To Aru Majutsu no Index - Light Novel - New Testament Volume 8

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

She must have a bad memory for a Level 5 I think, you know Lessar = magic but Mikoto is oblivious to magic therefore Mikoto is oblivious to Lessar.

I was unaware that being a Level 5 means that she has to be able to remember every face.

[Hiss13]

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

She must have a bad memory for a Level 5 I think, you know Lessar = magic but Mikoto is oblivious to magic therefore Mikoto is oblivious to Lessar.

I really doubt that Lessar was really a priority for Mikoto at any point in this volume.

[desrtsku]

^ This is partially right.

Originally Posted by Cthaeh

That pretty heavily implies that Mikoto doesn't recognize Lessar. That implied meaning could possibly be an artifact of translation, but without being able to understand the original, that's all I have to go on. You could claim that she just wasn't able to recognize Lessar from that distance, though even that's a thin argument since she can recognize Birdway.

Re-read my post, please, PLEASE.

she can recognize Birdway.

Yes, exactly, and that's the point because :

Originally Posted by NT8 etc ...

Who was the dangerous blonde girl sitting on his lap ...*answer* ... ?

If your statement about her not recognizing Lessar is based on that very sentence, then you should also give a good explanation to the following one, where she's "asking" who Birdway is, despite giving the answer in the same sentence.

My point is : it's just part of the prose. Her questions aren't there to claim the demanded answers (that are obvious anyway), they're just there to state how ridiculous the situation is. [Brackets]I'd like to bet all three questions were probably written using the same structure in the original, but need someone who has the raws and can read the thing to confirm that.[/Brackets]

[Cthaeh]

Originally Posted by desrtsku

Re-read my post, please, PLEASE.

OK, the first time I read your post it didn't make sense to me because the text you were writing about wasn't indicated, but after quoting that text myself I see what you were talking about.

I still hold that the way the sentence is currently phrased in the translation implies Mikoto doesn't recognize her. Whether or not this is a result of differences in the two languages and the translation, I don't know. Had it been phrased "What was that imp-like girl doing snuggling up next to him?", I would have agreed that the phrasing is ambiguous about the issue of recognition of identity. However, I think that "who" definitely implies uncertainty in identity.

Regarding your argument with Birdway, while Mikoto recognizes her, she never actually learned Birdway's identity. So the use of "who" correctly implies Mikoto's not knowing Birdway's identity in that case.

Whether or not Mikoto has forgotten Lessar completely, or just hadn't yet recognized her yet at that scene, I don't know. I agree it's reasonable that Mikoto might not immediately recognize every person she's ever seen. All I would conclude is that at the instant that question is phrased, the current wording of the translation implies that Mikoto has not recognized her.

[desrtsku]

^ But she never learned who Lessar really was either. Mikoto just teamed up with her on a whim because she new about the oranges etc, and never learned/understood anything more about her but her name. If you really can dismiss Birdway's case with an argument like that so easily, then Lessar's case should also follow the example.

Furthermore, I'm repeating myself here,

Spoiler for Usage of who : Too long:

Moreover, the usage of "who" varies in context, like with any pronoun.
When something unbelievable just happened, using "who" in a question isn't about identity inquiry, it's about finding an explanation to the current mess. Or more like, finding what about this person makes the situation possible.

The usage of "Who are you?" after Classmate A revealed his name and smashed 15 assassins, is substitutable with many things such as : "How the hell did you beat them?" or "Are you a 6th dan black belt or something?" or "Are you a Youkai or something?", which are all information meant to make sense of the situation. (a)

The usage of "Who are you?" after Classmate A revealed his name, his Karate 6th dan black belt and proceeded to beat 15 assassins, is purely that of a rhetorical interrogation. Because all relevant informations have been provided beforehand. (b)

Note 1 : even if the "name" actually wasn't revealed beforehand, it's the least of the subject's priority. It's valid even if it's the very first time he/she met Classmate A, and even if Classmate A isn't a "Classmate".

Note 2 : I know for sure in English and French. Not sure about Japanese, but there seems to be an equivalent in battle shounen which is constantly used when character A meets a unexpectedly strong opponent B.

Now, let's proceed to analyse this case :

-it started with : "That spiky-haired idiot was once more pulling off repeated miracles that could never happen in a normal life." It's the introduction to (a) and/or (b)
-Mikoto is 4th wall breaking mode during the entire scene : she is aware of events and cliché she shouldn't normally be. (b)
-What she doesn't know (1) : the extent of Lessar and Birdway's connection to the magic side = irrelevant to the situation.
-What she doesn't know (2) : the true nature of their connection/relationship with Kamijou Touma. Which is case (a).
-What she knows (1) : Lessar's name and has at least heard Birdway's several times. (a) and/or (b)
-What she knows (2) : What Lessar and Birdway are capable of. (b)
-What she knows (3) : What Kamijou Touma is capable of, including his girl magnet abilities. (b)

(a) She may be asking the connection those girls have with Kamijou Touma, that would explain this ridiculous situation.
Who is this imp girl? = actually a close acquaintance of his, met him in England, travelled together and is now here for business.
Who is this blonde girl? = actually a close acquaintance of his, met him here, actually a friend, has business here.

