Otaku Crime
AGAIN L*S features TV broadcasts relating to otaku-related crime. I'm pretty sure its a form of self-parody, but I'm not sure how many otaku actually find it funny in Japan. The first case the Konata and Yutaka saw on TV should be the world-famous
case of the teen who beheaded his own mother, carried it to an internet cafe, and then turned himself in. Yeah the kid was found with lots of manga and games in his room. Of course the media went wild about how his otaku-ness cause the crime/etc... The joke here is rather dark... Read the news and watch the segment again.
I'm not sure exactly what incident Konata and Kagami was talking about sepcifically, but what I do know is that during the first part of 2007 the news media and blogs was focusing a LOT on "harmful" manga. There was news about police raiding bookstores and proposals to ban "harmful lolicon shojo manga". They could be talking about these incidents. You can read a lot of about it in this English
post.
We corrupt young girls, ne!
24
The sequence in which the Izumi family prepares for Kotana's birthday bash is of course parody of the hit FOX TV drama "24". Jack and friends are so big that even Crayon Shin-chan parodied it. Okay, you say "so and so is big in Japan", what does it really mean? Well, if a Hollywood celeb does one of these, then he or she is "big in Japan". Jack is SO BIG and he does a bunch of them in a MINI-SERIES way. That's BIG.
Spoiler for Unhide to watch Video:
Jack Bauer Loves Calorie Mate: part 1 to 6. Watch in ORDER!
Only thing in the world which can stop JACK BAUER? Japanese High School Girls, of course.
College Major Declarations
HS kids in Japan has to decide exactly what major they want to go into during their 3rd year in HS. This is because unlike the US, when you enter a Japanese college you go into your major right away. What the girls are doing is actually picking not only the major, but exact college which offer those majors. They are doing this because in order to get into a good, public college, a student has to 2 tests - a national administered test and a test administered by the college that's based on the major. For example, to get into Todai, you need top grades from the national and Todai tests. The system in Japan is one of the hardest in the world. The declarations are important, because your declaration plus your score decide if you get into to your school. For example, if you're Kagami and you picked law or economics or , you can't decide to apply for a medical major AFTER you've discovered your grades can qualify for a medical school. Thus, these sheets can decided your future career, and you have to do it when you're just 17.
Wohoo! I'm in ToDai!
Kaiten Zushi
Kagami like to pick fresh items when visiting cheap sushi places called "
回転寿司", where you eat by picking sushi out of a conveyor belt and pay by the plate. She's so seasoned....
We be cheap!
Ito Yokado and Otsuka Kagu
When Kagami and Konata was arguing about Light novels, they were standing outside of stores called Ito Yokado and Otsuka Kagu (Furuniture).
Ito Yokado a "General Merchandise Shop", similar to our Wal-mart or Target, but it also sells food items as well (open 'til 11PM!).
Otsuka Kagu is a major furniture showroom and it's diagonal from Ito-yakado. It's the backdrop when the camera is facing Kotana. Both are famous Japanese chain stores, and both are right outside the Katsukabe JR Station.
Ito-Yokado Katsukabe
Otsuka Kagu Katsukabe on the left
Credit: the image came from this
blog about Saitama (not L*S related!)
FamilyMart
The store in which Kagami forgot her to bring money to is the 3rd largest Convenient Store chain in Japan (behind 7/11 and Lawsons) called
FamilyMart. FamilyMart is famous for its technological innovation and they have stores in Korea, Taiwan, China, and Thailand. The one she visited is probably the 東鷲宮店 location near the Washinomiya Jinja. Yes, 2ch otakus are already adding the poor store to the "Holy Site" list. If I were them I'd put a life size display of Kagami right outside the store.
FamilyMarts are better than 7/11! (The FamilyMart near Waseda U)
Octopus with Wasabi
The food item Tsukasa was looking for in her PJ is a specialty food item called "タコ山葵" (tako wasabi). It's chunks of octopus marinated with chopped wasabi. I've not had this one but I've always dipped cooked octopus pieces in wasabi soysauce like a sashimi. It's good!
Oishi...i?
Oyoyo!
The sound Tsukasa made after she discovered the censored food item is a reference to a famous Japanese professional rakugo artist (rakugo-ka) named
桂三枝 (Katsuka Sanshi),
Rakugo is a older form of story-telling art that is the precursor to today's manzai and other comedy formats. It's basically one guy telling a funny story. "Oyoyo!" is an expression made famous by Katsuka Sanshi.
Katsuka-sensei:
Tanshin Funin
Yui-nee-san is crying about the fact that her husband has to perform Tanshin-Funin. 単身赴任 is when the husband leave the wife and family behind to take a job in a far-away location, sometimes even out of the country, for an extended period of time. The husband will then live in company housing while away. This happens because Japanese companies tend to train employees by sending them to various part of the operations for a period of time before given them more responsibility, so a salariman can often expected to be called to be stationed at a remote location for a year or so. Due to short length of stay and the firm Japanese belief that uprooting family is bad, the husband often go by himself. This practice has created huge social problem of husbands/wifes cheating on each other during these stays.
Tokyo Walker
The magazine Matsuri was reading while waiting for the twins is the July 3, 2007 issue of "
Tokyo Walker" magazine. Tokyo Walker is a young people mag about what's cool in the greater Tokyo Area; there's a walker magazine for most major cities in Japan and in Asia. Usually you want to find out something cool or a great place to eat, you'll pick up a copy of Tokyo Walker.
July 3rd issue of Tokyo Walker:
Paella
Matsuri-one-chan made a very traditional
Seafood Paella. It uses saffron to create the orange-ish color of the rice, and that's why Kagami was late looking for it. Saffron is rare and expensive. One of my favorite dish to make, since it was so simple. Also, the fact that the older sisters order the younger ones to run chores are quite normal - older siblings get to order younger ones around, but Kagami isn't liking it one bit.
Paella - this photo looked pretty close to the anime
Kagami's New Book
Kagami wanted to buy the latest book by somewhat famous author
山田真哉 (Yamada Shinya) called "
食い逃げされてもバイトは雇うな" He's famous for writing about the intricacies corporate finances and accounting, being a licensed accountant himself. His book is actually more about economics, and since Kagami wanted to major in econ, it make sense she wanted to buy the book.
Looks like a dry reading...
