Best. Shirt. Ever.

At least you make audible sounds when speaking Japanese (i'm assuming). I tried to use what I learned in my two years of study at a sushi place and ended up walking out without ordering due to embarrassment. Speaking it to a total stranger is more of a challenge then reciting things to my dog.
The Zoolology shirt is awesome!

As a student and amateur teacher of the language I completely relate to what she's saying. I remember when I was a cart wrangler for Toys'R'Us and I was offering to help a Japanese woman carry her bags into the car. After I told her and she asked "Watashi?" I did the treat foreigner like a preschooler bit, soon after putting her stuff in the truck and smacking myself for not responding back in Japanese. I still kick myself every time I think about that and keep it in mind when I set out to practice what I know.

ゆこは日本語が話さない？

Thank you nine years of studying the language. Now if only I lived near a place with the JLPT. :D
And the sentence is probably still wrong. :(
Yeah, came over due to QC linkage, and decided to stay for the LOLs.

My dad moved to Canada from Japan when he was in his 20's and married a Ukrainian lady. The result, me and my brother. But while my brother was lucky enough to go to Japanese school for a few years, I only got to take one year of Japanese in high school, an experience equal to boarding the HMS Failboat. My dad never taught me the language (though thankfully I grew up with a lot of Japanese food, mmmmmm) but I always feel like such a fake when people ask me to say stuff and I cannot come up with anything better than "Can I go to the toilet?" or when I can't have a conversation with my grandmother when she calls on special occasions.

You probably aren't as bad at speaking as you think you are, and your Hiragana looks good too.

Also, awesome shirt is awesome. Want.

Oh man, I love the zoolology design, but I don't wear t-shirts!

Any chance of getting it as a print? :)

I would love the flights and flights of stairs for a T Shirt - though to make it more relevant for me - it should be in chinese. My tones are so sloppy.

Or maybe make it generic in your language of choice.

I don't know why, but the LOLphin almost had me in tears. Nothing should be allowed to be that funny.

That even though I'm severely arachnophobic, animated/drawn spiders not only do not bother me, but appear cute at times? Seriously.

Also, at least you can remember some of it. I took Japanese 1 and 2, but I forget almost everything I learned in the class. I should really try and practice it again. Damn languages and their being difficult and crap.

That has got to be one of the best shirts ever.

And Yuko's analogy applies to me with Cantonese. T___T

i've been waiting for a new comic!

welcome back Yuko! RECORD YOURSELF TALKING IN JAPANESE FOR US, YOUR FAITHFUL FANS.

Must have shirt.

._.

That shirt is amazing!! I want one. (Although I just got a bunch of shirts from Threadless, so I really shouldn't...).

Poor Yuko - at least you can't get broken bones from miscommunication (in most cirumstances).

Tarantu-lol! HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

W-W-W-WELCOME BACK! is it odd that i noticed the Tatoo on the right arm before i read the contents of the shirt? and am consquently curios about it for no other reason than 'just cause'? most excellent shirt as well^_^. AND IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW, NERD is an energy drink>_>.

DO WANT SHIRT.

YES.

Something seems different about Yuko in the comic.

Is it new glasses?

Lol, I jest. Why the darker hair? Is it a one-time thing being a direct-from-journal comic, or were you inspired by last week's guest comic?

Will these be available for purchase at Otakon?

I started studying Japanese using Rosetta. I was determined to learn from the hiragana, and not use any romanised form at all. The end result? I recognise random hiragana, but not enough to be useful!

I could read all the variations on "I'm sorry" and "excuse me", but that's all my fail could do >_<

I loooooooove the ROFLope!

That is an amazingly awesome shirt, and I want it *greedy fingers*. Totally buying it as soon as I get home from work :B

My mum is japanese, and she's living over there right now so I don't get to talk to her much. I'm always afraid I'm going to forget the language D: But don't worry, Yuko, just practice by reading lots of japanese manga and watching lots of anime, and wandering bbs sites ;D Truly, it is the perfected art of practicing japanese.

I should probably work harder on English though. ._. My life is too full of grammarfail.

So in this comic today, you're telling me that listening to Yuko speak Japanese is extremely entertaining

I think it's something about the verbal part of the language...

I did Japanese for a couple of years and can still write, read, and understand it orally....but ask me to speak anything and I get the deer-in-the-headlights look. O.O'

Your Hiragana is very nice though! Mine looks like chickenscratch...but then again so does my English XD.

well, at least people don't have to be "guessing mimic" around Yuko. You know, some of us don't speak a single word of it lol

I want it. ;-; But I'm going to have to wait about two more weeks + the ten day paypal wait (bugger). I hope it'll still be around? x:
Also, great web comic. I'm really glad I was brought to this place, the entire archives made me laugh and now a few friends and I are cracking jokes about zoolology.

I can speak a little Japanese, but sadly most of what I learned I learned watching Anime. Before I went out to Japan a friend who is fluent told me to be very careful about the Japanese I used - Anime Japanese tends to make one sound like either a 12 year old schoolgirl or a Yakuza.

Also, for some reason, when I try and speak Japanese I emulate Toshiro Mifune. Bad, bad idea...

I meandered over here yesterday from QC, and immediately read all of your archive.... Along the way I couldn't help but think "Damn a shirt with all of the 'lol' animals would be hilarious..." You are either mind readers or fantastic marketers. Either way... love the comic and the shirt!

Ahhh that shirt is soo awesome, will have to get it for the other half. We play the animalol game all the time now, it's the besteresesest.

Hey is that you two wearing the shirts in the picture? I'm just wondering.

First off, is this a one time thing for the shirt?

Second, is the shirt pre-shrunk?

usually it takes a webcomic months or even years for it to settle into a groove and find its own voice. But you guys just sauntered on in and were immediately iconic. One second there was nothing, and the next there was charming awesomeness. I applaud and envy your seamless emerging into this realm.

Which begs the question, are there other webcomics or something along those lines with Ananth or Yuko's names attached floating around on the web?