Forum › Shuukura Web Novel Discussion (A Story About Buying a Classmate Once a Week)
You know, isn't it funny that Miyagi has more close friends than Sendai? It depends on how you count 'close friend' of course, but I think you need some level of emotional intimacy for it to count.
another one
"―― The spot next to Sendai-san belongs to me."
Ooh, Miyagi is starting to get possessive.
How I would love to get Maika's pov of them bumping into each other in the hallway. I wonder if it looked as awkward to her and the others as it seemed while I was reading it because that was some seriously suspicious behavior from both of them. She obviously noticed something as she asked Miyagi if she had upset Sendai because of how she acted.
another one
Nice!
Somehow I missed Miyagi's little possessive thought "The spot next to Sendai-san belongs to me." during my read of the MTL. Don't worry Miyagi...in the future it won't just be the spot next to Sendai that belongs to you... all of Sendai will belong to you.
Holy shit, so I'm not the only one who does this? It's honestly nice knowing that haha. I sometimes spend an unhealthy amount of time imagining various happy scenarios for these two lovesick chickens. I'm sure it still means I'm a massive weirdo but at least I'm not the only one. No offense to you of course, not that I'm saying you're a weirdo. It's good seeing you and himi here, just found this forum today. Really annoying that the comment section over on the MTL hasn't been working in a while. Been looking for somewhere else to discuss the story. Also the subreddit you mentioned unfortunately isn't very active at all. It's usually just me and like one or two other people posting chapter discussions that never really go anywhere lol.
It's ok...I know I'm a massive weirdo. Less frustrating versions of those silly girls are always invading my stray thoughts and doing super mushy romantic stuff together. Like Miyagi giving a tired Sendai a back massage and telling her how soft and beautiful her skin is...as if such a caring and straightforward Miyagi could exist!!
Yeah the comment problems on Story Seedling has convinced me to permanently abandon that translation of Shuukura. It's silly that I was paying for such a crappy MTL when I can throw the raws into ChatGPT and get a better result. ChatGPT doesn't have Sendai's father randomly show up like Story Seedling's MTL does.
How I would love to get Maika's pov of them bumping into each other in the hallway. I wonder if it looked as awkward to her and the others as it seemed while I was reading it because that was some seriously suspicious behavior from both of them. She obviously noticed something as she asked Miyagi if she had upset Sendai because of how she acted.
There's been several times I've thought "no way Maika doesn't know after that" but then the next time we see her there's no indication that she does. Heteronormativity is a powerful force and I've come to believe that Maika, Mio, and others will not put 2 and 2 together unless Miyagi and Sendai tell them they're a couple. Well except maybe for Noto since it appears she might have a working gaydar.
But I really hope we one day get Maika finding out and then going "holy shit...all that stuff makes so much sense now! I missed so many obvious signs!". Of course that'll probably never happen but I'll keep dreaming.
last edited at Aug 27, 2024 10:49AM
Ch. 349 is up: https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054894027232/episodes/16818093083486023290
Well it's nice that Miyagi finally relented and agreed to go to a festival with Sendai but I wish she'd also agree to renting yukatas too. That'd be super cute and Sendai would love it.
Ch. 349 is up: https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054894027232/episodes/16818093083486023290
Well it's nice that Miyagi finally relented and agreed to go to a festival with Sendai but I wish she'd also agree to renting yukatas too. That'd be super cute and Sendai would love it.
Do you have a link you can give me that explains how to do the whole translating with chat GPT thing? I don't want you to have to go through the trouble of typing it all out and explaining it so if there's just some site I could check out that would explain it that would be awesome. I'm still one of the dummies paying for chapters over on story seedling. And I also would love nothing more than to not have to see Sendai's dad randomly showing up in the story anymore. Btw, it's me ShulgisDisciple from reddit, in case you hadn't figured that out already.
Ch. 349 is up: https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054894027232/episodes/16818093083486023290
Well it's nice that Miyagi finally relented and agreed to go to a festival with Sendai but I wish she'd also agree to renting yukatas too. That'd be super cute and Sendai would love it.
Do you have a link you can give me that explains how to do the whole translating with chat GPT thing? I don't want you to have to go through the trouble of typing it all out and explaining it so if there's just some site I could check out that would explain it that would be awesome. I'm still one of the dummies paying for chapters over on story seedling. And I also would love nothing more than to not have to see Sendai's dad randomly showing up in the story anymore. Btw, it's me ShulgisDisciple from reddit, in case you hadn't figured that out already.
Copy the Japanese text from the chapter.
Go to https://chatgpt.com/ and type "translate to English:[paste JP text here]"
Volume 2 interlude.
