腐の日々

Ookiku furikabutte LJ community

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:08:24 GMT

I've finally opened the Oofuri community for posting! Sorry for the delay -_-!
I'll start putting up raw scans of the manga etc. soon!

http://community.livejournal.com/oofuri/

P.S.: The first episode of the Oofuri anime is going to be aired this week! Don't forget to watch
it if you get the chance!!

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ;_;

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:52:39 GMT

*crying*

Uhhhhhhhh....why, oh why am I not in Japan at the moment ;_;?! Finally someone put the Oofuri doujin I've been desperately looking for up for auction and I can't bid on it.....(because I'm outside of Japan ;_;!)

http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b75249053

It's the continuation of Shinagawa Kaoruko's famous "Ano koro shinkou no you na koi wo shiteita" Oofuri (AbeHaruAbe) doujin and if you had read that one you would know just why I need that continuation so badly o_O. Uhuhuhu....;_;.....I'm sorry ;_;! I reeeeeeaaaaly want this one, but it's soooo hard to find!! And it's a "copy hon", too(which makes it 10 times harder to find).....(Ｔ_Ｔ)

I guess nobody who is reading this actually happens to have a copy of it ;_;? I would gladly pay an exorbitant price for it Ｔ_Ｔ...uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh *goes back to sobbing*
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

btw, I have founded an Oofuri community on LJ that will open shortly(probably by the end of this week). There will be scans, summaries and lots of info about Ookiku furikabutte, one of my favourite manga ever! If you're interested, come pay the community a visit in a few days ^-^.
=>http://community.livejournal.com/oofuri/profile

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holic spoilers ch. 130

Wow, I haven't posted about Holic for quite some time ^^. Actually, I haven't been reading Holic for quite some time now. Anyway, thanks to Ali's scans(itsumo osewa ni nattemasu! I'm glad that I don't have to['cannot', actually] buy Yanmaga anymore, but remember that I will always feel with you on that issue *_*.) and chibiyuuto's room of requirement I read through, like, 15 chapters a few days ago and just spoiled myself for the latest one.

Yay ^-^! Watanuki also made a pair of gloves for Doumeki! Doumeki seems to have wanted mittens instead of gloves, though. (hahahaha...can you imagine Doumeki wearing mittens XD?) And we finally get to see Kohane-chan! I've been waiting for her to make an appearance *_*! She's getting gloves too, of course ^-^. (Watanuki seems to be a fast knitter! He's making gloves for everyone *_*!) Doumeki and Kohane-chan meet for the first time (Kohane calls Doumeki "beautiful" ^-^. No doubt she's talking about his aura/spirit but from what I've read Watanuki seems to freak out after she said that...) and we find out what Kohane-chan has been doing lately, i.e. she was the one who excorcized that girl with the ponytail. And there was something about the system of Yuuko's shop crumbling because of the choices the Tsubasa characters made(on the blog it said something about a pic of Tsubasa's main cast in shackles). Originally you could only enter the shop if you needed it but now the system's falling apart even things that normally couldn't enter(like the ponytail girl) can get in. (Therefore Maru and Moro have to stay asleep to support the shop.)

Hm, hm.....that's what I read on a Japanese blog. I can't wait to see the new chapter! And I think I'll read Tsubasa this week too, since there seems to be a Holic link....guess I gotta go read some recent Tsubasa chapters, huh. meh. But I wanna know why and by whom all the Tsubasa characters are being held "captured"(?They're all in shackles, so I assume they are...).

P.S.: Hm...that egg Doumeki got must be some kind of location device(?). Doumeki knew where the fox would be and when Yuuko was holding it in one chapter(can't remember which one) she said that she had "found him" (that FeiWong Reed guy, I suppose). But what's it about that "time measuring" part?
Kinda sounds like a GPS to me. (laughs)

Is everyone okay? (random post on weather)

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 11:32:10 GMT

You may have heard that we've had that monster hurricane over here in Europe. Now, we don't usually get those over here, so everything was pretty much chaotic.

All trains were halted here in Germany on Thursday afternoon and there were no trains running till Friday morning. We've had power outages, trees blocking tracks and streets, trucks getting blown over on the highways...
It was pretty 'calm' around where I live but I could hear even more sirens at night than usual (the university hospital is pretty close). We were lucky though, because most university students got sent home by 2 or 3 p.m. on Thursday when trains were still running.

I wanted to go to my parents' place to pick up some books on Thursday but I'm glad I didn't o_O.
(Probably would've had to walk back home from the station because even buses and trams were not moving!) Anyway, I thought by Friday evening everything would've have gone back to normal, but it turned out I was wrong! First of all I had problems getting to the stations because only a few trams were running and when I finally got to the main station hundreds of people were lining up at the information counters or just waiting for information on 'any train' that was going into the direction they were headed. Unlike many others I got lucky because they announced a train going into the 'general direction' of my parents' place after just half an hour's wait. But within those 30 minutes I had three groups of people around me who were looking for 'cab partners' to form spontaneous 'cab pools'. Imagine those poor people who were stuck there since Thursday...there's a lot of big trade fairs in this area and some people just couldn't go back to wherever they came from because flights were canceled and public transport was not working.
What an odd experience.

This certainly is the weirdest "winter" ever. I was told last year was the coldest winter(since they started taking records) and this year's winter was the warmest. I mean, it's mid-January and we're having about 15°Celsius....this feels like winter in Okinawa minus the humidity...o_O
I haven't seen snow for about 2 years now (because of Okinawa...and I went to mainland in late February/March so there was no snow either...)...once it's gone you really start missing the cold weather, I guess.

Sorry for the weird post...

request: anime magazine scans

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:44:34 GMT

Does anyone know where to find scans from the following magazines?

Animage 2/07, Newtype 2/07 and Animedia 2/07.

According to http://www.oofuri.com/ they all have news on the Oofuri anime <3!

It’s official <3! Ookiku furikabutte anime series to be aired in spring 2007!!

Sat, 23 Dec 2006 23:34:57 GMT

Merry Christmas everyone (or "happy holidays" in case you're celebrating anything else)! It's been a looong time since I posted here! Ever since I returned from Japan I've had so much stuff do, I barely have time to use my computer for anything besides writing reports or preparing presentations anymore...!

Anyway, the reason I'm posting this is very obvious if you've looked at the subject line :D.
Just as expected, "Ookiku furikabutte" ,the manga I've been raving about on this lj some times, is being made into an anime!

Now, whoever has read "Ookiku furikabutte" and known the genius of it, couldn't help but suspect that a unique and popular series like "Oofuri" would be made into an anime sooner or later. When they started to postpone the publishing date for volume seven from August(06) to "early fall" to "fall" or "late fall" and finally "January(07)" even though there were enough unpublished pages to fill at least 3(!!) volumes you kind of started to suspect that it would be "sooner" rather then "later". And ever since they hinted that there would be "big news" in the next issue(i.e. issue 2/07) of "Afternoon"(the monthly magazine Oofuri is published in) and it didn't take much to conclude they were about to announce the anime ^o^.

And as of yesterday all "suspicions" have been confirmed! Afternoon issue 2/07(06/12/25) had a promotional poster and information on the staff, which is

Director: Mizushima Tsutomu (xxxholic)
Series composition(シリーズ構成): Kuroda Yousuke (Hachikuro)
Character design : Yoshida Tsutomu (Hachikuro)
Animation : A-1 Pictures(???)

Sounds quite good to me. Especially if you consider the fact that "Oofuri" would be rather difficult to make into an anime art-wise (the art is very rough). But so was Hachimitsu to Clover and they did an awesome job on it. I can’t really tell a lot from the picture, I'd have to see more, but it looks fine. My biggest concern isn’t the art however:
I think it's way too early for an anime. (If you were reading recent chapters of Oofuri you would understand.) And from what I read Higuchi-sensei(the author) strongly opposed to Oofuri being made into an anime at first. And when they got her to agree it must be good. (On a Japanese blog I read there was a 4 page(!!) statement from Higuchi-sensei on this topic in the very same issue of Afternoon! I can't wait to read it XO!! Plus Oofuri has won the "Tezuka Osamu culture award" so hopefully they're gonna put some money into the anime!) The anime is due next spring..exactly when my thesis is due o_O.
~~Hey, maybe I could write my thesis about Oofuri...*wishful thinking*.~~ *sigh*

Anyway, I can’t wait to see Mihashi "panicking, crying and being cute", Abe being an "adorable creep" and everyone else being their lovely selves in colour and now moving and talking! I’m especially excited about hearing everyone’s voices!!! Abe screaming at Mihashi XD! Mihashi being Mihashi and Tajima-sama...er...I wonder if they’re gonna cut out all of Tajima’s text...I mean, can you say that on TV o_O?! And Haruna XD (haruabe<3haruabe<3haruabe<3)! Junta<3!!! Hanai <3<3<3!!!Everyone XD!! Argh! It's past twelve already!!! Gotta go to sleep!!! More on this topic soon <3! *goes off to worship Higuchi Asa*

うわー！！！_

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 00:17:57 GMT

皆見てる？デスノアニメ第1話。アレ、なんかすごくない？超すごくない？まぁ、とにかくすごいよ、デスノアニメ。まだの人はすぐみて！絶対オススメ！

Everyone go and watch the Death Note anime. It's overwhelming *_*. Be sure to watch it and go "whoah*_*!!!" now if you haven't seen it yet!

Yay! Alison's scans are here <3

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 21:56:59 GMT

Well, the word is out. There's no Doumeki in this week's Holic chapter and I'm sure quite a number of 104 shippers out there are rather diappointed about that and/or the "WataHima(?) overload(??)" in recent chapters. But do worry no more! If you look closely, this chapter is actually a feast for 104 shippers<3! You just have to ~~drift off into daydreams~~ 'read between the lines'....fufu.
Warning: serious ~~delusional~~ fangirl rambling ahead. (But am half-asleep so...)

