#japanese has kanji but technically you don't have to use it all the time

[kopivie]

ik usually only send 1 ask a day (for me atleast idk abt you, i forgot the time difference between us alr i’ll go count it later✌️) but.. CINNA LEARNING MANDARIN??

im rusty asf so i wouldn’t be able to help😔 depsite my parents’s wishes, 14yrs of mandarin classes did nothing to my proficiency

-🦫 highkey google translate a ton of the chinese things i say. one thing i do remember tho (that isnt basic, nursery level stuff) is certainly: 你爱我，我爱你，mixue(idk the hanzi😔) 蜜雪冰城甜蜜蜜 x2 :D👍

i missed you sm, cinnaaaa😫 now im opening tumblr more waiting for you to post lol. congrats, you brought me back lmao

oh hey, this is pretty timely! today is the first day of class and my literature professor let us go pretty early, so i'm waiting in the fine arts building for my mandarin class to begin!

although if i'm being fully transparent, my uni has it labeled under chinese and not mandarin specifically. i know mandarin is the most commonly taught in formal settings, but i wonder if my professor will teach me both? i have full intent to learn cantonese on my own time if necessary..

oh! and i actually just found out that we have a translation minor at my school! it's too late for me to change trajectories now, but i'm so excited to come back after graduating to do linguistics with a concentrated focus in translation :D

but don't worry, i fully understand not understanding a language despite learning it for an extended period of time... that's me with japanese, korean, and even jamaican patois. technically, patois is a native language for me since i grew up around my family speaking it and it's very obviously not the same as american english, but i'm SO BAD at it. 22 years and i can't even speak it 🥲

BUT I MISSED YOU TOO, MI AMOR 🫂 its so nice to talk to you again fr! we can catch up and brush up on our languages together 🤝🏽

[beingwhatwecan]

'Tosh' is not the stressed syllable in 'Toshiko' (not that Japanese stresses work the same, but in this case it's most likely 'shi'). And that vowel 'o' doesn't sound the same. And as far as Japanese goes, 'Tosh' is an extremely random way of taking out a part of a name... It's always a syllable ending with a vowel. Always.

It's that thing. It's essentially a different name.

And I know her nationality is British. I know she technically probably has a British passport to have worked for the government. But she speaks Japanese with her mother and she uses chopsticks fine when eating Chinese. You know it's there.

So, being a Japanese name, it's surname first.

Sato is like the most common surname ever, so everyone knows it's 佐藤. Toshiko isn't all that rare. Wikipedia writes Toshi in hiragana, and ko in kanji. People don't really do that, as far as I know. It's all kanji, or all hiragana, and all hiragana is rare the last time I checked. Either way, I remember reading at some point it's 敏子, which makes enough sense to me. 敏 is agile, clever, quick, sensitive, etc.

敏 as a kanji comes from Chinese originally. Back in the days, like, very back in the days, left-hand side 每 meant women or mother (the bottom bit 母 is still mother; this is also the part that signals the pronunciation), and the right-hand side 攵 used to be 又, and both meant action with hands.

Quite literally women handling tools or women managing hair, depending on when you're looking at and who's doing the explanation. It's the 'handling stuff' bit that got into 'quick'. And then quick movement (agile, nimble), quick thinking (clever).

(Then because they are brought up together a lot or something, it also means 'preserverence', which I don't think made it to Japanese meaning of the word. So.)

Tosh is in tech so I thought the 'handling tools' was neat, in an unexpected way. Anyway Toshiko Sato = Sato Toshiko = 佐藤 敏子. That's the name.

[askablindperson]

/Question: I tend to use several languages, (several non-Latin alphabet languages), and i was wondering how screen readers work with them (like what happens if it meets a Chinese/Japanese character? What about a heavy diacritic language like Vietnamese? What if it meets French, will it read it like its English etc;)

If making image descriptions and my intentions are "I'm going to use my own language in this piece of art, and my viewers aren't supposed to know what I drew here", how should I go about doing it, so that I don't have to translate it into English while still being accessible?

Hi! These are great questions. Thank you for asking.

So most screen readers have a setting that can be toggled called “automatic language detection“ or similar. As the name implies, turning the setting on will mean that your screen reader will do its best to automatically detect language changes and read them in that language.

However, this happens with varying degrees of success. With other languages that use the Roman alphabet, this is quite tricky, and whether it will get the language right can be hit or miss. I once was taking a psychology exam in college where the screen reader insisted that segments of the document were supposed to be read in French when they were very much in English. Most of the time though, because guessing the language in the Roman alphabet can be dicey, the screen reader will usually default to reading it in whatever language the user currently has the screen reader set to. So most of the time when I encounter Spanish or French online, my screen reader will generally try to pronounce it like English because I have mindset to English.

For this reason, most of the time if a blind person is intentionally trying to read a different language in the Roman alphabet, they will switch voice profiles to one specifically designed for the second language They are switching to and toggle back-and-forth as needed. A number of bilingual blind people will have shortcuts set up for this so they can switch quickly and easily. There are ways to make it more seamless with Roman alphabet based languages, but usually this involves marking up/tagging for the language, which is something you can do in a document but not so easily on social media. I don’t know too much about how that process works though since I don’t personally read any other Roman alphabet based languages and I am also admittedly not that knowledgeable about the technical weeds.

However, for character based languages or languages that use a different alphabet in general, automatic language detection is usually much more successful. On my iPhone using voiceover, I tend to keep this feature turned on, because it does a pretty good job of Never switching when it’s not supposed to with the Roman alphabet And switching pretty seamlessly when encountering languages that do not use the Roman alphabet. Most of the time, I can read one sentence in English and the next sentence in Japanese without much issue.

Although, with Japanese in particular, it can be hit or miss whether the screen reader will interpret a kanji as Chinese or Japanese, so if I’m deliberately trying to read Japanese specifically or I encounter Japanese text online that I want to read better, I will switch to the Japanese voice profile to manually flip it over to full Japanese. I have my preferred Japanese voice profile set up as a shortcut so I can easily switch quickly when I want to without going all the way into settings.

As for how you should handle these image descriptions, the best practice for this is usually the same best practice for captions: if a non-disabled person who knows the language would be able to read it, then the disabled person who knows the language should also be able to read it, so your image description should include the text in the language that it is written in the image. If the text on the image isn’t also translated into English, then the text in the image description shouldn’t be translated into English either. This means that only blind people who also know the language in the image will be able to read it, just like how only sighted people who know the language will be able to read it in the image.

And, if a blind person reading that image description does know that language, if their screen reader doesn’t do a good job of automatically language switching to pronounce the words correctly, then they as the user can change their voice profile to the language in question, so I wouldn’t worry too much about whether it’ll be readable. As long as it is still in plane text, a blind person who knows that language should be able to read it if they want to.

I hope this helps! That is a very great question.

[yoroshiu]

Hiya friend! If you're still open to doing some translation, I have a scene I'd love for your thoughts on. It's one in KH3, called Xigbar's Admonishment. I'm especially interested in Xigbar's dialog, as I believe it frames the story of KH3 as a whole. However, Sora's reaction to it all is of course interesting to me as well.

-Nyssa

Hi! I'm so happy to get a translation ask! I locked in and did this in one go so there's a small chance of mistakes or missed nuances, but from what I got, there's a lot of differences that change the subtleties. Doing this was a mix of my own knowledge and using translators for the kanji I wasn't as familiar with, so I hope it's coherent enough TvT

And I'm the same when it comes to this cutscene, it has a grip on me TvT

So below, I'll put the translation, my notes, and thoughts/analysis. It's a little on the long end but I hope this'll be an interesting read. If anything's unclear or confusing or if there's questions overall, let me know ^o^

Kingdom Hearts 3 - "Xigbar's Admonition"

X: Iyaa, Wonderful, wonderful!

D: Black coat!

G: It's Organization XIII!

S: You're Xigbar!

X: What a beautiful self-sacrificing spirit, is this what they say those with a heart of light can do?

S: What are you trying to say?

X: (It's) simple and clear*, stop self-sacrificing, as they say.

H: (Since) I risked my life, I was able to save Meg.

X: That's because you have a special existence, that's not how it works for normal humans.

S: But we can't deny that Hercules' was able to do what his heart desired.

X: In trying to save someone who self-sacrifices, a new self-sacrifice is born. That's a negative chain reaction. If one collapses, the rest fall, as they say.

X: It's the same for your "connected hearts"*. It's true that connected hearts can become (your) power, but remember, on the other hand, it can cause suffering and burden those you're connected with.

X: However, Sora, you can be left as is. (Let) your connected heart be your power and continue on with your hearts connections.

S: Who would do what you say?!

X: No, you have no choice but to follow your heart, as they say. At the time you get there, you'll know your destiny. The goal may be closer than you expected. How fun!

(Xigbar disappears)

S: Connecting hearts will bring everyone suffering—

H: Sora, don't worry about it. That guy just uses words to toy with others. Seeing proves it. There's no mistake in what we did.

S: You're right!

G: Yeah, our present is proof of that!

D: We'll show them! Connecting hearts is our power!

S: Right!

