I just wanted to clear up any confusion about a cultural occurrence in episode 07. So please don’t read any further if you haven’t watched it yet.
The second button on a boy’s high school uniform has a very romantic meaning associated with it. During graduation, the boy either gives his second button to the girl he likes, or a girl can ask the boy that she likes to give the button to her. The second button is considered to be the one closest to your heart and thus contains all of your emotions and experiences during your high school career. So giving the second button to a girl is basically like confessing your love for her. Those Japanese sure are creative with their customs.
Also another note about the “escalator system.” I’m sure most of you have figured it out, but their high school has an affiliation with a local university, and thus the high school is basically a feeder for the university. As an affiliated university, many of the tests and requirements are removed for students of the affiliated high school. But I’m sure you all knew that already. 😉
10:57 pm on May 17th, 2008
oh, why, thank you captain obvious. LOL, jk!
12:05 am on May 18th, 2008
Go volunteer and add some sex to that Haruhi VN.
2:30 am on May 18th, 2008
haha yea… I only knew this from Lucky Star -__-
9:43 am on May 18th, 2008
That’s nice to know… but, wouldn’t it be better if you put that in a translator’s note in that actual anime?
4:51 pm on May 18th, 2008
yeah thx for not putting this as a translator note in the ep – it’d only have been unnecessarily disturbing because it attracts attention that is better spent on other things
thx for the great job like always 🙂
7:50 pm on May 18th, 2008
No, we have a policy for not including trivial notes in the subs because:
1. it’s distracting as hell.
2. it’s insulting to people who already know, because it would look like we’re assuming the audience is ignorant.
3. we’re not an encyclopaedia.
4. it really is trivial.
If people really didn’t know and wanted to find out, they can always read this website.
10:53 pm on May 18th, 2008
+1 to post 6!
7:17 am on May 19th, 2008
^@xcess
. . .5. It should be friggin obvious what fantasy Irie-kun was giving fantasy Kotoko and what it meant just by watching the visuals alone, yew weaboo n00bs.
7:43 am on May 19th, 2008
or you could like… add the translation notes AFTER the episode? That way people who want to avoid it can, and the “slow” ones among us viewers can see what they missed 😛
8:57 am on May 19th, 2008
Well, I really don’t want to be an encyclopaedia though. Soon, we’d end up explaining things like Japanese school hours, school days, exam system, valentine chocolates, why you call strangers uncle and auntie, taking shoes off in the house, so on and so forth.
The amount of notes would be overwhelming. Space is extremely limited in subs too. It’s not so limited on this blog.
2:49 pm on May 19th, 2008
Thanks Xess for enlightening us with your explanations. I for one appreciate it.
BTW; a similar scene of the ‘second button’ can be seen on ToHeart – Remember My Memories.
Off-topic: Do you or anybody knows the song used on the “Sekai Days” spoof? I’ve seached far and wide with no results.
1:29 am on May 20th, 2008
@10.xess, it would be cool to have a cultural notes page here :), maybe under the “bored” section? i wanna feed the fishies and learn japanese culture at the same time!
10:18 am on May 20th, 2008
I guess that could be added into the bored section as we go along.
11:48 am on May 20th, 2008
Off topic for a while,when the next episode of Special A going to be released?
12:09 am on May 21st, 2008
alright! itll help out some of us who are japanese culturally ignorant