outstanding; excellent; exceptional; preeminence; distinction; extraordinariness
manzai; comic dialogue; two-person comedy act (usu. presented as a fast-paced dialogue, occ. presented as a skit)
taking part on the spur of the moment; participating without registering beforehand; last-minute entrant; specking on flower petals
calm; graceful; quiet; mellow; damp; moist
to listen attentively to; to be lost in
juice; soft drink (usu. fruit-based); sweetened drink
hardly any; almost nonexistent; very little
to be greedy; to devour greedily
setsubun; last day of winter in the traditional Japanese calendar (usu. February 3 or 4), day of the bean scattering ceremony; last day of any season (according to the traditional Japanese calendar)
sowing beans (or pulses, etc.); scattering parched beans (to drive out evil spirits)
opposition; rivalry; competition; antagonism
battle; fight; fighting; engagement; contest
the New Year begins; the New Year starts
appointment; rendezvous; date
to go upstream; to go back (in time, to origin); to date back to; to trace back to
joint; knuckle; tune; melody; knot (in wood); node in a bamboo stem
stone; bijou; trinket; stone (unit of weight: 14lb); curling stone; curling rock
right beside; close to; nearby
to twist; to turn; to writhe (e.g. in pain); to twist around; to turn in one's seat
to go through; to pass through; to get through; to cut across
horror film; horror movie
third year of junior high school; third-year junior high school student
very highly commended; highly lauded; very well-received; very popular
to be at a loss; to be puzzled
carelessly; thoughtlessly; inadvertently
appreciation (of art, music, poetry, etc.)
to get stuck with (some job); to end up with (something unpleasant)
this is why; this means; it is the case that
to get tired out; to be exhausted
distinctly (standing out); clearly; in sharp relief; boldly