#HONESTLY HEISUKE AND SANAN FINDING THEIR PRIDE AT THE VERY END

[thebluestmage]

me: i will watch hakumyu for fun

me, 2h later, crying because heisuke and sanan feels:

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Zuisouroku Final Chapter: The End of  a Dream

Last post of the month, so I’ll end by asking you to please support me if you can either on ko-fi, through paypal or patreon for access to my blog post translations and early access (also access to my tl of kazama’s final tsukikage no shou chapter), or just to support me. …. also let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my looking for list since i either do not have audio for those cds or do not have audio that i can share...

anyway, this is likely going to be my last Zuisouroku game translation post since i don’t think there’s more content from this game in available in Chinese... This chapter [ 夢の終わ] only unlocks after doing all of the Zuisouroku stories..... please note that the translations that I found for this stated that the words written where I have italicized the text may not be accurate due to how that portion of the chapter is audio only.... 

images used in this post are my screenshots. Other misc translation notes will be at the end for this.

i’d say enjoy... but iuno if people will. lol. 

do not repost elsewhere.

Hakuoki Zuisouroku Final Chapter: The End of a Dream

Translation by KumoriYami

This year, the sakura season is coming again. Like a beautiful dream, they are eye-catching, and dissipate in an instant like a flower—— These sakura, I don't know why but they make me think of "them." Every year when this season comes, such memories are recalled.

——Occasionally, I really think this way. If, I wasn't a girl, and rather was a boy, could I have become their "comrade"? Fighting together, entrusting each other's backs to one another, and wielding our blades for the sake of our beliefs. In that way, I would be to stand alongside everyone right? More or less in this way, everything I saw, would also be very different [Everything I saw, would have more or less been very different?].

The most distinctive memory I have of them, is of their backs. I could only be protected by them, and countless times, for countless times, all I could do was stare at their backs. Just the sight of their backs. Falling, falling. (1) Sakura flew in the air without a moment's hesitation. Please don't hurry and leave, I prayed for this in my heart. However, my voice wasn't enough to communicate this.

Kondou: Ok, let's go Toshi! We [need] to show the strength of the Shinsengumi! Hijikata: Oi, Kondou-san, don’t be so careless. You're the chief, you can't be unsteady. Kondou: Nn? Is, is that so?

Souji: That’s too bad. Kondou-san should do as you like. There's no need to put on airs, Kondou-san is without a doubt the chief.  Saito: Don't speak nonsense, Souji. The vice-commander's decision is correct. To forge a name, one must pay attention to their dignity. (2) Souji: I know. [Though] Hijikata-san worries about everything, to the point that it's annoying.  Hijikata: Souji! You bastard...... Kondou: Hahaha......... You two get along so well.

Heisuke: Ah~Ah~, here we go again....... really they haven't changed at all. Harada: That can be seen as something normal/as a routine. Leave it, leave it/Forget it, forget it [Don't worry about it]. Shinpachi: Anyway. Do you want to bet who distinguished themself the most today [alt: meritorious service/make contributions]? Heisuke: You're betting on that sort of thing? That’ll obviously be me! Harada: Ah~ really how daring Heisuke!

Shinpachi: People who talk big generally don't succeed.... right? Sanan: It doesn't matter who contributes the most. Please strive towards [our?] goal as we move forward. Now is crucial [What we do now is crucial]. Our Shinsengumi's path, it begins now......

      ——Wait——       ——Please don't go——       ——I don't want to only be watching from behind——       ——Please don't leave me by myself——       ——I want to walk alongside you all too!——

Sanan: Nn? What are you doing over there? Coming late is strictly prohibited. Come on, quickly get over here! 

Shinpachi: What, you've finally arrived! If we don't hurry up, we'll be robbed of our prey! 

Harada: Shinpachi, you should just be quiet. If you're worried about what Shinpachi is saying, you should just walk at your own pace. 

Heisuke: That's just Shinpat-san. Anyway, we need to hurry! We rarely get such a big stage!

Saito: [You should focus on] Guard [-ing yourself] against pride and impatience (4), and do what you are able.

Souji: Don't indulge her too much! Anyway, you can help a little bit. If you're not careful and obstruct me, I will certainly cut you down!

Hijikata: You guys! Give me a break! Hahaha this is it! Now I'm getting nervous!

Kondou: Yes, but as long as we have grand/cherished ambitions, we will never lose. As long as we have grand ambitions. Okay, Shinsengumi, now let us go forward! (3)

All: Yes!

