Derping around Pegasusknight with Rikaichan again
(because that's clearly what I should be doing when I have homework and job apps on my plate)
I wanted to check the particulars of Soren's politeness/formality in the Japanese version, since I thought it was weird he used all the respectful -masu/desu things with Ike but was casual enough to use boku. Checked some other stuff while I was at it.
PoR Base convo with Soren: Remarkably intact, but Soren's objection to Ike's line that he has trustworthy friends and he hopes he's not deluding himself is much stronger. (そんなことはありません！ 決して！▼ / That's not the case! Absolutely not! VS No, you're not! You're not.)
Ch 20 opening: Titania's quip that "Ike didn't sleep because he was thinking. I wonder if Soren will start being polite..." originally didn't involve Soren at all. She says "アイクが寝ないで考えごとなんて… 天気は大丈夫かしら？ / Ike didn't sleep because he was thinking... I wonder if the weather is all right?" (I think that quip is probably the cultural equivalent of "I wonder if the sky is still blue?" -- my guess.)
Ch 11: Soren's rant is dead on with the English translation, harshness and all. (In fact, he even uses plain forms a few times in it. Holy shit.) Titania's line of "Soren's a very empathetic young man. The emotions of this place may have proven to be too much for him." is "セネリオは敏感な子だからこういう雰囲気、耐えられないんじゃない？" brb loling at Soren being called a sensitive child. No seriously. Not young man. Just child. Kid. I'm not surprised, since there are a lot of references that made it into translation to people perceiving Soren as a kid. As for the translation of sensitive/empathetic, I don't know Japanese well enough to remark on it.
Ch 8 post-script: Soren uses a lot of plain forms while cursing out the laguz (to no one's particular surprise, having already seen Ch 11 by now). Plain plain plain city. Only significant change -- for some reason, they changed Soren's "You're nothing but a beast ...!" after Ike intercepts Mordecai to "You're nothing but a beast." Also, bad news: Mordecai talks in third person in the Japanese. :( Noteworthy: Soren stays in plain when yelling IKE WHY DID YOU STOP ME HE HURT YOU. Also, after Ike's like "And if you didn't tick him off it wouldn't have happened, right?" instead of "But-- I only... I'm sorry..." all we have is "！！ ・・・・・・・・・・・・ ・・・・・・すみません・・・" which in my opinion is NOT THAT HARD to translate to "!! ... ... ... I'm sorry..." But we know how hard "..." is to translate for Soren amirite. [Incidentally: sub-human = "半獣" half-beast]
So I'm resuming my quest to see if Soren uses watashi and... Dude OSCAR USES WATASHI
Oh wow, Stefan's encounter in PoR 15 by Soren is a lot different in the Japanese (and makes a shitton more sense)
Speaker: Official
Japanese (Rough Translation when necessary -- please note that I am guessing like hell with Stefan because he talks weird.)
Soren: Woah!
……！？
Stefan: Are you lost, young one? What are you doing in this place?
………迷い子か？ こんなところで、何をしている？ (A lost child? What are you doing in this place?)
Soren: What are YOU doing here? Are you with the sub-humans? ...Wait, did you just pop out of the sand?
…あなたこそ何者ですか？ 半獣どもの… 仲間じゃないんですか？ (I should ask you the same question. The sub-humans' team... are you not in league with them?)
Stefan: Mmm...
…………
Soren: What?
？
Stefan: ...Hmm. It seems I made an error.
……ふ… 私の読み違いか…… (Hmm... was my reading incorrect?)
Soren: What are you talking about? You're not--
なんですか？ さっきから… (What are you talking about? From the beginning...)
Stefan: I was wrong. It's nothing. I've no use for you.
違うなら、いいのだ。 もう、おまえに用はない。 (In the case that I'm wrong, it's fine. I have no more business with you.)
Soren: Oh. All right, then.
……
(Soren exits.)
Stefan: Hold!
…待て！ (Wait!)
(Soren comes back on-screen.)
Soren: What now?
！？
Stefan: It would be a shame to see you go home empty-handed. I will give you this as a memento! Now, in exchange... I ask you to treat our meeting as a dream and let it fade from your memory. And now, I bid thee... Farewell!
