JLPT got me by the balls

Sorry for no posts. The Level 2 JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) is fast approaching, now 13 days away, so I am left to the less efficient but more practical methods of rote memorization to try and cram cram cram until the test. I should continue this blog some time early next year.

If anyone would like to contribute in my stead, just let me know! :)

Star Wars セイ

A New Hope

blue+
青
R2D2

refined+
精
C3PO. He talks in quite a refined manner for a robot.

feelings
情
The 2 main Droids. They have feelings. anthropomorphism, anyone?

system
制
The system the sand-people use to process and sell scrapped droids.

focus+
省
Vader focuses on and eliminates (another meaning of this kanji) any dissidence in his ranks (famous "strangling" scene)

adjusted
斉
"She may not look like much, but I've made a lot of personal adjustments myself"

quiet
静
"I felt a great disturbance in the Force... as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

solicit
請

made in
製

life+
生
Harrison Ford risking his life to save Luke

animal sacrifice
牲
Chewie

holy
聖
The Force

west
西

politics+
政
The Empire

turn into
成

boom
盛
Death Star goes boom!

sincerity
誠

organize
整
The rebels organize and prepare their counter-strike on the Death Star.

subjugate
征
The Empire

generation
世
Anakin -> Ben -> Luke, generations of jedi

voice
声
Darth Vader's voice.

well+
井

vow
誓
Luke vows to avenge his Uncle.

year-end
歳
At the year's-end, Star Wars grossed much more than expected.

bridegroom
婿
Han Solo preparing to get it on with Leya?

departed
逝
Obi Wan Kenobi.

sex+
性

star+
星

surname+
姓
With a surname like Skywalker.... (he's gotta be a main character)

pure+
清
vader, pure evil.

correct+
正

force
勢
=D

clear up
晴


RTK 3

nifty
凄
Nifty special effects!

river pool
瀞

aglow
晟

roost
棲
Mos Eisley Canteen: "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." Where scum and villainy come to roost!

nestle
栖

repose
靖
Han Solo gets frozen in Carbonite

get
貰

awakening
醒
Han Solo being un-frozen

gong* (carillon)
鉦

mackerel
鯖

nephew
甥
According to Wiki, Gorga the Hutt is Jabba's great-nephew.


This group shares a good number of readings with ショウ, all of which I've labeled with a + sign. Generally, only kanji with the "blue" or "life" radical have such a double-reading, so be careful! Also, I was expecting to use all 3 films, but I found it unnecessary.

It's alive, it's aliiiiiive!

I had a thought that now would be a good time to write in a little intercession post, and low and behold, it's been precisely 3 months to the day since I started this blog! With over a dozen movies under the belt, can I say this method has helped my ability to read and retain Japanese on-yomi? The answer is a resounding Y E S!!!

I remember reading on a forum (perhaps the RTK ones) something about how "the only good way to memorize on-yomi is through vocabulary. I couldn't disagree more! At least in my experience. For example, sometimes I have tried to remember them via cross-referencing vocab in my mind However, since they're all compounds, (2, 3, 4 characters) they are easily confused this way! If I think, ok, it's the けい from 経験... but god, which kanji was pronounced けい again?!? It can lead to lots of problems. And, as is the whole PURPOSE of the life-changing book "Remembering the Kanji," I wanted to break out of just boring, repetitous rote memorization. Yaaawwwnnn.

Some tips in execution of the method that I've worked out recently:

-Whenever you find a scene where you want to associate the image with a character, pause the movie. Watch that scene while writing the character and repeating the on-yomi to yourself 10 times or so. Remind yourself of it later, after the movie is finished.

-Don't worry about learning every character! As I've mentioned before, partial retention is all we are going for here. Naturally, some templates (lists of on-yomi groups) will contain not so memorable stories from not so memorable scenes. When the vocab comes up (I do 100+ flashcard through anki a day, myself) take a look at the template, remind yourself of the scene. Eventually, it will stick! And, as with RTK, eventually the story/movie scene will be long forgotten, whilst you retain the on-yomi!

I know this site only has a handful of followers, but for those who are trying this experiment with me, keep it up! I plan to keep this going strong as long as possible.

Over and out,

-Ben

P.S. Star Wars is next, I think. ;)

Beetlejuice シュ

"シュ Beetlejuice, shoo!"


particularly
殊
The Deitz's are particularly hellbent on remodeling the house.

hunt
狩
Sandworms hunt people. Beetlejuice hunts suckers.

take
取
Take a number and sit down... 5,440,003

neck
首
Juno, the caseworker, has a gaping hole in her neck!

discipline
修
The Maitland's must learn discipline to haunt properly! (the bedsheets scene)

species
種
What species IS Beetlejuice?

gist
趣
The Maitland's try to scare 'em, and the Deitz's got the gist... of the CALYPSO!

guard
守
Beetlejuice is here to help guard the house?.... (by turning into a snake)

vermilion
朱
"Dante's Inferno" [Otho's little chant also beings with "Hands vermilion"]

masses
衆
The masses of dead-people who go through that after-life office.... like the football players.

pearl
珠
pearly-white eyeballs... on fingers...


lord
主

hand
手

sake
酒

RTK3

tumor
腫

holly
柊
imagine every tree in Adam's model is a holly tree.

advise
諏
Lydia advises against the use of sheets to scare the Deitz's.

Silence of the Lambs チョウ

チョウ

"ちょう怖くて，超ハイテンション"



bird
鳥
The very first scene, with birds chirping around the trees.

morning
朝
early morning exercises!

challenge
挑
early morning obstacle course challenge!

heavy*
重
Heavy security to keep Hanibal underwraps. Cross-reference: Borat's fat assistant made a meal of by Hannibal.

portent
兆
Lecter portents future murders: "Bill's probably already looking for his next victim..."

symbol; indicator (indications)
徴
the symbols carved onto the bodies

tune
調
"Take it easy baby, make it last all night" [note: this kanji can also mean investigation.]

notebook
帳
Clarice re-writing "Lewis Carrol" to look for an anagram, hint or clue, in her notebook

penal
懲
a legalistic word...

tide
潮

stare
眺
Hannibal Lecter's intense stare.

intestines
腸
"I ate his intestines with some fava beans."

lucidity
澄
lucidity... clarity... CLARece....

place on the head
頂
What Clarece hits when searching for Buffalo Bill.

government office
庁
FBI office.

carve
彫
What Bill does to select parts of his victims' bodies.

listen
聴
The very end of the movie, Clarece is saved by her "listening" skills

condolences
弔
Send my condolences to the family of the victim.

