April in Japan is great! The weather is warming up, spring is in the air, and cherry blossoms are blooming!
O-hanami is the custom of taking a day or half day and going to a park to enjoy the spectacular displays of cherry blossoms (sakura) in flower. A few venues around the country are famed as being among the best for o-hanami.
HIROSAKI CASTLE PARK, HIROSAKI CITY, AOMORI PREFECTURE
KAKUNODATE, AKITA PREFECTURE
More on o-hanami here.
April also kicks off Japan’s unique holiday season, Golden Week. Golden Week begins this year on April 29th, Showa Day, the celebration of the late Emperor Hirohito’s birthday. This is followed by three consecutive holidays on May 3rd, 4th, and 5th: Constitution Day, Greenery Day, and Children’s Day. Many Japanese take the entire week off as an extended holiday. It is a very popular time for travel, both domestically and abroad. Visiting Japan during Golden Week may be inconvenient for the tourist just because air and rail travel tends to be heavily booked, and there will be LOTS of crowds at most sightseeing destinations! Golden Week and o-hanami, like other holidays and festivals, often appear in anime as a plot point for main characters to travel and meet new people.
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR APRIL!
1) Earth Girl Arjuna 
– 83%
2) Mushishi – 94%
3) Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind 
– 89%
4) Pom Poko – 90%
5) Princess Nine – 85.5%
A largely environmental theme this month. And baseball!
A tasty new seminar in our Culinary Arts Dept.! “Famous Foods of Anime”! If you want to learn the difference between sushi and sashimi, or what melon-bread is, class is in session right here.
Anime Academy has begun an ambitious project to provide download links to as many of our reviewed animes as legally possible. Links are provided primarily to an old and highly reputable site, known now as BakaBT. All linked shows are legal for download in the US. BakaBT is extremely particular about which clients they allow: for your reference, they publish a whitelist of acceptable clients and release numbers here. We have also started linking to sites where licenced shows may be viewed online for a fee, or DVD/Blurays purchased.
With thousands of students, a vast library and plenty of lectures available each semester, it’s no doubt that we’ve grown to become the most respected institution for anime academics. And with so many areas of expertise at your disposal, choosing a major may just be harder than any final exam you’ll ever take! But don’t get me wrong; enrolling in classes is easy, but there is much to learn to go from a green Freshman to a learned Graduate Student.
With thousands of students, a vast library and plenty of lectures available each semester, it’s no doubt that we’ve grown to become the most respected institution for anime academics. And with so many areas of expertise at your disposal, choosing a major may just be harder than any final exam you’ll ever take! But don’t get me wrong; enrolling in classes is easy, but there is much to learn to go from a green Freshman to a learned Graduate Student.
After a hard day of studying, relax in the elegantly-appointed Student Lounge. Kampai!
Across the top, you will find the Library, where hundreds and hundreds of anime are described and reviewed. We have moved over all the existing reviews (just a few were lost to water damage from being stored in the basement) and are indexed in the Catalogs both alphabetically and by grade.
You will also find some articles on important real-life figures in anime: directors, actors, etc., as well as cultural & background information, and how these many professors compose their reviews.
Right below is Founders’ Hall, a gallery of those who built this great hall of learning.
FOUNDER’S HALL
Dean of Campus Affairs Chief of Campus Police
Professors Emeritus of Anime and Cultural Studies
And finally, yours truly, the man behind the scenes . . .
