Ep18: Special Radio
Wow, I totally saw that coming… anyway, I found this episode dull seeing as that girl was just an idiot not to think of that.
Anyway, I guess the title IS significant, like I explained in the last episode’s notes. The fact that it uses “レディ” instead of “ラジ” points to the hidden lady that is at the core of the radio show – i.e. Yume.
09:32 Broadcasting club – in Japan, there are a ton of clubs you can join in school, and usually membership starts at the beginning of the year, i.e. April. Here, however, the girls are asking Hamano to join the club even in the middle of the year due to her popularity.
16:39 Nice leaves.
21:49 Purple Moon. Tell me if that’s significant – I bet it has some significance in Chinese/Japanese mythology/religion.
24:46 “Snow, Moon, Flowers” is a literal translation of this title – according to my Japanese dictionary, this refers to the differing beauty in the four seasons (the dictionary does not explain what represents summer), and comes from a line in a Chinese poem (“雪月花時最憶君”). It’s since been loved and used often in Japanese poetry, notably in the Manyoushuu (万葉集).
Oh and I acknowledge there has been significant delay recently. I apologize. Weekends have been busy, so my usual slot for JSM translation (Saturday evenings) were always full, forcing me to find random, shorter blocks of time during the week.
Yeah, this one was pretty weak. It’s a little strange that the whole show turned out to be scripted — DJs, talk show hosts and such usually do a fair bit of ad-libbing. And it’s weird how Yume and Frog Princess kept saying “completely scripted” all the time as if to rub it in. But I’m guessing Chi-chan, in her incredible naivety, would have had the same reaction to any kind of script.
What saved this episode for me was Ai and Kikuri being fans of the show. That was priceless. And I’m actually glad there was no damnation sequence this week — it’s the most undeserving victim in a while and we didn’t need to see Ai’s bunch mess with her.
Nifty observation about the title. But why is “ra-ji-o” the standard, anyway? Is it just easier for Japanese-speakers to say?
Rajio is the standard because there is no “di” sounds in Japan; typing in “di” gives out ヂ which is pronounced “ji” anyway.
It took me until near the end of the episode to figure out that Ai was a fan of the radio show, but I still thought it was adorable. :3