Ginga Shounen Densetsu Dog Days SPOILER TOPIC

[Spirit Tree]

Thank you for the translation, Digsu!

SPOILER

Let's see how well Otto can take care of those eggs. Hopefully nothing will go wrong. But I gotta agree. How would the mother feel?

...It's okay, Digsu. I thought that was a brick, too. Makes sense that it was a piece of wood. Because a brick could have killed Michi, for crying out loud.

Seriously, fuck that father. I don't care if he was grown up spoiled or was born blind and didn't have the qualities to join the military or some other shit. This father is such a fucked-up dick. And I wish Michi could have kicked his ass. The asshole father wants to talk about "letting some blood out" of somebody's head? How about letting some blood out of his head?! Otto, Michi and the rest of the siblings should not even be putting up with that guy's shit.

So not only the father doesn't give a shit if Michi is going to die out there alone, but the family has no damn money to support Otto's mother at the hospital?!

Asshole father: "It's okay. We can just sell cows or other stuff to gain money. Otherwise, we can just leave Mom in the hospital forever."

You suck. You know that? You fucking suck. You just don't give a fuck about anyone at this point. How else would you throw away money on drugs or gambling or some shit like that?

One of the eggs is dented? It might not make it.

[methpring]

It just hit me... what if those eggs are snake eggs?

[vanille]

I'm out travelling until tomorrow, but I'll get you guys the new chapter tomorrow night!

[Tora]

No worries vanille ^^

[vanille]

My apologies for being so late with this one!
Chapter 11 ~
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... share_link

[Spirit Tree]

That's okay, vanille. No worries. Thank you, though!

Initial reaction:
Oh God, that's a frightening looking chapter cover.

There goes the asshole father being an angry son of a bitch again. First he smacks Otto and then tosses the box of eggs without a single care?! Can somebody please put that guy's ass in jail already?

How did Otto and his brother sneak outside like that?

I suppose the egg that Otto cracks open is the yolk of a different species?

Hey, Otto seems to be dreaming in his sleep. Let's see what it's about.

...Dragonflies? And he snaps off their wings and puts them in a water bowl? What is this, some kind of an experiment?

His mother seems to pretty upset about that.

Hey Otto. Where are you going now? Shouldn't you be rest-

Oh...it's that Michi guy! He must have snuck in and is now eating to fill himself up.

...Oh shit. The asshole father is awake. Why do I get the feeling that he's going to do even more terrible shit?

[Tora]

Thanks vanille!

And yikes this chapter around

[Digsu]

Here's the translation!

SPOILER

I feel like getting upset at your child for trying to raise snake eggs is fairly understandable... But of course the father cannot explain that to his kids in a civilized manner.

What is it with Otto and being an asshole to bugs? At first I thought he'd been told to exterminate the dragonflies by his parents, but nope he's just torturing them for the lulz.

Also is... is the chapter image just outright spoiling what happens in the next chapter?

[Spirit Tree]

Thank you for the translation, Digsu!

SPOILER

Oh...those are snake eggs? I can understand the asshole's father concern, but like Digsu said, why couldn't he explain that to his kids in a sane and calm manner? Oh that's right. He doesn't possess any of that.

Once again...how the hell was Otto and Nori able to slip past their dad like that to gather the eggs again?!

I know Otto is being some sort of jerk to bugs like dragonflies. But to be fair, lots of children are like that because they don't know any better. It reminds me of my own dad talking to me about ignorance. That right here is an example of ignorance.

Otto's mother: "Otto! Don't do that! Dragonflies are Gods!"

Uh...just...what??? Look, I know Otto's mother wants to do what it takes to be a good mother and all that, and I know what Otto was being very cruel to the dragonflies. And I know dragonflies have lives and feelings, too. But...dragonflies are not Gods. They're just insects. It's not like people are supposed to worship them. I don't mean anything bad here, but this is just weird. Who convinced the mother that dragonflies were Gods?

Of course Michi is just hungry and wanted to come home to fill his stomach. Good thing Roku doesn't view him as an intruder.

