Chuhai, Chu-Hi, Chūhai

As much as it pains me to admit, I’m sure some of you are unfamiliar with the nectar of the gods (aka chuhai/chu-hi). I wrote a post about how much I love the stuff, but I’ll give you a quick rundown here.

Conventional Japanese chuhai is made with shochu (Japanese alcohol around 25% ABV) or vodka, and flavored soda water. They are sold in cans and they are delicious. They come in many flavors and are cheaper than beer with ABVs ranging from 2% to 9%.

There are many different manufacturers of chuhai and it’s been around in Japan for a long time. They seem to be viewed as more of a “girly” drink, kind of like Smirnof Ice and Mike’s Hard are in America, and kind of taste similar to these malt beverages, only much better.

The bottom line is that chuhai is cheap, tasty, varied, and awesome.

The American Chu-Hi Blunder

Okay, so Takara Saké – they’ve been making Chu-hi since the late 70s and are a huge name in the business so it’s no surprise that they were the ones to break down the international barriers and bring this drink to the USA. What is a surprise is the decisions they made while doing so.

From the Takara Saké USA website: “Chu-Hi was the first Japanese-style sparkling cocktail to appear on the Tokyo drinking scene in the late 70s. In summer 2012, we renewed our Chu-Hi. We added ‘JPOP’ to the product name, and now we have 2 flavors – Grapefruits and White Peach.”

So apparently these had been around for about two years already, but I only just recently discovered their existence myself. The only place I’ve seen them is at the local Japanese market. I haven’t seen them in any normal grocery store, but that doesn’t really surprise me.

I tried to figure out what made them decide to bring this over to America after so long. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any real information concerning this. I can only surmise that they read my whinings about it on the internet and decided to do it just for me. I appreciate the effort, Takara, but in the end, you’ve disappointed. Let me tell you why.

Ingredient Changes? Really?

When our most loyal Tofugu reader Joanna W. informed me of these American Chu-Hi, she also commented on their taste. She stated that they did not taste all that great and just reminded her of flavored malt beverages from America, like Smirnof Ice, and not in a good way. She wondered if the Japanese ones tasted this way and how anyone could be as crazy about them as I was.

Upon hearing this, I became concerned. Was the flavoring just bad on these Chu-Hi? Had Takara made a mistake? Or, wait – oh no… had they changed the formula to “appeal” to American tastes?

Unfortunately, the answer was yes. They had changed the formula. These were not the Chu-Hi that I loved. They were a bastardized version that disgraced the name.

For whatever reason, Takara decided to make these American Chu-Hi with a malt base instead of shochu/vodka like they do in Japan. The result of this is that the American Chu-Hi just taste like crappy Smirnofs. They are not new, exciting or refreshing. They’re just one more lousy flavored malt beverage that brings nothing new to the table.

Since the ingredients for Chu-Hi aren’t exactly listed out online, this is the only change that I am aware of. There might be other slight changes, but the malt/shochu change is so huge that I don’t even think other smaller changes would matter that much. I bought each of the American Chu-Hi flavors recently and gave them a taste test. Here’s what I thought.

Taste Testing

The first thing that made me wary of these American Chu-Hi was the fact that they came in bottles. Chuhai in Japan was always in cans – never in bottles. Something is wrong here.

The next thing I noticed was the price. Chuhai in Japan was cheaper than beer. The prices ranged from maybe 60yen ($0.60) to 110yen ($1.10) or so, depending on the strength and can size. They were an amazing deal. Now these American Chu-Hi – they were priced at an unreasonable $2.75 (~280yen). Already I’m grumbling and I haven’t even tried the thing yet.

On the bottles, they say that they’re great over ice. I always had chuhai out of the can in Japan, but I decided that I would try these American ones both ways. First just out of the bottle, and then over ice to see if there’s a big difference.

Grapefruit: 6.5% ABV, $2.75 a bottle

From the Bottle:
This tastes just like a Smirnof, if Smirnof made a grapefruit flavor. That’s not a compliment. This tastes much less like grapefruit than its Japanese counterpart and tastes a bit too heavy and sweet and just not good. I think I would start to feel sick if I had more than one or two of these.

Over Ice:
This tastes just like a Smirnof, but over ice. This improved the flavor a bit since the ice melting made it a little bit lighter and not as sweet. The ice improved the drink, but it still didn’t make it good.

As grapefruit was my favorite chuhai flavor in Japan, this drink was a gigantic disappointment.

1/5 Stars, would not buy again

White Peach: 6.5% ABV, $2.75 a bottle

From the Bottle:
Similar to the grapefruit, this tastes very similar to a Smirnof. The initial taste of the peach is quite pleasant though, but immediately after that initial taste comes the oppressive malt taste that ruins the flavor. Definitely better than the grapefruit, but not by too much.

Over Ice:
At first I thought that the ice really changed the flavor for the better because the oppressive malt taste was absent at first, but soon the taste returned and it tasted much like it did before, but colder. Not much of an improvement.

The peach was better than the grapefruit, but not by much.

2/5 Stars, would not buy again

Conclusion: These do not even deserve to be called Chu-Hi. Do not judge Japanese Chu-Hi by these imitations. There is no comparison.

But Why Were the Ingredients Changed?

I learned from Chopsticks New York that Takara Chu-Hi “reached the U.S. market two years ago with a slight modification of base ingredients and flavors to meet the American people’s palate. This August, TAKARA SAKE USA INC. re-released it by renewing its name to JPOP, revamping the package and tweaking the flavor. ‘We changed the recipe of the malt alcohol, the base of the drink, in order to get refreshing flavor. As a result, its carbonation became more noticeable on the palate,’ says Mr. Hirokazu Nishikawa, General Manager of Marketing in TAKARA SAKE USA INC.”

WHY, TAKARA, WHY!? Yes, maybe Americans prefer more carbonated, malty type beverages that they are familiar with, but not when they cost so much and offer nothing new but two (underwhelming) flavors. If you expect people to pay $2.75 for a bottle of this, it should at least be new and exciting and worth the steep price of admission. Ugh.

Again, I was unable to find much info concerning exactly why they made this change and the whole thought process behind it, but I am incredibly bummed out about it. I also don’t like how they added the JPOP moniker to it. I don’t know if they are trying to be clever with the JPOP by saying it’s like Japanese (soda) pop, or if they’re trying to relate it to J-pop as in Japanese pop music or they just thought JPOP would be easier for Americans to remember than Chu-Hi, but I don’t like it. I think it’s silly.

