Complete 1st Volume for Ginga Nagareboshi Gin! (2016 REBOOT)

[M-92 Mantis]

Click here for Download!

This download is our new 2016 reboot of the entire volume!

This link will give you a .zip file. If a link is dead or broken, please let us know here so we can fix it immediately. Thank you!

Reuploaded on May 25th, 2016.

--
This reboot has been retranslated, retypeset, and now includes the ending commentary given by manga artist, Buichi Terasawa, as he explains how he met Yoshihiro Takahashi and their friendship.

All of the giant, ugly, outdated typesetting I used to use years ago has been fixed and cleaned so that all of the older volumes of Ginga Nagareboshi Gin look just as nice as our latest ones. I want to give a huge thank you to the scanlation staff for their hard work, dedication, and helping me with the project during our summer vacation, as this is one of the only projects I can do as a lone translator without our main one to help me.

We also are using new fonts for certain situations; these will be updated in all of GNG and further volume reboots are being done as we speak. Reboot volumes will be released during summer vacation as we work on them.

Update:
An improved ToC has been added.
Our new logo has been added.
We've translated the opening page copyright and publishing info.
Chapters 1 through 3 have been nearly entirely rewritten for better translation. Chapters 4 through 6 have had the same treatment with less past mistakes and poor wording.
Double pages have been fixed so that they don't have a single broken line between them - a huge thanks to Ace for that!
Buichi Terasawa's four page interview has been entirely translated into a two page English one, with the Japanese one also included.


I hope you all enjoy!

[Tora]

Yay! Took away the other chapters I had and use these instead. ^^

[Lukrietz]

It's funny how it never really struck me how stupid Daisuke was, for bringing Gin with him to a dangerous situation, when I was a kid. Puppy Gin is immensely adorabs, though.

Another thing I realised is that I never reacted too much to Gohei's "training" of Gin, and how it was just plain animal abuse. The training where he has to dive for meat makes some sense, but to hit the dog with a log...? I guess as a kid I was just like "oh right, I guess that makes sense as a method of training", even though I've always been a big animal-lover I still managed some suspension of disbelief, but today it's just... no. Gohei's just an old drunkard who abuses dogs and kids, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that Akakabuto is actually a hero, trying to rid Ohu of the old man--
The abuse of Gin also got me thinking that it would have been very interesting if the abuse and its effects on Gin's mental health had been explored in the manga/anime, but of course... this is Yoshi we're talking about.

I'd forgotten how much I liked the dream sequence where Gohei kills Riki/the part where he chops his leg off, it's very unsettling, and I especially like the panel where he chops his leg off and it looks as if he's attacking Riki instead. Two other scenes I always found disturbing are the one where the injured guy crashes into Daisuke's family's house, and the part where Akakabuto's cub kills the rest of the hunters in the cabin. Especially the former really disturbed me, for some reason. I think a lot of the horror I feel stems from the sort of claustrophobic feel one gets, seeing as the story takes place in a small town, and how a lot of the time it's snowing heavily, making the fact that a horrific monster-bear is stalking around all the more horrifying, lol.

[M-92 Mantis]

I can never state enough how much I hate Gohei and the sort of 'defense' the narrator builds around him. It's not even really a defense, it's just an indifference. Everyone in the village notes how cruel Gohei is to his dogs, and Daisuke is so desperate to keep his poor puppy from being beaten to death since there was that insane ratio of all the puppies who die to the ones who manage to survive. In comparison to its predecessor, Bear Hunter Fubuki-gou, Juuzaburou was strict and harsh with his training, but the worst he ever did was push Fubuki back into the water because he didn't retrieve the kill. He didn't beat him, he didn't starve him, and he didn't manage to kill thousands of puppies as far as we know.

