のんのんびより: Chapter 5 Discussion

Sure, but it still has nothing to do with the transportation costs. :stuck_out_tongue:

In response to your edit, we’ve seen that Komari isn’t the best with logic. Maybe it’s just that again.


On an unrelated note, whoever filled in the vocab sheet wrote “pun alert” next to 蛍光灯, but I don’t really see the pun. They filled the two meanings they think are relevant for the pun, but I don’t see how the second one is relevant.

Also, they shifted all the page numbers by one so I’ve been fixing them all. shakes fist


EDIT:
Finished the chapter. Probably my least favorite so far, which is a shame because chapter 4 was very good. The ending was fine, but most of the chapter was kind of tedious and uninteresting.

But yeah, I’m not sure I entirely get it either. Wasn’t me this time.

Make F2 “=D2-1” and fill down. Or +1, whichever is relevant. Then copy and paste values.

I find I frequently don’t enjoy chapters that focus entirely on the Koshigaya sisters.

Rambling literature analysis follows.

There seems to be a common theme across all four main characters of a mismatch between mental and physical ages. Hotaru is a kid who looks like a teenager but really just wants to be a kid. Komari is a teenager who looks like a kid, but wants to be an adult. Renge is kinda wise beyond her years, while Natsumi is just a brat. When all four characters are together (or even just the Hotaru/Renge pairing) it works, but for some reason when it’s just Komari and Natsumi, something misfires. Intead of pulling together (Hotaru, the older, acts younger, while Renge, the younger, acts older) they pull away (Komari, the older, acts older, while Natsumi, the younger, acts younger). Though there’s also the fact that Komari’s “mature, more stylish” act is a complete sham, because she has no idea what constitutes being mature or stylish (renting romances and horror movies simply because that’s what adults do is a case in point).

2 Likes

I haven’t finished it yet, but I think the sibling interaction is quite well observed and I enjoyed all the obvious fibbing. I feel Natsumi was probably taking revenge on her older sister for teasing she’s received in the past.

I am sure there are more puns in this book than I am getting, which is why I advertised the one I found, even if it’s not as good as the one in Ch 4.

Summary

Komari: Cut the racket and get to sleep. And while you’re at it, make it dusk.
Natsumi: What? Dusk?
Komari: The little light
Natsumi: Ah, the fluorescent light / Ah, I am so slow. (Look at her body language)

Maybe it relies on your being familiar with that type of light (with multiple settings) :thinking: which I have to say is very uncommon where I live.

I do it to make sure you’re paying attention. :kissing_heart:
(Just kidding, I thought I had the right numbers but they don’t match the pages in the digital version. Sorry!)

2 Likes

Really? I get the feeling that Komari probably didn’t tease Natsumi much. Either because she wouldn’t want to or because she’s not clever enough to.

Ah, I get it now. Nice one. :ok_hand:

No worries! I just wish they’d put a page number more often… Seriously, there wasn’t a single page number the entire chapter.

I started using a magnifying glass to read this.

This chapter was hard work. I didn’t get any puns.

OK, I finished the chapter now. I found it quite amusing. This may say something about my own family dynamics

I love the name 小吉 for the ぬいぐるみ (who definitely looks as if he could do with a whole lot more luck) :joy:

Can anyone shed light on the postscript for this chapter? What is もこ?

羊毛が1もこ
羊毛が2もこ
3、4がなくて
5もこ戻す。

I was wondering if these first few lines were a children’s rhyme or something, but I couldn’t find anything.

I was thinking もこ would be a counter word of some description, but it’s not on Tofugu’s giant list of counter words.

On the other hand, もこもこ means “lumpy, fluffy”, and she (inexplicably) appears to be counting balls of wool.

On the third hand, Google gives me an oddly large number of search results for 3,4がなくて, so it’s clear that it’s at least some kind of recognised form. Maybe it’s a Monty Python reference. “One, two, five!”

1 Like

Equally inexplicably, the sheep appears to have no fleece beyond the balls of fluff being carried.
I would love もこ to mean “puff” or “pompom” but haven’t yet found a dictionary willing to agree with me.

I liked that too. Like young Komari won the stuffed animal from a 小吉 fortune outcome and just gave that name to the bear. Come on Komari, you can do better than that! :rofl:

Plus こまちゃん and くまちゃん!

2 Likes

I hadn’t thought to look up that bit! You’re right, that is clearly a thing in itself. I found pages which try to explain it but I glazed over before I reached enlightenment.

Aye, this exactly. I figured it was because it was after midnight, but the only thing the cold light of morning has coughed up is a thought to check whether it’s a well-known song. No dice.

Wonder if we need to fire up the Leebosignal. Or more specifically, the Leebo’s-girlfriendsignal.

1 Like

Ok, I’m gonna do it.

I call on the power of @Leebo!

I think we need a native perspective on this. Or at least, a more-advanced-than-us perspective. For context, it’s accompanied by an image of a character who’s trying to fall asleep by counting sheep jumping over a fence, except inexplicably, instead of sheep, it’s large tufts of wool.

image

1 Like

I confirmed with a native that it’s just a cute made-up way to count the fluffy things.

1 Like

What’s 3,4がなくて?

I didn’t ask, but I’m inclined to believe it’s more silliness. You wouldn’t normally count something if it wasn’t there. But they seem to be doing that.

Yeah, but it seems to come up in more than a few Google results, so I was thinking it might be some kind of thing.

The first result is an article about your question…

Really? I’m pretty sure I’m missing something, then, because I read it as “I don’t really get it, but it dates from the Edo Period”.

教えてください、先生。

I didn’t read the article, but I don’t see how I (or a random native I know) would know better than someone who took the time to write something about it.