Kanji compound: kibou.
Made up of:
希 = rare/uncommon
望 = wish/desire
Together, you get kibou (きぼう) for hope.
These days, hope has been something I have been believing in, at least in the sense that good days are on the horizon.
Now you know. >^..^<
Cooking has become one of my go-to hobbies I do when I need to let some stress out. It’s very relaxing for me to take out my frustrations by channeling it into a dish I am preparing. I don’t claim to be a cooking prodigy by any means. Truth be told, just last year I had to be taught how to cut properly with a knife and whatnot. I am basically a noobie home cook at best.
Still, I find cooking to be a very enjoyable activity these days. Whenever I get the chance, I want to bust out the pots and pans to whip up something for my own amusement.
Today’s random kanji is ryouri (料理), the Japanese word for cooking.
料理 is made up of two kanji symbols for its compound.
The 料 (ryou) part refers to food/cooking. The 理 (ri) refers to “logic.” So put the two kanji characters together, and the compound means the logic of cooking in a way.
料理 is a particularly useful word in Japanese when you want to refer to a specific kind of cuisine.
Examples
インディア料理 (Indiia ryouri) —> Indian cuisine
スペイン料理 (Supein ryouri) —> Spanish cuisine
アメリカ料理 (Amerika ryouri) —> American cuisine
After all, who doesn’t love to eat? We need it to survive, but as humans we like to mix it up for our palates. I like cooking because I can create stuff. It’s fun to make something yummy (or at least try to). Case in point, check out the curry I made for dinner tonight.
OK, so as of recent, I’ve heard a lot going around the grapevine in regards to ” things I hate when youtaites (utaites), fandubbers, cover artists … blah blah blah. And although I love these things as I chuckle to myself merrily in agreement I can’t help but feel a little cheated.
After all, there are things I really like that fandubbers do. So in the spirit of that, let’s take a quick look at
things fandubbers do that I love. ^^
If you’re feeling in need of a good laugh or just a tad be pessimistic, you should most surely read Devin’s recent blog post – “Things Fandubbers Do That Annoy Me …”
1. Well-written Lyrics
I love it when a song dubber takes the time and effort to make proper sense of lyrics. It fills me with the same giggly joy that can only be substituted for pounds of sweet sugary cake.
There’s something oh so appealing about languages, and translating from one language to the next, while making it flowing, rhythmic and sensical that makes my jaw drop every time and fills me with such awe.
Half the time I care more about the lyrics than the singing. Singing is one thing, anyone can sing and work on their voice with lessons, but being able to re-create lyrics in another language is an incredible feat, which I feel hasn’t been given near enough credit.
2. REAL EFFORT!!!
You can always tell when a person actually cares about the song they’ve worked on or not. This is because there’s a certain amount of EFFORT you will notice with the songs the fan dubber truly wants to sound good. It may not be professional quality, but you can certainly tell they’ve done their best and didnt fashion the song together with a roll of balled-up duct tape they found underneath their couch cushions.
No indeed not, it’s more like a gentle recreation of that song, and even if the song’s not of professional quality you can tell they took the time and effort to not just finish one up in a single day in-between study sessions.
3. SPAMMING!
Wait—ait, no. Imori! I could’ve sworn you just said you like song spamming. Well then, internet, you would be correct because I honestly do. Social media sharing I’ve found to be a great way to strengthen the community of fellow cover singers and a great way to support one another.
So go ahead! Make my day and post that song to Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit and even Buddha forbid … Myspace! Because I know you’ve worked hard on your song, especially if you followed steps one and two previously listed.
Another point of this is that most of us internet junkies are actually quite busy. We may have school, homework, work and who knows what else (probably fapping) and we may not get around to seeing your million Tumblr updates for your new song.
So once again, please be my guest and continue spamming me. Because although it’s annoying sometimes, I love to help share in other people’s work and support their efforts, and I’m sure most others do as well.
4. Creative Mixing
Now it’s indeed true that we don’t all have the greatest mixing softare. I actually use GarageBand, which would make other more professional fandubbers scoff and do some sort of preppy hair flip at me. Even so if you master your software, whether it be Cubase, Logic Pro, GarageBand or I dare even say … Audacity, you can get fairly quality-sounding mixing effects.
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as hearing a song with well-created or original mixing effects. It’s satisfying like having a few Ferrero Rocher chocolates rather than scarfing a Big Mac. It ties in to No. 2 once again where the dubber is putting forth effort and actual thought into their song rather than belching out the first thing that comes up than mindlessly uploading it to YouTube.
