#the anime is NOTHING compared to the manga
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Hello. I’m an English reader of One Piece, and confidently know *nothing* about the Japanese language (atleast how to read it). I own all 4 box sets that are currently officially available in English. I was wondering, considering your expertise, is the VIZ translation good (in terms of how reliable it is in accuracy)? Does it convey what it needs to? If not, do you think any scans you’ve read are better compared to the official? Curious what you think as a translator. Thanks!
i think that these days the viz translation is basically fine. it conveys what it needs to. often there's little quibbles i have with it, like little differences in how i might personally have phrased things, but i certainly don't think i could do better at translating whole chapters of manga on a week-to-week basis.
my new chapter reading process now that i'm properly caught up again starts with reading the raws in japanese, and then i skim both the unofficial scans from tcb and the official release from viz when they each come out to see what choices they made. doing this, i do see more mistakes in the unofficial scans than in the official viz translation. and that makes sense! the people who do the official viz translation are professionals who are being paid for their work and they have more time to do it.
like, just for one low-stakes recent example i noticed, in chapter 1112, the unofficial scans (left) messed up this panel by attributing both of the lines on the left to vegapunk, when in fact the second one should be spoken by pythagoras (something made clear in japanese by his distinctively polite speech pattern), a mistake which was corrected in the official (right).
and i'm not saying this to insult the scanlators, by any means! it's something i've wanted to get into myself, and they provide a really cool and valuable service largely for free as volunteers. i love scanlators. but if you are wanting the most accurate experience of the current manga as an english-speaker, the official is probably still your best bet.
however, from what i've seen (bearing in mind that my actual experience with the official translation is pretty limited, i mostly only look at it when people ask me questions or i have a specific curiosity) i do think the official translation has a lot more problems in the older arcs, roughly from east blue through, like, skypiea?
i've seen or been asked about a pretty substantial number of mistranslated lines and questionable choices from that stretch of the manga. for just one example, there's this one from drum i posted about a couple months ago, where a line that's quite thematically important to the series as a whole got cut up because of the translation's former unwillingness to use the word 'god' (also very visible and annoying in skypiea).
the anime for those arcs does use, from what i've seen, a better translation than the official manga. however, i personally don't know of any better manga retranslations of the early arcs (it's something i've actually considered trying to attempt myself, if i ever have the time for a project of that scale). if any of you have any to recommend, please let me know!
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Manga panels I particularly missed while watching this episode
#I don't think the anime did that much of a bad job#(or maybe. Actually there's a real possibility that the t/p/n anime traumatized me to the point I can find any adaptation enjoyable)#I don't think the anime did that much of a bad job but still I miss Harukawa's art style a lot ;;;;;;#Watching the episode was just repeating “ah this frame was so pretty in the manga” over and over again (╥﹏╥)#sigma#teruko ōkura#lucy maud montgomery#ryūrō hirotsu#gin akutagawa#akiko yosano#michizō tachihara#bsd#bungou stray dogs#bsd s4#bsd season 4#Thinking about Tachihara torning the page in particular like. It's not like it was BAD#but still it was nothing compared to the experience of reading the manga... I got literal goosebumps when I read it it was incredible.#Tachihara is such an amazing character!!!!#Literally the one character I never talk about but deeply care for and tenderly hold near my heart
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Literary masterpiece
#masterclass in storytelling#nothing will ever compare#pure agony and despair#raw unfiltered emotions and madness#let’s take a minute to give appreciation where it’s due#thank you Isayama#saw someone online say if Aot was a book written by a white man in the 1900 century it would be classified as a ageless classic#will forever love it#eren jaeger#attack on titan#Eren Kruger#Grisha Jaeger#manga#anime#shingeki no kyojin#aot
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volume 3 of trigun maximum is honestly insane… the best thing created I’m not sure I will ever feel this thrill and enjoyment ever again as I felt while reading it…. wolfwood and ninelives fight is.insane. I had to pause multiple times to scream and stare at the panels cause it was so beautiful and cool and the ending???? wolfwood being literally smitten ?????? and what if I say Trigun is underrated… like the manga is The manga of all time, it’s so good it’s gonna ruin every other piece of content for me forever. I wish I could read it infinite amount of times as if it were the first time, so I could never get used to it
