News update

Hello everyone, I have bad news. No. 6 Beyond has not arrived yet. I don't know if this is honto messing up my order (again), or simply backlog due to the Christmas season. My apologies for the wait, and thank you if you are still waiting! I assure you I will tackle the book as soon as it arrives. :) I really hope I can get something to you before Christmas!

In the meantime, if you haven't checked it out already, September Scans has excellent summaries of No. 6 Beyond. (Thank you for linking me!)

I'm trying my best not to spoil it for myself at the moment, but I hear Beyond is equally as vexing and leaves more questions than the final volume, which has me quailing, hahaha.

Finished... or not?

I feel about as awkward as an actor who exeunts to applause only to pop back in again and say... "uh, thanks guys, but I'm actually going to be around for a little longer."

Most of you have probably already heard that Asano has dropped a bomb by announcing her release of a side story volume No. 6 beyond coming out next week.

Will I be translating it? Yes! I just placed my order today:


However, honto says it will ship in December, so it may take a bit of time until I get it. When the book arrives, I will post an update concerning the translation schedule, etc. Meanwhile, September Scanlations has told me they will be releasing summaries, so check it out for your No. 6 fix.

Thanks for all the comments that have been flowing in since the last chapter. I feel a sense of relief that I don't have to leave this fandom behind quite yet. :)

323,194 words, 18 months, 1 last post

And so we've reached the end of No. 6. I've never been for these kinds of posts, so unfortunately I have nothing profound to say.

Over this year and a half, I've met people from all corners of the globe without ever leaving my desk. Never has my Twitter timeline been full of this many languages that I didn't understand. Scrolling down the links on my sidebar, I'm simply astonished: so many cultures and languages and people, all sharing the same common fandom of No. 6.

I've received many kind emails and comments, and I'm frustrated that I never have anything equally good to say. But let me say that No. 6 and this blog was always a haven, a place of creative freedom where I could let my pen (keyboard?) run wild. Through exams, papers, graduation, looking for a job, and all the goals I could never see an end to, there was always that one, short, manageable one at the end of the week. Here was something I knew I could do for once -- something I knew people appreciated. That just kept me going update after update, and this has ended up to be perhaps the biggest project I've ever translated in my life.

I want to thank everyone who has read this far: people who have faithfully come back chapter after chapter to point out those pesky S-V disagreements, typos, and wonky formatting; people who commented with extensive character and world analyses that even I totally missed out on; people who have recommended my blog out on the interwebz in forums and on Tumblr, and posted links on TVTropes and MangaUpdates (yes, I do see all of it!).

New readers, I hope you enjoy your stay.

Currently I am not taking new projects, but if I do in the future, I hope to see everyone again. If Asano ever releases that sidestory volume, I will probably be translating it, too.

Words are not enough to describe what an experience this has been. Thank you so much, everyone!

Exoticism is not an excuse

This has irked me for a while now. Seeing how I haven't gotten over the actual incident, which took place over two years ago, I figure it's a running issue with me. Feel free to say "no one actually acts like this", but this is just something I need to get out of my system.

Rant -->

Rhythm and Sound

I remember having an argument with my dad about whether English or Japanese was the more expressive language. In defense of Japanese, my dad brought up (of course) the famous poem by Bashō:

古池や蛙飛び込む水の音 Furuike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto

which literally in English translates as:
An old pond / a frog jumps in / the sound of water

Yeah. Not too interesting. What makes it a classic in Japanese is probably the yoin 余韻 or "afterglow" of the words ― what the words makes you think of, the imagery and emotions attached to the words as you read them. Then my dad went on to say how Japanese has 20 different words for the colour blue, whatever.

Adding 'Colour' to Conversation

台詞の「着色」のさじ加減
English below.

台詞の羅列。

あさの先生の特色でもあるそれは、翻訳するとなると相当悩みます。
日本語は、会話の台詞だけで様々な「色」を出すことができます。
一人称二人称だけでなく、口調とか言い回しとか、「ああこれネズミだ、紫苑だ」って一発でわかりますよね。比べて英語は言葉の「色」がそれほど無いです。個人的な印象ですが（笑）会話上の英語っていうのは割とさらっとした印象です。日本語ほど、性格とか滲み出ない気がします。