Holic chapter 120 translation(Japanese->English)

Please do not use my translations in scanlations!

p.1

---

p.2

Watanuki(Wata): "...Yuuko-san...How long....was I asleep?"

Yuuko(Yuu): "Six days."

Wata: "And Himawari-chan? Did you...."

Yuu: "I told her that you've gotten a lot better. And I told Doumeki-kun too."

p.3

Wata: "Yuuko-san...?"

Yuu: "You're not saying it. "

Wata: "Saying what?"

Yuu: "Asking me to do something about Himawari-chan and saying that you'd pay the price all by yourself."

Wata: "....I was planning to. "

Wata: "But I was wondering what Himwari-chan'd think if she heard what I might have done to pay that price"

p.4

Wata: "I don't think she'd be happy about it. I'm sure it....would hurt her feelings very badly."

Wata: "Just as I don't want anyone('s feelings) to get hurt for my sake, I'm sure Himawari-chan also.....doesn't want to hurt anybody('s feelings)."

Yuu: "....yes"

p.5

Wata: "That's why I'll do my best. I'll do what I can to make her smile even the tiniest bit."

Yuu: "This is what good children deserve."

Wata: "I'm not a kid anymore, you know."

p.6

Wata: "huh.....[I'm falling asleep] again...."

Yuu: "Sleep, so you'll get better as soon as possible."

Wata: "But...I'm sleeping all time. Is there nothing I can...."

Yuu: "Then take this."

Wata: "What is it?"

Yuu: "That's the price I received for the water you fetched. That's why it's yours."

p.7

Yuu: "Hold it in your sleep and it will hatch."

Yuu: "It will turn out as you want it to turn out."

p.8

Egg: "It's so warm. You're very gentle. You're holding me with very gentle feelings in your heart."

Egg: "That's why I'll be able to become gentle myself."

p.9

Egg: "I'll be raised to be gentle."

Egg: "How will I turn out? How do you want me to be?"

p.10

Wata: %I want her to be happy. I'm sure she was lonely. I'm sure she was sad.%

Wata: %But despite that she smiles. And it doesn't have to be all that much, but I wish for her happiness. %

Egg: "Yes. I've understood."

p.11

Egg: "So that she'll become happy, so that she will be able to smile for real, I'll hatch."

p.12

---

p.13

Wata: ".....so you were the one talking to me in my sleep."

Yuu: "I see it hatched."

Wata: "This...?"

p.14

Yuu: "I see. So this is how it turned out."

Yuu: "Himawari-chan's power does not affect this bird. In a way you could say it's just like Doumeki-kun."

Yuu: "That's why it's okay for it to be with Himawari-chan."

p.15

Yuu: "It's not like it can do anything, but it will be with her unconditionally."

Yuu: "I'm sure that will mean a lot to her(/make her happy)."

p.16

Yuu: "Just like you have changed through your encounters with others, Himawari-chan has also changed."

Yuu: "And she will keep changing from now on."

Yuu: "If she strongly believes in it...and if there's someone who believes in it with her."

-------------------------------------------------------

thoughts and comments:

What a nice chapter! I prefer to have a chapter like this when there's a two(?) week break for Holic. (I mean, would you rather have a 104 cliffhanger?! Clamp-sensei can save those for a month without breaks <3!) Anyway, I'll just leave my comments chronologically, as usual.

p.1
This chapter is giving me some serious flashbacks. I remember a SeiSub poster with a similar theme that was furoku in Asuka YEARS AGO. All strings and bells and !fate written all over it (not really). Hmm....I wonder if we're getting a matching pic with Doumeki some time. Yeah, as if XD! ~~Ok, I know I'm probably delusional but let a girl dream!~~

p.3
Yeah, with all that "worrying that he could hurt Himawari's feelings" on Watanuki's side some might think Doumeki is getting the short end of the stick. If that's what you think, I can assure you: it's absolutely not that way^^. There is a reason Watanuki never apologizes to or thanks Doumeki. Sure, a great part of it is that he's shy/embarrassed and doesn't want to admit any gratitude to Doumeki at all. Now what's really behind this is that Doumeki is Watanuki's safety net. He doesn't need to worry about Doumeki hating or rejecting him because no matter what Watanuki did or said to him Doumeki would stay with him. And he knows that. It's really easy to understand if you think of them as a married couple *slightly delusional*. I mean, they behave like one ALL OF THE TIME anyway. *cough* What was I writing about? Ah, yes. Watanuki knows about it. Why not think of it as an unspoken agreement between them? Feelings are hurt but there are no apologies and, more important no regrets.

[will edit/continue tomorrow. I'm falling asleep...I might delete this later because I'm sure it will sound totally absurd once I'm out of my sleep-deprived state..]

Watanuki wishes for everybody(Kamui + Suu flashback) to find happiness and for nobody to get hurt. It is true that he himself has talked about helping/ helped quite a lot of 'people' he 'barely knows' so far (i.e. like Zashiki warashi, ghost woman, Kohane etc..). But it's the ones he doesn't talk about that matter.

p.5
Now, I really, really like Watanuki saying this. Instead of saying "he'd do everything" like before, he's really come to learn that it is more important to do "what he can do". Neat. Yay for spider woman. She did teach him his lesson <3.
And I also love Yuuko in this scene...

p.6
Is it just me, or is anyone getting Harry Potter flashbacks? The "egg of requirement", is it now? Actually it's a wish egg.
I wonder if that egg could really turn into anything (besides animals). Maybe we'll hear some kind of explanation later(in Tsubasa...?).

p.10
Lovely scene. Have you ever notices how Watanuki -selfless as he is- never wishes for his own happiness. And to me, the fact that he wishes Himawari happiness means that he does so because he is not going to be the one to make her happy. As far as I remember he has never said that he wants to make her happy personally. And there's a big difference in wanting somebody to be happy and wanting somebody to be happy with you. Watanuki 'creating' the bird for Himawari is only adding up to my theory.
He wants someone to be there for her when she is lonely or sad, someone who will be with her unconditionally and will make her happy. Sorry. I'm half asleep. Am I making any sense at all??

p.11
Definitely indictaing that Himawari-chan's smile has been fake so far.

p.14
So Himawari-chan doesn't affect Doumeki. Big surprise. He's by far the most fortunate guy in Holic's world. I'm wondering if this will make Watanuki "partly-immune"(-->blood) against her power, too.

Serious delusions (I should go see a doctor. Maybe.):
Congratulations on your first-born Watanuki XD *please don't hit me*! And since Doumeki helped Watanuki with fetchthing water it's actually their ~~baby~~, er, egg I mean.....*see what this series has done to my head?! I'm afraid the damage is beyond repairable by now.*

----------------------
Tsubasa:
And Tsubasa seems to be turning gayer week by week. Thankfully I feel no ~~moe~~ er, chemistry betweeen me and that manga. Thank goodness!(Couldn't afford to get hooked on another series

P.S.: Sorry that I haven't replied to all of the comments in the last post yet, but I'm really busy at the moment *_*!
University's starting soon and I'm moving back into student dorm in a few days and since I've only just come back
from Japan and that 3-week holiday I haven't even started packing my stuff....oh boy.....

Bliss (aka BRIDAL STYLE XD)

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 20:45:23 GMT

I'm back from Japan + a three-week vacation in Poland. I'm not missing Okinawa one bit(just the food) but I certainly do miss Tokyo(I've been there for 9 happy days of my life!). Anyway!!! Holic ch. 119! Thank you so much ladydarkmoon <3! I've spoiled myself for the chapter like a week ago and now I was finally able to 'read' it <3<3. Otsukaresama, Ali!!!!
Everyone go and worship her!!!

And not only did I get Holic 119, a very important parcels arrived on my doorstep today <3.
During the 11 months I was in Japan I sent about 70(o_O!!!!!) kilos of books and manga(some was school stuff though....yeah "some") home(by m-bag, of course!!!!) and today this arrived!!!!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!! It's all the doujin from my shopping spree in Tokyo!!!! Most of it is Oofuri though *looks away guiltily*. There's some Holic(very little, though, bc hard to get) and some stuff I'll sell on ebay later(Death Note and some old JRock ones). But 95% of it is Oofuri. If I were in Tokyo now I would probably be buying this much Gintama. But I discovered that series way too late(3 weeks before going home), unfortunately. Damnit. It's one of the funniest series I've ever read <3. And GinHiji(reversible<3) and OkiKagu are so good too.
need.to.go.back.to.Tokyo.now.XO!!!

Oh and if you wanna know what's in the pink folder(the one I stuck that cute kitten on)...that's the greatest treasure of'em all:
copies I made from unpublished chapters of "Glass no Kamen" and "Yami no Matsuei" when I was at the National Library in Tokyo. I only made a few because it was quite expensive but I'm really regretting it now. I should've made more....especially for Garakame ;_;!!! I doubt those chapters(about 2000 pages) will ever be published!!!

Now, on to the good stuff. I give you

Holic chapter 119 translation(Japanese->English)

Please do not use my translations in scanlations!

p.1

Watanuki(Wata): "Himawari-chan, wait."

Wata: "I'm sorry."

Himawari(Hima): "....what for?"

Wata: "For scaring you of course."

Wata: "(It must have shocked you that) that I suddenly fell out of the window."

Wata: "When I get better I'll cook something only for you as an apology."

p.2

Hima: "You did listen to what I said, didn't you?"

Wata: "Yes, but every time you give me sweets I feel like I'm in heaven and when I see you I'm happy for the whole day."

Wata: "You calling me 'Watanuki-kun', you talking to me and smiling - all these things are good."

Wata: "Having met Himawari-chan"

p.3

Wata: "has brought me so much happiness."

p.4

Hima: "You might not survive the next time."

