Talk:Suzumiya Haruhi

From Baka-Tsuki
Revision as of 00:51, 21 January 2010 by 24.77.27.166 (talk) (→‎Blanked?: new section)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Reviews from Readers

Don't forget to sign your comments! (^^;)>

VOLUME 10 approaching completion??!

According to an article in Sankaku Complex from late August, there was an announcement in The Sneaker from Tanigawa Nagaru stating that work had begun on the publication of Volume 10. Has anybody else heard about this, and if so, can anybody confirm if this is a legitimate announcement? The article in question (http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/08/31/nagaru-tanigawa-has-started-new-haruhi-novel/) contains what appears to be a photo of the announcement, but, gaijin that I am, I can't read it. This is big news if its true... ~Anonymous

Thank You

I have finally finished reading all the 9 volumes and the first thing i was left with thinking was...awesome...yeah,that's the impression it left, and i love the series, so thank you very much for translating the series,and I hope that when volume 10 is finally released,you guys can translate it and whatever other volumes comes after....so,lastly thank you very much and long live Haruhi(& Kyon), The SOS Brigade, and Haruhiism.-Otaku, April 19,2009

THANK YOU

I truly am grateful for this wonderful project! The precision in bridging between Japanese text and English translation is amazing on this work of art! I could go on and on but at the end of the day all of it can be summed up in two words. Thank You. Stay strong in your passions and dedication. OneiroPhobia, April 21, 2008

Wonderfully Excellent

Not since "The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered" has my patience been so well rewarded. Three cheers and a Haruhi-style Yahoo! to all the brave souls who brought this together. -frisbee

Thanks so much

I just purchased this novel on Amazon Japan because I am beginning to learn to read and write Japanese. I want to do this at the same time I learn to speak, so that I don't become lazy and illiterate. I know I can learn to speak any language well, I have done it many times, reading/writing, especially Kanji will be the hardest. Thank you for this great reference and story, it is very appreciated!

Beautifully Crafted

Without a doubt one of the best piece of work that ever come out of Japan (manga, anime, games). Great story-telling, twists and turns and it kept me guessing until the end especially Volume 1. Thanks a lot to the translator(s) and editors. Arutoki #lurk @irchighway

Thank you!

Thanks for the translations. I've been checking this site off and on but I'm reading in the chronological order so I'm eagerly awaiting charmed at first sight lover XD I know a good amount of Japanese but I don't have the novels and my kanji skills are rather craptastic (I need my furigana ;-;) so you guys are a real life savor :). Thanks again and keep up the good work!

Hinano, August 17, 2006

Good Stuff

Many thanks for translating these novels. I have a few minor gripes - mainly grammatical stuff, and the occasional queer-sounding descriptive sentence - all of which are compensated for by the relatively quicker releases. If I could help out, I would be happy to, but I don't know any Japanese. Keep up the good work, and I hope to see you guys finish volume 4.

Anonymous Coward, August 2006


Unknown Comment

From an appreciative fan, 'I love the work all of you do and thank you for it. There is nothing sweeter than pouring one's energy into one's passion. Please update 'The Dissapearance of Suzimiya Haruhi' and others. Once again, thank you for your dedication and work.

Looking Good!

Really, I'm really enjoying the good work you guys are doing. Suzumiya Haruhi is really a great work, but so is the work that you all have done so far. Thank you very much for allowing us foreigners a chance to read these books.

-Mr.Pringles July 22, 2006


I'd hit it!

Thanks you for translating these novels! I've been watching the anime, but reading the novels adds so much more depth to the series! Thank you very much! Keep it up

-FW July 1, 2006

Haruhi FOREEEVVEEER

hey mates! thanks for all your work!

Just want to tell you we appriciate what your doing, for all use dis-lingo haruhiist!

p

Onizuka-gto 16:57, 18 April 2006 (PDT)

Thanks

I love the story so far. Thanks a lot~

Well Done

I've finished reading volume 1 of your translations and I must say that you guys are really hard working. Good job getting them done. The quality and readibility of them translations really shows. Keep up the good work!

Thank you

I'm greatly impressed by the speed at which you are translating this. Almost goes to prove the Haruhi-craze that has taken us by storm. Admirable work.

you guys are the best

thank you very much !!!! You 0wn !

AWESOME

I am trully impressed at the speed and quality of these translations! Keep up the amazing work!

