Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai - Light Novel Discussion

[kazzuya13]

Originally Posted by frivolity

三日月夜空, which is what "three sun and the moon Yozora" refers to, is Yozora's name translated from Japanese to Chinese.

That is the reason why it is hard to read machine translation cause you don't even know their name in them most of the time even their name is translated

[l.kostas]

Actually the machine translation was "three sun and the moon night sky" and I changed only the last part to Yozora myself. I didn't know the name starts from the word "three". It is the whole name:
"Mikazuki (三日月) means crescent moon."

[kazzuya13]

Originally Posted by l.kostas

Actually the machine translation was "three sun and the moon night sky" and I changed only the last part to Yozora myself. I didn't know the name starts from the word "three". It is the whole name:
"Mikazuki (三日月) means crescent moon."

Wow you're really good... You can decipher machine translation.

[l.kostas]

I just saw that information at haganai wiki.

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthre...44#post4531144

[kazzuya13]

By the way at the end of the anime when Rika said "I want friends damn it". Does that mean she is forfeiting in the race for Kodaka's heart? and is willing to just be friends?.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by kazzuya13

By the way at the end of the anime when Rika said "I want friends damn it". Does that mean she is forfeiting in the race for Kodaka's heart? and is willing to just be friends?.

... or maybe she has a long term strategy, female friends are close enough to catch them in the rebound (i.e. if Sena and Kodaka ever have any fight and broke up, Rika would be there with open arms).

[Johnny]

Originally Posted by kazzuya13

By the way at the end of the anime when Rika said "I want friends damn it". Does that mean she is forfeiting in the race for Kodaka's heart? and is willing to just be friends?.

I think you're looking at it a bit too closely. I think she means exactly what she says, she wants friends. Plus I'm sure she knows how Kodaka will react with Sena's fiasco being a prime example if she confessed. Besides Kodaka probably already knows how she feels...

[l.kostas]

chapter 9 of the novel was translated.

[mironicus]

Originally Posted by finalfury

started searching for a volume 9 release date since its been more than half a year already and I am aware of the author's condition.
found this:
http://www.mediafactory.co.jp/bunkoj/book_detail/988
Volume 9 release date 03/25/2013.
can anyone who knows japanese confirm if this is correct?

The information about the release of Vol. 9 was deleted from the publisher's website. Was is completely postponed?
Only the art book is listed to be released in April (04/25).

[l.kostas]

amazon.jp still has it:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-la...language=en_JP

僕は友達が少ない 9 [文庫]
Release Date: April 25, 2013

[frivolity]

I wouldn't trust Amazon. The publisher's website is as accurate as it gets. As I've speculated in the Episode 12 thread, the author is probably rewriting the entire novel as a result of the detours along the way that were not originally envisioned in the initial plans.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by frivolity

I wouldn't trust Amazon. The publisher's website is as accurate as it gets. As I've speculated in the Episode 12 thread, the author is probably rewriting the entire novel as a result of the detours along the way that were not originally envisioned in the initial plans.

... or maybe fame went straight to his head and the next novel has some stupid plot (i.e. Sena getting raped for real). Because IMO the plot so far is not so complex as to have unforeseen ramifications.

[frivolity]

I wasn't referring to a stupid plot per se, but to a deviation from his original plans. My post in the other thread is as below.

Spoiler:

I too believed that Yozora was the clear cut end girl as well, mainly because she and Kodaka were the only characters on the cover of the first novel. Right now, however, I think it's a very open question and any girl could win depending on a number of external circumstances.

I do think the fan base will ultimately have an influence on the ending, but my reasoning is different. My belief is that the author hadn't actually planned out the entire story from the very beginning, and was writing parts of it as he went along. He probably had a general idea of where the story would go, but the details were getting filled up along the way. This is a logical approach because the market for light novels is harsh and readers fickle. Planning a full story right down to the minor details is generally infeasible when the story could be pulled from the shelves at any moment.

However, Sena's popularity skyrocketed to an unexpected and unprecedented level, so the author decided to take a short detour as a shiptease. This resulted in a volume with a massive focus on Sena. Pegasus became more involved, with the whole childhood friend and childhood engagement plots brought in. As a result, the popularity of the series did increase even further, but the author suddenly realised that the detour had become a full rerouting, and it was not possible to carry on with the original plans while maintaining a logical flow. Furthermore, Sena's development had been excessively accelerated, leaving several other characters underdeveloped.

