You've reminded me that 'Behind Closed Eyelids' exists, and I haven't heard that track in years. This must be corrected.

Interesting. The only other instance of this that comes immediately to mind is more archaic speech patterns, usually associated with period characters/fiction, where です is replaced by である or potentially でござる.

A number of pieces of fictional also attitude 『で、あるか』 as a saying of Oda Nobunaga to boot.

True, on a basic level, there is room for a stopgap,if unreliable, to bridge complete language gaps, but the issue is that we already effectively have this without the new, expensive product and use of generative AI components. A smart phone with access to any number of translation sites does this.

Indeed. There's also the reality that this is scarcely above using a phrasebook in terms of actual, effective interactions. Not to mention... machine-based translations are frequently unreliable, and now this has to operate in real time no less.

Honestly, with my Japanese at an intermediate level, and my recent dabblings in a handful of other languages, I cannot imagine a world without this exciting opportunity to learn and make these connections.

Likewise, translators are one of the greatest components of humanity.

Admittedly, it's also a film that benefits from knowledge of the Sengoku era, given its focus on Nobunaga Oda's campaigns, including against the Ikko Ikki and the two wars against Iga.

The large scale action scenes were definitely a highlight though.

I've seen far too many estimates like this from Maps and on different terminals, haha. Ranging from suggesting you can get from the furthest end of Osaka Station to transfer to the Midosuji gate in mere minutes, to another station where you need to take 3 minutes to turn 180 degrees and take 3 steps

Tokyo never clicked for me, even after all these years of travelling. That said, Osaka, particularly the Toyosaki/Chayamachi area, is near and dear to my heart.

It's also a pretty tricky one, and a lot of the ghosts have a bad case of the zoomies at times. Night 3 is also a hell of a thing.

I'm similar, as I hit a brick wall studying for N3 while working full time/overtime, and my progress slowed right down. Between watching things, beginning to read manga and slowly building up skills again, I've found a sustainable rhythm that's bringing about real progress now.

Indeed, and it all contributes to building your skills/overall Japanese literacy level. Most importantly, it maintains interest/engagement, which is where a lot of learners burn out.

Trying to brute force or grind learning a language and expecting to be magically use it is not the way to go.