Wata: "I will."

p.5

Hima: "How can you say that?"

Wata: "I can't say it for sure, but I'm determined not to die."

Wata: "I really like you, Himawari-chan, so I wouldn't make you cry."

p.6

Hima: "....you really are an idiot, Watanuki-kun."

Wata: "You're so cruel, Himawari-chan!"

Hima: "I'd like chiffon cake. Strawberry chiffon cake with pink cream."

Wata: "Consider it done!"

p.7

Hima: " Bye then, Watanuki-kun."

Wata: "Yeah."

Wata: "See you."

Hima: "...see you."

p.8

Hima: "Don't tell him that you know about the chiffon cake. That's a secret between me and Watanuki-kun."

Doumeki(Dou): ".....okay."

Dou: "But I'll eat the bentou. The three of us(together) will."

p.9

Hima: ".....sure."

Wata: "About Himawari-chan...."

Yuuko(Yuu): "The price for ridding her of her disposition to cause unhappiness is too big. It would cost her all her happiness."

p.10

Wata: "Who paid the price for my wounds?"

Yuu: "One was Himari-chan. Doumeki-kun was another one."

Wata: "And the third person?"

Yuu: "Someone whose fate is closely entwined with yours."

Yuu: "He paid his price in advance to help you so you wouldn't die (in case something happened to you)."

Yuu: "He paid this price long ago."
((see notes at the bottom

p.11

Yuu: "You have met him. He was the one who came here to get his wish granted on that rainy day."

Wata: "You mean...the one that looked like Shaoran-kun....?"

Wata: "But.....why?"

Yuu: "Sleep, now. You'll need lots time to recover. And you won't recover completely."

Wata: "....you mean my pinkie?"

Yuu: "Yes. Even if all your other wounds heal you won't be able to move your right pinkie finger anymore."

p.12

Wata: "That's......fine. But, please... Don't....tell Himawari-chan."

Wata: "Because I like it best...when she smiles...."

Wata: "Oh,...the price...what did Himawari-chan pay to help me?"

Yuu: "I promised Himawari-chan not to tell you."

Wata: "And Doumeki? ....what......"

p.13

Yuu: "Doumeki-kun's price was to give the same amount of blood you lost."　

Yuu: "Both you and Himawari-chan became my customers to fulfill your wish."

p.14

Hima: "You're a liar, Watanuki-kun."

Hima: "Didn't you say you wouldn't make me cry?"

Hima: "It was the first time somebody told me they were happy to have met me."

p.15

Hima: "......I'm so happy Watanuki-kun didn't die. I'm so happy that I accepted Watanuki's scars to save him."

p.16

Hima: "Thank you. I'm also happy to have met you."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

comments and thoughts:

p.10
Yuuko's actually saying "it's taken a long time". To me this sounds like he would've paid that price even before he was born...Yuuko saying "a long time" always seems pretty long to me...

p.13
About the blood thing.When I first read the spoilers last week I doubted Watanuki would actually get Doumeki's blood but after reading about Himawari's scars(Himawari-chan ;_;!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I'm quite sure he has. Plus, Yuuko's actually using the word 'donate' when she says Doumeki had to 'give' his blood. I'm very excited about the next chapter. Come on Clamp, they're sharing and eye, now they're sharing blood(?) and next thing Watanuki'll be moving in with Doumeki at the temple. er. yeah. mh. *daydreams* Anyway, I also support the theory that Doumeki's blood will have a positive influence on Watanuki('s powers). Is there a chapter next week? Then there'll be spoilers on Monday....

And we finally we have proof: Ohimesamadakko <3!!!
As all you you certainly know it's been stated that Doumeki has carried Watanuki on quite a few occasions in the manga and fangirls(especially the Japanese ones) have always been wondering how he actually carried him(i.e. on his back, on his arms etc.) and now we know! The pattern of the blood stains has spoken...it's "ohimesamadakko <3<3<3!!! In Japan the word for "carrying someone in one's arms" is called ohimesamadakko ("お姫様抱っこ" = "princess carrying") because princesses are usually carried that way of course. *fufu* Ohimesamadakko~ XD <3<3<3!
edit: It's called "bridal style" in English! Thanks to stormantia for telling <3<3<3!!!

They really should put a warning on Holic chapters : "May cause daydreaming and slight ~~loss of reality~~dizziness."
I also wouldn't recommend going out with "that fangirlish ~~drooling~~ look" on your face. hehe.

----------------------------------------------------

I've just read x_reggg's and inarikami's Tsubasa translations of chapter 129 and have noticed an important translation mistake.

What Fuuma really says to Subaru on page four is this:

Tsubasa ch.129 :
p.4

Subaru: "How is Seishirou-san?"

Fuuma: "He's aging a little slower but he seemed fine, beside that."

bleh.

So he did make him into a vampire. Damn you Fuuma and Seishirou. Stop intervening in my long-lost-but-never-forgotten couplings. The last few chapters were all nice with just Kamui and Subaru, I felt like I was reading X, again. I see Clamp are planning to pull off the SeiSub thing again. Im feeling like the only reason they made Tsubasa was to revive Seishirou. Bleh. :P.~~thank god he's dead in X~~. Why am I still reading Tsubasa if I don't even like it that much? *mystery*

------------------------------------------------------------------

what the...nb3xsy?!?!

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 09:27:53 GMT

I'm back home *_*! And SO sleep deprived....but I got my Yanmaga at the airport and am so excited about it o_O!!!!
Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!! Will update with translation(maybe a few pics?) later *_*!!!!!

And finally, after almost one year I got to eat cheese!!! You really don't know how good some foods taste until you haven't eaten them for a loooong time!!! And fruit doesn't cost a fortune anymore *_*!!!!! And.....*falls asleep over the keyboard*
.....later!!

psssst don't tell anybody...

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 06:33:35 GMT

This week's Holic chapter.

He's back XD!!!

OMG,OMG *_*.

And now we know his name: Doumeki Haruka(百目鬼遙).

And that's all I know so far because the Japanese fangirl whose blog I got this from was too exicted to do anything but fangirl incoherently.

Stupid Holic addiction XO. It always gets me in the end.

need.my.Yanmaga.now.damnit.XO.

*goes back to worship Osofu-sama*　

Today is "umi no hi" (the day of the sea/beach) !

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 06:21:44 GMT

And "Umi no hi" is a national holiday in Japan = no school <3! (Strangely enough, the library is open o_O. Not that I'm complaining...I just read the Himawari "spoiler" on chibiyuuto's blog. Hm...that does indeed make a lot of sense! Now we just have to wait for the next chapter in 2[??] weeks?)

I went to the beach yesterday with a few friends (because it's too crowded on "umi no hi") and it was so much fun <3. My arms are much more tanned than my legs and I'm desperately trying to get both of them to have the same colour as long as I can "enjoy" the sun here. Yes, Okinawa is good for one thing: a vacation on the beach. While most foreigners are putting efforts into getting themselves a decent tan, it's always fun to watch all the Japanese girls trying to dodge the sun with their parasols and long-sleeved shirts at the beach. And no day at the beach is complete without hearing someone scream "Oh no! I'll get all black(kuroi/black=tanned)!". ~~You don't wanna get a tan? Then what the heck are you doing at the beach?!~~ I don't get it.

>>concerning my last post
No, I don't hate Clamp...I've just been reading so much really good manga and novels recently that I automatically start expecting to see the same depth/ character development etc. in Clamp manga. It's not like I'm looking for it, cause I know it's just not there. My relationship to Clamp is probably like that woman with her computer in volume 1 of Holic...giving up being a fangirl is not the easiest thing to do...~~close to impossible...?~~

I think I've caught a really bad cold...

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 07:19:19 GMT

Holic ch.112 translation

p.1

Himawari(Hi): "I'll go home, then! See you!"

Wata: "Uh, yeah. Take care!"

p.2

Wata: "Gee, it's dark already!"

Wata: "But it's good to know today is the last time I have
to go and fetch water with you! Ah, what a relief!"

Wata: "What's it now? Is something on your mind again?"

Dou: "......"

Wata: "Anyway, let's get this done quickly. Standing around here forever
will only make us look even more suspicious. Especially you!"

p.3

---

p.4

Wata: "Done! Let's go b..."

Wata: "Ouch!"

Wata: "Wah!"

p.5

Wata: "The wrapping cloth has flown inside the house!"

Wata: "Oh no..."

Dou: "Is it valuable?"

Wata: "I have no idea, but it does belong to Yuuko-san after all [so it might be important]."

Wata: "And given the pots were wrapped in it right from the start...there might be a meaning to it."

Dou: "So we have...no choice....but to go and get it back?"

p.6

Wata: "The doorbell is not making a sound."

Wata: "Is nobody home...? ...but the woman on the second floor..."

Dou: "....I'll go."

p.7

Wata: "hm?"

Dou: "I'll go and get it. You wait here."

Wata: "It's my fault that it flew inside in the first place, so I'll go."

Dou: "You're waiting here. No talking."

Wata: "You think I'm scared?! I'm going in! You can stay here and cry until I come back!"

Wata: "...it's...open..."

p.8

Wata: "....it almost looks like this place was abandoned..."

p.9

Wata: "Excuse me! Is anyone home?"

Dou: "....."

Wata: "Doesn't seem like anyone's here."

Wata: "Then the woman on the second floor...."

Wata: "Ah!"

p.10

Dou: "Hey!"

p.11

Wata: "Excuse me."

Dou: "...."

p.12

Wata: "Just as I thought..."

Wata: "To be sitting here everyday, wearing the same clothes and without speaking a word..."

Wata: "This is a doll."

-------------------------------------------

Holic. ch. 113 translation

p.1

Doumeki(Dou): "It might be."

Watanuki(Wata): "...Doumeki?"

Dou: "But there's another possibility."

p.2

Wata: "...what do you mean?"

