I don’t like the idea of “can only read online”. I decided to try sampling the service, though, as if I could find a way to view offline, it could be worth it. I believe there was a minimum of $20 purchase price, but that would be fine if I’d be getting some School Rumble later.

Well, it looks like JManga is closing down and after the end of the month any paid-for manga will no longer be usable. This is the second reason why I don’t like “view online only”. “I can’t access it during my two one-hour work commutes each day where I have no Internet connection available to me” would be the first reason.

Lucky for me I found a (slightly tedious) way to download the pages, and it was super trivial to decrypt the images so I can drop them all onto my tablet and read them there sometime. Although now I have the first four volumes to a seven volume series (Fairy Navigator Runa) with no hope of seeing the last three. (And this was after Runa saw two paperback releases then was dropped.) It’s like School Rumble all over again…

It almost makes me want to look for fan scan translations for these series as they surely provide a better service than the official routes!

As for JManga, thankfully they’re doing the right thing and issuing Amazon gift cards for any unspent point.

Update: It was asked in the comments how to decrypt these images. Because JManga is closing down, and because some people may have found a way to download the images for the manga they paid for (and hopefully someone found a more graceful method than I did), here’s how to go about decrypting them.

First, a bit of background on how to find out how they differ. This should be consistent for all files from JManga, but in case it isn’t, here is how to see how they are encrypted. It’s very simple.

If you open a few normal JPGs in a hex editor, and a few JManga images in a hex editor, you’ll notice the following pattern:

Normal JPGs begin with FF D8 FF E0 00 10 4A 46.

JManga’s JPGs begin with BD 9A BD A2 42 52 08 04.

The key ones to look at are the FF becoming BD and the 00 becoming 42. Convert those to binary and check out how they are different:

FF = 1111 1111
BD = 1011 1101

00 = 0000 0000
42 = 0100 0010

Notice how bytes 1 and 6 are inverted. If you can write a script to swap these bits, you can decrypt the images.

Here’s a script I threw together in Ruby. I’m sure it’s very poorly written, as I was using Google to get me to finding how to do in Ruby what I needed to do.

def convert_file(file)
    output = ""
    contents = open(file, "rb") { |io|
        io.each_char do |char|
        unpacked = char.unpack('b*')
        if unpacked[0][1] == "0"
            unpacked[0][1] = "1"
        else
            unpacked[0][1] = "0"
        end
        if unpacked[0][6] == "0"
            unpacked[0][6] = "1"
        else
            unpacked[0][6] = "0"
        end
        output << unpacked.pack("b*")
        end
    }
    File.open(file + ".out.jpg", 'wb') { |file| file.write(output) }
end

Dir.glob('*.jpg') do |file|
    puts file
    convert_file(file)
end

puts "Done"

Just put this into the same folder as all the files from JManga, ensure they files have ".jpg" at the end of the file name (or adjust the script as necessary), then run the script through the Ruby code interpreter (which I believe is available on all major operating systems). It'll iterate over each image, and byte by byte invert bits 1 and 7.

Originally slated for a July release, Madman will release Cardcaptor Sakura in two box sets, with five DVDs per set (which is kind of a low DVD count). These will be Japanese audio with English subtitles.

The reason for the delay was to get better masters to work from. Hopefully they get something better than Pioneer used with its washed out colors (Tomoyo is albino?) and cropping (who needs to see the tip-top of heads, right?)

My hope is that they manage to get the Japanese remasters, although I don’t know if they’d be able to see them as low a price as non-remastered material. One also has to wonder why they haven’t announced a Blu-ray release.

Even though this new release will not be region one compatible, I wonder if it won’t lower the value of region one releases. If they retain their value after this release, I might just get the Australian release and sell the Pioneer release on eBay.

Here, also, there’s a rather glaring plot hole that will become clear in episode 4: Kero-chan tells Sakura to try using the new Fly card, before Sakura writes her name on it. But I suppose there’s some No-Prize answer out there; after all, it’s MAGIC.

This is really belated on my part, but I think I filled in the plot hole. I was re-watching episode one of Cardcaptor Sakura today, and had a thought:

Maybe Sakura can use Fly without writing her name on the card because she didn’t call Fly out of the card. That is, Fly didn’t appear before her. Instead, Fly enhanced the wand. The wand/key probably has enough control over the cards (being the item able to convert them back into cards, with thanks to Sakura’s magical abilities) that it can take on a card’s powers (growing wings from Fly) without the need for Sakura writing her name on the card.

