#I must find the four panel manga Narita referred to...I must.

[agallimaufryofoddments]

Notes for YP’s release of Vol 6

With the YP translation of 1933 <First> The Slash - Cloudy to Rainy- out, I’ve gone through and compiled some notes on the release. Originally posted on Reddit. Under the cut due to length.

Corresponding post on /r/Baccano: Reddit | Old Reddit (recommend Old Reddit if it isn’t your default experience).

(Disclaimer: I'm working off the electronic version for Kindle rather than the physical copy, since I won't have access to the physical copy for three days. If anyone in the meantime notices significant typos in the physical copy, share via a comment).

We already knew from the summary that Yen Press was going to write Larvae as the singular Larva, so the two main points of interest going in were whether or not they'd spell the name of Tick's younger brother as Tack (the fan-translation name, closer to the romaji) or Tock (in-step with the traditional English onomatopoeia).

Here to report that they've translated the younger Jefferson's name as Tock, which is surprising to probably no one. @sean-gaffney

Also, they've written Adele as Adele, not Adelle (which wasn't the main fan-translation name, but was used here and there by fans back in the day). I am relieved.

Whereas the fan translation of the character list describes Dallas as simply "trash," he gets two words in the Yen Press translation: "human scum." Heh.

I don't think I pointed this out in my brief write-up of notes for the volume four release, but Yen Press doesn't italicize Tick's elongated/drawled words, it just stretches them out a bit. So "yeees. I'll do my beeest" rather than, "Yeees. I'll do my beeest."

The fan-translation has Tick more formally refer to his step-father as "father," but here Yen Press just has him use the more informal "dad" instead. "Dad's aaall washed up" rather than "Father's aaall washed up." I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this yet; I did like the formal "father" since it implies respect, which is a small but characterizing point the narrative wants us to understand about Tick. He loves his stepfather, but his stepfather doesn't love/care about him. Using a term that inherently carries respect helped to reinforce that, I think.

On the other hand, the more informal "dad" can similarly come across as more affectionate, I suppose. And, well, I guess I'm okay either way. After all, the main thing that conveys Tick's feelings is that he's using father/dad rather than "my stepfather" or something like that. He fully sees the clockmaker as a parental figure.

(Although...Tock/Tim does refer to the clockmaker as "Dad" too, so that tempers that last point.)

Tock's pet Jimmy is described as a "white rat" in this, rather than a guinea pig (which is what the fan-translation used).

So, in the Prologue: Only Child section, the fan-translation had Maria refer to her grandfather as "grandpa." The YP translation straight up has her use Abuelito, and I'm curious to know if the Japanese wrote out Abuelito in katakana or if it just used the Japanese term. She does use abuelita later on in the fan-translation, which I would normally take to mean that abuelita was specifically spelled out in katakana. I may not *know* Japanese, but I can check the raws to look for katakana I can read, at least.

Funnily enough, Maria's grandfather uses an American idiom in the YP translation: "They get smeared with blood and fat, and they lose their edge before you can say Jack Robinson." That idiom's very American. I wonder if the translation should just be taken as a liberal one here.

Maria actually uses amigo and amiga when referring to people in the YP translation, by the way. I mention this only because the fan-translation for this novel doesn't made the gender distinction and uses 'amigo' in all instances. Also, the 'amigo' and 'amiga' terms aren't italicized in the YP translation.

Dallas' thoughts/dreams prior to waking up in the SoHo hideout are italicized in the YP translation. They weren't in the fan-translation. Italicizing them makes a lot of sense.

One thing that I've noticed thus far with YP translations of Baccano! is that they're a little more conservative when it comes to using swear words/vulgar language than the fan-translations are, and I was wondering how they'd write Dallas "Human Scum" Genoard, coarse as he can be.