Everyone in the village fears or hates Gohei, but give contrived "oh well, nothing we can do" or "he's got the best bear hounds, so it's okay." I've never understood this; Gohei is most likely based on Yoshihiro's 'supposed' ancestor mentioned in the GDW Gaiden (right before Hanako's story, I believe), but I don't know why he'd like to inspire that into a drunk, senile, rude and abusive old man. The comparison to him and Hidetoshi was supposed to be that Gohei was based on heart and Hidetoshi was based on intellect... but I never felt a bond between Gohei and Gin, and the only reason he seemed to care about Riki was because he was the one dog he didn't beat senseless or scream at. I am also fairly certain that aside from harsh training and a demand of endurance, smarts and obedience, real Matagi didn't risk killing all of their Matagi Inu puppies with insane standards. Beating an animal at such a young age leads to crippling and stunted growth, along with psychological trauma. It's no better than the real thugs who beat Pit Bulls and abuse them so horribly in order to make them vicious and unstable. I have never once heard of torturing a dog to make it a loyal, independent stable icon of a hunting dog, nor have I ever heard of everyone in a story knowing it's a horrible practice and the narrator just trying to tell us Gohei is a determined amazing man because he's traditional. It's just abhorring.

As for the bear attacks, I never paid attention to the plot holes of why people somehow can't send any reinforcements to the little Akita village, so the bear attacks really do come off as suspenseful. Just imagine in real life a horde of bears (as big as dinosaurs for no apparent reason) decided to just start targeting people in a tiny community. People with only one dude who owns a crappy outdated rifle. It really is a scary thought, which made me not so bored in the beginning of GNG as it did for others.

[Genji]

A chance to rant about GNG and Yoshi's sense of the word "consistency"? Here I come!


Ha, Daisuke... Daisuke is pretty dumb. Or delusional. Which leads him to the same situation, anyway.
I can understand that he is still a kid and he can be childish and not realize the reality of things sometimes, but he's supposed to be some sort of resourceful kid from the country side. I'm sure that in the environment he lives in (and the time period) he had to do chores and have some self-reliance at some point. He's even portrayed as more informed than some high school/college students AND he lives in a secluded and small mountain village for Pete's sake. And for someone who is portrayed as caring and loving to dogs, I don't find the thought of bringing a puppy (who's only a week old at best) along in a snow storm, and possibly toward a great HUGE DEMON BEAR, a childish move. I consider it's either a retarded or a dick move. Even Hitedoshi, a seasoned hunter who seems quite competitive and rather obsessed with hunting, is better portrayed than the main "human protagonist" of the manga/anime.

As for Gohei... I never got how people could sympathize or defend him. Like the headman stated, it's pretty much his fault if Akakabuto has been such a pain. That is a fact. But how did Gohei reacted to that? By calling the headman a coward, and saying he would not need his help to kill the walking-disaster he created. This guy is just a jerk who acts big because he hunts bears and is rude to everyone. I don't get why he even exists... besides giving Gin and his whole bloodline a reason to have a conflict with Akakabuto... which is... not that much of good reason either. But he's traditional, or at least he's supposed to be in Yoshi's mind, so the guy pretty much got an invisible seal of approval across his face for the author. I never got that either.

Maybe that's just me who likes to draw parallels with Japanese culture/society, but I think all of this is (also) related to the state of mind back there. There's seem to be some sort of taboo surrounding traditions, in the sense that you must not ever question them because "elders are always right kiddo' you shut up and listen". There was a very, very interesting (and delightful) development about how such a reasoning can be destructive in Digimon, with Jyou's character. But that's the only counter-example I can think of.
There's also seems to be a general belief that you should not restrain yourself from giving (harsh) punishments to kids because "the world is cruel, kids should know that early" to the extent some of those can be downright abusive. This is a thing. Here, it's not really a kid in the literal sense, but Gin is a puppy... So I guess that counts.

Ha, but as much as I rant, there's one thing I liked about the beginning in the "human's little world": I love that the setting is actually more horror-based than action-based. Even if the fact that the town's villagers don't think to ask for outside help is weird, you can still sense the anxiety and you feel involved, or at least concerned for the villagers' safety . It could happen, and that makes it all the more immersible.

[Lukrietz]

Jul 17, 2014 14:42:51 GMT -7 M-92 Mantis said:

Everyone in the village fears or hates Gohei, but give contrived "oh well, nothing we can do" or "he's got the best bear hounds, so it's okay." I've never understood this; Gohei is most likely based on Yoshihiro's 'supposed' ancestor mentioned in the GDW Gaiden (right before Hanako's story, I believe), but I don't know why he'd like to inspire that into a drunk, senile, rude and abusive old man. The comparison to him and Hidetoshi was supposed to be that Gohei was based on heart and Hidetoshi was based on intellect... but I never felt a bond between Gohei and Gin, and the only reason he seemed to care about Riki was because he was the one dog he didn't beat senseless or scream at. I am also fairly certain that aside from harsh training and a demand of endurance, smarts and obedience, real Matagi didn't risk killing all of their Matagi Inu puppies with insane standards. Beating an animal at such a young age leads to crippling and stunted growth, along with psychological trauma. It's no better than the real thugs who beat Pit Bulls and abuse them so horribly in order to make them vicious and unstable. I have never once heard of torturing a dog to make it a loyal, independent stable icon of a hunting dog, nor have I ever heard of everyone in a story knowing it's a horrible practice and the narrator just trying to tell us Gohei is a determined amazing man because he's traditional. It's just abhorring.

Ugh, that kind of attitude makes me think of how contradictory people can be in real life, turning a blind eye to someone's troublesome behaviour because they have some kind of skill, which magically renders them immune to any sort of criticism. It's one thing to respect someone's talent despite them being a despicable person, and acknowledging this, and another entirely to look up to them whilst failing to admit their negative qualities.

Genji: The "elders know best"-mentality is very interesting, and gives some better understanding as to everyone's attitude, methinks. It excuses nothing of course, but gives some insight.

[Genji]

Lukrietz: Yes, certainly. That's one of those aspects of Japan that can be included in anime/manga but as a westerner (or just a person who isn't familiar with some codes/practices and so on) you just don't see it as a cultural thing. And those aspects can be very, very easily put in a situation where you just don't have any clues to help you understand what's going on, and you miss it. I recently learned that the thing with "elders knows best" is that it's not only just a belief, it has a very real and direct impact on people's lives... even for hierarchy in Japanese firms, and it's pretty crazy, overall. (I'll throw you the link if you're interested... and if I can find it again). So I guess that could be the main reason why everyone puts up with Gohei, even if that's probably not the only one ; I'm not an expert, and the way societies work are intricate. And that's not even counting psychology, which can have a role as well as you clearly pointed. 

[Lukrietz]

Genji: Oh yes, if you find the link I'd love to have it.

[Kit]

Jul 17, 2014 19:30:58 GMT -7 Genji said:

There was a very, very interesting (and delightful) development about how such a reasoning can be destructive in Digimon, with Jyou's character.

Someone who compares Yoshi's awful development with the awesomeness that is Digimon's, literally right after I've re-watched the original Japanese version of Adventure?! :trollicongasp:

:megustabishieplz: Genji I approve, so hard.

LOL, but in all seriousness, I wasn't really aware of how culturally ingrained that elders-know-better mentality was. I once went to a really authentic Japanese restaurant here in Seattle for my birthday, since I'd been there with my Japanese class a while back and it was really good... and we got this really elderly waitress who was fairly demanding. My uncle thought it was funny, but she scared the crap out of me by refusing to give me a fork (I cannot seem to develop the coordination to use chopsticks...) even though I knew they offered them, LOL. We had to ask a different waitress, and I wasn't sure if ours was just rude in her over-traditional-ness or if she didn't understand English very well, even though non-Japanese people go there all the time, so I know they all have to speak both languages.

Thinking back on it with that cultural logic in mind, it makes more sense. I still consider her ornery and bad for the place's foreign business, but it makes more sense all the same, LOL.

[Genji]

I don't claim to know all cultural aspects that are included in manga/anime (or outside of these medias) but yeah... there's actually a lot more than you might think. I learned all that by doing investigations and thanks to my curiosity, essentially. It made me realize how much Digimon Adventure is excellent in regard to development and addressing beliefs into a critical light. There's not only Jyou: there's Koushiro's situation as an adopted child and all the beliefs surrounding adoptions in Japan. And perhaps there's even more. (Sorry if this off-topic btw!)

[M-92 Mantis]

It's not off-topic, no worries. It's given as an explanation (or a theory of one) on why everyone lets Gohei act how he does.

I also agree on the "respect your elders" belief that is entirely different than our own here in the USA. People hardly even care to show respect to elderly people, especially with the way we treat them with retirement homes, hospitals, hospice, finances, veteran and non-veteran care, etc. I was taught to respect anyone older than me because they had experience with life and life's choices so that I should listen to them and be given advice instead of thinking they're just rude grumpy people. I'm not saying I don't get offended or angry when an elderly person becomes very rude and disrespectful towards me, but I do know that they've been through all of life's struggles and have seen way more than me, and I should be courteous no matter their behavior unless it is completely hostile. That being said, if my own grandfathers were drunk violent animal abusers I would call them out on it, but it's also different because apparently Gohei is the only dependable backup the village has against bears, since guns are in issue and most people in the village don't know the first thing about how to find or kill a bear. Gohei might be the type of person who just went in a huff and left the village on its own against the bears if he felt people were nagging at him about his methods and attitude.

