Last year, Neko chan published a Kawaii Korner article in our spring issue to explain a little about the Japanese holiday, Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day). In case you missed it–or in case you’re a new reader!–here it is again with a little extra flavor, as well as that much-sought-after .jpg which will allow you to make your own fishie streamer. Fly, fishie! Fly!

Kodomo no Hi (May 5)

Each year on May 5, the households of Japan raise carp streamers in observance of the holiday known as Children’s Day. Originally known as Tango no Sekku (Boys Day), the holiday was later renamed Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day) to celebrate the happiness and strength of children as well as to thank mothers for all that they do. In a way, this can be compared to our Mother’s Day (which is coming up this Sunday, in case anyone forgot!)

Before the holiday, Japanese families fly carp streamers known as koinobori to represent the members of their household. Traditionally, they are flown from a pole, with the highest, largest black fish (magoi) representing the father, the slightly smaller red fish (higoi) that flies under it representing the mother, and the progressively smaller and smaller colored fish that fly underneath the higoi representing the sons (or children) of the household.  The oldest son/child is given a blue fish. The next oldest is given a green one. And depending on what region the family lives in, any other, younger sons/children are also given a specific color fish.

Can you imagine? Close your eyes for a moment and see spring in Japan. Feel the sun on your face. When you open them, you’re surrounded by fish! Fish flying from poles! Fish flying from strings! If you’re in a small town or village, just think about how each of those fish represent a person. That’s a lot of life!

The streamers represent strength, but why do they look like carp? Well, according to a Chinese legend, there was once a carp that swam upstream and became a dragon. And when you fly the koinobori, they kind of look like swimming carp. And hey, dragons are strong! So… strength.

But also, think about the strength of the community. Imagine you’re back in your little Japanese town now, and surrounded by these colorful carp. I think that that would really be something to see! And the sight of all the little baby streamers following the father and mother ones? Isn’t it great to think that you’re surrounded by so much young life, too? Children are next up at bat after we’ve moved on to later life and beyond, so isn’t it good to know that the next generation will be so strong and prolific? I think so!

The day after that, here in the States, at least, we will be celebrating Mother’s Day. The two holidays seem to go hand-in-hand very nicely, even if they’re an ocean apart. No matter if you’re young or old, a daughter or a son, your mother’s very best friend in the whole wide world, or maybe a little more distant from your mother; mother’s have a great impact in their children’s lives, regardless. Maybe you’re a mother yourself. Or maybe you just know a great one, or maybe a wonderful grandmother or great grandmother.

Whatever the case, in honor of both Children’s Day and Mother’s Day, you’ll find below our signature carp streamer .jpg. Use it as a gift! Turn it into a coloring page for your children! Scale it down to be itty bitty, or up to be monstrous! Whatever you do with it, be sure to have fun. And be sure to do something special for the children and mothers in your life on what promises to be a great weekend!

What you’ll need:

-       A copy machine or scanner/printer

-       Scissors

-       Crayons, colored pencils, markers, lipstick, etc.

-       String or yarn

-       Tape

 Instructions:

Copy the coloring page. You can even get creative with the size of it by scaling it larger or smaller! If you have a multi-generational household, maybe try making the largest for the father of the family, the next largest for the mother, and so on…

Color in your carp! If you’re a father or a mother or an older or younger brother, you might want to look to the traditional koinobori for color inspiration. Or, why not get creative? The sky’s the limit!

When you’re done, roll your fishie into a tube and tape it closed so that you have a cylinder that looks like a carp.

Use tape to attach a string to your carp for hanging. And tada! Your very own fishie flyer! Hang it high and proud and celebrate the children! (or give on to your mother. I’m sure she’d love to be reminded of your elementary school art project days)

Hot off the presses and ready for your enjoyment the Spring 2012 issue is available now!  Click on the cover image above, or HERE to order now!

As usual we’ve filled this issue with our unique mix of fantastic content.  This time up we have coverage of Gobble Con 2011 and The New England Steampunk Convention, Interviews with Tiffany Grant & Robert Axelrod, A special feature on harem anime’s, and of course much more!