...Well, he calls Ennis a "bitch" in the YP translation as he does the fan-translation, but calls Firo a "punk" instead of "fucker." (Also, he describes Isaac and Miria as the "cake eater" and the "skirt" in the YP novel. Amazing). Dallas has a "hit list" in the YP translation rather than a "shit list," the latter term I was admittedly quite amused by in the fan translation.

I guess the main thing in the end is whether or not the coarse, disrespectful tone Dallas uses comes across in the YP translation as it did in the fan-translation, and - yeah, it does. Sure, the vulgar language is a lot more scaled back in the YP translation, but the general language definitely still paints him as crass and insulting.

Yeah, looks like YP may be having Maria use a little more Spanish than the fan-translation: she says "Lo Siento, amigo" to Luck in Chapter 1 in the official translation (O.T). but just "I'm sorry, amigo" in the fan translation (F.T).

So when Miria insults Firo in Japanese (touhenboku) and later hopes he is kicked in the head by Yagyo-san, the F.T. takes the time to actually provide translation notes for both words. The O.T. doesn't. This was the case for the older novels, too, and I still think that's a shame. Translation footnotes never did anyone harm.

From the O.T., presented without comment: "Miria laughed happily, her eyes sparkling at her beau's bright idea."(Bolding mine)

Oh, okay, so take these two lines from the F.T.:

(Isaac, on the Genoard manor) "It looked pretty much like my house from the outside, so I had no idea it'd be this great inside!" (Miria) "Ah... You're right! It did look just like home!"

Verus the O.T...:

(Isaac) "It didn't look much different from my folks' house on the outside, so I didn't realize it was such a nice place!" (Miria) "Oh... M-me too!" (Jacuzzi) "Huh? ...I-Isaac, Miria... Y-your families' houses...?"

Well. So the O.T. makes it more explicit that Miria's home was just as fancy as Isaac's was...and the implication that Isaac's home life growing up miiiiight not have been the best is more direct here, too.

Fan translation readers, you know how a plot point of 1933 was that Isaac and Miria wanted Firo to pay by having him literally say uncle? Bizarrely enough, the O.T. is translating the whole "say uncle" phrase as "say gyafun" instead. Directly. I mean, the phrase is 'explained' by Isaac in the text, at least...

When Maria enthuses to Tick about her love of slashing things, she uses the word "slash" in the F.T. versus "cut" in the O.T..

In the F.T. Tim just refers to Huey as "Huey," but in the O.T. he uses "Mr. Huey" instead.

Ronny's catchphrase continues to be translated as "well, never mind" instead of "Well, no matter" and I continue to be in pain.

Tick's sitting up on the floor when he grabs Dallas' wrist, by the way. It wasn't as clear whether he was recumbent on the floor or sitting in the F.T., but the O.T. makes it clear.

Nice's smoke bomb produces a white smokescreen in the F.T., but the O.T. describes the smoke as "murky gray."

The Linking/Connecting Chapter starts off with italics for Tim's thoughts unlike the F.T.. Again, the italics are appropriate.

That's about it for the main notes. There are a couple of passages whose translations I'll contrast in a separate comment, and I may end up editing this main post if I think of/come across more to add, but that's it for now.

On a personal note, Narita says in the July 2004 afterword that Jin Shinonome's four-panel manga Four-Panel Jackhad dealt with Baccano! (as a parody/joke content) in page 29 of the home page issue of Dengeki, and that the 1933 story is actually a continuation of that. Narita says this:

So those of you who read the Dengeki home page probably caught this, but…this story includes the continuation of a four-panel manga drawn in Jin Shinonome’s Four-Panel Jack, published in the home page issue 29. That’s right: I’m treating all information drawn in that Four-Panel Jack as fact. Ha-ha-ha, well, you know, he toyed with my story, and I couldn’t just let that lie, so this time, I toyed with his work, as payback. Thank you very much, Jin Shinonome, and also, I’m very sorry.

And so he'd asked his chief editor, “In the next Baccano!…could I maybe treat those four-panel jokes as if they were actual fact, not jokes?”

