Continuing my summary of Kai’s summer novel story. I’m assuming people reading this have read the preamble in Part 1 already so I’ll pick up right where that one left off. This concludes the rest of Kai's chapter. Note that the original novel has some illustrations as well that I won't be including here.
Characters: Kai, Fumi, Sou, Suzu, Tsuki
Please let me know if you note any errors or corrections!
Part 3 Cont'd:
After Sou ran off on their way back to the dorm, we cut to Kai back in his room lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. He wonders what he should have said to Sou just then.
His mind then jumps back to a memory from when he first started Univeil. He went to class and it was all abuzz with excitement among the new students. Until one student showed up late. Fumi walks in and the whole class goes silent. Nobody can look away from him. And yet, he doesn’t return anyone’s stares. He doesn’t look at anyone in return.
Kai clenches his fist under the desk and he immediately has thoughts about quitting, about not being cut out for this place. But he has nowhere else to go. (カイはこの場から逃げ出したくなった。帰る場所もないのに). There’s also the recurring symbolism of heat/passion suddenly disappearing and freezing over (熱がどんどん下がっていく。凍えてしまいそうなくらいだ)
Then Tsuki enters the scene and the whole class seems to remember to breathe again. Kai turns to look over at Fumi who is staring directly at Tsuki like a beast stalking its prey (獲物を見つけた獣のような瞳だった)
Kai feels like he’s entirely out of his depth and that there’s no way he can stand on stage with these people. He thinks that this must be the same defeat that Sou felt when he saw Suzu.
Part 4:
We cut to another day where Suzu asks Kai if they can practice again. Sou is acting as if nothing happened earlier. But then Kaido walks in to question what the heck they’re thinking by making Kisa a Jack. (Side note: Kai still cannot fathom why Kaido considers him one of his big rivals, even back when Kai just had nameless ensemble roles as a first-year).
Kaido decides to have a bit of fun and challenges them to an Onyx Jack exercise, a sort of…competitive bowing practice? (礼練) They essentially have to bow to each other but do so in a way that it conveys a particular sort of character for the others to guess. Kaido puts Kai on the spot, telling him to give them a “model demonstration” of the perfect bow. Kai does so. It has the very clean and proper feeling like a doorman at a fancy hotel. Kaido says that it’s so perfect, it makes him want to offer Kai a job. Kai doesn’t know if he’s joking or not so he just says thanks.
Then Kaido readies himself to go next. Before he’s even done anything, Kai already feels like he lost the competition. Kaido bows in a dramatic fashion, giving the sense that he’s bowing to a queen from a rival country that he’s secretly in love with. Everyone is quite impressed.
Kaido then passes the baton on to Suzu, who jumps in eagerly even though he isn’t sure he can top that. He ends up doing a traditional Japanese seiza seated bow while kneeling on the ground. He tried to think outside of the box since he didn’t feel like he could compete otherwise. Kaido is impressed and declares him the winner, but Suzu says Sou hasn’t had a turn yet. Kai cringes inside. He doesn’t think this will go well.
They all turn to look at Sou who says “That’s because, it’s because I’m a Jeanne”. He spoke in a way like he was both laughing and crying.
「僕は」
世長らしくない早口だった。
「僕は、ジャンヌですから」
笑うように、泣くように、彼は言った。
Sou then runs off and Kai follows after him. Sou apologizes for failing to live up to all the things Kai taught him. He talks about others in his year being so far ahead of him, how there are chosen and unchosen people. And that for the unchosen, they fall so far behind the distance is endless. (Note: Sou uses this same wording in JP in the fall arc)
「同期って、遠いですね」
選ばれる人間と選ばれない人間。
同期という囲いにいながら最も遠く果てしない相手。
Not wanting to slip even further behind, Sou decides he needs to concentrate all his efforts on being a Jeanne. Kai says he’ll let Suzu know that Sou won’t be joining in on their practices anymore. Sou thanks Kai and says he had fun while it lasted.
Kai returns to the practice room to find Suzu sitting against the wall. Suzu asks how Sou is doing and Kai says that he is choosing instead to focus on being a Jeanne. “So he’s not gonna do it anymore?” “…Yeah.” Suzu is clearly upset by this and goes quiet. Kai tells him that it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t get the sense that Sou blamed Suzu for any of this. But Kai also thinks that this is something only people like him and Sou who have experienced that defeated feeling of being so outclassed by one’s peers can understand.
But Suzu completely catches Kai off guard. “Sou is so far ahead of me.” (「世長が遠いッス」) Kai doesn’t know how to react. For a moment he thought maybe he misheard something. But the word rattles around in his brain. Ahead.
Suzu knows that Sou wanted to be a Jack and thinks he could get there if given a chance. But he also worries that he’s been pushing too many of his own feelings onto Sou. He sees Sou as incredible, as having so many skills and talents and insight that he lacks. He admits to being jealous of him, but whenever he tried to express that, Sou would dismiss it as “It’s nothing really. You’re far more amazing than I am.” It makes Suzu feel so distant from him.
Kai gets a pang in his chest. He remembers something, not about Sou and Suzu, but about himself and Fumi. He has trouble processing what he’s hearing. He thought that only people who were unable to stand on centre stage would have these kinds of feelings. In a truly sad moment, Suzu says that he wanted to practice together with Sou, as classmates and friends. He looks at Kai and says, “I’m lonely.”
(Note: Suzu feeling othered by his classmates who see him as “too good” is a recurring theme for him in the side content. I would recommend checking out his Ray of Light story for more on this)
We cut to Kai once again lying awake at night. He keeps drawing parallels between Sou and Suzu and himself and Fumi. If Suzu is having thoughts like this, is it possible that Fumi could as well? The idea that Fumi might think Kai was better at him in literally anything had never occurred to him before. He wonders if there were days where he hurt Fumi the way Suzu described Sou hurting him. He starts to feel overwhelmed by these thoughts, like countless hands are grasping at his body so he gets up. He wonders if Fumi is also feeling that same loneliness like Suzu. If he is, then what should Kai do about it?
