夏目友人帳 - Natsume’s Book of Friends: Chapter 4 Discussion

Japanese Language Reading
#1

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夏目友人帳 Chapter 4

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Start Date: November 17th
Previous Chapter: Chapter 3

Vocabulary List

Discussion Rules

  • Please use spoiler tags for content that would be considered a spoiler.
  • When asking for help, please mention the page, panel, and speech bubble.
  • Don’t be afraid of asking questions, even if they seem embarassing at first. All of us are here to learn.
  • To you lurkers out there: Join the conversation, it’s fun! :durtle_the_explorer:

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夏目友人帳 - Natsume’s Book of Friends: Chapter 3 Discussion
#2

So, err, how was it, guys?

I’m still considering getting this manga once things calm done at work. Is anyone going to keep reading the series?

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#3

crickets

:stuck_out_tongue:

I’m hoping to start this chapter tonight so don’t have any questions to ask yet :wink: I doubt I’ll be continuing this series but I’ve seen the anime; I think that knowing the storylines already is making it a bit less engaging for me compared to somebody coming at it with fresh eyes.

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#4

I finally managed to find my copy(turns out I put it between two of the Aria volumes for some reason. It’s so small in comparison to them that I couldn’t see it), so maybe I’ll be able to read chapters two and three fast enough to actually say something about this chapter :slight_smile:

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#5

I haven’t had the time to read the chapter yet (will probably, hopefully, happen today), but I don’t think I will continue on with it after. I’m already getting the feeling that it becomes a bit same-y over time and I don’t particularly like straining my eyes when reading :joy: (cuz there is some super tiny furigana in natsume).
I enjoyed reading it though since I’d not read a fantasy before, so lots of new vocabulary :grin:

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#6

Ugh, I’ve been so MIA on this book. It’s a shame, because I’m actually really enjoying it. I just don’t have timeeee :weary: NaNoWriMo has taken over my life. I’m about halfway through this last chapter, hoping I’ll be able to finish tomorrow or Friday.

I might continue the series at some point. I like the tone of it, and there were definitely some touching moments. I also kind of want to watch the anime now, too. :slight_smile:

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#7

I finished Ch 4 today, hoorah!

and I enjoyed these a lot. I also like the fragmented page style of illustration, and some of the 妖怪 have been quite delightful. As I’ve never watched the anime, it’s all new to me.

I feel like they’ve explained the entire premise anew each chapter, which is distinctly tedious. Once per book would be sufficient.

I now carry a magnifying glass in my pencil case, specifically for reading those furigana :joy:

I have a copy of the second book, thanks to a certain kind person who helped me locate it in Book Off, and I still hope to read it. However, I’m not sure I’d be likely to go further than that.

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#8

Hm, it does sound tedious.
Based on the length of the chapters, I wonder if it’s due to a sporadic serialization/publication schedule? In that case, reader would have most likely forgotten what the story was about, and thus would probably need the recap… Still, not really fun.

Hm, seems to be the general agreement. I guess I’ll leave Natsume on my “someday” list.

#9

Although it does mean that you benefit from a lot of exposure with certain words! :joy:

Yeah, I’ve been really enjoying the quite different approach to the panel layout to anything I’ve read before. Occasionally it’s made me confused over which piece of text is supposed to be read first though :thinking:

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#10

Ok, I think I need to be honest with myself and the fact that I just don’t know enough grammar yet and don’t have enough time in my life to be able to keep up with the book clubs I’m in, including this one… I’m going to drop this for now but keep learning the vocab so I can come back to it later and actually be able to read a few pages without Google translate… I’m joining Girl who leapt through time, as I’ve been prelearning the vocab, but if it gets too fast I’ll just follow my own pace. I’ve started seriously studying Tae Kim and I feel it’s a better use of my Japanese study time for now :slight_smile:

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#11

Haha I kinda just imagined you sitting in a random cafe in the corner, hunched over the magnifying glass with this intense stare (cue the evil dark purple vibes emitting from you proper anime style) :joy::joy: I’m so sorry, but that just popped into my head (I really need an emoji that that’s hunched over on the floor, crying from laughter and punching it’s fist on the floor)

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#12

I’ve read this volume before, and it’s definitely easier a second time, too. That being said, I don’t often have questions because I’m familiar with the story. I just pop in from time to time to see if anyone has any questions or thoughts! :sweat_smile:

I feel bad because I think these book clubs are a fantastic idea, but I’m never too sure about what to say.

