Anime is Too Expensive in Japan
by Joel R. Voss aka. Javantea
April 19, 2006 11:47 JST
[permanent link]
The last few days I have been saying, "I should find some anime." I've been here two weeks and I've seen barely a snippet of anime. Anime is definitely one of the main things I like about Japan. I rent anime nearly every week in Seattle since we have such an awesome source. In Japan, it is quite a different story. Oh, they have anime rental. I was pretty impressed with the rental store. But you need to speak enough Japanese to get a card. Then after that, you need to have some sort of Japanese ID to rent probably (I don't know since I can't read or speak Japanese well enough).
So the obvious solution is to buy anime. There's no problem spending a bit of cash. In fact, I have 10000 yen ($100) burning a hole in my pocket for the specific purpose of entertainment. So I go to Akihabara to find some anime. A bunch of places have anime for sale. But when I look at the major retailers, all I can see are 4500 yen ($38). They aren't 1000 minutes long, they're normal DVDs, 2-4 episodes, 120 minutes. In fact, the only difference they have from the ones I can get in the US for $25 is that they lack subtitles and English dub. WTF? American companies add sub and dub and sell for half the price? What's more, the anime is on tv, so anyone who is buying the anime has possibly had the chance to watch it on TV for free. Double WTF.
Eventually I find a place that is a bit north of the main Akihabara. It's a used DVD place, Trader 3. Surely used DVDs are cheaper. Sadly, there's a pricing scale. Items that are the first dvd of a series and 40 minutes long (1-2 episodes) and unpopular are 500-900 yen. As you go up in the volumes, length, and popularity, so does the price. All the full length (140 min), dvd #2-N, popular anime DVDs are 4500 yen ($38). WTF?
I Hate Dogs
by Joel R. Voss aka. Javantea
April 19, 2006 22:23 JST
[permanent link]
You might think I'm a bad person for hating dogs, but I can't do anything about that. I'm a bad person, so fucking what. Man, I'm in a bad, bad mood.
Absolutely nothing to do with Tokyo, my dislike for dogs reaches a new height today. I hate their obsessive biting, jumping, idiocy, socialness, and lack of bathroom manners. Bathroom manners is the topic of tonight's blog about how much I hate dogs.
Let's reverse, though. I am a shy person. Writing this blog is about as much courage I have. In fact, I am a bit embarrassed even to write this. It's a bit edgy. Posting it will be a test to see if I really am willing to trust the distance between writer and reader on the internet. Talking to people in person has been a major point of dissatisfaction for me because it seems like I should be able to make friends in Tokyo, Seattle, or wherever I am. The truth is that I only make friends and acquantiances with people who talk to me rather than visa versa. In my two weeks here in Tokyo, I have met 1 person. I have talked to about 3. Really a person who is not socially inept should have 1 or 2 friends.
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