Ginban Kaleidoscope:Volume1 Translator's Notes
Translation notes for Ginban Kaleidoscope Volume 1.
Dramatis Personae[edit]
What follows is the dramatis personae that was included on the inside cover flap.
Sakurano Tazusa – A sixteen-year-old figure skater. Blessed with beauty and promise, she is unpopular due to her high-handed personality and saying things without thinking.
Pete Pumps – A ghost that somehow came to possess Tazusa. Apparently, he’s sixteen.
Shitou Kyouko – The best skater in the country. Is fighting with Tazusa for the chance to be the Olympic representative of Japan.
Takashima Yuuji – Tazusa’s coach. A single guy with a gentle personality and a touch of nobility.
Sakurano Youko – Tazusa’s little sister and a menacing, precocious brat.
Honjou Mika – Tazusa’s best friend. She’s good at designing costumes.
Mishiro Yukie – Nicknamed “The Third Nasty.” The president of the Figure Skating Association.
Prologue[edit]
Senshu[edit]
A suffix used for athletes. Like many Japanese honorific suffixes, it doesn't translate well, but I think taking it out entirely would be unnecessary loss of context, so I'll leave it as is.
| Return to Main Page | Jump to Prologue |
Chapter 1[edit]
Sama[edit]
"Sama" is an honorific in Japanese that is a bit hard to translate. I would equate it with "Lady" or "Lord," in this case: "Lady Tazusa."
San[edit]
"San" is a neutral honorific used in Japanese, equivalent to "Mr." or "Miss" in English. Here, the Sister is calling Tazusa the equivalent of "Miss Sakurano."
Comics/Manga[edit]
The author sometimes uses "comics" (コミック) and sometimes "manga" (マンガ), so I will respect the distinction.
Shizuka-chan[edit]
I have no idea what this means, either. The book doesn't give any extra explanation for it. I assume, since Tazusa is super into anime and manga, that it's a character from an anime or manga.
| Return to Main Page | Jump to Chapter 1 |
Chapter 2[edit]
My position[edit]
Taken at face value, it sounds as if Pete is being an arsehole with this line. He's just making a dad joke about being dead.
119[edit]
One of the emergency numbers in Japan, used to call for fire and emergency medical services.
The Third Nasty[edit]
Tazusa has given this nickname to General Manager Mishiro because the kanji from her last name are written with the characters for "third" and "generation." 三代
junior[edit]
Junior is referring to the junior skaters rank (11-14 years old). Senior is 15+. Because Tazusa is sixteen, she's now a senior skater.
| Return to Main Page | Jump to Chapter 2 |
Chapter Three[edit]
Ow[edit]
This line in the Japanese version was originally in English, hence Tazusa's remark about it being "obviously a foreigner."
Edge into your foot[edit]
I felt like this was worth mentioning, as it can be hard for an outsider of the sport to understand. Similar to ballet, a figure skaters' feet are under high stress when they're practicing, for obvious reasons. Sometimes it can even feel like the blade is piercing their foot from inside the boot.
| Return to Main Page | Jump to Chapter 3 |