Asshole father: "There's an intruder in our house. Give me the spear."

Oh fuck. And what happens when the bastard sees that it's Michi? Is he still going to kill him? Or will it be the other way around like Digsu said regarding the chapter cover?

[Shiruba]

Thanks for the chapter and translation! I can't be mad about the dragonflies , he's just a kid. At least he's more caring now. I'm worried about Michi, I can't see this ending well for him.

[Digsu]

SPOILER

Uh...just...what??? Look, I know Otto's mother wants to do what it takes to be a good mother and all that, and I know what Otto was being very cruel to the dragonflies. And I know dragonflies have lives and feelings, too. But...dragonflies are not Gods. They're just insects. It's not like people are supposed to worship them. I don't mean anything bad here, but this is just weird. Who convinced the mother that dragonflies were Gods?

The concept of "gods" (or kami) in Shintoism is somewhat lax and - very roughly speaking - basically anything can be a kami if somebody just believes it's a kami. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to worship them, but rather respect them.

When it comes to dragonflies it particular, they apparently have some cultural importance in Japan so it's not that far-fetched that someone would consider them divine. There's also a species of dragonfly that's known as "kamisama-tonbo" (神様とんぼ), literally "god dragonfly", in Japanese and it's considered a bringer of good luck.

[Spirit Tree]

SPOILER

Uh...just...what??? Look, I know Otto's mother wants to do what it takes to be a good mother and all that, and I know what Otto was being very cruel to the dragonflies. And I know dragonflies have lives and feelings, too. But...dragonflies are not Gods. They're just insects. It's not like people are supposed to worship them. I don't mean anything bad here, but this is just weird. Who convinced the mother that dragonflies were Gods?

The concept of "gods" (or kami) in Shintoism is somewhat lax and - very roughly speaking - basically anything can be a kami if somebody just believes it's a kami. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to worship them, but rather respect them.

When it comes to dragonflies it particular, they apparently have some cultural importance in Japan so it's not that far-fetched that someone would consider them divine. There's also a species of dragonfly that's known as "kamisama-tonbo" (神様とんぼ), literally "god dragonfly", in Japanese and it's considered a bringer of good luck.

Okay I see now. It looks like a tradition in Japanese culture or religion.

[Beastface]

Considering the violent household, it's kind of expected for Otto to have a warped sense of empathy, tho I'm not sure if the dragonfly incident is supposed to be just a dream or a memory within a dream.

Part of me hopes the chapter cover is indicative of the kind of comeuppance coming towards the father's way but part of me also hopes that kind of insanity isn't a part of Takahashi's childhood.

[vanille]

Chapter 12 ~
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... share_link

[Spirit Tree]

Thank you very much, vanille!

Initial reaction:
I think Otto really covers for Michi and pretends that he was the one making all the noises. That way the father can shut the fuck up and go back to sleep. Good! That means there's no spear-wielding, right?

What do we have here now? Fires? Bomb explosions? Farming and butchering? Winter wonderland? So much stuff happening.

Oh it's Otto having another dream. But what just woke him u-

...Oh shit, was I wrong. Is that asshole father about to kill Michi with that spear now?

...No? He only smacks him? Okay. But this damn father should be put into an underground prison for the rest of his life.

[YamaDora]

You know, for a manga that is titled "Ginga Shonen Densetsu Dog Days" we sure are not getting a whole lot of the titular dog character, but instead there's all this family drama totally not based on Takahashi's own childhood and history lessons from early and mid 1900's Japan.

Not that I'm not complaining (I like history myself and I know Takahashi likes it too), but imagine how much more there would be to unpack if Takahashi was born early enough to actually be there for WWII and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - he was born after these events, yet he keeps mentioning them here anyway. It really shows the impact those events had to his and his father's generation.

[Digsu]

Here's the translation!

SPOILER

I swear it really does mention Nobu being in middle school back-to-back on pages 8 and 9 and I genuinely have no idea why. It almost feels like Yoshi forgot he mentioned his age on the previous page and accidentally included it a second time.