To my knowledge, Story Seedling doesn't do interludes or volume extras, right?
Volume 2 interlude.
To my knowledge, Story Seedling doesn't do interludes or volume extras, right?
Yes that's all new to me! Thanks for the translation!
So now we get to see this scene from Sendai's POV huh? It's definitely up there on the list of scenes I'd like from the other POV too so it was fun to read.
She would lick my ears, tie my hands up with a necktie, and call me indecent, but that was the extent of it.
Lmao that sounds funny as hell out of context. Sendai are you a masochist?
「… Do you really want me to undress that badly?」
「Yeah. If you stay like that any longer, you’re going to end up catching a cold.」
A rare honest Miyagi: "Yeah you're pretty and I want to see you with your clothes off. What of it?". I know that's not what she actually meant but this is the funnier option.
Her eyes were fixated on my soaked blouse, and I had a feeling I knew what she was going to do next.
I've begun to notice Sendai often catches Miyagi seemingly ogling her chest. And it's clear from Miyagi's POV that she doesn't realize she's doing it.
I had a good reason for obeying her order.
If I didn’t take off my wet school uniform soon, I was bound to catch a cold, so getting changed was necessary.
It was, without a doubt, the right thing to do.
「I didn’t bring a spare change of clothes today.」
I said to Miyagi, who still hadn’t taken her eyes off me, but it felt more like I was saying it to convince myself that I was doing the right thing.
Back when Sendai was still trying to justify getting into compromising situations with Miyagi. Nowadays she doesn't think twice about it being right or wrong and makes zero excuses.
Wow Sendai sure was horny in that second half. It was enlightening to get that scene from her POV because I had imagined Sendai was just kinda putting up with Miyagi. She was about to lose her mind from how her arousal was quickly spiraling out of control.
Copy the Japanese text from the chapter.
Go to https://chatgpt.com/ and type "translate to English:[paste JP text here]"
Well that was easy. Awesome, thanks.
Ch. 350 is up: https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054894027232/episodes/16818093083926429032
Sendai: "Let's go out to eat."
Miyagi: "Don't want to."
Sendai: "Let's wear yukata to the festival."
Miyagi: "Don't want to."
Sendai: Shows her a bit of physical affection
Miyagi: "Don't want to." kicks her shin
Sometimes it feels like Miyagi's softening and other times it feels like she's regressed to the Miyagi of 300ish chapters ago.
It's nice that they once again touched on their pasts though. They continue to further their understanding of each other a little bit at a time, despite Miyagi's protests via shin-kicking and pushing Sendai away.
Amawashi translated a Volume 2 extra: https://amawashigroup.wordpress.com/2024/09/09/volume-2-extra-turning-sendai-sans-after-school-time-into-a-five-thousand-yen-bill
Not sure if I read this in the MTL or not.
Did Ami ever meet up with with Miyagi and Maika again after they started college? I guess if she did it was fairly uneventful since I don't even remember it.
Also Ch. 351 is up: https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054894027232/episodes/16818093084371167502
Miyagi was being nice to Sendai on her birthday. Good girl, Miyagi. She may never be able to agree with Sendai's opinion that she's "cute" when Sendai dresses her up the way she likes but at least she lets Sendai have her fun.
We've come a long way on the birthday cake thing with Miyagi. She may still be a bit apprehensive about it but the days of it feeling impossible to buy a whole one seem to be behind her.
Miyagi thinks about all the "Sendai baggage" she's accumulating and casually thinks it's ok to accumulate more. Definitely making progress.
Sendai: "Let's wear yukata to the festival."
Miyagi: "Don't want to."
Sendai: Shows her a bit of physical affection
Miyagi: "Don't want to." kicks her shin
Might be me Miyagi-coping but I think they're going to go to the festival anyways. Miyagi usually does mean "no" when she says it, but it's almost always just because of how bad she wants to say yes. Sendai wants to show her physical affection? No, but not because she doesn't like it, it's because she's afraid that if they do get intimate, Sendai will eventually get tired of her. Girl literally asked to move in with you and spent probably like a full year having wet dreams about you, but through the Miyagi reality distortion filter, this translates as "Sendai is making fun of me, Sendai's going to leave tomorrow, Sendai HATES me". Meanwhile Sendai's deadass, if I could put the door to Miyagi's room in the garbage I would. Like girl, the door's not the one that's unhinged. Oh my God they're so stupid I love Shuukura so much.
idk on the other hand, the whole series is Sendai Miyagi-coping so maybe I'm very wrong
^Miyagi and Sendai have already agreed to go to the festival. It's the wearing of yukatas that Miyagi is being stubborn about, which tracks for her since she doesn't like getting dressed up at all (despite Sendai's love for dressing her up).
