Furuba vol. 23 [Tokyopop edition] [SERIES FINALE]
Fruits Basket vol. 23, Tokyopop edition. Translation by Alethea & Athena Nibley, English adaptation by Lianne Sentar.
Last one of these posts ever. Crazy. Usual disclaimers apply: comparison between translations is for fun, not for commentary on comparative correctness. ^_-
Also, I don't think I've reread most of these chapters since they originally came out (other than 133), so I'm less likely to notice differences in translation than I was in some volumes.
(Wow, the character bios at the beginning just never get updated, do they?)
Chapter 132 (September 2006: original reaction: full scans and translation.)
Momiji and Kagura tag-teaming Kyo still amuses me. I'm still a little sad over the contingent of Kagura fans (which may have been small, but used to have a very, er, vocal spokesperson over on the old forums) who seemed to be so staunchly of the opinion that Kagura was this lonely, unloved person. I love the direction her relationship with Kyo is taking, and her friendships with so many of the other 12shi (and find it ridiculous when people think that she's destined to be an old maid just because she's single at the end of the series, at the age of, what, 20? Ditto Momiji--they're both too awesome for that to be a concern for me).
"It's nice to meet the new you," Shigure says...while BLEEDING FROM THE FACE. I'm fonder of Akito than I ever imagined (although still angry), but she definitely didn't have an overnight transformation. ^^; Seriously, though, I like the intercutting between her conversations with Shigure and her meeting with the former 12shi. And I think that here at the end, she really handled things as well as she possibly could after everything she'd done. I like that she basically dedicates herself to protecting them now; in some profound ways it's just too late, and yet it's far from an empty gesture.
No real thinky-thoughts here. I think I covered everything like that first time 'round.
Chapter 133 (September 2006: original reaction: full scans and translation.)
I like the little reminders we get here and there that Mayuko knows so many of the Sohmas. ^_^ And the weird sort of almost-comfortable vibe Yuki and Kyo have as things wrap up. They don't feel like friends, but they do feel like family, and that's a huge thing.
I stand by my original comment here: "...GRANDPA KAZUMA!!!!!! *dies a million deaths of awesomeness*"
Also don't have anything new to say about Rin and Tohru's scene, since I've analyzed it to death before. I still love it, though, and while I don't think it resolves everything for Rin--I mean, the point is that she doesn't feel resolved about anything, and that it's okay for her to feel that way--I think there's a lot of significant stuff packed in there, and it's incredibly powerful. (There's a link up there if you haven't heard me go on about this a hundred times before. *g*)
(There's one spot where the adaptation goes from casual to excessively slangy, IMO. I...I think this is something I feel both as a reader and as an adapter: I believe very strongly in dialogue coming through as natural, which often means very casual, but outright slang tends to put me off unless it's used very consistently as part of a character's "voice". So that's my bias, and in this case I found it really off-putting. But if finding one bit of slang jarring is my main complaint about a book, that's a really good sign for the overall adaptation.)
Akito's scene with her maid goes as far towards redeeming her as her scene with the 12shi, for me.
Wow, I love this chapter.
Chapter 134 (October 2006: original reaction: scans-only [with a bit of post-translation reaction in the ch. 135 reaction post linked below].)
I love just about everything in this chapter (date at the zoo! Arisa and Saki!), but I think Kyo's internal monologue about Tohru picking up his beads was my favorite part. I love how well he understands her.
Even Kakeru knows that Yuki shouldn't be left to fend for himself! *dies* And Aya picking Yuki's apartment, and (andandand)...
Kyo and Saki will never stop amusing me. (Similarly, Kazuma and Saki will never stop horrifying me. Kazuma! No! [I honestly can't make myself believe it became a seriously romantic relationship. I just can't. I can totally see Kazuma simply never realizing that Saki is in love with him even when she works for him, and her eventually being pragmatic and moving on. Yes.])
Chapter 135 (November 2006: original reaction: full scans and translation.)
I don't have much new to say about this. But it is totally unfair to know how it goes and be reading along and get to the moment when Kyoko sees Kyo as she's dying and realize I'm crying with no warning at all. It completely breaks my heart that he spent so long believing she hated him when she was trusting him so much at that moment.
And he runs from it, and she dies alone, surrounded by strangers. Which hurts, even though I don't blame him for it, and even though Takaya-sensei shows us what happens next and we see that Kyoko's happy at the end.
Chapter 136 (released November 2006: original reaction: full scans and translation [posted January 2007].)
"Kyo-kun broke the roof!"
Aya and Mine's conversation about children leaving the nest is priceless.
Um. I do have an actual criticism here, which I hate saying within ten pages of the end, but...the adaptation has Yuki saying "It was you, Tohru. You made me human" five pages before the moment where he very significantly calls her by name for the first time in the Japanese.
Having noted that, though, I want to echo what I've seen other people saying, which is that the script on this volume is really good overall. It was a pleasure to read. *^^*
Mostly my feeling from this chapter is still that I love how both Kyo and Yuki reassure Tohru that everyone still loves her, how they both remember that they're not the only ones. And other than that...I just reread my original post, and I still stand behind what I said then.