In response, the author released Connect to plug a few gaps that had been left behind by the detour and to plant an escape rope (Yozora's short monologue at the end) that ties the story into the next novel. In the author's notes at the back of Connect, the author mentioned that he had not intended for Pegasus to play such a big role in the story, which adds credence to the theory that the plot point involving Pegasus (the engagement) did not feature in the original plans. The author has had to rewrite volume 9 as well, leading to the repeated delays, such that till today there is no fixed date for its release (I'm aware of the April 25 date, but the comments at randomc point out that the publisher's website doesn't even list volume 9 as an upcoming release). As for which girl will win now, who knows? I think the author himself doesn't either.

As an aside, I believe the same thing happened in OreImo as well with Kuroneko, but the dates don't seem to match very well. The Kuroneko-centric Volume 7 was released a few months before the anime and I'm not too certain whether Kuroneko was already popular even before KanaHana's breakout performance. With BokuTomo, Volume 8 came out 6 months after the anime ended.

I don't think the fanbase will ultimately decide who wins, but I think the end girl will depend a lot on commercial factors in the sense that the author will be forced to end the story when popularity falls. The girl who happens to be riding the wave at that point will be the most convenient candidate for the end girl, and will thus have the highest chance.

For an example of a girl riding the wave to victory, there's some discussion in this thread.

-------

TL;DR of my conspiracy theory:
1. There was no detailed original plan, just a very general framework for the story. I believe that Yozora was the original intended end girl if the story went that far.
2. Sena became unexpectedly popular, so the author added in a few events involving her.
3. Those additions caused a huge deviation from the initial framework, so the author released Connect as an escape route and is now rewriting Volume 9.
4. Every girl now has a chance because the original framework is no longer being used.

[mironicus]

Originally Posted by ogon_bat

... or maybe fame went straight to his head and the next novel has some stupid plot (i.e. Sena getting raped for real). Because IMO the plot so far is not so complex as to have unforeseen ramifications.

As the next volume seems about "Yozora's revenge" I can imagine this:
Kodaka and Sena are an official couple and Yozora tries to destroy their relationship ("He belongs to me"). And of course she completely screws up again because that will just tighten their bond with each other.

[frivolity]

^Imo, that's practically impossible. It took Kodaka so many volumes to recognise the club's friendship. Having him accept Sena's confession is most likely not going to happen.

I don't think the next volume will be about anything malicious on Yozora's part, but about how she finds a way to make herself relevant again with regard to Kodaka.

Either way, the title of the next volume sets the tone. This book will primarily be about Yozora's development.

[AC-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by mironicus

As the next volume seems about "Yozora's revenge" I can imagine this:
Kodaka and Sena are an official couple and Yozora tries to destroy their relationship ("He belongs to me"). And of course she completely screws up again because that will just tighten their bond with each other.

I wouldn't put it past Yozora.

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by mironicus

As the next volume seems about "Yozora's revenge" I can imagine this:
Kodaka and Sena are an official couple and Yozora tries to destroy their relationship ("He belongs to me"). And of course she completely screws up again because that will just tighten their bond with each other.

As expected of our biased speculator.

[mironicus]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

As expected of our biased speculator.

Oh, I give you more biased thoughts if you want.

Just go back to the beginning of the story: Kodaka is clueless about how to make friends. And now there are two girls right in front of him with rather different attitudes.

Yozora shouts angry "All popular people should die!"
Sena cries out loud "I really want to have a friend!"

From Kodaka's point of view: Which girl would you take serious and which not for the purpose to make friends? Of course, Sena!

If I were Kodaka I would think: "Oh, maybe I can be her friend?"

And now we have a real good motivation for him to always come back to the club because there is that blond, blue-eyed girl with huge breasts who is demand of a good friend. And Yozora... he have to endure her somehow.

And it's really good for him that Sena don't get along with Yozora so she actually starts to interact more with him instead.

And this is how the relationship between both of them started...

The magic words in Haganai are "I want to have a friend!". Rika also said it at the end of Vol. 8 and then she officially became Kodaka's first friend.

[CrowKenobi]

Originally Posted by mironicus

Yozora shouts angry "All popular people should die!"
Sena cries out loud "I really want to have a friend!"

From Kodaka's point of view: Which girl would you take serious and which not for the purpose to make friends? Of course, Sena!

If I were Kodaka I would think: "Oh, maybe I can be her friend?"

While conveniently overlooking Sena's personality flaw at the same time...

And at this point in the narrative, Kodaka doesn't know them enough to even begin to make a decision.

[Johnny]

Wouldn't it be ironic if Kodaka ends up with someone else let's say the student council president Hinata and the others stay as just friends? I mean it is a club designed to make friends after all...

That would probably cause the author to recieve some backlash from the various shippers though...