Tales of old Japanese, not old Japan
598274
A truly delightful book with wonderfully drawn characters.  The stories charmingly illuminate contemporary Japanese older people and their foibles.  Anyone who has spent much time in Japan will immediately recognize people that they know between these pages.
1469096
I won't re-hash all that's bben said. The reason to read this book is that it tells the story as the characters experience it, not from the omniscient,western viewpoint that's usual in historical fiction dealing with feudal Japan.
If you like this genre you should also read "Tale of Murasaki", which is about Lady Murasaki who wrote "Tale of Genji."
2531523
I would recommend "Hello Kitty and Friends" series and "Hello Kitty's Paradise", and anything newer. both were made during the 90's and their stories lives up to more moral standards for children, (yes, as young as 2, however it might be over-compelling to some.) all while having more character development, broader adventure with more sophisticated story dialogue that also suits older children.  Enjoyable even to me as an adult because you can actually take these stories seriously! it feels like you're watching an anime aimed at smaller children. THIS collection, as mentioned in the comments, was aired in 1987. Each episode is based on whimsical dialogue. There is too much name-calling, bickering, and mischief caused by the main characters. I sat through ALL of the episodes, and it felt more like I was watching something a kid ages 7-10 would laugh from under today's standards. I was little reluctant of my 1 year old watching this, we only bought it for 5-bucks at walmart and didn't do research before hand. I'd give it three stars to be fair, it is dated, a lot of viewing-standards have changed for children over the decades. I would only recommend to a collector for older additions to the sanio company. But I personally didn't care for it.
2979543
This is a collection of mostly fairly old pieces with the oldest being 1958 by Maria Callas. The quality of the recordings is good, but unfortunately, the song and disc titles are written in an oriental script so you can't identify what you're listening to on either a media or CD player.  There is a booklet that lists the names but that's not very handy.
4768256
The only version of "Rodan" that I ever saw was from my youth when it first came out. The Japanese original "Radan" is as different as night and day. For one is the explanation of what the insect creatures are. Also the back ground over Goro's fight and the reason some of the villagers believe he is a murder. A whole scenario along with others cut by the English language version along with the addition of Atom Bombs scenes at the beginning.

Showing a bigger difference between the English cut and the Japanese original is "War of the Gargantuas". Warning: the subtitles are not the correct translation of the Japanese script and there are references at times to Gargantuas which were never there and somehow for a film made in the 1960's Global Warming.

The original title of the film, which also is not used for the Japanese translation, was "Frankenstein's Monster's" Sanda vs Gaira". This film In its Japanese version is a direct sequel to "Frankenstein vs Baragon" aka: "Frankenstein Conquers the World". The two kaiju Sanda and Gaira are suppose to be the results of the cells taken from the severed hand of the Frankenstein boy. References to their relationship are in the English subtitles, but the direct tie to the hand is missing. Another example as with the same company's translation of "Radan" were errors are made.

However, these are two of Ishiro Honda's better works and to find them re-mastered is outstanding.
260464
I haven't taken the time yet to compare the translations to the Japanese  versions,but going just on memory the translations appear to be pretty  good.
Of course there are some things I would have translated  differently.  For example, in many cases the word "daija"  (literally "big snake") should be translated into English as  "dragon" (even though it's commonly used in modern Japanese for  its literal meaning).  But this is something that a translator probably  wouldn't know unless they were a student of Japanese cryptozoology.
The Konjaku Monogatari is a huge multi-volume text.  The first chapters  involve Indian tales, the next few chapters involve Chinese tales, and the  second half is devoted to Japanese tales.  The really interesting thing  about stories reported in the Japanese tales, is not that they were all  supposedly "true stories", but rather the fact that they involved  not only tales told by the aristocrasy or the clergy, but also tales told  amongst the peasants.
(My favorite, volume 27, is devoted to ghost  stories.)
It is of serious interest to anyone interested in ancient  Japanese folkore and thought patterns.
It is difficult to find  translations into Enlish, or even into Modern Japanese.  For this reason  alone, a true Japanophile should grab any translation they can get their  hands on for the collector's value alone.
In regards to the story  selection of this book, I must say it's rather unorthodox.  Most  translations of the Konjaku into English or Modern Japanese focus  exclusively on the stories from Japan.  The idea here is that people  interested in Indian or Chinese stories would rather read them directly  from Indian or Chinese sources.  OTOH, the author's story selection could  still prove to be of use to people who are trying to study the spread of  Indian and Chinese legends to Japan.  However, people looking just for  Japanese folkore could be disappointed in this purchase if not forewarned.
2784221
I was incredibly excited when I learned that Sailor Moon was getting a rerelease in America with a new more accurate translation, beautiful new cover art with each volume featuring a sailor scout, and condensed volume numbers (taking 18 original volumes and mushing them together into 14 big ol' books; more bang for your buck). When I received this book in the mail and began to read it, it was to my dismay that, while the translation seems to be more accurate, the localization of the book's text is not very good. All the original Japanese names are preserved, but the dialogue is clunky. With overly literal phrasings, awkward salutations, and inappropriate tone of voice for some of the characters, it makes the new Sailor Moon English books cringeworthy to read. While the old Tokyopop/Mixx editions had the lame "Bunny=Usagi" naming convention, the localization was much better, more comfortable to read.

