Carol
The first real eye-opening moment I had was at a bookstore actually, my first week in Japan. I happened to be looking for some fictions by a good author, Yumemakura Baku, but was really in the wrong section of the bookstore without realizing it (because my reading skills aren't food enough yet to read most section signs in bookstores). However, a certain book suddenly jumped out at me. The title on the spine was written in Roman letters. CAROL.
For those who don't know, this book means a lot to me. I've never read it and it's probably not that amazing. From what I can tell, it's basically a slightly different retelling of Alice and Wonderland. However, like I said, this book means a lot to me. Why? Well, in 1988, there was a band in Japan called TM Network, and they were very popular. That year, their guitarist, Kine Naoto, decided to write a novel called Carol (yes, this same book I am talking about). To help Kine's sales, the band released an album called Carol. They also did a Carol tour and a few other things to promote Carol. The last thing they did that I can tell was a drama CD (basically a short audiobook) for Carol. However, on that drama CD, they had Carol's Theme sung by a singer near and dear to my heart named Takayama Minami. I found her version of the song about four ago and it compelled me to find out everything I could about Carol, including the novel. I asked several friends in Japan to try to track down the novel for me, but to no avail. Last year, I was finally able to download TM Network's Carol album, but that was about as far as I had come. Before I left for this trip to Japan, I had vowed to myself in private that I would not return to America without that book. So yeah, the book means a lot to me. I already decided that if I ever become a translator like I still want to, this is the first book that I am going to translate.
However, at that point, the book was staring me in the face. I remember thinking, "Is this a mirage? Is it real? If it is real, is it fate? Is it coincidence?" I took it off the shelf and held it carefully in both hands like it was some valuable glass vase or something. Then I chanced to examine the price tag. Keep in mind, this is an item that I have been looking for voraciously for the past four years and would have probably killed someone just to be able to touch it, let alone own it. So I look at the price tag. 105 yen. My brain exploded inside my head, and I fell to my knees in the bookstore with tears welling up in my eyes.
For those who don't know, 105 yen is less than a dollar. Like 98 cents. I was so happy I couldn't even contain myself. On the long commute home, I was holding the book like a newborn child, all the while humming Carol's Theme from the TM Network CD, tears still welling up in my eyes. I didn't care that I wouldn't be able to read the book for another year or so. I was just happy that I finally tracked the damn thing down.
And as far as Carol is concerned, I'm almost done. I have the Carol Tour Book, the Carol anime artbook (yes, they made an anime), the TM Network CD, the drama CD I alluded to before (which was another eye-opening moment in itself), and Asakura Daisuke's first CD which contains an instrumental remix of Carol's Theme. All I'm missing now is the actual anime (11/18 edit: nevermind; I just bought it...), the Carol single CD, the Carol tour video (if it even exists), and the necklace, which I would love to have someday.
It's kind of wierd wanting to possess things that you know little about. I do it very often, but don't really realize it. Like I said before, aside from the bare basics, I have no idea what Carol is about. I just want to collect it because I heard a song. Truly strange I'd think, though Rudi would disagree, I imagine. Then again, I want to make a video game just because I played through Final Fantasy, and I want to spend the better part of my life studing a mystic who has been dead for a millenium just because I saw a movie about him. Maybe these sorts of connections are the bonds that hold my future together? I don't really want to think too hard about that.
For those who don't know, this book means a lot to me. I've never read it and it's probably not that amazing. From what I can tell, it's basically a slightly different retelling of Alice and Wonderland. However, like I said, this book means a lot to me. Why? Well, in 1988, there was a band in Japan called TM Network, and they were very popular. That year, their guitarist, Kine Naoto, decided to write a novel called Carol (yes, this same book I am talking about). To help Kine's sales, the band released an album called Carol. They also did a Carol tour and a few other things to promote Carol. The last thing they did that I can tell was a drama CD (basically a short audiobook) for Carol. However, on that drama CD, they had Carol's Theme sung by a singer near and dear to my heart named Takayama Minami. I found her version of the song about four ago and it compelled me to find out everything I could about Carol, including the novel. I asked several friends in Japan to try to track down the novel for me, but to no avail. Last year, I was finally able to download TM Network's Carol album, but that was about as far as I had come. Before I left for this trip to Japan, I had vowed to myself in private that I would not return to America without that book. So yeah, the book means a lot to me. I already decided that if I ever become a translator like I still want to, this is the first book that I am going to translate.
However, at that point, the book was staring me in the face. I remember thinking, "Is this a mirage? Is it real? If it is real, is it fate? Is it coincidence?" I took it off the shelf and held it carefully in both hands like it was some valuable glass vase or something. Then I chanced to examine the price tag. Keep in mind, this is an item that I have been looking for voraciously for the past four years and would have probably killed someone just to be able to touch it, let alone own it. So I look at the price tag. 105 yen. My brain exploded inside my head, and I fell to my knees in the bookstore with tears welling up in my eyes.
For those who don't know, 105 yen is less than a dollar. Like 98 cents. I was so happy I couldn't even contain myself. On the long commute home, I was holding the book like a newborn child, all the while humming Carol's Theme from the TM Network CD, tears still welling up in my eyes. I didn't care that I wouldn't be able to read the book for another year or so. I was just happy that I finally tracked the damn thing down.
And as far as Carol is concerned, I'm almost done. I have the Carol Tour Book, the Carol anime artbook (yes, they made an anime), the TM Network CD, the drama CD I alluded to before (which was another eye-opening moment in itself), and Asakura Daisuke's first CD which contains an instrumental remix of Carol's Theme. All I'm missing now is the actual anime (11/18 edit: nevermind; I just bought it...), the Carol single CD, the Carol tour video (if it even exists), and the necklace, which I would love to have someday.
It's kind of wierd wanting to possess things that you know little about. I do it very often, but don't really realize it. Like I said before, aside from the bare basics, I have no idea what Carol is about. I just want to collect it because I heard a song. Truly strange I'd think, though Rudi would disagree, I imagine. Then again, I want to make a video game just because I played through Final Fantasy, and I want to spend the better part of my life studing a mystic who has been dead for a millenium just because I saw a movie about him. Maybe these sorts of connections are the bonds that hold my future together? I don't really want to think too hard about that.
posted by Me at 1:09 AM
1 Comments:
I saw reference to a video clip from the Carol tour here:
http://www.geocities.com/tmn_restart/tmn/TMhistory.htm so perhaps such a thing does exist.
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