'Special A' ~ when you feel 'All boredom and sadness, and no one to offer a hand'

I didn't want to watch 'Special A' when I first heard about it. Most fans were saying it resembles 'Maid-sama'. I didn't want to see it as a replacement for my favourite shoujo anime. I refused to accept it. A year and a half after 'Maid-sama' manga ended and two years after I watched 'Maid-sama' anime for the last time, I finally understood I'm ready for 'Special A' as an original work with its own world.

story and characters

Initially, if we count similarities, they'd seem to have no end.
We do have one more prince here

 who constantly makes the Heroine blush and teases her at the same time because...

And the Heroine is a strong

 but slightly out of place girl.

She is a stubborn boyish heroine who does not fail to behave unlike what one would predict

Feelings is something beyond her understanding,

she's angry when she's supposed to be sad, and she's extremely resilient

 She even

 and has to dress as a maid

and her strength impresses even her enemies.

Even the graphic expressions of sounds and effects

and extremely weird situations shown with humour

were like those in 'Maid-sama'.
The Heroes have friends, of course, and what's surprising, the authors decided to give them a chance to show they're not just cardboard figures moving at the background of the main couple: every character had some past that was overshadowing the future and some problems to deal with.
However, this is where the common points end. Just a few plot twists and general archetypes do not mean these two animes are twins. Even the main couple has a completely different mood and a completely different basis for their relationship. Speaking of which, I'd say 'Special A' is even much less serious than 'Maid-sama'.
And this is exactly what spoils the anime. Let me be clear, like they say - if you're searching for a good romance, keep searching. Despite the fact the anime has 24 whole episodes, it's not enough for the story to progress very much. Since not only the main couple is in focus, all characters have just a tiny bit of time allocated for each them, which ends up in a collection of short stories about those characters, promising to have something in the future - but that future we're not destined to see. In fact, several times the authors deceived me with a simple trick 'first we make it look like they finally settle down, but then we crush it all!' The truth is, I did like the general concept. Or better to say, I did like how it differs from your usual shoujo.

But in the end, since they had no time for a real explanation of things, they still had to make it finish quickly, simple and lame: rainbow-coloured, flowery, soft and cute

As if compensating for this minor disadvantage, the authors drank heavily before creating the scripts and drafts of the episodes, or maybe ate some wild berries found in swamps of Africa, I don't know, but this I know for sure: this was one of the most wonderful love comedies I have seen.

graphics
is what surprised me most in this anime. Some frames were really beautiful

but some were just average or even lower. As if different people were creating those parts.

music
Music in 'Special A' is probably the most disappointing thing. And the thing that makes it so different from 'Maid-sama'. If the latter opened a whole new world for me under the name of 'heidi.', then 'Special A' brought nothing into my life to listen to in the morning when I go to work. OPEDs sung by seiyuus are rarely good, if only the seiyuus are not vocal pros or at least have outstanding voices, or the composer doesn't create anything very special for the anime.

voicing
But seiyuus here are just good. I'd not praise anyone of them especially, but I was satisfied with their work. Fans of mr. Fukuyama in his 'dark prince' mode would be delighted, I daresay.
Oh and if you were wondering who's that voice that is emitted from that childlike face of Kei's father then it's ms. Ogata Megumi. Yes, Haruka, Shinji, Eagle and Princess Emeraude.

conclusion
In the end, if I were asked whether I regret watching 'Special A', I'd never say yes. Because if laughing is said to prolong a human's life, then I've earned at least 5 additional years for myself. 

it's when you go to type the birthday of Usui into your google calendar because you decide that from now on you would like to see that date in your calendar, and see that is has already been put there

'Requiem' by Teruyuki Nobuchika

sometimes music comes to you out of the blue, and matches your mood perfectly

Associations

It's so hard to immerse yourself in reality when every single word said, every item, every sound  makes you remember one certain artwork, because situations described there were so diverse.
You simply pronounce 'there' in Japanese, and hear Usui say 'I wiped myself with your towel there, and there, and even there', and Misaki shouting 'Yukimura, you're supposed to be angry, not to blush here!'
You notice the word 'Tochigi' while looking through a news website, and remember Misaki being worried 'Did he say 'maid'?! Oh, 'made in Tochigi'...'
You see words in Japanese written in both hiragana and katakana, and remember how ms Fujiwara answered the question about the proper reading of her surname by writing it in hiragana, katakana and romaji. 

