昭和臭 [shouwa shu]
The terrible thing is ongoing in Japan, but I do want to keep this blog because, thank you very much, I have a lot of people who support me. That is why…I shall make a post as usual.
Junk parts for transistor radios in Akihabara
So this time, I shall pick up a funny word, 昭和臭[shouwa shu]. 昭和[showa] is the name of Japan’s era, and this had lasted from 1926 to 1989 before the current one, 平成[Heisei] came. Now it actually is Heisei 23rd [2011], but around Heisei 10th or so, 昭和臭[showa shu] is used to ridicule such an old thing or to point out it’s out of date. 臭[shu] means odor. In a good way, I could say it’s a retro style or classic but if not, it’s out of date. If you don’t want to sound “odor,” you could use 昭和風[Showa fu] or 昭和テイスト[Showa taste]. 風[fu] means vibe. Look at some examples.
This is a telephone as you can see. This type of telephone is called 黒電話[kurodenwa], or black telephone, and very old type. I think this doesn’t exist anymore unless it is in a film. Of course it doesn’t record messages. I am from Showa period so I still remember this type of phone. But if you happened to be born 1991 onwards, you would have no idea. And what about this?
Yes, this is a transistor radio. After World War 2, people used to rely on transistor radios to get information. People actually made a radio themselves using some small parts. If you happen to be in Akihabara, just go and see the outlet next to the station. You will see a lot of junk parts even now. This station has already been re-constructed, but only this outlet still remains. I might say this outlet is 昭和臭. I don’t mean to ridicule, though.
Of course there are a lot of anime series or manga in Showa era, but they don’t necessarily count 昭和臭. How do I say…such a retro character design or cinematography, we might say 昭和臭. As I said, I was born in Showa. But even if I see Heisei anime series, I might say 昭和臭. There is the other way around. Recently, I watched the anime Bokurano[ぼくらの]. Even though this anime was aired in 2007, I just thought it was made much much longer time ago. Then when does this story happen? It’s not officially decided, but Ushiro’s birthday is 2017, apparently the story takes place in 2030 or so. Even that, it looks so old, doesn’t it? Especially Daichi…
Then do you think Rainbow -nisha rokubou no shichinin- counts 昭和臭? This story takes place around Showa 30th[1955], but I don’t think it counts because the design doesn’t look so retro although the clothes they wear fit in the anime. Out of topic, I really like this anime because my favorite seiyu, Rikiya Koyama stars. Also, Megumi Hayashibara narrates the story.
When I speak to my friends, sometimes I feel a generation gap because I have early 20′s friends. I talk about CLAMP anime, they mention Code Geass, but I prefer X. They might ridicule it’s 昭和臭 though I don’t think so. Well, good anime is good no matter how many years pass. In the end, we always conclude that we share good anime series regardless of the generation gap.
By the way, long time ago someone told me that my face fits the characters of the 80s/early 90s. Then should I cosplay the characters from that era? Aside from the topic, I am so pleased to have a lot of messages from you. I don’t know what to say, what to do…what I should do. I am not too sure if this is a good thing or not, but no matter what happens, if tomorrow more terrible thing happens, I just want to make you happy. My blog is always full of happy mood so long as I live on. That is how I felt after watching Bokurano. So that’s why…I would like to do what I can do.
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