Itoshiki Saigestu (The Loving Times) First Part
Part 2

Itosewashi Hibi (Busy Days)

This part is written in first person from Yumi’s point of view once again. It begins with an overview of how, after being Sachiko’s soeur for 6 months, she still feels inadequate.

1) Until Yumi absent-mindedly mentions something, the en bouton had completely forgotten to arrange a party for the departing Roses. They have been completely absorbed in the arrangements for the school-wide event for the graduating third-years.

2) Once they decide upon a date, Yumi offers to confirm with the Roses. To us, in her head, she confides that she’s not much in looks or brains department, but she has footwork covered.

3) As Yumi gets up to make the phone calls, Sachiko says for her to wait, but she also feels something strike her in the middle of her back. She sees an eraser roll away and hears Yoshino say, “Even if I do say so myself, nice control.” LOL Yumi thinks that Yoshino thinks she’s Zenigata Heiji. (This cracked me up – I used to watch a show about ZH on TV on Sunday mornings. Zenigata Heiji was a famous Edo-period constable, police detective type. In any case, on the TV show at least, ZH would throw a coin to stop people in their tracks.)

4) Yumi takes on the job of calling the Roses to confirm the date of their party. She makes a note of their real names and rehearses quickly what she’s going to say. Yumi thinks that she’s really gotten more confident in the last 6 months, compared to how nervous she was when she first called Sachiko and got all flustered.

5) Youko says, “So, you guys forgot, huh?” Yumi denies it, and is sure to make sure she doesn’t run off at the mouth, like she would if she was lying. Youko and she laugh, but they’ve been nailed.

6) Eriko answers the phone panting, she’s just run in to make her curfew (7PM). She’s willing to break a date following Yamanobe-sensei around to make the party.

7) Sei, quite seriously, asks what they will do for the talent show. She says that it is an established practice and that Rei crushed apples in her hands, while Sachiko danced and sung Swan Lake.

Sei asks that they do it because her dream is to have one really good laugh before she goes. (Youko’s dream was to see the Rose Mansion full of people…. Eriko’s is to get married.)

8) The next morning the three first-years have a conference in the library. Yoshino takes over as president immediately and decides that Shimako should dance. Shimako is concerned, because she doesn’t really do comedy, but Yoshino says it’s okay if Shimako dances, she and Yumi will provide the comedy. Yoshino informs Yumi that she, Yoshino, will do magic, and that Yumi should do a party performance. Yumi panics, she has no idea what to do, so Yoshino hands her a book on the topic.

9) On the way to the Rose Mansion, Yumi is approached by Saeko, a classmate of Yoshino’s who is the soeur of the president of the flower-arranging club. Saeko want to know when they will need to bring the vases and flowers over, and how long will they need the vases for. Yumi says she’ll look into it. (The Yamayurikai has to pick the color and arrange for the corsages for the graduating class). Yumi feels like she’s at last able to help her onee-sama in some concrete way. And we can see that she’s stepping into her future en bouton duties. Then Yumi is asked by the Fine Arts club about the signboard for the party, Yumi says she’ll handle that as well.

10) At home, Mom helps Yumi look for a box of props. They find a box wrapped so tightly that Yumi thinks it like breaking into an Egyptian tomb (the curse of the pyramid) – or perhaps there’s pictures of naked women. Inside is cassette tapes, 5-yen coin and a something other crap. Mom and Yumi are totally confused as to why this was hidden and wrapped so tightly.

11) Just as an interesting note, Lillian has a wide variety of clubs, which include a comedy club, and a general athletic club, as well as all the others we’ve seen mentioned over the books.

12) People are coming and going like crazy in and out of the Rose Mansion, very much like the school festival, only this time the en bouton are running the event. Yumi is extremely busy helping out.

13) Yumi runs into Shizuka who has come to the Rose Mansion. Shizuka has come to discuss the borrowing of a pianica. Yoshino wants to borrow one and Shizuka wants to know which one. Yumi had no idea there were different kinds. (You may remember the pianica from the anime – it’s a recorder with piano keys.)

14) Yumi goes to pick up the sign from the Fine Arts club, but Yoshino never shows, so she carries the sign, which is heavy and taller than herself to the Rose Mansion, by herself.

15) At home, Yumi asks Yuki to rub her shoulders. She promises to give him a caramel if he does and he tells her that that is very childish – but he does rub her shoulders. She spies the package from the other day in his room and interrogates him about it. Yuki says that it’s a hazing tradition in his school – one first –year is forced to do this performance and keep the bag of stuff. Yumi asks him to show her the dance.

