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Embracing Love: comparison between old and new editions
To go over some of the obvious changes: the BeBeautiful versions have summaries and character profiles at the beginning of the books (along with a "coming next" preview at the end of the books) that were obviously added by the publisher for an American audience; they don't appear in the SuBLime version. The "author's note" (Nitta-sensei's profile) at the beginning of the BB releases has been combined and moved to the end of the SBL omnibus.
The SBL version is missing the chapter title page illustrations--possibly they were removed due to the past tracing controversy? I'm sure that not all of the drawings were traced, but it would probably be easier and more consistent to remove them all than to just weed out the problematic ones. The SBL version is also missing the non-Haru short story "Fence" that appears at the end of BB vol. 1, along with the "Afterthoughts" section that appears at the end of the BB books and the original Japanese tankoban. For those who haven't had a chance to read the older versions, "Afterthoughts" is a short afterword of the type that seems common in manga, where the author talks about the series and sometimes his or her personal life in manga format. The "Afterthoughts" for vol. 2 also contained Iwaki and Katou's official character profiles, so it is disappointing to lose those in the new version.
However, as mentioned in my earlier post on the Youka Nitta comm (F-locked on LJ, but open on IJ), Embracing Love's editor Jennifer LeBlanc assured me that "Our version is the digital rerelease of the series that happened recently in Japan. What is in our books is what Sensei put in the new release." So apparently these "extras" were removed from the new digital version that was released in Japan--I believe they're intended to be read on cell phones. I'm not sure why that would require the "Afterthoughts" be edited out of the digital release, though.
There seems to be a huge difference in the translation quality--much more than I expected. Much of the text is the same, or gets across the same meaning with slightly different wording. However, there are quite a few instances in which the SBL translation provides details that BB left out. For example, on p.7, panel 4 of the new version, a crew member on the porn movie staff says: "Isn't that the book about the adult entertainment industry? (Well, the gay side of it anyway.) I read somewhere that it's being made into a movie for art house movie theaters." The BB version leaves out any reference to art house theaters, though later when Iwaki and Katou talk to Sawa, he does say that he's distributing the film to "niche" markets. There are several other instances like this, although I didn't note down all the others.
SBL also translates some things that were left untranslated in the BB version--mostly magazine articles that are background images. For example in "Flesh Flute," on p.69, panel 4 of the SBL version, you can see two news articles which have both been translated into English; BB only translated the one on the left, perhaps because the text in the other article is partially obscured? Also, in "Family Tree," p.240, panel 2 of the SBL version, the text on the envelope has been romanized, so we now know that the Katou family lives in Chiba Prefecture, Funabashi City, and that the letter is from Katou Yoko; BB leaves it untranslated. Not a big deal, since we soon learn whom the letter is from, but learning where the Katou family lives is a nice tidbit of information. I've been wondering about it for awhile since Katou makes reference to his hometown in later volumes, but never mentions the actual name of the city or town. (In chapter 1 of vol. 13, he goes back to his parents' house to go surfing after a fight with Iwaki, and in the "Life Line" chapter in vol 14, he says that he and Director Hida both come from the same hometown.)
And in "One Night Gigolo" p.202, panel 4, SBL translated the entire article of "TOP 10 MEN WOMEN WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH" (BB only partially translated it). Looking at the names on the list, I'm guessing that #2, Takenouchi Takeshi, might possibly be a stand-in for Takenouchi Yutaka (a very handsome and popular real-life actor), and I'm sure that #4, TELU (GLAYSH) is meant to be a fictional version of singer TERU from the rock band GLAY. In the vol. 2 Afterthoughts, Sensei even mentions that she imagines Iwaki having "a nice man's voice, like TERU, the vocalist for GLAY"! ^_^
There are also some outright mistakes in the translation, where a speech bubble appears to have been attributed to the wrong person (or BB just changed the dialogue for some reason). In "One Season Porno" p.130, panel 5, SBL shows a speech bubble in front of Iwaki, but the dialogue is actually Katou speaking "offscreen" to the moving men: "Thanks so much! I really owe you for coming out at this hour." However, BB had Iwaki saying, "Huh? What are those moving men doing here at this hour?"
There are a few other instances like that as well. Another takes place in "Reason for Living" p. 274, panel 2 of the SBL version. BB has the director scolding Iwaki about his performance (after learning about Katou's alleged infidelity), but in the SBL version, the the dialogue belongs to two off-screen crew members talking about Iwaki's difficulties. I know from experience that it can sometimes be difficult to tell who is actually talking, especially when the speaker is off-screen.
However, there is another example where it's a blatant mistake (or deliberate change) that even an untrained amateur like me can spot: "Nude Dancer" SBL p. 325, panel 4, where the waitress comes in with their meal. In the SBL version, the speech balloon in the top right corner has the waitress saying, "Here is your sea cucumber egg custard, sir." BB has Kikuchi saying, "Thank you, that will be all." After reading the Japanese version, I can confirm that the speech balloon contains the word "chawanmushi" (a savory egg custard). There's no way that could possibly be mistaken for "Thank you, that will be all" by even an only half-trained translator, so BB must have left out the waitress's comment for some reason. I can't figure out why--because it wasn't crucial to the story, so it was easier just to leave it out?
And there is the example I mentioned in the previous post, where Katou and Kikuchi are having the director (sorry, not the producer as I originally said) mediate to help them reach a resolution. In the BB version, it says, "Katou had only one condition. He refused to work with Kikuchi. And in return, he promised to avoid any personal troubles in the future." In the SBL version (p.362), it says: "Katou had only one condition. It was a simple one. He wanted Kikuchi-san to stop causing trouble for us." After looking at the Japanese version, though I'm admittedly less than fluent in Japanese, I would say that the SBL version is more accurate. I'm guessing that perhaps the previous translator got mixed up as to who was causing the "trouble" (the English word "trouble" is actually used in the Japanese dialogue). The wording is only slightly different, but obviously it results in two totally different interpretations: in one, Kikuchi agrees to leave the film, and in the other, Kikuchi remains and works alongside Katou without causing trouble. (Well, not too much, anyway, since he manages to annoy Katou shortly after that scene.)
Hmm, and now I find myself wondering how different my Kikuchi/Onozuka fanfiction would have turned out if I had read the SBL version first! It probably wouldn't change that much, since I'm sure Katou would still hate Kikuchi's guts, so there would still be a lot of tension/rivalry between Katou and Kikuchi. OTOH, Kikuchi wouldn't be disgraced a second time for leaving a movie under mysterious circumstances, and he wouldn't have needed to make a second comeback in Japan (which was the basis of my fic "Comeback," in which Kikuchi accepts a role in a small indie film because the major studios won't touch him). I don't think it would make a huge difference in characterization, but if I wrote Kikuchi following the SBL version, his career path would probably be smoother and more assured, and it might be fun to imagine him telling Onozuka some stories about working with Katou in the movie, while Katou would complain to his friends about having to work with "that dirty old man"!
And speaking of Kikuchi, that reminds me there's a subtle difference in translation in the scene where the director first hears about Katou's ultimatum that either Kikuchi leaves the movie or he will. In the BB version, the director says, "How dare he make us judge the value between him and Kikuchi," while in the SBL version he says, "Does he have any idea of the difference in value between him and Kikuchi?"--which interestingly enough, implies that the director thinks Kikuchi is the more valuable one, despite the past gay scandal. That makes sense, I guess--Kikuchi is the veteran actor, and apparently a success in the U.S. in addition to his past successes in Japan. Katou, on the other hand, is still a young up-and-coming actor--he's hugely popular at the moment, but the public is fickle and who knows if his fame will last?
There are some minor translation differences, where the BB version was not incorrect, but came off sounding a bit stilted, while the SBL version sounds more natural. For example in "Flesh Flute" SBL version p.80, panel 1, Sawa says, "I'm working on a new book called Flesh Flute. It's about four young, promiscuous gay men." In the BB version, the second sentence reads, "It's about four homosexuals who don't keep a single partner." Both mean the same thing, but the BB version sounds like a slightly too-literal translation that comes off sounding a bit awkward in English.
A somewhat different example is the second-to-the-last page of "Nude Dancer": in the BB version, Katou tells Kikuchi, "It's no use trying to get to Iwaki-san again. He's with me. And only me." It reads smoothly enough, and gets across the spirit of his words, even though it's not an exact translation. The SBL version sticks closer to the literal translation: "It's no use trying to play it cool to get Iwaki-san interested in you. To him, I'm the coolest guy, bar none." I checked the Japanese version and Katou actually does use the word "kakko" (cool), and I can confirm that he really does say in Japanese that he looks the most cool to Iwaki-san! Both versions essentially get across the same meaning ("Back off, Iwaki-san is mine!"), but the SBL version is a lot funnier and matches Katou's brash personality better.
Other minor comparisons: SBL uses honorifics consistently, while BB used them haphazardly--sometimes Iwaki would be called "Mr. Iwaki" on one page, and "Iwaki-san" on the next, and often the honorifics were dropped altogether. In SBL, Katou is referred to by almost everyone (fans, reporters, people in the business) as "Katou-kun," except for his family, and Iwaki, who refers to him just as "Katou"--while Katou, on the other hand, always refers to Iwaki as "Iwaki-san," even at the beginning of the story when they're rivals and Katou is being rude to him. It's interesting as well that Sawa addresses both Iwaki and Katou as "kun," which I wouldn't normally consider unusual except that he's probably younger than I first assumed, and possibly around the same age as Iwaki. (See this discussion on the IJ comm about Sawa's age.) Given Sawa's status as a bestselling author and the director of Iwaki's movie, it's certainly not out of line to address the two actors as "kun," but if he's actually younger than Iwaki, it would be unusual to use "kun" with Iwaki, although I suspect that Sawa isn't overly concerned with social niceties.
As far as I can tell, the only place where SBL leaves out the honorifics is when Katou's sister Yoko addresses him as "Yoji" instead of "Oniichan" as she does in the Japanese version. I'm guessing that's probably because it sounds more natural for her to call him by name in English than it would be to have her say, "Big Brother," but I think most people reading this manga would know what "Oniichan" means, so they could have left it untranslated. I'm not really bothered by it, but I thought it was kind of an odd choice to drop the "Oniichan" when they kept all the "kun" honorifics. Anybody who knows what "kun" means would almost certainly be familiar with "Oniisan" or "Oniichan" as well.
The other minor difference is that SBL thankfully did not replicate all the weird random bolding from the BB version. They do occasionally use bolding for emphasis, but very sparingly and it makes sense when they do use it--Iwaki shouting at Katou, for example.
Interesting cultural note: Both versions mention in the introduction that Sawa's novel Embracing Love was originally a weekly publication. In Japan, many novels are serialized in weekly magazines before being collected into book format, kind of like how manga series are serialized in weekly or monthly magazines before being published in tankoban (graphic novel) format.
Another random fact: this is actually in the BB version, too, but somehow I overlooked it until now. In "Family Tree," the chapter where Katou's sister gets married, Katou asks Iwaki what his brother is like (SBL p.52), and Iwaki says that he's "a straight-laced public official, totally different from me." Snapelike and I had speculated in the past about what kind of business the Iwaki family was involved in, and our ideas ranged from things like dealing in rice or sake (specialities of Niigata, where the Iwaki family is based) to the truly cracky, like Iwaki's dad being the head of a yakuza gang! However, "public official" sounds like Masahiko might be a politician or a high-ranking civil servant. Being a "public official" wouldn't technically be a family business (we learn in a later volume that Masahiko was expected to take over the Iwaki family business), but it's not uncommon for a family to have a tradition of going into politics or public service.
Thoughts about the story: It was a lot of fun to read this again! I had forgotten how intense the rivalry was between Iwaki and Katou at the beginning, and how touchy Iwaki is about his pride: his fear of losing to a younger rival like Katou, and feeling like he's losing by getting the "female" role. Of course I hate the whole stereotype that the one who's being penetrated is the "girl" and that is somehow shameful, but it's believable that a straight guy (or mostly straight guy, anyway) would think that way. I also like how serious they both are about acting as a craft, and how much it means to them--I really like the scene at the beginning of the book where Katou tells him that if he's no longer into it (acting), then he should just quit, and also the scene in "Nude Dancer" where Iwaki gets angry at Katou for throwing his career away.
Haha, and I keep seeing the term "tsundere" come up in manga reviews and discussions, and I couldn't help thinking as I was reading that Iwaki is totally a tsundere! ^_^
However, I was also reminded of how I found the dub-con scenes kind of disturbing the first time that I read the book years ago: the scene during the audition where Iwaki keeps going even after Katou tells him to stop, and the scene where Katou has sex with Iwaki for real when they're filming the love scene for their TV show. I don't think that they consider either incident to be rape, but I was especially skeeved out by the first scene, since Katou told Iwaki to stop, but he didn't listen. The SBL translation also seems to emphasize the dub-connish nature of the encounter: In the BB version, Katou just says, "You sure overdid it. Are you sure you never made it with a guy before?" While the SBL version says, "You asshole. That was my first time taking it. Did you have to be that rough?"--which to me, makes Iwaki's actions seem more unwelcome to Katou. (Also, notice the slight difference in translation: in the first one, the one being referred to as having sex with a guy for the first time is Iwaki, while in the second version, it's Katou. Often the subject is left out of a sentence in Japanese: for example, saying, "Did it with a guy for the first time" instead of "Katou did it with a guy for the first time." The translator would usually be able to tell who "did it" from the context of the story, but sometimes it can lead to confusion, which I suspect is what might have happened here.)
To be fair, I think Katou is just as out of line in the second incident--Iwaki doesn't specifically tell him to stop, but he's clearly taken aback and probably doesn't protest more because he doesn't want the crew members to know what's going on, which would make the situation even more upsetting/humiliating than it already is. Although I think it's interesting that Iwaki seems more upset by Katou's lack of professionalism than by Katou taking him by force (or at least, not asking permission). Or that's what he says, anyway--reading it over in detail, it seems like the real issue is that Iwaki is afraid to believe that Katou's feelings of love are real (although I think the professionalism thing is important to him, too).
So I am still slightly skeeved by the dub-con, but I can overlook it because I know what a loving couple they become in the future. And both of them wronged the other, so it kind of balances things out for me, if that makes any sense. I'm just a little worried that people who don't like non-con/dub-con might be turned off and not read past the first volume--I remember that I recommended this series to a manga reviewer awhile back, saying that it was great example of a couple in a mature and equal relationship, and I just realized that maybe they don't make such a good impression in the first few chapters, haha! But I hope the story and relationship have developed enough by the end of the omnibus that readers can see past that first impression.
Although non-con/dub-con isn't really my thing, I do find it interesting in this story--the way that they seem to regard sex as a battle or competition at first. Maybe that's why Katou isn't more bothered by what Iwaki did during the audition? (Aside from the fact that he's been obsessed with Iwaki for awhile.) And Iwaki feels the sense of competition more strongly than Katou, I think, which ties into the later chapters in the series, where Iwaki continues to have issues about topping and bottoming even after they're in an established relationship.
One final thought: it was so much fun to read the Kikuchi chapter again, since he's one of my favorite characters! It really is cute to see how fanboy-ishly admiring Iwaki is of Kikuchi, which makes Kikuchi's later betrayal all the more painful for him. Kikuchi really is such an interesting character--he's a complete bastard to Iwaki and Katou, and yet I can sympathize with his bitterness. I really wish we could have seen more of him in the manga, but at least we had this one chapter. Kikuchi's backstory is also a nice little touch of realism in the yaoi gay fantasy--I don't think that Iwaki and Katou would be so accepted in Japanese society, image of "true love" or not, but Nitta-sensei writes well enough to make us believe it, while at the same time reminding us that prejudice does exist with Kikuchi's story. Katou's dad's reaction to their relationship was another nice touch: not as accepting as Katou thought he would be, but able to work past his prejudice and accept Iwaki as Katou's partner. I just love the complexities of the story and characters in this series.
I just had so much fun reading this, and I can't wait to get to the volumes where we meet Onozuka, Miyasaka, Yoshizumi, and Mochimune! I know it won't be for awhile yet, but Iwaki's family and Asano should show up in the next volume, so I'll be looking forward to that!
The SBL version is missing the chapter title page illustrations--possibly they were removed due to the past tracing controversy? I'm sure that not all of the drawings were traced, but it would probably be easier and more consistent to remove them all than to just weed out the problematic ones. The SBL version is also missing the non-Haru short story "Fence" that appears at the end of BB vol. 1, along with the "Afterthoughts" section that appears at the end of the BB books and the original Japanese tankoban. For those who haven't had a chance to read the older versions, "Afterthoughts" is a short afterword of the type that seems common in manga, where the author talks about the series and sometimes his or her personal life in manga format. The "Afterthoughts" for vol. 2 also contained Iwaki and Katou's official character profiles, so it is disappointing to lose those in the new version.
However, as mentioned in my earlier post on the Youka Nitta comm (F-locked on LJ, but open on IJ), Embracing Love's editor Jennifer LeBlanc assured me that "Our version is the digital rerelease of the series that happened recently in Japan. What is in our books is what Sensei put in the new release." So apparently these "extras" were removed from the new digital version that was released in Japan--I believe they're intended to be read on cell phones. I'm not sure why that would require the "Afterthoughts" be edited out of the digital release, though.
There seems to be a huge difference in the translation quality--much more than I expected. Much of the text is the same, or gets across the same meaning with slightly different wording. However, there are quite a few instances in which the SBL translation provides details that BB left out. For example, on p.7, panel 4 of the new version, a crew member on the porn movie staff says: "Isn't that the book about the adult entertainment industry? (Well, the gay side of it anyway.) I read somewhere that it's being made into a movie for art house movie theaters." The BB version leaves out any reference to art house theaters, though later when Iwaki and Katou talk to Sawa, he does say that he's distributing the film to "niche" markets. There are several other instances like this, although I didn't note down all the others.
SBL also translates some things that were left untranslated in the BB version--mostly magazine articles that are background images. For example in "Flesh Flute," on p.69, panel 4 of the SBL version, you can see two news articles which have both been translated into English; BB only translated the one on the left, perhaps because the text in the other article is partially obscured? Also, in "Family Tree," p.240, panel 2 of the SBL version, the text on the envelope has been romanized, so we now know that the Katou family lives in Chiba Prefecture, Funabashi City, and that the letter is from Katou Yoko; BB leaves it untranslated. Not a big deal, since we soon learn whom the letter is from, but learning where the Katou family lives is a nice tidbit of information. I've been wondering about it for awhile since Katou makes reference to his hometown in later volumes, but never mentions the actual name of the city or town. (In chapter 1 of vol. 13, he goes back to his parents' house to go surfing after a fight with Iwaki, and in the "Life Line" chapter in vol 14, he says that he and Director Hida both come from the same hometown.)
And in "One Night Gigolo" p.202, panel 4, SBL translated the entire article of "TOP 10 MEN WOMEN WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH" (BB only partially translated it). Looking at the names on the list, I'm guessing that #2, Takenouchi Takeshi, might possibly be a stand-in for Takenouchi Yutaka (a very handsome and popular real-life actor), and I'm sure that #4, TELU (GLAYSH) is meant to be a fictional version of singer TERU from the rock band GLAY. In the vol. 2 Afterthoughts, Sensei even mentions that she imagines Iwaki having "a nice man's voice, like TERU, the vocalist for GLAY"! ^_^
There are also some outright mistakes in the translation, where a speech bubble appears to have been attributed to the wrong person (or BB just changed the dialogue for some reason). In "One Season Porno" p.130, panel 5, SBL shows a speech bubble in front of Iwaki, but the dialogue is actually Katou speaking "offscreen" to the moving men: "Thanks so much! I really owe you for coming out at this hour." However, BB had Iwaki saying, "Huh? What are those moving men doing here at this hour?"
There are a few other instances like that as well. Another takes place in "Reason for Living" p. 274, panel 2 of the SBL version. BB has the director scolding Iwaki about his performance (after learning about Katou's alleged infidelity), but in the SBL version, the the dialogue belongs to two off-screen crew members talking about Iwaki's difficulties. I know from experience that it can sometimes be difficult to tell who is actually talking, especially when the speaker is off-screen.
However, there is another example where it's a blatant mistake (or deliberate change) that even an untrained amateur like me can spot: "Nude Dancer" SBL p. 325, panel 4, where the waitress comes in with their meal. In the SBL version, the speech balloon in the top right corner has the waitress saying, "Here is your sea cucumber egg custard, sir." BB has Kikuchi saying, "Thank you, that will be all." After reading the Japanese version, I can confirm that the speech balloon contains the word "chawanmushi" (a savory egg custard). There's no way that could possibly be mistaken for "Thank you, that will be all" by even an only half-trained translator, so BB must have left out the waitress's comment for some reason. I can't figure out why--because it wasn't crucial to the story, so it was easier just to leave it out?
And there is the example I mentioned in the previous post, where Katou and Kikuchi are having the director (sorry, not the producer as I originally said) mediate to help them reach a resolution. In the BB version, it says, "Katou had only one condition. He refused to work with Kikuchi. And in return, he promised to avoid any personal troubles in the future." In the SBL version (p.362), it says: "Katou had only one condition. It was a simple one. He wanted Kikuchi-san to stop causing trouble for us." After looking at the Japanese version, though I'm admittedly less than fluent in Japanese, I would say that the SBL version is more accurate. I'm guessing that perhaps the previous translator got mixed up as to who was causing the "trouble" (the English word "trouble" is actually used in the Japanese dialogue). The wording is only slightly different, but obviously it results in two totally different interpretations: in one, Kikuchi agrees to leave the film, and in the other, Kikuchi remains and works alongside Katou without causing trouble. (Well, not too much, anyway, since he manages to annoy Katou shortly after that scene.)
Hmm, and now I find myself wondering how different my Kikuchi/Onozuka fanfiction would have turned out if I had read the SBL version first! It probably wouldn't change that much, since I'm sure Katou would still hate Kikuchi's guts, so there would still be a lot of tension/rivalry between Katou and Kikuchi. OTOH, Kikuchi wouldn't be disgraced a second time for leaving a movie under mysterious circumstances, and he wouldn't have needed to make a second comeback in Japan (which was the basis of my fic "Comeback," in which Kikuchi accepts a role in a small indie film because the major studios won't touch him). I don't think it would make a huge difference in characterization, but if I wrote Kikuchi following the SBL version, his career path would probably be smoother and more assured, and it might be fun to imagine him telling Onozuka some stories about working with Katou in the movie, while Katou would complain to his friends about having to work with "that dirty old man"!
And speaking of Kikuchi, that reminds me there's a subtle difference in translation in the scene where the director first hears about Katou's ultimatum that either Kikuchi leaves the movie or he will. In the BB version, the director says, "How dare he make us judge the value between him and Kikuchi," while in the SBL version he says, "Does he have any idea of the difference in value between him and Kikuchi?"--which interestingly enough, implies that the director thinks Kikuchi is the more valuable one, despite the past gay scandal. That makes sense, I guess--Kikuchi is the veteran actor, and apparently a success in the U.S. in addition to his past successes in Japan. Katou, on the other hand, is still a young up-and-coming actor--he's hugely popular at the moment, but the public is fickle and who knows if his fame will last?
There are some minor translation differences, where the BB version was not incorrect, but came off sounding a bit stilted, while the SBL version sounds more natural. For example in "Flesh Flute" SBL version p.80, panel 1, Sawa says, "I'm working on a new book called Flesh Flute. It's about four young, promiscuous gay men." In the BB version, the second sentence reads, "It's about four homosexuals who don't keep a single partner." Both mean the same thing, but the BB version sounds like a slightly too-literal translation that comes off sounding a bit awkward in English.
A somewhat different example is the second-to-the-last page of "Nude Dancer": in the BB version, Katou tells Kikuchi, "It's no use trying to get to Iwaki-san again. He's with me. And only me." It reads smoothly enough, and gets across the spirit of his words, even though it's not an exact translation. The SBL version sticks closer to the literal translation: "It's no use trying to play it cool to get Iwaki-san interested in you. To him, I'm the coolest guy, bar none." I checked the Japanese version and Katou actually does use the word "kakko" (cool), and I can confirm that he really does say in Japanese that he looks the most cool to Iwaki-san! Both versions essentially get across the same meaning ("Back off, Iwaki-san is mine!"), but the SBL version is a lot funnier and matches Katou's brash personality better.
Other minor comparisons: SBL uses honorifics consistently, while BB used them haphazardly--sometimes Iwaki would be called "Mr. Iwaki" on one page, and "Iwaki-san" on the next, and often the honorifics were dropped altogether. In SBL, Katou is referred to by almost everyone (fans, reporters, people in the business) as "Katou-kun," except for his family, and Iwaki, who refers to him just as "Katou"--while Katou, on the other hand, always refers to Iwaki as "Iwaki-san," even at the beginning of the story when they're rivals and Katou is being rude to him. It's interesting as well that Sawa addresses both Iwaki and Katou as "kun," which I wouldn't normally consider unusual except that he's probably younger than I first assumed, and possibly around the same age as Iwaki. (See this discussion on the IJ comm about Sawa's age.) Given Sawa's status as a bestselling author and the director of Iwaki's movie, it's certainly not out of line to address the two actors as "kun," but if he's actually younger than Iwaki, it would be unusual to use "kun" with Iwaki, although I suspect that Sawa isn't overly concerned with social niceties.
As far as I can tell, the only place where SBL leaves out the honorifics is when Katou's sister Yoko addresses him as "Yoji" instead of "Oniichan" as she does in the Japanese version. I'm guessing that's probably because it sounds more natural for her to call him by name in English than it would be to have her say, "Big Brother," but I think most people reading this manga would know what "Oniichan" means, so they could have left it untranslated. I'm not really bothered by it, but I thought it was kind of an odd choice to drop the "Oniichan" when they kept all the "kun" honorifics. Anybody who knows what "kun" means would almost certainly be familiar with "Oniisan" or "Oniichan" as well.
The other minor difference is that SBL thankfully did not replicate all the weird random bolding from the BB version. They do occasionally use bolding for emphasis, but very sparingly and it makes sense when they do use it--Iwaki shouting at Katou, for example.
Interesting cultural note: Both versions mention in the introduction that Sawa's novel Embracing Love was originally a weekly publication. In Japan, many novels are serialized in weekly magazines before being collected into book format, kind of like how manga series are serialized in weekly or monthly magazines before being published in tankoban (graphic novel) format.
Another random fact: this is actually in the BB version, too, but somehow I overlooked it until now. In "Family Tree," the chapter where Katou's sister gets married, Katou asks Iwaki what his brother is like (SBL p.52), and Iwaki says that he's "a straight-laced public official, totally different from me." Snapelike and I had speculated in the past about what kind of business the Iwaki family was involved in, and our ideas ranged from things like dealing in rice or sake (specialities of Niigata, where the Iwaki family is based) to the truly cracky, like Iwaki's dad being the head of a yakuza gang! However, "public official" sounds like Masahiko might be a politician or a high-ranking civil servant. Being a "public official" wouldn't technically be a family business (we learn in a later volume that Masahiko was expected to take over the Iwaki family business), but it's not uncommon for a family to have a tradition of going into politics or public service.
Thoughts about the story: It was a lot of fun to read this again! I had forgotten how intense the rivalry was between Iwaki and Katou at the beginning, and how touchy Iwaki is about his pride: his fear of losing to a younger rival like Katou, and feeling like he's losing by getting the "female" role. Of course I hate the whole stereotype that the one who's being penetrated is the "girl" and that is somehow shameful, but it's believable that a straight guy (or mostly straight guy, anyway) would think that way. I also like how serious they both are about acting as a craft, and how much it means to them--I really like the scene at the beginning of the book where Katou tells him that if he's no longer into it (acting), then he should just quit, and also the scene in "Nude Dancer" where Iwaki gets angry at Katou for throwing his career away.
Haha, and I keep seeing the term "tsundere" come up in manga reviews and discussions, and I couldn't help thinking as I was reading that Iwaki is totally a tsundere! ^_^
However, I was also reminded of how I found the dub-con scenes kind of disturbing the first time that I read the book years ago: the scene during the audition where Iwaki keeps going even after Katou tells him to stop, and the scene where Katou has sex with Iwaki for real when they're filming the love scene for their TV show. I don't think that they consider either incident to be rape, but I was especially skeeved out by the first scene, since Katou told Iwaki to stop, but he didn't listen. The SBL translation also seems to emphasize the dub-connish nature of the encounter: In the BB version, Katou just says, "You sure overdid it. Are you sure you never made it with a guy before?" While the SBL version says, "You asshole. That was my first time taking it. Did you have to be that rough?"--which to me, makes Iwaki's actions seem more unwelcome to Katou. (Also, notice the slight difference in translation: in the first one, the one being referred to as having sex with a guy for the first time is Iwaki, while in the second version, it's Katou. Often the subject is left out of a sentence in Japanese: for example, saying, "Did it with a guy for the first time" instead of "Katou did it with a guy for the first time." The translator would usually be able to tell who "did it" from the context of the story, but sometimes it can lead to confusion, which I suspect is what might have happened here.)
To be fair, I think Katou is just as out of line in the second incident--Iwaki doesn't specifically tell him to stop, but he's clearly taken aback and probably doesn't protest more because he doesn't want the crew members to know what's going on, which would make the situation even more upsetting/humiliating than it already is. Although I think it's interesting that Iwaki seems more upset by Katou's lack of professionalism than by Katou taking him by force (or at least, not asking permission). Or that's what he says, anyway--reading it over in detail, it seems like the real issue is that Iwaki is afraid to believe that Katou's feelings of love are real (although I think the professionalism thing is important to him, too).
So I am still slightly skeeved by the dub-con, but I can overlook it because I know what a loving couple they become in the future. And both of them wronged the other, so it kind of balances things out for me, if that makes any sense. I'm just a little worried that people who don't like non-con/dub-con might be turned off and not read past the first volume--I remember that I recommended this series to a manga reviewer awhile back, saying that it was great example of a couple in a mature and equal relationship, and I just realized that maybe they don't make such a good impression in the first few chapters, haha! But I hope the story and relationship have developed enough by the end of the omnibus that readers can see past that first impression.
Although non-con/dub-con isn't really my thing, I do find it interesting in this story--the way that they seem to regard sex as a battle or competition at first. Maybe that's why Katou isn't more bothered by what Iwaki did during the audition? (Aside from the fact that he's been obsessed with Iwaki for awhile.) And Iwaki feels the sense of competition more strongly than Katou, I think, which ties into the later chapters in the series, where Iwaki continues to have issues about topping and bottoming even after they're in an established relationship.
One final thought: it was so much fun to read the Kikuchi chapter again, since he's one of my favorite characters! It really is cute to see how fanboy-ishly admiring Iwaki is of Kikuchi, which makes Kikuchi's later betrayal all the more painful for him. Kikuchi really is such an interesting character--he's a complete bastard to Iwaki and Katou, and yet I can sympathize with his bitterness. I really wish we could have seen more of him in the manga, but at least we had this one chapter. Kikuchi's backstory is also a nice little touch of realism in the yaoi gay fantasy--I don't think that Iwaki and Katou would be so accepted in Japanese society, image of "true love" or not, but Nitta-sensei writes well enough to make us believe it, while at the same time reminding us that prejudice does exist with Kikuchi's story. Katou's dad's reaction to their relationship was another nice touch: not as accepting as Katou thought he would be, but able to work past his prejudice and accept Iwaki as Katou's partner. I just love the complexities of the story and characters in this series.
I just had so much fun reading this, and I can't wait to get to the volumes where we meet Onozuka, Miyasaka, Yoshizumi, and Mochimune! I know it won't be for awhile yet, but Iwaki's family and Asano should show up in the next volume, so I'll be looking forward to that!
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I hadn't reread it for a couple of years, it really was so much fun to get back into it! Can't wait to see how Winter Cicada comes across, among other favorite chapters.
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I'm looking forward to Winter Cicada, too!
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From what you've mentioned, I would gravitate more to the SuBLime version because I don't like it when translators try to change the wordings of the dialogue to make it more relatable to the Western audience. I've read scanlations that try to preserve the Japanese nuances and I didn't have any problem getting the gist of a conversation. If an exclamation is really head-scratching, they can always add a footnote or a translator's note at the end of the book.
Same with the rephrasing of delicate subjects like Sawa's new book and the convo in the dub-con scene. I want them to give to me as the author intended, even if it will make me feel uncomfortable. Iwaki was not okay with what Katou did, and I, as the reader, want the translators to make me understand that Katou's action towards Iwaki really was not okay. Also, there's a difference with "promiscuous" and "don't keep a single partner".
I also would've preferred if they left "Oniichan" alone and maybe just added a footnote, since the younger sister calling Katou by his first name sounds a bit off as it seems disrespectful. Same with the honorifics. Katou calling Iwaki "Iwaki-san" all the time sounds better than "Mr. Iwaki". XD And honorifics gives an idea about the characters' relationship dynamics.
Sorry it was a bit long! I just had a lot of feelings because this manga's story is really well-written for me.
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I agree that the SuBLime translation is a lot better, though I also wish they had kept "Oniichan". In the BB version, I think Katou mostly said "Iwaki-san," but for some reason, they tended to have Shimizu calling him "Mr. Iwaki" a lot. Now that I think about, maybe they were trying to emphasize that Katou's relationship was personal, while Shimizu's was more professional. Or maybe they just couldn't make up their minds! ~_^
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It's very interesting to read and it sparks something special in me since Harudaki was the first BL manga (and OVA) that I read, a couple of years ago.
And you are right, thought the impression that left on me is of a couple with both guys standing on equal terms, that love each other and lean on each other when one of them is having any problem (which is absolutely true), the beginning was not the best and it's quite disturbing, especially if you are not that comfortable with non-con/dub-con (and especially for me who was a newbie in BL at that time).
But I liked how this manga depicted them as a couple who can also develop, not only as such, but individually.
You really took very detailed notes of the differences in these versions! Do you have a preference (even slight or tiny) re:any of these versions or do you like them both the same? Maybe you are fond of the BB's version since it was the first you read?
See you and thanks again for your post!
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I prefer SuBLime version for the translation, but I am glad that I have the old BB version that has all the little extras that were left out of the new release. Overall, though, the quality of the SuBLime book is better.
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This was very, very fun to read, thanks so much for writing up such a detailed comparison!
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