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burnouts3s3 · 5 years

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Maria-sama Ga Miteru, a blu-ray review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): 99 USD How much I paid: 69.99 USD, the Pre Order price Animation Studio: DEEN Original Localizer: Nozomi Entertainment Licensed and Localized Currently by: Sentai Filmworks Audio: Japanese Audio with Subtitles Number of Episodes: 39 Episodes and 5 OVAs equaling a run time of 1237 Minutes. Length per Episode: 25 Minutes on average. 21 Without Intro and Ending song. Length per OVA: 50 Minutes on Average Number of Discs: 8 Blu Ray Discs Episodes per Disc: Seasons 1, 2 and 4: Episodes 1 through 9 on the 1st Blu-ray Disc. Episodes 10 through 13 on the 2nd Blu-ray disc as well as “Don’t Let Mother Maria Know”, funny ‘outtakes’ of the characters in Chibi From. Season 3: OVAs 1 – 3 on 1st Blu-ray Disc. OVAs 4-5 on 2nd Blu-Ray Disc. Aspect Ratio: 4:3 for Seasons 1 and 2. 16:9 for Seasons 3 and 4. Are there plans for a DVD release?: A DVD release of the series exists from Nozomi Entertainment. Does this come a digital voucher to redeem?: No. This only has the Blu-ray discs. Also on: HiDive, Sentai Filmwork’s Streaming Service. Bonus Features: Clean Opening Animation, Clean Closing Animation and “Don’t tell Mother Maria”, ‘outtakes’ of the characters in chibi form. Notable Localization Changes: Onee-sama, a popular phrase Yumi addresses Sachiko with, has been translated into “Dear Sister” (which is more or less the same thing). Honorfics such as –san or –sama have been omitted in the subs or changed. (For example, when a character refers to Sachiko as Sachiko-sama, the subs translate it into “Lady Sachiko”). Make of that as you will. My Personal Biases: I actually reviewed Marimite a long time ago on this site. I still hold fond memories of the show to this day.

My Verdict: A long running staple of the Shoujo genre and said to have kickstarted the Yuri trend that gave us Kannazuki no Miko, Strawberry Panic, Aoi Hana and Sasameki Koto, Maria-sama Ga Miteru still holds up to this very day. And thanks to Sentai Filmwork’s ability to print it on Blu-ray, now even newcomers can enjoy the quiet campus of Lilian Academy. Buy it! Maria Sama Ga Miteru, a blu ray review

“The Maidens who assemble in Mother Maria’s Garden have such angelic smiles that today, too, they pass through the tall gate. Their pure bodies and minds are wrapped in dark colored school uniforms. The pleats on their skirts shouldn’t be noticeable. Their while sailor collars should always be tidy. Walking slowly is preferred here. St. Lilian’s Academy is a Garden for Maidens.”

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Our Protagonist, Yumi Fukuzawa, is a freshman in St. Lillian Girls’ academy, an all-girls Catholic School. One day, while praying in front of the Virgin Mary, Mother Maria, someone comes up to her. It is none other than the school’s idol, Sachiko Ogasawara. While Sachiko fixes Yumi’s collar, Yumi’s friend, Tsutako, takes a photograph and blackmails Yumi to get the scoop. While Yumi goes to the Yamayuri council, which acts as the governing body for the school, Sachiko storms out of the room and trips on top of her. Sachiko attempts to make Yumi her petite Souer. Through the Souer system, upperclass girls can make a lowerclass girl their ‘sister’ by handing them a Rosary. If the underclass girl accepts, they become partners and look after each other until graduation. While seemingly innocent at first, the system can lead to all sorts of conflicts and misunderstandings but also joy and laughter. This is the story of how Yumi first accepts Sachiko’s Rosary and ends when she eventually bestows that rosary to another. I really love Yumi as a character. While she does act as the ‘ordinary outsider’ meant to be the audience Point of view character, there’s a charm to Yumi. She’s actually very quick on her feet, eager to help and very kind and friendly. She does make mistakes but there’s a very human quality and the small moments where she shines (initially rejecting Sachiko’s rosary, practicing her routine to impress the graduating Seniors, helping out during the school festivals, standing up to some rich snobs) that really makes her shine. (Though I will give some credit to Yumi as she manages to possess proper hand eye coordination and inner ear balance that her successors Himeko Kurusugawa and Nagisa Aoi seem to lack.) In some ways, Sachiko was the inspiration that lead to the creations of such characters such as Shizuru Fujino from My-Hime, Chikane Himemiya from Kannazuki no Miko and Shizuma Hanazono from Strawberry Panic. On the surface, Sachiko is a cold, stern and almost unbendable force of nature, bent on getting her way. However, slowly but surely, Yumi melts the icy exterior to find the human underneath. (It also helps that Sachiko occasionally is the butt of the joke at times, such as, being her first time at a fast food restaurant, she remembers to order correctly and pay the server, but forgets to pick up the food). Among my favorite characters is the adorably lovable Satou Sei, a senior of the school and the canon lesbian of the show. Sei is often flirtatious but also very humorous to boot. There’s a sort of fandom clash as many people ship Sei and Yumi together and Shimako and Sachiko together. (There’s the implication that if Sei had not picked Shimako to be her petite seour, she would have picked Yumi and Sachiko is jealous of that fact since she wanted to give Shimako her rosary first, but Shimako refused her). Rounding out the cast are Rei and Yoshino, a Kendo Senior and her sickly cousin who might switch the idea of a tomboy on its head and Touko, Sachiko’s cousin who’s prickly exterior might hide someone much more vulnerable and Noriko, a girl who might share a love of Buddhist statues the Shimako does. A lot of people cite Maria Watches Over Us (or Marimite for short) as the revitalization of the Class S genre, which focuses on romantic friendships between school girls. A lot of people have pointed out that the genre has had its fair share of negative stereotypes and doesn’t exactly portray a healthy or realistic relationships for young queer women. But, I’ve always stated I would rather have a problematic show that affects me emotionally over a well-meaning show that has a good social message but leaves me cold. Of course, the show is self-aware of its genre roots and occasionally pokes fun at it. (At one point, Yoshino does the ‘rich girl laugh’ with another person and all it does is draw unwanted attention from passerbys). If there’s definitely a weak spot to the series, it’s definitely the animation. Panning shots and freeze frames are all present here, but the direction is solid enough where you’re enjoying it even when you notice the stitches and seems. (It’s an early 2000’s show centering about the school lives of ordinary girls. What were you expecting, Darling in the Franxx?) Granted, Season 3 is when the animation quality (as well as the aspect ratio) picks up but even the older seasons are passable and enjoyable to watch. What sells the show isn’t necessarily the animation, but character interactions with one another. Those looking for Women Love Women relationships probably aren’t going to find it here, but it did lead to the inspiration for other works to tackle. Each movement, each subtle touch or facial reaction or slip of the tongue feels weighty. You can tell there’s so much more being said than what’s on the screen and the characters missing or picking up on those subtleties really is the highlight. Season 3 is where the show changes format from a half hour episodic series to an hour long OVA (Original Video Animation) format and they play out more like self-contained movies than a series of over-arching episodes. And yes, the blu-rays also include “Don’t let Mother Maria Know.”. These are a series of humorous shorts included with the original DVD releases that contain cartoonized versions of the characters engaging in very silly behavior and outtakes.