And it's perfectly within reason for Miyagi to resist sex for whatever reason. If Sendai starts getting frisky and Miyagi doesn't want to then she should feel free to pump the brakes. But it's Miyagi turning away from casual intimacy like little hugs and kisses that bugs me. Making it seem like you don't want any affection from your partner is a surefire way to make them feel unloved.
last edited at Sep 10, 2024 9:58AM
Ah, is that so? Nice work by Sendai. I swear by the end of this series Sendai is going to become an Art of the Deal type Miyagi whisperer. Opening offer "go to the festival in yukata", close with still getting a festival date.
I'm not saying that it's not OK for Miyagi to resist sex, I just thought her angst is really funny given how much Sendai LOVES Miyagi, to like a degree where literally other people find it scary. Which is something only the reader knows, with both sides of the story. I don't blame either of them for it.
I think it's kind of interesting why Sendai likes Miyagi so much. Sendai realizes pretty early on that staying with Miyagi is comfortable, because Miyagi isn't interested in keeping up appearances and doesn't have any expectations of her. Even from the first request that Sendai read an ero manga to her, Sendai could have walked away at any time and Sendai wouldn't have had to feel bad about it. Miyagi just made the request randomly to mess with her anyways. So ironically, it makes Sendai feel empowered to do these random requests, because in the rest of her life (at least in HS), she doesn't really have the right to refuse how people in places of authority are treating her.
It also helps that Miyagi's requests all end up as kind of... self-owns.... The girl tried to bully a foot fetishist (in the making) into licking her feet... I don't know, I'm probably biased bc I'm a Miyagi bottom believer.
Now, that they've graduated HS, Sendai just sort of wants to be next to Miyagi in whatever way Miyagi will allow, because Miyagi is SO scared of her own feelings, and my reading is that Sendai understands that. I think when Sendai asks for an even casual kiss from Miyagi, Miyagi really does go through a whole thing of like "does she like mean that or what's going to happen to our relationship or I'm going to start acting so weird or actually just no". I think Sendai knows that. I also think that's cute, to be so spooked and cautious all the time. But I understand that in a real relationship, that would be awful LOL. You ideally would want a partner who doesn't have an attachment style that's like, "traumatized shelter rescue"
I'm not as sure about Sendai picking up on how Miyagi feels, but Miyagi has definitely picked up on Sendai's obsession desire to be with Miyagi above everything else.
It's funny how Miyagi is actually encouraging Sendai to go out and be a good friend with Mio because she wants Sendai to live a healthy lifestyle that isn't just 100% devoted to Miyagi. But so far "Operation:Sendai Needs Friends" is not getting the best results because whenever she's out with Mio, the only thing going through Sendai's head is "I MISS MIYAGI! I WANNA GO HOME TO SEE HER!".
Poor Mio is a third wheel even when it's just her and Sendai lmao.
I wonder if the next chapter might have some sexy time. If so it might give us some insight on Miyagi's views on sex. I could totally see Sendai pushing for it as she's reminded Miyagi a few times recently that next time it's her turn to "have it done to her." She may be willing to offer herself up as another sort of birthday present for Sendai.
And I really love how Sendai continues to try and condition Miyagi into believing she is cute and pretty. Was very interesting that she allowed herself to be all dolled up to go out alone.
It was nice to see Miyagi admit that Sendai has turned birthday cakes into a good memory for her. She seems awfully worried about all the "baggage" she's accumulating with Sendai. Maybe if she'd just allow her to tell her how she really feels she could start to get over her fear of Sendai abandoning her.
Here's a new translation that just started. I spoke with the translator and told them about the Amawashi translation but they said they just wanted to do it because they love the story. They said they're going to try to get caught up as soon as possible by doing a couple chapters a day but some of us know how that went with the other translation so we'll see how it goes. They even offered to translate the new chapters as they come out but I said they shouldn't put too much work on their plate and they should just focus on getting caught up. It's not as perfect as the Amawashi translation as they're not a native English speaker but it's definitely better than the MTL or chatGPT.
Did Ami ever meet up with with Miyagi and Maika again after they started college? I guess if she did it was fairly uneventful since I don't even remember it.
I think the only time she has shown up was during the video call after she found out Miyagi was living with Sendai. That must have been during a holiday when Maika went back home and they were hanging out . As far as I remember Miyagi has said something about Ami wanting her to come home and visit but she doesn't want to because she'd have to be alone in her old apartment, and also away from Sendai.
