January 12th, 2015 
AstroNerdBoy Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
僕は友達が少ない
Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends Volume 8
Haganai! Vol. 08 (manga)
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***SPOILER!!!*** Summary/Synopsis:
Highlights from this volume start with Yozora deciding that the club should compare notes after tests since she sees others doing that. However, after Sena not only remembers the test questions, but also has the right answers, Yozora tires of note comparison. Kodaka encounters a laid back young nun drinking a Coke who engages him in conversation. Kodaka is stunned to learn the nun’s name is TAKAYAMA Keito, the older sister of Maria. Keito and Maria have a contentious relationship, but Keito is grateful to Kodaka and the Neighbor’s Club for bringing Maria out of her shell.
Since Kodaka didn’t do well in recent tests, Sena invites him to her mansion to study. He gets nervous since this is his first time in a girl’s room, but is shocked to learn that Sena has photos of Yozora pasted all over her ceiling that Sena had taken in secret. Sena also has a wig Yozora wore, and she uses these items to remember the hardships and achieve success. After studying and goofing off with Sena, Kodaka is requested to spend the night. While taking a bath with Sena’s father, Pegasus expresses his concerns about Sena being bullied and Kodaka promises to protect her.
Keito dumps Maria off at Kodaka’s house, much to the chagrin of Kobato. However, the two get along well in their strange sort of way through playing video games. Keito frequently calls to check on Maria until she picks her up the following day. Later, the club has a victory party where they decide to play the King’s Gae. Kodaka tries to keep things sane by having people write orders on a paper to be drawn, but it still results in nuttiness. When Sora and Kodaka have to kiss, Yozora stops it. Kodaka learns he is betrothed to Sena when his father gives him a phone call.
So far, Haganai has been a series that has just been OK. While this volume was funnier and more enjoyable, it doesn’t elevate the series above average.
The funniest part of the manga is the introduction of Sister Keito. She’s so uncouth and not what one would expect from a nun. I laughed at how she sits, scratches her bottom, and even farts, all things most girls wouldn’t do, much less a nun. I liked her character, especially when she decided to address Kodaka as “oniichan”, the same as Maria. (Keito is supposed to be 15.)
Introducing Keito allows for Maria’s character to get developed a bit more, which was nice. Maria’s visit to Kodaka’s and Kobato’s home was a fun story. Kobato lives in her chuunibyou state and shuns people, but she really got into playing video games with Maria, to the point that despite saying she hopes Maria doesn’t ever return, she’s practicing her video games for when Maria does return.
The King’s Game was pretty fun, more so because of Kodaka’s attempt to keep it sane. Yozora’s freaking out at the notion of Sena and Kodaka kissing keeps the narrative that she is in love with Kodaka, but doesn’t want to admit it. One wonders when this will come to a head, especially with the twist ending.
As an aside, I loved the shout out to Lupin III in this story. ^_^
Kodaka’s visit to Sena’s house appears to have been part of the staging for the surprise twist at the end, where it is revealed that Sena and Kodaka are betrothed. Sena’s stalker-like obsession with Yozora is freaky, but then a lot about Sena is freaky. Her reasons for having Yozora’s photos and wig makes a weird sort of sense in Sena’s quest to become successful, though that is NOT the route I’d have gone.
On the Seven Seas side of things, Japanese honorifics are retained in the adaptation. There are six color pages at the front of the manga. There’s a brief preview for the next volume, an afterward Itachi-sensei, and character commentary on the various chapters. So pretty much the standard stuff.
In the end, this volume was pretty enjoyable, but I’m still not really firmly gripped by this series.
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Her name is Kate Takayama not keroro.God, this translation sucks.
Not having seen the raws, I don’t know how the name was “spelled” out. Further, I don’t know if there was an official English spelling specified for the name. Sometimes that happens (Fairy Tail for example).
Her Official name according to the raws is Kate…The translators of this series just didn’t give a shit..
So the English letters K-A-T-E are used? I’m just asking because I haven’t seen the raw.
That aside, since Maria is her sister’s name, it would make sense for her name to be “Kate” instead of “Keito.”
Actually…Yes. Yes it is written out in English as Kate.Which what’s makes this so infuriating https://s15.postimg.org/u48aaricb/Screenshot_2016_11_09_08_41_07_01.png
This means they when out of their way to get her name wrong.
Thanks for letting me know. I wonder if they’ll fix the name in future volumes.
Kate Takayama not keito
I think what happened was that Kate’s name wasn’t written in English in the volume she was first introduced. So the translators translated the literal Japanese corruption of the English name Kate :”Keito”. In the volume after she appears her name is written out in English among the rest of the characters. They probably realized they f#cked and instead of admitting their mistake and correcting it. They decided to keep calling her keito and change all instances in original manga where her name is spell out K-A-T-E to Keito. To match their mistranslation.Hell, even the English dub of the anime calls her Kate.They literally gave no f#cks when translating the manga.
This is very likely. I’ve been fortunate to talk to some official translators about their name choices. They do the best they can until they get an official spelling from the author.
What volume was it actually spelled out in English? I’m loath to say they don’t care. Too often, I’ve learned that translators don’t get all of the materials they should and make the best guesses they can. This is more of an issue with anime than manga though.
Her name is written out in English as “Kate” in ever volume since volume 9 , in the character summary page in the beginning of each book in Japanese manga. You can get the raw at ebookjapan.jp(you can preview the first few pages for free, but you’ll have to pay for the full book.)
It’s been a few years now and they’re still calling her Keito. So chances are they are never going to address it or fix it. In fact, they did the opposite they change all instances in original manga where her name is spell out K-A-T-E to Keito.To match their mistranslation.I guess I’m overreacting,But it does bug me quite a bit.
And the fact they got her name Kate’s name right in the English anime but not the manga is quite baffling.
Well, two different companies are doing things. One does the manga and one does the anime. 🙂
That reminds me, I need to read volume 9. I think I have it in the massive stack of manga I’ve not read yet.