So do I think anyone is going to try this and think it’s better than anything currently available in America? No. Do I think anyone will buy it again after trying it once? Definitely not, especially when it costs so much more than what “America’s palate” is already used to.

Western vs Japanese Alcohol “Taste” Confusion

Speaking of America’s palate as compared to the Japanese palate, this isn’t the first time it’s been an issue. We’ve written about Japanese beers and Japanese whiskies before, and there are reasons why you don’t see these alcohols with the saturations that Japan has. In the end, the tastes are (supposedly) different. When’s the last time you saw someone drinking an Asahi outside of an Asian restaurant?

Koichi helped to weigh in on this topic a little bit as well:

When you look at the history of alcohol in Japan, it’s quite interesting. The competition between beer companies in Japan revolves around how dry the beer is and how much koku (rich taste) it has, with quite a bit of emphasis on the dry side of things. This pairs well with foods that the Japanese eat. An Asahi Super Dry certainly pairs with my katsu/ramen/yakitori much better than, say, a double chocolate stout, or something like that (or even a Budweiser, for that matter). This has become considered a very “Japanese” taste to the Japanese. In some cases it becomes a bit of Ninhonjinron pride, if you ask me, which results in the thinking of “only Japanese people can understand this taste.” Obviously this isn’t true, but this is probably why the American Chu-Hi version got sugared up and malted, because that’s what “Westerners like.” They thought they’d make more money this way and probably don’t understand why things didn’t work out. If only they hired John on as their American Chu-Hi CEO.

In the case of whiskey it’s basically the same thing. Although you see some trickling of whiskey coming over to America, you’ll notice that certain Hibiki whiskeys, like the 15+ year old variations, are not sold outside of Japan. This is because non-Japanese “won’t understand the Japanese taste,” which I’m guessing is just their way to keep all the good whiskey to themselves, because wow those are some good whiskeys.

—Koichi

In the end, I think there’s a confusion about “Japanese taste” and “Western taste.” Sure, you have to take into account what kinds of foods you’re pairing these alcoholic drinks with, and that does make a difference, but a lot of assumptions get made too, which means the original Chu-Hi recipe gets carbonated, malted, and sugared up for our “Western” tastes.

The Future of Takara JPOP Chu-Hi

In my opinion, Takara made a colossal mistake with their American Chu-Hi. Quite frankly, I’m amazed that it’s still even being made. I’m also really surprised that I hadn’t heard of these American Chu-Hi until now even though they came out in 2012, but that just speaks to their unpopularity.

I expect these American Chu-Hi to do terribly, and eventually get pulled from the market, so if you have any interest in trying them out and discovering what all the disappointment is about, do it now before it’s too late.

I really wish that Takara would have had more faith in the American people and their willingness to try new things. Maybe I’m outside the norm here, but I like to try new things and get excited when I see something new and appealing at the grocery, especially when it’s in the booze aisle.

If Takara had made these things in cans with their original recipe and priced them more aggressively, they would have been an overwhelming success (with me, at least). But as they are, I’m never going to buy them again.

Shame on you, Takara. Shame on you.

Bonus Wallpapers!

[1280x800] ∙ [2560x1600]

Witch Craft Works (John)

Well, the show seems to have something to do with witches and the supernatural. The main characters are a high school boy who is super average and even picked on occasionally by the other students. The other main character is a girl from the same high school who is basically treated like royalty by the rest of the students. She also happens to be a witch. Antics ensue.

The art and colors are very nice in this one, so that’s what first drew me to the show. The animation and action sequences ain’t too shabby either. As for the story and characters, they didn’t really grab me or hold my interest much. I feel like the show might have some potential as it does a lot of things right, but in the end it just doesn’t feel all that satisfying. Plus the school’s unhealthy attachment to the main girl is really annoying.

Watch if you like: Busty high school witches and unpopular boy leads combined with lots of magic.
Chances I’ll watch another: Very low. The show didn’t really grab me.
Rating: 2/5

Space Dandy (John)

This was actually the only one I’d heard of before the season started because apparently it is also coming to American TV. Whether that’s a good or bad thing, I don’t yet know. Anyway, the show is about a dandy in space (surprising, right?) who is super interested in treasure, lady parts, and alien hunting. Everything takes place in a galactic future with robots, spaceships, and aliens.

I really like the opening to this show. It’s groovy. Everything else is really well done too. The colors and animation are great. So is the music. The robots and aliens are original and entertaining. The show has action and it’s also funny. Enough happens in the first episode to keep it interesting but enough to make you want to see more to discover what’s going to happen and where the story is going. I can definitely see why this is already coming to America.

**Note: I only watched the first episode, so reading Koichi’s review below made me really sad :( Damn you, Space Dandyyyy!!

Watch if you like: Funny roguish leads in an interesting galactic setting.
Chances I’ll watch another: Very high. This show is really entertaining.
Rating: 5/5

Second Opinion (Koichi):

This is one of those shows with great art style, great music, and very little depth. Not only is the story itself a cheap way to allow the author to write multiple non-connected episodes with hardly any story at all (spoiler alert: each episode is a separate dimensional thread where anything can happen!), but almost every character decision has no weight to it, and things “just happen” (as you may be able to tell, I’m more of a cause and effect kind of guy).

Even if you judge the show on an episode-to-episode basis it lacks a lot in the way of good cause and effect story telling. The characters are shallow and uninteresting after a couple of episodes and if you were hoping for another Cowboy Bebop… well, keep looking space cowboy.

I will say that I enjoy the art-style and music, though. It’s just about the only thing keeping me moderately interested. We’ll see how long that lasts, though.

Watch if you like: Good art, good music, bad storytelling.
Chances I’ll watch another: Diminishing with each passing episode.
Rating: 2/5

Tonari no Seki-kun (John)

This is another one of those short shows. This first episode clocks in at just under 8 minutes. The show is about two kids in a class. A girl and the guy who sits next to her. The guy doesn’t really pay attention in class and just plays with things the whole time and the girl can’t help but be distracted and often tries to stop his antics.