(Everyone walks off while Sora stops and looks behind)

S: My destiny—

~~~~~~

Translation Notes:

General:

In Japanese, Xigbar's cathchphrase, which is "As if" in ENG, is "ってハナシ" (tte hanashi) which I've translated to "as they say".

I've mentioned it in previous posts but "My friends are my power" is "Connecting hearts is my power" in JPN.

Specific:

~1 I checked the kanji and its meaning from different sources and it literally is "simple and clear". I'm making note of it 'cause it's really close to simple and clean and I found that amusing LOL

~2 This is where Xigbar is referring to Sora's iconic line

Analysis:

I've also thought that this scene was very vital to framing the theme of sacrifice KH3 covers. Translating from JPN has given me a lot of new insight. I think certain parts really end up making the moment match Xigbar's story in the KH3 Character Files.

The difference that's probably the most notable and which stuck to me is:

"It's true that connected hearts can become (your) power, but remember, on the other hand, it can cause suffering and burden those you're connected with."

In English, this is where the line about "putting too much power in one place might break it" is.

While both lines technically get Xigbar's main message across, the difference lies in the phrasing. JPN has more focus on the fact that everyone suffers when one sacrifices themselves. In a way ENG, kinda has more focus on the fact that the one breaks. While both statements are true, in the context of Xigbar's character (Luxu specifically), it makes a lot of sense that he'd focus on the consequences of self-sacrifice from the perspective of someone who got left behind, who's seen people get destroyed over and over by it.

In his Character Files story, it's mentioned/implied that he kinda wanted Sora to understand where he was coming from.

In terms of Sora's reaction, he reflects on the idea of everyone suffering due to "connecting hearts". I think for KH3 and most likely future games, it's something he's going to have to contend with. With the way the others are working to get him back, Sora will definitely be confronted with the reality that people have suffered when he threw himself away.

Also very interestingly, the camera pans to Donald and Goofy when Xigbar says the quoted part I mentioned earlier about others suffering from that connection (WHICH IS WILD WHEN PUT IN JPN CONTEXT).

And the end line where he lingers on "My destiny" which does fit with his lines in the intro (as Nomura had said that the lines there are Sora's thoughts post-KH3).

Both ENG and JPN do their jobs in setting up this specific theme and conflict for KH3, but in doing this, I feel that JPN's wording and phrasing does more overt work in tying to the other themes and the characters (which tends to be a reccuring thing with the localizations). I think I have more thoughts on it in general but am lacking the coherence to express it at the moment since I'm a little fried from translating LOL

I really appreciate the ask and I had so much fun doing this, I'm definitely gonna store this in my mind reserves for when the next games come out TvT I hope this gives a lot of food for thought!

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Hey Slug! Now that all snippets are out, what are your thoughts so far on the BB songs for the 3rd DRB? I'm especially excited for Ichiro's. It reminds me of Hiphoppia but with less intense dream vision feel and more funky back alley hip hop stuff. Jiro's sounds good too tho!

I love anon asks like this that remind me to go look at the new stuff that comes out... I would never think to do it otherwise. Thank you; it's very sweet of you.

Let's fire up the old YouTube and give them a listen.

Ichirou -- H歴維新 / The H Age Revolution

(Side note about the title: I'm using "revolution" here in a general sense, but this specific wording is evocative of the Meiji Restoration, the political revolution in the late 1800s that ended the regime of the Tokugawa shoguns and "restored" the old social order under the emperor while radically transforming Japanese society as a whole. Here, we should understand that Ichirou is tearing down Chuuouku's reign to usher in a new state of society.)

(Fifteen seconds in) YOOO this goes hard. I like this beat and the vaguely military-esque theme w/ the horns.

(At end of preview) DAMN okay. Give me a sec to get my thoughts in order.

Every time I see the language in these songs, I'm reminded of a video of an NHK presenter guy reading the lyrics of one song and announcing dryly, "They're all very good at kanji."

I love how this is much punchier than Break the Wall. Ichirou seems to be much more of an active agent in it, not just the figurehead leader of a revolution--and I LOVE that. It's great to see Ichirou embracing his individuality and not simply playing into the image of MC BB that others want him to be.

I also love all the callbacks to previous songs, quite literally going back to basics. ペンは剣より偽りがない ("The pen is mightier than the sword, and that's a fact!") goes all the way back to Hypmic's very first song's ペンは剣よりヒプノシスマイク ("The Hypnosis Mic is mightier than the sword")

Can't wait to get the full version and learn the lyrics. Seems like a hella fun song to rap.

Jirou -- Sunshine

(Five seconds in) Getting "This Means War" vibes.

(Fifteen seconds in) Bro what is this autotune... This sounds like the opening of Rhyme Anima season 2.

(Forty-five seconds in) "I'm ready; the wind's pushing me along; I'm flying with the wings Ikebukuro's given me" Hell YES Jirou you get that identity independent of Ichirou

(Fifty seconds in) "I can't shake the past. I take my scars with me off into a future--a future that's still unknown." Yo this is bars. (I'm butchering its lyricism but whatever) I love that Jirou is actually acknowledging his past and his struggles instead of pushing it away. You notice how his comments on the past are always either "Ichirou was so cool" or "Saburou used to be such a cute kid; what happened?" ? It's good to see him finally being honest enough to touch on his hurt feelings.

(End) Hmm... I don't know how I feel about this one at first liston. I really like Jirou's voice actor's singing voice, so I'm kinda not feeling the autotune. On the other hand, his singing voice definitely has more of a sweet/young flavor, and I can see the authors wanting to lean away from that to make him sound more adult. I think my issue is this song sounds... idk, a bit too idol pop rock to my tastes. I don't mean that idol pop rock is a bad thing; it's simply not my personal preference.

Here's a selection of people in the comments having a normal one:

"Wtf he's hot now"

"I'm picturing Jirou going to school the day after this song drops and his friends being like 'EYYY' and he's like 'Aw, you listened to it? Thanks, guys!' Then a bunch of girls swarm him and he deadass has no idea what they're on about it"

"Say it isn't so... Not my sweet baby boy dumbass Jirou... They made him hot af..."

"I feel like a mom watching my widdle Jiro-chan grow up"

Saburou -- 朱夏 / Maturity

(Side note about the title: Japanese borrows some terms for stages of life from ye olde Chinese (<- very technical term) wherein stages of life correspond to colors and seasons. You may know the word "seishun" (blue spring) or have seen blue = youth as a recurring piece of imagery in Japanese media. (BSD's Blue Period, anyone?) "Shuka" (red summer) is the stage that encompasses most of adulthood; it's the summer or prime of a person's life. The word conveys a sense of energy and a greater understanding of the world than in the youthful seishun period. Sounds like the Hypmic authors want to convey that our baby boy is growing up! *sobs into a hankie*)

(Five seconds in) Chill lofi hip-hop beats for studying

(End) Hmm... Musically, I liked the piano as a consistent piece of imagery for Saburou. It was a little too chill for me, but I always say this and always warm up to Hypmic songs over time lol.

Lyrically, I kept thinking throughout the video "This would be easy to translate" because Saburou monologues for most of it haha. Apart from the imagery related to seasons and the BB's heat/energy "firing" him up to reach the hot summer of adulthood, most of the song is surprisingly literal and straightforward. Saburou states in plain terms that he wants to go be his own person (seems to be the running theme of this album), but it's a departure from his usual style of complex imagery and vocabulary. I would guess that's on purpose, as the song opens with "All through my childhood, I could never wait to grow up. I'm a better rapper than Ichirou, but no one ever sees me as anything but an accessory to him. At least I'm better than Jirou in every way-- oh, who am I kidding? Look at me going on like an edgy middle schooler. I'm always smart, collected, calm--but on the inside, I'm NOT okay!" That is, Saburou is purposefully throwing away his attempts to look smart and mature for his age. He's allowing himself to be rough and emotional like any fourteen year old.

Really fun start to an album; can't wait to hear all the songs! Thanks again for sending this ask, anon.

[hanszoe]

do you fluently speak Japanese? How has your knowledge on the language impact how you perceive the aot story? I feel that a lot of people who are only English speaks or don’t read translations lack context when it comes to characters, esp Hansi

hi, thank you for the ask!

i am not fluent whatsoever, that's actually why i haven't read the manga in full. i had a lot of exposure growing up so grammar and sentence structure is intuitive to me, but my knowledge of kanji is near nonexistent and i don't know much technical vocabulary, which is difficult with something like snk that has a lot of it. when reading/translating i use https://ejje.weblio.jp/ for example sentences to get a feeling of how a word is used and https://www.weblio.jp/ to check precise definitions of words. snk is great for me because all canon text has furigana that spells out the reading of words, i'd probably have a lot less patience for it if there were no furigana lol

as for perception, i have to give maybe a surprising answer and say that i don't really think any japanese fan interpretation is unique to japan; for example het ships with hansi specifically levihan is the most popular in japan and led to all of their feminization and fanservice in the anime adaptation

for fun here's the worldwide search popularity of levihan vs the ship name written in japanese (which doesn't change noticeably when limited to japan)

and the west is much more tolerant of queerness, for example i read a japanese fan response recently to the line "levi and erwin married" from this news article about the attack on titan musical saying that the press is so free in the west. the recent response to hansi being depicted in male obi is also related, as this is hansi violating a very strict gender rule that doesn't really have a comparison for those viewed as female sexed in the west anymore.

so i wouldn't exactly say japanese comprehension is correlated with narrative comprehension, i think the only difference is some mistranslations or language/culture misinterpretations don't exist in japanese fandom. words can still be interpreted in many different ways even if you're reading the source, and narrative analysis i think exists beyond language

