Chica x Ikkoku-kan Redux

{Spoilers warning}

In a previous post, I pointed out the influences of Rumiko Takahashi's classic Maison Ikkoku that showed up in Umino Chica's "Honey & Clover". The direct influences fade in her later work "March comes Like a Lion", but are still present.

The biggest similarity is the tragedy that pervades the main characters' pasts. While tragic pasts are a common theme in fictions of many types, it is a common thread that links Takahashi with her mentor Mitsuru Adachi. In Maison Ikkoku, Kyoko and Godai are continuously haunted by Soichirou's spectre. The main characters of Adachi's "Touch"are similarly influenced by the death on of the two twin brothers.

In "March comes like a Lion", the shogi [1] pro and protagonist, Rei was an orphaned at an early age by an auto accident. None of relatives are willing or able to take him in. A friend of his father asked Rei if he liked shogi. Rei lied 'yes' in hopes of being adopted by the shogi pro. After being adopted, Rei became stronger than his foster father's natural born son and daughter and became the apple of the man's eye.

The guilt of stealing their father drives Rei to live on his own while still in high school and reinforces his natural shyness toward and distance from his classmates. In Maison Ikkoku, Kyoko resists love in the present to preserve her love for Soichiro in the past. Both authors skillfully work the tragedies into their character's relationships and behaviors, showing the influence of the influences as opposed to merely telling. Successfully using tragedy marks Takahashi's positive influence on Chica's work.

The less subtle similarities lies with the characters' names. Rei's rival, intruder, and friend is named Nikaido, which is also the name of a resident of Ikkoku. Rei's own name connotes zero; Otonashi Kyoko's family name translates to "No Noise".

Umino Chica also gives the golden hearted hostess the name Akari, which has some passing resemblance to the ruckus raising hostess Roppongi Akemi in room 6 of Maison Ikkoku. Ironically, Rei's villainous is named Kyoko and is nearly the diametric opposite of the sweet Otonashi Kyoko.

[1] shogi is basically Japanese chess.

State of the Manga Industry

Here are excerpts from the excellent retailers at the Anime Corner Store newsletter:

"This may be happening under the radar for many of you, but the US manga market is quickly transitioning into a 'rare' books model similar to what regular US Comic book dealers have been for decades. Hundreds of older manga issues have already gone out of print, and this year the process has been accelerated by a truly awful consumer economy. And a lot of this has been happening under the radar because past print runs were too large and the overhang of book inventory has remained in the supply chain for a long time, even after the decision as been made not to re-print them, at least until now. We, on the other hand, see the process in real time as every week manga volumes sell down and when we go to re-order some copies, that might have been available last week, are now sold out and listed as no longer in print. The manga publishers, for the most part, don't usually give us official lists of what's going 'out of print' either, they just decide not to reprint and once existing stocks dry up the books are no longer available for 're-order'. Tough luck Mr. Retailer if you didn't buy enough copies to begin with. Tough luck Mr. Customer if you didn't buy it when it first came out.

Now before you manga collectors out there start going crazy over this, let me remind you that there have probably been around 8,000 or 9,000 manga volumes published in the US over the last 10 years, and those backissues could not stay in print forever, so it was inevitable that the manga companies would eventually reach a point where they just start letting series go off the market en-mass as their sales cycles wind down. The process has really accelerated in 2009 though, and I'd guess that by years end there will probably be at least 1,500 older manga volumes that are no longer in print, and I would estimate by the end of 2010 fully half of the previously released catalog of English language manga will be out of print."

I guess that I'd better pick up the pace with collecting the Swan.

Umino Chika Does it Again

In March comes in like a Lion [1], Chika blew me away with the final chapter of volume 1. The series is still slice of life, but quickly culminates into a poignant story of an orphan growing up.

Her art transitions from the goofy to the sublime.

While there was a sharp dividing line between the personal and the derivative sides of Honey & Clover, 3gatsu seems more natural and united. I hope that this works comes over. I guess that I've got to do my part - cha-ching.

[1] 3gatsu no Lion - currently scanlated by Be With You Scans & SCX Scans.

Alpine Rose: Old School Lovin'

My latest Ivy Scans assignment is Vol 2, Chapter 1 of Akaishi Michiyo's Alpine Rose. It's the story of a poor young lovers set in Switzerland on the eve of World War II. The girl Jeudi was found by Lundi in a field when they were children. Lundi [1] had also lost his parents and was being raised by his Aunt and Uncle. At the earliest time possible, the Aunt and Uncle packed away Jeudi to work in a nearby town [2].

