Saturday, December 31, 2005
FRUITS BASKET VOL. 11 TRANSLATION NOTES
As before, there's nothing huge, but there are subtle changes in emotional tone, which make a difference in a series like Fruits Basket. Also as before, the page numbers refer to the Tokyopop edition (if you own the Japanese edition and want to follow along there, you'll have to subtract four). TP stands for Tokyopop's translation, JP for the original Japanese, and my own translations are given without prefaratory symbols. (See the sidebar for earlier posts in this series.)
p. 14, panel 4
TP: "Why don't you stop forcing yourself on him and calling it love?"
JP: "Tsujitsumaawase no koi wa mou yametara"
The expression "tsujitsuma o awaseru" means "make (one's story) consistent" or "make (something) look plausible." A reasonable translation might be: "Why don't you stop this pretense at love?"
p. 18, panel 5
TP: "...was lost in my own thoughts."
JP: "hasete imashita"
"haseru" means "run, drive, gallop, sail." In context, this doesn't seem to make much sense at first, but the word is written in kanji so presumably it's not a typo. Perhaps the meaning is something like "my thoughts were racing."
p. 36, panel 1
TP: "But ... I couldn't possibly forget! I admit that I didn't understand everything you were saying..."
JP: "Sonna ... wasureru nante ... hen da nante..."
The problem with TP is that "wasureru," meaning (here) "I will forget," and "hen da," meaning "it's strange," are parallel in the JP, so they should be treated alike in the translation, but instead they're treated in opposite ways. But finding a replacement which sounds natural in English is difficult. "Sonna" here is an abbreviation for "sonna koto nai," which means approximately "it's nothing like that." "Nante" means "anything like" or "something like." Perhaps something like "Saying that I'll forget ... that it's strange ..." would work.
p. 40, panels 4 & 5
TP: Kyou: "Who the hell do you think you are?!" Yuki: "I'm me."
JP: Kyou: "Nanisama no tsumori da!!?" Yuki: "Oresama."
This isn't a case of TP making a mistake in translation, but of something that's pretty much untranslatable. "-sama" is an honorific: it's added on to people's names, like "-san," which is the approximate equivalent of Mr., Mrs., or Ms. But "-sama" is only used in referring to one's social superiors, when one wants to show extreme respect for them. When Kyou asks Yuki "Nani-sama [literally what-sama] do you think you are?" he's of course being sarcastic, in response to Yuki's "talking down" to him. Yuki replies "oresama," or "me-sama," throwing Kyou's sarcasm back in his face. You're not supposed to apply any honorific to yourself, still less "-sama," which as I said above is only used of one's social superiors. So when Yuki says "oresama," he's deliberately being incredibly arrogant. It's no wonder that Kyou, on the next page, threatens to kill him.
p. 46, panel 2
TP: "That woman doesn't belong with us, after all."
JP: "Shosen ano onna wa aka no tanin nanda kara."
"After all, that woman is a complete stranger."
p. 46, panel 3
TP: "I'd be quite justified in exterminating her."
JP: "Kujo sareru beki ka mo."
"Kujo suru" ("sareru" is the passive) can mean "exterminate," but also "get rid of" or "drive away." I think that latter alternatives are more likely here: Akito is cruel, but probably wouldn't go so far as to seriously consider "exterminating" Tohru. Also, "beki ka mo" simply means "perhaps [somebody] should," not "I'd be quite justified in." So, "perhaps I should get rid of her."
p. 47, panel 1
TP: "I worry about you because you're inferior."
JP: "Kimi wa ototte iru kara shinpai da yo."
"Otosu" can mean "inferior," but also "fall short." Given what we will eventually learn about Kureno, the latter is the better translation. In fact, the meaning of this and the previous sentence won't become clear until vol. 17.
p. 84, panel 5-6
TP: "He needs to realize"
JP: "Omoishiru beki nanda"
The subject is not given in JP, and I think it's more likely in the context that the subject is Shigure, to whom Yuki is speaking. So: "You should realize".
p. 85, panel 1
TP: "That in the end that's all we are."
JP: "...kekkyoku tada sore dake datte ... koto ni."
"That that's all there is to it, after all."
p. 86, panel 5
TP: "I wonder if, with Kyou-kun too, Akito-san has a special relationship...?"
