This is a review of the English version of Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment.
Another volume 3. The first half of chapter 2 was previously covered here.
Chapter 2 has roughly twice the amount of nuance differences as chapter 1, so it’s divided into two entries.
This one is about the latter half of chapter 2.
page 54-55 (Japanese)
≫I’m here.≪
≫I’ll go ahead in.≪＞I just arrived, too.＜
≫I can see your head.≪
≫Wah!≪
『着きました』
『先に入ってますね』
『こっちも今着いたわ』
「頭が見える」
「わっ」
Concerning 「頭が見える」 and 「わっ」: now Sayaka receives these messages.
Sayaka speaks to Yuu, who exclaims in surprise.
≫I’m here≪
≫I’ll go ahead in≪
＞I just arrived, too＜
“I can see your head.”
“Wah!”
When I said that, the bookseller bowed her head jokingly.
そう言うと、本屋の娘さんがぺこりと冗談で頭を下げてくる。
Loss of details: 娘さん is gone. Also, Sayaka refers to Yuu as 本屋の子供 and 本屋の子 in the previous volumes.
When I said that, the daughter of a bookseller bowed her head jokingly.
page 56 (Japanese)
“I don’t think that’s true.”
The girl who sat across from me was Koito Yuu.
「そんなことないわよ」
大学から離れても先輩と呼ばれる。けど、今度は相手が違う。
向かいの席に座るのは、小糸侑。
Loss of details: 大学から離れても先輩と呼ばれる。けど、今度は相手が違う。 is gone.
“I don’t think that’s true.”
I’m being called Senpai even though I’m away from college. But the one doing so is different this time.
Sitting across from me is Koito Yuu.
Though she wasn’t here with us now, I asked for the latest news about her anyway.
ここに同席していない彼女の近況を尋ねる。
Extraneous implication: now there seems to be something notable about asking about an absent person.
I ask for an update on the girl who is not present.
page 57 (Japanese)
“Then why bother asking me? Isn’t that a bit pointless?” Koito-san laughed.
“It’s not pointless,” I politely objected. “I wanted to know how Touko seems to you.”
じゃあわたしに聞くの、遠回りじゃないですか。そう言って小糸さんが苦笑する。
私はそれを、やんわりと否定した。
「遠回りじゃないわ。あなたから見た燈子を聞きたかったの」
Concerning 遠回り: now Yuu seems to find Sayaka’s questioning to be without purpose.
Yuu finds Sayaka’s way of obtaining information to be indirect.
“Then isn’t asking me rather roundabout?” Koito-san smiles wryly.
I politely objected.
“It’s not roundabout. I wanted to know how Touko seems to you.”
She was still working at the high school as always, and would give me the latest updates whenever we saw each other.
先生は相変わらず高校勤務で、顔を合わせると軽い近況報告を交わす。
Loss of details: 軽い is gone. Concerning 交わす: now Hakozaki-sensei seems like a gossip.
The transfer of information goes both ways.
She is still working at the high school, and we would exchange small updates whenever we see each other.
page 58 (Japanese)
Apparently, Koito-san had been staying over at Touko’s place “occasionally,” which I took to mean “very frequently.”
小糸さんはそうした燈子の下へ割と、しょっちゅう、頻繁、といった表現が適切な程度に泊まりに通っているらしい。
Extraneous implication: now Yuu seems to have described her visits. Loss of details: といった表現が適切な程度 is gone.
It seems Koito-san stays over at Touko’s place at a rate where calling it “rather often” or “frequently” would be apt.
“Huh? How did you know…?”
「え、なんで分かります……？」
どこどこ、と問うように小糸さんがあたふたと焦る。別に後ろ暗いことがあるわけでもないでしょうに。
Loss of details: どこどこ、と問うように小糸さんがあたふたと焦る。別に後ろ暗いことがあるわけでもないでしょうに。 is gone.
Koito-san gets in a fluster as though asking what gave it away. It’s not like there was something shady about it.
page 63 (Japanese)
I absentmindedly stared at the screen, my half-open eyes barely registering the next piece of footage.
私は切り替わった映像も半ば目に入らないまま、画面を、ぼんやり見つめる。
Concerning 半ば目に入らない: now Sayaka’s eyes are half-open.
Sayaka does not fully take in what she is looking at.
