Shinobu

Remember someone posting this picture?



In the background, we were guessing this was for the next issue, it turns out it is for the "prequel" to KnJ, the first grade year. You can tell because it has the flowers that Kuro put on Rin's head.

Kikiskeeter

I wonder if she is going to make this a side story that will run in this book if it becomes a monthly or reoccurring publication (maybe a quarterly special? It did look like they did a few of the Web comics in the book also.)

Ugetsu

The new blog pic that @Shinobu posted says

残暑おみまい
もうし
あげます

Zansho omimai
moushi
agemasu

Zansho means lingering heat or "late Summer"

She often makes a seasonal "card" ("Merry Christmas" etc.)

Newnonimous

@Kikster: I was thinking the exact same thing as you. Either way, this will finally reveal the true origins of Rin, Kuro, and Mimi. There's so much questions that I seek that coincide with the current chapters and perhaps this may finally answer all of it.

Like with Kingdom Hearts, they made a prequel to the first one and that game was not only really good but it answered a lot of questions about the series.

Ugetsu

From the little that we glimpsed, I was kind of shocked at just how BROKEN Rin was.

To think that she came back from there to be the enthusiastic leader that she is in recent chapters is just amazing.

Losing a parent is never easy, but when you are THAT young, and it's your ONLY parent, and in a way you feel responsible... in some ways she must have wanted to just shrivel up and die.

Actually that makes me wonder how Watashiya Kaworu can make this a light-hearted series.

Shinobu

There's this book that I saw at Book Off, it has all the 2000 kanji they are required to know when you graduate high school, and I'm thinking of getting it. It's a study guide, but even at Book Off it's $30.00. whew! If it were under $20.00, yeah, but $30?

I've always found it remarkable that in Japan, they have four writing systems, and even throw in English, and it works for them, well, sorta. There are people (Like Tsukasa Hiiragi) that have a hard time even reading the newspaper.

Ugetsu

@Shinobu, the one book I would not be without is Jack Halpern's "The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary." It's not arranged as a memorizing tool, but it works amazingly well to help you dig up the meaning and pronunciation of an unknown kanji. For example in the latest blog pic you posted, the calligraphy had CIRCLES for "atsu" hot -- and I knew those had to be squared, which allowed me to count the strokes. So you get a complicated kanji down to a formula like "four strokes on the left, seven strokes on the right" and actually there are a limited number of kanji that fit that pattern.

At any rate Halpern's book is $26.37 on Amazon.com, and shipping is free if you click the right button while ordering.

I have lots of other books but probably Halpern gets the most use.

Ugetsu

Yesterday (Jan 3) was Watashiya Kaworu's 39th birthday. This is her sideways birthday cake (it says KaWoRu)

Newnonimous

Oh wow that's great! Wherever you are Kaworu Watashiya I want to wish you a happy birthday and many thanks for Kodomo no Jikan!

Sigh, if only I could say all of that in Japanese.

Ugetsu

BS11 is a TV station and they are re-running the old anime series from years ago.

SO I think this is a vintage Rin and an ad for the TV reruns. On the blog she asks if it will have the "spinning NO" (i.e. is it censored) -- I suppose it would have to be.