#uilta

[thenuclearmallard]

Orok Indigenous

[vestaignis]

Сахалин — крупнейший остров России — расположен на Дальнем Востоке, у побережья Евразии. По площади он сравним с Чехией или Сербией и лишь немного уступает Ирландии. Омывается сразу двумя морями — холодным Охотским и более тёплым Японским.От южной точки острова до японского острова Хоккайдо всего 44 километра.

Первые люди поселились здесь ещё в доисторические времена. Самой древней стоянке человека, обнаруженной археологами на Сахалине, около 230 тысяч лет. Местное коренное население — их осталось около трёх тысяч человек — племена оленеводов уйльта и эвенков и рыболовов нивхов до сих пор живут согласно древним традициям.

Большинство путешественников едет на Сахалин ради природных красот. Здесь есть действующие вулканы, горячие термальные источники, и изумрудно-зелёные скалы. Растительность на острове довольно необычная. На севере можно прогуляться по тайге, а на юге и западе — увидеть несколько видов лиан и курильский бамбук. А ещё на Сахалине есть «ботаническое чудо света»: папоротники, крапива, гречиха и другие травянистые растения в некоторых местах вырастают на высоту до 3-5 метров. При этом на материке из их семян появляются растения обычной высоты. 

На Сахалине умеренный муссонный климат с высоким уровнем влажности, дождливым летом и холодной, снежной зимой. Летом часто появляются туманы, создающие таинственную атмосферу. В конце лета и начале осени бывают тайфуны. Осень мягкая, яркая и тёплая, почти без дождей. Погода на Сахалине непредсказуемая, поэтому лучше быть готовым к любым капризам природы.

На озере Тунайча гнездятся разные виды птиц, а на Тюленьем острове близ Сахалина находится крупное лежбище тюленей и огромные птичьи базары. В окрестностях самой высокой точки острова — горы Вайды — расположены карстовые пещеры. С вершины горного хребта Жданко открывается вид на живописные окрестности. На мысе Великан можно увидеть природные арки, гроты и столбы, которые возникли под воздействием ветра и соленой морской воды.

Подходящее для туризма время на Сахалине — с мая по сентябрь. К маю почти везде сходит снег и уже можно отправляться в путешествие по острову.А самое популярное для путешествий по Сахалину время — тёплый и солнечный август. В этом месяце лучше всего исследовать дальние уголки острова, купаться в море (вода в этом месяце иногда прогревается до +21 °C) и пробовать лесную голубику и чернику.

Sakhalin, Russia's largest island, is located in the Far East, off the coast of Eurasia. In terms of area, it is comparable to the Czech Republic or Serbia and is only slightly inferior to Ireland. It is washed by two seas at once — the cold Sea of Okhotsk and the warmer sea of Japan.It is only 44 kilometers from the southern point of the island to the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

The first people settled here in prehistoric times. The oldest human site discovered by archaeologists on Sakhalin is about 230 thousand years old. The local indigenous population — there are about three thousand people left — the tribes of reindeer herders Uilta and Evenks and fishermen Nivkh still live according to ancient traditions.

Most travelers go to Sakhalin for the sake of natural beauty. There are active volcanoes, hot thermal springs, and emerald green rocks. The vegetation on the island is quite unusual. In the north you can walk through the taiga, and in the south and west you can see several types of lianas and Kuril bamboo. And also on Sakhalin has a "botanical wonder of the world": ferns, nettles, buckwheat and other herbaceous plants in some places grow to a height of 3-5 meters. At the same time, plants of normal height appear from their seeds on the mainland.

Sakhalin has a temperate monsoon climate with high humidity, rainy summers and cold, snowy winters. In summer, fogs often appear, creating a mysterious atmosphere. There are typhoons in late summer and early autumn. Autumn is mild, bright and warm, with almost no rain. Weather on Sakhalin is unpredictable, so it's better to be prepared for any whims of nature.

Different species of birds nest on Lake Tunaicha, and on Seal Island near Sakhalin is home to a large seal rookery and huge bird markets. Karst caves are located in the vicinity of the highest point of the island — Mount Vida. From the top of the Zhdanko mountain range, you can enjoy a view of the picturesque surroundings. At Cape Giant, you can see natural arches, grottoes and pillars that arose under the influence of wind and salty sea water.

A suitable time for tourism on Sakhalin — from May to September. By May, snow is falling almost everywhere and you can already go on a trip around the island.And the most popular time for traveling around Sakhalin is warm and sunny August. This month, it is best to explore the far corners of the island, swim in the sea (the water sometimes warms up to +21 °C this month) and try wild blueberries.

Источник://bolshayastrana.com/blog/top-dostoprimechatelnostej-sahalina-229,//experience.tripster.ru/articles/sahalin/, /sakhtravel .com/tury-po-sahalinu/tury/tvoya_yarkaya_zima_na_sakhalin, ://wikiway.com/russia/sakhalin/photo/, https://www.tripadvisor .ru/LocationPhotos-g4355184-Sakhalin_Sakhalin_ Oblast_Far _Eastern _District.html,//www.culture.ru/institutes/34988/ostrov-sakhalin, ://tonkosti.ru/%D0%A4%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE_%D0%A1%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F.

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Wondered if you answered this or not but did Wilk genuinely love Asirpa’s mother or no? I’m sure he loved Asirpa but idk about her mom because not much info about her but I can see why he married her when we saw how she was like aside being the chieftain’s daughter.

This also made me think too since Kiro saw a change in Wilk and saw he wasn’t in for the revolution much anymore but mainly for the Ainus now, somewhat told me that having Asirpa changed him or learning about Ainu culture or something. Or maybe it’s just my imagination shrug.

Another is did Kiro realize who Tsurumi was or he never realized Tsurumi was the glasses dude bc only Wilk did.