but if one was looking for an exhaustive understanding of the text including how isayama himself may have seen it, i do think that japanese comprehension is necessary since he uses words really intentionally, the same phrasing comes up a lot of the time in ways that may have been translated differently in each case by the english translator. i actually do see this a lot, people trying to draw linguistic similarities across parts of a translation as if they were intentional where whatever was said is written differently in original language.

the one thing on hansi i would say is pretty much impossible to communicate in english is actually the issue of their pronouns and use of gendered grammar. isayama requested gender neutral pronouns be used for hansi in english, but because people addressing hansi in the text can see them, the use of "they" would be a refutation of their status as either gender and absolutely would not happen without inconsistency or establishment. whereas in japanese isayama is able to never gender them, which i think would have been his preference if it were possible in other languages.

hansi also speaks quite masculinely a lot of the time, but people viewed as female can still speak like that. i think actually a larger contributor to this is how others address them, especially men around them, mima masafumi who is the sound director for the anime and in my opinion absolutely essential to hansi's adapted voice since romi doesn't quite get it when he's not there told her to voice hansi as "unisex" based on them being called omae by others lol. so there is an element there about how hansi speaks and is perceived that i would say unfortunately does require japanese comprehension

[japanese-cryptic-beauty]

Japanese... where to start...

It happened all so simply, so naively. I had started watching "Sword Art Online" the anime, and on a hunch, I decided to watch it with English subtitles along the original Japanese audio. (I had not done that in a while.) And at some point, not the first time in my life, I thought: Japanese doesn't sound so hard.

(And that I love the sound.)

Right. I was young and naive. So yesteryear. Literally. But eventually I acted on this naive, misguided notion and bought myself, after short thought, two books - the first installment of "Japanese From Zero" and, for some reason, "Remembering The Kanji". (It was actually recommended by several buyer comments/reviews.)

Quickly, through the book, internet resources, and YouTube videos, I realized Japanese did not have one written language, but three: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. (Technically, it has four: Romaji, its Roman letter transliteration.)

Overwhelmed with this abundance of several exotic writing systems I initially, in fact, tried to avoid all of Japan's native writing systems and learn it from Romaji. Good old Roman letters! But I quickly realized that there was barely any market for Romaji products, and the books attempting to teach basic Japanese with Romaji all seemed to be geared towards businessmen. It had about the appeal of sucking on the end of a tablecloth.

So I decided to start with the first "Japanese From Zero book" which gradually introduced the Hiragana syllabary, a system of 46 basic syllables (and some combinations thereof) that produce all the basic sounds the Japanese language consists of. The reason Japanese can be written in this fashion is that it is actually one of the languages with the least amount of basic sounds to fashion words from. (Which made it sound deceptively simple to my ear...)

Hiragana can be mostly used to render all of these sounds. It is taught to kids as a first entry into writing to start out with, it's generally used to transcribe Japanese phonetically (more further down), and it plays a role in the grammar of the written Japanese language.

So I threw myself into it. I learned to write the 46 Hiragana letters (and read them), and endlessly reproduced them, tested myself with flash cards, etc. But I also had ulterior motives... I hoped that if I learned Hiragana well, I might get away with not having to engage with the more elaborate actual writing system of Japanese. It was an attempt at a horse trade - if I do this, I don't have to do that, right?

And I progressed in the book. But it began to sink in... It's good and absolutely vital to know Hiragana, but knowing Hiragana will not be sufficient. (Well, unless I'm content with reading books made for young children.)

How written Japanese roughly works

Japan early on imported the Chinese writing system, including its letters, the Hanzi - eventually known in Japanese as Kanji ("kanji" in Japanese literally means "Chinese Letter"). There are 10,000s of them, but in actual use the Japanese written language resorts to roughly 2,200 of them (the amount a high schooler would learn), and maybe 3,000 in academic settings.

Each of the letters has its own meaning and by now several ways to sound it. But using Chinese letters clashed with one fact - the Japanese had already their own language and grammar, and the Chinese grammar wouldn't work for them. Japan kept importing Chinese culture, including Buddhist and Confucian texts, but eventually Hiragana and Katakana developed to aid the Japanese speakers. Hiragana supposedly as a simple writing language for noblewomen's diaries which eventually evolved to novels. And Katakana filling the exact same space but developed by Buddhist monks to annotate Chinese Buddhist texts. Both evolved into full 46 syllable languages that you can render Japanese with.

In order to remedy the fact that Japanese grammar clashes with Chinese writing, the Japanese eventually started to combine Hiragana with the Kanji. Kanji would denote the concepts, but Hiragana letters would fill in all the Japanese grammar to build sentences. So most verbs involve one or more Kanji to define their meaning, but Hiragana is used to add verb endings for the various forms the word can take - whether the action is in the present or past, if it's continuous, an imperative, and how polite the speaker is, etc.

食 means the concept of "eat, food." It can also be used as the noun for "eating" or "food."

食べるmeans "to eat." Here two Hiragana letters are added to form the verb. Different verbs can be formed from the same Kanji. They seem to thankfully all end in a "u" sound.

(Never mind that 食 is sounded out completely differently in these two cases. Food can be called "shoku" whereas to eat is pronounced "taberu", the kanji being the "ta" part and "be" and "ru" being the two Hiragana that follow.)

Hiragana fills in all the missing parts that Chinese didn't cover for the Japanese language. Hiragana letters will tell you which word plays what role in the sentence (who am I doing something to? what is being talked about?), they differentiate between different words, adjectives, and adverbs, and sometimes form the connective tissue in compound words.

It comes all together now, right?

By the way... Katakana also has uses for foreign loan words. Because one clearly needed another writing system for that shit. Don't get me started.

Remembering The Kanji: The Next Delusion

So one day (maybe two months after starting at most) I decided that halfassing wasn't going to cut it. I wanted to take the bull by the horns. I decided that if I wanted to learn Japanese, Kanji weren't optional.

I arrived at this somewhat crazy notion by the detour of this book: "A Guide to Japanese Grammar: A Japanese approach to learning Japanese grammar". The author was doing a good job of summing up Japanese grammar, but he kept insisting that the proper way to learn Japanese was using Kanji right from the beginning, eat or die.

The first rule of the Japanese Learning Club is... Never, ever, trust somebody who learned the Japanese language the way the Japanese are taught it. My experience is limited, but sometimes I think people just like to share their own flawed methodology around because they can't think of anything better. (This seems to be a common gripe you find about Japanese classes in general on the internet.)

But I needed a game plan... and I had by random chance bought a book to just do that: "Remembering The Kanji" (RTK or "Heisig method"). It was developed by a man who learned the Japanese kanji in record time before learning Japanese itself. His reasoning was that Westerners notoriously have a hard time learning Japanese, but Chinese and other people that use or used the Chinese Hanzi have a head start. They have a whole library of those "kanji" (or a lo of them) in their head and their meanings. They just have then to grapple the intricacies of the Japanese language itself.

So I changed approach.

The first volume follows the concept that the kanji are built up from basic symbols called "radicals." More complex kanji are formed from more simple kanji and radicals. And they are more easily learned if you actually order them that way instead of a haphazard order.

Or, to put it another way: You don't want to start with kanji involving 48 brush strokes when you can start with those that involve 1 or 3 and build from them. Japanese school kids have a lot of time, repeat endlessly, and spend an amount of time on this with their brains at their most pliable stage. Let's face it - I'm neither blessed nor cursed by these circumstances.

I was convinced by the system and the logic behind it.

The basic methodology breaks down to: Learn a concept. Learn a mnemonic story that helps you remember how to produce the kanji in writing while tying it to the concept. Use flash cards (Anki is the free app well-suited for that) to drill myself into repeatedly learning to write these kanji. The author of the book insists that going from concept to writing them is best initially.

I learned to write 1,000 Kanji from keywords in 6 months.

But once I crossed over the 900 kanji mark, things came to a crawl. When initially I had learned maybe 20 kanji a day, then 10, now it was 5 a day. I was feeling more worn every day.

Yes, there was the satisfaction of recognizing a lot of the Kanji displayed in anime. But just as often as not, I still didn't. (Remember, 2,200 are commonly used.)

I had written whole notepads full of kanji, but I was increasingly having doubts, especially when the stretch from 900 to 1,000 really started to go on and on.

I once had clung to the notion that Japanese could maybe be read into English without even knowing Japanese - something which is partially true. But it was less and less appealing to me. I realized that I was not making good use of my time, because I didn't build vocabulary. Because I still didn't know how Japanese words sound.

So, while I was predominantly watching anime at the time I couldn't parse those sentences into "tokens" because that's hard to do when recognizing only a select few words. I noticed that words I knew I could already spot in the stream of sounds, and if I knew more words, this would happen more often, until I can "tokenize" the Japanese language into separate blocks reliably that my brain can process in turn.

And the "Heisig method" was not helping with that. When does reading kanji into sounds happen? Volume 2. The advice is seriously to learn 2,200 kanji first and then learn readings next. This was absolutely disheartening. I couldn't imagine slogging through another 1,200 kanji before even starting on sounds. This method is fine for monomaniacs, but for me it was seriously wasting time I could also use to build my own inner parser of spoken Japanese.

My goal had been to understand spoken Japanese first and foremost. I felt like I had lost my way and wasn't getting the results I actually wanted.

So I changed plan.

The current plan: WaniKani