You see your friend wearing spectacles, and remember Misaki crossdressing, in wig and spectacles.

You are asked by a person at the Japanese goods fair whether the green tea is expensive for Japanese or not, and you recall how Ayuzawa family won a tea box in a lottery.

You open your old notebook which is made in Japan, and is very cute, and remember how Misaki noticed a sale in a stationery shop and was so happy to have bought a cheap notebook.

The world around is filled with memories. I wonder if 後ろ向き is a proper antonym for 前向き. 'Pessimistic' is a good words, but the Japanese one is more precise. It says 'looking backwards'.

'happy' birthday to Misaki

the truth is, I stopped celebrating birthdays of people I like or admire, but can I keep silent when the last chapter comes out just right before the birthday of Misaki

years in manga pass slowly, when so many things happen. only 2 years in manga took 7 years in real life to depict them. 

years in manga pass quickly when a period in the characters' lives is 'skipped'. 10 years in manga took only several pages.
there is nothing lasting eternally. 時間は否応なく過ぎる - time passes by whether one likes it or not. it is not simply a line from the manga describing Misaki's life, it is a truth one has to admit

from now on, nothing more

goodbye, Master, fare thee well

not even a single detail was disappointing, unlike what I was fearing. the graphics looked a bit strange, maybe, but did not lose its charm. the story did not become dull, the characters did not change into completely different people, and the happy ending was not too sickly sweet.

I could not wish for a better ending. that's what I wanted to be able to say when I finish reading.

probably, I could. you see, there are so many things I haven't seen in the manga, even though there are whole 85 chapters. however, now I cannot complain. everything is ok, just as it should be

and I am not crying. you know, I am not. no, I am not... I am... I am trying... not to...

warm piano melody in my ears

a good OST is an OST that, despite not being an outstanding masterpiece, starts playing in your mind when you inadvertently notice a picture with a memorable moment from the anime

It's three A. M.

And I am lying on my bed with my eyes wide open and tears in my ears because I am lying on my back and they flow right there. The thoughts have been in turmoil for the last three days, which did not prevent me from finishing an urgent translation, starting a conversation with a new client, teaching English and Japanese as always, writing an email to my friend, chatting with others in social networks, composing a text for the future excursion, playing 'Need for Speed' and using a hand cream every evening.
Since any more crying and recollecting the past experience of reading is too dangerous for the psyche, the brain is directing the thoughts to another field, trying to think of a proper translation for the complicated phrases it has just met in the manga.
I write that ms Fujiwara has created enough and I understand that everything should come to an end. I have a huge experience of finishing reading something with a happy end and being completely satisfied with it. I know it should be like that.
But I don't want to read the last chapter.
I must. I will. But I don't want to

read it later. but it's too late

you go to the website where you always find raw scans of magazines, but this month's issue seems not to be ready yet. you go to google to search whether there are other websites that have already scanned and uploaded the magazine you want. it turns out there is one. you read the address in the bar, you are going to press 'read it later' and add it to your bookmarks so that next time you will know that you can check this website to get the magazine as soon as possible

but there will be no next time

ab invito ~ ms Fujiwara, thank you so much for these 2 years and 2 months

having a strong intuition - take it as you like, the socionical one, or the usual one - has both advantages and disadvantages. the good side is that you know what comes next and you are ready for it. it does not work for me often, though. nevertheless, intuition has an unpleasant side, too

