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#doraemon english manga
somescenecatholic · 2 years
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if you dont have it, you're wrong
GET THE DORAEMON ENGLISH MANGAAAAA
ESPECIALLY IF UR IN THE US BC THIS SHOW IS SO UNDERRATED HERE
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albertonykus · 5 months
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Index to English Doraemon Chapters
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As much as I still have many complaints about its general lack of accessibility, there is now an astonishingly large amount of official English Doraemon media compared to even just a decade ago. This is in large part due to the release of an English translation of the Doraemon manga on Kindle. However, English resources comprehensively cataloguing the Doraemon manga chapters and indicating how they align with the original Japanese volumes and anime adaptations are still pretty hard to come by.
As a result, I have decided to compile a spreadsheet of all the Doraemon manga stories that are available in English, arranged by publication order. For each story, I have indicated its corresponding volume number for both English releases and Japanese compilations, as well as any anime adaptations they've received.
By my count, 1328 stories from the Doraemon manga have been released in English, which confirms my suspicion that the Kindle translation is one of the most complete compilations of the series that exists. According to Yasuyuki Yokoyama, professor of education at the University of Toyama and founder of Doraemonology (ドラえもん学—yes, that's a thing!), there is a total of 1344 Fujio-authored Doraemon stories, so only 16 stories from the original manga remain officially untranslated into English. Even the, uh, racist chapter has an English release. I haven't yet gone to the trouble of looking into exactly which stories are missing, though I've noticed that they include all the chapters that feature the retconned character Gachako.
This spreadsheet would have been substantially more difficult to make without information already compiled by other fans on Japanese, English, and Chinese-language Doraemon fansites. Special thanks go to everyone who has contributed to these great resources.
Any spreadsheet of this size will probably contain some inevitable errors, so please let me know if you notice any!
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Introduction post!
Basics
Hi!!!
My name is Kesar (or any other variant of the name Caesar is fine to call me!) and I am 14. I am neurodivergent. I am an Asian-European (India and Sweden!), Hindu, and my pronouns are he/they!
Interests and Likes
I have a hyperfixation/special interest (I don't know which to use because I'm in denial about being autistic LMAO) of the Mediterranean, mostly Italy and Spain but also France, Portugal, Egypt, Greece, etc!
Languages
Due to my interest, I have taught myself Italian all on my own and I study Spanish at school since 2020, so I can speak them both at a good level.
All of the languages I speak as well as some more info on my history with them:
Swedish, I speak it every day and a bit at home
Hindi, I speak it every day at home with my family, it's the language I have grown up with mostly.
English, I speak it here and I consume a lot of English media. Also I went to an international school for a couple of years.
Spanish, I've been learning it at school. Ever since I started learning it I've been the best in the class (this is very much a flex, I am very proud of the fact). I speak it at a very good level but I'm not close to fluent.
Italian, I am very proud of that I speak it because I learnt it all on my own using primarily music. I started learning it in 2021 but then took a LONG break for almost 2 years and in 2023 I got back on track and learnt it so well I'm almost at the same level at it as I am at Spanish hahaha
French, as I speak Spanish and Italian it wasn't that hard for me to get a grasp at French. I'm definitely not good at it and am best at written French, not spoken, but I understand enough to say I know it. Also, I can carry a conversation in French so. Yeah. I also really like Lupin.
Urdu, as I speak Hindi I understand Urdu well. Of course there are words I don't know, but since I understand so much of it and I speak it better than I speak Spanish or Italian I had to include it.
Music
My favourite song artists are Marco Mengoni and MIKA. They are my top 2. I love them so much.
I also listen to Mahmood, Måneskin, Queen, The Lonely Island, Lady Gaga, Kali Uchis, Megan Thee Stallion, Veronica Maggio, Shreya Ghoshal, and a lot more.
Apart from that I like English music from 2000 to the late 2010s. I also like Hindi music, rap (i listen to a LOT of Megan Thee Stallion, she's such a queen), Eurovision (although I am not supporting them this year due to them including Israel, Free Palestine🇵🇸), Hispanic music, Francophone music, Italian music and Swedish music. I also enjoy classical, both South Asian and European.
TV
I love TV! My favourites are dramedies. I like comedy a lot. My favourite type of show would be sitcoms because I understand them and I grew up with them and I like their humour. Here are TV shows I very, very strongly like in no particular order:
Brooklyn Nine Nine, Community, 1899, Mythic Quest, Lupin, Monk, and probably more that I just don't remember right now.
I have also watched a lot of other things, but this is all that comes to mind.
There are films that I really like, and most of them I have watched more than a few times. Like there were literally periods when I would just keep rewatching these:
The Kung Fu Panda film series, The Hotel Transylvania film series, The Lorax (specifically the Italian dub), The Shrek film series, and once again probably many more.
Other stuff I like:
Doraemon, Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse & Across The Spiderverse, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhaan (2020), Smiley (2022), Saiki K (TV series, I haven't been able to read the manga :/), etc.
Books
Mostly I read fact books, in middle school the librarian hated me for (metaphorically) eating up all the books on ancient Egypt, but I also have a few books I really like!
I love Rick Riordan. My favourite from him is definitely The Kane Chronicles but I also like PJO. I'm TKC all the way, though.
I also like Geronimo & Thea Stilton as well as Diary of a Wimpy Kid. They give me comfort.
I have a lot of queer books I bought for the sole reason of them being queer but I haven't read them yet hahahaha. I'm almost finished with Friday I'm In Love by Camryn Garrett!
Playlist time!
My Marco Mengoni playlist:
My Brad Bakshi playlist:
My Trobed playlist:
My Braddavid playlist:
That is all I can really come up with right now, but I will probably edit this soon! I'm not very good at stating what I like and all of that because I'm always scared I'm not telling everything or that people won't understand how I like it and stuff LMAO so don't be surprised if I take this post down :( I'm trying to get better though, so I'll keep it up!
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requiesticat · 6 months
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Edit: So my assumption turned out to be correct. This comic directly references panels from the Doraemon manga, including the "Dictator Switch", an invention which makes people vanish.
I've translated it to english:
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The source material:
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cutejk123 · 18 days
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Blossom's Friends
So I have thinking about giving Blossom (my Luigi and Daisy's youngest daughter) some friends. I used this picrew for the designs of her friends as a prototype of what I would imagine they would look like and I have their aus and headcanons for them.
Here the links:
TOON ME! ⟪ A ⟫|Picrew
TOON ME! ⟪ B ⟫|Picrew
So here they are:
Himari
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Age 12
Female
Straight, ''Cis''
She/her
Birthday: May 24th
Asian- Japanese
Dad- Hideki, Mum- Yumiko
Has a 6-year old little brother named Nobita
Has 1 pet: A Norwegian Forest cat (Female, colour: beige and white) named Bibi
Born in Osaka, Japan, but then moved to Brooklyn, New York State, USA at the age of 9 years old.
Speaks Japanese fluently, as this is her first language, English is her second. So she has a Japanese accent.
Himari first met Blossom at primary school, when she first came to Brooklyn from Japan. Himari was a bit shy as she didn't know much English, but soon, she made really good friends with Blossom and also learned English too.
Personality: friendly, spiritual, fun, helpful, hardworking, amazing, slightly strict.
Loves: Maths, comic books (especially shoujo manga), anime and tokusatsu like Doraemon, Tokyo Mew Mew, Super Sentai series, Showa-era anime and tokusatsu shows, drawing, hanging out with friends, ramen, computer games, her family, martial arts.
Dislikes: people making fun at her accent, dirty rooms, most modern new music.
Himari often teaches Blossom about Japanese culture, especially kawaii culture.
Clothing aesthetic style: Indie and Normcore.
Jada
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Age 12
Female
Straight, ''Cis''
She/her
Birthday: November 9th
Black
Dad- Michael, Mum- Olivia
She is the only child
Has 2 pets: A Bird (Male, colour: white) named Mr Sparkles, and a hamster (Female, colour: ginger) named Robin
She wears glasses due to poor eyesight
An Animal lover and wants to help animals.
She is a Baptist Christian
She takes swimming lessons once every 2 weeks on Friday evenings.
Jada first met Blossom on the first day of secondary school, in Science class. Since Blossom is also an animal lover, she really connected to Jada and they started talking about different animals and breeds after class.
Bird enthusiast and often carries the book about birds in her school bag.
Personality: smart, intelligent, thoughtful, kind, sweet, helpful, brave, brainy.
Loves: animals, birds, science (especially biology), sports, family and friends, her pets, geography, the beach, swimming, gospel music, zoology.
Dislikes: Maths, sad songs, being late for important things, rude people, people hating on her love for birds.
Clothing aesthetic style: VSCO.
River
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Birthname: Rachael
Age 12
Female
Nonbinary, Pansexual
They/them
Birthday: October 20th
White
Has ADHD and Anxiety.
Dad- Brandon, Mum- Abby
Has an older sister (sibling) named Sam, who is 17 years old and is genderfluid and uses she/he/they pronouns.
Has 1 pet: A Dog (Male, colour: brown and white) named Sparky
Gothic music lover
River first met Blossom during break time at school before River came out as nonbinary and pansexual. River commented on Blossom's clothing style, saying that Blossom was very adorable and fluffy, which made Blossom smile.
Personality: moody, cool, a little bossy, nice, sometimes calm, wild, loyal.
Loves: Gothic music, their dog, their best mate, anime such as My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen and Pokémon, art, drawing, chocolate cake, Hazbin Hotel, gory stuff like spiders, Halloween, Tim Burton films, videogames.
