Hohoho, so we have someone in Ai camp!
Ai can be cute, but that's pretty much impossible. We all know in our hearts that Masuzu is cannon. Don't be in denial!
I'm laughing my ass off as I'm translating chapter 13. Masuzu is so funny.
and @for3ver, the answer is No, since I won't have that kind of time.
Hohoho, so we have someone in Ai camp!
Ai can be cute, but that's pretty much impossible. We all know in our hearts that Masuzu is cannon. Don't be in denial!
Hey, as a matter of fact, I hope Masuzu gets to become Ei's real girlfriend. That way, there's really a possibility that they break up...and that Ai stays with Ei.
You know, with the way this series is going and how it just mushed all love comedy cliche in there I can't shake the feeling thinking that Kaoru will turn out to be a girl.
After Saeko ate, she went into 'sleep mode'. The rest started questioning Eita & Masuzu about what she said earlier, to which they acted ignorant. They then started discussing about making money from part time jobs to fund the summer training camp trip. Ai stomped down on the idea since as a Public Moral & Ethics Committee member, she would not allow it as it's against the school rules. After 30 minutes, Saeko woke up and went into 'awaken mode', she heard their discussion and made an offer. Her company, a galge (all ages) company was holding a contest (at a beach location) to collect data for their new game. The contest was open for girls of ages 10 to 20, and they will be judged based on their 'Dere Appeal' level. She felt that Chiwa, Hime and Ai were good contestant candidates since they were in love with Eita. Masuzu was left out. Saeko then explained her sixth sense told her that Masuzu was a fake. Masuzu could not accept it of course. Then Saeko proposed a psychology test. In the end, Masuzu was rated last in the test because her answers were too model and too correct, which was only possible for a girl who has dated her current boyfriend for more than a year, and she's not Dere enough. In the end, Saeko accepted Masuzu's resolve and included her in the trip. She ended off by saying that, whoever wins the contest will be recognized as Eita's girlfriend and future wife.
Spoiler for chapter 3:
After the girls left, Saeko explained that even putting aside the Dere factor, Masuzu seemed to be dishonest and not open about herself. Eita agreed in his monologue. The following conversation then ensued.
Eita: Well, she's not really that bad. Even with that, she also has her good points, you know.
Saeko: Hm, for example?
Eita: First, her face. And then there's her face. Erm, yeah, her face indeed.
Ah-reh.
There's nothing good about her except her face......?
No, there should be other areas right? I mean, like looks, or features or appearance right?
Anyway, after that small banter, Eita went to the cafe after dinner to meet Masuzu. There was some discussion about the other girls, and Eita had to reveal how Ai's boyfriend was a fake. They also talked a little about Saeko. Some funny manzai banter (as usual with Masuzu's venomous tongue) and Masuzu proclaimed that she will win the contest.
Spoiler for chapter 4:
Chapter 4 is about the last day of summer cram school, where Eita, Ai and Kaoru were passing their time in a family restaurant. They discussed about the trip and it's quite obvious that Kaoru is actually a girl though Eita is oblivious to it.
Spoiler for chapter 5:
Hime and Eita texting each other, with Hime asking whether she needed to bring this and that. Followed by chatting with Chiwa by the window. It also seemed like Chiwa, Hime and Ai had formed a friendship (Masuzu vs the Trio? Shuraba da!)
Spoiler for chapter 6:
So they journey to the beach in a Green Car. It seemed like the Trio had really formed an alliance. Funny banter and antics ensued.
Spoiler for chapter 7:
They went to the beach. The trio were too excited at the beach and went to play in the sea leaving Eita and Masuzu. Eita tossed a towl to Masuzu to cover herself up so that she doesn't get unwanted gazes. They then ate yakisoba and proceeded to play 'split the watermelon', except that Eita doesn't have a bat so they told him to use his head. He was blindfolded and the girls started giving him different instructions. In order to demonstrate that he and Masuzu are a real couple, he only listened to her. In the end, his head landed in between two soft 'watermelons' of Masuzu , much to the dismay of the other girls.