…………………………。 Chizuru:......Aah, sorry, I seem to have overslept a bit. Chizuru: Ah, tears......? Chizuru: No, there's nothing sad....... Right now, this was just [from] a dream. Chizuru:......A very happy dream. Chizuru: Haha...... I'm only looking forward, only, this was from a wilful dream [? It was only a wilful dream, I'm only looking forward]. Chizuru: Yes....... living together with you right now, this is [like living out?] my most beautiful dream today.......

——Hakuoki Zuisouroku Omokage Hana End——

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TN Notes

the tl here is actually "翩翩落下, 翩翩落下。" which can mean elegantly falling... or falling like in a dance, but I don't think this translates into English well and I suck at poetry so i kinda omitted that

that sentence be translated several different ways in CH... but it basically means to 'conduct oneself appropriately'. 

“在此出阵” can mean now burst forth... so I just wrote w/e in ENG.

Idiom that means ‘to guard against pride and impatience’

also, this translation is technically of the Zuisouroku DS ending that I found, but as I sincerely doubt that any of the text was changed in the vita version of the game since it came after, it shouldn’t matter that i wrote “Omokage Hana End.” just nitpicking with this note since i can’t double check unless i speed through the game which is honestly too much of a hassle to do right now having lost my data.... However, it is true that the italicized section doesn’t seem appear in the PSP version though I can only say that since I saw a different CH TL of the PSP version of the chapter.... 

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not sure if people enjoyed this... reason being that this reminds me of the ending of yukimura’s route.... which is not exactly happy. mais c'est la vie. 

video of this chapter is here (the only youtube video of this i could find had some commentary): https://www.bilibili.com/video/av92286986?p=33

au revoir~ til next month. also i seriously hate summer. and hot weather. i would seriously love it if it snowed right now.

[atopearth]

Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds Part 9 - Souma Kazue Route

Really happy to get to see how Souma joins the Shinsengumi since he didn’t have the best welcoming from them in the beginning and he hasn’t heard anything good about them in Edo either, so this will be interesting! He always seemed so dedicated and faithful to the Shinsengumi after he joined so I’m wondering what made him change his mind. I guess patrolling with Harada and seeing how the Shinsengumi really is should be enough to change his mind haha! I mean, from how Kondo handles himself by being a leader that can admit his wrongs even to others supposedly “lower” than him, and seeing how organised the Shinsengumi are and how dedicated they are to protecting the peace in Kyoto with his own eyes, it’s hard to doubt their sincerity towards protecting Kyoto. Even if their methods may seem rough on the outside, they are doing what the police should do, which is stopping these ronin from bullying the townspeople, and regardless of how badly it looks on the outside, they are doing what they think is right and what they believe to be the most beneficial to the people of Kyoto.

HAHAHA, when Souma passionately declares to Chizuru that they should work hard as underlings together and become honest and upright people just like Harada and the rest, and then when he squeezes her muscles to check whether swordsmanship really isn’t her thing🤣 Sorry to disappoint you Souma but this one is a weakling lolol. Ooh so Kondou invited Souma to join the Shinsengumi because Souma left his domain since they didn’t want to fight for the shogunate. Too bad he doesn’t join yet~ I guess similarly to Iba, Souma was disappointed in his peers in the shogunate army who were happy to be reserves and be stationed on standby and not need to fight at all. I guess for someone who is passionate about fighting for his beliefs, it is pretty disappointing to be together with these people… After all that, I’m not surprised that he’d come to the Shinsengumi, since they accept people of all kinds as long as they have the heart and strength to fight for their beliefs.

I was always never really sure what Souma’s role was in the other routes, so I’m glad to finally know that he’s actually Kondou’s page (in training) haha! And loll Kondou wants Chizuru to teach Souma stuff she’s learnt as Hijikata’s page??? Has Chizuru even learnt anything?? Has she done anything? Loll. So cute how Souma is so passionate to learn from Chizuru and even calls her senpai! Damn, Okita is the one training Souma and Nomura huh? It’s true that they need to toughen up though, so I guess the ruthless Okita that has high expectations for sword skills is a good choice haha, especially since they’re pages, so they’ll be one of the closest people to Kondou, so they have to be reliable! I find it kinda funny that they don’t care about how Chizuru isn’t training with them, especially since she’s obviously weak but is also a page lol. Wow, I know Saburo (Itou’s brother, was it?) is suspicious of Chizuru’s identity since she popped out of nowhere and no one knows much about her but the captains watch over her, but stilll, pulling her kimono to check if she really is a man is very rude regardless of what sex she is! Hehe, I liked how Souma came to her rescue and even won in a verbal fight since personal conflicts aren’t allowed in the Shinsengumi, so if someone like him whose a captain did something like that, he’d definitely get a worse punishment than Souma and Nomura! You go, Souma! Also really glad that the guys have accepted Nomura and Souma to an extent and have revealed to them that Chizuru is actually a girl lol. Lmao when they kept indirectly insulting her by saying that it’s rude to think that she could possibly be a girl😂😂