She was happy with her work for a time, but her old boss passes away and is replaced by a tyrant who tries to violate her. Jeudi flees to her only sanctuary, which is with Lundi. Lundi's aunt and uncle try to make her go back, but he stand up for her. While this mess looms over them, they accidentally the two get tangled up with a philandering noble, and then then adventure really get started.

From the start, Jeudi & Lundi are fond of each other with the uncomplicated ease of children. The night of Jeudi's arrival, they curl together in the same blanket. She is not content to sleep in the bed if he must sleep on the floor.

At the start: Close, but not quite lovers.
AKA Friends WITHOUT Benefits

The stakes rise once the Count Gourmont enters the picture, and Jeudi and Lundi rise to the occasion. Lundi incurs the wrath of Gourmont by protecting Jeudi's pet cockatoo, then Jeudi confronts Gourmont after the Count strikes Lundi. And so it goes. They have nothing but each other, and they hold on with everything they have. Their pure feelings transition from childhood fondess to the first declarations of romance.

Jeudi does not fear to stand up for her man!

This manga was published in the early to mid '80s. What were remarkable were

1. the lack of angst
2. the external conflict
3. the strength of both Lundi & Jeudi in the face of this conflict.

Karekano was the first shojo work that I got into. In the first half of the anime, most of the conflict is internal and, boy, is there ever a streak of angst that runs on after the couple gets together. Souichirou Arima is plagued with powerful doubts, and Yukino is little better.

Most modern day shojo (as I've complained about before) focuses on or degenerates (Lovely Complex) into focusing on the feelings itself. While love is important in this earlier work, it is one aspect of the story, not the encompassing theme that it's become. The later works seem to have not only romance, but a morbid fascination with meta-romance: ruminations about the feelings of love, the effects of romance, what it's like being in love, etc.

Akaishi wrote "Alpine Rose" when she was in her twenties. Her parents lived through the reconstruction. However, Karekano is two generations distant from that time of deprivation, which is safely relegated to black and white images and stories from the senile side. The internal conflict may speak more clearly to the current generations, but I have my doubts that this is positive development.

The internal conflicts also mean that the mind is sliced and diced as each emotion is dissected. This calls for shades of gray, which can become a pall if there is too much angst. In Alpine Rose, the attacks from without are met with grit and clarity by both Lundi and Jeudi. It is telling that
in this portrait, both of them are clad in armor:

No need for damsel in distress.

While I enjoyed Karekano [3], the clear strength of Jeudi & Lundi have become the exception. And the old has become new again.

[1] I have trouble remembering that Lundi is the guy. I associate the moon with a woman, so it's counter-intuitive for me.
[2] This was translated as "shop" or "beverage shop". The frame says "Schloss", which is German for castle. It could be a bar or beer hall or tavern.
[3] Especially Yukino's moral damage.

Quick Manga Recommendations

"Watachi no Tamara-kun" (Our Tamara) scanlated by SCX Scans
"Yankee-kun to Megane-chan" currently scanlated by rycolaa
"C-Blossom Case 729" scanlated by Condensation
"Holy Land" currently scanlated by Illuminati-Manga

One Shtik to Rule the All

The first time that I heard the title "My Heavenly Hockey Club" [1], I automatically put it on my auto-pass list until I heard the author's name: Ai Morinaga. The mangaka behind "Your and My Secret" [2] and "Yamada Taro no Monotogari" [3] has been called appalling, and I have to agree, though she is also appallingly funny.

In each of her works, there is one bizarre conceit that is presented and then explored, extrapolated, and exploits the situation until it becomes a self-contained microcosm of madness that becomes everyday. In "Your and My Secret", the main characters are a girly-man and a barbaric girl who switch bodies and find out that they are more compatible with their new gender roles.

"Yamada Taro" follows a dirt poor youth who seems princely and rich. Morinaga manages to squeeze humor out of a normally serious situation by stretching it to its absurd limits and mixing in some innocent and not-so innocent bystanders for the reader to laugh at. The prime victim is Ikegami who falls for Yamada, since he's a prince and then realizes he's poor, but stays stuck on him.

