent in Japan up until this point, I have taught elementary, junior high and senior high school. On my way to school, you do see students running towards the bus and/or train but never with a slice of toast in their mouth. I must confess, I thought the slice of toast running schoolgirl would be real and I wanted a video of that for my YouTube channel. As my time in Japan went on, reality started kicking in. The first instance happened to a fellow American friend of mine living in Hyogo (where the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya takes place). He was working for an English conversation school for children one summer and he walked to school eating an ice cream cone he bought at a vending machine. By the time he arrived, his boss actually called him into his office saying they got a complaint over the phone about him eating ice cream while walking. He was told he should not be doing that because it is not the “Japanese way” and that was that.

The thing about Japan is the people are completely about harmony, and within that harmony, there are “unspoken rules” which foreigners will have difficulty understanding due to these cultural and society differences. In a country where the foreign population has maintained at 2% between 2000-2014, the Japanese can easily do that due to them being a homogenous society that makes them in sync. My friend thought he was accused of littering which he claims he did not do, and failed to understand what the deal was about having ice cream on a hot summer day other than it’s not the “Japanese way.” When he told me about that incident, I didn't get it either. He just went with the flow and followed the rules throughout the remainder of his brief employment there. A year later after that while I was teaching junior high school in Southern Saitama, right by the border of Northern Tokyo, I was riding with two teachers on our way back from a meeting and it was past 5pm and school was long over. Near the train station, we caught a student walking by eating bread he bought at a convenience store. The teacher told me the boy broke the rules and she exited out of her car to warn him. Growing up in America where there are no such rules for students not being allowed to eat outside of school, I asked the teacher if what he did was bad. The first thing she told me was that in Japan, it is very rude to stand/walk/run while eating. The reason for this is because it is very disrespectful to the people who made the food from the farmer who farmed the wheat, to the baker who baked the flour, and to the clerk that sold bread. I was tempted to bring up that it happens in anime all the time. Considering I was in my late-twenties and this teacher was in her mid-fifties, I thought mentioning something which happens only in anime would make me look like a fool, so I just left the discussion there to not disrupt the harmony on my part.

Madoka Kaname (Puella Madoka Magica)

The second reason is because compulsory education (or gimu kyoiku) in Japan is up to 9th grade, the end of junior high, students are under strict supervision even when going home. That includes not being allowed to use vending machines, hanging out at McDonald’s, or buying food at convenience stores (of course this rule is exempted if a parent is with them). In the case of public schools in Japan, the city’s board of education provides lunches called kyushoku (which I do not recall seeing in any anime, if there is anime where students eat kyushoku and not bento, please leave a comment). The lunches that are provided tend to be healthy for a growing body, and also educates students about nutrition. Even teachers and administrative staff eat the same lunches as the students. The students eat together in their own classroom and help each other distribute the kyushoku. This also promotes harmony and equality within the environment where everybody eats the same food. As for private elementary and junior high schools, that tend to be different, I have no personal experiences in teaching private elementary and junior high, but they have different rules. I do have one friend who taught at a private junior high school and she told me the rules are more relaxed compared to public schools. Like in Prince of Tennis where Seishun Gakuen is a private junior high school, students are free to bring their own money and bentos to school, and the school also has vending machines (while public junior highs will not). Last, when a student is seen eating or drinking on his way home, it tells the community that the school is not providing the student with quality nutrition. Most of the time, students are discouraged from actually having money unless it is to pay for something school related such as textbooks or uniforms. Even on field trips they cannot purchase drinks from vending machines. However, because high school is optional in Japan, high schools tend to have more relaxed rules. Japanese high schools in my experience will not have rules about not attending restaurants or going to convenience stores during after school hours. Plus, students are free to bring their own lunches or buy their lunch at a cafeteria, as well as them being free to eat outside their homeroom classroom like what you might see in History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi! I once taught at a girl’s high school (the stories I have working there can be a series of its own) where nobody minded if they walked from the cafeteria back to their classrooms while eating ice cream. Still, the school had an incident where a girl was eating ice cream while walking and she bumped into another student ruining each other’s uniforms. Due to this accident, the school briefly banned students walking while eating for this reason, but they relaxed the rules when things calmed down.

Due to these different reasons provided by me and my friend, in the English teaching world of Japan, English teachers have a saying called, "every situation is different." In my friend’s situation, he just did what he was told for the sake of it. In compulsory education, it is about full-circle respect. In high school, it is about being careful of your surroundings. I am positive those in the education industry in Japan have experienced this and may have heard various reasons on why something is done or isn't done in a certain way. Other places in Japan will address the problem in different ways but in the end, as in western animation like The Simpsons and Beavis and Butt-Head, Japanese animation is also free to break social norms. To some non-Japanese people, they probably were thinking that a schoolgirl running late to school with a slice of toast is an everyday occurrence. Until my encounter with something minuscule to what happens in anime, I wanted to believe it, too. To the Japanese, running with a slice of toast in your mouth is about as a big deal to them as saying eat my shorts was to some American PTA groups in the 1990s. As a foreigner living and working in Japan, you are just told to do and not do certain things no matter how trivial it is for the sake of harmony (and in most instances, you unknowingly break cultural norms). In many occasions, you will not be told why because the harmony is their way of communicating and they like to do things in a vague sense. Some Japanese nationals with western experiences are able to openly share this information in more depth. Ultimately, the reasons my co-worker in Saitama shared with me makes perfect sense on why school girls running with a slice of toast in their mouth never occurs in real life. I will confess, I break sometimes break this rule a lot on my private time. I always enjoy a Coca Cola after a long train ride home, and when hungry, why wait when I can grab a Snickers.

