Integra: Straighten up and give your report, Police Girl.
Seras: Sorry, sir.
It’s just…it’s pouring and I’ve been out all night…and I’m soaked and…
…Captain Bernadette…
Integra: Say no more.
Posts from January 2005
Doujinshi-Ka’s Inbox: Japanese
Oh, one that I forgot – hentai. A very important one, because Hirano-san used to draw hentai manga. (It means “perverted”, i.e. pornography.)
This strip is especially for my foreign readers, and for those of you who aren’t into manga/anime in general as much as some fans.
Email: I’m from Germany, and for that I don’t understand every single word. But there’s one word I can’t find in any dictionary: “bishounen.”
Email: How come in manga (usually) they call people by their names, then with a weird ending?
Erin-hime no Ai no Otaku-Japanese Guide Punch!
For starters:
Shounen means boy and shoujo means girl. You can get a lot from those two. For example, shounen manga (like Hellsing) is manga specifically targeted at boys. Bishounen are pretty boys (usually the long-haired feminine type.)Bishoujo are, likewise, pretty girls. And shoujo manga like (Sailor Moon) is for girls. And shounen-ai (boy love) is male/male relationships. Less common is shoujo-ai.
Yaoi is used to refer to m/m porn, but yuri is used for anything with f/f relationships, no matter what the rating.
As for suffixes, they go after names in Japanese to denote degrees of respect. The most common:
Alucard-san: The standard respectful form of address.
Seras-chan: More familiar, used when addressing a friend or someone younger.
Walter-kun: A bit less familiar than -chan. Also, more commonly used to address males.
Integra-sama: Used to show a very high degree of respect. (Equivalent to “Sir Integra.”)
Pip-[blank]: Not using a suffix at all is only used to be every familiar. Say, between a married couple.
A few other words that you’ll see among otaku (anime/manga fans):
Kawaii – Cute
Chibi – Little. Specifically, those miniature figures with big heads are called “chibis.”
Sugoi! – Wow!/Amazing!
Baka – Stupid
Nani? – What?
Neko – Cat
Sayonara – That’s all, folks!
Cats Are People Too 2/54
Seras: Sir Integra! Officer Victoria, ready to report!
[yawn]
[nok nok][rub rub]
[swish]
[smooth smooth]
[flick]Integra: Come in.
Seras (thinking): She’s been up all night too! How has she not lost any of that poise?
Cats Are People Too 1/54
[SLAM]
Walter: Oh my…You look like something the cat dragged in.
Seras: It’s raining.
Walter: Rain? In England? My word.
Seras: Grr…
Walter: Don’t worry; we’re used to it.
The Trouble With Puritanism 18/18
(In case you’re wondering: this got an A.)
Later that night…
Seras: Do you think that we learned anything from that whole mess?
Pip: Oh, sure! Without a doubt!
Seras: Really? What?
Pip: Never experiment with strange religions unless you have adult supervision.
[snicker!]
[Limited release complete. See you next time!] [That means “the end.”]
The Trouble With Puritanism 17/18
Anderson: Lemme at ‘im! I’ll cut out ‘is profane black heart!
Integra: Walter, kindly arrange for transportation to get the Iscariot Organization members gone from my country. And then let’s get out of these ridiculous outfits.
Walter: Yes, sir.
Pip: Can I watch?
Seras: No.
The Trouble With Puritanism 16/18
Integra: No, Puritanism wilted because it was superstitious, sexist, and strict. We’re stopping that now.
Alucard? Do your thing.
Alucard: I have been waiting all day for you to say that.
Doujinshi-Ka’s Inbox: Will you link to my site after I plagiarized from you?
This site is now defunct, and thank goodness for that.
“Like a WHAT?”
I got some questions about the hamburger thing, understandably…It’s something my history taught us last year regarding the English succession to the throne around this time. Chronology: start at the bottom and move upward.
James I / Charles I / Oliver Cromwell (because he was the “meat” of the revolution) / Charles II / James II / The Glorious Revolution (so called because nobody died in it — nobody even got hurt!) / William & Mary
The Trouble With Puritanism 15/18
Integra: As I was saying..This farce ends here. There is a reason why Puritanism wilted as it did.
Yumiko: Well, yes…the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658 and the subsequent restoration of the Anglican Stuart dynasty to the throne two years later.
Integra: Besides that.
Heinkel: How does a Japanese nun living in Rome know something like that?
Yumiko: I had the greatest world history teacher. Did you know that the list of rules in England in that period is like a hamburger…?