I am turned off by the translation, but I believe most people will not notice it much and be enraptured by the romantic, magical story of Sailor Moon fighting on behalf of justice, love, and friendship. Even in its current edition, Sailor Moon is a must read for any adolescent girl, as it is a story with relatable characters, resonant and relevant themes, and just an engaging narrative overall.
4214953
Short, poignant and redolent of a very individual experience of life in Heian Japan, the memoirs of 'Lady Sarashina' provide a fascinating glimpse of a woman's life slightly outside of the most exalted circles of eleventh-century life. This is a highly idiosyncratic portrait of its time, concentrating on episodes important to Sarashina herself (dreams, pilgrimages, poetic exchanges) rather than to the politically-active class as a whole. The sense of chronology is vague, the structure dictated more by mood pieces and observations than straightforward diary-keeping.
As such, this probably isn't the place to start with medieval Japanese writing, but something to try after Sei Shonagon (an altogether more ebullient and resilient character, who _is_ at the centre of things) and Lady Murasaki. Sarashina is too withdrawn to involve herself in the customary court intrigues and liaisons, and too low-status to have much impact. Instead, she occupies herself with the fantastical world of Genji and other "Tales". Her memoirs are also notable for their account of a journey through the provinces to the capital, and for highly-praised poetry that unfortunately doesn't translate particularly well.
Ivan Morris' concise introduction sets the work in its context and discusses its significance and textual history; line drawings and unobtrusive notes further build our picture of Sarashina's world. A worthwhile purchase.
3970626
I'd heard so much about Andre Norton that I was so excited to get a copy of this to read through Edelweiss. I know, it was released like eons ago, but hey, if they're still offering review copies, I should take it, right?

And then I realised that to actually understand a full half of these stories as they should be properly understood, you should already be familiar with all of Norton's other writings. Because when you jump into a collection of stories from High Hallack without any idea what High Hallack actually is all you get is extremely confused. I liked better the folktale retellings than the actual spec fic I was expecting, probably because I didn't have to think so hard about what she was trying to say.

You'd probably like it better if you like older-style writing. Sorry, but I gave up reading classics for a reason, most of all because I'm a lazy modern reader. It's like wading through Tolkien again after you've been reading Hobb for a while. (The story is still good, but UGH you have to think so much)

Briefly, the ones I really liked were:
- The Gifts of Asti
- The Dowry of the Rag Picker's Daughter
- All Cats Are Gray
- Black Irish
- Through the Needle's Eye
- The Toymaker's Snuffbox
- Dream Smith
4928644
This is a classic story, retold here in somewhat stilted language.

47 Ronin is based on an historical event in feudal Japan and the story is part of the culture and mythology. Because I was going to visit Japan, I was interested in reading books set there. 47 Ronin fit the bill and I enjoyed reading it while also being able to visit some of the temples and castles and grounds mentioned in the book. The book helped me visualize 18th century Japan.

But the prose and story telling is somewhat stilted and awkward. If you want to understand this event, then this book will help bring it to life. The foreword also includes some interesting historical context that helps separate the reality from the mythology. But if you're looking for an exciting tale of adventure and revenge, there are many other books available that would be more gripping.
1241833
Again, it is probably well to point out that Sansom's 3-vol. narrative history of Japan is sometimes confused with several of his other works, and that, for all practical purposes, these three constitute the standard narrative history of Japan of our time. . . Of course, these "other works" are of the same high caliber and well worth our attention: Japan: A Short Cultural History (1931; Revised Edition, 1943); and especially, The Western World and Japan: A Study in the Interaction of European and Asiatic Cultures (1965; 504, xi pp). The author is identified in both books as "G.B. Sansom." [Not a very exciting distinction, to be sure, but online computers sometimes get confused.]

George Sansom (1883-1965) is variously identified on Amazon.com and elsewhere as George Sansom, G. Sansom, George Bailey Sansom, G. B. Sansom, George B. Sansom, and Sir George Sansom (yes, he was knighted in 1935 and again in 1947).  The 3-vol. set is signed "George Sansom".

This third volume of the series stops at 1867. Sansom's stated reason for not continuing his history beyond this year is that he had lived too close to events of the Meiji Restoration (1868) for him to develop a perspective that only distance could supply.  For readers interested in later events, The Making of Modern Japan (2000; 2002), by Marius B. Jansen, another outstanding scholar of Japanese history, would be a good choice.  Since this history begins at 1600, there are overlapping accounts of the Edo period, but from two quite different perspectives.