Well...

chap 254 has Wilk tell Asirpa he loved her mother.

We've no reason to think Wilk lied so I take this is the truth.

As for Wilk... it was Sofia who was in for the revolution, Wilk and Kiro were always in for the minorities. Sofia is a revolutionary, Wilk and Kiro are partisans (as well as Karafuto Ainu, though Kiro has also Tartar blood and Wilk Polish blood). Wilk's goal was to create a far eastern federation for minorities so that their culture and way to live would survive.

However, after he moves in Hokkaido and has Asirpa Wilk changed his plan.

As you can see their discussion is focused solely on the minorities, not on improving the conditions of all the people in Russia, that was Sofia's goal.

Wilk claims he believes his change of plans is due to his new plan being the best option, Kiroranke doesn't believe him and claims he's moved merely by how he now views Hokkaido as his home.

It's up to the reader to decide if Kiro is right or wrong.

If you ask me they're both right. Wilk's plan is easier, but Wilk can go through it and ABANDON PART OF HIS COMRADES IN RUSSIA, because to him now Hokkaido matters MORE, so it's easier for him to sacrifice them (though, to be honest, Wilk was never shown as one who had problems cutting loose companions who made his life complicate).

So for him dumping the Uilta wasn't really a problem.

Kiroranke never met Tsurumi up close so, as far as we know, he never had the chance to realize he was Hasegawa.

It was just Wilk and Sofia who got to give Tsurumi a good look and could realize who he was.

[hungwy]

A little etymology journey starting from Bugaeva's Handbook of the Ainu Language:

Inasa ([Japanese place name]) < Ainu inaw-san ‘the place where inaw [are offered]’. Attested in: MYS 14.3429.

She further describes it:

Direction of borrowing: Ikegami (1980) has made a detailed investigation of inaw (SA) ‘shaved wooden offering’. The inaw is the most fully developed in the Ainu culture. Among the Nivkh and the Tungus ethnic groups, only the shaved portion without a shaft is used. In the Uilta culture and the Nivkh culture in the southern areas, inaw with a wooden shaft are used, but considering the distribution, this is under influence from the Ainu culture.

I looked up what inaw/inau are, because clearly this is an Ainu religious concept, which Wikipedia has a page on. The page gives the following etymology from Toshirou's 「サハリンの言語世界 :　 単語借用から見る」:

The word inau appears to be a loanword from other languages in the region, probably the Orok language of Sakhalin (cf. Orok illau &lt; *ilawun). It is most likely ultimately related to Manchu ila-l ᡳᠯᠠᠮᠪᡳ (ila-mbi) "to blossom" and ilhal ᡳᠯᡥᠠ "flower." The Nivkh word inau ~ nau is most likely a loanword from the same Manchu-Tungus source via Ainu [...] ."

According to Ikegami's "Remarks on the origin of the Ainu word inaw", the Orok/Uilta word illau is likely derived from *ilawun -- a verb stem *ila- and a "substantive-forming suffix *-wun which means instrument, etc." Supposedly *ilawun refers to "a stick which puts forth flowers" (weird translation), and it would make sense for *ila- to be similar to Manchu ila-l "to blossom" -- or a "blooming stick" in reference to the long shavings that hang off the tip of the stick/staff. Whenever the ritual wood-shaving stick was loaned(?) into Ainu culture the term for it came along bearing that exact meaning. I'd be interested to see some comparative religion stuff between Orok/Uilta and Ainu use of the inau.

And while Japanese Shinto has similar 'stick with droopy things on top' things going on (the oonusa and the gohei) -- an interesting question arises about how Shinto might relate to Ainu religion in that way -- it seems at least according to Bugaeva that the Ainu concept of the inaw only survives in Japanese as the place-name Inasa. My Google-fu only leads me to Inasa, Shizuoka and Mount Inasa in Nagasaki. There are several mid-Honshu locations with suspected Ainu placenames so Shizuoka's Inasa makes sense as an Ainu etymology. However, Mount Inasa (稲佐山) is probably just from some relation to rice (稲 ine), and I don't think there's any evidence the Ainu ever went as far South as Nagasaki.

The more interesting direction to me is Ainu into Nivkh. Proto-Nivkh borrowed the Ainu word *inaw as "ritual staff" (sourced from Wiktionary but ultimately from Fortescue's Comparative Nivkh Dictionary). I'm not sure if that is supposed to be a specific ritual staff (in this case an inaw-shaped one) or just any staff used in a ritual. Fortescue lists *inaw as "ritual staff (shaman's) [made of a bunch of wood shavings, an Ainu word -- cf. Black 1973: 12]".

That citation by Fortescue is Lydia Black's "The Nivkh ("Gilyak") of Sakhalin and the Lower Amur" in Arctic Anthropology Vol. 10, No. 1 (1973). A short excerpt from that chapter, though it mentions "inau" in different rituals no less than 25 times:

When a Nivkh cuts down a tree, on the stump he reverently places inau - a small wooden stick cut into strips of shavings at least at one end. Inau is believed to preserve the soul of a thing, animal or person. It is a symbol of lifegiving (Shternberg, 1904b:20).

Keeping that description in mind with all the other uses of inau which Black describes, it seems there is simply a wealth of (comparative AND specific) religious thought to dive into. Consider this description of Ainu inaw practice from the Inau Wikipedia page:

With the exception of funerals, for which they were never made, inau were an important part of rituals involving kamuy. Because only men were permitted to participate in religious rituals besides the bear ceremony, only men could make inau. Before building a house, four inau and one chiahorokakepe were placed where the hearth was to be built.

