hontou ni sou omou? » suzuka

Oaths Translated

Zyl — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 02:30:13 +0000

Chigusa: Shaaaana-chan, a kiss between the lips is like a solemn oath.

[Trs: I can help you practise so that you can surprise Yuuji! - after reading Jason's post, I just can't get Chigusa's Shizuru :3 aura out of my head! Chigusa x Shana in this vein might be fun though. Mweheheh.]

Shana: Tiriel, Sorath, what you are doing is wrong.

[Trs: Xia Yu Fan x Xia Yu Lan Twincest pwns Tiriel x Sorath twincest.]

Sergey: Nagi told me to find the real princess and make her our pawn. Seduce her if I have to.

[Trs: Well, whaddaya know, it doesn't actually contravene the primary legislation on this - though I'm sure under 16 is still illegal somewhere in the regs but since I'm doing it for national security, I get off scott free. But the problem is... I am really a lolicon.

Whenever the whole Nina-Arika-Sergey love triangle thing comes up, I just close my eyes, stick my fingers in my ears and sing "~If I ignore it, maybe it will go away!~" -_-;; The only good side-effect to this is that it makes a Nina x Ers-chan pairing all the more desirable!]

Nina Wong, you’ll rue the day you didn’t accept Ers-chan’s hints and advances! Hmmm… now that I think about it, the above scene was played like Nina’s flashback but given Nina was unconscious, I’m guessing it’s more likely to be a product of Nina’s imagination thus the highly unorthodox CPR method and Nina’s subsequent blush and sulk – so she does know about Ers-chan’s hots for her after all. Ungrateful wench.

Hazumu, Yasuna, Tomari: …!!!

[Trs: Hazumu, you can choose one and still keep the other. Like a certain Mr Rin Tsuchimi... ]

Rin: Asa-senpai, I choose you!

[Trs: ... as the head wife. I will still have my Psycho Childhood Friend concubine, my MPD Goddess concubine, my Survivor Guilt Syndrome Demon Concubine and my loli concubine. And maybe also your ditzy blonde best friend who really has the mad yuri hots for you but is only able to express it by wanting a polygamous marrriage with you and me. Oh and since I want you and all my lovelies to get along, loving each other is good too.]

Yamato: Please date with me!
[Trs: I am a dumb fcuk for preferring you over Honoka-chan!]
Suzuka: *slapslapslapslapslap* I hate you!
[Trs: Ok! We're obviously meant for each other!]

And finally, Zyl’s Wish List for Oaths:

Rin x Saber: She is my… master. Purrrr.
Natsuki x Shizuru: Wan! Dhuran dosu… Pera pera pera pera…
Hazumu x Tomari: You shouldn’t do that, Hazumu, cuz we’re both girls. But if it’s you, it’s ok.

And of course….

Saya x Kaori: Bite me!

Suzuka 26

Zyl — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 23:57:31 +0000

Yamato refuses to apologize. Cold war between Yamato and Suzuka but Miki and Honoka-chan come to the rescue. Suzuka takes Yamato to Tsuda’s grave and then gives the “I cannot go out with you because I like someone else” spiel to her deceased senpai. Suzuka and Yamato hold hands to school while the end shot shows Tsuda pushing up the daisies.

Honoka-chan, you are so selfless! Her character growth was just fantastic but I am a tad unhappy that she’s been reduced to a oh-so-understanding supporter of Yamato x Suzuka which the photo shoot scenario in the manga ameliorated somewhat.

For the series as a whole, I largely agree with what Kabitzin and Ren have said in their reviews. I really have thank them as well as Mentar for influencing me to pick up this series halfway through its run – added thanks to Mentar for highlighting differences in the manga and providing comparisons of the art.

Normally I dislike sports anime (especially when combined with romance) intensely because they tend to be about a very talented central character who finally realizes his or her potential through some kind of epiphany, lots of shouting and getting together with the love interest.

What I liked about this series was that it shows that shit happens and relationships aren’t always a smooth thing especially the arc when Yamato likes Suzuka but goes out with Honoka-chan and then they break up. A lot of anime tends to show characters who pine for the same character for the whole series without doing anything (which was what I expected Honoka-chan to do) and that there is a tendency to assume that once a couple gets together, they’re set for life or something. And while Yamato’s persistence does pay off in the end, it’s just as important that Honoka-chan lets go. Well, it’s not like SHUFFLE! where Yamato can have a polygamous harem. Though, of course, the real lesson is that because Suzuka is beautiful, she can be the ice queen and get away with it. The reason why the series is named after her even though it is mainly told from Yamato’s POV is that if she had been able to come to terms with her own feelings early on, this would be a very very short series indeed.

My favourite high school romance anime is still Kare Kano but Suzuka gets top marks for making me watch the slow motion multi-track train wreck out of morbid fascination as well as to winch repeatedly when some of the boo-boos of the characters hit rather too close to home. It’s also a great series to make fun of.

The Very Secret Diary of Honoka Sakurai 21-26

Zyl — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 23:57:07 +0000

Ep 21. That woman’s ninja bodyguard is hitting on Akitsuki-kun: stripping in front of him in the park! This is ruining my plan. What’s the point of killing Suzuka if Miki then replaces her? And being sort-of in the same business as I and Nana were, she’ll be so much harder to assassinate.

Ep 22. Somehow I feel like I’m back to square one. Stuttering again. People will be able to see through my brilliant plan and realise that I still love Akitsuki-kun.

Ep 23. Nana tells me to give up on Akitsuki-kun. Even my trusted confidant doesn’t think my plan is going to work! T_T

Ep 24-25. Found Suzuka crying on the steps of our shrine. Resisted the temptation to just shoot her with Beretta-san from behind but restrained myself as killing her right on my own doorstep would be No Good. Lost my temper with her and finally got it off my chest about her stealing my boyfriend! At least didn’t blurt out that if she’s so keen on the loved one who died on her, I could send her to join him, no problemo. But am sticking with the plan. Changed tack and was encouraging her to go to Yamato. Then same when Yamato came running by.

Ep 26. Quitting the track team, apologised to Suzuka and asked her to get together with Yamato. Urrrgh. *grinds teeth* No one can accuse me of being psycho Yamato stalker now. Will wait and see. Hopefully she will be such a lousy girlfriend compared to me that Yamato will dump her. “If you really love someone, set him it free. If he comes back he’s yours forever. If he doesn’t, kill the competition.”