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frfr2013-12-30 02:13 pm
touchturnfly) wrote in frfr2013-12-30 02:13 pm
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High Speed! Pre-Session Post
Hello all! Just letting you know that we're one week away from the start of the High Speed! (re)read session. This is kind of a "sign-up" post except you don't have to sign up. In other words, this is a post where you can say 'hello!'. It's also a way for me to gauge the numbers as I have no idea what to expect.
- We have two translations circulating out there. The one by sunnyskies is unfortunately incomplete and I haven't seen signs that it will get updated in near future. The other one is by janeypeixes. I will link to both versions.
- Check my comments regarding anon, threading and shipping here. Please read the community's rules and guidelines if you haven't already.
- Tip: Use the track feature (
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Participants!
Optional: Introduce yourself. Who are you and why are you participating?
Re: Participants!
Hi, I'm fly. Mid-twenties. I live somewhere in Europe. Sometimes I translate stuff for fandom. I like to read and write (not for Free! though). I wear glasses.
I'm participating because I want to read the novel fully again. I haven't since the first time I read it, which was in July/August. My memory of the last couple of chapters is pretty much a blur. After that I only read excerpts here and there. Rereading it with multiple people seems like a good way to actually do it. I procrastinate a lot you see.
Re: Participants!
I'm in my early 20s and I'm another European. I do write, and for this fandom, though I haven't published anything yet.
I'm participating because... I want to read the novel again. I enjoyed the novel a lot actually, so I'd like to read it again. I also: have a bad memory and want to re-read because I've likely forgot a lot of the little details of the book; feel like I need to know a character really well before I should write them and finally, because ... I don't know how to phrase in a way that's not I have a lot of feelings but I, erm, have a lot of feelings. I just notice little things when I'm reading and think about them and get excited about them and want to talk about them and I suppose I could just post them on tumblr but what if I annoy people by cluttering up the tags with my rambling? I like to be unobtrusive but I also want to talk, it's a very unfortunate combination.
And that's me.
Re: Participants!
i really like high speed! and i'd really like to discuss it with others too because it often helps me understand something i didn't get or i can help someone else while helping me to put to words what i was thinking.
Re: Participants!
Re: Participants!
I really like Free! and High Speed! and much like most here,I really am participating in this in order to refresh my memories of High Speed!
Usually when enchanted with a novel,I tend to remember most of it,and partly I still do,but I had originally promised myself that'd I'd re-read the full thing after the end of the series as well..Which I still haven't done for some reason.
Hence,this seems like a great oppurtunity to do so,plus having people to talk about it sounds great and like lots of fun.
As for previous experience,I recall that I started reading it somewhere around late July-August,from sunnyskies' translations,and it really kept me good company as a read during that time.It also helped me very much to see the main characters under a different light,especially Rin and Makoto.Haruka also,but with Haruka it was a little different.I admit I would feel really awkward reading High Speed!Haruka,because..he reminded me a ton lot of myself.
Anyways,thing is,I never got to finish reading it,since sunnyskies never updated the last chapter,and tell you the truth I didn't even know there was another translation done,until very recently.And even though I knew there were summaries around in the net,I really didn't feel it would be the same as with reading the actual translations.To me it would feel like popping the bubble around I suppose,as if skimming through the pages.
I'm really looking forward to this and actually if time allows me,I will try reading each chapter from both translations available,just for the kicks : )
Re: Participants!
I'm Nova-- aka sugarblaster on tumblr. I read High Speed summaries and translations pretty early on as the series was airing. I consider it the base for how I interpret all the characters, so I consistently go back to it. I think this discussion will be awesome!
Re: Participants!
(Anonymous) 2014-01-07 12:01 pm (UTC)(link)I started reading the translations way before, but I seemed kinda lost after stopped for quite some time. I've heard people talking about the character changes in the book, so I'm rereading just to get the gist of it back.
Re: Participants!
Re: Participants!
Another 20-something European person. My interests and abilities are spread all over the place. I do a bit of everything really but not a lot of anything. Mostly I draw and do a lot of observing, interpreting/theorizing and especially babbling.
I'm a little late here but I've been meaning to attend this ever since I heard of it!
The novel was both enjoyable and surprising to me, so with all things I like, I'm eager to read it over and over, especially with company, which gives me the chance to see all the individual interpretations of others too! (especially without shipping googles. Shipping's fine but I do get tired of seeing it worm it's way into every discussion about anything ever)
Hopefully, this will also nudge me to post my own observations and thoughts that have been sitting in my tumblr drafts for weeks now.
Any previous experience
Have you read it before?
If not, why not?
If yes, when and how? Summaries, translations or straight from the source?
What were your impressions after the last reading?
Etc, etc.
Re: Any previous experience
I really enjoyed High Speed! I usually read other genres - most of the series I'm reading (books and mangas) are very... shounen. Lots of fighting and magic and sci fi. HS! was refreshing in contrast to those.
I liked the style of writing and I think it's what carried me through it. Although the characters are memorable and fairly complex, I was opening the next chapter more because I wanted to enjoy the writing than because I was eager to see how the plot would unfold. Maybe that can't be helped, because it's a novel about swimming. Not exactly the most riveting plot material, I guess.
Saying that, I really did like the characters. But since I had watched the anime beforehand, I had already became attached to characters and had my own sense of them. Maybe that robbed me of the novelty of meeting them in novel form and skewed my impressions of them a bit. I still enjoyed comparing them to their anime selves - a lot of my perception of them was coloured by this process, of pulling up their anime counterparts and slotting their characterization and backstory from HS! into them.