This of course ignores the part where Sakura uses The Windy without writing her name on it. Maybe The Windy felt responsible for letting all the other cards go? Or maybe Sakura has a natural affinity to The Windy that is conveniently never mentioned?

Warning: This is a very image heavy post, and this post contains visual spoilers.

Moon and Stars

This is Sakura’s most seen night outfit, appearing in 11 episodes (episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 27, 36, 44, 46, 58, 61, and 68), and in the first movie. Sakura wore this when capturing the Fly card.

Before going to sleep, Sakura sometimes wears pink beaded hair ties in her hair when wearing this outfit. However, in episode 6, Sakura wears her hair up with yellow beaded hair ties. She puts them on after taking a bath, but wears a day outfit at the same time during dinner.

Episode 1

Something interesting to note with this episode is that Sakura wears the same outfit two nights in a row. Did the storyboarder not think to use two different outfits, or was it a conscious choice to have her wear the same pajamas?

Episode 2

The appearance in episode two is essentially a flashback. Rather, the scene from episode one where Sakura is flying with the Fly card is being replayed on Tomoyo’s new video camera.

Episode 3

Here, the pajamas appear in an actual flashback, but it’s from an unshown scene having taken place earlier within the episode, not a flashback from a prior episode.

Episode 4

This design was used a lot in these first episodes, but this appearance marks its last for more than 20 episodes.

Episode 27

Episode 36

Episode 44

Episode 46

Episode 58

Episode 61

Episode 68

Movie 1

Pinstripe

The second pajamas Sakura is seen in is blue with thin stripes. This outfit appears fours times, in episodes 2, 6, 33, and 43.

Episode 2

Episode 6

Episode 33

Episode 43

Seagreen

The third night outfit shown for Sakura is a seagreen color. It appeared again in mid- and late-series episodes, totalling six appearances (episodes 8, 32, 37, 41, 62, and 67).

Episode 8

Episode 32

Episode 37

Episode 41

Episode 62

Episode 67

Shorts Pajamas

Sakura owns three of this style of pajamas, in different colors, and they total four appearances. They appeared in episode 12 in blue, in episode 16 in pink, and in both movies in turquoise.

This is another outfit worn two evenings in a row.

Episode 12

There’s a minor animation error in this episode. Before Kero turns off the light, the yellow piece at the collar of Sakura’s outfit is painted in the same blue color as the rest of the outfit.

Episode 16

Movie 1

Movie 2

Nightgown

Sakura appears in a nightgown in only two episodes. This outfit appears in episodes 15 and 18.

Episode 15

Episode 18

Beach Nightwear

This outfit appeared only once, in episode 17. It’s another with shorts, but of a different style from the other three. When going outide, Sakura wears red sandals.

Episode 17

Pink Short-Sleeved

Another outfit worn by Sakura at night, this outfit appeared twice. It first appeared in episode 22, then later again in episode 49.

Episode 22

Something to notice in this episode is that the pajama pockets sometimes have the wing designed colored in white, and other times it’s left the same pink as the pajamas.

Episode 49

Pajamas with Overcoat

This style is another seen more than once in different colors. Appearing five times, Sakura wore this oufit in blue in episodes 39, and 50, and she wore it in pink in episode 54. It appeared in a flashback in episode 41, and isn’t visible in a reused scene during the credits during episode 46.

Episode 39

Watch the buttons on Sakura’s shirt when she first opens her sliding window. The middle button initially is slightly higher than her stomach, then the button is moved higher, to her chest. The latter is the proper placement. The middle button is also at times drawn larger than the top one. The buttons seemed to be a difficulty for the animators to keep in the right sizes and positions in this episode.

Episode 41

This appearance is during a flashback of a scene from episode 39.

Episode 46

During the credits, a scene from episode 39 is shown, with Nadeshiko looking over Sakura as Sakura sleeps off a fever in bed.

Episode 50

Episode 54

Hong Kong Style

This outfit’s only appearance is in the first movie. Sakura (and Tomoyo) worn Hong Kong style pajamas while staying in Hong Kong. When going outside, orange slippers are worn.

I don’t know if anyone actually wears pajamas like this in Hong Kong (maybe they’re a traditional style?), but it’s a very nice look.

Movie 1

First Day of School

In the second movie, Sakura wakes up late for her first day of the new school year. She’s seen running back and forth as she’s changing out of her pajamas and into her school uniform. The outfit isn’t seen in whole, but enough it seen to determine it isn’t an outfit seen elsewhere in the series.

Movie 2

In one scene of the animation, Nemo, Camille, and a servant, Bonbon, are traveling through the skies. A light rain begins, leading to butterflies flying them to a covering where they can keep dry.

