Howdy,
The Elves have gotten over their post-Thanksgiving stupor and have finished chapter 137 for us over at:
http://www.cafealpha.org/
What are you thankful for?
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Sunday, November 27, 2005
5 Years.... *Gulp* Talk about moving on the story line.
- Andy Beale
Sunday, November 27, 2005
i can't believe it. a new chapter..yeah, sunday is saved :)
karma for the elves :)
- mr.aufziehvogel
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Thank you, Elves!
Makki working five years at Musashino? Damn Ashinano. Whenever we were able to figure out the passing of time, he throws us out of the timeline again...
Takahiro really has changed. When I "read" the raws, I thought Makki was flying with Nai.
"When you have free time (when don't you)..." LOL. Well, we haven't seen other customers for some time, Sensei and Ojisan are surely dead by now and the others went away. I guess that some occassional visits by Kokone and Maruko are Alphas only social contacts these times. And she's pretty lonely now. The way she stands in the last panel shows everything.
With Makki's invitation, I won't be surprised to see Alpha closing the shop and going onto another journey next chapter...
- Beaker
Sunday, November 27, 2005
which makes me wonder: where did alpha get the coffe and other things from? i mean, she has no other contacts than sensei and oji-san.
- mr.aufziehvogel
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Thank you, elves.
Thank you, Ashinano-sensei.
This chapter is beautiful, as others.
- Drake
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Dziękuję.
- Radomir Dopieralski
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Thanks Elves...
The last two pages of the chapter were great (in a happy/sad kind of way).
Much appreciated!
- [maven]
Sunday, November 27, 2005
*a humble bow towards the elves* thank you. gotta love you guys
- lepinkainen
Sunday, November 27, 2005
So...are sensei-sama and oji-san gone now?
I drift off and a decade goes by.
- seaweb
Sunday, November 27, 2005
after reading this chapter, I been wandering how ykk story going to continue.
question
1. is there anymore reason for alpha to stay behind. even if she want to shift , she don't have that kind money to reopen at new place.
2. how can alpha able to show smile face when in reality she had been left behind. or why is she come to meeting spot. or why is even read the letter
3. now I feel that alpha in same situation as director aplha
- charles C
Sunday, November 27, 2005
I think Alpha is the one leaving everybody behind, except other robots, i don't think she has the intention to left the place but i think she's gonna travel more, she's not alone like Director alpha, i believe eventually all that area surrounding cafe Alpha is gonna be populated by robots (maybe a few humans too), starting with Kokone who wants to stay closer to Alpha and probably after that, Maruko and Nai maybe move closer to them.
- Naret
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Many thanks again, elves!
Such a nostalgic chapter! Alpha seemed pretty happy to see the plane – I expected a tear or a sad face after it flew by. Now we're sure 5 years have gone by since Makki was working at the cafe. Seems like readers' imaginations have been fired by the author's sudden shift in time and they're imagining all sorts of developments. I wonder what the author has in mind?
Oji-san and Sensei seem to have dropped out of the picture like the Misago. Ayase will be getting a little old for his hand-to-mouth nomadic life eventually. Director Alpha should be returning to Earth, since presumably everyone in the plane is gone. And the sea will eventually claim Alpha's cafe, maybe before Owner gets back, if he ever does. That's about all I can think of.
- Kerry
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Another wonderful and beautiful chapter. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever have a Takahiro centric chapter again. It seems to me that Asahino is moving away from the humans and focusing more and more on just Alpha. He makes mentions to things she does with someone like Makki but I get the feeling we'll never know what Takahiro's been doing since he left. One thing's for certain he's learned to fly airplanes which means he's either a pilot or an airplane mechanic where he lives. And telling his frends Makki was his little sister makes me think he has no romantic interest in her.
This is not only a blow for Alpha because Makki isn't close by anymore but also to Kokone because she doesn't have a partner to work with at the delivery service. Makes you wonder if Asahino has something planned for Alpha and Kokone. First Kokone loses Shiba to the promotion and now Makki's left the company. But one thing is certain Sensei and Ojisan have to be dead if that much time has passed and Alpha was driving the truck Ojisan once owned. Also, I wonder if Owner is still around because he would be pretty old if he is.
