Japanese Reading Report: 03 November 2024

This was the week before my birthday, and I'm currently spending some time with my family in the outback. It's also my first report after being completely done with school work for the year. Assuming there are no catastrophic issues with my assignments I am officially done with my second year of University!

Like last week, this week I read Lolita at every free moment, however I was fairly busy trying to make time for assignments and family time so I didn't end up reading as much as I'd have liked. Also like last week please take the content warning seriously and avoid reading this if it could disturb you.

I also watched some more フルーツバスケット so feel free to skip right to that if you're interested in my thoughts about episodes that finally move beyond the content of the OG anime.
Finally I watched a few episodes of a variety of anime because the internet here is spotty at best.

ロリータ

Chapter 29 starts as a very interesting one-man performance with a second body in the room. Just like chapter 28 it mostly plays within Humbert's head as he can't get himself to take what he has right in front of him. Lo shifts in and out of consciousness throughout the night, and I suppose that's sufficient for him to feel too uncomfortable to make a move on her. So he spends the entire night floating through the room, pacing, waiting for a divine decision to call out and give him a sign to go ahead.

Eventually Humbert falls asleep. When the sun rises he and Lo wake up. The second half of the chapter pivots into the first real sex scene of the book. It's quite long, filled with all the expected Humbert charm and trim, and more begging the reader to understand his point of view.

Chapter 30, I imagine, is the chapter "depicting" the actual sex act, but it's so dense with metaphor that I honestly didn't really get it. It's about one page long, but I'd probably have to spend a few hours deciphering all of the text. Pinned for the English re-read for sure.

Chapter 31 is yet another dedicated to justifying Humbert's actions. "The age of maturity is 12 in Cincinnati, in St Louis, in Chicago." And Dolores was born only a stone's throw away from Cincinnati...

From what I could infer they have sex around three times. When cleaners approach the room, Humbert anxiously pushes Dolores into the bathroom -- I think he's generally a bit pushier in the final moments of this act. Dolores occupies herself by reading a magazine during the hotel checkout. Her lack of communication frustrates Humbert, but he's aware of the volatility of the situation so he doesn't want to push his luck. Eventually she breaks the silence, pointing out a dead squirrel on the road. Then she tells him that she's mad at him; that she ought to call the police on him for raping her. She calls him a gross, perverse, old man. He doesn't disagree.

They eventually stop at a gas station and Dolores spends an unusually lengthy time (according to Humbert) in the bathroom. It's fairly clear (from the way she is described sitting in the hotel lobby and the car seat, and the private time in bathroom) she this is a result of her being in some kind of pain or discomfort or stimulation in her private areas from sex.
When she returns she asks for money to call the hospital so she can ask about her mother. Humbert finally relents with the truth.
Of course I'd known the truth this whole time; as a reader I almost feel like an accomplice sharing in Humbert's blame. But when he finally told Dolores the truth I felt like I was hearing it for the first time, and tears rolled down my eyes. In his narration, Humbert is able to objectify so much of the story. Last week I barely covered the horror of Charlotte's death because it just didn't feel important in Humbert's version of events (it's kind of a relief at the time). But she was Dolores' mother and a woman in her own right who was just trying to protect her daughter.

The final chapter of the act is equally devastating. First, Humbert itemises a variety of items bought (to relieve Lo's distress, no doubt) in Leppington. They stay in individual hotel rooms, but Lo comes to cry in Humbert's room before the night is out. He closes the act explaining,

おわかりのとおり、彼女にはまったく他のどこにも行く当てがなかったのである。
Part 2 started off fairly slow for me. The first chapter sort of catches the reader up on how the road trip is going, but a large portion of it was dedicated to how Humbert is upset that Lo is not really seeing his point of view. This chapter included one section that I really enjoyed, though. For about 2-3 pages, Humbert goes on a long-winded monologue to Lo about their situation. I think this was the first time he's ever really gone full rhetoric mode on her (as opposed to the reader). His arguments start off fairly familiar: "look at these photographs, see how other people have enjoyed our kind of relationship before. See how normal it is for a father and daughter to love each other like we do." That sort of thing. He then brings up the Mann Code and another case where an adult man was charged with imprisonment and slaving for what he did to his 9-year-old daughter. The purpose of this was for Humbert to then explain that Dolores is not 9, she's 12. She's not a child, she's capable and mature. The third point of rhetoric was what I could only describe as, "This is the best of a bad situation". He explains that if she were to go to the police and have him locked away he would go to prison, sure, but she would have a black mark against her reputation forever. She'd no longer be able to live a carefree life, wearing whatever she wishes, travelling across the country, interacting with whoever she wishes. She would be put in her own prison by society who would see her as a victim who can't act freely.
It's unclear if any of his arguments really get through to her.

