Regretfully, I have to make the announcement: I’ll no longer be posting BSD manga chapters on any social media platform. It’s been a fantastic run and I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly, as I hope you guys have too, but it has reached its end.
The reason is, yeah, related to the deletion of all my social media accounts last month. Because of the specific way my accs were sought out at that time, it turns out to be very likely that measures such as changing or holding separate accs will end the same way. I tried to come up with solutions when the last update rolled around, but with things being like that, plus the unexpected level of stress I experienced by trying and knowing the extent to which my personal data was approached… well, I see it really is time to call it off.
The only thing I wanna say is “thank you”, for everything during these years!! I’ve been treated nothing but wonderfully, always as “Red” and never just “a provider” and I’m super thankful for it. The respect, consideration, kindness and sense of community I’ve been given by the BSD fandom is without comparison, not to mention the support this last month.
I only hope you will understand my position here.
Of course, I’ll still happily remain in the BSD fandom and continue with my writing and meta activity, as well as doing minor translation things such as particular dialogue and disambiguation wherever I can help. I still love this series and I’d like to continue to enjoy it with everyone! See ya.
Hey! So, this is Red, usually known as akai-koutei. My main account, with that url, has been closed due to the predictable reason. In the last couple of days the same has happened to both my twitter and carrd.
It’s kind of doubtful that my tumblr acc be recovered; I’m making my attempts at that, but in the meantime and possibly onwards, I’ll be here, on this other account I thankfully already had.
I’d be very thankful for my reblogs to this post so that the BSD community and my followers can reach me again for good measure.
I’ll be posting any further updates on the situation, me and my content on this account.
I saw that there was going to be a BEAST movie, by any chance do you know if it's going to be animated or live action? I'm so excited with the news and I'm sure I will cry no matter the format 🤧
Hey! I don’t keep up myself, but according to our resident BEAST expert (*cough* @awkward-akutagawa ) it will be live action and done by the cast of the stage play.
Still not in the mood to put myself through unnecessary pain, but I have to say, I’m getting a bit curious! 🤔
Hi there, um I have somewhat of a dumb question ^^"... what's the difference between the BEAST light novel and the BEAST manga? Does the manga follow the same storyline as the light novel just... in manga format, like an adaptation? I've only read a summary of the BEAST light novel so I don't know if it's the same
Hi! Not a dumb question at all.
Aside from that chapter 1 translation we did, I’m personally not going anywhere near BEAST (at least for now) because I don’t need extra pain in my life... but to answer your question, yes! The BEAST manga is an accurate adaptation of the LN, following the same plot and with the same scenes.
The only thing I do know well is the work called Bungou Stray Dogs, which is why I thought I would talk about Kubodera-san from that aspect.
After the second performance of the stage play in Tokyo, Kubodera-san, who played Mori Ougai, told me this:
“Mori-san, he looks at his hands when he rubs them together only when he’s talking about his true feelings or his inner world.”
That hit me hard.
I will never forget those words.
To be frank, it scared me.
It felt like the character was standing up on his own, looking directly at me.
*
The character Kubodera-san played, the Port Mafia boss Mori Ougai, is made up of three vectors in terms of creative technique: ‘lolicon’, ‘cruelty’, and ‘personification of logic’.
I don’t usually give much thought to a character’s inner world. Rather than think about how a character feels on the inside, I tend to think about how the audience will feel when they perceive their actions, and I decide how they will act from that point of view. Just like a kaleidoscope with three mirrors leaves the optical illusion of infinite beautiful patterns, the three vectors produce something three-dimensional that the audience observes from the outside, free to imagine the character’s inner world as they like. This is how I always create characters.
However, Kubodera-san entered the solid aspect held by that imagination and created a human being.
*
When the Mori-san on stage looks at his hands, what you are seeing is a man questioning his past actions, a man reflecting on his own convictions, a regular man petrified by the impossibility of his own heart bringing forth these doubts and convictions. In other words, a human being just like you and me, who live in reality. Those three vectors cannot create that humanity.
I understand that. Without viewing yourself through Mori Ougai’s character, that performance of him staring at his hands could never have been possible.
There are actors who have the ability to deliver a wonderfully convincing performance. I have also seen actors who have perfect understanding of how their performance can serve the development of the story, and actors who even take on the details of the character’s three vectors.
However, other than Kubodera-san, I have never met an actor who was able to embody that level of presence that made me think in fear, ‘what else is this character capable of doing, that goes against my expectations?’, that feel of humanity that goes beyond a simple character, unknown to even its creator.
He looks at his hands when he rubs them together? I didn’t know that. But, once I saw the performance, I knew it was true. It really is. Mori-san rubs his hands together and looks at them. I had no idea.
*
The Bungou Stray Dogs stage play is not over yet. To put it bluntly, Mori-san still has plenty of appearances. What in the world can I do?
If being sad is one of the ways to grieve for the deceased, then I believe that being at a loss is another way to do so. Which is why I think I will worry plenty, without holding back. What am I supposed to do now? Without Kubodera-san. What am I supposed to do with Bungo Stray Dogs?
I don’t know a lot about being an actor. But I do believe that making people worry when you’re gone is one manifestation of an actor’s providence, and so, I want my worried face to reach up all the way to the heavens.
I pray for Kubodera Akira-san’s happiness in the next world with all my heart.
Umm just wondering... do you have the rest of the translation for 55 Minutes? I’ve finished reading your 1/10 to 5/10 translation and it was super easy to understand and fun to read! I was wondering if you had translated the rest...?
Sorry for the trouble! > . <
I don’t, because I haven’t done it yet :(
Thank you for the message, though! I do plan on finishing it.
Hello! I just wanted to say I love all your work and translations ♡ and I have a question I hope you don't mind clearing to me xD What is bsd anthologies? It's my first time seeing it, is it like a spin-off kinda like Wan! or something similar? I look forward to reading it!
Ahh, first of all, thank you~
The Anthologies are essentially little standalone stories about the BSD characters by various manga artists that have been invited to participate.
Last I checked, there were four volumes out: Rei, Hana, Rin, and Akatsuki.
They are official and not fanworks, so even though they aren’t by Asagiri & Harukawa, my assumption is that they’re involved in the process, but that’s just a guess.
A couple of Anthology chapters are by Kanai Neco, who draws BSD Wan so they might look familiar!
A while back I got tired of endlessly flipping through BSD manga to find out who called whom what, and who uses which pronouns and which honorifics, so I uh… reread the whole thing and made a spreadsheet with this information, like the colossal nerd I am.
At least I know I’ll be using it extensively – figured it would come in handy for some of you out there too!
