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#translation comparison
desultory-novice · 2 years
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“He’s A Jolly Fellow”
So, you may have seen this sprite paired with a bevy of amusing redraws (ala the Sailor Moon redraws boom) on Twitter.
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It, of course, comes from the first (optional) tutorial in Kirby Super Star (Ultra)’s first introductory mini-game “Spring Breeze.”
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Hilarious as Kirby’s reaction to being called “jolly” is, why DOES the puffball give the narrator that nasty glare at that description??
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In Japanese, after introducing Kirby to us, the narrator says “...they have no cares.” Or “...no worries.” “They live a stress-free life” in essence!
Kirby gives the narrator that look because the comment is cheekily dismissive of our hero who is about to go on a (short) quest to save Dream Land! (Not to mention take a few hits along the way, if the player is truly new to the game.)
So Kirby frowns at the implication that their life is always easy and that nothing ever bothers them. Which is interesting, considering a lot of us DO tend to fall back on “Oh, Kirby is so carefree and easygoing!”
We’re sorry about that, Kirby! You’re our hero and we take you seriously! We know that everyone has off days, you included! You don’t have to be jolly all the time! But thank you for always trying hard for us!
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-1 translation point to Tapas
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Thoughts on the -official- English title that was posted with the Amazon limited wallpaper? (Lor Starcutter and a Magician of Falsehood)
I guess it’s more of a literal translation compared to the unofficial one. I prefer your title for the novel, but I just wanted to hear what you think about it.
Ooh, a chance to talk more about Kirby translations! Let's take the two titles (mine and the "official") and look at them one word at a time. Starting from the top!
In fact, I've always wanted to talk about this because I think the name "Lor Starcutter" is completely AMAZING. (For all that some stuff got left on the cutting room floor in RtDL, they were on the ball when it came to names.)
<the rest is under a read-more because this gets LONG>
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So, you might notice that whenever the Lor Starcutter is mentioned in the text, I have just written "Lor" or "the Lor." And that is because "Lor"  is the only part of the title "Lor Starcutter" that refers to its name. "Starcutter" is actually an adjective, if you can believe it!
The Japanese name is 「天かける船ローア」 (Amakakeru Fune Roa) or "Lor, the ship that crosses the heavens" ("Heavens" in Japanese is more like a poetic word for everything included in the celestial sphere above your head: stars, space, sky, etc, etc.)
Instead of giving the ship’s title a rather clunky literal translation, someone on staff had the brilliant idea to call it the "Starcutter" - a ship that can both skip over entire systems of stars in an instant and travel by cutting a literal star-shape through the skies.
It's the kind of made-up-but-completely-natural-sounding fantasy name that I love to see! (Like "pyreflies" from Final Fantasy X.)
Anyway, that's why it's always "Lor" in text, because there's no reason for the novel to introduce it with that fancy title each time. (In the JP fan wiki, it's also just called "the Lor" throughout.) But most of the rest of the world is used to seeing its full title of "Lor Starcutter" in English, which is why it has, for all intents and purposes, become the ship’s full name here.
I was actually holding off on whether to ever use "Lor Starcutter" in my translations, based on whether "ship that crosses the heavens" makes an appearance in the Japanese script.
Anyway, it's nice that the "official” English translation of the title recognizes it as the "Lor Starcutter" too! (Honestly, I wasn’t sure it would!)
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As for "Lying Wizard," I translated it that way specifically because it is a reference to Magolor EX's pause screen description, the very first place Magolor is referred to as 「きょげんのまじゅつし」 (kyogen no majutsushi) a term that will continually be applied to him from this point on.
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Now, this title is a combination of "adjective + noun" in Japanese, and the English version decided to be (too) clever with the script, giving us, "He's a liar and a wizard." ...Which is just the most adorably awkward way of phrasing that possible! I honestly think I love it (?) specifically because it is so silly sounding! 
"He's a liar and a wizard." Like he’s somehow multi-classed as both  “Wizard” and “Liar.” Anyway, I simply put those words back together in proper "adjective + noun" style, which is how I got "Lying Wizard."
Meanwhile, the "official” English title of the book ignores the game’s text and renders “kyogen no majutsushi” as "Magician of Falsehood." Which is literal, yes, but not wrong! What's likely giving you that "overly literal" feeling is probably them leaving the の particle in there in the form of "...of...." 
I could have translated my version as "Wizard of Lies" and it would sound just as stilted. Alternatively, they could have gone with "the False Magician" and while that would probably give readers the wrong impression of Magolor (it would make him sound like he’s NOT a magician as opposed to a magician who lies) it would sound a little more like a proper English book title. See?
“Lor Starcutter and the False Magician.”