Spoiler for chapter 8:
Chiwa and Hime went to get missing ingredients for dinner, leaving Ai, Masuzu, and Eita. Only Ai and Eita can cook. As Masuzu was helping Ai in the kitchen, Ai started grilling her about her relationship with Eita. She then put out her deduction about what was going on between Eita and Masuzu, which was a spot-on. Masuzu kept trying to change the topic. And finally Ai said that she would not forgive Masuzu if she was just using Eita as a shield.
Spoiler for chapter 9:
Eita met with Masuzu secretly, to discuss about the current situation. They needed a stronger evidence to show to the others that they were indeed a real couple. After going through several options, they settled for a kiss in front of the rest, since they've done it several times already, it should not be much of a deal.
In the night, they played cards, and finally, it was time for action. Eita was supposed to retire from the game. He would then bid Masuzu goodnight and they will kiss and act lovey dovey. However, when he announced his retirement, Chiwa also called for an end to the game. The trio then handed a present to both Eita and Masuzu. It was a strap with a 乙(Otsu) design to represent their club. All members have one. Chiwa proposed the idea, Ai linked them up with the maker, and Hime did the design and suggested to keep it secret from Masuzu and give it to her as a gift, since she was the one who founded the club. They kept it from Eita as well since he was her boyfriend.
As such, the plan fell apart, and Eita did not kiss Masuzu under such circumstances. Masuzu sighed at the unexpected events and thanked them sincerely for the gift.
The remaining of the chapter has been translated here.
Spoiler for chapter 10:
Following day was the day of the contest which starts at 4.30 pm. Masuzu slept in in the morning, the rest did their homework, later the three girls went to the beach to play, Eita went for a stroll at another beach segment. He met Mana who was out from her villa nearby practicing her bicycle. They had a talk, and she revealed some background story of Masuzu. As expected, they were born to different mothers. Due to Masuzu's super good looks, her father took her away from her mother, treated her as an accessory, bringing her to parties and functions to show her off to his friends and associates. Masuzu has acted as the dutiful daughter as her father's appraisal of her is equivalent to his appraisal of her mother. So all along, she has 'play acted' as the perfect, dutiful kid for her father. Due to this constant act as a good kid she's putting up for so long, she has lost sight of who she really is. Basically, she has lost her own identity as she's always putting up a front. It's clear from the story that Mana loves her big sister and at the end of the chapter, Mana thanked Eita for liking her sister.
Spoiler for chapter 11:
The 'Dere Appeal' contest starts, which consist of a series of questions and answers with the MC, Saeko. I will not go into details here as it doesn't add a lot of new information. Chiwa and Hime basically talked about how much and why they love Eita. Ai's part was strangely glossed over.
Spoiler for chapter 12:
Masuzu's entry deserves a separate chapter by itself, it seems. I've translated most of chapter 12, leaving only 2 unimportant pages out. You can find it here. Masuzu fans, prepare your body.
Spoiler for chapter 13:
This is a pretty interesting chapter that's pretty satisfying to read. Basically Masuzu has gone into an uncureable stage of 恋愛脳 (lovestruck mind) wwwwww!! A state of mind which both she and Eita were very much anti against www. Prior to that, it talks about the conclusion of the contest, with a 10 year old winning, and Chiwa won the 'Effort' award. Following that is the exchange between Masuzu and Eita translated here. Masuzu fans, prepare your body!!
Eita then proceeded to see Saeko. Saeko commented that Eita has chosen the Shuraba (Mayhem) route, instead of the Harem route. She then offered another route, which allows him to avoid the Mayhem route, but yet unable to get back into the Harem route. Eita agreed as long as he could avoid Mayhem. The 3rd route is called the Reverse Capture route, where except for his girlfriend, Eita shall make the rest of the girls hate him. Needless to say he failed for all.
For Hime: she had fantasized about him being a knight (Burning Fighting Fighter). Eita now claimed that his memories of his past life has returned, and he's actually a Villager A . Hime then said in that case, it was even better since she can protect him instead and hug him without waiting to be hugged.
For Ai: He wanted to destroy their marriage agreement which was made when they were kids. But instead, he accidentally got his blood onto it, and it became a fingerprint, a binding seal!