Dislikes: people using the wrong pronouns, their anxiety, pastel colours, cute things, Harry Potter, the colour pink. 
Clothing aesthetic style: Grunge.
Darcy
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Age 12
Female
Straight, ''Cis''
She/her
Birthday: January 25th
White- Canadian
Has Dyslexia
Dad- Richard, Mum- Elizabeth
Has a younger 9 year old sister named Ann and a younger 5 year old sister named Lucy.
No pets
Food lover (sweets)
Born in Ottawa, Canada, but then moved to Brooklyn, when her dad got a new job at the age of 6 years old.
Speaks in a Canadian accent
A Great Singer
She is proud to be a little larger than her friends despite comments by other people.
Darcy first met Blossom at Reading help centre in their local area, when they were 10 years old. Blossom also struggled with reading despite not having dyslexia, so they started to play dollies together in the play area of the centre, and the friendship grew over time.
Personality: cheeky, funny, giggly, lovable, pouty, a little stubborn, greedy, bubbly, a little quiet.
Loves: cake, lots of fun, her little sisters, ball games like catch, biscuits, food, her Canadian culture, her friends, music, singing, sleeping.
Dislikes: getting sick, overeating, reading too much, being tired, annoyance, fat shaming, people making fun of her appearance.
Clothing aesthetic style: Art Hoe.
Fannie
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Age 12
Female
Straight, ''Cis''
She/her
Birthday: June 30th
White- of Irish decent
Has Autism, Dyslexia, Anxiety.
She wears glasses.
Dad- Danial, Mum- Bertha
Has twin 7 year old younger brothers named Peter and Luca, and a baby 2 year old little sister named Penny. (all of them has Autism).
Refers to her parents as Mummy and Daddy.
Has 3 pets: 2 guinea pigs (both Female) named Pearl and Sweetie and a Lionhead rabbit (Female, colour- beige) named Creamy.
Always carries her yellow dog plushie named Caramel with her, just like Blossom does with her Bubbles the bunny plushie.
She is Blossom's best friend, she is always there to protect and help Blossom.
Fannie first met Blossom on the first day of primary school, when they were 4 years old. Blossom fell over and hurt herself and Fannie came over and patted Blossom's head gently.
Fannie's interests are similar to Blossom's.
Her hyper fixations are True and the Rainbow Kingdom, Sanrio and Play-Doh.
Personality: extremely shy, sensitive, cry-baby, kind, sweet, protective, quiet, prone to tears quickly, helpful, gentle, childlike, clumsy, humble.
Loves: colouring, watching cartoons, Play-Doh, drawing, art, her pets, family and friends, her plushies, making cute bracelets, painting, Blossom's Dad; Luigi (because he's the most sweetest, understanding and caring person with a very BIG heart), shows like True and the Rainbow Kingdom, MLP, Care Bears, playing card games, dress-up games, Sanrio, hugs and kisses, playing with Blossom, her Nintendo Switch.
Dislikes: messy rooms, untidy things, people making her uncomfortable, horrible people, others making fun for her childlike interests, anyone hurting poor Blossom, tall heights.
Clothing aesthetic style: Soft girl.
Camila
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Age 12
Female
Demisexual (with male preference), ''Cis''
She/her
Birthday: April 2nd
Hispanic- Mexican
Dad- Miguel, Mum- Selena. Also her grandma Valentina lives with her family.
She was born in Brooklyn to parents who were from Mexico and moved to the USA.
She is the only child
No pets
She is the best baker in Blossom's year. Everyone LOVES her baking and her sweets.
She often bakes Mexican sweets like: Concha (sweet bread roll), churros, etc.
Usually bakes with her grandma, who taught her many Mexican baking skills and the cuisine.
If something goes wrong her baking, she becomes resilient and try it again.
She also speaks Spanish fluently.
She bakes special treats at the end for each term (Christmas, Spring, Summer).
Camila first met Blossom during Art class in secondary school and they sat next to each other. Camila positively commented on Blossom's OC drawings on her sketchbook, this made Blossom really happy.
Personality: resilient, strong, kind, creative, mature, loyal, reliable, trustworthy, patient, a little bit cheeky.
Loves: baking, cooking, friends and family, Mexican cuisine, family gatherings, cleaning, playing the guitar, helping her friends, volleyball, cakes, sweets, making people happy, learning new things and skills, watching Spanish movies.
Dislikes: getting things wrong, bullying, rainy days, rock climbing, trains.
Clothing aesthetic style: Cottagecore and Bakerycore.
Mars
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Birthname: Martha
Age 12
Female
Trans guy, Bisexual, (also experimenting with pupgender).
He/him and They/them
Birthday: March 17th
White
Has Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, Gender Dysphoria.
Getting therapy for his GD and his severe anxiety to help him cope with the mental health issues. 
Dad- Eddie, Mum- Pauline
Has 1 older 15 year old brother named Roy, who is gay.
Has 1 pet, a British shorthair cat (Male, colour- greyish blue) named Bandit.
A huge rabid Bluey fan.
He has a (furry) pupsona called Bobo.
Has severe anxiety, which he is prone to temper tantrums and mental breakdowns.
Only socially transitioned.
He has Bluey merchandise everywhere, including social media pfps and such.
His hyper fixations are: Bluey, Paw Patrol, Blue's Clues, My Hero Academia, Y2K children's shows.
He is best mates with River.
Mars first met Blossom during Art class in secondary school just like Camila, before Mars came out as trans (he was only bisexual then). Blossom was amazed by the Bluey stuff on Mars' books and his bag. So they started talking about Bluey and their favourite characters.
Personality: sensitive, strong, kind, moody, sad, open, anger issues, obsessive, friendly, creative.
Loves: Bluey (obviously), art, drawing, his comfort characters, Paw Patrol, Y2K style, rock music like The Beatles, furry art, being accepted for his identity, LGBT+ memes, Tumblr, children's shows, dogs, friends and family, skateboarding, his plushies, Hazbin Hotel, cats, seeing Bluey memes, Jammidodger (a trans guy Youtuber; his parents wants him to stop watching that person because they believe that he could bring a bad influence on their child), videogames.
Dislikes: people misgendering him (it makes him flip into rage), used the wrong pronouns on him, his parents not accepting his trans and pup identity (but they are fine with the bisexual identity), Blossom's Dad; Luigi (unfortunately), his anxiety, being bullied, being misunderstood.
Clothing aesthetic style: Goth and Kidcore.
Well, that's all of Blossom's friends, I hope you'll like them. :)
Violet's (Blossom's older sister) friends are coming soon.
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sunekichi · 1 year
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Doraemon's Success
☆ Movies
3 doraemon movies were the highest grossing animated movie worldwide in 3 different years; the movies were doraemon: nobita's dinosaur (1980), doraemon: nobita's great adventure into the underworld (1984), doraemon: nobita and the knights on dinosaurs (1987).
doraemon is: the 10th highest grossing animated movie franchise worldwide, the highest grossing movie franchise in japan and the highest grossing non-english movie franchise in the world.
☆ Manga
doraemon is the 6th best selling comic series worldwide. the ranking includes japanese manga and european/american comic series/graphic novels. considering doraemon is the only children's manga in the top 10, it's the best selling one worldwide.
doraemon is the 5th best selling manga of all time in japan. no other children's manga appears in the ranking, making it the best selling one in japan, too.
☆ Cultural Impact
in 2008 the japanese ministry of foreign affairs appointed doraemon as the first anime cultural ambassador in order to help people in other countries understand anime better and to deepen their interest in japanese culture.
doraemon has inspired other mangakas, such as eiichiro oda (the creator of one piece) and masashi kishimoto (the creator of naruto).
doraemon is also referred as something with the ability to satisfy all wishes and was mentioned in other successful manga like nana and gintama.
...and then there's all the icon part but you know that already.
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doraemon-facts · 1 year
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The US English dub of Doraemon has gotten flack for rewriting Shizuka’s personality to be more into sports. But how much basis does this have in the original work actually?
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Shizuka is not seen playing sports very often in the Japanese manga and anime, however it would be false to say that she is uninterested or bad at them. If money were no object, one of the presents she’d wish for on her birthday would be a tennis court (しずちゃんの心の秘密, 1982 manga story).
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She is also shown playing volleyball in some stories.
Source: 地底のドライ・ライト, 1982 (manga)
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She keeps up with Gian in a game of badminton.
Source: ロビンソンクルーソーセット, 1983 (manga)
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When she tries playing baseball after using the “Substitution Rope” (入れかえロープ) to swap bodies with Nobita, she proves to be a star player, even hitting a home run.
Source: 男女入れかえ物語, 1985 (manga)
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She plays baseball in her own body a few times as well.
Source: 大氷山の小さな家, 1978 (manga)
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Source: The Records of Nobita, Spaceblazer, 1981
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mimigoey · 2 years
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Tagged by @i-hate-liking-batman 💕 again thanks for the tag, I like these activities.
✔️10 characters, 10 fandoms, 10 tags. Here you go-
1. Gaap Goemon ❤️ Mairimashita Iruma kun
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Anyone who follows me probably know that he's my #1 favourite character. I love him so much. I spend hours doing something for this fictional character, even though it consumes my time and energy. But in the end, I feel happy. He's the most handsome guy in my eyes. He is sweet and cute, cooks and serves food for everyone, rescues the weak and takes care of them. His love is unconditional. I should stop here or this post would end up talking only about him!