The sunken cost fallacy is a wonderful thing. I had learned many things about the Japanese language at this point that, had I known them at the beginning, likely I wouldn't have started to learn it. In fact, it's widely regarded as one of the hardest languages to learn. Silly me.

But I had spent six months getting 1,000 kanji down. I was no longer deterred by the idea I might not be able to distinguish them. And I wanted something to show for it. There's also a certain beauty to all of it. Even if there also isn't.

And yes, I had spent a lot of time, and when you spend a lot of time on anything, you start to identify with it. And that makes you spend more time on it.

Inside the Anki index cards set for the Heisig method you also find references to where these Kanji are used - are they part of a level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test JLPT? It will be noted on the card. And something else was mentioned. A "WaniKani level..."

Turns out, WaniKani is a website based on a similar spaced repetition approach like Anki itself. But WaniKani does a few things that the Heisig method doesn't. It starts with the combination of sounds and kanji right off the bat. And it teaches you vocabulary built from these kanji.

So I started over!

Yep, I started over at the 1,000 mark to try out a different system. Wasn't I just complaining about monomaniacs??

The first 3 of the 60 levels of the WaniKani website are free. I am now 5 months in and approaching level 12 (the 20% mark). I have learned about 400 kanji and 1,100 word of vocabulary in the process.

Wait. Didn't I originally learn 900 kanji in roughly the same time period...? Yes and no.

When using the Heisig/RTK method, I learned to tie concepts to kanji and write them. But I wasn't learning Japanese, really. Now I'm learning how to read these letters into sounds, remember the concepts behind them, learn the multiple sounds behind each (!), and many of the actual compound words formed from them.

Does that make a difference? Oh yes!

自転車 means "bicycle" and is pronounced "jitensha."

With the Heisig method I was able to see the letters in an anime, translate them to "self 自-revolve 転-car 車" and figure out that this might mean "bicycle." But I simply didn't know that these specific letters form that word. And I couldn't sound it out, nor would I have picked it up in a stream of Japanese audio.

So if anybody told me now that RTK is the way to go to really learn Japanese? I would probably cuss them out. Yes, some people can frontload their system like that. It might work for them. But it's a very poor approach for people who like to associate things in their thinking. (Don't get me wrong, it still beats many other approaches to learning Japanese and especially the kanji where people fail to outright make much progress. Or so it is claimed on the interwebs.)

I not only learn the most common sounds first, I learn to use them. I build words, and these words I might spot in turn when listening to Japanese. It gives me an avenue to practice Hiragana as well, even Katakana. So these 400 kanji? They have become building blocks for nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. And these 1,100 vocab words glue them into my mind.

But you can't stop there. Or I can't.

Where to go from there

You know, when I think I have understood how Japanese works, it throws me a curveball. I thought, for example, that unlike Chinese, Japanese is an unpitched language. (In Chinese five distinct pitches are part of the sound and alter meaning.) I was consoling myself that the endless parade of similar sounds in Japanese at least meant I didn't have to tackle pitch.

Turns out I was wrong.

Japanese has two-pitch melodies, but only on occasion it actually has impact on meaning. You will, for the most part, just sound unnatural. Hooray!!

[[EDIT: I want to qualify this statement and do so here.]]

Sunken costs, deliver me from this insanity. No? That's not how you work? Okay. Moving on.

There are many crazy things about Japanese, including the many different sounds associated with letters. But I'm grappling that part.

Grammar is another thing. Thankfully, a fair amount of Japanese grammar actually comes down to comparatively few rules and forms. I mean, technically Japanese only has present and past. (Say whaaaat.) Or so I've come to understand. If I learn it's much more complicated at some point - sure, sunken costs, dig the hole deeper.

Reading means looking up things

But I want to start reading my manga in Japanese. (To get practice with the language itself and reading.) This poses some problems right off the bat. Let's say you need to write down a kanji for looking it up, how do you do it?

The most inconvenient method is drawing it with the mouse into Google Translate. You can do it, but it's time consuming and not fun at all. (Remember? There are 48 brush stroke kanji!)

And here's why I say WaniKani has a lot of merit. If you know one of the words using this kanji, or one of its readings, you can write that in Roman letters (or Hiragana, doesn't matter) into an input field of most apps supporting Japanese writing and it will give you a list of possible kanji.

That's how kanji are written on Japanese phones - they keep writing their own phonetic language in Hiragana and the phone offers you which kanji fit the sounds. (A lot of sounds have many, many kanji associated with them.) But that's why speaking (or at least being able to "sound in") Japanese is so vital. Because the support for writing Kanji is through Romaji or Hiragana - you need to know the sound / phonetic writing of what you're saying and the computer finds you the matching Kanji.

("wakaranai" - "don't understand")

This is why the Heisig/RTK method helps you so little with actually getting stuff done. Imagine painting all these kanji just to look them up. What you need is a connection between actual words, sounds, concepts, and kanji. Then you can efficiently use modern tools to look them up. This links you back into part of the Japanese mainstream and the tools it offers.

If I write "jitensha" into Google Translate, it will offer me "自転車" to select. I can go from sounds back to kanji. That's immensely helpful and direct, even if I only need one of the three kanji involved.

In the end, I guess, learning Japanese will mean pulling from many different sources. But I think now I'm building a base that I can work with in many regards.

So, that was my journey so far. I still have lots to do! But I don't feel lost. Or so I tell myself.

[eemasu]

do you have any recommendations for learning japanese? any handbooks, dictionaries, sites and such?

I will begin by saying that I am not the best person to ask this question. I am not fluent at Japanese and, barring some unfathomable miracle, I never will be. The time that I have for studying Japanese has become less and less in recent months, and it is not unlikely that I will be forced to give it up entirely in the near future. But I will answer this question to the best of my ability.

Of the four people who I knew of in person who were able to become fluent in Japanese extremely quickly, I partially learned of the tactics of two of them. One of them used an app named Yomiwa, which can be used on Japanese news websites to provide convenient English translations of the words that are used in the Japanese sentences. I have never used it much because it seems to be intended for people with more time on their hands, but this app is either free or easily affordable.

The other aforementioned person who became fluent I think used a website called Animelon, which has/had anime episodes with Japanese subtitles. I don't know whether it still exists. This person also recommended a light novel series that is titled "Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear", which apparently has Japanese sentences that are easy to read. This person, by memorising a minimum of 15 additional Japanese words a day, attained full Japanese fluency in ONE YEAR. A mind-blowing feat for someone who was in their late teens and didn't even live in Japan.

A free website for learning Japanese that was recommended to me years ago is named imabi dot org. I used it for learning kana, but not much after that. I felt that its explanation of how to write Kanji could have been better. I never made a serious attempt to learn grammar from it.

For another electronic option, try looking up Japanese apps for learning Kanji (漢字). These are mostly intended for Japanese children, but can be useful to any learners of the language. I don't think that any of these apps are free, but they should be affordable.

The following is all stuff that costs money.

The books that I was taught with were the "Genki" books and the textbook pictured below. The Genki textbooks and workbooks are for absolute beginners, and the workbooks also have an answer key book available. The pictured textbook does also have a workbook, but I don't think that that workbook has an answer key book for it.

This book series is top-of-the-line for learning Japanese grammar, so look no further. They are quite expensive, but are worth every cent. There is also one for beginners, which is yellow, although the Intermediate one isn't all that hard to use. As you might expect, the Advanced one uses long and complex Japanese sentences with a lot of technical terms, so it isn't for everyone.

I am not sure whether this book is still in print, but it is easily the most user-friendly large Kanji guide that I have found so far. Kanji are displayed in two columns on each page, and with plenty of compounds. Kodansha has other Kanji books as well, but this is the best one. It will be worth trying to find.

I have mixed feelings about this one. Although it contains plenty of Kanji, many of the English translations that are provided for the words that use these Kanji are extremely inadequate. Worse yet, the definitions of each Kanji's meaning are written in Japanese, which is of no help to people who are still learning. The example sentences for how to use the words that have Kanji are mostly good, though, so I will give it that.

Japanese children's books can also be helpful. This one has a huge number of useful Japanese nouns, and its lack of Kanji makes it a good option for beginners.

In any case, though this is hopefully obvious, remember not to literally judge a book by its cover. A Japanese textbook that has pretty photographs or patterns or anime characters on the front is not necessarily going to be good for studying from. The one shown below is not bad, but there are better resources out there.

I hope that this helped.

[red-dyed-sarumane]

FORFY HI HI FORFY ive got a Ton of Questions about touhikou!!!!!! this part at the end: 'Your wish with nothing left behind/ “I'll grant it now.”' whats that about. whats going on here..

also what the hell is the blue emblem!!! the vocaloid lyrics wiki links that part to shoushitsu but shoushitsu is shoushitsu so im just like ????

also ALSO i remember ur posts wondering who says these parts: 'As you always have, you spat out,/“They live off gratitude.”' and 'As you always have, you said really vexingly,/“They live off atonement.”' and i Was Going To Say what if it's touhikou themself bc a lot of the TL is in 2nd person w the stuff in quotation reading like it is touhikou speaking and the rest seeming like like an omniscient narrator, but it looks like thats Just the TL interpreting stuff itself(??) since the og lyrics only have quotations on the "they live off" parts and theres not a lot of 'you's w only 'Your katana appears just as you say it does.' having an explicit 'you' in the og jp >_< though i know the subject can just be implied in japanese... idk!!! very excited to hear ur thoughts!!!!

