I recently went to see the Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow, which is basically Groundhog Day meets Saving Private Ryan meets sci-fi war drama Muv-Luv and time-travel adventure Steins;Gate. The movie is unique because it’s the first Hollywood film based on a Japanese light novel, a hardcore military SF series called All You Need Is Kill, and it represents what could be the beginning of a new wave of films based on Japanese source material. (If you saw the film, you might have smiled at Emily Blunt’s “is there something on my face?” line, which is common trope seen in anime.) One interesting word of Japanese is ネタ neta, which refers to the top part of sushi (the fish part), but also to creative ideas for anything from jokes written for a comedy act to the topics for these little missives that I write on J-List. Everyone knows that Hollywood has been ネタ切れ neta-gire (“out of ideas”) for a long time, which is why 75% of the films at the theater are sequels, prequels or reboots of existing franchises. I’m cautiously happy at the prospect of Japanese writers being able to have their ideas taken up in a new medium, although as a long-time fan of 2D animation, I hope they resist the temptation to make live action versions of existing anime series, since none of us wants that.
Over the years I’ve learned a lot about the Japanese. They’re extremely polite, always careful to avoid confrontation and unpleasantness with others. They’re very hardworking, occasionally to the point of karoshi, or death from overwork, something we have a strict policy against at J-List. Another thing I’ve learned about the Japanese is that they love to get into new hobbies through 格好 kakko or “style,” usually spending lots of money to look good before developing any actual skills. For example, if a Japanese person wants to take up skiing, they’ll usually rush go spend $1000 on skis and ski wear so that they they look great…even as they snowplow down the mountain. When my kids were younger I decided I wanted to take them camping, since that seemed like a cool father-and-son thing to do, so we threw a tent and some sleeping bags into the car and drove off. When we got to the campground at Mt. Akagi, I was shocked by what I saw: a dozen Japanese families with gleaming state-of-the-art Coleman stoves and lanterns, expensive tents and fancy folding camping chairs. I was so embarrassed at my shoddy camping gear we left the campgrounds and found a nice spot by the lake instead.
If you love the popular anime Kill la Kill, J-List has some fun products you should see, from all the awesome Nendoroid and other figures to T-shirts and jackets to artbooks and even oppai mouse pads. A longtime fans of Gainax (and now Trigger), we love Kill la Kill. Browse our selection of items now!