Where does this leave Alpha? Does she stay where she is and never have any steady customers again? Or does she go on another yearlong journey earning money here and there possibly taking Kokone with her? The possibilities are endless. We know, or can at least speculate, that Kokone is still working for the delivery company. We can also speculate that Maruko is still working in the art business in some for or another. Nai would still be running the delivery business from the Atsugi airport too. That leaves Alpha as the only one without a steady source of income. She's more than likely going to leave for some time.
I for one would love to see Alpha recieve a letter from Nai. He's the only one we haven't heard about in a long time. It would be appropriate if he asked her to meet him somewhere or if she went to visit him again taking Kokone with her. Nai needs to be pulled into the little group more. Come on Asahino give us some Nai.
Oh and by the way was I imagining things or did Takahiro have a little soul patch growing on his chin there?
- Christine K
Sunday, November 27, 2005
I don't think it's good idea to show Nai. because Male Robot life is very short than female.
owner should be about same age as sensei (maybe know each other) . and must be involve in making of director alpha
- charles C
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Howdy,
>And telling his frends Makki was his little sister makes me think he has no romantic interest in her.
I don't think so. If you read closely, he's telling the *neighbors* that she's his little sister. In Japan, the neighbors are notorious for being nosey, so he's lying just to save the gossiping. Makki is staying with him for the time being after all.
But I think the the last phrase is the key "We'll fly there together". I think Ashinano may be giving us a hint.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Interesting as usual. But somehow I feel sad. It feels like everybody is gone.
p/s This line is a must:
"Thanks elves for your hardwork!"
- painsama
Sunday, November 27, 2005
This chapter feels really sad to me. I just don't know what Ashinano has in store for Alpha and the rest any more. But I'm looking forward to finding out.
- martialstax
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Darn you Dave now you have me thinking Ashinano has them contemplating marriage or something. It would be nice to see them end up together like that. I could see Alpha at their wedding watching them build a life together. They are the future of the human race so it would be a nice thing to see them together as husband and wife and not just roommates.
- Christine K
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Many thanks this Thanksgiving weekend to the Elves for the excellent and speedy work!
A very thoughtful chapter as always... I'm just not going to speculate right now...
- Darin~
Sunday, November 27, 2005
What a bittersweet and touching chapter~
Ashinano has a narrative gift of letting readers experience the "they were just kids yesterday" phrase like many parents like to say...but I'm still single in my early twenties!!! Why do I feel like I'm already living in an empty nest?!
YKK has once again shown that it's become more than another manga title for me to read up on, it's becoming a very personal experience that a few well-written books and even fewer movies can pull off.
Still indebted to the elves. :)
- Glen Hwang
Monday, November 28, 2005
Bless you, elves.
This chapter, combined with the revelations and time jumps of the last several, makes me think that the end is not necessarily near, but is coming into sight.
- El Gonzo
Monday, November 28, 2005
The elves are da BEST! Da BEST! ^_^
Uaaahhh... when I read the title I knew this was going to be a melancholy one. : ( I immediately thought of this page:
http://ykk.misago.org/Volume6/38.html
A curious thing... that chapter has the same name as the current chapter, though the Japanese spelling is different. Is there a "shade of meaning" difference between the two?
Thanks to the other posters for pointing out ojisan's truck, I actually hadn't thought of it as being just like the cleaning lady's feather duster. : ( The only argument against it... ojisan and sensei as characters were more important than the cleaning lady, so I think their deaths would deserve more attention in the storyline. It's not impossible for them to still be alive, though every year makes it more likely.
Gah! 5 YEARS?!?! Wow, that really jumped out.
I also think the romance option is still open. According to the letter, Makki has only recently arrived and is living with Takahiro. Her living there is kinda proof that he doesn't have a wife or girlfriend already, and perhaps he was waiting for her somehow.
