Reading Octave

Chapter 19

1. Octave Chapter 19 - Wall of Text Notes 2. There were several unusual words or specific terms in this chapter of Octave which can't always be adequately explained in the margins, so here's a special notes page for you! 3. Page 3: "Freeter" -- a young person who uses only part-time work to support his/her livelihood. Freeters often choose part-time work over a full-time career and drift from job to job to support their hobbies and interests. There are freeters who can't find other work and so are forced to live on part-time pay, but the majority are by choice. It's thought to be a combination of the words "Freeloader" and "Arbaiter", the German loanword used for part-time workers. For more information, Wikipedia is your answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeter 4. Page 11: "mook" -- *magazine/book hybrid bound like a book, with magazine-style articles and photos. Mooks are published in series (usually quarterly) and often include bonuses like sewing patterns or pull-out posters of a nicer quality than you may get in a regular magazine. They are more expensive than regular magazines, but they are meant to be archived and saved. They usually have a focus on a specific subject or hobby (such as Lolita fashion, idols, or doll collecting) and there are usually tons of beautiful photos of whatever it focuses on because of the higher-quality printing. Mooks have not really caught on in the English market, though, and the English edition of Gothic & Lolita Bible only held on for a year or so before going out of print. 5. Page 16 "Project idol" -- "Project" idol references Hello!Project, an umbrella name for a female idol J-pop recording artist collective. Overall it's the biggest producer of J-pop groups. Morning Musume is their most prominent group, but they manage many others, including several created just for the anime Shugo Chara. It has its own vocabulary and traditions (to "graduate" is to leave Hello!Project and move on to other things, whether it's an independent solo career or retirement) and almost all of the songs are written by one guy. How cool is that? Hello!Project's Wikipedia page is so huge, it can only be maintained by wota: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello!_Project 6. I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about Japanese culture and vocabulary in this bittersweet chapter of Octave. True love doesn't come easy, does it?