Learning through Translating: ブラックジャックによろしく Manga

Did they happen to give you any examples of other clubs? I’d like to see what they do in order to understand how we can structure this. I see that the Re:Zero reading club seems to go by volume. IDK what the rest do.

I added this thread to the Master List (under Misc (scheduled)) :slightly_smiling_face: do you guys think you’re more on the beginner side or the intermediate side?

I don’t think it’s quite that extreme - as Jonapedia says, some clubs like Re:Zero have a thread per volume, but most of the non-specific book clubs have weekly discussion threads separate from their ‘home thread’ (for example). Or e.g. things like Girls’ Last Tour transitioned from using weekly threads per chapter to using one per volume after activity died down during volume 2.

5 Likes

Thanks a lot @Radish8. Do you think we could do one thread per episode then? I’m guessing that the main issue was that we were creating one thread a day, and as I’ve come to realise, WaniKani threads are perfecting capable of coping with 3000+ posts per thread. I think one episode would take at least a week to translate, given that we do about two pages a day, and each of our dropdown lists for previous episodes contains at least 8 double-page screenshots. (Other suggestions are welcome, of course!)

EDIT: @JenK Thanks for the clarification! Given what you just said, I guess one thread per episode (or rather per chapter aka 話) would work then. I’ll leave the rest to read your message then. (I’ll add a link to the current translation thread.) I kinda got roped in as a helper/tutor, so I haven’t had experience creating the threads yet. I usually just add comments. Thanks again!

1 Like

Hi @Zizka, I think you may have misinterpreted my email but I suggested either one master thread (like this one) where you have different sections linked within the long thread or just creating new weekly discussion threads instead of daily, like the other reading groups. Weekly per chapter or per volume, whatever makes sense for this manga.

I think @Radish8 gave a good example of ones you can follow as an example! I don’t know how it is done on duolingo but taking a look around and seeing how other other users have used the reading category should give you guys a good idea :raised_hands:

Either way, as long as the frequency of your new threads are similar to other users, we’re fine with whatever you guys decide.

This new current thread is fine if you wanted to just use this to link your weekly threads.

5 Likes

They can actually go up to 10,000 before they get closed :grin:

3 Likes

Really now? That’s pretty cool. Hahaha. By the way, I realise no one’s replied you on whether we’re more ‘beginner’ or ‘intermediate’. I think the rest will have a better idea of that, but my impression is that it’s a little complicated… OK, with no offence meant to the rest at all, I think we’re mostly beginners, perhaps about to cross into intermediate territory. But in any case, from what I understand (though I joined this group late), everyone started this manga as beginners with the intention of improving as much as possible.

As for the manga itself: in terms of kanji, I’d say this manga is at least intermediate, possibly advanced (I think you can judge better than me because I haven’t touched the WaniKani levels). The hard words are mostly medical terms. Language isn’t flowery otherwise. In terms of grammar, I think it’s a little above beginner level. I looked at a website listing JLPT grammar points, and I think most of the grammar is N5-N4 level? A few N3 points, that’s all.

That’s all from me. I’m just doing a rough analysis. @Zizka @Shannon-8 @YanagiPablo Could you all please state your impression of your current level, and of whom this project is meant for? You guys started this together, so you’d know better.

1 Like

Re. The target level of this thread. I feel like it’s appropriate for “intermediate beginners”, and by that I mean people familiar with kana and kanji with some vocabulary and a sense of verb usage.
Beginner, because we analyze ONE SENTENCE AT A TIME and (optionally can) EXPLAIN EVERYTHING IN EXCRUCIATING DETAIL. NO QUESTION IS TOO STUPID. (This is entirely different from the other book clubs that I have peeked into). I think it’s a great trial opportunity BEFORE embarking in an entire book club. (Now I’m ready to try one) We are more about the language learning than the manga.

History: we had kind of “stalled out” in our learning and wanted to experience conversations in context instead of isolated sentences. We had trouble finding stories that were challenging at our level and not overly childish; and the copyright issues.

