Nani mo Wakaranai - Vol. 1 Ch. 1 - Nothing Can Be Understood

[nisor]

@nisor For future chapters, I feel like it'd be better to transliterate the furigana for the elf(?)'s language in more standard manner. Like, on p14, you have "douh" and on p15 you have "ah." Based on the raws, the Hepburn transliteration of these should be "dō" / "dou" and "a." ("dou" is probably better, as we don't know if it's meant to be a long vowel or sequential vowels, and "ou" can be read as either.) This would also include some rarer kana combinations like the "di" on p23 and the "tyu" on p1, of course.

Because we don't know what this language is meant to actually sound like and we don't know what's important, it's better to be more literal about what the Japanese version says rather than trying to approximate it as something more Englishy-looking. Like, right now it's unclear if those "ah"s are long or not, or if that "douh" actually has a consonant H at the end or whatever else.

You might also want to distinguish the katakana and the hiragana in the furigana, as it seems to use both and I'm sure that's not for no reason. (Like, maybe kata is for grammar words while hira is for content words?) All caps for katakana is a common enough standard to be recognized, I think. (If you insist on using a font without a clear caps distinction, you can use bold or something on the katakana as well, as long as its different.) Also, the words are seperated pretty clearly, so I think you ought to copy those spacings as well. Taking everything into account, the "dou" line I mentioned would be "TOJU sui DE paidou," for example, instead of your "TOJU SUI DE PAIDOUH"

Even if this might stylistically look worse, it's better than having to go back and change everything when it turns out certain things you messed with do matter, don't you think? The language is clearly important here, and being literal means you're giving the exact same interpretations the author chose to give Japanese readers regarding it.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to incorporate the points you've made going forward. My brain glossed over the katakana aspect in the furigana as I was reading this.

 

[AmethystLord]

MC be like: Oh so it's like she's pointing a gun at my head... OK I wanna see her shoot.

Like, wtf dude.

 

[D1003Briner]

He cut the topside of his arm, which would be less dangerous than cutting at wrist, so it wouldn't be super dangerous exactly.
As for why, he was trying to provoke her to use magic. The sudden weapon grab would possibly provoke an attack, the injury would possibly provoke healing. As it turns out, the sword is either too blunt to cut or, as he's assuming, his body is especially durable.
Basically, dude caught on that it's an isekai thing going on and is poking at things trying to figure out how they work.

Nah he did slice his arm, its just he thought of the hypothesis his body isnt his original one so it wouldnt get injured as he says its a specially made body as he thought.

 

[tuatara1]

Eh, the MC isn't really a true blank slate. His first words were about amnesia. So he seems somewhat educated about stuff and things, just lacks the more personal memories that defines a person's individuality.

In the end it does leave him in a bit of a bind, bit should make adapting to a new world somewhat easier.

I did write "basically," not "completely." He has no individual identity and a flat personality. That's not a great starting point for a main character.

 

[Landale]

Nah he did slice his arm, its just he thought of the hypothesis his body isnt his original one so it wouldnt get injured as he says its a specially made body as he thought.

You didn't read what I said at all did you? Because none of that actually contradicts what I said, only ignores it at most.

He cut the topside of his arm, which would be less dangerous than cutting at wrist, so it wouldn't be super dangerous exactly.

So you're not correcting me about cutting or not, because we both note he did.

As for why, he was trying to provoke her to use magic. The sudden weapon grab would possibly provoke an attack, the injury would possibly provoke healing. As it turns out, the sword is either too blunt to cut or, as he's assuming, his body is especially durable.

The thought of provoking her was there, as was the disappointment that she didn't use magic. We do not see the slice to see if it actually did anything, only him noting there was no damage.

Basically, dude caught on that it's an isekai thing going on and is poking at things trying to figure out how they work.

Dude catches on to the isekai thing as soon as the elf shows up. He then proceeds to both provoke her and test himself.

 

[Miserys_End]

I did write "basically," not "completely." He has no individual identity and a flat personality. That's not a great starting point for a main character.

Yes and no. Sure he doesn't come with the typical Japanese morals and prejudices, but on the flip side he doesn't come with prejudices and Japanese morals. Or at least shouldn't. And honestly I don't think that is such a bad thing.

It means he should more easily adapt to the typically alien culture without all the emotional and cultural baggage most transmigrators bring with them. And yet he still need to adapt to his new home and it's communities. So while his personality will be rather flat in the beginning, he will quickly form one with every event he experiences.

 

[Zxzzxz2]

This is strange... in a good way