I have two gentlemen to thank for today’s review. First and foremost, Daniel P. who sponsored today’s review by hitting up my Wish List. Thank you very much Daniel! And secondly, Mike H. who just yesterday wrote me a wheedling email wanting to know when I would review this manga already. Mike – I’m reviewing it, ‘kay? Stop whining. ^_^

The plot of Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl, Volume 3 is no different from my review of the Japanese edition in 2006. For a basic outline (with the usual mild spoilers) of the plot in Volume 3, please go ahead and read that review. This time I’m going to focus on the adaptation to English.

First of all, I continue to be both impressed and pleased by the translation and adaptation of this manga. Not only is Seven Seas attempting to capture the feel and sense of the original, but leaving honorifics and cultural relics untranslated, but in this issue I noticed a sincere effort to capture the *voice* of each character. This simply puts this adaptation orders above every other translated manga company out there, except for ALC. Because we also work hard to keep the character’s voices intact through our translations and adaptations.

If you know anything about me as a writer or editor, have ever attended a writing workshop with me, or even just read my Fanfic Writer’s Workshop, you’ll know that lack of “voice” in writing, much less translation, is my bete noir. I cannot stand it when all the characters in a book, manga, anime, whatever, sound the same. Rarely do they, in the original, but American translators, by virtue of being one person translating several chapters/volumes, often smooth out the voices to the point that all the differences in speech disappear. Maintaining them in any translation is difficult. And kudos to 7S for obviously working at it.

But.

(You just *knew* there had to be a “but,” right?)

Unless Tomari has all of a sudden become an old Jewish guy, I’m just not convinced that “putz” is the right word as a translation for “baka.” *I* don’t even use putz – and I’m an old Jewish woman. My Dad…*he* uses putz. “Idiot” “Moron” “Stupid” – all are perfectly good insults that don’t make Tomari sound like my father. ^_^

One other thing I wanted to point out on the good side: I noticed immediately that all the characters, save Sora-sensei (who is alien and a freak above that) now call Hazumu “she” or “her.” Well done. Thank you.

The Stupid Plot Complication Disorder (SPCD) this volume is far more exhausting than Yasuna’s merely not being able to see men, and I can swear to you that the conflicts, such as they are, will drag out for most of the next two volumes. But I’ll also council you to stick with the story, because IMHO, the end isn’t at all bad. Check back here for an upcoming review of the final volume, which came out this summer in Japan.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 7
Story – 7
Yuri – 9
Service – 4

Overall – 8

Asuta and his fantasies…total snooze. What a paucity of imagination that boy has.