There is a 1906 strip which begins with the princess showing Nemo the butterflies. They are in a garden where it rains for five minutes every day, so the princess takes Nemo to an umbrella tree, a tree with a top like a closed umbrella which opens when it rains.

I like the animated take on the umbrella tree, as Winsor McCay’s looks more like a concrete pole, whereas the animated counterpart is clearly a tree.

Winsor McCay’s style is clearly suited for climbing up leaf-by-leaf. This is impossible in the animated counterpart, but considering the butterflies are trained to transport people around, that isn’t an issue.

What really caught my eye was this pavilion in the water:

In the next comic, Nemo and the princess reach the ocean of pure rose water. From the beach, they walk atop the water to this pavilion. There, the princess uses a horn (much like the one Bonbon used in the animation to call the butterflies) to call the mermaids, so Nemo can meet with them.

From now on, whenever I watch “Little Nemo in Slumberland”, and that pavilion shows for a few seconds, I’ll recall that that’s where the mermaids can be seen. And I’ll know that that’s rose-scented water.

The doctor who sees Yeongro at the beginning, it looks like her box’s contents consists of herbs, maybe some kind of nuts, various kinds of bandages, and acupuncture needles. The height of moderm medicine for about the year 515? I wonder which was used to help Yeongro. Being able to understand the dialogue this time around sure helps out to learn little things, like how it’s Yeongro’s own fault she’s sick, especially at something like trying to make herself look better.

Janggeum says that on Seonnongje, “his highness personally plows the field” as part of the festival. It’s nice to see this was something expected for viewers, but I still found it amusing to see happen back when I watched through without English subtitles.

The Wikipedia article for the Seolleongtang says:

In the Joseon dynasty, Koreans regularly made nationwide sacrifices to their ancestors … . The nationwide sacrifice was called Seonnongje (… Seonnong meaning “venerated farmer”), and the altar for the sacrifice was called Seonnong dan … . King Seongjong had visited the sacrifice himself, and had eaten a meal with the people of Joseon. In order to increase the food supply in Joseon, King Seongjong ordered them to invent dishes that could feed the maximum number of people using the least amount of ingredients, and seonnongtang (tang meaning “soup”) was one of these.

Seonnongtang is the soup Janggeum and the others prepared. Considering the meat they were cutting, the cooking method, the addition of salt, and the rice served alongside it, it seems it may line up with what Wikipedia says about the dish:

Seolleongtang is a Korean soup made from ox bones (mostly leg bones), brisket and other cuts. Seasoning is generally done at the table according to personal taste by adding salt, ground black pepper, red pepper, minced garlic, or minced spring onions. Seolleongtang is typically simmered over a low flame over a period of several hours to an entire day, to allow the flavor to be gradually extracted from the bones. It has a milky off-white, cloudy appearance and is normally eaten together with rice and several side dishes; the rice is sometimes added directly to the soup.

Seen elsewhere,

It is the most convincing view that seolleongtang and the name were originated from seonnongje, an agricultural ritual that had performed since the Silla dynasty. Koreans traditionally performed sacrificial rites for the god of agriculture and the god of grains. In the Joseon dynasty, the king and his officials offered rice, millet, a whole cow and a whole pig as sacrifices to the altar of agriculture.

According to Seongjongsillok (Annals of King Seongjong), King Seongjong performed a sacrificial rite in the sixth year of his reign. Then the king went to the field around the altar and plowed the field by himself. It was a performance to pray for a good harvest and to encourage farmers. Usually, ordinary people were not allowed to be close to the king. But on the day, farmers were allowed to get close to the king and watch him plow the field himself.

After the performance was over, soup was boiled with the cow offered to the god. In this case, no parts of the cow were abandoned since it was a sacred offering. When the soup was cooked, it was shared among the king, the officials attending at the event, old men over sixty in the neighborhood and slaves.

That last line gives a whole new view to my joke comment in my original commentary:

Who cares if [the soup is] a little watered down? The people waiting are all old people and hungry kids. Younger adults and well-fed kids were specifically not invited.

Apparently younger adults specifically weren’t invited!

When King Jungjong read from the book, there were two tables in front of him. Janggeum says one is for Seonnong, the god of agriculture, and the other for Hujik, the god of crops. If Seonnongje is “agricultural festival”, then is “Seonnong” the name of the agricultural god and the word used for “agriculture”?

I hadn’t realized it while watching the episode, but from reading the history of the event, it sounds that the bull Jungjong took out for a plowing is probably the one used for the meal. Suddenly a little bee string to the nose doesn’t seem to bad compared to what was in the animal’s near future.

