Iwate Swan 16: Book Market

[jarockstar27]

It's like I died and went to manga heaven XD RIP Rodger Swan :(

[Myytmovies]

god, if you exist, We will give you Justin beaver if you give us back Rodger

[NickBFilms]

his arm must have hurt holding the camera up all the time

[TokyoAro]

Ahh takes me back to the good ol days looking forward to his videos <3 hes takes you to the most amazing places!

[ShinigamiMurasaki]

WOW So much manga! I wanna go there!!

[LittlePinky82]

Cool with the book store! Sounds like a great place and the store next door seems cool too. How neat you can go and rent a cd and burn it onto your computer! I love that idea. Do you know how their industry feels about that? Are they cool with it or all Metallica? Do they have any other Asian artist's they sell? I hope your cold is gone all the way by now. :)

[jam724]

lol theirs more books, dvd's and cd's in that shop than there is in all the shops in the town i live in lol

[MrFinalfantasy101]

wow man your very lucky you were meant to be in japan/tokyo

[TheSamuraiSquirrel]

I always look forward to these Video's.................

All I have her in CHicago is Tokyo Rose's Families Japanese SHop here. It is still fun but very small.

[AzulFlameXII]

Be gratefull.... at least you have a japanese shop.

[TheSamuraiSquirrel]

Oh...I am very Grateful. LOL

It just sucks having to travel 2 hours to get to the other good one by O'Hare airport.

[TokyoSuchandSuch]

Hey Rodger, thanks for insisting on putting out a new Iwate Swan despite being sick. I wish that some of my other favorite vloggers in Japan contributed as regularly as you do... looking forward to the next J-shelf too!

[crazydude606]

I heard or read somewhere that, generally if you're not sitting and reading it's ok. I think it's called tachiyomi or something like that.

[maple1anime]

Really cool episode thanks for filming even tough your sick get well very soon :]

[JusteunMusicien]

Hey, I really love what you're doing, obviously I've subscribed and I love having the weekly update. The way you do it is nice, well thought out. I was wondering about your Japanese... how is it? How long have you studied, and what is your "state" right now? Do you always understand everything? Also, any recommendations on manga?

[robzo87]

do something on dreamcast PLEASE!!!

[rodgerswan]

well, just got back from my weekly grocery shopping and was playing some phantasy star on my dc. That game never gets old, very relaxing to just listen to some music and play for a while.

[robzo87]

dc always had a good vibe and relaxing feel about it. Shenmue was my favorite of all games for the dream cast and jet set radio. Have you ever played gundam side story 0079? It has got to be the best gundam game I have ever played. But you should do a history of dream cast on a episode before the years up. That would rock!!

[rodgerswan]

yeah i bought that gundam game right after it came out. Fantastic gundam game. Jet Set Radio is also incredible. I've got over 130 Dremcast games so I've played quite a few of the games lol... But my favorites are gunbird 2, D2, Illbleed, Shenmue, and Marvel vs Capcom 2.

[TheJapanboy]

does iwate swan play the wii ?

[rodgerswan]

my bros have a wii back home. I don't play it much to be honest, well besides resident evil UC and mega man 9. Looking forward to the new resident evil and super mario wii over christmas break though.

[robzo87]

JESUS dude... over 130!! I wish I had that many dc games. I have right at 30 but all good titles. M vs C 2 is great. I use Doom, Magneto & Mega Man. Did you ever play the shenmue 2 for dreamcast?? So Much better playing the import version because the Japanese dub is so much better than English dub. lol Heck, I get picked on for still playing dc but I don't care one bit.

[rodgerswan]

I imported the UK version of shenmue 2 to play it on my DC yeah. Though to be honest I like the original better due to mainly nostalgic reasons. Still, the second one is a very impressive game.

But yeah, DC and Saturn are my favorite consoles, so I like to collect games for those two.

[robzo87]

I understand. The 1st one had a great vibe and you kept it in Dobuita and the harbor which was really cool. It had so much going on for it's time and still to this day is legend in my eyes. lol The gamers of today's world just have no respect for Sega consoles. Have you ever seen the Saturn version of Shenmue? I have only seen video's. But yea I have the UK version to. When EB was still kicking before Gamestop took them over I got lucky and ran across it there about 7 years ago I think? GO SEGA!

[TheSamuraiSquirrel]

Very Lucky to have Shenmue 2 on the DC!! I have always wanted to try it.

I always wanted to be able to Transfer my Moves to the Second game and the Things I have collected. Could not do it on the X-box :(

Thanks for the Vids!!

[23savanna]

When (or should I say If) I move to Japan, the one thing I'm gonna miss is watching movies in Japan. (Oh, and some unavailable western stuff)

[AkitaAbroad]

Korean horror films are great too - check out Tale of Two Sisters, if you haven't seen it!

