Week 14 (Final!) ギャルと恐竜 ・ Gal and Dino 🦕 (Absolute Beginner Book Club)

:sauropod: Welcome to Week 14 of ギャルと恐竜 ・ Gal and Dino :nail_polish:

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Week 14 14 Mar 2026
Start Page 133
End Page 152
Last week Week 13
Home Thread Here

Page numbers are the ones printed on the bottom of the pages. These may differ from the numbering in digital versions.

Final Panel

:mag_right: Vocabulary

Vocabulary spreadsheet

Characters

Japanese English role photo
かえで Kaede main character
恐竜 Kyoryu (Dino) main character - a dinosaur who Kaede finds in her apartment
大家さん Oyasan (Landlord) Kaede’s Landlord
山田 Yamada Kaede’s Friend
翔太 Shōta Kaede’s Ex Boyfriend
先パイ Senpai Kaede’s work senpai

:speech_balloon: Discussion Guidelines

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:fire: Participation

Will you be reading along with us this week?
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0 voters
5 Likes

Final week, guess it had to come at some point.

Page 133

As I thought
A cold
Sorry Dino
You’re going to have to play by yourself today
I’m too sick to go outside right now

I’ll be fine, don’t worry
Go and come back
Cough

Page 134


Creak

Page 135

Thank you very much
Clap
Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Naotaro
I’m making songs while traveling across Japan
Well to be honest
I don’t think the world can be saved by music
But I also think that a world that could be saved by music has no need of it
…He sure seems to think he’s saying something deep…

Um
So I am

Page 136

Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Naotaro
I’m making songs while traveling across Japan
Well to be honest
I don’t think the world can be saved by music
But I also think that a world that could be saved by music has no need of it
…He sure seems to think he’s saying something deep…

Um
So I am

Page 137

Ahh
This is rough
Door opening
Welcome back
You’re late!
Good evening
Who!?
I’m Naotaro, sorry…
… Who!? Eh, what are you doing here!?
That dinosaur wants me to cheer you up
Maybe he’s worried about you

Page 138

But it’s a cold right…?
Should I head home?
…No
How about I play one song?
I tore through the darkness (Maybe he’s playing the Japanese equivalent of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P0vKLHbtMg&list=RD8P0vKLHbtMg&start_radio=1)
So loud
Sits up

Page 139

!?
Dino
For me
Even though it’s wrong you’re doing this with your full strength
Somehow that

Page 140

Wait this is hilarious
I’m about to cry
What even is this
Jan!
Clap clap
One month later
For everyone watching CUTV I’m Naotaro
Naotaro is actually super famous!?
I should have gotten his autograph

Onto the next chapter

Page 143

That? You’re going now?
Today Yamada was supposed to come over
We’re going to have hotpot
Eh-
Well whatever

Page 144

Sorry for calling you out here
Dinosaur
I want to ask about Kaede
Um… How is she doing lately…
?
How do I put it…
Lately, has someone come in?
Has she brought someone from outside?
No besides you

Page 145

A man you know, a man
Does a guy other than me come to the house?
Thinking
Eh!
There are that many of them?

Ugh
No…
I’m going to Kaede’s place right now!
At this point it’s all or nothing!!

Page 146

Kaede
You haven’t dated anyone since you broke up with Shota, right?
Yeah, that’s right
Do you still like him?
Yeah
Blowing
What do you mean normal?
Lie I said it was normal
Oh I’m putting vegetables in
Isn’t the heat too low?

Page 147


I wonder if Shota would come if I called him
Now?
Should I call him?
Stepping
Hm?
Think that’s Shota at the door?
No way
!

Page 148

Who is it?
It’s Dino
Hey!
Don’t get ahead of me
Oh, it really is Shota
Kaede…

Page 149

Hm?
Please get back together with me!!
Hahahaha That’s hilarious!
The timing is amazing! (Poor Shota, confessing and getting laughed at for it)
Huh?

Page 150

Yamada is here now
And we were talking about you
Hey
Whoa!! You were here!?!?
For now just come in
Join us for HotPot
Eh?
Take off your scarf

Dino’s really going to eat it huh?
Well, I’ll go get some chopsticks
…Hey

Page 151

I just confessed my love though
What’s your answer?

