This is a vocabulary list for Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney.  Many of the words are taken from the very beginning of the game, while others may not appear until later on.  Since most of the kanji in the game have furigana above them, the front of these study cards also feature furigana above the kanji.  Special thanks are due to The JRPG Club community member Matthew, who also contributed to this list.

As with all of our vocabulary lists, this “deck” of flashcards is formatted for use with the spaced-repetition program Anki.

Click here to download the Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney vocabulary list.

Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney was released in Japan on November 29, 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS.  It is available as a physical cart and can also be purchased digitally from the Nintendo 3DS eShop.  It is not region-free, and there are currently no announced plans to localize the game.

Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney can be imported here and purchased within Japan here.
Nintendo Network credit can be imported here and purchased within Japan here.

The name “Cowboy Bebop“ should be familiar to any serious anime enthusiast.  It appears on virtually every “top” anime list, and many fans consider the series to be one of their personal favorites.  Cowboy Bebop also received the prestigious Seiun Award in 2000, joining the ranks of other science fiction classics such as The Empire Strikes Back, Alien and Blade Runner.  The series established Watanabe Shinichiro as a top director, whose ability to synchronize action and story to any genre of music gives his work a unique quality that is rarely seen in other shows.  In my opinion, however, Samurai Champloo is his finest effort, and perhaps the best anime of all time.  That is why no one should ever watch it.

Although I personally feel that Samurai Champloo is the greatest anime ever made, I never recommend it to friends, as doing so would be immoral.  In fact, it is not uncommon for me to first sing its praises, and then tell people to avoid it at all costs.  The reason is simple: Samurai Champloo is so good that it will make all other Japanese animation feel inadequate.  After experiencing the series for the first time, for example, I was left with a burning desire to watch something else that featured samurai, ninja or both.  Eventually, I settled on Basilisk, which turned out to be a really great show.  The problem, though, was that the entire time I was watching it, I wanted it to be Samurai Champloo.

Admittedly, Samurai Champloo is not perfect; there are two or three completely ridiculous filler episodes that I tend to skip during successive viewings, and the plot twist about the “sunflower samurai” was anything but surprising.  These minor issues do not ruin the overall experience, however.  Hip hop and swordplay go together beautifully, and unlike Cowboy Bebop, the focus on a single genre of music gives Samurai Champloo a cohesiveness that the former lacks.  Until Vagabond or Lone Wolf and Cub are adapted to the small screen, it will probably continue to stand as the best samurai anime in existence.

The only issue, therefore, is that Samurai Champloo is simply too good.  After seeing it once, no other series will do, which is a serious problem for immersion learners.  There is nothing wrong with watching the same series multiple times, of course; Japanese is Japanese, and any input is better than no input.  Samurai Champloo will make everything else seem boring, however, and finding new immersion material will become unnecessarily daunting task.  The best advice I can offer to those that have never seen it is to watch it last.

Samurai Champloo aired from May 2004 to March 2005 on Fuji Television, and has since been released on DVD and Blu-Ray in both Japan and the United States.  In our opinion, the collections released by FUNinmation are the best value; they contain the original Japanese voice acting, and although they only include English subtitles, they are significantly cheaper than the sets sold in Japan.

The DVD set can be purchased here.
The Blu-Ray set can be purchased here or imported to Japan here.

Available free on the PlayStation Store, the PlayStation Vita version of Phantasy Star Online 2 is technically region-locked.  Because the console itself only supports a single PSN ID at any given time, the downloadable client must be accessed by a Japanese account.  However, SEGA also released a physical copy of PSO2, and users have reported that this version allows them to connect to the game servers regardless of region.  A Japanese SEGA ID is still required, but it can be tied to any PSN account.

There are some things to consider before importing the Phantasy Star Online 2 Special Package, though. Should PSO2 be released internationally in the future, for example, it may not be possible to link a second SEGA ID to the same PSN account.  That being said, although an English version has been announced, news has been sparse since its reveal. Moreover, the servers will not be worldwide; they will be separated by region, so English-speaking players may prefer to stay on their original Japanese “ship” regardless.  In addition, there was a time when the international PSO2 community feared that SEGA would ban users with foreign IP addresses from playing the game.  That never came to fruition, but players using this trick could be blocked in the future if SEGA decides that it is an exploit.