I actually really like this show. I’ve never liked these short ones before, but this one is really funny. The guy never even talks – it’s just the girl reacting to everything he does. The show feels really smart and well done. Perfect for this sort of small dose short episode style. It’s definitely a pleasant surprise in this season. The ending song is pretty cool too.

Watch if you like: Short and sweet shows that are laugh out loud funny.
Chances I’ll watch another: High. This show is good. It’s funny and doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Rating: 4/5

Hamatora (John)

The show is about a poor private investigator who rents out a table at a bar to use at his office. The characters all have goofy names like “Nice”, “Birthday”, “Ratio”, and “Kitten”. They look for PI jobs to make ends meet and help out the community. The show seems to be mostly about solving mysteries and cases. But there’s some humor thrown in there too. Also some people in this world have special powers, so that mixes things up a bit too.

The colors are really pretty in this show and I like the style. The story and the characters however – they don’t really interest me. I feel like the show is trying to be edgy and cool and interesting, but it just wasn’t appealing to me. I want to like this show, and I feel like it could be really cool, but this first episode just wasn’t all that great in my opinion. Maybe it’ll get better eventually.

Watch if you like: Pretty colors and a potentially interesting concept.
Chances I’ll watch another: Low. While not necessarily a bad show, it just didn’t grab my interest.
Rating: 2.5/5

Noragami (John)

The show is about a high school aged phantom hunting god. He’s poor and his weaponized companion just left him. Since he’s a god, it seems like most humans are unable to see him. However, he runs into a girl who can actually see him, and she becomes the other focus of the story. He has big dreams of becoming the most powerful god in the land, but currently he’s pretty down on his luck. And once the girl sees the god, stuff starts getting weird for her.

This show intrigues me but I’m not sure how I feel about it just yet. I really like the main character and a lot happens in the show that I feel is really cool and interesting. The artwork and colors and music are all really well done too. I’m not totally sold on the show yet, but I have hopes for it. I think this show could turn into something really good.

Watch if you like: Interesting supernatural activity and funny and likable main characters.
Chances I’ll watch another: Pretty high. I’ll give this a few more episodes at least. I feel like it could be pretty decent.
Rating: 3.5/5

Super Sonico the Animation (John)

This show is about a spirited and ditzy college girl and her many cats. She’s really smart and good in school, but she’s always late and absent. She’s also a model. She’s also in a band. The show is all about her and her ordinary daily life. SOUNDS PRETTY INTERSTING, HUH?

This show is not very exciting. It’s very plain and boring and average. It’s a little gratuitous at times, especially during the model shoot. Also the main girl always wears these headphone things that I just don’t understand. They’re never explained. She also has a goofy manager who isn’t really funny – he’s just strange.

Watch if you like: Ditzy models with curvy curves and their daily lives.
Chances I’ll watch another: Non-existent. This show is not good.
Rating: 1/5

Strange+ (John)

This is another short-style episode. The main characters are trying to catch a thief who stole a golden statue from a rich man’s mansion. The episode is short but the ridiculousness is in high supply. The characters are all goofy and silly.

A bit too silly for me, actually. This isn’t really my kind of humor. Plus, at three and a half minutes, I feel like this belongs on YouTube or something more than an actual television show. Pass.

Watch if you like: Incredibly short and silly anime episodes.
Chances I’ll watch another: Next to zero. Since they’re so short, maybe I’d watch another, but not if I can help it.
Rating 0.5/5

Hozuki no Reitetsu (John)

The underworld is overrun and understaffed. It is up to Hozuki to get it all together. Most all of the characters are demons or spirits of some sort. It’s not that usual of a setting, so the characters feel very fresh and unique. The show is mainly humor based, so I’m not really sure where the story is going, but I imagine it will mostly be Hozuki cleaning up the underworld one episode at a time.

This show is hilarious. Probably the funniest of the season. I really like the animal characters in the show. The story doesn’t really interest me all that much, but I don’t think the story is really the focus of the show. It’s all about the unique characters and silly situations. I was really surprised with how much I liked this one. The colors are also really pretty. I really like the backgrounds.

Watch if you like: Funny shows with unique otherworldly characters.
Chances I’ll watch another: High. This show is really funny. I like it.
Rating: 4/5

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta (John)

This story is all about airplanes. Siblings have joined some sort of air force division who have set upon a mission to discover the end of the sky. They all hope aboard a floating island and start their search. The main guy meets a girl on his first day and she’s kinda weird, but he seems to like her. There’s also a white haired dude hanging around who seems very shady.

I’m not sure how I feel about this show. I thought the premise was kind of interesting and the bickering between the siblings was entertaining, but once the main guy meets that girl it got kind of weird. It was a bit too awkward and over the top for me. I’m not sure what direction the story is going to continue in though. If this turns into a goofy romance with the air mission as a backdrop, I’m betting I won’t like this very much as it continues. But if it expands on the air missions and all that neat stuff, then maybe it’ll be worth watching more of. Time will tell.

Watch if you like: Planes and floating islands and awkward juvenile relationships.
Chances I’ll watch another: Low. I probably won’t watch any more of this one unless I hear people raving about it.
Rating: 3/5

Nisekoi (John)

The show is about a yakuza clan and the son of its current master. Everyone calls him young master and hopes he will one day take over the gang, but all he wants to do is go to a good school and find a nice steady job and live a normal life. This guy has a childhood friend he promised to marry, but hasn’t seen her since then for some reason. And then, a half American girl transfers to his school and starts causing trouble for him.

The show is a good mix of humor and the mystery of who the guy’s childhood friend might be and what all’s going on there. The main character is entertaining and his interactions with the half-American girl are amusing as well. I like the colors in this show too. A lot of the scenes are very pretty. It kind of reminds me of Love Hina in a way with the long ago promise and all that, but I like it.

Watch if you like: Funny high school romances with the occasional Yakuza diversion.
Chances I’ll watch another: Decent. I like this show, but not as much as some of the others. I might check out another episode or two, but no guarantees.
Rating: 3.5/5

Nobunaga The Fool (Koichi)

In this world there are two planets (no Jim Sturgess or Kirsten Dunst, though), which at one point were connected by the Ama-no-hashidate. That bridge was destroyed, though, so the two planets went on to live separate histories. One planet has united. The other is at war. The story follows Jeanne Kaguya D’Arc of the Western Planet, who was prophesied to be the “savior of the world” and also seems to “see things.” With Leonardo Da Vinci (who makes mechs now, apparently), she travels to the Eastern planet and meets up with Nobunaga “The Fool.” Oh, and did I mention that there are mechs along with all the samurai and medieval age stuff?

