I'm one of these people who creates lots of projects for myself to do...and then I take forever to work on them. I have art projects lying all over the place, the most current one is lying on my bedroom floor right now, staring at me...literally...It's a mask, well...sort of...when I finish it, it will be a face, but I've only put the two first layers of paint on it and bought a couple extra's to attach later...*sigh* I have stories to be written, two small comics I've been working on, lots and lots of drawings and photoshop stuff, as well as ZERO to work on.
And I've decided to add another project to my list...
I recently ordered the first five volumes of Aishiteruze Baby and have decided to translate it along with ZERO. After watching the anime, I have become an addict of this amazingly touching story. Being a manga junkie, I did some research (seeing who's been translating or if this series was licensed), I decided to tackle it for myself (there are some translations out there, but they are partials...which is sad).
ZERO takes precident, of course...though I haven't had much time to work on volume 2 translations so far this month (Hey! I worked 10 hours today! ha ha), but rest assured I will continue ZERO. I love that series too much to stop! As for Aishiteruze Baby, it will be at least four to six weeks before I start any work on it (the manga must be imported from Japan first, though volume 4 will be here next week). I haven't decided if I'll do scans or just text...and if I do do any scans, if I'll put them up for everyone to look at. It might be on a "ask me if you want them basis". I've never worried about advertising my translations, and I prefer to keep people to a minimum...the less otaku I have to deal with, the better! (Laughs)...for me, translating has always been a personal thing, and if people find my site with ZERO, they find it...if they don't, they don't. I translate because I like to...it's fun...and it helps me learn...I'm not looking for "fame", like many of the larger groups do. I'm selfish...I do this for me, but I'm happy to share as well.
Anyway...Why Aishiteruze Baby? Well, the anime blew me away at the first episode. It was so cute and touching I couldn't stop watching it! The story is about a young man, Kippei. He's a lazy, not to bright, and womanizing kid (later teens) who spends most of his time sleeping through school and chasing girls. One day, he goes home to find his family sitting around the table looking upset. He soon discovers that his aunt's husband has died and she's gone off and disappeared, leaving behind her 5 year old daughter, Yuzuyu. The family has no choice but to take care of the girl, and Kippei is quickly nominated to be her "babysitter." The family seems to think it will embue him with some sense of responsibility, so Kippei finds himself the surrogate mother of little Yuzuyu until her own mother comes back to get her. Things start out a bit rough...Kippei can barely take care of himself, and now he's in charge of making sure Yuzu gets dressed in the morning, has her lunch, gets to and from kindergarten okay, etc. On top of that, Kippei has to deal with an emotionally scarred child, who fears abandoment, as well as all the drama that goes along with five year old children (teasings at school, growing up, etc.) Kippei is a bit overwhelmed at first, but eventually he comes to realize how much Yuzu needs someone constant in her life. She's a good girl, but carries the scar of her mother up and leaving her. The two become very close, and sometimes it's easy to forget that Kippei is only Yuzu's cousin, and not her father!
Though I'm not to certain as of yet, it also looks like little Yuzu will play a part in bringing Kippei and his classmate, Kokoro together. Kokoro is a distant girl, from a motherless home. The two, Kokoro and Kippei like one another, but Kippei tends to annoy Kokoro with his overly flirtatious ways, buy Yuzu is mellowing him. Kokoro finds Kippei's relationship with Yuzu endearing and is drawn to them.
This story is just adorable. Yuzu is so cute! However, unlike many anime/manga children, she's also very realistic. She's selfish, like most five year olds are, the world confuses her, she blames herslef for her mother leaving (she thinks her mother left because she didn't eat all her lunch), she has trouble fitting in at school, etc. Overall, however, Yuzu is a happy girl who likes to play silly games and adores Kippei.
I can't wait to read the manga for myself and I highly recommend checking out the anime. People who enjoyed Fruits Basket will most likely like this show! It's fantastic!