Category: Editorials

Keeping Abreast of Chihayafuru

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Chihayafuru is an unusual little sports anime. Competitive Karuta is a very Japanese game steeped in Japanese culture. Unlike Go it is not a game that has no language barriers. Even Shogi or Mahjong can be learned without learning Japanese despite their pieces having Japanese characters on them. Karuta not only requires being able to read and speak Japanese but being able to do so at a level that you can react instantly that make it unplayable by anyone who is not fluent in the language. But this is not the only thing that makes Chihayafuru so exotic. The fact that it is sport manga from a josei manga makes it even more unusual. As a manga written for adult women it treats certain subjects differently than your stereotypical boys sports show. Chihaya Ayase as a female protagonist is treated very differently just because she is from a josei manga. Almost all the reviews of the series has mentioned this fact. But there is one aspect of Chihayafuru being from a josei source that I have not seen anyone talk about and that is how Chihayafuru deals with breasts.

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The Speakeasy #026: Pucker Up, Love in the Most Unexpected Places

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Drink #026: Pucker Up,
Love in the Most Unexpected Places

For our after Valentine’s Day podcast we decided to go with a twist on the normal February topic. While we look at relationships in anime, we examine couples in series where they are not the key focus. There is often romance in all genres of anime and we look at some of our favorites. A bit of warning in the fact that to speak about most of these relationships we have to spoil some of the series we talk about. Therefore be warned that we discuss BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, Spirited Away, Cardcaptor Sakura, Planetes, Hayate the Combat Butler, Here is Greenwood, Crest of the Stars, and Princess Tutu in part 1. And in Part 2 we discuss Gundam SEED, Eureka Seven, Gundam X, Turn A Gundam, The Vision of Escaflowne, RahXephon, and Macross series. We ask the audience many questions so feel free to answer them in the comments.

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And now your helpful bartenders at The Speakeasy present your drink:

Drink

  • 1 oz lemon vodka
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 1 candy lemonhead
  • 1 tsp sugar

Preparation:

Wet the rim of the 2-oz shot glass with lemon juice and put sugar around the rim. Pour lemon juice in the glass with the vodka. Next drop a Lemonhead candy in and wait a few seconds. Lick the sugar around the rim, shoot the shot down fast. Don`t swallow the Lemonhead, but instead suck on it after swallowing the shot.

You’re Never Alone in Being Alone

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Warning! Spoilers for Battle Athletes Victory, Excel Saga, Turn A Gundam, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and Hayate the Combat Butler.

Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers but this post is for all the single people who feel a bit left out. The media often tells you that if you are not in relationship than you are a failure. But for everyone who is alone today here are some characters who feel your pain. These are all good characters that for one reason or anther can’t be with the one they love. None of them are bad people so there are not horrible villains from predestined love triangles. They are all just victims of the whims of fate. I just hope the 5 characters help you remember that there are people out there fictional and non-fictional just like you.

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