Now consider this excerpt from Black:

Construction of a new winter dwelling was a cooperative enterprise, concerning all resident lineage members and even af fines. […] Such construction, representing commencement of a new life, so to speak, was an important event fraught with symbolic significance and was accompanied by a variety of complex rituals. Construction at every step required ritual action (Shternberg, 1933:314; Taksami, 1961:159-164). Some of these rituals were conceived as "strengthening the house." An example of this type of ritual was the final act of the construction: the placement of two poles decorated with carvings of symbolic significance, one at each end of the house along the longitudinal axis. The poles were joined by a string on which were hung representations of the sun (female, in Nivkh world view), the moon (male), and bunches of wood shavings called tsakh or chakh and often referred to in Russian literature by their Ainu name inau, which were used in all Nivkh rituals. This "strengthening of the house" was believed to lessen the danger of penetration by dangerous or hostile spirits (Shternberg, 1893:20; 1933: 317; Taksami, 1961:163). This contraption with all the emblems was never removed, but was left in place until it deteriorated from natural causes.

Interesting correlations between inau, housing, and gender, and actually correlates with the use of male pronouns in my first quote from the paper -- I didn't read the whole thing but it seems inau are specifically associated with men in both Ainu and Nivkh culture. However it seems the Nivkh eschewed the Ainu's negative association of inau and funerals:

The Nivkh are not afraid of the dead or dying. […] On the second day [of funeral preparations] all men prepare wood for the funeral pyre. […] [After preparation of the logs,] all is ready for the final act in which the transition from the world of the living to the world of the dead will be accomplished. All those present eat, and, when the meal is finished, a sled is brought into the house and the corpse lashed onto it. Four men carry the sled with the body to the burial ground. In carrying this bier they use one hand only, as in the other they hold the ritual sticks, inau. A dog, the pryski, who has been selected either because it was the person's favorite dog or had a ritual association with him or her, and in whom for a while the small soul of the deceased will find abode, is either placed on the chest of the corpse or tied to the bier and led along (Shternberg 1933:327; Kreinovich, 1930a:105). After the cremation, this dog will occupy a place of honor in the house, be treated with special kindness and after a certain specified time span will be given to the lineage of wife-takers.

Anyway, the rabbit hole stops there. Black's is an interesting chapter, but it's very long and I'm not reading all that -- I hope I'll finish it someday! Comparative Ainu and Nivkh religion is certainly another journey to make later, too. Seems like a small but passionate research community.

[piduai]

i really do wonder how the communication between the jpn & ru parties went because it's a mess... i can make a guess that the russian translator was given the raw japanese text with no context whatsoever, like no images or prior chapters, and asked to translate it as is... bc in japanese it indeed says "did you shoot the wanted man" with the particle が, which is extremely easy to miss without context and subconsciously read as は; if you do that, the line will become "was the wanted man the one who shot". which is what is written in russian. and because of this line the line above is thrown off too and makes no contextual sense. alas!

also vasily is saying "how would some uilta guy get the latest japanese gun". "uilta" is the name that the uilta people have given to themselves. russians and the ainu were calling them "oroks". so it would make much more sense for a russian, even one who works at the border, to call them oroks instead of uilta. funnily enough that's the way it seems to have been in the magazine release...

it seems to have been corrected in the volume release. why though, if the magazine version makes more sense? and if the russian translator reviewed the lines for the volume, why not correct the ones that were COMPLETELY off the mark? very bizarre

[abwwia]

Women of The World:

Orok Woman, Russia,

by Olya Ivanova

Total population: 360 (est.)

The name Orok is believed to derive from the exonym Oro given by a Tungusic group meaning "a domestic reindeer". The Orok self-designation endonym is Ul'ta, probably from the root Ula (meaning "domestic reindeer" in Orok). Another self-designation is Nani.

Occasionally, the Oroks, as well as the Orochs and Udege, are erroneously called Orochons. The Uilta Association in Japan claims that the term Orok has a derogatory connotation.

Oroks (Ороки in Russian; self-designation: Ulta, Ulcha), sometimes called Uilta, are a people in the Sakhalin Oblast (mainly the eastern part of the island) in Russia. The Orok language belongs to the Southern group of the Tungusic language family. According to the 2002 Russian census, there were 346 Oroks living in Northern Sakhalin by the Okhotsk Sea and Southern Sakhalin in the district by the city of Poronaysk. According to the 2010 census there were 295 Oroks in Russia. via Wikipedia

Olya Ivanova, Born in 1981 in Moscow, Russia.

Received BA in literature, 2004

Graduated from Institute of Contemporary Art (Moscow), 2014

via Artist's website: www.olyaivanova.com

www.instagram.com/olbrevis

#OlyaIvanova #Ethnography #OrokPeople #PalianShow #womensart

[folkfashion]

Orok woman, Russia, by Olya Ivanova

[sartorialadventure]

Portraits of the people of Siberia by Alexander Khimushin

1. Buyat girl, Buryatia Republic, Siberia (ethnic Mongols) 2. Dolgan girl, Republic of Sakha, Siberia 3. Even young man, Yakutia, Siberia (the Even are a different group than the Evenki) 4. Nanai girl, Siberia 5. Nanai people with the photographer, Siberia 6. Nivkhi man, Siberia 7. Sakha girl in traditional wedding mask, Siberia 8. Sakha girl 9. Tazy woman, Siberia 10. Uilta girl, north of Sakhalin Island, Siberia

[chibivesicle]

Another excellent article from Unseen Japan that covers what happened with Karafuto and the ‘lingering’ issues of Japanese colonialism

I’ve been enjoying this series from one of the staff writers - they are well researched and articulate.

https://unseenjapan.com/uilta-sakhalan-japan-part-1/

There is a second part as well which is only available to patrons at present, but it seems their articles will open up after a period of time.

This is the same group that made the video about Hokkaido that I previously posted here.