5. A Well-practiced Song!
Now, one can argue (and even I said this previously) that any voice can become pretty and polished when worked on, and this is true. Also, there are people with naturally beautiful voices as if they were singing Les Misérables in the womb or something.
But I’m sure regardless of which person you are, naturally talented or painfully wannabe, both sides can agree that even someone with the most beautiful voice in the world can sing terribly if the song wasn’t practiced.
Practicing and knowing your song can really make all the difference in the world. It separates your song as a fine wine versus a cheap beer and can throw first-time viewers for a loop. If they hear your beautifully practiced song that you’ve recorded more than 300 times before finally uploading (that’s about how many times it takes me anyway … = w = ; ).
Then they can immediately tell that you’ve put that weird word I keep using in this blog (EFFORT) into it and may actually do that other thing that’s not really important, but we seem to think it is regardless (SUBSCRIBE).
And there you have it. Perhaps the next time you get some Facebook spam or hear a bit of clever mixing you can be grateful in knowing that the fandubber you’re listening to tried their best to provide you with a good song, all while practicing their skills and of course having fun.
Maybe next time you hear these people, you’ll even like their videos or take the time to listen to some others theyve done … or you can be like most people and leave nasty comments on their videos saying, “That translation doesn’t match the subtitles I watched!” or, “You don’t sound like Rockleetist!” … The choice is yours … >>;;
- Imori <3
Wow, it sure has been awhile since I did a Random Kanji Knowledge post. ざんねん!
Nonetheless, I feel that this very cute picture of Imoristar‘s original character, drawn by Ennalissia, deserved some recognition.
Do you see the kanji symbols all over the background? Well, the compound is for none other than (if these ♪♫ didn’t give it away yet) … MUSIC!
音楽 (おんがく).
Ongaku is Japanese for music. It is comprised of two kanji symbols. 音 means sound. 楽 means comfort/ease (fun).
So 音楽 sounds fun, right? XD
As always, please subscribe to Imoristar’s YouTube channel. She is such a ☆! Also, please be sure to check out Ennalissia’s deviantART page. She does commissions.
Nhan-Fiction Note: If you’re playing a children’s card game WITHOUT this much enthusiasm, you’re doing it wrong.
Video Translation: “I release Hope Ray and Damage Mage for an Advance Summon! When Photon Kaiser is used as Xyz Material, he counts as two! I overlay the Level 8 Galaxy-Eyes (Photon Dragon) and the two-part Photon Kaiser!
With these three monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!
Overflowing galaxy, become the striking light and show yourself! Descend! My very soul! Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!”
Dat Summoning Chant:「逆巻く銀河よ、今こそ、怒涛の光となりて姿を現すがいい！降臨せよ、我が魂！超銀河眼の光子龍 (ネオ・ギャラクシーアイズ・フォトン・ドラゴン)！」
Nhan-Fiction Note: Watching anime is a very good way for me to retain and remember my knowledge of the Japanese language. I can actually understand most of the things in this particular video simply by listening to it.
For me, I can recognize a lot of Japanese grammar and conjugation elements, but the hardest part is vocabulary (particularly slang) and translating something quickly in my mind on the fly when the sentences become really complicated.
Nonetheless, CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES … IN SPACE!
Video Translation: “Blah, blah, blah … bonds (as in the feelings between people). Blah, blah, card games, blah. Blah, blah, dragons. 「集いし星が１つになるとき新たな絆が未来を照らす！ 光さす道となれ！リミットオーバー アクセルシンクロ ！！進化の光、シューティング・クェーサー・ドラゴン！！！」”
English Translation (by Gendou)
There’s no change reflected in my clean eyes along the roadside
Running through mach-50 dreams
A whirlwind has coiled around my wrists
Making a vow to the wounds I got from my past self
The blue sky is wrapped in gray
I’ve waited impatiently as the wind caresses my shoulders
I’ve continued to hold on with both hands
To a nihilistic hope called “thunderclap”
I keep on running – I stop
I keep on hitting away – I open my fists
Engraved in my palms
Is each step that let me arrive to today
Tomorrow is enduring the tears of the twilight sky
With its own wind blowing
To when we, before long, become adults
Thunderclap
Translated Lyrics
In this unnamed place with the opened flower of impulse
A quiet beginning is told
The goals of your youth seek after a definite heat
It’ll release a signal into this sky
With the repeating days to my back
I’m looking for the moment to spread my wings
Even if it is a lonely hope
I want to go to an unknown world, passing all my limits
With this dream pouring out of my entire body
Like a brilliant morning sun that lights a new world
Carry the feelings born from a brilliant light in your chest
Today’s kanji compound is 感動 (kandou), which is pronounced like con-doh.
