しあわせ

This year’s kanjikentei will be held on Sunday 31st of October at SOAS UCL London.
They have a Google webform this year for candidates to request application forms. The deadline is the 28th September. You can sit more than one level if you want but this year I’ll only be attempting 8 kyu. It may take me a few years to reach my 5 kyu goal of the 1006 primary school kanji. It’s not the kanji so much as the vocabulary and usage.

Be aware that British Summer Time ends on the 31st, so make sure you turn up on time for the test!

(I had a rather interesting search term in my blog stats today. “Heisig classes in Tokyo” Good Luck with that, Heisig seemed very anti-teacher and only an individual could manage his method. And only the Internet has kept his book in print… )

Also open for applications is the 2010 JLPT held at SOAS. This year they have online application and are again limiting candidates to 1000 across all levels. I must get back on track with JLPT. The leap to 2 was too daunting, but now there is the intermediate N3 I should give it a go. Just not this year!

I was sad to see the death of animator Kon Satoshi 今 敏 reported on Boing Boing today.
He was one of my favourite film-makers. He made animated films with serious themes aimed at adults.
I remember thinking “They broadcast this on TV?!” when watching Paranoia Agent with it’s storylines exploring bullying, prostitution, and Internet suicide pacts. Indeed the episode concerning the suicide pact had cuts made to it in the UK. He depicted a modern Japan much darker than I’ve seen portrayed in other anime. It could have been live action but somehow by being animated it is hyper-real in an odd way.
I thoroughly recommend, Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ (great Christmas movie!), Millennium Actress 千年女優 and the series Paranoia Agent 妄想代理人.

––update 05Sep10––
His last words (posted online by his family) have been translated into English by Makikoh Ito on her blog. (as well as some notes on her translation). They’re very sad in many ways. My thoughts go out to his wife and parents.
I’m of a similar age to Kon Satoshi and will never have even a fraction of his talent or accomplishments…
In rely to his おさきに　I offer お疲れさま　and 　ごきげんよう
(My Japanese Father-in-law died from cancer last year. I never really got to know him because my Japanese was never good enough, but language and cultural gulf notwithstanding he welcomed me into his family. I doubt I will ever have a fraction of his talent and accomplishment either.)

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おはよう
This is a one minute short part of the Ani*Kuri15 project for NHK.
It’s a good example of his style.