In exactly a week from now, the world will be celebrating Valentine’s Day. This is a widely-recognized occasion for lovers or for those people who just want to share love and be filled with love. Valentine’s Day in Japan is unique by itself because it’s not only a romantic day, but also a stressful day especially to females.
This is the day when females give chocolates in order to confess their feelings to the guys special to them. If you’ve been watching shoujo-romance manga & anime plus romantic J-Drama, then you know what I’m talking about.
The video below does a good job in explaining the uniqueness of Valentine’s Day in Japan. It briefly explains the reason why this chocolate-giving tradition started. It also gives important Valentine’s Day terms like honmei choco, giri choco, and tomo choco; explaining what each term means and the difference between these types of chocolates.
These are pretty basic stuff, so if you’re already a Japanophile, then I’m sure you already know these things. But for those of you who are still scratching their heads about Japan’s different Valentine’s Day tradition, I think the video below is a good way to start.
Uploaded by: Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com
So are you ready for Valentine’s Day next week? Would you adopt Japan’s Valentine’s Day tradition?
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Ah, I forgot to add that in my final year in high school, we had this one guy friend who gave each of his girl friends a chocolate. Lol
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Uh, each of his girlfriends? You mean he has more than one girlfriend at a time or he also gave chocolates to his exes? Or do you mean friends that are “girls”?
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Girl friends, not girlfriends. XD
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I see. Phew! I thought you meant he was in a romantic relationship with more than one girl at the same time. If I had a friend like that, I would beat him up.
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That’d be like a real life harem! Hmmm, I’d probably confront him and have a serious talk with him if that was the case. XD
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Ahaha! I like harem when it’s a lot of guys & then myself, but if it’s the other way around, hmph. Well, I’m biased because I’m a girl & I do enjoy ogling hot guys from reverse harems series. Hahaha.
Well, you’re more understanding than I am when it comes to a situation like that.
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Wow, speaking of reverse harems, the only series where I liked all the guys (of course, in varying degrees–but none was a subject of hatred) are Fushigi Yuugi and KamiAso.
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Fushigi Yuugi was my #1 favourite when I was younger (like 10-13?). Hahaha. I didn’t like KamiAso that much, but I did like Brothers Conflict. Didn’t like the story, but I have a major crush on most of the guys there.
😉
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But what about reverse harems where you liked (crush or not, just tell me if you didn’t have issues with) their characters?
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Hmmm. I think I have issues with almost every character in most reverse harems. Even when I’m enjoying the eye candy, I can’t help rolling my eyes at the way they’re behaving. Hmmm. But I rather like most of the guys (attitude-wise) from “Saiunkoku Monogatari” & “Hanasakeru Seishounen”. Not to mention that their stories are great, too.
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Ohhhh right. I’d been meaning to watch those two titles, because they sound and look like Fushigi Yuugi. XD
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Watch them when you have the time. I think that Saiunkoku Monogatari is great. It has a really good and absorbing political story line, alongside the romance. I also like it because it’s very empowering as a female. You’ll see what I mean when you do watch it. As for Hanasakeru Seishounen, it’s really good, too, but it’s just that sometimes, the characters seem to be too perfect.
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Yeah, sure. I haven’t had good historical shoujo for a long time now.
Oh, I tend to dislike “perfect” characters, but we’ll see. 🙂 Thanks for the impressions on these series. I’ll try out Saiunkoku Monogatari first, if I ever get to sit down and watch long anime without guilt. Hahaha
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Well, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
It’s just that “perfect” characters become boring after a while. There’s just no depth to their characters. I know. Life can be busy, so watch the series only when you have the time. Cheers!
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Didn’t know the history of Valentine’s Day chocolate-giving in Japan, so this was new to me. I did already know the 3 classes of chocolates, though. Thanks for this video!
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You’re welcome. Well, anime/manga & J-drama is filled with Valentine’s Day scenes that pretty much every fan knows about these chocolates.
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Chocolates are too mainstream, though. XD
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Yes, that’s true. But I don’t mind. I LOVE chocolates!
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I love chocolates, too, y’knoooooow
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Yay! High-five!
I think it’s quite common for people to love chocolates, but I’ve met these rare people who really don’t have a taste for them. How sad their lives must be.
😉
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Yeah, I can’t imagine a world without chocolates…. but chocolates weren’t a thing some hundreds of years ago.
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That’s true. I’m just saying. It’s similar to my usual comment of “I can’t imagine a world without anime & manga.” Hahaha. Or “I can’t imagine a world without books”.
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I wonder what word/thing will be used in the future to fill the phrase “I can’t imagine life/world with _______”
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Hmmm. I wonder about that, too.
Maybe, I can’t imagine life without computer implants (or something). Haha.
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I think it’s nice that there’s a follow up day too where the guys give the girls a gift.
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Indeed. At least, the stress wouldn’t be solely for the girls. I’ll be featuring White Day here on March 14.
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