“If only I had the ability.” He thinks that this applies to Sou too, that he could turn this all around if he just had the confidence in himself. But then his heart starts to sink again. He decides to leave the dorm and go to the practice room. He hears singing, luring him towards the voice. For a second he thinks he sees Tsuki in front of him, but it’s Kisa.
He then recalls another memory, one where he talked to Tsuki in the practice room on a night he couldn’t sleep. Despite Tsuki being so intimidating to him, Tsuki casually asks if he wants to practice together. Tsuki then looks at the two of them in the mirror and says that he looks like an Al Jeanne next to Kai’s Jack Ace. Kai says that’s ridiculous so Tsuki begins to act like a Jeanne and dance. But he stops himself and laughs, saying he can’t compete with Fumi.
『あー、やっぱりフミにはかなわないね』
Kai asks if even Tsuki finds Fumi that amazing. “He is. He really is. Even just dancing in a traditional *iemoto family is amazing enough. Although he’d definitely hate it if I said that.” Tsuki then does a highly accurate and funny impression of a bratty first-year Fumi saying “The hell are you talking about? I have zero connection to family” (『なに言ってんですか。家と俺は関係ねーし』).
(Note: iemoto is a specific type of strictly rigid and hierarchical family structure associated with traditional Japanese arts. I recently learned this term isn’t used in the EN version of the game, but it is a significant concept as part of Fumi’s backstory and character)
Tsuki says that Fumi has not just the natural talent, but also the upbringing and the competitive streak. Nevertheless, he also has his sore spots he’s sensitive about. Kai is surprised at how this could even be possible. Tsuki says that Fumi masks them under a show of strength so that others can’t see them. フミは強がりでもあるから、そういう弱い部分は見せないようにしてるけど……
Tsuki then looks at Kai again and says he thinks he’d work surprisingly well as Fumi’s Jack Ace.
『意外とカイは、フミと合うかもしれないね』
『えっ』
『カイがジャックエースで、フミがアルジャンヌ』
Naturally, Kai rejects this. He talks about there already being a Jack Ace in their year that Fumi paired with during the newcomers’ play. Tsuki then turns to Kai like he’s about to say something serious when suddenly….the memory cuts out. He wonders if Tsuki also couldn’t sleep that night.
Kisa notices Kai standing there and calls out to him. She’s pushing hard to expand her limits. This is after Kai gave her the speech about Mukai and how she doesn’t need to feel held back just because she doesn’t fit the typical Jack body type. She said it showed her there are no limits to what they can do and that she’s very appreciative of it (even when Kai says it’s no big deal). Kai then hears the line in his head:
“Kai, you must not create limits for yourself. Univeil is a place of freedom.”
――カイ、自分で自分の限界を作ってはいけないよ。ユニヴェールは自由な場所なんだから。
This is what Tsuki was trying to tell him in that memory. He wonders why he forgot about it. He thinks that this is what he should have said to Sou, but that would require him to follow the advice and break out of his limits as well (his line to Sou in fall is quite similar).
Kisa tells Kai that she loves his acting and that she thinks he and Fumi as partners look so cool together. Kai’s immediate reaction is deflecting this by assuming Kisa only thinks this because she didn’t see Fumi when he was paired with Tsuki (this isn’t even true; Kisa did see Tsuki perform with Fumi at least once). She looks so earnest about what she’s saying though that he doesn’t have the heart to reject her so he says thanks.
He gave up long ago on having hopes and expectations for himself or other people so he finds all this difficult. But he thinks that maybe the day will someday come where he can find the courage to change. If Sou could do it, maybe he could as well. He thinks of this dream where he could someday stand comfortably on equal footing with Fumi. It was just a dream, but one he thought he’d like to see. Since Univeil is a place of freedom.
Part 5:
Kai and Fumi are having a dance practice together. Kai says he’s an awkward dancer in comparison, but he does improve when he focuses all his concentration on Fumi.
But then, Fumi decides to flip the script and allows Kai to lead the dance instead. Almost on reflex, Kai takes this opportunity to put Fumi in the spotlight at the most exciting moment of the song. It was a small change, but they just did it there on the fly. Kai then wonders if he’s been pushing Fumi into the front too much in his efforts to show him off as the flower. This calls back to what Fumi said back in part 1.
Noticing that Kai is seeming more energetic and willing to try things, Fumi tries asking him again what he thinks about maybe putting himself in the spotlight more. But Kai, despite all of the buildup refuses, saying that he would be unable to fulfill his role as a vessel in that case.
「この勢いで、もっと前に出たらどうだ？」
「それじゃあ器の役目が果たせない」
さらなる要求は却下したが。
(don’t mind me as I slam my head into the wall ugh)
It ends with him watching the first-year trio in the dorm dining hall. They seem to be having fun, but he doesn’t know how they’re really doing inside. Even so, he can’t help but hope that they all get to carry out their dreams. Univeil is a place of freedom, after all.
-----------
And that's where it ends! Very frustrating, but also very Kai. You can tell Towada is building the groundwork for events in the fall arc.
Next up will be Suzu's chapter, "The Hairpin of Tears". Thanks for reading!
Since I don’t know of any current plans to translate the Jack Jeanne summer novel (ジャックジャンヌ ー夏劇ー) and I’ve been reading through it lately, I’ve decided to finally write some summary posts so that people can at least get a general idea for what the stories cover. (I hope to cover the whole book, but if not, I figure at least a partial recap is better than none).
The book starts off with Kai’s story which is by far the longest chapter. Each chapter is split into 3-5 parts, but some of these parts might be just a few lines long and some might be 20+ pages. Kai’s section will need to be split into 2 posts, but some of the others will be a fair bit shorter.
While you can skip around to your favourite character, the book is written in chronological order, starting during the preparations for the Weekend Lesson play and ending during their summer break. The stories do tie into each other somewhat, especially the first three. But each story involves interactions and dynamics between other characters so I will list out and tag characters who are relevant.
Characters: Kai, Fumi, Sou, Suzu
There aren’t any route spoilers, just some things from the summer common route and hints towards events that happen in the fall. The stories are told via a third-person limited POV from the perspective of the character the chapter is focused on so it allows us to see outside of Kisa’s POV. These aren’t re-tellings of game events, but new stories of things that canonically happened at the same time, written by the game’s lead scenario writer, Shin Towada.