In any case, the choice of "lies" versus "falsehood" is pretty much up to how fancy you want to be. But what’s the difference between "wizard" and "magician"?
:deep breath:
So, here’s the thing. "Magic" is such a complicated term to translate back and forth between Japanese and English. Because there really is no word for "Wizard" in Japanese! At the same time, there are two words that could almost interchangeably be used for "mage/magician" and the differences are SO subtle as to be almost impossible to describe well. And wouldn't you know it? Both words make an appearance in Kirby! (Thanks to my two favorite characters. What a coincidence!)
Magolor is as stated above a 「魔術師」 (”majutsushi” - "master of the arts of magic") while Marx is a 魔法使い (”mahoutsukai” - "user of the methodology of magic.")  - I told you the differences were ridiculously subtle!
Looking at those, it does kind of make sense to give Marx the title of "magician" and Magolor the title of "wizard." Wizard gives off more of an experienced/wizened vibe, and so does “majutsushi.” (Though Marx is only described as a 魔法使い in the JP Super Star instruction booklet, so we don't really have a proper English term for him. But "magician" is most reasonable.)
Amusingly, Taranza is ALSO a 魔術師 (same term as Magolor) and is called a "magician" (and "mage") in English - but only in Super Kirby Clash, not in any of his main game appearances! If that doesn't just confuse things more...
But even if “majutsushi” has no parity with ITSELF in the same game in English, the “mage/magician” confusion does have parity with Star Allies, where Magolor’s 「虚言の魔術師」 would be translated as both "rogue magician" and "deceiving mage" in the same game. (Please, English Kirby, pick just ONE!)
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Lastly, you’ve probably noticed that I keep putting “official” in quotes. It’s not because I’m trying to be snooty and think that the English version is bad or wrong. It’s that it may not be correct. That sounds like the same thing, but bear with me for a little...
You see, the Japanese offices of these publishing houses don't always have a native English speaker checking these titles. Especially if the book or product is not actually scheduled to be released in English. I mean, what would be the point? In those cases, an “English” title is more like a fun little novelty, and things like grammar and having a natural voice become unimportant. 
That’s how you sometimes get "official" translations of things like character names from the Japanese side of a product that would NEVER fly in English for a variety of reasons. (Sometimes they won't realize the “name” sounds like a swear or another bad word in English. Or they will have been specifically going for an actual name and just gotten it wrong. I'm sure if it were to be pointed out to the staff that such a name was spelled incorrectly, ie, something like writing “Elizabeth” as "Erizabeth" they would tell you that it was NOT purposeful.)
Thus, it can be a little dangerous and even a little unfair to the original staff to hold up certain English titles/translations meant only for Japan as the official GLOBAL version of a title when no one who is a native speaker of whatever language in question it is has gotten to lay eyes on it yet!
Imagine if you made an embarrassing typo on something important and people starting getting into arguments online: “No, no, no! They MEANT to write it that way! It was definitely NOT a mistake.”
Personal opinion, but that’s why I think it’s better to take a more relaxed approach to things like “official English titles” while waiting to see what the actual official title (the title chosen by whoever publishes the product in your home country) is going to be. If you don't like it then, well, at that point you're absolutely free to do a compare and contrast and figure out which you personally like better and what you wish they hadn't changed!
In summary, I don’t think my take on the title is necessarily superior (though I take pride in how I tried hard to reference the games where possible) but I wouldn’t call the title that shows up on the wallpaper definitive either, not until the day the book actually hits English-speaking shelves. (Or ebook readers!)
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yrsonpurpose · 7 months
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RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE (2023) book → screen (x)
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pikhachu · 4 months
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morethanwonderful · 2 years
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Obsessed with how, in addition to being generally stunning, this illustration makes Wwx finding the sword inside the Xuanwu look like the world’s most fucked up version of the sword in the stone
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boinin · 1 month
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PO2 kept us waiting this week... but dialogue of this calibre is worth it.
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zishuge · 4 months
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The heavens will bless the kind. Since he is blessed, then he should go through hardships to gain knowledge and wisdom. Sooner or later, the truth will be revealed to the world. Story of Kunning Palace (2023) | Ep. 11
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youkaigakkou-tl · 8 months
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The man of uncertain age
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hedgehog-moss · 1 year
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Some books I’ve enjoyed this year:
Fiction:
L’art de perdre, Alice Zeniter
Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates
Les enfants sont rois, Delphine de Vigan
Social Creature, Tara Isabella Burton
La vie devant soi, Romain Gary
Evolution, Stephen Baxter
La Princesse de Clèves, Mme de Lafayette
Nonfiction:
Espejos, Eduardo Galeano
The Worst Hard Time, Timothy Egan
She Said, Jodi Kantor
After Sappho, Selby Wynn Schwartz
La Panthère des neiges, Sylvain Tesson
Becoming Beauvoir, Kate Kirkpatrick
Voices from Chernobyl, Svetlana Alexievich
I’d love to know what were your best reads of ‘22 !
