Grand Comic Reading Project #2: Yotsuba

[Insula Formosa]

Do you have a link to a legal online shop where one can order traditional Chinese version of this comic and have it shipped to Europe or North America?

Yes.

http://www.yesasia.com/us/si-xie-mei-mie-vol-7/1010681532-0-0-0-en/info.html

And if you live in or close to a big metropople, there surely will be a Chinese comic shop that sells Manga in Chinese.

And unavailibility of a product in your region does not justify pirating it, for the sake of clarity.

[jbradfor]

You're not going to make a lot of friends lecturing people on piracy.

YesAsia only has vols 6-9. So can I pirate volumes 1-5? Please? Pretty please?

And what's up with the romanization in that link? "Si Xie Mei Mie!"???

[Gleaves]

Yesasia's great, but their supply is weak. On the plus side, they have creepy Yotsuba statues... 囧.

[Insula Formosa]

You're not going to make a lot of friends lecturing people on piracy.

I guess that someone living in 19th century US wouldn't have made a lot of friends lecturing people on slavery.

[renzhe]

I suggest you consider removing that statement... :rolleyes:

[Gleaves]

[jbradfor]

@Gleaves, some of those statues are seriously weird. That Fuka Ayase in a swim suit figure is like 2/3 legs.... Definitely not 不賴 at all. ;)

[jbradfor]

Volume 5, page 106 (link here) there is an character in the upper right I can't figure out. It looks pretty clear to me: 自 on top, 艹 on the bottom (although of course it's not 艹 as 艹 doesn't appear on the bottom). But I tried to look it up 6 different ways, and couldn't get it.

On page 56 (link here), I was a bit surprised to see 堆 used as a measure word (bottom right). Partially I was surprised as I thought 堆 meant haystack (learned from Kabu no Isaki -- it's actually 草堆 that means haystack, I got it wrong). Even after I looked it up again, it still seems weird to me. Maybe it's just me.

[feihong]

Volume 5, page 106 (link here) there is an character in the upper right I can't figure out. It looks pretty clear to me: 自 on top, 艹 on the bottom (although of course it's not 艹 as 艹 doesn't appear on the bottom). But I tried to look it up 6 different ways, and couldn't get it.

I'm pretty sure the character in question is 臭.

On page 56 (link here), I was a bit surprised to see 堆 used as a measure word (bottom right). Partially I was surprised as I thought 堆 meant haystack (learned from Kabu no Isaki -- it's actually 草堆 that means haystack, I got it wrong). Even after I looked it up again, it still seems weird to me. Maybe it's just me.

堆 is a fairly common measure word. That particular usage, 我吃了一大堆X, is a pretty common expression when talking about eating. X can be 冰淇淋, 牛肉, or any kind of solid food, I think.

[jbradfor]

Thanks! 臭 makes sense. It's the type of word a 5-year-old would use in this context.

[Gleaves]

I saw this blog post on one character adjectives. It mentions that 臭 can also mean "terrible or to suck at something." I'm guessing Yotsuba could just mean stinky, but I thought I would mention that it has some extended meanings that was news to me.

[feihong]

Yes, I actually interpreted it to mean "terrible", as opposed to "smelly".

[jbradfor]

Questions on volume 6. I'm glad you're not getting tired of answering my questions! [Or, at least, you're still answering them ;)] BTW, the scan quality on the CBZ file is quite excellent.

I did notice one really weird thing: the CBZ file and the online version have different text! For example, on comic page 14, the text "時好時壞" does not appear in the online version (online link here), but does appear in the CBZ version. [see attached]

Which brings me to my first question.

page 14: "時好時壞" -- I assume this means "sometimes works, sometimes doesn't". Is this a set pattern that can be used with other things, or just with clocks (or things related to time)?

page 49: (link here) how come 小岩井先生 got a girl's bike? Is that a joke on his lack of knowledge of bicycles, or is that common in Japan?

page 99: (link here). Oh, another difference. The CBZ version describes the flavor as "小雞口味", while the online version uses "蛋黃口味“ I guess that answers my question on what "小雞" means. I assumed it didn't mean "young chicken". [i've had some weird desserts in Asia, but that, umm, takes the cake.]

[Gleaves]

That's strange. The online one seems to be a fan translation (of the original Japanese comic, maybe?), while the download is a scan of the Taiwan copy. The pictures are even diferent in spots. Like on page 24, the top left looks like it has been redrawn (badly). Also, could these 热情汉化 folks have shoved more text on the page?

Sorry, not sure on your questions.

[feihong]

The DM5 scans after the first few volumes are a mess, so the CBZ images come from this collection: http://iibq.com/comicinfo/4578.html

However, I didn't link to IIBQ's page because, at the time, they did not allow direct-linking to individual pages. That now seems to have changed.

The links to the pages in question are here:

http://www.jmydm.com/comicdir/116139/?p=10&s=1

http://www.jmydm.com/comicdir/116139/?p=27&s=1

http://www.jmydm.com/comicdir/116139/?p=52&s=1

As for jbradfor's questions:

page 14: "時好時壞" -- I assume this means "sometimes works, sometimes doesn't". Is this a set pattern that can be used with other things, or just with clocks (or things related to time)?

I agree with your interpretation. I don't remember seeing this particular phrase before, though.

page 49: (link here) how come 小岩井先生 got a girl's bike? Is that a joke on his lack of knowledge of bicycles, or is that common in Japan?

I can't tell from looking at it that it's a girl's bike. Do they explicitly say so on another page?

page 99: (link here). Oh, another difference. The CBZ version describes the flavor as "小雞口味", while the online version uses "蛋黃口味“ I guess that answers my question on what "小雞" means. I assumed it didn't mean "young chicken". [i've had some weird desserts in Asia, but that, umm, takes the cake.]

As far as I know, 小雞 means chick. Like you said, desserts in Asia are weird <_<

[jbradfor]

I can't tell from looking at it that it's a girl's bike. Do they explicitly say so on another page?

The top bar (between the handles and the seat), is low. At least when I was growing up, boys bikes had a straight bar, only girls bikes went low like that. All the boys would rather die than be seen on a girls bike.

[skylee]

page 14: "時好時壞" -- I assume this means "sometimes works, sometimes doesn't". Is this a set pattern that can be used with other things, or just with clocks (or things related to time)?

"時好時壞" (sometimes good, sometimes not) can be used on anything, I think. Like health condition, relationship, your singing, my writing, etc.

[jbradfor]

Finished volume 7. jmydm.com has through volume 11, so four more to go!

Quick question. On this page, in the upper right, I thought the way the cashier decreased the amount was a bit strange. She needed to take off a JPY 150 item (526 -> 376), and she counted with "借10減5". Is this common? Have people seen this before?

[roddy]

Elementary maths, no? You borrow a ten across so you can subtract 5 from 12 instead of 5 from 2.

[jbradfor]

DOH! Of course. The amount being subtracted was 150, so for some reason I got it stuck in my head that the "借10" refers to the 100, and the "減5" refers to the 50. Of course what you said makes sense.

So while I'm here making a fool of myself, another question. On the previous page, on the lower right, when Yotsuba starts to leave because she doesn't have enough money (rather than not buying one item), the clerk says "这样回去会后悔一辈子的". Doesn't that translate into something like "if you leave now [without the stuff] you will regret it your whole life." Isn't that a bit extreme? Really, her whole life? Or does that sound softer in Chinese?