2. Teufel Shaoron 😈💕- Makai no shuyaku wa ware ware da
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Chubby cheeked Shaoron ❤️ he is a true High school boy. He reminds me of naughty ones at school. I can also see myself in him sometimes, having a rival who doesn't even know I've proclaimed them as my rival lol.. trying to be the best, getting into trouble, problems with best friends, goofing around..how is this different from a real high school? I love his fashion and bubbly nature ❤️ He makes mistakes, most of the time being naughty but he's a good boy. That's what a real boy his age is like.
3. Doraemon ❤️
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Though I don't post about Doraemon, I love him and I love the whole show. It's heart touching, the relationship between Doraemon and Nobita. Nobita being an emotionally rich boy, his comfort is always Doraemon. This show has such a big emotional value. Doraemon is that friend who awaits him in his room eating dorayaki and the boy forgets all his school struggles and embraces his brother ❤️ there are no boundaries between them. I love Doraemon.
4. Kengo Asamura ❤️🥰- Monochrome Factor
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A lot of people don't know Monochrome Factor. If you do, you're my friend. I love this manga and I love Kengo ❤️ He's like a caring big brother. Has been my comfort character for a long time. He's cheerful and cute, voiced by Hiroshi kamiya. His best friend is Akira Nikaido voiced by Daisuke Ono, who enters into a contract with a shadow man called shirogane voiced by Junichi suwabe. The trio is here right? MF is also an amazing fantasy High school story. In the end Kengo sacrifices his life (manga) but in the anime he's alive and I wish to believe that.
5. King Julien 👑
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The king of Madagascar! He appears in his own series All Hail king Julien and in The penguins of Madagascar and Madagascar movies as well. Like Shaoron, king Julien is also a very realistic portrayal of humans. He's not at all perfect but he's just perfect to be loved, to kin yourself with and he conquers your heart like a king! He doesn't have the typical qualities of a king nor he tries to live up to others expectations. He rules the Kingdom his own way by not sacrificing his hobbies and interests. I want to be like him. We should all learn from him. We don't have to sacrifice everything for the sake of something great. We should be ourselves.
6. Naruto uzumaki 🥹❤️- Naruto, Naruto shippuden, spin off, Boruto
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Naruto 🥰❤️ he made my childhood days magical. I heard the word ninja for the first time in Naruto. I first watched the English dub before getting access to internet and streaming sites. It took me a period of years to finish everything and I consider it as a personal record ☺️ Boruto is ongoing and I watch it too but my favourite is always Naruto. Especially the child Naruto who is naughty, stubborn and cheerful.
7. Xerxes Break 🍭🍬🍫- Pandora Hearts
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Break is my favourite character from Pandora Hearts. ❤️ He is sweet toothed, wears fancy clothes and has the kind of fantasy vibe that inspires me. He is goofy despite carrying a burden in his heart and in his conversation with Oz about the Abyss he asks him something. "Did it(abyss) look like a broken toy box?" That touched me. That's the whole spirit of Pandora Hearts. A dystopian Alice in Wonderland ❤️
8. Kagura ❤️ - Inuyasha
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Kagura is my favourite from Inuyasha. She's an antagonist but I love her. I wish she lived and married Sesshomaru or lived the life she wanted, free like the wind. I love her line " I am the wind, the free wind". She is so beautiful and I think as a little girl I fell in love with her.
9. Pratheek 🥰🍭 - Ra. One
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He's the protagonist of the Indian musical movie Ra. One that focuses on a hero and villain from a game coming to life. The villain Ravan is after "Lucifer" (pratheek) the player who defeats him always, when he comes to life. Pratheek is the son of the video game developer. He reminds me of Shaoron.
10. Anjali ❤️😘 - kuch kuch hota hai
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Also from Indian movie. Anjali played by my favourite actress Kajol, is one of my favourite tomboy characters. I love her so much 💝
I still have more favorite characters in the shows I mentioned but the rule says one character from 10 shows. Thank you again ❣️ and I tag
@jemimacatclover @reddsprite @summerflower3 @pursonsoisooi @agarespicero @slavic-brock @rufusvarma @shaoron @gaia56s @csoisoi @yuurishibuyademonking @cyanwyrmie @madmarchhare @anonymousless-nes @tomikerujisari and anyone who wants to join ❤️ please feel free to tag me I might have skipped someone very important that's because I'm tired RN but if you like this game please join ❤️ feel free to ignore too 🥰
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dorothydalmati1 · 8 months
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Obscure Animation Subject #65: Gu Gu Ganmo
Originally posted on Twitter on April 25, 2023.
Based on the manga series by Fujihiko Hosono, its produced by Toei Animation and aired on Fuji TV from March 18, 1984 to March 17, 1985, with most episodes containing two 11-minute segments. It originally aired on Sundays at 7 PM.
The series follows in the footsteps of manga such as Doraemon and Obake no Q-Taro in that the alien Ganmo sets out to help his adopted human friend Hanpeita. The series follows the antics of the duo as they find themselves in the middle of much comedic mischief.
Although inspired from the works of Fujiko Fujio, the series is aimed at an older demographic, which means it has raunchier humor when compared to the Fujiko works. This is also apparent when Déjà Vu comes into play, which made the protagonists lives more messed up.
There isn’t really much else I could say. It isn’t subbed in English, though it was successful enough to get home media releases. Hosono would later gain more success when the Gallery Fake manga began publishing, and is still running with an anime adaptation in 2005.
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ao3feed-brucewayne · 2 months
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Heartwarming My Hero Academia Crossovers
read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/xnJ8R0Z by OverMaster WARNING: Actually not a lot heartwarming content. In truth, it's mostly rather cynical, satiric stuff, and later chapters might not even have any crossing over stuff. Anyway, come in and enjoy the Heroism! Although actually, there's not much heroism either, or much academia for that matter. Or Re Destro! I didn't even put him in the first chapter, and he's my favorite BNHA villain! Words: 6772, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga), Mahou Sensei Negima!, 魔法少女にあこがれて | Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete | I admire magical girls and... (Manga), X-Men - All Media Types, Incredibles (Pixar Movies), Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991), Batman - All Media Types, Fantastic Four, Avengers (Comics), Chapulín Colorado (TV 1973), Superman - All Media Types, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels (Cartoon), The Flintstones, Doraemon (Manga), The Powerpuff Girls (Cartoon 1998-2005), Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga), Kill la Kill (Anime & Manga), Venom (Marvel Movies), Fate/Grand Order, Scooby Doo - All Media Types, Lobo (Comics) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Joker (DCU), Bob Parr | Mr. Incredible, Buddy Pine | Syndrome, Captain Caveman (Hanna-Barbera), Negi Springfield, Mineta Minoru, Bakugou Katsuki, Uraraka Ochako, Toga Himiko, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Hiiragi Utena, Araga Kiwi, Bruce Wayne, Aino Minako, Tsukino Usagi, Chiba Mamoru, Lobo (DCU), Venalita (Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete), Emiya Shirou, Artoria Pendragon | Saber, Evangeline A.K. McDowell, Karakuri Chachamaru Relationships: Hiiragi Utena/Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Izuku/Chiba Mamoru Additional Tags: Crack, Fluff and Crack, Crack Crossover, Crack Relationships, Alternate Universe - Crack read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/xnJ8R0Z
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ao3feed-izch · 2 months
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Heartwarming My Hero Academia Crossovers
by OverMaster
WARNING: Actually not a lot heartwarming content. In truth, it's mostly rather cynical, satiric stuff, and later chapters might not even have any crossing over stuff. Anyway, come in and enjoy the Heroism! Although actually, there's not much heroism either, or much academia for that matter. Or Re Destro! I didn't even put him in the first chapter, and he's my favorite BNHA villain!
Words: 6772, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga), Mahou Sensei Negima!, 魔法少女にあこがれて | Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete | I admire magical girls and... (Manga), X-Men - All Media Types, Incredibles (Pixar Movies), Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991), Batman - All Media Types, Fantastic Four, Avengers (Comics), Chapulín Colorado (TV 1973), Superman - All Media Types, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels (Cartoon), The Flintstones, Doraemon (Manga), The Powerpuff Girls (Cartoon 1998-2005), Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga), Kill la Kill (Anime & Manga), Venom (Marvel Movies), Fate/Grand Order, Scooby Doo - All Media Types, Lobo (Comics)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M
Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Joker (DCU), Bob Parr | Mr. Incredible, Buddy Pine | Syndrome, Captain Caveman (Hanna-Barbera), Negi Springfield, Mineta Minoru, Bakugou Katsuki, Uraraka Ochako, Toga Himiko, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Hiiragi Utena, Araga Kiwi, Bruce Wayne, Aino Minako, Tsukino Usagi, Chiba Mamoru, Lobo (DCU), Venalita (Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete), Emiya Shirou, Artoria Pendragon | Saber, Evangeline A.K. McDowell, Karakuri Chachamaru
Relationships: Hiiragi Utena/Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Izuku/Chiba Mamoru
Additional Tags: Crack, Fluff and Crack, Crack Crossover, Crack Relationships, Alternate Universe - Crack
source: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54948457
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somescenecatholic · 6 months
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hehehe LOOK WHAT I GOT!!!
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What they dont tell u is tht the ears HAVE STUFFING IN IT!! theyre squishy :3
also, SORRY 4 NOT POSTIN MUCH HERE!!! I do it more on insta heh
mainly on my story cuz im a proud story spammer MWAHAHAHAHAHAAA >:D
little update on my lifeeee
not much tbh ive been jamming out to these song bc THEY ARE B A N G E R S
youtube
youtube
youtube
youtube
Moshi Monsters srsly needs to come back zomgee I remember seeing commercials for it when i was rlly little ;w;
ITS THE RAWRING 20S THEY GOTTA!!!
