Latest chapter discussion

[Shisui]

Glad you guys appreciate the notes. I'm learning too as I do this, so it also helps gather my thoughts a bit. As for chapter 6:

- I made up the line where Kagami tells Himiko that she is the "presence" to other Himiko's "void." In the Japanese he  just says "You are a tenon." It's a woodworking term:



I don't know how familiar that word is to most people, so I just made it literal. Traditional Japanese architecture is done that way, so maybe they'd be expected to understand.

- I also decided to spell Kagami's given name as "Kyoji" instead of "Kyouji." It looks cleaner to me that way.

- And on that topic, "Kagami Kyoji" is a real Japanese name (in the sense that a real person could be called that), but normally it might be spelled more like this: 加賀美 (Kagami) 恭司 (Kyoji). Instead, the kanji Aoki uses are 鏡 (Kagami - literally "mirror") and 形而 (Kyoji). The Kyoji part doesn't really mean anything in itself, but it's probably alluding to the philosophical principles of 形而下 (keijika - "below form" - i.e., physical/material objects) and 形而上 (keijijou - "above form" - i.e., the metaphysical realm).

Edit by Vent the North - Sorry Shisui, I had to edit out why you believe Kagami's name fits because it conatains what could be considered a major spoiler.

[Vent the North]

Thanks for telling us all this info Shisui, I really appreciate all the work your putting into getting GB translated.

[Shisui]

No problem, man. I'm having fun doing it

And sorry bout the spoiler! I've read a lot of the manga out of order, and I didn't realize that wasn't mentioned yet.

[darkido]

Me neither. Who says you don't learn anything when you read manga!  I learned a lot about killing methods and poision from reading/watching Detective Conan! Arrrr...maybe that is NOT a good example...

hahahaha and philosophy and history and art and many perspectives of how you view the world and oh i can go on forever...we shld come up with a list of things we learn from manga bet it's gonna be lengthy..

[Goral]

OK, I will try to listen to Vent the North and write sth else than thanks. Sorry for my bad English and chaotic response in advance ;P.

I've finally caught up with latest releases and what can I say, it's one of the best shounen manga I've ever read. It's a shame that only 9 volumes are left but it's better than artificially dragging the story on.

As for my impressions about latest chapters, well, I did think that the fight in the GP could have last longer. The fights appeared to be too easy and too short IMO and I was wondering if maybe at this point creators had to rush the story and decide on closing it up. It wasn't bad or anything, in a way they were interesting and more realistic (after all fights rarely last long in real life and all characters in GB levelled up because of their constant battles so it may just seem they were easy) but I was used to sth else.
I was also surprised that Paul turned out to be a real powerful guy (one who was worthy of being partner of Ban's father and could steal from Ban). I knew that he wasn't your average Joe but I was thinking more along the lines he was logistics expert or a hacker not a superman. It will be great to see him fight.
Maria Noches had too much troubles IMO, it annoys me a bit that Ban is always the one that saves everyone. That's one of the biggest flaws of the manga, I prefer when it's more balanced. I hope that it won't turn up that Ginji was no match for him (because for now it appears so and I like Ginji more than Ban).  
The 100 yen thing as well as saying that this time they were working for themselves was epic and one of the best moments in GB IMO.

P.S.
Thanks Shisui for your explanations. We appreciate it .

[Vent the North]

No problem, man. I'm having fun doing it

Ether way, thanks for all your hard work. We wouldn't be able to scan GB if it wasn't for you.

And sorry bout the spoiler! I've read a lot of the manga out of order, and I didn't realize that wasn't mentioned yet.

Its alright, nothing to worry about. But yea, Kagami's "occupation" and "where he is from" hasn't been mentioned yet.

[somehow_here]

Its alright, nothing to worry about. But yea, Kagami's "occupation" and "where he is from" hasn't been mentioned yet.

Ohhh! I can't wait to see! Hopefully soon!

And as always, Shusui thanks for translation! Even though half of time, this series is VERY complicated to understand...even if it was translated to english! But that why we love this series anyway!