HI HI!!!!!!!

first, i think "wish with nothing left behind" is a bit of an odd phrasing (tho ik i did similar initially) it's probably better to phrase it as "that wish in its entirety" that said that whole last part really goes together. "the sound of rain, and a waning full moon / i'd gotten tired of always* waiting for this moment / that wish in it's entirety / — it'll come true, now" so its been established in multiple songs the rain is the real omen of the end, once the rain starts they're out of time. izayoi no tsuki is a cool phrase i dont know how much relevance it has beyond maybe being a reference as to where in the timeline it happens but really its here to add to the really cool image the song going on. she'd "grown tired of waiting for that moment" i really think this line is in reference to all the times she's been told to just grin & bear it essentially and now she's made the decision to go against that. that's what i think the next lines are getting at. she WANTS to be doing something she doesn't want to just sit around and watch it all happen. & there's a belief in there that if she fights back or otherwise just takes action the outcome will change. thats what i think the wish is. the desire to put an end to this cycle they've been tied up in. btw the zutto is yet more word play the kanji they chose here end up meaning pathless & tied into the rest of the sentence it turns into meaning something like "we've been told to stay patient aimlessly, when all i wanted was this chance to make a difference". thats what it's getting at. i don't know if its really meant to be read as a true second person as though from an outsiders view (i have not read the translation ur talking about & i have no real desire to) instead it really reads the same as the other series songs where the characters are narrating the events as they see them happening it's more of inner thoughts & complaints than speaking to the audience To Me. while the implicit "you" is there in a lot of cases the context makes it seem as more of a statement on those around her than about her herself or the audience.

what the hell is the blue emblem indeed!!!! it IS mentioned in shoushitsu and just as u say shoushitsu is shoushitsu which means touhikou IS the explanation. shoushitsu just says "look at the blue at the core as a base" "capture the blue at the core as a sacrifice" very helpful magu what the hell does that mean. (technically the word used here is mune which is chest so when i choose to say core here there's a tone of it being something vital.) its very possible this is explained in a different song that im overlooking bc the connection isn't obvious but it actually doesnt explain What it is in touhikou. theres too much in shoushitsu for it to be a metaphor for something but idk what it is for certain rn. i'll let u know if i end up stumbling across it in some other song theres plenty of places for it to be.

and as for the quotes,  it could be her saying it. considering the context if it were someone else saying it itd make more sense for it to be hakisutete iwareta turning it into more of a complaint but since its just itta it could very well have been her. it also could have been someone else. itteshimatta would be a giveaway of it being her but its just itta it could go either way. is what i would say if i didnt believe she was the one complaining right before the quote is said. also a minor correction here while the first is right "izen 'negirai wa kate ni naru' to hakisutete itta" is "still(as always), i/you spat out 'gratitude will come to sustain us" & while i get wanting to keep consistency the second is more like "still, you said 'atonement will come to bind us' really, so vexingly" its worded kase ni naru so its talking about being restrained. but also i need to point out here the word is kuyashisou and the ~sou is never used for something you experience yourself so this one is not her saying it. the surrounding lyrics "if you're simply praying and waiting / will anything change? is it that you're worried about being saved?"  and "nothing will change if we just pray and wait? i'm well aware of that!" is not talking about the character in the video its the reverse this is the character casting judgement on those around her (is how i see it). yes the implicit "you" is there but its in the way of for example your coworker does something stupid & u think to urself "what the hell did u do that for" its that type of scenario here at least thats how it reads to me. there are songs where the quotes are absolutely the character in the video talking (oumen for example after literal years of consideration it is 100% tenshi saying the lines in quotes but thats its own discussion) but touhikou reads similar to yamete to me where its not her speaking so much as pointing out what she's frustrated with/thinks is absurd. AND this is backed up by the "katana, it's as you say. just now, covered by the moonlight" as you said this is the only direct usage of you here. as far as i can tell there's no claim of ownership over the sword im actually more inclined to believe its the speakers. but this "kimi ga iu you" i think is referring to all those statements she was complaining about therefore making them said by someone else. im just not sure if we've met the character that's saying such things yet. in the other post i said it would make sense if yamete was complaining about kanon because kanon's admitted to lying to gain compliance, but touhikou is a past song (which ultimately i think just means "happens before the events in oumen") so im not sure if touhikou and kanon exist at the same time to meet or interact. they both have the motif they both live but this isnt a time loop time continues in a linear fashion so if enough time were to pass i think its possible for touhikou to die of non apocalypse causes before kanon comes into the picture. but thats a theory & it could very well be kanon she's talking about. or even someone else. despite the problems she causes im almost certain its not apoptosis (because shes causing problems on purpose, she's not demanding compliance). very unclear right now.

[hydrus]

Version 568

windows

zip

exe

macOS

app

linux

tar.zst

I had a good couple of weeks mostly figuring out better behind-the-scenes URL handling.

full changelog

urls

For normal users, tl;dr: URLs better now, you don't have to do anything.

I made a dumb mistake when I first created the downloader engine in how I handle URLs behind the scenes, and today it is fixed. You don't have to do anything, and you shouldn't see any big changes, but in general, URLs and query texts with unusual characters should work better now. You may also notice a URL in the file log or search log will appear one way, e.g. with japanese kanji, but when you copy it to clipboard, it is all encoded to %EF kind of stuff--your browser address bar probably works the same way. It should just mean things copy between your hydrus and other programs with fewer hiccups.

If you regularly use some very odd URLs or downloaders, there might be a hiccup or two. A file that relies of strange encoded characters in its known urls might redownload one time if a subscription hits it, or one extremely strange query text (it'd be a single tag query that has a % character somewhere in the middle) might need to be renamed to %25. If you have a crazy custom downloader that relies on %-encoding tech, please pause it before you update, and then do a test afterwards--it may be the hack you added for the old system is no longer needed. In any case, let me know how you get on, and if we run into a problem with a certain downloader, we'll fix it together. Overall, I'm hoping that working with encoded URLs exclusively will make more complicated downloaders easier to figure out in future, rather than having to fight with odd characters all the time.

I decided to cancel this release last week because I wasn't confident on how I was handling the advanced edge cases of encoding here. I am happy I did, because while all the 'just download from a booru' style downloaders (like the defaults) were fine, the most experimental downloader situations (that e.g. needed encoded parameter keys) needed more work. If you are a downloader maker, then you will be in the guts of these changes, so please check out the changelog. There's new UI in 'manage url classes'--path components and parameters now have their own edit panels with linked text boxes that show the normal and encoded values of the stuff you are entering, and there's also new 'ephemeral token' tech that lets you decide in what ways undefined parameters should be clipped before the URL being sent to the server. The idea of the 'request URL' being different to the 'normalised URL' is broadly elevated and exposed across the program.

other highlights

I also added a 'tag in reverse' checkbox to the new 'manage tags' 'incremental tagger' thing. It adds tags like 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 instead of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

And all new system:url predicates have new labels. They are all a bit simpler, and they should copy/paste into the system predicate parsing system. All existing system:url predicates still have their old labels, so if this is a big deal, you'll want to recreate them and re-save your session/search.

Thanks to a user, the new docx, xlsx, and pptx file formats get some nicer thumbnails and a little metadata. It should all recalculate soon after update.

The Client API is now more careful about which files you can undelete, and it also now lets you clear file deletion records.

next week

I want to put proper time into getting a 'future build' working. Last time I tried, I ran into some technical problems related to the newer libraries I wanted to bundle, so I'll see if I can fix it all and have a test release for people to try. Otherwise, I just want to clear out some small jobs that this URL work boshed.

[nanakamadoblog]

The first bit is very good advice that I simply cannot take, but perhaps others can. But I'd actually like to take a moment to talk about *why* I can't, and why I study language anyway.

I've been watching anime since I was 12. I never liked dubs, so it's always been in Japanese. But here's the problem: I cannot process auditory input right without focusing 100% of my energy on it, even in English. And if I can't do something in my native language, I cannot expect myself to be able to do it in another. It comes tied to ADHD or autism or something, I think, I know I knew at one point but I forget now. So while I do watch anime, I still do it with English subtitles. I don't know enough kanji to make use of Japanese subtitles yet, and if I'm watching something, I don't really want to be googling every kanji I don't know and pausing midway. I have noticed that I understand MORE of the Japanese audio! There are words I recognize all the time, and sometimes even entire sentences! But, like in English, I only comprehend a fraction of what I'm technically hearing. This also makes conversation practice difficult, because words that I know very well (including practice listening!) I can miss because my brain sometimes hears gibberish instead of language.

What I do instead of listening is I try to read! Reading a book, I don't mind looking up kanji, because it's not a constant game of pausing and playing that frankly hurts my ears (because of my issues processing auditory input), which means I can actually kind of relax while reading. And eventually, through this, maybe I'll feel comfortable using Japanese subtitles on my anime some day. For now, I'll just enjoy it how I can.

