I’m saying this in full knowledge that it might be misunderstood, but most pop culture is kind of half-assed. “The real thing is stuff, so fake stuff is better.” Is that logical? People fiilly capable of making something real are deliberately pulling back and putting out something fake. What does this tell us? Thinking about that scares me, so I’m not going to, but this very half-assed approach is also sort of “blowing away the petrified past and opening a path to the future.” (N obody’s got any idea of what I’m talking about, right?) (Okay) The best thing about pop culture is how hard it is to achieve any kind of legitimacy. It’s not that it never earns it, but it’s pretty rare. Something that was king of the hill a moment before is cast onto the compost heap a second later, while something that was long ago pronounced dated is resurrected and declared, “Innovative!” “Why did those idiots forget about this?” That’s what pop is. It’s pretty crazy, but within that whirlpool you do get a sense of a certain kind of necessity.
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Something appears, becomes huge, and then explodes, and is gone completely. Like a bubble. . .with a pop. Hmm, a fitting name. There’s no cheap trick to get something established.
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novel might win some big award, but that doesn’t have the least bit of effect on sales.
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To be perfectly honest, my own tastes have always been a bit disconnected from my generation. I’m the least pop person ever. I’m running around listening to stuff from twenty years ago, thirty years ago, screaming, “Awesomel”, reading books from fifty years ago and shouting, “Coool!” Yes, that kind of guy. These things aren’t connecting to the pop of today at all; the only one getting excited is me. I’m a little worried about that. As someone who’s trying somehow to make a living as a novelist, naturally I’m worried, and I’m trying to make myself more pop, but it just isn’t working. As I can imagine that you can tell from the general tone of this essay, I admire pop and I have a sort of complex about it, really. But since my personality’s gone and twisted itself, with everything I make people say,
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“Well. . .it’s unique,” or “Is this supposed to be funny?” And they usually follow it up with, “Well, we can’t publish it...”
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They’re still saying it, even now.
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But even so, I’ve got to aim for pop. This is the theme of my life, so it can’t be helped. If everything I make ends up being more boogie, it’s not my fault. . .I’d like to say that, except it is my fault, really. But I’m going for it anyway. Even if it’s a kind of boogie pop, then someday, I still might make the real thing.
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(This guy just writes whatever crap he wants to...) (Whatever)
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BGM “CHILDREN of the SUN” by MAYTE
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TRANSLATION NOTES
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Translating a foreign language work is a challenging task that can result in a lot of sleepless nights and headaches for the production team involved. The general rule of thumb for any English-language release is to make sure that it retains the intricacies of the source material, while not reading like a literal translation. It’s a difficult line to walk, but we at Seven Seas believe that preserving cultural nuance is of utmost importance.
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For this reason, we’ve strived to present a translation that is as close to the original as possible, while keeping the flow of the novel intact. The following pages of translation notes are presented here as a way to offer some additional insight into many of the terms, characters and other cultural items that you may not have understood while reading the novel. These notes also offer a further look into some of the choices that the editorial staff at Seven Seas had to make while bringing the work to you. Enjoy!
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Cover
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Imaginator vs Imaginater
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For those familiar with the Japanese novels, you may have noticed that the books contradict themselves with regard to how to spell the word “Imaginator.” In Japanese, “Imaginator” is consistently written one way, but in English it appears as both Imaginator” and “Imaginater.”
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“Imaginator” is the version that we will be using consistently throughout our Boogiepop translations as it seems to be the more accepted spelling, and frankly, is the one that sounds the coolest.
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How does it appear in the Japanese book? Well, the spelling
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“Imaginater” can be found in English on the Japanese covers of novel 2 and 3 and within the color pages. However, this is contradicted by the interior text itself, which uses “Imaginator”
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in several places including the title page before Chapter I, and at the very end of Chapter VI, leading us to believe that this is Kadono-sensei’s preferred spelling.