[wearejapanese]

Abstract: Indigenous people are often depicted as helpless victims of the forces of eighteenth and nineteenth century colonial empire building: forces that were beyond their understanding or control. Focusing on the story of a mid-nineteenth century diplomatic mission by Sakhalin Ainu (Enchiw), this essay (the first of a two-part series), challenges that view, suggesting instead that, despite the enormous power imbalances that they faced, indigenous groups sometimes intervened energetically and strategically in the historical process going on around them, had some impact on the outcome of these processes. In Part 1, we look at the story of one Sakhalin Ainu family over multiple generations in order to highlight the strategic place of the Sakhalin Ainu in cross-border relationships – particularly in the relationship between China and Japan – from the early eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century.

The Mission

In late December 1853, about six months after US Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Uraga Bay on his mission to ‘open’ Japan to the world, a Sakhalin Ainu (Enchiw) elder named Setokurero set out from the village of Nayoro on the west coast of Sakhalin island on his own crucial diplomatic mission.1 He travelled in a convoy of fifteen dog sleighs through the winter blizzards, accompanied by a retinue of some twenty Ainu elders from surrounding villages and one Nivkh man from the Amur region of mainland Asia.2 They were heading for Kushunkotan on the southern shores of Sakhalin, where the Japanese had established a fortified trading post in the early nineteenth century, and where the Russians had also recently landed to stake their rival claim to the island. The aim of the Ainu elders’ mission was to learn more about Russo-Japanese competition for control of Sakhalin, to express their own views on the matter, and to seek Russian help in resisting Japanese exploitation of the Ainu.

The Ainu of Sakhalin, Hokkaido and the Kurile Islands, like the Nivkh and Uilta indigenous peoples who also inhabited Sakhalin, lived in small self-governing villages and did not have any single dominant chief, but Setokurero was a particularly well known and influential elder. He was respected for his oratorical skills3, and his village and family had a special place in Sakhalin history (which we will explore further). His coastal community of Nayoro was – in terms of the modern concept of towns or even villages – tiny. In 1853, it consisted of six houses on either bank of a small marshy river, containing a population of around fifty people.4 But it was a crossroads and emporium on a far-reaching trade route whose tentacles stretched, at one end, deep into the heartland of the Chinese Empire, and at the other end to the Shogunal capital of Edo (soon to become Tokyo) and beyond.5 From the Chinese side, items like silk brocade, cotton cloth, metalware, decorative blue beads, tobacco and smoking pipes flowed into Nayoro and other points on the Sakhalin trade route, and some of these goods (particularly Chinese brocades) travelled on to the luxury goods markets of Japan. From the Japanese side came items such as rice, saké, miso paste, and pots and pans. The medium of exchange was ‘soft gold’ (as the Russians called it): fur, in the form of the pelts of sable, fox, sea otters and other animals hunted by the indigenous people of the region.

Read more...

https://apjjf.org/2020/22/Morris-Suzuki.html

[yomirenshuu]

something about tribes

I’ve been to the Asahikawa City Museum the other day and saw the Ainu exhibition there. Today’s reading practice’s about tribes the Ainu had (or still have) contact with. It’s hardly any information, so if you’re interested, you can look them up elsewhere.

I couldn’t find much about the Enchu tribe, but more information about the other tribes described below can be found on google. check the tags for alternative names.

well have fun practicing

ニブㇷのくらし

ニブㇷはサハリン（樺太）の北部に居住しています。同様の文化をもつ人びとがアムール川最下流域におり、自らをニブㇷと称します。

人びとにとって、春から秋は海獣狩猟や漁撈の季節であり、冬は山野で狩猟を行います。漁獲した魚は夏の家の周囲に設けた魚干棚で乾燥され、冬の貯えとなります。

人びとは多くの犬を飼い、輸送に使役されるほか、肉や毛皮を人びとにもたらします。また、犬は種々の品物と交換され、その数は貧富の指標とされます。

エヴェンキのくらし

中国東北部、大・小興安嶺付近に居住するエヴェンキ（オロチョン）は、馬を飼養するグループとトナカイを飼養するグループに分かれます。いずれも狩猟を主な生業としており、獲物を求めて移動生活を行い、獲物の肉は食用に、毛皮は中国とロシアとの交易に用いられています。

トナカイ、馬の飼養は、極北地方のツンドラや中緯度の半乾燥草原における大規模な飼養とは異なり、小規模なものです。これらの家畜は、人びとの大切な財産であり、荷の運搬や乗用に使役されます。

エンチュウのくらし

エンチュウはサハリン（樺太）南半に居住し、樺太アイヌと他称されます。

冬、エンチュウは山辺のトィチセ（土の家）と呼ばれる竪穴住居で暮らし、海や山野で狩猟を行い、春になると、海辺のサッチセ（夏の家）へ移ります。秋までは漁撈の季節です。多量に捕獲したサケ・マスは干魚にされ、主に冬の食料に利用します。

人びとはテンをはじめとする毛皮や干魚で中国や北海道を介して本州と交易を行い、鉄製品や玉などを入手しました。

ウィルタのくらし

ウィルタは、サハリン（樺太）中北部で、トナカイを飼養していますが、その数は多くはありませ���。

春から秋は漁期です。川口近くに建てた夏の家で、漁獲した魚を越冬用に加工します。漁期が終わると冬の家で、春までトナカイと共に移動しながら、山野で狩猟を行います。

トナカイは荷物の運搬などに使役される他は、人びとの生活を支えるほどのものではなく、その飼養は副次的なものにすぎません。

[myrfing]

so wacky how people act like vasily's good compared to ogata. i mean like. I GET IT since ogata is like look at me im a bastard I love drama and games & vasily's like just doing whatever but he totally was a russian border patrol soldier who opened fire unannounced on an Uilta grandpa for a raise so. LMFAO

[piduai]

kiroranke speaks and is literate in russian, speaks japanese, ainu (both hokkaido and sakhalin dialects), uilta and nivkh languages, and most likely tatar too. he's so knowledgeable.