"My Heavenly Hockey Club" is no less subtle. It is a blatant parody of "Ouran Host Club" and even has its own man-'ho host chapter in volume 3. For those who haven't been exposed to the other Haruhi, the heroine in "Ouran" damages a rare vase at her prestigious high school and is roped into joining the host club as a cross-dressing hostess. "Hockey Club" similarly begins with the plebian Hana, who is borderline narcoleptic, sleepwalking to school. She is hit by a rich boy's car. Since his field hockey club is short a member, he uses the car's damage to blackmail her into joining the all-boy's hockey club. Like "Ouran", much is made of the patrician and plebian divide.

Ouran Host Club [4]

Not Ouran

And that exhausts my limited knowledge of "Ouran". To continue with "Hockey Club", the newly established field hockey team attempts to play a match. Since there are no other teams nearby, they use the club's considerable resources to get into stupid situations. Hana is tempted along, because she is a slave to the basic pleasures in life: sleeping, eating, and bathing (really, soaking). The rich boy Izumi initially treats Hana as his personal toy, not in an ecchi way, but as an object for his own amusement.

As the club stumbles from disaster to disaster (meeting a bear, eating magic mushrooms, getting lost in a jungle), Izumi develops an attachment to Hana. The lack of physical attraction on Izumi's part, his fear of ghosts, and his general ambivalence toward girls adds up to a kid-like feeling to this budding romance. As Izumi bumbles from one chapter to another, he seems like a grown up child, simultaneously shielded by his wealth and landing into mayhem because of it. If he sounds like an annoying person, you would be correct.

But you must remember, when reading Ai Morinaga, you aren't laughing WITH the cast, you're laughing AT them. [5]

= = =
[1] Originally licensed by ADV, this is now licensed by Tokyopop. [6]
[2] Currently fan scanlated by the NCIS group.
[3] Licensed by Del Rey.
[4] Combine the kid and the tall blond and, voila, you've got the girly guy in the middle of the "Hockey Club" shot.
[5] The dividing line between a tragedy and a comedy is that, in a tragedy, misfortune befalls someone you respect. I've forgotten the source for this.
[6] With new, unimproved, and unnavigable site!

Kappa Ball - Eva Link

Momoe from Oofuri Anime Eps. 6

As a follow up to the Kappa Balls post. The coach Momoe looks to be casted from the same mold as Misato-san.

Recommended Scanlations: Kappa Ball & an Inverted Aunt

Today, I have two recommendations from manga scanlations. The first is Higuchi Asa's "Ookiku Furikibatte" [1] or Oofuri. It's been made into an anime series already. The quickest description would be: what if Ikari Shinji played baseball? The main character's actual name is Mihashi Ren.

Ren loves baseball. He is caught looking in on the baseball team during practice and is dragged into the team meeting by the manager Momoe. Once Momoe learned that he was a pitcher in Jr. High, she tries to make him the ace. Strangely enough, he refuses. Ren confesses that his teammates hated him in middle school, because he was put into the position by his grandfather who owns Mihoshi Academy. They also lost every game with him at the helm.

The catcher tests Ren and finds out that he lacks power, but has incredible accuracy. The first roadblock to Koshien is Ren's insecurity stemming from his previous team's ostracizing him.

Ren (bottom) in action confronting his old junior high team.

Hisaguchi is effectively at creating and growing her characters, which takes Oofuri beyond just-another-baseball-manga. It's a human journey with lots of weird and quirky travelers. The artwork is effective, the action is well paced, and the writing is skillful, making Oofuri a standout work.

Ren in Kappa-deformed mode

The second recommendation is Unita Yumi's "Usagi Drop", which was scanlated by the relatively new group J-sis. J-sis, Josei Shoujo Independent Scans, specializes in older shoujo and josei, which is a welcome change of pace from the dominance of shoujo and shounen.

The story starts with 30 year old Daikichi who is attending his grandfather's funeral service. At the memorial, he runs into a quiet girl named Rin. He is shocked to find out that Rin is his grandpa's illegitimate and unwelcome daughter. Little Rin is actually his aunt.

After the memorial, all of his relatives want to pass off Rin and even talk sending her to government services. At that point, Daikichi becomes disgusted and rashly offers to take her in.

On the surface, "Usagi Drop" is reminiscent of "Baby and Me" [2], "Aishiteruze Baby" [3], or obliquely of "Asatte no Houkou" [4]. However, the snarky Daikichi and silent Rin gives it a very different atmosphere from these other works. Unita manages to connect the characters through the deceased grandfather with feeling, without resorting to sentimentality. The quiet main characters are also well served by Unita's clean dark lines.