after I knew that the current arch of the manga is the last, I persuaded myself that an 'arch' in manga is something that lasts a dozen of chapters, which means I can spend one more happy year with it. I could even prove it with my logic. when the mangaka took a break for one month, I also took a break. when the manga was back the next month, I decided to prolong my break and wait one more month. the next month came and I decided that I could not read the new chapter because it would make me closer to the finish, which was not scheduled yet. then the next month came and I thought there was a good opportunity for me - to wait until the manga ends and read all the last chapters starting from the one after the mangaka's break to the very end. however, the moment I realised this opportunity, I was scared. why? because I guessed exactly how it would be. I could try to persuade myself once more that there will be some more chapters, I could try to shut my eyes to that, I could try to ignore that fear, but it was late. I already realised what would happen next: there will be some more chapters, few enough to count them with fingers on only one hand, and there will be an end. I could not believe it, I would not want to believe it, but I was aware it will be this autumn. against my own will, but naturally, I did not start reading until today, therefore not noticing the inscription on the 83th chapter cover saying there were only 3 chapters left until the end
and today, when I opened Facebook to check my friend Ann's activity, I read ms Fujiwara's posts by chance, and realised it is the end

it is hard to pretend you are surprised when your subconsciousness has been whispering the truth to you all the time. if it were like a bolt from the blue, I would probably be able to cry and feel refreshed. but it wasn't like that. it crept up, slowly, gradually, it did not come from somewhere, it was born within me and grew up from a mere guess to the absolute confidence, no matter how hard I tried to suppress it. if someone said to me that I am wrong and I needn't hope for the better, I would hit him, but when it is your own mind that tells you that, there is nothing you can do but to admit your defeat

it is so strange. next week I have an important work as a guide which I have to prepare for, and today I have a translation to finish, but that seems so insignificant

I have finished listening to Siam Shade's discography and those moments when I found a song I could die listening to will never repeat. I will have finished reading Maid-sama within the next few days, and the moments of bliss of the new chapter coming out will never repeat. so many other masterpieces I have already discovered - I will never discover them as if they were new to me

'usui' or 'usui'

it feels so strange. I was trying to search for the phrase 'light shade of purplish pink', and typed in 'usui' which stands for 'light'. but the Microsoft IME changed うすい in kana into Takumi's surname instead of 薄い

IMHO. KWMS ch 82 ~ is it how 'twas supposed to be?

this stupid feeling when you open the mangaka's FB page, suddenly panic that you must download the raw magazine ASAP, but then remember understand you have already read the chapter... 3 times...

The most dangerous thing would be if the last arc had no adventures - the ones that were so attractive in the beginning and lasted through the middle. Misaki should constantly be involved in different troubles and face different challenges - otherwise KWMS is no longer KWMS. It started as an interest towards an anime with a kiss scene, but grew into something different - my feeling about KWMS, I mean. After KYAAAAHing over Usui - an inevitable thing when you watching KWMS for the first time, and even for the second - I finally realised I no longer go into any raptures over romantic moments. I don't mean I began to dislike them, and it's not that I consider them odd or simmering, I mean they are no longer my entire purpose of reading. By the end of her manga ms Fujiwara taught me to love her work as a 'work about people and their life', not simply 'my favourite shoujo'. To be precise, KWMS stopped being shoujo for me long ago - it is just that the real, thorough and strong understanding of this came to me now. I am not awaiting for one more kiss. I am enjoying a scene that makes my heart skip a beat and breathing - difficult, because of the tension, of the strong true feelings. I only hope it lasts till the very end. Fujiwara-sensei, don't lose yourself. Don't betray me

finally I get KWMS ch 80 ~ a bunch of thoughts

loving someone makes us vulnerable. loving something is the same

you expect it to be published on the 23rd, then you expect it to be scanned and to be uploaded on 26th, but it is not. you hope until 28th, you endure until 30th, you finally put up with the fact that you have no raws this month on 31st, but then...