Seeing Saito and Heisuke leave is always saddening, but to see through Souma how difficult of a decision it is to leave everything you know, everything you’re familiar with, your comrades and everything you once believed in to pursue something unknown but possibly more akin to your beliefs is definitely a very hard but brave decision. Souma had to leave his domain, his life, his hometown to pursue what he believed to be the spirit of a warrior and that’s why he appreciates that he’s finally found that in the Shinsengumi after he felt so lost and dejected from losing his home and yet unable to find this spirit. It’s always so reassuring to see Souma go and protect Chizuru even though he’s probably not that strong. It’s gonna get increasingly more difficult for me to like Kazama at this rate lol, especially when he relentlessly slashed Souma and mocked him for protecting Chizuru because of some stupid pride, I was so angry and so worried and hurt for Souma, I was so scared that he’d really die right there😭 I was really touched when he stood back up and told Kazama that he’s protecting Chizuru with his life because he made a promise between men (with the Shinsengumi) that he would protect Chizuru no matter what😢😢 So glad Sanan came in time…

Now that I think about it, I’ve never chosen the option where Chizuru assists with Itou’s assassination, which I must admit is in such bad taste to witness, especially considering that although I do not like Itou’s personality or the way he acts, I do think that he is very knowledgeable and knows what he’s talking about when it comes to the advancement of Japan. It’s kinda saddening that they killed him in such a distasteful way by getting him drunk as if they were friends seeking his knowledge and then killing him afterwards. Tbh, seeing Miki (Itou’s brother) come to the Shinsengumi for revenge with his wounds but still bearing an extreme hatred to all of the Shinsengumi for doing such a thing really made me feel so uncomfortable. Regardless of the reasons for needing to kill Itou, there’s no doubt that it was done in a dirty and disgusting way and the thought of it haunts me. Miki’s hatred is justified, his disgust, his pursuit and everything, it’s just so hard to watch. Sure, they were planning on assassinating Kondou as well and probably if Hijikata didn’t do this, Kondou might have been killed, but that doesn’t mean the whole act was “acceptable”, instead, it just shows that this was an era where if you wanted your beliefs and convictions to prevail in the end, you couldn’t be too picky about the methods used. Since Souma wasn’t able to deal with him alone before Miki ran off, it seems inevitable that Miki will be back.

It was really sweet of Souma and Chizuru to offer to make Heisuke dango and buy him sake every day when he lamented that now that he’s a Fury, he won’t be able to go to tea houses or anywhere as he used to since he’s considered dead to the world. It’s not surprising that no one would want to talk about the Roshigumi (former Shinsengumi name), Serizawa (former head captain that was the boss of everyone) and Ibuki (Serizawa’s page) considering everything that transpired. Although Kondou and them ended up killing Serizawa because his methods and everything (extortion, violence towards Ibuki etc) became impossible to ignore, he was the one that used the dirty methods to keep them and their group alive at that time. And I see, Ibuki probably never left despite the abuse by Serizawa because he felt indebted to him since he was the one that picked him off the road when he had nothing else. Serizawa was also the one who introduced the Water of Life into the group and probably one of the first Furies they had to kill… It’s such a dark past… It really must be fate that Ibuki was the one who gave Souma that wood block in the beginning featuring Serizawa in his Fury form intending for Souma to sell it for money since Souma had none, and it was because of that that he ended up meeting the Shinsengumi themselves and ended up here now being one of them.

