//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Allan Twilight's rules…?
What do you do with such an overbearing approach?
Ridiculous…
//Panel 4//
Allan:
…The fortune I will inherit at 18 is under my uncle's supervision
and this whole city, this whole port, is under the influence of the company.
If I say one word…
Edgar:
Well, I see—in other words you can't do anything on your own.
//Panel 5//
Allan:
How dare you talk to me like…
Edgar:
If I dare, then what? I'll handle it with my own two hands if someone rubs me the wrong way.
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
Hmph, I thought you would be better than this.
Bye! I'm probably better off looking after my sister at home.
//Panel 9//
Allan:
That new kid. What's his name?
//Panel 10//
Allan:
The new kid!
Student:
Er, uh…do you mean Edgar Portsnell?
So Edgar gives Allan a tongue-lashing. And it appears to have worked! Allan is clearly impressed with this new kid who is the only one with enough guts to stand up to him. It's almost like the challenge of a seduction between the two of them, the way Hagio plays it out.
By the way, there is an error in the original Japanese—when Edgar says "上段にかまえて" it should really have been "大上段にかまえて" as the set phrase, meaning "to take an overbearing approach."
Monday, June 4, 2007
The Clan of the Poes (Page 85)
//Panel 1//
Edgar:
You see, we met at the riding grounds last week.
Allan:
Stop bothering me. I'm reading!
//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Are you an upperclassman? If we're in the same class, we could study together.
Allan:
You're interrupting me.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
Who's that? Goethe?
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
Have you read Eckermann? Do you know what he said of Goethe?
SFX:
SLAM
Allan:
Where did you say you came from?
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
London.
Allan:
I see. This is your first day and you don't know anything.
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
Sort of. If you could teach me about school—
//Panel 7//
Allan:
Then I'll tell you. Go away when I say you're bothering me!
//Panel 8//
Allan:
If I tell you to turn right, then turn right!
Keep quiet unless I speak to you!
Don't talk to me, don't hang around me!
These are my rules at this school. Obey them!
Edgar:
You see, we met at the riding grounds last week.
Allan:
Stop bothering me. I'm reading!
//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Are you an upperclassman? If we're in the same class, we could study together.
Allan:
You're interrupting me.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
Who's that? Goethe?
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
Have you read Eckermann? Do you know what he said of Goethe?
SFX:
SLAM
Allan:
Where did you say you came from?
//Panel 5//
Edgar:
London.
Allan:
I see. This is your first day and you don't know anything.
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
Sort of. If you could teach me about school—
//Panel 7//
Allan:
Then I'll tell you. Go away when I say you're bothering me!
//Panel 8//
Allan:
If I tell you to turn right, then turn right!
Keep quiet unless I speak to you!
Don't talk to me, don't hang around me!
These are my rules at this school. Obey them!
Sunday, June 3, 2007
The Clan of the Poes (Page 84)
//Panel 2//
Edgar:
Hello!
//Panel 5//
SFX:
WHOOSH
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
Hi Allan, I was hoping you would remember me…
Interesting way of visually drawing out the tension of Allan's and Edgar's first meeting at the school.
I forgot to mention that in the previous page (Page 83), Hagio's drawing exceeds the border in Panel 6. Another example of cinematic effect indicating a zoom.
Edgar:
Hello!
//Panel 5//
SFX:
WHOOSH
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
Hi Allan, I was hoping you would remember me…
Interesting way of visually drawing out the tension of Allan's and Edgar's first meeting at the school.
I forgot to mention that in the previous page (Page 83), Hagio's drawing exceeds the border in Panel 6. Another example of cinematic effect indicating a zoom.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
The Clan of the Poes (Page 83)
//Panel 1//
School Official:
Yes, we have the Baron's word. This Saint Windsor is
//Panel 2//
School Official:
primarily a boarding school, but we have a few commuting students, all from good families…
//Panel 3//
Students:
Who?
A new kid…
from the house on the cape.
School Official:
Mass begins at 7:00… But you can attend services at home if you have a chapel.
//Panel 4//
School Official:
Classes start at 8:30.
