Thursday, February 02, 2006
FRUITS BASKET VOL. 12 TRANSLATION NOTES
As before, TP stands for Tokyopop's translation, JP stands for the Japanese text, and my own attempts at translation follow without prefix. The page numbers refer to Tokyopop's edition; the Japanese page numbers are the Tokyopop page numbers minus four.
p. 16, panel 5
TP: "...I failed to offer you strength when you needed it most."
JP: "kimi no chikara ni wa narenakatta you da."
"chikara ni naru" is an idiom meaning "help, assist," according to my big Japanese-English dictionary,
so it should read "I was unable to help you."
p. 36, panel 4
TP: "I know these people are supposed to be pretty bright, but they're coming off as awfully dim so far. I'm already starting to regret this..."
JP: "Koi n' da ka usui n' da ka togatteru n' da ka hekonderu n' da ka, yoku wakaranai menbaa da... kono ue ni tatanakya ikenai... no ka..."
A literal translation would be something like: "Are they thick or thin? Are they pointed or concave? I don't understand the members well. Do I need to be more active?" I'm not sure about the "be more active" part; "tatsu" (the root of "tatanakya"), which I translated as be active, is one of those Japanese verbs with an annoying profusion of meanings. In any case, the TP is completely different from the JP.
p. 41, panel 2
TP: "Forgive me. I am being sentimental..."
JP: "Katte na kanshou de shika arimasen ga..."
"But that's only willful sentimentality..." Shishou isn't apologizing to Tohru, he's saying that it wasn't better for his grandfather to be buried "outside" after all.
p. 51, panel 7
TP: "I truly would deserve to be punished"
JP: "Batsu ga kudatte touzen na koto na no kamo shiremasen"
"I might deserve to be punished" (emphasis mine); or "Punishment might follow naturally"
p. 52, panel 1
TP: "I won't give up easily."
JP: "Kantan ni wa akirametari shimasen"
"In brief, I won't give up"; or, more idiomatically, "I simply won't give up".
p. 67, panel 4"
TP: "I won't let her get involved!"
JP: "Yokei na koto wa sasenai"
Literally, "I won't permit an unnecessary (or uncalled-for) thing".
p. 72, panels 2-3
TP: "The gift that pours out from your heart.
JP: "Oshimu koto naku furasu mono"
"What you shed unstintingly" or "What you send out unstintingly"
p. 76, panel 6
There's a question mark at the end of Kagura's balloon in JP.
p. 85, panel 5
TP: "I thought I was the worst person on Earth."
JP: "Fuan datta..."
"I was anxious..." or "I was insecure..."
p. 87, panel 1
TP: "I wasn't pitied"
JP: "Fubin demo nai"
"I wasn't wretched" or "I wasn't pitiful"
p. 88, panel 1
TP: "I feel so dirty."
JP: "Watashi wa kitanai"
"I'm dirty" or "I'm despicable"
p. 88, panel 3
TP: "I wanted you to forget it ever happened."
JP: "Nakatta koto ni shite hoshikatta"
"I wanted to make it not have happened"
p. 90, panel 2
TP: "...just how foolish I was."
This has no counterpart in JP.
p. 90, panel 3
TP: "I never thought of your needs."
This also has no counterpart in JP.
p. 91, panel 5
TP: "I know this is painful for you. You don't need to say these things on my behalf."
JP: "Omae ga wazawaza jibun o kizutsukeru you na koto o iwanaku tatte ii daro."
"You don't have to deliberately say things which cause you pain."
p. 116, panel 1
TP: "A man's back is his life..."
JP: "Koshi wa otoko no inochi desu..."
This is an untranslateable play on words. "Koshi," which is also the word used in the Japanese for "threw his back out," means both "small of the back" and "loins."
p. 123, panel 5
In the JP corresponding to "school" in TP, the furigana are "gakkou" meaning school, but the kanji are "tandai" meaning "junior college."
p. 125, panel 5
TP: "I guess it's what you'd call a rude awakening..."
JP: "Nezame ga warui tte iu ka..."
"Was it a guilty conscience..." "Nezame ga warui" is an idiom meaning to feel remorseful or to have a guilty conscience.
p. 126, panel 3
TP: "You can't really rationalize emotions."
JP: "Atama de iroiro kangaeta tte"
"I thought various things" Actually, Kagura's words here and on the previous page were hard for me to understand in general, both in TP and in JP.
p. 133, panel 1
TP: "Whay are you so eager to talk, anyway?"
JP: "'Nani, nani' tte urusai yo."
"'What, what?' It's annoying."
Same panel
TP: "Anyway, talking isn't going to help anything."
JP: "Daiichi omae ni hanashita tokoro de nanimo dekinai kuse ni"
"When talking to you won't accomplish anything in the first place" (Emphasis mine.)
p. 134, panel 1
TP: "Gure-nii stupidly said, 'I will if you call me sensei.'"
