Well, the name Daniel seems to be one that stays on the coasts, whether Atlantic, Pacific or Great Lakes. It never really seems to get into the core of the Deep South. The consistent presence of the name in California may account for the phenomenon noted in http://anotherdanielkim.com/ "I have discovered that there are two basic types of people in the world: (1) people named Daniel Kim; and (2) people who know someone named Daniel Kim. "
Eventually, the British East India Company sent a Scottish botanist to steal tea plants and learn the secret to making tea. He disguised himself as a Chinese government official in Mandarin robes (must have been some disguise!) and toured a tea plantation and factory. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-british-tea-heist-9866709/ There's a surprise in the article that resonates with today's stories of Chinese adulterated food products.
They have a school on Sarumon street? That sounds a bit inauspicious. What's a "Nutsschool"? A school for nuts? OH! A "Utility School". That makes it . . . well . . . not much more clear to me. A school for nuts to complement the school for bolts?
Here's another heart-breaker: "Half-broken Music Box" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowarekake_no_Orgel It's about a young man who suffers from a disabling grief and an android helper he rescues from a junk pile. It's kind of unique and has a beautiful song in its closing.
The description of Hataraku Maō-sama/The Devil Is a Part-Timer sounds a lot like "Squid Girl", in which a girl/squid from the ocean decides to make war on mankind. She gets as far as a beachfront restaurant, but she has to start somewhere.
The first anime that I really liked was Ranma 1/2, which is very funny. In particular, I like how it pokes fun at the conventions of many martial arts manga by creating silly 'ultimate techniques'. Of particular note is the "Saotome Final Attack".
For sheer randomness, be sure to watch "Ordinary Life" (aka Nichijou). It is hard to describe, but is really fun.
There is a category of anime called "slice-of-life", in which the details of daily living receive a lot of focus. These can be vey boring to some people, but I rather like their gentle nature. Three come to mind: "Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip" (Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko), which is a science fiction story set around a robot named Alpha, who runs a coffee shop. She is in a Japan that has suffered some catastrophe in which the oceans have risen and Mt. Fuji erupted. Humanity is entering the twilight of its life with a gentle retirement. "Aria" is also a science fiction story set 300 years in the future. Centered in the city of "Neo Venezia" on the planet Aqua (formerly Mars), a terraforming miscalculation resulted in the surface of Mars being largely covered with water. The characters are girls training to enter the profession of gondola tour guides around the city, which is a replica of Venice. It is a delightful story, and is sumptuously drawn. "Tamayura: Hitotose" and its sequel "Tamayura: More Aggressive" are both beautifully drawn anime set in the Seto Inland Sea. They center around a girl who loves to take pictures, and her friends who have their own hobbies and talents. The friendship of the characters is very sweet, as the normally shy girl named Fu gains confidence and develops her talent for photography.
For a tear-jerker, see "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai", lit. "We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day." The series is usually referred to as "Ano Hana", and is a ghost story. A group of children break apart after a tragic accident in which one of their members dies, but her ghost comes back after some years. Your eyes will ache from too many tears, although it has a pretty happy ending.
An epic fantasy story can be found in "Seirei no Moribito" (Guardian of the Sacred Spirit), which features one of the most admirable heroines: Balsa the Spear Woman. Set in a world much like medieval Japan, Balsa has agreed to be the bodyguard for the Emperor's second son, who is fated to either save the world or destroy it, depending on how you interpret the prophecy. This story has some memorable characters, and the political intrigues are fascinating.
"Taisho Yakyu Musume" (Taisho Baseball Girls) is set in 1925 Japan. The early 20th century was a period of transition and modernization for Japan, which shocked the world at the turn of the century by defeating the "western" nation of Russia in a naval dispute over the Kuril Islands (I may have this wrong. I mention it because these islands are still disputed territory). Students at a girls' school decide to learn how to play baseball, a game that is both male and western, in order to challenge the team from a boys' school. The story itself is fun to watch, but it also illustrates the transition of Japan into a modern, westernized nation.