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desultory-novice · 2 years
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"Is Marx really just hungry?"
So, one common understanding of Marx's character is that the poor grape is just hungry all the time. Hunger + Angry = Hangry after all, and anyone who's been hangry before has probably felt the urge to wish on an ancient artifact for planetary conquest!
...Right?
But is he really JUST hungry?
Let's do a little dive into where this idea of Marx's unending hunger all began - with Marx's Star Allies pause screen!
Here's the English version.
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"He'll be your buddy if you keep him well fed." Well, the propensity for Marx to devour (in blackhole form) large masses of Whispy Wood's apples (...and random, innocent Waddle Dees who didn't deserve to be sent to the DIMENSION OF ETERNAL PAIN inside Marx's black hole...) means that shouldn't be a problem!
Now, let's look at the Japanese screen...
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The first difference is that the Japanese screen starts out quoting Marx's famous "Hey, hey, hey!" It's one of the most memorable of his, err four lines or so, and it's the first thing he says to Kirby at the beginning of Milky Way Wishes.
Kind of a sad thing to lose, but I can sort of understand the reasoning, as Marx's "ヘイヘイヘイ" may be considered more memorable in Japanese, given as how he pronounces "Hey!" the English way, making him sound even more like a funny little guy. In English, it might've just sounded like he was super eager to get Kirby's attention and maybe didn't leave as much of an impact with people. (Generally, it's assumed the use of "English" words and pronunciation in Japanese text is more impactful in Japan. See my post on Magolor's "haircut," aka, his distinctive accent.)
Another thing we lose here is Marx's characteristic way of speaking. He ends all of his sentences with 「なのサ」 or "nano sa!" There's no exact way to explain this except that it's a little bit childish sounding (the "nano" part) and a bit attention seeking/know-it-all sounding (the "sa!" part) Marx sounds playful yet insistent. Like a kid grabbing you to tell you some common knowledge thing they learned for the first time and now they're totally an expert!
But here comes the real difference I wanted to talk about.
「ゴハンを食べればもうおともだち」
If you know a little Japanese, you can pick out that THIS is the line that was translated as "He'll be you buddy if you keep him well fed." But the original is, in my opinion, actually quite a bit more meaningful.
Here's my translation: "Sharing a meal is all it takes to be friends."[*]
I chose this translation because this line is actually written in Japanese to be more of a generalized statement applicable to all life than it is about Marx's needs in specific. It's philosophy. You could even say it's the philosophy of Kirby! Friendship is easier than it seems! So is love! You just have to reach out to others with trust and your heart in your hands - even last bosses can be your friends!
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So you see, it's not really some big mystery as to why Marx joined the Dream Friends. Not to Kirby. Because it doesn't take anything more than a simple act of friendship to BE friends.
You don't need an excuse or reason to love and care about others. To help them on their journey. You just need to want to. Throw a heart their way, and there's a good chance they'll respond in kind.
This goes for not just Marx, but for all the Dream Friends with "questionable pasts." To Kirby, they are friends. No conditions, no questions, no doubts.
It's one of the reasons I really, truly love this series.
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[*]The full line would thus read, "While he MAY be planning more mischief, sharing a meal is all it takes to be friends." Aka, even if Marx DOES cause trouble again, it's not going to erase the bonds of friendship between them - which foreshadows what happens in the post-game where, lo and behold, Marx does play a trick on Kirby by sneak-attacking everyone in the middle of the credits. So, I guess that answers the question of whether they're still friends after the mid-credits boss fight: Kirby says a clear and emphatic, "Yes!"]
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plague-of-insomnia · 11 months
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Chapter 200: The Fledging Ceremony & Haircutting
Right before Ginny is sent off, at the end of the ceremony/party, her hair is cut off completely. Reminds you of Finny when they found him, huh?
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What is especially interesting here is the head matron explains they do this so that:
無垢な存在として旅立つの
“She can depart on her journey as an innocent.”
But the intriguing thing is that she uses this word: 旅立つ, which can mean “to embark on a journey,” but can also mean “to depart from this life” — to die.
I highly doubt that Yana wrote it that way by accident.
The young matron tells Finny they cut their hair so they don’t bring any lice or fleas to their new home/family. But that’s obviously a lie.
In Japan, shaving someone’s/your head is associated with punishment/failure. (For example, a sports team shaving their heads after losing a game.) The practice probably has ties to ancient China, where having your head shaved was one of the “5 punishments.” There’s also the association with piety and buddist monks, of course.
So Yana is likely intentionally framing this with the concept in mind that her audience in Japan will recognize the significance of the shaved head, and all it’s potential connotations.