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After Nozomi Entertainment sold the rights off, Sentai Filmworks bought them and did a pretty good job localizing the show. The show contains no English Dub, but translates the Japanese text to pretty close to its original source material. One thing to note is the lack of honorfics. Honorfics are titles one refers to when addressing another person, like –san meaning Mr. or Ms. in English. “Onee-sama” is translated to “Dear Sister” while “Sachiko-sama” is translated to “Lady Sachiko”. (Though for some reason, Kashiwagi’s nickname for Sachiko, Sacchan, is kept in). CAVEAT: There’s the implication that Maria Watches Over Us feels dated in its depictions of girls’ relationships and class differences and promotes not quite so healthy relationships. But, had it not been for Studio DEEN and the characters of Yumi and Sachiko, we might have never gotten Himeko and Chikane or Shizuru and Natsuki or Fumi and Akira or Kazama and Sumika or Kase and Yamada or Touko and Yuu. Hell, even Flip Flappers did a parody of Marimite for an episode. With Nozomi Entertainment selling off the rights (as well as Seasons 2 and 3 DVDs being sold for outrageous prices), Sentai Filmworks has done the anime community a service by preserving this work and making it available to Western audiences. So, it all but depresses me to know that this great work will go unnoticed while the inevitable fans order the next Umaru merchandise instead. If you have enough of an attention span to watch a show that doesn’t have constant explosions, fanservice or attack names being shouted out, it’s definitely worth a look see. Of course, speaking as someone who binge watches Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure during his off hours, I enjoyed every bit I had with Maria-sama ga Miteru.

Verdict: Buy it!

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#maria sama ga miteru #maria watches over us #sentai filmworks #hidive #yumi fukuzawa #sachiko #Ogasawara #sachiko ogasawara #touko #satou sei #sei satou #lilian #yuri #lgbt #review #anime

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chibimyumi · 5 years

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Hi chibi, may I ask you a question about Ch151? I saw many theories conclude that Francis and Undertaker knew each other since Claudia's time. I wonder in japanese version if these two already say something canonically about it? I mean Undertaker may has been around Francis earlier, but Francis did she meet Undertaker at Vincent's time or when Claudia was still alive? Since many fans said that Francis knew Undertaker as her father, this made me so confused. Thank you!

Dear anon,

There is no explicit information whatsoever in the original manga, but there is some indication judging from the language Frances uses to the Undertaker.

Frances’ use of language in Japanese

In chapter 151 when Frances addresses the Undertaker, she says the following:

“葬儀屋、お前はお兄様がご存命の頃から変わらないな”

“Undertaker, omae wa oniisama ga gozonmei no koro kara kawaranai na”

“Undertaker, you haven’t changed since the time when my (honourable) brother was alive.”

The most noteworthy elements in her language are indicated in bold, and I shall expand on why these are important underneath. (It will be lengthy, but please bear with me.)