JP: "Kyou-kun ni totte mo Akito-san wa yahari 'tokubetsu na sonzai' de ..."
"[I wonder if] for Kyou-kun also, Akito-san is after all a 'special existence'..."
p. 91, panel 3:
TP: "You would tell me that which I don't know?"
JP: "...mada wakaranai no wa dotchi da yo...?"
"...who is it who still doesn't understand...?"
(There are several possibilities here, but this is the one I like best in context.)
p. 97, panel 2:
TP: "She's a freak, just like you."
JP: "Kanpekisugiru 'bakemono' da yo."
"She's a too-perfect 'monster.'"
p. 97, panel 3
TP: "I mean, if any sensible person saw you in that form..."
JP: "Datte futsuu omae no ano sugata o mitara"
"Futsuu" means "normal, usual," so "Normally if someone saw that form of yours".
p. 100, panel 2
TP: "I might never have trusted anyone ever again"
JP: "Mou dare no moto e mo modoranakatta kamoshirenai koto"
"I might never have returned to anyone's house"
p. 100, panel 4
TP: "I couldn't expect her to 'fix' me."
This is an invention of TP; the JP text doesn't say anything like this.
p. 101, panel 1
TP: "...she's not afraid to be by my side."
JP: "issho ni ite kureru nda"
There's no "afraid to be" in the JP. It should be just "she's with me".
p. 101, panel 3
TP: "...and be happy when we're together."
JP: "nandaka shiawase sou ni waratte"
"somehow smiling happily"
p. 104, panel 2
TP: "I love you...the way you are."
JP: "Suki da yo sonna omae ga"
TP is literally correct, but implies that somebody wants Tohru to change, an implication which I don't think is present in the JP.
p. 109, panel 3
TP: "That would be perfect!"
JP: "...dattara kessaku"
"That would be a big mistake" or "That would be a blunder".
p. 112, panel 3
TP: "You despicable monster!"
JP: "Bakemono no kuse ni"
"Though you're a monster"
p. 113, panel 5
TP: "Who is the one responsible for putting you in this awkward position?"
JP: "Ichiban ano onna o makikonde iru no wa ... dare?"
"The one who did the most to drag that woman into it is ... who?"
The JP text is clear, so I don't know why TP changed it as they did. My best guess is that they misread "onna," meaning "woman," as "otoko," meaning "man."
p. 116, panel 3
TP: "If you drag in that woman or Kazuma or anyone else, any further, it would only end up hurting them."
JP: "Kore ijou ano onna ya Kazuma ya hoka no ningen o makikondara kawaisou da yo."
"Kawaisou," which corresponds to "it would only end up hurting them" in TP, means "miserable" or "pitiful." Akito isn't explicitly making a threat, though there's probably one implied. Also, a subtle point: "hoka no ningen," which TP translates as "anyone else," literally means "another human being": is Akito implying that Kyou isn't human?
p. 116, panel 6
TP: "But...you can't stand me..."
JP: "...ore o sagesunderu kuse ni..."
"...even though you despise me..."
Though in TP Kyou appears to be speaking, I think that Akito is speaking here. In JP, the final balloon in the previous panel (which is definitely spoken by Akito, ends with an ellipsis, suggesting that the speech in this panel continues that in the last panel.
p. 123, panel 1
TP: "You know what they say about me! 'An existence made up of others' sacrifices and others' lives.'"
JP: "...tanin no gisei no ue ni tanin no inochi no ue ni naritatsu sonzai tte nanda yo..."
Literally, this would be "What is an existence made up of others' sacrifices and others' lives?" More idiomatically, it might be translated as "What sort of existence is built from other people's sacrifices and other people's lives?" understood as a rhetorical question. (Thanks to Susumu Oh-ishi, who explained this construction when I asked about it on the Yahoo jpnforum group; any mistakes are of course my responsibility.)
p. 161, panel 1
TP: "Do you want to know what I have to deal with?"
JP: "Boku o shiritai no?"
"Do you want to know me?"
p. 184, panel 4
TP: "Compared to him, those young people..."
JP: "Sore ni kurabete wakamonotachi wa..."
"Compared to that, young people..." Shigure is probably ironically quoting a stereotypical denunciation of the younger generation, not referring to any of the "young people" among the Sohmas, as it appears from TP.
