Kamidu

Poking Around Pt 81

Added 2019-12-10 20:21:11 +0000 UTC

Cue the Act Clear theme from Sonic 3; it’s done!!

The Carmen Sandiego-style edutainment by exposition ends here, so stuff will start happening again; drawing and trying to account for speech bubbles for so long has made me a bit lazy composition-wise. Thank you so very much to everyone for funding this comic throughout this year. A lot’s changed in 23 parts but it’ll all tie together soon enough.

Here’s to 2020 and what it brings. Meanwhile, enjoy the TL notes below for the stuff that isn’t so obvious:

TL Notes

“Outdated American university trauma/ that fraternity anyway”: Being a British teenager in the early 2000s and just out of school meant being exposed to a lot of American media centred on colleges/ university. One of the strangest things that took me a really long time to understand was the idea of fraternities and sororities. From what I can piece together, they’re like some sort of exclusive club (usually gender-specific) that only a few college-goers can join after enduring/surviving some tests called hazing. The friendships made can lead to certain benefits/advantages later in life (like employment connections), which personally, I find a bit nepotistic. However, the practice of hazing has changed somewhat due to notable examples sometimes ending tragically, and also due to how social trends have changed. Someone more knowledgeable than I about American college experiences can elaborate more if they wish.
“Not even if the stars align”: Referring to A sports drama anime that caused quite a stir at the time of production due to it lightly examining certain social issues… Originally, it was a reference to a manga I got whilst on holiday.
“Saved her school’s music club from getting K’O-ed”: A subtle reference to outlining the initial plot for this.
違う: chigau (incorrect)
“… But if you’re in South Korea, aigō”: Referring to the meteoritic rise and global popularity of South Korean pop music the past decade or so, as documented here. Aigō is the Korean equivalent of a sigh or the sound of surprise like “Oh! I just missed my bus!”
“What he doesn’t get from the Sumo Association”: What Odagawara is referring to is the 稽古場経費 keikobakeihi, a subsidy each sumo coach receives for the upkeep of a wrestler, per wrestler, in his stable. The prize money each sumo receives for winning a bout is a combination of both Government funds and sponsorship money from benefactors, businesses and Patrons. This amount is huge if you become and retain your position as yokozuna (grand champion).
Banbank: A portmanteau of this equine creature (whose Japanese name is partially derived from 輓馬 banba or draft horse) SoftBank, an enormous multinational conglomerate. Despite the name they’re not an actual financial bank, but they deal with telecommunications and technology predominantly in Southeast Asia, though they’ve rapidly expanded internationally in recent years.
Zynogames: A portmanteau of one of the most recognisable Monster Hunter… monsters, and this video games company.
Vis-à-vis Media: A portmanteau of the French term meaning “face to face” and one of the biggest anime and manga licensors in the world (alternate link for information available here for those outside the US; this company is notorious for geo-blocking) Not to be confused with ViZ the adult comic magazine (UK equivalent of MAD Magazine)
ポケモン: This should be obvious!
異世界 : isekai meaning parallel universe/fantasy world.
エロ可愛い: erokawaii meaning cute and… yeah, not going to finish that sentence.
“It worked for Hawaii and Mongolia, after all”: A reference to the fact the first foreigner to compete in professional Japanese sumo was actually a Hawaiian, Konishiki Yasokichi (originally named Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e) back in the 1980s. One of the most successful foreign yokozuna (sumo grand champion) was a Mongolian, Asashōryū Akinori (originally named Dolgorsürengiin Dagvadorj). I had watched an amazing documentary about foreigners competing in professional sumo, including the aforementioned, one of which you can view here. The other is here. I found them very illuminating.
“Duck bearing onions and all”: Bit of a loaded reference this. 鴨葱 Kamonegi is an abbreviation of the Japanese saying 鴨が葱を背負って来る, literally translating to "a duck comes bearing bunching onions". As a saying, it means "something surprising but convenient". Written like this: カモネギ Kamonegi is Farfetch’d’s Japanese name.
“Weighty 81”: Reference to an infamous game of the late 2010s, notable for its shortcomings and disappointing many a crowd-funder. There’s a pretty good video that summarises it. I too felt a bit weighed down producing this 81st page… and how oddly meta it was getting…