on a different note, sofia always refers to him as 坊や in japanese and малолетка in english, which means that she's a bit older than him. they knew each other since kiroranke was 15, and she was the mastermind behind the assassination of the emperor, so i'd guess that she was about 20. interestingly, i don't remember her referring to wilk in the same manner. kiroranke says that she knows about wilk even more than he does, so maybe they knew each other before they met him. i don't think sofia's and wilk's ages are ever brought up even in trivia materials. anyway it's either that wilk is closer to her in age than to kiroranke, or that she had too much respect for him to talk down to him. maybe it was inbetween and he was about 17-18? he did already sport that gross moustache after all

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Manga vs Anime: Episode 30 “Bad Sign”

So let’s start with Ep 6 of the 3rd series… which is the 30 Golden Kamuy animated episode.

Some data first.

This episode last 23:40 minutes and has an opening and an the ending. It covers 3 chaps and a half of the manga, chap 163, 164, 165, & half of chap 166 for a total of around 69 pages (I’m discounting the covers) basically covering half of Vol 17.

The episode is titled ‘Bad sign’, which is actually the title of chap 164, chap 163 being ‘Wanted poster’, chap 165 being ‘Flag bearer’, and chap 166 being ‘Request’.

NB: I’ve noticed the subs in this episode diverged in some points quite a bit from scanlations and official translation (like Yuusaku saying he was avoided by others in the barraks when it was more that OGATA was avoiding him or similar things). Japanese is often vague enough to allow for both meaning even if one is more obvious than the other to who knows the plot. I didn’t cover them in this analysis as I focused only on the animation and voice acting but consider yourself warned.

And now into the anime.

ASIRPA’S GROUP

Manga & Anime: Asirpa checks the wanted poster Ilya had, which matches with Kiro. Kiro tells her of his involvement in the facts of Saint Petersburg and of how Wilk was involved as well.

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga we see Ilya throwing up blood before dying, while in the anime this scene is cut, possibly because they showed Ilya throwing up blood previously.

- In the anime, after Shiraishi says the guards were after Kiro, we see an image of a clearly dead Ilya. This wasn’t in the manga.

- In the manga Shiraishi comments how it’s not surprising the Russians are angry. In the anime this is cut.

My two cents: I’ll say this bit is well done. Not only the images are faithful enough to the manga but the way they’re presented gives the scene the right rhythm and atmosphere. The colouring, which gives in the idea of a flashback, is a nice touch and is also nice to watch and the final panning on the statue is a good idea. The background too is very nice. If anything the only thing is that apart from Kiro and Wilk people are absolutely still and will remain absolutely still. I get animating them would take more work but they really feel like dolls. On a positive side I loved how they handled Asirpa discovering Wilk was involved. The revealing of Wilk face alternated with Asirpa seeing the poster,

the rhythm of the scene, the music… well it was very good… and since they didn’t want to animate the people around them I think it was a clever trick to show all that smoke around Kiro as he carried away Wilk so as to cover the other people and make unnecessary to draw them. The panning on the statue was also a nice touch.

Oh, since the anime had sunset happen in the previous episode now the characters are shown with the colours implying it’s night. To be honest I should praise their eyesight as it seems pretty dark but I guess it was clear enough to allow Asirpa to see the poster.

THE OPENING STARTS HERE

VASILY KEEPING WATCH

Manga & Anime: It’s night. Vasily keeps on observing who he thinks to be Ogata but can’t catch him moving or breathing. Plus his hiding spot is bad as he could easily be seen, which isn’t a mistake he believes a veteran sniper like the one who killed Ilya would make so he decides to keep on observing.

My two cents: The anime well transposed this scene in animation. Not only it’s faithful to the manga but it gets you in the right tension.

KIRO’S GROUP IS WAITING

Manga & Anime: Kiro’s group is waiting for Ogata. Shiraishi, holding what was likely Ilya’s Mosin-Nagant, comments Ogata is late and wonders if they should go to back him up. Kiro says since Ogata told them to let him do it on his own they should just believe in him and wait.

My two cents: This is also well transposed. As Kiro’s talk was long they even redrew him in a different position and even had him move. Well done!

PREPARATIONS FOR THE HUNT

Manga & Anime: Vasily keeps on studying his opponent. Sunset comes and Vasily notices tracks near the body of his adversary. He follows them and see they lead to an Orok casket. He then assumes this means what he had been observing is just a scarecrow made using a corpse and Ogata is actually hidden in the casket therefore he shoots at it, the noise waking up Asirpa’s group. Only it turns out he was wrong, Ogata was really under the cape and now it’s his turn to shoot. He hits Vasily’s jaw, causing him to fall on the ground then tries to move but fall on the ground, panting.

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga there’s an explanation about the battle of two snipers during the battle of Gallipoli. This is cut in the anime.

- In the manga Vasily shoots 6 times at the casket, in the anime only one.

My two cents: I would have said this is a beautiful transposition as not only it’s faithful (actually cutting the explanation allow the tension to rise more) but it pays good attention to the characters’ expressions and to the rhythm of the scene. Ogata moving slowly and then the shoot hitting Vasily is great as a choice,

the bullet hit Vasily in a scene that delivers what had happened without being too gory and even the splatter of blood work.

Ogata’s colouring hints at how he’s already feeling ill, well combined with the way he breathes.

They even darkened his eyes to make them more faithful to the manga

and his fall as well as the way he pants are also well done

so it would be a great scene if it wasn’t for an AWFUL mistake. Vasily didn’t shoot just one time to the casket, he shoot 6. The whole point wasn’t just to make him shoot first, but to make him shoot all his bullets so that Ogata, who only had a single shoot rifle could use that at his advantage. I really, really hope they’ll add the sound of those 5 more shoots in the dvd version because this is a pretty bad logical mistake. On a positive side this time, differently from the previous episode, you can see the traces in the snow and the colouring is very nice.

