Bonus Translator’s Notes

Prologue

Operation Tomodachi

This was the name of an operation conducted by the U.S. Armed Forces, especially those stationed in Japan, to support disaster relief after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Tohoku area in 2011.

Daiginjo Sake

One of the highest grades of sake.

The April after Next

Shinichi’s dad is thinking in terms of the Japanese school calendar, in which the school year starts in April (traditionally, the idea is that it begins when the cherry blossoms bloom).

Tokai Region

The Tokai region technically straddles the larger Chubu and Kansai regions (it’s not an official region of Japan, but rather a widely understood distinction), and includes Aichi and Shizuoka prefectures, among others.

Mug (Illustration)

The mug bears the legend agari (literally “up,” but also meaning “order up!” in a restaurant, such as a sushi place), along with the names of lots of different fish. These mugs are common in sushi restaurants.

Chapter One: The Long Goodbye?

Hammer

The hammer is a reference to the City Hunter franchise, in which the playboyish main character is frequently struck by such a hammer by his putative romantic interest.

The Pun-versation

Near the beginning of this chapter, Shinichi and Matoba have a rapid-fire exchange brimming with absolutely terrible puns. We had to come up with more or less completely different wordplay to make the conversation remotely work in English. To give you an idea of what changed, here's a literal translation of the original text:

“When you say withdraw [tesshuu], is that, you know, a thick, long steel stick?”

“That’s an iron pole [tecchuu].”

“And when you say permanent [eien], is that, you know, one of those Porsche sport utility vehicles?"

“That’s a Cayenne [kaien].”

“I see. So is it possible that a sword saint holding the position of Greatest Heaven—”

The final line is a reference to Five Star Stories, in which a character named Douglas Cayenne is described in the terms Shinichi uses here.

Humanity Is Going To Be Destroyed!

The line “I heard what you said—humanity is going to be destroyed!” is prevalent in Ishigaki Yuuki’s manga MMR: Magazine Mystery Reportage, which ran irregularly in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine in the ’90s. Humanity was frequently threatened with destruction in this series.

Urashima Tarou

A Japanese fairy tale in which the title character goes to live in the Sea Dragon’s palace at the bottom of the ocean. There he falls in love with the Sea Dragon’s daughter, and when Urashima Tarou decides he wants to go back to the surface, she gives him a box, telling him not to open it. When he emerges, Urashima discovers that the several years he spent in the dragon’s palace were in fact several hundred years on land. Bested by his curiosity, he then opens the box, only to immediately age into a very old man.

Roche Limit

The Roche Limit, in broad terms, is the point at which the gravity exerted by a larger celestial body will destroy a smaller celestial body because the gravity of the larger body exceeds the gravitational force holding the smaller body together. This phenomenon is responsible for the rings of space debris visible around some planets.

The Edo Era and the Warring-States Era

The Edo Era is the name for the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns, which extended from the accession of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603 through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The period is named for the city of Edo, which the shoguns chose as their capital—a city now better known as Tokyo. The “Warring States” period is called sengoku jidai in Japanese, and refers to the age of civil conflict that immediately preceded the Edo Era, beginning in the 1460s.

The Philadelphia Experime*t

That is, The Philadelphia Experiment, a 1984 movie that follows essentially the plot Shinichi describes, with an experiment in stealth going awry and sending its crew from 1943 into 1984. Perhaps not incidentally, they discover that the interaction between the two timelines might put the world in danger.

Hiding In Subspace

Perhaps a reference to a ship with this capability from the Space Battleship Yamato franchise.

Slutty Bottom

This term came up as the translation for sasoi-uke in Volume 8. Hikaru says he started cross-dressing because of an uke-nerai, roughly, a desire to be accepted, but literally “to aim at uke.” (Ukeru can mean “to accept” either figuratively or, you know, physically.) Elvia latches onto the uke part and we’re off and punning.

Chapter Two: Super-Dimension… Carrier?

Final Count**wn

Properly The Final Countdown, this was a 1980 American sci-fi movie in which, just as described in the text, the USS Nimitz is transported to the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Black Ships

The kuroi fune, or “black ships,” were the fleet commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry, which in the 1860s forcibly opened Japan to trade with the outside (and particularly Western) world after centuries of self-isolation. They were called the black ships for the color of their sails.