dilate
脹
A lot of eye-close ups in this movie.

hop
跳
hop, or jump... something this movie will make you do quite a bit.

butterfly
蝶
See movie poster.

angling
釣
Angling... making measurements when carving up bodies and stitching them together.

long
長

lengthen
張

street
丁

village
町

transcend
超

RTK 3




wilt
凋

derision
嘲
Lecter's attitude toward Clarice?

chatter
喋

dangle
吊

quire
帖

counter for tools
挺
lots of them in this movie: jaws of life, flashlights, the little ones Hannibal uses as murder weapons...

secret agent
挺
Clarice.

keg
銚

sea bream
鯛

carefree
暢

founding
肇

label
牒

patronage
寵

Godzilla & Godzilla VS. King Kong トウ

トウ

"トウtal destruction in トウきょう"


T'ang
唐
The "exorcism ceremony" being performed on the island... came from, Buddhism, came from China... hence T'ang.

arrival
到
At last! The arrival of Godzilla!

rice plant
稲
All the poor farmers of the village first terrorized by G-zilla... have veritably 1000s of rice plants.

transparent
透
Radiation, (a big theme of this first film) is transparent, and left behind in the wake of Godzilla.

escape
逃
"IT'S COMING OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN!!" The first great escape scene (of many, many many more to come).

hot water
湯
Godzilla often appears from some hot bubbling water. (underground volcanoes)

board
搭
People boarded the boat and now fear Godzilla, who appeared from the hot, bubbling water.

party
党
All of the political meetings that surround the Godzilla problem... there are political parties involved.

chastise
討
The Prof. chastises everyone for trying to kill Godzilla.

step
踏
Godzilla steps on the train!!!!

overall
統
overall, plans to defeat Godzilla fail miserably.

lamp
灯
Don't use lights! They'll only make him angry!!!!! In numerous scenes, lamps provoke GZ.

cylinder
筒
Cylinders = tank barrels, gun barrels, and everything else that NEVER WORKS to kill Godzilla.

etc.
等
Godzilla destroys buildings, people, temples, etc.

solution
答
There seems to be no solution to this problem.

lament
悼
The post-Godzilla lamentation scene. Very reminiscent of WW2, no?

ascend
登
Finally, the young doctor with the eyepatch refuses to ascend after using his "Oxygen Destroyer" on Godzilla.

Godzilla VS. King Kong

frozen
凍
Geiger readings coming from a frozen iceberg? What could it mean....

winter
冬
The scenes with subs crashing into glaciers in the beginning.

settlement
納
The native villagers "settlement"

pottery
陶
Though rustic, it looks like the natives have pottery down.

facsimilie
謄
The main character thinks that the native's "God" is merely a fascimilie.... boy was he wrong!

pox
痘
The main character's partner getting sick

steal
盗
The Japanese steal King Kong from the island!!

overthrow
倒

fight
闘
Godzilla VS. King Kong!!

throw
投
King Kong loves to throw boulders...

inflation
騰
The inflated balloon that lifts a sleeping King Kong!!



General Godzilla

read
読
Always lots of newspaper headlines flying around in these movies. "GODZILLA DESTROYS TOKYO, READ ALL ABOUT IT"

pagoda
塔
It's on the list of things Godzilla destroys.

ridgepole
棟
^^

beans
豆
Fart.

sugar
糖
cake.

wisteria
藤
As for these 3 trees, let's imagine Godzilla squashing all of them.

paulownia
桐

peach tree
桃

island
島

east
東

hit
当

head
頭

road-way
道

sword
刀


RTK3

prodigal
蕩
standstill
逗
downspout
樋
beseech
祷
helmet
兜
hackneyed
套
inch
吋
lamp [old]
燈
island [alt]
嶋
mandate
掟
mandate: EVACUATE THE CITY, GODZILLA IS COMIN!!!

From here on, anything I already know from experience I will leave story-less for you to fill in the gaps. (Only 2 or 3 people follow this blog anyhow, I mostly just do this for my own records.)

Weird Al - Dare to be Stupid ヘン

My first music video post. And nothing fits ヘン better than Weird Al.

[Video link] - sorry it's a little out of sync, only one I could find.

ヘン
compilation
編
This song is in Weird Al's video compilation. It's also a compilation of utter nonsense.

partial
偏
I'm partial to this song.

everywhere
遍
stupid stuff going on everywhere.

unusual
変

return
返
"stick your head in the microwave and get yourself a tan" - and never return!

environs
辺

one-sided
片
the stupid side.

RTK 3

livraison (installment)
篇
Just one livraison (installment) of Weird Al's wackiness.

cheat
騙

Notes: Short groups not fit for whole movies can be done with music videos, and possibly other creative methods. :) Also note obvious pattern in radicals here.

Goonies ホウ

ホウ

"Yo Ho ホウ!"

set free
放
The first scene.

seal
封
seal...glue...the whole bit with chunk breaking the "thing" of of Mom's statue.

emulate
倣
After the attic-discovery, the boys seek to emulate Chester Copperpot's search for the treasure.

embrace
抱
After the nasty businessmen come to hand over foreclosure agreements, Brand's brother Mikey embraces him.

sick and tired of* (Sated)
飽
The Goonies are sick and tired of being pushed around and the thought of losing their precious goondocks.

summit
峰
The memorable scene where Brand Walsh is sent flying off of a mountain road's "summit" at high speed on a pink tricycle.

call on
訪
Mikey, being the natural leader he is, calls on his goonies to keep on trying in the face of adversity, outside the restaurant: "Go home? In a few hours it ain't gonna be home anymore. C'mon guys..."

placenta
胞
Sloth's face?

report
報
"Chunk! Go get (report to) the police!" I think anything related to the Fratellis is good for this. Or you can learn the common word 情報

bubble
泡
The scene with the water pipes. Water bubbling out of fountains, toilets, etc.

sew
縫
the jacket with "troy sewn on it, coming up on the well instead of the girl. "YOU GOONIE!!"

crumble
崩
The piano-skeleton scene.

wrap
包
The two Fertelli brothers wrapped in rope and strung up.

cannon
砲
"Hey you guuuuyyyss!" Think pirate battles.

stipend
俸
stipend = a payment = the gold, or quest there of which this movie represents.

dedicate
奉
One-eyed Willy left a score of booty traps ("YOU MEAN BOOBY TRAPS" - "that's what I said!") dedicated to protecting his booty.

bountiful
豊
These two go together like a set, representing the final scenes of the movie.

treasure
宝

praise
褒
The end of the film.

perfumed
芳
perfumed = good smell = the girls

companion
朋
The Goonies. :)

home country
邦
The Italians, with their opera singing, are from their home country of Italy.

direction
方

method
法
Learn these two as a pair: 方法。







** RTK3

phoenix
鳳

wormwood
蓬
The state of the "restaurant" - wood full of bugs and worms!!

dumbfounded
呆
Mikey's face when he first meets "Sloth."

tryst
逢
Brand (older bro) and Stef (blond cheerleader)'s relationship throughout the film. To them the only reason for adventure is to go on a tryst.

cleaver
庖

dedicate (RTK3)
捧

germinate
萌

stew
烹

bee
蜂

sword's point
鋒
The sword's point thrust into the floorboards of the ship "hey don't touch that!!"

roc
鵬

summit [alternative]
峯



Notes:
Campier than I remember, but that's not surprising. Still a really fun movie with a lot of memorable lines and scenes. Next up?