It's not as perfect as the Amawashi translation as they're not a native English speaker but it's definitely better than the MTL or chatGPT.
I'd suggest translating the new chapters as they release should be the only thing they might consider doing. Amawashi is already producing an excellent translation so not only is there no point in doing old chapters but I would think it's considered bad manners like it is when someone "snipes" a manga translation.
last edited at Sep 11, 2024 2:15PM
I wonder if the next chapter might have some sexy time. If so it might give us some insight on Miyagi's views on sex. I could totally see Sendai pushing for it as she's reminded Miyagi a few times recently that next time it's her turn to "have it done to her." She may be willing to offer herself up as another sort of birthday present for Sendai.
At the very least, we won't be going there next chapter since nothing was hinted at it the last chapter. Usually we get some buildup and a bit of a cliffhanger that things are heading in a sexual direction before we get a sex scene.
But it'd probably be good if it does happen soon, only for Sendai's sanity if nothing else. The girl seems to have quite the healthy libido and it's been awhile since she's gotten intimate with Miyagi.
And I really love how Sendai continues to try and condition Miyagi into believing she is cute and pretty. Was very interesting that she allowed herself to be all dolled up to go out alone.
Yeah I like that too, although I think it's less an attempt at "conditioning" her and more just Sendai doing what she likes haha. Miyagi doesn't seem like she's made much progress in accepting this hobby of Sendai's though. She really likes to keep it simple when it comes to style.
Maybe if she'd just allow her to tell her how she really feels she could start to get over her fear of Sendai abandoning her
Alas, this is the type of thing that only happens in the daydreams we have about this series. Give it another few hundred chapters and we may get there though. :P
last edited at Sep 11, 2024 2:14PM
Here's a new translation that just started. I spoke with the translator and told them about the Amawashi translation but they said they just wanted to do it because they love the story. They said they're going to try to get caught up as soon as possible by doing a couple chapters a day but some of us know how that went with the other translation so we'll see how it goes. They even offered to translate the new chapters as they come out but I said they shouldn't put too much work on their plate and they should just focus on getting caught up. It's not as perfect as the Amawashi translation as they're not a native English speaker but it's definitely better than the MTL or chatGPT.
I just saw this after replying to your email to me.
My biggest concern isn't necessarily being "sniped" or having the series taken over. Ultimately, I want to have the readers' best interests at heart, so if there's a translator out there that does a better and faster job than me at it, I would not mind passing the torch over provided that they contact me first and can show they'll deliver releases at equal or higher quality. I know it's a bit hypocritical of me to want to be notified first, considering I also just came in and started translating it without contacting Story Seedling first, but in my mind, I viewed it as somewhat fair game considering it's mostly MTL.
That all being said, I read over the translation in the link you posted. Let me start by saying I fully acknowledge the translator is doing this in good fun, as in, they are doing this because this is their way of expressing love towards the series. Some people draw fan art, some people write fan fiction, and some people translate. I completely understand this line of thinking.
Their translation is definitely better than the MTL or ChatGPT, but I think they would serve to benefit more by translating the newest chapters as they come out. Of course, I can't control what they choose to do, but from my personal point of view, I don't think the chapters they have currently released are better than mine. I have noticed plenty of mistakes (both translation and grammar) from what they have posted already, but I also realize they are doing this as more of a passion project, so criticism or corrections may not necessarily be welcome.
Though, I do have two main concerns. I find that ShuuKura benefits more from being written in past tense than present tense. In Japanese, this type of separation doesn't exist, so it's up to the translator to choose which to write in. For a story that leans so heavily into introspection, I feel like ShuuKura reads better as if the characters are looking back on events that have happened, considering how deep these two are in their own heads.
Secondly, while this translation is better than the MTL version or ChatGPT, I'm concerned about what the translation being hosted on https://app.yoru.world/en implies. Just a quick glance at the website shows me that it uses AI to translate a good number of the other novels they are hosting, and that it costs money to buy chapters. This isn't necessarily going to be the case with this translation of ShuuKura, but I'm worried this means that maybe the chapters are translated with AI, but just heavily edited. I will have to take a closer look at their posts again to double-check.
Again, while I can't control what the other translator does, I would like to kindly request that they don't post their translations on Novel Updates. But they can continue translating otherwise if they so choose. The only exception to this is if they want to snipe from Story Seedling (i.e. by translating the newest chapters as they come out) - then I have no qualms about seeing them up on Novel Updates.