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Prelude
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Ifukube Akira (May 31, 1914-2006)
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Ifukube-sensei is regarded by many as Toho’s greatest and most beloved composer. While he is most famous for his contributions to the Godzilla series of films, Ifukube’s body of work spans decades. (pg. 21)
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Chapter 1
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Signs vs Sign
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The original Japanese edition of this second novel carries an interior subtitle in English, which dubs this book “Sign.” In Japanese language, there is rarely any distinction between the singular and plural, so you usually have to figure out the singular or plural based on the context. Judging by the various foreshadowed events of this novel, we felt that it was appropriate to think of the signs as more than just one, which is why we retitled it as “Signs.”
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Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince
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Known as Le Petit Prince in France, the 1943 novel is the most famous book by French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The novel is a profound children’s book that carries many idealistic points about life and love. In the book, the author imagines himself stranded in the Sahara Desert and meets a young extraterrestial prince and the two have many deep conversations. The essence of the book is contained in the famous line uttered by the fox to the little prince: “On ne voit bien qu’avec le coeur, l’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux” (One sees rightly only with the heart, the essential is invisible to the eyes)” (pg. 38) Chapter 2
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Japanese ATMs
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You might have noticed that Masaki tried to get money from an ATM, but it was off. In Japan, ATMs in Japan tend to close at 9
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PM on weekdays. So next time you’re in Japan, remember to hit the ATM before they close. (pg. 77)
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Code Name Camille
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The meaning of Aya’s code name, Camille (literally pronounced as Kamiiru in Japanese), is anyone’s guess; though, the 1936 movie Camille staring Greta Garbo (based on the 1852 novel La Dame aux Came’lias by Alexandre Dumas, fils.) seems to relate to Aya themati-cally. The movie Camille tells the story of a light-hearted romance in 18408 Paris where a young woman wins the heart of a wealthy young man, but ultimately gives him up for his own good. The story itself later inspired such movies as Pretty Woman and Moulin Rouge! For continuity buffs, Boogiepop novel 13 entitled Lost Mobius: Boogiepop Bounding features Aya quite prominently. (pg. 87)
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Chapter 3
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Shogi
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A board game similar to chess in which two players go head-to-head with 20 wedge-shaped pieces each with the objective to Checkmate their opponent’s king. (pg. 99)
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“I stared after her like I’d seen a fox.”
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Foxes, known as “kitsune” in Japanese, have traditionally appeared in Japanese folklore and mythology as deceivers and tricksters.
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According to legend, these animals possess great intelligence and a multitude of magical powers-including the ability to possess humans and to create illusions. In some tales, the kitsune have actually been known to take the shape of beautiful woman, pretty young girls or old men. (pg; 102)
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Chapter 4
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Nori Bento
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Every fan of Japanese anime should know that “bento” is a J apanese lunch box. “Nori” is seaweed. So, a nori bento consists of rice and seaweed only. (pg. 145)
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Two Hundred Thousand Yen
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Basically, this is a little less than $2000 US dollars (at the current exchange rate, at least.) (pg. 151)
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Yakisoba Shops
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A Japanese restaurant that specializes in fried noodles.
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(pg. 164)
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Ow! Damn, cut myself!” Kinukawa Kotoe sucked the tip of her finger, scratched by one of the barbs on the fence around the abandoned amusement park. The taste of blood filled her mouth. “What am I doing?”
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She reached into her school bag and took out one of the car-toon rabbit decorated band-aids that she always had with her, and wrapped it around her wound.
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She felt very childish. Like she was three years old again.
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Nobody knew she had a key to the half-finished Paisley Park construction site. One of the countless companies with a claim on the ground belonged to her father, and when he brought the master key home, Kotoe had snuck out of the house with it, and made a copy.
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Ever since, it had become her secret hideout when she was feeling depressed.
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The buildings in the park had been abandoned just after construction began, so they looked more like abstract sculptures than anything else, and the curved walking paths were all bare, waiting patiently for beautiful tiles to be laid upon them. But as Kotoe looked at the buildings as she walked, she felt as if she was about to cry a river.