As before, there's nothing huge, but there are subtle changes in emotional tone, which make a difference in a series like Fruits Basket. Also as before, the page numbers refer to the Tokyopop edition (if you own the Japanese edition and want to follow along there, you'll have to subtract four). TP stands for Tokyopop's translation, JP for the original Japanese, and my own translations are given without prefaratory symbols. (See the sidebar for earlier posts in this series.)
p. 14, panel 4
TP: "Why don't you stop forcing yourself on him and calling it love?"
JP: "Tsujitsumaawase no koi wa mou yametara"
The expression "tsujitsuma o awaseru" means "make (one's story) consistent" or "make (something) look plausible." A reasonable translation might be: "Why don't you stop this pretense at love?"
p. 18, panel 5
TP: "...was lost in my own thoughts."
JP: "hasete imashita"
"haseru" means "run, drive, gallop, sail." In context, this doesn't seem to make much sense at first, but the word is written in kanji so presumably it's not a typo. Perhaps the meaning is something like "my thoughts were racing."
p. 36, panel 1
TP: "But ... I couldn't possibly forget! I admit that I didn't understand everything you were saying..."
JP: "Sonna ... wasureru nante ... hen da nante..."
The problem with TP is that "wasureru," meaning (here) "I will forget," and "hen da," meaning "it's strange," are parallel in the JP, so they should be treated alike in the translation, but instead they're treated in opposite ways. But finding a replacement which sounds natural in English is difficult. "Sonna" here is an abbreviation for "sonna koto nai," which means approximately "it's nothing like that." "Nante" means "anything like" or "something like." Perhaps something like "Saying that I'll forget ... that it's strange ..." would work.
p. 40, panels 4 & 5
TP: Kyou: "Who the hell do you think you are?!" Yuki: "I'm me."
JP: Kyou: "Nanisama no tsumori da!!?" Yuki: "Oresama."
This isn't a case of TP making a mistake in translation, but of something that's pretty much untranslatable. "-sama" is an honorific: it's added on to people's names, like "-san," which is the approximate equivalent of Mr., Mrs., or Ms. But "-sama" is only used in referring to one's social superiors, when one wants to show extreme respect for them. When Kyou asks Yuki "Nani-sama [literally what-sama] do you think you are?" he's of course being sarcastic, in response to Yuki's "talking down" to him. Yuki replies "oresama," or "me-sama," throwing Kyou's sarcasm back in his face. You're not supposed to apply any honorific to yourself, still less "-sama," which as I said above is only used of one's social superiors. So when Yuki says "oresama," he's deliberately being incredibly arrogant. It's no wonder that Kyou, on the next page, threatens to kill him.
p. 46, panel 2
TP: "That woman doesn't belong with us, after all."
JP: "Shosen ano onna wa aka no tanin nanda kara."
"After all, that woman is a complete stranger."
p. 46, panel 3
TP: "I'd be quite justified in exterminating her."
JP: "Kujo sareru beki ka mo."
"Kujo suru" ("sareru" is the passive) can mean "exterminate," but also "get rid of" or "drive away." I think that latter alternatives are more likely here: Akito is cruel, but probably wouldn't go so far as to seriously consider "exterminating" Tohru. Also, "beki ka mo" simply means "perhaps [somebody] should," not "I'd be quite justified in." So, "perhaps I should get rid of her."
p. 47, panel 1
TP: "I worry about you because you're inferior."
JP: "Kimi wa ototte iru kara shinpai da yo."
"Otosu" can mean "inferior," but also "fall short." Given what we will eventually learn about Kureno, the latter is the better translation. In fact, the meaning of this and the previous sentence won't become clear until vol. 17.
p. 84, panel 5-6
TP: "He needs to realize"
JP: "Omoishiru beki nanda"
The subject is not given in JP, and I think it's more likely in the context that the subject is Shigure, to whom Yuki is speaking. So: "You should realize".
p. 85, panel 1
TP: "That in the end that's all we are."
JP: "...kekkyoku tada sore dake datte ... koto ni."
"That that's all there is to it, after all."
p. 86, panel 5
TP: "I wonder if, with Kyou-kun too, Akito-san has a special relationship...?"