So hop on over and pick up a copy.  If you like what you see tell us about it, and be sure to sign up for our mailing list.  You can also like us on facebook.  Well that’s it for this update.  So enjoy your spring break, and remember… Love is a Battlefield!

]]> http://senpaimagazine.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=1553 0 http://senpaimagazine.com/blog/?p=1560 http://senpaimagazine.com/blog/?p=1560#comments Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:49:32 +0000 Ty http://senpaimagazine.com/blog/?p=1560 Its that time of year again. The Cherry Blossom Festival is coming to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden! I love this festival. The trees are always so pretty and its the perfect day to get out and experience Japanese culture and food (Just be sure to get in the lines early. Food runs out fast!) This year, its taking place on April 28th & 29th from 10am to 6pm.

Last year I went with S0nlxaftrSh0ck and a few friends. My favorite part was the Cosplay fashion show. The costumes were all so impressive!  Of course that’s not the only thing to see! The festival usually has Taiko Drumming, Manga Artists, Samurai Sword Fighting, Puzzle Plaza, and a bunch of other awesome events going on. Hello Kitty even made an appearance! (^_^)

Be sure to check out this year’s schedule of events on the Brooklyn Botanic Garden site! Hope to see you there!

For the last few months we have featured articles here on the blog about how the holidays portrayed in anime hold up against holidays in real Japan.  We’ve covered topics like “Does anyone in Japan really celebrate Christmas?” as well as “What is White Day, and what does it have to do with Valentine’s Day?”

Well, having happily discussed some realities of a Japanese Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s (and yes- White Day) with our readers, we’re ending this series of articles somewhere a little different.

~~~

In this final part of a 5 part series we’re looking into a South Korean April holiday which was created as an answer to Valentine’s Day and White Day. (If you would like to catch up with part one: Christmas in Japan, please click here, part two: New Year’s in Japan then please click here, part three: Valentine’s Day then please click here, or part four: White Day then please click here.)

~~~

Valentine's Day

First, a little background from our previous articles— in Japan usually only girls give out candy on Valentine’s Day.  Boys are given the chance to return the favor a month later, on White Day, and usually reciprocate with gifts, not just chocolate.
What we did not cover in the last two articles is this: the Japanese style of celebrating the holiday is not limited only to Japan.  Some other countries, including South Korea, also celebrate the Valentine’s tradition in this twofold manner.

White Day

Returning to the Japanese Valentine’s and White Day traditions, there are different types of chocolate and gifts, and the distinction between them must be carefully noted to avoid a social mistake.

The girl may only be giving the chocolate or gift to be polite, or it may be a sign of true affection, and the type and quality of the chocolate or gift she gives is usually a great indicator of whether she really likes the boy or is only being kind.

Although most aren't this extravagant in their return gifts

Similarly, when a boy reciprocates the gift on White Day (while oftentimes they return something bigger or more expensive) how much so is determined by what sort of gift he got in the first place. (For example, he would give a different type of gift to his girlfriend who gave him an affectionate gift, from the type he would give his classmate who gave him something to be polite or kind.)

But, what if no one gave you anything at all? No love on Valentine’s Day?  No return for your affection at White day? Well, never fear— apparently you’re not alone at all.

This fellow, as a rule, seems to be particularly affected

Whether you were a boy who received nothing (or perhaps only “polite” chocolate) on Valentine’s Day, or if you were a girl who received nothing in return (or only polite gifts in return) on White Day— either of those cases meaning you don’t have a special someone to reciprocate your love — South Korea has a holiday for you.

The tradition called is Black Day. Held on April 14^th, two months after Valentine’s and one month after White Day, Black Day is for those who were disappointed in love on the previous two holidays.

Jajangmyeon- so popular and delicious, even couples decide to eat it on this day sometimes.

It’s a day where people “celebrate being single” by getting together with other single people and empathizing with each other while eating “Jajangmyeon” (a highly popular noodle dish that has a thick black bean sauce).

