Normality and Monsters - Vol. 1 Ch. 10

[Lustrist]

mentioning balut (yummers), kigurumi, and slenderman. what a chap

 

[Zyte_X]

First time I've seen Slenderman mentioned/used in a manga. This series just keeps getting more interesting

 

[Yurisivel]

Takahashi being cucked by American slender man, was not on my bingo card.

 

[mangaburner1979]

Thanks for the translation! Reread this again to catch up and it is even better than I remember the first time. I love this new character, a perfect foil to Takahashi's gloomy wormitude.

 

[Karretch]

Just so people don't get the wrong idea, the monster isn't sayin they are Slender Man, they are like in appearance to Slender Man in their default form

 

[Kushikime]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[EchoGirl]

Just so people don't get the wrong idea, the monster isn't sayin they are Slender Man, they are like in appearance to Slender Man in their default form

well it was an intentional creation that had a boom in some part of the internet/a niche community tho if they're saying that slenderman did end up being real, that would imply tulpas and created monsters could be a thing too

although makes me wonder if the Granny is some monster all along, if not just it running in the family (tho granny doesn't necessarily need to care/ /wants/ to fit in) v

 

[Krune]

thank you for the chapter, slendussy truly best girl lol, I love the contrast and parallel here. Both monsters are serving as teachers for Itou here, with Niehara understanding what was going on to the extent of turning back to the form of her teacher in order to better fit that role. But while wormussy has the motivation of just gals being pals and eventually getting an Itou suit, Niehara doesn't want to eventually kill Itou or at least not at this point or is willing to admit it and wants to use her as a means further blending in or a distraction against the human masses. Though during the tea thing I did initially think Niehara was just offering all those options so they could study Itou, discern her tastes, and then also attempt to replace her. Both seek to use her to further blend in. But while Wormussy is teaching her how to maintain/upkeep appearances, Niehara is teaching her to be herself and accept who she is, her personal normal, because normalcy is relative and that being true to yourself is what counts. Both are being up front with her in regards to not be nice things with Takahashi being up front with telling her she is using her and that Itou was attempting to use her in return and that she is a predator and Niehara flat out informing her that they are evil.
I also like that we are given a bit more information regarding the two types of disguise using monsters.
Niehara described themselves as being the same size as Slender Man rather then being a slender man or like a Slender Man if that helps though it makes me curious as to what their true form is.

 

[beThereShortly]

Bad Touch! BAD TOUCH! BAD TOUCH!
You're coming on a little strong there mister (miss?) monster.

I really love the expression Itou makes when she's told "face it, you're a monster". And the Kaiju "allegory" (if I can call it that) is pretty clever and novel. Neat!

Thank you very much for the translation! This new character makes things a lot more interesting and I can't wait to see how it affects the dynamic between Itou and Takahashi.

 

[LSpark]

I wonder if the big twist is going to be the dork being a monster in denial all along, I hope not

 

[Eukene]

I like that we have confirmation that this is Slenderman- or at least likely the closest to Slenderman that exists in this setting.

Oh my god they just came out and said it... although to be fair, autism has absolutely made me feel "inhuman" before, especially when it comes to how I'm treated by other people.

I am relating with Ito too as an autistic person. A lot of her social blunders would be relatable in that way. However, on an individual level, I get wanting to be liked and have a good impact on people, but not enough to be willing to conform to what other people are doing. If I'm directly interacting with someone then I will definitely take their preferences into account, but on a group level the motivation to conform is not there. I feel like my own needs and way of doing things should be valid, even if it's not the same as most people.

I'm glad I found this series, even though seinen yuri is kind of weird. It will be fun seeing how the characters develop.

 

[Fallenstreet01]

So you're saying that if I like pineapple in my pizza I'm a monster too?

 

[TOPPUSUPIDO1998]

Sorry for the wait! Hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway. Or maybe it gave you an excuse to reread??