Dou: "Just like I thought, the way her skin and hair look..."

Wata: "Bu..but didn't you say you din't know the people who lived here..?"

Dou: "I'm not talking about her as a person."

Dou: "I've seen others 'like her' countless times."

p.3

Dou: "[They] won't move and won't speak."

Dou: "I've seen that so many times."

Dou: "This is"

p.4

Dou: "a corpse."

p.5

Wata: "....impossible! In this heat? If it were a corpse it would smell or at least look rotten!"

Dou: "Corpses these days don't rot."

Dou: "My grandfather told me that back in the day it used to be a lot of trouble to keep bodies kept at the temple [before their funeral] from rotting [too fast], especially in summer or during the rainy season."
((Note: During the rainy season it is very humid throughout Japan. On Okinawa we had 100% humidity. .......damnit....I wanted to go to Japan and not some subtropical tourist destination XP!!

Dou: "But lately people stay as they are even if they've been dead for a few days."

Wata: "...why?"

p.6

Dou: "People nowadays eat foods that contain artificial colourings and preservatives every day. These build up in people's bodies over the years and will eventually act as a preservant for the body itself."

p.7

Wata: "....this is....a corpse?"

Wata: "And then Doumeki called the police..."

p.8

Yuuko(Yuu): "And?"

Wata: "...it was...a corpse."

Yuu: "....not even dying, rotting and getting burried seems easy anymore for people nowadays."

Yuu: "You don't look too well."

Wata: "That...body...somehow..."

p.9

Yuu: "Were there any ayakashi or ghosts close to that body?"

Wata: "No, but...compared to seeing ayashi or ghosts....[seeing someone who's] staying the same... even though they're dead is so much more..."

Yuu: "Watanuki."

Wata: "Yes?"

Yuu: "You're feeling uncomfortable right now."

p.10

Wata: "Uncomfortable...? [I wouldn't say that...]"

Yuu: "One could say you are not feeling the least bit happy right now, are you?"

Wata: "Yes, I guess you could..."

Yuu: "Why did you go into the house with the well?"

Wata: "The cloth the pot was wrapped in flew into the house because of the wind."

Yuu: "Because of the wind?"

Wata: "Ah, now that I think of it, my pinky suddenly started hurting."

p.11

Yuu: "Did you do something with that finger?"

Wata: "No, I didn't do anything at all."

Yuu: "Really?"

Wata: "I made a promise with Himawari-chan and we linked pinkies."

Yuu: "Indeed."

p.12

Yuu: "The finger you linked with Himawari-chan when you made a promise
("yubikiri") with her suddenly started hurting. That is what made the cloth get blown away by the wind and made you go into the house."

-----------------

Comments and thoughts (on chapter 113):

I'm not surprised at all at how this story turned out. Actually I was expecting something along these lines to happen. Doumeki is the son(?) of a priest (it is to assume that his father is a priest, too) and we know that he has been helping around the temple. But since buddhism and a lot of buddhist rituals that are intergrated into Japanese culture, are not that familiar in the Western world, a lot of people might not realize what that "helping at the temple" actually is about. (Imagine living in a church that also acts as a funeral home, i.e. 'storing' bodies before the funeral etc.) Since Japanese people usually know more about the chores at a temple, Japanese fanfiction looks at Doumeki from a very different angle. I have read quite a few very good Doumeki-centered stories that focus on how living at a temple(becoming a priest one day?) and the constant presentof the dead/death and the mourning affects Doumeki thinking, his actions and his feelings towards Watanuki.

If I had to chose one over another, I would prefer those stories to the manga. I don't want to offend anyone and I'm not calling Clamp-sensei pretentious or anything of the sort, but I am sure that some of you will agree with me that with Clamp "it's always the same". That is also one of the reasons Clamp-sensei will NEVER win a big manga prize for one of their works: they would rather generalize everything and blame it on humans/society than deal with and depict how a single human being is
affected by things like pain or suffering. I am mildly surprised at this chapter for alluding to Doumeki's pain at all. In typical Clamp-manner the pain however is only depicted superficially, in a painful stare and knitted brows.

"Would Holic be a better story if someone else took the plot and characters and wrote/drew their own 'Holic'?" - I have no doubts it would. I am looking forward to the novel, but since the other is known for horror stories and not character study I'm not setting my hopes too high.

*sigh*

Sometimes I really agree with all the reasons why one should dislike Clamp. If you study their works and look at their history it is very obvious Clamp themselves are 'fangirls'. Yes, I mean fangfirls as in "fangirls like you and me". The one "pretentious" thing about Clamp is they would never say it in the open. You could say that this is "as good as it is bad" because it's the very thing that keeps fangirls screaming over Clamp couplings. I'm sure everyone who reads this knows the small gap between blatantness and total denial that makes up "that special blend of Clamp".

I've read somewhere that at the interview in the USA Clamp were being asked a coupling-related question(Kurogane and Fai, if I remember correctly). That's all I read, I don't know what the question was or what they answered, but I can imagine in. Does anyone know a link to a transcript of that question?

*sigh*

I'm 22. Way too old for Clamp. The day I grow out of Clamp manga is long overdue.

I wanna go and see the Death Note movie again T_T!!

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 04:46:22 GMT

It's been raining like crazy for the most part of this week and the wind is super strong because there was another typhoon somewhere close to Okinawa (Miyako island?) earlier this week. Though I do appreciate typhoons for making the temperature go down A LOT, the rain and the wind are so strong you can't go outside.

So I've been trying to distract myself by finally reading Asano Atsuko's
"Battery"(novel) series. Now, after having read all six volumes of "Battery"(the last one was pretty new so there was no soft cover edition! So expensive *_*!) the thing I have to say about the series is that it managed to piss me off really bad. Now, I'm not saying I don't like it or would recommend "not to read it". In fact, volume 1 is adorable and nice to read and volume 2(which was awarded one of the major Japanese children's literature prizes) scared me so much, it shook me to my core. But starting with volume 3 "Battery" reads like nothing more than a BL(boy's love) novel with some major pent up sexual frustration going on. Uh..., I'll stop talking about that right now. The mere thought of it is grating on my nerves. Maybe some of you know the manga? It's running in Asuka. I've read the first 3 volumes(=correspond to volume 1 of the novel) and the story's not that different but it's WAY too cute. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh XO! If you're reading it just stop at volume 2(novel) or just go and read "Ookiku furikabutte" instead. It is pure love and will always put you in good mood *_*.

I finally went to see the Death Note movie on Wednesday with some friends of mine and I have to admit that I'm positively surprised. It's pretty good *_*! There are some alterations to the plot and lots of left out scenes but it's still fun to watch. (If you knew me personally you would be reaaaaally surprised to here me say this. Usually I have a hard time finding anything good to say about movies based on books/manga I like o_O!!) And the crazy thing is: I know all the actors *_*(just their faces!). OMG, THAT was scary.....maybe I should create one of those "I know I've been watching too much Japanese dorama when..." lists. Honestly, I had been wondering why the girl that's playing Misa looks so familiar until a certain scene where you see her running away and screaming. Then it hit me! ギャルサー *_*!!!!!!! "Gal circle" was a dorama about a group of "gals"(today's version of the former ganguro gals) and she played one of the main characters. I might add that she was screaming(complaining) and running away half of the time in that dorama...Oh, I just realized I missed the last episode of that one....was anyone watching that? Go ahead and spoil me, please!! Anyway, back to Death Note. I'm sure if you've seen pictures of the actors you might have disagreed with the casting of the movie. For me that is certainly true! Especially when it comes to the actor who plays Raito. Now, I have to admit, no matter how much you might disagree with the looks you will get used to it very quickly. I.e. Raito's actor has a REALLY good voice, and the actor who plays L(me and wanderingkabuki had a giggling fit when we saw L...I mean look at him *_*! He looks way too mature compared to the manga and he has a deep male voice[for a Japanese person!]) may not look the part but has definitely studied the manga very well! Like the way he's sitting, holding the cell phone, constantly eating sweets or using a lollipop(awesome <3)to stir his tea XD! It was the same for Ryuku. Weird computer graphics, but you get used to it quicker than you would have thought. As expected the end had all of us screaming "Noooooooooooo! We need part 2 *_*!!! Now!!!!". But since everyone is going home(back to their countries) in August...;_;

And finally: Holic! Since this post is getting pretty long I'll put up the translations in two different post.

Holic ch. 110

p.1

---

p.2

Yuuko(Yuu): "This water will do."

Nekomusume(Neko): "hehe"

Watanuki(Wata): "I don't know why, but that pot was really hard to carry."

Wata: "Now, I know that water's pretty heavy but that water seems unusually
heavy. I had a hard time carrying just that one pot."

Yuu: "Thanks, I appreciate your hard work."

p.3

Yuu: "Now you just need to get me 12 more pots of water from that well."

Wata: "WHAT?!"

Wata: "You need more of that water?!"

Yuu: "Yes."

Wata: "Couldn't you have told me that right from the start?!"

Yuu: "I had to check if the water from that well was appropriate first. You
could impossibly have carried 12 pots at once."

Neko: "And I won't carry any."

Wata: "Well....that's true, but still..."

Yuu: "It seems like you really don't wanna go there. Did something happen
at that house with the well?

p.4

Wata: "There was someone in the house and they might have seen me fetching
the water."

Yuu: "Did they say anything you?"

Wata: "No, but I don't feel comfortable going to that place so many
times..."

Yuu: "I see. So you'd like to shorten the number of times you have to go
there."

Wata: "Well, no...actually, I'd rather not go at all..."

Yuu: "Maru-! Moro-!"

Marumoro: "Ye～s, Mistress!"

p.5

Yuu: "There."

Wata: "huh?"