Finally, I DEEPLY apologize if their translation is not AI-generated or AI-assisted and I just accused them of something unsavory. One of my biggest concerns (lol, I know I said I only had two, but hear me out) is that the translator is so able to push out several chapters from older volumes and the newer chapters in one day. For the record, while I'm not the fastest worker and I get distracted super easily, the most I've been able to do in one day is 3 chapters (or parts - it means the same thing here), and that took up my entire day with full concentration. I'm talking little sleep, little time to eat. Literally just sitting in front of my PC for 16h. It generally takes me anywhere between 2-4 hours to translate one part (distractions included, but I am usually pretty focused for an hour at a time), and very little of this has to do with me "deciphering" the words from Japanese to English. It takes a hecking long, LOOONG time to rewrite the sentences and turn something that only makes sense in Japanese and make it make sense in English. I also get stuck on dialogue sometimes while trying to make it sound perfectly natural, like something high school girls would actually say in real life.
What I'm getting at here is, even if you sat down in front of the PC for 20 hours and worked faster than me, I cannot imagine that it would be easy to crank out anywhere between 3-4 parts a day without other forms of tools or assistance, unless this just happens to be your job.
last edited at Sep 11, 2024 4:22PM
I find that ShuuKura benefits more from being written in past tense than present tense. In Japanese, this type of separation doesn't exist, so it's up to the translator to choose which to write in. For a story that leans so heavily into introspection, I feel like ShuuKura reads better as if the characters are looking back on events that have happened, considering how deep these two are in their own heads.
I agree that it reads better in past tense but is there really no distinction between past, present, and future tense in Japanese? Can you elaborate on that a bit? But I don't want to waste your time if this will require you to give an introductory lesson in Japanese though.
One of my biggest concerns (lol, I know I said I only had two, but hear me out) is that the translator is so able to push out several chapters from older volumes and the newer chapters in one day. For the record, while I'm not the fastest worker and I get distracted super easily, the most I've been able to do in one day is 3 chapters (or parts - it means the same thing here), and that took up my entire day with full concentration. I'm talking little sleep, little time to eat. Literally just sitting in front of my PC for 16h.
I hope you're not doing that often because it's terrible for you health. And even worse than that is you'll miss doing your gacha dailies!
I agree that it reads better in past tense but is there really no distinction between past, present, and future tense in Japanese? Can you elaborate on that a bit? But I don't want to waste your time if this will require you to give an introductory lesson in Japanese though.
Well, what I mean is there isn't really a distinction when it comes to narration. Verbs and such will still have past, present and future tenses, but it can still be a little vague sometimes. But think of it like this: all the narration in ShuuKura is written as if the events are currently happening. Narrative tenses may not exist in Japanese, but I believe writing in past tense in English makes it feel more like the events have already happened, which makes me feel like it's well-suited for stories that are especially heavy on introspection.
Also, it's pretty easy to want to write in present tense sometimes because of how it's written in Japanese, and you'll see me swap sometimes, especially when it's a character's thoughts. But I feel like writing in past tense kind of gives me more agency as well. I can't really explain my own thoughts and feelings well because creative writing is not my strong suit, but writing in present tense just feels restrictive.
Though, instead of talking about tenses, I feel like it's more interesting talking about the lengths I have to take to "make it make sense" in English sometimes. One of my personal pet peeves in translation is that well, it's common to not mention the subject of a sentence when speaking in Japanese, so it becomes normal to say the name of the person you are talking to when addressing them. Like, when Miyagi and Sendai are the only two people in the same room, the two of them will constantly say "Miyagi" or "Sendai-san," but they NEVER say "you." For example, if Miyagi is like, "hey, can you grab this for me," it's actually, "Sendai-san, grab this for me," which is NORMAL, but it gets weird when it gets translated like:
Sendai: How was your day?
Miyagi: Great, but it'd be better if Sendai-san wasn't here. (when in English, it would be like, "Great, but it'd be better if you weren't here.")
or
Miyagi: You're such a pervert.
Sendai: That's Miyagi's fault, isn't it? (when in English, it would be like, "That's your fault, isn't it?")
And that's only one of many "tells" that the translator isn't really trying to adapt and make it more... localized, I guess? But that's just at the top of my head.
I hope you're not doing that often because it's terrible for you health. And even worse than that is you'll miss doing your gacha dailies!
I'm not doing that anymore, but that was something I did last year. Those parts didn't come out all at once though, since I spaced them out over a few days, so it wasn't very apparent I had done that. I'm also a lot more energized and focused after I've had any form of caffeine (be it coffee or tea), so that helps. As for my gacha dailies... those games are definitely what distracts me the most, LOL. But I'm more of a log in, log out kind of person nowadays, so it's not that bad.
last edited at Sep 11, 2024 5:26PM