文豪ストレイドッグス わん! (Bungou Stray Dogs Wan!) – Volume 4

The reading this week felt short

Chap 59

A cute little chapter. Kyouka missing 愛想 and then Lucy just ask her if Atsushi isn’t giving it enough already was cute.

Chap 60

Chuuya really loves that hat.
I’m not sure I get the joke here.


I did not found the word Chuuya is using but I found 生き抜く which mean to survive. Does Chuuya just said something it’s nice just to survive? Maybe he said it’s nice to just relax but he is always angry? Maybe they just says that because he gets drunk easily and he is drinking.Is it a pun? Help me!!! Thank you
I sad he did not like the mouse hat because it was so cute.
He did at some point changed his hat when he bought a new one in a previous chapter though… Anyway.

Chap 61

Interesting choices of glasses I must say. I never thought Motojiro had such beautiful eyes.


That chapter was really funny. I like the group picture.
Fun thought here. Why Monocle? Why only one eye? How does it stay in place? I should look into it. I always thought it looks nice. Time to look into it then

Edit: I must forced myself to not read ahead ha ha. Next one seems nice though…

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59

Now I’m wondering if I misunderstood that part of if you’re talking about a different scene. My version was more or less:
Lucy: you need 愛想 in this job!
Kyouka: ahaha, and that’s coming from you
Lucy: okay, maybe I wasn’t nice towards you&tiger, but now you’ll see how friendly&cute I can be!

also, I had to use google translate photo mode for this coffee name (and it actually managed):

60

In this chapter I was constantly wondering why won’t he just use his powers to fly after the hat?
And yep, there are some inconsistencies if he just loves this specific hat because it’s a keepsake or if he just loves hats in general.

Actually, it’s just 息抜き, not く. So I understood it just as everyone happily having fun and randomly chattering, and the more stoic characters being disgusted with so much relaxation.

61

This chapter was a little hard for me, because glasses are one of my triggers. But I managed!
Monocles: they apparently are really being held by the area around the eye and that works…? Yes, I’m also suspicious about this.
Why only one eye: I couldn’t find the official answer. So this is only my personal theory. But. Some generations ago, presbyopia was the most common problem requiring eyesight correction. But. Presbyopia means you don’t see close objects. When you correct presbyopia, you can see close objects, but your far vision becomes worse. Nowadays, we have progressive lenses. But, in monocles era, progressive lenses didn’t exist, so I assume people were only correcting one eye, so they could achieve good vision for all distances without taking glasses off. Yes, it is possible to have one eye specialized in “far vision” and the other in “close vision”. I know this, because I heard that when people aged 40+ do laser eye surgery to correct myopia, they have an option to do exactly this. Some people don’t ever get used to it, but some do and they don’t consciously know when their eyes are switching between each other.
And since in fiction, it’s usually older people who wear monocles, I think this is a valid theory.
Question: at the very end of the chapter, Dazai says he doesn’t understand what Ango is saying… The problem is, neither do I.

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I also promised to comment on my purchased books when I read them.

So, I finished Ango's short stories (just after he appeared in #61, it fits nicely)

So, the two stories included were:

  • 桜の森の満開の下
  • 夜長姫と耳男

I was surprised how bloody, full of cruelty and unsettling atmosphere both were. I would actually classified them as horror.
Unfortunately, again, just like with Motojirō Kajii, I’m not sure I understood their meaning and message. Once again I felt too stupid for the “superior” literature ^^" Was it about beauty? About playing with Japanese sacrum? (for example, sakura trees are portrayed as creepy)

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Answer to aislin

I relooked at it and it seems I was wrong. Kyoka is telly Lucy she is missing 愛想. Glad this is corrected. Now I wonder how many more mistakes I made without realising it.

Was he really disgusted? It felt to me like he was saying relaxing is good but he is always angry so they did not say anything? maybe?

This sentence confused me and I don’t know if I should ask for more info or leave it there.You hate glasses or you really like glasses? I think you mentioned you liked them but then how is is hard… wait… :eyes:
Just kidding
Thx for the monocle’s info.

Dazai wants to join the glasses club. Ango says that it’s too early for him. He need to at least be able to do a 3 with his eye(referring to the previous joke)

I feel like all old Japanese others are writing horror or dark things. If you need help with finding meaning behind them I would recommend googling some book analysis. This is what I always do.

Sorry, I wanted to answer early but I was busy.

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Answer to answer

Well, he was also drunk in this scene.

Omg, this!!! It was about that joke!
Because Dazai was having one of his eyes covered during his Mafia days, I somehow was thinking that:
Mafia Dazai = 1 eye
ADA Dazai = 2 eyes
joining the club = 3 eyes
Literally 3 eyes, not an eye shaped as “3”.

Thank you! :sparkles:

Due to personal issues, I hate being reminded of everything related to glasses, contact lenses, eye surgeries, ophthalmologists, opticians and optometrists. And so on. :sweat:

I’m happy you managed to find the time at all :blush:

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Week 3: Chapters 62-64 (3 chapters)
Start Date: March 1st
Previous Week : Week 2
Next Week: Week 4
Home Thread: Link

Mark your participation status by voting in this poll:

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  • I’ll catch up later
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Aaand of course I forgot last week to check @Whologist comment to #59.
It was about that coffee name :smiley:
@Whologist, you need to help me with remembering! x)

1 Like

I’m late to replying 0-0

Summary

太宰さんには未だ早いですね - It would be early for you, Dazai (Or quick? I don’t have the book on m and I’m too lazy to go to the chapter for context… :rofl:
せめて目が3にできるようになってから - Well I was able to make my eyes turn into 3’s, at least (A reference to earlier in the chapter where his eyes turned into 3-like shapes when he removed his glasses.)

