#was thinking about this after translating the recent CoLA chapter

[sukimas]

shame that nobody plays 10.5 because the vs. quotes are different from soku. i believe this is the earliest unbiased (i.e. not from the perspective of one of Gensokyo's humans) matter-of-fact reference to the fact that outsiders are kind of just fucked

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 022: Needs More Corporate Sponsorships

Previously on BnHA: A dozen pro heroes showed up at USJ. Kurogiri and Tomura were forced to blow the coop. Back at their secret villain hideout, they had a chat with their secret villain boss over Skype. We met All Might’s unnervingly cheerful detective friend. All Might talked about how great class 1-A is (spoilers: really great). Aizawa announced the upcoming sports festival.

Today on BnHA: The heroes discuss Tomura and his fellow villains and keep me guessing. We learn more about the sports fest. Ochako gets fucking possessed by the Spirit of Gambatte and it’s something to behold. All Might has lunch with Deku and tells him he needs to get out there at the sports fest and be like “HEY WORLD, WHAT’S FUCKING UPPPP.”

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 37 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.) 

OCHAKO PROFILE! :D :D :DDD

FUCKING YES, FINALLY MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HER QUIRK

THIS SERIOUSLY IS MY FAVORITE QUIRK, I LOVE IT

apparently she’s gotta touch something with all five fingertips on one hand in order to float it

she can float anything under three tons! interesting! so she can’t go floating aircraft carriers around or anything, but she could float a couple of cars if the situation ever called for it. she’ll puke but she could do it!

still no word on a time limit, so I’m just going to assume the thing floats until she releases it, and she herself probably doesn’t know what the limit is because she’s never reached it yet

(ETA: having now watched her fight against Bakugou, it appears to be more of a stamina limit thing than a time limit thing. all of my questions have thus officially been answered!)

her hair’s not bizarre! I take offense

she’s so cute

she sure does wear those tights, all right. you rock those tights Ochako

on to the chapter!

ahh! so they were able to at least find Tomura through the Quirk Registry!

(ETA: I read this completely wrong lol. they were not able to find anyone under that name.)

he can disintegrate anything he touches, but we already knew that. I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE HANDS

it occurs to me that the hands might not actually be his, they might belong to the Main Villain and that’s why Tomura appears to be talking to them sometimes. maybe that’s why they’re not mentioned in the registry. they also seem entirely unrelated to the disintegration quirk

and Kurogiri apparently is still a mystery. or at least he’s not a man in his twenties or thirties. maybe expand your search then. forty-year old villains exist too, surely. or else who will Iida fight

heehee the Sheriff is using his old timey cowboy slang again

I’m a simple person. I see the word “varmints”, I click the like button

All Might doesn’t seem convinced that Tomura was actually their leader

hmmmmmm

the more I think about it the more I’m convinced that the real Main Villain was involved with those hands somehow and was feeding some of Tomura’s dialogue to him to boot

All Might has really good instincts to have picked up on all this from the relatively brief interaction he had with him

yeah I think he’s correctly pegged Tomura as a Belphegor-type

apparently they offer quirk counseling in elementary school! I love hearing these little details that help expand the canon like that

they apprehended 72 fucking villains. I actually thought there were even more, given how many people seemed to be attacking each of the kids’ groups despite them being split into so many groups. anyhow, that’s still a lot of villains. but then, it was a league

now they’re discussing why all of these redshirt villains would follow a guy like Tomura

so clearly Tomura is just a puppet and the real guy who was pulling the strings is still out there, we get it. actually, we already knew that. I wish these guys would arrive at that conclusion already, or if they’re not going to, maybe change the subject unless there’s some other point they’re trying to make here

do not fucking start redeeming this person you guys. don’t start!! go ahead and do whatever you want but don’t expect me to just be on board like that! :/

(ETA: okay, one big thing that seemed to get lost in Viz’s translation, though. when I watched this scene in the anime, it seemed like they were using the word kodomo to describe Tomura, though I could have misheard it. anyway, for whatever reason, Viz translated this as “man-child”; I guess maybe to emphasize Tomura’s immaturity. however, to the best of my knowledge, kodomo actually translates directly to “child.” like, literally a kid.

so here’s the thing... it seems to me that what they’re hinting at here is that Tomura may in fact actually be a teenager himself, possibly not much older than the kids in class 1-A. he wasn’t in the registry, and they speculated that he might not have received quirk counseling, implying that maybe he wasn’t in the school system. anyway, this makes a huge difference to me as far as whether or not I think he’s redeemable, and if it’s true, then I will reverse my stance on that entirely. if he’s still just a kid himself, and is being manipulated/groomed by this mysterious Skype Villain character, that goes a long way towards him getting a pass for being a complete shithead. I mean, he is most definitely not stable from what we’ve seen, so. gotta say I’m pretty curious to see where this goes now. and also if this is true, fuck you Viz for making this so needlessly unclear.)

