After much work over the past few days, the much-anticipated end of Kakukaku Shikajika is finally here with chapters 33 and 34. Also included are a few bonus pages of Higashimura's final thoughts. This marks the third series we've completed this year, with still one more upcoming (Stop!! Hibari-kun!).
This series has never been easy. From the very first chapter, it was definitely one of the hardest manga we've scanlated to date, but now that it's over, it's left us wanting more stories of Hidaka-sensei and the unique relationship he shared with Higashimura and his other students. Higashimura has left us with an incredible tale of the powerful influence Hidaka-sensei had on her life, which we believe anyone reading it can relate to on some level no matter what stage of your life you're in. You could even read it at one stage of your life, and then re-read it 5 or 10 years later and get something completely different out of it.
That's why this could very well be a modern classic that is accessible to everyone because of how easy it is to relate to Higashimura through her countless moments of regret. It has been an honor to have worked on a masterpiece such as this, and we are grateful to have had the privilege to provide an English translation so more people can experience this story. We're thankful to Higashimura for sharing this story with all of us, and we're also thankful to Hidaka-sensei for all that he did for Higashimura, and the effect that he still has on her to this day. We will never forget this series, and we hope the same will go for you as well.
Below is an actual photo of Hidaka-sensei included on the last page of the volume (presented slightly larger here for better viewing):
Kakukaku Shikajika ch. 33: Mediafire, Dropbox
Kakukaku Shikajika ch. 34: Mediafire, Dropbox
I hadn't read this one at all as you guys where doing it, but on a whim I downloaded the last chapter just to see it, and I have to say that even just that ending with no context was so moving to me that I feel I have to download this and read it at some point.
ReplyDeleteI still feel like crying right now. But really, I'm really grateful that you guys worked on this manga, not to mention that your translation and quality are very good. It's a manga that I will treasure and will definitely reread (and would buy it, but I doubt it will get licensed, so hopefully I might buy the Japanese version someday). Thank you so much Hachimitsu! T^T
ReplyDeleteI teared up! Thank you all for translating this.
ReplyDeleteI really feel Higashimura is quite underrated. Her writing style is told with such quirky imagination and fondness, and her knack for comedy is wonderful! Thanks for bringing us Kakukaku Shikajika! It was fun to see and read her story.
ReplyDeleteCried like a baby for the last four chapters. I'll never forget this manga. Thanks for all of your hard scanlating work!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for having translated this series. While I've ready many great and wonderful manga, this one really resonated with me emotionally and I enjoyed every minute reading it. My Grandfather recently passed away, and while I was never close to him and only met him a handful of times (me growing up in the US and him living in rural China), Hayashi's regrets regarding the passing of Sensei felt very similar to my own.
ReplyDeleteI was on my way out to a friends house this evening when I noticed that these last few chapters were released and could not resist reading them before leaving. I didn't cry when I learned my Grandfather had passed, yet everything finally hit me while driving. I guess the impact of the ending combined with my Grandfathers passing and own regrets hit me really hard on the road and I found myself sobbing uncontrollably the road; I almost had to pull over.
Thank you again for all the work you put into translating this series.I'm so glad I got a chance to read this series and it's always going to have a special place in my heart.
Can't express my feelings. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this, both Hachimitsu Scans and Higashimura Sensei will be very special to me.
Wow, this was a fantastic series that really tugged at the heartstrings. Thank you so much for bringing this series to us.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this series, for your hard work, for all the translated chapters. Really, this is such a gorgeous manga and I'm so grateful to have been able to read it thanks to all of you. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteAs always, thanks for translating!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! I really enjoyed this manga
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for scanlating! :,) I love Akiko Higashimura so much. Do you know when Kuragehime's next volume will come out?
ReplyDeleteAt this time, no. Kuragehime is still on hiatus while Higashimura serializes her Tokyo Tarareba Musume manga in Kiss, but assuming Kuragehime comes back soon, the next volume might be out later this year, perhaps sometime between September and November.
DeleteThank you for choosing this manga to scantalate and share with us. It was a wonderful series.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your hard work!
ReplyDelete*weep*
ReplyDeletewhat that just started on randomly refreshing your front page looking for new Kuragehime ended with me finishing the whole thing at 11 pm
downloading at work
start reading it after work (around 7 pm) while speaking with my wife at phone
i know i have to finish this in one swept
great read
thank you
Thanks so much for translating this. I'm going through a shitty period of my life and following this manga has been inspiring. Lately I've been dreading reading the new chapters but I just had to finish it in one shot... I teared up when Ima-chan started crying. Such a special manga. Its definitely going in my favorites - under the "special favorites" category. I have a feeling I'll be coming back to it a lot when I need some perspective and motivation.
ReplyDeleteGreat job at translating. If it wasn't for you guys, I probably would never be able to read such inspirational masterpiece. Thanks to the author for writing such an amazing manga and Thanks to hachimitsu scans for translating and making it available to us. ^^
ReplyDeleteAnother extraordinarily good choice of manga to translate. And such a great job. Kudos and many, many thanks, guyz!
ReplyDeleteThank you for you hard work on this great manga!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Hachimitsu Scans, for delivering this masterpiece to us!
ReplyDeleteI never seen any manga quite like this. There's certain horror when it comes to writing autobiographical work, from exposing so much of oneself in public. The easy thing to do would be avoiding the tough topics and fluff up the details. What Higashimura-sensei did was brave, pulling no punches, and truly conveyed all the love, regret, and gratitude in the world for her sensei.
Strange, despite the intimate portrait for Hidaka-sensei, we really knew very little about him. A very strange man, if this was fiction readers would be yelling about how unreal he would be. Indeed, truth is stranger than fiction.
Thanks for the hard work!
ReplyDeletei read this series in its entirety this past week after seeing a cap of it on tumblr by chance, and since i recognized higashimura from kuragehime i decided to read it with no real context aside from it being autobiographical. this series resonated with me deeply and i ended up basically sobbing my eyes out as i read the last few chapters. this is definitely a series i'll be going back to every once in a while in the future. i'm very grateful for the chance to have read it, thank you so much for translating this series.
ReplyDeleteThis manga means a lot to me, without you guys and girls putting on the work I would've never had the chance to read this manga. Thank You.
ReplyDelete