16) Yumi runs out of the house without eating and is on the bus late with a lot of drunken salarymen (returning late from all-night after parties, assumably) which makes her ill. Between that, overwork and not enough sleep for practicing her performance, she passes out. She vaguely remembers hearing Sachiko’s voice. When she wakes up, she starts to cry, because she wanted to be a big help to Sachiko, and instead is only a burden.

17) Sei comes to get her and escort her home. Sei tells her that they all care about her and she shouldn’t try and do everything alone.

When Sei has left, Yumi’s father says, “You go to an all-girls’ school, right?” then goes on to say that Sei seems awfully oyaji. :-)

18) Ultimately Yumi chooses the color for the roses – salmon pink, because it’s a mixture of red, white and yellow. And she says that she thinks it’s become her favorite color.

***

19) The day of the talent show and party is told from Youko’s point of view and her POV begins, “What on EARTH?” lol

It’s unbelievable – like a dream – there’s Yoshino doing magic…Youko comments that she’d notice that, unlike Rei, Yoshino had no talent for handicrafts, but she’s impressed with her sleight-of-hand.

Youko overhears Sachiko blame Sei for the talent show and Sei confesses. “I told them that it was a tradition, and they believed me.” Youko thinks that Sei is pathologically selfish.

When Yoshino finishes, Rei claps loudly and longly and Youko is a little embarrassed.

20) Shimako begins to dance, but the music Yoshino chose is “Maria-sama no Kokoro” which doesn’t fit Shimako’s traditional Japanese dance. (But, then, Youko thinks, Yoshino in a top hat and school uniform was weird too.) Shimako falters in her dance, because the music doesn’t match but, then, keeps dancing.

At which point Youko begins to laugh. She decides to stop analyzing and just enjoy it all. The third time the chorus starts, Youko begins to sing along, and so does everyone else. (We learn that Youko did not attend Lillian from nursery school, but Sachiko taught her the words to the song.)

21) When the music switches for Yumi’s dance, Youko is simply blown away. She knows instantly what the music is and has plates for eyes when Yumi does indeed begin this comedic dance from one of the islands. Out of the corner of her eye, Youko can see Sachiko laughing so hard that she’s crying.

With this, Youko thinks to herself that the future Yamayurikai will be strange, but fun. And she can leave Lillian with no regrets or worries.

***

Part 3

“A Short Interlude”

This is from Eriko’s point of view and recounts her meeting with Yamanobe-sensei.

The one thing of note was when, after Yamanobe offers her some of his yakiimo (roasted sweet potatos which are easily enough for two people) she offers to buy him some tea and she thinks to herself that this is the first time in her eighteen years of life that she’s ever made that offer to a guy. (Would you like to drink some tea?” is a common pick up line.)

The End

Rosa Canina
Part 2

Have I mentioned that Sei is gay? ‘Cause she is. Really, obviously gay. I just want to make the point. I was ambivalent after reading Ibara No Mori. I am no longer ambivalent.

In case you feel like arguing that falling in love with a woman once doesn’t make you gay, with which I agree, let me remind you that, after Shizuka and she have their conversation, Sei comments that Shizuka is quite charming, and that she would have liked to get to know her sooner – they could have been good friends. Then Sei kisses Shizuka as close to the lips as she can. Still not convinced? Read on…

Nakakiyono

1) The New Year’s arc is written in first person, from Yumi’s point of view. It gives us some serious insight into her thoughts. The rest of the Yamayurikai do not show up for this arc, something that is done correctly in the manga, but not in the anime.

2) The entire first part is Yumi at home with her family on New Year’s Eve and Day – all very normal family interaction and establishes her relationship with Yuuki much better than the anime does. It turns out that Yuuki was conceived right after her birth then born prematurely, so that he’s a little small for a boy. It mortifies Yumi that they look like twins, but she’s glad he’s a boy, so not in the same school as her. She’s also very older sister-y to him, despite the fact that they are pretty much the same age.

3) Sachiko’s New Year card was drawn with calligraphy pen and ink – Yumi did hers on the word processor with clip art, last minute, because she forgot. :-)

4) Yumi hears the phone ring and her mother answer it, and based on the responses, she thinks it must be her grandmother, because her mother is speaking so formally. So she’s quite shocked to find out that it’s Sei.

5) Yumi’s first thought at Sei’s invitation to hatsumode (first shrine
visit of the new year) is that she might get to see Sachiko praying at the shrine in kimono.

6) Sei goes from speaking like an old man, wanting to see Yumi’s pajamas in her bag, to speaking like a child – probably just to drive Yumi crazy. When Yumi asks how Sei got there, Sei responds, “bun bun” – like a baby calling a car a “vroom vroom.”

