Another anime series I started watching recently is Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, or God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World!, abbreviated KonoSuba. It follows the recent trend established by SAO or DanMachi of taking modern characters and putting them inside a fantasy world, resulting in comedy and interesting commentary on our own world. When game otaku and NEET Kazuma dies on the way to school, he finds himself with a choice: he could go to heaven (a really boring place), or be reincarnated inside a RPG-like world, an option he jumps at. There he finds that fantasy worlds can be dreary places, just like the world he left from.
In one memorable scene from the series, Kazuma picks up a new skill, Steal, and is suddenly able to magically snitch objects from others…including the pantsu female characters are currently wearing. When the mage Megumin gets her underwear pilfered, she says, “It’s a bit drafty, please give me back my panties.” The word she uses is suu suu, which is the onomatopoeia for wind blowing through an open door…though it also describes the feeling of, er, going commando. There are plenty of these interesting “sound” words in Japanese: kira kira , the sound of stars twinkling; jiiiii!, the sound of someone staring intensely; shiiiin, the sound of absolute silence, pronounced like “sheen”; and poki, the sound of a long object breaking in half, where Pocky gets its name. Onomatopoeia are definitely among the most enjoyable parts of learning Japanese, since they are so random and fun.
J-List stocks awesome anime magazines from Japan, including several that shower fans with free stuff, like Megami and Nyantype, which are filled with posters featuring the latest series. The magazines for the new month have just come in, so browse them on the site now!