You know, for a manga that is titled "Ginga Shonen Densetsu Dog Days" we sure are not getting a whole lot of the titular dog character, but instead there's all this family drama totally not based on Takahashi's own childhood and history lessons from early and mid 1900's Japan.

I'm fairly convinced the title, as well as Roku showing up in chapter images even when he has nothing to do with the chapter in question, was just a marketing decision (probably by the publisher) to try and lure in fans of Ginga. I'm also not complaining because I find it interesting, too, I just think it's kind of funny how small a role Roku has in a series literally named after him.

[Spirit Tree]

Thank you for the translation, Digsu!

SPOILER

You know, I wouldn't put past that asshole father killing Michi or any other one of his kids because he is definitely evil enough to do that. I was right that Otto covered for Michi.

Those WWII images are frightening.

Wonder what happened to that Nobu guy. He sounds like a nice guy indeed. Also I didn't know that horse meat was a thing.

Seeing Michi in that situation with that dick father makes me sad. I can just tell that Michi wants to fight back but can't do that because "OmG, tHaT's BaD! a ChIlD sHoUlD nOt AtTaCk HiS oR hEr DaDdY!" Then why do bad fathers like this one get to beat their kids or even cruelly kill them?!

Asshole father to Michi: "Don't defy me again!"

You're a goddamn dick. He and the other kids have every right to defy you after all the miserable shit that you put them through and treated then terribly.

[YamaDora]

Trying to create some actual discussion here because there haven't been much of that lately about this story:

I wonder how long this story will go on, and what kind of events it will cover?

Because it is blatantly obvious that Takahashi is writing this based on his own childhood experiences. However, my question is how long this story will go on. Will it end when Roku passes? That would make sense considering that he is the titular character here - a story to cover the time Takahashi/Otto spends with his dog.
But it also raises a question how much material (experiences from Takahashi's childhood) there is draw inspiration from. If I recall correctly, in his essays at the end of manga volumes he hasn't talked that much about his early childhood - the only stories I can recall right off the bat that take place in his childhood are: the very unfortunate incident with the cat, mentions of Kuro and his abusive father, the time he borrowed a comic from his friend (which was ruined by his father) and the story from his teen years when he and his friends rode a motorcycle. Will these stories be featured at some point in this story?

So far the only overarching story has been his father being awful and abusive. Will it just continue being just that with some little stories sprinkled in between? Are we going to see Otto grow up?

The story structure here is different from Takahashi's other works because it is so grounded in reality, but it's also almost impossible to tell how it will go.

[Digsu]

However, my question is how long this story will go on. Will it end when Roku passes? That would make sense considering that he is the titular character here - a story to cover the time Takahashi/Otto spends with his dog.

Personally, I kind of doubt this because in real life Yoshi was already an adult and living in Tokyo by the time Kuro died, which he talks about in Boku No Inu, Boku No Weed. Inu To Kurashitai (which is technically where the mention of Kuro's death comes from, since Boku No Inu just recycled like 90% of the text from Inu To Kurashitai, but I digress) even includes a photo of an "about 20-year-old" Yoshi with an elderly Kuro.

SPOILER

So if this series is meant to run until Kuro/Roku's death, that'd mean it'd have to cover Yoshi's life all the way from his childhood to coming of age, which would mean it'd be a pretty long one. Though on the other hand, the series ending with Roku's death and Yoshi Otto moving to Tokyo to pursue his dream of working as a mangaka could work well as a bittersweet ending. So maybe it just depends on how much material Yoshi's got and how popular the series ends up being. Or maybe it just covers his childhood and at the end there's a flash forward to when he's an adult and Kuro passes away, who knows.

I also sometimes get the feeling that Yoshi is just throwing unrelated childhood memories into the chapters as filler or because he doesn't know where else to put them, like how in the newest chapter the whole story about post-war scarcity and Nobu having to work to support his family has absolutely nothing to do with the current main conflict between the father and Michi. So it kind of feels like he doesn't really have a set plan for this series and maybe even he doesn't know how long it'll last.