Sei shoves a bag of sweets in Yumi’s coat pocket, then spends the rest of the scene reaching into Yumi’s pocket to pull out candy. (Yumi does, as well, so the scenes are accented with flavors as she puts pieces in her mouth.)

7) When they get to the shrine, Sei makes them get fortunes first. Yumi finds it hard to believe that Sei is even normally religious (and, in fact, Sei never prays while at the shrine), but when she sees that pretty young miko seem to be handing out the omikuji, Yumi becomes suspicious of Sei’s motives.

Sei comments that in Yumi’s family, she can tell that Maria-sama and Buddha live side by side, because of the smell of incense and sacred wine that comes from Yumi. Yumi starts to protest, but Sei just looks at her seriously and says that it was just a metaphor. Yumi think that she’s right though – although her family isn’t religious, they have ofuda hanging, and Yuuki has Buddhist objects from Hanadera Academy, while she, obviously, has Christian things from Lillian.

8) When they finally get up to the front of the line Sei does, in fact, flirt with the miko, giving them openly “eroppoi” looks – let’s call it somewhere between a leer and bedroom eyes, shall we? When the miko hands over the omikuji, Sei takes her hand and holds it.

On the way to the car, Sei keeps handing Yumi all the bags of food to carry – at some point Yumi feels as if she’s running away from home.

9) It turns out that *Sachiko * was the one who coined the “Gingko Prince” nickname for Kashiwagi. (And, btw, neither Sei nor Yumi can remember his name initially.)

10) There is no butler at the door of Sachiko’s house, like in the anime – really, all the servants are gone. Yuuki answers the door, to Yumi’s shock. Which brings me to this point – Yuuki did not lose a bet at the game center – he WAS the bet. His friend Kobayashi lost to Kashiwagi, so Kashiwagi got Yuuki for the night. ^_^

11) When Sachiko comes to the door, we get a *detailed* description of her clothes, her hair – even how her make-up is romantic. Yumi is overcome by the desire to turn around and shout, “This lovely woman is my onee-sama!” to everyone and anyone around.

12) Sachiko’s mother, Sayoko, is very relaxed and delightful. She tells Yumi right off to call her Sayoko, and that she will call Yumi Yumi-chan. (Yumi notes that when Kashiwagi called her Yumi-chan, Sei got pissed, but when Sayoko does, Sei doesn’t protest.)

I think that Kashiwagi is gayer in the novel than he is in the anime. Remember – Sei pegged him immediately in the first novel. Here he serves tea…traditionally a woman’s job.

13) Sayoko plays cards with everyone and Yumi begins to really like her. But when Yumi catches Sayoko-obasama pouting at Sachiko she wants to run up and hug the older woman, because she’s so cute! (I’m SO sorry we didn’t have time in the anime to get to know Sayoko better – she’s really adorable.) Oh, and Yumi recognizes the pout – she’s seen Sachiko use it on Rosa Chinensis.

14) Yumi catches Kashiwagi stealing sushi out of Sachiko’s box and gets indignant…even when she realizes that he’s probably just taking the things she doesn’t like, it still annoys her. In her head she calls him, “You bastard Kashiwagi” – in the same tone of voice that Rosa Gigantea uses when she talks to him.

Oh – when the sushi is opened, both Yuuki and Yumi hesitate to eat it, knowing that if they do, they will never be able to eat sushi again. ^_^ (I’ve had that problem myself, so I sympathize. Once you’ve had good sushi, you can never order it again at a place that’s mediocre.)

14) Unlike in the anime, (where Sachiko and Yumi never had this talk) Yumi *does* know about Kashiwagi’s sexual preference and she worries through the whole story about Yuuki. (Acting older sister-y again – and she’s very conscious of the fact.)

15) Kashiwagi and Sei get into an argument just before Sayoko comes by with the Nakakiyono paper and brushes. Kashiwagi complains that no one likes him because he’s too cool. Yumi think of Yoshino’s line – “your brain is turning into miso.”
Sei just clears her throat derisively.

Sayoko and the boys all do the Nakakiyono charm with the girls. Yumi complains that her writing is terrible – she’s not used to writing vertically, or right to left, or with a brush. Then she sees Yuuki’s characters and feels better.

16) And last of all, Yumi’s first dream of the New Year is this:

Sachiko, dressed as Benten, goddess of wisdom, is staggering under many large black boxes of sushi, while Sei, as Kokuten, god of wealth, has bags of takoyaki and roasted corn in one hand and in the  other from her mallet flows a wave of candy, “falling down like a never-ending rain.”