A bit of trivia for you:

According to the changelog, this project started last year! And here's a brief summary of what happened (so you don't have to scour through the change log yourself):

  • November 11, 2005

->Start of project

  • December 24, 2005

->Volume 1, Prologue complete

  • April 15, 2006

->Moved everything to MediaWiki

->Volume 1, Chapter 1 complete


After this date, everything kicked off! Funnily enough, this happened after "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi" anime was released.

Just shows how much Haruhism has spread and infected us all, including yours truly.

Great stuff everybody. Keep up the good work! (I'll help out more once my college exams conclude... yeah... by the 30th of May...)

Thank you

Thank you for all the hard work on translating the novels. Keep up the good work

Da~Mike 01:11, 9 May 2006 (GMT)


Woa

by finishing the first volume, I just spoiled myself the end of the anime serie ... and I don't regret it one bit ^^;

Anyway, gokurosama (thanks you for your hard work, or smth like that) to our dear translators ! Darkoneko 17:37, 22 June 2006 (PDT)

Kei

Dear All, i found while reading Volume 6: Live A Live, from the third part where Kyon is talking about Yakisoba onwards, Taniguchi's name has been either misspelt "Tanaguchi", or it has become confused with Kunikida, becoming Kuniguchi... Or am I badly mistaken? Thanks in advance for the time taken to do such a good job, and apologies if I am wrong =P

18 June 2006 1500hrs +8.0 GMT


Kei

Dear All, i managed to download scans of the Novels up to volume 7 (chinese version). While reading thru, i found minor translation errors. I think it corresponds to the word ban/man 萬 (jpn), or wan 万 in simplified or traditional kanji. It should be translated not as a million, but rather as 10,000. Yes, in chinese and japanese, a million is hyaku-man or 一百万, one hundred 10Ks.

Thanx! XD

Thanks for a really good job on a really interesting project.

It is facinating to watch the work in progress.

Steven

Ganbatte!

~begin transmission~

An excellent job on an excellent series. Carry on. Please voluntarily arrest someone to work on Tanigawa Nagaru-san's other works.

~end transmission~

/kaoSFell

P.S. I am linking everyplace I go to this site.

Heartfelt Thanks

I really don't know what else to say except that you have my deepest, most sincere-est gratitude..whoever you (all) are (hahaha - I'm new to this site, but I think I'll learn soon enough)

- I have just finished watching the anime (where has it been all my life) and I find so much that I love in it that I'm now reading the translated novels here (instead of my study notes for my exam next week):p

Major major thanks for the wonderful translations and information overload (it's a good thing) :p.

All my love and thanks...

Ling @ 11.06pm -Sydney time- November 23 2006


Truly one of the greatest fan translation projects I've seen

You guys are doing such a great job on these. I'm just wondering if there are any PDFs available so I could print it out and actually read it like a book. But still, keep up the great work, and hope you have a great time with these. Benpc91 20:50, 23 November 2006 (PST)

= Simply Amazing

I have to say ever since I found the link to this translation I've been amased at the speed of well translation. Keep up the great work.

No! Not completed!

Volume 10 is being put on hold, if I'm correct. I mean, it's probably going to be one massive ending. That's just my opinion. Volume 10 will be the last, right? o.o I hope not, but that's probably the case. Okay, that's it. ^_^ ~Kana-chan

Wa sai a

As mentioned by just about everyone, simply amazing. I wonder if Tanigawa has been sent all this praise. I prolly should have posted this awhile ago... *cough*. In response to Kana-chan, I doubt the series ends at vol 10. It just doesn't make sense, time-wise. They haven't finished 3rd year let alone 2nd year. Dam disputes between Kadokawa and Tanigawa, they're stopping the release of both the anime and novel. Oh well... Again, thanks to this translation, I have been able to read the best light novel i have ever read. That's not saying much considering I've read like 3 light novel series. Antesignanus 19:26, 11 October 2008 (PDT) PS my post title is Chinese pinying, hopefully correct... my Chinese sucks and I'm Chinese.

Kyon's Tenses

Does anybody have any clarification on this?

I think uniform past tense in the prologue sounds better for sure, but if he's not revealing foreknowledge in the rest of the chapters, then present tense would seem to be more logical.



for the guidelines.

