Editing Hikaru ga Chikyuu ni Itakoro:Translator's Afterword (section)

====Volume 5 – Suetsumuhana====

Alright, everyone...hana, tul, set.

Okay, leaving the bad pun aside, the sudden break in mood here reflects what I felt in this volume as compared to the first four. Main symptom, of course, is the overload in harem antics, and the other girls are basically going “You’re not building any new flags with the other girls now.” The irony being that they don’t know that there is a new girl. Koremitsu, you see what you started...

To note however, all the harem antics in the volume involve Honoka...so much for the self-professed love expert. XD. It’s nice to see that she a maiden at heart though, working hard for her love, yet maintaining that tsundere presence until later on when she had to compete against Michiru for Koremitsu’s affections. It’s like the cool onee-chan bring such a klutz. How do you let yourself hey bluffed by a kid that’s about half your age?

With regards to Aoi, seeing her want to step out of her shell and start being independent, while everyone else is scared of letting her do so. It feels like the Princess being followed by everyone else, like every single adult worrying for a baby learning how to walk. Given that the exposition clearly describes Aoi as a doll, I guess this is how collectors feel about their Nendoroids. Girl just wants to learn how to be independent; you don’t have to worry about her adding salt instead of sugar...

Of course, Koremitsu just so happened to chance upon the place because he has the power of a protagonist, and the café just had to be the meeting place. You’ll notice that I had been omitting Beni till this point. That’s a reflection of her pecking order in this story when she’s supposed to be the heroine of this volume, though admittedly, she has too much self-esteem issues to actually take the initiative to approach Koremitsu.

I suppose, if Hikaru was the doing the date, he would be getting more than a slap than what Koremitsu got. It’s sad enough that the latter got slapped because he had to handle his harem, but if it were Hikaru, I guess poor Beni’s self-esteem would be worse than it was. This is a guy who had as many girls in his harem as there are pokemon in the Kalos dex, or more.

Girls that are mimosa-like are pretty common, and Beni here would be similar to how Aoi was (and way worse than Aoi in understanding commoner terms...I think she’ll fit in well in Seikain.) except for that !#/& nose. However, as a reader myself, I’ll recommend reading this for the key theme: establishing friendship.

To be brief (and blunt), I’ll say that most friendships are never equal because humans are created different. Look at the friendship between Koremitsu and Hikaru for example. The only similarity they have is that they’re lonely people. That’s it. They differ so much they it’s a wonder they’re friends. Now contrast the friendship the guys have to the friendship the girls have in this volume. Of course, what boys bond over should be different from girls, as far as my memories are concerned. Guys bonding over which girls we like...yup, nothing wrong with that.

Now that I mentioned boys friendship and unequal, let’s look at the girls. In this story, I do feel that the dynamics between Tayu and Beni is to be contrasted against Honoka and Michiru. The two girls are typically together, with Honoka as the feisty tsundere while Michiru is the subdued, reserved one. There are also similarities in other stuff like backgrounds and school standings, so compare the relationships, and do read through Michiru’s back story; it’s practically the same. However, the main difference I want to talk about is the difference between Tayu and Michiru, the supposed weaker ones in their respective friendships, and this I shall discuss further in their character discussion. Of course, I would specify the volumes 5, 8 and 10 that define the friendship between Honoka and Michiru. This is act 1, of course.

When working on this volume, the main BGM I had, especially at the end, was the classic ‘Graduation’ (Friends Forever) by Vitamin C. Obviously, nobody graduated in this volume, but the nostalgia and positive vibe I got from the song really gives me hope that the friendship between Beni and Tayu will be long lasting. There’s a first for everything you experience, and there’s always a first friend to make. That friend will always be special.

And now, the topic that’s always a hit between guys.

Wooing girls.

Looking at Koremitsu’s attempts to woo girls in the story, I look back at my own experience (yes, one. *looks away*). Koremitsu just does not have the aptitude Hikaru had, primarily because of looks. At the same time however, after my one (obviously failed) attempt to do so, I realize that it’s better to just be yourself rather than be something you’re not (Koremitsu accumulated his own harem through his own dorky personality, not by what he did in the Drama CD, and the process and results were excruciatingly amusing. (My own experience was just 15 minutes of trying to talk to a girl, and then I realized I’m too kuu and absolutely not a talker to go about doing this)

Also, to state something that’s really obvious: not everyone is Hikaru. Most of us aren’t blessed with good looks and charm that results in dating experiences most other guys can only dream of, and certainly not to the extent that one can profess to be an expert in love and actually back it up. Either Hikaru’s really oblivious to his talent, or that he was trolling Koremitsu for the fun of it. I hope it’s the latter (ah who am I bluffing. Blame the author)

On a side note, I find it amusing that the only time Koremitsu didn’t flub his lines was when Asa-chan appeared. Textbook example of a gap moe when the flashback was revealed (and I’ll always mention it if I know of this to keep trolling her over and over again. Kukuku). If Asa-chan knows of Tohko Amano’s or Shizuku’s existence...

With the drama at the end of the volume, we now turn to take on the mid-boss, Psyco Gundam-like queen of ice. Gap moe, here we come...