Total Recal キョウ

"キョウ (today) is the beginning of the rest of your life."

キョウ

gorge
峡
The very first scene. A rocky, red martian gorge.

Attractive
嬌
The woman he wakes up in bed with. A regular angel!

vie
競
"I can't believe you're jealous of a dream!" Blonde vs. Brunette - vying for Arnold's love.

together
共
The nice, husband/wife image of those two lovebirds together....... doesn't last long!

receive
享
Arnold, about to receive his memory implant.

shout
叫
Arnie getting a "schizoid embolism." Altho really, conjuring an image of Arnie shouting is not exactly difficult. :D

hometown
郷
Mars is like Arnie's real hometown here...

echo
響
And throughout the copious foreshadowing in the beginning, everything echos of Mars.

threaten
脅
Arnie is being threatened from all sides after his failed memory implant!!

wonder
驚
Arnie's wonder (or surprise, as this kanji means) about his wife trying to kill him!
OR "Get ready for a surprise!" BOOM

villain
凶
Mr. Copenhagen.

lunatic
狂
Only a total lunatic would stick that metal contraption up his nose...

but of course
況
But of course, he does it.

rectify
矯
After listening to himself, he takes action to rectify the whole situation.... "get your ass to mars"

boundary
境
Arnold crossing the customs boundary. Fat Lady Explode scene.

mirror
鏡
Arnie's introspection throughout the movie.... is it real? is it not? who am I really? etc.

bosom
胸
TRIPLE-BOSOM SCENE!!!11

cramped
狭
Life on Mars, in colonies.

sandwiched
挟
See above.

co-
協
Will Arnie cooperate with the Prez of Recall, who says its all just a dream? Naaaaa.

submit
供
See above. (or think, terrorists who won't submit to the government)

respect
恭
the rebels feelings towards Kuato.

elder brother
兄
Hmmm. Maybe the host-body of Kuato?

bridge
橋
The man-made bridges in the Alien "machine."

fear
恐
Lots of scenes, pick whichever you like.

incense
香

sutra
経
These two don't fit too well. Imagine some Mutant fortune-telling ritual involving lots of incense and some weird sutras.


teach
教
教室、教師、etc.

entertain
興
興味. Or, something this movie does quite well. :)

strong
強
勉強. Imagine Arnie's muscles if you like.

capital
京
東京.











**

RTK3
heaven-high
喬

chivalry
侠

comely
佼

emigrant
僑

within my ability
叶

strengthen
彊

wince
怯

buckwheat
蕎

sturdy oak
橿

sled
橇

scissors
鋏

cheek
頬

feast
饗

owl
梟

evil
兇

set straight
匡

Notes: I friggin love this movie so much. So nostalgic to watch it again for the first time in what must be at least 7 or 8 years. Awesome. And the a good number of the keywords fit like it was meant to be - even the RTK3 ones! Several kanji listed with compounds are really basic, common ones any aspiring students should know, so I didn't bother fitting them into the movie. The rest is all very useful however for this rather ubiquitous reading.

Anchorman ジョウ

Anchorman

"The name of the show is Anchorman, not Anchor lady! 嬢 And that's a scientific fact!"

ジョウ

brew
醸
"I love scotch. Scotchy scotch scotch."

surplus
剰
They must have had a real surplus of scotch on the set when they filmed this!

lass
嬢
Ron says: "I usually don't do this but... you have an absolutely amazing heinie. I wanna be friends with it."

defer
譲
...but Veronica won't defer to his wishes. :*(

steam
蒸
steam -> steamy -> SEX PANTHER.

twig
条
"STOP CALLING YOUR ARMS GUNS!"

determine
定
Ron is utterly determined to get in Veronica's pants.

lock
錠
But she tries to keep him locked out.

turn into
成
Ron turns a flute into a flame thrower.

castle
城
"Oh, I'm storming your castle on my steed, m'lady"

quiet
静
Ron can't keep quiet, and announces his relationship on the air.

ride
乗
The scene with Jack Johnson. "WHAT THE HELL BRO..... YEA, WELL NOW THIS IS HAPPENIN."

feelings
情
"I'M IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION"

boom
盛
The station experiences a boom in popularity when Veronica takes over

lot
壌
The epic fight scene in the parking lot

clean
浄
They don't keep the fight clean. or. "Go f*ck yourself, San Diego"

length
丈
The length of Ron's beard during his "depression"

usual
常
"You stay classy, San Diego"

location
場
San Diego.

above
上
No one above Ron.

tatami mat
畳
Imagine how well Ron would do in Japan. Sitting traditionally on a Tatami mat.

superfluous
冗
EVERYTHING Ron Burgandy says.

straw rope
縄
Since this is the kanji for the なわ in Okinawa, I imagine Ron Burgandy enjoying a tropical vacation there.

status quo
状
Ron IS the status quo.


RTK3

commotion
擾

mushroom
茸

cane
杖
Ron's weapon of choice in gang fights.

bumper crop
穣

helping hand
丞


Notes: I picked something as far removed from Indiana Jones as possible to avoid confusion between ショウ and ジョウ (although of course the former can become the latter when it's the second-half of a vocabulary word - but lets not worry about that eh!)