Daikichi & Rin share a quiet moment.

Another well placed element is Reina. The other adults favor her energy. She also repeats and reflects the opinions of the adults, which are conventional and spiteful. Both of these aspects annoy Daikichi.

Daikichi spending a less quiet time with his niece Reina.

So far Daikichi comes across as a stand-up guy, who isn't popular because of his honesty. He is a sympathetic and realistic. "Usagi Drop" has a lot of potential, much of which depends on what Daikichi decides to do next.

The character designs are also fresh and well drawn. We can hope that more character driven works like Oofuri and "Usagi Drop" get brought over in the near future.

[1] Volume 1, most of 2, and parts of 3 scanlated by Entropy. The end of Vol 2 to 6 scanlated by Raep Time as of this entry.
[2] "Baby and Me" features a boy that takes care of his little brother in the absence of a mother. Featured in Shoujo Beat by Viz.
[3] "Aishiteruze Baby" has idiot, bishounen Kippei become a surrogate parent for his adorable cousin Yuzuyu. This one has a lot of heart. The anime is more focused than the manga. I count the lead female's unusual voice acting as a plus. The manga is available in the US an a takubon under the Shoujo Beat imprint.
[4] "Asatte no Houkou" starts with a man taking care of a young relation Karada. Karada makes a wish with her guardian's ex-lover and manages to switch ages with her. Things become awkward in a hurry.

English Adaptation/Proofing

I just finished proofreading my 2nd assignment for Ivy Scans. From what I've seen, scanlations are usually broken up into 4 roles: scan, translate, edit/typeset & proof/QC. Scanning is the transfer from paper to digital copy.

Translation is usually from Japanese or Chinese to English. The first one that I worked on Desert Storm Story 3 passed from Japanese to Chinese to English. The second "Hana Saita" is directly from Japanese to English.

Editing seems to focus on visually cleaning up the scan. I've seen the raw scans and realize how much work goes into a cleaned up version that you see on their website. Typesetting transfers the translation onto the digital image. In a one-otaku show like Janimes, one font fits all. The Ivy Scan team has its own standards, I was impressed when I first saw it. They're more organized than my workplace when it comes to presentation.

What is called proofreading by scanlators is known as English adaptation to professional translators. In theory, the translator should be able to skip this step. In reality, there are precipitous gaps between languages and a wide gulf between readable English and enjoyable English. An example of a gap between East Asian languages and English is the "identifier". I'm not a linguist, so my explanation may be off, but in Japanese and Chinese there are words that specify a round object or a machine or tool.

For example, we say "three sheets of paper". Sheets identifies the paper as a flat, thin object. The difference is that objects take on identifiers the majority of the time, also there are a bunch of identifiers. We don't say "six machines cars" or "three round-objects balls". A common Chinese joke is the kid that mixes up the identifier and object. Now imagine trying to translate that. In construction, we often say "it is what it is" when it comes to prices. The same tautology gives a reality check in languages.

As for the gulf between muddling through a story and liking it, I will paraphrase a business writing teacher and say "we work hard so the reader doesn't have to".

Quality control is the final check of the cleaned up and text set scan, ready for public consumption.

Anyway, I've always thought that Ivy Scans produced high quality scanlations, so I'm happy to be contributing and hope that I can keep up.

03/22/08 Addendum: Innocent Dragon Chapter 1a is out, it's the first work that I contributed to. I was excited.

Ashita no Ou-sama (Tomorrow's King)

The fan group Wingtip Cafe recently translated Yachi Emiko's "Ashita no Ou-sama". This work dates from 1996 [1] and follows a Japanese Literature student Sasaya Yuu. Yuu is a country bumpkin and stands out from her modish classmates. The story starts out when Yuu sees a live theater production for the first time, which ignites her passion for drama.

The art work is distinct from most of the character designs put out today, but doesn't feel dated. The author also has a great eye for detail. Yuu wears neat and conservative clothes. She also uses the postal system [2] instead of credit cards. I've read up to volume 1 chapter 3, which is all that's out, and this is a well paced and well drawn series with an appealing main character.

My older brother made some observation, which I am fleshing out.