Anyway, this is mostly jsut a reminder that not everyone can study optimally, and that's okay! It doesn't make the pursuit of language any less worthy. Take the time to figure out what works best for you and apply it. Everyone has weak areas, and especially if you have dyslexia or auditory processing disorder or something similar, please be lenient in the areas you're weak. You cannot expect yourself to be better than in your native language.

So because language learning is an eternal struggle, here's some of my progress from this month and the things I've learned during the past 8 months

1. 70% listening, 30% vocab/grammar/writing

Studying a language is 70% listening practice and the other 30% is memorization. I picked up my Japanese studies this year after having watched anime for years, and I noticed that it's so much easier to make progress. I've internalized around 500-1 000 words and some basic grammar, so getting through N5/N4 was a breeze - in 2 weeks I achieved the same level that took me 3 months in Chinese. I can watch anime without subtitles and easily understand what they're saying (when did this happen? No idea!) because I understand the expressions and slang, all which would not be possible if I hadn't spent so much time with media.

I often have a hard time focusing on watching shows etc. because of how much of a critic I am, but it's the most important thing. Immerse yourself.

2. Reset your learning schedule if it gets too overwhelming

This is something I only learned this week, as I'd been stubbornly holding onto those 900+ word reviews waiting for me back in Ninchanese.

I've been at a standstill for the past 2-3 months after studying the radicals because of some personal responsibilities, and I never got around to learning any new vocab, I was just too busy trying to keep up with what I had learned previously.

But now I've reset my schedule, and I FINALLY feel like I'm making progress again. Sure, my memory might be hazy for the latter parts of HSK 4, but you know what to do about that? You immerse yourself with listening practice so that they will stick with you when you hear them be used IRL :)

[nordic-language-love]

hi!! sorry if you've posted about this before, but do you have any recs for beginner's japanese resources? i don't aim for fluency, i'd just like to learn some basics. thank you!!

Hi there! Here are some of the resources I've used/been using:

Apps

Lingodeer (I didn't bother getting a subscription or anything, but I used it to learn hiragana, katakana and basic kanji)

Drops (again, I only really used this for hiragana and katakana and some vocab)

Duolingo (they've now updated to the learning path version which is not for me at all, but maybe you'll get on with it? Also important to know the pronunciation's a bit wacky sometimes)

uTalki (for vocabulary)

Learn Japanese! - Kanji (I think you need to pay to unlock all the levels, but it's like £2 for one level or £10 for all of them, so I actually did it. Although their levels are questionable at times - there are som N3-N1 kanji in the N5 section for lord knows what reason)

Websites & Youtube Channels

jisho.org - Absolutely love this website and find it invaluable. You can look up words and kanji and find stroke orders and different kanji readings.

Japanese Ammo With Misa - she has a tonne of grammar videos for lots of different levels, including beginners. Highly recommend!

Japanese From Zero - This actually follows a book series (which I talk about below) but you don't need the book to understand or benefit from the lessons. I've linked you to the book 1 playlist, which is for total beginners.

Books

Japanese From Zero - I'll be honest, I didn't really like this book because it's a bit slow and their method of teaching kana is irritating (they teach 5 each lesson and then proceed to use a mix of hiragana and romaji throughout the book and it's the most annoying thing imo) BUT it's really good if you've not really learned a language before

Genki - again, I don't get on with Genki just because they use so much romaji and it annoys me. But it's a very highly praised textbook, and it seems easy enough to follow

Japanese-English Bilingual Visual Dictionary - a decent dictionary with pictures, kanji and romaji, divided by topic. Good for translating nouns into Japanese, especially as it sometimes includes very specific technical vocabulary too

Japanese Short Stories For Beginners (ISBN-13: 978-1951949228) - I decided to try reading these when I was still very, very beginner and it didn't go well lol but it's actually pretty good for N5-N4 level I'd say (I'm not quite N5 but I can benefit from it a lot more now than I could as a total beginner)

Hope that helps - good luck learning Japanese! It's a wonderful language 😊

Any other Japanese langblrs, please feel free to reblog and add to this list!

[amaya-chwan]

Therapy Game Restart Discussion: Who is Onodera?

Hello everyone! Hope you are all well~ ❤️💛💜 I've had a headscratcher of an ask/message regarding Onodera, so I figured I'll make it into one big post!

Before I begin this Q&A/discussion post (feel free to comment below if you have any thoughts), I have looked through past chapters to gather the information I will put into this post to support my predictions. Not all chapters are readily available for everyone at the moment as only one volume of TGR is out right now, so I shall put the chapter numbers for your future reference! ⚠️ Also, just a note! These opinions are my personal thoughts, conjectures, and opinions, so please don't think I am saying one idea or speculation is wrong--this is just how I see it, and of course I could very well be wrong! And I also am not fluent in Japanese, so I may have some translation errors!

⚠️ Also, a warning, this will be a long post! Keep reading if you're interested and please let me know your own thoughts!

First, in an earlier ask, I was directed to a translation group that said Onodera is a man. With the help of Google and Google Translate (because I don't understand/speak Spanish), I found that post (dated April this year) and the origin of the picture they used in that post. The image is from Hinohara-sensei's 13th August 2020 tweet here and is also below for reference:

Now, all I can remember from first seeing that image is "Woow, so pretty! A female character? A love rival? A threat? OH it's the infamous director they're all talking about???"

This image was released around the time chapter 8 was released, i.e. the first chapter we see Onodera in full.

Looking at the image again, I can see how Onodera could be seen as a female or a male. Onodera has long hair, yet no visible breasts. There is no evidence of an Adam's apple, but that could just be because of the turtleneck as part of their outfit. Furthermore, in chapter 13, we see a view of Onodera from behind. There are no "womanly curves" visible in this view of Onodera.

After searching some Japanese blogs, some fans also had the same thoughts: no breasts = possible male, the shape of the face etc. Here are the blogs I found: [1] [2] [3] but most of these are from around chapter 8.

Just about the breast argument: there are a lot of different shapes for breasts. I learnt that when working at a department store selling bras during university. It is possible that Onodera is really flat chested or just has very little breast tissue. Not sure if that's getting too technical now, ahah, but what I want to say is that the lack of breasts isn't a definite yes to Onodera being a man.

Hinohara-sensei also has not explicitly stated throughout TGR so far (ch1-13) that Onodera is male or female.

From chapters 8-12, Onodera is always referred to as 院長 (director) by Shizuma and the nurses at the clinic. No gender-specific pronouns have been used in the story nor by any characters to refer to Onodera when speaking so far (that I have read). So confirming Onodera's gender is just misleading at the present moment.

We do find out in chapter 9 that Onodera's first name is 昌 akira. Akira is a gender neutral name in Japan. It is often given to males, but it is not uncommon for females to have this name. Which, I think, is genius on Sensei's part. It leaves us all thinking!

Q: So Amaya-chwan, what do you think Onodera's gender is?

Just for me as I've been reading TGR the past 1.5 years, I see Onodera as a woman as I have been "encouraged" to see Onodera as one by the little subtleties in the story, and Minato sees Onodera as a female, so I probably am viewing Onodera in Minato's POV.

(Please keep reading on for more insights and answers to questions! Really, this post is long! 😅)

In chapter 9, Onodera's older brother, who is also Shizuma's university professor (and his last name is not Onodera), makes small talk with Shizuma regarding the staff at his placement:

Shizuma's professor says: By the way, Shizuma-kun, how've you been!? You haven't been bullied, have you!? // The female team here is scary, right~ You know, Nakajou-kun and I were in the same grade...

So here, I'm made to think Onodera's clinic is pretty much all female, including Onodera too.

Fun fact: His professor uses the suffix -kun for Nakajou-sensei, yet Nakajou-sensei is a female and -kun is commonly used for males these days. But, it is also used for females in very specific situations. I'm not too sure what the situations are, but I have heard them used for females before.

In the same chapter (9), while Shizuma is changing out of his scrubs in the men's locker (?) room, Onodera walks in. He is slightly flustered, and kindly reminds her that she's walked into the men's locker room. Her reaction is "Huh? Ahh..." So here, again, I am made to believe Onodera is female.

While no gender-specific pronouns have been used to address Onodera, Minato and Itsuki have referred to Onodera as a female in chapter 13.

The kanji for "female/woman" is 女. In these two images, Minato refers to Onodera as 上司の女 female superior, and from Minato's story, Itsuki hence calls her 職場の女の人 female from (Shizuma's) workplace. This is the only time Onodera has been referred to as a female.

⚠️ Just a note going forward in this discussion, I will now call Onodera "she/her" as that is what I believe Onodera's gender is at the present moment!

Now, I did get a second ask from an Anon! Here they are below with my responses:

This one is about what's behind Onodera. I think she's a pretty interesting character. I actually think she's a trans woman or a non-binary trans woman. Sensei has been dropping so many hints to that... The name her brother calls her might be her dead name. He complains about her hair and what their father would say. She's designed to have flat breasts, perhaps she's not under hormone therapy, perhaps her "trips" and "days off" have something to do with reassignment surgeries...

She most definitely is an interesting character. I wouldn't say Onodera being transgender is out of the realm of possibility because the story is still ongoing. But regarding her name, I don't know if I'd call it a dead name since it is gender neutral already. Perhaps the kanji for a male Akira name would be different to a female one though?

About the hair comment (ch10), I just thought it was unruly? I honestly didn't think too much of it! What I will add is that the kanji for hair (髪) is used, but the reading is あたま head. Not sure why just yet, so I'll just leave that here as some extra information for the moment.

