I hold in my hot little hands volume 2 of this work. At the end of volume 1, it says (1) end, but at the end of volume 2, it just says end. So it's probably only two volumes long, but that's not certain.

It is stated to be finished 2 volumes manga, but as it supposedly ended in january 2015, I guess there is still a chance for 3 volume if the manga is popular enough?

If it is just two volumes long, is it yuri? Het? Yaoi? I haven't actually tried to read the second volume, but just looking at it I can't tell that any couples are forming. The three girls do have some interaction with the three boys and occasionally one on one, but there doesn't seem to be any new couples.

Well that would fit with the title I supposed. As I said it was labeled as just shoujo, without either yuri/yaoi/romance tags, even before it was translated, so I wouldn't be surprised if it did end without any couples.

On the very last page, (big spoiler, giant spoiler, I'm not kidding!) Chizuru (the MC's most likely yuri love interest) says "I haven't got a boyfriend yet during summer break! Hmmm. So if it's just two volumes, it doesn't seem like yuri or het to me. But if there's going to be more, then we don't know yet.

I hope it just end here if it going to tease us like that. Honestly I prefer subtext yuri story than actual het. If she is going to write no yuri, she could do better job and not make us feel like we read one of her standard yuri works >.>

last edited at Sep 24, 2015 7:14PM

I think if it continues it will have a different name, cause the title is "Let's start with a friend" and perhaps the progression would take us beyond friends.

Just letting anyone who's interested know, Turtleduck Scanlations has released the 7th chapter of "Let's Start with a Friend." That finishes volume 1. It's not up on batoto yet, but it can be downloaded from http://turtleduck.org/lets-start-with-a-friend/

And it seems like maybe you have to log into batoto to read anything anymore?

Let's Start with a Friend

Why do people use the Engrish titles...

Gulf Standard

Let's Start with a Friend

Why do people use the Engrish titles...

Cos it is still english? Same thing with people preferring Attack on Titan over Shingeki no Kyojin.

Nevri

Cos it is still english?

I thought it was Spanish personally.

Nevri:
Same thing with people preferring Attack on Titan over Shingeki no Kyojin.

Which is clearly the name of a story about invading Saturn's moon, not fighting giants. Why would people localizing to a language let someone with a clearly imperfect understanding of it dictate to them?

What it really put me in mind of was the Kiarostami film that English releases insist on calling Where Is the Friend's Home. Also I hate that movie.

Gulf Standard

Why would people localizing to a language let someone with a clearly imperfect understanding of it dictate to them?

If I'm not mistaken in both cases the author did the english translation themself as kinda official english one in their mind. And since the original author made a official translation of their tittle, rest just rolled with it (regardless of it quality).

I'll tell you on one of my scanlations I wish I could have gone with the artists version of "Our Last Season" instead of the literally translated official English title "The Last Uniform." In this case the artist understood the nuances very well while the common title doesn't really make much sense. But it was already there, so I was stuck with it.

Edit: I actually thought Attack on Titan was an assault on Saturn's moon until the doujins on this site made me suspicious and I finally looked it up.

last edited at Nov 4, 2015 3:07AM

Nevri
If I'm not mistaken in both cases the author did the english translation themself as kinda official english one in their mind. And since the original author made a official translation of their tittle, rest just rolled with it (regardless of it quality).

I know. I'm not criticizing the author for not knowing better, or the readers for using the title they're given. I'm criticizing translators who are paid to bring a work into English and present it with a nonsense title that makes it harder to take the work seriously.

Yuri Girl 1001
I'll tell you[...]

I thought The Last Uniform was definitely the right way to go there, if for no other reason than the congruence with The Last Unicorn (which I've never read actually). Some author titles are certainly good and theirs is obviously an important point of view to take into account, but if there's a blatant misunderstanding there it's just laziness to ignore it. The Otsu title at least fits the series thematically, so it's understandable why they might keep it. Completely different story from the awful Attack of the Titans title (was that so hard?).

Donald Keene, one of the more famous Japanese-English translators, told a story about translating Abe Kōbō's novel Midori iro no sutokkingu to English. "Sutokkingu" could be either singular or plural, so he asked Abe whether the English title should be The Green Stocking or The Green Stockings. Abe said, "That's your problem, not mine."

As a not Japanese speaking person, I kinda prefer knowing what the title means, even if the translation isn't grammatically correct

Thiron

As a not Japanese speaking person, I kinda prefer knowing what the title means, even if the translation isn't grammatically correct

That is the point. With "Let's start with friend" it is kinda correct, but "Attack on Titan" is blatant mistake. This is not what original title means at all.