We will provide textbooks—Latin, Greek, and Geometry…
//Panel 5//
Edgar's Narration:
Keeping their distance…well, that's how it goes, the first day.
—By the way
—where on earth is he?
Having had romantic, idealized images of preppy boarding school life myself when I was growing up, I am amused and intrigued to see how these imaginings would play out within the mind of someone from a completely outside culture, such as a Japanese person like Hagio Moto. It is clear that she is fascinated by this enclosed, hierarchical world with its rich traditions on the surface, and underneath that, its rigid social structures with boys assuming different roles within the pecking order. A boarding school may not be literally as enclosed and tight as a spaceship (as she mentioned in interviews, Hagio likes placing her characters in claustrophobic situations), but it's certainly not a place where it is easy to go about one's business unobserved, or to do whatever one wants without consequences.
My Japanese husband informs me that 転校生 (tenkousei, a transfer student) really is a cause for excitement among other schoolkids, probably because Japan is a much less mobile society than, for example, the United States. People don't move around as much, so the appearance on the scene of a fresh face is something that would cause at least mild curiosity among the other kids.
School Official:
Yes, we have the Baron's word. This Saint Windsor is
//Panel 2//
School Official:
primarily a boarding school, but we have a few commuting students, all from good families…
//Panel 3//
Students:
Who?
A new kid…
from the house on the cape.
School Official:
Mass begins at 7:00… But you can attend services at home if you have a chapel.
//Panel 4//
School Official:
Classes start at 8:30.
We will provide textbooks—Latin, Greek, and Geometry…
//Panel 5//
Edgar's Narration:
Keeping their distance…well, that's how it goes, the first day.
—By the way
—where on earth is he?
Having had romantic, idealized images of preppy boarding school life myself when I was growing up, I am amused and intrigued to see how these imaginings would play out within the mind of someone from a completely outside culture, such as a Japanese person like Hagio Moto. It is clear that she is fascinated by this enclosed, hierarchical world with its rich traditions on the surface, and underneath that, its rigid social structures with boys assuming different roles within the pecking order. A boarding school may not be literally as enclosed and tight as a spaceship (as she mentioned in interviews, Hagio likes placing her characters in claustrophobic situations), but it's certainly not a place where it is easy to go about one's business unobserved, or to do whatever one wants without consequences.
My Japanese husband informs me that 転校生 (tenkousei, a transfer student) really is a cause for excitement among other schoolkids, probably because Japan is a much less mobile society than, for example, the United States. People don't move around as much, so the appearance on the scene of a fresh face is something that would cause at least mild curiosity among the other kids.
The Clan of the Poes (Page 82)
//Panel 1//
Baron Portsnell:
Edgar, you're not casting a reflection in the glass!!
SFX:
BAM!
//Panel 2//
SFX:
STARTLE!
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
Right. That's better.
If you don't want a stake driven through your chest, never fail to act like a human!
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
Pretend to breathe…to have a pulse…
Cast reflections in mirrors, show signs of pain when your finger gets caught in a door…
I can do that much. Let me prove it.
//Panel 5//
Baron Portsnell:
Well then, go ahead and show me.
//Panel 6//
Marybel:
How boring. If you go to school, then I'll be all alone.
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
…I'll bring home a friend.
Marybel:
Really? Who?
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
Allan Twilight.
Here are some lessons in how to pass as a human. It must be inconvenient to have to force yourself to have a pulse. So much to remember before leaving the house each morning! No wonder the Portsnells tend to keep to themselves…Though that in itself can attract attention, too.
Poor Marybel doesn't really have much to keep her occupied, does she? It really is a lonely situation.
Baron Portsnell:
Edgar, you're not casting a reflection in the glass!!
SFX:
BAM!
//Panel 2//
SFX:
STARTLE!
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
Right. That's better.
If you don't want a stake driven through your chest, never fail to act like a human!
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
Pretend to breathe…to have a pulse…
Cast reflections in mirrors, show signs of pain when your finger gets caught in a door…
I can do that much. Let me prove it.
//Panel 5//
Baron Portsnell:
Well then, go ahead and show me.
