Oricon: Most Interesting Manga

A recent Oricon survey asked 300 teenagers (ages 14-19) to name the most interesting manga series they had read. The long-running adventure manga [One Piece] was ranked #1, followed by the classic basketball manga [Slam Dunk].

[Dragonball] and [Death Note] tied for 3rd, while the comedy series [Gintama] took 5th. [Lovely Complex] split the #6 spot with [Nodame Cantabile].

At #8 was [Detective Conan], beating out [Hana Yori Dango], which tied for #9 with [Fullmetal Alchemist].

Ranking:
1]One Piece [Shueisha]-尾田栄一郎
2]Slam Dunk [Shueisha]-井上雄彥
3]Dragon Ball [Shueisha]-鳥山明
3]DeathNote [Shueisha]-原作：大場つぐみ 作画：小畑健
5]Gintama [Shueisha]-空知英秋
6]Lovely Complex [Shueisha]-中原アヤ
6]Nodame Cantabile [Kodansha]-二ノ宮知子
8]Detective Conan [Shogakukan]-青山剛昌
9]Fullmetal Alchelmist [Square Enix]-荒川弘
9]Hana Yori Dango [Shueisha]-神尾葉子

Source:Oricon

Natsukawa Jun/ 夏川純

I wanted to say a HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!! I know Natsukawa Jun since last year and had been reading her blog till now. It's been a long time so wanted to say this. ^^ Hope you enjoy your birthday..

I wish to see more of her acting in drama but till now she didnt act many dramas. =_=

Hope she acts more and i'll be more happy than her.. =D

Lastly, Happy Birthday!!

Yotsuba&!/ 四葉妹妹!/ よつばと!

Yotsuba&! (よつばと!, Yotsuba to!?) is an ongoing Japanese comedy manga series by Kiyohiko Azuma, the creator of Azumanga Daioh. It is published in Japan by MediaWorks in the monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh and collected in eight tankobon volumes as of August 2008. Unlike most of Azumanga Daioh which used a four panel strip format, Yotsubato! is laid out in episodic format like typical manga. The story revolves around the wacky adventures of a five year old girl named Yotsuba who's just moved into a new town with her father. The overall theme of the manga is "Enjoy Everything."

Characters






















I read till the latest chapters and it is funny and sometimes irritating. ^^" Because the main character is a bit like Crayon Shin-chan/ 蜡笔小新. But she is less playful on father. ^^ Overall, I enjoy reading this series.. XD

• Yotsuba&!/ 四葉妹妹!/ よつばと! at English Wikipedia

Google your home with Street View Japan

I found this interesting so decided to post about it. A survey from JR Tokai Express Research Inc and reported on by japan.internet.com looking into issues surrounding Google Maps Street View.

On the 20th of August 2008 332 members of the JR Tokai Express Research online monitor panel employed in either the public or private sectors completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 83.7% of the sample were Male, 6.3% in their 20s, 35.8% in their 30s, 45.2% in their 40s, and 12.7% in their 50s.

Research results

Q1: Do you know Google Maps Street View? (Sample size=332)

Yes(to SQ1)	62.3%
No	37.7%

Q1SQ1: When did you start using Google Maps Street View? (Sample size=207)

Started using with Japanese version	67.6%
Previously used foreign versions	5.8%
Never used it	26.6%

Now, 57 people from, I think, the 152 people in Q1SQ1 who said they had used Google Maps Street View lived within the areas that Google had photographed. They were asked the following questions.


Q1SQ2: Have you searched for your home using Google Maps Street View? (Sample size=57)

Yes, and found it	50.9%
Yes, but didn’t find it	31.6%
No	17.5%

Q1SQ3: Do you or someone you know appear on Google Maps Street View? (Sample size=57)

Myself	1.8%
Friends	1.8%
Neither	64.9%
Don’t know	29.8%
Just heard a friend appears	1.8%

Source:whatjapanthinks

Japanese Box Office, August 30–31: 20th Century Boys/ 20世紀少年 Movie

The first segment of Yukihiko Tsutsumi's three-part adaptation of Naoki Urusawa's 20th Century Boys manga debuted at #2 and made 625.61 million yen (US$5.78 million) on 310 screens during the August 30–31 weekend. The entire trilogy's budget is about US$55 million, and distributor Toei expects the first movie alone to make over 5 billion yen (US$46 million). International territories in which the film is set to play include the United Kingdom, France, and South Korea — where it will open on September 11 in that country's largest-ever premiere of any Japanese film. The other two chapters in the trilogy will come at six-month intervals.

Source:animenewsnetwork

DIMSDRIVE Research:Most Touching Manga

DIMSDRIVE Research make a survey as part of their 138th Ranking Research into what manga made one cry and what manga would one recommend to others will be of interest. This pair of ranking surveys is taken during 27th of March and the 3rd of April 2008. 6,399 members of the DIMSDRIVE Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.8% of the sample was female, 1.4% in their teens, 16.5% in their twenties, 36.0% in their thirties, 28.1% in their forties, 12.6% in their fifties, and 5.4% aged sixty or older. Note that they are explicitly referring to books/ manga here, not TV/ anime or movie adaptations or original stories.

Ranking results

Q1: What manga that you have read has made you cry? (Sample size=6,399, free answer)


Q2: What manga would you recommend to others? (Sample size=6,399, free answer)



[Click on the picture to see clearer.]
Source:whatjapanthinks

Ranking of Top thirty Japanese Emoticons

I found some interesting fact on net. In the middle of June, 2006 goo Ranking surveyed its readers by means of a public internet questionnaire on what emoticons, or smilies, they often used in mail from their personal computers. The following table presents the top thirty results. As usual for goo Ranking, number one slot gets ranked with 100 points, and all the rest with the proportion of votes relative to the top vote. Can use those emoticons for yourself too in your email or messenger applications to liven up your chat a little!

Rank	Emoticon	Score	Emotion
1	（＾_＾） or （＾_＾）v, etc	100	Laughing
2	(>_<)>	66.4	Troubled
3	(^_^;)	54.4	Troubled
4	(ToT)	53.3	Crying
5	m(_ _)m	52.9	Apologising
6	(^^ゞ or (^^;)	38.3	Shy
7	（￣ー￣）	20.6	Grinning
8	(≧∇≦)/	18.9	Joyful
9	（￣□￣；）	18.9	Surprised
10	(#^.^#)	18.8	Shy
11	（*´▽｀*）	16.1	Infatuation
12	(ーー;)	15.4	Worried
13	(*^▽^*)	15.0	Joyful
14	＿|￣|○, orz, OTL, etc	13.7	Depressed
15	(＾▽＾)	11.1	Laughing
16	キタ━━━(゜∀゜) ━━━!!!!!, (゜∀゜), etc	11.1	I think it's “I’m here!!!”, but I not really sure!
17	(´･ω･`)	10.3	Snubbed
18	（　ﾟ Дﾟ）	8.8	Shocked
19	（・∀・）	7.7	Laughing
20	(Ｔ▽Ｔ)	7.1	Crying
21	(*￣m￣)	6.8	Dissatisfied
22	（　´∀｀）	6.0	Laughing
23	（⌒▽⌒）	5.3	Laughing
24	（＾ｖ＾）	4.9	Laughing
25	ヽ（´ー｀）┌	4.7	Mellow
26	（’-’*)	4.1	Laughing
27	(’A`)	3.8	Snubbed
28	（゜◇゜）	2.1	Surprised
29	(*°∀°)=3	2.1	Infatuation
30	∩( ・ω・)∩, ( ・ω・), etc	1.3	Joyful