‘Oniisama’ and ‘Gozonmei’

Frances is a noble lady, and in the manga she uses formal language to people she considers her peer or above. Despite her clear dislike for her brother, she never fails to address him properly as ‘oniisama’, or ‘honourable brother’, even when she is yelling at him, or after his death.

“大体お兄様は昔からそうやって…”

“Daitai oniisama wa mukashi kara souyatte…”

“(Honourable) brother, you have always been like this from the past…”

The ‘o’ and the ‘sama’ in ‘oniisama’ are honorifics in Japanese death trap, uh I mean polite language, ‘keigo’. Siblings normally don’t go beyond the expected politeness level of ‘oniichan/oneechan or niisan/neesan’. Frances however, uses both of the highest honorifics ‘o’ and ‘sama’.

I do not think Frances uses this formality for Vincent because she really looks up to him. Rather, I think Frances uses this formal language because she is a respectable lady, and not using formal language when referring to her older brother would be considered ‘unrefined’ and be held against her. In the same way, the ‘go’ in ‘gozonmei’ (ご存命・alive) is also a hyper formality, and a marker of her grace as a lady.

In Japanese, language is an exceptionally telling method with which speakers express their identity. Among other things, a speaker’s formality or informality is considered a strong language marker with which they can present themselves. The infinitely varied language quirks and markers don’t all have a perfect equivalent in English, and therefore translation is very tricky. As such, a one-on-one translation from ‘oniisama’ to ‘honourable brother’ every time is just very unnatural, hence it is omitted in English.

“葬儀屋、お前はお兄様がご存命の頃から変わらないな”

“Undertaker, omae wa oniisama ga gozonmei no koro kara kawaranai na”

“Undertaker, you haven’t changed since the time when my (honourable) brother was alive.”

In contrast to Frances’ hyper formality when speaking about her ‘honourable brother’, she uses informal language when talking about and to the Undertaker.

‘Omae’ (you (rude)), ‘Kawaranai na’ (haven’t changed) is informal speech. (Formal speech would have been ‘貴方’(anata) and ‘変わりませんね’ (Kawarimasen ne・have not changed).)

To me, this is an indication that Frances sees the Undertaker as below her rank. Frances using formal language for Vincent, while informal for Undertaker in the same sentence, is her implicitly differentiating the social hierarchy between Vincent and Undertaker. Consequently, I would say that Frances probably does NOT think that Undertaker is related to Claudia Phantomhive, because if she did believe so, Frances would most probably not have used this type of informal language.

Undertaker’s Language

Undertaker replies to Frances as follows:

“そうかい？小生にとってみれば君も生まれた頃がさっきのようだよ”

“Sou kai? Shousei ni totte mireba kimi mo umareta koro ga sakki no you da yo”

“Is that so? To me as well, it is as though you were born not very long ago.”

This line in Japanese is fairly standard and straighforward, and does not contain a lot linguistic hints. Undertaker merely seems to state that Frances did not change much either in his very, very old eyes. Rather than him dropping hints that he had met Frances at birth, I think it is more likely that he is playing it safe and not give Alexis Midford more reason to suspect the supernatural is involved. For more about R!Ciel hiding the involvement of the supernatural, click here.

There is no explicit information, but it is not impossible that Undertaker already met Frances during Claudia’s time when Frances was VERY young. But there is no information on whether Frances is actively aware of Undertaker’s presence during Claudia’s time. Frances’ and Undertaker’s interaction so far only indicates that there is no deep bond between them.

No indication of ulterior meaning

Japanese manga has a universal way to indicate when a spoken line contains an ulterior meaning.

In Sebas’ text he says: “… Yes, I shall serve the young master well as his butler,” after Tanaka refers to O!Ciel by this title for the first time. The dots next to the word “bocchan/young master” mean to indicate that the word pronounced by Sebas contains an ulterior meaning. Now in retrospect we know “Ciel” is in fact not O!Ciel’s name, and that therefore Sebas is using the title to refer to his master to dodge his real name because he cannot lie.

In Undertaker’s text, he says: “Both ‘body’ and ‘memory’ hosted by the brain remain in this world.” These dots again tells the reader the speaker refers to not just any world, but specifically the human world (as opposed to the Reaper’s world.)

These dots however, do NOT appear in Undertaker’s speech bubble in chapter 151.

Theory within the Japanese fandom

As I mentioned in another post, language shapes thought. As such, different theories may have emerged in the Japanese fandom. In the Japanese fandom, most people do not believe Undertaker is Frances’ and Vincent’s father, or Cedric K Ros.

Some arguments against Undertaker being the father as discussed in the Japanese fandom:

During the Boarding School Arc, Undertaker remained as fixated on O!Ciel as always, whereas he didn’t even bother batting an eye at Edward. Most of the Japanese fandom believe that Undertaker is only interested in the direct line of the Phantomhive family. Undertaker deliberately addressed Frances as ‘Lady Frances Phantomhive’, and this is considered a hint that his interest probably ends with her as a side-branch, and that this interest does not extend to her children. If Undertaker were Frances’ father, then this striking favouritism towards Vincent’s line would require some other explanation which is not in the manga canon (yet). As Yana has confirmed that Vincent and Frances are born of the same parents, this favouritism cannot be explained with “only Vincent is Undertaker’s child.”

