諦めないようにね

You’ve waited, and it’s here!  Noragami chapter 75, for real, in English!

This chapter was light on action and super talky so it took me all day but I managed to get it done in one day.  Next chapter is out in a month on the 6th of July, which is conveniently a holiday weekend for me.

Since it’s been a year, as usual this translation is free to redistribute and use as a base for other translations for those who are better with English than Japanese, but please refer to the translation notes below the cut as sometimes I take liberties with the literal dialogue if it would be too awkwardly worded or difficult to fit in the bubble otherwise.

Google Mirror Mediafire Mirror

Sample Images:

Translation notes below:

Nyanko: The price for my body-guarding will be high this time! I’ll let you off with taking just one fried shrimp for where we are going today.

Text: A lovely yet fleeting story about humans and ayakashi.

Natsume: Excuse me, perhaps you know of a person called “Natsume Reiko”?

Text: The series’ first long original episode presented on screen.

Nyanko: You met a human who knew Reiko? Geez! I already told you not to stick your head in unnecessary things!

Text: Gently, painfully, a lie was spoken.

Natsume: O the one that protects me, show me your name. I return your name…

Natsume’s Book of Friends, The Movie: Bound by Utsusemi*

Nyanko: I can never understand the way you humans do things…

*Utsusemi is written in Hiragana, and it honestly can mean so many things. Sometimes it is (literally) translated as an empty cicada shell, other times it is used to refer to more spiritual and cultural things: it could mean reality (“utsutsu”), or a living being, or the world itself; it could even simply mean emptiness, or how temporal things can be. Without more information about the film’s details, it’s hard for me to give an adequate translation.

Today I’ve got a list of words I’ve learnt from Natsume Yuujinchou, because I’ve only read five volumes but the list of words I’ve had to save in my dictionary is way longer than a lot of others. It also required some basic research (… Wikipedia).

祠－ほこら－hokora, a small shrine found on the side of a road. Quite often there to protect travellers. 依り代－よりしろ－yorishiro, an item capable of attracting and housing a kami. A common example is the maneki neko. 遺品－いひん－article left by the deceased 子分－こぶん－henchman, follower 唾液－だえき－saliva 儚い－はかない－fleeting, transient, short-lived 妖力－ようりょく－spirit power, magical power 放免－ほうめん－release, liberate, set free 咥える－くわえる－to hold in one’s mouth 遠縁－とおえん－distant relative 家来－けらい－retainer, servant 招福－しょうふく－good luck charm 悪しき－あしき－badness, evil 他界－たかい－death, the next world 怪談－かいだん－ghost story 邪鬼－じゃか－devil, imp 邪気－じゃき－malicousness 伝聞－でんぶん－hearsay, rumour 祓う－はらう－exorcise, cleanse

Initially I was going to make today’s list about words with multiple meanings/different meanings but the same reading etc. but I had an idea this morning that I’m going to run with instead today.

Waseigo I’ve found while reading manga. Why? Seems like it might be interesting.

Chihayafuru ダブ－a double fault. A player touches the wrong card on the opponent’s side while the opponent touches the correct card on faulting player’s side. Also when a player touches the wrong card when the one being read isn’t in play. クラウチングスタート－crouching start. ベクトル－vector. Nothing to do with karuta, I think this is from one of the times they’re talking about exams. Comes from the German “Vektor”. スムーズ－smooth. ショベルカー－digger. From the English “shovel car”.

Erased ノウハウ－know-how. ドクロマーク－skull and crossbones. ライフワーク－life’s work.

Parasyte オナニ－masturbation. From the German word “Onanie”. ダッサン－rough sketch. From the French word “dessin”. Because this was written a while ago, I feel like it has fewer Waseigo in it than some other things that I’m reading at the moment.

