YoungNozomi

Shido: *heals a person with modern medicine instead of prayers*

Amane:

NOTE: This post is EXTREMELY long! 

This is a question that largely ties back to Momiji’s German accent in the English dub. And I will get back to talking about that later, but first I want to address the above question, since there are two different translations for this that can be found online right now. The TokyoPop version and the Yen Press version.  Both the TokyoPop version and the Yen Press version of Takaya-sensei’s side note are the same for the first half, where it is stated that Momiji had a different schooling experience than the other Zodiac. The only real difference is whether Momiji attended and international school or he studied abroad. So I decided to take a look at the actual Japanese. I don’t have any of the Fruits Basket manga volumes in Japanese, however, I do have the Banquet Fanbook in Japanese. And, luckily, in Momiji’s section there is the excerpt from Volume 15 where Takaya-sensei talks about Momiji’s schooling. Here it is:

So, let’s break it down! The first half of the Japanese is: 小中学校は他の十二支達とは違う or “[Momiji’s] elementary and junior high schools were different from the other Zodiac members.”  小中学校 (elementary and junior high schools) は (topic marker) 他の十二支達 (other Zodiac members) とは違う (different). Both the TokyoPop translation and Yen Press translation acknowledge the whole “Momiji’s schooling was different from the others” bit, so this is all pretty fine and dandy. The second half is where we get some confusion between the two different translations. Here’s the Japanese: インターナショナルな学校に通ってました。 TokyoPop translates this part as: “Momiji went to international elementary and junior high schools.” Yen Press translates this part as: “he had been educated overseas in his earlier school days.”  The actual breakdown of the Japanese is like this:  インターナショナルな学校 (international schools) に通ってました。(went to) In the Japanese, we just get that Momiji went to international schools, the first half of the Japanese lets us know that this was for both elementary and junior high school. There is no indication that he actually went abroad for his studies, but there is also no indication that he didn’t. Japan has plenty of international schools, but so does Germany. Sadly, the Japanese doesn’t indicate whether he went to an international school within Japan or outside of it. 

TokyoPop’s translation is far more literal, while Yen Press’ version is more liberal. Though, I don’t know if Yen Press went with the translation that they did because they were able to actually talk to Takaya-sensei about this topic (and get more insight) or if they decided to go with the translation that they did because of the accent Momiji has in the Japanese text. I can’t say for certain.

Rest of the post under the Read More!

Both are girls who lost their fathers at a young age.

Both mothers went through tough times, but one learned from it and the other never left it. The one who learned brought her daughter up in a loving household and taught her to be kind to everyone. The one who never left it brought her daughter up in a very antagonistic household and taught her daughter that everything she held dear was fake and thus caused her daughter to do terrible things.

Both girls treasured an object reminding them of their dead parent, unhealthily so and almost treating the object like it had sentience (Akito’s box and Tohru’s picture of her mother).

Both girls were ostracized.

Both girls knew what it felt like to be “terribly lonely.”

Both girls knew how it felt like to have everything they hold dear ripped away from them.

Both girls’ parents’ marriages were looked down upon from the family/household.

Both were forced to adopt habits that related to their father to please their mother (Tohru adopting over-the-top formal speech to try to replicate Katsuya and Akito being forced to live as a boy so Akira wouldn’t have a girl that he loved more than Ren).

Both girls had trouble letting go of loved ones.

Bungo Stray Dogs x Animate Ikebukuro

The elevator doors on all floors are decorated with the 3rd season promo visuals! (I tried my best to quickly snap photos in this very crowded place so the quality isn’t really good orz)

When you enter inside, Fifteen Soukoku will greet you, with these promo visuals and a voice-over recording by the cast.

Bonus:

Fifteen Dazai and Chuuya standees are also on display (outside the elevator ofc 😅)!

Talk show with Bones Producer Suzuki, Kadokawa Producer Kurakane, Kadokawa Manga Editor Katou

2019 May 7

Cinema Sunshine, Ikebukuro

Sharing some bullet points that the staff talked about in the event:

Talks of having season 3 started around the time of the post-recording of Dead Apple. At that time, Fifteen had not been released so ofc it was not under consideration yet.

As has been revealed before, Asagiri-sensei was tasked to do only a 50-page bonus for the Dead Apple movie. He finished Fifteen first, and it ended up three times longer than what was asked, and though was really sorry about it, cannot make it shorter and turns out he is not actually good with writing short stories. BEAST even got longer than Fifteen, but in the end as the stories were really good, the bonuses were still given away as they are, now thick as books.

They started considering animating Fifteen when the ‘higher-ups’ (as in sensei, producers, scriptwriter, etc.) had a meeting together. In the end, scriptwriter Enokido wrote a draft which everybody liked.

The main point of animating Fifteen is that it helps build the world of Bungo Stray Dogs. By connecting the past and the present, it develops a deeper understanding of the characters, and also shows how the beloved city that Atsushi and the characters are now protecting came to be. Fifteen also showed the connection with the other canon material with Suribachi City, and Mukurotoride (Shibusawa’s base) in the background.

Animating Fifteen was planned to be a surprise to the fans, though a few days before the airing they learned that the information got leaked over twitter. This also happened back then with Dark Era, and Producer Kurakane shares that she was called by her boss regarding the incident. It went like, “This is the second time it failed, don’t you think there is no point in making it a surprise?” She said this just gave her the motivation to try harder to prevent the secret from getting spoiled next time.

The staff was really impressed with the voice acting, saying praises to Miyano, Taniyama, and Uchida-san. They thought it would be difficult but when they heard Mamo and Kishou doing the recording, it really gave them the feeling of how young Dazai and Chuuya were, and that these two really had a history. Furthermore, Randou only appeared in this arc but Uchida-san’s acting was really memorable to them.

They think 15 yr old Dazai is different from today’s Dazai, with 15 Dazai being really dark, and wanting to die for real.

From 15 to his present height, Chuuya only grows 5 cm 😅😅 He kept on saying, “I’ll still grow!” but everybody (staff and fans alike) couldn’t resist saying, “No, you won’t” deep inside. (lol Chuuya we love you)

The staff was particularly glad seeing the last scene getting animated, as it came from the original manga. The art, especially with the stained glass, was also remarkable.

They also talked about the 3rd season’s OP and ED. Unlike the 1st and 2nd seasons’, the OP and ED for the 3rd season were specifically made to serve as a message of thanks to the fans. Instead of appealing to new fans of BSD, these OP and ED were made to express gratitude to the fans who have been here together with BSD’s journey. The scenes were meaningfully chosen and show what the characters have been through.

Producer Kurakane was particularly emotional with the ED and says that she tends to tear up watching it. She also pointed out that Atsushi and Akutagawa were singing in the ED.

Producer Suzuki adds that Dead Apple ended with the Armed Detective Agency door closing, while the season 3 ED ends with that door opening.

The staff is really grateful to the fans’ love and support, and they are really happy that BSD did not only end with one season of 12 episodes, but is now continuing with the 3rd season, and even extending to other platforms such as the movie and the stage play. Just like Dead Apple, treat season 3 as their present.

Once again, I felt the staff’s love and dedication to BSD, which makes you appreciate it more knowing that this is a work made by the staff and fans’ love. 😭😭

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The full version of the Fifteen light novel will be released on August 1, featuring the cover, frontispiece, and other illustrations such as the character sheets by Harukawa-sensei.

Sequel for the Fifteen light novel entitled, “Bungo Stray Dogs: STORM BRINGER” is currently on the works and is to be released in 2020. “Dazai Osamu and Nakahara Chuuya. What will their chance meeting lead to?”