I absentmindedly stare at the screen, unable to register the next piece of footage even halfway.
page 65 (Japanese)
I supposed that in theory, whether we met intentionally or by coincidence, it was all the same.
“It is the right weather for going to the pool.”
それが意図していても運命でも、出会えば同じだと思わなくもなかった。
「プールに行くような季節ではあるわね」
Concerning 運命: now Sayaka seems to consider if they met by random occurrence. Concerning 季節: the weather is not equivalent to the season.
Sayaka considers if they met by some higher power. Going to the pool is seen as a summer activity.
I wouldn’t deny that I had thought whether we met by intention or by fate, it was all the same.
“It is the season for going to the pool.”
page 67 (Japanese)
I tilted my head from the sunlight, and from Edamoto-san’s shamelessly cheerful smile as she said my name.
外の日と、そして名前に恥じない陽気な笑いをこぼす枝元さんに首を傾げる。
Concerning 名前に恥じない陽気な笑いをこぼす: now Sayaka seems to find it noteworthy that Haru said her name.
Sayaka notes that Haru is written with the kanji 陽.
I tilt my head from the sunlight, and from Edamoto-san, who lets out a merry laugh worthy of her name.
“Maybe a little. But for the most part, I’m serious, so…”
「半分くらいは。でも残りは本心から……」
Concerning 半分くらいは。: now Haru seems less sarcastic.
Haru’s remark is approximately equal in sarcasm and sincerity.
“About half of me is. But the rest of me is being sincere, so…”
page 68 (Japanese)
Edamoto-san’s eyes fixed on one of the girls among them, who was watching her as well.
その中の一人に枝元さんの視線が向かい、そして女子の方もそれを察する。
Loss of details: そして is gone.
Edamoto-san’s gaze goes to one of them, which that girl then senses.
page 71 (Japanese)
It was the smoking area that tended to smell, where trees had been planted as though to enclose it.
囲うように植えられた木々の匂いが色濃い喫煙所。
Extraneous implication: now the smoking area seems to stink. Also, this is inconsistent with how the publisher describes the place in volume 2 chapter 3.
It was a smoking area marked with the fragrance of trees planted around it.
“Was that girl from earlier related to why you were crying that day?”
「泣いたのとさっきの子は関係してるの？」
泣かされたのか、と尋ねてみる。
Loss of details: 泣かされたのか、と尋ねてみる。 is gone.
Did she make you cry, I ask.
I remembered Koito-san’s flustered face when she expressed similar doubts during our last meetup, and smiled a little.
この間、小糸さんにも似たような表情で疑われたのを思い出して少し笑う。
Concerning 疑われたの: now Yuu and Haru seem to disbelieve Sayaka. About what?
Yuu and Haru believe that Sayaka is extremely perceptive.
I remember how Koito-san gave me a similar look of suspicion the other day, and smile a little.
page 75 (Japanese)
“She said that since coming to college, she felt self-conscious about how others saw two girls being together, I guess… Something like that, anyway”
What an awful reason. Internally, I sympathized with Edamoto-san.
「大学に来て、女の子同士は人の目が気になるようになったとか……確かそんな理由」
目を細める枝元さんに、嫌な理由ね、と心の中で同意する。
Improper punctuation. Loss of details: 目を細める is gone.
“She said that since coming to college, she felt self-conscious about how others saw two girls being together, I guess… Something like that, anyway.”
What an awful reason. I internally sympathize with Edamoto-san, who has narrowed her eyes.
page 79 (Japanese)
It was the evidence of my past that still remained within me just a little—and she said that she liked it.
私の中でまだ少しだけ残る、引きずられた昔を、好きと言われた。
Loss of details: 引きずられた is gone.
My past that remained within me a little, that I had prolonged—she said that she liked it.
page 81 (Japanese)
July twenty-ninth, on the morning of my birthday, the same muggy heat swept over us as the last few days.
七月二十九日。誕生日の朝はここ数日と同じく蒸し暑さが席せつ巻けんしていた。
Run-on sentence.
July twenty-ninth. On the morning of my birthday, the same muggy heat swept over us as the last few days.
page 84 (Japanese)
≫I think gift-giving is as much for the giver as the receiver.≪
『贈り物って相手よりもこっちの都合が大きいと思うんだ』
Loss of details: よりも is gone.
≫I think gift-giving is more for the giver than the receiver≪
page 89 (Japanese)
It felt the same as when she used to ask whether I had classes.
