Sakai Kunie

Hi again…

Here’s a new chapter from Kunie Sakai’s Falling in Love. Just skip to the web page to download.

Well, this was an interesting chapter for me. Before reading this, I knew nothing about racing or pachinko. I’m not much of a gambler. ^__^ I’d seen pachinko parlors in movies, but, until now, I didn’t know what they were. I had to do a lot of research, and, even now, I’m not quite sure how a pachinko machine works. Here’s the wikipedia article, if you’re curious. I also watched many, many videos on youtube. If you go to the site and type “pachinko” in the search box, you’ll get a lot of interesting videos, like this one, for example. (I feel a little weird linking to someone’s video randomly, so I may remove this soon. I like this one because it’s 2003, which is when this story was written and, I assume, takes place.) I don’t think my translation of the sound effects really captures what it sounds like in there. There’s a lot of electronic sounds and the crash of metal balls; it’s almost like white noise. If you’ve never seen a pachinko machine, I strongly suggest you browse around and watch some of these videos. They’re very interesting.

Thanks to Wondermilky and all the people (who shall remain unnamed) who answered my questions about horse racing. (I’m a little less ignorant now.)

Hello again.

Today’s release is a oneshot by Kunie Sakai called “Winter Walk.” Please visit this page to download.

Just a word about this story. This one is kinda hard to classify. It was originally published in a shoujo magazine under the author’s shoujo name, so I’m going to consider it a shoujo/josei release. However, the main character in this story is gay. I know that alone will make some people say “Hey, this isn’t shoujo!” Well, honestly, I’m not sure what it is. While the main character happens to be a gay man, this is not exactly a gay romance. The character’s past (particularly his last relationship) is not insignificant, but the primary relationship in this story is a non-sexual one between this man and a little girl. I might say it’s a story about someone coming to terms with himself in the face of adversity. I found it surprisingly sad and moving.

Thank you, thank you, to Mahchan for editing! In her part of the world, it’s winter, so this story is seasonally appropriate. For those of us in the summer regions of the planet, we’ll just have to use our imaginations to get into the “winter spirit.” ^__^

Winter Walk | Sakai Kunie

Genre: Drama Length: Oneshot Shuuhei has to see his ex-lover one last time. While waiting for him in the park, he meets a strange little girl who won’t leave him alone.

Download: Direct | Mediafire | Badongo