Yuu: "If you fill two pots at once you'll just have to go six times!"
((Note: If you look at Watanuki and see what I see it proves you've been
buying Yanmaga for WAY too long o_O.

Wata: "Just like I thought 'not going at all' is not among my options..."

Wata: "But I can impossibly carry two pots at once..."

Yuu: "Then you should go together with someone."

Neko: "I won't come."

Mokona(Moko): "I can go, if you want me to!"

Wata: "You can carry heavy stuff?"

Moko: "Sure!"
((Note: Nekomusume XD!!

p.6

Moko: *muscles*

Wata: "Whoah! Amazing!"
((Note: Watanuki is too cute *_*!!

Wata: "There's a limit to everything! Even to 'looking suspicious'!!
And a mysterious creature walking around is sure to be reported anyway!!"

Neko: "His movements are weird!"

Yuu: "It's even weirder than watching a cat being teased."

Wata: "And Himawari-chan... I can't go with her. I couldn't make cute
Himawari-chan carry something that heavy!"

Marumoro: *Weird movements! Weird! Weird! *

-

p.7

Wata: "And if I get caught it will be 'breaking and entering'! There's no one who would
go with me to a place like that!"

Neko + Marumoro: "Mew------!"

Wata: "Uwa-----h!"

Yuu: "You do have someone, don't you?"

Wata: "huh?"

((note: ah...! Some scenes in this chapter are so precious <3! Cuteness overload :D!!

p.8

Yuu: "Someone who will go with you."

Wata: "Just for your information, I didn't want to go with you! And I don't
care if you get reported! Doesn't hurt my conscience one bit!"

p.9

---

p.10

Wata: "Wah!"

Dou: "What?"

Wata: "There's someone in that window!"

p.11

Wata: %The same person as yesterday.%

p.12

Dou: "What?"

Wata: "That person...yesterday, she was sitting in the same place and..."

p.13

Wata: "...she's wearing the same outfit [she wore yesterday]..."

Wata: "....would a woman wear the same outfit two days in a row when it's
so hot outside...?"

distractions....

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 02:33:10 GMT

Typhoons(!), work and other stuff have kept me from going to the internet lately, but tomorrow I'll (finally) post the translations to Holic chapters 110,112 and 113(which turned out just as I thought...). The translations for 110 and 112 have been lying on my desk forever, but I just didn't find the time to type them and put them up...

Anyway....I'm going to see the Death Note movie now with some friends XD!!
I've been waiting to see it for so long!! Btw, does anyone know when the Hachikuro movie opens in Japanese cinemas? I hope I'm still here when it starts *_*! (I have less than 40 days left!!!)

busy _

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 08:08:22 GMT

I was really busy and didn't get access to a computer for a week or so so I apologize for not commenting on the older posts. I have to go to my job in half an hour so I'll just post the translation to the latest Holic chapter here. Unfortunately I forgot my translation to chapter 110 at home...I'll post it later this week!

Ali: saw your email today! The CD arrived last week. I'll write to you tomorrow :D!

holic ch. 111

p.1

Watanuki(Wata): "Doumeki, in that window...."

Doumeki(Dou): "I can see her sitting there."

Wata: "Can you still see her if I do this?"

Dou: "Yeah."

p.2

Wata: "The fact that you can still see her with only your left eye means...
she's really there."

Dou: "Did you feel anything?"

Wata: "I thought I felt a chill[when I looked at her]..."

Wata: "But it must have been my imagination."

Wata: "Let's go get the water quickly and go back."

p.3

Himawari(Hi): "You went to a well to get water?"

p.4

Wata: "Yeah. But I have to go there 5 more times."

Wata: "And with him, out of all people!"

Wata: "Are you ignoring me?!"

Hi: "What's wrong, Doumeki-kun? Is something on your mind?"

Wata: "Ahhh! Himawari-chan's worrying about Doumeki!!"

Dou: "....at the place where the well is, there..."

p.5

Wata: "What's that supposed to mean? Don't tell me you found (out) something yesterday
and din't tell me!!"

Dou: "No."

Wata: "Then what?!

Dou: "何か・・・知ってるような気が・・・"
((note: This sentence can have a lot of different meanings.
1) "She seems familiar to me." (= what Himawari understands)
2) "I have the feeling she knows something."
3) "I have the feeling I know something[...]." etc.
Himawari takes his words as in option 1) but Doumeki says it's "different".
I guess we'll see next what he really meant next(?) issue.

Hi: "Have you met that person from that house before?"

Dou: "No, that's not what I meant."

Wata: "huh?? You're being vague."

Hi: "How unusual for Doumeki-kun!"

p.6

Dou: "......."

---

Yuu: "Thanks. 8 more pots of water, then."

p.7

Yuu: "What's wrong? Why so glum?"

Wata: "...today the woman at that house wore the same clothes again."

Yuu: "In this heat?"

Wata: "...but Doumeki could see her too. Maybe it just looked like the same clothes to me..."

p.8

Wata: "How about I fry tempura today? Let's have 天ざる!"
((forgot to look up what the food is o_O....later!

Wata: "Let's see...how about 蕎麦焼酎? And 蕎麦湯, too..."

Yuu: "....."

Wata: "So this is the third time."

p.9

Wata: "What with that attitude of yours? Squat down like me so she can't see you..."

p.10

---

p.11

Hi: "Can we go home together?"

Wata: "Sorry, I still have to go and get the water."

Hi: "Today's the last time, right? You seem to be lacking your usual vigor lately."

p.12

Hi: "Do you want me to go with you? The pots with the water are heavy, right? I'll help you carry."

Wata: "It's fine!"

Wata: "And Doumeki has club activities today so it's probably gonna get late. How impudent of him
to make me wait!"

Hi: "Really?"

Wata: "Yeah."

p.13

Hi: "The promise me:"

Hi: "don't push yourself too hard."

Wata: "...okay."

p.14

Wata: "hu.....h?"

Gyaaaaaaah!! SPOILERY(?!) contents behind the cut

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 06:34:08 GMT

I had to go to the bank yesterday and since there was a book store nearby, I decided to have a look at the latest issue of Newtype (according to x_reggg it had some interesting stuff this issue ^^.). OMG o_O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *baffled* Clamp-sensei o_O!!!!

It had a short interview(just 3 questions) with Clamp-sensei about Holic and one of the questions was "So what's going to happen in Holic from now on?".

And Clamp-sensei answered it.

DON'T CLICK if you don't wanna feel spoiled for how Holic's gonna end!!

So, the question was "So what's going to happen in Holic from now on?".
And Ookawa answered among the lines of (I didn't buy the magazine so I'm just repeating what I remember) "Once we disclose a certain fact ["draw the solution to a certain riddle" is what she actually said] Holic will be over very soon." (But she also said that we still have quite a long way until we get to this point in the manga.)

Is she talking about Himawari @_@?? Or Watanuki??? No matter who or what she is talking about,
I'm not so sure if I would've wanted to read that article if I had know it was that "spoilery"
XO!!

I only read the Holic parts from that Newtype issue and EVERYTHING was extremely spoilery for everything that has been happening in Holic(manga) recently. If you hadn't read the manga/ recent Yanmaga chapters before reading this article you would be spoiling yourself to death (if that's possible).

And this week's Tsubasa @_@!! Clamp-sensei are starting to suprise me. I don't know if it's in a good way, though o_O.

I've been pretty busy these last few days and I can't exactly tell when the Holic translation will be up (maybe tomorrow, but tomorrow's a holiday on Okinawa so I don't know if the library will be open) but you can expect it to be up by this weekend.

マジかよ！ NO WAY o_O!!!

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 08:32:26 GMT

I can't believe it!!! Since I have a cell phone I subscribed to the Clamp mobile site a few months ago and yesterday I went to check the site for the new password(they're giving you a new password every month to see the clamp-pla.net website). Perhaps you already know that, but Clamp mobile members can take part in contests on that site from time to time and win stuff. And since they've started a new contest they also announced the winners for the old contest and.....

I won something @_@!!!!

Now, they didn't tell me WHAT I won, but I guess it's the Shaoran/Watanuki cell phone strap thingie or the double Mokona cell phone bag. Maybe. I have no idea, but I'm feeling super lucky XD!!! I'll put up a pic of my price when it arrives ^^!

Oh, and I checked Clamp's 'album' too! They had a hilarious pic up!
"Things that are never going to happen in Holic": "Doumeki reading manga and laughing at it(with Watanuki screaming in horror in the background of the picture!!)". Hilarious XD! I'd show you, but the library computer won't open the site, so I can't save the picture. Another time, hopefully!

It's Saturday already....

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 08:56:38 GMT

I've been really tired (and busy!)because of my job(s)/ school and field trips this week,
so no comments on the chapter, as of now. Having two jobs is tiring (even if you're "just" teaching.) I can't help but love my students, though. I got cherries(!!!!!) from one of them on Wednesday. If you don't live in Japan, you probably don't know what that means to me. Cherries cost like 400 to(I'm too scared to write that down) Yen for 100 or 200 grams, so I felt like they were giving me gold, or something!! I hadn't eaten cherries for...*thinks* 9...10(?) months so you can't imagine how good they were *_*. Damn, you Japan for your high grocery prices, but much love to my students for giving me food *_*!!!!

Anyway. I have to go grocery shopping(;_;) now, so .

Holic ch. 109 translation

p.1

Yuuko(Yuu): "If there's one thing summer can't be without it's THIS."
((see notes

p.2-3

----
(smexy image of Watanuki with ~~property of Doumeki Shizuka written on his forehead~~*cough*, "the EYE", I mean.)

p.4

Watanuki(Wata): *huff* "If you wanna play in the water so much why don't you just go to the swimming pool?!"

MaruMoro: "Yay! A man-powered shower <3!!"

Yuu: "Summer's early this year. June's over already and the sky looks like the worst we're in for is a drizzle."

p.5

Mokona(Moko): "Here! Take that!"