So if you find yourself in Japan, don’t be surprised if you get strange looks if you walk while eating with a slice of toast, or anything else for that matter. It is better to educate yourself about the different cultures around you. When you have a good understanding of the lifestyle, the standards and the people in said culture, the better image you present for yourself and the country you represent. I hope this was informative to some of you anime viewers who have not yet experienced Japan first hand. After experiencing Japan, I believe people’s perceptions of anime can change and I hope to share more in the future.

Ahhh, good ole Evangelion. This show has been around forever it feels like and this is a perfect example of having a tsundere character! Just a quick intro though. The world is in danger. It is under attack by aliens called angels. Shinji, Rei, and Asuka fight in giant robots against them in hopes of saving the Earth. Now on to the tsundere. Here in this series, it’s Asuka. She originally starts out being exceptionally mean to Shinji, the main character, for what seems like no reason. She really did irritate me at first with what seemed like a superiority complex. Her reasons and backstory, be it what they may, do eventually change and she is forced to live with Shinji. She still takes jabs at Shinji throughout the series, but she does seem to have a change of heart. Asuka insults become less and less and she shows more concern for Shinji. Her backstory is explained after a few events giving more depth to her character, and eventually what happens is... … … I’m not telling you! Please enjoy the series for yourself and find out what happens!

Lucky☆Star is a classic comedy anime which otakus have come to love? Why? Because this anime is just a giant show making jokes about other anime with tons of references. To touch briefly on the plot, this show follows Konata, Kagami, Miyuki and Tsukasa and their everyday lives. Kotana is an otaku, Kagami and Tsukasa are twins and Miyuki is a very well-to-do, sweet character. The jewel that shines bright as a tsundere though, is Kagami. Now I know you’re saying, “What!?!? This show is about girls!” Stay with me here though. Kagami is very much a tsundere to the core. The difference being though is that we can see her internal dialogue a lot. Being very happy one second because Konata has come to visit her, but then yelling at her the next because Konata is trying to copy the homework. The great part about Lucky☆Star is that it almost breaks the fourth wall at one point when Konata tells Kagami that she is basically a tsundere in “real life.” The other character in the series that’s a tsundere is Akira, as a part of the Lucky Channel segment. Cute one minute for the camera, but as soon as she thinks it’s clear, she drops all character and does a 180 to be a crazy girl with a bad attitude. The scene with her realizing where her pay is going is perfect.

Toradoraaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! and all the feels! I love this show! It’s amazing. Toradora, to give you a brief background, follows Ryuji, a misunderstood high school student. Taiga is a crazy girl that everyone in the school is terrified of. They strike a deal one day that is supposed to be mutually beneficial for the both of them. He helps her, and in turn, Taiga sets Ryuji up with her friend. Taiga, voiced by Rie Kugimiya (see below) is another perfect tsundere. She does take it to the extreme a bit because she is quite violent. Hence why all the males in the school are terrified of her. She is quite lazy though at one point when a few things are reveled, but even after that, she still takes a very high handed approach to everything. Again, here is where we really do see the switching of roles by the main character and the tsundere. Even though he could call her out at any time and break her, he instead submits because his role is below hers. Taiga, like all other tsundere characters, does eventually start to make a turn around when a few other things happen, but I’m not spoiling the series for you! You will have to try it out for yourself and see what happens!

It is a common that a significant number of foreign anime viewers have all been motivated to learn the Japanese language. I will not deny that anime (along with manga, music, video games, dramas and movies) was my foundational motivation as well. For some people, it just sounds cool, dramatic, and brings a more immersive experience. And there are those that wish to visit or live in Japan in hopes of being able to communicate with the locals. I am sure if you've watched enough Hokuto no Ken, you could probably pick up the famous tag line of “omae wa mou ni shinde iru,” or “you're already dead” after over 100 episodes. Or if you have watched Prince of Tennis, you probably already know “mada mada da ne.” In addition, since the days of VHS fansubs from the 1990s, the suffixes of san, kun, chan, sensei and sama have been included with the character’s names if they are at all used. So I am sure many of you reading have managed to to pick up these simple basics. Then there are also those within the fan base and more academic oriented Japanese language learners (whether they like anime or not) that discourage it for reasons ranging from it is plain silly to that it is not a useful tool for proper learning.

For those that discourage the Japanese through anime method, the one alternative suggestion I see all the time is to take a course. I agree that taking a course under a proper instructor is the best way to go but unfortunately, not everybody has the money and/or time to take lessons at a local community college if it is offered, and if that individual is in junior high or high school, their school probably does not offer it. Thankfully, I had that luxury starting from high school since my high school (even to this day) offers Japanese courses. I was already an anime fan as far back as fifth grade and I knew I couldn't overlook this opportunity. I was excited to take a course where I could apply it to my hobbies. Since this was back in 1998, I was the only student in the class that actively watched anime and the likes of Toonami would not take off for another year. All of my other classmates were over achievers in honors classes who were taking Japanese to make it look good on their college applications. And here I was, the C student, the outsider and underdog. Despite being the underachiever, things would magically take off and I will admit that by already having some exposure to the language through anime, it gave me some advantages in adapting to the flow and pronunciation (such as the no distinction between r’s and l’s), and how their syllabary is centered back to あah, い ee, うooh, えeh, お o.

