Open anime, manga and LN discussion

CruelAngel said:

Reading the newest chapter, man how I like the manga way more than the anime. Am I alone with this sentiment?

rpapo said:

I started working on the LN about two weeks after it came out, in October 2010. When the manga started coming out, others were scanlating it, but I wound up proof-reading it fairly early on, and lately have found myself simply trying to ensure the chapters keep coming out. Village Idiot gave up on it for staffing reasons, and Casanova hasn't been doing too well either. This last chapter got done, in part, due to a lot of cracking the whip, some outside help (outside of Casanova, that is), and myself buying a copy of Photoshop finally. The next two chapter's translations are done, and are being proofed right now.

Whatever happens with the manga, though, I try to make sure the pages keep on coming out for the LN.

Sub said:

Novel >> Anime
Still, the anime is cool as a stand-alone as well, but that would make the novel a beast.

zensunni said:

Oh yes, the light novels for Golden Time are certainly a beast! I have loved everything that Takemiya-sensei has written. I haven't read the novel version of Watashitachi no Tamura-kun, but the manga version is really good. The best part about it for me was seeing the prototypes for some of her best characters, like Kouko, in the characters in this earlier work.

Evergreen is also a really good story. And, of course, there is the work that most people know her from: Toradora!. The light novels for Toradora! are superior to the anime, which, so far, is superior to the manga (though the manga has its strong points as well. Some of the art is amazing! Even the original light novel illustrator said that the manga version of Ryuugi is much cooler looking than the original. It makes you understand why these girls have the hots for him, even with his dangerous looking eyes.)

Banri and Kouko are two of her best characters. Complex, conflicted, and desperately seeking love. I can't wait to see how their story plays out.

zensunni said:

@CruelAngel - I like the anime more than the manga. The lack of Banri's ghost, up to the point that I have read, and the more light hearted, comic feel to it turned me off. Of course, the novels are the best version. (The original almost always is, with a few choice exceptions out there.) I always felt that the manga emphasized the light humor and silliness more than the emotion. This story needs both in equal measure to work. If anything, the emotion needs to come to the fore on occasion, leaving the light comedy for, usually, immediately after the heavy emotional scene. (Like the end of book 2/beginning of book 3, which we get to see in this weeks episode in just a few short hours!!!! Can't wait!!!!!)

Sub said:

I totally agree.
In fact, I especially love the LN because of these great scenes between Kouko and Banri that were left out in the animation and I expect more to be missed.
As for Toradora!, it is still our author's most famous work around, and the core of the story (the novel) is the strong-point there as well, of course.

CruelAngel said:

I personally love the manga more then the anime preciesly why you don't. It underlines the inherent silyness of the story. (In the novel, and therefore also in the manga all the important big romantic confessions and heavy drama happen while the characters involved are totally smashed. This makes the story, at least for me very random compared to your average romcom.) Also some of the scenes in the light novel felt really off for me, but seeing them in the manga made them clicked. Of course I'm not saying the manga is better then the novels, but I feel they might be better at some scenes. (However that just could be because english is not my first language and seeing the scene in a visual medium helps me understand the nuances of it.)
While the manga also likes to compress some stuff, but its way less compressed then how the anime does it. The anime skipped and rewritten quite a few scenes. They toned down the alcohol usage of the heroes, removed the joke about Nana senpai, and the running gag of C3PO. The scenes with the crystal club felt lot less epic. (No jumping out of the first floor, and no burning of the list.)
What the anime however did well was the eventual reveal of ghost Banri, and adding (bringing it earlier) the scene with Linda and Banri at the hospital. They did capture some of the drama. But we lost lot of the randomness.
Until now the only big loss of drama in the manga for me was the also very late, and even more minimal reveal of ghost Banri. (In the manga he just randomly appears as a narrator (so no appearance or form) around end of the first novel, beginning of the next.) Other than that everything was there, at least for me.


well this turned out quite a long post... and quite subjective... oh well... XD

rpapo said:

Banri's Ghost is present from the very start of the very first chapter of the first novel, as the narrator of the scene where Banri runs around lost in Tokyo at night. He shows up about 4-5 paragraphs in. He narrates the beginning of each chapter of the first volume, and then narrates the very end of the last (5th) chapter. He's there in the first chapter of volume 2 as well. Some have gone so far as to claim that the whole story should be treated as if it were being narrated by Banri's Ghost entirely. I differ from that opinion, though. It is very clear in the Japanese text just who is speaking, or thinking.

FWIW, we had some very irate readers claiming that I was translating the book wrong, because the notion of somebody commenting on himself from the outside comes out awkward . . . unless you know what is going on. And the author intentionally doesn't help you to understand right away. She wants the idea to gradually dawn on the reader.

Some of the more experienced translators at Baka-Tsuki backed me up on this issue, and the guy who tried to blame the translation on his own incomprehension eventually backed down. I have heard that even in Japan there have been plenty of people who had a hard time understanding the story at first.

CruelAngel said:

(I'm aware that the ghost is in the novel from the start, I was talking about how the manga also had him appear quite late, and less corporal.)

Personally I've started reading the novel when I heard they are making an anime adaptation. (So at the start of summer I think?) But I too had a hard time with the ghost narration, so while I understood what was happening I sort of put the novel on hold, and only started to read it again after the first episode of the anime came out. So yeah, starting of as a person's ghost narrating the person's life indeed might not have been the best idea from the author. But after the first shock it does work well.

rpapo said:

I'd like to think I would do a better job on volume 1 if I were doing it now, after three more years of experience in translating, but I'm not going to do that. I think it is of more benefit to everybody, including to me, to simply forge on ahead into what has not yet been translated. Some things do get revisited now and then, though, because of the manga, or because of questions from the guys working on a French version of the story.

CruelAngel said:
I still believe they would feel weird in a real world situation, even without threats, just the constant nagging. (Also I still do agree that Banri was a d*ck for not replying, and Nana sempai's intervention was indeed well needed, to clean this situation up.)

Oh btw... just to move from this discussion, what do you guys think of Banri not (or at least not yet) telling anything about this to Kouko?

SweetKotomi said:
Yea if Kouko's father finds out Kouko is hanging out or going out I should say with Banri he might try to well separate them. He did warn Banri she's like a poison who manipulates her victims with her charm. IMO Banri is too soft, and I thought Mitsuo's attitude could get her to behave more, but it has not worked. Kouko is too persistent and immature to have a boyfriend. I don't want to imagine her getting mad if she sees Banri talking with Linda or even Chinami.

@Cruel, I also believe Linda's constant texting happened at the least for a few days. I doubt Linda would be able to handle a month without talking to Banri after being ignored. She'd hit a severe depression since she's been having that happy facade since then. I also would not rule out Linda trying to commit suicide if she texted Banri for a month and he did not reply back. That would surely hurt her emotional and psychological state badly. IMO I think she texted him maybe 2-3 days at most with maybe 2-3 texts a day, not like 20 texts or calls an hour.

zensunni said:
Sorry to technically double post, but I consider this to be a pretty big interpretation change deserving a thread bump...

Upon rewatching the 8th episode, and watching it with my daughter, I realized something massively important about the veranda scene: If you pay close attention to the scene, which I did on the third time through, it is NOT BANRI that asks Linda what the answer was! Watch it closely, his head droops right after she says "We're looking at the same sky. That hasn't changed at all." There is an audible "uhhh" sound and Linda looks over and says "Banri?" with a question in her voice, then he asks about her answer. Also, there is a distinct difference between Banri's normal speaking voice and the voice of Banri's Ghost. The Ghost is flatter, less animated, and the voice is in a lower register. My daughter pointed out to me that it is the Ghost voice that asks about her answer, not the Banri voice.

The first couple of times I watched it, I thought it was only the 2nd part, where he talks about wanting to go back, that was the ghost taking the wheel, which is seriously tipped off by the pause between the words "Linda" and "Sempai", as if he had to remind himself to call her sempai, since she is NOT sempai to the ghost. But with the vocal difference and the clear head droop, it seems that it started earlier.

So, to sum up, Banri still doesn't know what Linda's answer would have been. The ghost was in control at that point!

CruelAngel said:
oookay... episode 9.
First: The last one minute:

Other stuff:
- Is it me or the fiance of Linda's bro did look suspiciously like Kouko. (Can she be Kouko's mom? We don't really know Aniki's and her age, or do we?)
- Did I miss something? Or was Kouko really sick? (I have the suspicion that she overheard the dialog on the balcony between Banri and Linda, but we did not really seen that.) The kiss was nice.

sbyrstall said:


Whether she got bits and pieces of it or not won't matter that much to be honest..

But, I do agree that Kouko overheard a conversation between Banri and Linda for her to act like that

CruelAngel said:
oookay... episode 9.
First: The last one minute:
Other stuff:
- Is it me or the fiance of Linda's bro did look suspiciously like Kouko. (Can she be Kouko's mom? We don't really know Aniki's and her age, or do we?)
- Did I miss something? Or was Kouko really sick? (I have the suspicion that she overheard the dialog on the balcony between Banri and Linda, but we did not really seen that.) The kiss was nice.

sbyrstall said:
Wow. I swear I was just reading a hentai fanfic. :o

Anarchiszm said:

ARE YOU ENTERTAINED?
Ghost Banri go away please, I want my Banri x Kouko and I want it now! Too much drama ;_;

Anarchiszm said:

ARE YOU ENTERTAINED?

Ghost Banri go away please, I want my Banri x Kouko and I want it now! Too much drama ;_;

zensunni said:
In defense of Kouko:

Her poor people skills aren't because she focused on Yana-san, but rather, the other way around. Yana-san was the only person to ever be her friend. You have seen the way the Tea-club girls acted when they say Banri was with her in the school courtyard, imagine that X ever kid in her elementary, middle, and high schools other than Mitsuo. She has an air of "unapproachability" and is from a very wealthy family. The guys treat her as someone to be admired from afar and the girls treat her as a threat to steal their boyfriends or potential boyfriends. The only reason that Linda and the other sempais in Omaken treat her normally is because of Banri (and Linda, since she brought the two of them in.)

As for Banri, comments to Linda... Yeah, kinda jerk-like. But he is between a rock and a hard place. He is in love and something inside of him is trying to take that away from him. Hard to deal with, to say the least!

"CruelAngel" said:
I personally think the real jerk here is ghost-Banri if these quick and random "I want Linda so bad" emotions appearing in Banri's personality are intentional on his part. (Even if he's intention was regaining full control, but only these tiny random things happen.) Because it is clearly driving poor Banri slowly insane (randomly talking to himself loud, a random agressive persona appearing out of nowhere and then causing brief amnesia, a heavy fever without any outside reason, emotional impulses he can barely control), and it is also making the life of both Kouko and Linda miserable.

sbyrstall said:
Remember how Yana said they didn't even date. That's how little he cared for her.

Anarchiszm said:
http://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1ux27d/golden_time_ive_just_thought_of_a_horrible_crazy/

CruelAngel said:
Ep. 13 had this general awkward feel to it. It was sort of annoying, but then again,
Also, new op and ed. I felt that the op was better then the first one. It definitely had better music in my opinion, and the animation was also better, but I'm still a bit annoyed that is still so very Kouko-centric. I mean, I don't have anything against Kouko, but she is not the only character, and I think everyone deserves to be in the opening. Oh yeah... there is one scene in the opening, which reminded me eerily of the opening of Higurashi kai...
http://ubuntuone.com/2GZ12ATjWSkZocjG0XFo68
http://ubuntuone.com/2WpqbUUldQIrZCh46NwgLC
http://ubuntuone.com/0kmc1dWeVCxzqI8YvGR380

CruelAngel said:
Nega-Banri? I like that, will be calling him that from now on. XD

SweetKotomi said:
It does make sense, and if executed properly it could be a very well done part. The transition of a colorful moe Kouko OP, to a more ominous, desperate, crying, new Kouko OP only adds to the theory of the link you posted. However