First of all, the combination of future tech with the people and history of the 1400s is a… surprisingly good fit. While samurai are battling it out on the battlefield mechs stand along side them, looking like ultra-armored versions of their companions. All of the characters are unique (and there are a lot of them), have their own motivations, and you can tell that each character’s arc is going to conflict / come together in some way as the story progresses (I hope it will, at least!).

The main problem I have is that the storyline seems to be taking the “destiny” approach, at least with Jeanne Kaguya D’Arc. It just takes away a lot of character decision which is what should be driving the story. So far so good, but I’ll need to watch more before coming to a conclusion. The potential for screwing things up with all that “destiny” crap is high and don’t even get me started on all the deus ex machina going on… at least most of it has been character driven… so far.

Watch if you like: Samurai, mechs, good storytelling
Chances I’ll watch another: Okay, fine, I’ll watch another. But I’m watching you carefully, “destiny.”
Rating: 4/5

Wizard Barristers (Cristina)

Yasuomi Umetsu has produced some pretty awesome  cult action series in the past and this time he decided to add magical lawyers into the mix. In the year 2018 humans and wizards live side by side in Tokyo. Wizards are tried by magical laws in special courts. Wizard Barristers defend those who are tried in the Court of Magic. At age 17 Cecile Sudou becomes the youngest barrister ever and begins working at the Butterfly Law Offices.

I am a huge Yasuomi Umetsu fan; films like KITE and Mezzoforte are some of my favorites. Most of his notable works have more of a cult following because of the immense amount violence and other inappropriate subjects thrown in. I think that Umetsu produces phenomenal fight scenes and so far Wizard Barristers has not disappointed me. Cecil is also a fantastic character and I love that Umetsu includes so many strong, action packed female characters in his work. The regular masses of anime fans will probably overlook this series but a niche group will surely be saying this is the best show of the winter season.

Watch if you like: Action and violence along with cute girls. If you have ever enjoyed series like KITE or Mezzoforte then this is a must watch
Chances I’ll watch another: Very high. In fact I always want it to be Sunday now because I am so excited for new episodes.
Rating: 5/5

Second Opinion (Koichi)

While I haven’t seen any episodes of this series, I just wanted to say that I’d recommend never hiring a 17-year old lawyer. You will probably end up in jail.

Pupa (Cristina)

Older brother Utsutsu is highly protective of his younger sister Yume. One day Yume becomes infected with a virus called Pupa that mutates organisms into flesh eating monsters. Yume turns into a grotesque creature and starts attacking humans and animals. Utsutsu works to find a way to properly restore his sister to human form.

I love horror anime that is done well and I’m excited to see where this will go. The only downside of this anime is that the episodes are only around five minutes long and released once a week. You don’t get a lot from every episode and I am always dying to know what is going to happen next. Luckily this series is based off of a manga so I may end up reading ahead.

Watch if you like: Gore and horror. Some of the scenes remind of of Higurashi (When They Cry) or Umineko.
Chances I’ll watch another: The episodes are so short so why not?
Rating: 3/5

Wake Up Girls (Cristina)

The story revolves around the recently formed idol group managed by Green Leaves, a small production agency in Sendai. The agency is currently in crisis after the president ran away from the company along with all the money. With the debts left in the hands of the producer, they work together to keep the group and agency alive.

I tend to not watch a lot of “Idol Group” series so I was surprised how much I was drawn in when I watched the first episode. It has a little bit less comedy than most “slice-of-life series” and a more serious storyline.

Watch if you like: Idolm@ster or other cute idol group series. The animation and music for series like this are fantastic.
Chances I’ll watch another: Fairly high. If I don’t get bored I will keep watching it.
Rating: 4/5

Shows that Weren’t Up to Snuff (John)

Nobunagun: This show is about a high school girl who is a bit of a weirdo. She always has dreams about Oda Nobunaga and that’s how the show begins. I don’t like this show. I stopped watching after 7 minutes. I did not like any of the characters and even though it seemed to try very hard to be funny, it was not. The show also had a penchant for showing subtitles explaining what was happening on screen. These were unnecessary and silly.
Rating: 0.5/5

Sakura Trick: This show is about some girls just starting high school. The two main girls are best friends and the one girl is pretty bummed out she didn’t get to sit behind her friend in class, but at least they are in the same class. I don’t really like this show. It has a lot awkward girl on girl moments and is a bit over the top for my tastes. You can also tell when the show is trying to be funny, but I just found myself groaning at the show rather than laughing at it. I stopped watching after about 10 minutes. No thanks.
Rating: 1/5

Recaps From Last Season

My two favorite shows from last season were Meganebu and Kill La Kill. I watched a few more episodes of both, but while each had a very strong first episode, I felt like they started to pitter out a bit. Meganebu didn’t really have a strong story to keep it together so I found myself losing interest in that one. I kinda felt the same way about KLK, but I’m guessing I’m not alone in that. Oh well.

Summary of this Season

All in all, this season looks pretty great. Space Dandy is definitely my standout favorite as it has an interesting story, great characters, and tons of laughs. After that, I’d say Tonari no Seki-Kun and Hozuki no Reitetsu are close seconds. They’re both really funny in their own way, but I’m not really sure what to expect from them as far as story goes, so that’s what holds them back from being as exciting as Space Dandy in my opinion.

However, since Koichi watched more episodes of Space Dandy than I did, I’ve kind of lost hope for that show since it sounds like the story won’t be a constant. That really bums me out. That being said, I’ve watched the first three episodes of Hozuki no Reitetsu and they were all great. So Hozuki is probably my top pick, actually.

So tell me, how do you think this season compares to the last one? Any of these new shows look good to you? What’s your favorite one so far? Any good ones we missed? Share your thoughts in the comments please!

Brief Plot Recap

**I’ll try to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but I’m going to assume that you’ve at least read my previous post on the movie or are familiar with the story of the 47 Ronin. If you haven’t seen the film and don’t want to have anything potentially be ruined, read on with care**

So the three main characters of the film are played by some entertaining actors. The main bad guy, Kira, is played by Tadonobu Asano and the main good guy, Oishi, is played by Hiroyuki Sanada. These are two of my all time favorite Japanese actors (which I wrote about a little while ago) so it was really cool to see them in the same film.

