Not Red Reviews

The translator for gg’s Sasami couldn’t do the 4th episode for reasons, so I filled in.

The only problem is that Thursday night I had a total of 1.5 hours of sleep, after which I did Vividred, had an exam on the methodology of science (科学方法論), and checked the translation for Robotics;Notes, so let’s just say I was worn out. As a result translating this episode took almost 5 hours instead of the normal 2-3. Just finding the word “beat” for the line above took me minutes of strained thinking.

Now for these flags. Aokigahara is a huge forest at the foot of Fuji (the other, smaller words say “Mt Fuji”, “lost (child)” and “wild nature”, yoroshiku), a notorious spot for suicides. The flag in the right reads 一花開天下春 (ikka hiraite tenka haru nari) refers to how the blooming of a single flower shows the coming of spring, or in a more abstract sense, how one can draw conclusions regarding the whole from just a part of it.

The left one is too much calligraphy for me to read (I only recognize the kana). The right one is probably some graduation certificate (it has 学業 gakugyou in it), but there’s not enough of the text visible to figure out the rest. The 仍テ茲ニ之ヲ yotte koko ni kore wo means close to nothing  in itself. I’d guess it’s something like “therefore hereby (I certify) that…”

Not even 4 minutes in, I already enjoyed translating this show a lot. It’s fun.

That suit of armor made me laugh so hard every single time.

セーフ！ (Inside joke.)

霊的な電波っぽいもの (reiteki na denpa-ppoi mono, lit. spiritual electromagnetic wave-like things) is a very good example of her unique way of speaking. Her general tone and the ease with which she spouts out “difficult” words is in sharp contrast with words and constructs that are all but formal (such as -ppoi mono).

Beep-beep.

明るい家族計画 (akarui kazoku-keikaku, happy family planning) is a mid-’90s TV drama about a guy who works at a condom company and his family. Apparently the title was used as a slang term for condoms around that time. I wasn’t up for the challenge of finding a matching TV series in English (I doubt there’s one at all), so I just went with “jimmy hats”, which is also quite outdated slang for the barrier device in question.

I know it says “jersey” on screen. It’s the principle that matters. The principle.

Maybe “awareness” would’ve been a better choice for 意識.

I honestly admit I had no idea what this “red helmet and a placard” refers to. Now I know that it’s the signature move of a Japanese hidden camera comedy show (cf. Candid Camera).

There’s a reason I wrote it like that. 天宇受売命, also written as 天鈿女命, Ama-no-Uzume is the goddess of dawn. She was the one who contributed greatly to luring Amaterasu out of the cave where she shut herself in. There are tons of signs in the shop, and I really can’t be arsed to translate them all for you. Most should be obvious just by the designs anyway (at least ones like K-On or popular hentai releases).

I don’t get this reference. If I were to follow from the otaku side of the scene, Yamato Senki could be a combination of Battleship Yamato 2199 and Gundam Senki. From the Japanese history-mythology side, yamato is the name for ethnic Japanese (usually written as 大和, but the etymology is rather 山人, “mountain people”). In the story of their wars (戦記 senki) Mt Ibuki is an important strategic point (not to mention I can see it every day as I step outside my door). The only divinity I could find with the name Ibuki is Ibuki-donushi (気吹戸主 ibuki-donushi), the “aspect” of the God of Purification (祓戸大神 haraedo-no-ookami) that “blows away” sins during purification ceremonies. This god (gods?) of purification are revered at a shrine not so far from where I live, so I might even go some day to check it out.

The text on the body pillow reads “brother” (お兄ちゃん onii-chan).

This episode he’s the camera guy from famous Japanese anti-piracy ads. These were actually shown in cinemas. I actually consider it highly offensive to be treated/threatened as if I were a pirate, when I buy a ticket to the movies or the disk release. (Also, sense the irony of these uploaded to Youtube?)

This line is probably wrong, but it just makes no sense to me. Let me explain how I interpreted what he says to justify my choice. In a previous episode it was said that the Tsukuyomi people worked hard for the sake of mankind by harboring the power of Amaterasu, transforming the world to be a nice place for humans. As the Moon overthrows the Sun, the Tsukuyomi family, as the people of Tsukuyomi, the god of the Moon will be rewarded. I thought that they actually cared for humankind and that’s why they worked as they did, so their reward would be beneficial to everyone. (Now written down this is quite a long and retarded reasoning, but when something makes no sense, it happens.) Anyway. Following the previous line, this should probably be “and mankind shall see the dawn of a new rule!”

My bad, etc.

But even then, though translation-wise correct, it makes no sense to me. The Tsukuyomi family have held and guarded the power of Amaterasu for thousands of years. Tsukuyomi is the god of the moon, by the way. Why would the Moon suddenly overthrow the Sun? Why would they suddenly decide to rebel and claim this power for themselves? Why would they even think it could succeed with the Yagami sisters around (just remember how they wreaked havoc at the Tsukuyomi shrine)? It’s not only oldfag Japanese that I’m bad at, it doesn’t make sense even if I understand what he’s supposedly saying.

This is the first episode when the ending song is there (and clear) all along. Enjoy. (浸透圧シンフォニー)

This entry was posted by Vale.