Please let me know if you find any errors or corrections! While I did go back to check some things, these are largely based on my notes while reading so there may be things I've missed or misread.
Part 1
The book opens up with a description of Hasekura and Ando in the dance pub, introducing the basic plot of Weekend Lesson and the typical “intro to Univeil” spiel that they always seem compelled to include in case a non-Jack Jeanne fan just stumbled into reading this book somehow.
Kai struggles a lot with insecurity about not being a “true” Jack Ace and not matching Fumi’s level. This will be a core theme in this chapter that gets hammered in over and over by Kai’s inner monologue. There’s a line I quite like here about how a gear that is unable to mesh with others is just clattering and spinning around in pointless circles (誰かと嚙み合うことも、軋轢を生むこともない、カラカラと空回りするだけの歯車)
There is a conversation between the two of them after practice that I find telling. Fumi asks if maybe he’s being pushed into the spotlight too much. Kai says that actually Fumi should be up front and centre even moreso. Fumi counters by asking what if Kai was the one to stand in the spotlight more. Kai thinks to himself that, while he trusts Fumi, they will never agree on this topic. His role is to be the vessel, to support the flower, the star performer. (Hasekura is the main character of the entire play, but Kai can’t seem to see beyond these rigid flower/vessel roles).
Fumi says it would be fun to have Kai in the front more, but Kai insists this would confuse the audience and that he wouldn’t be able to be a proper vessel if he did that. Fumi gives a wry smile and Kai thinks that maybe he’s thinking about Tsuki. Tsuki and Fumi on stage together were like two giant flowers. But Tsuki was special in a way Kai thinks he could never be. He’s only suited to being a vessel, nothing more. He considers himself “just a gear,” acting for Quartz’s sake (カイはその歯車の一つでしかない).
Kai looks over towards the Jeannes and he sees Sou watching Suzu “as if he’s looking out at a beautiful view in the distance” (まるで遠くかすむ美しい景色を眺めるかのように) He feels a pang in his chest as he recalls an old memory: this is how he used to look at Fumi as a first-year (一年生だったカイは、我がもの顔で踊るフミを見ていた). He describes Fumi as dancing like he owns the place and as a violent flower that was hard to look away from.
He then looks over towards Kisa. He notes that for the Jack and Jeanne roles to work, gender distinctions have to be exaggerated more than typical for men and women. But he senses that Kisa’s acting in particular has the freedom to extend beyond these gender constraints (しかし希佐の芝居には性別に囚われない独特な自由さを感じることがある) This is why he thinks she was assigned to be a Jack. He watches as Suzu calls out to Kisa and her face lights up while Sou’s face darkens and he drops his gaze to the floor.
Mitsuki then approaches Kai and Kai asks about how practice is going with the Jeannes. Mitsuki mentions that Sou might have a hard time with it. Kai senses a feeling of doom building up in Sou.
Part 2
Kai is practicing on a Saturday morning, wondering why he and Fumi have been so out of sync lately. He wonders if maybe his dancing isn’t good enough, but Fumi would’ve told him if that was the case. So he can't seem to figure out the problem.
Suzu approaches him and asks if Kai could teach him some of the fundamentals of being a Jack. Suzu thinks that Kisa has adapted to being a Jack so quickly because she has such a good grasp on these core principles which he might be losing sight of.
Kai thinks that, while Suzu does know those principles already, he has the tendency to make roles more like himself, which can be both a strength and a weakness. In comparison to Kisa, who is highly adaptable, but doesn’t have her own distinctive flavour. He doesn’t view one as better than the other, just different.
Kai agrees to teach Suzu then he notices Sou watching them. Sou turns away, but Suzu drags him over to join them and eventually convinces him to join in on their Jack practice. The exercise they do is called “One Life Jack” where they are given numbers and have to act out scenes from a person’s life at that particular age. They can be from personal experience or made up. Everyone else tries to guess the sort of scene that is being acted out. Suzu does well at first, quickly thinking up characters to act out that seem to be much like him: energetic and cheerful characters. Meanwhile Sou takes longer to come up with his characters and it’s less clear if they’re representing him or someone else.
When Kai calls out the number 18, Suzu noticeably struggles. He has no experience being 18 and doesn’t know what to draw on. He clumsily tries to act out a part-time job. When Sou is told to also act out “18” he conveys this entire scene of a student writing his university entrance exams and failing. Kai then tells him to do “19” which Sou acts as the same character coming back and writing the tests again. Instead of disappointment, the character shows nonchalant acceptance of the result. Previously Sou and Suzu had been alternating but this time Kai starts having Sou act out year after year rapid-fire. “20” he’s working as a part-time delivery driver. “21” he finds a romantic partner and a full-time job. “22” they broke up.
They make it all the way up to age 49 before Mitsuki enters the scene and says Neji is calling for Kai. Kai tells Sou his Jack acting was quite interesting and they should do it again sometime. Sou’s face seems to light up.
Part 3
The three of them continue having these regular practices and Suzu is quite impressed at how well Sou does with it. One night, Suzu heads off after to get some food so Sou and Kai stick around late and walk back to the dorm together.
Kai knows that Sou wanted to be a Jack. He tries to broach the subject by asking what kind of Jack he’d like to be. Sou is reluctant to answer, but Kai waits for a response. Sou says he thought the Sleepless King from the newcomers’ performance was pretty cool.
Kai says that if it was him playing the role, he’d do it differently than Suzu’s version. His version would be more overbearing and demanding. He then demonstrates a bit of this version which is described as sharp, irritable, and wolf-like. Sou feels unnerved seeing it, but he relaxes again when Kai breaks character.
Kai tries to casually ask Sou what his version would look like. Sou says he’d play the king as someone who secretly hoped deep down that someone would love him, despite him rejecting everyone. His king would be a pathetic and cowardly sort of man who lashes out to hide his insecurities (臆病で、傷つきやすくて、その弱さを隠すため、攻撃的になる。俺に触れるな近づくなと叫びながら、本当は優しく抱きしめて欲しくて……).
