Earthchild: Research Notes

Tucker

Author:

Shinkai, Hideo 神海 英雄（しんかい ひでお)

• You’re probably used to pronouncing “Hideo” like “Hih-DAY-oh” because that’s  how English speakers have taken to pronouncing Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima’s name. But this is yet another example of the English pronunciation not really being connected to actual Japanese, but English speakers subconsciously applying Spanish/Italian stress variation to Japanese.
• This is a good name to use to practice pronouncing Japanese syllables more correctly with equal levels of stress for each syllable, since there’s really nothing else challenging about the name whatsoever (all sounds are of equal length, no consents or vowels that don’t exist in English)

Characters:

• Sawada, Reisuke 佐和田 令助（さわだ れいすけ）
  • Like in any male given name ending in “-suke,” the whispered vowel effect makes it sound like “s’ke” (think “Sasuke” and “Jousuke”)
  • “Sah-wah-dah, Raay-s’ke” (I wrote it with two A-s to convey that “rei” is pronounced  roughly twice as long as just “re” would be)
  • Kanji used in both names are very symbolic. Family name written as “Aid-peace-field.” Personal name written as “life/fate-assist/aid.” Very on the nose (both names emphasize the character’s role as supporting his family)
• Sawada, Kareri 佐和田 かれり（さわだ かれり）
  • Hey, this is another good opportunity to practice good pronunciation, since pronouncing “Kareri” with  American English R sounds is really hard!
  • Remember that the Japanese “R” sound (that’s just the Latin letter that the sound got stuck with) is nothing like the American English sound we most often associate with that letter!
    • Japanese “R” is a little closer to the “L” sound we use at the beginning of syllables, but it’s not quite that, either.
    • For Japanese speakers, the so-called “R” sound is pronounced by the tip of the tongue making a slight tap/flap against the alveolar plate (hard part of roof of mouth located about an inch or so behind the front teeth).
  • Also, first syllable of personal name is “Kah,” not like “car”! Remember that Japanese syllables can never end in consonants that are not N or M!
  • Practice pronouncing each of the syllables of Kareri distinctly and slightly separated from one another….”Kah-leh-lee”
• Sawada, Mamoru 佐和田 衛（さわだ まもる）
  • Another on-the-nose name  choice…”Mamoru” literally means “to protect,” and the kanji used to write it means “defense” (the kanji used in the name is different from the one you would normally use for the word when not used as a name)
  • Name’s pretty easy to pronounce, but remember to give it equal stress! (“mah-moh-ru,’ not “muh-MORE-oo”!)
• Katagiri, MacKenzie Yuuma 片桐・マッケンジー・悠真（かたぎり・マッケンジー・ゆうま）
  • Dude is definitely part Japanese, part American/Irish/etc.. English/Irish part just written out in katakana as “Makkenjii,” since “zee” isn’t a sound that is possible in standard Japanese.
  • Just call the dude MacKenzie, it’s whatevs

MaxyBee

Author: Hideo Shinkai

• Prior works:
  • Light Wing (2010-2011, 3 volumes, 21 chapters. Weekly Shonen Jump)
    • Football (soccer) series, part of a sustained (and failed) push by editorial to have a football hit around the World Cup. It’s okay.
  • Soul Catcher(s) (2013-2016, 11 volumes, 89 chapters, Weekly Shonen Jump (56 chapters), Jump NEXT!(5 chapters), Shonen Jump Plus (28 chapters). Also had three light novels)
    • A music series that just wouldn’t die, about a saxophonist and a conductor who can see people’s hearts. A minor success in the magazine, hanging around just over a year, it was transferred to the seasonal magazine Jump NEXT and THEN onto Shonen Jump Plus. It’s great.
  • Instant Detective Hirameki Hayao (2018-2019, 2 volumes, 9 chapters, Saikyo Jump, w/ writer Shuusuke Michio)
    • A mystery series in the Jump magazine for kids. Kids tend to only want spin-offs of proper Shonen Jump series or anime, so it didn’t last. Still, not bad.
• Who they were an assistant for:
  • Hirohiko Araki, author of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (and Baoh, of course).
• Notable assistants:
  • Ippei Goto (Hi-Fi Cluster)
• Bonus info:
  • When Shinkai was an assistant for Araki, he worked alongside Hiroshi Shiibashi (Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Yui Kamio Lets Loose) and Yasuki Tanaka (Summer Time Render, Kagijin, Eye of Catoblepas)

Publishing

• Series it replaced:
  • Dr. Stone, kind of (Dr. stone ran a couple weeks past the debut of this)
• Series that replaced it:
  • Ginka and Glüna by Shinpei Watanabe
• Received colour pages for chapters 1, 2, and 12.

Manga Itself

• Look, I dropped this real early despite liking the author, so I don’t have much insight. THAT SAID:
  • Interesting that Kareri is frozen out in space, merged with rock. An homage to Kars’ fate in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure?
• People say there’s an unspoken “three strikes and you’re out” rule in Weekly Shonen Jump, but I think Shinkai is safe from this, as Soul Catcher(s) was a minor success, and sold about as well as Undead Unluck does now. So I’m sure they’ll return one day. Make no mistake, though. Earthchild is a BOMB.