Hearing Okita’s story of the past was really heartwarming when Souma sincerely believed that Kondou truly is a warrior in spirit considering how he and the others follow their beliefs and protect everyone they can. Honestly, hearing Okita say thank you was just so..sweet? It felt like he really appreciated that Souma felt that way and that their way of living was recognised. I can also understand better why Okita and others may not have looked at Souma fondly since he abandoned his “warrior” status to become “nothing” like them when they’re working so hard to become a “warrior”. But really, Okita entrusting Kondou’s safety to Souma is already reflective enough of how much he has come to acknowledge Souma, as Chizuru said, Kondou’s so important to Okita, so him approving of Souma guarding Kondou is a big thing! Hearing Kondou talking about how compromising your values is scarier than death, and how as long as he can live the life of a warrior and die honorably like that, he’s fine with a death like that…it breaks my heart to think about how his death really ended up being like😭😭 I honestly completely forgot about Kondou’s shoulder injury that ended up changing him, so when he suddenly got shot, I was so surprised, especially since you never really see it in the other routes.

Souma must have felt so terrible when he told Okita about Kondou, Okita entrusted him with his protection and this happens… I honestly didn’t expect to cry when seeing the flashback of Souma telling Okita… When Okita said he had no right to blame Souma when here he was sick in bed not able to be beside Kondou when he needed him, it was so hurtful...but the worst was when Souma told Okita to punch him for not being able to protect Kondou properly and he did, but he was so weak from the tuberculosis that there was no strength behind his punches.. Just imagining how painful it must be for someone as strong as Okita to lose the strength to protect the people most important to him and slowly die must be killing him on the inside so much, how aggravating and painful must it be for him to watch on the sidelines doing nothing but stay in bed? Just thinking about all that just makes my tears keep flowing😭😭😭 I’m glad Chizuru was there to comfort Souma, with his guilt of not being able to protect Kondou and then seeing Okita like that must be so difficult for him. The pinky promise that he’ll stand by her until the end was so cute though, I’m glad he’s also acknowledged her feelings of wanting to stay and fight beside everyone.

The moment Souma escaped with Chizuru and then bumped into Miki and his men, I knew he’d have to become a Fury. I guess it was expected since Souma’s swordsmanship was apparently lacking according to the others, so it was inevitable, but yeah, it’s always saddening to see the guys succumb to this pain. I’m not surprised that Souma let Miki escape, I’ve always found it difficult to face Miki’s hatred for the Shinsengumi, mainly because it’s so…justified? If I were Miki, I’d vow to get revenge too, not only was Itou his brother, someone he respected, his leader, but he was also killed in such a abhorrent way that thinking about it pains me so. Souma’s sentiments that he probably would have felt the same in Miki’s shoes if Kondou, Hijikata or Chizuru died in that way just resonated further the idea that we can talk about all these ideals, all these hopes for the future that require sacrifices and fighting, but in the end, regardless of the reasons, the fact that they killed someone’s family is something undeniable. Maybe it would be seen as naivety on Souma’s part considering that every time they go to war, the moment they kill anyone, they are killing someone’s family, but I think seeing it so first hand with someone he knew is just so much more confrontational and shocking. I thought that’d be the end of it but nope, Kazama has to appear every time to torture our favourite boys, like please!! They’re just making it harder for me to do his route in the future!! Anyway, even though Inoue and Yamazaki were already on the verge of death from their wounds, so you wouldn’t call it completely a sacrifice for them to fight Kazama to allow Souma and Chizuru to escape, but nevertheless, they could have died much more peacefully, so yep, still hate Kazama! Yamazaki is too precious to me, I can’t stand that he must die in this way :( The helplessness of Souma and his anger for being powerless against Kazama is always something frustrating to see for all the guys😢 And I agree with Souma, the future in Edo may turn out bleak but it’s important to never give up in their hearts because when you do, that’s when you’ve really been defeated. The cutest thing was Souma saying he’d protect Chizuru forever in his sleep, it’s always so adorable how he calls her senpai.

Overall, I quite enjoyed Souma’s perspective, I think his story really reflects understanding the spirit of the Shinsengumi and living it. He started off as a person who detested them, to respecting them and fighting alongside them, and I think that progression and transition was done nicely in the sense that alongside him, I could feel the strong emotions and thoughts that the Shinsengumi were very respectable people that followed their beliefs regardless of whether the odds were in their favour or not, they were warriors who fought to the death for what they believed to be right and for the best and I think seeing Souma recognise it through his eyes made the story engaging as a viewer since it felt like we learnt everything about the Shinsengumi alongside him and it made his emotions very relatable. In terms of the romance, there isn’t much yet, but I do find it very adorable how much Souma respects Chizuru as his senpai and how adamant he is towards protecting her since it was a duty delegated to him and because he regards her as his important senpai I guess hahaha. I think Souma’s earnestness in his route really warmed my heart in his route.