Persona 5 モルモット－guinea pig. From the Dutch word “marmot”. アンチテーゼ－antithesis. From the German word “Antithese”. アウフヘーベン－lift, pick up. From the German word “aufheben”. レッテル－label, sticker. From the Dutch word “Letter”. This one definitely confused me at first, since it looks like the English “letter” but the context wasn’t right. ピカレスク－picaresque (novel). シリンダー－cylinder. エキサイト－excite. ハイエナ－hyena. パワハラ－harassment (in the workplace) from a position of power. An abbreviation of パワーハラスメント. セクハラ－sexual harassment. Abbreviation of セクシャルハラスメント. ゲリラ－guerrilla. ノイローゼ－neurosis, nervous breakdown, mental problem. From the German word “Neurose”. ラブホ－love hotel. Abbreviation of ラブホテル. バカップル－love birds, sickeningly sweet and soppy couple. An abbreviation of バカなカップル.

Well, the snow is nearly all gone, so this is the last time I can really make a list with them this year. Not necessarily all snow, but probably all things that you’d see in an article about snow.

なだれ－avalanche 大雪－heavy snow 着雪－snow sticking to surfaces 風雪－snowstorm, blizzard 高波－high waves 凍結－freezing (water) 品薄－shortage of stock 通行止め－suspension of traffic 記録的－record-setting

I spent the hours I travel on the bus singing reggaeton and have almost no accent when speaking Spanish. 

Bollywood soundtracks helped me master the ड़ sound. 

One of my students struggled with the English w sound and I had him sing the song “I Want It That Way” and he can say it almost perfectly. 

1. Don’t waste time being fearful: go for that job that you’re certain you’re not gonna get. What’s the worse that can happen? You are rejected, but you gain interview experience. Self-doubt is really a waste of time.

2. Live in the present. Yes, it is important to plan for the future, but it is easy to put off living until it is too late. Make sure that you have no regrets about what you should have done. Do one exciting thing per year.

3. Know your worth. This applies to both work and relationships; never sell yourself short. No job or romance is more important than your self respect. Also, charge for any unique skills/services that you can offer. 

4. Don’t be afraid to leave bad situations. I left a stable but draining teaching job in order to protect my mental health. Even though this was a big risk, it was the best decision I ever made. NOTHING is more important than your mental health. 

5. Most 20 somethings feel that they are underachieving. This is normal - especially in today’s financial climate. Don’t feel bad if you are still living at home and cannot afford to rent/buy. I’m 30 and still living at home, saving to buy.

6. People will disappoint you, but most of the time, it’s not about you. Everybody has their own demons and traumas that make them behave in certain ways. If somebody disrespects you, assert your boundaries and keep it moving. Also, examine if there was anything you could have done to avoid the situation. But DO NOT let it eat away at you.

7. In love, nobody owes you anything. Even if they made a promise, they are their own person…Everybody has the right to change their mind and to leave a situation which is not beneficial for them. This is hurtful and hard to accept, but it is the truth.

8. Learn to enjoy your own company. Your 20s can be a lonely time as your social sphere narrows, due to employment, finances and exhaustion. Use this time to find out more about yourself and do the things that you enjoy. There is something liberating about eating at a restaurant alone. 

9. Be kind, don’t gossip or overshare. I am still working on this one. It is really difficult to be kind and positive in a world full of annoying people. However, your attitude will influence how you are being perceived. If you are unkind, people will laugh at your jokes but they will never trust you. They will never trust you not to treat them as you treat other people. Remove yourself from toxic people, and only share negativity (sadness/anger/depression) with a therapist and one other person that you trust. If you overshare negative feelings, you may be stereotyped as being full of drama. Furthermore, people will want you to stay in a negative place because it’s entertaining and makes them feel better about their own lives. Just don’t do it.

This is probably one of my favourite manga/anime. In terms of manga, I’ve read up to volume 13 but I’ve watched the anime through a couple of times now. Season3when

For those who are here and don’t know about Chihayafuru, it’s basically a sport anime played with poetry… it’s very hard to explain but it’s a lot of fun.

