Page 6, as per previous practice, the names Sensei calls out in the last two panels (aside from the main characters) are all stations on the Chuo Main Line. Specifically, Mitaka (nearest station to the Ghibli Museum), Kokubunji and Ogikubo.
Mission 36 - read this last week so just flicked back to remind myself what happened. I like the idea of the cell games - this school comes up with some crazy things to put the students through. Few different flash backs this week, I’d forgotten about Asumi’s friend from childhood who liked drawing. I love that part way through the chapter we got a little aside to the lad practicing his harmonica, with some magical ghostly musical pointers!
Yeah, usually the Japanese are the kings of abbreviating English phrases into crazy new words, so funny that on this one they have a longer word than English does. Although I feel like the Japanese like taking the first parts of words and mushing them together, so perhaps we could call this a スプフォー or something like that.
Picked up a nice new phrase this week - 運命共同体.
So…the girls won! Love the final scene with Fuchuuya mattakuing down the ventilation duct.
The title page is making me wonder if Yaginuma-sensei purposely named his characters such that their initials would spell his given name…
Page 84, Kiriu’s harmonica is by Tombo, though I couldn’t really identify the specific model by sight. On the following page, he identifies the song he was playing as 右から２番目の星 (which is, of course, “Second Star to the Right”, from Disney’s Peter Pan).
Thanks for the link to the video - I enjoyed that bit of Japanese Disney!
Wow they dropped in the references to Shimazu with no context, like I am supposed to remember his name! I only vaguely remembered that flash back - it’s pages 175-177 of volume 3 if anyone wants to remind themselves what happened. He’s the boy from school days that she was friendly with but was he was quite ill. She got embarrassed when other boys teased him about her and said she didn’t want anything to do with him, and then next thing Fuchuuya is telling her he died.
Fun chapter and a funny conclusion! I didn’t think they really could have discovered a star that no one else knew about it but I hadn’t seen the reason coming!
Another roll call, another Chuo Line station, this one Koenji. It’s the only one he calls out that’s not a main character’s name, and the only one furigana’d (not sure why it is), but Yaginuma-sensei is continuing to follow the pattern.
I suspect the shopping street on page 132 and the building serving as Kei’s house on 133 are both real, but with no context, I can’t really hope to narrow down the location (likely near the Chuo Line somewhere, but that’s all I can say), and Google’s not coughing up anything.
Page 139, Chopin wrote 21 Nocturnes. Google suggests his most famous one is the second, Nocturne in E♭ major, but I gotta say, listening to it now isn’t ringing any bells for me at all.
Page 144, Kei’s request for Suzuki is 猫ふんじゃった. The tune (sans lyrics) is known in the West as Flohwalzer (“The Flea Waltz”), and is freqently learnt by new players on the piano. The composer is unknown, though it’s sometimes attributed to Ferdinand Loh (i.e. F. Loh = Floh = “flea”).
Asumi’s replacement suggestion, 星に願いを, is “When You Wish Upon A Star” from Disney’s Pinocchio. I see someone has a “Disney songs involving stars” theme going.
Page 148, that’s a great idea, boss, ask the shortest girl in your staff to do the job that requires the longest reach. And, I’m fairly sure, safety equipment.
Mission 40 was so unfair. I was supposed to go for a run this morning but when I looked outside there had been a snowfall last night and all the pavements were frozen so the run was off. Instead I read this chapter where the characters spend several pages enjoying a long run (at least Asumi is enjoying it…)
I think that’s the likely one. I love this piece of music.
Around here we call it Chopsticks. This is the one Tom Hanks plays with his feet on the toy store piano mat in the movie Big.
Or the girl with the shortest skirt maybe? Asumi has to create a serious distraction to get down the ladder before he can look up…
There’s some science stuff going on on the title page of this one. Not really plot relevant, but I’m gonna make notes about it all the same.
For starters, we’ve got the famous E=mc² underneath the Lion-san drawing.
By Asumi’s left shoulder, E=nhν is the energy of a photon (ν here is actually the Greek letter nu, representing frequency), while [λ=]h/mv is the de Broglie equation, relating to the wave-like behaviour of matter in quantum mechanics (and the v in this one is actually a v, for velocity).
Over Asumi’s right shoulder, right in the fold, is Rμν-1/2 Rgμν = 8πG/c4 Tμν′ (and those are nu again) which is the Einstein Field Equations, part of General Relativity, relating the curvature of spacetime with the density and flux of energy and momentum of same (albeit a version lacking the term with the cosmological constant, which was added by Einstein in 1917, removed again in 1931, and then re-added in 1998). Yeah, General Relativity gets complicated.
Underneath the drawing of the sun, 2x1027 is the mass of the sun in (metric) tons.
Page 170, when did we get up to Orion number 28?
The book that Asumi (?) is pulling off the shelf in the first panel of 174 appears to be on the subject of dark matter.
Don’t really think I can hope to identify that station on page 196.
And that brings us to the end of another volume. We’re halfway through the series now.
Good work. I wondered about this one but gave up after a quick google. It looks like 10^7 at a casual glance, the 2 is more subtle to spot.
Yeah, I just got Orion number 2 in the forest in Yuigahama, and that’s it. Although no. 29 looks like it might be on its way.
Poor Shuu, sleeping on his own in a freezing room and disowned by his father. Needs someone to come and give him some love.
I thought Ringo was going to be a bigger character but so far she just has a very minor role with occasional appearances. I love that she always seems to be wearing some themed clothing.
It was only flicking through the chapter a second time that I realised we know Lion made the snowman as we saw him doing when Asumi came home from work.
I don’t think I’ve seen girls referred to as くん much in the past. My dictionary says it can be used to girls when they are addressed by someone of a higher status, or in formal settings. So it made sense her boss using it in this way. I feel like some of the other boys use it with her - I need to look out for this in the upcoming chapters.
I loved the moment on page 186 - Don’t tell Natsume - oops Natsume is still here…!
Passenger seat in car in Japanese is apparently called a helper seat! 助手席
This was a good volume. NIce to reach the halfway point.
themed clothing.