習い事の有無を聞くくらいの感覚だ。
This is inconsistent with how the publisher translates 習い事, which are lessons.
It felt the same as when she used to ask whether I had lessons.
My grandmother narrowed her eyes. The cat on her knees also waved its tail as it looked at me.
祖母が細い目を少し広げる。膝元の猫もまた、尻尾を揺らしながら私を見ていた。
Concerning 細い目を少し広げる: Sayaka’s grandmother’s eyes are narrow by default, and she slightly widens them in surprise.
My grandmother’s narrow eyes widened slightly. The cat on her knees also watched me, tail swaying.
page 92 (Japanese)
It wasn’t as though such thoughts had never entered my mind—thoughts of what would have happened if I hadn’t made the wrong decision.
私だって、そういうことは考えなくもなかった。
どこかで選択を誤らなければ、と。
Concerning 選択: now the choice is a decision.
This calls back to a notable passage in volume 2, in which Sayaka chose to be wrong.
I wouldn’t deny that I had thought about such things myself—of what would have happened if I hadn’t made the wrong choice somewhere.
page 93 (Japanese)
Technically, I should still be able to decide whether to drink the beer in my glass or not.
このグラスのビールを飲むことも、飲まないこともまだ選べるはずなのに。
Concerning 選べる: now the choice is a decision.
A few lines later Sayaka realizes that she has no choice about drinking.
Technically, I should still be able to choose whether to drink the beer in my glass or not.
page 94 (Japanese)
When I brought the glass to my face, the sour smell of alcohol struck my nose.
グラスを顔に寄せると、アルコールの尖った匂いが鼻に来た。
Extraneous implication: now the smell of alcohol seems to have gone bad.
When I brought the glass to my face, the sharp smell of alcohol struck my nose.
“It’s sour.”
「にがい」
酸っぱい (すっぱい) is sour. Bitter is 苦い (にがい).
“It’s bitter.”
page 97 (Japanese)
Whenever I learned something knew, the uncertain parts of my vision became clearer, as though I were putting on prescription glasses.
度の合った眼鏡をかけるように、視界の不確かな部分が明瞭になるから。
Wrong spelling.
It makes the uncertain parts of my vision become clearer, as though I were putting on prescription glasses.
page 98 (Japanese)
Edamoto-san smiled and half-nodded, her ponytail bouncing with joy. “But still, all that studying was worth it. Since I got to meet you.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. I was happy to have met her, too, but it was difficult for me to express my true feelings. That didn’t seem to matter to Edamoto-san, though.
勿論とばかりに、枝元さんが笑って流す。
「でも勉強した甲か斐いはあったよ。沙弥香先輩に会えたから」
笑顔と共に、結んだ髪が喜びに跳ねる。こちらとしてはやや、反応に困る。
この子との出会いに喜びを感じていないわけではないけれど、それを表には素直に出しづらい。いや隠したくなる自分だって素直な気持ちの一つだろう。枝元さんとは無縁のようだけど。
Loss of details: 勿論とばかりに and いや隠したくなる自分だって素直な気持ちの一つだろう。 are gone. Concerning 枝元さんとは無縁のようだけど。: now the subject is completely different.
Sayaka’s hiding of her honest feelings is part of her character, not just when she is with Haru.
Edamoto-san smiles and brushes it off as beyond doubt.
“But still, all that studying was worth it. Since I got to meet you, Sayaka-senpai.”
Her ponytail bounces with joy, along with her smile. I’m not too sure how to respond.
It wasn’t as though I didn’t feel happy to have met this girl, but it was difficult for me to express it openly. No, it’s one of my honest feelings I’m tempted to hide, even from myself. That seems unrelated to Edamoto-san, though.
page 99-100 (Japanese)
“Yup, that’s sour all right.”
「苦いね、うん」
酸っぱい is sour. Bitter is 苦い.
“It’s bitter all right.”
“I may have drunk some cooking alcohol before…” My underclassman averted her eyes slyly.
「本当は調理用のお酒をちょっと飲んだことがあったり」
なかったり、と後輩が目を逸らす。戻した缶を一瞥して、少し考えて、口元を緩めた。
思ったよりも、経験の多い後輩だ。
Loss of details: 戻した缶を一瞥して、少し考えて、口元を緩めた。 and 思ったよりも、経験の多い後輩だ。 are gone.
