Moekana

As a learner of the Japanese language, I know that many Japanese learning aids can be dull which does not do much to encourage the user to learn or remember. I want to change that and am going to have Mirai Suenaga and co help me starting with hiragana flash cards which I'm calling "Moekana" - the term created from "moe" and "kana" .

So many people gain interest in learning Japanese through enjoying anime and manga so it makes sense to marry 2D culture with Japanese language learning.

Its been nearly a year since I started to develop this product and am over the moon to announce that the pack of 50 cards will be available for pre-order later today. The cards are manufactured under the Culture Japan brand and Good Smile Company will be handling the worldwide distribution - the detail page is now up on the official Good Smile Company site - details plucked from the product page below.

Product Description

Moekana are a set of cards to help folks learn the basic Japanese syllabary: hiragana. The cards feature the characters of the TV show and website produced by Danny Choo called Culture Japan who are, Mirai Suenaga, Haruka Suenaga and Kanata Hoshikawa.

The pack of 50 different moekana cards feature cute kawaii illustrations by the Japanese artist Ikkyuu - the adorable artwork alone is enough to help learners learn hiragana but there are many ways one can also use the cards to start learning Japanese.

Product Details

• Product Name: Moekana (もえかな)
• Series: Culture Japan
• Category: Goods
• Price: 1500 yen
• Release: Date 2012/04
• Specifications: 50 Japanese study cards each 88mm x 63mm. Made in Japan.
• Released by: Culture Japan
• Distributed by: Good Smile Company
• Ages: 6 and up.

Moekana should be available for pre-order at the following online retailers and more. My bothan spies tell me that some of these retailers will discount the retaill price further.
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10179407
http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=CGD2-26174&page=top
http://www.jlist.com/product/PRE979
http://www.kidnemo.fm/product/en/1717/Moekana.html

http://www.hobbystock.jp/item/view/hby-ccg-00016232
http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B007HY3SUQ/mitsu-104-22/
http://item.rakuten.co.jp/amiami/cgd2-26174/
http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/amiami/cgd2-26174.html
http://www.happinetonline.com/NASApp/mnas/MxMProduct?Action=prd_detail&KIND=0&SHOP_ID=1&PRODUCT_ID=4571368440051
http://ow.ly/9wHdR (Animate)
https://www.chara-ani.com/details.aspx?prdid=B12308838
http://www.toycoin.com.sg/product_info.php?products_id=1426

Update - moekana is now ranked 2 in the best selling anime product on Amazon Japan!

At last! the detail page up at Good Smile.

These are just development samples printed on our home printer - the actual product is being printed in Japan by a huge printing firm ^o^

The moekana cards will be exactly the same size, thickness and feel as the Bushiroad Weiss Schwarz series so they will be compatible with all TCG sleeves and boxes too. Another manufacturer in Japan has approached me and is making some Mirai Suenaga TCG sleeves as we speak ^o^

There are 50 cards in total - 46 are of the hiragana, 3 character cards and 1 explanation card all illustrated by the Japanese artist Ikkyuu-san. The character cards feature new illustrations by DMYO-sensei.

The design in the top left corner is what the back of the cards look like. One can also use moekana to learn Japanese through games like Concentration (Memory), Shiritori, House of Cards and Karuta.
You will need to have at least 1 friend and 2 sets of cards to play though ^^;

I plan to have tournament games with moekana at a few anime events that take place around the world - you will obviously need your own pack to participate ^^;
I've printed a limited amount of tournament prize cards too which winners can take home after a match.

Here is the full pack of the 50 moekana. As you can see, I chose as many aspects of Japanese Culture that I could think of like Onigiri, Katana, Kimono, Kendo, Sakura, Shiro, Sushi, Sento, Soba and more - learn hiragana, words and Japanese culture at the same time.

Folks who watched Season 2 of Culture Japan would have seen all the illustrations in the ED together with the credits. The final set of Moekana is slightly different with a few cards swapped out.
You can forward to the 27 min mark in the video below to see the credits - alternatively watch the whole thing - its Episode 7 of the second season - my fave episode!

Design for the front of the box.

Kanata has a complex.

Yes - Mirai-chan can play Taiko no Tatsujin with her eyes closed.

"Chi" is different that the one in the ED - I love this one!

The previous "to" was "Tokyo Tower" but apparently I would have had licensing issues if I used that ><
But glad we came up with this instead - my wifey's fave moekana card!

This is kind of a tarot card because it tells the future ^o^

Mirai and Kanata setup shop.

Kanata in a festive mood.

The folks at Japanese immigration always mention how they love this design on my T-Shirt.

Wifey said that this years goal is to climb Fujisan.

Mirai-chan ready for battle.

So sweet! ><

My favorite Japanese garment is of the Miko.

Gah - I love them all ^^;

I miss my Mirai Itasha ;-;

Another new one for the final product. Ikkyuu-san is such a talented guy!

And the first one to be illustrated was Akumakko.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy moekana as much as I enjoyed making them and do look forward to many more Japanese learning products from Culture Japan which will include anime and game licenses too!

Update! The official site for moekana is up!