Oh nooo :joy:
I myself have a terrible memory so this sounds like quite the plan :eyes: :heart:

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No language questions this week, just pure plot comments!

62

This one got animated already :no_mouth:
I’m happy that Akutagawa is trying, but he really could show it more to other humans, not just insects :sweat_smile:

63

Power of kotatsu is another of these things I always hear about in Japanese fiction, but never have experienced it first hand.

At the end, did Chuuya really joined everyone under kotatsu? :joy:
This furniture (?) should get Nobel Peace Prize :laughing:

Also, I love how Ranpo is playing on (probably) (3)DS in the background.
wan_middle

64


hmmmm
In introduction to my last Ango’s book, there was an anecdote about RealLife Ango supposedly ordering 100 servings of curry at once.
I can’t really quote it for you (…Polish…), but I found a confirmation on his Japanese Wikipedia:

檀一雄の家に身を寄せていた頃、安吾は「ライスカレーを百人前頼んでこい」と妻に言いつけ、三千代夫人は仕方なく、近所の食堂や蕎麦屋(「ほかり食堂」と「辰巳軒」)に頼み、庭に次々と出前が積み上げられていくという「ライスカレー百人前事件」を引き起こす。

It’s also mentioned on Bungou to Alchemist Wiki (still didn’t watch it, I’m too invested in BSD for now and don’t want to mix the universes, but I remember about it; it’s also disappointing that apparently the original story is a gacha game and anime is only an adaptation. But its wiki with facts about real authors is quite an interesting source).

When Ango was rehabilitating from his struggles with drug addiction, he once relapsed, swallowed a handful of sleeping pills, and then proceeded to (somehow convince his wife to) order enough plates of curry rice to feed 100 people while under the influence.
This particular incident occured in the lawn behind Dan Kazuo’s house; the combined efforts of the four people at the scene (Ango and his wife, Dan and his wife) was still nowhere near enough to finish all the food.
(In reality, only about 20-30 servings were actually delivered.)


But… this is actually the truth when you are in a big city :no_mouth:

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Answer to aislin

I did not even noticed. :scream: Ranpo is always hidden somewhere

That ango. I do love Dazai messing with him.

Chap 62

Akutawa just killing everything that look like a tiger. Why did he destroy the bag it was a bear, not a tiger right?
Btw I love when Akutawa said 馬鹿と煙は高い所へ上る. I learn a new expression.

Chap 63

The world-saving Kotatsu. I already tried it and it is really nice. It does get hot if you stay too long but again I prefer cold than hot. Kotatsu really are nice as lon as you are not eating because it get hard to wash.


What is that dog expression? I found a song but no expression.
犬は喜び庭駆け回り

Chap 64


I’m not sure what Ango is saying. He wishes he could see at least a candlelight?
These 心理テスト in which all answers are you are sad.

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answer to icefang

found it! basically, it’s about dogs running around happily in a snow…?
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a3f383af1c607f5a1e9c1d020afdf7c47e187e8a

I’m not 100% sure, but I think that after that grim image of the starless sky, Ango mentioned it would be nice to have at least a candlelight. It’s a throwback to the earlier question.
And yes, this test was very depressing.

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Answer to Aislin

Why does Chuuya says that? He is a happy dog running into snow?

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Answer to answer to answer

Well, he is immediately corrected that they aren’t dogs and there is no garden to run around in :stuck_out_tongue:

But:

  • it’s snowing
  • the series does have “stray dogs” and “wan” in its name
  • he is commenting that the atmosphere is so nice he doesn’t want to fight this day
    → consequently, he just wanted to have fun instead of attacking, which he expressed by using this fixed expression.

I think it’s just it, basically. Nothing deeper.

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Another answer to Aislin

Me thinking Omg what can this deep expression means. How wondeful would it be to understand this deep philosophical quote that is probably making reference to Nietzsche and Aristotle on the meaning of life and happiness and how freedom intertwines in it by using the circumference of the sun to…

real answer: Just a video of a dog running around in the snow.
Me: I was close

Thx for the info

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Week 4: Chapters 65-67 (3 chapters)
Start Date: March 8th
Previous Week : Week 3
Next Week: Week 5
Home Thread: Link

Mark your participation status by voting in this poll:

  • I’m reading along
  • I’m reading ahead
  • I’ll catch up later
  • I’m dropping out

0 voters

Volume 5 - Schedule Talk:

It’s a little uneven with 13 chapters + extras.
Since there is only such a small group of people left, I’ve been thinking about not doing a break week and slightly speeding up, especially since “more pages per chapter” turned out to usually include 1-2 blank pages after all.
So this is what I’ve come out with.

Week Goal Start Date
Week #1 Chapters 71-73 March 22 3 chapters
Week #2 Chapters 74-76 March 29 3 chapters
Week #3 Chapters 77-80 April 5 4 chapters
Week #4 Chapters 81-83 + extras April 12 4 chapters

@Whologist is ahead anyway. @icefang97, @DollyDaydream, objections?

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I actually took a break from Wan! to read some other stuff so I’m only on book 6 :scream: Gotta hurry up or I’ll fall behind!

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No objection except we could read one book per week right? no? maybe?おだちん

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So.
I could potentially speed up even more, but I feel bad about leaving DollyDaydream completely behind. :confused:
@DollyDaydream, how much do you profit from more-or-less following our schedule? Won’t me & icefang going ahead be too demotivating for you?
And since I just checked your profile - Happy Cake Day!

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It was mostly a joke but I don’t mind reading faster because I could. I don’t want anyone to drop because of it though

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