手ぶらで帰すのも芸がないな。 記念に、これをやろう。 そのかわり… 私に出会ったことは夢だとして、
早く忘れるよう心がけてくれ。 では、御免。 (It would be dull to send you back empty-handed, wouldn't it? In memory, I give this. This exchange... take this meeting with me as a dream, and try to quickly forget my face. Well then, pardon me.)
That conversation really made a ton more sense in the Japanese, considering that just shortly before this encounter, Soren found out that he was Branded. Also, he seems much more concerned -- even jumpy -- about this encounter. (See "What now?" vs "!?") Seems like the subtleties of this exchange totally flew over the translators' heads.
Similarly, Soren is much more inconfident at the end of the scene with Nasir:
Soren: That's true only until I reveal your purpose to Ike.
・・・では、あなたの正体をアイクたちに言うまでです。 (That's only true until I tell Ike and the others about your true colors.)
Nasir: Everyone has a secret or two that he wants to bury somewhere deep. Including you... Soren.
・・・誰にだって隠しておきたい秘密の１つや２つあるだろう？・・・・・・君も例外でないように、ね。 (Everyone has a secret or two they harbor and hide and would like to leave behind, don't you agree? Even you are no exception, hm?)
Soren: ...I don't know what you mean.
！！
Nasir: Oh, I trust that we understand each other. The army rises early tomorrow. I suggest we turn in.
・・・そういうことだ。 さあ、明日も早いんだ。もう寝よう。 (... It's like that. So, since we rise early tomorrow, let's go sleep already.)
Soren: The enemy knew we were coming today.
今日の奇襲を・・・敵は事前に知っているようでした。 (Today's ambush... the enemy knew we were coming.)
Nasir: And you think I'm responsible?
・・・・・・私の仕業だと思うのかい？▼ (And you think it was my act?)
Soren: Yes, I do.
ええ・・・ (Yes...)
Nasir: My, oh, my... You really ARE suspicious, aren't you? Good night, Soren.
やれやれ・・・嫌われたものだ。 おやすみ。 (My, my [yare yare]... You really hate me. Good night.)
Soren: ...
・・・・・・・・・・・・ (Wait wait, I know how this translates. It translates as... "And good night to you."!!!)
It's also worth noting that Nasir is casual in his endings and stuff but uses watashi anyway. Commence my "dragons are all androgynous deep down inside" pet theory.
I wanted to check the particulars of Soren's politeness/formality in the Japanese version, since I thought it was weird he used all the respectful -masu/desu things with Ike but was casual enough to use boku. Checked some other stuff while I was at it.
PoR Base convo with Soren: Remarkably intact, but Soren's objection to Ike's line that he has trustworthy friends and he hopes he's not deluding himself is much stronger. (そんなことはありません！ 決して！▼ / That's not the case! Absolutely not! VS No, you're not! You're not.)
Ch 20 opening: Titania's quip that "Ike didn't sleep because he was thinking. I wonder if Soren will start being polite..." originally didn't involve Soren at all. She says "アイクが寝ないで考えごとなんて… 天気は大丈夫かしら？ / Ike didn't sleep because he was thinking... I wonder if the weather is all right?" (I think that quip is probably the cultural equivalent of "I wonder if the sky is still blue?" -- my guess.)
Ch 11: Soren's rant is dead on with the English translation, harshness and all. (In fact, he even uses plain forms a few times in it. Holy shit.) Titania's line of "Soren's a very empathetic young man. The emotions of this place may have proven to be too much for him." is "セネリオは敏感な子だからこういう雰囲気、耐えられないんじゃない？" brb loling at Soren being called a sensitive child. No seriously. Not young man. Just child. Kid. I'm not surprised, since there are a lot of references that made it into translation to people perceiving Soren as a kid. As for the translation of sensitive/empathetic, I don't know Japanese well enough to remark on it.