back to class 1-A!

apparently they’re going to have extra security during the sports fest, but they plan to move forward with it despite the recent attack

I’m torn on whether something else is going to happen, or if it’s just going to be them causing all the chaos on their own, because they’re more than capable of that even without help from villains lol

(ETA: so far it seems to be the latter and I’m loving it)

“our sports festival is the greatest opportunity you’ll get”... for what?

oh wow apparently this thing is a big deal and they all already know all about it

well if you’d all be so kind as to clue me in then

wow so it’s basically the Olympics

a high school sports festival is on the same level as the Olympics???

there’s not even any element of competition between different schools lol. it’s just U.A.

apparently lots of pro heroes use the event to scout for future sidekicks. kind of like how colleges and professional teams scout players at some high school sporting events

well that does sound like a fairly big deal, but surely it’s not as important for these first-years as it is for the older students

not that that’ll stop any of these kids from setting their sights on the big leagues right away, I’m sure

(ETA: okay so now that I know a little bit more about the sports festival, for some reason the question I haven’t been able to shake from my mind is: why are there no corporate sponsorships?

like, if this really is supposed to be BnHA’s equivalent of the Olympics, brands like Nike and Apple and Coca-Cola and various other car and beer and telecom and apparel companies should all be trying to snatch up as many of these kids as possible to push their brands. I mean, they even have an entire Business Course over at U.A., so what are those guys even studying then if stuff like this isn’t a thing.

I do realize of course that these kids are only 15, but their age really shouldn’t be a factor, given that plenty of Olympic-level athletes become well-known and are getting sponsorships and such well before they turn 18. it could also be that the brands concentrate more on the second- and third-years who’ve established themselves in past sports fests, but even if that were true, you’d think that the kids of 1-A would be a special case after the USJ incident thrust them into the spotlight. they practically became celebrities overnight. you’d think at least one or two of them -- Todoroki and Bakugou especially, since they were both already known to a degree -- would have gotten a few last minute calls with some lucrative and tempting offers.

the only other explanation I can come up with is that they’re forbidden from doing this sort of thing. which seems unrealistic since the school would undoubtedly be saying no to a LOT of money, but I guess they’re not hurting for it and don’t need it. (they sure do throw enough of it away on entrance exams.) or I suppose it’s also possible that this actually is going to be a thing, and I just haven’t seen any of it yet due to the aforementioned “they’re only first years” bit. I just think it would potentially be interesting, even just as a background thing.

anyway, I really went off on a tangent, but it’s just something that keeps nagging at me. like it’s a key element that’s missing in order for this to feel more realistic to me. you know, because Jump mangas about superpowers are always so realistic!! but this one actually is for the most part, so it feels all the more out of place.

okay I’ll shut up now.)

now it’s lunchtime!

lol it’s the cement guy. just chilling in the hallway

Cementoss...? pretty sure that was it

I don’t want to go look up his name because I found out the other day that their full names tend to be listed on the wikis, and if they haven’t been revealed in the manga yet then I don’t want to know dammit

the Internet is a treacherous place with dangers lurking around every corner

anyways. all the kids are abuzz with excitement

Iida looks like he’s forgotten how to breathe

I wonder if there’s any chance we might get like, a U.A. dance party at some point. I just want to see Iida try and dance. I think it would be really great

wow Ochako has shadow eyes, that’s a first I think

wow she is fired up

oh my god Ochako. you do know how fucking badly I want you to wreck some bitches, right. you know that? I put it on my wishlist and everything

please, more of this

YASSSSSS. SLAYYYYY

the trio is now walking downstairs on their way to lunch, presumably

LMAO WHAT

OCHAKO WANTS TO BE A HERO FOR THE CASH MONEY

EVERY TIME I LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT HER IT GETS BETTER AND BETTER

now she’s embarrassed because compared with Iida, her motivations are less noble

but Iida flaps his arms around and tells her there’s nothing wrong with wanting to rake in that dough

boy but I sure do ship these two little oddballs

??? wow, she says her family runs a construction company, but that they’re somehow poor. here I would’ve thought they’d be in constant demand, what with villains constantly running amok and destroying shit. maybe there’s too much competition? or maybe heroes with construction-related quirks are putting them out of business somehow?

omg baby Ochako

her slightly oversized sweatshirt that says “SUPER” is making me wibbly eyes

I need to pick up this sweet little cinnamon roll right this instant and give her lots of hugs and cuddles

oh my god and just like that her goal of “making money” is the noblest fucking thing on earth goddamn

they’re fucking speechless

-- ALL MIGHT SUDDENLY APPEARS OUT OF NOWHERE

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WASTING YOUR ONE MEASLY HOUR A DAY AND YOU’RE NOT EVEN TEACHING A CLASS