(b) She's 4th wall breaking mode, which translates to "she knows about the harem cliché and everything related to it". Moreover she knows Birdway and Lessar are people who travel all around the world to accomplish "something", the same "something" that other spiky haired boy is usually involved with. And she knows Kamijou Touma has connections to many people/girls all around the world, whatever the reason maybe.
Thus, she knows something like this is possible when it comes to those people, even though she doesn't exactly know how or why. Asking for explanation would just result in those people repeating exactly what she already assumed, but with more concrete details. So in the end, she's just "asking" those questions to herself, to point one by one the ridiculous things about this situation.

You can also add Index' case :
-"is this normal occurrence?"
Come on, you already witnessed it yourself a few times before. There's no point in asking.
-"I'm sick of this position"
Meta joke, she's aware of her tsun running gags. Just like she's aware of Kamijou Touma's "harem" jokes. I wonder if she's also aware Index is part of a running gag.

[ACertainStark]

Originally Posted by desrtsku

^ But she never learned who Lessar really was either. Mikoto just teamed up with her on a whim because she new about the oranges etc, and never learned/understood anything more about her but her name. If you really can dismiss Birdway's case with an argument like that so easily, then Lessar's case should also follow the example.

Furthermore, I'm repeating myself here,

Spoiler for Usage of who : Too long:

Moreover, the usage of "who" varies in context, like with any pronoun.
When something unbelievable just happened, using "who" in a question isn't about identity inquiry, it's about finding an explanation to the current mess. Or more like, finding what about this person makes the situation possible.


Now, let's proceed to analyse this case :


(a) She may be asking the connection those girls have with Kamijou Touma, that would explain this ridiculous situation.
Who is this imp girl? = actually a close acquaintance of his, met him in England, travelled together and is now here for business.
Who is this blonde girl? = actually a close acquaintance of his, met him here, actually a friend, has business here.

(b) She's 4th wall breaking mode, which translates to "she knows about the harem cliché and everything related to it". Moreover she knows Birdway and Lessar are people who travel all around the world to accomplish "something", the same "something" that other spiky haired boy is usually involved with. And she knows Kamijou Touma has connections to many people/girls all around the world, whatever the reason maybe.
Thus, she knows something like this is possible when it comes to those people, even though she doesn't exactly know how or why. Asking for explanation would just result in those people repeating exactly what she already assumed, but with more concrete details. So in the end, she's just "asking" those questions to herself, to point one by one the ridiculous things about this situation.

You can also add Index' case :
-"is this normal occurrence?"
Come on, you already witnessed it yourself a few times before. There's no point in asking.
-"I'm sick of this position"
Meta joke, she's aware of her tsun running gags. Just like she's aware of Kamijou Touma's "harem" jokes. I wonder if she's also aware Index is part of a running gag.

I missed desrtsku.

[Acer]

rereading the epilogue of volume 8 calmly and using the power of imagination (mental imagery) you feel like those parts were serious.

The black eyepatch was pushed out from within. An object covered in a dark red liquid shot out from the empty eye socket. It continued on and on.

“Ha ha ha ha!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

The magic god laughed arched her back.

An unpleasant noise rang out.

The tip of the lance was not a sharply pointed blade like on a knife. It was a wide blade as if a double-edged sword had been forcibly attached. What would happen if that was forcibly dragged from her narrow eye socket? The sound of a joint popping continued on and on with a sticky sound mixed in. No, that was the sound of something breaking and splitting. Her eye socket may have been spreading and distorting like a hole in a rubber band. It may have even grown larger than the girl’s small face.

That is grotesque!

“Ahhhhhhhh!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! ”

He shouted, screamed, and cried out.

Finally, Kamijou Touma was freed from the bonds keeping him frozen in place.

Without paying any attention to his surroundings, he ran so he could get as close as possible to Magic God Othinus. She stood atop the towering passenger ship, so there was no way the boy’s legs could have brought him to her. However, he was afraid his mind would collapse if he did not oppose her in some way.

I think this was the only time in the series that really gave to feel desperation coming from Touma, the worst was that Othinus is out of his reach, eliminating all hope of the situation.

I'm depressed now, shit!

[Chaos2Frozen]

Our favorite Toaru Japanese blog finally has a review up.

Even if it's just for the reaction pictures, it's worth a peek

http://kodoku21.blog83.fc2.com/blog-entry-3183.html

[hamazura]

othinus : "ahahahahah balbalbablabla akekaekakaeka"
what the hell? i dont understand. she is turned into fairy thing by ollerus and then lose her magic god power, then she start laughng 100% 100% 100% blabalbal. i... dont understand...

and i dont understand why othinus want to 'destroy' the world like low-class villain in old school kid anime... and how does she do it? like "SHINE MY SPEAR! DESTROY THE WOOORLD!" like that? -_-

and i dont understand why should she overthinking 50/50 chance of doing something. everyone have that chance, but you make it 100% with your effort and hardwork. stupid..

[Birdway]

Originally Posted by hamazura

othinus : "ahahahahah balbalbablabla akekaekakaeka"
what the hell? i dont understand. she is turned into fairy thing by ollerus and then lose her magic god power, then she start laughng 100% 100% 100% blabalbal. i... dont understand...

and i dont understand why othinus want to 'destroy' the world like low-class villain in old school kid anime... and how does she do it? like "SHINE MY SPEAR! DESTROY THE WOOORLD!" like that? -_-

and i dont understand why should she overthinking 50/50 chance of doing something. everyone have that chance, but you make it 100% with your effort and hardwork. stupid..

Read the next volume for answers.