Kai says that this king would have a lot of feelings when he wakes up to see the maiden in the morning. Sou says his king would lie awake at night, wondering what would happen if the maiden grew to hate him and left to return to her village. He’s scared to face her each morning in case things have changed, and yet he still wants to see her. And she’s always the first one waiting there. (娘に嫌われたらどうしよう。娘が村に帰ってしまったらどうしよう、って。不安で不安でどうしようもなくて、朝、謁見の間に行くのも恐ろしい).
It appears as if Sou had already imagined this version of the king many times. He says he doesn’t ultimately think the king and the maiden have a happy ending together. He thinks that the maiden will be whisked away by someone else who can make her happy and the king will be left with his hopes of being loved unfulfilled. The curtain falls sadly on the lonely king as he faces away from the audience (「哀しく幕が下りてしまうんです」 王の寂しい背中が見えた。)
Sou looks up at a street light and says the moment he saw Suzu, he knew he had lost, that he couldn’t be a Jack. Then he snaps out of it and apologizes to Kai for saying such strange things and runs off. Kai wants to call out to him, but doesn’t know what to say. So he says nothing as Sou runs off in the distance and he heads back to the dorm.
[I’ll end the first half of the recap here since it gives a nice introduction to the primary characters/themes. The second half focuses more on the Kai and Fumi dynamic and how it parallels Sou and Suzu (with a special cameo character appearance)]
my brain is so starved for jack jeanne crumbs that it is finally allowing me to actually sit and read the novels. overcoming the barriers of executive dysfunction via the sheer might of hyperfixation yay! for now i'm trying to get through the summer novel, but we'll see how far i get
Jack Jeanne Seven Winds: A Drop of Regret Like Tears Spilt onto a Canvas
Disclaimer! I am not a professional translator and am sharing so more people can enjoy the content outside of the game. My Japanese is still not perfect, as I am still learning, so if there are any mistakes, please feel free to let me know!
I hope you've enjoyed reading!
——————
If you stretch your hands up, you can feel the sky. If you bend your body as if bowing, you can catch the scent of the four seasons. The water’s surface that reflects one’s true self is as flat as a taut canvas.
“...alright”
The mummers that can be heard signal the finish of their preparations. Straightening her back, Kisa looks at the wooden board in front of her. “3000M”.
“Let’s go.”
The one urging Kisa was Mitsuki Shirota, in his training outfit.
Kisa nodded in agreement and passed the wooden board, beginning to run.
“Should we stop here for today?”
This was something from 30 minutes ago.
At Quartz's dining room, Shirota, who had finished eating his lunch, asked Kisa what her plan for the evening was.
They have been reflecting on the roles they are playing in the final performance of Sissia and Carlo since the morning. This time, Kisa was the Jack Ace while Shirota played the Al Jeanne. Following the winter performance, they were partnered again.
Kisa and Shirota are aiming for the “overall class award”.
It should be obvious this year, but it weighed heavily. The formation this time is not to win, but for hope to be entrusted to the next term.
The third year seniors who are graduating chose to invest in nurturing the growth of their juniors over winning the class award before Chui Tanakamigi, who is the same 77th term student as Shirota, leads a bloomed Amber. That is the wish of the 76th term students who suffered after the graduation of Tsuki Tachibana.
But, the juniors had their own plans.
This is the final performance for the third year seniors, so they wanted to win the award.
For the third year seniors and for quartz, they wanted to win the final performance. That thought is in the forefront of Kisa and Shirota’s mind.
If the goal of the third year is to develop their abilities to be able to compete with Amber, they should aim to exceed and grow to a level far beyond their imagination.
There was one more week until the final performance. Amongst the preparation of the performance, the challenge Kisa faced was with singing. It’s not just singing. Univeil’s singing princess, Shirota the tresor entrusted her with singing. You can’t sing it half heartedly. The plan for the afternoon was definitely going to focus on singing.
“... singing?”
Shirota immediately sensed Kisa’s feelings. Kisa’s expression of answering “yes” was stiffer than usual.
“... I also have to dance.”
To reach the level to fulfill his role as an Al Jeanne, dance is one of Shirota’s challenges he has to overcome. However, Shirota hesitated in continuing what he wanted to say, “but…”
“Before that, stamina”
Looking weary, Shirota sighed. Somehow, it felt oddly nostalgic.
(Ah… I see)
Kisa realised. Shirota has been sighing less.
Previously Shirota would’ve breathed a sigh to distance himself from something that he isn’t good at or something that he couldn’t accept. Thinking back to it now, he might’ve been trying to protect the space where he could breathe and be himself.
The fact that it has decreased might be a testament to Shirota’s resolution to iterating and connecting with others.
Suddenly, she remembered.
When they were preparing for the winter performance, they spent time together. Shirota had told her, “I’m going shopping so come along with me”, and the two of them descended down to Tamasaka Hill. That time, something caught his eyes. It was a small snow globe with two girls holding hands standing side by side. It wasn’t a rare item seeing as it was before Christmas. However, it resembled the scene in which the two of them sang “Faded Colour”. Shirota stared at the globe for a little, then passed by it as if it was a fleeting season.
He said it would be a bother if his belongings increased.
That might not be limited to just tangible things.
No matter what you touch, emotions come in the form of colours like ideals painted on a blank canvas. Before you know it, you’ll be left standing there bewildered in the empty space.
Shirota is aware that he is an emotional person. He also hates that. Perhaps he feels like he is similar to his mother.
— however.
He is trying to accept himself for who he is.
As they were on their way home, Shirota suddenly fell silent as they climbed up a hill. As if to retrieve something important that he had thrown away, they returned to the shop.
The snow globe was no longer there.
His face at that moment was unforgettable.
He said it. Overthinking, by the time he reconsiders things, it was already too late and all that was left was regret. This had happened so many times before.
— I don’t want… for this to happen again. I don’t want to…
Like someone bowing their head, tightly gripping the closed curtains after a tragic play, his voice still linger in her ears.
Shirota had changed. He changed.
Accepting himself, accepting others, holding other’s hands, and reaching out your own hand with all your might.
Kisa believes that it was all because of Shirota that she can remain in Univeil.