It’s a good time to get out all the bad feelings about the more romantic holidays not going as you dreamed, and in company that will understand precisely how you feel, or to simply hang out with friends. For that reason, the company a person has for this day would likely be other single friends, or people at the restaurants where the participants are eating.  Furthering the theme, some people choose to wear black or other dark clothes on this day, and oftentimes black coffee is also popular.

The holiday has some following, but is not yet heavily commercialized— yet.

Black clothes,check. Black cuppa coffee, check. Sitting alone, check. Now she just needs to go eat comfort food with her friends, and the day is set.

As has already happened with the two more romantic holidays, marketers are attempting to find a foothold in Black Day, and find some way to be associated with the singles “celebration” (or mourning depending on who you ask).
Some marketers attempt to be very directly associated (such as a matchmaking service setting up speed dating events for this day) and others are more roundabout in their involvement (such as the online movie ticket seller who sponsored a black noodles speed-eating competition open for people who bought single tickets to the latest big movies).  I guess the idea is that even if someone isn’t the type to be happy about being single, there might be a perk in there somewhere.

To see how some others are celebrating Black Day on the internet (or commiserate with them!) I’d recommend you look for the Black Day tags on your favorite social media sites, like twitter or tumblr. ^_^  For a recipe for the traditional dish, Jajangmyeon- this looks pretty good.

Regardless of whether or not you find yourself celebrating Black Day today, we  offer our best wishes to you, and hope that this and every other holiday give you a little something to smile about!

I-con was a blast! The theme was mostly Dr. Who, since there were several Dr. Who guests.  Lots of panels and Dr. Who souvenirs to buy from the Dealer’s room.  I have only personally seen a few episodes from Dr. Who on the SciFi channel.  I did like those episodes, but haven’t watched more than that.

I myself went to a Game of Thrones panel and spent more of my time at the Dealer’s room.

Besides I-con,  I haven’t watched or done much related to anime lately, which makes me sad.  I have all these shows in my Netflix queue, but haven’t watched them.  I have tried keeping up with the Naruto manga, which has gotten soooo goood! No spoilers, but Naruto’s in the midst of some heavy fighting and I’m excited to see how it all turns out!

The one thing I’ve gotten a little obsessed about lately is The Hunger Games trilogy. I read the first one back in December.  When I saw the movie was coming out, I was over the top excited! I recently had finished some other books, so finally got back to read the 2nd and 3rd ones. I finished those in about a week! They were so epic!!! And, I got to see the movie! SOOOO AWESOME! A few things changed, but overall, it followed the book really well! I hope they make the 2nd and 3rd soon!!!!!  Even at I-con, there were many people cosplaying as Katniss and other Hunger Games characters.  There was one girl who did an awesome job as Katniss; she had the right braid, the right outfit and bags, and even had a bow and some arrows! I wish I had gotten a picture!

Many of us at Senpai are absolutely speechless. Judging from the title alone, many of you can probably guess why, but for those that somehow don’t know then I will do my best to explain while avoiding spoilers (as much as possible).

Before I get into it, let me introduce my Commander Shepard:

This man has saved the galaxy so many times that the few times he put it in danger hardly matter. He’s a renegade and a terror to all reporters, but has a heart of gold that only comes out when he’s around his own crew. He runs a tight-ship like Picard, fancies himself a modern-day “Captain Power,” but to most Alliance officials he’s about as trustworthy as a common space pirate. He can beat the man they call Jayne in any arm wrestling contest, and has romanced at least one of every alien species (yes, even Elcor… he was really really really drunk.) He has traveled all over the galaxy but has never been to Cloud City, rumors of him ever being there are completely unfounded. He enjoys drinking, long walks on the beach, drinking, dancing with barmaids at club Purgatory, and more drinking. And he is currently either dead, an omnipotent being, alive on Earth, or a mindless husk… I’m not sure which since things got a little crazy the last time I saw him, more on that later.

