I just recently wrote two articles about school lives for high school girls: Some girls enjoy "K-on" club on a movie "Linda Linda Linda". Some girls also enjoy a making a Jazz Swing Band on another movie "Swing Girls". I know they are so real and, for them, the movie scenes are simmilar to their ordinaly lives on school. However, some school girls have different aspect, and the movie "Love & Pop"(1998), directed by Hideaki Anno, dipicts it which is also maybe real.

Have you heard "K-on"? It is surely Japanese big hit anime's title but "K-on" is ordinaly a name of school club reagrding rock or folk music. Japanese firm "Linda Linda Linda" (2005) is a story of high school girls who belong K-on. This story is so realistic and that is why it gave junior and high school girls in Japan huge influence that they want to play instuments - guitar, bass, or drums. 

"Hyakki Yakou Shou" is ongoing series of Japanese manga and there is no plan of publishing the English edition; however, I want to introduce to foreign people that its fantasic story and sensitive drawing is wonderful. I believe that it will be translated into many foreign language sooner or later.

Sorry for the delay of updating. Today I would like to introduce to you a movie what it looks like club activities in school. Well, it is not good expression because it depicts a big band jazz as club activities in school at all. But why I said "looks like" is that, although all actress and actor were complete amateurs or almost ones, they practiceed instruments such as sax or trumpet and performed real jazz music in movie. It calls buck fun-filled activities in school-days for audience. This unique movie's name is "Swing Girls"(2004) directed by Shinobu Yaguchi.

Today I would like to introduce to you a so funny and great movie "Kamikaze Girls" (Japanese tittle: Shimotsuma Monogatari). The movie tells the friendship story of two girls who are have complete different fashion sense and tastes each other.

This Japanese movie "Ballad - Namonaki Koi no Uta" isn't any tlanslated verison so far, but I believe it will have someday. It is great and my favorite. I can't see it without Kleenex.

As all people know well, Japan has suffered from severe diasters by earthquake and tsunami that happened on March 11. I extend my heartfelt condolence to victimes and sincerely hope that devastated area will get re-establishment at the earliest possible date. My first piece in a long while is about "Another" by Yukito Ayatsuji. 

Let me introduce a Makoto ShinKai's new and much-awaited anime film "Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below" (Japanese tittle is "Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo"). It will be released in Japan on May. 

I wrote a piece about a teary ghost story "Strangers" (Japanese tittle is "Ijin-tachi to no Natsu") by Taichi Yamada on last October. This novel made into a movie in 1989, which directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. Yesterday Ms. Mina Quiao, my friend on facebook and live in New Zealand, gave me an e-mail for her comment of watching the movie. So I wanted to write that again.

I just read a novel "Route 255" by Chiya Fujino a few days ago. It has been made into a movie and a manga. A main character and her brother lost a way of home and wanderd into a strange world. It depicts an regular life with a sence of loss. 

I hope that my favorite and heaart-warming novel "Colorful" by Eto Mori will be translated into English and other foreign languages someday and its picturization on last year must be the very good opener of that.

When I wrote a piece about "Kare Kano", my friend of Facebook, who is a teenager, expressed it as a "classic" manga. For teenagers, mangas of 1990's are old or classic!!  I have to recoginize my age. It is no matter what for today's topic. I just wanted to say that the real classic mangas in 1970's are wonderful and amazing. They are "good old days" for our generation and for Japanese Shojo-Manga history. I strongly recommend all manga fans read and see their representative manga artist, Moto Hagio, and her masterpiece, "There Were Eleven".

Yesterday I finnished watching a TV anime "Tokyo Magnitude 8.0". I watched it with praying that nobody would die. I really wish my prayer would come true.... It is the saddest anime which I have ever seen.

This is a writing by co-reviewer, Mei Kanata：In my last column of “Venus in a Bathroom”, I looked back on what my parents taught me through daily assignment of cleaning stairs. My parents always told me “whenever and wherever you clean, do it wholeheartedly while thinking about how users feel. If you clean wholeheartedly, users can see it and feel happy even though you don’t tell them your effort”. I think that this thought is something universal and applicable for various works. Engaging works or tasks wholeheartedly is valuable by itself. Moreover, when people are devoted to a work, they look beautiful and sometimes make others impressed. While thinking over such a thing, I remembered ‘Departures’, one of my favorite movies.

I would like to write a piece about "Crying Out Love in the Center of the World"(Japanese tittle is: Sekai no Chuushin de Ai wo Sakebu). It is a best-selling novel which is a pure and sad love story and was made into a movie and a TV drama. All of them have been extremely popular not only in Japan but also in Korea or Taiwan. The huge success in Japan was called a boom of "Seka-chu". 

Since I wrote a piece about Joe Hisaishi, I would like to write another one, which focus on my best favorite tune - "The Path of Wind" from Miyazaki anime "My Neighbor Totoro", again.

For children, every day is sort of an adventure, and an opportunity　to discover something new. "Yotsuba&!" (or Yotsubato), a bestselling and ongoing series of comedy manga in Japan, remind us happiness of childhood in ourselves.

Do you love Joe Hisaishi? I really do. If you love animes by Hayao Miyazaki of GHIBLI, you must do, too. If you love movies by Takeshi Kitano, you also must do. I believe Joe Hisaishi is an indispensable companion with Miyazaki animes and Kitano movies.

This is a writing by co-reviewer, Mei Kanata：In 2010, a song with strange title became a hit. That was ‘Venus of a Bathroom’. The story in its lyric goes as follows.

At last!!! My very favorite mystery novelist, Shusuke Michio won the Naoki Prize , one of the most well-known literary award in Japan,this month. Michio  nominated for the prize for the fifth straight year, that is the first time for the Naoki Prize.