The End

I have to say that, with every Marimite novel I read, I’m falling harder for all the main characters. They’re just so darned delightful.

I’ve just finished the fifth novel, and am looking forward to jumping into the sixth one asap!

Once again, a fun book from Konno Oyuki, a woman for whom I have nothing but immense respect as a writer. (Except her puns kill me.)

Oh, and btw…Sei is really gay. ^_^

Rosa Canina
Part 1

Wahhh! I thought I had posted this weeks ago, but find I did not. Oh well.

Before I say anything else, I want to say this – the anime did *such* a disservice to Sachiko. She is, without fail, THE most romantic character I’ve come across in a years. She is always touching Yumi, caressing her, snuggling her, and generally doing unbelievably romantic things. (like the hair ribbon in the last book….)

The anime failed to communicate that well – not because of any flaw in Sachiko, but because we see it through Yumi’s eyes and she feels so unworthy that she doesn’t take note of it. She sees Sachiko’s attention as being corrected, when it really means that Sachiko simply cannot take her eyes (and hands) off Yumi.

Sachiko’s only real fault is that she doesn’t want to burden Yumi with her own worries…and of course, that’s what blows up in their face in Rainy Blue…but I digress. In any case,I am now, officially, a Sachiko fan. ^_^

Notes on Rosa Canina, by Konno Oyuki

Once again there is suprisingly little change from the anime or the manga) with about three small scenes cut from the anime altogether. The election arc takes about half the book, while the New Year’s arc is the other half – so there wasn’t as much detail lost in the translation to anime as I feared. The changes to the New Year’s Day arc in the anime were sort of odd, but the manga has remained much closer to the novel.

1) The “Cast of Characters” at the beginning of the book is presented as snapshots by Tsutako. I really liked that. ^_^

2) At the beginning of term ceremony, Yumi watches for Sachiko while waiting for all the older students to be seated. She’s so obsessive that, as she drifts off into a nap, Yumi dreams that she has “Sachiko-itis” and that Sei is a doctor who tells her that she’ll have to take medicine after every meal.

3) Shimako acts “uncharacteristically” throughout the whole novel…which leads me to believe that Yumi doesn’t really understand Shimako’s character at all. (Shimako bursts into the Council room, she runs after the bus waving her arms and calling for it to stop, and later cries in Sei’s arms.)

4) And how is it that Yumi has never heard of the school elections or how they work?

5) On the bus that afternoon, Sachiko asks Yumi to sit close and leans on her. They huddle for warmth and space. Yumi, who has been feeling very distant from Sachiko is thrilled, but also still feeling distant.

6) The reason Yumi thinks that Rosa Canina should be a black color, is that black is the traditional color for villains.

7) Tsutako comments that Yumi has a natural charm, and Yumi misunderstands her to mean that she is a natural goof. (We also get several mentions in this novel of Yumi’s low-self-esteem/self-abhorrence from Yumi herself.) Tsutako tells Yumi that that is NOT what she meant, and we get a teeny little glimpse into a Tsutako that is just a teeny little jealous of Yumi and Sachiko.

8) In the classroom, Shimako is standing in front of a window with mist on it, and Yumi thinks it makes her look like she has wings. This prompts a thought in Yumi’s mind that white is definitely angel-like Shimako’s color, at which Tsutako (who has clearly had the same thought) turns to Yumi and jokes that as she’s a member of the Red Rose family, she’s going to have to blush every day. :-)

9) Initially, a big part of Yumi’s stress factor over the school elections is the concern that Shizuka may supplant Sachiko as Rosa Chinensis. She isn’t really aware that Shizuka poses the biggest threat to Shimako until it is pointed out to her. (The other half of her concerns – the part that blows up in Yumi’s face over and over is that both she and Sachiko sort of feel that they ought to be able to intuit each other’s needs, and thoughts and moods. Since neither really knows what the other is thinking, they base their actions of what they *think* the other is thinking and get upset when that doesn’t seem to be working. This will be a theme that comes back over and over…)

10) No one really remembers Shizuka, because at the school festival, her hair was long. It is rumored that Shizuka cut her hair to mimic Sei, since she was (so the school newspaper reported,) a leading candidate for the position Sei’s petite soeur. When this rumor is revealed, Sachiko wonders if Shizuka is anything like Shiori, while Rei says that Shizuka seems like the kind of person who deserves to be at the Rose Mansion.

11) Tsutako is the one who reveals Shizuka’s information to Yumi, not Yoshino, as in the anime.