Undertaker is a person who does not hide his emotions towards the Phantomhive tragedy very well. If just thinking about Vincent is enough to make him cry, then meeting Frances after such a long time would probably have stirred some emotions. This reunion would not necessarily be enough to make him cry, but the interaction with Frances would probably not have been as cheerful and aloof as in chapter 151.

During the Luxury Liner Arc too, Undertaker did not seem to care about the Midford family at all, despite clearly having had a lot of chance to reach out to them. Judging by Undertaker’s dodging skills as attested in the Boarding School Arc, he could easily have avoided O!Ciel and Sebastian during the first demonstration of the Aurora Society if he wanted to, but instead he chose to engage O!Ciel - ‘a main Phantomhive’. Yet again, we see a clear contrast between Undertaker’s interest in O!Ciel and the lack hereof for the Midfords.

Side-argument. Undertaker CAN’T be Cedric K. Ros: Undertaker is confirmed to have been a reaper for at least 70 years. 1889 - 70 = 1819. Claudia Phantomhive was born in 1830, which means that by the time she was born, Undertaker was already a reaper. In the family tree, Cedric K Ros was officially registered as her legal spouse. Had Claudia been a commoner, than marrying some random person that does not exist in the civilian personnel archive might have been possible. But considering how she was the Countess of Phantomhive, it would have been very troublesome to marry a man who does not officially exist.

Arguments supporting Undertaker being the father in the Japanese fandom come in far lesser quantities, but a few popular ones are as follows:

Frances’ platinum blond-grey-ish hair resembling Undertaker’s silver hair.

Elisabeth and Edward both having green eyes. But as all reapers get green eyes the moment they become one, this theory does not hold water.

The lack of information about Undertaker and Cedric K Ros allowing for intersection between them. So far - whatever little canon information there is about Undertaker and Cedric respectively do not exclude each other.

Undertaker’s obsession with Claudia clearly being the strongest, and leaves enough room for people to ship them romantically, and therefore having produced children. Most fans who do believe Undertaker and Claudia were romantically involved however, tend to believe Undertaker was the lover of Claudia, and not her spouse.

In short, so far in the Japanese fandom, there are more arguments against Undertaker being Vincent and Frances’ father than for.

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dogcircle-scans · 6 years

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Natsume Yuujinchou: “Intermission Detectives” Summary (Special 20)

This sparkle is...!

A special chapter this month! This is actually a direct continuation of the previous arc (Part 1, Part 2), where our four boys visit the theater to watch Natori’s latest movie (which Nishimura had teased about early in the arc).

And since it is a detective movie... the boys get a chance to exercise their detective skills and figure out who the culprit is!

(I wanted to retain the essence of the surprise and the deduction, so this summary is pretty much a translation for more than half of the chapter lol... But in my defense, this was a really short chapter.)

Also, unfortunately there aren’t any scans for this chapter, so it’s the return of my shitty phone camera photos! Yay...

- Niji

[Everything under the cut.]

Natsume Yuujinchou: Intermission Detectives

Our four boys are together at the theater, watching the latest film featuring Natori (titled “Fiancée of the Funeral Procession”). A sudden black out had forced the theater to shut down temporarily, and the boys had to move out into the lobby (their drinks and popcorn in tow) until the movie resumes.

Natsume: (............ It doesn’t seem like…… an ayakashi was responsible for the blackout. ——Still, I’m a little annoyed that I was so absorbed in a movie that stars Natori-san…)

Seeing this as a chance to discuss the movie, Nishimura quickly asks the others for their opinion and theories.

The first half of the movie goes as follows: Natori plays as a young detective named Akeboshi Koutarou*, who is approached by his new client: a young woman named Benikawa Ranko, whose family owns a department store.

[The name of Natori’s character is a little ridiculous, and let me break it down for you… In Japanese, “Akeboshi Koutarou” is written as 明星光太郎. The whole thing means something like “Dawn Star, Shining Plump Boy”; 明 (“ake”, means “dawn” or “bright”), 星 (“-boshi”/”hoshi”, means “star”), 光 (“kou”, means “light”), 太郎 (“-tarou”, meaning “plump boy”, which is just a common suffix for Japanese boy names). In the movie poster, and even when Nishimura talks about this character, he is described as “the sparkling detective”. There is basically no end to the running gag about Natori’s sparkliness as an actor.]

Ranko: “Akeboshi-sama, I’m… afraid.” Akeboshi: “Please calm down, Ranko-san. What has happened? As I recall, you are currently engaged to the son of Kida Trade, Kida Minoru-shi*... Your engagement was just announced, and you are both extremely happy, isn’t that right? What could possibly make you feel afraid?” Ranko: “I would often be invited to Minoru-san’s mansion for tea—— And because Minoru-san is busy, there are times where I’ll be alone in the guest room. One day, I could hear voices, murmurs, from somewhere. I thought it might be someone playing a prank. I strained my ears to listen… and indeed, it felt as though they were saying something unsettling. I thought they might be planning to harm Minoru-san, and was whispering about it in the mansion. I tried to locate the source of the voice. And that was when I realized… The voice, was coming from the ceiling——”

[“-shi” is also a honorific, another version of the honorific “-san”.]

