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Maria Sama Ga Miteru in English




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rphjas



Joined: 06 Aug 2004
Posts: 7
Location: Fayetteville NC
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 4:37 am Reply with quote
I was wondering if the manga or novels of Maria-sama Ga Miteru will be published in English sometime in the future? Are there any plans for this? I would so like to read the original works, but at age 47 the prospect of learning a new language daunts me...
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 16422
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 5:17 am Reply with quote
You're never too old to learn.
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rphjas



Joined: 06 Aug 2004
Posts: 7
Location: Fayetteville NC
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 5:26 am Reply with quote
Oh but I am..I have trouble enough helping Lauren with her homework!
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abunai
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Joined: 05 Mar 2004
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Location: 露命
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 7:49 am Reply with quote
Japanese is easy to learn to speak, but it does take a lot of time to get fluent enough to read it.

At first, you're better off reading the manga that are intended for the younger agegroups (if you can muster any interest in the somewhat simple plotlines). Such manga often use only the basic kana (syllabaries), and any kanji (ideograms) that are used are generally accompanied by furigana (pronunciation guides in small type, next to the kanji, making it easier to understand the meaning).

I might suggest starting out with something easy like Pretty Cure, which is fairly simply written. Based on the character sets in use, I estimate the minimum school grade necessary to read it (given Japanese education standards) to be around third or fourth grade. In other words, they're written for 10-year-olds and up.

Any Westerner who takes up learning Japanese should be able to read such a text no later than by the end of the second year, unless you're training intensively - in which case, you might be able to get that far in the course of five or six months.

Reading MariMite with the aid of a dictionary should be possible after about 5 years - or about 18 months of intensive training.

- abunai
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Cloe
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Joined: 18 Feb 2004
Posts: 2728
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 4:56 pm Reply with quote
Wait, MariMite was a manga, originally? I didn't find any information in the encyclopedia...

Advice on learning to read Japanese is good and all, but is it really answering rphjas's original question? Anime smallmouth + sweatdrop
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abunai
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Joined: 05 Mar 2004
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 5:02 pm Reply with quote
Cloe wrote:
Wait, MariMite was a manga, originally? I didn't find any information in the encyclopedia...

It started out as a series of novels - but yes, there's a manga. The anime derives from the manga (mostly). Or, as I wrote in the Trivia section for MariMite:

Quote:
Based on a popular manga, "Sachiko and Yumi" by Nagasawa Satoru, which in turn is based on the novel series (17 novels in all, including one that never reached publication) by Konno Oyuki.


Cloe wrote:
Advice on learning to read Japanese is good and all, but is it really answering rphjas's original question? Anime smallmouth + sweatdrop

Heh - maybe not directly, but since rphjas and I are roughly in the same age group (I'll be 40 on April 16th - you've still got time to send me a birthday card!), I feel entitled to comment on this:

rphjas wrote:
I would so like to read the original works, but at age 47 the prospect of learning a new language daunts me...

I love learning new languages. It's always both easier and harder than expected, and it never fails to provide new insight into humanity.

- abunai
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Cloe
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Joined: 18 Feb 2004
Posts: 2728
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 5:32 pm Reply with quote
abunai wrote:
It started out as a series of novels - but yes, there's a manga. The anime derives from the manga (mostly). Or, as I wrote in the Trivia section for MariMite...


Ah, silly me. Next time I'll make sure to check all the information under the anime title before jumping straight into the manga encyclopedia.

abunai wrote:
I love learning new languages. It's always both easier and harder than expected...


This is very true. I'm slooooowly plodding through Mandarin lessons (my goal is to be able to carry on very simple small talk with my future mother-in-law when she comes from Nan Chang to visit in May--I don't know if I'll be able to do it, though!) and I'm having trouble getting past the tone barrier. I'm having trouble even pronouncing "wo" right. sigh...
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abunai
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Joined: 05 Mar 2004
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 5:43 pm Reply with quote
Cloe wrote:
abunai wrote:
It started out as a series of novels - but yes, there's a manga. The anime derives from the manga (mostly). Or, as I wrote in the Trivia section for MariMite...


Ah, silly me. Next time I'll make sure to check all the information under the anime title before jumping straight into the manga encyclopedia.


Aha! My ears, while aged, are still sharp - and they detect the tell-tale sound of sarcasm... Smile

Maybe I should add a corresponding entry to the manga Trivia.

Cloe wrote:
abunai wrote:
I love learning new languages. It's always both easier and harder than expected...


This is very true. I'm slooooowly plodding through Mandarin lessons (my goal is to be able to carry on very simple small talk with my future mother-in-law when she comes from Nan Chang to visit in May--I don't know if I'll be able to do it, though!) and I'm having trouble getting past the tone barrier. I'm having trouble even pronouncing "wo" right. sigh...


I share your pain. I've had a few cares and wos of that sort, myself. Wink Never had to learn a tonal language, yet, though. Thank Providence. I fear I'd fail miserably at it, since (unlike sarcasm) I don't have much of an ear for tone.

- abunai
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Cloe
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Joined: 18 Feb 2004
Posts: 2728
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 5:49 pm Reply with quote
abunai wrote:
Aha! My ears, while aged, are still sharp - and they detect the tell-tale sound of sarcasm... Smile


I'm sorry. I was being sincere... I didn't mean to sound sarcastic. Sad
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