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Yesterday afternoon, expatriate writer Donald Richie passed away in Tokyo at the age of 88.  A name that is easily recognized by anyone with a background or interest in Japanese film studies, Richie spent most of his adult life in Japan, becoming a respected critic and cultural analyst.  He is credited with exposing Kurosawa Akira to Western audiences, and also wrote extensively on the work of Ozu Yasuhiro.  For many years, in addition to publishing his own fiction and non-fiction writings, he reviewed films and books for The Japan Times.

The contributions Richie made to the Western understanding of Japanese culture make his death a great loss to all that are interested in the country.  More information about his life and death is available in both English and Japanese.

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This story summary is based on the English version of Fire Emblem: Awakening, which is considered to be a very high quality and faithful localization. The game is divided into chapters, each consisting of one battle which always has dialogue before and after, and sometimes during the fight itself.   There are occasionally animated cutscenes as well, so the sections within each chapter are labeled as appropriate. Only material that is relevant to the overall story has been included, and new chapters will be added as I play through the game.

The default name for the tactician players customize at the beginning of the game is Rufure.  This summary assumes that she is female, although the dialogue in the main story should remain the same whether the players choose a male or female character.

Table of Contents

断章： 運命か、絆か

Pre-Battle Dialogue

Chrom says that this is it, the final battle.  Rufure is one of the group no matter what destiny may have to say.  Let’s kill this jerk!

Battle Dialogue

As Chrom and Rufure approach the bad guy, Fauder, he says that their struggle is useless because the end result has already been determined.

Post-Battle Cutscene

Fauder shouts that this isn’t over as he falls.  Rufure shoves Chrom out of the way of a final blast of magic.  As Rufure comes to, Chrom tells her that it’s over and they pulled through thanks to her.  Suddenly there is a violent turn of events, and as the scene ends Chrom gasps that it’s not her fault and to escape this place.

序章： 新たなる歴史

Cutscene

Rufure slowly awakens to Chrom and Liz standing over her wondering what to do about her.  Chrom notices and remarks that the ground is a strange place to take a nap.

Post-Cutscene

For some reason Rufure knows Chrom’s name instantly but has no knowledge of where or who she is.  Frederik is immediately suspicious and feels it must be a trick – how can Rufure know who Chrom is but know nothing else?  Chrom doesn’t want to just leave someone alone and lost on the road, so he decides to bring the stranger back to town to figure this out.

Chrom promises to let Rufure go once they’ve confirmed that she is not an enemy.  He explains that this place is part of the Holy Kingdom of Iris, and that the ruler is named Emerina, and then he makes proper introductions.  Liz is his younger sister and the overly cautious man over there is Frederik.  Rufure finally remembers her own name.

Suddenly, Liz cries out that the town up ahead is under attack.  Sure enough, buildings are on fire and bandits are running amok.  Chrom, Liz, and Frederik rush off to help – this is more important than keeping an eye on their new acquaintance.  Rufure hesitates a moment before running after them as well.

Pre-Battle Dialogue

The scene briefly shifts to the leader of the bandits telling his men to ransack and pillage.  Then it shifts back to Chrom’s group, where Rufure catches up with them.  She wants to help! She has a weapon on her and knows how to fight.  Chrom agrees to let her help.

Battle Dialogue

A bit into the battle, Chrom and Rufure have a brief conversation about how she seems to be able to acutely perceive what’s going on in the battle and size up the enemy.  She thinks she must have studied it before.

Another short dialogue is next, in which Chrom notices Rufure’s sword and magic tome, the latter of which he is surprised about.  Rufure isn’t exactly sure if she knows how to do magic, but she’s going to try.  Chrom thinks he’ll stay back a bit just in case.

An even shorter conversation occurs where Chrom and Rufure recommend timely uses of healing items to prevent losing anyone.

In the next conversation between the two, Chrom has already begun to consider Rufure a friend because she’s their ally in battle.  Rufure remarks that she thinks there is an actual tactical advantage to fighting side by side.

Post-Battle Dialogue

The group is amazed at Rufure’s talents with both sword and magic, as well as tactics.  Frederik is still very much suspicious, but Chrom points out all the turmoil that has been plaguing the borders of Iris lately and how much they could use such a skilled tactician.  Rufure agrees to join their little band of peacekeepers.

