Burning

Shun: Hi! This is the page where we answer some of the Greenwood fans'
questions.

Mitsuru: Oh, no. They're not going to ask. . .

Shun: Yup! [Holds up card] Question one: "Are Mitsuru and Shinobu gay,
or are they just friends?"

Hasukawa: [Sweatdrop] Like we didn't see *that* one coming.

Mitsuru: Aw. C'mon. Give it a *rest* already, willya?! We are
*ABSOLUTELY* *POSITIVELY* --

Shinobu: Just write "Yes" and send it back.

Shun: 'Kay! [Scribbles]

Mitsuru: [Sputters] W- Waitaminute!

Shinobu: [Calmly] Would you prefer a *longer* answer?

Mitsuru: [Sulks]

Hasukawa: [Aside to Shun] Notice how that wasn't really an answer. In
either case.

Shun: Okay! Question two! "Are the manga over, where can I get them, and
how much will it cost me?"

Hasukawa: [Mutters] Cost? Just your sanity.

Mitsuru: [Smacks Hasukawa with a rolled up magazine]

Hasukawa: Ow! Sempai, please feel free to stop hitting me!

Mitsuru: Then keep your snide remarks to yourself!

Shinobu: Feeling better?

Mitsuru: Yes, thanks.

Shinobu: The manga are, unfortunately, finished. The last tankouban,
number 11, came out in 1991.

Mitsuru: [Brandishing magazine in Hasukawa's face] Don't even *think*
about saying it.

Shun: [Aside to Shinobu] Sempai, I don't get it.

Shinobu: He's being self-conscious again. Ignore it.

Shun: 'Kay! . . .Anyway, you can get the manga from Kinokuniya
Bookstores (multiple locations) or Sasuga Bookstore (Boston). You can
either visit in person and hope they have the manga in stock, or order over
the phone. Sasuga Bookstore will take orders over the Web, too. Have the
ISBN numbers of the volumes you want ready -- that will make ordering
much easier. Visit "Charles Hurst's Manga ISBN Listing" webpage first,
then visit Kinokuniya and Sasuga's webpages to get their phone numbers
and directions on how to get there. Links to these sites are on the links
page.

Mitsuru: Kinokuniya's web site is in Japanese, so don't freak out when you
see it. When you call, they also answer the phone in Japanese, but don't
worry, they speak English too.

Shinobu: The small tankouban originally cost 390 Yen each, but expect to
pay approximately US$6-7 per tankouban. They're out of print, but you can
still find copies at bookstores and on eBay. If you want the "Wideban"
versions, which have all 11 tankouban condensed into 4 large volumes,
expect to pay about US$20 per volume. The widebans have some color art
in them, which makes the higher price worth it. Finally, there are the
keepsake "bunkoban," which contain all 11 tankouban condensed into 6
volumes. The bunkoban cost about US$11 per volume. They don't have
any color art, and they're actually *smaller* than the tankouban, but they're
printed on higher quality paper, and they're still in print, which counts for
something, I suppose.

Hasukawa: Are you kidding? That's sixty-six dollars for the whole set of
tankouban -- or bunkoban! And eighty dollars for the widebans!

Mitsuru: Thanks, Einstein. Yeah, it's expensive, but it's worth it. After all,
you *do* get to see me in my underwear.

Hasukawa: [Rolls his eyes]

Mitsuru: And what about the time Hasukawa thought he killed Shinobu?
That was priceless.

Shinobu: I could have done without the screaming.

Shun: And the time Nagisa tried to ruin the school festival! Scary!

Mitsuru: Aw, you just want to show off how you can run in a dress.

Hasukawa: Look who's talking.

Mitsuru: [Grins] I can fight in a dress, too. -- And who can forget
"Shinobu's limbo dance?"

Shinobu: [Slightly bored] I didn't actually do it. -- Isn't there another
question?

Hasukawa: Yeah. Question three: "Where can I get translated manga?"

All: [*sweatdrop*]

Mitsuru: You can't. Sorry.

Shinobu: Not precisely true. This site, along with @nime Asylum,
dorm212, [boy's dorm] and the Here is Greenwood Homepage, has all of
the translations that we're aware of, but there may be others. Also, I've seen
an on-line manga store which offers to translate manga for a fee. They
charge $3.50 per volume, which is extremely reasonable. You have to buy
the volume from them, of course. The translation is provided on a separate
piece of paper. Unfortunately, their translation service is currently booked
until 2002, but you can visit their site.

http://www.aclimatesolution.com

Hasukawa: [Sweatdrop] Given the rate of translation around here, 2002
doesn't seem all that far away.

Shinobu: I've calculated that at the current rate it will be just over twenty five
years before the entire series is posted here.

Shun: Twenty five years?! We could be *grandparents* by then!

[Silence]

Mitsuru: Is there something you haven't been telling us, Shun?

Shun: [Blushing] Uh, no! Nothing! Never mind. . .

Mitsuru: [Aside to Shinobu] That Aki-san works fast, doesn't she?

Shinobu: She has a lot of lost time to make up. After all, as a former
lesbian, she's probably never even --

Hasukawa: Aaaaauugh! [Runs from the room clutching his nose.]

Shinobu: [Continuing unperturbed] -- gone to the *movies* with a boy.
Hmm. I wonder what Hasukawa thought I was going to say.

Mitsuru: Oh, something crude, like --

Shun: [Scrabbling for a card] Uh, there's *gotta* be more questions around
here somewhere! Umm. . . [In desperation] "What happens when an
irresistible force meets an immoveable object?"

Shinobu: [Glancing at Mitsuru] The inevitable, of course.

Mitsuru: Well, *duh*.