Illusion of Gaia Translation Commentary Part 8: Return to South Cape
Karen gets mischaracterized again... *sigh*
Disclaimers:
I’m an amateur. My advantage over the original translation is that I have no deadline pressure, and I have the modern internet to help me. I’m assuredly wrong about some of my translations.
Translation is hard. When I point out a mistranslation, it’s not a judgment of the original translator(s). They had a deadline and poor resources.
Some of my translations are rather liberal. I’ll usually make note if so.
Please no jokes in the comments about Karen being a Karen. I really hate that trend.
Notation reminder:
JP: Original Japanese
T: My translation
OE: Original English
The game takes us straight to Tim’s house, and things look… not so good.
JP: テム： うわっ！ なんだよ この あれようは．．．
T: Tim: Aaah! What the… It looks like a storm tore through here.
OE: Will: What! What’s happened…
JP: カレン： ひどい．．．．！ いったい だれがこんなことを．．．
テム： おじいちゃんと おばあちゃんは！？
T: Karen: This is terrible! Who the heck would do such a thing?
Tim: Where are grandpa and grandma?
OE: Kara: It’s awful! Who would do such a thing…
Will: My Grandparents?!
Once again, Tim just specifies a topic with は (wa) without finishing the thought and OE translates a little too literally. It leads to this funny exchange in OE, where it seems like Will is answering Kara’s question.
JP: カレン： ビルおじいさまーっ！
テム： ローラおばあちーゃん！
T: Karen: Grandfather Biiiill!
Tim: Grandma Lauraaaa!
OE: Kara: Grandpa Bill!
Will: Grandma Lola!
JP: カレン： あたし 2階を 見てくるっ！
T: Karen: I’ll go look upstairs.
OE: Kara: I’ll look upstairs!
If you try to leave:
JP: テム：（いや 手がかりはきっと 家の中に あるはずだ．．．）
T: Tim: (No, I’m sure there are still some clues in here.)
OE: Will: (I suspect there’s a clue in the house…)
After a short amount of time, Karen will scream:
JP: カレン： キャーーーーーーッ！！！ きて！ たすけて！ テム！ た、たいへん、たいへんよ！
T: Karen: Kyaaaaaaaaah! Come here! Help, Tim! This is dreadful, just dreadful!
OE: Kara: Ooooh!!! Will!! Come here! Quick! It’s terrible, terrible!
This isn’t a note on the translation but: Christ, Karen, reassure Tim before you shriek like this! He’s going to think their bodies are upstairs or something.
JP: テム： どうしたの！？
カレン： このカベを見て！ このしるし、黒いヒョウのマーク．． ブラックパンサーが きたんだわ！
T: Tim: What’s wrong!?
Karen: Look at this wall! This symbol looks like a black leopard. It means the Black Panther was here!
OE: Look at the wall! This mark, a jackal… The Jackal’s here!
This threw me for a loop as a kid. Yeah, he’s not still there. Karen is speaking in past tense.
It’s no surprise at all that the Black Panther’s name was changed in the English version. It had to be done, but jaguar would have worked as well.
JP: テム： ブラックパンサーって．．．？
カレン： 最近 お母さまが やとった 殺し屋よ！
T: Tim: Who’s the Black Panther?
Karen: He’s the assassin my mother hired!
OE: Will: Jackal…?
Kara: He’s the hunter hired by my mother!!
JP: しつっこくて 暗くて ふきつな男なの。
T: He’s a tenacious, cheerless, sinister man.
OE: An evil man who will stop at nothing!
JP: 一度 こいつに ねらわれたら もう、おしまい．．． 人の命なんてなんとも思わない男よ！
T: Once he’s targeted you, you’re already done for. He’s a man who doesn’t care about things like human life.
JP: テム： しゃあ おじいちゃんと おばあちゃんは．．
T: Tim: Then, grandma and grandpa are…
OE: Will: My Grandpa and Grandma….
JP: リリィ： ご安心あれ、おふたりさん。
テム： あ。 君は さっきの．．．
T: Lily: Relax, you two.
Tim: Ah. I met you before.
OE: Lilly: Don’t worry, you two.
Will: You’re the one who…
JP: カレン： あなた だあれ！？
リリィ： テムの お友達よーだ。
T: Karen: Who are you!?
Lily: I’m Tim’s friend.
OE: Kara: Who are you?!
Lilly: I’m Will’s friend.