Thiron:
As a not Japanese speaking person, I kinda prefer knowing what the title means, even if the translation isn't grammatically correct

I'm not suggesting things not have titles, I'm suggesting they should have titles that actually make sense.

Nevri
With "Let's start with friend" it is kinda correct

"Tomodachi kara hajimemashou" is the equivalent of the English phrase "We'll start out as friends," in other words leaving open the possibility of a future romantic relationship. Now since Otsu rendered this instead as "start with a friend" and the story in fact is about people trying to make friends, you might conceivably imagine she was playing off that stock phrase and actually intends it as something like "You can start off [on trying to be more social] by making a few friends." Still, as an interpretation this is rather far-fetched and I'm skeptical whether the Japanese can actually mean that. Though since by all indications the series is complete at two volumes, the more common sense wouldn't quite seem to fit either.

Since this is the Otsu Hiyori thread and I haven't really talked about the mangaka herself, I should say a few words about her. She's the best. Okay glad that's taken care of

Gulf Standard

"Tomodachi kara hajimemashou" is the equivalent of the English phrase "We'll start out as friends," in other words leaving open the possibility of a future romantic relationship.

I know that. That is why I said it is kinda correct since it can seem off at first glance. Whatever Hiyori meant it that way or it was just bad translation on her part, it still fits into story. Tomodachi kara hajimemashou indeed indicated possibility of future relationship, but as literal translation it does just mean "let's start from friends". Story is about not making a lover, but making a friend first, so I'm willing to give it a free pass (unlike Attack on Titan, that is just plain wrong). Also as you mentioned it has only 2 volumes and seems to end without any couple forming, so again "starting with friend" doesn't seem to be that off.

Since this is the Otsu Hiyori thread and I haven't really talked about the mangaka herself, I should say a few words about her. She's the best. Okay glad that's taken care of

She is awesome and my personal favorite (along with Takemiya). That is why it suck so much that she decided to stop writing yuri >.>

Nevri:
I know that.

Yeah I figured, just stating it for general benefit.

I do think the distinction in the title is important since (haven't seen the 2nd volume but assuming nothing drastic changes from the first) it would indicate that at least some among the leads are gay. In the first volume the two key relationships are both same-gender, and the "start from friends" formulation does assume basic romantic interest.

It was announced she'd stop doing yuri?! O_o

Or it's just her latest story isn't really yuri, but she will eventually do some more?

Nya-chan

It was announced she'd stop doing yuri?! O_o

Or it's just her latest story isn't really yuri, but she will eventually do some more?

In afterword of her last series she said she wants to distance herself from yuri and do other stories. Hence Tomodachi kara hajimemashou which is her newest work.

last edited at Nov 4, 2015 11:45AM

Aww, that's bad news. I'm glad she can have success doing what she wants though, rather than fade into obscurity or be forced to do projects she doesn't like.

Nevri:
In afterword of her last series she said she wants to distance herself from yuri and do other stories.

Where was this?

Thats sad news for yuri fans. I love all her yuri works

I don't think she will stop making yuri, probably just want to try other types of stories, of course we can't be sure since Tomodachi kara hajimemashou is her first non yuri work, so I guess she will either do stories without romance but with a little subtext or het romance that may have some yuri side couple, as we don't even need googles to see subtext in Tonodachi, it kind makes me doubt she's able to make a story that don't feel yurish or without a side couple...

Gulf Standard

Nevri:
In afterword of her last series she said she wants to distance herself from yuri and do other stories.

Where was this?

I could swear somebody mention it and I checked and found it, but when I wanted to find it again now, it wasn't in any of afterwords. Now I'm not sure if that person was mistaken or I really just can't find it. I'd prefer to be proven wrong of course as that would mean more yuri for us.

(Totally forgot to respond, so sorry for late one xD")

Her most recent comments I can find are from 2011, where she states she'd "like to draw all sorts of yuri stories." And frankly if she was making a conscious effort to move away from yuri, Otomodachi kara Hajimemashou wasn't an especially good attempt at it. The more pressing question might be whether anyone still publishes the kind of yuri Otsu writes.

Gulf Standard

And frankly if she was making a conscious effort to move away from yuri, Otomodachi kara Hajimemashou wasn't an especially good attempt at it.

Yea, it was giving me a real headache since OKH is just as gay as her other works.

last edited at Nov 15, 2015 10:05PM

Gulf Standard

And frankly if she was making a conscious effort to move away from yuri, Otomodachi kara Hajimemashou wasn't an especially good attempt at it.

Yea, it was giving me a real headache since OKH is just as gay as her other works.

It's so unconsciously gay I thought it was yuri and yaoi...