I didn't start actively watching subs until seventh grade and a year after, I did attempt learning Japanese through subtitled editions just for the heck of it. I was never expecting to formally learn the language or ever visit Japan - let alone move there. During that phase, I was able to distinct that there were many uses of “me” and “I” between men and women. I was able to pick up that “watashi” was universally but more commonly used by females and older people, while “ore” and “boku” were used by younger males. However, what anime will not tell the viewer is that “boku” is more formal to use while “ore” is informal. In addition, a lot of pop songs and anime songs sung by female vocalists tend to use “boku” a lot. “Fukai Mori” and “Every Heart” from the first Inuyasha anime are perfect examples of this usage. Many of AKB48’s and Morning Musume’s hit songs are like this as well. So for some people, especially females, they may use “boku” in a conversational setting and will get strange looks. I have seen this,happen before with an Australian female. The only female character I can think of at the top of my head that actively uses “boku” is Haruka/Sailor Uranus. And in Video Girl Ai, due to a glitch in Ai’s system, she uses “ore.” The teacher I had in high school was some what old fashioned (despite being young, she learned from her older mother) and back then, it was very bad to use “ore” with adults (especially with teachers) but today, people are somewhat more relaxed about it. Still, you wouldn't use “ore” if you met the Prime Minister. Also, many regions in Japan have different ways of saying it. Like in Osaka, there is “wai” which is used by Sendo from Hajime no Ippo, and in Hiroshima, it is “washa” which is demonstrated in Barefoot Gen. In addition to the many usages of “me” and “I,” I also noticed various instances of “you.” In Japanese it could be the standard “anata,” the more casual “anta,” the informal “omae,” and “kimi” which is used from superiors to subordinates and can also be used in casual relationships. Even though watching through anime can teacher a viewer the vocabulary, it doesn't necessarily teach a viewer how it is used. Just like in English, it's not what you say, it's how you say it and this applies very much in Japanese for many reasons because of the relationship a person may have with another. In GTO and Gokusen, I hear the words for teacher as “sensei,” “kyoushi,” and “senkou” used interchangeably a lot. “Sensei” is a title towards a person (and as a suffix this also extends to doctors, lawyers and even manga authors), “kyoushi” is means to refer to being a teacher as a profession, and “senkou” is actually a Japanese delinquents way to refer to teachers in a derogatory manner. Before moving to Japan and actually teaching high school, I thought these words were commonly used. With the exception of “senkou,” I was very wrong. I once used the word in passing during a teacher’s meeting and everybody had this big shock in their eyes. I was pulled out of the meeting by an English teacher and she explained to me that I used a bad word to refer to teachers. I couldn't use the anime/j-drama excuse because that would have sounded ridiculous. I only understood that the word was used in an anime, but the series does not explain that it's bad and only native Japanese speakers would pick up on the context why that word is used in Gokusen and GTO. I just took responsibility and apologized to the staff and we were cool. In a way, I just pulled the “baka gaijin” card and that helped.

In context to verb usage, Japanese has a lot of it. In a more academic setting, people are likely to learn the “masu” form, or the standard formal form. In anime, the casual use of a verb is likely to be used. For example, viewers are likely to hear “iku”meaning “go” all the time. However, in a classroom setting, you are likely to learn it as “ikimasu” and then learn “iku” maybe a year or two later. One example of “ikimasu” being used in anime is in Gundam. Before launching, pilots will say their name and follow it with “ikimasu” to indicate they are launching. In addition, there are forms of Japanese like keigo, a more polite use of Japanese, while there is sonkeigo, the ultimate use of Japanese politeness. Lacus Clyne from Gundam SEED always speaks in sonkeigo. For example, saying “to eat” has many forms regarding situations, relationships, and politeness. The casual form is “taberu.” Next is “tabemasu,” standard formal. Then the super formal forms become a whole different world. When you are the one eating as a guest, it is “itadakimasu.” So it can get pretty confusing.