[beserkerninja]

What's your favorite japanese horror movie? XD

[rodgerswan]

audition.

[beserkerninja]

@rodgerswan

I like Ichi the Killer better XD Did the Yatterman movie come out by Takashi Miike yet?

[CaptainJudithSparrow]

I used to get on here thinking that I would ask like a million questions about Japan, but you actually explain things nicely. :)

[Sxrillez]

Hey man, your videos are very relaxing to watch. It's got a really nice style.

[CastUntoTheWolves]

Is the band Maximum the Hormone still popular in Japan?

[harryxiong90]

Oh, I see a Jackie Chan Movie.. n_n

[robzo87]

I always enjoy the vids. It looks a lot better to live over there than America.... Yeas I said it America. lol

[GanonV]

And here I thought your were going to go to BOOK OFF and its brother HARD OFF.

[sculder1121]

It seems like you might benefit from a sunglasses purchase. :P

[MATTCOSSIN]

When I lived in Detroit, there was this little Japanese corner in a strip mall. A grocery store, restaurant and book store. The book store also rented videos. It was run and owned by an older Japanese man, a nice guy, who hired a bunch of cute Japanese women to work the counter. ANYWAY, he used to sell total collections of used manga for really cheap! IT was like heaven! But, he died only a year into finding the place and they closed up shop. This video reminded me of those good memories.

[maxgo111]

haha I'd like to buy some Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo manga!

[yoruninoru]

where do you go to buy booze?

[rodgerswan]

you can get booze anywhere here, but i haven't been drinking much at all these past few months.

[OsakaBomb]

I have to say, I'm pretty jealous. Small, yet fairly lively town, with a good amount of small stores with lots of of video games, books/manga, and horror movies? Granted, I am by nowhere NEAR fluent in Japanese, but that sounds like heaven to me!

[jmpeer]

Wow, you find some really awesome places.

I wish books were less expensive, but mangas now go for $12-$15 and other books  I like go for $35-$45.

[benglen]

Great video clip

[Mutough]

Really, Burn Notice is in Japan already?

[Sceaf1]

I hope they get Sons of Anarchy. Burn Notice is above average in my opinion but Sons of Anarchy is remarkable.

[all3noooo]

Pretty dope. I have to get my manga from sasugabooks, which is pretty cool, but I bought lucky star the other day and it was like 15 bucks. a little over a dollar sounds good... well i guess it's a little over a dollar until the american currency inflates.

good video!

[justwontlast]

wow i didnt even know shinchan had a game

[Synth]

Christmas stuff is up in a lot of places too. The local mall here is already decked out.

It's nice. :3

[AnticTurtle]

Great video. Thx for your videos theymake me come to jpan closer. I hope ic an get to japan some time

[purphanz]

ahh, your life be one that i live vicariously/virtually

[okuni5]

was that the shining at 4:16 ?

[karekora]

Do you have to shave when you work?　(Curious JET　Applicant :)　）

[rodgerswan]

every situation is different. but all of my coworkers (including my bosses) have expressed interest in my beard and were actually a little sad when I shaved it off for a brief period. Just need to see what is ok in your neck of the woods.

[delmanestry90]

yo rodger do you think that there could be another horror movie review later on?

[jordler]

another great video . keep up the good work sir .

[ElevenColors]

I wonder if Flip Ultra HDs sold in the UK don't flicker so bad under 50Hz fluorescent lights.

[ElleBellesx]

Hi Rodger, just wondering because I was surprised that people in Japan were getting into Christmas, what is the main religion there? :)

[Degenskonto]

Shintoism is by far the largest, but they often do Shinto + buddhism... Theres only like 2% christians in Japan

[SlickWilly440]

So since that Bookstore sells a lot of used merchandise, does it also buy used stuff from customers? As in, can you sell back what you bought from the store?

[rodgerswan]

I believe so, but I'm not 100% sure.

[vaughnd13]

Love the vids keep putting them out.

[loki2504]

thanks so much for sharing all those vids with us ! You're so kind ! Thanks !

[TrOyGm]

Speaking of gas there how much is it? Many Americans complain about the gas price here lol (guilty). BUY me the manga man!! $1 come on! I spend $10-$12 on my books *sigh...Yeah as "stubby4000" asked are western films dubbed or subbed?

[DeathlyCrunch]

I'm not sure how much use a stack of second hand and unreadable manga would be lol.

[klojinum]

That cardboard cut out freaked the Hell out of me. LOL

[stubby4000]

great video as always mate.

I have a question though, are western films/tv programs mainly subbed or dubbed into japanese?