Now I need to find that manga in question. That's quite important. I had no idea that Vol 6 was partially inspired off something like that, because the fan translation didn't translate the afterword.

[symphonicscans]

Interview with Hozumi for Sarasate Magazine, 2019

There are next to no interviews with Hozumi, so when I heard about this magazine having one I immediately bought it. Finally got around to translating it, and while it doesn't really talk about much, it's better than nothing! I formatted it to fit the original magazine, but there is also a text transcript as well.

Download the interview in PDF form (or read the transcript below) (I was also really pleased to get my headcannons confirmed XD)

WHO IS SOLLIMA?

Hozumi’s “My Giovanni” was inspired by the piece Violoncelles, Vibrez!

In the story, the main character Tetsuo Tezuka idolizes a cellist named Giovanni Bazzoni, who is modeled after Sollima, and the piece that inspires him is Call of the Cello, which is of course based on Violoncelles, Vibrez!

Giovanni Sollima * Composer, Cellist

Born in 1962 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, he studied cello with Giovanni Perriera and composition with his father Eliodoro Sollima at the Conservatorio di Musica di Palermo. After graduating with honors, he continued his studies on cello with Antonio Janigro and composition with Milko Kelemen at the University of Music in Stuttgart and the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg. In 1997, he founded the Giovanni Sollima Band in New York City, a group made up of musicians who were already active as soloists and chamber musicians, with such luminaries as Claudio Abbado, Martha Argerich, and Philip Glass. His compositions are often said to be strongly influenced by minimalist music, but he has established his own style by freely incorporating a variety of genres, including classical, rock, jazz, bop, and ethnic music from the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Africa.

His most widely recognized work is a ballad for two cellos and string orchestra, titled Violoncelles, Vibrez! (1993), which was dedicated to his close friend Mario Brunello, a fellow student of Janigro. It has been performed by many cello ensembles in Japan, including in an arrangement for eight cellos. His other solo cello piece, Lamantatio (1998), which requires the cellist to sing as well as play, is also frequently performed. He also has written a work for shamisen and orchestra, which was commissioned in Japan. He currently teaches at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and the instrument he performs on is a Francesco Ruggeri made in 1679. His first visit to Japan was in 2004 for the “Summer in Tokyo,” where he performed Violoncelles, Vibrez! amongst other pieces.

A Must-Read Comic for Cellists

“Boku no Giovanni”

Writer/Yumi Kogo

Characters

The cast of the comic

Tetsuo Tezuka

A boy who loves the cello. After looking for a fellow cellist to play with, he ends up having mixed feelings about Ikumi’s cello talent. He later goes to study with Yuriko Soga in Italy. After returning to Japan, he enters a competition.

Ikumi Tachibana

The other protagonist of the story. The only survivor of a marine accident, he is taken in by Tetsuo’s family and is introduced to the cello. He grows up to become a emerging cellist in the classical music world.

Tetsuro Tezuka

Tetsuo’s older brother and good friend. He used to play the cello, but became jealous of his brother’s ability and stopped playing. Later he becomes a ‘mental trainer’ for musicians.

Yuriko Soga

A cellist living in Italy, Tetsuo initially refers to her as the ‘witch.’ She has a carefree personality, but she is an internationally famous cellist. She later becomes Tetsuo’s teacher.

Yukari Narita

A student in the piano department in a Music High School. She becomes Tetsuo’s accompanist, introduced to him by Yuriko. She likes his free style of playing and they become fast friends. She brings out the best in Tetsuo.

-

“Boku no Giovanni” is a popular music-themed manga serialized in “Monthly Flowers,” a manga magazine for women published by Shogakukan. There have already been four tankoubon released. The manga depicts the lives of two boys who choose to dedicate their lives to the cello, and it’s become popular not only with women but men as well. The story is different from the usual type that follow music students living happily while competing with each other, instead delicately portraying the struggles of a boy who aspires to find his place in the world of music. It is in this setting that the character modeled after Giovanni Sollima appears, and they play an important role in the story.