Frederik notes that the brigands were probably from the neighboring kingdom of Perezia, due to their accents.  Perezia has recently been sending small forces across the border in the hopes of starting a war with Iris.  A local villager offers to let the group stay the night, but Frederik declines, saying they need to hurry back to the capital.  Liz was looking forward to a nice hot meal and is none too happy about this.  Frederik says that it will benefit her to get used to living off the land and sleeping out in the wild.  The group heads off, but not before Chrom and Liz poke a bit of fun at Frederik’s stern attitude.

Chapter 1: 砕かれた日常

Dialogue

Liz is still unhappy that it’s almost dark and they’re still out in the wilderness.  And the bugs are coming out!  Gross!  Chrom says that it’s good for building character and asks if she’d like to help him gather firewood, which she declines.  Rufure mentions that she’s starving and Frederik concurs that they should clear a campsite and start looking for food.

The scene changes and they are seated around their newly-made campfire.  Chrom is enjoying his meat, but Liz is grossed out and wants to know why they can’t hunt animals that normal people eat, for a change.  On the other hand, Rufure is enthusiastically chomping away.  Liz continues to refuse Chrom’s, and then Frederik’s, attempts to get her to eat.  She points out that Frederik isn’t eating either, which he tries to excuse by saying he had a big lunch.

Later, when everyone is sleeping, Chrom gets up, followed by Liz.  Chrom feels that something is wrong and is going to take a look around.  His sister goes with him.  This is followed by a scene change and a brief conversation.  It’s silent, and the birds are gone.  Something is definitely wrong. Then the pair react in shock to something.

Cutscene

Chrom tells Liz to run.  She hesitates before he says it again and they both take off.  Hell breaks loose.  As they pause to catch their breath, Liz looks up and cries “What is that?!” Strange beasts appear out of a portal in the sky.  Chrom draws his sword and tells his sister to stay back.  Brief fighting follows.  Just as Liz is about to get chopped with an axe, a masked man appears to block the attack and yells at Chrom to hurry.  Chrom and the man finish off the creature, and then Chrom expresses his surprise at the stranger’s appearance and asks who he is.

Post-Cutscene

Frederik appears, asking if they’re all right, followed by Rufure.  Rufure questions what these creatures are and Chrom tells her they’re definitely not from Iris.  Liz says she’s unhurt thanks to the masked man who has suddenly vanished.  Frederik urges them to prepare for battle against these unknown creatures.

Battle Dialogue

Frederik and Rufure briefly mention the fact that there are abandoned forts here which could offer advantages to those taking shelter in them in battle.

At the start of turn 2, two new ally units appear: a woman named Soiree and a man named Viaur. Soiree is looking forward to kicking some monster tail, but her monologue is interrupted by the sweet-talking Viaur who wants nothing more than her affection.  And according to him, why wouldn’t she give it to such a famous archer as himself?  Soiree is having none of this, however, and is about to ride off when he pleads with her to tell him who she is.  She tells him that she’s one of Chrom’s group.  He continues to lavish her with pretty language and she in turn rebuffs it all. Finally, he begs her to at least let him accompany her and she concedes.

Post-Battle Dialogue

Frederik notes that the masked man took care of the other creatures.  Liz thanks the man for saving her and Chrom introduces himself, asking the man for his name.  The man is named after the hero-king of old, Marth.  Chrom tries to ask him further questions but Marth simply says that details about himself are not important; the world is close to catastrophe.  Tonight was just the beginning.

Liz is confused by his words.  Frederik is sure they’ll meet Marth again, but right now, they need to return to the capital.

Chapter 2: 小さな自警団

Dialogue

The group has arrived in the capital of the kingdom of Iris.  Frederik notes with relief that it seems to have been spared from the chaos in the forest.  A random passerby exclaims that Emerina has come out to greet the general population.  Rufure inquires about Emerina’s safety walking in public like this.  Frederik and Chrom explain that she is a symbol of peace.  A long time ago, the first ruler of Iris destroyed the evil dragon Grima with the help of the divine dragon, and Emerina is a reminder that they fought hard in order to bring this peace to the land.  She is a calming presence that helps her people feel safe and not call for war with their neighbors, who are trying to incite it.