Even though I don’t know the details behind Yun Hwan from my first watch of the series, I know enough about him to not feel the same as I did about him back then. That alone should make any scenes with him more interesting. This time around, I can sit back and admire his awesomeness in saving Yeonsaeng. Also, good to know he’s a Royal Guard. Even better, I never did understand the details to why he had his eye on Janggeum, adding another aspect that will be all new to me on this watch-through.

I think this is the first time Court Lady Han has given an order directly against what Janggeum wanted related to food. This leads to a learning experience for Janggeum, the realization that there are times when you need to water down soup, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work hard to keep a flavor to it.

At the tea party, it’s made clear that even though Geumyeong may have gone against her aunt for the cooking contest, she is firmly back in line, following her aunt’s every instruction. She doesn’t show any drive to achieve on her own.

Court Lady Han tells Janggeum to go to Soangwon, giving her a list of ingredients. I thought this place was mentioned in the first episode of the series, but maybe not. Wikipedia gives Songwon as the spelling for a location in Korea.

For the hot pot, Janggeum says she prepared the doenjang before adding honey. This food item is a fermented soybean paste traditional of Korea. The paste is made from meju, as seen in episode 22.

On my first viewing of the episode, I had commented on the background artwork being poorer than in the first season. I haven’t even noticed the background artwork much this timea around, as I’m putting more focus onto reading subtitles.

Until now, I hadn’t noticed the height difference between Janggeum and Geum-yeong. I know Geum-yeong is a year older than Janggeum, but the height difference never stood out to me before. This must be an effect of not having subtitles to read.

This line from my original commentary of this episode continues this line of thinking. I hadn’t even noticed anything like this on my present viewing of the episodes. It makes me wonder how much I’m missing with Japanese series I only watch with subtitles, although I’m able to better understand Japanese dialogue, and don’t have to view the subtitles as long as I do with a Korean series.

Putting the flower buds in the gelatin is cute. I like that. I’m not sure I would want to be served something like that, though. I’d be made to feel uncomfortable. “Do I eat the flower, or do I eat around the flower? Do I eat the gelatin touching the flower? How close to the flower can I eat?” Maybe Geum-yeong should add a “how to eat this meal” to all of her dishes, not just certain ones.

Of course, having English subtitles means knowing Geumyeong told the queen that the flowers are edible. Doesn’t help the rest of the royals and important people at the tea party if they didn’t hear it, though.

Poor Nain to have to take on the words of the unpleased two she served lunch to. I can just hear the guy in red now: “Hey, why is this food so watered down?” Actually, my guess would be related to the small size of the portion. Either way, when King Jungjong didn’t complain, it was a different story altogether.

Apparently, some ways of making a comment transcend language.

I may never know the significance of the different flowers in [the Queen and King's] gelatins.

And sometimes, never is just under three years. I should have known it had something to do with medicinal purposes.

With the former queen asking Janggeum to not follow court rituals with here, it feels as it maybe she only recently left the palace, where after the last episode, I determined she must has left before the first season. If she left before the first season, however, why would the king have taken so long to get the ornament back to her? Maybe they married between seasons, but she had to leave due to an action by her family in that short amount of time, leaving the king to have to hurry and remarry. This is going to bother me until I know for certain when events with the former queen took place.

I still wonder how, after the girls get the skirt up for the king to see, why it is that Yeonsaeng and Changi have dirt on their faces. It’s Janggeum who took the flying leap off the cliff, not those two. At the end of that scene, it’s nice to see the view from the cliff, overlooking the palace and town down below. It gives a good feel of the size of their home.

It’s good to know who the older man and woman are now (the queen’s parents), as that was a mystery to me on my first watch through this of season. And the man still has a crazy hat.

Looking back at my older commentary for this episode,

I’m finding myself in the negative position of “trying to like” series two here. It might be partly because this was a monologue-heavy episode, and the best I could do was pick out names and a small number of words I know to give a touch of context.

…I’m glad to say this is no longer the case. There’s no “trying to like” season two. I’ve enjoyed the first two episodes so far.

Once again, Suro is given an extreme role, in a bad way. He’s seeming less and less like a developed character and more and more like a pitiful attempt at comic relief. Hopefully things improve for him, because I do like him as a character. He’s probably my favorite after Yeonsaeng, so it’s sad to see him in this state.

This time around, he didn’t seem so bad this episode. I don’t feel anymore like they’re trying to force him to be comic relief. Instead, he seems to have the same level of comic as he did in the first season.