But, of course, the main star is a Hollywood star, Keanu Reeves. Keanu plays the character known as Kai, the “half breed” who ends up being the hero of the story, and also the one that gets the girl (of course).

For those unfamiliar, the basic story behind the 47 Ronin tells of a group of 47 masterless samurai in 18th century Japan who avenge the death of their master. Their master was disgraced, and their land and honor taken from them. They follow the code of the bushido to avenge their master’s death and as a consequence, all of them die. It is one of Japan’s greatest tales.

In the original tale, Oishi leads the ronin in their revenge, but in this Hollywood adaptation, he more or less shares that responsibility with Keanu Reeve’s character Kai, who in turn takes most of the limelight. The movie also introduces exciting supernatural fantasy elements, such as demons.

A Review

“Do people like our movie?” “No… no they don’t.”

Like I said before, I went into the film with high hopes and low expectations. My expectations were not exceeded. My favorite parts about the movie were probably all the neat colors and interesting costumes. The movie itself just wasn’t that exciting.

I was really disappointed because the actual tale of the 47 Ronin is just so darn cool. I was hoping that with an all-star cast and the introduction of cool fantasy elements, they’d really be able to make a great movie adaptation here. Unfortunately they did not.

Critics really dislike the film and the general consensus is that they were just disappointed, especially given the names and talent involved. Tadanobu Asano and Hiroyuki Sanada are both great actors. People have mixed feelings about Keanu, but I’ve always liked the guy. Unfortunately the scripting for 47 Ronin left them all with unexciting, relatively one dimensional roles to play.

The film was also widely reported as a financial failure with estimated losses hovering around the $175 million mark. That’s like, really, really bad.

Here are some Rotten Tomato quotes I think best sum up the reception of the movie.

Solemn as a funeral march, humorless as your junior high principal, as Japanese as a grocery-store California roll, Keanu Reeves’s let’s-mope-about-and-kill-ourselves samurai drama has exactly three things going for it.
-Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice

With a better hand this could have been something glorious and grand. As it is, 47 Ronin is solid B-movie entertainment with a $175 million budget.
-Kristy Puchko, CinemaBlend.com

47 Ronin is murky, muddled and leaden, although it’s not quite the unmitigated disaster it’s been cracked up to be.
-Xan Brooks, Observer [UK]

Mildly entertaining and gorgeous to look at, 47 Ronin has little beneath the surface to recommend it. There are a few good fights, though.
-Roth Cornet, IGN Movies

Japanese Demons in the Film

One of the most exciting potentials of this film was its inclusion of mythological creatures. I was curious how they would handle these in the film, and after viewing it, I think they did a relatively unimpressive job. We’ve written about Japanese creatures before, so I was interested in exploring how the portrayal of them in this film compared with what’s traditional.

Kitsune

See the resemblance?

The main creatures included in the film are a witch (possibly a kitsune) and some tengu. The witch lady is never called a kitsune (magical foxes that can take on human form), but it is first shown as a fox, so that was my first impression of it.

The kitsune witch has become Kira’s sidekick. Kitsune are commonly portrayed as lovers as well as tricksters, so this fits in with the movie’s portrayal. The witch is playing tricks on everyone to further her and Kira’s agenda. It’s unclear in the movie if they’re actually lovers, but at the very least, they are companions. Who’s really in control between the two of them is unclear.

While the witch in the film uses magic and kitsune are magical creatures, the witch’s magic seems a bit out of the realm of the traditional kitsune. The witch in the film also transforms into different forms and creatures, such as a dragon. This leads me to believe that she wasn’t actually a kitsune, or the directors just took some real liberties with how kitsune behave.

All in all, the transformations didn’t make a lot of sense (assuming she was a kitsune). That being said, what do you expect from Hollywood, after all?

Tengu

Keanu Reeve’s character is raised by tengu in the film. Traditional tengu are incredibly popular supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They’re one of the best known mythological creatures in Japan and are sometimes even worshiped as Shinto kami. Tengu were originally thought to be birdlike, and they are traditionally depicted with both human and avian characteristics.

The earliest tengu were pictured with beaks, but this feature has since modernized into an unnaturally long nose, which is undoubtedly their defining characteristic today.

Buddhist dogma long held that the tengu were disruptive demons who brought both violence and death. However, their image gradually softened into protective, if still dangerous, spirits of the mountains and forests.

Their main role in the film is to provide weapons to the 47 ronin after Kai and Oishi prove themselves. The way the tengu look in the film is unlike any depiction I’d ever seen of them and I was confused as to why they would alter them in this way.

As you can see from the photo below, the tengu from the movie does not look like a traditional tengu. None of their typical features or characteristics are reflected in the film. Its face is totally different. Why would they alter its nose? The tengu’s most recognizable feature? Beats me.

Can you spot the differences?

Other than that, I felt like the film’s depiction of tengu was surprisingly accurate. Tengu have been described as creatures associated with war and were known to possess great knowledge in the art of skilled combat. Legend also tells of a famous warrior called Minamoto no Yoshitsune whose father was assassinated by the Taira clan. One day he encountered some mountain tengu and they taught him the art of swordsmanship to assist in his vengeance against the Taira.

This all fits in well with the tengu raising Kai and teaching him how to fight like a supernatural being. It also makes decent sense that they would be able to provide the ronin in the film with weapons after they passed a goofy test. Overall, I was pleased with the movie’s depiction of tengu. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, right?

All in All

“What’d you say about my movie?”

Throughout this review of The 47 Ronin, I think I’ve been pretty nice. I’d like to sum it up by saying that this movie is not worth your money. Since the best parts of the film (in my opinion) are the visuals, it would probably be best experienced on a cinema screen, but I don’t think it’s worth the admission.

I also think that the more you know about the original 47 Ronin story and the more you know about Japan and Japanese myth, the more you will enjoy this film. If you don’t know much about the original tale or are totally clueless concerning Japanese folklore/myth, some parts of the movie might be a bit confusing.

The movie is entertaining enough for one viewing, but really, it’s not a good film. If you don’t expect much, you’ll be able to enjoy it for what it is, even if it’s not much more than pretty colors and nifty visuals. The fight scenes ain’t too bad either.