Borat - ジュウ

Borat

ジュウ

"In my country, there is problem, and that problem, is the ジュウ"

accompany
従
Borat's agent, accompanying him.

vertical
縦
This was the hardest one. Perhaps the bear vertically pushing himself out of the truck window, or Borat's height - he stands vertically on purpose, so his head is cut-off mid-interview.

allot
充
America won't allot Borat a wife, a gun, or a license.

gun
銃
the "town kindergarten," or, "which gun is best for to kill a Jew?"

ten
十

dwell
住

tender
柔
Borat's tender affection for Pamela..... or his manager (eewwww)

heavy
重
Borat makes light of some really heavy topics, getting various reactions. "I'm retired" "You are retard? Physical or mental.... it so nice you let him eat with you"

animal
獣
The beginning of the movie (animals running around everyone in Kazikstan), or where he lets loose a live animal on the subway!

astringent
渋
The taste of his manager's.... ahem... .yea that scene. (wish I could unsee it!)

soup
汁
The dinner scene in the south. "In my country, they would go crazy for you two... her not so much."

pick up
拾
The scene where Borat picks up Pamela Anderson, literally! (Or, his hitchhiking adventure)

RTK 3:

Carpet Yarn
絨
That scene i wish I could unsee... they are rolling around fighting on the carpet....

X
什
This movie should have been rated X!

Quick and easy! And funnier than I remembered it. Entries like 十 and 住 don't need stories, because I already know them from vocab. Next, finish up the Indy trilogy.

Indiana Jones Trilogy ショウ

Hell of a ショウ.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

focus
省
Indy's intense focus on the sandbag and the golden treasure, in the first scene.

correct
正
does Indy use the correct amount of sand? Er, no.

few
少
Just a few more grains of sand would have done it...

hinder
障
Bellock: "Once again Dr. Jones, we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away."

refined
精
Despite being such a scoundrel, Bellock plays himself off as a refined French gentleman throughout the film.

prosperous
昌
Indy isn't very prosperous in the first major scene. (the golden idol gets taken away)

marsh
沼
Marsh makes me think of the tropical jungle in the beginning of the movie.

ford
渉
Indy running/swimming across the ford to the airplane, native arrows whizzing around his head.

imperial edict
詔
The nazis orders to recover the ark at all costs. "Hitler's been collecting religious artifacts, he's nuts on the subject"

badge
章
The scene where the government agents show up in the beginning - flash of their badges

patent
彰
In the scene where the two federal agents display their ignorance on the bible, Indy in turn shows off his patent knowledge of biblical history. (patent in this kanji meaning easily recognizable; obvious)

wee hours
宵
Indy arrives at his ex's hut in Nepal in the wee hours of the night.

extinguish
消
For what it's worth, Marion really should have kept a fire extinguisher in her bar/mountain hut/"sty" (as she calls it).

bake
焼
Marion's cabin gets "baked" (burnt) to smouldering ashes.

wound
傷
the coin wound embedded on the nazi's hand.

accompany
従
"I tell you what, until I get back my 5000 dollars, you're gonna get more than you bargained for. I'm your goddamn partner!!" - Marion

victory
勝
Indiana in one of my favorite, all time scenes of victory: the black swordsman shows up in the street and waves his sword around - Indy just sighs and shoots him.

measuring box
升
Not a box, but a coin, with measurements inscribed on it. (it is for finding a certain box though)

well
井
The Well of Souls - a.k.a. snake pit with obvious glass divider.

laugh
笑
The scene where Bellock and Marion are drinking, while she wears the white dress. They are laughing hysterically, but suddenly she pulls a knife and makes jokingly threatening face. They just keep laughing!

exhort
奨
I exhorted Indy all throughout the famous helicopter fistfight scene!!

bed
床
A bed-ridden Indy, on the ship, with Marion nursing his wouds.

make a deal
商
Indy, holding a bazooka, threatening to blow up the arc.

shining
昭
The ark shining.

illuminate
照
The ark illuminating.

detailed
詳
The detailed last scene of the movie, with the Ark being put in a warehouse full of identical boxes.

Temple of Doom

symptoms
症
The first major scene of the movie. Symptoms of being slipped poison may include intense action scenes...

blue
青
The blue vial of antidote. Or the semi-attractive (but failure of an actress) who is the main heroine of the film's blue eyes.

little
小
Shortround.

appellation
称
Seriously. Indiana and short round. Nice appellation, guys.

elephant
象
Indy, riding an elephant out of the Indian village.

skirt
裳
Who wears a skirt like that in India? Really?

extract
抄
Indy finds an extract that tells of the 5 magic stones in sanskrit... brought to the village by a dying child.

voice
声
"The biggest problem with her is the noise" - says Indy of the annoying blonde. Her voice is pretty irritating.

sex
性
"I'm not that easy you primitive ape!"
"I'm not that easy either"
"Five minutes! You'll be back here in 5 minutes!"
"I'll be asleep in 5 minutes."

nitrate
硝
The inners of the cave/volcano area.

chant
唱
heart-taking-outing-scene.

char
焦
Sacrifice charred in a volcano.

auspicious
祥
All ancient religions have their strange, auspicious ceremonies. This one just happens to resemble the aztecs...

inter-
相
Indy and his shortround's interactions.

manipulate
掌
In order to manipulate Indy, they feed him that evil blood drink. [image: him writhing around on the stone bed surrounded by candles]

cosmetics
粧
How exactly does she manage to keep a fresh plate of make-up on throughout the entire film? (Or the laughable makeup of the cult priests)

collide
衝
The mining cart almost colliding with the wall, as Indy stops it with his shoes.

rise up
昇
Indy can rise up from the bottom of the cut wooden bridge. (the whole final action scene)

above
上
See above.

The Last Crusade


evidence
証
The tablet is seen as evidence that the holy grail really exists!

reparation
償
reparations for finding a 500 year old gold cross? Dinner and champagne. (also a general theme: he is always making mention of his payment for getting artifacts to the museum)

seduce
召
Dr. Snyder. Oh yea

beckon
招
See above

bell
鐘
Dr. Snyder, looks a southern-bell for a woman with a thick German accent

pure
清
The pure beauty of an afternoon lunch in Venice, ruined by Dr. Jones and Dr. Snyder crawling up out of the sewer. (outside of the library/church. Everyone in the scene is weairng pure white colors)

acquiesce
承
Indy acquiesces the nazis by handing over the book in exchange for Dr. Snyder's life! BIG MISTAKE!

resemblance
肖
Is there any resemblance between Indy and his father? Really?

leader
将
Indy and his father are constantly bickering over who is the leader!

sparkle
晶
The real holy grail is not one of the many sparkling cups in the last scene.