Onizuka-gto 18:07, 21 April 2006 (PDT)

Regrading the format of Baka-Tsuki Wiki

I am not really a fan of adding all those volumes' names into the "Finished works" part as it might make others think that we(the translators/editors) have it all planned out. Therefore I am going to move the volume titles into another section of the page.

That being said, if any of you want to translate a particular volume (doesn't have to be in numerical order), you are welcome to do so.

Those aside. I am currently trying to find the best format for this wiki. Thus please do not edit the main pages excessively for the next few days.

--Thelastguardian 20:54, 18 April 2006 (PDT)

I agree that we may be making this look more "professional" than we want to. There is always a danger of being too professional, if you see what I mean. Meanwhile, I've added a page on Tanikawa Nagaru with some biographical data and a bibliography. --Freak Of Nature 14:42, 19 April 2006 (PDT)

If you are referring to the edits I've made to a couple of the main pages, I just find it much easier to be able to click "Community portal" on the sidebar to go back to the index then to have to go to the main page and click the link. That and I don't like how external links look. --Ryukaiser 04:38, 20 April 2006 (PDT)

As for the tenses problem

I can't decide. As you are probably aware, there are some parts that are more suitable with passive voice, while others are plainly narrarated in past tense. - I on AS forum

I will leave it at the translators' discretion for now until we come to a general consensus.

--Thelastguardian 20:56, 18 April 2006 (PDT)

I think when Kyon is relating to a specific image that is depicted in the novel, he is more likely to talk in the present tense (such as when he makes an aside comment or explanation aimed at the audience). It sounds like a way for the author to immerse the reader in Kyon's environment. Oh, and I don't think using past tense for Kyon's musings of Haruhi's personality is proper since it implies that Haruhi is now different from how she was in the past. There are moments such as when Kyon considers his outlook on life where using the past tense seems obvious. I'm of the opinion of mixing past/present tense in consideration of the Kyon's current focus (Haruhi, dialogue, life outlook, audience aside, etc.). Overall, I think The Melancholy of Haruhi novel reads best when rendered as a very descriptive play.
As for the passive/active voice, I'm only making changes where I think the text reads too rough or awkward in the wording. That's some ambiguous criteria, but it's all I have to go by with no special training. -- Baltakatei 01:59, 19 April 2006 (PDT)
Personally, in the proofreadings I've been doing, I would just change it to past tense if it is obvious Kyon is talking about something in the past. If it isn't, I leave it as-is. I'm kind of unsure what to say about a standard for this, though. Some things are obviously present, while others - such as the example mentioned above (when Kyon talks about others' personalities and such) are more debateable. -- Ryukaiser 04:44, 20 April 2006 (PDT)


I'll repeat what I suggested in the Ch 1 discussion page (we do need to decide where to talk about standardising styles - I agree with the Current Events idea):
I think we need to ascertain one thing first before we can discuss what should and shouldn't be in present tense - what is 'the present' for Kyon's narration? As in, is he telling this story years after the end of all possible Suzumiya Haruhi novels or is he living out his experiences as the novels get written? I'm inclined to think the latter - specifically that 'the present' for Kyon for Chapter 1 is a few days after the SOS-dan was formed. As in, chapter 1 is about him recounting the backstory up to his 'present time' of being in the newly formed SOS-dan. --Psieye 09:02, 21 April 2006 (PDT)

Differentiating Kyon's dialogue

From what Thelastguardian tells me, Kyon's dialogue is not contained in parathesis in the novel. This sounds like the author is trying to allow the reader to connect with Kyon on a more personal level by making him less a character in a story and more a familiar friend sharing a personal story. Of course, that makes for some confusing dialogue since his words are not differentiated from his inner thoughts. And even if we put parenthesis around his words, there are no ", said Kyon" or ", mumbled Kyon" like is found in most novels that I'm familiar with.

A solution that I believe will do nicely is to simply italicize Kyon's words throughout the novel. Thus, we are both maintaining the author's literary style and differentiating Kyon's words in a way not overly invasive of the original text.

--Baltakatei 00:48, 19 April 2006 (PDT)

That Kyon's dialogue isn't in parentheses, I took to mean that much of it was internal dialogue -- in effect, the only person Kyon is speaking to is the reader, as Kyon functions as narrator.