OMG

IT’S GOT BUNNIES ON IT

GO DEKU, BE HIS FRIEND

down in the cafeteria, Iida and Ocha are speculating on what All Might could possibly want with Deku

“perhaps he’s taken a liking to him” y’all have noooo idea

what is this sudden shot of Todoroki

somehow I feel like he’s gonna be the first one to actually put it all together. he’s been listening and observing all this time, and he’s pretty sharp. he knows they have similar abilities; he saw firsthand how Deku behaved around All Might and how he dove in to save him; and I don’t know, but he’s just a pretty smart cookie and I wouldn’t put it past him

(ETA: he was so close. “illegitimate child” is close enough to get full marks IMO. also I’m now positive that Kacchan has figured it out, but I’ll save that speculation for another day.)

oh jesus the time limit is worse than I thought now. only fifty minutes

Deku apologizes even though it had nothing to do with him, aww

and All Might already knows him so well by now that he cuts him off before he can finish

he wants to talk to Deku about the sports festival!

oh yeah that’s right. we don’t want him dying yet again

Deku mentions that he was able to use the power once against Noumu with no side effects. so All Might asks him what he did differently

hmmm

hm. interesting. here I was thinking that it was only coincidental and it might’ve just been because of Noumu’s shock-absorption abilities. but I guess that wouldn’t have completely negated the impact. so I guess Deku would know better than me here

“sounds like you managed to pump the brakes without even knowing it” are you telling me he was worried about overdoing it against the guy who was trying to disintegrate Tsuyu’s face?? why is his heart so pure dammit

still, he’d better figure out how to do this at will, and sooner rather than later

:(((((

“and among those with villainous intent... there are some who’ve started to realize that.” yeah we kind of figured that one out

still, it’s not like Deku’s just going to be able to instantly replace him. he’s only fifteen for crying out loud

All Might what did I just fucking say. FIFTEEN

but I guess that’s not too young to be an inspirational hero though

wow he’s so earnest... he totally won me over in like two seconds

wowwwwww I just got fucking fired up. the intensity lines for no damn reason. and even with All Might coughing up blood at the end there lol

but yeah I’m sold, okay Deku go be a star

BONUS:

HE LITERALLY ISN’T HUMAN????? I WAS WONDERING BECAUSE HE KEPT SAYING “YOU HUMANS”

YOU’RE TELLING ME FUCKING RATATOUILLE HERE SOMEHOW MANIFESTED A QUIRK AND BECAME SO INTELLIGENT AND SUCCESSFUL THAT HE’S THE PRINCIPAL OF THE WORLD’S PREEMINENT SUPERHERO ACADEMIC INSTITUTION

HE’S 85 CENTIMETERS TALL. THAT’S TWO FEET AND NINE INCHES

WONDER WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THIS GERBIL TO SUDDENLY BECOME SELF AWARE AND DECIDE TO GO TO COLLEGE OR WHATEVER

AND WE MAY KNOW HIS NAME NOW BUT TO ME HE’LL ALWAYS BE THE RAT PRINCIPAL

(ETA: LITERALLY I’VE FORGOTTEN HIS ACTUAL NAME AGAIN ANYWAY)

LOOK AT HIM SMOKING A TINY RAT CIGARETTE. THAT’S SO BAD FOR YOU MISTER PRINCIPAL GOODBYE I AM DONE GOODBYE

[bbybaphomet]

COLA | cory.

If there has been one thing to stand out about Cory Osada, best known by the moniker Cola, it’s his tenacity. From the beginning of his roller-coaster career, Cola has met controversy, hate and hyperscrutiny largely with witty retorts and a self-assured insistence on keeping forward. Cola has grown up in the public eye, evolved from a precocious teenager mumble-rapping love songs in his bedroom to an international pop star, with over a hundred song-writing credits to his name and a kingdom of his own in form of Chapel Records, a label collecting the misfits of the Korean pop industry and giving them their deserved platforms. Many love Cola, many hate him; but one can not imply he hasn’t put the work in- from his debut album in 2015, he’s put out a full-length record every year since- until 2020. 

“2019 was the best year of my life until it wasn’t.” Cola said in an interview earlier in the year. And it certainly did seem like everything had finally come up Cola. He Has been nominated for Best Male Soloist at MAMA 2019- his first ever nomination, and his pre-singles for his fifth full album were skyrocketing up the charts. The fifth record, ‘Richer Than God & Twice As Pretty,’ was all set to be his third in a row to score a number one on the charts- Until, almost immediately after it’s release, 10 out of 12 tracks eligible for single release were banned from radio and broadcast with no option for alteration- and for reasons largely considered vapid by fans and the general public alike. And unlike previous instances of controversy, Cola had no smirk for the cameras, no wink nor nudge. Cola’s TV appearances to promote the record were brief and his spirits appeared broken, and he publicly wrote a message online to state that he was on the verge of giving up completely. His angry performance at MAMA later in the year was only punctuated by his loss of the award. Cola looked, and would later describe feeling, like he had finally been defeated by the industry that seemed so against letting his hard work and undeniable talent be rewarded.  

And so, come July 2020, after dedicating the first half of the year to the star’s push into acting and directly following his performance of a bombastic 33-song setlist at Lost Land 9 times over three weekends, Cola has once more pushed against convention as he drops his sixth record and first ever mini-album, simply titled ‘cory.’

‘cory.’ contains five songs, including the track ‘La Vie En Rose’ which had been made available on streaming services ahead of his festival tenancy, and ‘So That’s Where Your Face Went,’ which was performed as untitled throughout his set list. However, despite the EP dropping in the wake of the most public dark patch in the young singer’s career, ‘cory.’ carries a largely hopeful overtone; ‘I Got Hope (Cause Yesterday Is All Over)’ dares to look at the future as it celebrates what is perhaps Cola’s biggest personal strength- his ability to stand up, dust himself off, and keep going. 

Cola will not be promoting ‘cory.’, and no single from it have been sent to radio. “I wrote it for myself,” said Cola. “Because I needed to remember that this entire career I have started cause I just love to write music. It’s really, really fun. And it’s gotten me through a lot tougher things than what I’m going through right now. And I wasn’t going to put this record out, cause it was just... therapy? But performing at Lost Land, I saw kids in the crowd crying as they sang along to my songs. And I think, more than any award or number one single, that validated me. And then, I dunno. I guess I remembered who the fuck I am.” 

tracklist

i. La Vie en Rose ii. So That’s Where Your Face Went iii. Dreamlove iv. Waltz v. I Got Hope (Cause Yesterday Is All Over)

EXCLUSIVE: Cola gives a track-by-track explanation of cory.

LA VIE EN ROSE

La Vie En Rose was the first song I wrote out of the five on this EP, and I knew straight away that it had to be the sort of... intro to the record? I’ve recently had a huge episode of poor mental health, and that was worsened by both the way that my last record, Richer Than God, was... kind of sabotaged by people with more power than me. But on top of that, I also saw the end of my first real serious relationship. The negative side of experiencing the type of, like... intense, meaningful, love- the kind of love where you’re like “Okay, I thought I had but I’ve definitely never been in love before this” is when it all comes to an end, and then you have to realise “okay, I thought I had but I’ve definitely never fucking had my heart broken like this.” And so I was in a really dark place, where every day I’d wake up and before I opened my eyes, my first thought was that my heart was broken. And so I think I wrote La Vie En Rose in response to how low I was feeling, because it’s such a peaceful song. La Vie En Rose translates to The Life In Pink, which is a very Me phrase, but it’s also a saying similar to “looking through Rose-coloured glasses.” The lyrics reference that idiom, because I think above anything else, La Vie En Rose is a song about choosing to look on the bright side. It’s not as easy as just choosing to be happy, but wanting to recover is the only way you can start recovering. In the bridge, there’s a line about “crafting my new armour.” Ive grown up in the media, and so I definitely built up a tolerance to negativity. But for some reason, the Bans from last year really, really hurt me. They wounded my spirit, and for a while I was ready to just throw the towel in, especially as it sparked up all the old accusations of noise-marketing and doing things for shock value. It’s only been seven months. I needed some time to breathe and let myself feel what I was feeling and figure out how I deal with it this time.

SO THAT’S WHERE YOUR FACE WENT

This is a difficult one. So That’s Where Your Face Went just kind of happened, as a song. I think I came up with the melody of the hook in the car, and I just started singing “It’ll pass, chill. Stay alive, it kills.” This was the last song I wrote for the record, and it almost wasn’t going to be on it because I didn’t think I’d finish it in time. I think I was very influenced by the character I played in the drama True Beauty. I saw a lot of myself in that character, which is a really difficult thing to feel considering how his storyline ended. And so I think a lot of this song is complicated emotions. I’m definitely singing to myself up until the last little outro. But I think like... to sum it up, the song is strange and weird and I don’t really know how to explain it succinctly, but it’s ultimately about being in a shitty and scary situation and dealing with that in unhealthy ways.

DREAMLOVE

Dreamlove is definitely one of the sweetest melodies I’ve ever written. More than anything, it’s about the honeymoon phase of a new relationship. I’m not in a new relationship, and actually, I’m currently getting over a breakup of a long term one. But it’s more of a metaphor of where I’m at in life now. I think Richer Than God and everything that came from that, for better or worse, marked a turning point in my life for me. It’s been a really rough few months ever since, but I’m at at the start of a new chapter and I’m excited, which is why I wanted to write a honeymoon phase song. I had my first heartbreak but it’s healing now, and I’m pretty excited about the future. Even if things inevitably get hard again, I’m enjoying feeling hopeful.

WALTZ

Waltz is an escapism song. It’s kind of similar in sentiment to my song “Barbie Jeep Getaway.” It’s about just wanting to run away and separate myself from everything going on around me. I think I’ve been craving that more than ever. I promised myself a break after what happened with my last album, but then while I guess I gave myself a break from music, I totally worked the entire time. Waltz was kind of this... wish fulfilment that I could just run away and not look back for a while, because I don’t feel good enough and want to be relieved of that pressure, at least for a little while. “I just wanna waltz around it, then it never hurts” is kind of the attitude I’ve had to all the negativity I’ve had to face in my career. I haven’t really given myself a breathe to deal with it, and last year a straw broke the back on that camel. Laughing it all off and basing my image around how much I don’t care about what people think of me may make me look really cool, but it doesn’t do much for my mental health.

I GOT HOPE (CAUSE YESTERDAY IS ALL OVER)

I think the title of this song is pretty self-explanatory. I think that this song is the one that kind of best delivers the thesis of the album in the same way En Rose does. Which is why I knew as soon as I wrote it that it had to be the last song on the record. This EP is about a rough patch, and a broken heart and a sabotaged album that I poured my soul into, but it’s not negative because I think I started writing this as a means to cheer myself up. Performing at Lost Land the past weekend really showed me that no matter what, I do have worth as an artist. That’s what I was struggling with. I was considering never releasing another song again because I didn’t think there was space for me in this industry anymore, and when all those songs from Richer Than God were banned, I felt like I’d been essentially told to just give up. Lost Land really reminded me why I love this, and having all those people sing along to all the songs I wrote, to see faces in the crowd crying because I had made them feel happy, that meant more to me than any number one or any award I might have gotten had I been allowed to promote my album properly. I think the theme of this EP is just... I’m still hurt. I still have a lot to work through, I still need time to heal, but as things stand right now? I feel a little bit better. And I’m willing to count that as a win.

[poppun-chan]

The Year of Keroro Challenge Update 4 (Yes Sir)

Goodness, even though I mentioned looking forward to this one it took quite a while to write it (this has been a difficult week)in terms of watching I’m almost finished with the first season, actually, one strange thing I noticed was that the valentines episode actually lines up with valentines day. But before we get started Jlucy pointed out to me that the scene from episode 21 with the car is specifically a nod to “Castle of Caliostro” with the drivers being based on two of the main characters and the car being a nod to the Fiat from the movie. Actually I wonder if the writers for the dub had this in mind when they were writing; in the English version the driver mentions he was renting a car because he didn’t want to use his Fiat.

Either way I had planned to wait until there weren’t any text pieces to translate, but I have at least one more of these non-episode specific notes to do before we reach episode 65, so a bit on name origins (The ones for the Human characters will probably be less familiar, but still....)

Keroro-Kero, the noise a frog makes (I’ve always suspected this is actually a really common name)

Tamama-Otamajakushi, meaning tadpole (I really find myself wondering about his family background that his parents gave him a name that assumes he’s going to look like a child for a long time)

Giroro-Giro, the onomatopoeia for glaring at someone/something

Kururu-Kuru, it’s used as an onomatopoeia, a noun, and a verb, either way it refers to something twisting, spinning or turning (which is why his resonance creates a loop)

Dororo-It’s best known as a reference to the Osamu Tezuka manga Dororo, which takes place in the feudal era, it also works as a play on Doro-Doro which is the sound of something dripping

And the plan count:

Serious Plans: K66:16 D66:1 MMK:1 TMM:1

Funding Plans: K66:1

It’s a plan, I Swear!: K66:5 (I’m throwing the sports day mission in here too)

Oh look! Progress!: K66:3 

And the marker board from episode 27:

Episode 22: Now first of all I’ve always enjoyed this episode, the absurdity, the cute break down Tamama has at the end, the completely impractical but still fun plan (actually I think Tamama only comes up with three plans over the course of the entire show and they’re all more or less the same basic concept). Plus the little stealth pun when Natsumi gets angry about the shower; she shouts “Kora!” which is an interjection that can be used as a reprimand, but it’s pronounced similarly to Cola.

Actually, speaking of this part I have to admit I sort of agree with Tamama’s point that Fuyuki could just serve that cake in the fridge instead of making dinner....Actually even the bit about accounting for nutritional balance could sort of be refuted; Baked goods often contain grains and eggs, not always dairy but ice cream and cheese cake covers that, his plan allowed tuna as an exception so that’s meat covered, plus many desserts are made with fruit and there are some made with vegetables (carrot cake, anything with pumpkin in it, corn cake), sure most people would probably either stop eating before this point or simply die trying, but theoretically it IS possible to get normal nutrients that way....Yes I’ve seriously thought about this; there are quite a few characters that can be explained this way.

Finally no discussion of this episode would be complete without bringing up the infamous letter, so I’m going to try and cover this in more depth since I have the luxury of making this a separate note. First of all, it’s written really oddly; everything except the word “leader” is written in katakana which you normally wouldn’t do (hiragana only is a different matter, but in modern times it’s considered a bit childish). One big issue with not using kanji is that it’s much harder to tell what you’re trying to say, plus katakana itself is a bit sticky since some of them strongly resemble each other or other kanji (one relevant to this is katakana ni resembling the kanji for two which is often pronounced the same way). The revealed part admittedly seems phrased a bit simply, but it says “Taichou wa Tamama ni” or “Tamama’s Leader” while the full message is “Taichou wa Keroro ni Makasetamama ni” or “Keroro will be left as the leader” I suppose the closest thing in English would be if the letters were a bit more spaced apart instead of grouped together

And fun fact; Etsuko Kozakura, the woman who provides Tamama’s voice, also did the voice of Puppetmon/Pinocchimon from the original Digimon series. I just thought I’d mention this since I noticed a few....similarities between their management styles (Though Tamama just imprisoned people who crossed him instead of....deleting them)....actually watching the episode and knowing this made me look into Digimon again, did you know one of the newer series has a Puppetmon who is one of the friend Digimon that shows up every now and then? Really. They have his nose grow when he lies (including to himself) and give him some really charming moments....and he shares his English voice with Keroro, hm.

Episode 23: And it’s the clone episode! I have to confess, the bit about the clones not having a star always makes me wish there was a video of the original Keroro singing the song from the Sneetches, the one where the starred Sneetches are roasting marshmallows....I know it’s a strange association to make, but....Come to think of it, I don’t think this was a manga chapter, I’m not completely sure and I know most of the season one episodes were based on the manga, but I know a few stories were anime exclusive and I believe this was the first one, either way it’s hilarious to see Keroro being the responsible one and getting annoyed by the behaviour of his own clones (still, at least there was an easily visible way of telling them apart, which is better than what happened with Pinkie Pie, some people still theorise that they kept the wrong Pinkie).

Now for a bit of a sticky area, especially since I’ve been putting up with my grandfather’s preoccupation with this particular time for most of my life, but I noticed something a bit odd. Even now, a lot of people seem to be weirded out by the “clone salute”, but they actually switched two of the syllables in the Aliens’ name for Earth because the original term from the manga was associated with the Sino-Japanese wars (I’m not sure which, there’s two major ones and a bunch of smaller conflicts, but the second big one was during the world war) and was banned from television. I’d be curious to find out what it is that makes one war reference more acceptable than another (maybe because calling Earth “Pokopen” alludes to much longer standing conflict with a specific country? I have to admit I always wondered if the best way of handling “touchy terms” would be to find a positive, unrelated use for them so they take on a new meaning and the old one eventually falls out of use; you often hear about the power of words, but it’s actually their meanings that have effect rather than the words themselves)

Episode 24: Oh dear it’s 556, I have to admit I’ve never liked this guy (though I will admit, I like the instrumental version of his song on the Christmas album) I know for a lot of people felt the same way with Joriri eventually replacing him, but it didn’t work the same way for me.

Actually, one thing I love about this episode is how when Keroro wonders about the emotions he’s feeling watching 556 fighting “monsters” they immediately cut to Tamama; it’s almost as if the cinematography is saying “Let’s ask your resident expert, shall we?”

Actually I recently looked at the Japanese version of the full character page again, I think there’s one surprising one on there; I know 556 and Labbie are references to Space Sheriff Gaven and a character named Annie from Space Sheriff Shaider, but the character page lists their relationship as Gukyou-Kenmai or “Goofy Older Brother, Wise Younger Sister” which was the original title for a T.V. series called “Otoko wa Tsurai yo” or “It’s tough to be a man” which later became a huge film series of the same title (Often called “Tora-san” after the main character, Torajirou), spanning 48 installments and nearly three decades (only ending when the actor playing Torajiro died). The films followed a similar formula of Torajirou the traveling salesman going home to his sister’s family, walking out after getting into an argument and meeting a distressed young woman in the next town he goes to and offering to let her stay at the family’s sweet shop if she needs it. Eventually this happens and he falls in love with her, but in trying to win her over indavertantly ends up setting her up with another man and ending up disappointed, but putting on a brave face and wishing her the best before journeying to another town in hopes of getting over her and eventually becoming somebody his family can be proud of. 

The first movie was actually made to please fans of the original show who were upset that Torajirou died of a snakebite in the final episode, it also took quite a bit of convincing from the director to get the first movie made. Incidentally, the working title for the original show came from the final caption in another piece Torajiro’s actor played in

Episode 25: And here we have a Nishizawa family quarrel....which is appearently not considered complete unless enough money is spent that you could buy a small town and heavy weapons are nearly used (that’s the second time Keroro’s nearly let to Earth be destroyed only to be stopped at the last moment by the realisation that Earth is the official “Gunpla Planet”). Still there are some nice little moments (though I wonder if they ever did make that video, as long as they cut out the bits where they start to lose it could work)

Episode 26: Sports Day fun times ♪ Actually, has anyone ever noticed that whenever a show wants to slow down a sports day they usually target the scavenger hunt? Though now that I think about it, the cruel irony of all this is if they hadn’t tried to help, Aki probably would have made it in time to run in the race (or at least, the combined effect of accidentally speeding up the 100 meter dash and ruining some of the manuscripts). Though I do admit that I miss the parts from the manga where Momoka is running a race and the newspaper article at the end “Freak in tights crashes sports fest” I find it strangely hilarious the way they worded it. Also it’s amazing the things that become relevant later on, let’s see who remembers what I’m talking about.

Episode 27:  First of all, I love the way Keroro offhandedly compares renewing interest in the invasion to reviving the dead (He already knows it’s a lost cause), it’s especially interesting considering they come across the remnants of a failed invasion later on. Actually I sort of want to see a spin off about those past invaders; not necessarily a big, dramatic, action-y thing mind you, honestly I expect it would be more or less the same thing as with Keroro but in ancient times, perhaps with the human characters being the ancestors of the current ones.

Also they use the pun of kaeru meaning both “frog” and “to return” quite a lot in the series. Though I have to admit I can relate to Keroro’s feelings a bit here; all of the women in my family have been quite formidable, especially for their time, and my mother is crusading to change the child welfare system in Canada (even though she’s never been in it) and doing all of these things for political change and I sometimes feel I can’t really measure up to that, even though I don’t plan on going into a related field. Plus because of her work I’m a bit burnt out on people issues, I focus more on environmental ones.

Episode 28: This one was a bit tricky, though I always thought the effect of the cold weather on the Keronians sounded more like windburn than all out frostbite. As for the second part this officially marked the beginning of the odd sort of dynamic of Mois & Kururu, I don’t remember how much it was explored in the show apart from her sometimes being who they went with when they needed a girl to associate with Kururu, though I remember a few moments from the manga that built on it, such as the “Angol Stone” chapter.

[premimtimes]

Book title: Flipping financial forte through “Borrowing Made Easy” Reviewer: Segun Balogun Publisher: Grace Spring Place of publication: Lagos State Date of publication: January 2019. Number of pages: 140

Jerry Osagie’s book, “Borrowing Made Easy”, could engender a paradigm shift capable of accelerating the global pursuit to end poverty.

Reading Jerry Osagie’s “Borrowing Made Easy” will leave you with one sharp impression: that democratising the knowledge of borrowing profitably, is where the global pursuit to unlock prosperity and end poverty by 2030 should start.

Worried by the slowing rate of decline in extreme poverty, which raises “concerns about achieving the goal of ending poverty by 2030,” the World Bank in a press release in September 2018 called for “increased pro-poor investments.”

Such investments may, however, achieve little if it does not correspond with growing evidence of financial literacy, particularly regarding access to credit, experts who reviewed the book posit.

“Every economy that aspires to expand must understand the principle of effective credit and how to utilise smart credit towards production,” says Yele Okeremi, a professor of business strategy at Nobel International Business School, Ghana.

Due to the crucial role that credit system play at various points in the life-cycle of a venture and by extension in growing the economic potentials of a country, the knowledge of accessing credit could prove to be a more progressive and sustainable way of fighting poverty than any other strategy, especially in developing countries.

This assertion is somehow reinforced by comparing World Bank data with a ranking recently released by Interbrand, the publisher of the annual Best Global Brands report.

In the ranking, which shows movements of brands across the top 15 positions between 2000 and 2018, Coca-Cola retained the best brand until 2013 when it was displaced by Apple.

By 2018, it was in fifth place, and the top four brands are all ICT companies.

Though, a potent tool to eradicate poverty due to its low entry barrier, lean startup model, and a strong focus on human capital development, ICT’s reign in the global economy is not translating to a faster reduction in poverty, as would be expected.