With the potential of others knowing an item from the king was being transported, it was smart of Janggeum to put a fake item in the bag she was carrying …

Speaking of comical things, it’s fun to look back on my perception of the episodes from when I didn’t have the English subtitles to reveal what was going on. I was able to pick up on a lot of what was happening, but completely missed that it was Changi who brought the roots along to snack on, not some attempt from Janggeum to fake anyone who stops her to look for the item Court Lady Han gave her to take.

I have no idea of the significance of the pin between the lady Janggeum delivered it to (whose name I have as Sin-ssi), and Jungjong.

I think I happened upon former Queen Sin’s name on a Japanese web site about the series, which listed characters. That’s also where I had gotten Pansul’s name for my original commentary on episode 26 (as I hadn’t seen the live action series yet to know of him). What I wonder now is about the -ssi suffix. After seeing the live action “Jewel in the Palance” a while back, and very recently having finished the live action “Jumong”, I should know what “Queen” is in Korean, although I cannot recall. But it’s nothing like “ssi”. Rather, I’m guessing that “ssi” is a name-suffix.

I’ve heard a number of name suffixes from these series. There’s 오빠 (oppa), such as Janggeum calling her adoptive brother “Dongi-oppa”. I figured this was a term for an older brother, but Yeonsaeng has called him the same, so I figured maybe it’s a term used for an older male, like like how in Japanese, a younger girl may call an older girl onee-san, even if they are not sisters. Turns out it’s both.

Then of course there’s 아버지 (abeoji), which I most recently recall hearing Haeya say to her father back in season one, but it also came up a lot in “Jumong” which I watched recently, and it was heard in “Jewel in the Palace” early on by Janggeum’s when her father is being dragged away. And opposite abeoji is mother, or 어머니 (eomeoni), another I recall hearing a lot in “Jumong” (especially by Prince Youngpo).

씨 (ssi) is listed on Wiktionary as “sir or madam, Mr. or Ms.”, but it’s also noted:

Applying this honorific directly to a surname is considered rude or a way of indicting that the addressee is a social inferior. As a mark of respect, it should follow either the full name or just the given name.

Another usage is written as “氏: wife”.

My guess in this case is that “Sin-ssi” means “wife Sin”, but maybe it’s simply “Mrs. Sin”?

Those are all relation-related suffixes. There are also suffixes that are commonly heard which have confused for a bit, such as “Tayo-ya” in “Janggeum”, or in “Jumong” when I saw “Oi” in the subtitles and heard “Oi-ya” spoken. It turns out that 야 (ya) may be added to the end of a name that ends in a vowel, and 아 (a) to the end of a name ending in a consonant. These wouldn’t be used with someone who isn’t relatively close, though. And it’s only used when speaking to the person, not when using their name while talking to someone else.

One that I’ve been wondering for a while now is 장금이 (Janggeum-i). As it turns out, 이 (i) is a “Particle marking a grammatical subject ending with a consonant.” (If the name ended in a vowel, the particle would be 가 [ga].)

As for Korean words this time around, Pansul said the pigs he brought were from Gangweondo, one of the eight provinces of the Joseon Dynasty.

Court Lady Choi tells Geumyeong that the new queen’s parents are in Geunjeongjeon, Wikipedia says “is the throne hall of Gyeongbokgung where the king formally granted audiences to his officials, gave declarations of national importance, and greeted foreign envoys and ambassadors during the Joseon Dynasty.” I wonder if this means Gyeongbok Palace is King Jungjong’s palace.

Court Lady Han tells Janggeum to bring back the leftover groceries to the warehouse at Saongwon, but I cannot find anything on this.

The Hanyang Trading Troop may refer to Seoul, which was known by the name Hanyang during Joseon.

The episode title here is “New Beginning”. I had “Running Toward a Dream”, based on translating the Korean title and the title on a Japanese site that had Japanese translations for titles.

Something I thought at the end of the last season is how Yeonsaeng returned to being orchid class. It seems if Janggeum was pushed back to apricot class, Yeongsaeng should have as well. Either way, everyone’s worked up to orchid class by the time season two has begun.

Having an English translation definitely helps out. I’d wondered who the royal lady was, and now it’s clear even before her arrival that she’s the new queen. Jungjong has married.

Did I mention yet that I don’t like Suro at the start of this season? In the first season, he was my second favorite character, following after Yeonsaeng. I didn’t care for how he acted during Janggeum’s journey in the latter have of season one, though, especially in the bean episode.

