Youka Nitta
Youka Nitta merchandise on sale at jpqueen 
20th-Aug-2008 11:19 pm

Just thought I'd mention that jpqueen has a nice assortment of used and new Youka Nitta merchandise available--the usual manga (original Japanese versions, not the Be Beautiful releases), as well as cds and dvds, and really cool stuff like Fuyu no Semi chopsticks and fan! I was really tempted to get them, but I'd already spent a ton on manga, so I reluctantly decided against it. I couldn't afford to get all the books that were available, but I got some of the later Harudaki books and volumes 1 and 2 of Boku no Koe, and some stuff by other authors (including the Kizuna volume I was missing, yay!) There's a bunch of the "When a Man Loves a Man" books, but there seem to be several different volumes in several different series, and it was kind of confusing as to which book follows which. I may try reading the scanalations first and buy them later. (When I have more money! ^_^)

Btw, if you try to do an author search on the site, you have to spell her name as "Yuuka Nitta" instead of "Youka".

I've purchased from them before, and they are quick and reliable. Unfortunately, shipping is very expensive, as the merchandise ships directly from Japan to the US (I believe that they'll ship to Europe as well). Airmail is slightly cheaper, but I prefer to use EMS, as it includes insurance, and who knows what could happen to the package between Japan and my house? I've never had any problems with lost or late packages, though.

Btw, I was curious--they translate Harudaki as "He Hugged a Hooker"?! Is that correct, or is the translation a little off? Quite a difference from "Embracing Love"! "I hugged a porn star," maybe? ;)
Comments 
21st-Aug-2008 05:34 am
Air includes insurance as well, up to 60$, I think it is, if one pays 5$ more. They are extremely reliable. Air usually arrives here in 2-3 days.

Strangely "hugged" is not right. "Hagged" is Jp canon, there is a discussion of that somewhere on YN LJ. I have, however, to investigate whether it is right or not, compared to the Kanji. It is suggested that the Japanese editor might have been in possession of a very old English dictionary to use the verb "hag". (O hai thar, Shakespeare!)

Apart from that, the Kanji for spring also has the underlying meaning of "hooker", so it is a title with an underlying pun.

Now, if Kanji didn't have like ten various meanings...
21st-Aug-2008 11:54 pm
Ah, thanks for the clarification! The "hooker" thing makes more sense if it's a pun--this is why I wish all manga came with translation notes. Del Rey does a good job with their manga line, but I've never seen a yaoi title with translation notes. I guess the publishers probably think all we care about is the smut! Which is false, of course. Smut is great, but I would love to learn more about Japanese culture or language at the same time. I often feel like I may be missing out on subtleties when I'm reading a translation without notes, especially one that's obviously been Americanized to a greater or lesser extent.

I've actually done a lot of research because of manga and Japanese tv shows and movies. I got hooked on the annual NHK samurai dramas, and ended up doing a lot of reading on Japanese history. Which came in handy with vol 5 of Harudaki, with the Fuyu no Semi chapter--it was because I had watched the Shinsegumi tv series that I knew about the events leading to the fall of the Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration.

Damn, now I kind of wish I'd got those Fuyu no Semi chopsticks after all! Not that I'd use them very often, but they are very pretty.
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