Week 1: ヨコハマ買い出し紀行 (Intermediate BC)

[Naphthalene]

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Week 1

Start date: October 23rd 2021
Previous part: N/A
Next part: Week 2
Wordlist: Google sheets (thank you @harundoom!)

Reading

Week	Start Date	End Phrase	End Page (PB)	Page Count
Wk 1	23 Oct	Prologue/ Chapter 1	42	36

Discussion Rules

• Please use spoiler tags for major events in the current chapter(s) and any content in future chapters.
• When asking for help, please mention the chapter and page number. Also mention what version of the book you are reading.
• Don’t be afraid of asking questions, even if they seem embarassing at first. All of us are here to learn.
• To you lurkers out there: Join the conversation, it’s fun!

Participants

Mark your participation status by voting in this poll.
(Please feel free to update your status whenever you like!)

• I am reading along
• I have finished this part
• I am reading behind the schedule
• I have decided to drop the book
• I am a tomato, show me the results

[Belthazar]

In before anyone asks: on page 10, 〼 on the gas station sign is just a ligature mark representing ます. Because it looks like a 枡 drinking cup, you see?

I’ve read this in English before, and I must admit, I’ve never really understood how this can be the first time that Alpha has met the old guy. I mean, I guess it’s because the first chapter needs to introduce him to us too, but surely she’s gone shopping before. Or, driven down this road before.

I idly wonder if it’s possible to do a Google Maps comparison like I do for Yuru Camp, but it’s set so far in the future (and written so far in the past) that it’s not likely anything will resemble their modern-day locations. That said, the sign behind Alpha on page 19 points the way to Miura (with the side arrows pointing to Taura on the left and Zushi on the right, so I guess it might be possible to find that intersection, if that road still exists). Yokohama Landmark Tower definitely exists in the manga, though.

Page 30 introduces one of the interesting quirks of this series - even though this is supposedly the quiet twilight age, and Alpha felt safe enough last chapter to sleep outside, having a gun on hand for protection is not at all noteworthy. Are there roving bands of Mad Max bandits who simply never appear on-screen?

[Naphthalene]

@Belthazar

Because it looks like a 枡 drinking cup, you see?

Oh! I knew about the shorthand but I had no idea where it came from.

@Belthazar

I mean, I guess it’s because the first chapter needs to introduce him to us too, but surely she’s gone shopping before. Or, driven down this road before.

Also he knows her (even though he kinda creepily avoids mentioning it, just saying he knows who she is instead) (edit: that’s not clear; I’m trying to make a reference to his じつはわしもファン without spoiling)

Not gonna lie, between that and his character design, it took me a while to warm up to this guy.

@Belthazar

Are there roving bands of Mad Max bandits who simply never appear on-screen?

I would assume wild animals (especially, dogs can be vicious) but I guess that’s possible too?

---

Unrelated, but every time I see page 17 I wonder how fast she has to go to break in such a dramatic fashion. (I guess it’s mostly for comedic/sexy effect though)

[seanblue]

Not the most exciting first two chapters, but I guess that’s the kind of manga it is. The old man’s smile sure is creepy.

[valkow]

It’s been a couple of years since I read this, so I decided to reread along with the book club. I missed these characters a lot! Also, my reading comprehension has improved!

eta: lol, “a couple years,” I checked and it was last year. Where did my concept of time disappear to.

[wiersm]

Just wanted to say hi : I decided to read along with this club too because I was curious about this manga (I am also participating in the Beginner Book Club at the moment). I’m finding it pretty readable so far for someone at my level. (I won’t bother you with all my beginner questions )

@Belthazar

I’ve never really understood how this can be the first time that Alpha has met the old guy.

Right?

@Belthazar

Page 30 introduces one of the interesting quirks of this series

Yes, that was definitely one of those “oh, a gun is introduced into the story, that means it has to go off at some point”-moments

@Naphthalene

Not gonna lie, between that and his character design, it took me a while to warm up to this guy.

@seanblue

The old man’s smile sure is creepy.

I totally agree.

[AmomentOfMusic]

@wiersm

I won’t bother you with all my beginner questions

Please do! We love to help out - a) explaining stuff helps the more experienced folks understand things b) sometimes we might gloss over something that is actually really interesting!

I think the low density of this manga is a bit deceiving - while I didn’t find it hard per say, I sometimes felt that I couldn’t quite put all the pieces together and understand what was being said even when I knew all the words. Had to check with an English edition a couple of times.

Enjoyed the pacing, very relaxed. The only that confused me a bit was when the boy showed up. She seemed to already know his name, which I found confusing. Have they previously met?

[Belthazar]

@AmomentOfMusic

Enjoyed the pacing, very relaxed. The only that confused me a bit was when the boy showed up. She seemed to already know his name, which I found confusing. Have they previously met?

One gets the impression that some time has passed between the one-shot and the first chapter. Enough time that Alpha knows the old guy’s regular order, despite not having even met him last chapter.

Though I guess the fact that she’s still moping over Owner’s note means it can’t have been too long.

[Naphthalene]

@AmomentOfMusic

The only that confused me a bit was when the boy showed up. She seemed to already know his name, which I found confusing. Have they previously met?

@Belthazar

One gets the impression that some time has passed between the one-shot and the first chapter. Enough time that Alpha knows the old guy’s regular order, despite not having even met him last chapter.

