Howdy,
A new chapter was found clenched the the fist of an snoozing, overworked elf. Good thing we're all caught up now, eh? It has been placed over at:
http://www.cafealpha.org/
Those elves could use a good thanking, hmm?
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Those elves deserve a big present... or several tons of free coffe...
Since chapter 132, I was expecting the Tapoon to appear anytime, the bird on the very last page was quite a hint...
And again a very sad chapter, and as usual Ashinano has shown everything without saying anything... Director Alpha walking around in the empty vessel with the broom on her hands is a rather meaningful, and also devastating, image...
will she bail out at last as promised? Or will stay isolated in the empty vessel? And to accomplish what?
Strange that we have seen, in tis due time, every character in the story longing for company... and choosing solitude...
...that makes the "happy" chapters as the 133 to be tainted with misery, because they are only a brief moment of respite....
...more or less as in real life...
- DavidF
Thursday, September 15, 2005
It's like the old days of misago.org around here. I buy the latest issue of Afternoon at Kinokuniya, and it's already been scanned, translated, edited and posted for me. Good work, everyone. Thank you.
- martialstax
Thursday, September 15, 2005
I can imagine this as the last chapter in the story... Really sad and aching.
- Drake
Thursday, September 15, 2005
thanks to the hard working elves.
i also waited for the Tapoon to appear and now...wow
i always thought the one who was flying in the Tapoon has something to do with alpha.
who is she? a robot?
does the Tapoon start to fly before ar after the land starts to change?
thats the things i am thinking about....
- mr.aufziehvogel
Thursday, September 15, 2005
To refresh a bit the
"i always thought the one who was flying in the Tapoon has something to do with alpha.
who is she? a robot? "
She, Director Alpha, is the original A7M1, the first prptotype in the line of research that would eventually give birth to the A7M2 (Alpha) and the A7M3 (Maruko, Kokone and Nai, as far as we know)
It is known that Sensei took care of her in the early stages of Director Alpha's mental development, problably more or less as Owner looked after Alpha.. and that she also gave to Director Alpha a pendentive identical to the one that Alpha now owns....
"does the Tapoon start to fly before ar after the land starts to change? "
Nobody knows... and unless Ashinano tells nobody will know... though there has been some interesting speculations....
However, http://ykk.misago.org/Volume4/61 hints at A7 robots being developed after the catastrophe.... so Tapoon should have launched after, or at least fully operational, after, if we want director Alpha to be there....
- DavidF
Thursday, September 15, 2005
thanks for the explanation.
hmm.. could it be that maybe sensi IS owner? maybe she wants to hide it because she wants to see, how alpha is growing up and how she acts etc.
it's just a guess, i haven't read the whole ykk in a long time, and i forgot a few things that happened in the first chapters.
- mr.aufziehvogel
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Thanks for the chapter, elves!
Too bad that they have already catched up. It's "one per month" from now...
- Beaker
Thursday, September 15, 2005
It's truly sad seeing her with the broomstick.
And why does she have to wait till the whole humankind died out before coming down? Making a world for robot?
- tongHoAnh
Thursday, September 15, 2005
About the ship- Do we actually know if it's over Japan? I was waiting for it to actually appear above Alpha in the sky, but it didn't-- which really leaves it open to speculation . Normally, the ship has been drawn in, high above. If it is back, then that means 6 years have passed, but I'm not so convinced that that's happened.
Does the director see Japan down below either? I couldn't tell. It didn't seem so. That made me think that she was just listening to radio waves from a different orbit, waiting to get back over Japan..... When did the ship leave Japan's orbit? I can't remember the chapter...
- steve berry
Thursday, September 15, 2005
I think she is over Japan, as on page 6 she wonders "how many times does this make the Northern Route?" and we know she had previously left for the Southern hemisphere. This must be after a six year absence.
Those scenes of the Director are wonderful, and yet so lonely.
Thank you Elves! You have really been working hard these past few weeks, so get some well deserved rest!
- Silverback
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Last time the Tapoon was shown was in chapter 104
http://ykk.misago.org/Afternoon2003/62.html
and apparently, the tapoon seems to be in (or to be heading to) the north hemisphere again, after having departed for the south ....
http://cafealpha.org/ch134/6.html
- DavidF
Thursday, September 15, 2005
I didn't see anything to indicate that there are no other people on the Taapon. Director Alpha could simply be in a solitary mood.
- El Gonzo
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Howdy,
Taapon left for the southern hemisphere in chapter 104, less that three year ago in the real world. If it's back in the Northern hemisphere, that means we have seen a time jump of at least three years in the storyline. It certainly matches with the growth we have seen in Makki.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Is there any meaning to the vertical writing on the first and last frames, or is it just stuff added by the publishers?