Goodbye, most-beloved series.
[manually x-posted to DW]
Last one of these posts ever. Crazy. Usual disclaimers apply: comparison between translations is for fun, not for commentary on comparative correctness. ^_-
Also, I don't think I've reread most of these chapters since they originally came out (other than 133), so I'm less likely to notice differences in translation than I was in some volumes.
(Wow, the character bios at the beginning just never get updated, do they?)
Chapter 132 (September 2006: original reaction: full scans and translation.)
Momiji and Kagura tag-teaming Kyo still amuses me. I'm still a little sad over the contingent of Kagura fans (which may have been small, but used to have a very, er, vocal spokesperson over on the old forums) who seemed to be so staunchly of the opinion that Kagura was this lonely, unloved person. I love the direction her relationship with Kyo is taking, and her friendships with so many of the other 12shi (and find it ridiculous when people think that she's destined to be an old maid just because she's single at the end of the series, at the age of, what, 20? Ditto Momiji--they're both too awesome for that to be a concern for me).
"It's nice to meet the new you," Shigure says...while BLEEDING FROM THE FACE. I'm fonder of Akito than I ever imagined (although still angry), but she definitely didn't have an overnight transformation. ^^; Seriously, though, I like the intercutting between her conversations with Shigure and her meeting with the former 12shi. And I think that here at the end, she really handled things as well as she possibly could after everything she'd done. I like that she basically dedicates herself to protecting them now; in some profound ways it's just too late, and yet it's far from an empty gesture.
No real thinky-thoughts here. I think I covered everything like that first time 'round.
Chapter 133 (September 2006: original reaction: full scans and translation.)
I like the little reminders we get here and there that Mayuko knows so many of the Sohmas. ^_^ And the weird sort of almost-comfortable vibe Yuki and Kyo have as things wrap up. They don't feel like friends, but they do feel like family, and that's a huge thing.
I stand by my original comment here: "...GRANDPA KAZUMA!!!!!! *dies a million deaths of awesomeness*"
Also don't have anything new to say about Rin and Tohru's scene, since I've analyzed it to death before. I still love it, though, and while I don't think it resolves everything for Rin--I mean, the point is that she doesn't feel resolved about anything, and that it's okay for her to feel that way--I think there's a lot of significant stuff packed in there, and it's incredibly powerful. (There's a link up there if you haven't heard me go on about this a hundred times before. *g*)
(There's one spot where the adaptation goes from casual to excessively slangy, IMO. I...I think this is something I feel both as a reader and as an adapter: I believe very strongly in dialogue coming through as natural, which often means very casual, but outright slang tends to put me off unless it's used very consistently as part of a character's "voice". So that's my bias, and in this case I found it really off-putting. But if finding one bit of slang jarring is my main complaint about a book, that's a really good sign for the overall adaptation.)
Akito's scene with her maid goes as far towards redeeming her as her scene with the 12shi, for me.
Wow, I love this chapter.
Chapter 134 (October 2006: original reaction: scans-only [with a bit of post-translation reaction in the ch. 135 reaction post linked below].)
I love just about everything in this chapter (date at the zoo! Arisa and Saki!), but I think Kyo's internal monologue about Tohru picking up his beads was my favorite part. I love how well he understands her.
Even Kakeru knows that Yuki shouldn't be left to fend for himself! *dies* And Aya picking Yuki's apartment, and (andandand)...
Kyo and Saki will never stop amusing me. (Similarly, Kazuma and Saki will never stop horrifying me. Kazuma! No! [I honestly can't make myself believe it became a seriously romantic relationship. I just can't. I can totally see Kazuma simply never realizing that Saki is in love with him even when she works for him, and her eventually being pragmatic and moving on. Yes.])
Chapter 135 (November 2006: original reaction: full scans and translation.)
I don't have much new to say about this. But it is totally unfair to know how it goes and be reading along and get to the moment when Kyoko sees Kyo as she's dying and realize I'm crying with no warning at all. It completely breaks my heart that he spent so long believing she hated him when she was trusting him so much at that moment.
And he runs from it, and she dies alone, surrounded by strangers. Which hurts, even though I don't blame him for it, and even though Takaya-sensei shows us what happens next and we see that Kyoko's happy at the end.
Chapter 136 (released November 2006: original reaction: full scans and translation [posted January 2007].)
"Kyo-kun broke the roof!"
Aya and Mine's conversation about children leaving the nest is priceless.
Um. I do have an actual criticism here, which I hate saying within ten pages of the end, but...the adaptation has Yuki saying "It was you, Tohru. You made me human" five pages before the moment where he very significantly calls her by name for the first time in the Japanese.
Having noted that, though, I want to echo what I've seen other people saying, which is that the script on this volume is really good overall. It was a pleasure to read. *^^*
Mostly my feeling from this chapter is still that I love how both Kyo and Yuki reassure Tohru that everyone still loves her, how they both remember that they're not the only ones. And other than that...I just reread my original post, and I still stand behind what I said then.
Goodbye, most-beloved series.
[manually x-posted to DW]