Ranko: “Though I thought it would be immodest, I pushed apart the ceiling boards meant for electric cables, and took a peek above the ceiling, and there…… was a skinny parrot.”

Nishimura asks if there’s anything of note up till this point. Natsume can’t help but see the parrot as an ayakashi, as such an experience was way too common for him (but of course, he couldn’t say this aloud). Kitamoto says that he has something to say, but it’s about what happened next. So the story continues...

Ranko screams from the sight, but later finds out that the parrot is actually Minoru’s pet, named “Enju”, who had disappeared. Minoru was extremely thankful towards Ranko for finding his pet. However…

Ranko: “Akeboshi-sama, I’m… afraid of that parrot. There was something strange that happened when I was alone with it.”

Enju: “...JUST… NEXT… “ Ranko: “Huh?” Enju: “I JUST… I JUST HAVE TO KILL THE NEXT ONE TOO.”

[Note that the original Japanese sentence that Enju spoke doesn’t contain any pronouns, so it also sounds like “You just have to kill the next one too”. The vagueness of it can lead to many interpretations, hence Ranko’s fear.]

Ranko: “——I know that the bird is probably just saying nonsense… But it’s still so frightening… Just what is going on…?” Akeboshi: “This is certainly worrisome… That a parrot would frighten a beautiful lady like so… How about it? I, Akeboshi Koutarou, will undertake this case——” Natsume: (No! I just can’t help but think that the parrot is an ayakashi!)

[Poor Natsume lolol]

Akeboshi goes ahead to investigate, starting with the parrot’s owner, Minoru. That’s when he confirms that Minoru’s engagement with Ranko hadn’t been his first, but actually his fourth. Pictures of his previous three fiancées were brought forth, and it turns out that all of them were beautiful daughters of wealthy families.

Nishimura: Sumire, of a banker. Tsubaki, of a real estate business. Botan, of a jeweler. ———One after another, all three of them passed away from unexpected accidents. And that’s when I figured it out……

Nishimura: That Minoru is actually a serial killer!! He approached the daughters of wealthy families to get a hold of their inheritance, and once he was tired of them he would kill them and cover it up as an accident, then look for another rich lady as his new target! Natsume: !! Tanuma: ...... Nishimura: What do you think, Natsume!? Natsume: What do I think… That Minoru-san is an ayaka-… *gasp!* Nishimura: Hm? Natsume: No, nothing…

[Lolol that was close, Natsume. And I also love how he and Tanuma both refer to Minoru and Ranko with a “-san”. They are polite even to fictional characters.]

Nishimura explains that was how Enju ended up memorizing such a line, after hearing its owner talk about his plans. However, Kitamoto disagrees.

Kitamoto: Those who died were only “fiancées” at best… If Minoru was after their inheritance, wouldn’t it make more sense for him to kill them after they have gotten married?

Nishimura: …… Kitamoto: Don’t look at me like that! Tanuma: …But I think that theory makes sense. Just that it’s—— Kitamoto: You think so too, Tanuma!? Exactly, it’s probably the other way around. Minoru is the one whose inheritance is being targeted. Isn’t it possible that she had dealt with the three fiancées one by one until her turn had arrived? ——That’s right, I think it’s the current fiancée, “Benikawa Ranko”. Nishimura: ! There’s no way such a beautiful person could be a killer! Kitamoto: Actually, that’s the bit I’m curious about. That Akeboshi Koutarou guy is such a lady killer, and yet he didn’t flirt with Ranko, who is a beauty. Isn’t that because he already suspects her? Ranko might have brought up that story about the parrot in order to throw off any suspicions on her. Nishimura: AKEBOSHI KOUTAROU MAY BE A PLAYBOY, BUT HE IS NOT SUCH AN IMPRUDENT MAN THAT HE WOULD FLIRT WITH A WOMAN WHO IS ALREADY ENGAGED!!

Kitamoto: I-Is that so…? What do you think, Tanuma? Nishimura: Huh? My popcorn has suddenly gotten lesser… Tanuma: Hmm… I agree with Kitamoto. The one that’s being targeted is—— Kitamoto: Right!? Tanuma: ……Ah, but I——

Tanuma: ——… Natsume, what do you think? Natsume: Ugh… …I can’t help but think that the parrot, Minoru-san and Ranko-san are… those things, so I can’t seem to form a decent theory… Nishimura: “Those things”? Natsume: ...

Tanuma: ——It’s just that, at the same time… I agree with Nishimura, that the owner of the parrot was the one committing the murders. Nishimura: Eh!? Then Minoru must be… Tanuma: ——No… By the way, do you guys remember the photos? Natsume: Photos? Tanuma: Yeah. Wasn’t there a scene where Akeboshi-san gathered a number of photos of the deceased fiancées and was staring at them for a while? When the photos were shown… did you notice something? Natsume: ……Huh? Tanuma: Akeboshi-san also made a face like he had noticed something, right? …I might just be imagining things, but I think that…

Tanuma: The same person appeared in a number of photos.