I’ll be candid. I don’t like Lily very much. In the upcoming scenes she’s going to jump down Karen’s throat multiple times, totally unprovoked. But here’s our first hint as to why: I think she’s supposed to have a crush on Tim and (rightly, it turns out) sees Karen as competition. Hence, instead of saying “Hi, I’m Lily, I helped Tim escape jail” like a normal person would, she says this, like a child trying to fight over who’s better friends with someone.
JP: テム： リリィ、きみはなにか知ってるの？
リリィ： だいじょうぶ。 ビルおじいちゃんも ローラおばあちゃんも 無事だよ。
T: Tim: Lily, what is it that you know?
Lily: It’s ok. Your grandpa Bill and grandma Laura are safe.
OE: Will: Lilly, do you know anything about this?
Lilly: It’s OK. Your Grandpa and Grandma are safe.
JP: あたしの村にかくれてる。
カレン： あなたの村？
T: They’re hiding in my village.
Karen: What village is that?
OE: They’re in my village.
Kara: Your village?
JP: リリィ： イトリー族の村。
カレン： そんな村、きいたこともないわ！
T: Lily: The village of the Itory Clan.
Karen: I’ve never heard of such a village!
OE: Lilly: Itory Village.
Kara: I’ve never heard of this village!
JP: リリィ： 当然よ。 あたしの村には 結界がはってあって ふつうの 人間には 見えやしないもんねっ。
T: Lily: Naturally. It’s because there’s a magic barrier around my village so there’s no way ordinary people can see it.
OE: Lilly: Naturally. My village has a barrier around it.
Ordinary people like you can’t see it.
JP: リリィ： さあ 行こっ。 テム！
テム： うん！
T: Lily: Well then, let’s go, Tim!
Tim: Yeah!
OE: Lilly: Let’s go, Will!
Will: OK!
JP: カレン： あたしも ついて行く！
リリィ： おひめさまには キケンだよっ。
T: Karen: I’m going too!
Lily: It’s too dangerous for Her Royal Highness.
OE: Kara: I’m going, too!
Lilly: It’s far too dangerous for a princess.
Lily’s first unprovoked attack on Karen. She uses the same title that all of the soldiers in the castle use for Karen—I’ve tried to convey that she’s adopting the more formal title to mock Karen.
Also… Karen didn’t introduce herself, but Lily already knows she’s the princess. Was she spying as a dandelion seed or something?
JP: カレン： 絶対に ついて行くもん！ これで あたし ほんとに 自由になれるのねっ！
リリィ： これだもの おじょうさまったら。
T: Karen: I’m definitely coming along! This way I can truly get used to my newfound freedom.
Lily: Ugh, if that’s what “Your Majesty” really wants.
OE: Kara: You can’t stop royalty! I do whatever I want!!
Lilly: Typical of a princess…
It really is no wonder that I liked Lilly and disliked Kara as a kid. The OE inserts non-existent brattiness all over the place. In reality, Karen is not flexing that she’s unstoppable royalty, here. She’s trying to get used to being a normal person after having abdicated her throne. It’s the opposite of flexing royalty, if anything! And it’s perfectly reasonable. She can’t stay in South Cape; the soldiers would find her again, and she can’t go back to her evil parents who will imprison her. She’s homeless. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go. She needs to stay with Tim, at least for now.
Lily is the one being a jerk, here. Despite Karen’s obvious need for help, Lily expresses disgust or exasperation in 3 separate ways. だもの (damono) indicates protest. She calls her おじょうさま (ojousama), which means a pampered or naive young woman. And ったら (ttara) indicates scorn or annoyance. Literally: This (expression of protest) pampered girl (expression of exasperation). I dislike monarchy as much as the next person—depose Princess Peach! and all that—but I’d give benefit of doubt to someone who willingly abdicates their throne in protest of the royal family’s evil behavior.
Talking to Karen after this conversation:
JP: この先 何か すてきなことが 待っているような 気がするわ。
T: I feel like something great is waiting for us in the future.
OE: I think something good is going to happen.
Talking to Lily gives this dialogue:
JP: リリィ： あたしの村へ 行くまえに 町のみんなに 会ってきたら？
しばらく ここへは もどって こられないかも しれないわよ。
T: Lily: Before we go to my village, why don’t you go see everyone in town?
It might be a while before we can come back here.
OE: Lilly: Before we go to my village, should we meet the townspeople?
We might not be back here for a long time.
If you talk again, she’ll continue to exhort you to talk around:
JP: リリィ： えっ？ もういいの？ ちょっとは 町のようすを ながめてきたら？
T: Lily: Huh? You can’t be done already. Go check out the town for a little while.