“In the 25 years from 1990 to 2015, the extreme poverty rate dropped an average of a percentage point per year – from nearly 36 per cent to 10. But the rate dropped only one percentage point in the two years from 2013 to 2015,” the World Bank notes.

The cause of this dissonance could be traced partly, to low access to credit plaguing the ICT sector.

Even though almost every human endeavour has virtually succumbed to the new rules of ICT’s disruptive innovations, the sector itself is still subject to financial principles because access to credit cannot be coded -it can only be taught and learnt.

The problem over the years is that the expert knowledge needed to improve access credit has remained the exclusive preserve of the few who work in the finance sector, at whose mercy the myriad go-getters of this world exist.

Book’s input to discourse

It should, therefore, be cheering the news that Jerry Osagie, the author of the book, finds it necessary to provide access to that knowledge, which is the prized asset and the bragging right – if we may call it so – of his colleagues in the financial sector.

“Many books have been written on how banks and other financial institutions can lend money as well as apply best practices to lending while ensuring a loan portfolio with good quality and sustainable profit,” Jerry writes in the Introduction to the book, to underscore its purpose.

“However, not much has been written on how individuals, micro and small business owners and other corporate entities can borrow wisely and manage debt from the array of lending options available…”

This curtain-raiser tells us that lending opportunities are as diverse as there are those needing them, but few get to access to the needed loans and very fewer get to borrow profitably.

We have ‘many books’ containing knowledge needed by many but accessible only to few. “Borrowing Made Easy” is an attempt to flip this over and place in the potential borrower’s hands the requisite knowledge to borrow wisely and profitably.

‘Untangling knot’

By carefully untangling the web of the barrier to financial knowledge weaved using the thread of financial jargons, Jerry has opened the gate to us all into the closely guarded chambers of financial experts.

“Borrowing Made Easy” is written in simple language that is accessible to everyone with secondary education, at least.

Rasheed Olaoluwa, a former MD/CEO of Bank of Industry, in the forward to the book says its alternate title should be “Borrowing for Dummies”.

This is why the book can engender a paradigm shift capable of accelerating the global pursuit to end poverty.

The 140-page book, divided into five chapters, is handy enough to be taken around and read anywhere. It is amazing the vast knowledge that could be gained within the few hours needed to finish reading it.

Nuggets

Chapter 1: “A Person in Need of Cash” lays the foundation for different situations, the benefits and the risks of taking out a loan.

In essence, do not even consider borrowing if you are not in any of the situations, or if borrowing would not lead to any of the advantages or if any of the stated risks is too much a burden to bear.

This understanding is the beginning of wisdom as it relates to borrowing wisely.

Chapter 2: This is a compendium of the types of loans and the conditions under which they could be accessed. The key take away from this chapter is that the decision to borrow should be made only after “an understanding of your need, how best to meet it and at what cost to you now and in the future”.

Due to a dearth of knowledge in determining the type of loans they should access, borrowers are usually at the mercy of financial experts – who may or may not act in their best interest.

The urgency of the need for the loan usually outweighs the need to be cautious, and consequently, many have accessed loans they could not repay and have lost more than they gained. Such incidence should reduce with this book as it prepares everyone ahead of the need to borrow.

Chapter 3: “How you can borrow as an individual or business,” is the real deal.

It demystifies some myth surrounding taking out a loan, like the need for collateral and the danger of defaulting in the loan payment.

It states what you need to access loans and the most important is your income and how regular it is – not the collateral you are banking on. There are other crucial requirements like your credit history and identity.

This chapter explains to me why I might have missed out on a big contract around 2008.

I had worked with someone to prepare a tender for a multinational company, and despite being the underdog, we won.

It was a big contract that covered maintenance services for half of Nigeria. I thought banks should queue and even lobby to finance the contract. They would show interest at first sight but after they might have gone to do their ‘due diligence’, they would come back to reject it.

Chapter 4: “Understanding collateral in a borrowing relationship”, puts this important aspect of borrowing in proper context and explains the right perception we should have about it.

After reading it, I would not place a bet against the fact that many out there have the wrong perception of collateral.

Last word

The best benefit of reading “Borrowing Made Easy”, as I find, is that people can begin to take their credit-worthiness more seriously and proactively. Many do not think it wise to properly protect and nurture this “alter ego” of theirs until the need to access credit arises, by which time it may be too late as their credit-worthiness may appear malnourished.

I think that a good recommendation for those actively involved in social change is to ensure that all students demonstrate sufficient knowledge of this book by the time they exit secondary school.

Book Review: Flipping financial forte through “Borrowing Made Easy” Book title: Flipping financial forte through "Borrowing Made Easy" Reviewer: Segun Balogun Publisher: Grace Spring Place of publication: Lagos State…