blep

The fool in question

Ok I know that we are all freakin about about the new haikyuu chapter but can I just say that it’s not even what bokuto said but also HOW HE SAID IT I have been screaming nonstop since I read this and let me explain why…. BECAUSE… THIS IS TOO MUCH…

So here’s one of the translated scans I was reading, and while the translation isn’t incorrect it doesn’t convey the entire story:

What bokuto said was, in Japanese:

でもね赤葦 (demo ne akaashi)

俺には (ore ni wa)

120%をちょうだい (120% wo choudai)

SO LETS BREAK THIS DOWN LINE BY LINE

1. “でもね赤葦”

“But akaashi“

He could’ve said “でも” (demo) ”でもな” (demo na)　“でもさ”　(demo sa) or even ”けど” (kedo), which more or less convey “but”

BUT HE SAID でもね (demo ne)

Which is a way of speaking that’s more commonly used by women/children, and at the same time conveying a kind of “but you know“ feeling; overall this is just softer than the other ways of saying “but”

2. “俺には”

“for me”

Not “for this match,” or “for the team,” but “for me” – I don’t know/care about other people (aka your 100% might be enough for other ppl), but FOR ME, BOKUTO KOUTAROU, SPECIFICALLY

3. “120%をちょうだい“

AND THIS IS WHERE I DIE

“Give me your 120%”

He could’ve said くれ (kure) or よこせ(yokose), which both also mean “give me”, but the way bokuto said it implies that Akaashi has to reach out and give it to him too, not just him trying to get it from Akashi. I’ve seen dictionaries say that this is closer to to “いただく” (itadaku) which is more focused on the act of receiving instead of taking, if that makes sense. On the other hand choudai is also more commonly used by women/kids, in a way that you can imagine children asking for candy or a girl acting cute and asking for something from her boyfriend (if you understand Chinese I am trying to explain 撒嬌 but there is no English word for this LOL if u r into kpop its kind of like aegyo I guess??). Basically like how he said でもね this is much softer/childlike than any other way he could’ve said it. HOWEVER even if it is softer there in undeniably an element of pressure and trust to it such that Akaashi WILL deliver this. AND UH… another context u see this commonly is in doujinshis where they ask for sex and literally say “全部/すべてちょうだい” (zenbu/subete choudai) “give me your everything“

AND THIS IS WHY JP TWITTER IS FREAKIN OUT ABOUT HOW IT LITERALLY READS LIKE A DOUJINSHI

To give more context/comparison to this, here are some examples of how other characters in haikyuu say “give me“ to each other:

Akaashi to Konoha: “kudasai” much more formal, polite, very akaashi lol

Bokuto to Konoha: “yokose” more manly, guy between guy kind of way of speech, GIMME

And perhaps the most beautiful comparison here is from chapter 286 where hinata says “give it to me next time too” with his dark!hinata face because aksjhdkjf THEY R SAYING THE SAME THING BUT THE WAY THEY SAID IT JUST REALLY REFLECTS THE DYNAMICS so he said “次もくれ” (tsugi mo kure) which is also more along the lines of guy between guy kind of speech, and slightly more demanding. I feel like I’m not doing this explanation justice but just let me say that I don’t think Kageyama or Hinata would ever ever use the word choudai towards each other because that really isn’t how their dynamic works if that makes sense??? I just love the parallel between the bokuto/akaashi relationship and kageyama/hinata relationship between setter and spiker and how both pairs feel immense pressure from each other but at the same time still such little difference in wording really shows the differences in the dynamic and im lkzjfhkljsafhkakd