JP: "Kyou-kun ni totte mo Akito-san wa yahari 'tokubetsu na sonzai' de ..."
"[I wonder if] for Kyou-kun also, Akito-san is after all a 'special existence'..."
p. 91, panel 3:
TP: "You would tell me that which I don't know?"
JP: "...mada wakaranai no wa dotchi da yo...?"
"...who is it who still doesn't understand...?"
(There are several possibilities here, but this is the one I like best in context.)
p. 97, panel 2:
TP: "She's a freak, just like you."
JP: "Kanpekisugiru 'bakemono' da yo."
"She's a too-perfect 'monster.'"
p. 97, panel 3
TP: "I mean, if any sensible person saw you in that form..."
JP: "Datte futsuu omae no ano sugata o mitara"
"Futsuu" means "normal, usual," so "Normally if someone saw that form of yours".
p. 100, panel 2
TP: "I might never have trusted anyone ever again"
JP: "Mou dare no moto e mo modoranakatta kamoshirenai koto"
"I might never have returned to anyone's house"
p. 100, panel 4
TP: "I couldn't expect her to 'fix' me."
This is an invention of TP; the JP text doesn't say anything like this.
p. 101, panel 1
TP: "...she's not afraid to be by my side."
JP: "issho ni ite kureru nda"
There's no "afraid to be" in the JP. It should be just "she's with me".
p. 101, panel 3
TP: "...and be happy when we're together."
JP: "nandaka shiawase sou ni waratte"
"somehow smiling happily"
p. 104, panel 2
TP: "I love you...the way you are."
JP: "Suki da yo sonna omae ga"
TP is literally correct, but implies that somebody wants Tohru to change, an implication which I don't think is present in the JP.
p. 109, panel 3
TP: "That would be perfect!"
JP: "...dattara kessaku"
"That would be a big mistake" or "That would be a blunder".
p. 112, panel 3
TP: "You despicable monster!"
JP: "Bakemono no kuse ni"
"Though you're a monster"
p. 113, panel 5
TP: "Who is the one responsible for putting you in this awkward position?"
JP: "Ichiban ano onna o makikonde iru no wa ... dare?"
"The one who did the most to drag that woman into it is ... who?"
The JP text is clear, so I don't know why TP changed it as they did. My best guess is that they misread "onna," meaning "woman," as "otoko," meaning "man."
p. 116, panel 3
TP: "If you drag in that woman or Kazuma or anyone else, any further, it would only end up hurting them."
JP: "Kore ijou ano onna ya Kazuma ya hoka no ningen o makikondara kawaisou da yo."
"Kawaisou," which corresponds to "it would only end up hurting them" in TP, means "miserable" or "pitiful." Akito isn't explicitly making a threat, though there's probably one implied. Also, a subtle point: "hoka no ningen," which TP translates as "anyone else," literally means "another human being": is Akito implying that Kyou isn't human?
p. 116, panel 6
TP: "But...you can't stand me..."
JP: "...ore o sagesunderu kuse ni..."
"...even though you despise me..."
Though in TP Kyou appears to be speaking, I think that Akito is speaking here. In JP, the final balloon in the previous panel (which is definitely spoken by Akito, ends with an ellipsis, suggesting that the speech in this panel continues that in the last panel.
p. 123, panel 1
TP: "You know what they say about me! 'An existence made up of others' sacrifices and others' lives.'"
JP: "...tanin no gisei no ue ni tanin no inochi no ue ni naritatsu sonzai tte nanda yo..."
Literally, this would be "What is an existence made up of others' sacrifices and others' lives?" More idiomatically, it might be translated as "What sort of existence is built from other people's sacrifices and other people's lives?" understood as a rhetorical question. (Thanks to Susumu Oh-ishi, who explained this construction when I asked about it on the Yahoo jpnforum group; any mistakes are of course my responsibility.)
p. 161, panel 1
TP: "Do you want to know what I have to deal with?"
JP: "Boku o shiritai no?"
"Do you want to know me?"
p. 184, panel 4
TP: "Compared to him, those young people..."
JP: "Sore ni kurabete wakamonotachi wa..."
"Compared to that, young people..." Shigure is probably ironically quoting a stereotypical denunciation of the younger generation, not referring to any of the "young people" among the Sohmas, as it appears from TP.
Comments:
Post a Comment