Ch 8 post-script: Soren uses a lot of plain forms while cursing out the laguz (to no one's particular surprise, having already seen Ch 11 by now). Plain plain plain city. Only significant change -- for some reason, they changed Soren's "You're nothing but a beast ...!" after Ike intercepts Mordecai to "You're nothing but a beast." Also, bad news: Mordecai talks in third person in the Japanese. :( Noteworthy: Soren stays in plain when yelling IKE WHY DID YOU STOP ME HE HURT YOU. Also, after Ike's like "And if you didn't tick him off it wouldn't have happened, right?" instead of "But-- I only... I'm sorry..." all we have is "！！ ・・・・・・・・・・・・ ・・・・・・すみません・・・" which in my opinion is NOT THAT HARD to translate to "!! ... ... ... I'm sorry..." But we know how hard "..." is to translate for Soren amirite. [Incidentally: sub-human = "半獣" half-beast]
So I'm resuming my quest to see if Soren uses watashi and... Dude OSCAR USES WATASHI
Oh wow, Stefan's encounter in PoR 15 by Soren is a lot different in the Japanese (and makes a shitton more sense)
Speaker: Official
Japanese (Rough Translation when necessary -- please note that I am guessing like hell with Stefan because he talks weird.)
Soren: Woah!
……！？
Stefan: Are you lost, young one? What are you doing in this place?
………迷い子か？ こんなところで、何をしている？ (A lost child? What are you doing in this place?)
Soren: What are YOU doing here? Are you with the sub-humans? ...Wait, did you just pop out of the sand?
…あなたこそ何者ですか？ 半獣どもの… 仲間じゃないんですか？ (I should ask you the same question. The sub-humans' team... are you not in league with them?)
Stefan: Mmm...
…………
Soren: What?
？
Stefan: ...Hmm. It seems I made an error.
……ふ… 私の読み違いか…… (Hmm... was my reading incorrect?)
Soren: What are you talking about? You're not--
なんですか？ さっきから… (What are you talking about? From the beginning...)
Stefan: I was wrong. It's nothing. I've no use for you.
違うなら、いいのだ。 もう、おまえに用はない。 (In the case that I'm wrong, it's fine. I have no more business with you.)
Soren: Oh. All right, then.
……
(Soren exits.)
Stefan: Hold!
…待て！ (Wait!)
(Soren comes back on-screen.)
Soren: What now?
！？
Stefan: It would be a shame to see you go home empty-handed. I will give you this as a memento! Now, in exchange... I ask you to treat our meeting as a dream and let it fade from your memory. And now, I bid thee... Farewell!
手ぶらで帰すのも芸がないな。 記念に、これをやろう。 そのかわり… 私に出会ったことは夢だとして、
早く忘れるよう心がけてくれ。 では、御免。 (It would be dull to send you back empty-handed, wouldn't it? In memory, I give this. This exchange... take this meeting with me as a dream, and try to quickly forget my face. Well then, pardon me.)
That conversation really made a ton more sense in the Japanese, considering that just shortly before this encounter, Soren found out that he was Branded. Also, he seems much more concerned -- even jumpy -- about this encounter. (See "What now?" vs "!?") Seems like the subtleties of this exchange totally flew over the translators' heads.
Similarly, Soren is much more inconfident at the end of the scene with Nasir:
Soren: That's true only until I reveal your purpose to Ike.
・・・では、あなたの正体をアイクたちに言うまでです。 (That's only true until I tell Ike and the others about your true colors.)
Nasir: Everyone has a secret or two that he wants to bury somewhere deep. Including you... Soren.
・・・誰にだって隠しておきたい秘密の１つや２つあるだろう？・・・・・・君も例外でないように、ね。 (Everyone has a secret or two they harbor and hide and would like to leave behind, don't you agree? Even you are no exception, hm?)
Soren: ...I don't know what you mean.
！！
Nasir: Oh, I trust that we understand each other. The army rises early tomorrow. I suggest we turn in.
・・・そういうことだ。 さあ、明日も早いんだ。もう寝よう。 (... It's like that. So, since we rise early tomorrow, let's go sleep already.)
Soren: The enemy knew we were coming today.
今日の奇襲を・・・敵は事前に知っているようでした。 (Today's ambush... the enemy knew we were coming.)
Nasir: And you think I'm responsible?
・・・・・・私の仕業だと思うのかい？▼ (And you think it was my act?)
Soren: Yes, I do.
ええ・・・ (Yes...)
Nasir: My, oh, my... You really ARE suspicious, aren't you? Good night, Soren.
やれやれ・・・嫌われたものだ。 おやすみ。 (My, my [yare yare]... You really hate me. Good night.)
Soren: ...
・・・・・・・・・・・・ (Wait wait, I know how this translates. It translates as... "And good night to you."!!!)
It's also worth noting that Nasir is casual in his endings and stuff but uses watashi anyway. Commence my "dragons are all androgynous deep down inside" pet theory.