2 Likes

Being familiar with the grading system of the WK book clubs, I agree with that assessment. Intermediate and above focus a lot more on discussing the story rather than asking questions (not that they are particularly forbidden or anything; it’s just that people in those clubs have way less questions and can often look up the answers by themselves).

3 Likes

A pace of ~14 pages per week aligns too.

I’ve marked it as Beginner then :slightly_smiling_face:

3 Likes

I think one episode would take at least a week to translate, given that we do about two pages a day, and each of our dropdown lists for previous episodes contains at least 8 double-page screenshots. (Other suggestions are welcome, of course!)

I kept statistics of how long it took us to do each episode back on Duo Lingo. It depends on a lot on variable participation but it never took us less than two weeks to do an episode. This might end up being faster and faster with practice but it’ll take a long while before we do an episode a week.

2 Likes

Introducing ☆Proposals☆:

This is something I wanted to pitch in for a while now so there it is:

What is it?

The idea of a “proposal” is simply a declaration of a new methodology to submit to the community. It can be anything which would involve a collective change to be accepted or rejected by the group. As we go along, new ideas pop up to improve how effective the activity is.

An example could be:
Proposal: Renaming the activity “Translation Exercise” or “Collapsing replies of 5 lines or more” etc…

Anyone can submit a proposal, whether they participate or not. It is then voted. If it has the majority, it is integrated as a new methodology. If not, it is rejected and not implemented.

1 Like

第4話 夏雲

Episode 4, Summer Clouds

Places and names↓
  • 斉藤 英二郎 (さいとう えいじろう): the main character. He is an idealist who wants to be a doctor to help people as opposed to become rich.
  • 永禄大学: the Eiroku (or Eternal Fortune) university, where Saitou graduated. Abbreviation: 永大.
  • 誠同病院: Seidou hospital, a private hospital where Saitou did part-time job at night (on Episode 1). It paid well but was in conflict with Saitou’s values and beliefs.
  • 服部 脩(はっとり おさむ): director of Seidou hospital.
  • 牛田 克雄(うしだ かつお): doctor that worked at night at Seidou hospital. He told (on Ep.1) Saitou about how that hospital prefers traffic accidentees as their treatment is not regulated and can be billed four times more. And tries to get back in contact with Saitou, by phone (Ep.2) then by letter (Ep.3).
  • 出久根 邦弥(でくね くにや): fellow intern that (Ep.2 & 3) trains with Saitou.
  • 第一外科 : 1st surgery department. Eiroku U. follows the “super rotate” method, in which interns train on various different services in rotation; at Ep. 2 & 3 Saitou trains here.
  • 春日部 一郎(かすかべ いちろう): nicknamed “God’s hands”, is a professor at the Eiroku University hospital that just do initial incisions, and otherwise is interested only in study of eels.
  • 白鳥 貴久(しらとり たかひさ): doctor at the 1st surgery department. He is the instructor of Saitou and Dekune.
  • 金子 敏夫(かねこ としお): the 75 year old person that got the surgery (Ep.2). Pr. Shiratori constantly say to Saitou that it is useless to do “too much” about him; later he reveals that nobody expects Mr. Kaneko to come back to life; the operation was a useless operation, done on instructions of Pr. Kasukabe, so that the hospital can get money from the family (Ep.3). Saitou has however been able to get his heart beat again.
The story so far : page by page↓

