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Krista Rogers

Starting with a love of J-Pop and J-dramas when she was 13, Krista Rogers has left her quiet New England hometown in the States both to study abroad in Tokyo and to work on the JET Program in beautiful Yamagata prefecture. She misses chatting in the local dialect and staging Kamehameha battles in the hallway with her students. Although she's currently working on her master's degree in Boston, she will without a doubt be back in Japan before long and buying way too much at Book-Off and Tower Records again. When she needs a break from schoolwork, Krista enjoys eating yakiniku, figure skating, finding cute cafes, watching Big Bang MVs, and continuing on her quest to catch 'em all.

Posted by Krista Rogers (Page 54)

Is there a correlation between sex and World Cup success?

Krista Rogers
Jul 14, 2014
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Another World Cup has come and gone, and diehard soccer fans will have to wait another four years until their national teams will have another chance for glory. While many of the successful teams in the tournament depended heavily on star players such as Argentina’s Messi or Portugal’s Ronaldo, it’s undeniable that the all-around teamwork of Germany was instrumental in their first-place finish. Another possible contributing factor to their victory was…sex?!

As both English and Japanese-language news agencies have reported, all the teams participating in the Cup had different policies regarding their players and sexual intercourse during the tournament. Furthermore, all of the teams that advanced to the quarterfinals had policies that allowed sex, while all of the teams which specifically forbade sex during the tournament were eliminated in the group stage or the round of 16.

Funnily enough, the German team was one of the groups that allowed its players to engage in some adult fun during down time…

Tokyo Gas commercial gets taken off the air for being too cruelly realistic

Krista Rogers
Jul 10, 2014

As any young Japanese college graduate can attest, Japan’s hellish job hunting process can be one of the most stressful and demotivating periods of a person’s life. Numerous rejections, along with that feeling of isolation after seeing those around you get job offers, is enough to make anyone severely depressed.

So what does that have to do with a gas company, you ask? A commercial by Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. which features a girl in the midst of the job hunting process has been stirring up controversy and was even taken off the air. Why? Apparently, its portrayal of the painful job hunting process was so accurate that it left people feeling a little too miserable after seeing it.

Japanese people react to reading that “pizza is a vegetable in America”

Krista Rogers
Jul 10, 2014

If you live in the States, you may remember a few years ago when Congress blocked a proposal that aimed to make school lunches for children healthier. One of the provisions which stirred up considerable debate involved increasing the amount of tomato paste necessary to be considered a full serving of fruits and vegetables, but the proposal was eventually nixed, effectively maintaining that the tomato sauce used on pizza could count as a serving of vegetables.

After a Japanese news site broke the story fashionably late last month, Japanese people were incredulous to hear that from a legal standpoint, “pizza is a vegetable” in the U.S. Read on to learn more about the ongoing debate and some reactions of readers.

Pugs take over Westeros in Game of Thrones video parody…because why not?

Krista Rogers
Jul 6, 2014

Almost 2 million people have viewed this short YouTube clip of pugs dressed as Game of Thrones characters since it was uploaded late last month. And well, why not? It’s not every day you get to see doggies cosplaying as characters from George R. R. Martin’s fantasy world of Westeros. Heck, we may even prefer the adorable pugs to some of their live-action counterparts!

Japanese girls mysteriously collapse at school, rumors say it’s the work of a ghost

Krista Rogers
Jul 3, 2014

The Japanese internet is exploding after a succession of high school girls in Fukuoka Prefecture disturbingly collapsed during school hours on Monday. Students who were at the scene took to their Twitter accounts to post updates as the bizarre spectacle unfolded.

While the most likely explanation for the mysterious series of events is that the girls were induced into a state of mass panic after the first girl collapsed, some are attributing it to a vengeful spirit. Feel free to draw your own conclusions from the details, but either way, this is one creepy happening.

Greece national football team players turn down individual bonuses for something else

Krista Rogers
Jul 3, 2014

The World Cup is not just a battle between nations to determine who is the strongest in the world. It is also a momentous celebration of international exchange and an opportunity for citizens of the world to display their national pride. Heart-wrenching and heartwarming stories alike are born from the event, which remain in people’s minds long after the final score has been forgotten. Some of the most memorable stories from the tournament don’t even take place on the pitch during gameplay; rather, they materialize in other acts of chivalry off the field.