予選－preliminary contest, qualifier 素早い－fast, quick, agile 連覇－successive championships 階級－class, rank 不戦勝－win without playing 戦意喪失－lose one’s fighting spirit 決勝戦－finals game of a tournament 準優勝－being the runner-up 候補－candidate, contender 反射的－reflexive, reflecting 難波潟－Naniwa Bay 終盤－endgame, final stage 挑戦者－challenger 胼胝－callus 圧勝－complete victory 詠む－to recite a poem 敗退－being defeated 準決勝－semifinal

A quick little thing to keep in mind, as a large part of the fandom seems to fear Rin travelling to the past will cause him to mess up the present: Aside from all the timeline multiverse theories and general logic that deny the linear passage of time that would cause the butterfly effect (you know, like how the current present must have happened in some way or another or you wouldn’t have to go back, meaning that no matter what you do the outcome will always be one that will cause you to want to go back in time)… We aren’t sure if this past is even still attached to the current world. Mephisto has split off whole damn dimensions before and given them a different time flow (Asylum). It could be a different universe, some kind of time loop, or even a memory (transporting people’s minds across dimensions is another speciality of his Extraness). Most of all, Meph seems pretty displeased with the current events- No matter how much he likes chaos, I doubt he’d give Rin that key if he could interfere with the past a way that could make things worse (invisibility coat is nice and dandy but we all know Rin won’t be able to shut up or sit still if he sees something happening he doesn’t agree with).

I have a feeling it’s either some sort of immutable past that Rin can interact with but not change (he could still die, himself, though, hence the need for camouflage) or it’s a separate dimension in an alternate timeline where, well, who cares what happens?

As you and many have stated, there’s zero chance a hothead like Rin will be given carte blanche, that would be utter insanity and undo ANYTHING Mephisto has done to tailor the current present of things, regardless of how unhappy he is with it. We’ve seen the King of Time can predict actions, but not with 100% accuracy. And Rin being allowed to alter things is 100% a disaster. No question.

I think Mephisto is giving him the key because it saves him from being laughed at with his drawings and he can go back to playing his DS. Talking and exposition are for chumps. Let him see for himself. 

Well, that’s not completely true. 

The real reason to use the key, I believe, is because Mephisto has a lot more to deal with than just chatting with Rin, when seeing it for himself would save Mephisto time. Literally. He’s giving Rin the answers [he doesn’t want] the easiest possible way. I truly don’t believe this is a test (see what Rin would do if he was given the chance to change things) or Rin being able to actually alter past events.

This is really a personal list of various habits I have picked up over a lifetime of periodic depressions and general anxiety, but I thought I might as well share it. They help me, maybe they will help someone else too.

Note that these are things you can do to get through the day and keep from dragging yourself down, they aren’t a cure. Also note that everyone is different and what works for one person might be useless for another.

If you’re feeling so bad that you’re seriously contemplating self-harm or suicide, please don’t try to handle it on your own and ask for help.

Mental health

Seperate your mental illness from who you are as a person. Remind yourself of how you think and act when you aren’t ill and remember that it’s possible to return to that. Write it down if you have to, hang it on the wall if you have to. Treat your mental illness like the unwelcome intruder it is.

Counter your negative and intrusive thoughts. When you’re dealing with depression or anxiety your perception of yourself and your situation will be skewed and often unrealistic, but you have to be critical and fight back. Whenever thoughts of self-hatred and self-blame come up, take note of them and ask yourself if they’re really true. Your immediate answer might be yes, but ask again if you would think the same of another person in your situation. If the answer is still yes, think about what you can do to prove yourself wrong and work towards doing it. Keep your actions as evidence and counter intrusive thoughts with them in the future.

Never make your mental illness an excuse. If you give up on things because you’re depressed and it’s too difficult and you can’t help it, you’re setting yourself up for getting even more depressed. Sometimes you will act in unfortunate ways because you’re depressed, but that doesn’t mean you should accept it. Instead, take note of the ways your mental illness can make you act out and stop it or call yourself out on it when it happens. You can ask other people to call you out on it too, but in the end it isn’t their responsibility to fix your behaviour. Anxiety shouldn’t be made an excuse either. You have to challenge the anxiety, not avoid everything that makes you uncomfortable. Avoidant behaviour can quickly turn into bad habits that make the anxiety even harder to deal with.

