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The Gaijin, the Otaku and the Weeaboo in the land of Nippon!

OK, so this is a topic that our site is loosely related to (at the moment), but we’re going to try to branch further into it over the next few months in an attempt to grab a wider audience, hopefully some current members will take an interest!

The first new word for today is Gaijin! “What the hell is a gaijin?”, you might be asking.  A gaijin is basically the Japanese word for a foreigner.  Anyone from outside Japan is given this title.  Strangely, the term is sometimes even applied to Japanese ethnics who were brought up outside of Japan. (Nippon, in case you hadn’t guessed, is in fact a Japanese word for Japan.) (more…)

Naruto 604 Discussion – Meet again…

We start this chapter off with a little treat – a colour cover/first page to celebrate the 600th chapter!  I would probably pay a little extra to read the chapters in colour every week, that is, if I was paying for them in the first place.  Don’t worry, I bought some manga novels..a few years back.

Anyway, Obito is setting off to help his comrades, but before he leaves, Madara seems certain that he will return.  You have to question why.

“You will come back here…and that time, you will thank me sincerely..you ungrateful little b*stard”   [Unofficial translation]

Thank him sincerely for what?  Saving him?  What did Madara think was going to change Obito so much to make him come back and thank him again? I don’t remember foresight being one of the Uchiha abilities. (more…)

Naruto Chapter 603 Discussion – Rehabilitation!

This week’s chapter is now out and shows us another glimpse into the secret underground life of Madara and Obito.  We are introduced to another strange character made from the Hashirama chakra tree thing (..whatever) and strangely he seems to have the same personality as our old friend Tobi did.  Towards the end of the chapter we see this “thing” merge his body with Obito to give him enough strength to go out and help Kakashi and Rin.  We could assume that this merge was maybe what gave Obito his stupid/playful personality in the Akatsuki days, or maybe it was just a facade he was putting on as was previously though.  Either that or the poor guy has split personality disorder.  Also, does this character give us a clue as to where black Zetsu came from?

It’s also worth noting the length of Obito’s hair in this chapter.  If you look back at the chapters that show “Madara” helping Itachi with the Massacre of the Uchiha Clan, whoever it is has long hair so it’s a possibility that it was Obito. (more…)

Naruto Chapter 602 Discussion!

The latest chapter is out and we’ve been given another piece of the story, not much of it but we’re grateful for anything these days.  In the discussion of chapter 599, I mentioned that one possible way of Obito surviving his accident, was that Madara had some sort of hidden underground lair, right beneath the forest.  I thought this was the most far-fetched scenario, yet, it’s what happened.  This raises a few questions.  What was Madara doing down there?  I find it hard to believe he was just existing, biding his time and hoping for an extremely unlikely incident like this to occur.  It doesn’t make sense.

How he’s keeping himself alive is another area for discussion, maybe the “chakra tree” he is feeding off is enough for him.  Maybe he survives off the animals in the forest, although in his condition, he’d need to have someone helping him.  So, the safest assumption is that he has someone else helping him, and he did have some sort of plan other than just waiting for Obito to drop on to his lap.  I’d speculate that the most likely individual to be helping him is Zetsu, since we know nothing about his origins, so far. (more…)

Teaching English in Japan – the JET Programme

Teaching English in Japan is a popular employment option among Gaijin for a reason.  It’s well known that usually, the only jobs a foreigner can get in Japan are the jobs a Japanese person either can’t do, or won’t do.  This is where English speakers come in, and get paid a decent wage for it too.  English is taught to Japanese school children from a young age, but the average level of English in the country remains poor.

The JET program (Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme) is a government run program in Japan.  The “Exchange” part refers to the exchange of language, not an actual exchange of individuals between Japan and another country.  The program was started in 1978 under the name “British English Teachers Scheme”, where it was initially open to British University graduates only.  Today, the program is open to a range of different countries around the world, with students from as many as 41 different countries participating in recent years. (more…)


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