Final Verdict: 4 Mr. Andersons

All-Girls Schools

When we went to Japan for our 10 week study abroad, we were paired up with students from an all-girls college. Related to this all-girls college was an all-girls middle school and high school. We visited an elementary school as well, but students of both gender attended that one. But at only one of these schools did the students go gaga for me and some of my classmates.

Can you guess which one? I had no idea it would happen before it did – but let’s go through the schools I visited, I’ll tell you about each one, and eventually we’ll get to the place where all the magic happened.

All-Girls College

The first school we went to was the all-girls college, because that was the school that all our language partners came from, and we spent a lot of time there, not visiting the other schools until later in the program. As a college aged boy, I was pretty excited about being at an all-girls college almost every day for the next ten weeks.

However, it wasn’t really anything out of the ordinary. There weren’t girls fawning over us at every turn, vying for our attention, or throwing themselves at us. It was just like being at any other college really, except there were no guys (besides faculty) there.

While at the college, we helped out with the English classes, helped our language partners with their English homework, conducted English study tables, and made friends with as many people as possible. It was a really great experience, but I didn’t feel like a famous American superstar. Not yet, anyway.

Mixed Elementary School

The first school we visited after the all-girls college was a nice little elementary school with both girl and boy students. Now, I’m the youngest person in my family, so I’m not used to dealing with little kids. These little Japanese kids were hilarious though. They all spoke way too fast for me to understand properly, so the day of visiting the elementary school involved more than a decent amount of smiling and nodding.

We played some games, ate a school lunch, ran around outside at recess, and answered some of their questions about America. Most of their questions were simple and ordinary little kid things like “How many friends do you have?” or “What’s your favorite fruit?”.

The kids also seemed to love saying “OH MY GOD” for whatever reason. Confusing, but hilarious.

A bit of the question and answer time was actually pretty awkward though. We were split up into rotating groups, and in these groups a lot of the kids were asking about World War II and the atomic bombs and what we knew about what happened to their country and the reasons behind it and the aftermath.

I asked my friends if they could remember any more about these questions than I did, but the consensus was that the kids were mostly interested in how that period of time was taught to kids in America and how their version of history differed from what we were taught.

Since the kids were so young, we couldn’t use English to explain the already touchy and difficult subject with them, so trying to articulate our thoughts on this subject was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable. Who would have thought the kids would be so interested in asking us about that? I was all prepared for questions about American cartoons and toys – geez.

It seems everyone in our group pretty much just gave generalizations about the subject and kind of just awkwardly waited for the teacher to have us move on to the next topic and rotate to safety. I think the awkward stress experienced during this time has prevented us all from remembering it very well. Sorry.

Anyway, no kids really went crazy for us at the elementary school. I did have one kid who became strangely attached to me and kept wanting to give me hugs, but that was it. Nothing too out of the ordinary – kids like to hug things. The best is yet to come.

All-Girls Middle School

The middle school wasn’t all that exciting either, unfortunately. So much so that I don’t even remember it all that well. Some of the girls got excited about our one red-headed friend and kept calling him “Ron”, like from Harry Potter, but that was about it. They also got kind of excited about one of the girls, but I think they just thought she looked like an anime character.

If you have red hair in Japan, you are Ron Weasley.

We got put into rotating groups again and talked with the girls in English. They were supposed to talk to us and ask us questions in English and then present what they learned about us (in English again) to the rest of the class.

I mostly got asked whether or not I had a girlfriend and what qualities I looked for in a woman. It was pretty hilarious.

All-Girls High School

Oh. My. God. I’m famous. I was completely and totally unprepared for this. Word that there were a handful of Americans in the building got around this school fast. I mean, really fast. Before I knew it there were girls peeking their heads out from classrooms trying to make eye contact. If I did so much as look at them, acknowledge them, or God forbid, wave at them – they would instantly go into a smiling and giggling hysteria and disappear back into their classroom.

They tried to keep us out of the hallways between classes for fear of us getting mauled by these teenage Japanese girls, but it inevitably happened a few times. I had girls handing me notecards with their names, phone numbers, and email addresses on them – asking me to please contact them

When we were walking around outside the school being shown the tennis courts, I heard some shouting from one of the upper floors of a building behind me. Looking up, I saw a handful of girls leaning out the window and heard them shouting something. They were shouting “JOHN! JOHN! JOHN!”. What? How do they know my name? Well, guess I better smile and wave at them. *Cue endless fit of giggles*

At one point I actually got separated from the group of Americans and they were afraid I’d been kidnapped by my admirers. I was dawdling around in one of the classrooms after we were done distracting the students with our presence because a couple girls were talking to me and asking me for my contact information. Somehow I got left behind, and together with a blushing and giggling group of girls, we searched for my classmates.

Eventually we found them, but not before I had a solid 5-10 minutes of girls bombarding me with questions about what kind of girls I like, if I had a girlfriend, and just wanting to know anything and everything about me. To some, this might sound like an ego boost, or like I was just living it up over there, but at the time it was just really, really weird. I didn’t know how I felt about it. At points it was neat and felt pretty cool, but at other times it made me think of how weird things must get for people who are actually famous.

This is where I experienced my first tea ceremony, mentioned in this previous post here.

And then the icing on the cake was when we left the school and were sent on our way back to our dorm. The students left at the same time we did, and maybe 10-20 of them had to take the same way back that we did, so we had a gigantic group of girls following us on our way back home.

We were asked many times where we were staying, but we never actually told them where our dorm was. Partially just to give them a hard time, but partially because I think all of us were a little paranoid having these “raving fangirls” actually knowing where we sleep at night.

I talked with some of my friends again for their opinion on that wacky experience, and also their experiences with schools at times other than when we all visited together. Here’s what they had to say.

The girls at the high school went nuts and were screaming John’s name from like the 6th floor while we were walking through the courtyard. It was crazy.

Unsurprisingly the all-girls high school went nuts for older foreign boys and were noticeably less excited to meet the foreign girls.

Looking at my experiences from the past couple of years, I think it depends a lot on the schools that you go to. If you go to a very rural school with very shy kids (like one of my schools) students try to avoid you at all costs because they are terrified that you are going to try and talk to them in English. If you go to a school with a lot of outgoing students (like one of my other schools) you feel like a rock star.