There'll be a short extra chapter, but after that this marks the end for Volume 1. Chapter 26 just released in Japan (it seems the artist had some health problems but hopefully they're better now), so we still have a ways to go!

Yay! Thank you for the translations!

 

[Redmonkeybox]

Audibly laughed when the monster turned out to actually be Slenderman lol

 

[Eukene]

Thinking about this, Slenderman probably qualifies as an urban legend. The fact that it's made up is something that, as far as I know, is in common with other urban legends. The only difference is that its origins happened both relatively recently and online in a precisely documented way.

The example with the girls suggests that there are some people who do believe in Slenderman. Maybe they saw the image reposted without context or maybe they think there is some kind of conspiracy (eg, Slenderman was about to be found out and created the thread to draw attention away from the truth). We don't have as many examples of believers with something like Bigfoot. However, Slenderman is newer, meaning the legend has spread to fewer, and most true believers would likely not draw attention to themselves.

So, both an American urban legend and a 2009 somethingawful joke thread would seem to be accurate. You know you're getting old when you have over twice the age of an urban legend.

 

[Kakadu47]

Thank you so much for translating this chapter!

 

[Cogito3]

Thinking about this, Slenderman probably qualifies as an urban legend. The fact that it's made up is something that, as far as I know, is in common with other urban legends. The only difference is that its origins happened both relatively recently and online in a precisely documented way.

The example with the girls suggests that there are some people who do believe in Slenderman. Maybe they saw the image reposted without context or maybe they think there is some kind of conspiracy (eg, Slenderman was about to be found out and created the thread to draw attention away from the truth). We don't have as many examples of believers with something like Bigfoot. However, Slenderman is newer, meaning the legend has spread to fewer, and most true believers would likely not draw attention to themselves.

So, both an American urban legend and a 2009 somethingawful joke thread would seem to be accurate. You know you're getting old when you have over twice the age of an urban legend.

Hmm. This is an interesting argument, but I don't really agree. I think the fact that we have precisely documented origins makes it not an urban legend; to me, urban legends need to have a sort of shrouded in mystery, "heard it from a friend of a friend" vibe. Sorawo from Otherside Picnic argues something similar when she distinguishes urban legends from what she calls "true ghost stories," which also have a precise (if usually anonymous) origin and are claimed to be something the poster actually experienced personally.

I also don't know how much we can conclude from the incident with those 12-year-old girls. While I haven't researched that case extensively, those girls clearly had significant mental health issues, and it's not clear whether they were merely using the Slenderman character as an excuse or whether they did "earnestly" believe in it, or even whether there's a meaningful difference between those possibilities.

 

[Eukene]

Hmm. This is an interesting argument, but I don't really agree. I think the fact that we have precisely documented origins makes it not an urban legend; to me, urban legends need to have a sort of shrouded in mystery, "heard it from a friend of a friend" vibe. Sorawo from Otherside Picnic argues something similar when she distinguishes urban legends from what she calls "true ghost stories," which also have a precise (if usually anonymous) origin and are claimed to be something the poster actually experienced personally.

I also don't know how much we can conclude from the incident with those 12-year-old girls. While I haven't researched that case extensively, those girls clearly had significant mental health issues, and it's not clear whether they were merely using the Slenderman character as an excuse or whether they did "earnestly" believe in it, or even whether there's a meaningful difference between those possibilities.

I think it is still shrouded in mystery to the average person. Like let's say we unearth some tome about the origins of Bigfoot and gather circumstantial evidence showing that it's correct. That wouldn't really change things for the average person, who probably won't even hear about the tome.

In the same way, I'm pretty sure most people don't even know what Something Awful is. I'm familiar with that forum and have heard of Slenderman, but only found out about the connection due to your group's explanation. I think it is shrouded in mystery from the perspective of the average person, especially if they are young enough that traditional web forums aren't really a thing to them. Slenderman also wouldn't have become well known with just that thread - the concept got elaborated on in different places by many people.