The Beginning

Tetsuo Tezuka, an elementary school student who plays the cello in a small port town, feels lonely because his older brother Tetsuro, his only cello-playing friend, has stopped playing. Tetsuro had begun to feel inferior to Tetsuo’s rapid improvement, so decides to distance himself from the cello so he wouldn’t end up hating his younger brother. Unaware of his feelings, Tetsuo repeatedly asks him to play ‘Giovanni Bazzoni’s’ work for two cellos, Call of the Cello with him.

At the same time, a large passenger ship sinks on a stormy sea off the coast of their island; a faint voice in the distance is heard. Ikumi Tachibana, who followed to voice to the beach, loses his mother — his only living relative — in the accident, and is taken in by Tetsuo’s family. There, Ikumi learns that the voice he heard was actually Tetsuo’s cello playing.

World-renowned cellists Sollima and Yo-Yo Ma as models

Tetsuo starts playing the cello at age six. He always asks his older brother to play together with him.

It all started when he saw a video of Call of the Cello by Giovanni Bazzoni, which his father gave him. The character of Bazzoni — who has a great influence on Tetsuo — is modeled on Giovanni Sollima, the cellist and composer, and Call of the Cello is reminiscent of one of Sollima’s masterworks, Violoncelles, Vibrez! The other cellist in the panel, Lesser Curtis, is modeled after Yo-Yo Ma. Tetsuo was fascinated by the ‘shadow dancing’ between the two world-famous cellists and became enraptured with the cello.

***

Ikumi finds out that Tetsuo wants somebody to play cello with, so he can play Call of the Cello with them, so he asks Tetsuo to teach him how to play. Both boys start out lonely, but day by day they grow closer through their connection with the cello, and vow to remain lifelong friends.

The world-famous cello “Witch”

Another person who stands out in this story is the character of Yuriko Soga, a world-famous Japanese cellist living in Italy. Every summer she visits Tetsuo’s house to relax. She has a carefree personality, but her playing is of the highest level. Through Yuriko, Tetsuo realizes how difficult the life of a professional cellist is, but also thinks that he has no talent. As if to fight against this reality, he refers to Yuriko as a “witch” and rejects her as an outsider in his world.

One day, Tetsuo spends a week at his grandfather’s house, and when he returns home he finds that Ikumi has effortlessly learned how to play the Dvorak Cello Concerto, which he is unable to play yet. He becomes angry and jealous of Ikumi’s talent and his ability to play with the ideal sound that he wants for himself, and there are many scenes after this that make the reader turn the pages with a heavy heart; only in comics can you see the mood and atmosphere of a person’s feelings at a glance.

As if to escape from Ikumi, Tetsuo goes to study abroad in Sicily, Italy, where Yuriko lives. Five years later, he returns to Japan only to find that Ikumi’s talent has blossomed. Tetsuo pursues his own unique way of making music, but struggles to find a pianist to accompany him in a competition due to his strange way of playing. Through his connection with Yuriko, Tetsuo is introduced to Yukari Narita, a high school pianist who prefers a free style of playing, and this inspires Tetsuo to search for his own style in earnest. It will be interesting to see how his relationship with Ikumi and his future as a cellist develops in future chapters...

(Caption beneath image: Monthly Flowers March 2019 / featured cover illustration)

Interview with the Author of “My Giovanni”

- Hozumi-san - Discovering Sollima and the Fascination with the Cello

Hozumi-san, the creator of “My Giovanni,” debuted in 2010 with her work The Wedding-Eve, which won the Silver Flower Award at the Monthly Flowers comic audition. She made her published book debut with the same work, which is a collection of short stories of which the title is one. The book won the 4th Pukurog Grand Prix in the manga category, and also placed second in the “Staff Choice: This Manga is Amazing!” It also placed second In the ladies’ comics category. Subsequent works include Sayonara Sorcier, which depicts the life of Vincent Van Gough, and Usemono no Yado.