Although Greece was defeated by Costa Rica on Sunday, Greek citizens couldn’t have been prouder to see their national team advance to the Round of 16 for the first time ever. The Greek athletes also seemed content just having served as representatives for their home country, as they incredibly refused individual monetary bonuses and instead asked for a joint venture that should further unite them in spirit with their fellow countrymen.

Some reflections on the popularity of Japanese manga in Spain

Krista Rogers
Jun 30, 2014

You may be surprised to hear this, but Japanese manga is thriving in Spain. Look no further than massive conventions such as Madrid’s Expomanga and Barcelona’s Salón del Manga, where fans can celebrate their favorite series and characters with other like-minded people. So what are some of the factors that contribute to manga’s success in España?

The folks at Japanese website Niconico News recently caught up with David Hernando, the Editorial Editor of Planeta DeAgostini Comics, which is a Spanish-Italian publisher that distributes many beloved Japanese manga series throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Mr. Hernando graciously shed some light on the current market for manga in Spain in an exclusive interview with them, and the following piece will attempt to summarize some of his key points, along with some other related topics we have taken notice of.

We would love to hear the thoughts of our readers residing in Spain as well, so please leave your comments at the end of the post!

Norwegian metal singer covers Japanese pop songs galore

Krista Rogers
Jun 28, 2014

It’s nice to share some Japan-related news coming out of Scandinavia for a change!

Norway, along with its neighbors, is no stranger to the metal music scene. The northern European countries together constitute one of the world’s major strongholds for the various subgenres of metal music. But what do you get when you combine the vocal talents of a Norwegian symphonic metal singer with the catchy tunes of J-Pop?

Just listen to PelleK’s cover versions of the following anime songs to find out for yourself!

Post World Cup cheer up: Shinji Kagawa and Hiroshi Kiyotake take on 55 kids at once

Krista Rogers
Jun 26, 2014

For anyone who’s still struggling to accept Japan’s elimination from the World Cup at the group stage, we’ve got a little video clip here to brighten your mood. While it was originally broadcast on New Year’s Eve half a year ago, it features two of Japan’s top football athletes finding themselves in an amusing situation with none of the stress from the World Cup.

How would you like to see international stars Shinji Kagawa and Hiroshi Kiyotake taking on 55 elementary school kids at once?

“I’ve fallen for a video game otaku–what should I do?” Woman appeals to internet for advice

Krista Rogers
Jun 24, 2014

One presumably hot day not that long ago, a young Japanese woman sat down at her computer, logged onto a website dedicated to giving advice to women, and sent out a request for help: “I’ve fallen for a video game otaku. How can I get close to him?”

The first-year university student had developed a crush on her classmate, who always seemed to be alone and playing video games. She wanted to know how to best approach him, so she took her inquiry online. It was soon met by a flood of diverging responses, from the straightforward to some shocking advice.

Read on to see what kinds of pointers they gave her, and whether you agree with them or not.

Japan national football star to voice character in upcoming Pokémon film

Krista Rogers
Jun 22, 2014

Atsuto Uchida, a defender on Japan’s national football team currently playing in Brazil, is making his voice acting debut in the latest Pokémon theatrical film set to premiere next month.

The producers of the Pokémon movies are well-known for inviting celebrities to voice supporting characters in the annual films, but this year marks the first time that an athlete will lend his voice to the production. Uchida himself has been a fan of Pokémon since he was a child, and his involvement in the movie will hopefully add even more excitement to the World Cup fervor already taking over Japan.

Read on to learn more about Uchida’s role in the upcoming film!

Can these Japanese kitties accurately predict the advancing teams of the World Cup?

Krista Rogers
Jun 20, 2014

You may remember that octopus named Paul whose accurate series of “predictions” during the 2010 World Cup about Germany’s matches and Spain’s victory shot him to worldwide fame.

Well move over, Paul, because you’ve got two new furry rivals! Stepping up to the challenge in 2014 are Munchkin kitties Kikunosuke and Rikimaru. Their owner had them “predict” which two teams from each of the initial groups A through H would proceed to the rest of the tournament. Japanese fans would be well-advised to listen to the cats, since Japan was picked to advance from group C.

Keep reading to find out which sixteen teams will advance, at least according to the cats!

Save space in a spaceship: KAKUREYA “cosy room” pod on sale now!

Krista Rogers
Jun 19, 2014

When life gives you lemons and you just need to escape for a bit, it can be hard to find somewhere to be alone if you’re constantly surrounded by people. But you’ll never find yourself in that situation again, thanks to a cool furniture-on-steroids invention on the market now.