Also the fact he complains about the old guy coming without him again, meaning he might be a semi-regular himself at this point.

@Belthazar

Though I guess the fact that she’s still moping over Owner’s note means it can’t have been too long.

It could have been a year or two (although my gut feeling is more of the scale of a few weeks, but who knows). Regardless, it’s not surprising she keeps thinking about it, especially if there has been no news (and I guess no news were had).

[jhol]

@AmomentOfMusic

Please do! We love to help out - a) explaining stuff helps the more experienced folks understand things b) sometimes we might gloss over something that is actually really interesting!

@wiersm I was getting ready to say exactly this when I saw @AmomentOfMusic beat me to it. I’ve learned a ton by trying to answer questions. I also think that people who read a lot tend to gloss over some specifics when they (think they) understand the gist, so it’s easy to miss nuance or good learning opportunities. I honestly wish people asked questions more often in the IBC and its offshoots, but I’m certainly guilty of not asking enough myself.

@AmomentOfMusic

I think the low density of this manga is a bit deceiving - while I didn’t find it hard per say, I sometimes felt that I couldn’t quite put all the pieces together and understand what was being said even when I knew all the words. Had to check with an English edition a couple of times.

The old man’s dialect definitely took some effort to parse.

Also, what does the note on the door say? The handwriting and low-quality scan made it tough to parse.

[Belthazar]

@jhol

Also, what does the note on the door say? The handwriting and low-quality scan made it tough to parse.

I’m reasonably sure it’s

アルファへ
元気なようで
安心しました

But yeah, it’s certainly not easy.

[CarsonHua7645]

I hope you guys don’t mind me joining too, I got the manga when it was free on amazon a couple of months ago, and hopefully joining a book club for the first time will give me the motivation to finally get around to reading it :DD

also hopefully I won’t just end up lurking

[Naphthalene]

@CarsonHua7645

also hopefully I won’t just end up lurking

Don’t worry! Lurking is quite alright too.
As long as you click the participation poll in the threads, we will know you’re here

[wiersm]

Thank you for making me feel welcome! @AmomentOfMusic @jhol
I’ll see what questions I still have after a little more searching on the internet.

@jhol

The old man’s dialect definitely took some effort to parse.

I won’t lie: I haven’t completely combed over the old man’s speech yet

@jhol

The handwriting and low-quality scan made it tough to parse.

Yeah, the scan resolution is a bit low sometimes. The 護 kanji on page 31 is basically one big blob of black. Maybe Wanikani should also have a practice mode where every kanji is smudged like this

[Belthazar]

@wiersm

I’ll see what questions I still have after a little more searching on the internet.

Well, at least share your findings. It’s entirely possible that other people have the same questions. By asking them, everyone learns.

Plus, more than once, someone’s question has made me realise I only thought I understood a sentence.

[kinwein]

First of all, I’d like to say hello to everyone! I’m reading along with the club for the first time and I’m very excited
I usually like to read at my own pace but I thought this manga is perfect for trying try to keep me motivated to keep up because It’s not as intimidating as a full page of text.

I was lurking around for a long time and bought a couple of books that the club was reading in the past and I will try to read them out of schedule when the right time comes

On with the question, then. On page 12 おじさん said “たまに通んの見るだけでいいだとよ”. I have a problem with 通ん. How do you read that? Is it とおん from 通る とおる。And then it will mean something like “passing through”? And what is that ん anyway? Is it his dialect?

[wiersm]

@kinwein

I have a problem with 通ん. How do you read that?

Yes, I also have that question, also for the next text bubble (てれてんだよ). I thought that it might be some form of negation (short for ない?) which might make that second sentence “It’s not embarrassing”, but I’m finding it hard to fit that into the first sentence.

Edit: And while we’re on the subject of the old man’s speech: on page 13 bottom left panel, I find it hard to determine what いきなし is (I take it that it’s not breathless ).

And in the sentence after that, まっつぐ is simply another spelling of まっすぐ, right? And 行けめぇ is something like 行けるまい or 行けない, I guess?

[kinwein]

@wiersm

I find it hard to determine what いきなし is (I take it that it’s not breathless ).

This whole sentence is a mystery to me. いきなし I was thinking maybe なし as “without” and 行き like “way there”. So “road without the way there” or “road leading to nowhere”.

But then, what is the meaning of 無くなんしよー… that would be from 無い “non-existent”、right? But If the “road leading to nowhere” is “non-existent” then we have double negative so… there is a road? lolol

Couple of pages in and the old man already giving me a headache

[wiersm]

@kinwein

This whole sentence is a mystery to me. いきなし I was thinking maybe なし as “without” and 行き like “way there”.

Maybe someone else knows better, but I think that could work. The しs are listing reasons, right, so he could be saying “since there is no way there, since the road the gone, you know, you probably won’t be able to go straight there”.

Basically, maybe the なし should be interpreted as ないし here.

[kinwein]

I think I got it! I searched far and wide and found this page where someone explains that in old fart speech いきなし might mean いきなり.

So I think (still not entirely sure) the whole sentence would be “the road can suddenly disappear/end and you might not be able to go straight anymore”.

If まっつぐ means まっすぐ and 行けめぇ means いけない