CHAP 163 ENDS HERE.

BACK TOGETHER

Manga & Anime: Asirpa notices Ogata is back to where the Orok/Uilta are waiting so they reach him to discover he looks really pale and has a fever. Ogata tries to wave him out as him merely eating too much snow when, looking at them, he hallucinates Yuusaku.

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga Kiro says it looks like everything had been taken care of. In the anime this line is cut.

- In the manga Shiraishi crouches down to look at Ogata when he says Ogata looks really pale, his expression surprised and a little worried. In the anime he’s standing and looking normal.

- In the manga Asirpa isn’t in the panel when Ogata sees Yuusaku, even though she was standing right in front of him. In the anime she’s present.

My two cents: While the previous scene was good this one isn’t that great for various reasons. Shiraishi doesn’t sound really like he cares here, while in the anime he seemed to do so. While Tsuda Ken well deliver Ogata is not feeling well, the anime had Ogata raise his eyes before he finished speaking. It can work in the manga, where time works differently but in the anime we’ve the impression for 5 second he wasn’t seeing anything abnormal then BANG he hallucinated Yuusaku, combined with ghost sounding effect. The ghost yuusaku effect is nice but the worst thing the anime does which will be a mistake through the whole of it is that they add Asirpa to the scene when Ogata was instead hallucinating that Asirpa was Yuusaku (in fact even though she was standing right in front of Ogata till a moment before as soon as Yuusaku appear she suddently disappear and only Kiro and Shiraishi remain), something that in the manga ties well with the ending of Ogata’s fever dream but that doesn’t do so in the anime.

HALLUCINATION

Manga & Anime: Ogata hallucinates being on a sled trained by ghostly reindeers, Yuusaku leading it, turning to him and asking him if he feels cold. This causes Ogata to remember of the time when Yuusaku was alive and they went to visit a brothel together. Once he suggested Yuusaku were to have fun with the women there, Yuusaku refused, apologizing and Ogata let him go, making sure he wasn’t seen by others.

There are just some minor differences:

- In the manga, when Ogata asks Yuusaku to come with him, Yuusaku blushes. In the anime he doesn’t.

- The anime adds a scene in which one of the women caresses Yuusaku’s hand.

- In the manga Yuusaku sweats before answering to Ogata. In the anime he doesn’t.

My two cents: Okay so I liked the run on the ghostly sled, with that odd red colouring which I think was inspired by the cover for vol 17.

Even the idea of Yuusaku’s blood spraying all around is somewhat well done in it’s creepiness.

The transition to the flashback is well done with the camera moving on Ogata’s eye which close and open and then we see Yuusaku in the flashback.

Yuusaku’s voice is always very kind and the music, while not great, well underlines the mood of the scene. I like the choice to make a beautiful very starry sky, which seems to imply hope. Yuusaku doesn’t blush but his joy at having been invited is evident. The scene at the brothel sets up the atmosphere perfectly, with Yuusaku greatly uncomfortable as Ogata goes on. The first clenching, the lips trembling, the exhaling, everything is perfect.

THE OROK/UILTA CAMP

Manga and anime: Kiro’s group reaches an Orok/Uilta camp of a relative of the men that were with them. Asirpa helps Ogata getting down from the sled while Shiraishi observes. Once inside the tent she uses Ainu remedies to try to get Ogata feel better. An Orok/Uilta shaman also joins them trying with his music, to chase away the illness, with Asirpa and Shiraishi helping to make the healing music.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- The anime expanded the scene in which Asirpa helps Ogata, adding Ogata almost falling then slowly walking toward the tent, supported by Asirpa.

- In the manga Shiraishi merely observes the scene, his face shadowed, sweating a little. In the anime he also lowers his head and turns away his gaze, as if torn.

- The anime added an image showing Shiraishi and Asirpa listening to Kiro’s explanation.

- In the manga we see an image of Ogata sweating and, next to him, Yuusaku. In the anime we see Ogata sweating and then, among the steam, appears an image of Yuusaku all curled up, and then Ogata’s eyes.

My two cents: The scene of Ogata having troubles standing is well handled, they almost had him fall and then walk really slowly which is perfect. I also like how they delivered Shiraishi’s inner turmoil. It’s also good how they transitioned from Shiraishi and Asirpa listening to Kiro to them making noise as loud as they could. Sure, the scene of Ogata saying ‘silence’ is a bit less funny as Tsuda Ken delivers it in a sick yet creepy way but it works well. I’ll even go so far as saying that the way the anime chose to make Yuusaku appear during the music scene is better than the one of the manga.

THE SECOND HALLUCINATION/FLASHBACK

Manga and Anime: We’re back at the brothel, with Ogata sitting alone with one of the girls when he’s reached by Tsurumi. At this he sends the girl away and makes his best to look proper. Tsurumi comments the rumours on Yuusaku’s personality seem to be true, Ogata counters he was probably frightened by the atmosphere and insists he can manage to deceive him. Tsurumi says if he has a strong sense of justice it would be difficult to get him on their side, after all Yuusaku comes from a noble bloodline, which pushes Ogata to reject the notion of ‘noble blood’.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Ogata’s face is deeply shadowed when Tsurumi says Yuusaku has noble blood. In the anime it’s not but they add Ogata’s eyes widening and then lowering.

- In the manga the shading on Ogata hinted at how he was in an emotional turmoil. No such hint there’s in the anime.

My two cents: This too is well done. I must praise Tsurumi’s voice actor because he’s great in delivering his quotes and we own to him most of the success of the scene but a good moment is also when the anime had Ogata’s eyes widen slightly at the mention of noble blood, showing how Tsurumi hit the mark and then lowering, showing how that remark hurt. Good is also the pause before Ogata delivers his quote.

