About Takarabako

Hello there and welcome to Takarabako! I’ve started this website to create and share meaningful content (I hope!) about anime, manga, video games and other Japanese stuff that you won’t find on many other English websites. I hope you’ll enjoy my articles and will get new information and insight out of them.

Right now, this website is still heavily work-in-progress – I will likely adjust the design to my needs in the near future. I don’t have much to write at this point, but maybe this F.A.Q. (of questions that were actually never asked) will give you a small idea.

F.A.Q.

What is this website about?
I will use it as a blog for various things that interest me, most of all anime, manga and Japanese video games that are under-covered in the English internet. Articles will range from impressions to informative and analytical pieces and will cover both works old and new. Every once in a while you may also find me musing or reminiscing something. I will also try to do some translations of interesting interviews.

Who are you?
I’m into video games (mostly Japanese RPGs) since my childhood, an active watcher of anime since 2012 and interested in Japanese media and Japan in general. I’ve been learning Japanese for quite a few years, and am currently living in the Tōhoku region.

Why the name?
The word “takarabako” (宝箱) means treasure chest. I have chosen it since most of the articles will cover Japanese content, and because I hope you will discover a few treasures while browsing this site. I’m fond of warm, family-friendly, nostalgic and adventurous works among others, so I definitely wanted a playful name for the website. My original idea was “himitsukichi” (秘密基地) – a “secret base” build by children, like a tree house – but domains and variants of that were already taken.

What are some of your favorite anime/manga/books/games?
You can find (mostly) up-to-date lists of my favorite anime and creators on my AniDB page.
My favorite manga include Kakukaku Shikajika, Yotsuba&!, Vinland Saga, the works of Jirō Taniguchi, Inio Asano and Fumiyo Kōno.
Some of my favorite Japanese books: the Kemono no Sōja (The Beast Player) novels by Nahoko Uehashi and the Kiki’s Delivery Service novels by Eiko Kadono. I’m still on my way to discover many more works.
Some of my favorite games: Final Fantasy V-X, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky trilogy, Grandia series, Shadow Hearts series, Persona 3 + 4, Catherine, Suikoden series, Yakuza series, True Remembrance, To The Moon, Child of Light, Life Is Strange and many others.