The small beard was cute, wasn't it? I can't help but to think that it was the lazy artist's way of making a man look older. ^_^ Oh well, there wasn't much to work with in the cramped cockpit of the airplane.
-k
- Kempis Curious
Monday, November 28, 2005
Howdy,
>A curious thing... that chapter has the same name as the current chapter, though the Japanese spelling is different. Is there a "shade of meaning" difference between the two?
In Chapter 45, the kanji is used for "boat", where in Chapter 137, it's spelled out in the phonetic hiragana characters. I guess the closest English example would be the difference between block print and cursive. The meaning is the same, but the presentation is different. Does it have deeper meaning? Only Ashinano-sensei knows for sure.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Monday, November 28, 2005
Thank you elves!
That was another beautiful chapter.
I wonder why they ask Alpha to travel so far out to see the plane go by... you would think they would just buzz over the cafe. Her standing and waving on the porch.
- Silverback
Monday, November 28, 2005
Howdy,
I think it's because Takahiro had been out to the shrine with Alpha to see Nai's airplane back in chapter 90.
Then:
http://ykk.misago.org/Afternoon2002/25.html
Now:
http://cafealpha.org/ch137/14.html
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Monday, November 28, 2005
Chapter 90 ("Midwinter") Alpha took Takki out to the shrine to see Nai fly past. It's the same time of the year, the winter solstice as the latest chapter. In Chapter 114 ("Box Garden") she was with a bunch of people including Ojisan when Nai flew Takki over the gas station. It's been five years at least since then and this time she's alone at the flyover.
Damn you, Ashinano-san! Stop doing this to me!
- Robert Sneddon
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
As usual, Thanks to the elves for a translating a new chapter. Waiting a month between chapters is hard, though...
Reading the chapter I have come to realise how poignant is the flyby imagery. Standing a few meters away from the people you care, but being unable to exchange a single word and being aware, at the same time, that that encounter will last only a very short moment, the very instant it takes the plane to fly by.
Indeed both ships, Alpha's and Makki's are really apart.
Also wonderful is the wide range of expressions that Alpha experiences in the last three pages... from the joy mixed with sadness when she saw the plane and the restraint with she waves at first, to the exhilaration when answering Makki and the, supposedly, desolation when the plane left...
Other artists would express loss and absence by resorting to flashbacks and memories. Ashinano, instead, has found the way to make the reader take part in it...
On a brighter not, and given the latest developments, I think that maybe we could see the Misago again.
- DavidF
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
> I think that maybe we could see the Misago again.
I'd love to see the Misago again, she is one of my favorite characters. But since she doesn't show herself to anyone but children, it would have to be a solo chapter. Probably showing her loneliness now that the kids have all grown up and moved away.
- Silverback
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
I don't know if I am thinking too much, but I find intriguing that since around chapter 130, our knowledge fo Alpha's life is almost only when a human being is involved (the unknown visitor, Sensei, Makki)
I mean, till know, a narrative of Alpha's life could be stablished, but since a while, we only see small flashes, as though we were another customer visiting Café Alpha now and then.
Is Ashinano maybe making a point? As human population ages and decreases, Alpha would meet less and less human beings, like us, so...
...Is our ship also moving away from Alpha? I mean, would she eventually fade away from our vision, without even being noticed?
I have just picture an Ayase's chapter about him not finding a trace about our beloved café...
- DavidF
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
I think that is an intriguing thought DavidF raises there: the long time breaks between events could very well represent long breaks in contact between Alpha and other people: she could just be sitting back, drinking coffee by herself, the rest of the time. A sad thought, but very interesting.
- Elric of Grans
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
0.o what a dark and sad feelings lies in yar hearts , from this and many other chapters we can see that life is going on when we're not watching Alpha, Ashinano is just giving us a little slice of some of Alpha&friends's steps, ie. from the latest chapter we never saw that farewell party and that would be a must see scene in the manga, we also never saw Alpha encouraging Makki to left to Hamamatsu.
