Anime Expo starts in a week, and J-List is celebrating early with a huge 300-points-per-$20 sale. Here’s how it works: make an order on the site, and check out using code AX2017. We’ll give you 300 points for every $20 you spend, so the more you spend, the more points you get. There are no limitations on how much you buy, but only one coupon can be used per customer. So make a big order now! J-List Points can be used to get your next order for free.
J-List has been around for an awfully long time, 20 years as of last October, making us two years older than Google. I started the company because I knew firsthand how powerful the worldwide obsession with Japan was, and that a shop based at the source — inside Japan, which didn’t exist at the time — would be able to stock the most awesome products, from Cat Keyhole Lingerie to Wacky Toilet Candy and the only Succubus teacher ecchi toy you need. I started out listing products in a big Excel file called The Japan List and posting it to Usenet, which is where the J-List title came from. When it came time to design the mascot for our company, I asked the artist who did the Borderline Collection that we published (amazingly, it’s still in print, part of the JAST Memorial Collection), and he created Megumi for us, who is totally not named after an ex-girlfriend of mine. We’re super happy with the popularity of our mascot, with awesome Megumi fanart illustrations being made by talented artists.
One aspect of living in Japan that’s always impressed me was how constant and unchanging things can be. Growing up being raised by a single mother, I generally moved once a year depending on where my mother’s job took her, including all the way to Aukland for a year, which is why I was able to freak out Tem Morrison (Jango Fett) by being the only American who could sing the New Zealand national anthem at a Star Wars convention once. As a result of moving so much, I was never able to keep friends for very long, and I certainly never enjoyed what the Japanese call osana-najimi, close childhood friends you’ve known all your life, which are a common fixture in anime. My Japanese mother-in-law is the exact opposite: she’s surrounded by a circle of close friends she’s known for 70+ years, some of whom she attended the first grade with. Now they go to choir practice together, travel around Japan, and when the time comes, attend each others’ funerals. The lifelong friendship and support system they have is incredible, and this is the principle reason Japanese are able to live such long and happy lives.
The Steam sale is going on right now, and you can hear the sad laments of everyone’s wallets. JAST USA has great discounts on our best games, Littlewitch Romanesque, Flowers, Super Sonico, Seinarukana and more. Get up to 50% off, but you have to hurry!
The post The History of J-List’s Megumi Mascot appeared first on J-List Blog.
