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Japanese animation has been a huge influence on the West over the years, and
there are many ways that American media has reflected that influence, from the
anime-style Colonel Sanders to the Powerpuff Girls to The Matrix. But no
country is an island, even an island nation like Japan, and there are many
ways that anime and related culture has been influenced by the West. In the
Japanese dub of Bewitched, Samantha's husband Darren was named Darling, for
phonetic purposes, and Lum calling Ataru her "darling" in Urusei Yatsura is a
reference to this. Many anime series of the 80s have included tributes to the
final scene from the film The Graduate, a long-running joke that pops up
repeatedly. Increasingly, the popularity of anime outside of Japan decides the
flow of things here. For example, manga-ka (comic artist) Shirow Masamune and
Akira director Katsuhiro Otomo attained god-like status when their works
exploded outside of Japan, and the popularity of Dragonball and Saint Seiya in
the U.S. caused them to experience a revival in Japan, too.
Language is ever-flowing, always in motion, and it's always interesting to see
what slang words become popular here. One year everyone was saying Bye Bye-Kin
("bai bai-KEEN"), popularized by a Listerine commercial that combined the
English word "bye bye" and baikin (bacteria), the next everyone was saying
"oh-HA!!" as the morning greeting instead of ohayo. The slang that's bouncing
around these days is also fun to pay attention to. Since Japanese verbs
usually end in ru (for example, taberu, "to eat"), some Tokyoites have
invented a new word, caferu (cafe + ru), meaning "to enjoy a cup of coffee in
a cafe." Another word you hear in the aftermath of the recent Japanese
election is the Evangelion-esque Koizumi Children, referring to the young
politicians who rode Prime Minister Koizumi's coattails into office over the
Postal privatization issue. The most popular drama of the year was Densha
Otoko ("Train Man"), and a lot of this year's words are "Akiba-kei" (related
to the otaku culture you find in Tokyo's Akihabara area), such as moé (mo-EH)
which refers to the passion fans feel for the manga or anime that they love,
and Kitaaa!! ("Yes, this is it!"), which you can see on our Mona Neko shirts.
Finally, comedian Masaki Sumitani has created a rather odd on-camera
personality called Razor Ramon HG (you might not want to know what the "HG"
stands for), who does a silly dance and shouts "Foh!" Currently Japanese from
elementary schools to the elderly are hooked on this strange act, and imitate
him often.
Last time we posted the new Hello Kitty soft acrylic blankets, which are
extremely luxurious and stylish. Today we've got another treat for you: My
Neighbor Totoro blankets featuring one of the most famous characters in all
anime-dom. There are three sizes of blankets on the site -- full sized for use
on a bed, a half sized blanket that's great for curling up in front of the TV
with, and a handy lap blanket.
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