And now back to the point at hand …

The Mass Effect Trilogy is, by far, one of the most immersive RPGs to grace consoles to date. Unlike other RPGs, Mass Effect allows the player the freedom to make virtually all of the major choices for themselves. Many of these choices matter and will determine what happens next in the story. The player’s decisions (done through the main character Shepard) carry over into Mass Effect’s sequels, as they are allowed to build upon (or ruin) their relationships with other characters, while shaping the universe (metaphorically and, at times, literally speaking) around them.

After players concluded Mass Effect 1 and 2, many of us arriving at wildly different outcomes, we were all abuzz with anticipation as to how the final 3rd chapter would conclude. Bioware developers assured us that our decisions in the 3rd installment, along with all of the choices we’ve been making over the past five years, would greatly influence Shepard’s ending. We vividly remember being promised by Bioware exec producer Casey Hudson “It’s not even in any way like the traditional game endings,where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C..”

So one could imagine my confusion when I reached this part:

Here Shepard is given a choice of three ways to end the Reaper invasion in the form of one of three paths. Hm… path A, B and C?

In my first playthrough, I chose the right path. Without giving anything away, I was disappointed that it appeared that nothing I did (in this game or the prequels) seemed to matter. The ending cinematic was much too brief and only showed three characters out of the hundreds that my Shepard had fought alongside, befriended, and offended.

So I thought “Okay, I just got the ‘artsy’ ending alla End of Evangelion, blah! I’ll just reload my last save and pick the LEFT path this time. Surely if I pick another path, it would trigger another outcome, right?”

Well… sorta… it was the same ending again with the only difference being that the explosions changed from red to blue. Frustrated, I reloaded and picked the middle path, only to see the same exact ending again only with green explosions. To add insult to injury, the very last thing the player sees after any one of these endings is a prompt urging them to get DLC when available.

To help illustrate my point, if you’ve already beaten the game or are not afraid of spoilers, here are all the possible endings synced together

Fans largely were outraged that not only did Bioware fail to live up to its promise of multiple endings that would be changed according to the player’s decisions, but that the ending that we were given was riddled with major plot holes. On the other side of the fan reaction are Mass Effect loyalists who justify the ending as Shepard battling Reaper indoctrination. They have expanded upon the small details and inconsistencies in the ending sequence to put together a narrative that does make some sense… the only problem being that it presupposes that this was a “false ending.”

Part of the ending I had in mind started with this...

Bioware appeared to take this reaction to heart, at first voicing confusion at the fans’ response.  Founder Ray Muzyka stated:

 ”It’s incredibly painful to receive feedback from our core fans that the game’s endings were not up to their expectations. Our first instinct is to defend our work and point to the high ratings offered by critics – but out of respect to our fans, we need to accept the criticism and feedback with humility… the passionate reaction of some of our most loyal players to the current endings in Mass Effect 3 is something that has genuinely surprised us.”

What Bioware seems to have trouble understanding is that, while it is true that fans are largely upset with the ending, hardly anyone has said the game was anything but excellent.

Granted, there were were a few flaws (most notably with regards to questing) but, up until the last stretch of the game, the writing and direction was so phenomenal that most didn’t notice the minor flaws. Most players aren’t angry as much as they are confused and disappointed. For 98% of the Mass Effect trilogy, Bioware’s care and love for their product is more than evident, so having three different types of endings, which all end exactly the same way, was a shock to say the least.

So we wonder, were they rushed? Were they pressured by EA? Speaking for myself, if Bioware admitted that they were indeed rushed, I’d definitely continue to support them, and I bet most others would too given Bioware’s outstanding track record.

I also applaud Bioware for at least listening to the fans’ concerns and are now “hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey.” However, I sorely hope it isn’t part of a 9.99 DLC package.

