Month: February 2015

JLPT N2: Passed!

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Source: buna.yorku.ca

Seven months since this blog entry, I have been studying every day in order to pass a gargantuan Japanese exam.

Today, I got the results!

After what felt like the hardest test I have ever taken, I somehow managed to scrape a pass at a measly 97/180.

Listening was my strongest area with reading being my second strongest, thanks to making the shift from manga to light novels and anime to Japanese dramas.

In the end, the passing grade is all that matters for employment, and N2 is undoubtedly preferred over N3 and N4 in Japan.

 

However, I still feel my Japanese is extremely lacking, especially with grammar, keigo, and handwritten kanji.

In short, a pass is a pass, but I still want to get better.

 

Kanji is still a dick.

 

Thanks to everyone who cheered me on and has kept checking Crazy Sunshine throughout its hiatus so far.

There’s still a fairly long path ahead of me as I try to find a job and a place to stay, but once all of that is done and dusted, I can finally get back to making some content.

For now, the hardest part is most definitely over!

Boat Girls

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January is finally over and February rears its ugly, freezing head!

I’ve been curled up in bed playing popular Japanese browser games like Kantai Collection (艦これ) and Touken Ranbu (刀剣乱舞).

Both of which are on the DMM.com site and are the perfect time wasters between classes and study lessons.

Both games play similarly.

Send characters out on adventures, bring back materials, repair and/or build more characters, then rinse and repeat.

Kancolle is based on girls that harness the spirits of old warships, and Touken Ranbu focuses on Japanese katanas which have taken the form of incredibly handsome men.

 

Boat girls.

Boat girls.

Boat girls you can marry.

What a time to be alive.

 

The stronger your boat girl, the longer they can last without breaking or needing repairs.

Sometimes you’ll discover rare characters on your adventures, or you can even try forging them yourself!

Kantai Collection has become so popular that there is a huge waiting list to even sign up now.

It’s even got its own anime series!

The game is in Japanese only, but there is an English Wiki to help you get into it.

Touken Ranbu on the other hand is still quite new, but it’s rising in popularity among Japanese girls.

I mean, who could resist a game where every character has incredible abs.