This week we’re reading pages 5–30, as per numbering in the physical re-release.
If you have the original release, post a photo of (part of) a page with a number, and I can see if it matches the re-release or not.
For digital readers, this week is pages 1–26. However, your reader software’s internal page counter may list this week as pages 2–27 (due to counting the cover page).
If you’re uncertain, this week’s reading ends when this is in the bottom-left panel:
Vocabulary List
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Discussion Guidelines
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Have you ever seen one of these in real life? (Color and style may vary.)
Why does she say “どんな人なんですか” instead of just “どんな人ですか”? Is there a difference in nuance? Secondly, why does send end the second sentence with て? Thanks!
どんな人なんですか is using the grammatical construct (な)のだ (the な is only necessary when connecting this construct with a noun, like in this case. The の can be abbreviated to simply ん, like in this case.). This grammatical construct gives the nuance of something one is explaining, or asking an explanation for. It’s usually called “explication-tone の”. Basically, she’s using here because she’s asking for an explanation about who this 天沢 person could be.
My understanding is that the difference with simply saying どんな人ですか is that the latter feels like a more direct, blunt question.
More info on this grammar construct:
Not 100% sure but I believe this て is simply って being used as a casual topic marker. She’s clarifying what person she’s talking about.
I have trouble understanding the last part of “雨がふりはじめて3日めの日”.
Is “3日めの日” read as “みっかめのにち” ? And what is the meaning? Rest of the sentence would make me guess that it has something to do with “three days since it started raining”, although not quite right.
3日めの日 is ３日目の日, with counter + 目 being the way you say first, second, third, etc. 一日目 means the first day, 二日目 means the second day, 三日目 means the third day, and so on. So the phrase 雨がふりはじめて3日めの日 would be “the third day since it started raining.” You can use 目 like this for things other than days too btw.
I believe it’s pronounced みっかめのひ. The counter stays the same as you would usually pronounce it, you just add め to the end. And the second 日 is pronounced ひ.
This is my first experience with this story (I haven’t watched the anime/movie), I don’t know what to expect. And I’m very grateful that for me this is a nice easy read. I needed that added to my rotation. Hopefully this means I can help people.
I had two things that stumped me for a little while.
First, I tried to figure out if the book Shizuku was reading at the start existed in the real world and as far as I could find, it doesn’t seem like it. (I didn’t check all the books, only the 炎の戦い book.)
Then on this week’s last page, I couldn’t figure out やなやつ, because for some reason I decided to search for a na-adjective with the な attached. I didn’t know that いや had an alternative spelling of や.
As for the story so far, there isn’t much to say is there? We’re being introduced to the characters and that is about it. Looking forward to what comes next week.
I think I learnt やだ as a vocabulary word, not や plus だ/copula; aka I never considered that the だ part could be the copula. Not saying I learnt correctly, just to be clear. I also can’t think of any other exclamation type words (if that is what they are called) that take the copula/だ, but then my memory for recall is pretty bad so. But that might be why I didn’t even consider the possibility…
Wooo! It finally arrived.
Some random bookstore in Germany just had this and sold it for 2€ Crazy that I didn’t have to have it shipped from Japan and can now start reading!
I believe 三日（みっか）、can mean the calendar day of the month for example, but also an interval of 3 days long. I admit to not understanding how the counter, and then の日 （のひ）affect the meaning of 三日。 But guess it modifies it to mean the 3rd day, instead of 3 days long (or the 3rd day of the month, etc.)
Thanks for all the great questions and answers so far. Looks like I have some more and hope you can help me with the following
I had quite some trouble to settle with the conversation Shizuku and the teacher have in the library room…
(1) Not sure if this is a typo but since it occurred twice (p.14 and p.16 in my version of the book) I am assuming it is not. Why is the teacher using dasudasu here?
(2) With the following panel my question is more about the general notion.
My understanding is...
… the teacher is foreshadowing her opinion on the Amasawa boy, saying something along the lines of “[…] the one who borrowed it, besides [you], is that Amasawa”. On the next page we will learn her opinion on that guy.
How did you go with it?
(3) Which brings me to the panel when she talks about him…
Summary
My understanding is, that the boy already graduated, be cause of the ~te shimau. But I can’t really fit in the irechigai. I looked it up and it refers to “passing each other” (more or less literal) but maybe it is meant as “missing each other” here? Something along the line “you didn’t meet since he already graduated” ?
Apart from that, when Shizuku and Sugimura talk to each other briefly (p.20 for me):
Summary
I’m assuming hidee is hidoi (酷い). saying something like “How cruel to say…” (<-- maybe not the literal translation, but this is the notion I get from the scene).
(1) 出す can mean to show/to reveal. So I assume that the teacher wants Shizuku to show her library card. If you’re asking why say it twice? I think to me, it read as the teacher being a bit impatient, taken with everything else.
(2) She says that the book was previously borrowed by Amasawa. And since she then goes right on to say that the book is very good, no doubt about it. I connected those two statements like: Amasawa borrowed this book, yes, then it has to be good. (This is not a translation of what she said, more general sentiment as I understood it.)
However, I’m not sure of that interpretation. I have found myself sometimes imagining connections between statements when there was none. And I’m not entirely sure what you are asking in regards to 2.
(3) Can’t help with this one, a bit confused myself actually. I guess I glossed over it when I read it myself.
My initial impression was that she was repeating 出す as a reaction at Shizuku’s enthusiasm where she goes これこれ (This one, this one!). Though, since it happens again in p. 16 under different circumstances, it’s more likely that it’s just just a quirk of her speech. As @MissDagger pointed out, it gives it a feeling of impatience - of trying to rush someone.
My impression here is that she’s concluding that since 天沢 has borrowed it, there’s no doubt it has to be a good book. Not sure if I’d call it foreshadowing - it feels more like reminiscing to me. She reads the name and remembers about him. She only gives her opinion after Shizuku explicitly asks about the name.
That’s my understanding too. 入れ違い is often used when two people fail to meet each other. She explains that since he graduated already when she entered school, they missed their chance to meet.
I also agree with this. I’d translate it as “how cruel of you (to call me a ball boy)”.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and your reasoning behind them. I really appreciate that.
about (1)
I really like that. Especially, since she already had made respective remarks on the page before, while Shizuku was looking for the book she wants to borrow.
about (2)
This is super interesting to me, as I had not anticipated this way of interpretation.
Personally, I had the feeling that two streams of thoughts / conversation are going on at the same time (more or less):
The teacher had noticed that the book hadn’t be borrowed for several months and therefore does not appear to be popular. Then commenting on this realization (while filling out the lending card) in saying that beside Shizuku it was that Amasawa guys who had borrowed it.
In the meantime Shizuku had stated that the book is very valuable. So I connected the second sentence in that panel to be a confirmation to Shizuku’s remark (implying the teacher know the book).
I was using the term “foreshadowing” because I was wondering if the first sentence could be emphasized as “… that Amasawa…” and then we get to know her opinion on him on the next page. But what I get from you feedback is, that this panel really is more like a neutral statement, while she remembers about him she does not necessary give a hint on how she perceived him.
Anyways, I don’t think this scene is particularly important for the story but discussing about it in little more detail was very helpful for me from the language learning perspective
Exactly what you did, just sharing your interpretation of the whole scene
Lol. やなヤツ was one of the first Japanese phrases I learned as a kid because this anime was one of the first I watched with subtitles and she repeats it like a billion times so it was easy to pick up. Good to know the grammatical construction and where it comes from now though.
I didn’t know that 
Crazy that I didn’t have to have it shipped from Japan and can now start reading!
And I’m not entirely sure what you are asking in regards to 2.