In short, this set is a good buy and is likely to remain the standard narrative history of Japan for the foreseeable future.
2213954
This book takes existing romance comics of yesteryear and changes only the texts. The original comics are extremely static and feature few props or decors to play with (much like cheap soap operas). This is good in one way, because it allows Martinet to focus on the dialogs, which are turned into fairly bizarre exchanges, but bad on the other, because she doesn't have much to work with.
In the end, unusual as they are, most stories are still romances, if somewhat updated to this century. The result is funny but not laugh-out-loud hilarious.
3558208
If you ever watched the Animatrix or Batman: Gotham Knight it's similar to that as different artists/storytellers give their take on a set theme.

For most of the stories in the book it seems like the artists/story writers did not even read the original comic/manga. It's like they just give them original concept art, story boards and synopsis and told them to make their own story based on that. Fun at times to see how they interpret the info given.

Art design is varied. Nice to see the different art styles and story telling scattered around the book even though some of the stories are so off key to the original manga

Horrible title. Seeing the overlap of Japanese and English releases of the manga, the Anthology in 'Attack on Titlan Anthology' is a bit confusing. I for one assume there would be collection on non-released cannon stories from Japan. So some may look at the title, purchase the book on a whim (maybe because they're fans of the series) and get disappointed

Overall fun read if you know what you're getting yourself into
2966253
This book is enjoyable to read. It presents a side of Japan that is almost unheard of, the disenfranchised. Told as a series of first-person vignettes, with each person similar but distinct. This is the raw underbelly of Japan, violent, disatisfied with life, desperately seeking for an unknown goal. A quick look at the domestic Japanese news reveals that there is a serious crisis of identity occuring, and this is one of the few books that reveals the true roots of the problem. In my time in Japan, I have known people like the characters in this book, and in general the stories ring true. The only thing which prevents me from giving this book 5 stars is that the few places that the Japanese language is used in this book, it is odd or even incorrect. Still, the stories seem to provide an accurate insight into the thinking and lifestyles of many young Japanese.
4680147
fyi. the author Purposely avoids nailing his characters Ennin and Kukai to any exact Japanese point in time. the stories are Not "historic" necessarily - rather they are Japanese, cultural and human. Not unlike the anim series Samurai Champloo .
That said: this one would make a real cool movie!
Ps: Indeed Kukai gets action on this one !
2441847
This is a mildly interesting book that explores aspects of Japanese culture from a Westerner's point of view.  The cover of my edition describes it as an "extraordinarily evocative, at times erotic," story.  Given that the book is ostensibly about the steamy nightlife of the mizu shoubai, one might expect a rather heady description of what goes on after dark in Japan.  Despite the title, the book does not particularly concern itself with the water trade.  When it does, it is often just a description of the author sitting in some little bar or other drinking.  The book does devote lengthy stretches to things like calligraphy and home furnishings, and perhaps it's just me, but I found it rather boring.

It is hard to imagine who the target audience for this book would be.  For those with little knowledge of Japan, many of the descriptions lack enough context to make much sense.  For persons already acquainted with the culture, the long musings are hardly revealing and some of the author's conclusions are questionable.  Ultimately, it feels like the author wrote this as memoir for himself.  It should give hope to diarists everywhere that they too can one day be published.  There are a few genuinely evocative moments in this book (especially notable was a good description of a funeral), but hardly enough to justify the time it takes to read it.
1287735
I knew of Sakurazaka's previous work of Gendai Mahou, but didn't know he wrote this.  With upcoming adaptation of movie version (and expectation of source material butchery), I decided to read ahead.  It's an ok read but nothing spectacular.  It has interesting premise and details here and there, but the story approach is rather typical Japanese light novel way which this book is.  Reminded me of Kirito from SAO.  But that's not the real problem here.

Some of decisions made by the publisher got in my way of fully enjoying the book.  First of all, use of casual and strong languages changed the tone of the book entirely - I can guess which word was changed to which, and it should have been read drier.  There are typos here and there, name orders are mixed, and some phrases were direct translation of Japanese which didn't really make sense in English (ex. 'flags').  Another thing is that they pulled out all the illustrations save the cover page.  This book is supposed to be a type of Japanese pulp fiction called Light Novel and they usually include illustrations, some of them in full color.  Whether it being insensitive negligence or licensing issue, they should have included them intact - these make up for visual description of details.  Assuming it had average amounts for this type of novel, we are probably missing about 5~7 pages or so.

Even with all this complaining, it is still better story than Edge of Tomorrow (I watched the movie...) and i did find it somewhat enjoyable, so try it if you will.  However, if you have ability to read Japanese, I recommend getting the original version of the book - you may obtain this through Amazon JP.