However, even before he changed, Mitsuki Shirota was still the same person. Kisa cherished what made Shirota unique. Especially now when they are not allowed to show any weakness.
“Should we… do some training? One that will build up our stamina.”
Nonchalantly inviting him, Shirota nodded in reply, “Yeah, lets.”
“With how busy we are, there are things that take priority over building stamina… but if I keep doing that, I’ll just keep putting it off forever. Besides…”
Shirota glanced over.
“I don’t have confidence training by myself.”
Kisa’s expression softened.
“What are you so delighted by?”
“Ah, sorry!”
“You were happy?”
“Ah”
“What a weird person.”
Even if he speaks bluntly, there was warmth behind those words.
“Then let’s train together in the afternoon and do some individual practice after.”
Shirota stood up from his chair, and Kisa followed after.
“What should we do? How about some light running around Univeil?”
Shirota tilted his head in confusion.
“Isn’t Univeil too much?”
As if a question mark was floating on top of her head, he said, “It’s the same scenery”. That made sense to her.
There are some students who prefer a lifestyle that is closely tied to their stage career, while other students prefer to have a balance between their work and leisure at Univeil. Shirota was the latter. He would often go out to the city by himself on his days off to relax. But due to the rehearsals for the performance this time, he is unable to go out much.
That’s why he thought of leaving the school grounds and going out to the town, but he quickly dismissed the idea. It would be even more stressful to have to run through a chaotic crowd, especially with his appearance that tends to draw attention.
So now what?
“During this season there’s less bugs, right?”
With those unexpected words, Kisa looked up. She thought she might’ve misheard him. However, Shirota’s expression remained serious. Kisa awkwardly replied, “I think there are fewer.” Although signs of spring are coming back little by little, it was still quite chilly during February. She hasn’t recalled seeing any bugs recently either.
(That’s right, Shirota doesn’t like bugs.)
During summer when a stag bug flew into his room, he had the look on his face as if the world was going to end. Living at Univeil that is half way up the mountains, there was an abundance of nature all around which has caused many inconveniences to Shirota.
Why did he suddenly bring up the topic of bugs? Kisa was full of questions until Shirota continued.
“Have you been to Kamuri Pond?”
Her questions increased. It had almost been a year since she arrived at Tamasaka so there were still a lot of things she didn't know about the city yet.
“No, this is the first time I’m hearing about it.”
“I’ve also never been there before but Kamuri Pond is to the west of Mount Oodate, and a little higher than Univeil. It is located in the mountains, but it is beautifully maintained, and it looks like you can walk all around the pond.”
It could be the perfect distance to run. Even so it was still a mystery why Shirota chose to train at Mount Oodate. Perhaps it showed on her face as Shirota looked embarrassed.
“...Oshinari told me. ‘That place would suit you, Mitsuki’. Though I’d rather not go to a place that has even more nature than Univeil but…”
Rhodonite’s leader, Al Jeanne, their rose diva tresor, Tsukasa Oshinari.
He praises Shirota’s singing voice, and always repeatedly urges him to transfer over to Rhodonite.
Shirota often brushes over what Tsukasa says, but Tsukasa’s trust in his abilities is stronger than anyone else. And now that he is stepping up to be Quartz’s leader, he might’ve felt closer to Tsukasa’s presence.
“I want to go to Kawari Pond.”
Hearing Kisa’s words, Shirota’s expression soften. “Then it’s decided,” his voice is of a happy tone when he said that.
“How should we go? The distance might be a bit far if we walk there.”
“I heard Orimaki had jogged his way over there, but since it’s him you can’t rely on that.”
Kisa took out her phone and looked up routes from Univeil to Kamuri Pond.
“Ah!”
She subconsciously yelled out.
“If we walk there it’ll take an hour and half…”
“Let’s give up then.”
Shirota decided on the spot. Kisa hastily called out, “P-please wait!”
“Bus! It looks like you can take a bus from the Univeil Theatre! That way it’ll only take around 15 minutes to get there.”
“Then that’s good…”
Shirota said like putting a sword back in its sheath.
“Ah!”
However, looking at the details of the search result, Kisa let out another shout.
“The bus will depart in 10 minutes… If we miss it we’d have to wait an hour…”
Shirota frowned.
Univeil Drama School takes pride in their open school grounds. Even if they ran at full speed, they may or may not make it in time for the bus departing in 10 minutes.
“What should we do…”
Seeing Kisa flustered, Shirota made up his mind.
“Let’s go!”
And so, the two of them raced out of the Quartz dorm.
“... Shirota, are you alright?”
Shirota took a deep breath then exhaled. He repeated it several times.
“It’s still tough…”
Even with an exhausted expression, he firmly planted his feet on the ground and straightened his back.
“So this is Kamuri Pond huh.”
As they dashed out of the Quartz dorm and ran down the stairs leading to Univeil Theatre at full speed, it looked as if they wouldn't be able to make it but a delay had occurred hence allowing the two of them to board the bus. After Shirota was hit with the sharp curves on the mountain roads, the bus finally arrived at its destination, Kamuri Pond.
“I was told the pond is big, but it is even bigger than I thought.”
The bed of water stretches beyond the mountain valley. More than a pond, it was more like a lake.
“But…”
Shirota surveyed the large pond.
“Surprisingly, there’s lots of people here.”
Beyond the sign that reads “Kamuri Pond Nature Park” are families, couples, and even those who appear to be tourists. In the park was a place where you could ride boats, floating on the pond were big boats in the shape of a swan.
“Kai said that while the east side of Mount Oodate is left untouched, the west side is fairly developed. There are even bus services that take you to and from.”
This large pond is located along the national highway to cross to the other side of Mount Oodate so it seemed like there was a lot of traffic. There are even several new looking houses in the nearby area close to the park, indicating new settlement starting to form around the park.
However, it was still a lively place for ‘somewhere in the mountains’. It would be more accurate to describe it as a peaceful place away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It’s a place well suited for Shirota.
Even so.
“Mhm?... There’s a course for running.”
“Eh, ah. You’re right.”
There was a signboard built along the pond that wrote “START” and “3000M”. It was for Kamuri Pond’s 3 kilometers running course that goes around the shoreline.