Introducing the KAKUREYA, your very own private space that resembles the fusion between an internet cafe and a futuristic space pod. In fact, based on these pictures we’d have to say that the sensation of being inside it must be similar to what it feels like inside of a Gundam cockpit.

Lots of exciting photos after the jump!

“Attack on car”? When real life angry birds attack

Krista Rogers
Jun 19, 2014

Not unlike the “911 attack cat” that’s been making waves across the States, it looks like a peacock at the Singapore Zoo has also gone into an unstoppable rage! Only this time, the battlefield happens to be a road, and the peacock in question has challenged a car to a duel. Maybe its wrath was triggered after seeing its own reflection in the car’s shiny exterior, or by the driver’s attempt to get it out of the way by beeping the horn…but regardless of what provoked it, this is one angry bird. Who do you think emerged victorious after the fight?

Five words that sound completely different across Japanese regional dialects

Krista Rogers
Jun 18, 2014

If you’re American, do you usually drink at the “water fountain,” the “drinking fountain,” or (my personal favorite, all you Rhode Islanders) the “bubbler”? And how about that fizzy fountain beverage–what do you call it in your neck of the woods?

In the same way that the above-mentioned drink is known variously to American speakers of English as soda, pop, or coke, Japanese speakers also use different terms for the same thing depending on where they live. In fact, Japanese regional dialects, known as hōgen (方言), can differ so much from the standard Japanese (hyōjungo [標準語]) spoken in the Tokyo area and national media, that subtitles are often necessary when someone speaks with a thick local accent on TV. It’s not just the pronunciation that differs; often the form of words and syntactical structures are completely distinct.

To show you what we’re talking about, we’d like to introduce five examples of words that look and sound completely different from standard Japanese when said in regional dialects. If you’re a speaker of Japanese and you use one of these words when speaking to someone from a different part of the country, you may be met with a blank stare if your terms for the same thing are mutually unintelligible.

7-year-old turns cash into “art”, parents decidedly unamused

Krista Rogers
Jun 16, 2014

How did you first learn about the value of money as a child? Did you save up your allowance in a piggy bank until there was enough to buy a cool new toy? Or how about taking care of the neighbor’s cat for a small reward?

Or maybe you were never actually taught how to spend your cash wisely, and to this day keep a tall stack of credit card bills around in case you need to blow your nose.

Speaking of money going down the drain, that’s pretty much what one Japanese 7-year-old was found guilty of the other day. He was given a 1,000-yen note, worth roughly US$9.80, and told to “use it however you want.” While most other kids would have jumped for joy and rushed to the nearest toy store, this kid had a much more…creative idea.

What does blood type have to do with the Japan national football team?

Krista Rogers
Jun 16, 2014

At first glance, it may seem like Alberto Zaccheroni, the head coach of the Japan national football team, systematically screens his players’ blood types before letting them onto the team. After all, out of the total 23 players on the 2014 national team, only three of them have blood type B blood. That number was zero for the 2012 national team. So is this fact pure coincidence, or is there something larger at work here?

Actually, the answer may lie in Japan and other East Asian countries’ belief that blood type determines character traits. Still not convinced? Read on to learn why football players with type B blood may actually be at a disadvantage in the game.

Yes, the residents of Fukushima really are this “Happy”

Krista Rogers
Jun 16, 2014

If the rest of the world would have its way, they would have you see only the negative images of Fukushima. But if the citizens of Fukushima would have their way, guess what–they would want the world to know that they are quite happy, thank you very much, and more than keeping their chins up!

Japan’s third-largest prefecture has been at the center of controversy since the nuclear crisis occurred amid the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. But the producer of a new cover video inspired by Pharrell Williams’ megahit “Happy” is out to paint a different picture of Fukushima to the world. One that is not full of sickly people dying from radiation, nor terror-stricken families anxiously fleeing its borders.

She’s out to show the world, quite simply, a “Happy Fukushima.”

A new sophisticated take on the Moon Scepter from Sailor Moon R

Krista Rogers
Jun 13, 2014

It’s been a fantastic week for those slightly older, more sophisticated Sailor Moon fans (in other words, the original generation of fans), what with the introduction of Premium Bandai’s Miracle Romance line of quality Sailor Moon merchandise, which includes eau de toilette and Sailors Uranus and Neptune lip balm.

Now, we’re pleased to announce a new collectible toy designed for adults–Sailor Moon’s Moon Scepter (aka Cutie Moon Rod) featured in Sailor Moon R, the second season of the TV anime series!