Jisung (the boy soldier from the “Mother’s Table” episode) mentions that everyone came back from Ming except for Suro. There was talk at the end of the first season about Janggeum going to Ming with the envoy, so perhaps she went and Suro followed as a body guard? I would have expected Dongi to go along as well, if there were the case, but maybe he wasn’t allowed if he wanted to keep his job? Thanks to subtitles, I now have Suro’s explanation of leaving Ming on his own and getting lost, and hurrying back meaning he didn’t have time to stop for anything, including eating or (apparently) bathing. Thus the beggar look. (With the smell, at least now he knows how to ward off Yeongro—or at least how to keep her at a distance.)

It’s good to see Geumyeong is helping Janggeum out, with a smile on her face, with making the broth. It shows they’ve been able to become friends, rather than Geumyeong seeing her only as a rival.

What has my interest is the lady who’s seen leaving in a flashback. It seems she was the king’s first wife, but her father betrayed the king and his country. Because of this, the queen had to leave, and King Jungjong had to remarry. I had always wondered who that lady was, and now I know. What a different understanding dialogue makes! This also puts down the framework for the possibility of further betrayal. The interesting thing is that the former Queen had to leave when Jungjong took the throne, which would have been before the first episode of the first season. Why take so long to remarry? The first season had to span at least a year (due to Janggeum’s travels after being kicked out of the palance).

Regarding names, “Sanggung Han” is used. I wonder why “Hyeon Sang Gung” appears for her on the DVD box.

During the cooking scene, with a song playing in the background, it’s nice to finally know the lyrics to this song. I bought the music CD a few years back, and it’s one of the songs on the CD. The title is “Herb Song”.

When Court Granny tells Lady Han she cannot take anything to the former Queen right now, she says, “Send a Nain or Junior Apprentice”. I actually thought “Nain” was the name of Han’s aide (Nain Min) in the first season, but found out via Wikipedia just recently that nain is a position in the court, at a lower level than sanggung.

Looking over my original episode 27 commentary, I’m able to enjoy reviewing what I wrote back then:

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Yeong-ro continues to try and be innocent when she causes trouble.

Janggeum, being the eternally nice person, wouldn’t want Yeong-ro or Yeonsaeng to take any blame for the pot of water being dropped.

Unfortunately, this means she misses out on what appears to be the arrival of a young queen.

It’s nice to see how clear these were from the portrayal of the events. Character reactions such as Yeongro’s facial expressions really make it clear what’s happening when one doesn’t understand what’s being said.

In the flashback, as Yeonsaeng thinks about what happened with Janggeum, Janggeum’s characterized purse appears as being worn. It’s been a while since this was last seen. It sort of disappeared from existence in the first series, so it’s nice to see it back. Maybe it will have some significance this time around.

For some reason, I didn’t even notice the purse when re-watching the first season recently. I wonder why I didn’t. Now I’ll get a chance to find out the story to it, and see how close I was in my guess the last time I watched the second season. I do wonder, though, whether they had plans for it in the first season. After all, why include it her character design for the first episodes unless they were planning on potentially making use of it as a story element? Maybe that was planned, but they didn’t couldn’t fit it into the series? What I wonder is at what point they planned on a second season, considering how nicely the first season wraps up with no hint at a second.

There’s no explanation as to what happened between the end of series one and the start of series two. Apparently Suro went on another trek.

Or, you know, maybe Janggeum went to Ming, and Suro went along. I’m guessing Yeonsaeng went with Janggeum. What about Changi? I don’t recall if Tayo appears in this season, although Dani did in this episode. I think the first time I watched the first season, I didn’t grasp that Janggeum had a chance to go to Ming. Rewatching it recently, that part stuck out, but I didn’t imagine Janggeum would actually go (even though she did say she hadn’t made up her mind on it).

Yet here, I didn’t even recognize [Suro] until his daydream sequence — even his voice and laugh sound different at times — and I’m not alone. Yeong-ro didn’t seem to believe it was him either.

Somehow, Yeongro is easy to understand even when I didn’t have English subtitles. I am very much glad I have an explanation to Suro appearance at the start of this episode now, as that explanation could not be known without understanding what was said.

Everything else seems fine, but the scenes with Suro give this series a lower-quality feel to me, as if they’re trying to inject more humor into it. I did get a laugh out of the girls running out to see what the commotion was, though, with Yeonsaeng holding a broom, Chang-I a lid, and Janggeum ready for action wielding a rolling pin.

This time around, I didn’t get this feeling of “lower quality”, even if I didn’t care for Suro in this episode. I think being able to understand what was going on upped the quality of the episode for me.