//Panel 6//
Marybel:
How boring. If you go to school, then I'll be all alone.
//Panel 7//
Edgar:
…I'll bring home a friend.
Marybel:
Really? Who?
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
Allan Twilight.
Here are some lessons in how to pass as a human. It must be inconvenient to have to force yourself to have a pulse. So much to remember before leaving the house each morning! No wonder the Portsnells tend to keep to themselves…Though that in itself can attract attention, too.
Poor Marybel doesn't really have much to keep her occupied, does she? It really is a lonely situation.
Friday, June 1, 2007
The Clan of the Poes (Page 81)
//Panel 1//
SFX:
ZAZAA
Edgar's Voice:
If Marybel needs new blood,
//Panel 2//
ZAZAAN
Edgar's Voice:
Why not his?
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
I couldn't hear you because of the waves.
What did you say, Edgar?
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
I'd like to go to school…
//Panel 5//
Marybel:
School!
Well, so would I!
Edgar:
If we acted like real children, wouldn't that help your undertaking as well?
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
…the one with those fine doctors.
"ZAZAAN" and "ZAZAA" are the sounds in Japanese of waves crashing and breaking against the rocks.
It is astonishing to think that in all this time (who knows how many years and years), Edgar and Marybel have not been to school.
SFX:
ZAZAA
Edgar's Voice:
If Marybel needs new blood,
//Panel 2//
ZAZAAN
Edgar's Voice:
Why not his?
//Panel 3//
Baron Portsnell:
I couldn't hear you because of the waves.
What did you say, Edgar?
//Panel 4//
Edgar:
I'd like to go to school…
//Panel 5//
Marybel:
School!
Well, so would I!
Edgar:
If we acted like real children, wouldn't that help your undertaking as well?
//Panel 6//
Edgar:
…the one with those fine doctors.
"ZAZAAN" and "ZAZAA" are the sounds in Japanese of waves crashing and breaking against the rocks.
It is astonishing to think that in all this time (who knows how many years and years), Edgar and Marybel have not been to school.
The Clan of the Poes (Page 80)
//Panel 1//
Allan:
I'm Allan. Allan Twilight.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
I'm Edgar.
//Panel 4//
Allan:
You don't look familiar. Not from the same school, I suppose.
Edgar:
School?
//Panel 5//
Allan:
Saint Windsor, of course.
Edgar:
My family just moved into the house on the cape.
//Panel 6//
Allan:
That red house? When?
Edgar:
Yes, the ivy-covered one…just yesterday.
//Panel 7//
Allan:
…huh, an outsider…!
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
Which way is the cape? I think I'm lost.
Allan:
To the right!
//Panel 9//
Edgar:…
Thanks, Allan Twilight…
Where did Hagio Moto get the name "Saint Windsor" from? It sounds like she was attempting to find a traditional-sounding name in the line of Eton or some other preppy school. Or maybe there was a saint named Windsor out there somewhere, perhaps. In any case, it is obviously the only school in town for a boy from a "good" family, which the quick-witted Edgar immediately picks up on.
Allan:
I'm Allan. Allan Twilight.
//Panel 3//
Edgar:
I'm Edgar.
//Panel 4//
Allan:
You don't look familiar. Not from the same school, I suppose.
Edgar:
School?
//Panel 5//
Allan:
Saint Windsor, of course.
Edgar:
My family just moved into the house on the cape.
//Panel 6//
Allan:
That red house? When?
Edgar:
Yes, the ivy-covered one…just yesterday.
//Panel 7//
Allan:
…huh, an outsider…!
//Panel 8//
Edgar:
Which way is the cape? I think I'm lost.
Allan:
To the right!
//Panel 9//
Edgar:…
Thanks, Allan Twilight…
Where did Hagio Moto get the name "Saint Windsor" from? It sounds like she was attempting to find a traditional-sounding name in the line of Eton or some other preppy school. Or maybe there was a saint named Windsor out there somewhere, perhaps. In any case, it is obviously the only school in town for a boy from a "good" family, which the quick-witted Edgar immediately picks up on.
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