<p>Here is what Asuka said in Japanese:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>なるほど…最中【もなか】。私達【わたしたち】は青春【せいしゅん】真っ【まっ】最中【さいちゅう】～的【てき】な？</p>
<p>I see... <em>monaka</em>. We're <em>in the middle</em> of our youth~ or something?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The idea is, <a href="https://www.japandict.com/%E6%9C%80%E4%B8%AD" rel="noreferrer">最中</a> (in the middle) is usually read as &quot;<em>saichuu</em>&quot;, but also has another reading of &quot;<em>monaka</em>&quot;. As for why Asuka connected it to &quot;youth&quot;, it's a common idea that school life is related to youth life.</p>
<hr />
<p>Monaka itself is actually <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaka" rel="noreferrer">a wafer cake filled with the bean jam</a>. The origin of <em>monaka</em> is from 最中【もなか】の月【つき】 which has the meaning of <a href="http://gogen-allguide.com/mo/monaka.html" rel="noreferrer">&quot;the shape of full moon&quot;</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-16T04:14:36.817Z
2017-01-16T04:22:21.087Z
2020-06-17T09:17:53.303Z
Aki Tanaka
<p>In the bonus episode, the group of players who don't make the cut to play in the competition form a B-Squad named Monaka, after the first character of their three second-year members' names.</p>

<p>When they announce this name to the rest of the club, Asuka misunderstands and thinks the name has something to do with youth:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/fg30em.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/fg30em.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/9WNZsm.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/9WNZsm.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/hww9Jm.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/hww9Jm.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/WPtzom.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/WPtzom.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Asuka: "Monaka". We're in the thick of our youth! Or something.<br>
  Girl: No, we just took the start of the second-years' names.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Where did Asuka think they had gotten the name "Monaka" from?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-16T00:45:25.833Z
i wouldn't be surprised if Asuka was getting it from the Kanji or it's meaning shown in the first frame since i have see stuff like that before like in Death Note in how Misa describes how Light's name is written as Moon and [this in Aoishiro](http://anime.stackexchange.com/a/11697/1587). though i don't know what that meaning could be since i can't read it
Memor-X
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-16T00:48:19.867Z
@Memor-X I can't read it either, but I thought it might be important so I included it.
Torisuda
<japanese-language><hibike-euphonium>
Where did Asuka think "Monaka" came from?
# Where did Asuka think "Monaka" came from?
Posted by: username_0 on 2017-01-15
In the bonus episode, the group of players who don't make the cut to play in the competition form a B-Squad named Monaka, after the first character of their three second-year members' names.

When they announce this name to the rest of the club, Asuka misunderstands and thinks the name has something to do with youth:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/fg30em.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/fg30em.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/9WNZsm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/9WNZsm.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/hww9Jm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/hww9Jm.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/WPtzom.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/WPtzom.jpg)

> Asuka: "Monaka". We're in the thick of our youth! Or something.  
> Girl: No, we just took the start of the second-years' names.

Where did Asuka think they had gotten the name "Monaka" from?
**Tags:** japanese-language hibike-euphonium
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: i wouldn't be surprised if Asuka was getting it from the Kanji or it's meaning shown in the first frame since i have see stuff like that before like in Death Note in how Misa describes how Light's name is written as Moon and [this in Aoishiro](http://anime.stackexchange.com/a/11697/1587). though i don't know what that meaning could be since i can't read it  
> **username_0**: @Memor-X I can't read it either, but I thought it might be important so I included it.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2017-01-16. Score: 7 | Accepted answer
Here is what Asuka said in Japanese:

> なるほど…最中【もなか】。私達【わたしたち】は青春【せいしゅん】真っ【まっ】最中【さいちゅう】～的【てき】な？
>
> I see... *monaka*. We're *in the middle* of our youth~ or something?

The idea is, [最中](https://www.japandict.com/%E6%9C%80%E4%B8%AD) (in the middle) is usually read as "*saichuu*", but also has another reading of "*monaka*". As for why Asuka connected it to "youth", it's a common idea that school life is related to youth life.

---

Monaka itself is actually [a wafer cake filled with the bean jam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaka). The origin of *monaka* is from 最中【もなか】の月【つき】 which has the meaning of ["the shape of full moon"](http://gogen-allguide.com/mo/monaka.html).
---