“...It feels like we’ve already reached the end of the course.”
“Ahaha…”
Thinking back to their sprint to the bus stop, Kisa could only laugh bitterly.
“I suppose you can say that.”
Shirota let out a short breath as if to prepare himself. He then continued to stretch and relax his body.
“...alright. Let’s go.”
And so the two of them began to run together side by side.
It only takes about 15 minutes to run one lap. They soon came across the 100m board. Lacking in stamina has always been Shirota’s challenge, but that was by Univeil’s standards. Maintaining a stable pace, he is even able to have a conversation while running.
“Do you feel like there is a gap in the lyrics?”
“Yes. I can’t quite grasp the meaning yet so I was wondering how I should sing them.”
Of course they were talking about the performance, the song.
When receiving direct guidance, the feedback is on how to improve and how to develop, but now it’s more like incoherent ramblings.
The sign reads 800 meters.
“Neji writes the lyrics like a blank canvas. What kind of results are produced is in the hands of the singer. He leaves it up to them to interpret the lyrics.”
“Ah, I see… then it would be better to build up the feel of the song with my intuition rather than just reading about it?”
“Yeah. That way there will be meaning more in your singing. But make sure you don’t leave your listeners behind.”
“That’s right. While expressing myself, I also have to not impose myself onto them…”
— 1000 meters.
There are lots to be learned in random casual conversations.
Kisa came to Kamuri Pond to distance herself from Univeil a bit, but to her, Univeil was deeply intertwined with her everyday life so it might be impossible to distance herself.
“If you’re too close, there are things that you can’t see…”
Before she realised, she was muttering to herself ignoring the flow of the conversation. Panicked, Kisa tried to explain her reasons for thinking of that.
“That’s right. But, if you’re too far away you also can’t see. It’s difficult.”
Shirota understood what Kisa was saying and replied. The weight of the words carried, those words were from him, who had always distanced himself from others, watching them from afar.
It was no good even if it was close or far.
However, there are things you won’t understand unless you get close, or things you can’t see unless you are far away.
Perhaps humans are ones who will continue to spend their whole lives measuring the distance.
— 1300 meters, 1400 meters.
Even pondering in lost thoughts will increase the distance.
— 1500 meters.
“...mhm?”
It was half way through the 3000 meters course. There, Shirota looked at the pond. Kisa followed his gaze and looked.
“Ah, a swan boat…”
It looked like a tree was stretching towards the pond. Swan boats lined up in neat rows, it was an incredible scenery. Kisa let out a small smile, and faced forward.
“Should we ride on them?”
“Sure.”
It was a casual exchange.
“...Eh?!”
That’s why the shocked yell came out delayed.
What he said was exactly memorised in her head, but she can’t decipher it.
“Um, Shirota, just now… what…”
She must’ve heard wrong. Next to Kisa, who was about to ask again, Shirota slowed down to a stop right in front of the dock.
Naturally Kisa also came to a stop as she looked around her surroundings to see what had caught Shirota’s interest.
“You must be thinking that I won’t get on that boat.”
Seeing the mood, she refrained from replying with a ‘yes’ and swallowed her words.
“I thought so.”
Shirota neither blamed nor reprimanded Kisa, but instead agreed and started walking towards the reception.
Shirota is aware that this is an unusual event for him. Knowing this, he felt as though the discomfort that felt like a physical object began to melt away from his mind.
It looks like Shirota is going to ride the swan boat.
He swiftly finished the paper work, listened to a brief explanation by the attendant, and got onto the swan boat in no time. Of course, right next to him was Kisa.
The boat swayed gently though it still doesn’t feel real. The pedals are under her feet, in front was a steering wheel, and ahead was Kamuri Pond stretching beyond.
“Tachibana.”
Shirota said to Kisa with a serious expression.
“Peddle with everything that you have.”
Even to himself it was a mystery.
“...understood!”
With a single command, she cast aside her doubts and began to peddle the boat with everything that she had.
(Might as well!)
That thought convinced her.
Since she came all the way to Kamuri Pond with Shirota, since Shirota invited her, since she is spending time together with Shirota.
There doesn’t have to be a reason. Since they’re already here. Her head was full of “might as well” that it is as if she will start to lose the meaning of it.
Then strangely, she started having fun.
(I’m spending my day off together with Shirota)
A ray of sunshine in days packed fully with practice schedules.
“...Alright!”
She put her strength into her legs to peddle the boat.
“Ohhh”
Unlike the other swan boats that are leisurely floating around, Kisa’s boat was practically flying at full force.
“You’re… amazing.”
“I’m starting to get the hang of it!”
“Do you now.”
The speed gradually increases. Passing by the middle of the pond, they would arrive on the other side of the shore in no time.
“Tachibana, that’s enough.”
But she was stopped. She looked at him with a look of “Eh, already?”
“You’re trying way too hard.”
Despite Shirota being the one who suggested it, he had the look of exasperation. Being pulled back into reality, Kisa protested, “But you were the one who told me to peddle at full speed!”
“I did say that, but…”
Then, Shirota’s face crumbled.
“Fufu, you’re so… haha”
Not able to hold back any longer, he burst out laughing.
“No, you’re amazing, hahaha, hahahaha”
He’s laughing so innocently.
“S-sorry, ha…hahahaha”
His light laughters echoed in Kisa’s ears.
(Shirota… so he can laugh like this too)
She was enchanted by his smiling face.
“... you know, this sort of stuff isn’t my thing.”
After they had a good laugh, it was Shirota’s turn to peddle. The swan boat moved forward slowly.
“I didn’t have a reason to ride this, nor did I think I wanted to ride one in the first place. I figure it’ll never have anything to do with me for the rest of my life. But when I think about it that way…”
Shirota stares at the water’s ripple.
“My life is just full of things like this. Things that are unrelated to me and things that I’ll never cross paths with. But, you’re different.”
“Eh, me?”
“Ah. There might be things that would be related to you in the future. Like this boat, when the opportunity comes along, wouldn’t you ride it?”
That might happen, a possibility.
“It’s not like I’m trying to get involved with everything. But, I wonder if it is really okay to let everything pass by me.”