What is also very important to the Japanese language in a grammatical sense which yes and no exist in English are particles, or joshi. Basic examples of particles include wa (using the hiragana character ha), ga, wo (pronounced o), ni, to, and de. Wa and ga are probably the most commonly used particles in the language as a whole, and you are also likely to hear it in anime a lot. But what do they mean? Wa is meant to indicate the topic of of the sentence. For example, “boku wa Justin desu,” meaning “I am Justin.” The wa refers to me. Desu means is/am/are so verbs are used at the end of a Japanese sentence as opposed to the middle like in English. In a more casual setting, people don't have to use desu and just say “boku wa Justin” and the listener will still understand. The ga indicates the subject. For example, “boku wa anime ga suki desu” meaning “I like anime.” Once again wa refers to boku meaning I am the topic, the there is ga referring to anime as the subject, and suki desu meaning like. But you may ask yourself, “but isn't subject and topic the same?” In Japanese, the topic refers to the sentence as a whole, while the subject is a relation to the main verb. In Japanese most of the time, you do not always have to say the full sentence. You can just say “anime ga suki desu” and it works perfectly fine. Or if you're with your closest circle of friends, “anime ga suki” is ok to use. Another example is this, “sakana wa boku ga tabemashita.” It mean “I ate the fish.” But if you interchange sakana and boku, it means “the fish ate me.” Once again, the “wa” particle indicates the topic that does not have a grammatical relation with the verb while the word marked by “ga” does. So think of “wa” as a distinction to something while “ga” is specifying something. Some particles can be used for various points such as “de” and “to.” “De” can mean by means of something or indicating where an action takes place. For example, “densha de ikimasu” means I go by train. But another use of de is “soko de nemashita” meaning I slept there. With “to” (pronounced toe), it means “and” and “with” and for quotations or to indicate thought or something to say. One example is “Justin-san to issho ni mimashita” meaning “I saw it with Justin.” Another example is “Teru-kun to Yuki-kun wa futago desu” meaning “Teru and Yuki are twins. One last example of “to”is using in terms of expression of words and thought is the Slam Dunk opening theme, “kimi ga suki da to sakebitai.” Of course “kimi ga suki da” means “I like you,” and “sakebitai” means “want to shout.” The “to” particle is to connect the “da,” the informal form of “desu” and “sakebitai” to mean that the singer wants to shout “I love you.” In Japanese that connecting particle is necessary.

I think to really understand and effectively utilize Japanese, one has to at least learn hiragana and katakana, the writing systems. Hiragana is more for standard Japanese based words while katakana is used with words taken from another language. For example, sushi is written as すし in hiragana while hamburger is written as ハンバーガー or hannbaagaa in katakana. Kanji is a different beast I will not get into too much detail (it qualifies as its own article), but you can learn at your own discretion depending on your motivations and your approach. I feel by learning their standard reading and writing systems, people can master the syntax as well. In my personal opinion, you can't really learn such a distinctive language without learning how to read and write. As opposed to an alphabet, their writing system is a syllabary based system so I feel to understand how they pronounce foreign words as well, this is necessary. Because the characters are syllabary based, no matter how many ways lets say the name Shawn/Sean/Shaun is spelt in the English language, it is always written as ショーン、or Shoon. Or in the case of my name, Justin, and the more feminine Justine, it is still written as ジャスティン, or Jasutin. Of course reading manga is a great way to apply this. Most Shounen and Shoujo manga have hiragana accompanying the kanji characters so it helps out. But to really master at reading (especially kanji), playing Japanese RPGs and reading Japanese newspapers are the best way to go in my experience. For writing, try getting your own calligraphy set and try practicing that way. Unfortunately, most of the time, anime viewing will not provide this opportunity except for some titles in the opening song such as Ranma ½ (written in hiragana) and Sailor Moon (written in katakana).

All I can say is, depending on who you talk to, people in Japan do find it interesting that foreigners are interested in learning Japanese because of anime. Even Aso Taro, a former prime minister (and someone who openly admits to being a manga and anime fan) was impressed with its rising international influence and Obama thanked present Prime Minister Abe for anime and manga. However, I do feel there are numerous limitations to learning Japanese exclusively through anime. The viewer can pick up a lot of words, but it doesn't teach the viewer when and how it should be used. It will also not teach the viewer how to distinct particle usage, various regional dialects, verb conjugation and so on. I think it is great that many of us fans want to do something productive with our hobby. But simply watching any TV program is very passive so it is probably not the best way to acquire the language but if you have the chance to take a course, it works most tool as it was for me when I took Japanese in high school and in college. A week after I started taking Japanese, I always had my notebooks, textbooks and dictionaries on hand. I would try to look at what I learned and see what I could recognize. Then if there was something that stood out to me, I would make a note of it and ask my teacher for confirmation.

I do feel by learning hiragana and katakana and by using it to read manga, it is a more pro-active approach in acquiring the language. The reader is reading it based on their knowledge and if are in a private area, try reading it aloud. Take notes of the particles, verb conjugation, and the characters personal position and relationships on why they have a particular speech pattern. Japanese video games, especially RPGs, whether voiced or not are an effective tool. They are very interactive in a sense you do have opportunities to use Japanese in a more simulated communicative approach. If there was one game that tremendously helped me with my Japanese studies in my youth, it was the Dreamcast cult classic, Shenmue. The game has been praised endlessly of its portrayal of the Japanese environment from its neighborhoods to its shopping centers. By playing it in the original Japanese, even though I was not a Japanese native like Ryo, I felt through him, I was in Japan myself and now living here, it was a great training tool (don't worry, I don't go out looking for sailors). I always had my textbooks, notebooks, and dictionaries handy. Plus, the game has subtitles (either all in hiragana and katakana or I could include kanji) so if I could always memo a word I didn't understand to look up and take memo of. Of course studying through music is a fun (but not 100% the best) way of trying to master flow and pronunciation. In the Japanese broadcasts of anime, the lyrics of the ending and opening credits will have the lyrics in hard sub format at the bottom so please practice hiragana and katakana first and try reading the lyrics. You may not be a great singer but neither will most of your friends (or so I hope). The thing is, singing gives you an active (keyword is active) chance to use the language. Cruel Angel Thesis is a huge hit at karaoke get togethers. I surprised my co-workers by singing Itoshisa to Setsunasa to Kokorozuyosa to from Street Fighter II. In fact, it was a popular song in Japan in the 90s and they were very surprised I knew that song and could sing the lyrics. I say the easiest song to start out with is Moonlight Densetsu from Sailor Moon. Maybe someday, you will be like a Saint Seiya fan from France who auditioned to be on a singing show by singing Pegasus Fantasy.