Liz chimes in that Emerina is a wonderful sister as well.  It then dawns on Rufure who Chrom and Liz are, which is confirmed by Frederik – prince and princess of Iris.  Rufure stutters about her terrible manners and addresses Chrom very formally, but he tells her there’s no need to do that. This explains why Frederik endures all the teasing from Chrom and Liz.  Chrom invites Rufure to come meet his older sister in the palace.

Emerina greets the group warmly, and Chrom briefly fills her in on the encounter with the bandits.  He then introduces Rufure.  She helped them with the bandits and he’s decided to let her join his band of peacekeepers.  Frederik feels the need to let Emerina know about Rufure’s story of losing her memory and the fact that he’s still wary about it.  Chrom says that Rufure helped them in battle and for that reason he trusts her.  Chrom’s trust is enough reason for Emerina to trust her as well, but she thanks Frederik for his diligence.  Frederik brings up the subject of the strange creatures they fought in the forest, and the lady standing near Emerina, Phila, lets them know that the creatures have been sighted in many places now.  Emerina asks Chrom to join her for a meeting and Liz beckons Rufure away to show her something.  You are now brought to the map screen.

When you continue the chapter, Liz welcomes Rufure to the home base of Chrom’s band of peacekeepers.  A blonde lady named Mariabell suddenly rushes in exclaiming that she was so worried about Liz while she was gone.  Liz reassures her that she’s fine, though she would rather have skipped the  “character building” she was subjected to in the forest.  An axe-wielding blond man named Wyck chimes in that Chrom must have had a tough time without him around.  And yet another new person, Smia, asks when Chrom might arrive.  Mariabell says that Smia has been quite preoccupied with worry about him.  Finally, Liz introduces Rufure as the group’s talented new tactician.  Wyck makes a crude joke, which amuses Rufure and makes Mariabell chide both of them before storming off.  Smia and Liz reassure Rufure that it will just take some time for Mariabell to warm up to her.

Chrom walks in, and Smia trips over her own boots in her excitement.  Chrom announces that tomorrow they’ll be heading to Felia, a civilized kingdom that is nevertheless rumored to be inhabited by barbarians, according to Smia.  Iris needs Felia’s strength to help fight this new menace, and Emerina has given the task of requesting their aid to Chrom’s group.  Liz, Wyck, and a man in heavy armor named Callum (who’s been here the whole time, he says) immediately volunteer to go.  Smia doesn’t feel confident enough to go on a mission yet.  Chrom offers to let her watch from a safe distance if they end up in a battle, however, and she agrees.

The scene changes, and the group is ready to head out.  A man named Sort comes running up and asks why he was the last to hear about this mission.  Apparently Wyck was supposed to tell him about it and forgot.  This makes Liz wonder if Wyck remembered his axe this time.  He insists he’s only ever forgotten it twice, and he has it right here.  Sort is sad because he had to miss breakfast in order to rush here in time.  Chrom introduces Rufure to him, and he mentions that one of their mages, Myriel, will join them soon.

Pre-Battle Dialogue

The undead creatures have apparently spread even this far.  Frederik says that the council gave them the name of “corpse soldiers”.  Chrom warns everyone to remember the creatures’ strength. Wyck realizes he doesn’t have his axe like he did a second ago, so Chrom warns him to stay in the back.

Battle Dialogue

At the start of the first turn, Frederik notes to take advantage of the weapon triangle whenever possible – for example, lances have the advantage over swords, and swords have the same over axes.

At the beginning of turn 2, Myriel appears on the map and finds an apparently abandoned axe on the ground.  If you have her trade it to Wyck during this chapter, it will trigger a short dialogue between them in which she scoffs at him for losing it.

Post-Battle Dialogue

There is a very brief conversation between Chrom and Frederik.  The party will need to be more careful from now on if the corpse soldiers have spread this far.

Chapter 3: 戦士の王国

This chapter begins immediately, without going back to the map screen first.

Dialogue

The group comes across a pegasus that appears to be hurt.  Chrom tries to approach it, but it will not let him get close.  Smia arrives and trips over her own boots again.  Chrom warns her to stay away from this crazed animal, but she is able to quickly calm the pegasus, which makes everyone exclaim in amazement.  She brushes it off by saying that she’s just good with animals.  She’ll catch up with them later after she bandages the pegasus’ wounds.  Chrom offers to wait for her but she says it’s fine, and time is of the essence.  You are now brought to the map screen.

