Collectible Choco Wafer
The chocolate wafer Konata was generously sharing with everyone was something that can only be invented in Japan - it is a collectible card game made by Bandai called "
神羅万象" (Shinranbanshyo). What's great about this game is that when you buy a new card packet, you also get a - CHOCO WAFER! So the kid gets the card AND a snack. Perfect marketing. Why does Konata have so many? She probably have a card she really wanted and got carried away. Any card game fan can identify with that, only you no get no choco wafer.
Munchies for all your battles!
Lucky * Animals
Just a short list of the RAKI * Doubutsu:
- Konata - Fox
- Tsukasa - Puppy (she's no bia.. )
- Yutaka - Squirrel
- Kagami - Rabbit
- Yui-nee-chan - Leopard
- Minami - Eagle
- Miyuki - Sheep or Cow
Super-Smart Animals
Man this EP is all about animals! When the Tsukasa and Kagami were talking about dogs, the TV show which triggered this debate is a very, very popular TV show called
天才!志村どうぶつ園 (Tensai! Shimura Doubutsu En). This is a show loved by everyone and hosted by a Japanese comedic Legend,
志村けん (Shimura Ken). He was the first manzai comedian to make it big on TV and he has hosted numerous shows which is the model for today's comedic variety shows. Everyone in Japan knows him. This particular show he's hosting is is about animals... especially smart animals doing tricks or performing impossible tasks. There are a lot of segment featuring dogs and cats, but the most famous animal from the show is the Chimpanzee named
パンくん (pan-kun) and his pet dog James. Yes, he's one of the smartest non-human primate in the world, with the IQ of a 3-yrs old, so he gets a pet dog. With his dog James, Pan-kun performs human tasks such as shopping, riding the bus, feeding his dog, cleaning his room, visiting his vet, and cook his own meals, all by himself. A lot of cele talentos such as Aoki Sayaka (we like her) host segments on this show due to the popularity. It's a great show, folks.
Here's a video of one of the Pan-kun segments. Watch as Pan-kun board a train with James, his faithful Pitbull. That old guy on the top left is Shimura the host.
Japanese Elections
Konata complaining about how Japanese Diet
Election Coverage has disturbed her anime viewing. Japan held an Diet Upper House election last week and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost its majority in the Upper House. Since the Lower House is more powerful, the still rule Japan but the LDP Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, refused to resign even though the election was seen as a referendum on his rule. His brief reign was marred by scandals and some moves to change Japan's pacifist constitution, while economy and reform stagnated. His ratings were as low as Bush before the election, and his party took a great loss. This election was followed closely by Japanese TV, and and many otakus were inconvenienced by the coverage. But what Konata may not know or care is that the current Foreign Minister,
Aso Taro, an otaku who likes "Rozen Maiden" and even campaigned in Akiba, is next in line for the PM job. He is big on the export of Japan's "Soft Power", meaning anime/manga, and even sponsored events like an International Manga Award to promote it. If he becomes PM, we'll probably see the Japanese military actively develop Mobile Suits and female government employee will be required to wear maido outfits. (Aso has a lot of problems I won't get into here.)
Rozen Aso with Rozen Maiden: Vote for me and Suiseiseki neh!
Kick Boxing One
We found out by accident that Nanako-sensei liked to watch
K1, Japanese professional Kick-boxing-based "Martial-Arts Fighting Competition". It's like Ultimate Fighting Champtionship in the US, only that K1 focus on Muay Thai and other boxing styles more so there's less grappling moves dominated other ultimate fighting circuits. K1 is popular in Japan, although Pride Fighting Championship is probably more so. This is what non-otaku guys in Japan watches.
Akebono, the former Sumo Yokozuna, versus Musashi, a fan favorite, in a K1 match:
Japanese Cell Plans
Getting a phone in Japan is really similar to getting it in the US, even though the phones are vastly different. Usually you get a phone for free or really cheap for signing a two-year contract (that's why Kagami said 2 years), but the plan can be much cheaper than the US. The only thing that's really expensive in Japan is the data rate, which is counted by packet. You don't pay for receiving phone calls but you do when you initiate the call (which is norm in most countries except the US). That's why many girls would carry multiple handsets, so she can give out number to specific handset to different types of people; this is especially true under the Japan-only PHS system, where you pay zero or very little monthly fee and only pay for the outgoing calls you make (which is usually cheaper too). Negative part of PHS is that it's only available in certain cities and the handsets are not as advanced/cool. Selecting a handset and a carrier/plan is an art in Japan...
An old-skool PHS phone