ALSO DORAMI (from doraemon) HAS HER OWN MANGA IN JAPAN
SOMEONE PLSPSLSLSS BUY IT THEN ENGSUB IT ILL BE SO HAPPY
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first new doraemon manga in NINE YEARS
(the company continued the manga after Fujiko F Fujio's death, its still good! Plus some of this is stuff the author had in the drawing board)
OK MY RANTING AND STUFF IS DONE BAIIII X33333
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albertonykus · 3 months
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NEW English Doraemon Manga Series Coming Soon
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After 10 years with no fresh releases, it has been announced that Shogakukan will be publishing a brand new series of bilingual English–Japanese Doraemon manga. This will be the third English–Japanese Doraemon manga series to be produced. Based on available information from the Shogakukan website, it looks like the stories in volume 1 of the new series will not overlap with those in past bilingual series, so it is likely that those who have already read the previous releases will be able to enjoy this one without encountering duplicate stories. A new feature of this series is that it will apparently include links to English audio recordings of the stories that can be listened to online.
Something that catches my eye is that up until now, the bilingual Doraemon manga series have pulled stories strictly from the original 45-volume Japanese collection. However, one of the stories slated to be included in volume 1 of this new series ("In 45 Years...") was first reprinted in Doraemon Plus instead, indicating that this series will contain at least some entries from outside of the 45-volume set.
Note that the bilingual English–Japanese Doraemon series are distinct from the English Kindle translation. (Consider that English story titles in this new series are different from those used by Kindle.) As I documented in my index to English Doraemon chapters, the Kindle translation already covers nearly all Doraemon manga stories. However, the Kindle release is only available digitally in the United States and Canada (outside of a limited print release in Southeast Asia), and contains more localization that is not always strictly faithful to the original. (I previously did a brief comparison of the bilingual vs. Kindle English translations here.) If you prefer reading the manga in print format or want an easy comparison between the original Japanese vs. English, the bilingual series are worth checking out.
I haven't found any information on how many volumes this series is planned to have in total, but volume 1 will be released on Feb. 21 of this year and can be pre-ordered on Japanese Amazon.
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flyingcookierambles · 10 months
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I kinda wanna get more into trying to read things in either Chinese or Japanese again....
My skill level is too low for anything more age appropriate for me tho so I'm kinda stuck at reading children's books....
I really wanna be motivated by reading things that would actually interest me like light novels at least aimed at high schoolers or college students that have easy language hence the light novel part but it's too low for that...
Guess I'll stick with my ebooks of doraemon...
It have some yotsuba manga too plus some more ordered from Tokyo Otaku mode that I think are on special order or something that's im waiting to ship
But for Chinese things I'm kinda at a loss...
Like. I know japanese manga series for kids but Chinese ones? I know how to get bilibili webtoons and access Chinese language things but I just don't have much knowledge of what's popular for Chinese kids. Even if I did try something like Chinese doraemon, I think it'd be a vit awkward bc it's going to be going from Japanese to Chinese to English. Maybe I should look up on the Chinese language learning subreddit for simple Chinese books for kids. I know that project Gutenberg has Chinese language classic literature but obviously it's likely an olden language aimed at adults etc. Maybe they have like a Chinese myths for kids book somewhere??? Hmmmm
(Yes this is bc my friend is super into danmei and I kinda want to try reading click link or something that's a webtoon)
edit: THERES A GOOD YOUTUBE VIDEO THATS LIKE CHINA LACKS SOFT POWER BC WHENEVER COOL ARTISTIC THINGS TRY TO HAPPEN THAT HAVE POTENTIAL TO BECOME HUGE MAINSTREAM THINGS IE DANMEI WAVE LIKE THE HALLYU KPOP WAVE OF KOREA OR THE ANIME WAVE OF JAPAN THE CCP CENSORS IT TO FIT THEIR RIGID ARTISTIC STANDARDS. BRUH WHEN IM HOME ILL LINK IT
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jasonbehrs · 10 months
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🍱 a delicious conspiracy of luck 🍱
by airauralintensity (aka me, jasonbehrs!)
“Hi hi, Sebentous! Welcome back to my channel. If you’re new here: this is Rakki Seben, I’m Nana-chan, and I love food.”
fandom: incurable case of love, koi wa tsuzuku yo doko made mo characters: sakura nanase, tendo kairi, incurable case ensemble cast in supporting roles ship: sakurendo genres: romcom themes: fluff (arguable), food vlogger!sakura, celebrity chef!tendo, sakura focus, canon-typical angst, gratuitous use of japanese in an english-language fanfiction chapters: 1/2 book: 1/2 word count: 7.5k+ rating: T for depictions of attraction
read it on ffnet, aff, wattpad, ao3, or below!
~~~
A/N (7.16.2023): This fic is dedicated to Zayna, who puts up with so much deranged content from me on a daily basis that she deserved something comparatively normal for a change. Find her on instagram or twitter!
I use a lot of Japanese terms which I will define here for the casual enjoyer of Japanese dramas and culture.
Rakki Seben: romaji for 'Lucky Seven'. The 'nana' character in Nanase's name means seven, which is a lucky number in Japan, so I named her YouTube channel Lucky Seven. (Fun fact, the 'se' character of her name means both 'water rapids' and 'chance' which just… has so many character-relevant tie-ins.)
bentou: commonly translated as a 'Japanese boxed lunch', it is generally any single-portion or ready-made meal. The lunch box you bring to school is a bentou. The pre-made meals you buy at a supermarket on the nights you're too lazy to make dinner are bentous. If you're American and you've had Lunchables, that's a bentou. Nanase names the watchers of her vlog Sebentous as a portmanteau of seben and bentou.
-chan, -sensei, -san, -kun: Japanese honourifics. Read more here: living-in-japan/culture/japanese-honorifics/
yakisoba: fried buckwheat noodles. If you've had stir-fried lo mein from your local Chinese restaurant, it's similar. (Some people may disagree with me on this, and that's fine lol.)
LINE: America has Messenger, South Korea has KakaoTalk, Japan has LINE, and everyone else has WhatsApp.
kaiseki: a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. The term also refers to the collection of skills and techniques that enable the preparation of the full meal, in which case it is analogous to haute cuisine in Western cultures. Traditional cuisine chefs who have Made It™ in Japan probably got famous for their kaiseki restaurants.
心臓 (ハート): the heart as a cardiovascular muscle in Japanese, pronounced shinzou. However, in parentheses, Kairi says it should be pronounced as ha-to, which is the Japanese romaji for the heart as a shape. This is a common phenomenon in written Japanese known as gikun, which basically lets the author assign a new pronunciation to any kanji as they wish, usually to inject new or additional meaning into the text such as significance or humour.
itadakimasu: literally means 'I will receive'. The phrase was historically said aloud before eating to acknowledge the living things (e.g., chef, animals, plants, etc) that led to sustenance. It has since culturally evolved into something akin to the French 'bon appétit' since it's always said before partaking in any meal.
ochazuke: a bowl of rice poured over with tea and topped with whatever you have on hand, historically used as a make-your-pantry-last-longer meal. This simple recipe can be elevated with fancier ingredients.
dorayaki: dessert sandwich of red bean paste between two small pancakes. It is famous for being the favourite meal of Doraemon in the eponymous manga and anime.
senbei: Japanese rice crackers, a common snack.
dogeza: the word for when Japanese people kneel directly on the ground and touch their head to the floor to express deep apology.
With that, let's get started!
~~~
It wasn't a busy shift at the clinic, just a long one. Nevertheless, Nanase is ready to go home, eat dinner, and check for new comments on her latest video upload.
There was a shrine festival near her apartment a few weekends ago, and she had braved the cold to go. The concept of her video was that she went around to different food stalls selling the same thing and tried to figure out how the chefs prepared the meals differently. She wanted to film in the shrine as well, but it was closed for the festivities, so she went back a few days later to learn more about the god it serves and the shrine keepers. It was equal parts a food review and a culture vlog, so she's pretty proud of this one.
When she logs onto the analytics page for her Rakki Seben YouTube channel, she's excited to see three new comments since she last checked yesterday.
@tamagotamako 1 day ago it all looks so delicious! the shrine near me is having a festival next weekend. i'll order yakisoba when i'm there thanks to you www
@CBYTK 13 hours ago Thank you for showing us the delicious food and introducing us to your local shrine's customs. Great video as always.
@yakini-kun 4 hours ago which looks better, nana-chan or the food? discuss.
Her Sebentous are the best part of her day and the best part of running a vlog. They're so funny and complimentary, and some of them have really cute usernames. She would love nothing more than to host a meetup and get to meet them in person, but she doesn't think she's big enough for something like that yet. Maybe one day!
She likes and replies to everyone with a happy heart, then she does a cursory check of her business LINE account. There are some admiration messages, some hate mails (which she promptly deletes), and some recommendations for restaurants or meals to try (which she bookmarks for later), all of which are pretty typical.
What isn't typical is the message with a preview that reads 'INVITATION, ONE NIGHT ONLY: Tendo Kairi Pop-Up Kaiseki'.
Nanase rubs her eyes to make sure she isn't misreading the characters on screen because no way is this what she thinks it is.
[< cuisinebytendokairi
INVITATION, ONE NIGHT ONLY: Tendo Kairi Pop-Up Kaiseki
Nana-chan-san,
Tendo Kairi-sensei of Peninsula Tokyo's Kyoto Tsuruya will be the host and chef for 心臓(ハート), a pop-up, kaiseki-style dining event this weekend. We humbly invite you to attend as a media correspondent from Rakki Seben. In exchange for a free ticket, we ask for coverage on the evening in your next upload. Please see the attached image for details on the time and location, and please use the form linked below to RSVP and inform us of any dietary restrictions.
