to step forward; to take a step forward
dream within a dream; (beyond) one's wildest dreams; entirely unrealizable dream; pie in the sky
sampling food; tasting; trying
equal (in ability); even; evenly matched; well-matched; on par (with)
judging from; on the basis of; from the point of view of
equality; impartiality; evenness
depressing; dark (e.g. story); grim (e.g. expression); irritating; annoying; tedious (work, person, etc.)
to antagonize; to provoke antipathy
provoking; rather annoying; (speaking ironically) darling
wrong (guess or estimate); misdirected; irrelevant; off the point
national language; Japanese language (esp. as a school subject in Japan); one's native language; mother tongue; native Japanese words (as opposed to loanwords and Chinese-derived words)
reading comprehension; ability to read and understand
to receive favor; to receive assistance; to receive help; to be looked after; to be taken care of; to become dependent (on)
set phrase; stock phrase; conventional expression; usual wording; cliché; clichéd line
dead person; (the) deceased; (the) dead; casualties
to fall down; to fall over; to turn out; to play out; to abandon Christianity (and convert to Buddhism); to apostatize
fault; error; indiscretion; faux pas
even if I say so myself; for me (to do such a thing)
large seal; large stamp; seal of approval; guarantee; endorsement
miniboss; sub-boss; mid-boss; underboss (of a criminal organization)
what the?; what's that?; what are you doing?; what's going on?
one round; going around; making a round (of); first anniversary of a person's death
living Buddha; saintly Buddhist monk; living person
to get along (with someone); to be like-minded; to be congenial
costume; fancy dress; masquerade; converted (cruiser)
double-punch; one-two punch; double whammy; twofold blow
to soar; to fly high; to be whirled up; to make merry; to be ecstatic; to be in high spirits
this sort of; this type of
physical work; manual labour (labor)
guidance; leadership; leading the way
god of fortune; god of wealth
incarnation (of a god, spirit or abstract quality); embodiment; avatar; incarnation; monster role; kumadori worn for a monster role
someone else's hands; someone else's possession; hand (worker); aide; labor; labour
vigorously (ripping, tearing, scratching, etc.); roughly; (eating) with a crunch; stiff; starchy; (working) hard
originally; from the start; from the beginning; none the worse (for); (coming out) even; in the same position (as before)
unable to do (as one wishes); able to do only with great effort; almost impossible to do; beyond one's control; not always turning out as one wishes; not going the way one wants it to
to that extent; to that degree; so much; so
really; very; extremely; (not) anything; (not) at all; (not) a bit
stout; corpulent; plump; voluptuous
to rub; to crumple; to massage; to argue; to have a heated discussion; to train; to coach
often; frequently; lightly (of a movement); easily; simply
germination; germ; sprout; early sign; beginning; starting to appear
to use (as a tool) for one's own advantage; to use as a pretext; to use as an excuse