I have to admit though, during my first read-through I focused a lot on Haruka and Rin. They seemed to most interesting, plus they're such puzzles throughout most of the anime. The novel focuses on them and shines a light on them, so I don't feel too bad about concentrating so much on them, but at the same time Makoto and Nagisa have a lot more- how do I say it? More substance then they have in anime? They seem to receive more focus in the novel than they received on the screen. This time I'll read with an eye on them, so I can understand them a little better.
Re: Any previous experience
I went in with very... different expectations. The cover looked cheerful and the anime at the time was very comedic. The main characters were children and it's about swimming, so I thought it would be a light reading. Since I was one of the first to read the novel in the non-Japanese fandom, there wasn't anyone who could have warned me about chapter 2 and other things like that. lol.
Anyway, I love stories about friendship, so this went down pretty well. My perception of Rin changed the most (along with Makoto) while reading the novel. Haruka's character and his relationship with Aki was very familiar to me. Overall, the writing is good for a first novel. I liked the story on its own and how it gave the anime some more depth. For the rereading I want to pick up on things that I didn't catch on the first reading, especially towards the end.
Re: Any previous experience
it has a very... uh, distinct atmosphere? idk how to say it. also the way the kids are written is different from many cases i remember? some say they're like adults in kid's bodies, but the kids are trying all to be mature while several moments show that they're still developing emotionally. er, that was the impression i got. it was surprising because i thought it would just be all cute kid antics. when i read it the anime was still in its first half so i've been wanting to read it again.
Re: Any previous experience
From what I remember, I thought it was going to be cute fluff material when I first heard about it. I was curious if, without the fan-service appeal, a story about boys who swim could be interesting. While reading, I drawn in because it felt reminiscent of the non-animated films I grew up with and still really enjoy. I adore the characters and liked how each of them perceived their world differently despite sharing similar interests. If there is one thing I would take away from this book, it's that: just because a person's preferred activity is a sport, and not an art, it doesn't mean that they're not creative; imagination can be cultivated even in forms of expression that can't be interpreted into a 'language' that can be 'read', such as, competitive swimming vs synchronized swimming.
I must admit, I've been meaning to read sunnyskies's translations but haven't started yet. I'm excited about this event and hope to enjoy reading it with you.
Also on note, I get a little irritated when HS! is called a prequel to Free!, as in, Free! being the primary source material. I understand why that is, as Free! was what is primarily marketed, but I can't see Fr! as anything but a really well-written future-fic for High Speed!.
With the possibility that HS! vol 2 might not correlate with Fr!'s canon, I worry about canon-wars being a new source of conflict within this fandom. During this re-read, I hope to analyze the work both in how Free! adapts and builds upon it, and how it stands alone by itself, separate from Kyoani's influence.
Re: Any previous experience
I loved Free! from the start, and having read High Speed! gave me a deeper understanding of the characters that was very valuable for later episodes, especially since the flashbacks left out and changed some crucial stuff. It's been roughly half a year now, but my love for it hasn't faded in the least.
It was my first time reading a light novel in Japanese and translating it. Although I saw people saying that it's heavy, I didn't expect that each chapter would inflict such intense emotional pain. The writing style really captured me, and it easily became one of my favourite books because it left such a deep impression on me with its entire ambiance. I can't even really put it into words how much I loved reading it. (And I'm still dreaming of the day we'd get a High Speed! OVA that is an accurate adaptation of everything that happens from start to finish.)
I've been planning to reread it for a while (which is a rare occurence in itself, I don't often reread stuff), because I wanted to focus purely on the characters and the story, but I've only made it to the middle of chapter 2. So I'm hoping that reading it with other people will ensure that I make some time for it (though my exams are just starting and I'm working on another translation now... so I may not be too active for the first 3 weeks). I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's insights and the discussions it'll bring.
And feel free to ask questions about the translation. I still need a lot of practice before I'd be able to edit it, and I definitely don't have the energy and time for that now, but I'd gladly explain some of the word choices and stuff along the way. There's a huge gap between understanding and being able to translate something well, and I focused more on letting everyone read what the author wrote instead of trying to make it sound good in English, yet there are still some nuances that got lost along the way.
Re: Any previous experience
As with everything I read/watch I'd have preferred to read the original work, but due to my very limited knowledge of japanese, I just resorted to reading all the available translations/summaries.
My impression of the novel was ... surprising, mostly! I didn't know what I DID expect, since it was the first light novel I ever read, but neither did I expect it to be so good nor that it was so relatively serious when compared to the anime.
While the show at first just was lighthearted fun to watch for me, reading the novel I appreciated the additional depth it provided on the background and characterization. It really transformed everything into something more complex and interesting for me and marked the point where I started to take anything in Free! seriously at all.
Modly things
1. Anonymous commenting is enabled.
This is not an open invitation to trouble. This is more or less meant for people who have not (yet) registered at Dreamwidth for some reason. If I see anyone abusing this option, I will disable it until the reading session is over.
2. Thread format.
I'll start each chapter post with a "General impressions" thread. After that the floor is yours for any specific topics.
3. Shipping and discussion of canon material
I'm going to be clear about my own wishes for
I would like if discussion of canon material is not subjected to one's shipping interests. Why? Because I've often seen that it can become detrimental to the atmosphere. I don't want that kind of thing to happen here, so if possible I'd like if people leave their shipping goggles aside and enjoy the canon for what it actually is. I will likely mention this as a guideline in the rules & guidelines post.
If there are any questions or concerns regarding these or anything else, I'd like to hear about them. :)
Re: Modly things