[Ryan]

i noticed on page 12 Riki has what looks like scars on one of his sides, but later on its gone. anyone have an ideas on this? was Yoshi planning to make Riki look bad ass but decided to wait on the scars.

[Kit]

Nov 23, 2014 21:14:30 GMT -7 Ryan said:

i noticed on page 12 Riki has what looks like scars on one of his sides, but later on its gone. anyone have an ideas on this? was Yoshi planning to make Riki look bad ass but decided to wait on the scars.

Pretty sure Yoshi was just too lazy to remember his own continuity, like always.

[Deleted]

Jul 17, 2014 14:16:20 GMT -7 Lukrietz said:

Another thing I realised is that I never reacted too much to Gohei's "training" of Gin, and how it was just plain animal abuse. The training where he has to dive for meat makes some sense, but to hit the dog with a log...? I guess as a kid I was just like "oh right, I guess that makes sense as a method of training", even though I've always been a big animal-lover I still managed some suspension of disbelief, but today it's just... no. Gohei's just an old drunkard who abuses dogs and kids, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that Akakabuto is actually a hero, trying to rid Ohu of the old man--

I know this is an old comment, but...



I'm a musher and worked in a professional kennel for a while, with tens of racing dogs (some of the best in my country), so I have learned a lot about training methods.


Treating dogs with the same standards as humans is pretty recent. Until the 70's and 80's, beating was a comming practice while training working dogs. Then someone realized that there are better ways, but GNG is set before these modern days.

This is especially true for bear dogs. Now, I'm not an expert on Japanese bear dogs training, but from the series, I believe Gohei's dogs are something in between hunting dogs and war dogs. Their job is to keep the bear busy, while the old man aims and fires. They even attack the bear directly (!!!), even if just for diversion. This means they need to be used to fear and pain, and have no fear or death. In other words, just like war dogs. When dogs where actually used in the front line, beating them from a young age was the mainsteam training method. The only problem is: dogs back then hated their owners, and the trainers were easy to recognise because they were often mutilated.

But unlike war dogs, bear dogs in GNG need to listen to their master and avoid throwing away their life, which makes them more similar to hunting dogs. The training for hunting dogs also involved a degree of beating, but not as extreme as war dogs. For example, John in the first few episodes is a perfect hunting dog: he distracts the bear, without ever attacking directly.

So in my opinion, while Gohei's training was too hard to be 100% accurate, it isn't that far from the truth considering we're talking about a manga. I like to believe that in the series the author only showed us (the readers) the cruel parts of the training, because the old man clearly cares about his dogs.

[Kit]

@bucciamarcia to quote Rascal earlier in this topic, who has done quite a bit of research on Matagi and their dogs...

I am also fairly certain that aside from harsh training and a demand of endurance, smarts and obedience, real Matagi didn't risk killing all of their Matagi Inu puppies with insane standards. Beating an animal at such a young age leads to crippling and stunted growth, along with psychological trauma.

It's not about tradition or treating the dogs on a humanized level. (I believe GNG takes place in the 80's, anyway.) It's about practical facts. Why would someone beat up a puppy whose bones are not even fused, yet, and cripple it? It's no use to them. Same with killing it. Why would anyone breed dogs for a purpose, just to kill or cripple them, or make them fearful and disloyal? It's counter-productive, and even if everything goes to plan, hitting something is going to make it fearful of anything else hitting it, not courageously take blows or ignore its' own life. Quite the opposite. I highly doubt your dog is going to survive getting smacked by a bear, or shot, anyway.

I apologize if this sounds blunt or snippy, I don't mean it to. I just meant that we weren't arguing only the morals, but also the common sense in Gohei's methods. I personally find it disgusting abuse, but there's not even any logic to save any aspect of it and suspend disbelief just because it's a manga.

Also, no worries about replying to old topics/posts! Bringing up your opinion on something is always fine.