Hi-Fi Cluster: Research Notes

Tucker

https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/chapters/hi-fi-cluster

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8F%E3%82%A4%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF

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6 Words: Power system unfit for major labels.

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AUTHOR

• Gotou, Ippei 後藤 逸平（ごとう いっぺい）
  • Go-toe, eep-pay

CHARACTERS

• Kandera, Kousaku 貫寺晃作（かんでら こうさく）
  • “Con-deh-lah, Koh-sah-kuh”
  • Family name means “pierced/piercing temple” (obviously a reference to the Ganryuu fighting style he can use through his label) and personal name means “a clear plan”
• Juugojou, Heita十五条平太（じゅうごじょう へいた）
  • “Jew-go-joe, Hey-tah”
  • Wow, I think Viz might have printed a misreading of the MC’s name…the Viz translation says “Neta”...I can’t find any reading of 平
  • Wait, no, they just wrote the nickname he’s referred to by (Peter/Peita) as “Peta,” which is a confounding decision
  • Super weird name regardless. Juu-go literally just means 15, so his family name means “fifteen clauses” or “the fifteenth clause,” which…does not at all sound like a real name to me. Is it supposed to be a sci-fi tinged name or something? For a series set only a few decades in the future? I dunno, it’s dumb.
  • Personal name just mean like “peaceful boy,” common name\
• Kuze, Nano 久世菜乃（くぜ なの）
  • Kuh-zeh, Nah-no
  • Name doesn’t really seem to have significance at first glance
• Sanyama, Miri 惨山ミリ（さんやま ミリ）
  • San-yah-mah, Mee-lee
  • Family name reads as “disastrous/cruel mountain”
• Ekusa, Kei 絵草計（えくさ けい）
  • Eh-kuh-sah, Kay
  • Name reading doesn’t seem significant (“painting” + “grass” + “measure”)
• Okada, Hekt/Hekuto (?)岡田ヘクト（おかだ ヘクト）
  • “Okah-dah, Heh-ku-toe OR “Heck’d”
  • Not sure what’s going on with his personal name, as it’s just written out as syllables in kana. At first I thought it was a foreign name (perhaps from Dutch or short for Hector or something?), but nothing else in the manga seems to actually support this
  • Official translation goes with the assumption that ヘクト is supposed to be a foreign import name, but I’m not so sure. This might actually just be a Japanese name Hekuto? Maybe?
  • Could be a reference to the Japanese band Hekuto Pascal?  https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-06-23/hekuto-pascal-band-member-yousuke@home-passes-away/.148184
• Noto, Souichirou 能登総一朗（のと そういちろう）
  • No-toe, Sow-eechee-row
  • Family name is written as “ability-climbing.” Personal name roughly written as “together into one”
• Asukawa, Yokuhito/Yokuto 明日川翌人
  • Viz translation uses “Yokuto,” but it could also possibly be Yokuhito.
  • Ah-su-kah-wah, Yoku-toe/Yoku-hee-toe
• Ongami, Shanon 恩上紗恩（おんがみ しゃのん）
  • Own-gah-mee, Shah-known
  • Personal name does not quite sound like the English woman’s name Shannon, so watch out!
  • Viz translation has his name as Onkami rather than Ongami, but this is probably incorrect!

OTHER

• Sasaki, Kojirō (佐々木 小次郎)
  • “Sah-sah-kee, ko-jee-roe”
  • Legendary (as in maybe or maybe didn’t actually exist) swordsman from the 1500s-1600s in Japan. Started the Ganryuu (“boulder style”) school of sword fighting
  • Also famous for wielding a very long sword he called 物干し竿 (mono-hoshi-za’o), or a laundry-drying pole
  • He is a character depicted in kabuki plays
  • The SSK=KZR refers to the consonants in his name. The Z is there because Z and J are closely-related sounds in Japanese, and words in English that have a sound like “zee” often get pronounced as “ji” in Japanese. It’s weird. I think the author went for Z over J because he thought it looked cooler or something. \
  • \
• Prince Shoutoku (Shoutoku Taishi)
  • STKTS = Shoutoku Taishi\
  • Pronounced: “Show-toe-ku, Tie-she”
  • Prince who lived in the 500s-600s AD
  • Served his aunt, the Empress of Japan at the time (he could not become emperor himself, since he was an illegitimate son of the previous emperor)
  • Famous for popularizing Buddhism in Japan
• Ryo Fu/ Lü Bu
  • Ryo Fu is the Japanese name for the Chinese General Lu Bu, who constantly comes up the second anyone talks about the Dynasty Warrior games. Since the Chinese name is more common in English and is closer to how the name would originally been pronounced than the modern Japanese version, I would go with Lu Bu (it’s also easier to pronounce if you aren’t trying to match the Chinese tonality)
  • Was general for the Han clan from 192-199 AD during the Three Kingdoms era
  • Famous character portrayed in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms
  • Known for being a great fighter but reckless, and he frequently changed sides and betrayed former allies in the power struggle of the era
• Kamui/Kamuy
  • Kahmuh-ee
  • Term borrowed from native Ainu (indigenous tribal peoples of Northern Japan whose language and culture are completely unconnected to Japan’s) religion. These are animistic spirits of nature
  • It seems really weird that this is associated with a Hi-Fi ability named after a Chinese general
• Miyamoto, Musashi (宮本 武蔵)
  • Mee-yah-mo-toe, Muh-sah-she
  • Swordsman from the same era as Sasaki Kojirou,and who had his own school of swordsmanship.
  • Killed Kojirou in a duel.
  • MYMT=MSS

MaxyBee

Author IPPEI GOTOU

• Prior works: NONE
• Who they were an assistant for: Naoshi Komi (Double Arts, Nisekoi), Hideo Shinkai (Earthchild, Soul Catcher(s), Light Wing)
• Notable assistants:
  • None that I know of.
• Went to university with Yuusaku Shibata (Zipman, Yoakemono)

Publishing

• Series it replaced: Illegal Rare by Hiroshi Shiibashi
• Series that replaced it: Kagamigami by Toshiaki Iwashiro
• Appeared on two group covers during its run.

Manga Itself

• It’s just the Blood Blockade Battlefront your Mum tells you she’s got at home.