Just wanted to clarify... I asked whether or not Japanese people seem *corny*, not "horny". ^^; Sorry, but I didn't want people to think I watch, well, that kind of anime. 8-) To expand my question, I was referring to how in anime people tend to wax poetic about hearts and friendships and free will and love and gooshy stuff like that (the kind of thing Americans generally wouldn't be caught dead extrapolating on, at least the ones who aren't flower children).

--Cidolfas

Ok... I have no idea how I misread that word. I even checked your email from last week, and it said corny back then too. So umm.... the good news is the whole staff had a good laugh over this, and I still think the answer was good. Even if it's not what you asked...

At any rate, thanks for writing again. Sorry for misreading your letter... I swear my mind isn't in the gutter ALL the time....

im not an expert by any means, but i wish that you had mentioned something about the cultural differences between asia and america when responding to SKs questions about the rpg market in your column on the 27th (mostly because i love that stuff)... i would guess that it could have a lot to do with asian cultures having a richer history of storytelling... in the US, we pretty much have nothing (the 'old west' doesnt really amount to much)... :) i would guess that this would have an impact on the interest in story-driven games (as opposed to action-driven)...

Entire books can be written on this subject. Culture does play a big part of it, but I think Americans like good stories too. We just also tend to be more inclined to play things that let you fly solo. RPGs tend to have big stories, but they also have big teams. Teamwork is important here. Americans like to be the last one standing and save the day. I think that factors in to games that each country makes. At least it sounds really good, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Thanks for the email!

Alright this is the down-lo on Cloud.

He failed to become a Soldier so he instead become a regular guard. In the mission at Nibelheim Sephiroth found out he was a creation with Jenova cells which resulted in him losing it and killing the entire town. Cloud was injured in that massacre, but him and Zack were found be Hojo and infused with Mako and Jenova cells (this was also done to about 50 other people), to be like Sephiroth (he was born with them already infused).

Cloud's Mind trying to piece together what happened in Nibelheim and his embarrassment of not become a Soldier created a different memory then which actually happened, creating an unstable mind with false memories. Also i think the Jenova cells also let him be more easily controlled by Sephiroth (this is just speculation though).

As for Shinra's cover-up about Nibelheim, they sent a team to repair the mako factory, but instead that team destroyed the entire town, plus the Mako plant creating monsters. I would find that a good reason the cover up the actual happening.

-Kanthalas-

I'd say it's been at least six years since I even touched FF7. But when this was proofed, Alethea, our resident FF7 guru, noticed an error. THIS is how it went down. Shinra did send a team to repair it, but Sephiroth killed the people and burned the town. Shinra rebuilt the town and hired actors to replace the townspeople. Evidently this can all be found in the library, and now that she mentions it, I might maybe remember it.

I am on PSP! Don't be -- 2 LoNg 2 spell

Andrew M

You aren't the only one to send a letter via their PSP. I sent one to Cast with my legally upgraded PSP. I actually have a Japanese PSP, so I'm allowed to have that update. It is spiffy, but I don't see myself using it much. Glad you're enjoying yours. I've enjoyed mine since the day it came out in Japan. So no jealousy on my part.

congratulations on your hike to Mt. Fuji! How long did it take you to climb that mountain? and I don't see any snow on your pics. I thought it was always snowy up there... Since i love to hike, i gotta try that in the far future if i ever get a chance.

how much free time do you get away from work anyway? i mean you get to write japandemonium, write Q&A. climb a mountain, play games,and so on. And you seem to be making a good salary too.

finally, how long are you staying in Japan? are you limited? Does "japanese MIB dudes" bother you for staying in japan?

Great work! Keep it up!

Alfonso Caballero

The actual climbing time was around 5 hours to get to the top. I took some breaks in there, and one of them was over 3 hours. I started my climb at 6:30 p.m. and topped out around 3:30. With breaks, that works out to be about right.

As for time, I have a fair bit of time. GEOS gives me two consecutive days off each week, Sunday and Monday. My working hours are also kinda strange in that I start at 1 and finish at 10. This gives me an entire morning to play video games or do whatever I want. I'm paid enough that I can afford to do some traveling on the side with my weekend. Two days is enough to get someplace, check it out, and come straight back. I also get larger breaks twice a year, but I won't get another of those until Christmas. But that's not counting next week. I'm taking a week of my paid holidays to see my fiancée and family.

It's not a bad life over here. You make enough to do a lot if you want. I'd prefer I had more time in my evenings for stuff, but it's nice that I begin work late. I can fly in the day before work and take an overnight boat back to Niihama. Works out pretty well I think. There are good points to both ways.

Thanks for writing though. I have plenty of time for JP, even when I'm a bit late... I had a good reason though. You can trust me on that.

J SQUEEZY! How goes it honorable czar of all things Japan-related? The meat of this letter is simply to tell you that you really can't go wrong with either DS choice. I personally liked Kirby more, as Puzzle games, regardless of complexity, just don't seem to last as well for me but both are phenomenal. Kirby could be...a little more difficult I guess (barring the Subgames--Paint Roller took me some time to get an A rank on) but it's such an interesting concept that I'd say Kirby even with the additional $5 US required to attain it. Both are wonderful.

A quick point about Japan. You made it a point about people making less of a to-do about sexual things. It got me thinking about America--regardless of how much the news media seems to try and scare us into and out of various things and how voiced the complaints that our culture is perverse and our styles far too overtly sexual are (I think that sentence structure works...) kids are screwing around really, really young. Everything starts earlier and earlier these days and I'm wondering if that problem exists similarly in Japan. As a bit of a stretch, it seems like our emphasis and general putting-in-the-spotlight of sexual stuff makes the taboo aspect all the more tantilizing for the newly-rebellious youngsters. Since the opposite attention seems to be given in Japan, is the outcome, too, opposite to that of my America scenario?

