Hi! I, uh, don't have any neat trips to Japan to talk about, but I DID pick up the DVD set of the third and final season of Avatar and watched the whole damn thing over the weekend. It was pretty awesome. And now it's over. Oh well, it got to end properly and awesomely, which is more than a lot of other shows get, at least not without a massive letter writing campaign.

-Yuji

It was incredibly difficult to leave Japan a few weeks ago when our honeymoon ended. It was like everything I enjoy came together to form a place in this world created solely to make me happy.

The best comparison I can say is, it's like a never-ending video game and anime convention, only way better. Going to Japan didn't make me content that I'd gone, it only made me want to go again more than ever before.

Here are a few things I noticed about Japan after having visited there:

1. Everything has a mascot (from police to a slice of bread, everything has a mascot)

2. Cleanliness, kindness and helpfulness are next to Godliness (everyone was so helpful, every place was clean even though we were in Tokyo and nearly every person was kind)

3. However weird, excessive or out there you think Japan is, it's way more than you think (and that's awesome)

4. Anime isn't always on (I expected to have anime on at least one channel at any given moment and maybe it is, but not on the channels a hotel gets)

5. No really, Japan LOVES Monster Hunter (in subways, in restaurants, every where and any where, Monster Hunter is being played and loved)

6. Tokyo is a visual and audio overload (speakers scream anime theme songs while video screens covered with promotional posters show off upcoming games, if you have A.D.D. Tokyo was made for you)

7. Male gender identity is different in Japan (Talking on a pink cell phone while having cute bunnies stitched to your ass doesn't mean you're gay, it means you're cool)

8. Japan was made for Razlo (seriously, can we please move the country and attach it to the US, I need to live there)

I'm sure I'll talk more about Japan and Tokyo Game Show in future weeks, but if you want to see the images (and booth babes) check out my MySpace pictures.

-Razlo