General Indy

attire
装
There are so many scenes to choose from. Any time Indy dons his hat, jacket, whip, any of his classic attire.

life
生
Indy risking his life again and again throughout each film.

star
星
He's the star. He has the luck of the stars to not be dead 100 times over already.

prize
賞
He's always going after some sort of prize.

esteem
尚
You can't help but hold Indy in high esteem; He's a believable yet noble hero, with somewhat flexible morals. (shooting nazis is 100% ok?)

surname
姓
His surname is just fine. Really, there's nothing wrong with Jones. It's the Indiana part that is just plain weird.

politics
政
Nazis.

reef
礁
Surfs up Indy! I imagine him holding a surfboard. Surely I won't forget.

introduce
紹
(don't need a story - 紹介する)

pine tree
松
I imagine Indy and his dad, gathered around a pine tree for Xmas

sue
訟
We oughtta sue Spielburg for Indiana Jones 4. Seriously, f**king aliens??!

artisan
匠
Steven Spielburg (in the 80s)



**RTK3**

small craft
艘
scout
哨
whisper
囁
harlot
娼
shire
庄
rubbing
摺
spoils
捷
yearn
憧
iris
菖
banana
蕉
mallet
樵
balancing scales
秤
concubine
妾
Chinese panpipe
笙
soy sauce
醤
hoe
鍬
rust
錆
cluster
鍾
saddle straps
鞘
accolade
頌
lick
嘗
soar
翔



Notes:

All finished! If I'm not mistaken this is the biggest on-yomi group, so WHEW. おつかれ. For the two people who follow my blog, I hope you enjoy it. :)

Ghostbusters キ

キ 53 characters.

"I am the キmaster... are you the gatekeeper?"

how many
幾
How many ghosts are there in this movie? How many people get marshmellowed?

strange
奇
Egon is the epitome of strange.
Venkman: "This reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole in your head"
Egon: "That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me."

draw near
寄
As slimer draws near, Venkman really should have moved. Eww!

equestrian
騎
I thought there was nothing remotely equestrian (related to horse riding) in this movie, but one scene with Rick Moranis talking to a horse comes close!

mechanism
機
The traps, the zappers, this movie is loaded with awesome mechanisms.

spirit
気
I ain't 'fraid of no ghost!....or spirit!

vapor
汽
"At noon, 10 people witnessed a free floating full torso vaporous apparition!" - Ray, about the library ghost. Or you can think of vapor as dry ice, one of the most overused special effect of the 80s, and this movie is no exception.

desk
机
Venkman giving the poor guy with the fro electric shocks from across the wooden desk. or the secretary's desk in the GBs HQ.

hungry
飢
Slimer is always hungry!

previously
既
The GBs get kicked out of their previous college facilities. So, they take a previously run-down firehouse and turn it into HQ!

hope
希
Sygounrney Weaver hopes that the ghostbusters can help her!

standard
規
The GB's set the standard for "paranormal elimination" in NYC

dangerous
危
Don't cross the streams! It's too dangerous!!!

scribe
記
Janine Melnintz, the secretary, is a memorable scribe. I think of that scene where Egon pops out from under her desk. *AHEM*

self
己
Ray: "We really haven't had a successful test of this equipment
Egon: "I blame myself."
Venkman: "So do I."

rouse
起
The scene where Ray is roused from his sleep by a female ghost undoing his belt... I don't seem to remember that from when I was a kid, hmm...

chronicle
紀
Chronicle sounds like the name of a newspaper, so, the various newpaper headlines involving GBs that pop up during the montage.

mourning
忌
When Bill Murray thinks his girlfriend his dead (And doesn't know she is alive inside a crumbling shell of a statue)

national flag
旗
I imagine the national flag of zuul looks something like this.

chess piece
棋
Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis play characters who are used like chess pieces: the keymaster and the gatekeeper.

fundamentals
基
The fundamentals of ghostbusting: aim steady, set the trap and don't cross the streams!

period
期
Both Moranis and Weaver's characters (keymaster and gatekeeper) are possessed for a period of time in this movie.

branch off
岐
Venkman's expertise branches off into many fields, but mostly ghostbusting and lady killing.

brandish
揮
The GB's brandishing their badass zappers.

radiance
輝
This could reference many of the paranormal scenes of the movie... when Sigourney Weaver's characters sees the radiant light behind her door.

abandon
棄
The GBs are forced to abandon operations when they get arrested!

seasons
季
This kanji reminds of me of changes in weather, so I think of the dark clouds, storms and all around hell-breaking-loose weather that comes when Zuul is in season.

undertake
企
The GB's undertaking their first case, in the hotel.

homecoming
帰
The end of the movie.

precious
貴
Dr. Venkman, in the beginning of the movie, is loathe to collect the precious ectoplasm. "Somebody blows their nose and you wanna keep it?"

rut
軌
The GBs are in a "rut" when they are overloaded with work.

rejoice
喜
All of NYC rejoices when the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man is defeated!

utensil
器
utensil... this kanji is also used for weaponry. Hence, the GBs zappers (or protoplasm emitters if you prefer)

ghost
鬼
I ain't afraid of no ghost!

tortoise
亀
It just doesn't fit the flick, so, I imagine some kind of funky tortoise ghost, maybe Slimer's 2nd cousin twice removed...

pray
祈
when the catholic priest shows up in the mayor's office! "I'm not gonna call a press conference and tell everyone to start praying."


**RTK3**

break 毀
overjoyed 嬉
hollyhock 葵
glitter 暉
zelkova 槻
rocky beach 磯
sparse 稀
peep 稀
winnowing fan 箕
ornate 綺
kneel 跪
tuna 鮪
fish fin 鰭
giraffe 麒
capital suburbs 畿
stalwart 毅
cheer 煕

--

Notes: As you may have already noticed, I've added lists of kanji from Remember the Kanji 3 (an expansion of the first book with another 1000 characters) that match my on-yomi groups. My plan is to go back and make stories for them, most likely next year after I've learned them sufficiently. It will also be a good chance to review my old templates.

Notable, recurring correlations: 己、棋 (right side)、奇。This template is much more random than some previous ones.

This movie is just plain fun. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did, (if not for studying, than for the nostalgia!) I'm a busy man, but I'm trying to generally update once a week. See you next time...