probably everyone knows that in order to get something one wants badly one has to give up entirely - and then it comes down into his hands like manna from heaven. too bad to those of you who do not speak Russian, as you do not know what the 'law of meanness' is, though Sod's Law would be close

after reading 15 original volumes and being able to read raw LaLa for 3 months, being forced to read translation this month seems like a sacrilege

before the chapter comes out life has no meaning because you are all anticipation. after you have read it life has no meaning because you are all exhaustion

there are works that entertain you and you feel sad when they end because you no longer have your fun and joy. there are works that inspire you and when you finish them you feel pain because they were so beautiful and perfect. there are works that make you think over something deep and philosophical, and when you finish them you are somewhat depressed but then you feel lightness because you understood something important

and finally there are things that have become your daily bread supporting your existence. what are you supposed to do when you finish them?

how do you know your level of obsession with some particular artwork? by the number of tabs with the same website opened at the same time when that website is supposed to have the next issue/release/chapter/episode/etc
I mean, I can have two to four tabs with raw-hunters or mangafox opened you know. when I wait for KWMS

the more I think about this, the worse the situation seems to me. if raw LaLa #05 2013 is not uploaded somewhere in the next several hours 'tis not likely I will do any exam preparations today...

huh?

IMHO. Kaichou wa Maidsama ch 81 ~ everything has to change, everything is gone

Momoe Yamaguchi has a great song called 'omoide no mirage' - 'a mirage of memories'

it has the following line - 'everything has to change, everything is gone'

how timely 'tis that I recalled some of her songs, including this one, when I read the 81st chapter of KWMS

the greatest disappointment in any long manga would be when the last chapters turn into a completely different story from what it was in the beginning. 'tis what happened with RuroKen. though the additional 'Hanami' chapter was an example of a perfect happy ending - with all the main characters gathering together, and the only one unable to come sending a letter, so that the reader understands that they live in peace and happiness. and I would be extremely happy to see this, if not for the third arc, where Misao was left behind, Kaoru was expelled from the main team and turned into the usual 'princess awaiting for her knight to come and save her', and the male characters were suddenly granted something verging on a superpower

moreover, I was absolutely unhappy with what happened with the mangaka's art, and I still prefer his immature style in the first several volumes

from then on, I developed an easy way to determine whether the manga is 'drained' or not. you just need to compare the beginning with the latest chapters. in terms of art, Fujiwara-sensei has surely progressed, though I would agree that the best art was somewhere in the middle of the manga. in terms of the story, everything goes smoothly and naturally. then, why did I have that awful feeling of despair after reading the chapter?

even though Misaki is still the usual determined, active, demanding leader, shouting when she has and feeling awkward when something happens, there is a great change in her. unlike, probably, many people, I prefer characters like Misaki stay unchanged. others may call such changes an 'improvement'. I call them - giving in to the environment. and Misaki choosing jurisprudence as her future field of study and work only because it gives her a prestigious, respectable position in the society, Misaki thinking whether she would become an official so that she would have a stable job - this was almost a fail

what saved the chapter from a complete disaster was Usui's position - as usual, he reminded Misaki that she need not burden herself with what she does not want to do, and that she can choose anything she wants because she can do anything she addresses. if not for this part of the chapter, I would be very sad, and I would feel betrayed by Fujiwara-sensei. however, by the last several pages she returned things to what they have always used to be - overdoing, concerned, hard-working Misaki and Usui, making her slow down a little

after I reread the chapter once more, I calmed down a little. as for now, the main line is still preserved and the characters' axes are not ruined. I hope it will never happen during the following several chapters

p. s.

fans often say there are many things that could be depicted in the manga. at first I was not paying attention to such comments, but these days I cannot help thinking about all the possible events, arcs, happenings that will never be drawn. there are lots of questions already existing, and there are a lot of things that might appear here or there. none of them will be explained. I have to give up. and this is a difficult thing for a LII/INTj with Intuition of possibilities as the second strong function

translation. from Fujiwara Hiro's blog ~ Fujiwara-sensei... you are really going to end the manga, huh...

