5.) Pirate Empress Boa Hancock 海賊女帝 ボア･ハンコック (kaizoku jotei boa hankokku)(One Piece) is the Snake Princess 蛇姫 (hebi hime) of the island 島 (shima) Amazon Lily and a member of the Oka Shichibukai 王下七武海 (ouka shichibukai) who falls in love with Monkey D. Luffy. I like her character because on the one hand she appears tough and arrogant, on the other hand she appears emotional and vulnerable when she is around Luffy.

Boa Hancock - One Piece

4.)  Lupin III ルパン三世 (rupan sansei) is one of the world’s greatest thief. Together with his ally Jigen Daisuke 次元 大介 and the master swordsman Ishikawa Goemon XIII 十三代目 石川 五ェ門 (juusan-daime Ishikawa Goemon) they have a lot of great adventures 冒険 (bouken). They are chased by Inspector Zenigata Koichi 銭形 幸一 whose life’s goal is to arrest 逮捕する (taiho suru)  them. Lupin is a real gentleman and his ability to build useful gadgets is amazing. His biggest weakness are women, especially his infatuation with Mine Fujiko 峰 不二子 gets him often in big trouble.

Lupin III

3.) Nadia ナディア (The secret of Blue Water ふしぎの海のナディア): The anime was inspired by Jules Verne’s 20.000 Leagues Under the Sea. Nadia is a circus performer and a very stubborn and short tempered girl until she meets Jean, who falls in love with her. I like her character and the way she grows up during the whole story. In the end she grows up to a young woman, who has learned to trust and care about people.

Nadia - The secret of blue water

2.) Doraemon ドラえもん: I love this character, maybe because I grew up with this adorable blue cat-like robot. Doraemon was sent back in time to help out with Nobita’s trouble. Doraemon’s magic pocket 四次元ポケット(yojigen pocketto) is able to produce useful gadgets 道具 (dougu) from the future. Although I am a bit too old, I still watch every movie 映画 (eiga) with Doraemon and his friends 友達 (tomodachi).

Doraemon

1.) Roronoa Zoro ロロノア・ ゾロ (One Piece) is definitely my favorite anime character. He is a member of the Straw Hat Pirates 麦わらの一味 (mugiwara no ichimi). Zoro is a master swordsman whose dream is to become the world’s greatest swordsman 世界一の剣豪になる (sekai ichi no kengou ni naru). I like his cool and serious personality as well as the fact that he loses his temper in a funny and goofy way.

Roronoa Zoro

What is your favorite anime character?

Beside Tokyo Disneyland 東京ディズニーリゾートand Universal Studio Japan ユニバーサル スタジオ ジャパン, the amusement park Fuji Q-Highland 富士急ハイランドis one of the most popular amusement parks 遊園地 (yuu-en-chi) in Japan. The park is located in Fujiyoshida 士吉田, Yamanashi prefecture 山梨県 and near Mount Fuji 富士山 (Fuji-san).

1.) Haunted Hospital: Compared to most of the haunted houses お化け屋敷 (o-bake-yashiki) in Europe ヨーロッパ, you walk through the building. The setting inside is an abandoned hospital 病院 (byou-in) with different rooms and actors, who are dressed up as zombies. The actors chase you and try to scare the living daylights out of you which by the way they manage very well. I tried the Haunted Hospital with my cousin and her friends a few years ago. Although we knew that it was all fake, we were terrified and screamed 叫ぶ(sakebu) the whole time. It was quite a blast and I would do it again anytime. The only thing that was a bit annoying was the long line and you have to expect a long waiting time but it is definitely worth it. I have to say it was one of the best but most terrifying experience with a horror house I ever had.

2.) Roller coasters especially the Takabisha 高飛車: I love roller coasters ジェットコースター(jetto kosta)! I love the adrenaline rush, the speed and the feeling when your heart starts racing. The faster, the wilder, the crazier the better. My favourite roller coaster in Fuji Q is the Takabisha. According to their homepage this roller coaster contains a 121 degree freefall and several major twists. The other roller coasters are also worth trying and if you are also a big roller coaster fan then you should definitely visit Fuji Q Highland.

3.) The amazing view from the ferris wheel: The giant ferris wheel 観覧車 (kan-ran-sha) with the super cute name “shining flower” シャイニング・フラワー(50m) is worth mentioning because of its stunning view of Mount Fuji. Unfortunately I totally forgot to take pictures of this view. It also gives you an amazing view of the whole park. I took a ride on the shining flower between all the rides with the roller coasters to give my heart a rest and it was very relaxing.

Some additional vocabulary related to amusement parks:

to have fun 楽しむ (tanoshimu)

scary 怖い (kowai)

merry-go-round メリーゴーラウンド (merri-go-raundo)

admission fee 入園料　(nyuu-en-ryou)

ride a roller coaster ジェットコースターに乗る (jetto costa ni noru)

cotton candy 綿あめ (wata ame)

fear of heights 高所恐怖症 (kousho kyoufushou)

The word for “color” is 色　いろ(iro).

Black 黒　くろ (kuro)

Blue 青　あお (ao)

Red 赤　あか (aka)

Green 緑色　みどりいろ (midori)

Sky Blue 水色 みずいろ (mizuiro)

Brown　茶色　ちゃいろ (chairo)

White 白 しろ (shiro)

Pink 桃色　ももいろ or ピンク (pink)

Purple 紫　むらさき (murasaki)

Yellow 黄色　きいろ (kiiro)

Orange オレンジ色 (orenji iro)

Grey 灰色　はいいろ (haiiro)

Gold 金色　きんいろ (kiniro)

Silver 銀色　ぎんいろ (giniro)

So basically if you want to know someone’s favourite color, you can ask:

好きな色は何ですか(Suki na iro wa nan desu ka)

You can answer that question simply with the color: 赤です (aka desu) – It’s red

You can also say: 好きな色は赤です (suki na iro wa aka desu) – My favourite color is red.

If you want to know what color something is, you can ask:

何色ですか (Nani iro desu ka) – 赤です (aka desu) It’s red.

Interesting facts:

→ 青 (ao) can mean either “blue” or “green”. Japanese people often use 青 in cases where Western people would use “green”. The best example are the traffic signals: the green lights are 青 信号 (ao shingou). Another example are green fruits and vegetables like green apples, they are also referred to as 青りんご (ao ringo).

By adding the prefix 真 まっ (ma) you can emphasize the color:

真赤　まっか (makka) – bright red

真黒　まっくろ (makkuro) – jed black

真白　まっしろ (masshiro) – pure white

The suffix っぽい (-ppoi), which means “-ish”, can be used when you don’t know exactly what to call a color.

Example: 真央はどの人ですか。ー　緑っぽい靴を履いている人です。

Mao wa dono hito desu ka? – Midorippoi kutsu wo haiteiru hito desu.

Who is Mao? – She is the person who wears the greenish shoes.

To learns the pronunciation of each color take a look at the video: