We’re at the half-way mark in this story … how are you feeling about Super Frog so far? The tension continues to build throughout this week’s reading!
Please remember that there are two versions of the book: one is a bilingual book, while the other is a short story collection. The bilingual book is only available digitally in Japan, but if you have a VPN, you can also get it outside of Japan.
Vocabulary list
Thank you very much to @Phryne for creating this list! For those who are reading the short story collection, please note that it includes some items from the introduction to the Bilingual Book. Please read the guidelines on the first page before adding any words.
Discussion Guidelines
Everybody should feel free to post and ask questions–it’s what makes book clubs fun! But please do not post until you are familiar with Spoiler Courtesy!
Spoiler Courtesy
Please follow these rules to avoid inadvertent ネタバレ. If you’re unsure whether something should have a spoiler tag, err on the side of using one.
Any potential spoiler for the current week’s reading need only be covered by a spoiler tag. Predictions and conjecture made by somebody who has not read ahead still falls into this category.
Any potential spoilers for external sources need to be covered by a spoiler tag and include a label (outside of the spoiler tag) of what might be spoiled. These include but are not limited to: other book club picks, other books, games, movies, anime, etc. I recommend also tagging the severity of the spoiler (for example, I may still look at minor spoilers for something that I don’t intend to read soon).
Any information from later in the book than the current week’s reading (including trigger warnings that haven’t yet manifested) needs to be hidden by spoiler tags and labeled as coming from later sections.
Instructions for Spoiler Tags
Click the cog above the text box and use either the “Hide Details” or “Blur Spoiler” options. The text which says “This text will be hidden” should be replaced with what you are wishing to write. In the case of “Hide Details”, the section in the brackets that is labelled “Summary” can be replaced with whatever you like also (i.e, [details=”Chapter 1, Pg. 1”]).
Hide Details results in the dropdown box like below:
Example
This is an example of the “Hide Details” option.
The “Blur Spoiler” option will simply blur the text it surrounds.
This is an example of the “Blur Spoiler” option.
Posting Advice
When asking for help, please mention the page number, and check before posting that your question hasn’t already been asked. As the threads get longer, it becomes more convenient to use the Search function, which is located in the upper right corner of the forum. It is the magnifying glass which is near your profile picture! The best way to search is usually to type part of the sentence you are confused about, and select “in this topic”. This will show you all posts within the current thread which has that string of text.
Be sure to join the conversation! It’s fun, and it’s what keeps these book clubs lively! There’s no such thing as a stupid question! We are all learning here, and if the question has crossed your mind, there’s a very good chance it has crossed somebody else’s also! Asking and answering questions is a great learning opportunity for everyone involved, so never hesitate to do so!
Proper Nouns
Name
Reading
Notes
片桐
かたぎり
Mr. Katagiri, Main character
かえるくん
Froggy, Main character
ミミズくん
Giant worm, villain
Discussion Questions
Do you think we need proof before we can really believe (sorry it’s oblique, but blur spoiler isn’t working at the moment)?
What sentence/passage gave you the most difficulty? Feel free to request some help, or if you figured it out on your own break it down for the rest of us!
What was your favorite new vocab word from this week’s reading?
Was there any passage that you found particularly intriguing? Did it resonate with you (either positively or negatively)? Was it surprising? Offer any insight or new perspective? Was it just beautifully written?
Participation
Will you be reading along with us this week?
I’m reading along
I have finished this part
I’m still reading the book but I haven’t reached this part yet
I’m reading this book after the club has finished
I’m no longer reading the book
0voters
If you’ve already read this book but are still going to join the discussion, please select “I have finished this part.”
Don’t forget to set this thread to Watching in order to stay abreast of discussion!
In case you’re interested in how the Yakuza has evolved since the events in this chapter, this article has a lot of information about its relative importance in Japan at the moment.
Well, today we learned that japanese people don’t have to deal with the absolute misery of spelling out N.i.e.t.z.s.c.h.e.
To them it’s just ニーチェ.
Hey, an occurrence of だらけ ! 片桐にはわからないことだらけだった. Doesn’t mean “covered with” here, but probably “there were many things that Katagiri didn’t understand”. Actually, let’s do the whole passage:
There were many things Katagiri didn’t understand. Nevertheless, for some reason, he had the feeling he could trust what Kaeru was saying (however unrealistic its content might sound). Something in his face and way of talking reached straight into his heart.
That last sentence is a bit tricker. Nouns are clear enough and we can easily get the gist of it, but I’m not sure about the exact way they are articulated, with 3 に particles.
I agree that the philosopher’s name is definitely easier in Japanese!
For the translation, I checked it against the bilingual edition, and the author had “Something about Frog — the look on his face, the way he spoke — had a simple honesty to it that appealed directly to the heart.” which has the same gist.
With the second sentence, it lists, “After years of work in the toughest division of the Security Trust Bank, Katagiri possessed the ability to sense such things. It was all but second nature to him.“ so, it seems you are on the mark with that one, too!
Behind on the reading and discussion, but better late than never! Had a few thoughts.
When I first started reading this story Kaeru-kun struck me as a bit of a philosopher. I’d chalked it up to my lack of experience reading, but the with quotes from Western thinkers in this passage I feel a bit vindicated! He’s at the very least much more contemplative than Katagiri.
The misuse and correction of honorifics is clearly a pattern now with some significance. I don’t know if it’s supposed to paint Kaeru-kun as an outsider who doesn’t play by the rules, or perhaps highlight how Katagiri always does. Perhaps more will be unveiled as we read!
Finally, I find it kind of ironic that Kaeru-kun chose Katagiri because of his selfless devotion to family, work, and society, but then asks him to go do this huge act that will likely go unnoticed by the masses. Sorta subverts the idea of the protagonist being swooped out of boredom to dramatically save the world.
Maybe people who already do selfless acts expect little praise? My aunt did a lot of care for my grandparents when they were elderly without receiving much thanks, and now she’s always grateful when my sister and I remember her birthday or thank her for various types of help she has given us after our father died. I think that for her, she has helped us because she wants to (intrinsic motivation), not because of some type of external reward or motivation.
Of course for Katigiri, if he doesn’t help Frog, he and thousands of others in Tokyo may die, so the stakes are a lot larger. Maybe it takes a bit of philosophizing to be willing to put the needs of others before your own.
For sure. I assume that Katagiri has some internal motivator (morals, duty, and/or tradition, perhaps?) that has driven him to do all of these things. I’d also guess that that same drive would make him inclined to help Frog, too. What’s interesting is that we haven’t really heard much about this kind of thing from Katagiri himself, rather moreso from Frog’s descriptions. I’m curious how Katagiri views his life situation and what his resistance to helping Frog is. Is it disbelief? Some hesitance to put his life stability at risk? Something else??
(also take my thoughts with a grain of salt as my reading comprehension for this is pretty low )
Your aunt sounds like a lovely person. Elder care is a hefty undertaking, especially without much support.
I’m not sure about how much you know about Japanese work culture and collectivism, but there is a lot of motivation to think of others and the community before yourself (or think of projects before yourself). My husband is Japanese, so he would most likely feel obligated to participate in an activity that would be for the social good of others, even if it put him in harm’s way. As well, since Mr. Katigiri doesn’t have children, he would not need to think of them in making a decision. This article has a description of Japanese work culture and social norms at work.
In the case of my family, we’re not Japanese, but the family background has very similar sociocultural expectations (Mennonite, a religious group similar to Amish that favors pacifism, tradition, and hard work, though my grandfather left the church when my aunt was young). However, I think a lot of cultures have these types of values, especially traditional cultures.
Week 4
)