[Tanuma is so good at this I am stunned.]

Boys: ——Huh!? Tanuma: The first and second fiancées… The tree behind them and the window above them… That was———… The reason why they didn’t tell Ranko-san about the parrot going missing———— Could it be because its previous owner was actually someone else, and had looked a lot like Ranko-san? And that person——

Botan: “I JUST HAVE TO KILL THE NEXT ONE TOO.” Tanuma: The one who murdered the fiancées was most likely “the third fiancée, Botan.” Boys: !!

But didn’t Botan die as well? Tanuma acknowledges this, and suspects that Botan’s death might have been due to a real accident… Which means that Ranko and Minoru had nothing to worry about, and that their relationship will surely result in happiness.

An announcement rings overhead, informing them that the movie will be resumed shortly. Nishimura notices that his juice is completely gone. Natsume comments that, though he wasn’t helpful at all with the theories, he is having a lot of fun watching and theorizing about the movie. The boys agree, and tell him to join them again for other movies. They head back towards the theater.

Meanwhile, Nishimura is still trying to figure out where his popcorn went to…

[Well, not sure how many of you caught it, but there were a couple of interesting faces in the shadows while the boys were discussing the movie. How many times did Nyanko-sensei appear? He must be quite nimble if none of them noticed him stealing Nishimura’s popcorn and juice lolol]

“Intermission Detectives” END

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #apta scans #natsume manga spoilers #manga #Midorikawa Yuki #Yuki Midorikawa #summary #spoilers #translation #unscanlated chapter #raw #raw spoilers

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tang-wei · 7 years

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ONS Guren LN Vol 1 Chapter 2 translation~

Title: Shinya’s Class

Translator: @tang-wei

Raws: Chinese

If you feel the need to re-read the whole series again, the masterpost is here

Important note: Because the previous sources for Volume 1 have been taken down/ made unavailable, I am translating this for the sake of fans who are not able to purchase a copy of the official English translation that is available. If you enjoy Guren’s story, then please support the author by buying the novel!

Classroom.

Homeroom.

A sight commonly seen in a normal school.

"............"

Right there, was Guren.

In Year 1 Class 9, in the seat by the window right at the back.

It was the first homeroom lesson right now. A woman who seemed to be the homeroom teacher was talking about the school entrance ceremony which was going to commence after.

Sayuri and Shigure were not in this class.

Sayuri was in Class 1.

Shigure was in Class 2; the two of them were assigned to the classes that were furthest away from Class 9, which clearly was the product of someone's meddling.

"Well, it's not something unexpected though."

The reason was because this place that Guren was in, was a place whose objective was to show to the next head of the Ichinose House the exceptional, overwhelming power possessed by the Hiiragi House.

"Isolating you, bullying and subjugating me huh. This has been the underhanded method they had been using for 200 years after all."

Guren smiled.

25 years ago, his father had attended this school just as Guren was doing now, and had completely submitted to the Hiiragi House. Putting aside whether he liked or disliked the main house, whenever it was time to make a major decision, he always acted in the capacity of someone who was the pet of the Hiiragi House.

As such, his father did have a good reputation among the 『Mikado no Tsukki』.

But Guren did not think that it was something bad. He did not mind. It was not something that had decreased his respect for his father.

His father had just been doing whatever he was able to within his limits. As long as he was able to avoid conflict for their organization with that, it was fine.

And even on that day itself.

"............"

Guren recalled.

The memory of that time, when he was a child.

The memory of that day when he last met Mahiru.

The memory of when he was beaten up by the people from the Hiiragi House and brought back to his home.

His father looked at him apologetically, and said.

"Please forgive your powerless father......"

With a teary face, his father hugged his son who was covered with wounds, and immediately turned to apologize to the Hiiragi.

Even though his son was the one who got beaten up, he still apologized.

"............"

Guren snapped out of his reverie and looked up.

He looked around.

40 people.

The males and females each made up half the class.

From the register of the class, it seemed like this class had quite a number of children of from the top brass of 『Mikado no Oni』.

Jyuujou House.

Goshi House.

Sanguu House.

Even in the world of sorcery, these were among the famous houses.

The Ichinose House used to be the highest ranked supporting family of the Hiiragi. But right now, they had fallen to the lowest.

A few students shot fleeting glances at this lowest ranked. Only repugnance and animosity from knowing that someone like him was their classmate could be felt from them.

The lady teacher furthermore said.

"Well, now that everyone here has become a member of this First Shibuya High, I hope that everyone here can have a fruitful high school life with the pride and confidence befitting a student of the greatest sorcery school in Japan."

Following that, the lady teacher turned her gaze joyfully to Guren,

"Well, even though we have a rat who managed to enter, don't let it concern you. As the elites who are the most talented and have the best results, the students of this class will have to undertake the task of showing the dignity of this school to the rat.”

The rat was referring to Guren.

The students laughed. Even though not all of them did, those who did seemed to be enjoying themselves.

And then, even the rat also grinned foolishly for now.

