I was finally able to take a loooooong leave from work (after one year in the job) and I specifically scheduled it during Harry Potter week. I also planned the Bohol trip so that we were back in Manila the day before the film opens.
It has been my sort of tradition to always watch the Harry Potter films on the first day on the first full show of the nearest cinema. I usually go alone since the movie opens on a weekday and everybody would be at work or at school. The only time I was with someone was when Teta pretended to be sick and went with me to Gateway, only to find out that Gateway movies do not start until lunchtime. So we had to run to the nearest SM mall — Santa Mesa — for the first showing. Stupid, right? So we got there on time, but Teta got guilty 15 minutes into the movie and decided to go to work after all!!
This year, my boyfriend wanted to come watch the movie with me — he took a week off from work for our Bohol trip too. OK, so we agreed to meet at Megamall at 10am because the first full show was 10:30. Of course, on such an important day, the LRT 2 had to have technical problems, and the MRT had to conduct their earthquake drill and I was really pissed because I was already 10 minutes late. Schatz was not yet there, so I bought the tickets, I got some snacks and I even had a quick trip to the bathroom. When I went outside the cinema, he wasn’t there. I was panicking, because the movie was about to start. When I called him, I was practically screaming and in tears – partly, I was silently screaming to myself: next time, don’t bring a non-fan! They just don’t understand!. That made me remember the time I was supposed to wake up early to get the last HP book…again, as a personal tradition, I have to be outside the bookstore before it opens. The last time, PEOPLE WERE ALREADY LEAVING THE STORE when we got there. #$%^&*()
So anyway, the movie. I managed to calm down, and made it inside the cinema about 10 minutes before the movie started. He came in 20 minutes later. I did not have a lot of expectations about the movie, so I guess I enjoyed it – it is Harry Potter, after all! No use comparing it to the book so I won’t. I even loved the trailer — I cry every time I watch it. AND I cried when Dumbledore died. AND the boyfriend, seeing me in tears, blurted out “Patay na ba?” (Is he dead?)…DUUUUH. Hinde, nagkukunwari lang!! At the end of the movie, he said he finally realized the answer to my trivia: why the Japanese version retained the “Prince” in the title: ハリーポッターと謎のプリンズ。At least, he learned something (even if he never read a single page of the book…)
Sad that the series finally ended. One more movie (OK, 2-part movie) and it’s over. But I don’t want it to end yet so I decided to challenge myself on a new Harry Potter level – in Japanese! I got the first book via an Ebay seller (Ebay and Paypal = EVIL!). I was also bidding for the 2nd book, but I got outbid twice.
The book is secondhand but in very good condition. It even has a copy of the Owlpost （ふくろう通信） inside! There was a small bit on the translator’s note and how she found some things difficult to put into Japanese, like knickerbocker glory or sherbet lemon. Haha! Until the book, I’ve never heard or read of knickerbocker glory! I read reviews on Amazon about the translated series, and some people are not too happy about it. Well, I am no expert so I cannot comment. All I know is that I am enjoying this immensely (I’m still in the first chapter – Katakana makes my head swim…). Nearly Headless Nick, for the win!! ほとんど首のないニックになったから。