Wata: "Stop that!"

Wata: *fugyuu*
((intranslatable cute sounds :D

Nekomusume(=Cat girl--->cat): *funyaaaaaahhh*

p.6

Yuu: "My, who do we have here! You must be Nekomusume."

Moko: "You okay?"

Cat: "It's HOOOOOOT!!!"

Wata: "This seems to happen to me quite a lot."

Moko:　*sings* "A life of getting stepped on!"

Moro: "She's hot! Poor thing!"

Maru: "Water! Water!"

Cat: *fumyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!*

Wata: "....."

Yuu: "Maru, Moro, don't you know you shouldn't do that? Cat's don't like to play with water!"

MaruMoro: "Whoops...."

p.7

Wata: "My life seems to be...a constant repetition of stuff like this..."

Moko: *sings* "A life of getting involved in other people's issues!"

Moko: *sings* "Life has lots of stuff in store! ....lots of bad stuff, too!"

Wata: "Will you stop that?!"

Cat: "*funyu?*"
((see above

Yuu: "Put this on."

p.8

Cat: "Feels cool!!"

Yuu: "I got that as payment for my work, a long time ago. It will lower your body temperature if you put it on."

Yuu: "Do you want it?"

Cat: "I do!!"

Yuu: "Fine, but you'll have to pay a price for it, of course."

Cat: "So it's just like the rumours say."

Wata: "So Yuuko-san's reputation for being greedy reaches that far?!"

p.9

Yuu: "Who are you calling greedy?!"

Wata: "Gyaaaaaah!!"

Moko: "She'll turn you into stone if you look into her eyes!!"

Yuu: "Nekomusume is a "jouhouya"."
(( jouhouya = information broker, the same profession appears in Tsubasa at some point, if I remember correctly.

Wata: "I see."

p.10

Yuu: "Cat can walk the city freely so it's only natural they [know lots of different things/] know a lot more then people."

Wata: "She really is like a cat."

Yuu: "I'm telling you...she is a cat."

Cat: "What's the price?"

Yuu: "I want water from a [certain] well. Water that has been there for a long time and that hasn't been mixed with tap water yet."
(( I think she means "not mixed with water that has gone through filtering processes or pipes".

p.11

Yuu: "I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

Cat: "I do. Do you mind if it's not clean?"

p.12

Yuu: "Not at all."

Cat: "Well, then"

Cat/Yuu: "We'll leave it to you!"

Moko: *sings* "A life of running errands!"

Wata: "Just like I expected!!"

p.13

Wata: "Really. Doesn't Yuuko-san's place have a well, too? I don't see why we have to go to another place to get water!"

Cat: "It's here."

Wata: "That house [over there]?"

Cat: "Yup."

Wata: "So the well's behind that wall?"

Cat: "yeah."

Wata: "Then please go and fill this with.."

p.14

Cat: "The only thing I was asked to do is to show you the way."

Wata: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! How come almost all of the people around me are like that?!"

Wata: "People call this 'breaking and entering'! If we get caught we'll be criminals!!"

p.15

---

p.16

Wata: %Gyaaaaaaaaaah!! Dididididididi did she see us?!%

Wata: %.....huh....?%

p.17

Wata: %So she didn't see us?%

Cat: "Don't you wanna get the water?"

Wata: "Oh, sure."

p.18

---

p.19

Wata: %....I can feel a chill. Well, the sun will go down soon. I should better get the water quick and go back.%

p.20

---

------------------------------

notes:
p.1
「夏はやっぱりこれよね。」
You can't imagine how horribly difficult to translate this sentence is!!! And Japanese people
use these kind of grammatical forms all the time -_-! I ended up translating it rather loosely, but I think you get the idea...

sigh.....only two more months....

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 07:37:38 GMT

I'm back from Tokyo. Or "wonderland", I should say. *cries* I wanna go back already!!!
I bought way to much stuff (but I bought it cheap so it's okay....plus I bought it with the money from my two jobs so I have no regrets *lie!*) and never wanted to part with the National diet library (GARAKAMEGARAKAMEGARKAME o_O!!!)*sigh*. Anyway, I have to go to work soon so this is gonna be a very short post.

Holic translation tomorrow (because I'm busy with work and field trips etc.) if nobody else has their translation out by then.

I LOVE the Watanuki colour page. (Gyaaaah!! The eye!! The lips!!) It totally made me blush because it's just screaming "property of Doumeki Shizuka"....///////////....I can't stop oggling at it. My Yanmaga has turned all wavy because of the humidity but that doesn't stop me from staring at it endlessly (~~and doing stupid things like holding my hand over Watanuki's eye so it looks like Doumeki is looking at you out of Watanuki's body...kyaaaaaahhhXO~~.) *coughs* er, yes, on to the summary ...////////*blushes*.

So Nekomusume(the cat girl) appears at Yuuko's place out of nowhere and because she's feeling so hot(Maru and Moro try to sprinkle some water on her to cool her down, but you know cats... :D!)Yuuko gives her a hat that will cool down one's body temperature. When Nekomusume hears about the price system in Yuuko's shop she says it's just like the rumours say (That scene is actually one of the funniest ones ever in Holic! Watanuki is shocked that Yuuko's reputation for being greedy reaches that far which makes Yuuko give him a 'Medusa stare' ("Who are you calling greedy?!"). Then Watanuki tries to shield his eyes from her and Mokona's telling him that he "will be turned into stone if he looks into her eyes" XD!!! I <3 Clamp-sensei for this one!!!). It turns out Nekomusume is a "jouhouya"(an "information broker", you could say)so it's only natural she has a lots of information on "this" and "that" world. The price Yuuko requests is water from a well. She is sure Nekomusume "knows what she means" by that. Nekomuse affirms this and asks Yuuko if she would mind if the water was "not clean". "Not at all", Yuuko says. As always Watanuki ends up being the one who has to do all the work (Nekomuse just leads him to the place) and of course he's scared of going to the house with the well/ being seen while 'stealing' the water(he think's he's 'breaking and entering'). There is a lady in the window of the house and Watanuki thinks she's spotted them but then changes his mind because she shows no reaction to the intruders. He does feel a chill/ weird aura when he looks at her, though.

Thoughts:
Nekomusume is so cute XD! She's really like a cat! And I wonder if this has any connection to the Kohane story. And what's it about that ghost(?!) lady? We'll find out next issue, I guess...

Oh and I bought the Holic anime guide when I was in Tokyo(they must have made a mistake with the price! It was only 350Yen!!! Usually 'new' books(it hadn't been three weeks since it was published!) sell for lots more, even at Bookoff!!!!!) and it has some interesting information.

1) Ookawa-sensei has written the scripts for 4 episodes (episodes 7, 12, 17 and 20).
2) There's only a hand full of 'original' episodes for the Holic anime, but Ookawa-sensei has not written scripts for any of those episodes.

I've only read like a third of it so far, so maybe there's even more interesting stuff in it to read.

Btw, Yanmaga announced Holic manga sales are up to 5.3 million.

I love Clamp

Fri, 02 Jun 2006 14:45:01 GMT

Four words: this week's Tsubasa chapter XD.
I hoped, I wished, I prayed, but I didn't have faith.

OMG, OMG, OMG XD.

I think this chapter has restored my faith in Clamp o_O. I mean who else could make me fangirl over a "long-lost" coupling (honestly: it's been　years...) because of three little pages...? Love them, hate them.....love them, after all?

Oh, and by the way: My second trip to mainland...this time paid for with the money I made on my two jobs(both as a German teacher)! I just arrived today and I'm staying until the end of next week!! There's so many things I want to do here...
1) Go to the National Diet library (it is said to have all the books and magazines ever published in Japan) and finally read the unpublished chapters of Glass no kamen (about 2000 unpublished pages!! That's 10 volumes!!) XD
2) Go to Ikebukuro and buy doujin; buy all the books/manga I've been looking for FOREVER on Okinawa
3) Take pictures of weird stuff (maid cafe etc.)
4) HAVE FUN!!!!!!

Okay, I have to and get some sleep now! I wanna be up and enjoy the wonderfulness of mainland Japan first thing tomorrow!!!

Please read: on using my translations in scanlations

Thu, 25 May 2006 03:57:51 GMT

I've said this before, but I just thought I'd better mention it again: Please don't use my translations in scanlations. People have done it before (without my consent!) and I'm sure people will continue doing it if I don't make clear that I absolutely don't want my translations to be used in scanlations. It's not that I'm against scanlations in general. Actually I think scanlations are a great way to make manga that are quite popular in Japan but rather unknown in the western world to people and thus giving them a chance to get published outside of Asia. But I'm definitely against scanlating liscensed manga. People have paid for the liscenses to translate and publish those manga (no matter how good or bad the translation/ editing job is) so I think you should respect that. I've been hearing lots of complaints about the official English(US) translation for Holic (though I personally have never seen it) and I also had a look at the official German translation (I bought vol. 1-4 as a birthday gift for a friend). The latter is a catastrophe. It's was bad that I decided to started translating chapter. First in German, for my friend and then in English on the internet. Come to think of it, the only times I translate manga is when the official translation is particularly crappy or when the manga is quite unknown here but so good(!) and/or so popular that I want other people to read it too. To be honest I was considering to stop translating Holic not so long ago because I have another manga that I'm madly in love with(*_*) but that is largely unknown in the English speaking world. But with all that Holic goodness in recent chapters made me realize I still was a ~~104~~Holic-holic and thus not ready to drop the addiction after all. Nevertheless, I still wanna spread the Oofuri love *_*.

Note about Oofuri:

Ookiku furikabutte(おおきく振りかぶって),short: Oofuri(おお振り), by Higuchi Asa recently won the Osamu Tezuka prize for newcomers -one of Japan's 3 big manga prizes- and is said to be the most popular baseball manga ever. You're not interested in baseball and/ or you now nothing about baseball? It doesn't matter.