OE: Lilly: Is that OK? We should see how things are in the village.
I (not we) will indeed talk around. But there are only 3 new lines of dialogue that I know of. Rob:
JP: ロブ： どうしたんだ？ テム。 うかない顔して。
何か おれたちに言えない なやみでも あるのか？
T: What’s the matter, Tim? Why the long face?
Is there some kind of problem that you can’t tell us about?
OE: Lance: What happened, Will? You look so gloomy.
Something you can’t tell us about?
Erik:
JP: エリック： どうしたの？ 何か いつものテムとちがうよ。
T: Erik: What’s wrong? You seem different from normal.
OE: Erik: What’s the matter? You’re not acting like the same old Will.
The final new dialogue doesn’t come from Morris, who just continues to brag about how he’s sure to win again. Instead, it comes from the priest:
JP: なんですか。 テム。 人の顔を しげしげと見て．．．
また 何か たくらんでるんじゃ ないでしょうね．．．
T: What is it, Tim? By the look on your face…
You’re not plotting something again, are you?
OE: What is it, Will? Looking at your face, I wonder if you’re plotting something again….
When we return to Lily, she asks if we’re ready to go. I’ll say No, first:
JP: リリィ： 旅立つ 決心は できたわけね？
>はい
>いいえ
そうね。 じゃ 旅立つ 心がまえができたら ここへ もどってきて。
T: Lily: Are you ready to head out?
>Yes
>No
Lily: Ok. Whenever you’re ready to go, come back here.
OE: Lilly: Are you ready to go?
>Yes
>No
Lilly: All right. If you decide to go, come back here when you’re through.
When you finally affirm, Karen will repeat her line about the future being bright:
Lily wastes no time contradicting her:
JP: リリィ： いいえ これからが 苦労の連続だわ きっと．．．。 ふうぅっ．．．。
T: Lily: No, most likely, we’ve got a bunch of hardships ahead. Hmph.
OE: Lilly: No. From here on there will be many hardships…. Hmmmmm.
Karen notices a trend and calls Lily out:
JP: カレン： いちいち たてつくわねえ。
T: Karen: Are you going to contradict every last thing I say?
OE: Kara: You’re nitpicking.
A predictable and annoying fight ensues:
JP: リリィ： そっちこそ お城の外へ 出たことがあるの？
T: Lily: What about you? Have you ever even been out of your castle?
OE: Lilly: That’s what I expected. Have you ever been outside the castle?
そっちこそ (socchikoso) is idiomatic, used when you’re accused of something but you think the other person is guilty of something too.
JP: カレン： なによ フーテン娘！
リリィ： なんですって、世間知らずっ！
T: Karen: What? You’re insane!
Lily: What did you say, you sheltered…!
OE: Kara: Crazy girl!
Lilly: Are you totally ignorant of the world!?
JP: リリィ： テムは あたしの おともだち。 わかったわね？
T: Lily: Tim is my friend. Understand?
OE: Lilly: Will is my friend. Understand?
Lily hints again what this dumb fight is really about. He’s my friend, not yours!
JP: カレン： あら、 テムは あたしの おともだちよね？！
>うん、もちろんさ
>よくわかんねえや．．．
T: Karen: Oh, Tim, we’re friends, aren’t we?
>Yeah, of course.
>I don’t know you that well.
OE: Kara: Hey, Will, aren’t you my friend, too!?
>Yes, of course.
>I, umm, I’m going to the village.
Funny dialogue choice in the JP, as Tim knows Karen better than he does Lily, if only a little bit. As a kid I chose to be mean here, because I didn’t like Kara. Let’s choose the mean option first:
JP: リリィ： じゃあ、あたしと いっしょに 行きましょ。 行きましょ。
T: Lily: Ok then, let’s go together. Come on.
OE: Lilly: I’m going with you. Let’s go.
And if you say that you are Karen’s friend:
JP: カレン： うれしいわ、テム。 さあさ、手をつないで行きましょ。
T: Karen: I’m so glad, Tim. Come on, let’s hold hands as we go.
OE: Kara: I’m glad, Will. Let’s go hand in hand.
Oh my god, she’s so precious.
Either way, we get this narration box:
JP: こうして 3人は リリィの村へと 向かうのであった。
T: And so the 3 of them headed towards Lily’s village.
OE: Together, the three set off for Lilly’s village.
A shorter entry than last time, but this is a good stopping point. Our next destination is Itory Village. There are some amusing mistranslations there, but the most interesting thing about Itory to me is the direct references to Soul Blazer (that I didn’t get when I was younger).