#trigun maximum is the only series I have all volumes of#absolute insanity#wolfwood is my fav bc same#I love the remake anime but it is literally nothing compared to the manga…#everything is deliberate from the small panels to Turning of the page#is that like a well known fact that the volume 3 is the best thing ever written/made?#I wonder#trigun#vashwood are gonna be the end of me#There is only so much suffering I can take
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sorry. it's been a couple days but why is the best death note adaptation i've seen so far a fucking musical
#txt#usually musical adaptations suck or at least dont compare to other ones#like the wicked musical is nothing compared to the book. ive heard musical adaptations of movies are nothing compared to the movie#somehow death note musical is better than the anime. the first live action jpn movie#and i dont even have to watch the netflix show to say its better#cmon og manga series. you gotta do better than the musical
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i wanna put manga fyodor and anime fyodor in the same room together and see what happens
#anime fyodor is NOTHING compared to manga fyodor and he should know that#bsd#bungo stray dogs#bungou stray dogs#fyodor dostoevsky
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#ranma 1/2#ranma ½#ranma saotome#ryoga hibiki#anime#manga#akane tendo#rumiko takahashi#I'm not always the biggest fan of the Ranma anime because of how unfaithful is it the the source material and how much filler it had#and cutting out some of the best story lines#and how it changed the personalities of the main cast making them very OOC to how they are in the manga#AND WATERING AKANE DOWN TO A CONSTANT DAMSEL IN DISTRESS WHICH IS VERY OOC#The anime is really NOTHING compared to the Ranma manga and if you like the anime and haven't read the manga GO READ IT. YOU'LL LOVE IT.#I must confess#despite all of that#The anime has it's moments#out of the entire anime this is one of the greatest moments hands down#It's a rare moment of being completely in character#and captures the dynamic of Ranma and Ryoga perfectly#Ranma teasing the shit out of him while he just wants to impress Akane#and Ranma has to be flirty about it because they're just that much of a dumbass.#also... this is so Ranryo#enough said#it's perfect
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i am fucking LIVING for this dumb, dopey, stupid lil grin on his face oh my gosh <33333 look at how flippin cute he is!!!!!!! my happy man!!!!!!!!!!!! (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ the love of my life!!!!!
#CUTIE PIE <333333333#bnha spoilers#bnha anime spoilers#just in case#but please i’ve rewatched this episode like three times already i am so in LOVE with him#and we’re eating so well!!!!! this truly is his season!!!!#ALSOOOO bones is doing him justice!!!! i mean as much as they can anyway#no one and nothing will ever compare to manga dabi because he is just so gorgeous like breathtakingly beautiful#but still he looks GOOD#i love him so much
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picked up my given books, started reading vol5 then took a break to flick through the other volumes and man it is with the HEAVIEST heart that i must announce i kinda hate the style change
#the eyes are larger and more stylized with thicker upper eyelash lines... the faces are more angular in the 'anime' style...#in general the expressions are more anime-stylized and less realistic and like. on one hand they're more clear but on the other i liked the#vagueness! the lines are also thicker and basically i suspect the same thing might have happened as with k-on the manga#as in the artist started out with their own style but after the anime came out they adjusted their style to mimic the anime more#and... maybe it's the same here? but while the k-on anime-but-in-the-manga style is cute i don't vibe with this new given style at all#especially compared to the one in the first half of the series... maybe i'll do a comparison later to show what i'm talking abt#another point is that it also makes kzntk's style more similar to other BL art styles... and i liked hers because it was unique :///#not bloody optimal :(#liveshrimping#skimmed the books some more and i have a new thing i don't like: hiiragi used to be Just A Guy who's a bit of a tsundere but nothing#too out of the ordinary but now being a shouty crybaby seems to be his main personality trait#nnnnngh not a fan of the animefication. i liked this series because it's Not That!! ugh#of course i'm going to read it properly and wait until the last volume but. hhhhhhhh
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Spoilers for chapters 300+ of the Magi manga, around 334 or before! (Way after the anime takes place, pls read the manga!!)
Plus screeching about how much I love it and Sinbad please proceed with caution! ✨
Sinbad. This man. Ohhh my god he's SO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ME IN EVERY WAY and if you read Magi you will later understand why he's such an important and well written character. As time goes on through the story we seem to learn a fuckton more about them all, but Sinbad is what gets to me the most.
He is quite literally one of the most selfish, selfless men there is and it's hilariously wild to me. This fucker has the voice of David (a previous entity from a world that existed before theirs iykyk) and essentially this dude is evil and trying to use Sinbad.