Each dropdown section reveals the original Japanese text, and its interpretation into English, on those pages
(click on the letter/number in front of each text to go to the post(s) with full details on analyzing the text)

p1-3
  • 1 : Narrator: 午前1時20分ー
    金子敏夫(75歳)の容体が急変 心臓が停止する
    At 1:20 in the morning, Kaneko Toshio (75 years old)'s condition took a sudden turn as his heart stopped beating.
  • 2 : Saitou: 生き返れ
    Come back to life!
  • 3 : Pr. Kanukabe: 非常(ひじょう)(もう)()げにくい(こと)ですが
    It is an extremely delicate matter to say.
  • 4 : お父様の意識が回復する見込みはほぼなくなりました
    Your father’s chance to recover consciousness are almost gone
  • 5 : 現在心臓マッサージでなんとか心拍は戻ってはいますが
  • Currently, the heart is beating again after a cardiac massage, but…*
  • 6 : 肝不全 心不全『に』加え 心停止による 低酸素[血]症で…
    In addition to liver and heart failure, he had a cardiac arrest; the hypoxemia is damaging his brain
p4-7
  • 7 : Pr. Shiratori: どうしてそのまま死なせてやらなかった
    Why didn’t you just let him die
  • 8 : やるなといった腹膜透析まで行うなんて…
    What, you will perform even the peritoneal dialysis I told you not to do…
  • 9 : くどいようだが単なる延命処置は国民の医療費の無駄遣いだ
    It may seem like I’m repeating myself, but but life lengthening measures is a waste of the nation’s medical resources/fees
  • 10 : Saitou: 白鳥先生…医者が患者を助けようとするのがそんなにいけない事ですか…
    Doctor Shiratori, is it a wrong thing for a doctor to attempt to help and do other things like that for a patient
  • 11 : Pr. Shiratori: 私はこういう患者(かんじゃ)何百(なんびゃく)見てきた
    I’ve also seen hundreds of patients like this one
  • 12 : 死にゆく(もの)は静かにみとるべきだ
    You should quietly care for a person who is dying/about to die
  • 13 : Saitou : それじゃあだまって死ぬのを見てろって言うんですか…?
    So, you’re telling me to stay silent and keep watching [as] death [occurs]…?
  • 14 : Pr. Shiratori: その通りだ
    That is so
  • 15 & 16 : Family: 難しい事『は』分かんね
    I don’t understand difficult things
    お任せします
    “We leave the decision up to you [doctors]”
    Dr. Shiratori: 延命処置は中止させていただきます
    We will stop the life prolonging treatment
  • 17 : Saitou: おじいさん… あなたは本当に意識がないんですか…?
    Old man, are you really unconscious/not conscious?
  • 18 : もしかして目も口も(からだ)も働かなせなくて
    Perhaps you can’t open move your eyes, your mouth as well as your body…
  • 19 : 自分の思ってる事を人に伝えられないだけじゃないんですか…?
    …and that’s only that you cannot convey to others the things you’re thinking?
  • 20 : 教えて下さい… あなたは本当にこんな最後でいいんですか…?
    Tell me please,… are you really ok with this being your final moments?
p8
  • 21 : Narrator: 7月6日ー
    :speech_balloon:6th of July
    延命処置中止から3日経過
    :speech_balloon:Its been 3 days since the suspension of the life-prolonging measures
  • 22 : 斉藤: 息子さんも誰も来なくなっちゃいましたね
    :speech_balloon:It’s become such that neither his/your son nor anybody (else) comes, huh?
  • 23 : 手術の時はあなたのために100万円も出したのに…
    :speech_balloon:It cost 1 million yen for the surgery time for you…
  • 24 & 25 : 死ぬ と 決まったら 見舞い に すら 来ない んです ね……
    When it’s sure that (you) will die, (they) don’t come even for visits, eh?
    なん だった んです か ね……?
    What was (all) that, huh?
    あの 100万円 は あなた へ の 餞別 だった のか な……?
    Was that ¥100 000 a farewell gift for you(, perhaps)?
p9-10
  • 26 : Saitou: お早うございます
    Good morning
  • 27 : 何やってるんですか?
    What are you doing?
  • 28 : Nurse: そりゃ先生
    Well doctor…
    意識がなくても体は汚れるし動かさないと床ずれもできますから…
    even if they’re unconscious, their body still gets dirty and if you don’t move them they will develop bedsores
