The first month of 2024 is already over, and I’ve been rewriting, editing, and fixing information around the site when I can. First thing you’ll see on the list below is I had to fix a few pages related to Unico: Awakening. You’d be surprised by the amount of people visiting the site looking for Unico: Awakening info and news. Because I was afraid people venturing to the site may be confused by older information, I wanted to hopefully create more clarity.
Speaking of Unico: Awakening and the Kickstarter, I’ve been very excited about the more recent updates, and I can’t wait to finally read the manga and talk about it on the site. Believe me, I want nothing more but to gush and fangirl about the sneak peeks the backers have gotten to see. My brain is already wanting to figure out the events of the first book, and what the future ones will be based on. I want to see Gurihiru’s creative designs for certain characters and see how writer Samuel Sattin delivers the story to the entire series. Yes, waiting can be frustrating, but what’s that saying?
“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
I think that completely describes the current situation, don’t you think? Anyway, I’ll zip my lip for now. Check out the site updates below!
Updates!
- Updated the Unico: Awakening page and created a separate page JUST for news and big updates. The original page was getting clunky, having regular information, updates, interviews, and more, all on one page. I hope this helps others with finding specific information. In the future, I will update everything again once things have settled with the Kickstarter and Scholastic versions.
- Also went back and edited the older Unico: Awakening posts which featured links for the backer kits and preorders. While the backer kit page seems to be active still, being able to preorder or add to your order should have been deactivated back in October and November 2023 to allow a final count on items. I’m not affiliated with the Kickstarter, so I don’t want to cause any confusion for visitors finding that page. If you missed out on the Unico: Awakening book itself, no worries, Scholastic’s version will be out in August 2024.
- Added a few links to The Sphinxes in Unico editorial I wrote a while back. Linked to the Unico and the Kingdom of the Sun manuscript and the interview where Osamu Tezuka mentioned Marusu having a bigger part in an older manuscript. I mentioned them in Marusu’s section for Unico in the Island of Magic but did not have translations or more information about them during the time I wrote the article. In the future, I will update the article or create a new one with Unico: Awakening’s Sphinx information as the series is released. Can you tell I’m trying to be as spoiler free as possible?
- Updated the Unico in the Island of Magic (1983) page with more links and footnotes (those tiny numbers) to allow those interested to know where I’ve found the information used. I’ve had to translate a lot of Japanese texts, so on some links you’ll find my translation and the original Japanese text taken from the published materials. This allows others to review my sources if they wish to do so.
- Updated a few interview pages to make them easier to read. I noticed some needed more spacing, changes to font sizes, etc.
- Added and updated a few things to the Slovak Language page. I have provided a better English translation for the title as well as embedded a YouTube video featuring Chao/Katy’s song. If you have not seen this clip yet, I recommend it as the dub has adorable voices.
- Also updated a better English translation for the Czech dub title.
- Added the Phone section in Accessories. Like other sections, I’ll continue to add more as I go.
- Added the Decorations section in Housewares. This is where you’ll find posters, prints, and other items used to decorate. Right now there are only Japanese movie posts, but more to come soon!
- Added My Unico One Touch Button Safety Pins and a cute Tezuka Moderno washcloth to the Household Items section.
What am I working on now?
I rarely mention what I’m currently working on because I sometimes change my mind by the next month, but I’ve been trying to decipher and translate Yoshihide Nakano’s blurb from the Tezuka Fan Magazine. Nakano was the editor in charge of the First Grader version of Unico while it was serialized in Shougaku Ichinensei magazine from 1980 to 1984. Normally translations don’t take me THIS long, but Nakano’s text is interesting.
He switched out several kanji, hiragana, and katakana for alphabetical letters. Why he did this, I don’t know, but I’m assuming it was done in jest as he worked on magazines for children (or he’s a chaotic man with future vision and knew I’d be trying to translate it). Basically, any kanji or hiragana that makes the same sound as an alphabetical letter, he switched out. For an example, pronouncing the letter “Q” in Japanese is “kyuu” (きゅう or キュウ). The number “9” is also pronounced as “kyuu” (九), so when Nakano wrote the year “1979” he wrote it like this: “一Q七Q.” It’s like reading it as “sen Q nana Q,” but it’s supposed to be “一九七九” (sen kyuu nana kyuu).
Not sure if that made sense, but that’s what I’ve been doing here and there when I have time. The entire text has things switched out, so it’s been a challenge for me at my level. I definitely welcome anyone who is fluent or at a higher level of Japanese to check it out when I finally upload it to the site. For those who can read it, I often add the Japanese text after my translations.
That’s it for now! Thanks for checking out the updates! If there is anything you’d like me to research or look into, please contact me! I hope you enjoy visiting. To stay up to date on any news or updates, please check back often, join our newsletter or follow our Facebook page! I do monthly updates on the last day of the month, so definitely stop by!
You can also find me (Xellis) on Instagram and Twitter.
※ This isn’t news, but a quick reminder for those visiting this site. I’m a fan of Osamu Tezuka’s work and focus on the Unico series. I enjoy researching and sharing information, but I won’t upload any full comics, movies, soundtracks, or similar content. You will only find information and news on this site, but never hesitate to contact us if you’re looking for something specific that I may help you with.