Following that, he measured the teacher's strength. He weighed whether the teacher who had mocked him had more power than him.

It did not matter whether he was ridiculed.

He came here knowing that this would happen.

But, he could not allow himself to lose in power. He could not allow himself to lose when it came to spell invocation ability.

Unlike his father, he was burdened with a mission.

Since, unlike his father who ran the organization in a gentle and peaceful manner, he had a diﬀerent ambition hidden in his heart.

"............"

While grinning foolishly, Guren looked around.

The girl of Jyuujou House.

The guy of Goshi House.

The girl of Sanguu House.

He already knew from the register that there was just one special person assigned to this class.

His name was ---

Hiiragi Shinya.

A person who bore the Hiiragi name.

To the those who owed allegiance to 『Mikado no Oni』, the Hiiragi name held a special distinguished status - so much so that the Hiiragi could even be thought as representatives of God.

To those of 『Mikado no Tsukki』, the Ichinose was the same. Just like how Guren was to Sayuri and Shigure.

But right now, that seat was empty.

Furthest away from Guren's seat --- the distinguished Hiiragi was assigned to the place that was the furthest from the seat of the dirty rat.

In other words, it was at the first row of the classroom, close to the entrance.

At that moment, the lady teacher said.

"Everyone should already have realized this, but this is the very class that Shinya-sama will be in. The honor to be with......."

And so on and so forth.

In other words, they would be together in the same class with such a wonderful person.

The students in the class were listening to the teacher with dreamy looks. It was a completely diﬀerent attitude as compared to the earlier looks directed at the rat.

Guren smiled again at the idiotic, easy-to-understand change in attitude. Following that, he looked out the window. The roadside cherry trees outside the school gate could be seen from the window.

While staring at them,

"I'm worried about Shigure and Sayuri."

He murmured softly.

At that moment, he could hear the sound of the classroom door sliding open. In that instant, it was evident that the classroom returned to silence and he could feel the class tensed up.

And then,

"My, why is it so quiet?"

That voice rang out from the rear exit of the classroom.

It was the voice of a man.

The lady teacher said in a nervous voice,

"Oh my, it's Shinya-sama, welcome to my class...... Shinya-sama, here is your seat......"

But, Shinya cut her oﬀ and said.

"Eeh, I don't want such a front seat."

"Eh, erm......"

"I, would like that seat. So can I swap?"

"Wha, I mean...... but that......."

Guren could hear an ongoing conversation that seemed to indicate the arrival of a king.

It seemed like the one who carried the blood of Hiiragi had finally appeared.

Guren looked up, and turned his gaze into the classroom.

But, he ended slightly surprised by what he saw.

The reason was because the man there was the one who had thrown a talisman at Guren at the school gate this morning.

White hair. A uniform with a stand-up collar. Despite carrying a grin on his face, he had a sharp glint in his eyes. He had a smile that was brimming with self-confidence.

It seemed like this person was none other than Hiiragi Shinya.

I didn't even need to ask Shigure to investigate his identity huh, thought Guren.

To top it oﬀ, that very Shinya approached Guren. With a grin on his face, he said to the girl who was seated beside Guren.

"Hey? I'd like to sit here. Can you swap with me?"

The girl was stunned for an instant and she then said as she got up frantically,

"Ah, y-yes! Of course, please help yourself!"

On seeing that, the lady teacher said.

"B-But, sitting beside that rat......" Shinya cut her oﬀ with half-closed eyes.

"Hey Sensei. Is it really okay for a teacher to be calling her student a rat?"

"Ah, erm......"

"We are all in the same class. We have to get along."

"Well......"

The girl who had been seated beside Guren then made way.

"Thank you."

Shinya grinned and took the seat beside Guren. Then,

"Aah, everyone, I'm sorry for interrupting. Please continue the homeroom lesson."

After Shinya said that, the lady teacher stepped back to the podium in a flustered manner that was unbecoming for a teacher, and resumed the homeroom lesson.

She talked about the protocol for the school entrance ceremony.

About how the term in this sorcery school would start and what the classes would be like.

Shinya listened on with a grin for a while. Guren turned his gaze out the window again. At that moment,

"Hey."

Shinya called out to him.

"............"

"Erm, Ichinose Guren-kun, right? Can I call you Guren?"

Guren then turned around and looked at Shinya. He was still grinning. Guren stared at the face of Shinya, and replied.

"Are perhaps you talking to me?" Shinya then smiled and said.

"What's with the polite language?"

"I had been strictly taught since young that I must not defy the Hiiragi House."

"Eeh, really?" "Yes."

"I see. That's kind of boring."

"I'm very sorry."

Guren lowered his head. As Shinya stopped saying anything to him, Guren started looking out the window again but it was then Shinya began again,

"But then, you took my attack on purpose this morning right?"

"............"

"My, I wonder why you did that? Perhaps to hide your true power?"

"............"

"Isn't that a clear act of defiance? Your ambition is so obvious, you know?"

Damn. Seems like he really saw through it.

Guren looked at Shinya and said.

"About that...... I am really sorry."

"Oh, you admit to it pretty readily huh?"