When you’re feeling particularly bad, get it out of your head and into reality. Talk to someone about it, talk to yourself about it, write it down, draw a picture of how you feel, just put it into tangible words or pictures one way or another. If you write or draw, look at it later when you’re feeling better and remember how you felt at the time. Hold on to the knowledge that it was only temporary.

Ask for help. Tell the people you trust how you feel and let them know what they can do to help you, as well as what they shouldn’t do, because often they genuinely won’t know. Maybe you just need someone to listen, maybe you need someone to cheer you up and go on as normal, maybe you need help with practical tasks. If you think your workplace or school is accomodating when it comes to things like mental illness, it can be a good idea to tell your boss/colleagues/teachers/classmates that you’re having a hard time and let them know if there’s anything they can do. Everything is a little easier when you don’t have to pretend you’re fine all the time.

Allow yourself to give up sometimes. This might sound contradictory to other parts of this post, but if it’s killing you to go to work or school or go about your daily tasks, maybe you need a break from them. As a psychiatrist once said to me, if you feel so bad that you want to die, maybe you should focus on not wanting to die. Severe mental illness takes an enormous amount of energy to struggle through and you have to respect that. If you’re not sure whether you should give yourself a break, try to look at your situation objectively as if you were another person. Would you recommend another person to go about their normal daily life feeling the way you do?

One thing you can not give up on though - No matter how bad you feel, make sure to get out of your home every day. I don’t care if it’s just to stand outside for 5 minutes, you still need to do it. If you have spent an hour trying to get yourself out the door crying and kicking and screaming multiple times you can be excused, but you need to try every day.

List 3-5 things that are important for you to get done every day or week. Depending on how poorly you are doing, this can be anything from putting on clothes to working on a project of yours. Only pick things that are a little challenging but that you are realistically able to do every day/week - the goal here is to succeed. Congratulate yourself when you complete your goals and consider if you need to lower your expectations when you don’t, or if you just need to try again. This is a good way to figure out what you’re actually capable of so you can avoid putting yourself in a situation where you’ll constantly disappoint yourself.

Make sure you always have at least one thing to look forward to. It can be going to some event, hanging out with a friend, watching a new movie you’re excited about - it doesn’t matter if it’s big or small as long as you look forward to it. If there is nothing at all, do your best to make plans for something.

Every day before you go to sleep, think of some things you’re grateful for. It doesn’t have to be about you, maybe you’re just happy for something that happened to a friend or thought it was nice that the sun was shining today. It’s fine if you can only think of very small things, the goal is to end the day on a positive note.

Physical health

Basic stuff:

Try to avoid sugar, it will make you tired and can worsen depression.

Especially relevant in the winter, make sure that you are awake while it’s light outside and go out during the daylight hours if possible.

Go outside every day and walk or run or ride a bike, it’s good for clearing your head and calming yourself down.

Anxiety and panic attacks:

If you’re having a panic attack or feeling very anxious, try to lie down on the floor. Seriously, it’s very grounding.

Remind yourself that panic attacks aren’t dangerous. They are an extremely horrible experience, but they can’t actually hurt you and will usually last half an hour at most. You need to develop a bit of a nonchalant attitude to them so you don’t end up fueling your anxiety because you’re now also afraid you’ll have panic attacks.

If you’re feeling very anxious, take a nap. If you’re lucky it’ll restart your brain and you’ll feel better when you wake up.

Medication:

I will not say a lot about medication here, but if you are struggling to keep up your daily life and have felt miserable all or most of the time for two months or more, it might be a good idea to talk to a doctor about getting some antidepressant- or anti-anxiety medicine. Be critical about it if you start medical treatment - different medicines work for different people and you might experience side effects. If you feel that the side effects have a real negative impact on you, that is not acceptable and you should talk to your doctor about trying out different kinds of drugs until you find something that works well for you. You might not be lucky on the first try.