Dunno if I'm reaching or not...I found it an interesting ponderance anyway. Great column--keep doing what you do!

-Doby G

Thanks for the info on games. It seems that I can't go wrong with either, so I'll buy whichever is there. If both are there,I might just toss a nickel.

As for the second question, you're actually a fair bit off base. As mentioned before, Japan is a highly sexual country, and their age of consent is FAR lower than ours. It is not uncommon for girls to lose their virginity in the bigger cities really early, and school girls are notorious for using sexuality to get things. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of people who really like school girls, and there are girls that are willing to exploit people into becoming sugar daddies for that purpose. In the cities, school girls hike their skirts up so high that they may as well not be wearing them at all. It's kinda sad really. Some do it for the attention, but others do it for more. This is also the country that used to sell used panties with pictures for large sums of money, sometimes over the equivalent of 100 dollars.

As to the effect this has had on the population, it's hard to say. The Japanese don't release numbers on diseases, and I heard that a member of the ministry of health said that Japanese bodies were different and that they couldn't get AIDS. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have heard the Japanese claim that their bodies are different or better than our bodies, so it is possible that some people believe this. I don't know the numbers, but with things like that, I'm glad I am faithful to my fiancée. Who knows what's out there. It'll be interesting to see what happens in 20 years or so here, but I'm not so sure I want to know.

At any rate, thanks for the email! It's an interesting topic, that's for sure.

Hey Jordan,

Are you still in Japan? I am in the Kanto area for one more year. I just bought Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana because it was getting good reviews, and after noticing the artwork, I checked the box and sure enough it was another Nippon Ichi Software title. Is there anything they can't do right? They have been releasing a flurry of good games with excellent artwork, so i hope they can just maintain this level of quality. It would be nice if Squeenix could take a hint and get moving on the Dragon Quest 8 translation for North America.

WeatherPunk
Tokyo, Japan

Yeah. I'm still in Japan. Doesn't look like I'm going anywhere anytime soon. I have plans to stay here for a few more months.

As for NIS, yeah, they do seem to rock the house. I really enjoy the games, and I'm looking forward to more of them, and you aren't the only one looking forward to DQ8. I might pick that up myself. It does look spiffy.

Thanks for writing!

Hey J!

This is a question I've been meaning to send in for quite some time.

Some time ago, while I was playing Katamari Damacy, I rolled into the bathroom on one of the stages and picked up the toilet paper and air freshener arranged around the distinctly Japanese toilet. It made me wonder about the differences in Japanese and Western bathrooms.

A quick search on the internet revealed some useful guides on how to use a Japanese toilet (I remember you posting one such guide in the staff channel a while back). Apparently, the squatting position is the most natural for humans. No surprise there. However, there is one disadvantage. As a Japanese site put it so eloquently, "If you lost balance you gonna fall back on ****!" Holding yourself up is a requirement for using these toilets, unlike the Western ones that invite you to take a seat.

So here's the question, which may be a bit personal for you, as you will have to draw on personal experience: what do you think of Western toilets versus Japanese toilets?

Yours Flushingly,

Cortney Stone
a.k.a. Alethea

I figured this question would happen sooner or later too, and I can offer more than one view on it.

I guess I'll just get started with traditional Japanese toilets. More or less, they are porcelain bowls set into the ground. They're actually nicer than you'd think. To use one, you face it and squat down. I also advise stepping out of one pants leg, but that's just to make sure there aren't any accidents. Then you do what you need and call it good.

In some cases, the toilet is raised up on a platform. I see these kinda like western toilets without seats. I use them backwards and use my hands behind me to stay propped up while I hover. I've not learned how to hover yet, but that seems to be a uniquely female skill. I prefer those I think, but I wash my hands extra good just in case.

On the other end of the spectrum are the all-singing, all-dancing toilets. Japan makes some western toilets that come with everything except windshield wipers. Some features on the best ones include heated seats, deodorizers, two different bidets, background music, and massage. There are even ones that sense you walking into the bathroom and open and close the toilet lid for you. Good grief. I will say they are quite nice to use though.

There's also a class of regular toilets that have little spigots on top. This is to wash your hands without wasting water, but there's never soap. As the tank fills, you can rinse your hands. It's a nice idea, but I never use it. I've never heard of anyone else using it either.

Now for my opinions. Personally, if I have to go, I'll use whichever I can find. GEOS had a traditional Japanese style for months before switching to a mid-range, all-singing, all-dancing western toilet. I prefer a regular toilet, but I do not find Japanese style to be uncomfortable at all. Granted, I don't read many books on them, but they're not bad.

My family is another story. My brother and mother would NOT use a Japanese style toilet at all. They'd rather hold it for a LONG time. They were also surprised when they'd see Japanese people take Japanese toilets over western ones. But I don't think being that stubborn is good for you, so I just do what I need when I need to. At least I have the benefit of being male. It makes it easier most of the time.

So there you have it. That's probably more about my bathroom usage than you ever wanted to know. Hope this has satisfied your curiosity. Thanks for writing!

Another week, another column. This one went up a day late due to me getting some really super awesome news. After that, I lost all concentration and wasn't able to finish. But the good news is that there will still be a column before I leave for the US. I'll do my best to make sure it's online before I leave.

Catch you on the flip,

Jordan "Only four more days!" Jackson