--Freak Of Nature 14:44, 19 April 2006 (PDT)

Not exactly. There are parts that make no sense if Kyon didn't say that line out loud. It goes something like this (just some random sentences).
A: "But this can't be true!!"
B: Well, this is what is happening now!
A: "I don't care!"
You can almost say that the point of view of the story changed briefly in that dialogue.
It is almost as if Kyon is talking to us, the reader, as well as the character inside the story.
The script is littered with this kind of dialogues.
--Thelastguardian 17:59, 19 April 2006 (PDT)


It seems like there are parts of each. Just reading through it, I didn't see it as a big deal, though. You can usually tell what is and isn't internal dialogue by context. Also, I think there are parts that are supposed to make the reader think that Kyon said them, which then are followed up by lines like, "Or that was what I would have said." This effect would be ruined if Kyon's dialogue was highlighted.
--Kumarei 0:53, 8 May 2006

Editor section

While there are many contributing users, some stand out more then others so I have added a editor section to show who has been contributing more then three times.

That is my take, but perhaps we need a discussion on how many edits and the quality of them, to determines who should be mentioned here?

Onizuka-gto 13:15, 20 April 2006 (PDT)

Standardlizing Script Format

Hello fellow Editors & contributors.

Lets open the debate on the topic of standardlize writing format.

While we all respect each translators scripting style, it has been general agreed by thelastguardian that it would be unwise for readers to experience different styles across each chapters, and he has suggested that a translater undertakes a volume each.

I personally find that this will only result in the same problems except it will be by volume to volume with each translators taking more time, and forcing the reader to take longer to change from one style to another as they will have grown familiar with each volume style.

I suggest we let the translators to get on with their jobs, and have the editors worry about it, let you lot standardlize it so that they will flow together.

lets find a compromise between all the translators styles, finding the easiest and less labour edit intense would be preferred.

I suggest those who have just recently join this projects, to read this thread at Animesuki.

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=31120

We are hoping to form some sort guideline by the end of this, so please debate here, or on the animesuki thread mentioned above.

thanks.

Onizuka-gto 04:42, 21 April 2006 (PDT)

Intriguing idea. I am of the same opinion, and, in fact, I was just opening a new section on Chapter 1's talk page for the discussion of odd-sounding phrases and how to make them sound more natural.
In any case, though, it would be a good idea to have some standard for editors. Some issues have already been brought up here, but there seems to have been little actual discussion about them.
--Ryukaiser 05:50, 21 April 2006 (PDT)

great.

But now where should we discuss this? I think it would be better if we have some sort of page to debate this, perhaps in this page is not a good idea, as i image it will be quite intense. on the other hand to discuss it on each chapter's indivdual page could lead to too many copies and transcripts to keep an eye on.

Why don't we take over the current events page to be the page for all debates from Editors & Translators on the formation of the guideline?

keep it all nice and tidy and allow this page to continues as a place for news and update information.

Why don't we move the points you have brought up already on chapter 01 and any other chapters that have these discussion to this page?

I've just sent a message to thelastguardian for his views before i do anything, but I don't really see any problems with it.

Onizuka-gto 07:08, 21 April 2006 (PDT)

I'm in favor of keeping discussion wadded up in one page. Also, I say let the translators translate. Each translator can be responsible for not deviating too far in style from one another. Baltakatei 01:55, 2 May 2006 (PDT)

Navigation

Question, should there be navigation for each chapter at the top and bottom? (Much like how I have navigation from the gallery to the main menu or to the Prologue chapter)
-- velocity7 20:33, 21 April 2006 EDT (GMT -4)

  • lastguardian has agreed to a unified format guideline page.

So lets get started on it! \(^o^)/

Onizuka-gto 19:50, 21 April 2006 (PDT)


IRC channel?

Should we have an IRC channel for realtime discussion? Might make things faster compared to relying on the AnimeSuki forums as well as the wiki discussion board. -- velocity7 19:54, 6 May 2006 EDT

Additional Complications

While it may seem like a simple solution with realtime discussion, not everyone is versed in IRC, or even bother with it, me included. I find it incredibly over complicated, and old, and i think that other users will also share my view.

If real-time is what you need, why don't you use something like MSN?

That is in my opinon a better compromise, as MSN also has a "chatroom" feature, but is alot more simple to access, for those who are not familiar with setting up on IRC.

Onizuka-gto 17:56, 6 May 2006 (PDT)

MSN doesn't let you idle 24/7 (or is bad at it), keep idiots out of the channel (especially since everyone is an "operator"), or do file transfers very well (8 KB/s limit, anyone?). Plus, I use Trillian, not the crappy MSN software that likes to pop-up every five seconds on my screen.