My Giovanni was inspired by a performance of Sollima’s Violoncelles, Vibrez! The series began in 2016 and is still ongoing. We asked Hozumi-san to talk about her encounter with the cello, its appeal, and how My Giovanni was born.

She first fell in love with the cello through 2CELLOS.

Q: I understand that you have always liked minimalist music. How exactly did you come to know about Sollima?

A: My first exposure to minimalist music was with Michael Nyman’s The Heart Asks Pleasure First, but one day I got hooked on 2CELLOS. I had a CD of cellist and composer Siegen Tokuzawa, but I had never watched a proper cello performance before. When I started listening to 2CELLOS, I became more and more fascinated with the sound of the cello and started listening to serious classical music. That’s when I came across Sollima’s Violoncelles, Vibrez! From that point on, I started buying Sollima’s recordings and playing them while working on manuscripts (laughs). After that, I listened to recordings of Joe Hisaishi, Ryuuchi Sakamoto, and others that had a bit of minimalist elements, but I still find it difficult to listen to completely minimalist music. I prefer works that mix minimalist elements with folk and other styles.

Q: I heard that your encounter with Sollima’s works is what led you to create My Giovanni. What was it about Sollima’s music that appealed to you?

A: More than anything, it’s the drama! Of course there’s a strong element of repetition since it’s minimalist, but after listening to a song I feel a sense of fulfillment, as if I’d watched an entire movie. When I heard it for the first time, I remember being impressed and thinking, “Wow, I’ve found such an amazing piece of music!” I was so impressed. It seemed like all of human life experience was depicted in it, and I racked my brain wondering if and how I could draw a manga like that. I started to draw it, but it still didn’t reach the ideal I have, and I’m still struggling with it (laughs).

Q: Do you have any specific cellists that you modeled the characters of Tetsuo, Ikumi, and Yuriko Soga after?

A: I don’t have anybody specific in mind, because I think the way they perform is related to their personalities, so I wouldn’t want to attach them to a specific cellist. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to use anybody in particular as a model because, for the sake of the story progression, I sometimes have to push through the performance scenes with a more comic-like style…

But I have a feeling that there is a bit of Sollima in all of them. Actually, learning to play the cello has made me realize that more.

Q: Hozumi—san, your drawings of cellists are natural and beautiful. Is there anything you pay attention to when you draw them, or anything you are very particular about?

A: I really appreciate you saying so. But I don’t think I’m quite there yet. I actually started cello classes and tried to play the cello myself, but it’s really difficult to draw not only the instrument itself but also the playing position — and not only for cellists. I will continue to work hard to draw the flow of the skeleton and muscles as realistically as I can.

Q: You said you’re learning to play the cello. What was your impression of the cello when you started playing it?

A: This might not be something to talk about in a classical magazine, but I was in a band for a while when I was in school, so I had a little bit of experience with the electric bass. So, when I started cello, I had the faint hope that I would be a little better than an amateur because it was a string instrument… but (of course) it was completely different. Unlike electric bass and guitar there are no frets, and even just holding the bow is very difficult. It was a struggle for me to make a single note sound good. Since then, when I hear cellists play — which I used to listen to without much thought — now I am in awe of them. When I draw the characters in my work I think, “It’s amazing, they can all play so well.” (Laughs)

Q: What is the appeal of the cello for you?

A: It has a wide range, with high notes that pull at your heartstrings but also deep bass notes. I think it’s great that they can play everything from melody to bass lines, and since I used to play the bass I think it’s really cool to be able to do that! As a manga artist, my motivation for drawing them is to find a way to express the sexiness that cellists exude when playing cello.

Q: What are your favorite songs, both to play and to listen to?