THE ANIME PLACES HERE AN EYECATCH

SHIRAISHI, ASIRPA AND KIRO’S TALK

Manga and anime: Shiraishi leaves the place with an excuse and manages to lead Asirpa to follow him. Once she reaches him he tell her to escape with him. He believes Kiro took them there to try to get Asirpa to remember the key and that’s why Shiraishi kept silent but now he believes it’s too dangerous to stay in Russia. Shiraishi explains her his reasoning but Asirpa insists she’s staying. Kiro joins them, explaining them his old name was ‘Yulbars’, which was his past and why they killed the emperor. They’re fighting for minorities which includes his son and the Hokkaido Ainu. Asirpa says she wants to know more about her father and that she might remember the code then wonders if the killing to get the gold will continue with an even bigger killing once the gold is found and wonders if the gold really need to be found.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga isn’t clear if they are or not but the anime showed how Shiraishi and Asirpa were still making noise, albeit more calmly.

- In the manga Shiraishi points out to how there should be someone watching them as Kiro killed the emperor 20 years ago yet the Russians were right there to wait for them and that the Orok/Uilta man had almost be killed. Plus he mentions how when in the past they asked Kiro what Wilk might want to do with the gold, Kiro said he didn’t know but it was a lie as he had to know Wilk wanted to use the gold to fight against Russia. Kiro had to know as they killed the emperor together so it’s possible Kiro’s aim is the same, which was what Inkarmat was saying. In the anime he says one Kiro is hiding things from them as he and Wilk were trying to steal the gold to fight Russia.

My two cents: I liked how they remarked Asirpa and Shiraishi were still playing for Ogata... not so much how Shiraishi’s entire reasoning got cut but I get the anime needed to cut here and there to save time. I also like the transition in which everything turns to blood which rises toward Sugimoto’s image as well. I was curious how the anime would have handled this and I’ve to say they did it really well.

CHAP 160 ENDS HERE.

BATTLEGROUNDS

Manga and anime: Russo-Japanese war. Yuusaku, holding the flag, encourages men to march forward. Later Ogata is alone shooting Russians who wanders on the now empty battlefield. Tsurumi approaches him telling him Yuusaku is brave and everyone loves him. Ogata summarizes he doesn’t have to kill him.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga the two panels showing Ogata during the battle show him aiming. In the anime only the second does and between the two there’s an image of Yuusaku.

- In the manga we see Ogata shooting then a Russian falling, Ogata recharging, then another Russian falling then Ogata recharging. In the anime we see a Russian falling, Ogata shooting, another Russian falling, Ogata recharging.

My two cents: The transition here is a tad abrupt. I’ll admit the anime managed to deliver the general madness of the war, with soldiers drunk on the belief they won’t get hit due to Yuusaku. Sure, I would have appreciated less still scenes during the battle but whatever, at this point I guess the anime thinks they’re cool. The transition from the battle to the empty battleground work well and the dialogue between Ogata and Tsurumi is well done. I’ve to admit I like very much the contrast between Tsurumi’s voice and Ogata’s but it might be just me.

AT THE OROK/UILTA CAMP

Manga & Anime: Ogata is sleeping, Asirpa cheeks his forehead and comments his fever has gone down. As Kiro thanks the shaman Asirpa is gifted with a protective charm for Ogata. They give a protective charm to Shiraishi too, for a child’s penis.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga a box explains what the headband is for. In the anime it’s Asirpa who does so, saying it seems to work.

- In the manga the protective charms are shown in a box. In the anime the shaman shows them.

- In the manga Kiro says that they’re going to give that charm to Shiraishi because he was staring at a woman’s breast while she was feeding a baby. In the anime this is cut.

My two cents: Not bad. They’ve to adapt some things as they decided not to use the narrator but I’ll say it works just fine.

THE LAST FEVER DREAM

Manga & Anime: It’s night and Ogata and Yuusaku are walking on the now empty battleground, ogata leading Yuusaku somewhere. Yuusaku worries they’ll get scolded if they’re discovered. Ogata shows him a prisoner of war completely tied, then points out since he got there Yuusaku had never killed anyone and wonders if he’s using his role so as not to get his hands dirty. At Yuusaku’s denial asks him to kill that man and Yuusaku explains him his father told him not to kill so he would become an icon that would give them courage because killing fills others with guilt. Ogata says nobody feels guilt, they’re merely faking it, everyone doesn’t and is the same as him. Yuusaku hugs him and, crying, tell him he’s sure Ogata feels guilt as it’s impossible for people who not feel guilty when killing to exist.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Ogata’s face is shadowed as he asks Yuusaku if he had ever killed someone with a darker shadow falling on his eyes. In the anime it’s not.

My two cents: This too is a good transposition. It’s faithful to the manga, it well used the corpses around them to make atmosphere, the voice actors generated a nice contrast between Yuusaku being so emotional and Ogata so calm and flat… yet as if he had something bubbling under the surface. If I’ve to nitpick I can say I’m a bit annoyed at the anime using a still image again when showing Yuusaku in ‘action’ and that Yuusaku hugged Ogata a tad too slowly so it felt a bit odd. Also the background music is nice and fitting but it would probably work better if it was on a higher volume as otherwise it can go unnoticed. Still, this is good.

THE END OF THE FEVER DREAM

Manga: At the next charge Yuusaku gets shoot from behind, the implication being Ogata did it. Yuusaku falls. However he’s then standing again and turning toward Ogata. Only it’s actually Asirpa as Ogata has woken up from his fever dream.

Anime: At the next charge Yuusaku gets shoot from behind, the implication being Ogata did it. Yuusaku falls. However he’s then standing again and turning toward Ogata. Ogata wakes up and Asirpa turns toward him.

