I thought that light novels are specifically geared towards teenagers, but I have never read such scenes in (western) teenager literature. So I guess there are light novels aimed at different age groups? How would I be able to know this in advance?
The magazines are explicit about who their target audience is. Usually, the audience might be readers of the original magazines and know what they’re getting. F&B is an 18+, jousei series. I also think the lack of furigana is a dead giveaway, making it meant for an adult audience. Furigana for nautical or historically specific terms is just common sense, as most people wouldn’t know those.
But, in any case, light novels are not youth novels. Shoujo light novels are though.
And if I just look at the book, would there be a classification that describes the target audience? I expected that to be 青年 or something, but is this series classified as such? BookWalker only gives 女性向け and BL as genres… ![]()
Lots of teenager books don’t contain furigana either, in my experience ![]()
Ah, thanks for setting this straight! Wasn’t clear to me so far. ![]()
BL is a bit difficult as a genre for sure as it includes both teenage and adult audiences. So, it doesn’t work like the shounen/seinen or jousei/shoujo divide. I’m going to try find out where F&B was originally published, but might post about it in the main thread if so, as this is getting a bit off-topic. ![]()
And chapter 7 finished; I didn’t have a whole lot to finish. Man, why is 松岡先生 so surprisingly poignant with her chapter closers? Kaito thinking about how Lily had to wait 30+ years to meet another time traveler… ![]()
So not too much more to add to my previous thoughts about chapter 7. I guess I’ll need to keep a close eye out for the number nine from here on out, at least.
I too will not give up hope until the very end! ![]()
Could you explain more of your thoughts here? Not sure I follow.
So wild guessing and speculating time: we know there are two worlds sitting in parallel with each other, and you can cross at least one way. What if Kaito didn’t travel back to the past per se, but that alternate world’s present?
So out of curiosity, why is exactly one person’s face blurred out here? (Nice picture, though!)
Oh crap, I didn’t realize chapter 8 was the last chapter.
Gotta get moving!
I think you just clarified my somewhat foggy thoughts on this! ![]()
I was basically wondering: So Kaito and Lily meet in this parallel world, which means they were able to travel to the same parallel world at different points in time.
Kaito travelled to that parallel world from 2004 (?) to 1587. If somebody else (let’s call them Mr. X) would have travelled on the same day as Kaito (in 2004) but would have ended up in, say, 1597, would he then be able to meet a Kaito who spent already 10 years in that past world? Or would he land in a different parallel universe in which nobody would have any knowledge of a Japanese boy suddenly appearing in Plymouth. Because it did not happen in the world that Mr. X ended up in.
And I think it’s the latter.
So basically what you said, he did not travel back but sideways - to a parallel universe whose present is truly in parallel, it’s just that this other world’s present is in 1587. And that’s why I think it’s necessary that these two worlds run at the same pace.
Also, it seems to even allow for the possibility to go back and forth because it’s like a stable connection between these two worlds. Or maybe just go in one direction, not in the other?
Anyway, if it’s possible that several people travelled from one world to the other, what if Kazuya appeared in the 1587 world one day?
Mainly courtesy towards my ex-boyfriend, as I don’t think it’s nice to expose somebody else’s picture without their consent. The other persons are me and my children, and you can imagine that my children look pretty different now so I don’t consider that a problem, and I am ok with people seeing an old photo of mine.
Yes, absolutely!
Wow you people are thinking deeply about the world building here. So many great ideas and thoughts!
I don’t think I have much to add presently, but I too think of these worlds are two parallel worlds seemingly running at the same pace. ^^
So I finished the book last night, and phew. I had an idea of what to expect, given that I know what the next volume cover was, but all my expectations were exceeded. Let’s get down to it.
Chapter 8 spoilers
So. So so so. Let’s skip straight to Kaito and Nigel in the meadow. Kaito goes hunting for evidence of the time slip, but is unfortunately unsuccessful. I wonder if Geoffrey dragging Kaito to that brothel snapped something in Nigel, because he almost immediately starts pulling out the cheesy one-liners. “Maybe the flowers were waiting for you to return before they bloomed.” My god man. I was extremely proud of Nigel. He then takes the opportunity to get a kiss while Kaito inexplicably falls asleep in the middle of their search. Kaito awakes at just the perfect time, Nigel begs him to either forget about it or pretend to forget about it. Poor guy.
He truly is stuck between a rock and a hard place here: can’t have Kaito, doesn’t want to lose Geoffrey and Kaito as friends.
