Pawel "Mr. Jedi" Musialowski, 39, and Malgorzata Gajderowicz, 29, are a Polish journalist-designer-photographer, husband-and-wife team who video-blog exclusively about their favorite place on earth: Japan. Pawel created Kawaii, Poland's first magazine dedicated to Japanese manga and anime in 1997, and his website kawaii-mrjedi.blogspot.jp (written in Polish) is a comprehensive gateway to Japan and its culture. Malgorzata's Japan-inspired graphic designs — Seri Design — can be found at seridesign.net, where they can be printed on T-shirts, accessories, stationery and even shoes. Although the two live happily in Wroclav, southern Poland, they truly come alive during the weeks they spend in Japan every spring, when they film their travels around the country to update Mr. Jedi's blog.
Pawel: Anime can be a doorway to Japan. We both fell in love with Japan because in the 1980s and '90s we could watch Japanese anime and TV shows in Poland. They were great! The TV drama "Oshin" and the "Tora-san" film series were big hits, as were monster movies about Godzilla and Gamera. We loved them! The anime "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" was one of my favorites. And "Dobutsu Takarajima."
Malgorzata: Japan is easy to fall in love with. It talks to our soul. I loved anime and J-pop first, and I especially liked the rock group X Japan. Next was the kimono. I admired their rich colors and their elegance. The way Japanese use color is magical! For example, pink in Japan appears as subtle and luxurious.