Just then, the sound of flapping wings filled the air. Several waterfowl landed next to their boat and swam alongside them. Kisa and Shirota’s face met, and they smiled.
“...how does it feel to ride this boat?”
Shirota rested his hands on the steering wheel and gazed at the waterfowls.
“Riding it once is enough. But… I don’t know. I thought that it was one of the things that would be unrelated to my life, but now I’m actually riding on one, so…”
Shirota’s eyes softened.
“From now on, even if I don’t know, it doesn’t matter.”
They rented the boat for 30 minutes.
When they returned to dock a little earlier, they stretched out on the steady ground.
“Well then, let’s finish this in one go.”
“Yes!”
There was only half way remaining. Once again, the two began running together.
– 1700 meters, 2000 meters, 2300 meters.
There was nothing to interrupt them as they continued the gentle curve of the pond going forwards. The entrance of the park soon came into view.
When they returned to school, everything she had seen with Shirota, everything that she felt, everything that she had noticed, she would convey them into the song. There are a mountain of things that she wanted to do and try.
(But…)
For some reason, a part of her wanted to continue leisurely spending time here.
–2700 meters.
The time limit of which she could spend with him is drawing closer.
(I wonder what Shirota thinks.)
Thinking of it, she dismissed the thought.
Prioritizing the other person's feelings can sometimes mean shifting the responsibility onto them.
That's why Kisa tried to organise her own feelings again.
(...that won’t do)
In the end, it was still the same.
She wanted to convey the feelings she felt with the time she had spent with Shirota into the song when she returned to school.
She wants to spend more time with Shirota here again.
– 2900 meters. Only 100 meters out of the 3 kilometers left to complete a round of Kamuri Pond.
“Huh…?”
There, Kisa noticed something. On the right side near the pond, there is an old house with a thatched roof that looks historical.
It looked out of place with the beautifully maintained park, but when looking at the house with the pond, it looked like it fit right in, giving an impression of a secluded house by the pond.
“Is this a historical building that has been here for a long time?”
Noticing Kisa’s gaze, Shirota also shifted his gaze to the house.
“...oh”
“What’s wrong?”
“Isn’t that a cafe?”
Stopping in front of the house, there is a hand written sign. It was a menu listing a selection of items, such as coffee, tea, and chiffon cake.
“...let’s give it a try.”
“Sure.”
Kisa’s voice slightly cracked with the sudden convenient turn of events.
“We should get something to drink. It would be too boring to just buy something to drink at a vending machine after all.”
Kisa thinks to herself that today is a good day.
The two entered the shop.
“Wow…”
Where the entrance of the house used to be now stood counter seats. The new tatami mats had cushions and low tables, a modern light fixture extended straight down from the soot-coloured beam. It was as if you could hear the gentle breathing of this house, where the past and present coexist.
“Please feel free to sit wherever you like.”
Kisa was overwhelmed by the shop’s atmosphere and the shop keeper’s gentle voice.
Shirota bowed towards the shop keeper and moved towards the tatami area to sit where they could face each other, while Kisa followed behind him.
(...huh?)
Her eyes fell on the small window by the counter.
A gentle light shines into the store. Sparkling, twinkling, glittering.
“Eh!”
Without thinking, she let out a yell.
“What’s wrong?... ah!”
Shirota gasped loudly.
Kisa’s eyes were fixed on what was next to the window, a snow globe.
“No way.”
Shirota ran up and looked at it. Seeing it up close, his eyes widened.
The two girls holding hands.
Before the winter performance, they saw the very same snow globe at Tamasaka Hill, and it was the same one that he missed out on getting.
Seeing Kisa and Shirota unmoving, the store keeper asked, “Do you know those girls?”
Shirota moved to the seat close to the counter, and hesitated to replied, “Ah, no…”, but changed his mind,
“It reminded me of the snow globe I saw at Tamasaka Hill before. It was very lovely and it left a deep impression.”
The store keeper replied in astonishment, “Oh my.”
“I also got this at Tamasaka Hill. It was… around Christmas of last year.”
“I also got this at Tamasaka Hill. It was… around Christmas of last year.”
Saying that, the shop keeper picked up the snow globe, gently shook it and placed it in front of Shirota and Kisa.
“It caught my eye at first sight.”
Her voice was like one of a mother speaking tenderly towards her child.
“... I see.”
The snow fell gently.
“I see.”
Shirota reached out and touched the snow globe with his fingers.
“I see…”
Within the snow, it was sparkling.
The girls were smiling happily.
The warm scent of black tea brushed along their cheeks.
“I thought I had closed that chapter as a sad memory.”
Shirota gently wrapped his hands around the tea cup that is decorated with winter daphnes.
“But to the snow globe, it was the start of a new life.”
Bringing the cup to his lips, the tea was delicious with a bit of bitter aftertaste.
“It’s a bit of a shame. Me, who had left it behind because I thought it would be a hassle if my belongings increased, and the shop keeper picked it up without hesitation. It’s obvious which one of us is better. But…”
Shirota set his tea cup down and looked at Kisa.
“Because of the bitter experience, I have had a lot of regrets so now, I don’t want to lose the most important thing to me. …I don’t want to lose you.”
“...! Shirota…”
Kisa was reminded of the winter performance, where Shirota had pushed past his limits.
“The seniors are the same.”
For a moment, he fell silent.
“...no matter what the results for the final performance are, it’s not like my life would be over. In the long run, it would be one of the milestones along the way. Even if we don’t win the class award, I’ll just have to find a way to continue living. The feeling of frustration might lead me to a bigger success. I might discover something more important. Or, I’m sure that’s what the upper classmen would do.”
Shirota touched the snow globe again.
“For example, even if a tear falls on a canvas that I am working on, and my vision gets clouded by sadness… …I can always fix it. You can layer colours on top of it, or just paint over it with white, over and over no matter how many times it takes. Beyond regret isn’t just tragedy. … but”
Shirota looked at Kisa again.
“Even so, I still want to win the class award.”
There is no sadness behind his eyes.
“I want to win the class award. I want everyone in Quartz to be happy. The seniors, those in my term, the freshmen, everyone.”
Kisa nodded, over and over again.