So someone correct me if I’m wrong: Kaito doesn’t really answer Nigel’s feelings one way or another, right? Maybe it was just me, but Kaito seemed kind of upset when he realized that Geoffrey knew about Nigel’s feelings and didn’t say anything. Makes me wonder if Kaito’s going to sit the two down when they reunite and have a long talk; Kaito feels like the kind of person to me who wouldn’t appreciate Geoffrey willfully showing off his feelings in front of a dear friend of both of theirs who also has feelings for Kaito.
This line in particular I want to quiz you guys about, to make sure I’m fully understanding it:
「俺だって好きなんだ…あんたのこと…でも…」
This is Kaito talking to Nigel, right before Nigel notices they’re surrounded. だって always throws me for a loop. Is this sentence something along the lines of “Even I…like you…but…”?
So anyway, alerted by both that ass Pippo and the fact that yet another dude has started smooching Kaito, Vicente shows up on the scene. Man, I can’t believe Pippo showed up here; what a jerk. This chapter ended perfectly, perfectly I tell you, when he got stabbed and died.
Anyway, Nigel is crazy outnumbered, Kaito’s caught, etc. Kaito wrings out a promise from Vicente to let Nigel live, and before Kaito is carried off into the metaphorical sunset Nigel asks if he has any message he wants passed on to Geoffrey. Another question for you all; this is the first part of Kaito’s message:
「俺達には時間がある。そう思っていたんだけどな」
What exactly does Kaito mean here? What is 時間 referring to? Who is the 達 in 俺達? I must know!
And finally that laced brandy makes another appearance, which I thought was a nice touch. I wonder how many bottles Vicente’s sacrificed like this?
So. Man, what a great ending chapter. I’m so excited for volume 8; I told myself I’d finally go back and read volume 6’s bonus story before continuing, but I reaallly want to see what happens next. D: I might think of more stuff to talk about here later; this was a crazy chapter.
@NicoleIsEnough I still need to reply to your previous reply. I have blueberry pancakes waiting on me to be devoured, however, so I’ll pause here.
I’d translate it as “I also like you, but…”. Though it’s open to interpretation, I personally put the emphasis on the but, here as in "but not in that way" being left out. But, as I said, it’s possible to see something more in those words, for sure. ![]()
next question!
I’d translate this as “‘We have time’ [to be together], or so we thought.” - as in Kaito expressing regret that he and Jeoffrey didn’t get to have more time with each other.
Thank you for the replies, ekg! Curious if @NicoleIsEnough has any other insights on the text. There’s so little there.
Really, Nigel picked his time to accidentally confess really well. Any answer Kaito gives here should be after plenty of time to think about it.
(Chapter 7 speculation)
That’s what I’m thinking. Especially if Kazuya goes back to the Hoe to investigate the time slip on his end.
I wonder if there’s any particular reason why the seasons aren’t completely lined up? Like, both in-world and narratively. What does 松岡先生 gain by having the two worlds be a season (I think) apart?
I thought that having been shagged all night would make for a pretty good explanation here ![]()
It’s so heartwrenching, isn’t it? ![]()
See below:
I would translate this as “I love you too, but … [there is this other guy I am together with, so we cannot be together]”.
So in my opinion that’s how he answer’s Nigel’s feelings. (And also by sacrificing himself for Nigel, and for cutting his neck for him to demonstrate his seriousness.)
Yeah I also thought this definitely needs a conversation among the three of them at some point.
Yep, I was really surprised and satisfied about that.
Yep, that’s what I understood as well. 俺達 being Kaito and Geoffrey (as he gives his note in direct speech).
Haha nope forget about it
This multi-layered cliffhanger is just too strong…
Enjoy! I won’t run away any time soon ![]()
I’ll have more time this month so I’m finally gonna get started on this volume (quite late whoops). Gonna spend this month trying to catch up as much as I can, it’ll be Flesh&Blood February for me
I’m so excited to get into this one after peeking at that first line
Just the other day I wondered whether we lost you… Good to have you back on board! ![]()
Man, these next couple of volumes are really good! Hope you enjoy them, and looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Whoa, I just noticed I have a small cake slice next to my name today. Never thought I’d accidentally post on an anniversary, haha.
Happy WK anniversary @eefara!
^>^
Glad to hear you’re finally getting some time to read. I’m keeping the threads on “watching” so will be sure to read your comments later! ^>^ Happy reading! ![]()
I’ve been here how many years and I’m only level 2 smh
How am I going to read F&B at this rate