1. There parallels between Yuu and Kitajima Maya from "Glass Mask" [3]. Yuu is a hick [4] and Maya starts out as dirt poor. Her mother is a helper at a noodle shop in the Yokohama Chinatown. During the early part of "Glass Mask", they board in the upper level of the noodle shop. Both young woman are strangers in a strange land in modern Tokyo.

Maya's passion for drama ignited when she saw a professional production of "La Traviata". Yuu similarly started by going to the theater. Yuu also shows an uncanny talent for drama, though she is more of a theoretician to Maya's acting talent. With their passion ignited both women also take the next step toward acting: joining a troupe. Both naive women stumble, uninvited and derided, at the doorstep of major troupes.

The structures of the stories sharply diverge as Yuu helps out at a small amateur troop. It seems to be more modest than Maya's frontal assault on the national stage in "Glass Mask".

They also come into the acting world cold and attempt to apply to experience acting troops that are way out of their league. Where Maya is discovered by the mysterious Tsukikage, Yuu starts out modestly in a small acting troupe.

The parallels are noticeable, but do not detract from the story. As an outsider, it is actually refreshing tag along with a fellow outsider into Tokyo college life.

2. "Ashita no Ou-sama" is also a throwback to mangas when shoujo heroines strove for a non-romantic goal like contemporary shounen heroes. More shoujo stories seem like Lovely Complex, where Risa pursues Otani and gives little thought to her own future. In "Glass Mask" and "Swan" [5], the passionate protagonists pursue their life dreams.

Compare this to "Fushigi Yuugi" (FY) and "Marmalade Boy" (MB), where the boy pursuit takes up most of the story. In Saboten no Himitsu", the main character changes her entire appearance to attract a boy and the pursuit takes up most of the story.

This theme of pursuing a goal (versus a guy) also marks the NHK anime series "Princess Nine" (baseball) and "Twin Spica" (astronaut). The trials usually leads to a stronger and distinct female lead than say Miaka (FY) or Miki (MB) and is a refreshing change of pace. My brother has a harsher opinion of the contrast.


I almost skipped this manga, because of the strong parallels to "Glass Mask". The similarities don't detract from "Ashita no Ou-sama", which stands well on its own two feet. I look forward to reading more of this quality work.

= = = =

[1] http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=11368

[2] Before the reforms being rolled out by the Diet in 2007, the Japanese postal system also stored and transferred money like Western Union and private banks in America. This will be broken into several companies, including what will become one of the largest banks in the world.

[3] Miuchi Suzue's classic manga that started in the '70s about girl who gave up everything to be an actress. http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=260

[4] Since Yuu is so out of touch with fashion, she is probably from inland Tohaku (think Kikuchi Yume from Someday's Dreamers). Shikoku is another area with a hick reputation, but is associated with fishers and the sea, which do not appear in Yuu's background.

[5] Ariyoshi Kyoko's manga about an aspiring ballet dancer. This also from the 70s. It is released by CMX. http://www.dccomics.com/cmx/?action=on_sale&i=2419

With the Light - "Hikari to Tomoni"

Impressions from the first few pages.

What would the genre be called? Josei is for young woman, but is there an ouk-san [1] category? Tobe Keiko's "With the Light" initially feels like Lifetime in still life. The artwork is clean. The initial set up is familiar; a cute woman pursues a handsome guy, beats out rivals, and gets her man. He's successful, they live in a spacious apartment, and she has some fellow young mothers in the neighborhood. That's just the summary of the first few pages, but in the afterglow of josei romance, the husband behaves coolly towards our protagonist Azuma Sachiko and sides with his mother.

Part of the Lifetime feeling comes from the introductio, which focuses on her as opposed to meeting the Azumas all at once. The blurp says as much, which focuses on the young mother who raises a child with autism. Then again, having the Japanese husband mixing up with the family would have lost most of the audience.

[1] a way of addressing a married woman

Heptagon: A Life Relived

A quick recommendation of a scanlation. The scanlator group Dragon Voice brought over the first three chapters of Hijiri Chiaki's "Heptagon" [1]. It's about a 24 year old girl named Nana who takes a hit to the head and wakes up in her 14 year old self. The older Nana drifts by in life, writing checks from M&D Bank [2] for a living. By contrast, her middle school self is insecure and immature, but also full of energy.