"Silver Spoon" is about a boy who decides to leave the city and attend a boarding high school that specializes in agriculture. He now has to get up at 4 am to feed the chickens, etc. It's better than it sounds, but what gets me about this is the feeling that Japan is trying to encourage its young people to consider farm life. Japan, like America, is losing population in rural towns as young people gravitate to urban, technical careers. I wonder if this anime is designed to make some of them reconsider.
This really brings home the level of Wayne's character.
"I have discovered that there are two basic types of people in the world: (1) people named Daniel Kim; and (2) people who know someone named Daniel Kim. "
They should name the walls "Rose", "Maria" and "Sina"
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-british-tea-heist-9866709/
There's a surprise in the article that resonates with today's stories of Chinese adulterated food products.
What's a "Nutsschool"? A school for nuts?
OH! A "Utility School". That makes it . . . well . . . not much more clear to me. A school for nuts to complement the school for bolts?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowarekake_no_Orgel
It's about a young man who suffers from a disabling grief and an android helper he rescues from a junk pile. It's kind of unique and has a beautiful song in its closing.
The first anime that I really liked was Ranma 1/2, which is very funny. In particular, I like how it pokes fun at the conventions of many martial arts manga by creating silly 'ultimate techniques'. Of particular note is the "Saotome Final Attack".
For sheer randomness, be sure to watch "Ordinary Life" (aka Nichijou). It is hard to describe, but is really fun.
There is a category of anime called "slice-of-life", in which the details of daily living receive a lot of focus. These can be vey boring to some people, but I rather like their gentle nature. Three come to mind:
"Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip" (Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko), which is a science fiction story set around a robot named Alpha, who runs a coffee shop. She is in a Japan that has suffered some catastrophe in which the oceans have risen and Mt. Fuji erupted. Humanity is entering the twilight of its life with a gentle retirement.
"Aria" is also a science fiction story set 300 years in the future. Centered in the city of "Neo Venezia" on the planet Aqua (formerly Mars), a terraforming miscalculation resulted in the surface of Mars being largely covered with water. The characters are girls training to enter the profession of gondola tour guides around the city, which is a replica of Venice. It is a delightful story, and is sumptuously drawn.
"Tamayura: Hitotose" and its sequel "Tamayura: More Aggressive" are both beautifully drawn anime set in the Seto Inland Sea. They center around a girl who loves to take pictures, and her friends who have their own hobbies and talents. The friendship of the characters is very sweet, as the normally shy girl named Fu gains confidence and develops her talent for photography.
For a tear-jerker, see "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai", lit. "We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day." The series is usually referred to as "Ano Hana", and is a ghost story. A group of children break apart after a tragic accident in which one of their members dies, but her ghost comes back after some years. Your eyes will ache from too many tears, although it has a pretty happy ending.
An epic fantasy story can be found in "Seirei no Moribito" (Guardian of the Sacred Spirit), which features one of the most admirable heroines: Balsa the Spear Woman. Set in a world much like medieval Japan, Balsa has agreed to be the bodyguard for the Emperor's second son, who is fated to either save the world or destroy it, depending on how you interpret the prophecy. This story has some memorable characters, and the political intrigues are fascinating.
"Taisho Yakyu Musume" (Taisho Baseball Girls) is set in 1925 Japan. The early 20th century was a period of transition and modernization for Japan, which shocked the world at the turn of the century by defeating the "western" nation of Russia in a naval dispute over the Kuril Islands (I may have this wrong. I mention it because these islands are still disputed territory). Students at a girls' school decide to learn how to play baseball, a game that is both male and western, in order to challenge the team from a boys' school. The story itself is fun to watch, but it also illustrates the transition of Japan into a modern, westernized nation.
"Silver Spoon" is about a boy who decides to leave the city and attend a boarding high school that specializes in agriculture. He now has to get up at 4 am to feed the chickens, etc. It's better than it sounds, but what gets me about this is the feeling that Japan is trying to encourage its young people to consider farm life. Japan, like America, is losing population in rural towns as young people gravitate to urban, technical careers. I wonder if this anime is designed to make some of them reconsider.