The Shawshank Redemption カ

カ　44 characters.

add
加
Andy can really add! He crunches numbers, and wants to add funds to the library!

can
可
Morgan Freeman's first narrative line in the movie: "There must be a guy like me in every prison: I'm the guy who can get it for ya."

what
何
Red (Morgan Freeman) can get what you need.

baggage
荷
The emotional and physical baggage that Brooks (the old man) takes with him, leaving Shawshank.

song
歌
The whole bit with the opera song being played over the prison intercom!

river
河
River - up the river - prison - this movie!

change
化
Prison. It changes a man. Many men, in fact, in this film.

flower
花
The young buck Andy teaches for a year, a ripe flower in his youth, shot down on the Warden's orders.

freight
貨
It's a prison movie. Vagabonds riding freight-cars to get around isn't such a big stretch.

shoes
靴
Morgan Freeman: "I mean, seriously, how often do you ever look at a man's shoes?" [scene: Andy wearing dress shoes, not prison shoes, just before escaping.]

overdo
過
The fat guy getting beaten to death at the beginning of the film... talk about overdoing it, sheesh. Or any of the other harsh punishments in this movie... 2 months in the hole for Andy, killing his potential witness, etc.

whirlpool
渦
Whirlpool -> intense flows of water -> when Andy slips out of the pipe, 500 feet of raw waste, into a river during the storm.

calamity
禍
It was a real calamity when old-man Brooks was released after 50 years, and hung himself.

house
家
The first scene of the movie. Andy, gun and liquor in his lap, sitting outside his wife's lover's house.

marry into
嫁
One could say that Andy has "married into" his problems in this film. (unfaithful wife, framed for murder, etc.)

earnings
稼
Andy is the #1 guy when it comes to calculating earnings for prison guards (and preparing w2s)

summer
夏
The scene where they are tarring the roof, and enjoy some cold beers on a hot summer day.

widow
寡
The Warden's wife will be a widow after he blows his brains out!

fruit
果
The "fruits" (pardon my language) attacking/stalking/raping Andy. (Red calls them "the sisters")

chapter
課
How many chapters of the bible did Andy cut out to hide his rock-carving axe?

candy
菓
The "fruits" (sorry again) treat Tim like a piece of candy in this movie. Eck.

erect
架
I don't think this needs to be spelled out. =/

item
箇
Morgan Freeman - the man who can get any item you need, for enough "smokes."

melon
瓜
melons -> breasts -> something there is little to none of in this movie.

below
下
This movie is all about life below the surface. Life in jail.

fire
火
A fire. There are so many possibilities... and you probably already know it from 火曜日, but, for the sake of consistency: Andy lights a fire under young punk's ass to get his high school diploma.

department
科
Andy makes the library department of the prison something amazing!

splendor
華
The splendor of sweet, sweet freedom - this scene.

provisional
仮
The Warden's infamous provisional workforce, "the inside out program," where prisoners worked for nothing!

excellent
佳
Andy really had an excellent idea talking to the guard and suggesting he take a tax write off.

value
価
Andy really understands the value of things: music, money, hope, etc.

spare time
暇
In his spare time, Andy likes to carve chess pieces.... and plan prison breaks!


**RTK3**

eggplant 茄
bullying 苛
hackberry 榎
birch 樺
shrimp 蝦
pot 鍋
haze 霞
stretcher 駕
applaud 嘉
plentiful 夥
Sanskrit ka 珈
jeweled hairpin 迦

Notes: One of the first tricks I ever learned about reading kanji from my first teacher was this: sometimes you can find a "katakana clue" in the kanji to how it is read. Notice how many of the kanji in the カ group are pronounced as such.

Another tip, which may be painfully obvious but I'll mention it anyway, is when kanji share radicals or primitives, they tend to (it's by no means a golden rule) share pronunciations. There are 5 examples in this post: 可, 化, 過, 家, 果. The idea here is not to try to force each kanji into memorization, but to remember what I can, and with several similar kanji, remembering one can be the key to reading all of them. In other words, if only one of 3-5 stories stick where the kanji share primitive, I consider it a success (and you should too!).


--

Two really serious dramas in a row - expect something light-hearted, fun and from the 80s next week!

Gran Torino - ケイ

Gran Torino
ケイ
It's Oーケイ、people ケイn change.

46 characters

desire*
憬
It was Clint's desire to die for the sake of his friend, Thao and his family.

plot
計
This movie has one of the most unique plots I've seen in years.

mountain stream
渓
Sue corrects Clint: "We're not jungle people, we're a hill people." After the Vietnam War they left behind hills, valleys and mountain streams for Midwest America.

chicken
鶏
All the delicious-looking chicken presented in this movie, looks really tasty!

punish
刑
As punishment for trying to steal the Gran Torino, Tao is punished by his aggressive sister and mother by having to do chores for Clint.

mould; type*
型
The Gran Torino is an impressive type of car!

sutra
経
In the strange traditions portrayed in this movie, there are some rather odd sutras. [scene: the baby being blessed]

lightly
軽
Clint does not take people treading on his lawn or breaking his lawn gnomes lightly! [scene: Clint holding a gun to the portly gang member's face]

stalk
茎
[scene: Clint is prevented with stalks upon stalks of flowers and other plant-life, that he promptly throws in the trash]

diameter
径
If Clint didn't regularly drive around the diameter of the neighborhood regularly, with his gun on him, who knows what would have happened when Sue was getting harassed by those 3 black guys!

lineage
系
All the jokes about lineage in this movie. There are many to choose from. I imagine the scenes where Clint is getting his haircut, trading insults with the Barber.

person in charge
係
Is there any doubt Clint is the one in charge here? He carries the gun and talks hard. (and he directed the movie)

awe
敬
"We shot men, stabbed 'em with bayonets and hacked 17-year olds to death with shovels," says Clint of his Korean War days. Words to inspire awe.

admonish
警
Clint Eastwood admonishes, well, almost everyone in this movie (with some extreme racial slurs)

jubilation
慶
The look on Thao's face when he discovers he will inherit the Gran Torino.

put up a notice
掲
Somebody should have put up a notice about how dangerous the streets of this town can be - Thao and his sister seem totally oblivious.

elder brother
兄
Despite being the elder brother, Thao isn't strong enough to protect his sister.

vie
競
The rival gangs vying for territory and control in this movie.