感 represents emotion/sensation. 動 means motion/movement. As a result, 感動 thus refers to being moved emotionally.
For instance: 私はその音楽で感動しました. = Watashi wa sono ongaku de kandoushimashita.
Translation: I was deeply moved (emotionally) by that music.
The steps for writing out 感動 are shown below.
To experience some sort of 感動 from time to time is perfectly normal and healthy. It is all about trying to establish the right kind of daily vibe that helps you live.
Random Kanji Knowledge time! First off, a happy 母の日 (Mother’s Day) to you all!
母, which can be pronounced “haha” and has different readings when combined with other things (such as お母さん okaasan), means mom of course. The kanji itself refers to a woman’s breasts (my sensei back in high school told us to remember it as a lady lying down on her side), a common symbol for motherhood.
We all have an important mom/mother/mama/mommy figure in our lives.
We owe a lot to our mothers for taking care of us for so many years, so be sure to make this day truly special as best as you can for them, OK?
The stroke order for “mother” is shown below.
Have a wonderful 母の日, everyone! 
Nhan-Fiction Note: Love Live! School Idol Project is a really cute anime!
Today’s kanji is 本当, which is read hontou (ho-n-toe). 本当 can mean truth/reality or (really).
本 is the kanji for book, as in the paperback thing you read at the library.
当 refers to “hitting,” as in you hit the wall out of frustration.
So combined together, I think of the 本当 kanji compound as “hitting the books” when you are looking to be serious.
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Example Use
ベーコンがおいしいです. —> Beekon ga oishii desu. —> Bacon is delicious.
本当ですか? —> Hontou desu ka? —> Oh really?/Is it that so?
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The stroke order for the kanji compound is shown below.
So how 本当 are you?
Today’s kanji is 運命, which is read as unmei (oon-may). 運命 means fate/destiny.
運 can refer to stuff like “luck” or “motion,” as in movement. For instance, 運動 (undou) means exercise.
命 can represent things like destiny, life and decree, as in something has “ordered” for stuff to happen to you throughout your existence.
Thus, you can think of 運命 as the “motion of life,” but whether this entails good or bad fortune is another matter altogether.
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“I hate the word fate. Birth, encounters, partings, success and failures, fortune and misfortunes in life. If our lives are already set in stone by fate, then why are we even born? There are those born to wealthy families, those born to beautiful mothers and those born into the middle of war or poverty. If that’s all caused by fate, then God is incredibly unfair and cruel.”
- Mawaru Penguindrum. First scene. —————————————————————————————————————————————-
The stroke order for the kanji compound is shown below.
Do you believe in 運命? Or do we all have the power to shape our respective destinies?
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English Translation of Lyrics by Anime Lyrics dot Com
Boys and girls, standing in a circle
Make a slicing motion with their stretched hands and then lower them
Their imaginations never intercept
The merry-go-round dances in the air
With one slicing motion drops the curtain of war
The holy night will reveal all the secrets
At midnight, from the opened window, an enticing, mysterious voice drifts in
It turns over the crimson curtains to hide its smile
Boys, come back to your senses!
Ride the limited express train
Take me to Neverland
And snatch away any and everything
If people are pointing their fingers at your back
Feel free to run away
It’s fine to do everything as you please
Boys and girls, standing in a circle
Make a slicing motion with their stretched hands and then lower them
The wheels of their destiny are beginning to turn
Today’s kanji is 父, which is read as chichi. 父 means father.
If you use your imagination, you can think of the 父 symbol as two crossing “hammers” that represent a hard-working dad.
In Japanese, you hear a lot of variations of 父, such as お父さん (otousan) and パパ (papa). They are just different ways for people to address their daddy (with different levels of respect).
The stroke order for 父 is shown below.
Have a wonderful 父の日 (Father’s Day)!
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English Translation of Lyrics
In this bright room, I wait for the thaw you bring
When I wake up, I see a box
None see it as I do
The snow turned my heart a milky white, which scatters the cold sunlight
Freezing rain covers my body
And only the distant spring wind may dispel the veil
Take me to a summer garden, where I may grow azalea
I doubt you will
Fairy tales are rarely full of happiness
I know that all too well
I know that all too well
But, you know, that’s where I want to go
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Get to Know the Social Outcast
Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru (My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong as I Expected) caught me a bit off-guard. At first, I did not like the anime very much. In a day and age where so many anime titles exist, first-episode impressions can spell life or death for some shows.