A: I haven’t gotten very far with my playing because I’m too busy with the manuscript, but I often listen to the song Rain by Ryuichi Sakamoto. It’s a trio for piano, violin and cello, and I imagined this song when I was drawing the live performance scene for the same ensemble in the comic. I also like Piazzolla in general, but in particular I often play Duo de Amor when I’m drawing.

I really like to hear the cello played by my teacher.

Q: How much time do you spend practicing the cello? What do you find most difficult when you practice?

A: Actually, I haven’t been able to attend classes since I had a health scare last year, and I’m not able to play as much as I used to. Really, all practicing is difficult, but if I had to pick one thing I’d say that even though my left hand fingering is good, I can’t keep up with the bowing… sorry for being such a beginner…

Q: Is there a moment that made you glad you started playing the cello?

A: I’m really only a novice, so just being able to play a single note with a tight, deep sound is a great feeling. “Amazing! I can make the cello sound like a cello!” That alone makes me very happy. Also, it was really helpful for me to understand how to hold the bow and use proper tilted posture as a reference for drawing, it was really great! I’m also happy just listening to the teacher play so skillfully in front of me.

Q: What color is your case?

A: I haven’t bought a case yet because I’m still at the stage where I’m renting my cello, but I like white ones and the deep red Bordeaux-like color, and in the comic Tetsuo’s case is white and Ikumi’s is Bordeaux.

Q: Like My Giovanni, many of your works feature gentlemen, siblings and their home environments. Are those things you consciously decide to focus on?

A: When I create my stories, I often adapt and build on my own experiences as a teenager, so that might have an influence on my work. However, I think the best part of a story is to leave things to the imagination of the reader rather than explaining everything about how the story came to be. Although there are fragments of my personal memories in some parts, it is undoubtedly the original story of the characters, and I hope you will enjoy reading it until the end.

[venusbled-archive]

meta repost ( incomplete )

i've organized all my mini essays into sections for easy reading, and also because i don't expect many people to want to read this entire analysis. there's so much i've packed into here about shimizu's characters, and perhaps only one of these many topics interests my followers. so, for the sake of organization and accessibility, here are the various categories upon which i will touch:

i. beauty + subsequent reactions of the public ii. body image + public reaction iii. ( internalized + externalized ) reaction to rumors / whispers / affections iv. shimizu as a nominal fanservice character v. personality traits ( meyers-briggs, moral alignment, etc. ) vi. astrological sign traits vii. the irony of shimizu's character ( misconceptions, surprises ) viii. the irony of shimizu's character ( comedic appeal ) ix. connections between other characters ( friends and teammates / adults ) x. abilities xi. roles ( canonly ) xii. roles ( based on hq extras ! ) xiii. positivity + pros of shimizu xiv. negativity + cons of shimizu xv. what happens when she's gone ?

also, i try to source everything i mention in this meta from either the manga or the anime. so for reference, my abbreviations are as follows:

- vol. for volume - ch(s). for chapter(s) - s. for season - ep. for episode

i. beauty + subsequent reactions of the public

furudate makes it well-known to the reader that shimizu is an attractive character. through the use of special panels, characters' reactions, and common beauty tropes, he defines her as one --------- if not the most --------- attractive character of haikyuu!! of course, this is always open to opinion, but based on the context which he's given us throughout the manga, it would appear that only shimizu and oikawa, who constantly receive attention from the opposite sex no matter where they are, are the characters that furudate pointedly and explicitly marks as attractive.

common beauty tropes that shimizu shows are in her size, her beauty mark, her glasses, her style of dress, and her facial expressions. she's one of the taller female characters in haikyuu!! --------- a trait which has her pegged as different, in a good way. it's one of the more defining physical characteristics which separates her from being "cute" and instead alters people to describe her as "sexy" or "beautiful." something about height inherently changes the words with which one can be described, and because her taller stature is also paired with other beauty tropes, shimizu is considered more attractive than other characters. what do i mean by this?