On the other side of the fence are those that are citing this ruckuses as an example of fans’ sense of “over-entitlement.” According to a recent article on Kotaku.com, indie developer Mode 7
changed the ending of their game Frozen Synapse to include a pony and a dinosaur, and the message “This is the ending to the game… we don’t care if you like it.” Ouch…

Look, I can continue presenting both sides of this, but it is really very simple. Here is the television commercial for Mass Effect 3

And well, minor spoiler alert, after playing through all three major outcomes do you ever really “Take Earth Back” as the advertisement suggests? …uhm…I’m actually not entirely sure… None of the “three outcomes” clearly show that… What the player is shown is much too brief and vague to conclusively say what happened. As I suggested before, the fandom is split with some saying that the ending was the product of bad writing, and others saying it was all an illusion or dream (Reaper indoctrination).

So did Bioware forget the point of the game, “Take Earth back?” It would seem so. They got so wrapped up in making a deep and creative ending that they tripped over their own ideas and ended up alienating most of their fans. What a shame… here’s hoping that in their “new ending” they remember to keep it simple.

My Shepard. Choosing Renegade since 2007

Now that my rant is out of the way, time for some MAJOR Senpai announcements…

First of all, we are strongly considering a podcast. It would cover the latest in anime and gaming, from the point of view of fellow fans. We are still working out scheduling and tech, but we are excited to get it started soon.

And secondly, while I will still contribute to the magazine when able, I have stepped down as a head writer. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere, I will still edit for the magazine, and will write the occasional opinion column. It also is very likely you’ll be hearing me on the upcoming podcast.

Stay tuned, Senpai’s only just begun,

 - Furry Senpai

Up until now, 400+ modellers from all over the world had signed up; TOP 3 countries are United States, China and Italy. With this trend it is very likely for the number to increase further before the deadline on 30^th April 2012. Join us now!

For contestants, if you are using GK from E2046 as entry kit, remember to enter a valid product number in Contest Panel before submitting. You can receive 10% Cash Coupon as Submission Reward after the Contest ends.

Boz, our champion of Diorama in Contest 2011, once said in his interview that, “Remember, this suppose to be fun and relaxing.” Indeed, let’s have some fun with modellers from 30+ countries all over the world!

How can you miss this annual modelling carnival?

Have you ever wondered how the holidays portrayed in anime hold up against holidays in real Japan?  If anyone in Japan really celebrates Christmas? Or just what the deal is with White Day?