But after getting past the first episode and letting this particular anime with a ridiculously long title pick up some steam, it has turned out to be pretty solid.
Synopsis: This romantic comedy revolves around an antisocial high school student named Hikigaya Hachiman with a distorted view on life and no friends or girlfriend. When he see his classmates talking excitedly about living their adolescent lives, he mutters, They’re a bunch of liars. When he is asked about his future dreams, he responds, Not working. A teacher gets Hachiman to join the volunteer service club, which happens to have the school’s prettiest girl, Yukinoshita Yukino. (Source: ANN).
Basically, there is a romantic comedy setup (one dense guy and two/more girls who each develop feelings for him over time), but it throws a twist by making the guy super anti-social with a warped view of the world … and you end up with Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru.
Room for Romance
The three main leads are very interesting.
Hachiman Hikigaya
Yui Yuigahama
Yukino Yukinoshita
Like I said, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru caught me off-guard, but in a good way. It’s not like the best anime I have ever seen for this genre, but it is fascinating show if you like romantic comedies.
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English Translation of Lyrics by Deciphered Melody
Glitter, something shined from the sky
Airplane, it shined from far in the sky
And something in my heart moved
I swallowed the feelings I wanted to say
They becomes words I can’t say
Even until the very end … I couldn’t be honest
I purposely tangle the thread connecting us and cut it
The vapor trails are fading
But before they disappear, I should have said I wanted to see you
Wow
Did you ever break free from your endless suffering?
You and I are alone again
Hello Hello, Alone
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Today’s kanji is 夏, which is read as natsu (knot-sue). 夏 means summer.
It’s summertime, after all!
The stroke order for 夏 is shown below.
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Nhan-Fiction Note: Love Live! School Idol Project is really awesome!
English Translation of Lyrics
Wonder zone
I was called to you and came running
Without a doubt a mysterious dream is beginning
Hi! It’s beginning (Wonder Feeling)
This special dream’s so mysterious (Wonder Feeling)
I want to give you some energy
Tomorrow will be happy too
There’s a ton to look forward to
I want to be excited
Even after energetically overdoing it and falling over
You should get back up quickly and smile!
No matter how painful things get
Without crying you just have to give it your all to shine!
Wonder zone
A future where I can become strong
Let’s look for it together
I’m OK!
I was called to you strongly and came running
Without a doubt an ambitious dream is beginning
Hi! It’s beginning (Wonder Feeling)
This special dream’s so mysterious (Wonder Feeling)
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Today’s kanji is 花火, which is read as hanabi (ha-nah-bee). 花火 means fireworks.
花 is the kanji for flower. 火 represents fire (notice the flame sparks?).
Combine the two symbols together and you get “flower fire.”
The Fourth of July is, after all, right around the corner.
The stroke order for 花火 is shown below.
Have a spectacular Fourth of July. Will you be enjoying a 花火 show?
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People make typos. Even I make typos. It’s a human thing to do.
However, I do believe that it is important for individuals to make an effort to cut down on silly typos that make grammar enthusiasts/Nazis like myself cringe.
For this particular post, I want to talk a bit about how annoyed I get when I see people put an apostrophe with their plurals.
Egg’s.
Crayon’s.
Tree’s.
Like, what the heck? This is such simple grammar that goes back to elementary school. Do some people not realize the simple difference between stuff like, “cars versus car’s?”
Ugh, it just irks me so much. It baffles me how possessions and plurals are mixed up. Seriously, there are a few legitimate situations where using an apostrophe for a plural is actually correct.
Example: “Bernie received three A’s on his report card this semester.”
Another example: “There are four 2′s in a regular deck of cards.”
So in general, using an apostrophe for a plural is most likely wrong to do. For all that is sacred in the English language, stop the madness with the incorrect apostrophe usage!
Today’s kanji is 手紙, which is read as tegami (teh-gah-me). 手紙 means letter, as in something you write out and send in the mail.
手 is the kanji for hand. 紙 refers to paper.
So when you combine the two symbols, you get “hand paper.”
The stroke order for 手紙 is shown below.
I think in a day and age where computers and e-mail accounts exist, a 手紙 certainly means a lot. Writing out a 手紙 by hand definitely adds a personal touch to your message.
Truth be told, I believe I owe a lot of people a 手紙 to explain some things, but in due time. In due time.