If you want to make IRC simple, we could always do Java IRC chatrooms. Just click and go. I can handle the "complicated" stuff that involves IRC channel moderation and such, if needed.

velocity7 22:11, 6 May 2006 (EDT)


Is real-time discussion really necessary?

From my prospective, more doesn't necessary mean better. I'm all for it if there is a real benefit in key areas that'll improve the project that the current system cannot provide.

At this moment I don't really see the justification, as not all Translators or certain Dedicated Editors are active every day.

While it is evident that certain discussions here do take their time to respond, I think its part of the Baka-Tsuki way, we don't take things so serious that we have the need to take this to real-time. Everyone has a chance to reflect on their response, and at the same time give the project an atmosphere of laid-back, and most important, that this is a fun venture, that people have taken the time to do.

Something I really like about Baka-Tsuki (^^)/

Or have I got this all wrong?

Onizuka-gto 19:37, 6 May 2006 (PDT)


Spacing

I'm wondering whether people would prefer to have the text in the chapters be double spaced. It seems to me that it might make it easier to differentiate seperate portions of the text, and just be more easily read altogether. I double spaced my edit of Vol. 2 Ch. 2 and I find it to be more presentable, however, I'd like to know other peoples' preference on the matter before performing any more editing of the chapters. Double spaced or single spaced?

--Nandeyanen 06:35, 18 June 2006 (PDT)

Ah, er, I just reverted your spacing change, not realizing you had done it as an example. I don't think it is necessary, but I'm willing to go for it if there is a clear consensus of the contributors. For reference, you can see Nandeyanen's version here.

--BlckKnght 07:31, 18 June 2006 (PDT)

I have also opened a topic to discuss this on the forums under the Unified Format Guidelines, which can be found here.

--Nandeyanen 09:52, 18 June 2006 (PDT)


Suggestions

This discussion has been moved to the forum.

you may continue on this thread

Hi, I'm Dony

I don't know what should i do with a wiki page like - editing. it is my first time i write a comment here. so i just want to give a huge credit to all of you who make this site full of interesting part, beside the story that is amazing, you updated so fast than a blink of an eye (too exagerating ?), no really, last week i checked, Suzumiya haruhi Vol 4 chapter 5 has just yet 25%, now you have already into chapter 6. a giant thankyou for you all who brought this amazing story to me. . . to us. P<^-^> keep up the good work guys, and may the world be more interesting with the present of SOS Dan.

Is it just me or did someone anonymous ass delete everything?

Somehow I think that is the case. I think its back to normal, restored to previous version...

Yes. DarkoNeko talk 04:43, 13 December 2006 (PST)

no title

Links to volume 6 missing in the TOC at the top
Is the link to volume 6 suppose to not be there? Keeps disappearing, 3/28/07
It's there for me, and according to the history it's never been edited... maybe it's just a MediaWiki foul-up? Smidge204 17:00, 28 March 2007 (PDT)
In 2,5 years of mediawiki, I've never heard of a TOC "non appaering title" bug. DarkoNeko talk 13:03, 29 March 2007 (PDT)

Suzumiya Haruhi Theatre

Though I'm not part of the project (and I probably don't qualify to be as I don't have the novel to translate), I was wondering something. Are the Suzumiya Haruhi Theatre things stories? If they are, will you translate them? They seem interesting.


Strato TL'ed the first Haruhi Theater, which is a special story of them stuck in an RPG game. Pretty wacky stuff seeing how he doesn't need to keep up with the plot. Should someone ask Strato if he wants his TL contributed to this site, or will someone else find both Haruhi Theaters and TL them? - John Smith

What is this suzumiya haruhi theatre thing? Question 01:09, 14 February 2007 (PST)Question

Naming of the esper organization

It seems theres a bit of inconsistency here. The anime fansubs and wiki article seems to be using "The Agency". The first 2 volumes use the "Organization", while the third book uses "Consortium". How about standardizing the term for all volumes? -- Question

Refer to the Unified Format Guidelines - we use "Organization" here. Smidge204 07:38, 7 February 2007 (PST)

So why does the third volume use a different term? Question 01:05, 14 February 2007 (PST)Question

Because someone was being a git. I'll change it back now... Smidge204 04:07, 14 February 2007 (PST)

Western Order?