I've heard this question posed several times: "If you could go back to you teenage years, would you?" Most people answer that they would take back their youth if they could bring their knowledge and wisdom. Though Nana is not a particularly wise character, she takes her baggage with her on this trip through time. Hijiri creates a medley of complex relationships, and I'm looking forward to her answer to the musing on a life relived.

Update:
I read the ending for the second time. The first time was minus a few too many hours sleep and didn't make that strong of an impression on me. It seemed to convenient. It's kind of like Borges-lite. He had written a story about a man who had two pasts. In one, the man was a coward who ran from the battlefield. In the other, he had fought bravely.

Absolving Nana of her past regrets seemed a little overdone. A more nuanced and longer ending would have worked better. 7 chapters would have been perfect to close this Heptagon.

[1] Published by Margaret Comics.
[2] Mommy & Daddy Bank.

Living Game: Concrete Technical Liner Notes

A small step in the quest to find a place to be in Hoshisato's "Living Game".

In Volume 7 Chapter 10 of Hoshisato's Living Game, Fuwa asks the architect Sugita about concrete. The Hawks translated the lines as

Fuwa: If you reduce the grain size in a concrete mix, you need to increase the quantity of the cement to reach the same hardness, right?
Sugita: No good. The problem isn't the hardness or durability of the concrete. As you reduce the grains, the melding contraction also increases.

The terminology in Japan might be different or the manga writer might have used the incorrect term or the terms got lost in translation, but what they are saying is correct. I would have used terms that are more familiar to American engineers.

Fuwa: If you reduce the stone size in a concrete mix, you need to increase the quantity of the cement to reach the same hardness, right?
Sugita: No good. The problem isn't the hardness or durability of the concrete. As you reduce the stone size, the shrinkage also increases.

The key ingredients for concrete are stone, sand, cement, and water. Cement is NOT concrete, it is a powder used to make concrete. The stone and sand make up the bulk of the concrete. The water and cement react to glue the stone and sand together. When the water and cement react, they form a compound; the water stays locked with the cement particle.

That's why engineers say that cement does not dry. Drying means that the water must leave for the hardening reaction to take place. This is not true; in fact, it is best to keep the concrete damp for at least a day after the pouring. For sidewalks and other small pours, this means damp burlap and plastic sheets. I'm not sure what builders use on large dams or foundations.

The cement-water paste is usually the weak component in the concrete, not the stone. Up to a certain point, increasing the amount of cement increases the strength of the concrete. Too much cement means that there isn't enough water to react with the cement.

Over the lifetime of a structure, water does leave cement-water compound, unless the concrete is in a highly humid environment or immersed. The water doesn't need to leave for the hardening reaction to take place, but the concrete starts out wetter than surrounding air and dries naturally. When the water leaves, the concrete decreases in volume. This is shrinkage. The process is slow and a tell tale sign are hairline cracks on the concrete.

Back to Fuwa's statement. By decreasing the size of the individual stones, the surface area increases. This increased surface area needs more of the cement-water paste to coat and glue the stones together.

An easy way to understand the increase in surface area is to imagine a square cake, whichever type you want. Now imagine putting frosting on the top and the four sides. Once you have that image in your mind, cut the cake down the middle. Once you push the two halves apart, you have two unfrosted sides, one on each half. These unfrosted sides are the increase in cake surface area. More frosting would be needed to cover these exposed faces.

Once you substitute stone for cake and cement-water paste for frosting, you should understand why Fuwa suggests increasing the amount of cement.

Sugita tells him that the solution is no good. The stone and sand won't change volume from water loss; the cement-water is the culprit. Increasing the amount of cement-water also increases the potential for volume change.

I was tickled by the exchange, because it's a fairly advanced topic. One prof told me that most engineers know 3 things about concrete:
1. It's gray
2. It's hard
3. The 28 day strength, that's found by breaking a sample in a lab.

From what I understand about Japan construction, most Japanese practicing architects are engineers as well. In America, the training for the disciplines have grown apart. Another growing separation is between the design professionals (architect and engineer) and actual act of construction.

The exchange between the owner and building contractor come frighteningly close to the truth in some instances. Owners, builders, architects, and everyone down the line insist that they are looking for value without compromising safety or performance. Sugita brings up an excellent point that cost is king to the renter. In theory, the market should be able to sort out the poor quality. However, if you read Dilbert you understand how efficiency and effectiveness can sometimes fall by the wayside in favor of bean counting, territoriality, and general incompetence. And then you reach situations that surreally resemble the Living Game.