Liner Notes Chapters 6-10
Kiyotsukete!!! These liner notes contain SPOILERS for FY chapters!!! Be careful about reading ahead, you might learn something before you want to!!!!!
Chapter Six"As for me, I love you." Actually, the "Watashi mo" part of the sentence can be translated in several different ways. I chose "As for me, I love you," for this liner note to reflect the addition of the "mo." In this sentence, the subject, "Watashi", could have been left out, and the meaning would still be "I love you." But with "Watashi mo" included, I get the impression that Evil Miaka was emphasizing the fact that she loves Hotohori. This phrase is also interesting for two more reasons: Evil Miaka uses "Watashi", when Good Miaka is perfectly comfortable using the informal "atashi". Evil characters usually speak strongly and abruptly, hence, Evil Miaka's use of the formal "watashi" leads me to believe that she is trying to be a "proper" woman in front of Hotohori. In other words, she's sucking up to him. Also of insterest is her use of "suki". In Japanese, there are three different words to express love. The first and least powerful is "suki", the one used here. "Suki" actually means simply "like, favor", but it's usually translated as "love", even though the level of feeling is not that strong. The next word is "koi". This one really does mean "love", but it is not as powerful as the third one, "ai". "Ai" is a very serious love, and "ai shiteru" is one of the strongest ways you can say "I love you." I am surprised that Evil Miaka did not use this form, perhaps she doesn't want to appear TOO eager. But then, I've only been studying Japanese for 2 years!!! What the hell do I know about the finer inflections of the language??? For individual definitions of the words, click on them here: Watashi mo, anata ga suki.
Kore, Sore, and Are and Kono, Sono, and Ano
Japanese is interesting in that it has three different words for "this" and "that". "Kore" is used when the object being referred to is closer to the SPEAKER than the listener. For example, if you were talking about something you held in your hands, you would call it "Kore", as in "this thing here." "Sore" is used when the object is closer to the LISTENER than the speaker. So you would use "Kore" to talk about something in the listener's hands, as in "That thing there." Now, "Are" is used to refer to something distant from BOTH speaker and listener. Hence, "Are" would be used for something far away, as in "That thing waaaaay over there in the boonies."
Kono, Sono, and Ano are also "this thing, that thing, and "that thing way over there". The only difference is in their usage. These words are descriptive, they are like adjectives, instead of nouns. Like an adjective, they cannot stand alone. For example, we say "the white cat", instead of just "the white". Kono, Sono, and Ano are the same way. You can't say just "Kono", it has to be "Kono (something)." As you can probably guess, Kore, Sore, and Are CAN be used alone, like a noun. Once again, I hope you aren't too confused. Let me summarize: Kore, Sore, and Are = that. Kono, Sono, and Ano also = that. Easy enough, ne? ^^
That's not me! For individual definitions, click on the words here: Sore, atashi janai!
By sneering Miaka's formal title with the polite suffix "san", Evil Miaka is telling everyone what she really thinks of Miaka. Yes, this liner note is not really needed, but I felt I should include it for those who might not understand why Evil Miaka used that exact phrase. X_x
Like the many "thats", Japanese has similar forms for "there." "Koko" is used to refer to a place close to the SPEAKER. "Soko" is used for a place closer to the LISTENER. And "Asoko" is used for places distant from BOTH the speaker and the listener.
Kiyotsukete!!! These liner notes contain SPOILERS for FY chapters!!! Be careful about reading ahead, you might learn something before you want to!!!!!
Chapter Seven
Sunake-babaa is an old ghost woman of legend who sneaks up on people walking dark city streets and throws sand in their faces, from stories in the late 1800s. Miaka is such a stickler for formality, ne???
If you've been reading this far, hopefully this note will be obsolete! But JIC you're a newbie, here we go. "Kore" is one of the "thats", specifically, the one for someting close. And "ga" means "kore" is the subject of the sentence. If you still don't get it, then the translation is, "This is Taikyoku?" d:P~~~~~
"Watashi" you know by now, and "ii" means "good, okay, fine". And of course, we are well-familair with the "yo" tagged on at the end! ^^ In other words, the sentence translates, "I'm fine!"