JP: "'Sensei tte yobu nara ii yo' tte fuzakete itta Gure-nii no kotoba o"
"Gure-nii jokingly said, 'I will if you call me sensei.'" (My emphasis)
p. 135, panel 2
TP: "So why don't you go back to school, or whatever it is idiots like you do"
JP: "Baka wa baka rashiku gakkou seikatsu demo nandemo nonki ni sugoshitereba ii n' da yo"
Literally, though awkwardly, this would be something like "An idiot like you should be happy-go-luckily spending time in student life or whatever." Rin is accusing Yuki of being "nonki," which means carefree or easygoing, something not present in TP's translation. And while it's a defensible decision to omit it from the translation, I think, readers trying to figure out Rin's character may want to be aware of it.
p. 144, panel 2
TP: "Did I not understand something?"
JP: "Ore nannimo wakatte nakatta no ka?"
"Did I understand nothing?"
p. 144, panel 3
TP: "But maybe I got so complacent that I failed to hear you calling out to me when you needed me most?"
JP: "Ichiban ichiban taisetsu na koe o kikinogashiteta no ka?"
"Did I miss hearing your most important cry?"
p. 157, panels 6-8
TP: "Mom...don't go away like Mom..."
JP: "Okaasan o okaasan made tsurete ikanaide"
"Don't take even Mom" (I. e. "Don't go so far as to take Mom")
This is a case where I wish I was more confident of my Japanese. This is clearly an important scene, and TP's version does fit the context well (though my reading works too if you consider it part of the flashback). But none of the Japanese-English dictionaries I've consulted indicate "go away" as a possible meaning of "tsurete iku" ("iku" is the root of "ikanaide"). Because I wanted to be sure, I asked about this on a mailing list devoted to Japanese language and culture, but got no response; maybe it was considered to elementary to deserve a reply.
In JP, "okaasan o," "okaasan made,:" and "tsurete ikanaide" are in different "thought boxes" (though the second and third boxes overlap).
p. 182, panel 5
TP: "There's really no need for you to hate me so."
JP: "Sonna tsuntsun shinakute mo ii 'n ja nai?"
"You don't have to be so prim (or stuck-up), do you?"
p. 185, panel 2
TP: "That doesn't mean much coming from you."
JP: "...Honshitsuteki ni da yo"
"...That in itself is the problem" or "...Essentially that's the problem"
(Edited to clarify my translation of p. 157.)
As before, TP stands for Tokyopop's translation, JP stands for the Japanese text, and my own attempts at translation follow without prefix. The page numbers refer to Tokyopop's edition; the Japanese page numbers are the Tokyopop page numbers minus four.
p. 16, panel 5
TP: "...I failed to offer you strength when you needed it most."
JP: "kimi no chikara ni wa narenakatta you da."
"chikara ni naru" is an idiom meaning "help, assist," according to my big Japanese-English dictionary,
so it should read "I was unable to help you."
p. 36, panel 4
TP: "I know these people are supposed to be pretty bright, but they're coming off as awfully dim so far. I'm already starting to regret this..."
JP: "Koi n' da ka usui n' da ka togatteru n' da ka hekonderu n' da ka, yoku wakaranai menbaa da... kono ue ni tatanakya ikenai... no ka..."
A literal translation would be something like: "Are they thick or thin? Are they pointed or concave? I don't understand the members well. Do I need to be more active?" I'm not sure about the "be more active" part; "tatsu" (the root of "tatanakya"), which I translated as be active, is one of those Japanese verbs with an annoying profusion of meanings. In any case, the TP is completely different from the JP.
p. 41, panel 2
TP: "Forgive me. I am being sentimental..."
JP: "Katte na kanshou de shika arimasen ga..."
"But that's only willful sentimentality..." Shishou isn't apologizing to Tohru, he's saying that it wasn't better for his grandfather to be buried "outside" after all.
p. 51, panel 7
TP: "I truly would deserve to be punished"
JP: "Batsu ga kudatte touzen na koto na no kamo shiremasen"
"I might deserve to be punished" (emphasis mine); or "Punishment might follow naturally"
p. 52, panel 1
TP: "I won't give up easily."
JP: "Kantan ni wa akirametari shimasen"
"In brief, I won't give up"; or, more idiomatically, "I simply won't give up".
p. 67, panel 4"
TP: "I won't let her get involved!"
JP: "Yokei na koto wa sasenai"
Literally, "I won't permit an unnecessary (or uncalled-for) thing".
p. 72, panels 2-3
TP: "The gift that pours out from your heart.
JP: "Oshimu koto naku furasu mono"
"What you shed unstintingly" or "What you send out unstintingly"
p. 76, panel 6
There's a question mark at the end of Kagura's balloon in JP.
p. 85, panel 5
TP: "I thought I was the worst person on Earth."