For Chiwa is the finale: Eita didn't want to make Chiwa hate him, unlike the other 2, he just wanted to reaffirm their friendship (like siblings) and he will stick with her until he has cured her. Strangely, Chiwa was the only one who wasn't angry at Eita kissing Masuzu in chapter 12. The reason was because they were a couple anyway. After some dialogue, she stretched herself upwards suddenly and kissed Eita. Eita didn't manage to dodge it because he thought she wouldn't reach him. But she did, because she grew a little but Eita didn't notice it. She then mentioned in a teary voice that she had said it many times but Eita had never noticed it. The thing she said was referring to 'I love you'. Masuzu then appeared, and:
Natsukawa Masuzu smiled.
Masuzu: It looks pretty fun huh, childhood friend. Can I join in as well?
Wiping her tears off, Chiwa grinned as well.
Chiwa: Read the atmosphere already, girlfriend. Come back again after nine years.
I stood rooted between the two of them, realizing my Third Route is now shut off.
What has to come will come.
--- There's too much mayhem between my girlfriend and childhood friend.
Finally I encourage reading the afterword here. As it gives insight on what the author is really writing and hints on what the future volumes may entail. I may post my thoughts at another time, so that's all for now.
If Kaoru is indeed another girl inlove with Eita, she is probably not going to get anywhere.... As long as they keep the seasons theme she pretty much is banned from any serious interactions with at him
Some of my questions about the first volume.
I only read up to chapter 4. Reading chinese translated version.
Spoiler for Volume 1:
Does the part about the club ends in volume 1?
If no , does it spend lesser time on 'trying to make Chiwa popular' from volume 2 onwards?
Does the story get better?
Story heading towards MasuzuxLead Guy ending?
Larethian, you're a hero ... what a great way to start a new year!
Do you think you might find the time and nerve to touch down on the best earlier Masuzu scenes some day? Summaries are very helpful, but especially when it really counts, true translations are in a different league. And lord knows that this volume has been a huge treat!
Some of my questions about the first volume.
I only read up to chapter 4. Reading chinese translated version.
Spoiler for Volume 1:
Does the part about the club ends in volume 1?
If no , does it spend lesser time on 'trying to make Chiwa popular' from volume 2 onwards?
Does the story get better?
Story heading towards MasuzuxLead Guy ending?
Thanks.
Note that I kinda went quickly in my read.
Spoiler for Answers:
1. No, the club is still outta there.
2. Kinda. Volume 3 at least, since all te action is during summer break, and unlike the neighbors club, there's no activity during that time. Plus the fact that Eita is having cram school. Though even in volume 2, the theme is kinda different. But even so, the club still remains, and its goal is simply "to become more popular". It's not as if it's just Chiwa.
3. The story does indeed get better, with more characters and more development. Jokes too.
4. I'd hate to admit it, but yes, from all what happened, Masuzu kinda has the upper hand.
I have no idea who most of the people are, or previous events in the novels but:
GO CHIWA! ~waves banner~
...then reality sets in and I realize this is a romance death flag so I go cry in a corner.
I'll fill in as best as I can, from memory.
Spoiler for Saeko:
Eita's aunt. She's the sister of one of the parents, and took in Eita when his parents split up. She works in galge company and an expert in galges, and always make analogies of the real world to galges with respect to girls. She's a workaholic who can survive long periods of time without sleep
Spoiler for Asoi Kaoru:
Kaoru is Eita's best friend in class. IIRC, he sits behind him. Throughout the various volumes, it's hinted that Kaoru might be a girl. The evidence is strongest in volume 4. By the way, Kaoru is the best friend of Fuyumi Ai, one of the girls who like Eita.
Spoiler for Akishino Himeka:
A short-hair girl who calls herself Hime, which also means Princess. She is a Chuunibyou (Chuuni for short). A Chuunibyou is essentially a fantasizer and enjoys living in their delusions. They are not crazy as they are usually aware of what they are doing. To make it easy to understand, famous examples of Chuunibyou include Okarin from Steins;Gate, Kuroneko from Oreimo, and Kobato from Haganai (from the top of my mind). She debuts in volume 2. She once saw Eita's Chuuni behavior when young a long time ago, and fell for him. In her current setting, she is the XXXX Burning Princess (I can never remember XXXX and I'm too lazy to check) and Eita is a Knight (Burning Fighting Fighter) belonging to some clan related to dragons. In her setting, she and Eita are lovers in their past lives. As such, in the story, her role is that of an 'ex-girlfriend', though in truth they have never dated before. She is socially inept, but after joining Masuzu's JiEn-Otsu club, she gradually improved and can talk with some of her classmates. She is extremely pure and innocent, even more so than Chiwa.
