Aria the Masterpiece: Chapter 28 Discussion

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Aria the Masterpiece Chapter 28: 空を泳ぐ魚

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Start Date: January 26th
Previous Chapter: Chapter 27.5 (Special Navigation)
Next Chapter: Chapter 29

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Ah, finally, the elusive Sylphs. Though, strictly speaking, we’ve seen one before - way back in the drydocking chapter. Anyway, Woody kinda looks like the night chime seller as well. For some reason, in my memory Woody only introduced himself as “Woody” in this chapter, making it appear like he’s the only character whose name doesn’t start with A, except that it’s right there on page 291. Perhaps his name never gets mentioned in the anime, and that’s what I’m thinking of…

Page 274, bottom middle panel - it’s that bartender again. Question is, has Akari gone back to the cat cafe again, or this just his regular day job? Or is it his identical brother? Or maybe that’s just a thing in this world - Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and Bartender Bob. :slightly_smiling_face:

Though, I gotta say, the disregard paid to Aria’s safety in this chapter is downright chilling. They expect him to just hold on to Akari’s back the entire time? Even without the acrobatics, that would have been challenging. I mean, Akari’s also expected to hold on, though she’s at least got a bar to stand on. I notice on page 294, he jumps from clinging to Akari’s shoes to clinging to her dress between panels. Also, where did her shopping bag go?

And then page 300 dunno what island that’s being shown there is, but it sure ain’t Neo Venezia. Though, perhaps it’s not supposed to be - on the following page, it looks like they turn their backs on it before heading home.

Don’t think I had any particular language issues. Aside from page 284, final panel - what are the kids saying? Google suggested it’s an Osaka dialect version of ですよ (i.e. they’re agreeing with Woody), so that’s what I’ve put on the vocab list, but I’m not entirely sure.

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I didn’t read any of what you just said, but now I feel like I really need to read the chapter first thing tomorrow.

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You really need to read the chapter first thing today. :stuck_out_tongue:

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5

So tomorrow. Got it.

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Well, considering we just got a Sylph Woody and a chime seller Woody, I’m going to assume it’s more like the Pokémon thing :stuck_out_tongue:
(Or, more likely, that it was just a cameo)

He’s a cat. Nothing bad will happen if he falls. Right?

Hammer space? :thinking:

I wondered the same thing. I can’t see any canal, and it’s way too small anyway.

You mean the ダッセー?
That’s ださい uncool

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It reminds me of this incident.

Ah yes, the Japanese 漫画家 and their obsession with パンツ。While I was half expecting a view of the パンツ (cause you know what 漫画家 are like when it comes to these matters), of course Aika has to come in at the end and make a big deal about it.

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Cat’s always land on their feet. Everyone knows that.

At least this manga is tasteful and doesn’t show anything.

Since it’s been so long since I watched the anime, I totally forgot about this character. It was a pretty fun introduction and unlike Akatsuki, Woody didn’t start pulling Akari’s hair like a jerk. Though he did seriously risk her life with his driving, so…

I have one question for the chapter:
On page 278, can someone clear up what 陰日向なく is supposed to mean? Full sentence is この街に住む私達の生活を陰日向なく支えてくれる. The jisho definition for 陰日向 (“double-faced”) didn’t help, nor did the relatively simple monolingual definitions.

And a few comments:

  • The kids in the background were hilarious.
  • On page 288 the line 心の準備 was interesting. I thought Woody was being weirdly romantic about the situation (not to Akari, but about flying), until I realized it basically meant “brace yourself”.
  • Also, poor Aria from pages 294 to 296. By the end he’s completely in tears.
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He’s almost a non-entity in the anime. Since this chapter never got animated, he just kinda… shows up. Though, Al’s introductory chapter never got animated either, so perhaps that’s not it.

Aye, quite. Definition on this page seems to be “people whose behaviour changes when others can’t see them”, so I guess in the negative it’s “They support the lifestyle of we who live in this town all the time” (not just when we’re watching), though why she has to make a specific note of that, I have no idea.

Tokyopop’s English translation appears to not bother with it at all, and has translated it as “You might say they’re our Pony Express of the sky, who support…” “… the functioning and prosperity of this city.” And then Akari goes “Pony Express of the sky, huh?”

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Also, here’s an answer about 陰日向なく specifically:

So yeah, someone who doesn’t change attitude/ethics whether they are seen by people or all alone. (That is, with or without accountability)

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I’m still not really seeing how it fits into this sentence though. What is Akari getting at?

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It’s still Alicia speaking here. But yeah, it kinda feels like she’s stressing too hard how virtuous they are…

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Oops. I don’t have the book in front of me.

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What @Belthazar just said. She means they all have amazing work ethics.

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Yeah, except it kinda comes across like she’s praising them by saying something like “well, they don’t embezzle company funds”. Unless I’m not quite getting the subtexts.

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I would not read that far into it. Considering they are doing delivery, I would say they are trying their best to be on time, take care of the parcels, etc.

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And they do it even when noone’s watching?

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Exactly. Contrasts the people handling luggage at airports (in real life), who aren’t taking any care, whether people watch or not.

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Yes, but my sense of the sentence is less that it’s “and they do it even when noone’s watching” and more “they’re not so two-faced that they’ll just laze around when noone’s watching”. Like, it feels like she’s saying that they’re not a negative thing, rather than they are a positive thing. Which is what I meant by “not quite getting the subtexts”.

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As a cat owner member of staff, I can only imagine the claws he’d be sinking into Akari’s shoulders to stay attached! :grimacing:
Having said that, I just love Aria社長 more and more as this series continues. I find myself checking his antics even before I figure out what else is going on.

p283~ So he leaps off and the bike just parks itself? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

:joy:

p.293 bottom left panel - what is ふんがなのだ？
(Also, seriously, who gave this dude a driver’s licence!?)

And I thought the last two panels were hilarious, in part because Aika is so blind to the evidence in front of her.
どこのハレンチ娘なのかしら。:laughing:

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