I say if you can't take a course, I recommend these books which can help your studies and then try to compare it with how it used in anime. For a simple online course, I strongly recommend http://www.erin.ne.jp. It is excellently structured and organized to start from the basics and advance as you go along.

Japanese For Busy People

• Basic Kanji Book Vol.1 by Chieko Kano, Hiroko Takenaka, and Eriko Ishik [amazonjs asin="4893580914" locale="US" title="Basic Kanji Book, Vol. 1"]
• Japanese Particle Workbook by Taeko Kamiya [amazonjs asin="0834804042" locale="US" title="Japanese Particle Workbook"]
• A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui [amazonjs asin="4789004546" locale="JP" title="Japanese Particle Workbook"]

Tablet and Smartphone apps

• J Idioms
• Learning Japanese 文法ガイド

Who can possibly forget this harem? It is about a boy named Hiraga Saito who was summoned from his world to be the familiar of Louise, a loser magician at Tristein Academy, who has been unable to properly use her magic. Unfortunately, no matter how much the two do not like each other, they’re stuck—Saito cannot go back to Japan and Louise cannot summon another familiar, so they must learn to work together as magician and familiar. This anime was so popular at its time that it did summon 2 sequels! There are so many girls in this anime of different personas, you can’t get bored because they definitely don’t fall under the realm of “normal” harem girls. There are antics, hijinks, and adventures to be had in this anime! Watch the plot unfold as we discover what is truly going on behind the scenes at Tristein Academy.

In the halls of Ouran Gakuen exists a host club where rich students go for relief from their boredom. While attempting to find a quiet place to study, Fujioka Haruhi stumbles across this host club and accidentally destroys a valuable vase. Unfortunately, Haruhi is a commoner who is at the school on a scholarship and cannot pay for it, so Haruhi is forced to work for the host club as their dog. Surrounded by these entitled rich kids, Haruhi is forced to undergo a makeover to become a handsome host to pay off the debt, however, Haruhi is actually a girl! This genderbender anime is one of the most popular anime due to the funny antics, comedy, and appeal to girls. There’s a guy for all tastes! You’ll even love Haruhi for her cool attitude and bluntness. She definitely doesn’t get fazed by her handsome companions. If you haven’t seen this silly reverse harem, you are seriously missing out!

Though a bit on the older side, Golden Boy is widely held among anime viewers as ecchi as it get before hitting the hentai zone. Based off Tatsuya Egawa’s popular seinen manga under the same name, Golden Boy tells the story of Kintarou Oe, an intelligent young man on a journey to learn more about the world. During his travels around Japan, Kintarou encounters several extremely attractive women who doubt his earnestness. Yet, Kintarou perseveres and ends up charming the women in more ways than one. For those interested in seeing the change in how ecchi transforms the women’s body within seinen-oriented media, Golden Boy is probably a good place to start.

Ranma ½ is another classic anime with strong ecchi elements. Ecchi become common place in Rumiko Takahashi’s gender bending story about Ranma Saotome, a boy trained in the martial arts who becomes a girl when slashed with cold water and a boy with hot water. Perhaps due to its gender bending nature, Ranma ½ reveals how ecchi plays on human desires as Ranma uses his female form to his advantage to achieve his goals. Comedic as it is fan service-y, Ranma ½ satisfies anyone searching for a narrative with a side of ecchi.

A much more recent representation of ecchi, No Game No Life embodies the self-aware, modern rhythm permeating ecchi anime today. No Game No Life, as an anime about otaku/hikkikomori life and directed at a more otaku-ish audience, hams up its ecchi elements. Yet, this hamming up is not merely over the top fan service. Rather, ecchi in No Game No Life appears to reflect its modern developments. When comparing it to the ecchi of Golden Boy and Ranma ½ , we can perhaps see the various directions ecchi has expanded.

This was actually the show I suggested for my tsundere article as well! It has so many good character archetypes. If spineless, whiny protagonists ends up as an article too, I’ll put Shinji in there for you all! (/shot) Eva is major because it rolls out what a true Kuudere is and gave us the basis for the Rei Ayanami expy(anime trope). So basically Rei has this horribly dark past which I’m not getting to explain because it would ruin the show! You have to watch Evangelion. She has a fondness for almost passing as mute. She stays cool and calm for a myriad of reasons throughout the show rarely ever showing emotion. When she does show emotion though, you know something is up!

Just about anyone who’s everyone has seen or at least heard of Fullmetal Alchemist(referred to as FMA from here on out). It’s literally on the back of your otaku membership card under requirements under section B.2 subsection 3/footnote 14 Point K. (/slaps self) ANYWAY, FMA has a rich and diverse group of characters, and there are even some that personify the seven deadly sins as themselves! It’s fantastic! The kuudere star of this series though is none other than Riza Hawkeye. Now it should be noted that while she is a kuudere character throughout the show, she wasn’t always one as she progresses into a kuudere character from her past. It is those events from her past that have formed her into the person that she is. She generally presents herself as a very stoic and one dimensional character of few words. However, her love of her puppy shows a part of her dere side as well as how Roy Mustang is able to spark reactions from her (no pun intended). She also does, aside from the fact that she is a soldier, care for her fellow military brethren on her team.