Sinbad is so stubborn and egotistical that not only does he reject going back through to the rukh (with David's help ofc) but he fucking. He just doesn't listen all that much, although he talks to David quite a bit. I haven't finished reading the manga fully, I still have around ~30 chapters to go, but Sinbad is just so special to me!!
He's just a silly guy who loves his friends and helping people. He's also got some huge ass pride he needs to deal with smh. He's a cunning businessman and I LOVE HIM!!! Deep down he's sweet and cares deeply for his friends, people, everybody. He just been led down an odd path that seems different from everybody else's even if they all want to achieve pretty much the same goal or similar. Also his and Alibaba's relationship is so important to me IT'S SO GOOD. I love them your honor
I'm not gonna say anything because this is going in main tags but just know they have every dynamic that could be applied to them. Their relationship is so deep and complex and you can see the way they care about one another. Talk about real homies fr
So, final note about this!
It successfully did what Genshin couldn't; successfully represent a bunch of different people, nations, and cultures that all connect to one bigger picture with interesting and wonderful characters. Also, it's extremely humanizing of the lower classes and hits a lot of big issues really well. You will cry at least 3 times. SO GOOD!! It's based off of Arabian Nights but it has such a beautiful twist on it, and the FASHION and all the religious references!!!!!!!! PLS READ/WATCH IT 😭💙
#No more ranting I'm starting to not make sense again but I really love Magi#It's one of the few animanga that have such a strong grip on me after all these years#After I finish the manga I may rewatch the anime for a 4th time lmfaoo#I just love it way too much. It's so unfortunate that it's underrated nowadays compared to when it used to be! We could get a S3...#We need a S3 😭#Idk if they could get the funds for it but I can dream#Anyways no more hyperfixating for today#If there are Magi fans that see this and check my blog and find nothing but fucking Hetalia I'm so sorry#magi the labyrinth of magic#magi sinbad#magi#sinbad#personal
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Sav @ Hori rn:
Me @ Hori rn:
Still better than a few other top shonen series,,,
#mci rambles#I’ve been in this game a long time#these decisions are nothing compared to other things#his writing is pretty weak rn tho tbh and I think it’s the strain of having to continue the series beyond what he originally planned#you can feel it’s in the homestretch tho and it’s a pretty similar feeling to other manga series that were forced to cut or push a storyline#so uhhhh rip ig#maybe now people will stop calling it a gateway anime ffs
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chensoman anime is so overproduced....
#this is a salt post abandon reading here if ur alrdy annoyed#//#went back to look at jjk and jjk just looks amazing. it looks very polished. it goes hard but also holds frames and let's them breathe#cs/m is moving too much somehow in a suffocating busy way#& im not bashing the cgi here. yes it's clunky but anything that can take the crunch off of animators lol#like some of the awkward angles and rotoscoping is the fault of being too close to the cgi they obviously used#they somehow managed to make an anime equivalent of AAA hyperrealistic games that feel bland bc of it#not always!!! ofc!!! but im saying the hyperpolish doesn't add anything of value esp to a property just as cs/m#& i know fujimoto is a movie buff n this is probably his dream adaptation n whatever#& i know anime will never look like in the olde days again#but i am thinking of akira animating on 1s and making the busy look work#i think of the hyperreal movements in satoshi kon movies and how he makes it work#chainswman wld have been better off looking like klk this is the hill i die on#not saying it needs imaishi's animation style and sharp chins and yelling. but the feeling klk had#of dark and grimy fights that went with scratchy and decidedly drawn lines in their fights & copious amounts of blood#& i do like the stark contrast red blood in csm! it just does nothing style wise since the rest is so Realistic. it's just red#in the end its an adaptation but i would have liked it to stay closer to the feel of the manga. the endings Get It#& on that note i also don't like the soundtrack that much. ik the discordant stuff Fits but vs katanaman was the first time#that it actually integrated well with what happened on screen. (again compared to jjk or klk that had impeccable osts)#bg music not op/ed ofc. tho none of the ending songs have been all that stand out either#anyway!! this has been my salt!!#csm blogging#still preferable to a bad adaptation i guess (sighs at fnae...)#but i do hope jigokuraku next year will look worse (lol) bc nobody cares abt that show/manga so they'll not go all out#and i do hope they will not Improve On (tm) jjks current style bc i need my toji moment to fuck me raw#good morning and goodbye
