One of my favorite running gags in this manga is people getting mad at Foreman, and he's like "wtf, me? what did I do?!".
Here's a callback to chp.80 when Foreman accompanies Kimura to find that Lime green, Italian-made, semi-wide collar shirt in M-size
I also like how he's always trying to defuse the situation and lighten up the mood when there's a fight.
He doesn't mind getting insulted if it means it keeps the peace.
pg.6, they arrive at Suga's house and they're surprised that it's a standalone/detached house. People working in Tokyo are often from other parts of Japan. The act of "moving to Tokyo" or 上京 means you're going or moving there to work (lots of jobs there), and you'll rent an apartment to do so. There's a small convo between Foreman and his imaginary son in their car where he tells him that he's going to have to move and find his own place for his new job, it's possible that he was 上京-ing.
It seems that Suga is born and lives in Tokyo, which means he gets to save a lot of money on rent.
pg.9, Suga's mom offers up "leftovers" and says that the meal "isn't much". That's Japanese humility at play here. I remember reading a long time ago there's a custom of offering tea to guests, and the hosts will say "oh yes, it's some cheap/inexpensive tea but I hope you'll enjoy it" and it turns out to be ultra-rare expensive and fragrant tea from somewhere else in the country. She also made Apricot Tofu for dessert, so who knows eh
pg.10, she asks if they prefer their baguettes to be "pee-pee'd".
Yep, she said if you'd like them to be "chin-chin'd" in the JP version. "Chin-chin" is a childish euphemism for your benis. If you'd look in this manga's general discussion thread, you can see that someone called me "chinchinro addict". Hehehe
Ara. What is "ara"?
It's an emotive exclamation used by older women to express concern or surprise, and at the same time extenuates their femininity. It's like "goodness, oh my, gracious, dear me, good heavens" depending on the situation.
I've chosen to keep it in there, similar to how "Eh!" and "Eh...?" is used iconically in the anime. Same with "heh heh..." and the Chairman's "Ka-ka-ka!"
and with that, vol.18 is all done. We round into March 2024 with the start of vol 19.
8 chapters until we're all caught up!