1) This manga is not what you think it is. I.e. it's NOT about a bunch of guys who are baseball geniuses and can pitch at 150km/h or anything like it. But I don't wanna say too much :D. I'll write more about it another time.

2)You will love this manga. There is no discussing this and there is no escaping from it. You don't wanna get addicted or don't believe it? Then NEVER ever read it. You read it = you love it.

3)The series runs in a shounen/seinen magazine(Afternoon) but the author is female. You're a girl? Higuchi Asa is one too. She knows what's interesting for girls to read.

4) You will love all the characters. 'Impossible', you say? Well, you probably haven't read it yet @_@! Oh, and you will ship multiple couplings. OTP? MTP(multiple true pairings ^^) I'd say!

5) It's hilarious. I'm not the type to laugh out loud when reading manga or watching movies but I can't help but laugh out loud when reading this manga. That alone makes it absolutely priceless.

6) This series has the most fun and interesting doujin I've ever seen(they actually have plot!! ~~but the quasi-porn ones are good too o_O~~) but you will still like the manga itself better.

7) It runs in a monthly magazine but chapters are always 50-90 pages long. It's like reading
a quarter/one half of a volume EVERY SINGLE month!

8) I'm not really interested in anime(I'm the manga-reading type) but I want one for this series. Or a drama CD. Anyhow,I just HAVE to hear the characters voices o_O! (And it's so popular, so I think there's good chance for an anime XD!!!)

9) I'm European. You could say baseball is almost nonexistant in Europe. When I first read the manga I was quite confused because sometimes I would have know idea what they were talking about. This is not the kind of manga that explains everything about baseball to you.
In fact, I wonder if you could call it a 'sports manga'. This manga is made for Japanese people and since baseball is very popular here the it assumes you to know the basics of baseball. I knew absolutely nothing so I was like "that guy who catches the ball is talking about signs?.....what signs???", "number 4? So what is it with number 4?", "why is the pitcher raising his leg in a weird way when he throws the ball???" etc. Haha....yeah, that bad.
I said I didn't know anything about baseball, didn't I? (I'm kind of feeling like Watanuki with the mahjong now...) But even if you know absolutely nothing about it you can still enjoy the manga. But it will be even more fun if you know just a tiny little bit about it :D! (I asked an American friend to explain the basic rules/number of players etc. to me which was a big help ^^.) Because the sport itself is not the focus. Nobody(except for 1 person maybe) in this manga is playing baseball to become a professional. They're playing it for fun.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I'm late for class!!!!! Will edit later!!!! Anyway, I don't wanna give away a lot of the story at this point because it's so unusual. Especially the main character *laughs*.......

Yuuko-san rocks XD

Wed, 24 May 2006 09:44:27 GMT

Gotta go to work in ten minutes o_O!

Go here for this week's chapter's translation + an explanation on one scene of last week's chapter

ABOUT LAST WEEK'S CHAPTER (please read):

Before you read the translation for the latest chapter I should explain something about last week's chapter, or rather a certain page from last week's chapter (that totally floored me, btw o_O). I don't remember the number of the page, but it's the one where Yuuko's asking Watanuki where he got his umbrella from and he tells her it's Doumeki's. She then proceeds to call him "furyou(不良)" for going to Doumeki's place before work. Now, "furyou" has a lot of meanings (delinquent, having a bad attitude towards people, etc.) but in Japan this word also has more positive conotations. I.e. rebellious, dark, dangerous but good-looking guys（like you get them in manga all the time) are also called 'furyou'. In this case 'chotto furyou' would be a term to describe an attractive characteristic of a 'attractive but dangerous-looking' guy. Anyway, why all this talk about 'furyou'? Well, I want you to understand what Watanuki's thinking when Yuuko calls him 'furyou'. Because NOBODY would be called 'furyou' just for stopping by somewhere before work (and he wasn't even late!). So it's natural Watanuki goes all "What the...?!" when he asks Yuuko what part of 'stopping by Doumeki's place before work' makes him 'furyou'.

Actually, it is quite 'furyou' XD. You'll understand after reading the next paragraph ^^.

Now to what Yuuko's really saying to Watanuki o_O. I was reading Yanmaga in my local conbini last week and this page made me scream "WHOAH!!!!" alound in the middle of a convenience store @_@. (And yes , the clerk was giving me an even weirder look that usual when I buy Yanmaga. Note to myself: 'do not scream when reading YANMAGA in a store -_-;;') Hahaha.....ha...*sigh* Anyway, what Yuuko is really saying to Watanuki when she learns that he went to Doumeki's place is:

"My! Before work? How naughty!"

@_@......................Yuuko-san!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take out that chapter and read
it with Yuuko saying THIS to Watanuki.........*nosebleed*......Watanuki's lucky that he's
naive/slow when it comes to some things o_O!!! He's thinking of the other 'furyou', and wondering why he's being 'scolded' even though he wasn't even late....

I wonder if Clamp are trying how far you can actually go in Yanmaga without the editor telling you to move the series to a BL magazine.........VERY far obviously XD!!!!!!!!

You will propbably hear more screaming about this from me later....

Now, on to this week's chapter!!!!

Note before reading the translation: There's lots of talk about mahjong going on this chapter.
I don't know how to play the game or the names of the moves so I just romanized the Japanese names. If you know mahjong and are sure I got something wrong please leave a comment.
I totally felt like Watanuki this chapter....I mean what?????

Holic ch. 108(?) translation

p.1

---

p.2

Yuuko(Yuu): "This really feels like spring."

Mokona(Moko): It's spring!

Watanuki(Wata): "Yes, it's spring. We're having a fresh spring afternoon."

Wata: "Then how come"

Wata: "we are meeting up at Doumeki's place?! And why do we have to play mahjong?!
And outdoors, too!"

p.3

Yuu: "Why not? The weather has finally improved, and we wouldn't want to waste a nice
day like this one, would we? When you get mad your weird movements look even weirder than usually."

Doumeki(Dou): "It's not just his movements that are weird."

Wata: "You're the one to say! And besides, here (there is)..."

Moko: "The preparations are done."

Yuu: "Then let us begin."

p.4

Wata: "Maybe I should add that I don't know how to play mahjong..."

Yuu: "Is that so."

Yuu: "Anyway, just do 'shiipai'!"

Wata: "Shii...what??"

Moko: "Shuffle the tiles!"

Wata: "Okay, I got it. You want me to shuffle the titles?　I'll shuffle'em!"

Wata: "huh?"

p.5

Moko: "She's enjoying herself."

Wata: "You can see her?"

Moko: "Yeah."

Moko: "The sound of shuffling mahjong tiles is said to bring good luck."

Yuu: "In some parts of China it's a tradition to play mahjong at funerals. The sound of the tiles becomes a parting gift for the deceased."

Wata: "Indeed!"

p.6

Yuu: "Now we're done setting up the tiles...hehe...'tenhoo'! "

Moko: "Good job, Yuuko!"

Wata: "huh?"

Dou: "It means that you can do agari(play a hand? discard a tile combination?) with the tiles you got at the beginning (when the tiles were distributed). For the parent(=>dealer) it's called 'tenhoo' and for the children(=> other players) it's called 'chiihoo'."

Wata: "What??"

p.7

Yuu: "I'm in excellent form today. It feels like Akagi-tan and Tetsuya-kun and Akina-chan
are watching over me!"　
((All those characters seem to be from a mahjong manga("Akagi") Clamp-sensei like. I wonder if I got the names right...*wild guesses on my part*

Wata: "And who exactly are those people? Friends of yours?"

Moko: "亜空間殺法、西京麻雀　わりめでポン"
((Don't ask me. I'm too lazy to look it up. Maybe it's a song/ common phrase from that mahjong anime/manga.

Yuu: "Now, let's get going!"

Moko: "Mokona has 'daisharin'!"

Wata: "Eh?"

Yuu: "Chin-i-tsu dora 10!"

Wata: "What??"
((I am totally feeling with Watanuki.....I mean WHAT?!

p.8

Moko: "Shou suu shii."

Wata: "huh?"

Dou: "Nagashi mangan."

Yuu: "Doumeki-kun is keeping his cool."

Wata: "So, why exactly are the three of you reciting those strange incantations?"

Wata: "So doing nothing at all had me end up losing the game (and I didn't even notice)."

Yuu: "The technical term for that would be:"

Moko: "'Buttobii! "
((ぶっ飛び = (most likely) if you have less than what you started with, i.e below zero points

p.9

Wata: "It's not like I didn't inform you that I don't know how to play."

p.10

---

p.11

Wata: "oh..."

Wata: "....she's gone."

p.12

Yuu: "You could say that she's decided to go where she belongs to."

Moko: "She was smiling."

Wata: "...I'm sure Kohane-chan will be happy (to hear about it)."

p.13

Dou: "......."

Yuu: "That said, a loss is a loss. The world of competition is hard, Hiromi."

Wata: "Who the heck is Hiromi? Besides, I don't have any money."

Yuu: "Well, strip, then."

Wata: "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!"

Moko: "Yay! Strip mahjong!"

p.14

Yuu: "Just kidding. I'd like some sake and some food to go with it."

Wata: "As you wish. I'll make you something when we go back to you.."

Yuu: "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! I wanna eat now! I wanna drink now!!"

Wata: "Eh?! You want me to make it here?"

Yuu: "Didn't you stop by here before work the other day? Am I wrong or aren't you already using this place as if it was yours?"
((More fangirlish explanation about that later *_*!!!!!!!!!Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!

Moko: "Naughty!"

Wata: "And now you're starting with that again!"

Wata: "Alright! I'll be using your kitchen, Doumeki!"

Dou: "Okay."

p.15

Moko: "I'm going with you! Mokona's going to where Mokona belongs!"