"However, I was not admitting to the ambition part. It's just that I've been taught at home that I must not defy anyone, and not bring on the wrath of the people of the Hiiragi House, and as a result, it is true that I took the attack so as not to stir up any trouble. It's not like I was trying to hide my true power."

"Huh. I see."

"Yes."

"I see ~."

Shinya looked hard at Guren. Looking hard, grinning. And for some reason, he inched closer. He inched strangely close to him and said into his ear.

With a slightly lowered voice,

"Hey Guren. Stop your boring lies."

"............"

Guren narrowed his eyes on hearing that. He looked intently at Shinya,

"I'm not ly......"

But Shinya cut him oﬀ and said.

"Well, doesn't matter ~. But it's just that I've been hoping all this time that we can actually be comrades you know."

"............"

"Since both you and I hate the Hiiragi House, I was thinking that we could actually join hands and secretly do lots of interesting things together."

"............"

"By the way, the Hiiragi blood doesn't flow in me. I'm a foster son. Since I was a kid, I've been raised in a manner to be fit to join the Hiiragi House. That's why I hate the Hiiragi House. In other words, we are comrades."

He said.

Guren had heard of something like this before. In order to strengthen the power in sorcery in the descendants of their bloodline, the Hiiragi House would seek out capable children, teach and raise them, then through the process of sifting and selection, adopt those who survived as their foster children.

Then they would make them marry those of their bloodline and give birth to children.

Such a rumor had been around for quite some time.

But Guren did not know whether Shinya was really a foster son of the Hiiragi House or not. More importantly, even if what Shinya said was true, there was no reason for Guren to reveal his true thoughts.

Thus, Guren was about to reply with a "you've misunderstood". He was about to reply with a "I'm not the person you thought out to be".

However, before he could do that ---

Shinya said.

"By the way, my partner is Mahiru. Hiiragi Mahiru. Ever since I was born, I had been raised to become her partner."

Instantly, Guren could tell that he had reacted.

Shinya looked on.

Receiving Guren's stare head on, Shinya smiled.

"Oh my, your true nature came out quite easily."

"What may you be referring to?"

"Well well, don't worry about it. I never thought we can become friends right away today."

"............"

"By the way, did you know that Mahiru also came to this school? She's really excellent and has thus been selected to give a speech as the freshman representative, it seems. Isn't that amazing? Your ex-girlfriend is......"

On hearing those words, Guren responded while keeping his expression unchanged.

"Mahiru-sama and I did not have that kind of relation......"

"Now she's my fiancee though."

"............"

In a flash, Guren's words stopped, and he directed a slightly forceful gaze towards Shinya. Shinya did not miss that and grinned with his well-ordered face. And he then said in a taunting manner.

"Why? Vexed?"

"Not really."

"Ha, haha, that face. Your ambition's completely written on your face. So why don't we get along? Just saying this, but Mahiru and I aren't really on that close terms so don't worry. Even though I have the Hiiragi name, I'm still just a foster son. I'm still just a filthy spawn of lowly birth. At the main house, the treatment I get is the same as what you're getting here now. I'm of course pissed by that, so I'm thinking of destroying everything."

He said.

He said something that would have gotten him executed immediately if it got leaked outside.

Is this a trap, or does this fellow really have the thought of rebelling against the Hiiragi House? Guren did not know.

Even though he did not know, it did not seem like Shinya was a guy he should get involved in, so Guren changed his approach.

He looked up, averted his eyes from Shinya, and said.

"Tch, you're really a talkative fella huh. My goal is diﬀerent from yours. I don't know what you want to accomplish, but don't get me involved in it."

Instantly, Shinya's face brightened.

"Ah, you stopped your polite speech."

"Shut up."

"Then, are we friends? Let's be friends?"

"I told you to shut up."

"Ah-haha. Well, whatever. At any rate, I'm the only comrade you can have here. So you have no choice but to get along with me."

As before, Shinya smiled in delight.

Guren then took a glance at Shinya. His mood became bitter at having attracted the attention of a pretty troublesome fellow right on the first day of school.

At that moment, the lady teacher said.

"All right, it's about time for the school entrance ceremony. Everyone, shall we go?"

With that, the students stood up.

Shinya too stood up and said.

"Well, shall we go? Let's go hear the speech of our common goddess."

The goddess was probably referring to Mahiru.

However, since that day, when they were separated by the adults, Guren had not seen Mahiru for 10 years. Thus, when he heard her name being mentioned after all this time, he did not know what kind of emotions he should be feeling.

But, right now, he was going to head to where Mahiru was.

Mahiru was going to give a speech as the freshman representative.

Though he had never thought that he would meet again under such circumstances.

Shinya held out his hand and said.

"Come on, let's go, Guren."

He called his name familiarly without any honorific.

Guren looked up at that hand, scowled, and brushed it away.

"Don't come close to me."

"Haha."

And then, Guren and the rest of the class moved to the auditorium.

~CHAPTER 2 END~

T/N: gotta update quick hehe

<< Chapter 1 || Chapter 3>>

#ichinose guren #hiiragi shinya #owari no seraph #guren ichinose's catastrophe at 16 #mushroom translates

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