Okay, now I know what you’re thinking but listen, this is a beginners article, so I wanted to give you a very easy gem to spot. Sailor Moon, the original series that is, is PERFECT for this! One of the very first kuudere characters to exist and have a major role in an anime, other than being sidelined like some kuudere do, is Setsuna Meiou. I know now that you’re asking yourself, “Who is Setsuna??” Well, she’s tall, fairly quiet, gives off vibes of being alone and has an actual weapon with her at all times. It’s Sailor Pluto! Originally introduced in Sailor Moon R, just as a fleeting role, she is the guardian of time. She stands at the gate of time quite lonely and sad due to the fact that well, she is always alone. Her cool guard is almost always up unless it comes to small lady/Chibiusa/Rini. Even when she does become free from the gate of time, she still tends to stay a bit aloof from everyone hanging out with the outer senshi. She does in the later seasons come around to give Usagi more advice, but she doesn’t stay for too long.

Mirai Nikki or Future diary is the true, quintessential, crazy-to-the-core show with a true yandere character. It all starts out with Yukiteru Amano aka Yuki being a shut-in. He doesn’t really talk to anyone at school and he can’t wait to go home and write a diary on his cellphone. He talks with some deity called Deus Ex Machina. The problem is Deus is real and wants a game. Suddenly he’s thrown into a fight to the death game in real life with 11 other people. The goal is to get the happy end in their diaries and not be killed. The real shining star here though is Yuno Gasai or the second diary holder. Yuno Gasai is the craziest person I have ever seen in an anime, ever. She does anything and everything to keep Yuki with her. She really does love him, but maaaaaaaaaaaaan is her love creepy. She will kill anyone who tries to come after Yuki in the game or in real life. She will not let anyone come between them. She is psychopathic to the core and manipulates anything that she sees to advance her and Yuki. Even though with all the crazy flailing about within this series, she does progressively become more earnest in confessing her love for Yuki. At first, she is a borderline creepy stalker. However, as time goes on, Yuki learns that he cannot live without Yuno. This series is the perfect, and I do mean perfect, example of a true yandere. Don’t miss out on this series at all!

The crazy train is not stopping as we reach the anime School Days. School Days follows the life of Makoto Ito, a first year high school student. He sees Kotonoha on the train one day and liking her, takes a picture on his phone and saves it as his wallpaper. That day, his friend Sekai sees the photo and offers to help Makoto and Kotonoha get together. She goes back and forth between the two giving advice. Lies, betrayal, unfaithfulness, desperation, and some two timing later, lives are in ruin and lives have ended. Watch it to see (boats) what happens! This show actually has two yandere characters. Kotonoha and Sekai. Both are actually girlfriends of Makoto at different points for different reasons. However, and I won’t spoil anything, the crazy really comes out towards the end of the series. Kotonoha and Sekai start out as friends. They both care for Makoto with Sekai supporting the relationship between Makoto and Kotonoha. Kotonoha is the more mentally destructive yandere for the most part while Sekai is the more verbal and outburst type of yandere. Eventually, they become pitted against each other in their conquest for Makoto leading to some really intense scenes and I really do want to go on and on but I can’t without spoiling the show! Just to let you know how good the show is, the finale was actually pulled from TV the day before it was supposed to air and was shown in a limited viewing. Instead TV stations showed pictures of nice boats. Which is where the “nice boat” meme comes from. The more you know.

Ken Kaneki is a normal boy who befriends a girl named Rize Kamishiro. However, when he walks her home one night, she reveals herself to be a zombie who loves to eat humans. An accident happens and both are injured semi-fatally. His life is saved by the doctors putting her organs into him. Now he wakes up and he is unable to eat food. It tastes revolting and makes him want to puke. A sign that he’s a zombie. He craves blood constantly. Yet another sign. He is taken in by a coffee shop run by zombies called Anteiku. Passing himself off as a human, he learns more about himself at the café and the increasing number of zombie attacks on humans. As he learns more, he encounters more and more zombies, and cue the entrance of Shuu Tsukiyama. Shuu is about as well… he is just… it is that kind of thing where… ok he is just plain weird. He kind of reminds me, at first, when you first meet him, as one of those weird aloof characters. Maybe he is a tsundere? Nah. Then he takes some turns and it suddenly feels like Tokyo Ghoul is not a zombie action show anymore and it is a yaoi. Then when “Gourmet,” his nickname, can’t find a way to have Kaneki and kill him too like he wants, he goes CRAZY. It’s like, instead of being a few French fries short of a happy meal, he is all the French fries short of it… you know what, Shuu is not even that menu item anymore. He is a whole nother level of WTF. He wants to, at one point, eat Kaneki while Kaneki eats someone else. He always stays in the picture, obsessed with Kaneki, but his trademark is going to the bathroom. There he takes a handkerchief out of a zip lock bag and places it over his mouth. Restricting his breathing to only breathing through this handkerchief stained with Kaneki’s blood, he screams “tres bien” in a very high voice. What kind of autoerotic asphyxiationis this nonsense… NO. Hope you like the series!

