Dec 28, 2009

Passing on "I Can't Be a Bride"

I started translating Kiyo Fujiwara's latest manga series, "I Can't be a Bride."  Here's the synopsis from Betsuhana:


"Odagiri Madoka is a hard working career woman who is very bad at housework.  Consequently, she requests some assistance from a house cleaning service.  The service dispatches Hirose Yuuki, a high school student with cooking skills.  He also cleans perfectly ...!  However, on the other hand, he's arrogant...?

I didn't get very far in the translation before deciding that it was a boring "Kimi wa Petto" variation.  A handsome guy name "Kuga" is the other competing male.  He's nice and calm (or so it seems).  His face is drawn with a touch of evil.

I have read "Kimi wa Petto" several times and it's quite good, so I can't find it within myself to sully the memory with an imitator.  More than anything, though, the pages I read of this manga are so slowwwww, augh!  It's very unlike the fast pace of "Arakure."  It felt like a chore to get as far as I did.

I'm sorry to all those looking forward to this, but getting through this first chapter will make me hate Japanese.