Spoiler for Fuyumi Ai:
A long hair girl from the Public Morals & Ethics Committee. She is a complete Tsundere who debuts in volume 3. She and Eita were actually childhood friends for 1 year in kindergarden (6 years old) before Eita met Chiwa. When they were kids, Eita and Ai made a marriage agreement. Thus, in the story, she has a dual 'role'. In public, her 'role' is the same as Chiwa, ie. childhood friend. However, since no one else except Eita knew about the marriage agreement, in Eita's narration, her 2nd 'role' is fiancee. Unfortunately for Ai, Eita does not remember the marriage agreement. Neither did he recognize her when he first met her in high school. In volume 3, they attended cram classes together during summer vacation, which also includes Kaoru. Kaoru was blackmailed by Ai to help her in her romance quest. But she kept screwing up, because when in Tsun mode, she's dishonest, and when in Dere mode, she's too nervous. In order to show off to the other girls in JiEn-Otsu, she lied that she has a hunk boyfriend in Tokyo University, though at times she botched up either in creating a too unbelievable setting, or she forgot she was supposed to have a boyfriend. Only Masuzu caught on to it of course. Because Chiwa and Hime want to be real popular, Chiwa calls Ai coach, and Hime calls her master. Towards the end of volume 3, Ai and Eita went to the summer festival together, and Eita managed to remember about her. Finally, she joins JiEn-Otsu as the fifth member to 'watch' over them so that they don't spoil the public image of the school.
Spoiler for Natsukawa Mana:
Younger sister of Masuzu. She appeared in volume 2 on orders from her father to report on Masuzu's activities and try to bring her back to Sweden. She has twin tails golden hair. She kissed Eita in front of Masuzu, which caused Masuzu to go into shock. Later she almost drowned while swimming (it's still not clear whether she can swim or not, even though she says she can. Even in v4, she did not swim). Eita did CPR on Masuzu in v2. Later, she gave the reason for why she almost drowned to be due to seeing Mana kiss Eita. Eita then told Masuzu, that Mana's kiss has been overwritten since he had done CPR on her. Mana had also threatened Masuzu to go back with her or she will use their Dad's power to make her and her friends miserable. Later, Mana came to wreak havoc on their clubroom, with her bodyguard brute. Eita got injured in the process but did some cool things and said some cool lines to resolve everything. Even though Masuzu and Mana's relationship appeared to be irreconcilable, it seems like Mana loves her big sister, which became evident in volume 4.
Hope I didn't miss out anyone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by starlol
Some of my questions about the first volume.
I only read up to chapter 4. Reading chinese translated version.
Spoiler for Volume 1:
Does the part about the club ends in volume 1?
If no , does it spend lesser time on 'trying to make Chiwa popular' from volume 2 onwards?
Does the story get better?
Story heading towards MasuzuxLead Guy ending?
Thanks.
If you are already reading the Chinese translations, then I suggest you read on, since most of the answers will come as the story progresses. As to whether the story gets better or not, it depends on what you're looking for. In my opinion, the story gets better and for this particular genre, harem love comedy, I'll rate it 8 out of 10 for the following reasons:
Spoiler:
1. The writer sticks to his core themes in his writing. One is Shuraba (Mayhem/Carnage) situations, the other is JiEn-Otsu (play acting). Every character has play-acted, Chiwa in volume 1, Hime as a Chuunibyou, Ai on her fake boyfriend, Kaoru as a guy, and Masuzu's life is an act itself. And of course, I don't need to explain the Mayhem situations since they are quite obvious.