“I have all kinds of feelings. I don’t want to have regrets, I want to repay the seniors. I want to show them how capable we underclassmen are. But in the end, it all comes to us winning the class award. I want us all to smile together. I’ll do whatever it takes for that to happen. …Tachibana.”
Shirota looks into Kisa’s eyes.
“Please.”
That sentence says it all. ‘We are partners.’
“Leave it to me.”
Not turning away, she answered with determination. This time, it was Shirota who nodded firmly.
Shirota picked up the snow globe and returned it to its rightful place.
The girls smiling in the middle of falling snow, the wooden frame for the window that looks out to Kamuri Pond, and the occasional swan boat.
It is as beautiful as a painting that you can stare at forever.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
They continued moving forward.
After all, they are still in the middle of painting their dream on the canvas.
Clearly I need to shitpost memes more often because hours later Ishida posted this sketch of Fumi as some sort of kitsune witch ready to wreak havoc? The white and red robe and the hood looks kinda like a Shinto wedding robe. I am so here for whatever this is.
trying to bide my time waiting for the quartz manga and jj2 news to drop on my head by learning to make very simple games. I feel like a middle-schooler who doesn't even care if her crush texts her back, really (thinks about it every waking hour)
Meant to post this sooner, but a big congrats to Jack Jeanne surpassing 250k in total sales as of June 11, 2026! This is a huge number, especially for an otome game. Both creators posted some commemorative art for the occasion.
Towada's post (see Bluesky for a text-free version)
Ishida's post
Rambling about sales number things below. TL;DR these sales numbers are quite promising for the future of the series.
It's hard to gather exact cumulative sales data, but I've not found many JP otome from the Switch console generation that have surpassed even the 100k mark (that have publicly announced it anyways), which Jack Jeanne reached in February 2024 (a month before the big sequel announcement). This was after the game had been out for nearly 3 years in Japan and after the release of the English and Chinese versions and the mobile port. If my math is correct, this would mean an average rate of ~2800 sales/month. In comparison, from February 2024 to June 2026 it would have been ~5350 sales/month. The only new version released in that time was the Korean translation. For it to be continuing to sell so well years after release makes me think that it's spreading particularly via positive reputation and frequent sales.
There was an incident on the Hong Kong eShop where a ton of otome games were set to 88% off instead of 12%. This affected a lot of titles though and even among those, Jack Jeanne was a top seller, beating not just other otome games, but even Pokopia for a time (just a week after its launch).
The only point of comparison I have is with Bustafellows. It sold 100k between December 2019 and March 2024 and hit 150k February 2025 and then 200k in March 2026 but they also released a sequel during that time and there's a Steam port so it's hard to know how much that affects the numbers.
Anyways, all this is just to say that the game has proven to have quite a long shelf-life commercially and I'm hoping this bodes well for the series in the future!
This is the former account Otomemories. If you didn’t know, Otomemories is a blog where I have been translating and typesetting NejiKisa comics, as well as providing official translations for the Jack Jeanne community for the last three years. You might have noticed that the account and all of its posts have disappeared without warning recently. I know there are many people who regularly enjoy my translations, so I wanted to briefly address it on this new page.
Unfortunately, the account (along with all my other accounts) was deleted by tumblr staff as part of the recent large wave of account terminations and appears to be unrecoverable. This account was very special to me, and had become such a precious outlet for me to connect with and provide for the Jack Jeanne community since the very beginning, so my heart is really heavily burdened by this news. I still remember being one of the first Jack Jeanne pages on tumblr. I have poured so many countless hours into it and won’t ever forget the love and support that I received on there. I will sincerely miss sharing my translations with everyone and seeing their reactions to them.
On that note, I wanted to extend a profound thank-you to each and every single person who liked and reblogged my posts regularly, and also to those who enjoyed even just one comic. I remember and appreciate each and every single one of you, and apologize to everyone else who feels disappointed to this news. Your support will always mean so much to me.
If you would like to keep up with me, you can follow me here, at Aru-Jeanne, or on my Twitter account which still bears the Otomemories moniker (currently not active, but will hopefully change soon). You might notice that this blog is rather different from my last one, and as I am still mourning my old page, I don’t currently plan to upload new translations on here. However, PLEASE LET ME KNOW if you guys are interested in me reuploading my old comics for archival purposes, and I will do so on this account. If you would also like to obtain any of my old NejiKisa comic translations for personal use, you can DM me here or on my discord, Otomemories. Even if this post becomes old and obsolete, feel free to reach out.
I’m really sorry to everyone once again, and I’m so grateful for all the fun we had together. I hope you keep loving and supporting Jack Jeanne for a long time.
Since I've gotten asks about it several times, here is a list of commercial Jack Jeanne side content media releases (as of June 5, 2026).
This is specific for media that has gotten a commercial release. There's far more than this posted to Ishida and Towada's social media accounts, pre-order bonuses, things posted on the official website and Youtube account. You can view my translation masterlist for some of them. As all side content was done by the original creators of the game, they are considered canon (but not necessary).
For books I've included both Shueisha and Bookwalker (JP) links. I include Bookwalker because I found their site quite easy to use for purchasing digital books/manga outside of Japan. Please note that these do not have any official English releases.
I've been seeing a recurring topic come up in some otome spaces the past several months re: negative stances towards people with non-cishet headcanons and ships. And so, particularly during pride month, I wanted to put out a small PSA for people who may be feeling shut out of the wider otome community.
There's space for you in the Jack Jeanne community
You want to ship LIs together? Go for it. You prefer to view a character as trans? By all means. You like to imagine some characters as anywhere on the ace and/or aro spectrum? Sure. Yumeshipping with an OC? Have fun. Life is short, imagination is free. We should all be entitled to our own thoughts, interpretations, and preferences.
Many of us in the JJ fandom are queer ourselves in one form or another and I love that we're given the freedom to express that. Despite otome being an aggressively hetero-normative genre, queer people have always been here and we will continue to be here. Please know that if you are feeling ostracized, there are still people in the otome community who will welcome you. Social media has a bad tendency to amplify the loudest and most upsetting opinions, but they do not represent all (or even most) otome players. Anyways, happy pride everyone!
