Castlevania Vengeance

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Konami‘s classic of the 80’s to return to the screens! Not as a game for once, but premiering as an anime on Netflix. Great artwork comes with it. This could become interesting and feed our thirst for nostalgia 😃.

As darkness to set over the land and evil to take hold in mortals, one fearless man to return from depths of oblivion to safe us all…

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NHK World Easy Japanese – Japanese Beginner Lessons

Sakura & Anna First Encounter
The main characters of the NHK World Radio Japan audio drama Easy Japanese Anna (right side), a student from Thailand and Sakura (left side), her Japanese tutor and friend, at their first encounter at the university campus. In the background, the cherry trees in full bloom indicate the arrival of spring, which is also the time for new school semesters in Japan.

Are you a budding student of Japanese, looking into ways to get your Japanese learning routine off the ground?

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Super Dragon Ball Heroes Card Game

20170330_Super Dragon Ball Heroes HeaderSince my last pop-culture related post nearly 2 years have passed and it was more or less about the same subject 😝 With all the community and fan blogs on anime and manga out there I’m never able to keep pace, so I rather choose to focus on other areas. I make an exception with this article though as I did at the time when I wrote about the release of Dragon Ball Super 🔗. Back then, it was also the first time I learned about Dragon Ball Heroes (ドラゴンボールヒーローズ; DBH) and actually intended to make a post about it. However, priorities changed and I left it on the side. Now, I incidentally came across the topic again just recently and it bugged me that I never managed to write that post. So I shall pick it up once more and set about this article under the motto, better late than never 😄 Here we go!

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It should have become an ordinary afternoon. School is finished and homework is done, you and your friends rally to the favorite spot in town, the local game center to immerse in carefree hours of play and to talk shop about Dragon Ball – your favorite hobby! But things turn out totally different, as you suddenly get sucked into the game with heart and soul, the moment you place down those cards onto the gaming machine monitor…

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Kaji Meiko – New Single out now!

kaji meikoAnd she is back! – While work for next articles is waiting in my drawer, I thought to make a short post on the release of a new single (maxi) by popular ballad singer and movie cult siren Kaji Meiko (梶  芽衣子・かじ  めいこ)😍. I’m a big fan of her music and have translated two of her songs so far here on MyLittle Dejima. The links for those articles you may find at the end ⬇ of this post – tune in🎶.

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AmazonGlobal Otaku and Popular Character Stores at amazon.co.jp

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amazon.co.jp got you settled with everything you need, directly from Japan to your door steps!

A few months ago, back in October 2016, I posted the first version of this article, however, a change corrupted some of the settings😤 and it’s no longer appearing properly on Google (sigh, technology 😩!), which lead me to post this again. Might have been a WordPress glitch, but I hope the new article stays unaffected. The former article I left as is though, as some visitors might still strand there (see Edition History on the bottom⬇). The main content remains mostly the same except for some minor editing. Well, here we go again🏃💨!

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The unfulfilled Ambition of an Edo Police Chief Inspector

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「待っていたぞっ、火付盗賊改メ、長谷川平蔵じゃ!」・’I have been waiting for you! This is chief inspector of the arson and robbery department, Hasegawa Heizou – freeze!’, he proclaims in typical manner as he catches criminals red-handed on the crime scene. He wears his signature soldier helmet of authorized rank, the Jingasa (陣笠・じんがさ) and in his hand he thrusts out a short, metallic truncheon, called a Jitte (十手・じって, usually of metal with a hook on the side to ward off sword attacks). Nothing escapes his sharp sight and what he aimed for, he will not let of the hook again – watch out you villains out there!

After my first stint into Japanese history with the article about the Shimabara Rebellion, this article I like to devote to Hasegawa Nobutame (長谷川宣以・はせがわのぶため; 1745-1795), a historic figure of the same era, the Edo Period (江戸・えど; 1603-1868). The name Hasegawa Nobutame might not ring many bells because in Japan he is more commonly known by the name of Hasegawa Heizou (長谷川平蔵・はせがわへいぞう), or his alias Onihei (鬼平・おにへい).

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The Legend of Zelda 30th Anniversary

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Played them all? For me personally, I like the titles up and until the Ocarina of Time best, whereby The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for the Gameboy and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo are my favorites. What is yours?
2016 marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most popular game series with Legend of Zelda (ゼルダの伝説ゼルダのでんせつ; Zeruda no Densets) and beloved game characters, the legendary adventurer Link (リンク). A character counting to the inner most circle of the expansive Nintendo line of heroes. Time to write a little tribute on this iconic game and its courageous hero!

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amazon.co.jp Ranking 2016

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Hold it right there!…Hear ye and come on in, you shoppers out there :). Amazon Japan published its annual category rankings – get the best of 2016 as long as it lasts! There will be more than you can carry ;).

Howdy reader, how is your Christmas shopping 2016 🎄🎁 coming along so far? Got everything together for the year-end🎉🎈 ? Or are you helplessly behind and struggle for ideas😥?

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Silence the Movie

If I had posted this about a week ago, it would have been the turkey, but now it’s just a rest of gravy. Nonetheless, I like to write an article about it, as it represents a part of Japanese history that is very fascinating to me. The talk is – as the above trailer gives away – Martin Scorsese‘s (マーティン・スコセッシ; The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, Gangs of New York) latest work and pet project with the adaption of ‘Silence’. A movie based on the best-seller novel of Endou Shuusaku (Shūsaku Endō; 遠藤 周作・えんどう しゅうさく; Japanese author from March 27, 1923 – September 29, 1996) by the same name, published in 1966, revolving around Christianity in Japan.

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Popin’ Cookin’ DIY Candy Kits ‘Fun Sushi Shop’ by Kracie

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This post is featuring the making of ‘sushi’ sweets with the ‘Fun Sushi Shop’ (楽しいお寿司屋さん・たのしいおすしやさん) DIY kit in the Popin’ Cookin’ Chef Series, produced by the Japanese food and pharmaceutical multi concern Kracie (クラシエ) and available, for instance on amazon.co.jp in lots of 5 or 10.

As we go towards the end of the year 🎅🎄, you might wanna try something new with your youngsters or for yourself, besides the traditional cookie making. There is a variety of 10+ such cute DIY kits 🍬🍭 you may choose from, differing in style and flavor (a list on the bottom of this article). In Japan they are categorized as Education Sweets (知育菓子・ちいくかし) for kids (3 – 12 years) to sensitize them from an early age on for the respectful handling of foods and to nurture their imagination by hands on experience. However, they are not only kids’ stuff, as nowadays they enjoy huge popularity at home and abroad with people of all ages. For a start, I tried myself on the ‘Fun Sushi Shop’ kit 🍣, which totally lived up to its name, making for a joyous pastime at this time of season. Let’s see how I did and get down to cookin’!

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