My two cents: And this is where the anime screwed up BIG TIME. The whole implication of the scene wasn’t that Yuusaku, despite the bullet going through his head and the fact he had fallen stood up again to turn and look at Ogata… it was that as Ogata was about to wake up he saw Asirpa turning toward him but at first he exchanged her for Yuusaku turning toward him. How anime viewers are going to understand Ogata’s meltdown on the ice if they aren’t told Ogata has subconsciously superimposed Yuusaku and Asirpa’s images? I could give the anime a pass for not figuring it when Ogata started hallucinating Yuusaku, as that one wasn’t that easy but this wasn’t so damn hard to get, the page with Ogata and Yuusaku and the page with Ogata and Asirpa are drawn so similar exactly because you have to get this point! Really, if it wasn’t for this single one mistake this episode would be SO GOOD! Why did they have to mess up this? When Asirpa turns and Ogata is staring he doesn’t look like he’s surprised to see her, it looks like he had been frozen there ages ago and isn’t defreezing yet. -_- Well… at least they understood the Yuusaku who turns isn’t real as he starts to have the red tinge of the hallucination. Ogata’s pose as he watches him though is a bit unnatural and if it was made in an attempt to mimic the one he had in the manga, in the manga his pose was hardly visible so it could work while here it feels off.

CHAP 155 ENDS HERE.

FORTUNETELLING

Manga & Anime: The Orok/Uilta divine the fortune for Kiro’s group using the shoulder blade of a reindeer. The result is someone is coming from behind. Shiraishi wonders if this is a good or bad sign and Kiro says it’s good then shows him the shape the crack should have to point out someone is going to die.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga they showed the various cracks all in a box, in the anime the showed them on the screen one after the other.

- In the manga Asirpa has a doubtful gaze (Asirpa has a long story of not believing in divination), in the anime she’s just serious, then seems to squeeze her eyes a little as if in thinking.

My two cents: It’s nicely done, except maybe for the lack of Asirpa’s disbelief but I fear the ones behind this episode might not remember it (or since they made that horrible prophetic dream at the end of ep 24 they want to retcon Asirpa as believing in this sort of things).

THE TRAVEL RESUME

Manga & Anime: Kiro’s group is ready to leave the Orok/Uilta. Kiro apologizes for the troubles then tells Shiraishi he’ll remain there as yes, staying with Kiro would put him in danger and he doesn’t need to escape from him. Ogata agrees they’ve no reason to stop Shiraishi and Asirpa thanks him for what he did and says goodbye to him. Shiraishi watch them leave, thinking a smart move would be to join Tsurumi but… ultimately ends up running after them as Sugimoto told him he was counting on him to protect Asirpa. Shiraishi joins them saying he thinks in Russia there could be many pretty girls waiting for him and that if penis were to hurt he can use his charm. As he says so the shoulder bone crack further, showing the sign that was meant death of one of them.

There are minor cuts and changes:

- In the manga Kiro looks a bit sad when he says Shiraishi doesn’t have to run away from him. In the anime he’s just serious.

My two cents: I really liked the way Asirpa greeted Shiraishi. Her expression was sweet and her voice actor did a good job. The musical background this time was more noticeable and worked better. They also took care to keep Shiraishi moving and expressive as he explains his plan. Shiraishi running after them is a beautiful moment (too bad the flashbacks aren’t up to the same quality but whatever, they’re from the second series) and Asirpa’s expression and voice as he sees him is beautiful. I like how they showed Kiro smiling too and the way he asked Shiraishi if he changed his mind. The ending with the bone cracking came out powerful so it’s really good.

TO SUM IT ALL

I think this is probably THE BEST GK episode of the 3rd series, if not of all the series. Not only it’s a good transposition of the story, but it’s one that’s not rushed and that uses the times in the right manner, with a good animation and a good care of the character expressions plus a good storytelling and an attempt to use the music that needs to be improved but shows an initial care. Really, a good work. So I really hate how they missed the tie between Asirpa and Yuusaku, which was an important part for the future developments. I could pass over how Vasily didn’t shoot 6 bullets, it’s not clever but whatever, it does no harm if Ogata tempts fate more than necessary or if Vasily is actually more careful than in the original but this.... this wasn’t meant to end here but be tied to the ice field scene and now... not it won’t be, which makes me wonder if the writers are regular readers of GK or just read the bit they need to transpose, and so it’s harder for them to figure out the characters and what they’ll do. Whatever, except for this, it was a good episode, I would love if they were to fix the mistakes in the dvd version though I don’t dare to hope they’ll do it in this case and now I really, really hope the series will manage to keep this standard and, if possible, to improve it.

And also that it won’t completely and utterly screw up the ice field episode. Really. Please, no.

[kaici]

Naiv voltam, mikor azt hittem, hogy Noda Szatoru nem gondolhat mindenre.

Az orosz határon játszódó 160. fejezetnél gondolkoztam el azon, hogy Ogatának meggyűlhetett a baja a fent látható, álcaként használt uilta kesztyűvel. A szorult helyzetben mihamarabb le kellett vennie a kesztyűjét, különben nem tudta volna meghúzni a ravaszt. Hihetetlen, de Noda a 161. fejezetben megrajzolta ezt a pillanatot:

Az animébe viszont ez a részlet nem került be, sőt, valamiért a puska tusát is lefelejtették, pedig mintha ott lenne a helye:

Ötujjas kesztyűben máris máshogy fest:

Mennyire vagány Ogata, ahogy a töltényhüvelyeket tartja az ujjai közt a bal kezében. Ennek az animációja tökéletes, bár ahogy nézem, azt a fellibbenő erszényt inkább elrejtették a karja alatt. Így már nem olyan dinamikus az összkép, viszont nem is feltétlen az a lényeg :)