p11-14
  • 29 : Saitou: 伸びている ヒゲが伸びている
    It’s growing. The beard is growing
  • 30 : “spectral” voice: 助けてくれよ先生
    Help me doctor
  • 31 : お願いだよ先生…
    :speech_balloon:Please doctor
    オレは死にたくねえんだ
    :speech_balloon:I don’t want to die
  • 32 : なんとかしてくれよ先生…
    :speech_balloon:Do something for me, doctor…
    お医者は偉いから『先生』って呼ばれてるんだろ…
    :speech_balloon:A doctor is called “master” because he is excellent, isn’t he?
  • 33 : Narrator: たとえ意識を回復する可能性が1%しかなかったとしても……
    :speech_balloon:Even assuming that the chances of recovering consciousness were no more than 1%…
  • 34 : 医療側の都合で治療をやめるのは間違いだ…
    stopping a medical treatment due to medical staff circumstances is an error…
  • 35 : (recalling Dr Hattori words): どうせ死ぬなら腹を開けろ
    In the case that he will die anyway, open the stomach
  • 36-38 : なんにもしないよりマシだ
    It’s better than doing nothing
    お前は医者だ
    You are a doctor
    新人だろうが半人前だろうがお前は医者なんだ…
    Whether you are a newbie or yet inexperienced, you are a doctor
    Saitou: 僕は医者だ…!
    I am a doctor!
p15
  • 39 : Dr Shiratori: なんだね斎藤先生… 何か用かね
    “What is it, doctor Saitou, what do you want/what is your purpose?”
  • 40 : Saitou: お願いします 金子さんに腹膜透析や輸血をやらせて下さい
    Please let mister Kaneko do the dialysis and the blood transfusion
  • 41 : お願いします‼︎
    金子さんの延命処置を再開けさせて下さい‼︎
    Please, resume Mr Kaneko’s life prolonging measures again!
p16-17
  • 42 : Shiratori: 何度言わせる気だ
    How many times are you planing to make me say this
  • 43 : 無駄な延命処置は社会悪だ
    Life extension measures are a social ill/evil
  • 44 & 45 : 君はなんとなく手をつくした気になって自分を納得させたいだけど
    However, you somehow feel as to try all possibilities and want to convince yourself
    そんな 自己 満足 に 投じる 大金 は ない!
    There aren’t large amounts of money to throw in such self complacent manner
  • 46 : Saitou: 初めて金子さんの手術をしている先生を見て時… 僕はちょっと感動しました…
    You are the doctor who first participated in mister Kaneko’s surgery and from the time I’ve seen this it has moved me
  • 47 & 48 : 自分が病気になったとしてたら… 先生みたいな人に手術してもらいたいと思いました…
    I thought I wanted to be operated by someone like you… If I get ill myself…
  • 49 & 50 : 先生はあの手術の時何を考えていたんですか…?
    Doctor, what were you thinking at the time of the surgery?
    どうせ死ぬと思ってたんなら…
    If you thought that he would die no matter what…
  • 51 : なんであんなていねいな手術をしたんですか
    “Why do such a conscientious surgery?”
  • 52 : Shiratori: 私は外科医だ
    I’m a surgeon
    自分の仕事にプライドを持っている
    I am proud of my job
  • 53 : Saitou: あのおじいさんを助けたかったからやじゃないんですか?
    That’s why? Not because you wanted to save him!?
p18-19
  • 54 : 延命処置が医療財政を圧迫するのは確かです
    Life extension measures puts pressure on the health financing of course.
  • 55 : でも1%でも可能性があれば目の前の患者をおうとするのが医者でしょう?
    A doctor tries to save the patient in front of him even if there’s just 1% of success
  • 56 : Shiratori: 素人みたいな事言うな!
    This is something an amateur would say!
    そういう安っぽい医者が医療の未来を閉ざすんだ
    That is the type of cheap doctor who closes the future of medical care finances
  • 57 : Saitou: だったら先生だって変ですよ!
    “If that’s the case, it’s strange to be a doctor!”
    先生は無意味な手術をして医療財政を圧迫した…
    Doctor, by doing meaningless surgeries you have put pressure on the healthcare finances…”
  • 58 : Shiratori: 教授の指示だ
    “It’s the teacher’s instruction.”
    私の意志ではたい
    “It’s not my intention”
  • 59 : Saitou: そんなのズルイですよ
    “This is dishonest!”
    教授がウンコ食えって言うったら…
    “If the professor tells you to eat shit…”