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#this is also why i still think sakou was pretty close compared to the other 2 designers#theres nothing in takahashis design thats manga based except for costume design and even then the vibe is ALL off#infact he was closer to shinsobans style back in s1/2! just takahashis style frfr is literally a nothing style#a blank slate for tadano to jump off of to make her weird 90s pug face amalgam#its not exactly Itoh's 90s but its not exactly manga either... not really shinsoban... but its clsar shes tryna mimick Itohs 90s#ill even be funny and say sakou took from Tamegai cus the bangs are kinda similar in fluffiness and shape#and he even went to be more manga accurate (in a 90s anime era anyway)#he still had to jump off itoh obviously cus obligations contuing from the last season#i have a post in it but like she used kanzenban for sure sakou said so herself but she wanted it to be a more modern esque style which like#honest to god ill never know what that means cinsidering loli and moe is the trend for the past decade#but blending cute and elegant was the goal and thats naokos style its cute and elegant not just cute#the bodyshape too in sakous style is very tankobon era while kanzenban and shinsoban is more like a brick tm#trapezoid shaped#she was close honest to god#thats probably why ppl think our style is some weird take on Crystal like its not though#its purely manga based (escpet for mamoru cus no good references)#like its not crysyal fanart its manga fanart to its very core#it just feels like a better sakou style cus sakou was actually *that* close to hitting a similar jackpot#like idk persinally she was pretty close just needed a lot of work she didnt have time for#our design took much longer (years) than hers (months)#and theres even 20 years of work behind our design cus ive been studying Naoko's style since I was like 10 years old
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Fixating on things while being a Very Very Much Adventure Time enjoyer is so interesting bc , AT gives me like 300 or smth episodes to pick through and enjoy , and everything else gives me like . 12 . I have been spoiled by the sillies show
#like does this make sense .. ??#i have a buuuunch of AT episodes to watch at random and just kinda browse thru . its not something super easy to rewatch all of over and#over again and thats okay . its the beauty of it#sk8 for example . i watch 12 episodes which is NOTHING compared to AT [WHICH IS GOOD BC OF THE DIFFERENCES W THE TWO. I AM NOT COMPLAINING]#and then bada bing bada boom all done#BUT ITS OK BC OF SK8 SEASON 2 ........ IT WAS JUST THE EXAMPLE IM THINKING OF#this is applicable to tpn's anime as well#i do have the manga to read . which is fairly long . but#idk its usually much easier to watch . less brain pwoer
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Romance Anime Starter List
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sick and tired of seeing “Top ___ Best Anime of All Time” lists that are nothing but shounen. So, with "My Happy Marriage" getting a little attention from the anime community, I wanted to put together a list of some romance anime that I consider good “starters” for the genre. Because if I were just now becoming an anime fan, I’d think all there was to offer was shounen action series.
And by “starters” I mean basic stuff that’s not too…out there, and actually involves the characters getting together instead of just harems or using romance as a side plot (sorry Ouran High School Host Club and My Next Life as a Villainess).
So if you’re new to anime and want stuff that’s not just guys beating the shit out of each other (which is also fun, don’t get me wrong), here are some basics.
Taisho Maiden Fairy Tale- When the pessimistic Tamahiko Shima loses all function in his right arm, his family sends him away to live in the mountains with the cheerful, hard working Yuzuki Tachibana…who was purchased by the Shima family to pay off her family’s debts and basically act as a caretaker/future bride for Tamahiko so they’d never have to deal with him again. It’s a more cheerful version of My Happy Marriage (without the supernatural stuff), except in this one, the guy is the one who has massive self-esteem issues and an abusive family. There are still very serious themes, but ultimately it’s not meant to make you cry every episode. I swear it’s so good, but nobody watched it!
Horimiya- A slice of life in which pretty and popular high school queen bee Hori, finds out her quiet, unassuming classmate Miyamura is hiding piercings and tattoos that could get him expelled. The two gradually find out more about each other and get together in the most realistic way I’ve seen depicted in an anime. It’s also fucking hysterical and genuinely emotional.
Recovery of an MMO Junkie- Another slice of life that focuses on two adults who meet in an MMO game without realizing they also know each other in real life. I don’t want to say much more than that. It’s adorable, and the main character is so relatable it hurts.