Well, we here at Senpai Magazine are happy to answer these questions and more- for Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s and yes- White Day.

~~~

First off, it should be noted that we are mostly focusing on holidays that Japan and the USA share.  Japan has numerous cultural holidays and national holidays that share little to nothing in common with ours. None of the holidays discussed in this article, for example, are official nationally observed holidays in Japan except for New Year.

In this 4th part of a 5 part series, we’re  casting a glance on that enigmatic March holiday, White Day. (If you would like to catch up with part one: Christmas in Japan, please click here, part two: New Year’s in Japan then please click here, or part three: Valentine’s Day then please click here.)

__________________________________________________________________

White was chosen for purity, or pure love. And also because the first guy to think of it worked at a marshmallow company.

White Day, celebrated a month after Valentine’s Day on March 14^th, is when all the fellows who got giri or honmei chocolate from a lady on Valentine’s Day can return the favor. (It can also be called “answer day”  or “return day” for that reason.)  There are some men who go so far as to include a gift with the chocolate, or in replacement of the chocolate.

These other “answering” gifts can run the gamut from cute stuffed animals to jewelry or flowers to lingerie- yes, lingerie, sometimes even from co-workers.

(Usually in that case this would be a gift that several ladies would get from the same person, and it’s not meant to carry any sexual meaning, but merely provide something thoughtful and useful that the lady would use anyway. This doesn’t mean, however, that everyone given a gift like that will be happy about it, and in some cases it could be deemed inappropriate instead of thoughtful.)

I definitely wouldn't try that lingerie-to-a-coworker-thing in the US.

A word on the origins of White Day- have you ever heard someone say that they (mistakenly) believe a holiday was just “created by the card or candy company”?  In the case of White Day, it’s actually true.

Yes, seriously. This conspiracy is real.

The holiday was created in Japan (much the same way Valentine’s Day was) by candy marketers.

It began in 1977 when a marshmallow manufacturer was trying to find a new way to market their products, and hit upon the idea that they were white, the same color often used to symbolize purity and (by extension) pure love.

The confection that spawned a cultural phenomenon.

The idea didn’t really catch on until the next year, when Japan’s National Confectionery Industry Association got together and decided to create the holiday through their combined marketing power.

At first, only white colored gifts were given (like white teddy bears, chocolate, cookies, or lingerie such as the slips ladies wear under a dress).

Like most cultural phenomenon, however, White Day is an evolving holiday and some of its traditions change, such as the colors or types of gifts that are supposed to be given.

As for how “well” men should return the affection or politeness they were shown on Valentine’s Day, there is some debate.

Thr-THREE TIMES as much?!

One often hears that the return gift should be worth three times as much as what was received, but like most White Day practices this might be true or not because of changing traditions, or might be true for only some of the population.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the worth and thought put into this gift is also dependent on the sort of gift that was given to the man on Valentine’s Day.

He might look less upset about having to provide a return-gift for this giant chocolate heart if he liked the girl who gave it. Just saying.

A man who got giri (“obligation” chocolate, given by the lady to be polite or friendly, but not romantic) will return a different sort of gift than a man who received honmei (chocolate that is given to a romantic partner.)*

Popular gift examples in the different ranges include things like fancy handkerchiefs (very nice ones that ladies like to collect) and bringing the lady out to a really nice dinner.  Some others are cookies, chocolate, or (like many holidays) something sweet and personal, especially if the gift is for a loved one, not just an obligatory return gift given to be polite.

A  good anime example of White Day in Japan is seen in the show Fruits Basket.

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Fruits Basket (Furuba):

Tohru with her two best female friends, Saki and Arisa

The Valentine’s and White Day episodes of Fruits Basket bring up some noteworthy things.

In the Valentine’s Day episode of Fruits Basket, Tohru gave chocolate to “all the people who take care of me.”

She included her female friends Hanajima and Arisa (which would probably count as tomoor “friend” chocolate) as well as all the Sohma family members she is friendly with including Momiji. Later, they discover that in order to afford the supplies, she spent the money she should have used for her class trip.

Basically, this.

Momiji was deeply touched, and decided that the best way to return her kindness is to take her and the others on an all-expenses paid trip to a hot spring that the Sohma family owns.

(If the “worth three times as much” rule is a real phenomenon, I think it’s safe to say Momiji just blew it out of the water by about 1,000 times.)

Aww

Tohru and the boys have a wonderful time, and later during their visit there, she is given a more reasonable White Day gift.

Yuki and she are alone for a moment, and he thoughtfully gives her a set of golden hair ribbons.

Meanwhile, back home we see Shigure admiring a dress that looks remarkably maid-like; he claims happily that it is his White Day return-gift to Tohru.  Another Sohma, Hatsuharu, sits idly nearby and says in a placid tone “Just don’t take things so far you get arrested.”

Shigure's idea of a great gift

Before anyone gets too creeped out by that little exchange, view it within the context of White Day traditions- remember the possibility that a co-worker might decide to gift you and your other co-workers with lingerie?

By comparison, Shigure’s gift is bizarre, but still not as weird as it could be. (Especially because we know Shigure well enough to tell he doesn’t mean anything genuinely creepy by it.) It’s a good way to joke about how weird the older Sohma is and also give a nod to the stranger possible White Day gifts.

Yuki's idea of a gift

Out of all the things Tohru receives, however, Yuki’s gift is the most realistic for how the holiday is actually celebrated in Japan.

The gold hair ribbons are simple but pretty, and show that thought was put into the gift.  Most people, after all, cannot afford to bring a girl to a resort weekend just to celebrate White Day!

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Other White Day Episodes:
If you wanted to check out other anime that cover this interesting holiday, Hayate no Gotoku !! (Hayate the Combat Butler) Season 2-episode 18 and Shugo Chara! episode 74 both deal with White Day.

*For those of you who’d like to know more about some of the different sorts of Valentine’s chocolate given, check here;
for one lady’s account of what Valentine’s/White Day in Japan is like for her (and the sorts of gifts that are given) check here;
for some “do’s and don’ts” about gift-giving from a Japanese department store who polled some ladies check here.