Okay so this is another major fan favorite! TMoHS follows a guy nicknamed Kyon and Haruhi as they for a group called the SOS brigade. They exist to seek out aliens and extraterrestrial life. Eventually three more members are introduced, an esper, a time traveler and a mute artificial intelligence human. Kyon is, begrudgingly dragged out on these missions to see the world and keep it safe from falling apart. The dandere here is none other than Nagato Yuki! Sometimes Nagato is classified as a kuudere and I’m going to tell you why that is an incorrect classification. First, Nagato doesn’t really speak. It would be one thing if she was open with her friends. However, she barely speaks to anyone even in her down club! Next, Yuki seems to have issues sometimes speaking as when Kyon will talk to her, she doesn’t give him sassy or highhanded answers. She tells him exactly how it is. Finally, she has nothing to prove. It would be one thing if she came out and said something, but she never really does unless it is essentially crucial. This is what makes her a danere and not a kuudere. Nagato does seem to have some feelings for Kyon though. This is not a spoiler, don’t worry. By watching you’ll see that of all members, Kyon is the one that she speaks to the most. This is what indicates her feelings. Nagato always has her head in a book. She doesn’t speak. She could be considere a bit socially awkward as well considering people will ask her questions and it seems as if they shoot right over her head. Nagato is a true dandere and I hope you like her! Check her out in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Anyone who reads my articles knows that I really have a soft place for this show. Kimi ni Todoke is about Sawako Kuronuma, nicknamed Sadako (like the girl from the horror movies). Sadako is just so horribly awkward that she can never say anything coherently and always comes across as a really creepy girl. Deep down she’s very friendly, but her shyness does her in every time. One day though, the boy she idolizes, Kazehaya befriends her and suddenly doors are opened for her. She is now able to make friends and talk to different people every day. Is there more blossoming between the two? Check it out for more! In my opening, I mentioned how a character being socially awkward also can be part of dandere because of their inability to communicate. Sawako is another great example of this. Her awkwardness does her in every time leaving most people either incredibly terrified that she is a witch, or ignoring her and laughing because they can’t make out what she is saying. She stays stuck in the “dan” part always looking for a way out. Her “dere” side does not come out though until Kazehaya brings it out in her. This doesn’t happen though till way later in the series because even when she does start to come out of her shell, it doesn’t happen all at once. It is a gradual progression. Check out the show though because it rocks!

Durarara!! opens up with Mikado Ryugamine who has moved to Ikebukuro for a new life and is meeting up with his childhood friend Masaomi Kida. When they meet up, they start exploring Ikebukuro talking about various things. Masaomi warms Mikado about the various dangers of Ikebukuro and how he needs to take care of himself. Then eventually he has an encounter with the mysterious Black Rider. The story then progresses on to show many unique and diverse characters. It culminates by all their storylines coming together. And that’s all the general information I can give you! The dandere star of this series is the well-endowed and again socially awkward (with good reason) Anri Sonohara. Anri goes to the same school as Mikado and Masanomi. She is the quite type and she is well liked by most of her classmates. Anri is closest to Kida and Mikado. She reacts awkwardly to her fame because well… it is awkward to be appreciated for her rather ample chest. Anri has a dark past which contributes to her silence and awkwardness. You’ll have to watch the show though to find out more!

Truth be told, No. 6 is not exactly a BL anime per se since the relationship between the two main characters, Shion and Nezumi, is not outright romantic. However, No. 6 represents an important example of a type of anime that feeds the Boys Love fandom even if it is not precisely within the genre. This is in part due to the suggestive scenarios and actions between Shion and Nezumi that hint at the possibility of an intimate relationship, an element that often appears in anime that wants to attract a female audience. (See Tiger and Bunny, Samurai Flamenco, K, and a handful of Jump sports anime.) Rather than showing two guys hitting up the hot and heavy, No. 6 instead acts as an catalyst that produces fodder for derivative works such as dōjinshi, fan fiction, etc. that would fall under the Boys Love/yaoi category. For those unfamiliar with this show, No. 6 is a futurist anime that followers the story of Shion, a young genius who has his world changed after encountering the rough and tumble Nezumi. With the help of Nezumi, Shion he discovers more about mysterious deaths that he has been wrongly accused of committing and the dark secrets within the “utopia” where he lives.

Based off the popular manga with the same name and a spin off of the infamous Junjou Romantica, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi is a Boys Love anime proper unlike No. 6. While these elements are a little more toned down in the anime when compared to the manga, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi has all of the classic elements stereotypically associated with the Boys Love/yaoi genre: rather large hands, an aggressive seme, and a smaller uke when compared to the seme. For those in search of a sampling of male-male couples, this anime will more than satisfy; rather than focusing on one couple, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi rotates from couple to couple within a 12-episode span in the first season. (This series also has a 12 episode second season for those who want the love to continue.) While Sekaiichi Hatsukoi does feature other couples, the anime’s primary focus on the relationship between Onodera Ritsu, a young editor recently assigned to the shojo manga editorial division, and Takano Matsumune, the editor-in-chief and Ritsu’s long lost high school first love. After a misunderstanding that tore the couple apart during their high school days, Takano attempts to win back Onodera.