2 AM. the meaning does not reach me instantly. I have to reread the whole post once more. the same as when Kiriya Hiromu announced her retirement. however, this time I am probably more prepared. I was absolutely aware that this is coming soon

yes, I am more prepared... I must be... I thought I would be...

Garnet Crow's 'Happy Days?' currently playing. what a mockery. 'happy days'. and question mark in the end

translation of the official blog post

'Maid-sama' 80th chapter is published. I feel like 'ei... eightieth chapter already?' When I think of it, I have come this far!

In 2005 the first chapter was born as a non-serialised story, then in 2006 it was made into a serial one, and in a blink of an eye 7 years have passed.

My first serial story, my first comics, the first making of a drama CD and the first making of an anime based on it, all of this was a precious experience to me which I am thankful for, and at last even a poster was made - I was able to see all these daring challenges.

Thanks to this work, I was able to participate in autograph sessions both in Japan and abroad, and this 7-year-long experience is not something I can describe simply.

However, every work has to be finished sometime.

And so, starting from the next issue is the last arch!

As for me, I have been drawing this manga aiming for the end for several years... and last year, I could finally see the definite time of the end of this work.

Even if the author himself moves forward in a fumbling way without seeing what is further, when the characters start acting according to their own intentions, I feel I am dictated by those characters.

I feel like all of the characters have their own habits, and there are both times when one can sympathise with and disagree with their respective thoughts and beliefs, their way of life, so I want to go on drawing them so that they could live in their own way until the end, and I would be truly happy if you supported me until the end.

Until the end, keeping the 'Maid-sama' style!

I want to keep doing my best!

So, in the next issue there will be more coloured pages published!

I am hoping to rely on your support!
_____
the first person able to kill me has done it. Fujiwara-sensei, 'tis your turn

some thoughts on KwMs ch 79

Feb. 23. I suddenly realise the next chapter is about to come out

Feb. 24. 'tis not scanned by anyone yet

Feb. 25. Chinese raws are out and people speculate about the meaning of the last pages. succumbing to the rumours I look through the Chinese raws. this is the first and the last time I look at manga pages in a language I do not understand. 'tis also the last time I read any forums with rumours, opinions and speculations

Feb. 26. I remember last month the chapter was uploaded exactly on 26th

Feb. 27. I finally found it on raw-hunters. just one hour to download the huge archive and it will be mine

Feb. 27, evening. as I thought, Fujiwara-sensei did not betray me. the story develops the same as before, and if it does not cultivate this sweetness any longer, then it will be all right in the future as well

Feb. 28. I have reread the chapter several times already. I wonder if I shall do a rough translation myself? since I have been willing to translate just anything for a week now

Feb. 29. meseems, I need not. the chapter is translated and uploaded already

Mar. 4. shall I go and read the English version? there were a few phrases that seemed difficult for me in terms of translation, it would be helpful to read how other people interpret their meaning. mangafox webpage. KwMs page...

Mar. 4, 10 minutes later. did I not decide not to read forums anymore? did I not promise myself to stop paying attention to what other people think? it never leads to anything good. 'tis a bad habit, nothing more

I thank my beloved 'husband' +Арагорн Араторнович for listening to my complains and supporting me when I got totally fed up and pissed off with KYAAAHHH-ing fangirls. U-chan, without your sympathy and understanding I do not know what would become of me. I am so happy to have you, who always agrees with me on this topic

妄想、想像

http://www.hakusensha.co.jp/maidsama/contest/grandprix.html

there was one line I remember clearly in the chapter 'Maid Latte backyard'. the manager, Satsuki, said something like 'I want to have bright dreams about them, not imagine the reality!'

if this is how they would look in the reality, then I join Satsuki-san...

just a coincidence

the name of the winner of 'find Usui' contest is Hiromu. that is all
http://www.hakusensha.co.jp/maidsama/contest/grandprix.html