~~~

However you celebrate, all your friends here at Senpai Magazine share a fond wish for you – we hope you’ve had a very happy holiday season, from white Christmas to windy White Day! Remember to tune in next time for our surprise final installment of this holidays series.

Have you ever wondered how the holidays portrayed in anime hold up against holidays in real Japan?  If anyone in Japan really celebrates Christmas? Or just what the deal is with White Day?

Well, we here at Senpai Magazine are happy to answer these questions and more- for Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s and yes- White Day.

~~~

First off, it should be noted that we are mostly focusing on holidays that Japan and the USA share.  Japan has numerous cultural holidays and national holidays that share little to nothing in common with ours. None of the holidays discussed in this article, for example, are official nationally observed holidays in Japan except for New Year.

In this 3rd part of a 5 part series, we’re opening our hearts to study that delicious February holiday- Valentine’s Day. (If you would like to catch up with part one: Christmas in Japan, please click here, or part two: New Year’s in Japan then please click here.)

__________________________________________________________________

Valentine’s Day in Japan is similar to the United States’ version in a lot of ways.  It is a romantic holiday and huge amounts of chocolate and gift-giving are involved.

Unlike our Valentine’s Day, however, only the girls and ladies give gifts.

W-what? Y-you don't mean that! It's not true! It CAN'T be true!

A month later there is a chance for boys and gentlemen to reciprocate the attention they were given on Valentine’s Day called White Day.

Oh. I see. Carry on.

Originally, chocolate was only given to someone whom the lady was interested in, but in order to be kind to boys who were in the embarrassing situation of receiving no chocolate, Valentine’s Day in Japan evolved to create other kinds of chocolate-giving.

Basically, this. (Not bad!) Or something similar, like prepackaged but less expensive, boxes of chocolate.

Giri or “obligation chocolate” is given to men whom the lady is not romantically interested in, but to whom she would like to be polite.

There is some variation on who receives this kind of chocolate, with some ladies only  giving it out to men whom she is friends with, while others give this kind of chocolate to all the men she goes to school or works with, including the teacher or the boss.  It is often bought, but can occasionally be homemade.

The quality can also vary depending on such factors as how much money the girl has, how much she likes the boys in question, and whether or not it is mandatory to give chocolate to all of one’s classmates or coworkers.

(Some of you may remember a similar rule during your own schooldays, about having a little paper valentine for each classmate, so that no one feels left out.)

The quality can vary- anything from nice to fairly nice to the bare minimum.

Homemade or bought "chocolates" do not necessarily have to be just chocolate either- these are cherry daifuku with chocolate.

Honmei chocolate is given to men for whom the girl or woman has a romantic interest, and is either more expensive, or more often, homemade.

It is one way that a lady can show her interest in a fellow who might have been previously oblivious, or who suspects he has her affection, but wasn’t sure.

Basically, it can mean anything from showing a basic interest to a full-blown crush or being in love.

Continuing its evolution as a holiday, there is also a recent trend among ladies in Japan to give chocolate to their female friends (or even give it to themselves)!

This platonic chocolate is called tomo chocolate.

Tohru giving out tomo chocolate

Good anime examples of Valentine’s Day in Japan are seen in the shows Yumeiro Patissiere and Vampire Knight.

[In the 11th episode of Fruits Basket, Tohru Honda  also shows us a great example example of chocolate-giving (even giving tomo chocolate to her female friends, Hana and Uo) but her example is overly extreme in some aspects- for full details, please watch the episode, or read the summary here.)

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I want a fairy who prevents my cakes from burning...

Yumeiro Patissiere is a fantasy, romance, school-life show centered on cooking.  It follows the adventures of a poor student named Amano Ichigo, her classmates, and the little “Sweets-Spirits” that accompany them through cooking school.

The 19^th episode  is excellent for illustrating common Japanese Valentine’s Day practices, etiquette, and feelings.

Amano is good friends with the “Sweets Princes,” three male students who are at the top of their cooking classes, and all have their own specialty and “Sweet-Spirit.”