well, her beauty mark is remarked as being an "erotic" feature rather than a "cute" one (yahaba, vol. 2 ch. 11). in nearly every experience she's had at practice matches with other schools, training camps, or official tournaments, people always call her "beautiful," and once yachi joins along, she officially becomes "beautiful" whilst the word "cute" is reserved for the younger, shorter, less-composed manager. 

shimizu's glasses also make her out to be sexier than she might've been seen without them. in lots of official art, her glasses are a key symbol of her, and label her as the type of "sexy/hot librarian" trope that one constantly sees in modern day media. furudate has even remarked in an interview that when he created shimizu's character, he had intended for her to be a "secretary" type (hence, the glasses --------- a stereotype of secretaries). we can infer that the glasses, in addition to the decision to make shimizu a "secretary," separate her from cuteness and allow her to mature to beauty and erotic appeal.

her style of dress also lends itself to her relative attractiveness. while she's a conservative dresser, never showing her legs, the fact that she's so fashion-forward in official art where she's OUT of school (chs. 78, 150, 219 coloured covers), and has such a nice physical form (crow's angels side story, vol. 13 promo images), she's seen as more attractive physically. she's able to pull off different styles, and even when wearing her regular uniform, tracksuit, or manager outfit during tournaments, she's always presented as extremely attractive (s.1 ep. 2 @14:48-14:55).

additionally, her facial expressions, though reticent and not varying much, are always common focal points for other characters whenever they meet her. for example, terushima says that he loves shimizu when she "looks shy," and even the slightest blush from her sends tanaka and noya into a stupified state (source unavailable; i can't find the name of the extra).

overall, it's undeniable that she's physically attractive and it's nigh impossible for a character to not --------- at one point or another --------- have pointed out her attractiveness (all karasuno teammates except kageyama, tsukishima, kinoshita, narita, and ennoshita have at one point or another been thrown off by her beauty; and in addition, it's not uncommon for her to be gawked at whenever the team travels and she's subject to being seen by boys from across the prefecture). however, there's a distinction in her attractiveness that makes her more "hot" than "cute," and it's likely a result of her self-presentation, maturity level, and appearance in comparison to other female characters in the series.

ii. body image + public reaction

i previously mentioned in the section about shimizu's beauty that she's remarked as having a beautiful figure and always portrayed with a beautiful body no matter what she seems to wear (crow's angels side story, vol. 13 promo images, s. 1 ep. 2 @14:48-14:55). she's canonly a healthy weight for her height, and like many female characters in manga series, is well-endowed in the bum and breast regions, and thin at the waist.

but this also, obviously, leads to a lot of inappropriate comments by other characters regarding her body, and while for certain this can't be attributed to the fact that she dresses somewhat conservatively and always covers her legs in official art, it may influence shimizu's behavior. the volume 13 promo images include her dressed in a sarashi, the only thing that prompts bokuto, kuroo, and oikawa to participate in the promotion. at the end, bokuto exclaims that he got shimizu's pictures while she was dressed in the attire, and immediately both kuroo and oikawa ask for him to send them the photos. shimizu is shown in a small panel as looking upset, with her arms crossed and a frown on her face -------- either in disapproval, discomfort, or distaste for bokuto's actions and kuroo's/oikawa's response. then, in the that's absurd! extra, again, bokuto and kuroo are infatuated by shimizu's body, and appear at the movie premier in order to see kiyoko-chan's skintight body suit. however, most of her movie/extras costumes are rather revealing, though this may be attributed to fanservice rather than her personal preference. nonetheless, she's never voiced any canon concern for her manner of dress, nor does she seem to be affected in any way by the many boys that point out how sexy her figure is, or how erotic she looks at any given time.