Students screaming your name in the hallways, everyone wanting to talk to you and give you a high five whenever they see you, not only at school, but everywhere. I even had a girl came up to me last week and say ‘先生、駅の前に見たよ！’ (Teacher! I saw you at the train station before!). I then said to her ‘Oh really?! When??’ To which she replied ‘あの〜。一年前かなぁ〜!’ (Umm~ Like a year ago~!) And I just stared at her as she ran off giggling with her group of friends. I mean, who holds on to that kind of memory for a year?

But yeah, the never ending ‘カッコイイ!!’s (cool) and ‘イケメン!!’s (cool, good looking guy) never get old either.

Rock Star Status

So if you want to feel like a rock star, visit a Japanese high school. I dunno how you would go about doing this unless it was part of a school trip or something – you can’t exactly just waltz into a school without looking like a trespasser or a pervert, but if you have the opportunity to visit a Japanese high school, definitely do not pass it up. It is an experience.

One thing I did really wonder though was why it was really only the high school girls that flipped their lids. Why didn’t the college girls or the middle school girls react in the same way? Were they just better at keeping their excitement in check, or were they just not as excited as the high schoolers for whatever reason? Maybe this is the age when boys become “interesting,” but by the time they reach college they’re over it? Perhaps it will forever remain a mystery.

I’ve heard of other stories from other people as well with similar experiences too, so I don’t think it was just us. What about you? Have you heard of or experienced this yourself? What about any girls out there visiting all-boys high schools?

It’s Time to Get your Face Flex On

Does your face look like this? It doesn’t have to.

These following products seem to be mostly marketed towards women, but anyone is free to use them and reap their (potential) benefits. We’ve got contraptions to straighten out that pesky nose of yours, get rid of those bags under your eyes, unwrinkle your rapidly wrinkling chin, and even slim down the whole entirety of your face.

But is it fair? Is it really so easy to just cheat nature and aging like this? Well, we currently lack the scientific backing on these products to let us know exactly how reliable their claims are, so your guess is as good as mine. But here’s hoping, right?

The Hana Tsun Nose Straightener

Is your nose crooked? Too curvy? Does it contain too much money? Well, you can throw some of that extra cash at the Hana Tsun Nose Straightener because it promises to solve all your worldly woes, nose related or otherwise.

You jam this contraption up your nose for a mere 20 minutes per day and BAM – you’re a supermodel. This fashionable nose machine will forcibly alter the bone structure of your face, giving you that sharp graceful nose that’s straight as an arrow. Just like you always wanted! Even better, you can experience this phenomenon for only $48. What a deal!

And if that’s not enough, there’s also this fancy deluxe electronic version for only $20 more. It’s like putting alien technology on your face.

The Eye Slack Haruka

Are you not getting enough sleep? You look like you’re not getting enough sleep. Why? Well, it’s those humongous bags under your eyes – they’re a dead giveaway that you need another Japanese gadget in your life! Allow me to introduce you to the Eye Slack Haruka – a pretty pink machine with two settings that will shake your face into believing it’s at least 3 years younger.

Slap these babies on your face for just 20 minutes a day and you’ll be the talk of the town. There are two settings to choose from. “Soft” (also known as worthless baby mode) and “Hard”, the only mode worth using. If you’re not going hard, you might as well not be going at all. The product vibrates, uses electric muscle stimulation, and employs the use of gentle micro-currents. With futuristic tech like this, it’s no wonder the thing costs a whopping $98. But it’s worth it, I’m sure.

The Eyelid Trainer

After you’ve rid yourself of those pesky bags, what else can you do to your eyes? Well, if you don’t have that eyelid fold that you want, you can make use of the handy dandy Eyelid Trainer. Not only does it make you look awesome while wearing it, it also promises to give you that double eyelid you always wanted but never actually had. Unless of course you already have a double eyelid. Which, in that case, I guess this eye wear will make it more defined? Or something? Yeah, probably – let’s go with that.

Just 5 minutes a day with this baby will give you those eyelids you always dreamed of. For like, 5 minutes after you take off the glasses – or longer! Perhaps. Anyway, what else are you gonna do about your eyelids that are just fine the way they already are? Plastic surgery? Hell no! That’s expensive. And these glasses can be yours for just $25. The choice is clear.

The Rhythm Slim Chin Exerciser

Have you ever found yourself wondering how you could possibly exercise your jaw, neck, and chin muscles – all while easing cramps, fighting off wrinkles, and reversing global warming? Well wonder no more! The Rhythm Slim Chin Exerciser promises to do most, if not all of the aforementioned things.

Just stick this thing under your chin and hold it down for about 3 minutes each day. In no time at all, you’ll start to see changes (maybe). You should see your chin become the most beautiful thing in all of human creation. Who doesn’t want that? And it can be yours for about $84. Nice.

The Face Slimmer Mouthpiece

Sarah actually wrote about the Face Slimmer Mouthpiece in an earlier post about Japanese toys, but little did she know this mouthpiece’s full potential. It is much, much more than just a silly looking pair of fake lips. It’s a silly looking pair of fake lips that promises to slim your face.

The manufacturers recommend using the mouthpiece for about three minutes every day. They advise you to scream out Japanese vowels as loud as you can while wearing the mouthpiece in a crowded public place for maximum results. Public humiliation is a great motivator. Factor that in with the fact that this mouthpiece can be yours for the low price of $60 and you’ve got yourself a deal.

Or if that’s too much, you can try a cheaper, but similar product for only $30. It doesn’t look like a mouth though, so it’s definitely not as cool.

OR! You could really step it up because you just cannot put a price on beauty. There are also electronic varieties for about $78, but as we all know, higher cost means higher quality. Right?

The Kogao! Smile Lines Face Belt

Here’s another great way to tighten up and infuse your face with that youthful vigor you haven’t had in years. It’s the Kogao! Smile Lines Face Belt! Wow! Strap this thing on your face and you’ll look like a teenager again in no time. If you already are a teenager, this face belt will turn you into a baby.

I’m not sure how long you’re supposed to wear this thing, but the manufacturers say it’s great to use while you’re in the bath. It traps heat within the belt which is said to relax away those pesky face lines you’ve got goin’ on. So it sounds like they’re recommending people use it for about 30 minutes each day, but I say that’s not nearly enough. Wear it all day and let everyone know that you are most definitely getting your $32 worth.