- El Gonzo
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Thank you Elves!
Here's a nice color graphic of the "blue light".
http://ykk.misago.org/Volume8/BackCover
As far as I remember it's only the streetlight plants that are blue. I didn't realize they were quite a prevelent as Director makes out. Does anyone know if anything else glows blue?
- outsideking
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Finally tapoon is back. will this time director alpha decide to come down?
- charles C
Thursday, September 15, 2005
I think once humanity dies out, there'll be nobody for her to observe or observe /for/, so Director Alpha will actually be free to do as she chooses. The Taapon's mission will be completed, and only she and hers will remain.
-S59
- Speaker59
Thursday, September 15, 2005
I just had the chilling thought that perhaps Director Alpha and Alpha on Earth are the same person... but that we have been seeing Director Alpha in the future all this time and everything else we see as concurrent is purely her memories of being raised on earth...
I need to re-read the whole story and do some fact finding to prove myself wrong, but since she was given Sensei's pendant, I've had this nagging feeling running through my head...
More speculative drivel from me... :p
- Darin~
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Maybe not so speculative.. Alpha has sensei's pendant now.
- Brad
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Howdy,
>Is there any meaning to the vertical writing on the first and last frames, or is it just stuff added by the publishers?
Just fluff added by the editors.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Howdy,
Director Alpha is not the same person as Alpha. First, we know that she was at Sensei's place years ago, before Alpha came to the peninsula. Second, Director Alpha only recalls going swimming once.
http://ykk.misago.org/Volume4/46.html
And we have seen Alpha go several times.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Just some more on sensei's pendant.. I'm sure the possibility of Alpha and Director Alpha being the same has been discussed before, but I can't find it at the moment.
The pendant seems the same:
http://ykk.misago.org/Volume7/53
http://www.cafealpha.org/ch132/13.html
I'm trying to find direct evidence that Director Alpha is an M1, since we know Alpha is an M2. I feel like I'm going over old ground here.. Ashinano really knows how to keep you questioning what you know :D
- Brad
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Thanks dDave, that's good enough for now, I can now goto sleep :)
- Brad
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Howdy,
One thing that has always struck me is how alone Director Alpha seems. She is always shown alone on Taapon. She may be joined by the cleaning lady, or she may go see the other officers, but essentially she seems alone and focused on the activity on the ground. It's important to remember that she has never met any other robot person, and I suspect that may be a core cause for some of her seeming lonliness.
Going back to some of Alpha's first words in the comic "I'm glad I'm a robot, because I can wait as long as it takes", it seems that Director Alpha is somewhat caught in a bit of a paradox: she certainly is capable of waiting forever, but she seems to be getting more restless as time goes on. We see this same restlessness developing in Alpha as well.
Both Director Alpha and Alpha always seem on the verge of making some sort of decision, yet their immortality gives them no need for rushing. I think this addes a kind of unique tension that winds through YKK.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Director Alpha worries about the whole world, she can see what is happening on a large scale. Alpha takes pleasure in the moment and the things close to her.
- Brad
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Leave it to me to open a can of worms, and stick my foot in it... (to mix some metaphores!)
Anyway, MANY MANY BIG thanks to the elves for bringing this thought provoking episode to us... Now I'm forced to go re-read the whole story because of it... Well, that's MY weekend! :D
- Darin~
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Brad, for direct evidence that Director Alpha is the M1, you need to go to two places.
1) Sensei tells Kokone that she was there after the A7M1 was born, and how the M1 was named after her.
2) Later, Director Alpha is referred to as Koumiishi(-san?) by someone on the Taapon
As to the earlier suggestion than Sensei is `Owner', we learn in chapter 2 than Owner is Hatsuseno-sensei.
- Elric of Grans
Thursday, September 15, 2005
:Bowing down to elves: Thank you!
- painsama
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Thank you good elves,for your restless drive to scan and sends us goods..
Anyways,how many sunflower seeds does alpha have?
Or is it the same one as before?
- Ryo Hakusho
Thursday, September 15, 2005
You know I knew we'd see the Tapon again when Ojisan mentioned that it was six years since the Typhoon struck and that the cafe was finally back to normal. It was time for the ship to reappear soon. Anyhoo, I see some very significant symbolic gesture made in showing Director Alpha with the simple broom. This act alone means we've had our first known death in the manga. The little old woman we've seen her with is no longer alive.
I get the feeling that when the crew of the Tapon is gone she will then be able to make her journey down to the surface of the planet and explore it on her own. She will have no one to report to and serve so she'll be able to take the landing craft and let the Tapon go off into space or break up in the atmosphere and crash to Earth. Now all we need is a chapter about what Nai is up to and a visit from Takahiro and everyone's been accounted for.
