(1) The kanji for "goddess" (megami) has the a katakana "reading"
of Venus.
(2) Written in English.
(3) Although I, the translator, am also a Macintosh enthusiast, I would
like to assure you that this is bit is translated accurately. I'd like to
point out, though, that as Orange Road fans you are all obligated to support
Macintosh computers, since Matsumoto-sensei and Madoka are both Mac users.
(4) Parentheses are always the author's. I wouldn't put my own comments
into the text that way. I prefer to make use of footnotes. ^_^
(5) Memories of Hikaru-chan in the Orange Road movie, pining for Kyosuke's
CD player. The circle is now complete -- she said she wanted a CD player
like Kyosuke had, and now she has one.
(6) J.G., i.e. Jin Goro, as if it were two words.
(7) In English in the original text.
(8) "Omiai" is often misunderstood by Americans to be a wedding
arranged by a person's parents in which the person in question has no say
in the matter. It is actually an arranged meeting, kind of like a job interview.
(9) Actually Hikaru means "to shine" as in the sun. It does not
mean 'star.' A famous Japanese novel "The tale of Hikaru" tells
the story of Hikaru Genji "The Shining Genji," a fictitious emperor
of Heian-era Japan.
(10) Oh, now it means Queen. Sigh. I hope you can see some of the challenges
I face when translating this novel. It is, in many ways, all over the road.
I am constantly faced with the question of what the author wrote/intended
vs. what will be comprehensible to readers. Hikaru does NOT mean Queen.
(11) Shirouto means 'amateur.' The opposite is 'kurouto.'
(12) No one is going to believe me over Matsumoto, but Hikaru does not mean
Star.
(13) Of course, her real name is Hikaru and her nickname is Star*. Why does
using the latter count as using her real name? Incidentally the * character
was a regular star in the original. Doesn't work very well in ASCII.
(14) Daruma are round, red-colored head-like objects that are displayed
in Japanese homes and businesses. Customarily, you make your wish for the
new year, and paint one of the daruma's eyes black. If your wish comes true
that year, you paint the other eye.
(15) The Japanese word here is 'seishun jidai,' in kanji, "blue/spring
era." Think back to the first 15 episodes of the series. "Kasuga
Kyosuke...seishun shitemasu" -- "I am Kyosuke Kasuga, living the
springtime of my youth." The name for the Jedi from Star Wars comes
from the word 'jidai geki' (Samurai drama) since Lucas was such a fan of
Japanese film, by the way. Just through I'd throw that in.
(16) Um, sorry guys, but what timeline are we talking about here? All of
the Orange Road series takes place when Madoka and Kyosuke are in the third
year of junior high school, and Madoka's sister (whose name we never know)
got married in episode 11.
(17) Yes, this is gyakushu, as in "Gyakushu no Char" (Char's
Counterattack) and "Teikoku no Gyakushu" (the Japanese title for
The Empire Strikes Back)..
(18) In a bizarre but unrelated incident, the day before I translated this
passage, a young 'mi-ke neko' (three-colored cat, just like JG) managed
to climb into the engine compartment of my Nissan March from underneath.
I unsuspectingly started by car, and heard a dull thump as the cat was caught
in the fan belt and killed. Later that day, my car lost electrical power;
we took it to the repair man here in Isesaki and he found the remains of
the cat. Crazy, eh?
(19) Everyone listening? :^D
(20) These are fun things. There's a message notebook at the classical toy
museum in Otaru, Hokkaido (where Hikaru moved to, incidentally). Look for
my message if you ever get out there.
(21) According to Kaori, a (cute) girl I work with, and several very helpful
people on Usenet, "Tiltil" and "Mitil" (i.e., Chiru
Chiru Michiru in Japanese) are the names of two characters in a Belgian
fairy tale by Maurice Maeterlinck called "L'Oiseau Bleu" ("Blue
Bird"). This fairy tale is very popular in Japan. Why a homosexual
in New York would know this is an enigma to me.
(22) The following message appears in English.
(23) This text is in English in the novel. A slightly more accurate translation
of what appears in Japanese: "To Mr. Chiru Chiru Michiru. Like you,
I am rooting for the girl HIKARU, also known as STAR, who came from Japan
aiming to make it on Broadway. If she has become involved in some kind of
problem in the city of New York that I love so much, I would be very saddened.
If anyone provides you with any information about her, please let me know
immediately. I will pay a reward of $1000 for any such information. -- Anita
Brussel"
(24) That UNIX is not a computer but an OS may not be understood by the
author. I am not responsible for any misunderstanding of computers on Matsumoto's
part. I'm just the translating droid.
(25) I'm always annoyed when I don't know the exact Japanese when reading
something translated. Since this is a juicy one, I'll give it to you. The
line in Japanese is, "Sono ato, futari ha kyuusoku nisekkin shi, Harouiin
no ban ni musubareta. Hikaru ni totte, hajimete no otoko datta."
(26) Interesting play on kanji here. The kanji for 'vermilion' is the shu
from Shuri's name.
(27) Useful term. Yuujuu-fudan is a person who can't make up their
mind, who is timid and passive. You can go up to Japanese people and say
this and watch their reactions.
(28) Ninth grade. The phrase "known" could also be taken to mean
"going out with," but since Kyosuke and Madoka didn't start dating
Madoka until 12th grade, I have left it as the former.
(29) You all remember musoko (son) is a euphemism for a man's member. Musume
(daughter) is the female version.
(30) All together now: TSUMARANAI!
(31) Interesting to note that at no point does anyone remember the last
time Hikaru and everyone game to America, also to get abducted in Hawaii.
I wonder if Japanese readers are forming their opinions of America from
books like this.
(32) This is a phrase that comes up a lot in Japanese. Detroit is the "Mecca
of cars"; Hollywood is the "Mecca of movies."
(33) Yuujuu-fudan strikes again. Up there with akai mugiwara-boshi
and chonouryoku-sha as the first words you learn when you study Japanese
using Orange Road mangas (as I did).
(34) Wow, since the "Hikaru...watashitachi, mo...sannin de irarenain
da ne" scene at ABCB...
(35) That is to say, sort of like a "U" character, three sides
of a square, with the left edge open.
(36) 'Thank you so much!' is written in English.
(37) The word for people who have been friends since childhood is osana-najimi,
pronounced without stressing any particular syllible. It comes up quite
a bit in anime. There, now you know another Japanese word.
(38) To spare rec.arts.anime.* the needless thread on the subject, yes,
Matsumoto uses the word "anime" even though Disney is not anime
in the sense that we American fans use the word.
(39) From the first KOR novel, the lovely hydrangea.
(40) Written in English in the text. Don't know what is up with this.