iii. ( internalized + externalized ) reaction to rumors / whispers / affections

it would be nearly impossible for shimizu to be unaware of her influence on boys, given the amount of attention she receives on a daily basis (not just from tanaka and nishinoya, but also other first and second years, and even girls). by virute of being a center of attention, though unintentional, shimizu must have some sort of self-realization and thereby be aware of her influence. however, while she may notice how she affects others around her, she's never acted upon the whispers she must hear day-to-day.

for example, the most obvious cases in which she blatantly ignores the attention she receives are whenever tanaka and nishinoya tell her, "kiyoko-san, looking beautiful as ever today!" or some other variation, and she walks away without responding to them (vol. 1 ch. 1), or when terushima asks for her number and she would rather just leave without engaging in conversation (vol. 12 ch. 105).

additionally, shimizu has never been shown to turn her head in public whenever those around her comment on how beautiful she is (vol. 5 ch. 37, vol. 9 ch. 72); yet if tanaka and nishinoya attempt to be protective over her to keep these suitors from approaching her, shimizu tells them to stop, which insinuates that she had at least heard the whispers before and therein knew why tanaka and nishinoya were surrounding her. in general, she keeps composed and ignorant of these affections, and doesn't so much as blush whenever she must hear them.

i've also mentioned how rumors have shaped her life as karasuno's manager. in vol. 2 ch. 11, yahaba is talking to kindaichi on seijou's campus about a beautiful manager from karasuno he'd heard word of. assuming that karasuno hasn't been to seijou in POTENTIALLY 2 years (as yahaba is a second year and obviously hadn't seen shimizu in person, but oikawa's current concern had listed that when he tried to talk to shimizu she ignored him --------- something which may  insinuate that they had met as first years, or may just be that they met in their third year), rumors of her beauty had still spread across the prefecture to seijou and ended up in yahaba's "circles." because seijou is one of the top four schools in the prefecture, and --------- at the time --------- karasuno was considered a school of "flightless crows," it's incredible that rumors of shimizu's attractiveness could actually reach seijou if karasuno's practice matches were limited in the past years to other lower-level schools. AND it's incredible considering the fact that seijou COULD BE all the way across the prefecture (though technically we don't know the canon locations of all schools and their geographical relations between one another).

iv. shimizu as a nominal fanservice character

i have to bring this up because i think this meta would be incomplete if i didn't address the elephant in the room: the sexualization and tailored appeal of female characters in manga to suit the "fanservice" role of women. i would be stupid to deny that shimizu doesn't serve as a fanservice character, but even stupider if i said that being a fanservice character was all she was. nonetheless, i still feel that it's necessary to bring up WHY she's classified as one and what her fanservice role entitles.

i've mentioned facts about her appearance --------- it's a subject that isn't brushed over when shimizu is described in the manga. she's obviously attractive both bodily and facially, and to bat, her personality does at first fulfill a fanservice trope of being passive/shy/quiet. granted, there are other types, but shimizu is what i would describe as the "shy bespectacled beauty" (as we can't forget the trump card of her glasses: one of her more defining characteristics which incidentally classifies her as a certain type of character). she's now physically and mentally very attractive and appeals to male readers.

additionally, though the manga isn't sex-centric, there are still lots of sexual references or questionable material. s. 1 ep. 2 @14:48-14:55 includes shots of her bum and her breasts, in the "sparkling anime background" meant to set off characters as being otherworldly or worth mention. many of her outfits in ennoshita's movies are revealing, and even her roles are rather sexualized for the sake of a potential increase in viewership (skintight bodysuits in crow's angels and that's absurd!, a very revealing costume that shows off most of her cleavage in final haikyuu!! quest, the "stoic yet sexy military officer" in haikyuu!! fighter, and even the nun in house of crows). this also occurs in special manga covers (chs. 36, 78, 86, 99, 111, 131, and 179) and in the vol. 13 promo,  so although the manga is tasteful in not including too much sexualized material, the extras try to make up for this by sexualizing shimizu and making her a more visually appealing character, thus subjecting her to fanservice.

MORE TO BE ADDED.