Your attendance is highly appreciated.]
It totally is what she thinks she is, and she cannot control her squeals.
Japan doesn't have celebrity chefs the way England has Gordan Ramsey-san and South Korea has Baik Jongwon-san, but Tendo Kairi is still making a name for himself in the culinary world despite not having his own restaurant. He is currently the sous chef at the Kyoto Tsuruya, a famous restaurant in the Peninsula Tokyo hotel. On the night of a prestigious economic conference, the head chef could not provide the highly-anticipated, personalised, five-course dinner for last-minute reasons, and the evening would have been in jeopardy if it weren't for Tendo's command of the kitchen and delicious yet improvised new menu.
For reasons starting with 'any chef who can pull that together on such short notice must be really skilled and respected by their staff' and ending with 'she saw a picture of him in one of the interviews he gave after the event, and he's pretty handsome', Nanase became his fan. He's still working as the sous chef at the Peninsula Tokyo as far as she knows, but she has been waiting for him to open up his own restaurant or get promoted to head chef so that she can try meals that he designed.
To learn that he's hosting his own limited-engagement dining experience is already a huge deal, but to be invited? It's too good to be true.
She doesn't believe it even as she gets her brother to double-check that the link isn't malicious ("Good news! It's just a Google Form."), even as she RSVPs and receives her QR code ticket via LINE, even as she's dolled up in the new dress she bought for the evening and standing in front of the event hall where the dinner is being hosted.
The marquee above the front entrance is lit up with the name of the event in both Japanese and English,
心臓(ハート) CUISINE BY TENDO KAIRI
and it takes her an embarrassingly long time of staring in breathless amazement before she thinks to record any of this as B-roll for her vlog.
"Perhaps, are you Nana-chan-san?"
She's startled out of her focus by a handsome young man in a casual suit with the unfortunate air of a new hire who desperately wants to do a good job, and she cannot help but relate. "Hi! Yes, that's me. 'Nana-chan' is fine," she greets as she hastily turns off her camera.
The man sighs with relief. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Nishi Ryusei, and I'm an event staff for Ha-to. Allow me to escort you inside. From this moment until the time you leave, please rely on me for any questions or concerns as they relate to your dining and reporting experience," he narrates as he guides her and her filming apparatus through the security check.
Guests get a personal assistant? These exclusive events are no joke. "Thank you for working hard today, Nishi-san!" she chirps, following him into the small but tastefully decorated lobby.
"If I can call you Nana-chan, you can call me Nishi-kun," he shares warmly. "Would you be interested in checking in your coat as well, or would you like to head into the cocktail reception?"
"Actually," she declines with a sheepish shrug to her shoulders, "may I go around filming a little bit? I will stop if I inconvenience or intrude on other guests!"
Nishi-kun slaps his forehead with major self-recrimination. "Ah, of course! The media correspondent must collect media to correspond! My apologies for not addressing that sooner. Do you need assistance with your camera stand? Do you have special equipment to set up? Do you need to charge anything?" he asks in rapid-fire.
Nanase had commuted to the event hall with mounting anxiety about how she'll conduct herself in such a high-profile setting (and still doubting that she was actually meant to be invited in the first place). Even now, she is acutely aware of how much space she's taking up, the way that her hair is combed but not styled, the fact that this dress is the most expensive article of clothing she owns yet likely costs a fraction of other outfits she'll see tonight… and that hypersensitivity was feeding an additional worry that she won't be able to enjoy the evening to the fullest due to all her worries.
Somehow, though, Nishi-kun's nerves about assisting her does a lot to settle her own nerves about the night. One of them has to be composed, after all. "Would you want to help me?" she offers affably. "If you work here, you'd know the prettiest and most interesting spots to film, right?"
The surprised-yet-pleased lightness to his face makes her smile, and she thinks she and Nishi-kun will end the night as good friends.
As he hangs out with her to film B-roll, Nanase can't help but notice she has a lot less equipment than some of the other camera operators scattered across the venue, which confirms her privately-held belief that she is the most amateur attendant invited to Ha-to. All she has is her little Nikon and a table-tripod to help stabilise her grip, but she can spy camera setups taller than her brother in some corners (along with the local media outlet logos on the bags by their feet).
They intimidate her, but they also reaffirm her resolve. If she was the smallest scale 'media correspondent' in attendance, then that means someone in the event planning process took a gamble on her to provide good coverage of the evening.
She won't let herself down, she won't let her viewers down, and she won't let her anonymous benefactor down either.
~~~
When she finishes taking some atmospheric shots, Nishi-kun offers to take her to her table.
The dinner tables circle an empty space in the centre of the main dining room, presumably where Tendo-sensei will stand to address the crowd. Nishi-kun leads her to a table not too far from the centre, where there is already someone seated. She and Nishi-kun reach an unspoken agreement that they will part ways here, and she braces herself to make another good first impression.
"Ah, I was waiting for someone to come rescue me from my loneliness!" the older gentleman opens with exuberance.
She matches his humour—"Good thing I was looking for someone to rescue."—and it pays off. The well-kept man exuding a kind and paternal air smiles widely at her. "I'm Koishikawa. Tendo and I work together," he introduces.
Nanase's reach for a handshake turns into a pointed finger in her shock. "You're the head chef at Kyoto Tsuruya!" she can't help but exclaim. She's sitting in front of the very man whose personal emergency served as the impetus to Tendo-sensei's rise to fame!
Koishikawa-sensei is mildly taken aback to be recognised, but he recovers easily. "I see that my reputation precedes me," he comments genially. "Have I had the pleasure of your patronage before?"
She blushes. "Not yet."
Nanase would have certainly info-dumped on this poor man about how she's actually a receptionist at a urgent-care clinic near her apartment who definitely could not afford a table at Kyoto Tsuruya without some sort of divine intervention if not for the arrival of two boisterously laughing women holding half-empty champagne flutes.
"Where's your drink?" one of them asks Nanase before they even sit down.
"Do you want me to get you one?" the other follows up.
"Ladies," Koishikawa-sensei admonishes, but he immediately falters then turns to Nanase. "I'm sorry, but I didn't quite catch your name."
Oh god, she didn't even introduce herself. She is so embarrassing. "Sakura! Sakura Nanase. It's a pleasure to meet you all," she says quickly.
"Nanako-chan, where's your drink?" the first woman demands again.
"Do you want me to get you one?" Both of their words are noticeably slurred together now that Nanase is paying a little more attention.
"Sakura-chan doesn't need to catch up to you two in order to have a good time," Koishikawa-sensei banters.
"But if she did, she'd have a better time," the first woman rebuts in with a duh in her tone.
The second woman leans across the first one to reach for a handshake with Nanase. "I'm Yuki Sayoko. I'm a friend of the family."
"And I'm Ryuko, the family!" the first one pipes up with a loose, open-palm salute.
Yuki-san leans a palm on Ryuko-san's shoulder, a gesture of familiarity as well as leverage to lean towards Nanase. "How do you know Kairi, Nanase-chan?"
Unfortunately, Nanase cannot answer her because she does not actually know 'Kairi'. If she thought she was in over her head before, she's floundering in the deep end now.
She is currently seated at a table with Tendo-sensei's senior at work, someone she has a sneaking suspicion is either Tendo-sensei's really cool sister or really cool cousin, and a close family friend who understandably presumes that everyone at the table has a similarly personal relationship with Tendo-sensei. And there's still one guest left to meet!
How did little old her end up here?
She frantically looks around—for some water, for Nishi-kun, for a pile of bricks to fall on her and wake her up from this dream—when she meets eyes with one of the most attractive men in the entire archipelago from across the room.
A man who happens to be beelining straight for their table.
Koishikawa-sensei stands up to greet who must surely be Japan's version of Brad Pitt. "Kisugi-kun, you made it!"
"You know how it is when you're running the pass," Kisugi-san says as he returns the one-sided hug. "I'm just glad I didn't miss the introduction to the first course, or else I might as well skip the entire night completely."
"Tendo would have never let you live that down!" Koishikawa-sensei laughs as they settle into their seats.
"He's such a stickler for the 'holistic dining experience'," Ryuko-san snarks as she blows bubbles into her champagne flute, which somehow became full despite no server coming around to top off her glass. "If he didn't seriously know his way around a kitchen, he'd be the most pretentious man in all of Japan."
"But do we expect anything less from the Devil himself?" Yuki-san comments with affection.
"'Devil'?"
All eyes turn to Nanase, who has ruined her ruse of pretending she deserves a spot at this table with one single word.
"You've never heard anyone call my brother 'the Devil'?" Ryuko-san asks with incredulity.
"How did you know Kairi, again?"
Maybe they'll have the grace to wait until she's out of earshot before they start laughing at her. "Actually, I don't…" she confesses to the confusion of every party. She bows her head again, a final introduction now that the whole table is seated. "I'm Sakura Nanase. I was invited tonight as a media correspondent. Please keep me in your favour."
Polite interest is a better response than she could have hoped for from the group. "Media correspondent, hm? Who are you affiliated with?"
"None of the big broadcasting stations. I run a food vlog on YouTube. A small one, really. I'm wondering as much as you are why I'm sitting here," she awkwardly says in an attempt to preempt the elephant at the table.
Surprisingly, Yuki-san perks up. "You're a YouTuber? What's your channel called? How many followers do you have? How many public watch hours have you accrued in the last 90 days?"
"Eh?"
"Sayoko-san works in public relations and media management, and it seems she just found her next client," Koishikawa-sensei observes with amusement.
