earth_colors | Subber's Diary entry#25: Goodbye, DonQui! (Reply)

Don Qui has come to a close. T.T I'm thankful that I took it on for I had a blast subbing it. It made me a fan of the talented Matsuda Shota - even more! (Honestly, I've always thought he was the only actor in HanaDan's F4 who was really able to pull off the rich boy-sophisticated persona).

Thanks to all who helped - furransu and others - for the retiming and providing the raws (vids and srts), to my 'language consultant' hina camui (who kindly offered her time and effort to help me out with the difficult lines - TY!), Halcali_fan for the OP translation, and all who sent feedback and kind comments. Sorry for the occasional errors but thanks anyway for trying them out!

Under the cut, you'd find stuff I gathered for fans of the show...

The setting of Keihin is actually real - but not as a town but as a region comprising of Tokyo, Kawasaki, and Yokohama. But most of the scenes and major settings (the Child Counseling Center, Sabashima Group office) were filmed in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. (source info)

The name of the club where Sabashima's office home is located translates as 'Nights in Takarakuza.' Takarakuza, as you know, is the place famous for Takarakuza Revue (all-women musical theater troupe), hence, the 'hat' logo.

Where Sabashima and Shirota usually walks, while discussing their dilemma... is actually an embankment of the Tama River in Kawasaki near a practice field for race horses. The wind turbine was more likely cgi'd.

The red monument and huge mall staircase where Sachiko went looking for the SD card were at a shopping center called Kawasaki Le Front ('Rufuron'). (photo credits: shop1, hikari_ichihara)

The hostess bar scene in eps 3 and 4 was filmed in a club called 'Grand Cru' in Roppongi, Tokyo. Above pic is from the club's blog.

The 'saba' in Sabashima means 'mackerel,' hence, the fishes in his Yakuza group's logo.

For those who don't know, exchanging of sake cups ritual is the induction rites for a new member of the yakuza. Read this post for a better explanation. (sorry, I'm too lazy to explain! lol)

One of the things mentioned that were unimportant but baffled me: 'beer chiffon.' Sachiko's girl friend ordered it in the cafe scene in Ep. 5. Apparently, there is such a thing as beer cake which I know nothing about. I've 'gugur'd' it up on the 'netto' and came up with various recipes for 'beer cake' and like a hundred pictures of cakes shaped like beer cans and bottles! lol... Anyway, there's only one post in English about Japanese beer chiffon: kokonuggetyumyum (photo credit above). To make it, you use 350 ml of beer boiled down to an orange syrupy texture. Yum!

Mikoshi mentioned in ep 4 is a sacred palanquin carried by men (mikoshi groups) from one place to another during summer festivals. According to this post, 70% of these groups are controlled by the Yakuza. (photo credit: sakura_hotel).

In ep. 7, Shirota mentioned he liked the Dekotora (short for decorated trucks) of Sugawara Bunta (above pic) from his 'Truck Yaro' movie series of the 70's. 'Ichiban-boshi' (Best Star) is the name of his truck. Check out The Art Trucks of Japan by Tomoyuki Kato for a better read. And pinktentacle for amazing pix of modern dekotora.

"I'm willing to take off a layer of skin" says Shirota in Ep. 6. As explained in the book, Figurative Language: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Linguistic Perspectives, it's similar to the English idiom 'to roll up one's sleeves' . In Japan, 'taking off skin' means taking off his kimono (or the top part) as an indication that he is ready to take on physical labor or to help someone in need.

In Ep. 10, Sabashima dressed up as Ogami Itto of the famous Lone Wolf and Cub in his fantasy duel with Ajisawa. Got a big kick out of it bec. I love that manga!