Happy Birthday! Hope you will have lots of exciting adventures in game!

I got to see the Désalpe once in Switzerland and it was absolutely a highlight of my time there. Also the first time I tried raclette.

I think slice-of-life comics are a great medium for these perspectives! Admittedly a large part of it for me is the nostalgia and familiarity of the kinds of situations you portray, but I think they'd be accessible and interesting to audiences that know less about Japan, too.

Congratulations! I'm still catching up, but very much looking forward to the finale!

Anyway, yeah, I think we need more perspectives on this side of Japan. It's a place where people live their lives just like they do anywhere else. It's not some mythical land where every single thing is built on ikigai and wabisabi, nor is it some high-tech futuristic wonderland from an anime.

I moved back to the US for career reasons, but I miss Japan all the time. I'm actually back in Kyushu right now, visiting my old friends and favorite spots, and it's been really nice to remind myself of why I love this place, for all its flaws. Even the twisty mountain roads, haha.

I like your life in Japan comics because they feel so true to my experience! I was in the inaka as well (an area built on fishing, farming, and tourism) and it's *such* a different experience from being in a city.

This is so beautiful, I love your takes on everyone! And the framing with Thyazi at the top is stunning.

Agreed! I love them all.

I haven't watched the Fireside yet, but how cool that you got a shout-out! And honestly it would never have occurred to me to say try-a...

Ugh I've dealt with that too. It's the absolute worst.

Oh, same! It was my life for years, I made some great friends through HP, some of whom are still friends. I'm pissed that this woman who taught us the power of love has gone so far down the rabbithole of hate. I want to exise that rage - she doesn't deserve even that - but it is a work in progress.

The day I realized I no longer cared about anything she said was a glorious day. Hating on us won't make her relevant again.

The casual sexism and queerphobia was 50% of the reason I left Japan after six years... There's a lot I miss, but not that.

The benefit of working from home is that I don't have to go outside on days like this! Hope you can avoid it as much as possible.

Yep, that'll be us in a couple hours too.

Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard (and everything else by her)! It's a doorstopper, but it's so worth it.

I voted today too! First day of early voting in my area. The line wasn't quite so bad as that, but it was still over an hour long. Didn't bother me, I was happy to wait!