When you continue the chapter, Chrom’s crew has arrived at the freezing border between Iris and Felia where a fortress stands guard.  Frederik notes that the khans of Felia have become increasingly suspicious of outsiders, but diplomacy here should be able to alleviate that.  Chrom reminds everyone to be on their best behavior.

The scene changes.  Frederik reports that the border guard appears ready to attack the group for an unknown reason.  It might be best to prepare for battle just in case, and he reluctantly admits that Rufure may be able to offer advice in this regard.  Chrom asks her for her suggestions.

Pre-Battle Dialogue

Chrom announces that they are here on behalf of the holy kingdom of Iris, but he is met with immediate suspicion.  Raimi, the commander of the border guard, accuses them of being bandits despite their efforts to convince her otherwise.  She says they are not the first to claim to be from Iris in order to cross the border.  She challenges Chrom to prove through battle that he is indeed royalty from the holy kingdom.  He tries once more to get her to listen, but she orders her men and women to attack.

Cutscene

Smia tells Chrom to hang on tight after she rescues him from a rain of spears.  As they fly, Chrom warns her about archers and they make their descent.

Post-Cutscene

Smia and Chrom are both glad that she made it in time!  Smia is now riding the pegasus that they found on the way here.  Frederik warns everyone to focus.  The border guard is approaching, so Chrom’s group will have to settle this the Felian way.

Battle Dialogue

Smia notes that pegasi can fly far but are very weak to arrows.

When you defeat Raimi, she realizes that Chrom was telling the truth.

Post-Battle Dialogue

Raimi apologizes profusely and says that frauds would not have fought like Chrom’s group just did. She will personally escort them to the capital.  Rufure is surprised at the complete change in attitude.  Frederik admits that he should have remembered sooner that strength matters more to Felians than diplomacy.

Chapter 4: 神剣闘技

Dialogue

Raimi escorts the group in, then leaves to summon the khan.  Rufure wonders why the khan is away, and Chrom explains that Felian khans like to train and that they prefer fighting over politics. Rufure imagines the khan must be a big, muscular man with lots of chest hair, but a woman named Flavia appears and reveals herself to be the East Khan of Felia, to Chrom and Rufure’s shock.  She apologizes to Chrom for their encounter at the border, and confirms that Perezian bandits have indeed been posing as citizens of Iris and attacking border villages, presumably to try and raise tensions between Felia and Iris.  Chrom curses the bandits before quickly correcting himself, but Flavia tells him that Felians believe in speaking one’s mind.  He responds by expressing frustration about her border guards, which she in turn responds to with good-humored appreciation for his honesty.

Flavia already knows why Chrom is here, but she cannot help him because she is not currently the ruling khan.  The east and west khans of Felia have a tournament every few years to determine who will have complete authority over the kingdom, and she lost the previous one to the West Khan.  However, the next tournament is happening very soon.  Raimi informed Flavia about the skill of Chrom’s men and women in battle, and Flavia would like them to be her champions in the tournament.  If they win, she will have the authority to forge an alliance with Iris.  She explains that the khans never fight in the tournament themselves, instead choosing outsiders to be their champions to prevent blood feuds within the kingdom.  Chrom agrees to this proposition.  His people are in desperate need of aid due to the combined threats of both Perezia and the corpse soldiers.  Flavia offers to show him the tournament arena, and she also warns him that she hears the West Khan’s champion is as skilled as Chrom is.  Chrom responds that Iris has to win.

Pre-Battle Dialogue

Liz and Chrom notice who is standing at the opposite end of the arena.  Chrom wants to ask him a question but gets only silence from him, so he says that he’ll let their swords do the talking.

Cutscene

Chrom and Marth face off.  As Marth pulls out his sword, which looks identical to Chrom’s, Chrom utters his disbelief.  Then in the middle of their fight he asks where Marth learned his swordplay – Marth replies “My father!”

Battle Dialogue

When Chrom and Marth first engage in a battle, Chrom asks who Marth’s father is, but Marth refuses to answer.  Chrom may be grateful to Marth for saving his sister’s life, but he needs to win this tournament for Iris, so he isn’t going to hold back.