Her rich rival, Miya Koshiro, is jealous of Amano because Miya has a powerful crush on one of the “princes,” Makoto Kashino. Her jealousy of their friendship causes her to challenge Amano to a competition for Valentine’s Day to see who can make better chocolate.

You do not have my vote for Chocolate Idol!

We learn in a flashback that the year before, Miya had given honmei chocolate to Makoto, and that it went very badly.  In reality, usually even imperfect chocolate would be received politely and with grace because the giver put in effort to make it— but this is a cooking school and Makoto is often a cold person- whose specialty is chocolate. He actually critiqued the gift explaining all the places where the spoiled heiress had gone wrong making it.  And then gave it back.

Makoto (who seems like the Simon Cowell of chocolate) is pretty much a “do-not” example.  His bad behavior is apparently so notorious that this year no one got him any chocolate. According to his “sweets spirit”, it is “because sending Makoto chocolate is basically like challenging him to a duel!”

The episode also goes over the concept of romantic honmei vs. polite giri chocolate, includes a sweet romantic subplot, and is notable for touching on the other sorts of people celebrating the holiday and giving chocolate, like friends, families and children.

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Break it up people, the only way they want your heart is for dinner!

In the popular anime Vampire Knight, there are good examples concerning some parts of the Valentine’s Day tradition of chocolate-giving and some extreme exaggerations.

Due to the vampire students being  so beautiful and charming,  the other students who wish to show their confectionery affection have to basically be crowd-controlled during the process, as though they were screaming teenyboppers giving Valentine’s Day chocolate to the Beatles or something.

(According to the show’s mythology, the vampires are so pleasant to look at and so magnetic thanks to their species- they are literally inhumanly beautiful, if you think of it that way).

Kaname

While some students at a school may get more chocolate because of their looks, personality, or popularity, clearly this level of mania is not an accurate representation of how most students would behave toward the people they’re gifting.

That being said- it is worth paying attention to the fact that the main character, Yuki, buys nice chocolate for Kaname (the boy she almost openly crushes on) but that the only homemade chocolate that turned out right she reserves for Zero (the boy she tells herself she cares for as a family member, but for whom she really has more complicated attachments).

Viewed in light of what we know about the ideas behind who gets what sort of chocolate, the entire holiday is helpful for illustrating the complicated relationship she has with both boys.

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Thanks for checking in with us for the third part of this 5 part holidays series!  Check back again in the coming weeks and months to see parts 4 & 5, beginning in a few weeks, with White Day in Japan!

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Meanwhile, however you celebrate the holidays, all your friends here at Senpai Magazine share a fond wish for you – may you have a very happy holiday season, from New Year’s fresh start to windy White Day!

I recently found out that there’s an animated version, with Jared playing Sam.  Jensen will only be doing Dean’s voice for certain episodes because of scheduling conflicts.  I decided to at least watch the first episode.  Since it’s a cartoon, the episodes are 22 minutes, instead of the full hour TV ones.  The first episode, “Alter Ego,” matches with episode 6, “Skin,” in the TV edition.  The plot was much shorter, but included the same main points and characters.  There were, of course, slight differences with the side characters’ details, but that was to make it easier to understand without going too in depth since the time frame was shorter.

I cannot pass judgment about whether it is good or bad yet, only because I have watched nothing past the first episode. Jared’s character, Sam, sounded exactly the same, but it was weird having a different voice for Dean (Jensen’s character).  Their personalities were still 100% like before, so that will probably make for just as entertaining an adventure.

So far, there is only the first season, having 22 episodes.  These episodes cover the span of the original first two seasons of Supernatural.  I’ve read that it will put in more about Sam and Dean’s childhood and more about side characters.

I’m looking forward to watching more!