- Christine K.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Sunflowers: the ones in a previous chapter were freakishly huge. These look pretty normal.
- El Gonzo
Thursday, September 15, 2005
More on the sunflowers: The original sunflower was indeed huge. http://ykk.misago.org/Afternoon2002/119.html. Chapter 97, Blinding Yellow. However, when it died she got a big pile of seeds that she called "normal" so it seems obvious that these are descendants of that huge sunflower, just normal size. http://ykk.misago.org/Afternoon2002/127.html. Of course, they might not be done growing and could get bigger...
- Silverback
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Thanks once again for another wonderful, mysterious chapter.
It seems like this has been the first time the storyline has moved faster than real time, maybe a jump of 3 years, and I'm wondering what this means in terms of plot. Is the series winding down, or is Director Alpha coming to Japan, or both?
I think YKK will have an ending that's not really an ending, with the sun going down in the manga one last time, but of course the cycle (and the robots) continues, whether we see it or not...
- Kerry
Thursday, September 15, 2005
About who many people is still alive on board the Tapoon, I have to say, after rereading the chapter, that honestly I cannot tell, but Ashinano never put anything gratuitously, and Director Alpha walking with the broomstick is a haunting image... almost a reminder to somebody who is not there.
I would be the first to be glad if it was not so, but I got the feeling that something has happened in the three years gap and not for good... besides it is clear that this story will not have a happy ending... people will eventually die, humanity will disappear and so on...
Besides, and concerning the three years gap, I think that it is not the first time that the pace of the story has changed. While it seems that six/seven years have passed between chapters 62 and 130, the same, in my opinion, cannot be said of the lapse between 0 and 62. both Makki and Takahiro would have been too young if time ticks at the same pace in comic and real world....
I agree with dDave that robot's inmortality changes their point of view and makes them not to be pressed by time. However, theres is a side where there is a real need for prompt action. Robot's memories are as fleeting as ours. Alpha is forgetting her life with Owner and her link to him, and the meaning of her wait is becoming more and more blurry. Robot's bodies can experience no change, but their feelings do...
Besides, the three years gap has been quite an evil turn in the plot. we were taking too many things for granted and assuming that they were shown to us, but everything we are left is a series of "did not happen" and a bunch of new questions (I was about to write, as usual).
And a final question. The robots we have been introduced seems not to be much "technical-aware". When humanity is gone, they will have to revert to a pre-industrialised way of living... no more scooters, no more radios, no more coffe....
And of course we do not konow of anybody else, besides Sensei,k who could repair a robot after an accident, which makes their long term survival quite unlikely... unless Ashinano keeps some surprise in store for us....
- DavidF
Friday, September 16, 2005
alpha and director alpha has different hair colour
- charles C
Friday, September 16, 2005
Not sure if anyone said this before but doesn't it seem like humanity is at a grey old age. Maybe, it's not that people aren't being born rather it is humanity (don't think of humanity as a makeup of individuals but rather as an embodiment of a single being) that is dying. It's just waiting gracefully for the end.
And about that blue lights, I keep thinking, it has more to do with a mood/feeling rather than a representation of an object. It's feel like at an end of a late night and you are the last one to leave, you turn off the light. Do it and tell me if it feel like that.
Click!
- umat
Friday, September 16, 2005
Not sure if anyone said this before but doesn't it seem like humanity is at a grey old age. Maybe, it's not that people aren't being born rather it is humanity (don't think of humanity as a makeup of individuals but rather as an embodiment of a single being) that is dying. It's just waiting gracefully for the end.
And about that blue lights, I keep thinking, it has more to do with a mood/feeling rather than a representation of an object. It's feel like at an end of a late night and you are the last one to leave, you turn off the light. Do it and tell me if it feel like that.
Click!
- umat
Friday, September 16, 2005
Now we know the humankind is gone almost everywhere except Japan...
- T-34
Friday, September 16, 2005
hmm..i am sorry if i missed something, but what makes you belive, that there is a timewarp of 3 years between chapter 133 and 134?
- mr.aufziehvogel
Friday, September 16, 2005
Good Heavens! You have been so busy. This was a huge amount of work. You did it so quickly as well.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
- Loran Gayton
Friday, September 16, 2005
>Now we know the humankind is gone almost everywhere except Japan...
I didn't see anything to suggest that. Director Alpha makes reference to the world going quiet, in addition to her home country (Japan), but despite that (and that is important), Japan continues, along with the rest of the world, though the population there (as with everywhere else) is on the decline.
