Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance

[Mizuho]

Also what's the probability that the Fake-Ren Ashbell is Claire's elder sister?

Well, that's what people are speculating based on the clues left. But I guess there should be more to that.

Spoiler! :

If I had to spoil it, it's 100%. The obvious way to know that without reading is to look at the description for Ren Ashbell/Cardinal given in volume 4, chapter 7 and compare it with this picture of Rubia: http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index ... 09_001.jpg.

[Hiyono]

There are other things that similarly "give it away". But it's hard to tell if it's a red herring, or if it's a zomg-Senator-Palpatine-is-the-Emperor "surprise plot twist".

[soranokira]

@chancs: while I agree, seems like it'd be changed since the 'official' term for seirei used is elemental.
also, wonder who that hi-spec'd char is. I haven't read that far ._.

[Greed]

amm i still dreaming . i woked up and here i saw volume 4 complete ... i pinch myself twice but i still cant believe. i should read it now then sleep then reread just to make sure it real lol

[Hiyono]

Besides the fact that people don't "feel" the term Elemental, which until proven otherwise, I will attribute to an issue of familiarity more than anything else, can we get a real rationale for why "spirit" is preferable?

[Cthaeh]

Since there was a prompt for rationales on elemental vs spirit, my perspective as a reader:

Spoiler! :

I think some of my preference ("spirit" > "elemental") is certainly the familiarity issue. That said, I did read some of the updated text and was surprised that the change didn't distract me too much. But I do also have another rationale for my preference. For me personally, the term 'elemental' brings to mind an image of a creature who's body is composed of that particular element (ie a water elemental is a mass of water, an earth elemental is made of rocks/dirt). My image of the elementals/spirits of STnBD is that their typical state is a more normal appearance (ie a cat), with some minor characteristics, such as coloring, indicating its elemental affiliation. My perspective on the term 'elemental' also makes things like 'sword elemental' or 'demon mirror elemental' seem awkward, since it makes it sound like 'sword' and 'mirror' are one of the elements. In comparison, for me, the word 'spirit' doesn't call a very specific image to mind, only that it's a supernatural being. So, for me, it is a more natural term to use for things that appear in a diverse number of normal'ish forms (ie cats and girls) and with non-primary-element affiliations ('sword', 'mirror', etc).

Though that reason can still be considered an issue of "feel" as Hiyono said, since it depends on my personal mental image for those terms. But I don't think there is really a definitive rationale for choosing the terms should be used in a fantasy setting, since you're always effectively giving the term a new definition for that setting. For this change though, I believe the main driver was the few references/images containing "Bladedance of Elementaler" that were linked previously? I acknowledge that the official terminology is a good standard to use, though the instances I saw/found were still few enough that I think you could say it hasn't been well defined if you wanted to. Given the fact that the spirit -> elemental changes have already been made in all (? or at least most) of the chapters, I'm not really advocating changing it back; I just wouldn't be disappointed if the contributors on the series came to the decision to change it back.

(ugh.. this ended up being a long post saying nothing of consequence)

[Oldgemguy]

Since there was a prompt for rationales on elemental vs spirit, my perspective as a reader:
My perspective on the term 'elemental' also makes things like 'sword elemental' or 'demon mirror elemental' seem awkward, since it makes it sound like 'sword' and 'mirror' are one of the elements. In comparison, for me, the word 'spirit' doesn't call a very specific image to mind, only that it's a supernatural being. So, for me, it is a more natural term to use for things that appear in a diverse number of normal'ish forms (ie cats and girls) and with non-primary-element affiliations ('sword', 'mirror', etc).

Was re-reading the series and noticed the Spirit > Elemental change - and you summed up exactly what makes it somewhat.. odd to read. A Mirror Spirit sound fine - but a Mirror Elemental? Sword Elemental? It just sounds off compared to 'Sword Spirit'. For the most part its fine though - Elementalist sound a bit better than 'Spirit Contractor' to me.

[chancs]

@chancs: while I agree, seems like it'd be changed since the 'official' term for seirei used is elemental.
also, wonder who that hi-spec'd char is. I haven't read that far ._.

Official term in the sense where? Was it announced? Just curious.

[KuroiHikari]

@chancs: while I agree, seems like it'd be changed since the 'official' term for seirei used is elemental.
also, wonder who that hi-spec'd char is. I haven't read that far ._.

Official term in the sense where? Was it announced? Just curious.

Look for zzhk's post within the recent pages. Official in author's intention sense

[Mizuho]

In regards to spirit VS elemental, I have simply opted to use spirit anywhere there is not an explicit "elemental" or other derivative of it indicated using furigana. It works out quite well considering the author doesn't actually label anything with elemental other than Elemental Waffe(n) or Elemental Lords. I find it convenient because it doesn't annoy the crap out of me that I'm typing gibberish and it doesn't really conflict with what the author is writing (I consider the cover thing loosely binding).

[soranokira]

My own take regarding the difference between spirit and elemental is the fact that the seirei in the series are relatively spiritual in nature since they 'originate' (or something along those lines, I can't remember the exact words used.) from something like a spiritual plane. Alternatively, we could also add in a note at the start saying spirit = elemental and can be interchangeable based on the situation in terms of localization, especially when it comes to sword spirit vs sword elemental and such.
In fact, seirei can also somewhat be Mana (due to Ar Tonelico series's influence), although that still is an issue when it comes to sword mana. (also mana sounds like mp)

[chancs]

a new chapter

hurrreeeyyyy.

[SXIII]

Yey! At current rate volume 5 might get finished by the end of March! Cheers to all of you translators!

[Aurega]

As a proofreader and a fantasy enthusiast, i have to say I'm very against changing every instance of "spirit" to "elemental".

In English, the word elemental refers to "A supernatural entity or force thought to be physically manifested by occult means." when used as a noun, but the problem is that in literature, they are often referred as a primaeval force without much intellect, much like a golem.
Plus, "sword elemental" sounds stupid.

I would suggest to use the term "Elemental Spirit", but shorten it to "spirit" in speech and casual use.

[Hiyono]

I'd say it's something of an over-generalization to say that elementals are generally regarded as "without intellect". Consider this:

"In Britain names include Fairies, Elves, Devas, Brownies, Leprechauns, Gnomes, Sprites, Pixies, Banshees, Goblins, Dryads, Mermaids, Trolls, Dragons, Griffins, and numerous others."

That said, I will agree that names such as "sword elemental" sound pretty odd as well as add in that the "elemental spirit" shortening sounds good to me too.