Not sure what I really think about a) her flat-chestedness and b) her insanely long business trips yet! I figured a) might be a character design, and b) she really is a top-notch veterinarian so she's probably in high demand. But I could be completely off the mark!

Also, I don't know where to add this random bit in from the story, but in chapter 12, we find out that Onodera has been calling one of the staff the wrong name for more than 10 years now. Not sure if this new piece of info affects anything?

But again, that is a very interesting prediction/thought you have about Onodera, and I wouldn't say it's not possible!

She's kind of a female Minato, psychologicallly and in appearance, which brings some challenges. And one more thing that I think hints to that: "I'll make it so your body can never be satisfied by any woman", Minato says to Shizuma. As the last chapter leaves it at that, we don't know exactly what he is talking about. [spoiler?] I haven't seen the Japanese text yet to be sure if he's clear about topping Shizuma.

That was exactly my thought when she was first introduced! That's part of the reason why I think Minato sees her as a threat, especially when he saw her for the first time and was told she is a 美人beautiful person (both in chapter 12). She and Minato definitely share some characteristics, but I find she's a bit more socially-awkward than Minato given her background (Chapter 9 & 10).

For the dialogue, the Japanese lines and the most literal translations I can give are:

今から　静真くんを抱く From now, (I'll) hold/embrace you, Shizuma-kun.

どんな女に出会っても　絶対満足できない体にしてあげる No matter the women you encounter, I will make it so your body definitely cannot be satisfied (by any of them).

Hopefully we'll find out what Minato means by that exactly in the next chapter, which I hope comes to me this week!

But if that's what he's talking about, it's 1. poor Minato being transphobic (besides being biphobic towards his own boyfriend)* 2. poor Minato probably foreshadowing his own fall. If Onodera happens to be a woman with a d**k, she can do whatever Minato thinks a cis man only can do. That's not what will make Shizuma stay by his side. Shizuma will stay by his side because he loves Minato. And that's that. Debunks biphobic myths, debunks transphobic myths. *He's not a bad person, he's got issues

Okay, this is probably as straight-forward as I can say this, but I just want to say that I don't know enough about the issues faced by the LGBTQI+ community. My friends have kindly answered all my questions so far as I don't want to be ignorant or rude when learning more about my friends and the community. I don't want to give off the air that I'm assuming anything since I don't want any misunderstandings. And I am fully aware that I need to educate myself more regarding this!

So about Minato, I'm not completely sure what you mean by number 2. But he definitely has his share of trauma, insecurities, and fears regarding his relationship with Shizuma. Having Onodera as a threat in this story really helps drive Minato's growth. The story is titled Therapy Game Restart, so what I gather from the title is that Minato is going to face another fear/insecurity he has, something deeply-rooted in him, and it's going to get really heavy and complicated, but he will eventually get through it and it will help him heal and grow as a character, and hopefully strengthen his faith in his relationship with Shizuma.

So far, I believe this "fear" is carrying on from +Play More, that Shizuma can be whisked away by a female at any moment.

But yes, Minato has to realise for himself that his and Shizuma's love, relationship, and bond is strong enough for him to not worry about Shizuma leaving him so abruptly. He has to learn to trust in Shizuma more, and TGR is slowly revealing that, especially in chapter 13.

I'll stop here. I have already written long analyses on this series and I think about making them public at some point. But it would be nice to hear from you! Maybe I'm completely wrong in my interpretations! I'm really sorry for being so annoying and maybe using inappropriate language. I really didn't mean to bother you. But I never see anyone making these points. I just want to know if I'm thinking unreasonably...

I love reading different analyses, opinions, story predictions, the whole lot!! So please feel free to ask me or post your own ideas. It's always a welcome thing for me to discuss stories and learn new things! Don't be sorry that you're being a bother or annoying, because it's not a bother at all!

We're all allowed to have our own ideas and opinions about stories, and these ideas will change once something is canon in the story, and ultimately is something we will have to accept too.

So yeah, just my two cents. Thank you for being so patient with my response, dear Anon!

To anyone reading at this point, thank you for reading this far! ❤️💛💜

I shall see you in our next set of takeaways~ As always, stay safe and take care of yourselves and your loved ones! 💜

(2021-05-17: Speedy proofreading is done ahah! And yes, my brain is still so full of 山河令/Word of Honor right now, so I have been VERY distracted! Highly recommend this drama, guys! It's up for free on the official Youku Youtube page! Totally not an endorsement, but I love this drama! AHHHHH!! Gong Jun [Simon] be living on my mind rent free~)

[littleeyesofpallas]

(I used the black and white because without any official color work, I don't actually trust the digital colorist's guesses to reflect much of Kubo's intent. Save for Mera's red hair... given the use of toner and her fire powers, I can't imagine her hair would've been anything but bright red, like Renji's.)

Hiuchigashima[燧ヶ島] MERA[メラ]:

"signal fire/hand-drill* island," "ME-RA"

*like a hand-drill for starting fires. Also a homonym with hiuchi[火打ち石]: "flint" and I've seen this part of her name somewhat erroneously translated as "tinder." Basically the common thread in all these readings being fire starters.

**taken from the onomatopoeic or mimetic sound/phrase meramera[メラメラ]: the sound of flaring up, or the sound of bursting into flames.

Tonokawa[砥ノ川] Tokie[時江]:

"Whetstone/Grindstone's River," "Time Bay"

Hashihara[箸原] HASUka[ハス花]:

"Chopsticks Field," "HA-SU* Flower"

*with HASU[ハス] here being a homonym with hasu[蓮]: Lotus/Sacred Lotus/Indian Lotus.

Nomino[鑿野] Nonomi[のの美]:

"Chisel Field," "NO-NO Beauty"

*technically it's the same either way but no[の] as hiragana is the grammatical possessive, where as in a name you'd normally expect it to be the kanji no[乃] but they mean the same thing. And incidentally the name Nonomi would normally be written [乃々実].

Tsuchimiya[槌宮] Tsumiko[罪子]:

"Hammer/Mallet Princess," "Guilty/Criminal Child."

I dunno why I thought to tackle these 5 as they really don't do much, but it feels like a neatly compact example of Kubo's naming sensibilities, because unlike characters that got to actually speak and interact with others and have any kind of a story of their own, their names are almost all we know about them; that and a few simple tonal notes in how they talk or carry themselves in the one scene most of them show up in.

Obviously the girls are each named after a tool used in sword smithing and serve that role in assisting Oh-etsu. And since they're each a zanpakutou, like the rest of Nimaiyas harem, it feels like it's implied that they are each literally said tool, instead of the more conventional katana. It's kind of weird considering how zanpakutou have worked up until this point in the story, but like much of the final arc we just kind of move on and never elaborate or explore this idea... (It almost feels like an entire Soul Eater thing is implied here, but we'll just never know...)

Its also weird that the girls get full names, with distinctly humanlike etymology and what appear to be full on surnames considering they're all zanpakutou and so you'd expect them to have a singular name, almost more like a title, and more in line with the zanpakutou names we already know.

You can probably tell Kubo decided to lean into this weird alliterative thing with the names. Ironically Mera is named after the meramera thing I mentioned, but her actual full name is the only one without the repetitive phonetics. Otherwise the girls all evoke the repeated sounds, Meramera, TokiToki, HasuHasu, NomiNomi/NonoNono, and TsumiTsumi. I feel like there are some sort of homonyms, or sounds like meramera, or other wordplay at work here that I just don't know enough outside of textbook Japanese to pick up on...

A random note: I find it funny that Mera's design feels like it was a last minute twist on Kubo's usual wildtype that he just knew he'd never get the chance to throw in there otherwise... Bazz-B's mohawk and fire powers, Renji's hair color, Grimmjow's eyeliner... kind of some Hiyori/Shino adjacent spunky girl energy? She feels like she'd fit that whole character type, even though we barely got to hear from her. It would've been nice to see a spicy tomboy actually involved in the story.

And maybe it's just a coincidence but it almost feels like there's a wuxing thing going on with the girls with the classical 5 daoist elements reflected in their names and tools: Fire-starters, Water-quenching and river/bay, wood "Chopsticks"/Tongs and flower, metal Chisel, and earth Hammer.

[loosesodamarble]

Let me start by saying congrats on 200 followers! I'm happy that people are enjoying your work! I hope you continue to thrive! 💖

If I may, I'd like to see your thoughts in my bnha OC, Masayoshi!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iPgeHJ-atv2KNYtxsvQvgw0JQYejiE0yXklphDopKI8/edit?usp=drivesdk

👀 Bnha oc? By my best mutual Steph?

Gimme gimme gimme!

ALSO HOLY HECK STEPH! 13 PAGES?! 👀 (Okay it might technically be fewer because there's some blank spaces because the images were too big for the page but kjajkahfiarhug! A lot of pages.) You went all out, fam!

Lemme dig into this content!

(I'm putting it all under a cut because this is gonna be a looooooooooooooooooooooooooong reaction.)

I like the name. Perfectly fitting for the BNHA setting. Kadou, as in flower arrangement, is super on the nose for his Quirk which is what it's all about. I get where Masayoshi's given name comes from, as we describe flowers doing well as "flourishing" which fits but I will nitpick here. The character you used to mean "flourish," 昌, from what I can tell is more about fortune and prosperity. See how it's used below.

Even from the word that is translated at "flourish" it relates to business and life style rather than plant life.

For an alternative, you could use 栄 instead. According to wiktionary, this kanji can also be pronounced as "masa" when used in names so it wouldn't change the pronunciation of Masayoshi's name at all. And look here.

It's a loose connection and 栄 is still mostly used in relation to glory and prosperity. So you can take or leave my suggestion. It was honestly just fun to have an opportunity to check out Japanese kanji for their meanings and nuances.

I'm not sure I get whatever joke or reference is behind his Hero name "Flower Punk." I think it's unique with the two clashing aesthetics put side-by-side. Generally, pretty cool!

While Masayoshi wouldn't be the tallest person in Izuku's class, his height reminds me to wonder what the heck Japan is feeding the kids in the era of the series for 15-year-olds to be growing up to 5'10-5'11. Jeez!

I hope it's not too rude to say but his hair looks some kind of poisonous plant. Like, the dark colors and the purplish-magenta thing reminds me of how purple is associated with poison. I dunno. Just a thought there.

Let it be known that if Masayoshi is part of Izuku's class, then he's automatically adopted. Very much so! You probably knew this would happen though.