I'm glad Ashinano doesn't have such a depressing point of view, until now^^
To me this manga is refreshing, relaxing and in scence a wonderful work where basicly everybody is happy and moves the life they way they feel better.
- Naret
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
i love it to discuss every chapter here.
i just finished the whole ykk story (my 2nd time)
and i have to say... i want the next chapter :)
i think in the next chapter:
a) alpha is travelling again
b) alpha visits makki and takahiro
c) the greatest mystery of ykk iwill be revealed: owner is coming back from his journey. BANG...a total change of the storyline.
can't wait to see the next chapter :)
- mr.aufziehvogel
Friday, December 9, 2005
Howdy,
If owner is roughly the same age as Sensei and Ojisan, then the possibility exists that he has passed on as well. The climax of the Story may be when Alpha realizes that he's never coming back.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Saturday, December 10, 2005
what makes you think, that owner is as old as ojisan/sensei?
only because he is "owner"?
i mean we don't know if he was involved in the "creation" of alpha.
i think he only takes care of alpha. like father and teacher in one person. but i dont think that he was involved in the creation.
he could be much younger than sensei/ojisan. as old as...ayase?
didn't ayase said something like "i wonder where hasseno sensei is?" so he could know him.
just a guess...
- mr.aufziehvogel
Saturday, December 10, 2005
He doesn't have to be involved in the creation of the robots to be the same age as they are. However, seeing as Alpha is a prototype model and it's very likely she was only at one location in her training, unlike Director Alpha, there's a very good chance he was involved in the project in one way or another. Plus, you have to take into account Owner has been gone for well over fifteen years. He's either going to come back quite old or not at all. Using what we've learned from the last few chapters it's been at least fifteen years since we first learned he had left Alpha to travel the world.
Ayase knows Hatsusenno-sensei (sp?) because he's either A) worked with him on some project or B) studied under him. It's very likely that in their travels Owner and Ayase are studying the same thing those mushroom-like people known as the Water Gods. They definately share a similar interest and have been traveling the same routes.
- Christine K
Saturday, December 10, 2005
mr.aufziehvogel wrote:
> i think he only takes care of alpha.
I agree. If he took care of two or more "Alpha" robots, he had to give her different name from "Alpha".
I'll bet he is younger than Sensei (Dr. Koumiishi) and older than Ayase.
-kGo
- Kimoto Go
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Ah, mention of Ayase brings up another sub-plot -- it's been over five years since Makki left. What about Kamas' baby? The plot seemed to be going in the direction of Makki getting the baby when it was ready to leave its mother, but that was a long time back.
One interesting addition to the story would be to see Ayase turning up in Hamamatsu to deliver the grown offspring of Kamas to her, as "promised".
- Robert Sneddon
Sunday, December 11, 2005
it could be like -kGo said. owner is younger than sensei and a little bit older than ayase.
because: would an old man like oji-san go on a journey THIS LONG?. i mean, he could't go by car etc. because of the bad roads etc.
and i dont think an old man like oji-san would go all the way :)
- mr.aufziehvogel
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Age wouldn't preclude travel. We don't have any reason to think that Owner is wandering the roads like Ayase. He left 15 years ago, he may well have gone directly to another place and stayed there the entire time.
I do agree he is probably around the age of Sensai. If not older, not much younger at any rate.
- Silverback
Monday, December 12, 2005
The passage of time and the airplane remind me irresistibly of the last sentences of the introduction from Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men, which I read while vacationing last November:
"[...] But as the flier sees nothing of the minute inhabitants below him, and since it is they who make history, we must also punctuate our flight with many descents, skimming as it were over the house-tops, and even alighting at critical points to speak face to face with individuals. And as the plane's journey must begin with a slow ascent from the intricate pedestrian view to wider horizons, so we must begin with a somewhat close inspection of that little time period which includes the culmination and collapse of your own primitive civilization."
Aside from the obvious parallels, the two stories are drastically different, other than that they share the doubt that humanity will progress non-stop to the Omega Point or whatever.
Many thanks to the elves, as always!
- Smarasderagd
Thursday, January 19, 2006
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