12) In the library, after Yoshino explains that Shizuka, aka Rosa Canina, is the nice librarian who helped Yumi, Yumi notices slips of paper marking pages in the books she is holding. One after the other, they mark the pages with pictures of Rosa Chinensis. The last one marks Rosa Canina. Yumi and Yoshino think that it must be a message from the enemy.

13) Shimako confesses to Yumi the one of the reasons that she is not running is that she has never really had a chance at “normal” student life, because she was brought into the Yamayurikai almost immediately upon entering. She expresses a desire to become friends with Yoshino and Yumi. (Later we learn that one of the reasons Shizuka considered running for the Yamayurikai is that she’s been in chorus as a soloist from
the beginning and she wanted to be in a “normal” club. Sei points out, rather sarcastically, that being a member of the Student Council is hardly “normal” student
life.)

In the manga, we get foreshadowing of Shimako’s later arc, with comments inside her head like, “Every day I am here, I’m committing a crime.” But those are not in the novel.

15) When they hear Shizuka’s footsteps on the stairs, Yumi thinks it must be Rosa Chinensis, because the footsteps are soft and even, like Youko’s or Shimako’s. She notes that her footstep ID is getting better, although not as good as Sei’s.

16) One thing not really captured in the anime or manga is that Shimako is really cold, and almost rude, to Shizuka when she comes to the Rose Mansion to make her offer. (It’s done well in the Drama CD, though.)

17) In the manga, when Shizuka meets Yumi in the hallway, Yoshino is with them. In the anime and novel Yumi is alone with Shizuka, until Sei joins her and Shizuka leaves.

18) Youko confronts Yumi about her role as imouto, not on a bench outside, but immediately outside the Rose Mansion door. She brings Yumi inside the storeroom on the first floor, puts her up against a wall, puts both hands on her shoulders and talks into Yumi’s face.

In the anime, Youko never touches Yumi, until she is about to graduate. In the manga, Yumi is once again on the bench, and Youko has brought Sachiko with her, instead of sending Yumi up to her. The manga also cuts out the lecture Youko gives about how, as she’s the little sister, it’s not Yumi’s job to worry. She should simply support her onee-sama and be cheerful for her. It’s the older sister’s job to be responsible. As the chapter is called “What is a little sister?” I was sad that they cut the speech, since it answers half of Yumi’s concerns.

18) When Sachiko sees Yumi again and realizes that they have both been worried about their onee-sama, she tells Yumi that what she wants most from Yumi is that when she is down, for Yumi to hold her hand.

When Sachiko goes to give her speech, Yumi kvells at her from the wings. (“Kvelling” is a yiddish word for when you’re so proud and happy that you want to burst.)

19) Cut scenes:

Shizuka’s supporters, wearing Rosa Canina headbands and shouting her name at the assembly.

Shizuka asks Sei to meet her after the elections, regardless of the outcome. (Very well done in the Drama CD, though. This request is part of what sparks Sei’s genuine interest in Shizuka.)

Yumi, Sachiko, Rei and Yoshino in the Rose Mansion, waiting to get the results of the election. When they go to learn who has won, Sachiko asks that Yumi and Yoshino stand with her and Rei. Shimako comes late because she was at a committee meeting; Shizuka never even shows (she’s busy meeting Sei and, in any case, as she says, she’s not really concerned with the outcome.)

20) Sei meets Shizuka, as requested. The scene is pretty much intact in the anime (with the exception of Shizuka’s reasoning for wanting to run.) Since we originally saw this scene without having seen Sei’s arc, we lack a little crucial information – Shizuka is, IMHO, coming on rather strongly to Sei. “I wanted to see my reflection in your eyes just once.” Go home and try that. You have to be darned close to see your reflection in someone’s eyes. Shizuka admits that she doesn’t want to be Sei’s soeur…and Sei understands, I think, and gives her a kiss as a “going away present.” It’s an *incredibly* sexy scene between them.

21) Yumi, who has been eavesdropping, thinks to herself that if she ever saw Sachiko kissing anyone, on the cheek or forehead, she’d freak. So she promises Sei she won’t tell Shimako, but Sei can’t understand why.

22) After Yoshino and Rei leave (and my, isn’t the interaction between them really suspicious! Yoshino comes running up, grabs Rei’s arm and the two of them hustle off, “Got to go! Bye!” and they practically run off together….uh-huh, she says, knowingly…) Yumi sees Shimako crying in Sei’s arms. Sachiko and she leave and Yumi asks Sachiko if she can do anything for her – anything at all. She’d bungee jump, eat glass, whatever. ^_^

Sachiko just asks if they can go back to the Rose Mansion and eat the lunches they couldn’t eat earlier out of nervousness. “Seeing your face has suddenly given me an appetite.”

The End of Part 1