Everyone Stand Up

As you might know from anime, classroom sessions in Japan typically begin with one student (often the class representative) calling out “Kiritsu!”, meaning “Stand up!” The members of the class stand, then bow at the command “Rei!” (“Bow!”) Finally, the student in charge instructs “Chakuseki!” (“Take your seats!”) Everyone sits down and the lesson begins.

Hugs with Majin Girls

The Japanese is Majin-chan wa Hagu Shitai (Majin-chans Want to Hug), a reference to the manga and later anime Demi-chan wa Kataritai (Demis Want to Chat). In English, the series was called Interviews with Monster Girls, so we tried to play off of that for the translation.

Shin Gozura

The title is a reference to the 2016 film Shin Godzilla (recall that Godzilla is “Gojira” in Japanese), directed by none other than Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Anno Hideaki.

Helicopter Destroyer

“Helicopter destroyer” is a portmanteau of “helicopter carrier” and “multipurpose destroyer.” Some Japanese warships are helicopter carriers (that is, carriers that primarily service helicopters) designated as multipurpose destroyers because of Constitutional limitations on the acquisition of offensive weapons platforms. The Izumo-class multipurpose destroyer launched in 2015, a couple years before the publication of this book, whereupon it became the largest surface vessel of Japan’s Marine Self-Defense Force. When it was unveiled in 2013, the ship became the focus of controversy because of its close resemblance to a conventional aircraft carrier.

A**a 88

Area 88 was a manga by Shintani Kaoru that ran from 1979 until 1986. It inspired an OVA adaptation in the mid-’80s and a 12-episode anime series in 2004. The story focuses on a gifted young pilot named Kazama Shin, who finds himself enlisted in the Foreign Legion of a small country caught in a civil war. In order to survive his service he must fly for his life.

Silen* *ervice

That is, Silent Service (Chinmoku no Kantai), a manga by Kawaguchi Kaiji that ran from 1988 until 1996. In it, the crew of a Japanese nuclear submarine go rogue and declare the ship a nation unto itself, demanding international recognition on the threat of setting off their nuclear armaments.

Gat*

A reference to the novel series and later anime, Gate. Authored by Yanai Takumi, the series involves a gate (natch) to a fantasy world opening in downtown Tokyo.

Drago* Harrier

Possibly a reference to the Space Harrier video games, which take place in a location called Dragonland.

Chapter Three: One Way or Another?

How Far t* Paradise

“How Far to Paradise” is the name of the theme song for the Area 88 OVA from the ’80s.

Yo**** no Yume

That is, “Yotaka no Yume,” the opening theme to Zoids Genesis.

Danger Z*ne

“Danger Zone,” by Kenny Loggins: the theme song from Top Gun.

Independ*nce Day

A 1996 American sci-fi film in which a fleet of alien ships comes to Earth and starts destroying famous monuments. It contains a version of the scene Shinichi is discussing in this passage, in which a jet ducks and dodges through a canyon to evade one of the alien fighter craft.

“You Will Not Laugh! You Will Not Cry!”

Each of Petralka’s profanity-laden outbursts in this passage is a quotation from Sgt. Hartman, the drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket.

Behind Ene** Lines

I.e., Behind Enemy Lines, a 2001 American film in which an American pilot is shot down over Bosnia and discovers an ongoing genocide.

“If I Had a Nickel…”

The quote (and subsequent references) in this paragraph is from the 1991 movie Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man.

Mister S**ck

That is, Mister Spock, an alien character from the original Star Trek television series. His gesture of greeting, in which he spread apart the fingers on one hand (as Shinichi does in the illustration), became iconic, as did the accompanying line, “Live long and prosper.”

Ichi wa Zen, Zen wa Ichi

This phrase, which, as indicated in the text, translates as “One is all, all is one,” comes from Fullmetal Alchemist. The main character claps his hands together immediately before he performs alchemy.

Gya*s

Gyaos is a kaiju that first appeared in 1967’s Gamera vs. Gyaos, from the film studio Daiei.

Gat***man

That is, Gatchaman.

GE**ALK

A reference to the GERWALK mode of the VF-1 Valkyrie, a transforming mecha/fighter plane from the Macross (and Robotech) series.