Ugh
Is that good?
Ah I only have disposable chopsticks
Is that alright?
Yeah
That’s good

Page 152

No text here :stuck_out_tongue:

Well, I suppose it’s only fitting that the last week of the bookclub has so much to read. I was really debating with myself on finishing this in one day! I’ll be here for the next abbc, I’m definitely not ready for the next level yet.

6 Likes

gosh, what a sweet lil ending?! i love that 楓 cannot be direct with her feelings with 翔太 to save her life because how real is that?? i love that it ends with them all eating hot pot together, partially thanks to 恐竜 bringing them together.

my ebook has some random snippet comics after the chapters end (a couple about 恐竜, and then a couple that are not really related at all, seemingly). those were definitely a jump in difficulty from the main text lol, but kinda fun to read too.

also, funny that even this story needs a lil “this is a work of fiction” disclaimer there at the end.

8 Likes

Oops I meant to put that in the thread! The extras are definitely much harder than the rest of the manga so I didn’t want to include them as a part of the ABBC, but they’re fun if you wanted some additional challenge.

7 Likes

I haven’t gotten around to tackling the extras at the end, but that was a really cute final chapter! I have to admit I found the meat of the penultimate chapter a little dull—Dino’s great, obviously, as are the wholehearted attempts to make Kaede feel better, but Naotaro’s character felt flat and annoying like wasted space. Good thing that wasn’t the final chapter tho!

If this turns into a spin-off club I’ll definitely keep reading, but otherwise I don’t know if I’ll be going any further, at least not while I have other things on my reading list.

In any case it’s been a great time talking about it all on the regular, like a little lodestone grounding my weeks ^^

Screenshots


Her sick face is so cute like she’s frazzled and helpless and tired ToT


He was about three seconds from blasting off at escape velocity here btw

Someone get this dinosaur to a mosh pit!! Covered in pillows ofc so as not to absolutely body everybody else

I didn’t think Dino could muster a face with this much disdain like my goodness :sob: obviously we know there aren’t any bad intentions but it’s so funny


NOT the kind of expression I want my crush giving me when I confess

Translation

Chapter 14

P133

Kaede: “Yup, it’s a cold~”
“Sorry Dino, you should go on your own today after all”
“I don’t feel up to going out right now”
Dino: “…”
Kaede: “I’m fine, I’ll see you later”

P134: N/A

P135

Naotaro: “Thank you”
“Once again, I’m Naotaro”
“I’m writing songs while travelling Japan” [lit: one lap]
“Mm, honestly,”
“I don’t think you can save the world with music”
“But a world that can be saved by music doesn’t need music… is what I think” [??? either i got this very wrong or he’s talking nonsense]
Spectator: So he’s just saying stuff, huh [deshou??]
Naotaro: “Mm, so I—”

P136

Naotaro: “I think it would be great if I could make even one person feel better before my own eyes”
Spectator: “Oh, that’s not convincing” [lit: seems like something that doesn’t sell]
Natorao: “So”
“!”
“Hm?”

P137

Kaede: cough cough
“Ugh, this is rough”
door opens
“Welcome back”
“You’re kinda late”
Naotaro: “Good evening”
Kaede: “Who’s this!?
Naotaro: “Pardon me, I’m Naotaro…”
Kaede: “…Who!? Huh? What’s going on!?”
Naotaro: “That Dino said he wants me to make you better…”
“Something like that, probably…”

P138

“Although, you have a cold, right…?”
“Should I leave?”
Kaede: “…no”
“Is one song okay?” [I assume it’s her saying this]
Naotaro: “WAAAAAAAA
I CUT THROUGH THE DARKNESS
Kaede: “Noisy ass”

P139

Kaede: Dino’s
For my sake
With his whole heart, confusedly
It’s kinda

P140

Kaede: It’s so funny
I kinda might cry
“What the hell”
One Month Later
Naotaro: “Dear CUTV viewers, I’m Naotaro”
Kaede: “Naotaro really took off, huh!?”
“I should’ve gotten his autograph!!”

