Articles by PresenceDear

Hi everyone,

New releases can be downloaded at their respective web pages. Please read the FAQ before posting info or sharing in other places:

Sakae Kusama, The Constellation Shine in the Sky, Chapter Four
Setona Mizushiro, The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese, 2nd Edition, Extra

So, finally, we have a new chapter from Sakae Kusama’s The Constellation Shine in the Sky. It’s a oneshot called Summer Landmarks. I thought it was quite sweet. A good way to close off the summer. Like the first chapter in this collection, this story has a page of notes that will probably be helpful, especially if you don’t read kanji (or only know the easy ones, like me. ^__^) This story assumes you know kanji, or at least understand how it’s read, so you might be a little confused at the end. My notes are fairly brief, but there’s plenty of information online if you’re interested in how Japanese is written. I think it’s fascinating, personally, but I don’t want to overwhelm anyone with boring details.

Speaking of kanji, I want to talk a little bit about the title of the Mouse Extra and Carp, Chapter 3. As you know, Carp, Chapter 3 is called “Owl.” Why? Other than the fact that all the chapters are named after animals, I had no idea… until I saw the second edition of Mouse. The new extra is called “The Mouse, Thinking at a Dead End.” The interesting thing is, the word for “dead end” in Japanese is “fukuro.” The kanji for “owl” in Japanese can also be read “fukuro.” Coincidence? Maybe… but I’m guessing not.

I think she used the kanji for “owl” so that the chapter title would continue her animal theme. However, because that particular kanji sounds like “fukuro,” it implies the meaning of “dead end,” even though “dead end” is written with a different character. (Unfortunately, my website won’t allow me to use Japanese characters, so I can’t show you the difference.) Chapter 3 is called “Dead End” because, well… if you’ve read it, you know why. ^__^

So, basically, they’re homophones, two words that are written differently, but sound the same. If I just said the word “fukuro,” and you couldn’t see how it was written, you wouldn’t necessarily know whether I meant “owl” or “dead end.” In this case, she meant “dead end,” but wrote the word “owl.” Maybe, something similar would be, if I used a deer (the animal) as a mascot for my website since it’s called PresenceDear.

This might apply to the word “koi,” as well. “Koi” means “carp” and “love,” but the words are written differently.

Thanks, everyone, who contributed to this! GB, Txilar, Reppu, Y-san and all of you who have been sending moral support… ^__^

Hello everyone,

Yey! Finally, the next chapter of Kotetsuko Yamamoto’s A Boring Man. You can download it here. Again, please be sure to read the FAQ before uploading or listing on websites.

Well, I almost forgot about this. I translated it so long ago. I feel miles away from simple, sweet stories now, as I’m drudging through tears, accusations, shouting, denial, pain, etc. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just click “news” or “new release” at the top and read my previous post.) It’s not like Atsushi and Satoru don’t cause each other suffering in this chapter, but it seems so innocent compared to my present project. ^__^ I love drama, but, you know, sometimes, I just need a break. You can start feeling pretty depressed when you’re immersed in such intensity all the time. I think I need to mix up the depressing projects with more happy ones.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this. Thanks to Mah-chan for her fabulous editing! This is a continuation of the previously released chapters, so be sure to read those first, if you haven’t already. Unfortunately, Satoru and Atsushi’s story ends here, but, next, we will go back to the beginning of this manga and release the title story (which you can read about in the description.)

And, now, back to the grind… ^__^

Before I forget… it seems to be a little known fact that I have rules about reposting my scanlations or listing them on websites, such as MangaUpdates. If you plan to post this or list this anywhere, please take a moment to read my FAQ page first. Both my rules were violated with Chapters One and Two.

Read the FAQs? Then, to skip to the download, please visit this page.

Just to reiterate, English titles only. That’s pretty straightforward. But, people, please, this scanlation is more like a FREE sample of what you might get if this manga were available in English than anything else. No one, other than the people who own the rights, should be making money off of this. Buying and, particularly, selling this scanlation is not okay under any circumstances. Please make sure all distribution is free. Thank you.

And, now, on to my rambling…

So, wow, so it’s finally done! I’m very grateful to everyone who helped me. I couldn’t have done it without you! And I’m also extremely grateful to all you fans who waited patiently. This time, I didn’t receive any complaints at all about the wait. I really, really appreciate that. You all are awesome! Now, I feel like I need to take a long two or three day nap… but, alas, Chapter Four is looming on the horizon. 160 pages! I’m trying to think, “It’s only four 40 page oneshots.” I’m estimating this will be released in October, but, if Chapter 3 has taught me anything, it’s “you have to go with the flow.” I’ll try to keep everyone updated on our progress, just like I did for this chapter. I hope that made the wait a little more tolerable.

In this chapter, some of you may notice that I use the plural pronoun “they” when I should use the singular “he” or “she.” In a couple places, Imagase and Ootomo talk about a “lover” or a “partner” without mentioning this person’s gender. Unfortunately, English doesn’t have a gender-neutral, singular pronoun that applies to people, so I used the plural instead. I hope you will forgive my bad grammar in those places. You may have to read those parts a little more carefully, since it sounds a bit awkward.

Also, on page 111, Ootomo mentions a song called “Mermaid” by Nokko. When I originally translated that page, I looked online for lyrics, but, to my surprise, I couldn’t find them anywhere. However, I did find a video of Nokko singing the song. So, I spent many frustrating hours, playing, pausing, and replaying, trying to figure out the words. I finally translated it, then realized that I’d been looking under the wrong title! Aaaargh! When I did the search correctly, I found this translation, which is far better than mine. I’m not poetically inclined, so while the basic idea is there, my translation just sounds clunky. Haha, oh, well…

As for Chapter 4, as of today, the rough draft is done! (Yay!) But, when I say rough I mean rough, so I’ve still got a lot of work ahead of me. ^__^ Nevertheless, I’ve started feel sad about this ending already. Hahaha… I guess that’s a little premature, but, in order to make myself feel better, I’ve pretty much decided (about 80% sure) to translate another manga my Setona Mizushiro once Carp is done. (I’ve actually translated the first chapter already.) It’s an old one, so some of you may not be interested. I’ve heard a lot of grumbling about her older artwork. But it’s got a sad and dramatic story, if you like that kind of thing. (More about that later.) But, you know, I think her artwork is changing again. You begin to see it a little in Chapter 3. It’s more obvious in Chapter 4. It’s nothing dramatic. The characters just look a little different to me. Maybe their faces are longer. I just don’t want her to get rid of that one strand of hair that curls up in front. I love that.