They also have similar products for men. This sauna mask right here is a steal at only $60. It promises to make your face very uncomfortable with heat and sweat. As we all know, heat and sweat makes things smaller, so after wearing this mask your face will be as cute as a button. A manly button, that is.

Shake It Don’t Break It

And I’m sure you know that Japan isn’t the only country guilty of having strange and unusual exercise equipment – just take a look at America’s very own Shake Weight.

If you combine all of these Japanese facial beauty products, you can expect to lose 1-2 hours of time every day. So, while you’re making yourself look younger, time is running away while you sit idly by. Maybe you can watch a new Japanese drama or something while you’re slimming that neck of yours.

So, which one of these goofy contraptions was your favorite? Think any of them might actually work? I found all these on Japan Trend Shop under “beauty products” and there’s a whole lot more listed there if you want to check them out. Plenty of them will give you a good laugh, I’m sure.

The Saiseimaru and the Seto Inland Sea

The Seto Inland Sea (Setonaikai) in central Japan is dotted with approximately 3,000 small to medium-sized islands, often sparsely populated and located far from welfare services. The Seto Inland Sea lies between Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. The relative isolation of the area has been helped out greatly by the travels of the Saiseimaru, a floating medical clinic that visits the islands on a regular schedule all year round.

Running the ship costs about 120,000,000 yen per year, which is about $1,215,120. Each year the ship services about 542,000 patients though, so it certainly seems to earn its keep. The current ship is the third Saiseimaru, and it will be exchanged for the forth on January 26th, 2014.

Tell Me More About These Islands

The Seto Inland Sea is most often compared to the Mediterranean due to its relaxed atmosphere and mild climate. Most of the sea is actually part of the Setonaikai National Park, one of the first national parks designated in Japan. The area is covered by an extensive ferry network with many of the islands being connected to one another by small local ferries. The reason for this is that the area is a historically important trade route, and the area continues to be an integral shipping lane.

Some islands in the area have become popular tourist destinations. Most notably, the eastern islands around Naoshima (which we covered before, by the way) have become a nifty modern art destination with crazy museums on Naoshima itself, Inujima, and Teshima.

Visiting the islands gives you the opportunity to visit terraced rice fields, old fishing villages complete with old wooden houses, and it gives you a peek into a traditional way of life that has largely disappeared from the mainland. It’s basically like traveling years into the past on some of the islands here.

The total population of the Seto Inland Sea is about 35 million people, but I’m pretty sure this number includes people living on the mainland coast, and not just the islands themselves. The largest island (Awajishima) has a population of 157,000, and the second largest (Shodoshima) has a population of just 32,000. Some of the smaller islands have as little as 200 people living on them, and many seem to have under 1,000. So, that kind of gives you a rough idea of what the area’s like.

The Saiseimaru Saves the Day!

I hadn’t given much thought to before, but in different areas of Japan, there are a lot of islands. So many that it wouldn’t really be feasible to have modern hospital establishments on each and every one of them. So that’s where this boat clinic comes into play. Researching the topic of the Saiseimaru itself was a real pain though. The gracious Mami helped me out a ton on this one as most all the information concerning the boat was in Japanese, and even then, there wasn’t a whole lot out there to find.

Now, this doesn’t surprise me too much as there’s only one of these boats out there doin’ its hospital thing, but I do think that it’s really cool. Since it’s so neat, I was surprised that there wasn’t more info out there, especially with the drama that just came out based upon it. And speaking of the drama, let’s get into that now, shall we?

Clinic on the Sea

I actually first heard about Clinic on the Sea, or Umi no Ue no Shinryojo (海の上の診療所) when I was watching Summer Nude earlier this year (it was great, you should check it out). There was a preview for Clinic on the Sea as a new and upcoming drama, and something about the preview just stood out to me. It made me feel like it was going to be a good one.

And so far, it is.

As of this article, I’ve only checked out the first two episodes, but they were both very enjoyable. Since the series is currently airing, only a few episodes are out right now, but I’m thinking I’ll keep up with it since I’ve enjoyed it so far already.

You already know the basic premise from reading the first part of this article – the story follows a hospital ship on its journeys to help out those on the many islands of Japan. The main dude, Dr. Kota Sezaki (played by Matsuda Shota) is a brilliant doctor serving on board the fictional floating hospital Kaishinmaru. He’s a bit quirky, and incredibly quick to fall in love. So much that he finds himself falling for a girl at every port they stop at, but the girl always ends up with someone else by the end of the episode.

Now, I usually don’t like shows that are so formulaic like this. It seems like every episode is just Kota going somewhere, instantly falling for a girl, doing medicine on someone related to that girl, and then the girl ends up with someone else and Kota is thrown into crushing depression at the end of the episode. Sure, it’s a little predictable, but I really, really like Kota as well as the rest of the cast.

Kota’s character instantly clicked with me. He has a lot of personality and he loves the ladies. Coming from the stoic lead Yamapi played in Summer Nude, Kota is a welcome change.

There’s a handful of famous actors and actresses to be seen here as well (Terajima Susumu, Arakawa Yoshiyoshi, Shinoda Mariko) so the show definitely has that star power. There’s also a bit of mystery as Kota has told his mother that he’s engaged but too busy to come home and introduce her to his fiance. And there’s also a mystery character at the restaurant/bar his mom runs who has yet to reveal his face. Toda Erika is also searching for Kota, but we have no idea why, and she’s had minimal screen time so far.

Will Kota end up with Toda Erika’s character? Will his mother ever meet the fiance that he doesn’t (or does??) have yet? Will Kota end up falling in love with one of the nurses on the Kaishinmaru instead? Who knows!? But what I do know is that the show is so funny and entertaining that I am perfectly content with watching it and slowly finding out the answers to all of these pressing questions.

If you like, boats, medicine, crazy characters, or anything else I’ve mentioned, you should check out the show. It’s nifty. It’s not gonna knock off any of the powerhouses from my Top 10 Dramas list, but it’s an entertaining show nonetheless.

So tell me, had you ever heard of these mobile sea clinics in Japan? What do you think of them? Gonna check out Clinic on the Sea? You should!

Sites Referenced:
Japan-Guide
Web-Japan
Wikipedia
EMECS