Chapter 15

P143

Kaede: “Oh? Are you going out?”
“Yamada’s coming over today! I’m making hot pot, you know?”
“Huh”
“Well, it’s fine”

P144

Shouta: “Sorry for calling you out here”
“See, I wanted to ask you about Kaede…”
“Umm… How is she now?”
Dino: ?
Shouta: “How do I say it…”
“Has she been bringing anyone over lately?”
“No, other than you”

P145

Shouta: “I mean a guy. A guy. Have guys other than me come over?”
“Huh, there have been that many??”
“… mm…no…”
“I’m going over to Kaede’s right now!!”
“If it’s like that I have to go for broke!!”

P146

Yamada: “So, Kaede”
“You haven’t dated anyone else since breaking up with Shouta?”
Kaede: “Yeah, that’s right”
Yamada: “Do you still like him?”
Kaede: “Nah, he’s fine~”
Yamada: “What do you mean he’s fine
Kaede: “I’m mean he’s fine.”
“Oh, I’m putting the vegetables in”
“Isn’t the fire weak?”

P147

Yamada: “'Cause if I call Shouta-kun right now he’ll come over”
Kaede: “Now? You’re gonna call him?”
“Hm?”
Yamada: “Isn’t that Shouta-kun?”
Kaede: “No, I don’t think so”
!

P148

BANG
Yamada: “Who is it?”
Kaede: “It was Dino”
Shouta: “Hey”
“Don’t steal my thunder!!”
Kaede: “Oh, it was Shouta after all”
Shouta: “Kaede…”

P149

Kaede: “Hm?”
Shouta: “Get back together with me!!”
Kaede: “Ahahaha! No way!! This timing is craaaazy!!”
Shouta: “Huh?”

P150

Kaede: “Yamada’s over right now and we were just talking about you!!”
Yamada: “Hey”
Shouta: “Whoa!! You’re here!?!?
Kaede: “Anyway, come inside, let’s all have hotpot together”
Shouta: “Huh?”
Kaede: “Take the scarf off~”
Shouta: “…”
Yamada: “Will you have kimchi hotpot, Dino?”
Kaede: “Okay, I’ll grab some chopsticks”
Shouta: “…hey”

P151

Shouta: “I just confessed”
“What’s your answer?”
Kaede: “…”
“Whatever~”
pusu
“Is this good?”
“Oh, we only have disposable chopsticks…”
“Is that okay?”
Shouta: “Yup”
“That’s great”

7 Likes

I’m certainly not doing the extra stuff at the end of the chapter, I’m struggling through the manga’s currently level as it is lol

6 Likes

Super happy I joined the ABBC. This manga was a lot of fun and I have the whole series. I have no clue how I will get through them with the weekly translation posts xD

The first manga ended in a wholesome way.

6 Likes

First book club complete!! And what a book to start with! I really liked this manga, despite all of the troubles I’ve had with the slang. I suppose I have to get introduced to it somewhere, and learning it here has helped with other series for sure. Thanks for reading along with me and answering all of my questions!!! Speaking of…

なおタロー's introduction

改めまして
ナオタローです

改めまして is listed as “to change/reform” but also has a listing as “to do properly, to do formerly”. Is this some sort of formal set phrase for self-introduction?

なおタロー's speech

I spent so much time on trying to figure this one out…

音楽で
世界を救うことは
できないと思います

lit, “I think that saving the world through music is not possible.” (or “I don’t think you can save the world through music”). Okay, so far so good…

でも
音楽で教えるような世界に
音楽は必要ないー
そうも思います。

But
Through music / to teach / seeming / world / in (or maybe this is an adverbial phrase?)
Music / is not needed
I also think that.

My best guess here is “But I also think that in a world that seems to teach through music, music is not needed.” but that doesn’t make sense. Help?

売れる

There are a few places where this occurs and I wasn’t quite sure how to interpret it. I guess my confusion kinda starts here with this guy:

「それっぽいこと」言ってんなぁ…

Jisho has それっぽい as “seemingly authentic, realistic, convincing”, so I’ve got this as something like “He’s not saying anything convincing”, I guess? Don’t know what the quotes are there for, though?