"Or her next pet project, depending on how you look at it," Ryuko-san jokes.
Nanase is saved from having to react to Yuki-san's enthusiasm by the lights dimming once, twice. Chairs scrape the marble flooring as the lively atmosphere of the room settles in anticipation.
"Email me," Yuki-san stage whispers as she slides her business card across the table to Nanase's clammy hands. She accepts the card with a bow of her head, and that's all she has time for before a man in a fashionable long coat emerges from the sea of tables and stands in the centre of the room.
"Welcome, everyone. My name is Tendo Kairi, and I will be your chef for this evening."
Tendo-sensei spins in an unhurried circle to receive the audience's applause, and Nanase isn't ready at all.
She knew he was attractive, but this is just unreal. From his ear to his cheek to his entire profile, his face is revealed to her slowly like the moon waxing to fullness, and the impact is just as dazzling. Striking, even. Everything about him seems cut into precise angles for the express purpose of carving this moment into her memory forever.
By the time he fully faces her, she has stopped clapping entirely.
His eyes, like everything else about him, have a piercing quality that does not allow her to move, to think, to breathe—a state of suspension she can only experience because he is looking straight at her.
There is a flash of surprise before his expression settles back into a neutral smile of appreciation, and the moon wanes to new once again.
Just in time for her ears to recognise sound, the applause settles in anticipation of Tendo-sensei's next words.
"Thank you for joining me tonight for the first kaiseki dinner plan that I designed and cooked myself. For the experienced, I encourage you to wash away your expectations with your first cup of sake. This will not be your typical evening of seasonal acknowledgements and ceremonial formality. Instead, I chose to honour a different kind of nature tonight: human nature. The multisensory, once-in-a-lifetime aspect of a traditional kaiseki dinner will instead be provided by you all as the recipients of the meal. Every individual will have different reactions to each plate, and every table will have different discussions as a result. I look forward to hearing about them during the after-party, which will be held in the lobby following the final course."
Tendo-sensei speaks with candor and conciseness that somehow completely suits the image of him she didn't mean to build in her mind but has now anyway. There are no unnecessary inflections to his speech. Every intention is plainly stated. Neither breath nor word is wasted.
"Now, I will introduce you to the ha-to as I know it with our appetiser, a bean salad with orange vinaigrette. The beans were harvested in Chiba, and the oranges were farmed from Egypt. I hope you will enjoy it."
Tendo-sensei bows in the direction he happens to be facing, and that's the cue for waitstaff to surge into the room carrying trays of the first plate. By the time everyone has one, he is gone from the centre.
Koishikawa-sensei takes one look at his food and chuckles, only loud enough for their table to hear. Kisugi-san joins him not long later.
"What? What is it?" Ryuko-san asks eagerly, always ready to laugh at a good joke.
"The beans he chose are known for being high in soluble fiber," Kisugi-san explains. "In other words, it's good for the heart."
"Eh? I didn't know that! That's considerate," Nanase can't help but effuse.
"It helps to have two chefs at the table, doesn't it? We'll have the secrets to all of Kairi's dishes revealed by the end of each course. You should do an exposé on your vlog, Nanase-chan."
With Yuki-san's well-meaning tease, Nanase remembers she has a job to do. She really has to get herself together. She can't be distracted by attractive men and imposter syndrome. She's here for one thing and one thing only: good food.
"Ah, would anyone mind if I started filming? I'll keep the camera pointed at me and my food, and I can mute the microphone if it would make you more comfortable."
Ryuko-san leans over to look into the lens of the camera Nanase places on the table, tripod legs set low so that no one's vision is obstructed. "So you put your videos on the internet and then people watch them? If I'm in it, will I get famous?"
"Heh, not really. Only a few hundred people watch my vlogs regularly."
"That's a few hundred more people than who know me now! Please let me be in your video, Nanako-chan. Please, please, please." Ryuko-san bounces in her seat to underscore her insistence.
"I also don't mind being recorded. I trust you to edit out anything personal or unprofessional. Make me look good, okay?" Koishikawa-sensei says affably.
The rest of the table chimes in with their consent, and Nanase doesn't bother hiding the stars in her eyes. Tendo-sensei's friends and family are some of the most kind, easy-going people on earth.
She bows with appreciation then presses record on her camera.
"Itadakimasu!"
(When she reviews the night's footage later, the smile on her face at this moment is the happiest she's ever seen herself.)
~~~
As Yuki-san predicted, it is incredibly helpful to have two chefs around to explain the likely significance behind each course. After the appetiser, there are deep-fried brie wheels drizzled in honey ("high in cholesterol and certainly bad for your heart when eaten in excess"), steaming bowls of ochazuke with tuna roe and chunks of sun-dried pickled plum ("traditional comfort food in Kyoto—one bite and you'll see why"), and a shot of cod liver oil in between courses four and five ("high in omega-3's, but golly, low on taste"). There even is a serving of cow heart in what everyone hopes will be the only literal interpretation of the night's theme.
Nanase falls in love with every dish she tries—except the heart, admittedly, but she has always wanted to try animal heart, so she still loves that she got the opportunity. The magic of the menu is not just in their flavour profiles, but also in their mouthfeel.
Almost everyone has flavour preferences, but she didn't discover she had texture preferences until she started Rakkk Seben and wanted to describe the experience of eating to her viewers. She loves when food is so crispy that it reminds her of the first leaves of autumn; she loves surprise chewiness in an otherwise melt-in-your-mouth dish; she loves when there are beady foods like beans or tapioca because she likes organising them in between her teeth for an even bite.
The Ha-to menu manages to capture all of that and more in a delightful manifestation of everything she'd want to taste or experience in a gourmet dish. Each recipe has a way of bringing out the essence of each ingredient, so even the simplest of dishes are layered with complexity. It's the most decadent meal of her entire life, in more ways than one.
Every course is introduced by Tendo-sensei in his same straightforward, succinct tone. He usually describes the ingredients and sometimes an anecdote about the preparation, and Nanae revels in his appearances as much as she does in his food.
The company is equally as compelling. Koishikawa-sensei has been a warm presence ever since their first interaction. Kisugi-sensei—as she has started calling him in her mind ever since she learned he is a sous-chef at another fine dining establishment she is too poor to try—doesn't say much, but she learns a lot whenever he does. Ryuko-san and Yuki-san are the ones keeping the conversation lively, and they're good about including others in their banter. (By others, she does mainly mean herself.)
Throughout the evening, Ryuko-san is definitely the one Nanase ends up interacting with the most. The older woman keeps popping into the frame to wave at the camera and speaking to viewers like a natural vlogger, and it gives Nanase an idea.
After the cod liver oil, Ryuko-san—who works as a sake sommelier but considers herself proficient in all alcohols—wishes aloud that it were a shot of Cognac instead, and Nanase uses the opportunity to tentatively invite her as a guest in a future video where she recommends alcohol pairs for street foods and they try it together.
The evening proceeds exactly like that: Tendo-sensei introduces his next course, Nanase becomes a little bit more enamoured with him via his food, and the conversation at the table rarely stops. She is so glad she has a camera recording all of this; otherwise, she'd be worried that she dreamed everything.
The next time Tendo-sensei steps out, he announces, "This will be our final course for the night. For dessert, I present dorayaki made out of store-bought pancake mix and canned red bean paste."
The entire hall titters with confusion. After several plates of high quality ingredients and sophisticated cooking techniques, he's serving something a college student or perhaps a very independent four-year-old would make for a late-night snack?
Nanase sneaks glances at her seatmates with the hopes that one of Tendo-sensei's closest friends and family would have an innate understanding of logic behind this choice, but the table seems as surprised as the rest of the hall. In fact, Ryuko-san is full-on pouting with the loss of a delectable confection.
She looks back to Tendo-sensei, who hasn't bowed yet to end his speech. He isn't reveling in the confusion either, as she suspected he might. Someone like him wouldn't end the night so anticlimactically without a very good reason, and she has the passing thought that the reason is simple shock value.
Instead, he is just standing still, head hung low and microphone clutched in his hand like he is searching for the will, or the courage, to do something.
He is facing her side of the room. When he finally raises his head, there is melancholy shadowing his angled features. Nanase tries to remember if she could have recognised it before, if it was perhaps there the whole night, but her memories of his face are only cast in dazzlement.
"I do not like sweets, but dorayaki is my favourite dessert. Maybe it is only my favourite because it was what my wife used to make whenever she wanted to celebrate something. The thing is, anything was cause for celebration: doing the dishes she let pile up for a day too long, finishing a book I've been meaning to read, small things like that. It's a taste that I've personally come to associate with a warm smile and a happy home. A full heart, as it were… I probably would have had dorayaki later this evening if not for the fact that my wife passed away eight years ago."
The hall is silent. Even the distant clamour of metal against metal that has been intermittently slipping out from the kitchen has ceased. It is so quiet that Nanase fears her raging heartbeat will upset the solemnity of the moment.
"Of course, I had other ideas for tonight's dessert; but no matter what I planned, I kept thinking to myself, 'I still don't get to eat Minori's dorayaki by the end of the day…' But I can try."
He extends one arm outwards, and the waitstaff flood into the room with their giant trays balanced on their shoulders as they have done for every course. "This is her dorayaki, replicated as close as possible to how she used to make it," Tendo-sensei narrates as the diners receive their plates. "As you eat, I encourage you to think about your heart: who lives in it, where it is telling you to go, and how you will get there."