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#13

Finally all caught up (and finished)!

I rather enjoyed this manga, I really liked the art style and I found the chapters to be a nice, calming and even feels-inducing read =) did anyone else feel like it got easier and easier to read with each chapter?

Hope you all enjoyed it as well! お疲れ様~

Also, in this chapter, it took me way too long to realize why Natsume was so interested in the yukata, I had a major “OHHH” moment went I realized it was for 燕つばめ :see_no_evil: I loved her btw, the feels :3 // it also took me to the end to realize she’s not a he, what’s with these late realizations :thinking::thinking:

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#14

Which chapter was your favorite? :blue_book:

  • Chapter 1 - ニャンコ先生 登場とうじょう
  • Chapter 2 - 露神
  • Chapter 3 - 夏目、人間退治
  • Chapter 4 - ダム底の燕

0 voters

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#15

I did, although I think part of that might have been the literal repetition of some things - I could read that opening intro stuff pretty fluently by the end xD (That’s not meant as a complaint, though - it’s nice to have some repeat exposure that’s naturally built in, imo)

I was definitely questioning that for at least half the chapter, so you’re not alone xD But I think she was my favorite 妖怪 of the volume.

Chapter 4 was really sweet, but I think chapter 3 was my favorite overall. The loneliness was so real :cry: I really felt for little Natsume. Plus, Cyclops and Cow Guy were great xD

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#16

I’ve thought this before, but I kinda of wish the book clubs also had more of an element of typical book clubs where the story gets discussed too, not just grammar help.

I think so. By the time I got to ch4 I was pretty much all out of questions. I adore 夏目友人帳 tho so I’m glad you liked it! The dew god is my personal favorite, but the tsubame is adorable!

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#17

You can just do that though. We discuss the story in the Aria book club from time to time.

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#18

I think we might need a leader to pose some questions to get us started. :sweat_smile:
Any volunteers?

#19

I kind of agree and disagree :thinking: I think it’s very helpful as a learner when the material repeats itself a bit - you get some reinforcement of vocab, and it’s nice to have occasional passages which give you that feeling of “I’m reading this rather than just deciphering it!”.

That said, I found the repetition in Natsume to be just a bit too copy-paste. Reading one chapter after another meant you read that same passage over and over in quite quick succession so for me at least tedium won out :sweat_smile:

I did find it easier each chapter (well, maybe by the third it started to get easier). Overall I think it’s been the hardest material I’ve tackled so far, barring Kiki of which I’ve only read the first chapter. I’m not sure whether it was the language - lofty spiritual conversations?- or the length of the chapters, but I definitely found it quite hard-going to get through each one.

Non non biyori had some dialectal stuff I found difficult to understand, but the chapters were very short and I got more used to it nearer the end.

Hmm, I think the last :blush: my favourite 妖怪 too.

Overall I really enjoyed the art as well. I’m not sure it’s quite my style, but it was interesting to see such a different presentation format from the other manga I’ve read, and I really loved the sketchier, more free-flowing aesthetic.

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#20

Yeah, I can definitely understand that. When I noticed it was going to repeat itself for the third time, my very first thought was “omg if you had cut this out, I’d only have to try to get through like 48 pages this week instead of 50! D:” But then I read those longer sentences without looking anything up (almost like reading something in English), and that felt cool, so I forgave them :stuck_out_tongue: Pretty much everything else felt more like deciphering in this one (for me at least).

Long chapters, and wordy chapters D: Sometimes it took me half an hour to get through a couple pages because they were so text-heavy. I think that made it feel more difficult, too.