Love with Yamada-kun at Level 999- Speaking of MMOs, this is a newer series about Akane Kinoshita, a college first year who’s reeling from a bad break up. In an attempt to get back at her ex, she winds up meeting Akito Yamada, a popular gamer who happens to be in her guild in the MMO they both play at an IRL meetup. The two go from acquaintances to something more as they keep running into each other. Even more relatable main characters and just wholesome relationships all around.
Snow White With The Red Hair- A fantasy in which an apothecary named Shirayuki (meaning, you guessed it, “snow white”) runs away from her home in order to escape becoming the concubine of her town’s prince. While fleeing, she is rescued by Zen, the prince of a neighboring country, and she ends up becoming an herbalist to repay him. It's super cute with some genuinely swoon worthy moments and a couple that just works so well together. I have a habit of comparing this to Akatsuki no Yona, even though the two aren’t really that alike. This is more romance driven while Akatsuki no Yona is more of a serious historical fantasy with romance elements (Yona manga is amazing, but the anime barely scratches the surface, so that’s why I didn’t include it).
Sasaki to Miyano- When the shy, easily flustered Miyano meets Sasaki, a cool “delinquent” upperclassmen, the two end up bonding over manga…specifically BL manga. That’s right, Miyano is a fudanshi, but due to his small stature and somewhat feminine appearance, he’s constantly trying to convince others that he’s not interested in having his own love story where he’d be reduced to a stereotypical doe-eyed uke. But as Sasaki and Miyano spend more time together, they realize that what they have is more than friendship, and they have to come to terms with their own perception of gay relationships. This is my favorite romance of all time. It’s a slow burn, but boy is it worth it. Their relationship is so natural and realistic, just like Horimiya. Just two people hanging out and bonding over things the way people do in real life!
Given: The story of some boys in a band with trauma. Enough said. It's great. Go watch it.
Bloom Into You- Yuu Koito is a high school girl who’s been waiting her whole life for her own perfect romance to start…but when she receives a confession, she realizes she doesn’t know how to respond when she’s just not into the guy. And then she gets another confession…this time from the cool student council president Touko Nanami, who basically jumpstarts her lesbian awakening. Very cute story about how we perceive the concept of love vs actually feeling it. Also has a canonically aro/ace side character, so that’s a win for me. Another show like this is Adachi to Shimamura (but I honestly don’t remember much about it. It just didn’t stick with me as much).
Ore Monogatari- Takeo Gouda is a tall, bulky high school first year with a sensitive heart of gold. He wants nothing more than to find his own true love, but most girls are intimidated by his enormous stature, and they end up falling for his conventionally attractive friend instead. That is, until he meets the tiny, adorable Rinko Yamato. He falls in love instantly, but he’s sure she’s interested in his best friend like everyone else, so he vows to help get them together, even though his heart is breaking. Peak himbo behavior. Pure of heart, dumb of ass.
Yuri on Ice- Yes it’s the gay figure skating anime everyone knows. And yes it’s a fucking romance, okay? I will die on this hill. The romance between Viktor and Yuri is just as important as the plot!
Kaguya-sama Love Is War- Two insanely smart high school students both have a crush on the other, but since they’re…you know…high schoolers, neither of them wants to admit it first. So they come up with increasingly convoluted plans to get the other to confess first. This will go down as one of the best of all time. It’s a hilarious yet poignant modern classic.
Fruits Basket- I’ve talked about it before and I’ll talk about it again. A romance “comedy” that slowly morphs into a drama about a girl named Tohru who finds herself living with the mysterious Sohma family after her mother dies. Little does she know, the Sohmas are the victims of a (somewhat silly, but ultimately tragic) curse that she must fight to break. Even though I’m more into it for the family drama, the romance is still top tier and plays an important role in the story. This is my second favorite anime of all time, and it’s a classic for a reason. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet, GO WATCH IT! IT WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!
And now for some honorable mentions that didn't quite fit into the regular list:
Ride Your Wave- A movie about a surfer who falls in love with a firefighter……and I’m not going to say any more than that. Go into it blind. If you like stuff like Your Name, this is a good one to watch.
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun- A comedy about a high school girl who finds out the upperclassman she has a crush on is actually a shoujo manga artist, and no matter how she tries to confess to him, he just never gets it.
The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague- A slow burn slice of life that focuses on a guy with ice powers who has a crush on his coworker. That’s it. That’s the show. When I say slow, I mean SLOW. It’s perfectly cute and fluffy, but my god does it take forever to get anywhere with these two.
