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I’m still reading the book but I haven’t reached this chapter yet
Finally, we meet Grandma. And what’s this? Actual casual clothes?
Ok, I so get Akari’s research prior to arriving on Aqua was so lacking that she didn’t even know which direction to row in, but… never mind not knowing that her mentor is one of the three most respected Undines currently active, how could she possibly not know that the founder of her company is the single most famous Undine ever to have existed?
On the subject of 城ケ崎村, there doesn’t seem to be any place in modern Japan with exactly the name, but there is a 城ケ崎オレンジ村 and a 城ケ崎海岸駅 in Izu…
Page 321, is this the first time we’ve seen Aika’s full name in the manga? Kinda seems like Akari’s always introducing herself by her full name, but noone else does. Well, I guess Woody did, last chapter. Once. Japanese culture thing, I guess.
?? A new chapter, a new character. She is delightful though. And I loved how Aria社長 rushed to see her… which makes me wonder just how long a Martian cat might live (don’t answer that anyone!) Also, the minute she said あらあら I wondered if she and Alicia might be related?? (No need to answer that either! Lots more books to go! Almost certainly loads of spoilers to avoid!)
Yep, it would be fascinating to know by what luck or magic she ended up being where she is (no, don’t tell me) but I personally love how she waltzes in with no idea, rolls with whatever happens, and gets excited about everything. I think I’ve reached the stage where I see the characters reflecting different parts of my own personality, and this is the part of Akari I identify with most.
p.316 Oh my goodness Akari and Alice look so different with their hair like that! I felt at that point that the author must just have been desperate to draw them out of uniform that she had to invent a reason to do so.
p.318 「この城ケ崎村は地球の日本の古き良き田舎をベースに作られたみたいですね」
I completely love how this story mooshes together gorgeous scenery from different parts of this planet via the convenient fiction of having to terraform a planet from scratch, apparently in the most visually attractive way possible. If only all new housing developments worked on the same principle.
Yes, although I think you may have mentioned it way back in Volume 1, because I remember making a comment about the connection between Grantchester and punting.
And a couple of other highlights
Aika interpreting the request to pick some corn for dinner into a meaningful exercise in becoming a better undine - and then Alice pointing out that she was doing it better
Catching butterflies - 待って、待って on p325 and the background of the middle panel on p326 ; and then letting them all go - I wish that page had been in colour.
I know, right?
Also, the first thing that happened when I get hired to a new place is that they make sure to give (at least) some cursory half day training which (among other things) include a short history of the place. Is that just a Japanese thing? A Japanese thing that did not got exported to Mars ‘cause they ran out of space with the Kitsune shrines?
Also, ARIA company had two lengendary employees in a row. How is it so small? Why are they hiring some random Earthling instead of highly qualified locals?
I wondered who the おばあさん was on the back cover of masterpiece volume 2.
I was shocked.
Similar thoughts crossed my mind.
Yes, many of those, I thought so too. Also, Alice’s うるさい moments eg. p313
I’ll admit I found it tough reading and understanding some parts of this chapter. I’m not sure if it was unfamiliar words or what, but it felt difficult at times for me.
I actually commented to my husband yesterday that for a book with relatively few words per page, there are plenty that are not in my 日常 vocab.
And now I feel the need to find an opportunity to use 変幻自在.
Or even phantasmagoric.
We’ve seen that vocab before (in the first volume). I remember, because I had to look it up at the time, along with 捌き. Looks like the author really likes that description of Alicia.
I truly believe that in anything and everything, she is the greatest Undine of our era.
But yeah, it’s a little tricky because of how emphatic she’s being. Puts the adverb miles from the verb it’s ad-ing. And as @Naphthalene pointed out, this line is Aika.
Well, it’s true that I did teach that child myself, but there’s a different reason that she has the status that she has today.
Ah, I thought it rang a bell. Couldn’t be bothered checking the other vocab sheets for it - clearly, since I couldn’t read it here, I still hadn’t learnt it.
Talking about when to start watching the anime in the home thread reminded me that this chapter appears early on in the anime, with one notable (and I think interesting) difference: the story takes place in winter rather than summer, so instead of picking corn and catching butterflies, the tasks she asks them to do are collecting chestnuts and digging up sweet potatoes.
It might be unrelated, but I also had motivation troubles reading this chapter. I liked seeing the main characters in regular clothes, but except for that, the story didn’t really draw me in, somehow.
I feel like part of that may be the Aika-being-competitive aspect of the plot. Most chapters are of the “find happiness in everything” variety, and if there is a crisis of “but how do I get better?”, it’s usually resolved though some manner of epiphany. This chapter is basically just Aika going “NOTICE ME, SENPAI!!!” at full-force the entire time.