Japanese Judas Tree
桂
With such a high Asian population in Clint's town, there must be some transplanted seeds - why not a Japanese Judas Tree (...maybe because no one in this movie is Japanese!)

square jewel
圭
Clint's lighter. "First Calvary, I've had it since '51."

recess
憩
The many scenes in this movie where Clint is sitting on his front porch with his talk, drinking Pap's Blue Ribbon, enjoying a lengthy recess (break).

favor
恵
Tao does many, many favors for Clint after he tries to steal the Gran Torino
-
Cross Connection: Cartman asks a favor of Clint Eastwood: "could you, like take this DNA test so I know if you're my father or not?"*

shape
形
Clint's body is in terrible shape throughout the whole movie [scene: any time he coughed up blood.]

inherit
継
Thao inherits the Gran Torino in the glorious final scene, as he drives off into the sunset.

scenery
景
The suggested scenery of Retirement Homes on his birthday enrages Clint beyond belief! Or, the beautiful scenery of the final scene.

portable
携
Ashley (the hot grandaughter) complaining that her portable phone won't work during the post-funeral services.

pledge
契
The priest pledged to Clint's dead wife that he would "tend to his flock," and is very persistent in holding true to this pledge.

disclose
啓
The gory details that Clint discloses about his war experiences in this movie. "We used to stack @#The gory details that Clint discloses about his war experiences in this movie. "We used to stack @#The gory details that Clint discloses about his war experiences in this movie. "We used to stack @#The gory details that Clint discloses about his war experiences in this movie. "We used to stack @#$&s like you 5 feet high in Korea, use ya for sandbags."
amp;s like you 5 feet high in Korea, use ya for sandbags."
amp;s like you 5 feet high in Korea, use ya for sandbags."

lean
傾
The Priest in this movie really leans on Clint to embrace his faith - he won't have it though.

capital
京
Murder, rape, many capitol offenses are committed in this movie.*

lightning bug
蛍
Clint's death scene. It was night, and as his body lay on the ground, I imagine lightning bugs circling the air.

boundary
境
There are incredible cultural boundaries overcome in this film.

**RTK3**

training 稽
silicon 珪
paddy-field ridge 畦
link up 繋
ruled lines 罫
visit a shrine 詣
about that time 頃
neck and throat 頚
astute 慧
magistrate 卿
ambrosial 馨
Andromeda 奎
shin 脛
formidable 勁


Notes: Woo! 30 kanji readings down, and even if I only remember 30 or 40% of them longterm, it's an achievement, and worth watching this wonderful film again.

You'll notice I call Clint Eastwood by his real name, and not his character (Walt Kowalski). It's easier for me to remember that way.

mould; type
This is an example of when I deviate from RTK method, in that I use multiple keywords. It's not often, but I have maybe 30 or 40 of these out of the 2000.

This is the first post to introduce a Cross Connection: That is a way to link a kanji with multiple readings to another story. This is entirely experimental and could get messy with kanji with 3 or 4 on-yomi (not sure how many there are), but I'm playing it by ear so far.

Capital/Capitol. Sometimes, for the sake of connecting a story to a movie, I'll do wordplay/substitute different words with same pronunciation, that kind of thing. It works for me, and I retain the original meaning because I already have that kanji's keyword lodged firmly in my mind.

*desire - not in RTK, but included in the new Joyo kanji list.

I hope you have enjoyed this. Another movie coming some time in the next week.

South Park - Season 2 Episode 2:"Cartman's Mom is still a Dirty Sl*t" - エイ

[You can watch this episode for free at www.southparkstudios.com]

South Park - Season 2 Episode 2:"Cartman's Mom is still a Dirty Sl*t"
エイ
エイ - 映画（えいが）movie. America's Most Wanted makes a movie out the South Park's shooting!

16 characters

eternity
永
Kenny reappears back from eternity for another episode!

swim
泳
Kenny (a.k.a. Team B) swims through sewage and snow to get to the power activation area.

recitation
詠
Cartman needs to recite all of "come sail away" after hearing the opening line.

England
英
The Dr. in this episode sounds rather campy. And English? (tho if so it's a terrible attempt at it)

reflect
映
The people of South Park deciding to eat Eric Roberts doesn't reflect well on their morals.

occupation
営
The Hells Pass Hospital in South Park is an "Equal Opportunity Employer" - hence their quadriplegic nurse. (Image: Remember when she hands the doctor the needle with her mouth. Despite her handicap, she does great at her occupation!)

defense
衛
Mrs. Cartman sleeps with every politician in defense of her beliefs about abortion! (or was it adoption...)

pointed
鋭
Cartman's pointed attitude when it comes to finding out who his father is! Or the quadriplegic nurse holding the long, pointed needle in her mouth.

shadow
影
Mephesto is shot in shadow... or when the power goes out, putting the town and hospital in
shadow.

flourish
栄
After the fetus has flourished to the "40th" trimester, it's too late to get an abortion! Poor Mrs. Cartman!

**RTK3**

sucking infant
嬰
crystal stone
瑛
brush tip
穎
drag
曳
dribble out
洩
sapience
叡

--

Notes: I decided to go ahead and make this episode be my template for エイ; If I find it confusing (in correlation with the previous episode, which I don't think I will since they're pretty different in plot besides a running gag) I'll redo it later.

There are some good examples in here of stories that I personally don't even need. I already know 英語 (English) and 映画 (movie) and you probably do too, it's beginner's material. I'm putting them in for the sake of completion and, perhaps, readers of this blog, assuming it builds some kind of following. But I know those two stories are lame (connecting England with this episode was tough), so if anyone has any better/alternative ideas please submit them. A few of the other characters in this group I'm familiar with, such as 栄養 (えいよう nutrition) or 水泳 (すいえい swimming) but could definitely use the reinforcement on them. And the rest are brand new to me, as far as on-yomi goes.

I've been itching to get started on this project for a while, and the momentum is full speed for now! Work should keep me busy but I will try to get another movie template done this week. I want to crank out a lot of these this summer, before I'm bogged down with JLPT2 studying in the fall.

South Park - Season 1 Episode 13:"Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Sl*t" - エ

This next template is an example of what I'll be doing for on-yomi groups with too few kanji to make a whole movie template. I was 13 when I saw this episode, and I remember being extremely annoyed when they opened the next season with Terrence and Philip instead of the legitimate sequel. (there was actually a huge, unanticipated surge of complaints to Comedy Central as a result) If the show aired in Japan, perhaps there would have been one loud, resounding え？！？

[You can watch this episode for free at www.southparkstudios.com]

South Park - Season 1 Episode 13:"Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Sl*t"
エ
" エ! Kitty, that's my corn-beef cabbage! That's a bad kitty!"

favor
恵
Mr. Mackey asks a favor of the boys, to videotape Cartman's strange behavior.

meeting
会
Mrs. Cartman's infamous meeting with Eric Cartman's... father(s)?! (Chef, Chief, Mr. Garrison, pick your favorite)

picture
絵
The end of this episode is the picture of suspenseful cliffhangers. (this one was a bit difficult)

-times
回
How many different times does Cartman's Dad's identity change in this episode?!

garment - reliant
衣 依
Cartman is reliant on his "Naive American" garments to understand his "father." And his hip hop garment when he thinks Chef is his father. ("Oh my God! I'm a black African American!)