JP: "Fuan datta..."
"I was anxious..." or "I was insecure..."
p. 87, panel 1
TP: "I wasn't pitied"
JP: "Fubin demo nai"
"I wasn't wretched" or "I wasn't pitiful"
p. 88, panel 1
TP: "I feel so dirty."
JP: "Watashi wa kitanai"
"I'm dirty" or "I'm despicable"
p. 88, panel 3
TP: "I wanted you to forget it ever happened."
JP: "Nakatta koto ni shite hoshikatta"
"I wanted to make it not have happened"
p. 90, panel 2
TP: "...just how foolish I was."
This has no counterpart in JP.
p. 90, panel 3
TP: "I never thought of your needs."
This also has no counterpart in JP.
p. 91, panel 5
TP: "I know this is painful for you. You don't need to say these things on my behalf."
JP: "Omae ga wazawaza jibun o kizutsukeru you na koto o iwanaku tatte ii daro."
"You don't have to deliberately say things which cause you pain."
p. 116, panel 1
TP: "A man's back is his life..."
JP: "Koshi wa otoko no inochi desu..."
This is an untranslateable play on words. "Koshi," which is also the word used in the Japanese for "threw his back out," means both "small of the back" and "loins."
p. 123, panel 5
In the JP corresponding to "school" in TP, the furigana are "gakkou" meaning school, but the kanji are "tandai" meaning "junior college."
p. 125, panel 5
TP: "I guess it's what you'd call a rude awakening..."
JP: "Nezame ga warui tte iu ka..."
"Was it a guilty conscience..." "Nezame ga warui" is an idiom meaning to feel remorseful or to have a guilty conscience.
p. 126, panel 3
TP: "You can't really rationalize emotions."
JP: "Atama de iroiro kangaeta tte"
"I thought various things" Actually, Kagura's words here and on the previous page were hard for me to understand in general, both in TP and in JP.
p. 133, panel 1
TP: "Whay are you so eager to talk, anyway?"
JP: "'Nani, nani' tte urusai yo."
"'What, what?' It's annoying."
Same panel
TP: "Anyway, talking isn't going to help anything."
JP: "Daiichi omae ni hanashita tokoro de nanimo dekinai kuse ni"
"When talking to you won't accomplish anything in the first place" (Emphasis mine.)
p. 134, panel 1
TP: "Gure-nii stupidly said, 'I will if you call me sensei.'"
JP: "'Sensei tte yobu nara ii yo' tte fuzakete itta Gure-nii no kotoba o"
"Gure-nii jokingly said, 'I will if you call me sensei.'" (My emphasis)
p. 135, panel 2
TP: "So why don't you go back to school, or whatever it is idiots like you do"
JP: "Baka wa baka rashiku gakkou seikatsu demo nandemo nonki ni sugoshitereba ii n' da yo"
Literally, though awkwardly, this would be something like "An idiot like you should be happy-go-luckily spending time in student life or whatever." Rin is accusing Yuki of being "nonki," which means carefree or easygoing, something not present in TP's translation. And while it's a defensible decision to omit it from the translation, I think, readers trying to figure out Rin's character may want to be aware of it.
p. 144, panel 2
TP: "Did I not understand something?"
JP: "Ore nannimo wakatte nakatta no ka?"
"Did I understand nothing?"
p. 144, panel 3
TP: "But maybe I got so complacent that I failed to hear you calling out to me when you needed me most?"
JP: "Ichiban ichiban taisetsu na koe o kikinogashiteta no ka?"
"Did I miss hearing your most important cry?"
p. 157, panels 6-8
TP: "Mom...don't go away like Mom..."
JP: "Okaasan o okaasan made tsurete ikanaide"
"Don't take even Mom" (I. e. "Don't go so far as to take Mom")
This is a case where I wish I was more confident of my Japanese. This is clearly an important scene, and TP's version does fit the context well (though my reading works too if you consider it part of the flashback). But none of the Japanese-English dictionaries I've consulted indicate "go away" as a possible meaning of "tsurete iku" ("iku" is the root of "ikanaide"). Because I wanted to be sure, I asked about this on a mailing list devoted to Japanese language and culture, but got no response; maybe it was considered to elementary to deserve a reply.
In JP, "okaasan o," "okaasan made,:" and "tsurete ikanaide" are in different "thought boxes" (though the second and third boxes overlap).
p. 182, panel 5
TP: "There's really no need for you to hate me so."
JP: "Sonna tsuntsun shinakute mo ii 'n ja nai?"
"You don't have to be so prim (or stuck-up), do you?"
p. 185, panel 2
TP: "That doesn't mean much coming from you."
JP: "...Honshitsuteki ni da yo"
"...That in itself is the problem" or "...Essentially that's the problem"
(Edited to clarify my translation of p. 157.)
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