  • 60 : Shiratori: そのくらいの覚悟だ!
    "That’s how far I am ready to go!*
    私は将来必ずこの大学の教授になる
    “I will definitely become one of that university’s professors in the future”
  • 61 & 62 : 教授になってまずはこの大学を変える…
    I’ll become a professor, and at first I’ll change this university…
    全国にある永大の関連病院を変える…
    I’ll change the hospitals in connection with Eiroku University all around the country…
    そして日本の医療を変える!
    Then I’ll change the medical care of Japan!
  • 63 : 結果的に それがより多くの人救う道だ
    Concerning the result, there are more ways to help people
  • 64 : Saitou: そんな理屈が聞きたいんじゃありまけん
    I don’t want to hear that reason
  • 65 : 先生は あの患者さんをどう思ってるんですか?
    Doctor… What are you thinking/what do you think about that patient?
p20-21
  • 66, 67, 68 : 先生はあの患者さん助けたくないんですか…?!
    Doctor, don’t you want to help that patient?!
    輸血と腹膜透析を再開します
    Resume the blood transfusion and the peritoneum dialysis
    あの患者の担当医… 僕です…
    I’m the doctor in charge of that patient
p22
  • 69 : Narrator: 7月7日 輸血と腹膜透析を再開…
    7th of July : Mister Kaneko’s blood transfusion and peritoneal dialysis resume
  • 70 & 71 : Nurse: ホラ先生ちゃんとそっちのシーツもって
    Look out sensei, you do the sheets this way
    まったくお医者さんってなんで看護婦まかせっきりなんだから!
    Truly, why don’t doctors just leave everything to nurses!
p24-25
  • 72 : Narrator: 治療を再開して間もなく…
    No longer after treatment restarted…
  • 73 : おじいちゃんの家族は再びお見舞いに来るようになったー
    … it turns that the grandfather’s family is coming to visit again
  • 74 : 白鳥先生… 僕にはこのおじいさんが生きたいと思ってるかどうか 本当は分かりません
    Doctor Shiratori… I don’t know if that old man wants to live or not, I really don’t know
  • 75 & 76 : だけど… 少なくとも家族はこんなに強く生きて欲しいと願っています…
    But at least the family strongly desires him to live
    強く… Strongly…
p28-29
  • 77, 78, 79 : Narrator: 金子敏郎享年75歳
    Kaneko Toshio, age of death 75 years
    僕が初めて受け持った患者さんだ
    It was the first time I was in charge of a patient
    Family: はい これで荷物は全部です
    Yes, that is all the luggage (his luggage)
    本当にありがとうございました
    We really want to thank you
  • 80 : Saitou: 申し訳ありませんでした
    I am truly sorry.
    僕にもっとカがあれば…
    If I had more strength…
  • 81 : 先生… おじいちゃんが倒れた時なんとか助けて欲しいと思って
    Doctor… When Grandpa collapsed we wanted you somehow save him
    教授さんに100万円お渡ししました
    and we transferred 1,000,000Yen to the professor
  • 82 : だけどもし助かっても寝たきりになったら共働きだしどうしう?
    Even if he is saved, what can two working people/working couple do if (the patient) is bedridden?
  • 83 : そんな気持ちも少しだけありました…
    There’s also a little bit of /this feeling those feelings…
  • 84 : だから延命処置をやめになると言われた時
    うしろめたくて病院に来れませんでした
    So, when we were called to stop the life extension measures we felt guilty and couldn’t come to the hospital
p30-32
  • 84b : じいちゃん『は』いい死『に』方『を』しました…
    Grandfather died in a good way/it was a good way for our grandfather to pass away…
  • 85 : 最期まで…ありがとうございました…
    Thank you… for seeing him through.
  • 86 : Narrator: 死に方にいいも悪いもない
    There is no good nor bad way of dying.
  • 87 : 死ねば皆同じだ
    We are all the same when dying
    僕はあの患者さんを救えなかった
    I couldn’t save that patient
  • 88 : Shiratori: 斎藤先生 君はずっとそんな事を繰り返すのが
    Doctor Saitou, you have been repeating such things
  • 89 & 90 : この先
    From this point on…
    今回の様な患者にはいくらでも出会うぞ
    You will meet this type of patient as many as you want
    Saitou: はい まだ当直のバイトに使っていただけたらと思いまして
    I’m thinking I could still make use of that job