What do you think about chaning everything to Western name order? Like, changing Suzumiya Haruhi to Haruhi Suzumiya? Let's discuss this... 74.116.137.2 17:18, 28 June 2007 (PDT)

Wouldn't that be better suited to the forums? Smidge204 18:18, 28 June 2007 (PDT)
I'll stick this on the forums . . . . . Jumpyshoes

Full-text version?

Hi~ Nice work! :D But is there a version I can download, or a full-text version? It'd be nice to be able to print it all out and read it as a book! Sorry, I'm new here.. don't know if such a thing is already available...

  • Clicking on the title of the book you want instead of a chapter will bring you to the full text version of that book. Once there, click "Printable version" on the sidebar under toolbox. It'll give you a page with just the text and pictures, without the fancy formatting. 99.250.41.226 00:28, 2 February 2008 (PST)

BACKUP?

Hi. I was just wondering if this incredible masterpiece project was backed-up or not somewhere. Would be scary if this wiki crashed and all the work gone to waste. Especially since I haven't had the time to read even a good fraction of the wonderful story :(

If not then we should start a back-up asap. I would also be happy to help in anyway possible. One method could/would be to copy and paste everything in a word document but I'm not sure about the copyrights law. OneiroPhobia, May 8, 2008


You can find a backup on the forum here:

http://www.baka-tsuki.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1534

212.219.159.230 07:07, 8 May 2008 (PDT)

Specific Section

I'm currently trying to find where exactly in these nine volumes Haruhi tells Kyon about when she was young, and her impressions of the baseball game she went to. I need it to check some things with a fan fiction I am currently working on, but for the life of me I cannot seem to find where the section is. If my explanation was unclear, I am looking for the segment where Haruhi tells Kyon about how she went to a baseball game and marveled at the number of people there, and how the number only represented a small fraction of the number of people in Japan. Thanks! :D --Saccharin 22:38, 26 May 2008 (PDT)

Edit, I found it by searching the full text versions, and looking for the keyword baseball. :) Saccharin 09:09, 28 May 2008 (PDT)

Completion?

Just curious, are all but volume nine completed? If this is not the case, what volumes are completely translated?


Well, I've read them all, and it seems that all volumes are completely translated, save Volume 9.

Something of little importance

...i would like to add to these vast amounts of comments my thanks for all the hard work you people put in to translating this stuff for us..haruiists...sure it has some bugs here and there, some mistyped words and a few grammatical errors but its better than hunting the translation of the raw material on google with millions of hits each one speculating the release of season 2 and not the actual translation...thanks...also for those of you who couldve been bothered to read up to this point, apparently there is a movie and season 2 coming out...announced by this guy (http://www.youtube.com/user/sealkidbrigaded123) just thought you guys wanted to know...if i am breaching the rules by posting something offensive or something that might seem inappropriate then delete this account i just created it to say thanks for the hard work...

Originals?

Do you have transcripts of the original Japanese text by any chance?


i also want to know this. -emoshunzzz 5.26.2009

I have the books 1 through 8 and the Theater in Japanese. Does anybody want me to post it here? Hellerick 15:38, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

U.S. Release?

Does anyone know if the (translated) novels were ever released in the US? And if so, where I can buy them? I would really like to have a hard copy of this novel. TY in advance. --68.173.155.76 18:38, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes, the first one is available now. YenPress is publishing it. I picked up a copy for 9 bucks for the sake of supporting the author, and it was very much worth it. Right now, I'm using this until the future volumes come out in America. (Lack of a signature: Anon Y. Mous)

    • The official American/English Language version of the novel is very much worth buying. The quality of the translation is naturally more consistent from cover-to-cover than you tend to see here on this site, no disrespect intended to the volunteers who have provided these unofficial translations. The hard-bound version looks and feels classy, has all of the illustrations (bw/colored), and just feels good to hold, read, and look at. The only downside is the lack of footnotes explaining cultural references, but I didn't find them to be all that necessary when I read it anyways. If there's something that goes over your head (which I doubt), there's always wikipedia. I highly recommend buying the official releases and supporting the publishers work; maybe it will spur the author to complete volume 10 to know he has an international audience willing to buy his books.

Blanked?

Looks like someone blanked the page. Could someone put it back or something? 24.77.27.166 22:51, 20 January 2010 (UTC)