[Lin]

 

Did Kazaki do what I think he did to his hair?  I can't wait to find out what that's all about!!

This is such an amazing story!!   

[Shisui]

Yeah, looks like Kazuki cut his hair...for some reason? 

Honestly, I'm not really sure about Shido's last couple of lines. They're probably screwed up. Oh well.

Anyway, no real notes this time. Here's a fun fact if you didn't know this already: Makube X's name is actually pronounced "MacBeth" (Ma-ku-be-su). Never noticed that until now.

Thanks for the comments, btw!

[sharkshocker]

Haha, I just realized that thing about pronouncing Makubex's name, that's very interesting Shisui 

Kazuki's haircut probably has some significance later down the road...he looks different.

I like that trivia about the Trevi Fountain, I actually read up on it after reading the chapter, that's one of the fun things I like about GB

[yathaid]

Alrite I got to this page too late and Vent has edited Shisul's explanation!

But Makube X is pronounced like Macbeth?? Wow, that IS interesting. Maybe it alludes to a storyline where "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" (from Shakespeare) or maybe he is just a tragic hero. Hmmmmmmmmm

[Shisui]

Well, another week, another fuck up! 

The scene where Akabane meets with the rabbit girl is a little confusing. I screwed up the first line in fact. I thought it was the girl apologizing to Akabane, but it's actually Akabane's line. To make things worse, I confused shikanemasu (won't be able to do) with shikanai (have no choice but to do). The real first line should be:

Akabane: "My apologies, Doctor. It's a shame, but I won't be able to accompany you on ahead."

He refers to the girl as "Doctor," but in the sense of someone with a ph.D., like a professor or a scientist. Not as a medical doctor like himself.

Also, that's Akabane talking in the last two panels if you found it hard to tell. You know when Akabane's talking in Japanese because he always uses formal verb endings (and generally sounds really pretentious). But that's hard to make clear in English.

And a fun fact: When MakubeX says the virtual stairs are a "test of faith" he actually says to think of them as a "fumi-e," which is a carving of a Christian symbol that they forced people to stomp on to prove they weren't Christian. It was something they did in Japan back in the shogun era when Christianity was outlawed.

That is all.

[Lin]

Thanks for the notes, and don't worry about any possible mistakes you might make.  The fact that you are translating at all is just so awesome!  And I appreciate you letting us know when you figure something out that was confusing at the time.   

And a fun fact: When MakubeX says the virtual stairs are a "test of faith" he actually says to think of them as a "fumi-e," which is a carving of a Christian symbol that they forced people to stomp on to prove they weren't Christian. It was something they did in Japan back in the shogun era when Christianity was outlawed.

Woah, I was already impressed, and now I am more so -- I love knowing that bit of background info that gives the scene a whole new meaningful dimension!  Thanks!!!

[sharkshocker]

Thanks again for the fun fact Shisui

I was confused a bit on the part where the clones attacked them, so while that was happening the actual Makubex and Emishi were right next to them??  What were they doing while GB was being attacked? 

[Shisui]

Thanks for the notes, and don't worry about any possible mistakes you might make.  The fact that you are translating at all is just so awesome!  And I appreciate you letting us know when you figure something out that was confusing at the time.   Smiley

Thanks It just bugs me when I do the whole trans, send it to somehow_here, then notice the mistake as soon as I read the finished chapter.

I was confused a bit on the part where the clones attacked them, so while that was happening the actual Makubex and Emishi were right next to them??  What were they doing while GB was being attacked?  Huh?

It really doesn't make much sense, honestly. But apparently the real Makubex and Emishi appeared from inside their clones and ripped their way out. I dunno what they were doing before that.

Maybe it alludes to a storyline where "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" (from Shakespeare) or maybe he is just a tragic hero. Hmmmmmmmmm Undecided

That's a good call, btw. I'm not sure what it means myself. It's mainly a shortened version of his name "Makube(ekku)su," but I don't think it's a coincidence either.