When Jungjong is talking with Jeong-ho about the doctor leaving the palace, I’m quite certain he mentions Haeya. Doctor Haeya and her father must be long gone by now. Could this be a replacement doctor, to take Haeya’s place? And if so, did she have to leave her home (perhaps another palace) against her will to be Jungjong’s physician?

Oh, I noticed this time around that I thought I heard a “Haeya” said, but it wasn’t in the subtitles. And now I know that that was the queen who left, not a doctor. What a difference understanding the dialogue makes!

As for the Korean language, a couple of terms were in this episode. There was the dongchimi broth Janggeum had to replace. She got the water for it from Baekhojeong. The linked Wikipedia page, however, doesn’t make sense in this context unless Janggeum’s referring to a specific location she went to for the water, such as a place outside of the palace (which is why she didn’t get things cleaned up before the others returned from seeing the new Queen).

Next stop, season two, episode two.

Back in 2010, the DVDs for season two were released. Seeing that they had English subtitles, I bought them up right away, although I’ve only recently re-watched the first season as a precursor to watching the second.

Before starting with this season, I previewed the DVD menu and opening and ending themes. The first season DVDs had a different opening and ending theme from what was seen on television (with the opening theme taking the song from the last episode of the season). The second season DVDs makes use of the same opening and ending as seen on television.

The first thing I took notice of is that the second season DVD menus (pictured right) include English subtitles for the menu options. For the first season DVD menus (pictured left), I had to remember that the menu buttons meant “Play All”, “Scene Selection”, “Subtitles”, “Bonus Artworks”, in that order, as their labels were only in Korean.

Unfortunately, the second season DVDs don’t include any bonus materials. I liked that the first season had two DVDs dedicated to bonus video material, but since those lacked subtitles, I was unable to get much out of them.

The first season DVDs (left) have Korean, English, and Japanese subtitles. The second season DVDs (right) only have Korean and English subtitles.

This leaves me wondering about the Japanese dubbed release of the first season in Japan. When a series is dubbed into English and released in the US, it usually includes the original language track and English subtitles. Did the Japanese release have the Korean audio track and Japanese subtitles? And why was Japanese left off of this season’s release? Was it because they figured the second season would be dubbed into Japanese? I don’t know if it has been.

The first season DVDs (top) subtitles are clear to read, but lack a professional feel to how the letters look. Although mostly understandable, the English subtitles are mediocre, with issues. This provided dialogue such as in an early epsiode, where the king follows up a boar hunt by visiting a relative’s wedding. The head of the house says, upon the king’s visit, “Thank you very much of being here..” After the king’s stomach makes a sound, the embarrassed king remarks about himself, “You forgot feeling hungry because of the hunting after a long time. Ha ha..” Naturally, the king means something more along the lines of, “I was hunting for so long, I forgot all about my hunger.”

The second season DVDs (bottom) have a more professional feel to how the letters look (although I think the readability is slightly lower compared to the first season’s). From viewing the opening and ending theme songs, and skipping around the first episode a tiny bit, I could see the transations are high quality. For this reason, they certainly hired someone to give a serious translation.

Because my episode commentaries for season two were based on trying to figure out what’s going on, my plan is to write up commentaries as I watch through season two with English subtitles. It’s been a while since I’ve done per-episode commentaries, so hopefully I can keep up with it! One thing I look forward to is seeing the episode titles and comparing with them with my own translations.

Also, this time around, I plan to strictly follow the subtitle spelling for character names. With season one, I started out with the subtitle spellings, such as Choi. After episode seven, I started using different spellings, such as now using Choe. But the DVD box for season two uses Choi, so it’s back to that. (I don’t recall what the live action series used.)

What caught me off guard, however, is that Han’s name on the DVD box is written as “Hyeon”. The live action certainly used “Han”, as did the first season of the cartoon. This will certainly be one for me to get used to if that’s what the subtitles of season two use.

In one episode, Mao-chan is seen alone watching television:

This is of course one of the show’s Love Hina references. Here is the original scene:

Now, I have to ask, since when is Love Hina appropriate viewing for an eight-year-old?

As I thought, Alicia started out with the same gondola as Akari now used. It’s nice to see Alica’s start with the gondola, having seen Akari’s, and this story really lead well into another episode around Alicia and the others in their youth. Watching both Alicia’s experiences and Akari’s same experiences with the gondola worked well together. I can picture Akari over-watching Ai with the new gondola, one Akari will have properly broken in as an experienced Undine.

Alicia was still fairly young when she became a Prima. I hadn’t noticed that she uses a white gondola rather than a brown one. It’s also answered what will become of Akari’s new gondola when Akari becomes a Prima, as it will wait for the next new Undine.