Wata: "Don't you even think of pinching bits!"

Yuu: "That concludes your request, I assume."

Dou: "Yes."

Dou: "It seems my sutra alone did not do."

Yuu: "Not at all. That pleased her very much, too."

p.16

Yuu: "And now, the aged sake from your grandfather's 'kura' you promised me as payment!"
(((that building where all of his grandfather's books are.

Dou: "I'll go and get it for you."

Yuu: "Yay!"

Wata: "So you know how to play mahjong?"

Dou: "I play it at home."

Wata: "If I had knew the rules you wouldn't stand a chance against me!"

Yuu: "Let's raise our glasses to fortunate encounters and to the beautiful person who has passed on."

notes:

104 is so official *_*!! Gotta get going! bye!!

Edit: Now with mahjong explanations by xiamei and x_reggg! Thanks a lot :D!! (Scroll down to the comments section to read them.)

this week's Holic chapter...

Fri, 12 May 2006 10:42:12 GMT

holic ch. 106 translation

p.1

Watanuki(Wata): "My name's Watanuki Kimihiro."

Wata: "Watanuki written with the kanji for 'April 1st'."

Kohane: "Our family names are close, too."

Wata: "And your first name?"

Kohane: "(It's written with the kanji for) little wings."

Wata: "What a beautiful name!"

Kohane: "...."

p.2

Wata: "Is it okay if I call you Kohane-chan?"

Kohane: "Kohane...chan"

Wata: "Or do you think it's too personal? I'm somebody who you only just met after all."

Kohane: "It's been a long time since I've been called that way. No...it's been a long time since someone called me by my name (at all)."

p.3

Wata: "See you, Kohane-chan!"

Kohane: "......see you."

Doumeki(Dou): "They say morons don't catch colds."

p.4

Dou: "But idiots do, I suppose."

Wata: ".....who are you calling an idiot?"

Dou: "....."

Dou: "......idiot."

p.5

Dou: "Drink this."

Wata: "What is it?"

Dou: "Ginger tea. My grandfather used to make it for me when it was cold outside."

Wata: "Hmm...."

Wata: "Right. In that tree..."

Dou: "A woman wearing a kimono, right? I'll read the sutra to her later."

Wata: "You can do that?"

Dou: "It's just pro forma, though."

p.6

Wata: "So you've been seeing it again."

Dou: "I'm still seeing it right now."

Dou: "It's because you're still swaying."

Wata: ".....Doumeki. What does your family call you?"

p.7

Dou: "Shizuka."

Wata: "When my parents were still alive I was being called Kimihiro."

Wata: ".....Kohane-chan said it's been a long time since somebody called her by her name."

Wata: "She said it's been a long time.....even though she still has her mother."

p.8

Mother(Mom): "Where have you been?! It's raining so bad! What if you catch cold?!"

Mom: "Didn't I tell you we had a shooting for a TV show tomorrow?! Imagine what would happened if it were canceled!"

p.9

Kohane: "I went to where that cherry tree is."

Mom: "Cherry tree....? Oh, you mean the one where tomorrow's shooting is."

Mom: "You should have told me. I would've gone with you.."

Kohane: "You're not with me."

Mom: "Huh?"

p.10

Kohane: "You're not 'with me', Mom. You're just 'there'."

Mom: "Wait! Where did you get that umbrella from......?!"

p.11

Mom: "Ah, yes. About the shooting tomorrow. Of course she'll be there."

Mom: "...if she can really excorcise it? What are you implying?! Of course she can!"

Mom: "To keep her powers at the level it is now I won't let her touch anything impure. And she's not eating any impure food either."

p.12

Mom: "All her food is vegetarian, just like the food (monks eat to purify themselves) at the temple!"

Mom: "Now, about the money"

p.13

Mom: "What?! That's not what you promised me! It was supposed to be twice that much!!"

p.14

----

---------------------------------------------------------------

Other news(or maybe they're just news for me...):

Death Note(manga) is over! Well it's not like I've not seen that coming. Not a lot of things seemed surprising after chapter 100+, but ch. 108 (the final chapter) was kind of stupid. Maybe the stupidest last chapter I've ever seen for a manga (LIE!!!). Anyway, now that it's over we're also getting a DN anime. I just hope I'll get to see the movie here. (Yeah, we don't even get all the movies from mainland here -_-;;!!!)

Hachimitsu to Clover! The manga will be over soon (next chapter???) and there will be a second anime season. Uh....I don't even wanna think of it...I'm kind of in denial about parts of vol. 8...

It's been some time...

Thu, 11 May 2006 07:17:19 GMT

I've been so busy these days, I thought my Holic addiction was cured. Until I saw this week's chapter...

Damn it. I really thought I was cured. You should never underestimate an addiction with a Clamp ~~coupling~~ manga, I guess o_O.

Short summary:

The chapter continues were we left of 2(?) weeks ago and Watanuki says that their names really are 'close' and asks Kohane how she writes her name. She tells him it's　"小羽", written with the kanji for "small + wings". He compliments on her name, all the time calling her "Kohane-chan". She says it's been a long time since somebody called her that way, then corrects herself and says that it's been a long time since somebody called her by her name at all. They say their goodbyes and a sad-looking Watanuki is left standing in the rain. But not for long! Enter our favourite archer (with an umbrella of course!). "They say morons don't catch colds", he says. "Who are you calling a moron...", Watanuki absentmidedly replies. "But I guess idiots do (catch colds)", Doumeki says giving Watanuki(who is obviously not his usual self when been called an idiot) a look. He then holds the umbrella over Watanuki's head and says "....idiot". ~~Yes I died the death of a fangirl the very instant I saw this page. It's that good.~~ Next scene they're at Doumeki's house. Watanuki's gotten into some dry clothes and is drying his head with a towel. Doumeki comes into the room and offers(more like 'orders'..) Watanuki some ginger tea(if I remeber correctly) to drink. Obviously his grandfather used to make it for him when it was cold outside. Watanuki then proceeds to tell Doumeki about the woman in the tree but Doumeki interupts him to tell him he saw it himself and that he's seeing it right now. It's because "he's still swaying", he tells Watanuki. Watanuki then asks him what his family calls Doumeki.
"Shizuka", Doumeki answers and Watanuki tells him that when his parents were still alive he was being called 'Kimihiro'. He then continues and tells Doumeki that Kohane told him she hasn't been called by her name for a long time although her mother is still alive. We leave a sad Watanuki and a concerned-looking Doumeki, next scene: Kohane returns home. Her mother is furious of course and asks her where she's been. She calms down a little when Kogane tells her she went to where the cherry tree was (the location for the shooting of the show Kogane is supposed to be featured on). "I would have gone with you if you would've told me", she says, "You're not 'with me', mom. You're 'just there'." Kohane replies.
Just when her mother wants to ask her about the umbrella the phone rings. It's the producers of the show
who want to know if Kohane is going to be at the shooting. Her mother says that "of course she's gonna be there" and the producers obviously seem concerned if she will be able to excorcize the ghost etc. and Kohane's mother says that Kohane will do it and that she's keeping all impure things away from her daughter (even her food is the same as the food monks eat to purify their souls....I can't remember...something along those lines.). Then they start talking about money and Kohane's mother yells that "they promised her twice as much (as what they're saying now)". Meanwhile Kohane, who has been listening to all of this is on her way to her room. We see her pass a room full of expensive-looking clothes, shoes and jewelery. When she reaches her room she hugs Watanuki's dripping wet umbrella (she's too is dripping wet from the rain). End of chapter.

Waaaaaaaaah @_@!!! I'm really looking forward to the next chapter!!! I can't tell if the summary is complete because I don't have the magazine with me right now and my memory is kind of blurry for everything after the 104 scene (obviously my brain had switched into dreamy fangirl mode by that time....-_-;;). Anyway, so does that mean Doumeki and Watanuki are going to call each other by their first names at the end of this arc...?!? And where's Yuuko-san??....I'm starting to miss her when she doesn't appear for a few chapters!!! Ahh.....gotta go!!! My job is starting soon....I hope I'll catch the bus in time XO!!!!!!!!!!

I'm back!!

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:56:51 GMT

I'm back from my field trip to Tokashiki island! ........okay, so now I'm beginning to understand why people on mainland Japan were telling me they loved Okinawa....o_O!!! I have to admit,　Okinawa is the funnest place in the world if you're going there with friends, on holiday. Living here is an entirely different matter, especially if you happen to be what they call a "都会人間"(tokai ningen), a "city person" that is. *sigh* Four(?) more months to go...

Remember? I've been complaining about Okinawa "not being" Japan all the time, right?
(At least on this lj....) But here's some proof. Think of Okinawa as "Japan's Hawaii".
Yes, it's that different from mainland Japan. And then think of me, who wanted to go to "real Japan" and ended up here........ XO

1st pic: A typical Japanese street(Kyouto) vs a typical Okinawan street(Tokashiki)

2nd pic: A typical picture you would associate with mainland Japan(Kyouto) vs a typical landscape the average Japanese would associate with Okinawa (here: beach on Tokashiki island)

Holic ch.104
The number of this chapter says it all. Clamp-sensei are not disappointing us this time. According to the spoilers I (kind of involuntarily...) read we're getting a very neat "104" splash page as well as an interesting chapter (plot/character development ahead!). More on that when I get my Yanmaga(tomorrow morning)....

Oh, and I found a job! Or rather...the job found me! A language school in Naha was looking for a German language teacher who could take over a beginner's class last minute.....(it really was 'last minute'! The class started 1 hour(!!!) after I arrived at the port, i.e. after I returned from my field trip!!!!) I never wanted to teach my own language (it's scary o_O) but the payment is so good *_*! I'll be able to make another trip to mainland with the money I'll be making on this job! And that's probably the best incentive EVER!!