The remaining chapters I read this week (2-5 and a bit of 6) include anecdotes of various places they visit. I recall Humbert listing clouds and weather patterns at one point. Hills and farms at another point. Dolores rides horses, they play a bit of tennis, and full year passes.

Eventually Humbert decides that they need to deal with the money issue. He catalogues the cost of the trip so far, and it's clear that he doesn't have enough money for another year of travelling. Chapter 5 and 6 mostly feature an all-girl's school that Humbert is interested in. There was a fun part towards the end of chapter 5 where he describes a property he was staying in which had a perfect view of the girl's school, and how construction workers came and started building a wall blocking his view. He really is the most punished man.

At this point Humbert has also introduced his long-term plans to create generations of Lolitas. It's honestly so absurd that it's hard to take the plan seriously at all.

フルーツバスケット 1st Season

花島's backstory episode was very good. A great start to the week of watching the show. It really demonstrates the strong bond between the three main girls, and particularly 透's ability to accept anyone without bias or fear. The episode about 夾's true form came and went. The same final scene that I loved was present in the remake, but all of the high drama and setup just wasn't there this time. 透 is able to accept 夾 much more readily, and she does it without the support of 由希 or her girl friends.
The final episode of the season is the 藉真 x 夾 backstory episode. It's done about as well as the OG anime version. The second half of the episode introduces (or at least makes prominent) 由希 's (still unspoken) 'secret' which he seems torn about sharing with 透. It also sets up some cliffhanger moments in anticipation of...

フルーツバスケット 2nd Season

Episode 1 of the season starts with a remake of another OG episode I enjoyed -- the 皆川素子 episode. Not too much was changed, except the moment that 素子 realises she will graduate and move on from 由希 and others mostly comes from herself this time. It felt a bit less impactful to not involve her friends and the tragedy of time on all kinds of relationships. The episode also introduces two new characters, 真鍋 and 倉伎. Something about them is just up, and 真鍋 in particular rubs 由希 the wrong way. 由希 really hates having his feminine features surfaced... some deep trauma I hope we can examine later.

Summer holiday starts and a large portion of the cast spend time in a beach-side resort home. The head of the family, 慊人 finally gets fed up with 透 and decides to pay her a visit, flexing his power over the rest of the family. He threatens her and basically tells her to leave his family to their (his) devices. He also reveals that he is the kami/god from 十二支 mythology which I wasn't expecting. According to him the other members of the family draw energy/life from him, which is why they can't run away or kill him or anything. With this development in the story I can see how some people could consider the OG anime a bit of a hasty conclusion (but I still felt like it was good!).

ダンダダン

I watched another 2 episodes of this. Not too much to add, except that I had sort of forgotten the specifics of the Turbo Granny storyline and it was fun to watch 綾瀬 and オカルン execute their plan to draw her out of her territory. I'm still in awe of how good the show looks.

かくしごと

This was one that I sort of just had downloaded (crunchyroll offline mode) and available. It's about a dad who wants to keep his identity as a famous mangaka a secret from his daughter so that she won't discover that he wrote ecchi manga.
It's basically just a gag anime but the episodes have been pretty funny so far. Each episode is split into two parts.

There have been some funny gags that involve made up manga-based terminology. One was 漫豪（まんごう）, a play on 漫画 and 文豪 to describe a master of the manga arts.
Another was 漫筋（まんきん）, a play on 漫画 and 筋肉 to describe the different ways one can work out their body by reading a variety of genres of manga. It's very silly but pretty funny.