In any case, it's really a matter of how you are defining the term. I don't find it useful to insist on a 'true' definition for words, but I think Slenderman fits many common definitions of an urban legend. I interpret the comic as the author using one such definition- or that our comic Slenderman is, who is likely old enough that they would have seen many urban legends come and go.

Also, it's fun that you responded to me, so thank you. I often annoy people by going on long tangents, so I'm glad if it was interesting instead.

 

[Cogito3]

In any case, it's really a matter of how you are defining the term. I don't find it useful to insist on a 'true' definition for words, but I think Slenderman fits many common definitions of an urban legend. I interpret the comic as the author using one such definition- or that our comic Slenderman is, who is likely old enough that they would have seen many urban legends come and go.

I agree there's no such thing as a "true" definition of words, and a brief Google search shows there are indeed people who call Slenderman an urban legend, so your position has merit. Perhaps it's a subjective thing where some people can consider it an urban legend and others can't, partly based on whether or not they know the origins as you point out. Maybe I'm just still existing too much in the early 2010s where everyone knew it was a fictional character and were just playing around with the concept -- similarly I wouldn't call like Freddy Krueger an urban legend -- whereas these days maybe there are also some people who honestly believe Slenderman exists or who are at least not sure about it. It's an interesting idea to contemplate.

Also, it's fun that you responded to me, so thank you. I often annoy people by going on long tangents, so I'm glad if it was interesting instead.

Of course! As a former philosophy PhD student I like these sorts of conceptual arguments lol.

 

[Babbelfish]

Yayyy, my favorite ongoing manga is baaack! Thanks to the scanlators for returning this. : )

And of course we have another discussion about this concept called "normality". But this time seen from a perspective entirely opposed to Takahashi's! As someone mentioned in this thread, whereas she goes to pains to pass for a normal human, Niehara is blending in so it can kill normal humans. In other words, it wants to destroy this world's normality. (Also different from Itou's grandmother who seems to have withdrawn from it)

And it is speaking out an aspect of normality that was only implicitly acknowledged before: normality is enforced. Stray too far from that realm of normality and people, the majority, society itself, will consider you a threat to their normal world and thus label you a monster and in the best case shun or either fetishize you, and in the worst murder you.

Society needs to function, humanity needs be corralled. When only a narrow set of behaviors is accepted, people with proclivities for what lies outside that set, will suffer and be oppressed

So! That means! In order to live according to their desires, they have to reject that set and thus at the very least in their heart of hearts, they have become a rebel. A destroyer of the normal world, a revolutionary. It is that or internalizing the set of values. But if it is an oppressive set of values, that is but the same as planting churning thorns in your heart. In time they will strangle and bury your faculties for happiness.

Itou yearns to be normal because she want to connect to the companionship that the normal world can offer in abundance. She wants to be liked, to be loved. But she also wants to be true to herself. More precisely, she seems to be seeking a certain code that would make her abnormalness be accepted. But she can't just declare herself normal, as Niehara makes a poignant point that one is more declared abnormal or normal by others.

Still, there are ways of becoming normalized, but she would still be changing that set of behaviors. Which is deemed often monstrous in itself. And there is her conundrum. She wants to eat her cake and to have it too. Be accepted as she is by society at large, but also refusing to acknowledge that as she is is currently abnormal in that very society. Which is not the worst attitude to have, honestly, but it can risk crushing disappointment and an underestimation of what it takes to be normal.

But if we acknowledge that it is possible to normalize abnormality, then we discover it is not really about destroying normality itself. That "normality" isn't the problem, since I do consider it is good some abnormal activities stay abnormal (like throwing a baby to the crocodiles) But rather that it is an oppressive normality against ways of beings that aren't harmful at all. Then where did that come from and is it possible then, to have a normality that is not oppressive, not hierarchical? How many worlds should be destroyed for that? : )

Sidenote: Niehara's last question reminds me of this:

Tetsuo : The Iron Man is a very abnormal and spectacular movie, give it a watch if you don't mind it is also a rather violent movie.