I'm Not Dead Yet

Although I did come uncomfortably close over the past year. But enough about my health.

Mizusho 2 has gotten to six volumes now. That might be the end of it; I haven't gotten a definite answer yet. I do know that Shinobu Inokuma is doing another series now, reviving Salad Days, the high school comedy-drama he did before the first Mizusho.

I've lost all my volumes of both Mizusho series, so I doubt I will be bringing more transaltions to you anytime soon. With copyright lawyers waxing fat off the Digital Millenium Act and MangaFox taking off more and more scanlations including Mizusho (which has never been licensed here) the era of scanlation may be ending. It's yet another case of an industry shooting itself in the foot with the help of greedy lawyers; scanlation was what really created a wider popularity for manga in the United States. And now the lawyers are beginning to go after fanfics; look at CBS taking the makers of a Star Trek fanmade movie to court, even while Star Trek Discovery seems to be crashing even before it gets released.

Back Despite Popular Demand

I'm still alive, even if I haven't given readers of this blog much evidence of it for quite awhile.

Anyway, Shinobu Inokuma has cranked out a third volume of Toritsu Mizusho! 2, and I have a copy at hand. I don't have any prospect of scanning it any time soon, but if you want your own copy, order it. It's on Amazon Japan now. Or order it through Kinokuniya, my source.

The new volume introduces some new characters and has appearances from old friends from the first series, including:

•  Kaname Suwahara (alias the Cicada)
• Aya Matsuura the oyabun of the yakuza in Kabukicho
• Keisuke Tanabe, the idealistic teacher who was the protagonist of the first series and the light novel that inspired the manga.

Inokuma Shinobu may be holding to the timeline he set down in the first series after all. This series is set before the flash-forward that ended the first series.

The new series opens with the opening ceremonies for the 10th year. Oda Mari, cover girl once again, is now 25 and teaching at Mizushō. Kurosawa-sensei, Kondō-sensei, Ono-sensei, and the still nameless vice principal with the bad comb-over are all still at Mizusho too, although there is a new principal named Matsumoto. Tanabe-sensei and Yoshioka-sensei moved away to a new Mizushō High established in Sapporo's Susukino district (see Volume 16 of the first series.)

Nagasawa Daichi isn't married to Oda Mari (yet) but he is helping his sister Miwa and her friend Hanao Ayame run the M&A club in Roppongi.

The girl with glasses on the front cover with Oda Mari is Asakusahashi Riko. She's not on very friendly terms with Oda as yet because Oda is a rival for the affections of Kakimura Tatsuki, a student in the Host Group. If you look at the back cover, she's the one wearing trousers. That's right, he's a she, sort of the reverse situation from Teppei-chan in the first series. Kakimura knows Nagasawa; don't know how or why yet.

The other girl on the back cover is Fujimori Ami, Fūzoku Group. (You have got a copy by now, haven't you? Mine cost $10.95, plus tax, at Kinokuniya, not unreasonable, even if it was a special order.)

There's a first-year Manager student named Ozaki, with a Mohawk and a small chin-beard, who looks like he might get some more coverage in Volume 2.

Volume 1 of Toritsu Mizushō 2

Well, my g/f forgave me and we're staying in a motel with internet, so I have full internet access, at least for a few days.. 

I've got the first volume in hand now. I have by no means translated it yet, but from a first look, it seems to be set sometime between the events at the end of the final chapter, before Tanabe and Yoshioka return. Or maybe, like the author of Gunnm Last Order, Inokuma wasn't satisfied with the hurried up ending and decided to change the timeline. Daichi Nagasawa turns up alive in a later chapter, but it's clear he isn't married to Mari, at least yet.

Three Stages of Homelessness

Approximately March 6 through March 29: Shelter in Sunnyvale.
March 30-April 9: Sleeping in girlfriend's car.
Last night-this morning: Walking in rain; walking without rain, walking in rain again. Hustled out of Veteran's hospital about midnight. No sleep, but survived first night. Reason for change in status: Suggested g/f behavior was less than perfect.

Mizushō Is BACK!!!

I just discovered from INOKUMA Shinobu's blog that he's started a second series, Toritsu Mizushō 2, and that the first tanboukan was released at the end of February! Hey, I'm broke now and I might be homeless soon, but I'm going to get that one or die trying!

Here's a three minute video trailer for what I think is a motion-enhanced DVD version of the manga (and good luck finding the actual DVD on this side of the Pacific!):

This is the first time I've uploaded a video on Blogger. Boy, it sure shrank! For a higher-resolution version, go to this YouTube page. I use Download Helper on Firefox to save YouTube videos, and this one looks quite nice as a 480p flash video. Plus, you can actually make out the kanji and even the furigana in the speech balloons.

Another Negima Page

Here is the transcription of a translation of another page in the final Negima chapter:

1 (Yue): No, I mean... Master.

2 (Negi): Hahaha. Please stop calling me "Master."

3 (Negi): You're already a fine mage.

Box 1: [Ad for some DVD]

4: You've been a great help protecting Mahora, Yue-san.

5: I haven't really...

6: Good grief, you again, Piao Two-san?

7: Do you know her?

8: She's a mercenary. We've fought quite a few times.

FT1: So she was a little girl?

9: You're now under arrest!

10: Not that you'll tell us the name of your boss, I expect.

11: Mofufu, that's right. I was just having some fun this time, actually.

12: That's even worse!

FT2: A FINALE FILLED WITH 9 YEARS' WORTH OF GRATITUDE!!!

[Bottom of the page has three small panels]

13: What's going on? An explosion? Terrorists?

14: Wait, look! Over there! It's Negi!

SFX1: ザク　ザク zaku zaku

15: Looks like your ward has been undone. (aside) We have to tidy this up.

16: Huh, Negi?!

17: Huh...? Negi? That Negi...?

18: Kyaah--!

[middle panel]

19: Aaah--!! I thought I remembered you from somewhere...

20: You're Negi-san! The one who's always on TV!!

SFX2: どよ　どよ　doyo doyo

21: You're right! C-can I have your autograph?

[left panel]

22: B-but more importantly, why are you here, at Mahora, today...?

FT# Free Text # (not part of any balloon)

Note: Satsuki doesn't speak in this chapter, but whenever she has spoken, her words have been in free text.

SFX* Sound Effect # Usually but not always, sound effects are written with freehand katakana, often quite stylized.

Your mileage may vary. This translation isn't mine; it was done by the team at Red Hawk Scans. I'm going to compare this with the translation from dowolf when it comes out; you can find dowulf here.

Also, here's what you get if you look for anything on Megaupload now:

So don't bother clicking on any of my uplinks to my stuff that used to be on Megaupload. Well, we won't be doing any more of this. This is a scarier banner than the FBI warning that appeared at the beginning of all commercial videotapes, which meant, of course, no one ever even thought of pirating them, even the porn.