Sleep:

If you can’t sleep because you can’t stop worrying/thinking about things, teach yourself to meditate to clear your mind. Two simple techniques I use sometimes:

Close your eyes and imagine a river or road, it can be one you know from the real world or one that you make up. Imagine that you’re floating or walking along the river/road and describe to yourself what you see along the way. It works best if it’s always the same place so it comes to feel familiar and calming.

Lie down and close your eyes, then go through every part of your body, focusing on each one and letting go of any tension along the way. Start with your toes and work your way up to the top of your head.

If you’re feeling anxious and jittery, meditation can be a very unpleasant experience. If you can’t sleep it’s probably better to get up and distract yourself with something until you calm down.

Sometimes deliberate sleep deprivation can be very effective in kick-starting your brain out of bad depression. Get up when you usually would, skip a night’s sleep, go to bed when you usually would the next day, then sleep until you wake naturally. Don’t give up halfway through so you end up going to bed at a weird hour. For me, lighter but consistent sleep deprevation helps and I keep myself from sleeping more than 5-6 hours. If you are very tired and can’t stay awake it’s better to sleep some more sometime during the day than to sleep for many hours in one go.

that make for good language practice

translate captions on Instagram photos/ tweets

translate headlines from news websites

watch a movie trailer for a new/ your favorite movie

type vocab words into google images to understand subtle differences

translate text in photos of stationary 

shop Amazon in your target language, focusing on sections and item descriptions

read menus and advertisements

watch commercials and look for context clues

say the date and time in your target langauge (e.g. your birthday, when you wake up, when you are supposed to meet someone)

learn the sounds animals make in different languages

see what’s trending in a country of your target language (YouTube, Facebook, News, Spotify, etc)

letter game: pick a letter/syllable/character and write as many words as possible that start with that

switch social media page or an app to target language and record vocabulary/sentence templates

practice ordering food in your target language

translate your favorite book quotes or music lyrics

read the comments on videos/posts from native speakers

try to name as many objects as possible as you pass by them (good for a long bus ride or walk)

listen to let’s play videos/ gaming videos

look up something in wikipedia, then read the same article in your target language

find out what the titles of your favorite books or movies are in your target language

星座　「せいざ」Constellation, Western Zodiac Sign

While I’ve written out the full words in their Kanji, only the final 座 is generally required to be written in kanji.

Aries　♈ 牡羊座　「おひつじざ」 Tauros　♉　牡牛座　「おうしざ」 Gemini　♊　双子座　「ふたござ」　 Cancer　♋　蟹座　「かにざ」 Leo　♌　獅子座　「ししざ」 Virgo　♍　乙女座　「おとめざ」 Libra　♎　天秤座　「てんびんざ」 Scorpio　♏　蠍座　「さそりざ」 Sagittarius ♐️ 射手座 「いてざ」 Capricorn　♑　山羊座　「やぎざ」 Aquarius　♒　水瓶座　「みずがめざ」 Pisces  ♓　魚座　「うおざ」

干支　「えと」Chinese Zodiac 12支　「じゅうにし」The 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac *These are not the kanji that would refer to the actual animals

The Rat 🐀　子　「ねずみ」or「ね」 The Cow* 🐄　丑　「うし」 The Tiger 🐅　寅　「とら」 The Rabbit 🐇　卯　「うさぎ」or「う」 The Dragon 🐉　辰　「たつ」 The Serpent 🐍 巳　「へび」or「み」 The Horse 🏇　午　「うま」 The Sheep* 🐏 未　「ひつじ」　 The Monkey 🐒　申　「さる」 The Rooster  🐓　酉　「とり」 The Dog 🐕 戌　「いぬ」 The Boar* 🐗　亥　「いのしし」or「い」