At the end of his speech, a waitstaff places his own plate on the palm of his outstretched hand. Tendo-sensei pockets his microphone and picks up the dessert. With an inaudible prayer, he takes a bite of the dorayaki. It is the first time he partook in his own menu all evening.
He is still facing her direction, but Nanase cannot clearly see his tears.
"Sakura-san, are you crying?"
"Is there anyone in this world who wouldn't cry upon seeing that?!" she defends while being a sniveling mess.
"Now, now," Koishikawa-sensei cuts in. "It's a moving story, no doubt. Here, clean yourself up, Sakura-chan,"—he offers her a handkerchief from his pocket—"and let's all enjoy the special dessert Tendo-kun prepared for us."
"Is this special? I could buy the same thing at the FamilyMart across the street, and it would probably taste better than this," Ryuko-laments even as she rips a bite out of her dorayaki.
"I will say, though, isn't it rather nostalgic?" Yuki-san muses with a slightly full mouth. "My parents made dorayaki for me when I was little, and it tasted a lot like this, clumpy batter and all."
"This was actually the first thing I ever learned to make," Kisugi-sensei says. "I was 5, and the Showa brand pancake mix had easy-to-follow instructions… Honestly, if I think about it, it's probably the moment that set me on a path towards culinary school."
"Maybe that's why dorayaki is my favourite dessert," Nanase murmurs. She doesn't really expect her tablemates to hear her; but when everyone's heads turn towards her, she is prepared to expand on her thought. "It's really easy to make, right? Simple, too. No one can mess it up. It would probably be more difficult to make it taste bad."
"You say that, Nanase-chan, but you also haven't seen me in the kitchen."
"There's a reason Sayako-san is the only one at the table unaffiliated with food," Koishikawa-sensei jokes.
"One time, she…"
Ryuko-san trails off from her story at the gradual hush that overcomes the event hall. Without prompting, the five of them turn towards the centre, where Tendo-sensei has since finished his dessert and has begun silently bowing to the guests. Once he finishes his round, he straightens and heads out to the lobby.
The table slowly turns to each other in confirmation before gathering their things.
The after-party has begun.
~~~
The good food doesn't stop at the after party. The finger foods, just sugar cookies and senbei, are refreshingly simple after the complex flavours from the kaiseki. Plus, they're cut into heart shapes! Nanase loves commitment to a gimmick.
The people at her table naturally split up after the dinner to catch up with other colleagues or people they happened to know, so Nanase was left to herself for the after party. She doesn't mind. She just takes some snacks to a spot out of people's way and enjoys the ambiance. When is she going to have a chance to attend something like this ever again?
"How was the dinner?" someone asks from her side.
"Nishi-kun! Did you not have any?!"
He laughs. "No, I did, but you're the food reviewer between the two of us. I wanted to hear from you."
"Well, it was amazing, of course," she effuses, hand demurely covering her mouth as she finishes chewing her cookie. "I have a lot I want to say, but all the words are just floating around in my head. I think I'm gonna be up all night just trying to make sense of my emotions."
"That good, huh?"
"The best."
"I'm really glad to hear it. Between you and me, I think Tendo-sensei was pretty nervous about how you'd react to the food."
Good thing she finished with her cookie or else she would have probably choked. "What do you mean by that?"
"It's hard to explain," Nishi-kun says as he crosses his arms, "but I was keeping my eye on you throughout the dinner—in case you needed something, you know—and he was always around. And he was always looking at your table."
Nanase lets out a relieved laugh. "Oh, you've got it all wrong. His sister and his mentor were at the table, too. He was probably checking for their reactions. Everyone at my table was actually really close to him. I'm pretty sure I ended up there as a mistake, or at the very least not on purpose."
He tilts his head to the side. "Tendo-sensei seems like the kind of guy who does everything on purpose, doesn't he?"
"Sure, but was he the one in charge of seating?" she retorts with raised eyebrows.
Nishi-kun scratches at his chin. "Now that, I don't know…"
She pats him on the arm, absolving him of the responsibility to continue the topic and indicating that she wants his attention for something else. "Speaking of Tendo-sensei, do you know if he's allowing interviews during the after party?"
Nishi-kun considers her request. "The after-party would be your best bet, but I can't say for sure he'll be able to do an interview."
They both turn to look at the small group praising Tendo-sensei for the evening and then to the line that's pseudo-forming behind them. The after-party wasn't supposed to be a meet and greet, but it's turning out that way. Nanase and Nishi-kun slowly meander to the ill-defined line, not really intending to join it but moving forward anyway as the queued guests finish their interactions with Tendo-sensei.
When they're a few turns away, someone breezes past the line and straight to the man of the hour.
"When can we go home, Kairi?"
"You can go home whenever you want. I'm still busy," he says with a gesture towards the next guest he meant to meet before Ryuko-san interrupted.
She looks over at the line with pout, which immediately brightens as soon as she sees Nanase in it. "Nanko-chan! What are you doing over there? Come here and meet my brother!"
"Eh?" Nanase casts a worried glance to the other people in line, who look at her with disdain or judgement. She is prepared to reject the older woman's well-meaning offer, but her hand pulling on Nanase's wrist won't let her. All she can do is grab Nishi-kun's wrist and drag him along too.
"Kairi, this is Nanako-chan! Thanks for putting her at our table; we got along great."
"Eh?" "It wasn't like that!"
Nanase had planned to avoid looking directly at Tendo-sensei's face, but this is the second time the seating arrangement has been brought up since the end of the dinner. She can't help but look up in verification of Ryuko-san's statement. (They may have just met, but she's proven herself to be a very authentic person. Nanase is inclined to take her word over Tendo-sensei's.)
Tendo-sensei, for his part, looks very agitated. "Listen," he says. "You were a party of four, and these tables seated five. We did that a lot, putting solo attendants wherever there was space. If you guys got along, it was pure luck."
Nanase nods to herself. That makes a lot of sense.
"Rakki Seben kind of luck?" Ryuko-san quips.
"Huh?"
"That's the name of her vlog! 'Rakki Seben'. Nanako-chan invited me on it, and Yuki's gonna be her manager."
Tendo-sensei whirls on her, and Nanase feels strangely chastised even though she didn't do anything wrong. "I don't know about the Yuki-san thing, but the rest of it is true. I run a YouTube channel. It's actually why I was invited tonight," she explains weakly in the face of his intense stare.
"Say, you should be in it, too, Kairi! Give her an interview or something she can use in her video."
That happens to be exactly what she wanted, but to receive it without her asking is rather overwhelming in the moment. "Only if you have the time! I don't even mind waiting until later in the night, if you're willing and not still busy," she hedges, but Ryuko-san speaks over her.
"You."
Nishi-kun looks around to make sure the finger pointing at him isn't meant to be pointing at someone very near him. "Me?"
"Can you drink alcohol?"
"I'm, um, I'm 25."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Y-Yes, I can drink alcohol."
"Let's go get some, then!"
Ryuko-san wraps her arm around his and leads him towards the open bar. Nishi-kun looks back at Nanase with equal parts fear and apology in his eyes, and she can do nothing but send him pitying looks in return.
"I have a bad feeling about that," Tendo-sensei comments lowly from beside her.
She hasn't known Nishi-kun for long, but she still confidently defends, "Don't worry. Nishi-kun is an absolute gentleman and won't do a single thing to Ryuko-san."
"He's not the one who gives me bad feelings." Before Nanase could unpack that, he turns to her with a raised eyebrow. "So, what's this about an interview?"
There is something on the tip of Nanase's tongue about pretending an interview was never mentioned and apologising for wasting his time, but her resolution from earlier in the evening makes a convenient reappearance in her mind. She won't let herself down, she won't let her viewers down, and she won't let her anonymous benefactor down either.
She bows ninety-degrees in a desperate attempt at professionalism. "Yes! I am Sakura Nanase, and I have a YouTube channel called Rakki Seben! I humbly request to interview you as part of the video review I will give about tonight's event!"
"'Nanase'?"
Hearing her first name said so admonishingly snaps her upright. "I only need five—no, three—minutes of your time!"
He spends a long moment staring at her, silent and discerning, and the state of suspension from earlier in the night is back. She almost can't feel the legs she's standing on.
"Let's get on with it, then."
He offers a polite bow to the guests who hadn't yet given up on the meet and greet line then heads for a door on the opposite side of the room. Nanase starts after him, backtracks to give the people in line a deeper bow because it felt wrong to leave without doing that, then hurries to make up for the lost seconds. When she bursts through the door she saw Tendo-sensei heading towards, she finds that she entered a quiet service hallway.
Quiet because there is no one else there but her and Tendo-sensei. She gulps. "Right, well. Just, um, you can stand over there—or really, wherever you want—and um, I'll stand over… Here. I'll stand over here." She adjusts her camera on its tripod with shaky fingers, and it takes her three tries to turn it on. "Okay, start whenever you're ready… End whenever you're ready, too," she hastily adds.
Tendo-sensei leans against the wall behind him and crosses his arms. "And what would you like to know?"
Why was I invited? is the first question that pops into her head, but she physically shakes it out of her mind. She does have a real question she wanted to ask him, and she only has one shot at this. "Could you talk about the inspiration behind your courses? Except for the dessert, you mostly talked about the ingredients or the recipes. The guests at my table made guesses about why you made what you made—like, it's good for the heart, or it's bad for the heart—but why did you choose to make those recipes over other recipes that would have maybe expressed a similar statement?"
He quirks one eyebrow at her. "Sounds like you'll need more than three minutes of my time, Sakura-san."
Crap, he's right. She should have thought of that. She's so embarrassing. "No, I won't!" she maintains. "I have other questions! Like, uh… Which was your favourite course to work on and why?"