The Manga Available Online for Free
Episode 4 : 第4話 夏雲
Jisho: dictionary

Note: this episode 4 had also been used at Wasabi site for Japanese Reading Practice with Manga 1-4-1 and 1-4-2.
The reading exercises had been done without looking at there; but you can compare both, to see how good (or not) these exercises are.

some stats on Ep.4

Exercises started: 2020年5月7日
Exercises finished: 2020年5月21日 (14日かかった)
Number of pages: 34頁
Number of analyses: 90
Number of participants: 5人

More detailed stats: here

3 Likes

Proposal:

Make the weekly threads wiki as well so we can put all of the pictures to translate at the beginning instead of having them scattered in the thread and having to look for them.

I’ve made the vote anonymous so that people feel comfortable making their decision.

  • In favor
  • Not in favor

0 voters

(Just noticed the previous proposal was at 50/50. It was 3 vs 1 at the time I asked the weekly to be wiki’d).

Proposal:

Rename the title of the thread to something more representative and movie it out of the reading subsection.


The activity isn’t a reading thread like the other book clubs. It’s essentially a grammatical exercise first and reading second.

I think “Translation Exercise” would be more representative. It might also help members overcoming the barrier of “I wasn’t there when I started so I will never participate”.

It would also expose beginners to a lot of grammatical concepts explained by our thread’s tutors which can then be archived and referenced.

At the moment it’s quietly nestled as another book club but it’s not that. The focus is much more on grammatical analysis than on reading.

  • In favour for changing the title but keep the thread in the reading section
  • In favour of changing the title and moving the thread to general Japanese
  • In favour for keeping things the same (the way they are right now)

0 voters

Ok we don’t have a tie this time around, that’s good. I’d like more votes but that’s the idealist talking.

As for the thread title, here are my suggestions:
① Translation exercise ブラックジャックによろしく
② Grammar exercise; ブラックジャックによろしく
③ Japanese Language Exercises
if you have other other suggestions let me know and I’ll add them for the poll.

Actually I see it as 4 exercices in one:

  • reading (without furigana)
  • writing (as we have to retranscribe the sentences)
  • grammar and meaning understanding
  • (and dicionnary searching for words, quite often too)
  • translating (at least for me) comes last; and quite often the English rendering is a bit odd (because the goal is to show that the Japanese sentence has been understood)

It would be hard to put that on a title… maybe simple “Japanese language exercises” ?

1 Like

I’m not a fan of “translation” either because the objective isn’t accuracy where people are meant to argue over the best possible translation.

I think “Japanese language exercises” is too vague personally but I’ll add it in the votes.

From what I understand “writing” involves some writer agency, not mere transcription like we’re doing. Like when you put that link about つぽい and you wrote in Japanese, to me, that’s the idea of writing. Just my two cents.

The thing is that writing in Japanese is not as straightforward as doing it in a language using the latin alphabet. There are extra skills involved and needed.
Either you have to write phonetically (in romanization or kana) and be able to select the right kanji; or write by hand correctly enough so the input method recognizes it.

“Typing (or handwriting) exercise” then.

