Yaoi publisher 801 Media has announced a mini-contest: take an Engrish ‘poem’ by Mio Tennohji in the BL manga Meeting You Now and rework it into something intelligible and, ideally, poetic. The winner gets their name in the upcoming translated release of the book plus an artbook by Uki Ogasawara, creator of the upcoming 801 title Black Sun and the previously-released Drama Queen title Virtuoso di Amore.

The bit goes like this:

I am having met you and got to know true love. I will consider love as you —
I can never let go of you. Since you are the last sweetheart in my beginning —
Mio Tennohji Presents//It goes to meet you./How to find kiss gentle to, —
For example, it is a morning bus stop.

For rules and instructions, check here. You do have to be 18+ though.

Posted by gia in Manga, Misc, News, Western News • Comments (1)

A Reuters article reports on a new cram school in Japan. Maid cafe + school + so-bad-it’s-cute English = Cosplish, a new school where the teachers wear costumes and teach moeng (moe English).

The school founder, Yohei Suzuki, says he thought that since otaku culture is taking over the world, maybe Japanese people would be interested in otaku culture from outside of Japan. In spite of the goofy setup, he says that there is a serious side to his business: where most schools teach more formal, business-like English, “Cosplish” offers fun, practical English for regular people.

They even teach chat/txt speak like “gr8″ and “b4.” Thanks a lot, Suzuki, we totally needed more of that crap. (Have I mentioned that those AT&T commercial where some chit plays “ROTFL” in Scrabble makes my soul shrivel up inside?)

Ahh, Nova: the sketchy chain of English-language cram schools for business men and anyone else who feels like learning to speak fluent Engrish. Japan Probe reports that a Nova school is going to open in April– on the Aichi Gakuin University campus.

Well, I’d say something about how I wouldn’t want to learn English from Nova while I’m enrolled in a nice expensive college already, but on the other hand, the system that my local university uses to teach Japanese is kind of ridiculous and awful, so I guess I can’t say anything.

Anyway, seeing as Nova was on the verge of collapse not all that long ago, it’s interesting to hear of them expanding.

Posted by gia in JP News, Misc, News • Comments (1)