Japanese Language and Culture Meetup Group

We are watching a new anime film based on the popular anime series Jujutsu Kaisen that ended in 2023.

A short summary is provided below:

"Before they were enemies, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were high school classmates and friends. The two powerful sorcerers are tasked with protecting Riko Amanai, a student who has been designated to be sacrificed as the Star Plasma Vessel, until she can fulfill her duty. Pursued by a religious cult and other curse users, they are the only sorcerers capable of carrying out such a difficult task – but this mission will set their destinies, and challenge the two sorcerers in ways unimaginable."

I will put the seat I bought in the comments below.

Please join us if you can!

We shall read a novel by Sayaka Murata, a contemporary author who debuted with the unconventional novel Convenience Store Woman.

A summary is provided below:

"As a child, Natsuki doesn’t fit in with her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut, who talks to her. He tells her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. One summer, on vacation with her family and her cousin Yuu in her grandparents’ ramshackle wooden house in the mountains of Nagano, Natsuki decides that she must be an alien, which would explain why she can’t seem to fit in like everyone else. Later, as a grown woman, living a quiet life with her asexual husband, Natsuki is still pursued by dark shadows from her childhood, and decides to flee the “baby factory” of society for good, searching for answers about the vast and frightening mysteries of the universe—answers only Natsuki has the power to uncover."

Please join us for food and conversation as we discuss this novel. Regrettably, the Ocean World restaurant will close in August, so this will be our final opportunity to meet at one of our favorite venues.

I will make a reservation on the Sunday before the meetup. If you must cancel, please try to do so before this date.

Another Ghibli Fest is upon us! Totoro is perhaps my favorite Ghibli film; it is the very embodiment of gentleness and endearing family storytelling.

A summary is provided below:

"When Satsuki and her sister Mei move with their father to a new home in the countryside, they find country life is not as simple as it seems. They soon discover that the house and nearby woods are full of strange and delightful creatures, including a gigantic but gentle forest spirit called Totoro, who can only be seen by children."

I will put the seat I bought in the comments below.

Please join us if you can!

This is one of Mamoru Hosoda's early films (2006). It received the Japan Academy Film Prize for Animation of the Year in 2007.

A summary is provided below:

"A high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own."

Fun trivia: This film functions as a sequel to the 1967 novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui.

Hosoda is an outstanding director. I hope this inspires you to seek out his other films!

I will put the seat I bought in the comments below.

Please join us if you can!