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Post by dooz on Sept 8, 2009 2:38:17 GMT -5
This is a very interesting article. Great read!
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Post by dai jou bu on Sept 10, 2009 4:31:48 GMT -5
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Post by kobushi on Sept 10, 2009 17:17:53 GMT -5
^^ There are many mistakes. I realize song lyrics can be ambiguous and open to interpretation in some cases, but there are many parts that are just flat-out misunderstanding the Japanese.
Just taking the first couple lines...
1. "washing" is a poor choice - the JP is referring to shooting/falling stars 2. "They are here because they want to be found." (where "they" can also be the singer, since the subject is unspecified) 3. "At the sign of someone's outstretched hand," 4. "The quietly circling stars shine *bright*"
* lit. "blue", but in Japanese blue (青) is mostly the color of youth and life, unlike being "blue" in English.
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Post by wyrdwad on Sept 11, 2009 0:09:47 GMT -5
Yeah, both translations are almost equally crappy - the first just uses worse English, so it stands out more. That's always the danger with bad translations written by people who understand English, or bad translations that receive good editing... they can very easily come across as competent, whether or not they are.
I wouldn't worry too much about what the song's saying, though - like most jpop songs, its lyrics are utterly irrelevant and actually kinda stupid. Japanese pop music is more about the sound than the words.
-Tom
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Post by Dais on Sept 11, 2009 20:34:29 GMT -5
wait, dai, did you make that first link's translation yourself? also, this thread is interesting, in the way some NeoGAF threads are pain-inducingly interesting: www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=373896Do we even know for sure if the remake has the same Japanese script as the original? Because that would strike me as kind of unusual.
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Post by wyrdwad on Sept 11, 2009 22:32:30 GMT -5
I think it's disappointing that WD's translation isn't being used... but at the same time, XSEED has proven themselves very capable translators, and I firmly believe that if they put the effort into this that it calls for, they'll be able to craft a translation up to par with Working Designs'.
-Tom
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Post by dai jou bu on Sept 11, 2009 23:03:08 GMT -5
wait, dai, did you make that first link's translation yourself? Yeah, quick and dirty. I wouldn't worry too much about what the song's saying, though - like most jpop songs, its lyrics are utterly irrelevant and actually kinda stupid. Japanese pop music is more about the sound than the words. -Tom Yeah, I figured as much when I started translating some of the lyrics to these songs. I was scratching my head going, "what?" Just taking the first couple lines... 1. "washing" is a poor choice - the JP is referring to shooting/falling stars 2. "They are here because they want to be found." (where "they" can also be the singer, since the subject is unspecified) 3. "At the sign of someone's outstretched hand," 4. "The quietly circling stars shine *bright*" * lit. "blue", but in Japanese blue (青) is mostly the color of youth and life, unlike being "blue" in English. Okay, my defense! There's a reason why I used Project Diva's PV instead of the full song: 1.) I chose "washing" since Miku was doing a wiping motion during the PV when she says this. 2.) Miku's only light source above her suddenly blacks out, which to me implies that the stars disappeared just as she "found" them at where she's standing. 3.) Yeah, this line made no sense no matter how I tried to piece it together, so I'll just plead the wyrdwad quote. 4.) I was also thinking about wording that better, but I was like, "meh, I wanna get this done, so I'll try to get it to sort of make sense." I also wasn't going anywhere near the feeling "blue" expression; kinda thought she meant "pale skies," since she was standing behind one when she said that. One of my translation tools have failed me on this entire sentence! Anyway, thanks for the feedback.
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Post by wyrdwad on Sept 12, 2009 1:31:24 GMT -5
I feel bad, now, for calling your work crappy. (: I thought I was insulting a random YouTube person, not a person who posts on HG101 regularly and seems really cool. Sorry about that!
-Tom
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Post by Dais on Sept 12, 2009 1:44:25 GMT -5
did you not notice the name of his youtube account, or are you one of those people who had their mind blown by Castlevania III?
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Post by kobushi on Sept 12, 2009 1:52:37 GMT -5
Yeah, I didn't realize either - I hope I didn't sound harsh. I think it's great that you're translating and trying to make this stuff more accessible.
To expand on the "blue" thing: I was just explaining my word choice. I think the "pale skies" you used is incorrect, as "blue" (青く) clearly modifies "shine" (光って). But "shining blue", while accurate on the word level, is pretty empty in English. In Japanese, it brings with it connotations of youth and life and adolescence.
Summing up: you have a lonely star twinkling faintly across the sky (line 1), waiting for someone to take notice (2), and when someone reaches out for it (3), the star surges bright with new light (4). (The star being, of course, a young girl falling in love.)
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Post by wyrdwad on Sept 12, 2009 1:54:48 GMT -5
did you not notice the name of his youtube account, or are you one of those people who had their mind blown by Castlevania III? I'm confused by the latter option there... what does Castlevania III have to do with anything? When I click on a YouTube video link, I generally just watch the video, and pay no attention to anything else. I never take note of who it's from or anything. -Tom
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Post by cj iwakura on Sept 14, 2009 17:34:25 GMT -5
So there was a thread at NeoGAF about Working Designs localizations, and it wasn't long before Mr. Ireland himself showed up to contribute. (This is the main reason I keep tabs on that board.) He frequently shares insight into what set a Working Designs localization above the rest. Magic Knight Rayearth, the last Saturn game ever released in the US. It's not nearly worth as much as it should be today. Victor, on MKR: Personally, I feel it's apparent that only the most devout would have bought MKR(considering the Saturn was already flatlined by then), and they deserved something special, and received it. The original dialogue was reportedly very kiddy, and WD made it interesting. ^Very good news. And he went and found that scene from Alundra SCEA made him remove. Suffice it to say... Some other comments of note: Lastly, an interesting bit from Arc the Lad's instruction book, c/o the GAF thread: Keep on rolling, Victor. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us.
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Post by Discoalucard on Sept 14, 2009 17:41:13 GMT -5
I saw that Alundra quote and cracked the hell up.
Funny, because for the most part, and from what I remember, Alundra was a lot more restrained than the Lunar games were.
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Post by Dais on Sept 14, 2009 19:37:55 GMT -5
He frequently shares insight into what set a Working Designs localization above the rest. it'd be nice if you had quoted those posts.
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Post by cj iwakura on Sept 14, 2009 19:39:30 GMT -5
I did.
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