-> -> -> Please do NOT repost my screenshots or translations without credit/linking me. I’m doing this post despite my reservations after people doing just that. Don’t make me regret it. <- <- <-
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chaika-jpeg-shitpost · 2 months
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ancient magus' bride season 2: anime vs manga comparison
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According to the fan and the official English translations, Elias never called Chise a child in the manga (here's a good post from blue-inspiration-blog about that too).
Was the line changed to compensate for this panel that didn't fit in the anime? Or did the creators actually want Elias to call Chise a child?
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(this is ch 66, wanted to find it in Japanese but it's no longer available on comicgrowl. If any of you read the chapter in Japanese or official translation to any other language, please tell us how it was translated there!)
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i-heart-hxh · 2 years
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In today's "GonKillu/KilluGon is essentially canon" news:
I found this snippet from a magazine or something in a tweet from 2015 that intrigued me. It contains some words from Koujina Hiroshi, the director of the 2011 Hunter x Hunter anime. I decided to transcribe it and then run through Deepl Translator and adjust based off what I do know (note: I still have a ways to go before I'm fluent in Japanese).
Transcription of the original text:
その関係はまるで[熟年夫婦]?! 永遠の黄金コンビ!
(この2人にも注目!)
ハンター試験で出会ってから、ずっとお互いを支え合ってきたゴンとキルア。ときには衝突したりすれ違ったりもするけれど、何よりも固い絆で結ばれたふたりを、神志那監督は「熟年夫婦」に例えている。「損得勘定のない信頼関係を築いて、心から頼り合っている。そんなゴンとキルアは、まるで熟年夫婦です。いわばゴンが自由奔放な旦那で、キルアがだまってサーポトする妻、という感じですね(笑)」
Translation with the help of Deepl and me editing some:
Their relationship is like a "mature married couple"?! The eternal golden duo!
(Look out for these two!)
Gon and Killua have been supporting each other ever since they met during the Hunter Exam. Although they sometimes clash and cross paths, director Koujina compares them to a "mature married couple" because of their strong bond. “They have built a relationship of trust without regard for profit or loss, and rely on each other wholeheartedly. Gon and Killua are like a mature couple. In other words, Gon is the free-spirited husband, and Killua is a wife who silently supports him (Laugh)”
(If anyone wants to provide a more accurate/thorough translation or has more insight, feel free to add on!)
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mxtxfanatic · 9 months
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Just remembered a section in svsss that was translated differently and why I think the official does a better job of portraying the interiority of Shen Qingqiu as a character than the fan translation did. Here is the section directly after Shen Qingqiu kills the Skinner Demon, when it sinks in exactly what he has done:
This is Shen Qingqiu’s first time making a move to ‘kill.’ But he didn’t hesitate at all. Because firstly, this is a novel; secondly, this was a demon that had killed countless people; thirdly, if he didn’t make a move then he would have been the one to die.
Shen Qingqiu looked at the ‘Butterfly’s’ twisted limbs, a horrible sight as blood flowed from all seven apertures, overly beaten. He used the three reasons listed above to clear his mind and brainwash himself.
—Chapt. 8, fan translation
In the fan translation, the wording of “clear his mind” makes it feel like he’s trying to clear his conscious, convincing himself that he was acting justly through “brainwashing.” This makes the priority seem like settling his morality vs. his emotions. But in the official translation:
This was the first time Shen Qingqiu had killed someone. But he didn’t hold back, not even a little. First, because this was a book; second, because this was a demon who’d killed countless people; and third, because if he didn’t, he’d be the one who got killed.
Shen Qingqiu gazed down at the horrible state of “Die- er”: four limbs twisted and broken, bleeding from the seven facial apertures. He turned away, bombarding his own brain with a barrage of his three reasons until they blocked out the screen of his mind.
—Chapt. 2: Mission, official
…it is much clearer that Shen Qingqiu is not trying to convince himself of his own righteousness but, instead, is trying to block out the horror he was forced to commit for his and his students’ survival by logicing his way through the situation. He doesn’t feel like this is a book. He doesn’t feel like a hero valiantly striking down a villain in a made-up story. He feels like a man who just killed someone. And if he doesn’t want to lose his mind over it, he has to learn to cope. Thus begins his journey in dissociating by overly depending on “story logic” to soften the reality of the horrors he faces.
Shen Qingqiu isn’t blind about what is happening in the world of pidw now that he has transmigrated, and he isn’t in denial about how real the people and creatures of the world are. But the official translation does a better job of showing this nuance, which is why it is my favorite!
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rhaill · 2 years
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Till it began on the night of my birth We'll be done in a turn of the earth
the terror, a study in black and white. (episode 2)
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