Screaming, Chinese-style. If you're a Ranma fan, you've heard this one many times!! Shampoo is always using it. ^^
"Atashi" and "no" you're familair with. Now, "tame ni" is a phrase used when something is done for the subject of the sentence. In this case, "atashi." Hence, the translation is, "For me! For my sake!" Ohhhhhhh, kimochiiiii!!!
Kiyotsukete!!! These liner notes contain SPOILERS for FY chapters!!! Be careful about reading ahead, you might learn something before you want to!!!!!
Chapter Eight
I chose to retain the original Japanese title of this chapter, as I was not satisfied with the standard English translation, and could come up with nothing better on my own. The title is actually the "want-to" form of the verb: au. "Au" means "to meet", in the sense of seeing someone face-to-face, and is commonly translated as "to see someone". This from of the verb makes it "want to meet/see". But "I Want to Meet" and "I Want to See" sound a bit strange in English. It could be modified into "I Want to Meet Him", meaning Tamahome, or "..Her", for a certain someone, or "Them" for everyone. But the Japanese is vauge, it doesn't imply WHO Miaka wants to see again, just that she wants to see them. I feel this vaugeness is very important, when viewed with the knoweldge of upcoming episodes. And finally, using one of the two English possibilies would be repetetive, after the title of Chapter Seven, "I Want to Return". Hence, I kept the Japanese. ^^
Miaka is in the 9th grade, which is her last year of junior high. In Chapter One, we learned that Miaka intends to apply for Jonan High School, the same school as Yui-chan plans to attend. Remember how shocked Mori and Fu-chan were at this revelation?? Jonan is obviously one of the better schools, which means the competition to get in will be very fierce. Miaka will have to score very well on the entrance exam, wich you can bet will be quite tough. She will literally have to studystudystudy to make it. Not only will the exam be difficult, but Miaka isn't that great of a student to begin with. Don't forget that in Japan, education is extremely important, and your high school and grades are VERY important to your life. Graduating from a good high school will be a much-needed leg up in the employment world. Everyone's concern for Miaka's academic life is based in real life and NOT exaggerated. This part of the FY story is much more emphasized in the original manga. As a side note, you can see this worry about high school entrance exams in other anime, notably in Sailor Moon S, the third season of SM.
Tamahome wa...kono sekai niwa...inai da.
"Tamahome is not in this world". Wa marks Tamahome as the subject of the senence. Kono is a that, sekai = world, niwa marks sekai as a place of location, inai you just learned, and da is an informal version of desu. Sugoi!! Don't look now, but you're learning Japanese!!! d:D d:D d:D
Masaka ga, Yui-chan ga Shijintenchisho no naka ni?!
Since only one little word in this sentence has not been defined in this first half of Chatper Eight, I only really have to explain that one. ^^ But for those who might be struggling with Novelization Japanese, here you go: "It can't be--Yui-chan is inside Shijintenchisho?!" Our new word is "Ni", which, like Ga, Wa, and O, is a post-position/particle, which tells us what to do with the word immediately in front of it. "Ni" is the post-position for location. So "Shijintenchisho no naka ni" means "located inside Shijintenchisho". Easy enough, right?? Right! Click on the individual words here for their definitions, and for a slightly different explanation of ni: Masaka ga, Yui-chan ga Shijintenchisho no naka ni?!
For those who have excellent visual memories, you will remember that the clock actually reads 20:10, which is the 24 hour clock--better known as military time. I believe the 24 hour clock is a common thing in Japan, probably much more than in the (non military facets) of the Western World. This would make an excellent trivia question, if you have a friend who claims they know everything about FY. ^^ "What is unusual about the clock in ep 8"?
"Where is Tamahome?" Explanation: Wa--as I am SURE you know by this time--marks Tamahome as the subject. Doko is where, ni is the post-position for location, Iru is the existence form of "to be" (for more info on this new word, click here), and the No stuck at the end doesn't have any grammatical meaning. Girls and women often tag it on to the end of their sentences. I was nice with this note, I almost left it with simple glossary clicks, to make you figure it out for yourself!
The liner notes were last tweaked on 7-19-01