Skip to Loafer- A high strung, small town girl decides to go to high school in Tokyo, where she meets a variety of classmates, including the laid back Sousuke Shima. The unlikely pair become friends, and soon enough, she starts to feel something more than friendship. The only reason I didn’t include it in the main list is because they don’t get together by the end of the first season, but it’s still really cute (also canonically trans character for the win!?)
So that’s my starter list. And no, I didn’t include Toradora, even though it’s a classic. I know it’s blasphemous, but I like it more as a comedy than a romance. It kinda lost me with the ending. But anyway, maybe someone will find something they like. Or maybe you'll just want to roast me and my picks 😅
#yuri on ice#kaguya sama: love is war#fruits basket#ore monogatari#bloom into you#sasaki to miyano#snow white with the red hair#yamada kun to lv999 no koi wo suru#horimiya#recovery of an mmo junkie#taisho maiden fairy tale#skip to loafer#unfortunately not much bl or gl since a lot that I've seen is too...out there for this list...#now bl manga on the other hand...#why did i make this lol?#because i finally got to the confession scene in akatsuki no yona of course and now i'm dead#I kinda want to include doukyuusei too but it's just a little bit steamier than what I was going for with this 😅
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[Translation] Asagiri Kafka's afterwords for The Day I Picked up Dazai novel
Normally, afterwords would be the last thing I read in a novel, but as there are not many changes to the published novel this time compared to the movie bonus version, I was able to skim through the text quickly and get to this. And to be honest, despite not being a writer myself, I was so moved by Asagiri's views about writing and his characters that he shared in the afterwords, that I had to sit down and translate it right away.
This is just my crappy translation, as usual, but I hope it gave you a short, interesting look into the author and the characters. And please do not forget to buy the novel if you have the chance.
The translation is under the cut, thank you!
It has been a while. This is Asagiri Kafka.
Have you been enjoying Bungou Stray Dogs?
This novel, “The Day I Picked up Dazai”, is a compilation of the first week’s bonus novel “The Day I Picked up Dazai – Side A” and the second week’s bonus novel “The Day I Picked up Dazai – Side B” for the screening of “Bungou Stray Dogs BEAST” movie (hereinafter referred to as “BEAST”).
Normally, it is difficult to publish a bonus like this, but since "BEAST” and “Fifteen” that were published earlier by BEANS Bunko were originally bonus novels too, "The Day I Picked up Dazai” was also published in the same way, thanks to the efforts of all parties involved in the Bungou Stray Dogs series.
It is the story of Dazai and Odasaku’s first meeting, where Dazai who wants to die, collapsed in front of Odasaku’s place, who is neither a mafioso nor a hit man.
Why are there two different stores, Side A and Sode B? Regarding this question, please read the novel and see for yourself. If you keep in mind that this is the bonus for the BEAST movie, I think you will be able to understand it better.
Let me reminisce a little bit here.
This story was actually suggested to me by Igarashi Takuya, Director of the Bungou Stray Dogs anime.
Shortly before BEAST movie premiered, I was struggling. It was because I was asked to write a bonus novel for movie-goers again. I said “again” because, as I mentioned earlier, BEAST itself was a bonus novel for the Bungou Stray Dogs DEAD APPLE movie. I remembered having a hard time writing it, because I let myself run wild and wrote a total of 190 pages instead of 50 pages as requested.
But I had learnt my lesson after the last rampage. I can’t just write whatever I want anymore. I have to wrap the story in a reasonable length, like a pro should do.
A proper, professional story.
Huh?
My pen stopped right there. I stopped, looked around, feeling lost.
What is a proper story?
The act of writing novel is quite different in character compared to other types of media such as writing manga, anime scripts, or game scenarios. You can say it is almost a different thing. Writing novels, rather than narrating an event, is more like putting the flow of emotions into specific sentences. You use the sequence of letters to create rhythms, create flows, and create emotions. If anything, it might be closer to composing a song than writing a story.
Therefore, you have to decide “what kind of emotion will be put in this novel” from the very beginning, or you can’t start writing. That is the only and absolute rule.
Now, however, that is where the condition of a “proper story” hung over me.
A proper novel, of a proper volume, with a proper content for a bonus.
In other words, a proper emotion.
I searched through the drawers inside my head. For a proper emotion that is waiting to be brought out.
There was nothing but emptiness there.
A professional story teller is one with the skill to move the readers’ emotions. When people find the chance to move their own emotions, they will happily be paying for it. Human-being is that kind of creature.