--

Notes: 回向 (えこう), Buddhist memorial service is the only compound with 回 using that pronunciation (which I could find in my Nelson's Kanji Dictionary); かい is MUCH much more common. However, since it's a valid pronunciation it's included in the list. This is a problem - the problem of multiple 音読み - we'll run into time and again, and it really can't be helped - しょがない as the saying goes. If there is any way to mentally link the two or three movie templates which share a kanji reading, that might be a good strategy. For example, assuming I used 回(かい) for, say, Die Hard - "how many times does Bruce Willis almost die in this movie?" Imagine Eric Cartman thinking John McClain is his father. It's a bit of a stretch, but from what I've read (and my own imaginative experiences learning kanji) this kind of thing does work - I will report on how it works for me, anyhow.

The real conundrum here is, should I use the sequel to this episode (Cartman's Mom is still a Dirty Sl*t) as a template for エイ, the elongated version of this reading? Or would it be too confusing? Looking for feedback, thanks.

Half Baked - イン

What better way to start a blog about memory than a movie about the lack thereof? The first template is for Half-Baked, a 90's stoner comedy featuring Dave Chappelle, and favorite movie of mine back when I was in high school.

HALF-BAKED
イン
Can Thurgood save Kenny from Nasty Nate イン time?!

employee
員
Kenny Davis the kindergarten teacher is not a model employee - neither is the rest of the group! (Scarface with his burger job or Thurgood, stealing from his employers)

rhyme
韻
"It's hard bein black and gifted, sometimes I just wanna throw it all down and get lifted!" or "candy makes you dandy"

cause
因
The cause of every problem in this movie is weed. The cause of this movie is weed. Cause = weed = half baked.

matrimony
姻
The way this movie ends it's like Thurgood dumped weed to end up in holy matrimony with Mary Jane.

Inst.
院
Kenny Davis the kindergarten teacher is institutionalized after he gets busted! Image: Nasty Nate staring and Kenny... in the shower.

sound
音
Jerry Garcia performing in Brian's (Jim Breuer's) ear-lobe.

stamp
印
The stamp of Sampson and the stamp of Mr. Smiley are both infamous stamps in this flick!

pull
引
The memorable way Snoop Dog pulls on a joint in this movie.

drink
飲
Kenny emerging from the slurpee machine after he first gets high: "I've never felt so thirsty, in my entire life!"

shade
陰
When Mr. Sampson is introduced, the lighting is dim, he sits in the shade of his fire surrounded by ninja women (with hair-curlers on).

license
允
A license to teach - something Kenny Davis the kindergarten teacher would love to get back (and I wonder how he got it in the first place...)

conceal
隠
Scarface, trying to conceal his identity by dressing up and acting like a mime.

**RTK3**

windpipe
咽
lewd
淫
behind the scenes
蔭
parakeet
鸚
blood relative
胤

How to use this site

1) The movie you want to use to supplement your studies should be a movie you are well familiar with, and can recall certain scenes from with ease.

2) Look over the template, see if you like the "story" ideas (the sentences used to link some aspect of the film to the keyword of the kanji). If not, change them to your liking.

3) Watch the movie, bearing in mind the on-yomi and each character you are trying to learn as their respective scenes comes up.

4) As for review, I'm not yet certain myself - ideally you hope to remember most of the characters, but if one or two give you trouble down the road, I think a quick reminder of their grouping and association to whatever movie/pronunciation used should be sufficient. Watching the movie more than once isn't necessary, as you should already be pretty familiar with its content.

I'm new to this too (I'm learning as I go along and make up these templates) so I'm open to feedback.

Introductions:

First off, welcome to yet another blog about learning Japanese. Japanese has certainly snowballed in popularity in recent years, and I feel like sort of a late-bloomer having started learning it only in 2006. However, with great popularity comes great (and nowadays free) resources, available via the wonderful internet. This is my own contribution and, since I was making these "templates" anyway, I thought sharing them might help someone else out too.

This site is all about memorizing 音読み (on-yomi), which is defined succinctly on Wikipedia as: "a Japanese approximation of the Chinese pronunciation of the character at the time it was introduced." These are readings for characters that tend to be less common than 訓読み (kun-yomi), their Japanese-original counterparts. Learning on-yomi is one of many hurdles for Japanese students, but rejoice! There is a relief to the endless rote memorization!

If you are not familiar with the Remembering the Kanji series, please take a look at this website: Reviewing the Kanji. It explains the amazing book written by James Heisig, that promotes the use of imaginative memory and mnemonics to remember kanji. I personally use this site in unison with anki, an amazing piece of free SRS (Spaced Repetition Software), as do hundreds if not thousands of other students. Being all the way (if not mostly) finished with the first 2000 kanji in Heisig's method is a sort of pre-requisite to being able to use this site. (unless you are already familiar with characters and have little trouble using the static key-words)

Next, giving credit where it's due, this idea was original created by a blogger who goes by Alyks, and you can view his blog here. He laid out the framework of using movies to replace kanji-town, but both are in theory the same thing. They utilize spatial memory to increase ones ability to recall information. Think of it like how you remember directions: when you move through a town by car, you know one red light comes after another, to turn before this stop sign, etc. The idea is that if you have a spatial or temporal template to work with (such as movies or in the case of kanji-town fictional, sketched out towns) you can learn on-yomi in groups. The creator's site has some examples, and you can also observe it in action in my next post. The main difference is that this site uses only keywords and (hopefully) only one or two short sentences to associate the kanji with a scene, trait, character, setting, plot point, etc. etc. of the movie of choice (as opposed to naming every radical/primitive (piece) of the kanji, this method is strictly for on-yomi memorization, not kanji writing skills). This site is all about indexing my templates and ideas for public use, although contributions are of course welcome.

That brings us nicely to the main "mission statement" of this site: creating templates for others looking for a fresh way to study on-yomi - hence the title, "The Movie Method in Action." Much like Remembering the Kanji, certain ideas won't be memorable for everyone, and what works great for me might not help you. We may - nay, undoubtedly will - have different tastes in movies. I personally am using a lot of movies I watched ad nauseum as a kid, so that means a lot of comedy and action movies, the kind you can watch over and over again. However, if any of these ideas are useful to you, or you edit and change the templates I have created to suit your needs better, then kudos to you, this site will have helped someone besides just me. If you have ideas, questions, concerns, complaints, or ideas to submit (I'll be happy to post contributed templates as well) then please feel free to leave me a comment, or e-mail me at bennybnyhc@gmail.com.

Bust out the popcorn, put away the pencil, and happy studying!