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Hey there, it was good to hear from you about your trip and your experience with the language. As soon as I read your message a few weeks ago it inspired me to try and learn Japanese even more. I decided to really get down to the basics so I'm currently attempting to learn Hiragana. I've made it through the basic characters and I'm just now learning the little accent marks that change the sounds like " and ⁰.

I've heard some suggestions that I should have perhaps learned Katakana alongside Hiragana instead of one at a time. Now it feels intimidating knowing that I'll be learning a completely different alphabet from the one I'm currently working on. But even if I get them both down, nothing seems as scary as learning Kanji. My memory isn't the greatest, so learning thousands of characters almost doesn't seem possible for me. But I guess we'll see how it goes after I learn the other alphabets. I have to use my own imagination to come up with mnemonics because the ones people suggest just don't stick with me. It's pretty funny because the ones I come up with wouldn't make sense anywhere outside of my own mind. Let me know how you learned the language and any tips or tricks you can give me. I really needed a new hobby in my life to occupy my mind and distract it from my troubles. So many thanks for inspiring me to pick this up.

I listened to those Ride EPs and I really do like their early sound much more than the later stuff I have heard. The sound is a bit darker, which is something I'm always look for. With almost any band I'm always drawn to their darkest material. I always say that I'm a secret goth at heart. It's probably only partially related, but while we're in the topic of shoegaze (or at least shoegaze adjacent) I've been including a lot of Catherine Wheel in my recent playlists. Particularly the song Crank, which might not be shoegaze at all? You are probably more qualified to answer that than myself. That song and Black Metallic were such a big part of my early teenage years. Our first "alternative" music station played those so much in the early 90s that they're instant nostalgia bombs for me. But anyway, thanks for the kind words and for your concern. Oh, and you have to send me your taco recipe sometime! Everyone could always use more Mexican food haha

Thanks for getting back to me.

Since you're interested in Maruo, I could refer you to some of his work that my friend greatly recommended. They're a good place to start:

DDT Is a short story collection which I started with, It'll give you a good idea of what crazy storytelling Maruo is capable of. It's really remarkable.

Binzume no Jigoku

Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show

New National Kid

You can read all of it on his author page here, DDT and the first two are translated.

Hey, how ya doin?

I'm well myself, did you pick back up on Homunculus?

I'm more than halfway done reading Blade of the Immortal. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Also looking into Maruo Suehiro's work a bit in between. I've finished a short story collection, as well as a one chap by him. [DDT] [The Dancing Dwarf]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing your story. All titles you mentioned are super masterful!

I plan to start and finish Blood on the tracks before summer! I loved The Flowers of Evil too, and I’m very eager to explore more of Oshimi’s work.

Hey! Just checking in. I hope everything is well with you. Is anything interesting going on? How's reading Homunculus going? I've just finished reading all four physical omnibuses of Blade of the Immortal that I own. As far as samurai manga goes, it's a goldie!

Compared to a lot of other people on mal, I’m pretty new to manga. I only just started taking interest in it probably half a year ago. But at the moment, Oyasumi punpun is my top 1, Berserk being my 2nd, and The flowers of Evil, 3rd. Berserk is so masterful in its storytelling but so is Oyasumi Punpun. I rank it higher because it was delivered so nicely in just 13 Tankōbon volumes. Whereas Berserk is Muira’s lifelong project, spanning over 40+ volumes. I hate comparing them but realistically I would say they’re on par in their own ways. Not much to say about The Flowers of Evil, it just really resonated with me ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

That's so cool that you're visiting Japan! I doubt I'll ever get to go, but it would be something I'd like to experience one day. I feel like I would need to at least have a rudimentary understanding of the language before I could travel to another country. I know it probably isn't necessary, but it would just make me feel a little less anxious about it all. Although I've learned a few words and phrases from watching anime, I have absolutely no grasp on how the language even works. Last week I actually memorized how to say "I can't speak Japanese." I used it for a bit of a joke for a friend. I told her that I knew how to speak Japanese, and then to "prove it" used Google Translate on my phone. I said "listen to this" and spoke into the app "Jōdandayo, baka. watashi wa nihongo ga hanasemasen." which shows up as "Just kidding, idiot, I can't speak Japanese." It got a good laugh from her. Then I told her I'll make up for it and used the app to say "Jōdandayo. Ohayōgozaimasu, utsukushi yūjin" which you can translate on your own if you'd like. Hopefully on your phone. It doesn't translate at all on the web version via my computer. It was just a fun little way to flirt. It was all just memorization and it didn't teach me a thing about the language itself haha

I don't want to bother you on your vacation, but I'd like to hear about your trip some day. As always, I'm never looking for any sort of quick or forced reply. Take your time, enjoy your visit. I'm currently obsessed with the albums Romance and Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C. and Our Love To Admire by Interpol while I'm getting over a bit of a heartbreak. Haven't had one of those in over a decade. It feels different with age. Hopefully you can read that in the voice of Bernard Black so it doesn't sound too depressing.

Yep, mostly every anime has a manga counterpart. Right? It's awesome artwork. I would say I'm drawn to manga with great writing and premise. Though, the art plays a big role in my appeal of course. Great question!

I loved Homonculus!! Lmk how that goes. Im currently reading Blade of the Immortal, it’s a samurai manga, great story with even greater art! Some panels are done in pencil-only, so it creates an awesome “photorealistic” effect ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Sup! You read anything recently?

All is well! Cheers!

Happy Birthday!

Happy New Year, my friend. I lament that we haven't found the time to converse in so long. I have watched the first season of Black Books if it makes you feel any better. It was brilliant. Don't be a stranger unless you're feeling like one. I get it. Don't feel the need to reply. I was thinking about my interactions on here and just wanted to acknowledge you.

Chernobyl is one of my favorite series of all time! It's absolutely terrifying to know that the most dangerous substances known to man are under the control of often petulant, irresponsible, shameless people in positions of power. People who would rather double down on their mistakes rather than admit them, all while putting the entire fate of our planet in jeopardy. What a phenomenal cast! I loved the choice of having all of the actors use their own voices, instead of attempting to make them all use phony Russian accents just for some kind of "added realism." The events speak for themselves.

Unfortunately it seems as if not every world leader has learned from this catastrophe. Anyone who has viewed this series, or has a decent understanding of what took place, was absolutely horrified when news came out in 2022 that nuclear power plants were being commandeered as pieces on a chess board for war, and possibly even targeted for destruction. By the same country who should know better than anyone! Amazing series, thanks for reminding me of it!