Love Stage falls in line with Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, an anime based off the Boys Love manga series under the same name written by a mangaka still involved in the contemporary dōjinshi scene. While Sekaiichi Hatsukoi focuses on characters in the 20’s, Love Stage dwells on high school love antics. For those who want something a little more youthful (and at times off the wall), Love Stage might be for you. Like Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, Love Stage follows the story of two boys, Izumi Sena and Ryoma Ichijo, who have been reunited after a long period of separation. However, Love Stage adds a twist; though Ryoma fell in love with Sena when they were children, he didn’t realize at the time that Sena was a boy. Upon encountering the now teenage, otaku Sena, Ryoma quickly reorients himself to love Sena even if he is a boy and labors away at winning him over.

Some people may have the misconception that lolitas are a Japanese concept. That is false. The term comes from the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, which was published in 1955. It was the nickname given to Dolores, a young prepubescent girl that the main character had become infatuated and sexually involved with.

So you see, the concept of a lolita was not started in Japan. The Japanese have merely expanded and adapted the idea of lolita as their own!

The idea of being attracted to lolitas seems like such a foreign, if not morally wrong, concept to many of us, but a lolita is not limited to just girls who are young. Lolita can refer to a girl who looks young. You may have seen this phenomenon the most when talking about Asian girls, though I prefer not to be so general when it comes to races, but Asian women tend to look a lot younger than their age. A young face combined with a small stature does not help to distinguish age. I saw this often in my Vietnamese friends who looked extremely young with a height no taller than 5 feet.

People would often times mistaken them as children or middle schoolers. This can be coupled with a young sounding voice giving the illusion that a girl is a child without actually being a child. I was often told I looked like a baby and sounded like a child when I answered phones at work. It does not help you gain respect from customers, let me tell you that! It makes dating an awkward situation for some as well.

Women are typically more obsessed with a more youthful appearance whether it's an eastern or a western society. Women generally prefer to look young. I won't go as far as saying that women want to look like children because no one out there is looking to reel in a pedophile, but women do want to look younger than their reported age in most cases, especially as we age.

With a youth obsessed society, it can be expected that some men want young looking partners so the idea of being sexually attracted to a younger partner isn't too farfetched.

Now, lolitas in anime are generally adorable young girls or teenage girls who appear really young. I want to step away from that idea that there is a sexuality about these characters because that is not always the case. A lot more often than not, when it comes to anime, there is a moe aspect to them.

The middle school or grade school girls are for that moe effect in most harem anime. What male wouldn't feel absolutely moe at having an adorable little girl look up to him with respect and call him "onii-chan"? These are such sweet and innocent girls that you can't help but want to hug them with all of your might!

Of course, it's a unisexually love as demonstrated by Kirino from Ore wa Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (OreImo) who just adores the little sister type. For her, it is the epitome of moe. In this instance, there is a feeling of excitement and infatuation involved rather than a sexual desire. This is fairly standard of most loli-cons so I don't want people thinking that just people someone is a loli-con that they are some sort of pedophile.

Now, the other type of lolita would be the young looking type. This would include characters like Kanisawa Kinu from Tsuyokiss who wish to be respected like other individuals their age, but their appearance doesn't exactly warrant it. This is not as common, but it is still standard in harem anime especially, but they can still help fulfill the moe of a loli-con such as the case with Koshigaya Komari from Non Non Biyori.

I personally do not see any issue with having a lolita complex at all. They aren't all the pedophiles or sexual deviants that we hear about on the news. I have known a few shota-cons who just want to cuddle a little boy but sex was never on their minds. Loli-cons are very much the same way. I can see it being very moe to see a little girl with tears in her eyes. You can't help but want to give them a big hug!

A way in which Japan has made the lolita completely their own would be in fashion. Much like other fashions in Japan, lolita fashion is different from what we westerners think of fashion. In fact, lolita fashion is a common cosplay for westerners. Sorry, but lolita clothes are not for cosplaying.

Yes, people do not always walk around in lolita clothes, but that is because they are students and there are uniforms at many Japanese schools. That does not mean that when students choose to dress in lolita fashion that they are cosplaying and just doing it for fun. Lolita fashion is very strict and involves a lot more work.

Lolita fashion is notable for its intricate use of lace, ribbon, bows, and accessories, but there are also other aspects. Lolita clothing is meant to emphasize the youthfulness of a girl. It is a very conservative fashion so exposed skin is kept to a minimum. Shoulders are never exposed and hemlines are kept below the knees, which is a common mistake when people just cosplay as lolitas. Lolita fashion is quite strict and if you're not doing it right, you'll be called an ita, and that is not exactly a pleasant nickname.

There are a few different styles for lolitas. The most common one that we see in anime would have to be the goth-loli (gothic loli) which uses mainly the colors black and white. Anju from Karin (Chibi Vampire Karin and Celestia Ludengburg from Danganronpa dress in goth-loli. Wa-loli uses traditional Japanese fashion and adds in some lolita aspects such as the petticoats, shorter hems, and accessories.

This is probably my favorite as it is a blend of old and new aspects of Japanese culture. Guro-loli is a more morbid take on lolita fashion that involves fake blood and bandages. Then there is hime-loli and sweet loli that make use of brighter colors like pink and are generally more girly in fashion. There's an alternate take on lolita fashion called Oji-loli (prince loli) which uses Victorian-styled clothes for boys like Ciel from Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler).