Dec 27, 2008 3:33 PM
YKK 6 - Sleepless New Year
Anime Relations:
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Cafe
I'm not sure where I fall in the "does Alpha like like Takahiro or not" debate. It's clear she's fond of him, but sometimes it seems like it's as a big sister, sometimes it seems just a bit more. Of course, Alpha never really acts on it, knowing that she's stuck at one age forever, while he will grow up and grow old.
Towards the end of the chapter, Alpha mentions in narration the notion that "you can't distinguish" the seasons like you used to. Many Americans are puzzled by this idea, but if you think of the seasons where you are as opposed to what the ideal of the seasons are supposed to be, you might begin to understand. Where I currently live, in the American southwest, there are not very distinct seasons. Winter is bitter cold and summer is blistering hot, but there's about 3 weeks of spring and it gets hot almost without transition. Same with autumn. You often read about Japan that it has "four distinct seasons", and it's easy to think that is an odd thing to say, really. But when you live in Japan, you really see what that means up close. The seasons are almost unnaturally different from each other. In Alpha's world, they're not that way anymore, which is said as if it's a sad thing, too.
For those that don't know, customs vary widely around Japan, but usually the first [anything] of the new year is seen as significant, as if it sets the tone for the whole year. Just like the western custom of kissing at the stroke of new year's is seen as a luck charm that the person you kiss is the one you'll be kissing all year. So, many Japanese people watch the first sunrise, take special care with the first bath, and so on.
We also get another hint about Alpha's nature with her comment about the milk in the canned coffee. It's not just difficult for her, it's actually painful. More about this later, as usual.
Towards the end of the chapter, Alpha mentions in narration the notion that "you can't distinguish" the seasons like you used to. Many Americans are puzzled by this idea, but if you think of the seasons where you are as opposed to what the ideal of the seasons are supposed to be, you might begin to understand. Where I currently live, in the American southwest, there are not very distinct seasons. Winter is bitter cold and summer is blistering hot, but there's about 3 weeks of spring and it gets hot almost without transition. Same with autumn. You often read about Japan that it has "four distinct seasons", and it's easy to think that is an odd thing to say, really. But when you live in Japan, you really see what that means up close. The seasons are almost unnaturally different from each other. In Alpha's world, they're not that way anymore, which is said as if it's a sad thing, too.
For those that don't know, customs vary widely around Japan, but usually the first [anything] of the new year is seen as significant, as if it sets the tone for the whole year. Just like the western custom of kissing at the stroke of new year's is seen as a luck charm that the person you kiss is the one you'll be kissing all year. So, many Japanese people watch the first sunrise, take special care with the first bath, and so on.
We also get another hint about Alpha's nature with her comment about the milk in the canned coffee. It's not just difficult for her, it's actually painful. More about this later, as usual.
Posted by
Jiji
| Dec 27, 2008 3:33 PM |
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