2. The jokes are mostly manzai and antics style. They are available in a healthy amount and yet not too excessive.
3. As explained in (1), the writer is consistent in his writing, and the story does not seem to be haphazard in nature, unlike some other harem love comedy series. It seems like he's writing with a clear purpose with a plan in mind. Shuraba and JiEnOtsu are merely settings and his story revolves around characterizations, most notably Eita, Masuzu, and Chiwa. There are some series which are more of a step-by-step kind of story, which means the author doesn't plan too far ahead, and takes it one step at a time to stay published. For unskilled authors, this sometimes results in a glaring inconsistency of the unfolding of the story and characterizations, weak hooks in plot, and even some obvious pandering to fans. OreShura does not seem to be such a story, at least up till this point.
Other info to continue below.
To answer your question, the club continues, as JiEn-Otsu (自作自演おつかれさま) is a core component which the author uses in the story for various situations and even character development.
As to whether it's heading for a Eita x Masuzu ending, you have to read it and judge for yourself.
Spoiler for my speculation:
I've already posted in a previous post why I think Masuzu is cannon.
Yes, if you have read the novels, and you don't just read novels at the surface level (I know some who do from the 2ch comments I've read), you will most likely agree with me that a Masuzu end is extremely likely. However, I'll not discount the possibility of a Chiwa end for several reasons.
But first, I want to point out an important point, and that is most good writers (when I say good, I mean story & characters, not language ) write with some objective. They are not just writing a story for readers to ship girls in a harem war or something. The best way to try to guess the ending is to try to understand why the writer is writing what he's writing.
Why Masuzu end is extremely likely:
1. Eita and Masuzu has the same value system with regards to love.
2. Masuzu can read Eita's mind.
3. Eita and Masuzu has kissed in every volume.
4. They share a common interest in JoJo (this is minor though)
5. Masuzu knows the most private things about Eita from his Chuuni notebook, and only Masuzu knows.
6. Masuzu gets decent amount of screentime even in volumes 2 and 3, when Hime and Ai are the central characters in those volumes. In fact in v2, she gets some serious development in background. Even in those volumes, Masuzu is still the central character in the overall story.
7. She's the founder of JiEn-Otsu, and compared to everyone, she is the greatest JiEn-Otsu since she's basically living a lie. This very much makes her the central character.
8. Check out Eita and Masuzu's dialogue in volume 4 chapter 12 again. Even though he thinks he's acting, what he said is so true. They are a match 'made in heavenhell'.
9. The author clearly gives Masuzu a lot of focus in the story. In volume 4, you can see that it's Masuzu vs the others. And Masuzu always manages to get time alone with Eita. She is already one of the main characters in volume 1, and please see point (6) again. Finally, in the afterword of volume 4, the author says this:
Quote:
Natsukawa Masuzu moved for "the sake of Running Away from Love". At the very least, she believed that. However, she couldn't escape it by herself, and as such, got Kidou Eita, a man with the same value system as her, involved, and continued running away from love. It was not an "Escape of Love"[1], but an "Escape from Love". Where can these two run to? And what will they go through when love catches up to them? I'll be happy if you can continue following it to the end.
Please note bold red. If this is not telling us that Eita and Masuzu are the 2 central characters which the story revolves around them in a straight-ball romantic development, then what is it? The story about 2 people with the same value system faking the people around them, and becoming real in the end as they overcome what they need to overcome inside of them, with the Shuraba situations with the other girls giving flavor. This is what I see as the true nature of the story, not a harem/shipping comedy.
Why then, if the ending seems obvious, the story stills makes for an interesting read? Because, the writer still keeps open a window of possibility that it might be a Chiwa end. Thus I want to read on and to see whether or not this happens. Aside from that, even if one is sure that it's going to be a Masuzu end, it's interesting to see the process on how this is achieved. The way I see it, even if they start realizing clearly that they are no longer fakes in the relationship, the author can probably create plenty of situations that will generate mistrust easily with the 'resources' he has at his disposal, especially since they originally already have a warped value system of being anti-love, so I foresee more problems for them to overcome.
Now that, my Masuzu shipping is done, I have to be objective enough to speculate about the other possibility, ie. a Chiwa end.
Why a Chiwa end is possible:
1. Chiwa is different from Eita, her light can drive away his darkness (about love).
2. Chiwa has been with Eita for a long time.
3. Eita stopped his Chuunibyou behavior and started focusing on his studies to become top of the cohort, all that is for the sake of becoming a doctor to cure Chiwa's hip. The timeline coincides and his last entry in his Chuuni notebook was "To cure Chiwa".