Moving on!

Now this probably isn't the first time anyone as seen the "bold look, quiet voice' kind of character but I think you do a little something different with it. Instead of looking tough to hide insecurity or being some kind of wilting flower (pun wholly intended) character, he's simply a sweet guy beneath his bold appearance. I must disagree on Masayoshi's "art shouldn't hurt people" mentality. Physically, no harm should be done. But what if I want to emotionally wreck an audience with my work? What then?

His thoughtful, slow and steady mindset is a drawback! Yes! Also, I think his "slow to react" thing is a good reflection of his association with plants. Plants aren't really known for their dynamic action so for Masayoshi to be a slow adapter in real time adds to that relation. And I think Masayoshi being able to understand others with ease but unable to express himself clearly is funny. He unintentionally creates this one-way communication. Oof.

Ah, so him observing others carefully is the result of trauma? I am... intrigued...

Now Masayoshi's backstory. We got young creators absolutely vibing. Don't we know how that feels? Eheh. And using Quirks outside of Hero work will always be something I find interesting. And MMMM! That friends-to-enemies backstory! We love to see!

Theory/Thought: I think Takumi would end up with the League of Villains. Tomura Shigaraki's thing is that every problem he has with society, Hero society, stems from All Might's existence. So Tomura could very well see Takumi and Masayoshi drifting apart as an example of that. Just saying.

Liking the idea for Masayoshi's Quirk. Plant powers always be cool! And depending on what kind of plants are used, it can be quite unique!

Okay but the thing about plants is that some of them actually do grow better in shade/out of direct sunlight. I think it's typically ferns or leafy plants and not really flowering plants that grow that well without sunlight through. So that's a fun fact to keep in mind.

Quick fire comments on his super moves! -Flower Stem Imprisonment is funny because those flower supports that help plants grow upright are also called "plant cages." So that's like just a little stealth pun. -Mega Flower Tower could also be "Flower Power Tower" because alliteration although in Japanese it wouldn't work as well. -Protective Wallflower is just a good play on the term "wallflower." -Rose Thorn Whip... looks at Charlotte's briar whip Okay... -Hidden Garden makes me think of the novel "The Secret Garden" even though I've never actually read the book, I just know the title. -Also I can't believe Masayoshi is drugging people with hallucinogens and poison. For shame.

OH MY GOODNESS! You even did two versions of his stats in accordance to the stats given from Ultra Archives and Ulta Analysis. You going all the way, Steph! I see that technique is his best trait, probably a carry over from his attention to detail as an artist.

Love how his parents tie into who Masayoshi is. An open heart from his father. Fashion and attention to people's ticks from his mother.

About Masayoshi and Takumi's relationship, all I have to say is this. Masayoshi to Takumi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l60MnDJklnM

Also I see you Pro-Hero side oc!

I saw the art and immediately thought "built like a wall." He's very square, like Tenya. But where Tenya is straight-laced and proper, Masayoshi got a wilder look to him. I feel like his Hero costume is a bit busy. He would definitely be able to grow flowers from those grass patches but having them present at all times feels like... much?

You really made his parents a living Flower Shop/Tattoo Shop AU pairing lakdjgkalrhgiualrgb! GIRL! I'm loving it!

Also, Takumi looks like he would come to a store and pay all in single yen coins just to screw over the poor cashier. He looks like, if told to stop chewing gum, he would take it out of his mouth and put it in the hand of the person who talked to him. He looks like he wants to offend me. Why does his hoodie have eyes and teeth? Boy needs help.

Steph! Girl! You put so much work into this oc! I'm amazed by all the details you've included! As well as the art! New fictional child has been adopted!

[jjr1971]

I suppose this shouldn't surprise me but this particular anime title (and personal favorite show of mine) is really violently triggering a lot of online incels at the moment...the Japanese title is イジらないで、長瀞さん, Hepburn: Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san; In English, it's known by the longer title Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro.  It's a new manga series (I'm current on it and have the next volume, #8, on pre-order when it releases in August) and it's basically a romantic comedy....it was even more recently picked up for an anime adaptation which is currently airing in Japan and streaming in the USA with subtitles on the Crunchyroll site/app.  I wouldn't be surprised if it gets picked up for an English dub & North American home video distribution eventually; it really is that good.

But it really is a very subtle show with complex emotions.  It's also kind of a role reversal story.  It's reminiscent of the earlier series Teasing Master Takagi-san (Japanese: からかい上手の高木さん, Hepburn: Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san, lit. "Good at Teasing, Miss Takagi"), another romantic comedy set in Late Elementary/early Middle School...it features a very emotionally mature and smart girl who likes a boy but he hasn't matured at the same pace and still views her as a practical joker rival.  He's playing checkers and she's playing chess.  He keeps trying to one-up her and she easily parries him and makes him embarrassed.  But from the audience POV she's definitely flirting with him, he just can't perceive it. With Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro our characters are High Schoolers.  The main character (known only as "Senpai", a polite form of address for people older than you) is a shy, reclusive, sensitive artist type who wears glasses and keeps to himself.  He's a Junior in High School.  He's been the victim of actual bullies in the past (that we see via flashback) but just kept his head down and endured.  One day he's in the school library, trying to study and there's a group of first year girls socializing at a nearby table (Sophomores, technically.  Japanese High Schools have only grades 10-12; 9th graders are still in Middle School in Japan).  He resolves to just ignore them and try to study but clumsily knocks over his satchel, sending books & papers flying, including (*gasp*) the adventure/romance manga he's been drawing as a personal side project. The girls all look up, noticing the commotion.  One of the girls walks over to help pick up his things and to "Senpai's" horror notices the manga drawings and skims them.  The other girls leave but she stays behind and starts asking questions about the manga and its characters.  She begins to act out the scene he has drawn, playing the female protagonist.  She doesn't have a sword like the character so she does a karate kick and holds it.  He's kind of impressed but intimidated.  She critiques the story and offers suggestions.  She even teases him a little.  The next day she shows up in the Art Room, where "Senpai", who is a member of the Art Club, is working on a sketch drawing.  She's loud and obnoxious and resumes teasing him, getting on his nerves. She even follows him while he's walking home, laughing and teasing him playfully some more.  She claps his back a little too hard and sends him flying into the nearby canal.  But we can see from the regretful expression on her face she didn't mean to and feels bad about it.  And all the times she's around him and even when she's being very intense with her teasing, she's blushing red in the face the whole time.  She helps him out of the canal and apologizes and introduces herself.  He's tall and lanky and she's short & athletic and on the swim team.  She gazes up at him as she says her name syllable by syllable ("Na-Ga-To-Ro") and with one finger playfully traces the Kanji on his chest through his wet shirt, again with a playful look on her face and blushing. And so it goes for the next 7 volumes of the manga.  He tries to remain aloof & dignified, while she says loud & obnoxious but also playful and clearly the more emotionally immature of the two...so they're like a comedy duo of sorts.  He completely misreads her at first and has little fantasies predicting how she will be terrible next, but they never pan out.  He expects her to be obnoxious to other guys and terrorize them the way he feels a bit terrorized but....she doesn't.  To guys she doesn't like or have interest in, she's quite cold & cutting.  She reserves her "special treatment" only for her Senpai.   All this is a long introduction to make note that a lot of incels who are also into anime really REALLY don't understand this show....they complain bitterly that it "glorifies bullying" and reserve the most hateful language for Nagatoro herself, using all the usual hateful words for women (c-word, etc)...they really really hate her.  On the one hand, I would

love to see this series dubbed into English but on the other hand I feel bad for the online abuse any voice actress will inevitably suffer from lending her voice in English to this character someday.  A lot of these guys seemingly have a real issue separating fantasy from reality and will yell at voice actors when they're actually angry at the character they play.... Nagatoro does arguably cross the line into bullying territory initially, but like I said, she feels remorseful for pushing him into the canal.  Her friends are kind of dimwits and *are* themselves traditional bullies....but when THEY try to bully HER Senpai she gives them death stares and they back down.  She's very possessive of him.  In the manga especially, Nagatoro sometimes "gets out over her own skis" and winds up revealing her real feelings and getting embarrassed herself, overplaying her hand and getting little bits of come-uppance.  She sometimes blurts out her real desires then covers them up quickly with a dismissive joke....it's a little gas-lighty but I understand it's mainly a defense mechanism. What the incels who hate-watch this show can't conceive in their heads.....is that Nagatoro has genuine feelings for her Senpai.  She's not bullying him....she's flirting!  Aggressively and badly, sure, but it's not mean-spirited.  She even coyly suggests to him he should be bolder with her, she could make it worth his while.  In my past, I've dated a hyper-aggressive flirt who reminds me a lot of Nagatoro.  I just have a lot of empathy for both characters and wish them well.  Just like with the male protagonist Nishikata in Takagi-san the viewer feels like doing a loud "stage whisper" to him:  "psst!  she likes you, dummy."  There are a few moments here and there between the two of them that are so wholesome & sweet it makes me want to cry.  It's such a good show and it's so horribly misunderstood by a lot of very damaged people who are too blinded by their own misogyny and self-pity to see it. To sum up, Nagatoro wouldn't constantly hang around her Senpai and do the things she does if she didn't have genuine feelings for him....which she very plainly does. And by Ep.5 of the anime, it's clear he cares about her, too.

Anyway, I look forward to reading the next volume of the manga and finishing season 1 of the anime adaptation.  I would definitely watch it again if it gets an English dub release.