And writers are ones who create and sell those kinds of emotions: the fear, the excitement, the heart throb etc., those that make you think. It is that kind of job.
It is supposed to be that kind of job.
Yet I became unable to move forward.
A good story is a story that moves people. I know that. Then what kind of emotion I should put in the story to make it "proper"?
How do I find that emotion?
I mean, how did I even write novels until now?
I stood still. My legs stiffened, my knees froze, unable to take even a step forward.
I then tried to at least pretend that I was moving forward, by listening to music, by taking a walk around the neighborhood at night. But as good as the night breeze felt, I didn’t manage to reach a single story that I needed to write.
What if I stayed like this forever, what would I do?
I felt a chill plunging into my back.
Then I realized, that stories, or probably emotions too, are not things you can search for or come up with. You have no choice but to patiently wait for it to come your way. You have no choice but to humbly and earnestly sit and wait for the story’s visit.
I got that, but the "proper 50-page story” still refused to come.
It was not long before one week passed. Then two weeks.
I was doing other work, while keeping my heart’s door open, waiting for the story to come to me.
At that time, I had an online meeting with the anime staff. I casually asked Director Igarashi, “Do you have any story you want to see?”
The Director gave it a little thought then told me, "I want to see the story of Dazai and Oda’s encounter”.
At that very moment, the story rushed in through my door, like a bang. I could hear that sound very clearly.
Two stories. Odasaku, and the two Dazais. A story where they met, and a story where they couldn’t meet. A story of gain and a story of loss. If I can portray the gain and loss side by side, the amplitude of the heart will be doubled and rise up in front of us.
That was a momentary event. Rather than pushing my way forward, I felt as if something was pulling my hand. Before I noticed, I have already finished the stories.
I came to realize.
It is not the writer who searches for the story. It is the story that chooses its writer, and at some point it will come our way. A professional writer is no more than someone with the ability to catch that call.
Also, this is the most important thing: there is no such thing as a “proper emotion”. Because after all, the feelings of other people belong to them only. That is why there is no guarantee that a novel can move others “properly”. However, you can move your own emotions. You know what kind of novel can and how it will move you. If you do, you can write just that. That’s the only way. That is the truly professional attitude. That’s what I thought.
Well then.
It is a little bit off topic, but as we are talking about “stories that come our way”, let’s talk about Odasaku’s first-person narrative.
Odasaku is a special character. For me, he is exclusively a novel character, and I have never portrayed him in the manga.
He first appeared as the narrator in “Dazai Osamu and The Dark Era”, then “BEAST” and now this “The Day I Picked up Dazai”. All are novels. That’s why for me, Odasaku doesn’t live inside the pictures, he lives inside the first-person narrative passages.
He is an eccentric guy. Even if you prepare the place and tell him to speak, he won’t speak to you that easily. His way of thinking is rather unique, that if I write his narrative after writing other characters’ first-person narrative, I would stumble for sure. Odasaku doesn’t speak. He just sits there in silence, while I can do nothing but sitting in front of my blank manuscript paper, trying to talk to him, like “What’s up?”, “Here, here”. However, he is a guy who won’t speak when it is not necessary. Sometimes it goes days or even weeks without him saying a word. Why did such a character come to me...?
During such time, there is only one thing I can do. That is, of course, to stay with him, sit patiently, and simply wait.
Finally he will start speaking. In his unique rhythm, word by word. His words have the power to cut through the world from a certain angle. That special cross-section is full of things I have never seen before and it never fails to surprise me.
And then when he finishes telling his story, he will swiftly disappear. To a dark and quiet place somewhere – probably, I can only imagine, somewhere like a bar. He will sit there calmly and keep his own time to himself. After that, it will be hard to call him again. It is a backbreaking task to me, but in the end, that is the type of guy Odasaku is, and if I am allowed to sound self-conscious, that is Odasaku's charm.
This story was written in such a way. There is a chance that he will come back again. And when he does, I will patiently listen to his voice again.
This story was completed and published thanks to the help of many people: in the Bungou Stray Dogs BEAST movie’s Production Committee, the anime staff, Young Ace’s Editorial Department, BEANS Bunko’s Editorial Department, and the many people who were involved in the publication of the book. Thank you very much. It is all thanks to you that the book was published without any problem this time as well.
Well then, see you in the next story.
Asagiri Kafka.
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