Then we’ve got this, which I’ve got literally as “Geez, not selling well appearing” (lit). Context has the guy seeming smug, so I guess I’d interpret this as some like "Geez, I doubt anyone’s buying this.’ or something to that effect. I guess???

Next, there’s this panel after なおタロー starts singing:


This transitive version also comes up as to sell, but has a listing as “to betray”, so I guess it’s being used differently here? Or maybe “to force on someone”?

Then finally there’s the third speech bubble in the last panel of this chapter:

ナオタローめっちゃ売れてんだけど!?

This one lines up with the “to be popular, to be famous” definitions, so “Naotaro is super popular, though!?”

I guess my question is, are these all riffs on the same idea of being popular / convincing, and is the joke here that everyone says he’s not 売 but then actually he is?

Anyway, I do think I’ll want to keep reading this, but probably later, or potentially in an offshoot book club. I have a few other series I’m working on and I’m going to try the next ABBC and also the BBC! See some of y’all there??

6 Likes
改めまして

Yes, it is a set phrase. I think it literally more-so means “again” or “once more.” Before we see him, he has already introduced himself to the crowd, but now he introduces himself again, so he says “Once again, I’m Naotaro”

I believe the informal version would be 「改めて」, but I’m not 1000% sure on that

音楽で世界を救う Speech

I think you’ve pretty much got the right understanding. I think the point is that he’s trying to be deep, but isn’t actually making sense :sweat_smile: hahaha

The persons thought bubble in the next panel kind of confirms that as well

Yeah, this person is thinking that he’s not saying anything convincing, that he’s just saying vague nothingness.「っぽい」means “~ish” or “~like”. So それっぽい is showing that he’s just saying something vague, and something that kind of sounds like something, but is nothing lol.
Mm it’s kind of hard to explain sorry, but it’s a point that makes more sense the more you see it.

売れる

Mm, I’m not sure which you meant. But I don’t think it means “no one’s buying this” in the sense of, “no one is buying into/believing what he’s saying”. But I think it does mean buying in the sense of a more literal “it doesn’t seem like anyone is buying his music.”

売れる is used here kind of how we would probably use… popular(?) in English. The person is basically thinking to themselves “He doesn’t seem popular. He doesn’t seem like his career is going well.” Like he’s not good or popular, so he’s not able to sell or be marketable. If that makes sense?

Another time I hear 売れる a lot is with food. If someone bakes something homemade, and the person eating it really likes it, they can say 「これ売れるよ!」, like it’s so good, it would be able to sell ^^

Yehhh, you got it :blush::+1:

Ah! This one is actually a contraction of 「うるさい」^^
Which is often used as meaning “loud”, but can also mean “annoying.” Especially in this case sine it’s shortened, it’s even more intense :sweat_smile: like “God that’s annoying” haha

6 Likes

interestingly, i think the recentish English slang use of “giving” or “eating” isn’t far from this sense of 売れる. in English you can’t really say “dang he’s really selling it” unless the ‘he’ in question is on stage or performing (at least metaphorically), but you can definitely say that he “was giving” or “he ate” :smiley:

4 Likes

Very helpful, thanks! I think I was trying to interpret 売れる based off what he was saying in the moment whereas it was actually more of a general comment on his level of success, or lack thereof.

Thanks for all the awesome replies!

4 Likes

Apols for being so very late. What a lovely little conclusion.

Fave panels

Strong childhood memories being evoked here

Nice little “found family” shot. Sharing a meal with friends is :ok_hand:

@pocketcalamity asked some of the same Qs I had on my mind (use of 改めて and the nonsensical speech - I also got stuck on that second sentence of his) so thank you @TheNerdyNova for the explanations.

@ghelgheli obligatory shout out for your wonderfully consistent translations, v helpful as always.

It’s been fun! Like others, I’m not in a rush to continue to other volumes but it was a great intro to some lovely characters. Great choice for ABBC and thank you @shitsurei for running it. Much appreciated! Thanks to the other regular returning commenters for keeping it lively throughout. See you at a future club soon!

9 Likes