The man who places the umbrella over Akari likely is the person who made the gondola, considering how long it’s been with Aria company. It’s good for him to have seen the final moments of his work as a passenger gondola. As for Akari, she’ll still see the gondola from time to time.

I never really put any thought into the designs of the gondolas, and comparing them. There are so many little details put into this series, and it’s impossible to catch all of them. Even the opening themes alone give so many things to look at.

Akari’s gondola may have been her parter all this time Akari has worked as an Undine, but she’s only work with it during the end of its life. If anything, Alicia may have many more memories of it. Akari’s new gondola, however, will carry her through much of her career as an Undine.

Seeing Akari’s first moments on a gondola at Aria Company was nice, as well as her beginning as a “back-peddler”. Akatsuki’s first ride as Akari’s customer, and her return as her final customer, really helped pull things together, and gave a nice scene with Akatsuki bidding farewell to the gondola. From these, seeing all the people Akari’s met along the way made for a nice “final episode” for the gondola. The exam course and its water elevator, along with scenes of Hope Hill (a place seen previously with no information given prior), and then Akari becoming a Single, completed the setting, the mood. The gondola was by Akari’s side during many beginnings, many meetings, many events.

My first thought of the man in the gondola was trying to recall what the man in the cat’s café looked like. If he’s actually the “spirit” of the gondola, it simply adds to the number of unexplained things that Akari has seen in her time on Aqua. Such events find that girl much like cases find Conan in Detective Conan and paranormal would find Fi in Disney’s So Weird.

It’s nice to see an encounter between Akari and Akira, two often not seen together, even if only for a moment. Akatsuki and Akira’s interactions nice to see, as well. Likewise Akatsuri’s embarrassment after Akari offers him a part of her lunch. Add in Al (he always seems to sneak in unnoticed, doesn’t he?), and the group is definitely not a common one to the series.

I’d wondered previously if Al had lived most of his life underground, but it’s said now that he’s from Ukijima.

I actually expected a scene with Akari’s childhood from the episodes opening portion, but seeing the guys as children was quite nice. Al had a very nice sweater back then. Seeing the ladies in their youth was nice, too.

Akari, Akatsuki, Al, and Alicia. Athena, Aika, and Alice. The marionette man, the glass maker, Akatsuki’s brother, Woody. Part of it is her position as an Undine, and part of it is her personality. Akari brings people within that circle around her. She needn’t be alone, no matter where she goes, even if she is surrounded by people she’s never met before. That’s one of the things that makes http://thepinksylphide.com/?p=693 Sometimes, it’s nice to go out early, when the world is still asleep, and the sun has yet to appear. Traveling, perhaps with no location planned, then watching as the sun comes up from a location you’ve never seen the sunrise, it’s something everyone should enjoy from time to time, such a relaxing event.

Finding plans for a palina is more than coincidental. Add Grandma’s visit, and the coincidences are thick to set the episode up. Things might have flowed a little smoother had Grandma visited, heard from Akari about having trouble designing a palina, then took Akari up to help look for that old photo album where the old attempts at a palina design were kept. That would have removed all coincidences.

Another complaint is that after all that went into figuring a design and the meaning behind its colors, the palina is basically a copy of the design and colors of the Aria company uniform. Perhaps that’s a testament to the original uniform’s design and colors?

That said, this was a very nice episode. Alicia always says wonderful, insightful, thoughtful things to Akari at times like this. The episode as a whole is something you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy. Considering this show aired at roughly 1 or 2AM in Japan, I can definitely see people relaxing after a hard day of work, and then reminiscing with this episode before falling asleep. Well, except for the part where they probably have to be up by 6AM, not giving much time for sleep…

I’ll be watching for that palina in future episodes.

This is a good episode because it shows Alice’s determination — even if her rules are a bit silly. She’s trying to push herself to do things she hasn’t done before, to prove to herself what she’s capable of.

It’s nice to take a break from the world building and the magic for one episode. Athena’s offer of a shadow was foreseeable, but it’s good to see her manners of help backfired. There’s no reason for it to be so easy. In the end, however, Athena’s help is what gets Alice through, no matter how easy the course may be. It’s all right for her to depend on someone, and Athena is there for her.

No matter how much Athena spaces out and klutzes out because of it, she’s always there for Alice, watching Alice grow, watching Alice overcome limits, watching Alice try new things, watching Alice enjoy her time with her friends.

The letter at the end from Ai really seems to be setting up a future for her and Akari to be much like Alice and Athena. There’s something special about Akari where she’s able to speak with Ai on the same level without dumbing down her speech like is common with adults talking to children.