Post-Battle Dialogue

The new ruling khan is grateful to Chrom and his group, and Felia and Iris now have an alliance. Flavia departs to begin the celebration.  A man named Basilio enters, revealing himself to be the West Khan and thus the person just removed from power.  Chrom asks him what he knows about the champion he picked for the tournament.  Basilio says that Marth just showed up one day and soundly beat his former champion, instantly impressing him.  Marth vanished as soon as the tournament was over, however.  Liz wistfully muses about the mysterious man who saved her life back in the forest.  Frederik interjects with the necessity of returning to Iris to report the success of recruiting Felia’s aid.  Before they depart, however, Basilio brings in his former champion, Ronkuu, who he says is extremely skilled with the sword.  Liz approaches him but is rebuffed, and Basilio explains that he is uneasy around women.  This doesn’t change his prowess in battle, however, and Basilio would like to contribute him to Iris’ cause.  Chrom asks if he’s sure, and Basilio insists. Chrom then asks Ronkuu if he is okay with this arrangement as well.  The swordsman has no objections, and so Chrom welcomes him to the group.

Fire Emblem: Awakening was first released in 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS.  A localized English version, which includes the original Japanese voices, was then released in early 2013.  Physical editions of both versions are available, and the game can also be purchased digitally from the Nintendo 3DS eShop.  It is not region-free.

The Japanese version can be imported here and purchased within Japan here.
Nintendo Network credit can be imported here and purchased within Japan here.

The North American version can be purchased here.

The team behind the upcoming sequel to Ore no Shikabana o Koete Yuke (俺の屍を超えてゆけ) has started a development blog called “The Road to the Sequel.” Since its announcement at the Tokyo Game Show last fall, not a single word had been said (until today) about the PlayStation Vita title, which will be the first new “OreShika” (俺屍) game since the original was released for the PlayStation in 1996. According to their first post, however, the team at Sony Computer Entertainment hopes that regular updates will help to ease any worries that were created by their six months of silence.

Unfortunately, they have not shared any specific details about the game yet, but the information posted this afternoon does suggest that development is progressing steadily; environments are being built and characters are being put in motion.  They are still brainstorming new ideas, though, and adjusting to the unique Vita hardware has meant a lot of trial and error for the team at this stage.

To develop the new OreShika title, SCE is working with Alfa System, who developed the first game in the series as well as its 2011 PlayStation Portable port.  They insist that each trip to Kumamoto Prefecture (where Alfa System is based) is strictly for business purposes, but the local cuisine appears to be having a big influence on the game as well.

The Ore no Shikabana o Koete Yuke sequel has no release date at the moment, and as neither the PSOne original nor the PSP port were localized for Western release, it is hard to guess whether or not it will ever leave Japan.  Fortunately, PS Vita consoles are region-free.

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Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, a Nintendo 3DS launch title, was rereleased today as Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Plus (レイトン教授と奇跡の仮面プラス). An eShop exclusive, Miracle Mask Plus includes numerous upgrades, such as new animated cutscenes, three save slots, and more puzzles.  Level-5 has also added some features that will make the game more friendly; extra tutorials and hints will make things easier for younger players, and the downloadable content from the original release will be accessible immediately in Plus.

The expanded story events in Miracle Mask Plus are said to deepen the original plot, but as it is technically an entirely new game, anyone that already owns Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask will have to upgrade (for 3000円) in order to get the “full” story.  The Professor Layton series has always been friendly towards Japanese learners though, so for anyone that has yet to experience the series’ 3DS debut, Miracle Mask Plus is certainly worth its asking price.

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Tadoku (多読) is an immersion learning contest that challenges participants to “Read More or Die;” to compete, entrants must read as much as possible in their target language (or languages) over the course of one month.  Unfortunately, the first round of Tadoku 2013, which ran from January 1 to January 31, is now over and the winners have been announced.  According to the results, the top five finishers all read the equivalent of over 3,000 pages each.

The Tadoku competition is all-inclusive; in addition to books, competitors can read anything from a long list of acceptable media that includes manga, subtitled video, news articles and even games.   Tadoku does weigh each genre differently, however, but the freedom the contest allows for opens the door to language learners of all levels.

The next round of Tadoku will be shorter than the January contest, and will run from March 15 to March 31.  Information about how to sign up is available on the official site.

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