[Prezsama]

the book market looks awesome inside! and what a huge rental store XD

[TheReasonWhyGuy]

how cold does it get where you live...

[rodgerswan]

this week the high has been 7 degrees celcius, with lows of -2. So far it has not been the actual cold that has been kind of tough, but the heating situation. No central heating in this house, so I am curious as to how winter will go once it really starts getting cold...

[TheReasonWhyGuy]

Buy and electric blanket, make a shirt out of it, and make a battery backpack for it to be plugged into.... heating wherever you want it.

[pianist231]

don't you guys ever use ebay?

[rodgerswan]

ebay is cool, and I have bought a good number of things including CDs from that site before, but I just enjoy the "thrill" of searching for something and finding it in a store. Old fashioned, and granted there can be much better deals online, but that's just how I like it.

[Degenskonto]

Cds cost about same as here...However manga costs like 14 dollars here, and i only know 1 store that sells em (exept for Dragonball...) Stuff seems to be cheap in japan

[DeathlyCrunch]

I Britain it's worth it's weight in gold apparently.

That's if you actually find it mind you lol.

[Degenskonto]

Mind rephrasing that sentence?

[DeathlyCrunch]

In Britain* And I mean it's fucking expensive/worth it's weight in gold.

It's also hard o find since it's stocked (poorly) in all of 3 specialist shops.

[Anturija]

wow , you already have Xmas presents omg i guess in Japan it's easy to find them =]

[TokyoBrando]

im interested to know if paying 20-30 bucks for a new cd is considered expensive for americans? in aussie-land we pay 30-35

[rodgerswan]

hmmm I think $15 is more the norm, with $20 being on the high end back in the states. Sounds like CDs are even more pricey where you're at.. yikes!

[TokyoBrando]

were there any adult movies there?

just wondering

[rodgerswan]

they had a small adult section (mostly of the animated variety from the look of things) but they actually changed the layout of the store after this video was shot lol, and I don't know if they got rid of all the porno stuff or not. My guess is it probably still in there somewhere. The naughty stuff was in the back corner with the Burn Notice cut-out seen in the video lol, so I found that amusing.

[XDylAnime]

Yes, very expensive. CDs in America only cost around 10-12 US dollars.

[TokyoBrando]

wow, what about video games?

we pay $110-120 each for ps3 games

[XDylAnime]

Band new PS3 or Xbox 360 games cost about 60 US dollars.

[DeathlyCrunch]

It's like £10-12 in Britain.

I guess it's just the Us that gets cheap CD's.

[Martialdude]

Wow *drools* So many books... and a collection of Dreamcast games! My kind of place. Then again, I'd say that for a lot of Japanese stores. :P

Also, that's one neat Burn Notice cardboard stand.

[rodgerswan]

ahh yes, that burn notice cut-out makes me laugh.

[Martialdude]

@rodgerswan

The sunglasses are in your face! At least, I'm guessing that's what it was intended for... >__>

and I'm also assuming that's what you were talking about haha

[ThePacificCrossing]

It seems like every manga/book/cd/game shop has vintage games... It's awesome.. defintily thinking of buying a Super Famicom...

Great vid! How about a game of lucky hit?

[vichudoll]

Wow, that was an amazing place! Thanks for sharing. :3

[Kordoc5]

That manga section is awesome I would be there for hours!

[BlackCatXIII13Creed]

Wow great vid! This place looks like my own version of heaven! I really wish I could go though. Feel better soon and that you so much for your dedication to your fans!

[wolfx360]

i wish you would make longer episodes rodger! i truely love your weekly videos, maybe you could do like a monthly special or something, like 10 min? lol... but cant wait for next weeks, keep them up =D (btw my last comment get messed up, so this is the new one)

[FrankzTerz]

awesome video as always Rodger!

5 stars :p

[christophersoul]

Speaking of J-Horror,willl you start doing another series of J-Horror or even Asian horror in general? =D There's is a audience Swan! Especially with the stuff you haven't seen!

[SUPERSCHMOO]

used to do those videos? no more horror reviews swan? say it ain't so!! ;(

[rodgerswan]

no plans for any horor reviews in the remainder of 2009. It is possible for some new ones in 2010, but right now nothing in the pipeline. Making these videos and working a full time job takes up enough time haha...

[SUPERSCHMOO]

fair enough, but those were some amazingly helpful resources on choosing good asian films.

Although, living vicariously in jaan thru these vids for the time beings works just as well. thx

[fightclub1100]

Oh man an Otaku's dream! The Selection...THE SELECTION!

Awesome video as always, can't wait till the next one :)

[maxzor1]

lol im tempted to say first but i wont i barley watched the intro and im already going to say great vid :D get me somethin for christmas (il pay you back) =P

[dy62991]

1st?