She grimaces. It's a really basic question, not at all on par with the kind of journalism that some of the other media correspondents would have pulled off if they were in her position. In fact, she can even hazard a guess at what his response would be… but it can be answered in three minutes or less, which is all that matters.
He turns his head to face down the hallway, his handsome face impassive yet undeniably radiating annoyance. She tries to ignore the silly worry that she has somehow disappointed him in favour of coming up with a better three-minute question, but then he says, "The dessert, of course, but you already knew that."
Agreeing with him is probably the right answer, but it also makes the fact that she asked the question at all look rather foolish, so she doesn't say anything.
He sighs then faces her again. "I'll start with the appetiser, then."
She wince. "Thanks for keeping me in your favour," she says with self-recrimination.
He offers her a hum of acknowledgement but nothing more on the topic of his time. "Beans are a natural choice to suit the Ha-to theme, but they're a versatile ingredient that could have appeared in any course. Rather than saying they best suited the appetiser, it was more like no other ingredient I wanted would…"
As he expounds upon his thought process and menu development, Nanase feels her superficial crush on the man developing into something a lot more substantial. He's so diligent and intelligent and magnificent.
Nothing like her, who was so nervous about filming the interview that she forgot to set the white balance before it was too late.
Everytime she glances down at her camera view to make sure her shaky hands haven't moved Tendo-sensei out of frame, she could perceive slight differences in colour temperature on the screen. She had hopes that the lighting of the hallway would help keep it more-or-less consistent, but that was evidently too optimistic.
She's pretty bad about adjusting levels in her video editing software, but she can probably just put some apologetic text on screen asking Sebentous for their understanding. It's not like asking him to start over is an option.
"Is my explanation not what you wanted to hear?" Tendo-sensei's harsh voice cuts through her internal monologue.
Her head snaps up. "What? Of course not! I'm so grateful for your insights! Cow hearts over fish was an inspired choice!"
"Then what's with that face? You look… dissatisfied."
Great. On top of incompetent, he must also think she's ungrateful. "I'm very sorry about that. I can… I can wear a mask?"
He looks at her with so much exasperation that she thinks that a bow may not be enough. A full on dogeza in this dress would be awkward, but not undoable.
"Forget it. If you're going to say stupid things, I'm just going to go." With a dramatic flutter of his coat, he stalks towards the lobby.
"It's the white balance!" she blurts out before he could reach the door. The truth is unfortunately another stupid thing, but hopefully explaining herself will at least prevent his opinion of her from getting worse.
It works, for the most part. He stops abruptly and whirls to face her with an unimpressed "Huh?"
She hesitates for just a second before scuttling over to him, camera outstretched so he could see what she's talking about. "I don't know how much you know about videography, but there's this thing called white balance, and…" Whether it's his stare or her hypersensitivity, she could sense that her rambling is losing more favour than it's gaining, so she switches priorities. "Basically, the footage we just shot is usable, but bad."
"Can you fix it?"
"Yeah, it's really easy! All I have do is—"
"Do it. I don't have time to repeat everything I was saying, so I'm just going to answer your dessert question."
That is so okay with her. She's lucky he's even giving her a second chance. "Thank you so much!" She stops the current recording, diligently checks the white balance and aperture and other settings she neglected the first time around, and starts a new file. "Alright, we're rolling," she says as lifts the camera up. "So, sensei, what was your favourite course to work on and—why…?"
She looks quizzically up at Tendo-sensei, who has gotten close enough and lowered the camera enough to indicate that he isn't quite ready to record.
"I've done a lot of talking tonight. I think it's your turn, Sakura-san."
Too bad Tendo-sensei looks so mind-numbingly attractive right now that it makes her forget she knows Japanese.
"Did you enjoy the dinner?"
She nods incessantly.
"Which was your favourite course?"
"All of them." It's not even a question.
His upper lip curls a little in distaste. Her self-preservation isn't strong enough to ignore the flash of white teeth that's revealed. "Why?"
She loves each of them for their own reasons, of course, but one thing they undeniably have in common is that, "They were all things that I like eating."
Tendo-sensei tsks, steps away. "Aren't you a food vlogger? Can't you do better than that?"
Between his reprimanding words and lack of proximity, the daze she was stumbling through clears enough to give her back access to her pride. "Of course! I just… needed to collect my thoughts."
He walks backwards and leans on the wall again, and pieces of the voiceover script she was writing in her mind the whole night helpfully organise themselves into something intelligible.
"I often highlight the mouthfeel of the foods I eat to my viewers, and I really enjoyed the textures of your dishes. Even though each course was consumed individually, I think they would have also worked really well together if they came out all at once like they do in Korean restaurants because of the diversity. Coupled with the different flavour profiles that you created, it was a complete fulfilment of the senses, and I am very grateful that I was invited to experience it."
She punctuates her spiel with a decisive nod, feeling confident and articulate and insightful… but the way Tendo-sensei is only looking at her is slowly making her question that self-assessment. He hasn't reacted, positively or negatively. Maybe he regrets asking for her opinion at all.
"Right, well—"
"—Anything special to say about the dorayaki?"
"Hm?"
He crosses his arms and looks away for a moment, tapping his shoe mindlessly against the linoleum floor. "One of your vlogs said that it's your favourite," he gets out after a few more beats. "The Odaiba one."
She knows what he's talking about, sort of. She does have a vlog where she went out to Odaiba to enjoy lunch on the bay on a nice late-winter day, but she doesn't particularly remember talking about dorayaki in that one. Nor does she know why Tendo-sensei, of all people, would know that, unless…
"You watched my videos?"
"Video. Single," he scoffs as he straightens out from his not-quite-insecure hunch. If she didn't witness him crying nearly thirty minutes ago, she would think that Tendo-sensei's face only has two settings: neutral and unimpressed. "And of course, I did. You're a nobody YouTuber, and this is the biggest professional achievement of my life. You weren't going to be invited without being personally vetted by me."
Now would be the perfect time to ask him why she was invited at all, but an event staff bursts through the hallway door at that moment. "There you are, Tendo-sensei! We've been looking all over for you. You're needed back out in the lobby."
He nods in acknowledgement. "I'll be there in a few minutes. I need to finish my interview first."
Nanase is still facing the staff member, prepared to apologise for keeping Tendo-sensei from his responsibilities, which is how she can see the confused look on their face before they bow and retreat.
She turns back to Tendo-sensei to give him one last chance to back out of having to give her any more of his time, but he's standing up straight and fixing the collar on his coat to prepare for the take. Whatever opportunity to react to anything that happened in the last ninety seconds is long gone.
Indeed, she's here for an interview with Tendo-sensei. She should just get this over with. She's been on edge all night, and this is the last thing she needs to do before she can go home and still be satisfied with how she handled the evening.
Ordinarily, she'd give herself a quick slap on both cheeks to fortify her resolve, but she's made enough of a fool of herself tonight in front of the no-nonsense chef. She has to settle for checking the settings on her camera one more time.
Okay, she can do this. "So, sensei, what was your favourite course to work on, and why?"
~~~
A/N (7.16.2023): Second chapter is the last one! It's already complete, I'll upload it in another week. :)
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asiaplus · 1 year
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What do Vietnamese think of Japanese cultures?
In 2023, Japan and Vietnam will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and we have had / will have a number of events celebrating the relationship of the two countries. I feel proud of this, as my country have had a very good relationship with Vietnam.
Japan as the most favorite country for culture, food and travel
Probably due to this long good relationship between the two countries, Japan is considered the most favorite country in terms of “country with favorite culture”, “favorite international food”, “favorite country to visit”.
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Manga as an effective information source of Japanese culture
What has been the information source among Vietnamese to know Japanese culture? Interesting to know that Japanese animation (manga) plays an important role to know about Japan. From the traditional Japanese manga such as Doraemon, there are many other manga that Vietnamese are familiar with such as Konan, Kimetsu-no-yaiba to a recent slum dunk.
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Japanese food - Sushi, Takoyaki and Ramen
When it comes to Japanese cuisine, it is not surprising that we see Sushi (or Sashimi) voted as the most favorite foods. On the other hand, more variety of Japanese foods come to be recognized among them. Takoyaki became popular as we came to have several street vendors selling it, while we have more restaurants who provide good Japanese noodles of Ramen, Udon or Soba. 
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Japan trip - authentic food, beautiful scenery of cherry blossom
Japan also is the most favorite destination for an international trip. Vietnam is one of a few countries that the number of visitors are on the increase compared with pre-covid timing, and ranked as 6th in terms of the visitors in Jan-Mar 2023. 
Why Japan for travel - Vietnamese are interested in “enjoying authentic Japanese food”, “seeing beautiful scenery” and “experiencing Japanese traditional culture” as top of their bucket list. The two dominant popular location is Tokyo and Mt.Fuji, followed by Osaka, Kyoto etc. In addition, many love to see beautiful cherry blossoms in Japan, which make the Japan trips during end of May to beginning of April super popular.
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Language barrier and Visa as concerns of Japanese trip
How about their concerns on visiting Japan? The biggest worries are the communications partially as they do not feel that Japanese are communicative in English. On top, the strict policy of obtaining Japanese visa stands as the 2nd biggest concern. The high cost used to be the top reasons but now ranked as the third, due to the economy growth of Vietnam and the weaker yen.
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Japanese culture penetration in Vietnam has become versatile thanks to the easier way of getting international information, while Vietnamese came to have more economical power. As a native of Japanese, I do hope that these two countries remain to have the good relationship and we have more opportunities in Vietnam that people come to experience attractive Japanese cultures.
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