I’m also grateful to the proofreaders and designers, the managing department, the publicity department, the publishing department, and everyone at Media Works for showing so much patience as I continue to miss my deadlines.
I’d also like to thank my family, friends, and acquaintances, and everyone from S city.
To Mr. Suzuhito Yasuda, who drew a nosebleed-inducing number of characters for the cover in spite of his incredibly busy schedule—congratulations on the anime adaptation of Yozakura Quartet!
And finally, I’d like to thank all my readers.
You have my deepest gratitude. Thank you so much!
September 2008, at home
Moved to tears by my comfortable new Aeron chair
Ryohgo Narita
Chapter Titles
The chapter titles in this volume of the Etsusa Bridge series involve puns that were incredibly difficult to translate. Unlike in Garuguru!, I was unable to localize them in a satisfactory way—largely because of the secondary meanings given to the titles by the furigana, which are usually used simply as pronunciation guides for the characters.
Chapter 1: Dog vs. Dog
Original title: 犬vs.犬 (furigana: ワンワン wanwan)
Explanation: Dog vs. Dog (furigana: onomatopoeia for a dog barking; ‘one one’)
Chapter 2: Sleep=Death
Original title: 眠=死 (furigana: スヤスヤ suyasuya)
Explanation: Sleep=Death (furigana: onomatopoeia for breathing in one’s sleep, similar to ‘zzz’ in English)
Chapter 3: Bow? Wow!
Original title: 吼えるよ? 吼えるよ! (furigana: わんわん wanwan)
Explanation: Bark? Bark! (furigana: onomatopoeia for a dog barking)
Chapter 4: Lips x Lips
Original title: 唇x唇 (furigana: チュウチュウ chūchū)
Explanation: Lips x Lips (furigana: onomatopoeia for kissing; the sound of mice squeaking)
Chapter 5: 1 & 1
Original title: 1 & 1 (furigana: ワンワン)
Explanation: 1 & 1 (furigana: onomatopoeia for a dog barking)
Volume Title: 5656!
Explanation: The title is read as gorogoro, which is supposedly an onomatopoeia for rolling about (like an animal might.)
5656!_Knights' Strange Night Page 18