I read 3 pages of the second story in おばちゃんたちのいるところ, to the first break. So far I’m liking it better than the first, though that one didn’t turn from a bit weird to wild until a little later, so, we’ll see.
In non-reading news, I started Tiger & Bunny on Netflix, and watched 12 episodes. I already knew the opening theme, オリオンをなぞる, which was a surprise! Yano Shougo did a cover of it for the Re:collection series, and I think I like that version better than the Unison Square Garden one. Anyway, I had no idea what I was in for going into it, and I don’t dislike it? After the first ep, which was meh, I’m actually enjoying it (I started watching after midnight and ended up watching until 4:30 and had to force myself to go to bed and not just marathon it all morning). Also it’s nice being able to hear and understand some of the things that don’t translate well. Like 上 being both “top” as in the top wire and “up” as in don’t bother picking one, just kick the bomb straight up into the sky to explode harmlessly overhead. Or the 装甲 vehicle that Kotetsu misinterprets as 走行, the word he usually associates with vehicles, whereas in the English they say both words and he just doesn’t register the “armored.” Like, he might be a bit of an idiot, but not that much. But Bunny’s over here being unhelpful: “走行じゃなくて、装甲.” Kotetsu: “は??”
At first I was thinking I wouldn’t, but I think I will see about getting the manga, actually. I am honestly such a sucker for the “one who pretends not to care but very much does × their significant annoyance” dynamic (see also Abeno and Hanae, as well as Kunikida and Dazai from 文スト. I think 2.43’s Chika and Yuni count, too).
(update: I’d thought this was a reboot since I know T&B’s been around, but it seems Netflix has got it marked as 2022 because that’s when s2 was released. So there aren’t two different ones, then.)
Some vocab of note:
釘を刺す (くぎをさす) [expression, サ五] to give a warning; to remind (a person) of
You got the right hunch! 変わり映え is an noun which means “(a) change for the better”. It is also written as 代(わ)り映え. Just like in your example, it is usually used in a negative sense with the meaning “with no change for the better” or simply “no change” / “same as before”.
Regarding 映え, it basically acts as a suffix attached behind other words like 見栄え “good outward appearance”、出来栄え (good) “performance” or “workmanship”、インスタ映え “looking good on Instagram”.
blhhhghgh. not much time, but chipping away at reading nonetheless. my schedule should be clearing up with JET applications closing, so that’ll be a huge load off my shoulders
Aria: the masterpiece volume 1 – progress report
Yesterday: read up to page 213
Today: finished chapter 6. Read up to page 231
Still not feeling too great but I managed to read a bit more than yesterday.
While it’s amusing to see Akari having her own speedy technique by rowing backwards, I still think that it might be a problem at one point: how is she supposed to see obstacles in time and maneuver around them if she’s not looking ahead? I suppose future customers choosing to travel with Akari may have an action-packed experience because they would have to contribute to their own ride and give her warnings on what’s in front of them.
Chapter 7 started on a cute and at the same time overly dramatic note already as the president is about to leave for good due to, in my opinion, manageable limitations on his part.
Luckily it seems that I ‘only’ have the sniffles because I didn’t have a fever overnight and it’s only my nose and throat which are acting up (also most likely not COVID according to my self-testing). Thank you very much for your wishes. The same goes to you, @pocketcat : I wish you a speedy recovery!
Some words of note
掴まる (つかまる) to hold on to, to grasp
互い (たがい) mutual, reciprocal
整理 (せいり) sorting, arrangement, organisation
落ちこむ (おちこむ) to feel down, to feel sad, to be depressed
頼り (たより) reliance, dependence
What I want to know very first about the status of 大麻 in Japan.
What the disease looks like may be guessed by Kanji, but actual English disease names are – touch hold + Google Translate (on Android).
ATRI (Ch. 登校)
Miyamoto Musashi without Furigana (宮本武蔵). I pretty much can’t guess the last Kanji. Also 巌流島. I don’t know this one, but I can guess the reading, except for island (島) part.
To-be-remembered vocabularies and phrases
悪心 and 嫌悪 – nauseous feeling is “bad”, like a dirt 汚点
携わる help 助ける, and being in touch 触る, with sound changes.
寸劇 = 一寸の劇
合法化 apparently, the meaning of 合法 is less than I think, like 合法的
懸念 having fear in mind 気 with all might 一生懸命. There is also 懸想.
取締 / 取締法 = 取り締まる
黒ずむ more like 黒を着く
食欲不振 = 不振 if it doesn’t move (shake 振る), it became dull, like a dull knife…
抽出 picking an orange 柚子 into middle 中 of a hand 扌
断ち切る stand tight 立つ, and cut 切る firmly 断じて
嗜好 my olden 老 thought 思考 (chanting 唱)
陶酔 thrown into porcelain wine pot, and got drunk
合点 self-explanatory Kanji, but can also be がてん. Common enough to be written ガッテン in context (which can be seen once in while, not so rare).
律儀 not the first time I see, and somehow remembered the exception
厳つい think キツい. Actually came from 威喝 (which I probably have seen also).
Wagahai-cat is very hungry and demands breakfast, but no one pays any attention to him despite his expertly executed meows for attention (he likens his meowing melodies to the beauty of Beethoven’s symphonies).