Or to phrase it the other way around, the population in Japan is as almost gone as anywhere else.
>hmm..i am sorry if i missed something, but what makes you belive, that there is a timewarp of 3 years between chapter 133 and 134?
Not necessarily between 133 and 134, but total (wasn't there about 2-2.5 years of chapters between when we last saw the Tarpon and 130?)
Anyway, the time jump we've seen accounts for the remaining 3-3.5 years before the Tarpon was expected to return.
It it also clear that the Tarpon has returned to the northern hemisphere on page 5 ("I wonder how many times this makes the Northern Route")
But I still don't feel very comfortable about the series needing to have a time jump in the first place. The pacing of the series until this point has been subdued and the jump goes against that.
- Silver
Friday, September 16, 2005
Perhaps there's been a time jump for the simple reason that for the next story arc, Ashinano needed things to move forward a bit.
And would this make Makki around 20 by this point?
- martialstax
Friday, September 16, 2005
Makki 20? I hope not. I think the jump occurred prior to her arrival at the Cafe a couple chapters back looking older. I go with the theory she is now 16-18, tops.
And I agree, the pacing of this series has never required a time jump before. I find it a little alarming.
- Silverback
Friday, September 16, 2005
Keep in mind "Northern Route" *could* mean the transition to heading north, at the southernmost part of the orbit...so not necessarily any time jump, as there's still a ways to go before passing over Japan again. Just a thought...
- T. Cook
Saturday, September 17, 2005
It's true we never did see the Taapon in the sky over Alpha as she was sleeping.
- martialstax
Saturday, September 17, 2005
I don't think the taapon is orbiting. It's flying. It can choose any route it wants, and is not limited to orbital considerations.
- El Gonzo
Saturday, September 17, 2005
So replace 'orbit' in my post with 'path'...same idea applies, that they're switching to 'the route which leads north' rather than 'entering the northern hemisphere'.
- T. Cook
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Either way, if it has or has not actually flown over Japan yet is irrellevent. It left for a six year tour of the southern hemisphere, and now they are either back in the north or headed back north. Both interpretations mean the six year tour is over and that much time has passed.
- Silverback
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Howdy,
I can't tell you what it means, but it's dripping with tropes from 2chan.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Howdy,
Whoops, I meant to reply to the "similar manga" thread about Natsumi Step.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Actually, time gaps were earlier as well. When I tried to make hronology of events in YKK I found that sometimes whole seasons are skipped, e.g. spring in one chapter soon became spring again in chapter after one or two. So, no wonder that when Alpha grew older, the pace of time is quicken a lot for her immortal body.
- Drake
Saturday, September 17, 2005
I too am alarmed at the time jump, and I'm in the camp that thinks that Makki is around 20. Nothing is definite, o'course, but I think the new weatherfish and Makki being able to buy the car point towards a longer time jump.
The author of this manga provides the storyline indirectly most of the time... which is why we love this manga, right?... and Director Alpha holding the feather duster is practically a billboard saying that the cleaning woman has died, and I think it is around 75% likely that the others onboard have passes away as well.
The two Alphas are probably in the same predicament... they have both made promises to stay where they are until allowed to do otherwise. It's likely that Director Alpha was placed in command of this flying library/time capsule/whatever in order to preserve information/technology/whatever until whatever great calamity is over. Alpha promised to look after the Cafe until Owner returned.
As heartbreaking as it is, I think both of their missions are a failure... there will soon be no humanity to retrieve Taapon's library, and the Cafe is going to fall into the ocean before Owner comes back. The question then becomes whether it is important to keep a promise to someone who doesn't exist anymore.
Ah, it's so infinitely sad, I don't want to think about it. : ( How about talking about minutiae instead? : ) Would the duster be used on an aircraft with no people on board? This is keeping in mind that household dust consists mostly of dead skin cells. : P Yuck. ^_^
-k
- Kempis Curious
Saturday, September 17, 2005
I was wondering... if humanity is slowly disappearing, as Director Alpha watches from above...and everything human is been substitued by mock-ups created by nature...
...could it not mean that Alpha and its kin, as artificials beings manufactured by human beings, will end up fading away as everything else created by people, cities, roads, streetlights, people...
...I can not think of another conclusion more pessimistic than this, because it would mean that even that last hope conceived by humanity, creating something that keeps forever the best and the noblest of the human spirit, would reveal itself as vain and futile as the rest...
...however, as Director Alpha realises, on the brink of his extintion human species is shining at its brightest... and moreover, without even noticing, as maybe Alpha's sleep during the entire chapter can mean...
- DavidF
Thursday, September 22, 2005
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