This doesn't change the fact that Masuzu is a central character. However, Eita and Masuzu can become the catalysts of each other's change throughout the story, and overcome their baggage in love together, and finally parting ways after overcoming their issues with falling in love, and finally resulting in a Chiwa end.
Frankly, if it's a Masuzu end, I'll feel bad for Chiwa who has worked so hard in so many things. But if it's a Chiwa end, I'll feel even worse for Masuzu. T_T
As for Hime and Ai, they have too little development tied in with Eita (even when they each get almost a whole volume for themselves, they are weak heroines), and even if they do have more development in future, it is unlikely for them to become central characters, based on several core ideas presented in the story. Note that I never say impossible, just unlikely.
I do feel a little bad for Hime, since she seems a little reliant on Eita, and she's even willing to become number 2 or number 3 in Eita's harem. Any Tsundere lovers will sympathize with Ai; she's a pretty model example for Tsundere.
Note that all these are purely speculative, and even though I try to point out some facts, I can't guarantee that I'm not being biased (even though I don't think I am ). If you can read the Chinese translations or the Japanese LNs, read them and make your own judgement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mentar
Larethian, you're a hero ... what a great way to start a new year!
Do you think you might find the time and nerve to touch down on the best earlier Masuzu scenes some day? Summaries are very helpful, but especially when it really counts, true translations are in a different league. And lord knows that this volume has been a huge treat!
Again, thanks!!
That is quite impossible because of:
(1) Time, which I don't have, I'll be retiring from LN translation this year, pretty soon.
(2) Motivation, which will allow me to create some time (though there are limits). In fact, I never planned to translate anything from volume 4 at first. It's because of how satisfying the last few chapters were, that I was motivated enough to take some time out to translate snippets of it. And volume 4 already has by far, the best of Masuzu.
The way I'm looking at it is exactly because of this:
Quote:
Where can these two run to? And what will they go through when love catches up to them?
Right now both Eita and Masuzu are so against love (at least on surface and at least in their mind) it's basically became a sort of mental illness.
Just from that view, the only way to really cure them is to have them be together because otherwise, it'll only deepens their wound and push them (or at least one of them) away from love.
With that being said, as a harem romance comedy, my guess is a Eita x Masuzu end with other girls unwilling to give up and the mess continues type of end and that is not a bad thing.
Given the summaries I've read here, I'd say an Eita x Masuzu ending is pretty much set on stone, and the story is basically about the journey of how they either grow past their desire to be anti-love, or how they either change how that idea works out or simply make it evolve to something else. Either way, the main point seems to be about them growing together both as characters and in terms of their own relationship - which, based on what I've read here, seems to be the main focus of the entire story.
As for Chiwa, I think she has a different role. Certainly, she plays a role in the apparent love triangle. Now, I have no idea how exactly Eita seems Chiwa, since I've only read about his interactions with Masuzu, but if the impression I get is correct, I think she's there mainly to have Eita move on from his apparent passiveness. For example, she's the reason why he's studying so hard. She's also trying hard to ferry her feelings to him, despite him being dead set on his no-love mentality. So, I can see her as an agent of change of sorts.
Certainly, Eita and Masuzu seem to be growing together, but from the impression I get from these spoilers, much of that growth seems to be spurred by their interactions with other characters. So, in the regard the apparent harem does seem to have some relevance in terms of helping the two main characters grow.
I have to say I like the apparent initiative of the author of trying to drift away from the idea of harem, and have Eita try to become more focused on Masuzu, or at least keep the main issue to the original triangle.
Hopefully the developments to come will be good.
__________________
"The name is Tin; Used is just an alias. I'm everything Shoe Box would like to be." - Used Can of the Aluminium Kingdom
2011-12-31, 14:58
... what a great way to start a new year!
). If you can read the Chinese translations or the Japanese LNs, read them and make your own judgement.
) write with some objective. They are not just writing a story for readers to ship girls in a harem war or something. The best way to try to guess the ending is to try to understand why the writer is writing what he's writing.