At least personally, I enjoy that extra thing, having to retype the sentences (it also forces me to better read them; to try to remember the reading of words or kanji I understand, but to type them I need to know the reading; on the other hand also, that makes me try to guess the reading of words or kanji I don’t know; without the need to type, I would just search for them by shape/radical, but the typing requires an extra effort/reflection on them).

This is a bit of ‘sales tactic’ kinda title, but how about ‘learning through translation’ followed by the manga title? I think that makes it clear that we’re not professionals, and so we don’t expect the best/most accurate translation, as long as the translations are correct. That title should also express the fact that our main objective is to learn. Also, I think ‘translating’ actually covers all the exercises that @YanagiPablo identified, since in order to translation, you need to be able to read, write, understand grammar and meaning (maybe with the help of a dictionary), and then put a new sentence together at the end.

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第5話 外科と内科と医局と斉藤

Episode 5, Surgery, Internists, Departments, and Saito

We are currently at page 3

Places and names↓
  • 斉藤 英二郎 (さいとう えいじろう): the main character. He is an idealist who wants to be a doctor to help people as opposed to become rich.
  • 永禄大学: the Eiroku (or Eternal Fortune) university, where Saitou graduated. Abbreviation: 永大.
  • 誠同病院: Seidou hospital, a private hospital where Saitou did part-time job at night (on Episode 1). It paid well but was in conflict with Saitou’s values and beliefs.
  • 服部 脩(はっとり おさむ): director of Seidou hospital.
  • 牛田 克雄(うしだ かつお): doctor that worked at night at Seidou hospital. He told (on Ep.1) Saitou about how that hospital prefers traffic accidentees as their treatment is not regulated and can be billed four times more. And tries to get back in contact with Saitou, by phone (Ep.2) then by letter (Ep.3).
  • 出久根 邦弥(でくね くにや): fellow intern that (Ep.2 & 3) trains with Saitou.
  • 第一外科 : 1st surgery department. Eiroku U. follows the “super rotate” method, in which interns train on various different services in rotation; at Ep. 2 & 3 Saitou trains here.
  • 春日部 一郎(かすかべ いちろう): nicknamed “God’s hands”, is a professor at the Eiroku University hospital that just do initial incisions, and otherwise is interested only in study of eels. He also likes to receive money from patient’s family, even knowing (but not telling) that treatment is useless.
  • 白鳥 貴久(しらとり たかひさ): doctor at the 1st surgery department. He is the instructor of Saitou and Dekune. He doesn’t oppose his superior’s corruption, because he wants to gain an upper position in order to change things.
  • 金子 敏夫(かねこ としお): a 75 year old person that got the surgery (Ep.2). Saitou discover that the surgery was done only to get money from the family, without hope of success (Ep.3.). Saitou requests from Pr. Shiratori to resume however the life preserving treatment, and tries to save the patient’s life, but unsuccessfully (Ep.4).

As the salary from the University affiliated hospital is not enough, and as the morality of such hospital is no better than the one from Seidou hospital, Saitou decides to get back to work there, as it gives higher pay.

The story so far : page by page↓

Each dropdown section reveals the original Japanese text, and its interpretation into English, on those pages
(click on the letter/number in front of each text to go to the post(s) with full details on analyzing the text)

p1
  • 1 : Narrator: 熱海温泉
    Atami hot springs
  • 2, 3, 4 : (bust): 第十一代主任教授
    11th chairperson
    春日部一郎博士
    Dr. Kasukabe Ichirô
    (some women setting the busts): ねえ こんな銅像並べて何が始まるのかしら…
    Hee, we are lining those bronze busts, I wonder what will start
    ホラあれよーっ 今日は例の永大の…
    It’s today, that E.U. big thing…

The Manga Available Online for Free
Episode 5 : 第5話 外科と内科と医局と斉藤
Jisho: dictionary

Note: this episode 5 had also been used at Wasabi site for Learn Japanese from Manga 1-5-1.
However, try doing the exercises without looking there; you can compare after then, to see how good (or not) these exercises are.