Japanese found under the leaves
Meowords
闃然「げきぜん」ー Quiet and still; no signs of life 聾「つんぼ / ろう」ー Deafness 胚胎「はいたい」ー Germination; pregnancy; arising/originating in; resulting from
I have been really bad at taking part in this but as ever have been enjoying reading everyone else’s updates!
I was on a roll with reading at the end of last month and reading a whole bunch of things. Buuut then for some reason I started feeling very overwhelmed/like I was obligated to read things and like it wasn’t fun anymore. This is after probably a year of reading something every day I think and suddenly it went from being a routine to feeling like a burden/obligation.
I think it was probably a combination of things, work has been super stressful/exhausting, I’m trying to study for N2 at the start of December, I was trying to read a set number of pages each day and to keep up/catch up with too many book clubs.
So anyway, I had a few days not reading anything and now I am just chilling out and playing as much or as little Persona 5 (with Japanese text) as I want to without worrying about tracking anything. This means that I will fall further behind in all of the book clubs I am in but think it’s been helpful to get back into that “reading is fun!” zone.
Just sharing this cos I think I have a tendency sometimes to only share when I’m reading loads/feel like I’m progressing and that can give a less accurate picture of things. Hopefully everyone else is having a nice time reading and also being kind to themselves
Considering I’m about to commit to two VN clubs at the same time, I felt like I need to try and clear some things off my current pile. And I was enjoying the whisper of the heart sequel short story so much that I just wanted to know how it finished.
So I’ve read that so far today, will see if I read more, but probably not. Not entirely sure if I’m gonna read ahead in God Bless the Mistaken, or if I’ll try and cram most of Loopers… Not gonna read ahead in Orange since I’m leading the club.
I also have some required English books to read, so might just have to shuffle some of that in rather than cramming Loopers. I will see.
@sycamore I totally find myself falling into the trap of “of course I can read X amount of pages every day, I have before, haven’t I?” and that very thought turns the fun of reading into an obligation. So I hear you on that. Glad to hear you’re finding a fun and relaxing way back.
Read 3 chapters of Chainsaw man volume 9, and finished chapter 2 of Shield Hero last night. A chapter a day seems to be the way to go with reading as its not that much to read and I enjoy it while I read it since I have a good idea of whats happening. Which i can’t say for light novels like KonoSuba. Didn’t play Danganronpa last night because I had read a lot. Danganronpa V3 has kind of become a “If I have the time/energy” media. The games I have been into recently are mostly shut your brain off games, like MH:R or Mario Kart. Granted I play those in Japanese still, but I don’t have to think about them.
342 → 386
Not too much time to read today so a lot of my reading had holes in it and I was relying a lot of prior knowledge of the movie to fill in gaps >_< My review queue went way up today so I’ll probably read a little less until that becomes more manageable.
Tae Kim 282 → 300 Done! – A lot of the stuff in the 6th section really kinda just bounced off my head, but I’m at least aware of some more forms now. I’ll probably revisit the 5th and 6th sections in a few months after reading more to see if there’s any new forms
からかい上手の高木さん chapter 30, 31
Good Words
占い「うらない」ー fortune
がっかり ー to be disappointed, to feel exhausted
嫌らしい「いやらしい」ー lewd (form: やらしい)
誘う「さそう」ー to invite
Continued to read 教場 and continue to be pretty ‘meh’ about it. I’m at least clearing out an old 積読. It seems to be basically lightly connected short stories of different students experiences at the police academy, centering around one particular teacher.
Also a while back there was a discussion of fonts. I’m back on the SRS train (until I get sick of it again) and I have my anki deck setup to give me different fonts (from a selection) each time. I hate this one for long sentences, but it certainly challenges my kana reading skills:
The word is 補強 (reinforcement) for those interested, and the bit underneath is an example sentence, presumably from wherever I first saw it, although I admit I’ve completely forgotten which source that came from. Maybe when I was reading that book publisher’s blog
Edit: As an aside, a review of 教場 had be laughing:
母のおすすめ。図書館で借りて、読了。
Or: My mom suggested it, I borrowed it from the library and finished it.
8 likes. I don’t know if that’s intended to be brutal, but that’s how I interpret it.
Jinxed myself yesterday. Said not my monkeys, not my circus, but then I did get monkeys in my circus and they took up my evening
Good end to the volume, I was falling asleep at it though, so I didn’t even bother trying to start the next volume. I really liked seeing the profile of the shops in Capri in the manga. It matched my memory perfectly, so was a light note at the end of a stressful night.
Hopefully today goes better.
Capri
things have changes over the years, but that building is mostly the same
変わり映え is an noun which means “(a) change for the better”. It is also written as 代(わ)り映え. Just like in your example, it is usually used in a negative sense with the meaning “with no change for the better” or simply “no change” / “same as before”.
Home Post
Japanese found under the leaves 
November 16 
Nov 16 
)
11.16.2022 
342 → 386
青桐.
ミニスカ宇宙海賊 1.
死神の浮力; 
模倣犯 上; 
のだめカンタービレ 6; 
魔王城でおやすみ 11. (I spent many hours on a bus. 
November 16th 
I don’t know if that’s intended to be brutal, but that’s how I interpret it.