“I’ve actually had a little alcohol meant for cooking before.”
Or not, my underclassman averted her eyes. I glanced at the can she put back on the table, thought for a bit, and my mouth softened.
This underclassman has more experience than I thought.
All I knew was that it wasn’t a scale. Even strangers who were irrelevant to each other could establish equilibrium.
I sank back into silence. Edamoto-san looked at me and the window as she tilted her glass. Since my body had nothing to do while we were silent, I sipped the beer little by little in spite of its sourness.
でも天秤ではないはずだ。均等であることが正しいとは思えない。均等なんて無関係同士の他人でも成立してしまう。だからなにかが違って、でも正解に辿り着くことができなくてもどかしい。
考え続けていると自然、口をつぐむ形になる。枝元さんの方も私や窓の向こうを向きながらグラスを傾けている。そうして無言が続くと身体はなにもすることがなくて、つい苦いばかりのはずのビールを少しずつ口に含んでしまう。
Loss of details: 均等であることが正しいとは思えない。 and だからなにかが違って、でも正解に辿り着くことができなくてもどかしい。 is gone.
Also, 酸っぱい is sour. Bitter is 苦い.
Still, it shouldn’t be a scale. I don’t think a relationship is about how well it evens out. Even strangers who are irrelevant to each other can establish equilibrium. So something is off, but it’s frustrating that I can’t figure out what would make sense.
I keep thinking about it and naturally become closemouthed. Edamoto-san is also quiet, looking at me and out the window as she tilts her glass. The silence continues, and since my body has nothing to do, I end up sipping the beer little by little in spite of its bitterness.
Without letting my slight confusion show, Edamoto-san was looking straight at me.
そんな私の些細な食い違いなど気にも留めないで、枝元さんが真っ直ぐ、こちらを見る。
Concerning 食い違いなど気にも留めない: now the sentence is nonsensical. Haru doesn’t let Sayaka’s confusion show?
Haru does not pay attention to the discrepancy between Sayaka’s words and actions.
Edamoto-san looks straight at me, paying no attention to my slight discrepancy.
page 102 (Japanese)
I didn’t think I needed to truthfully answer that sort of question.
こういう質問に、すべて正直に答えなくてもいいとは思う。
普段なら有耶無耶にしただろう。
Loss of details: 普段なら有耶無耶にしただろう。 is gone.
I didn’t think I needed to frankly answer these kinds of questions.
Normally, I would have kept it vague.
page 104 (Japanese)
“I don’t have a girlfriend right now, though.”
“Me neither. We match!” Edamoto-san agreed jokingly.
「今の彼女はいないけどね」
「私と同じね」
ねー、と枝元さんがおどけて同意を示す。
Wrong speakers. Haru speaks, then Sayaka, then Haru again.
Also, Haru uses わたし. 私 is used by Sayaka.
“I don’t have a girlfriend right now, though.”
“Same as me, then.”
Right? Edamoto-san playfully agrees.
page 110 (Japanese)
My barely-functioning brain tried its hardest to communicate what I knew right now, though my words were pretty clumsy.
今分かっていることを正しく伝えようと、あまり働かない頭ががんばった。
飾る余裕もなく、珍しいくらいに素直な感情が綴られる。
日本語は若干怪しいけれど。
Loss of details: 飾る余裕もなく、珍しいくらいに素直な感情が綴られる。 is gone.
My barely-functioning brain tried its best to properly convey what I knew right now.
Without the capacity to dress things up, my feelings were spelled out in a way that was unusually honest.
My words were a little clumsy, though.
page 111 (Japanese)
I’d thought I never wanted to see Senpai again, but she was still living in my heart and my mind.
二度と会いたくないと思った先輩は、こうして今尚、心の中に生きているのだ。
意思ある限り、思い出は不滅だった。
Loss of details: 意思ある限り、思い出は不滅だった。 is gone.
The upperclassman who I never wanted to see again is still living in my mind.
Memories are immortal as long as the will exists.
page 112 (Japanese)
How could a little bit of liquid be enough to entirely rewrite my personality?
たったあれだけの液体が混入しただけで、私という人間が塗り替わる。
Extraneous implication: now Sayaka seems disbelieving.
With just that much liquid mixed in me, it repaints who I am.
Next is the first half of chapter 3.
Aletheia 