Next #PetShopOfHorrors liveblog reread thread!
-
4) Dreizehn
The first issue where the customer doesn't break any contract rules, and the pet doesn't die a tragic death! I still remember getting here on the very first read of the series, and realizing "okay, this *does* have that much range."
Dreizehn gets the nickname "Dora-chan", which the TP translation just keeps as-is. If the owner was meant to be a Japanese-speaking character living in Japan, it would work fine. But since she's an English-speaking character living in the US, I'm glad the SS translators anglicized it as "Dreizy".
Karen is a returning customer, D asks about the guy who accompanied her in. There's a panel with two speech bubbles, where the TP translation thinks the first bubble is Karen talking:
D: And you are?
Karen (bubble 1): He's my late mother's cousin. He works--worked--with my father.
Edward (bubble 2): I am Edward. Nice to meet you.But the SS version switches the pronouns so it's all being said by Edward:
D: And this is...?
Edward (bubble 1): Edward, sir! Her mother's cousin.
Edward (bubble 2): I also worked at her father's lab."Karen gives actual info, Edward just gives his name" and "Edward talks over Karen, not letting her get a word in" do both fit with the way the rest of the plot goes. But based on how the tails are drawn, I would've made the same guess as TP, that the first chunk of dialogue is meant to be Karen's.
-
Karen is a returning customer, D asks about the guy who accompanied her in. There's a panel with two speech bubbles, where the TP translation thinks the first bubble is Karen talking:
D: And you are?
Karen (bubble 1): He's my late mother's cousin. He works--worked--with my father.
Edward (bubble 2): I am Edward. Nice to meet you.But the SS version switches the pronouns so it's all being said by Edward:
D: And this is...?
Edward (bubble 1): Edward, sir! Her mother's cousin.
Edward (bubble 2): I also worked at her father's lab."Karen gives actual info, Edward just gives his name" and "Edward talks over Karen, not letting her get a word in" do both fit with the way the rest of the plot goes. But based on how the tails are drawn, I would've made the same guess as TP, that the first chunk of dialogue is meant to be Karen's.
A clear win for the SS translation, where D gets to be an extra level of ominous:
TP: This is Chinatown. We have all manner of creatures for sale.
SS: This is Chinatown, sir. There's *nothing* you can't find here. -
A clear win for the SS translation, where D gets to be an extra level of ominous:
TP: This is Chinatown. We have all manner of creatures for sale.
SS: This is Chinatown, sir. There's *nothing* you can't find here.Dreizehn is called a "seeing-eye dog" by TP, and a "guide dog" by SS. Couldn't find any indication that one of these terms is more modern, or preferred over the other. I guess it's just an individual preference from the translator? (Wikipedia says "seeing-eye dog" is specifically American, but "guide dog" is also used and understood in the US.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide_dog
Karen's first instruction for her new dog is "Shake" in TP, and "Paw" in SS. Another translator preference? (Couldn't even find any regional differences for this one.)
Dreizehn's ears are described as "cut" in TP, and "cropped" in SS. "Cropping" is the official term for the procedure, so points to SS here.
-
Dreizehn is called a "seeing-eye dog" by TP, and a "guide dog" by SS. Couldn't find any indication that one of these terms is more modern, or preferred over the other. I guess it's just an individual preference from the translator? (Wikipedia says "seeing-eye dog" is specifically American, but "guide dog" is also used and understood in the US.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide_dog
Karen's first instruction for her new dog is "Shake" in TP, and "Paw" in SS. Another translator preference? (Couldn't even find any regional differences for this one.)
Dreizehn's ears are described as "cut" in TP, and "cropped" in SS. "Cropping" is the official term for the procedure, so points to SS here.
Another POV swap between translations at the end of the chapter!
There's a "see, just a normal Doberman!" line from D, then some "voiceover" text about Karen and her dog having their happily-ever-after. TP phrases it as if D is narrating the whole thing. SS phrases the last chunk as Karen telling us the end of her own story.
No speech-balloon tails on this part, absolutely nothing I can see as a clue about which interpretation is right. Purely on personal preference, I *like* it better if it's Karen.
-
Another POV swap between translations at the end of the chapter!
There's a "see, just a normal Doberman!" line from D, then some "voiceover" text about Karen and her dog having their happily-ever-after. TP phrases it as if D is narrating the whole thing. SS phrases the last chunk as Karen telling us the end of her own story.
No speech-balloon tails on this part, absolutely nothing I can see as a clue about which interpretation is right. Purely on personal preference, I *like* it better if it's Karen.
5) Dragon
A Christmas special! Perfect for the season.
And the SS translation has D addressing Leon by his rank after all. Oh good. He's "Detective" in SS already, still "Officer" in TP -- I don't know nearly enough about policing to tell if either of those is more correct/appropriate.
-
5) Dragon
A Christmas special! Perfect for the season.
And the SS translation has D addressing Leon by his rank after all. Oh good. He's "Detective" in SS already, still "Officer" in TP -- I don't know nearly enough about policing to tell if either of those is more correct/appropriate.
Leon offering to help D track down his misplaced dragon egg:
TP: "To serve and protect the people"--it's kinda in the job description.
SS: As an officer of the law, protecting the people in this city is my job.The meaning is *exactly* the same, but props to the TP translator for having Leon invoke a specific Police Catchphrase along the way.
-
Leon offering to help D track down his misplaced dragon egg:
TP: "To serve and protect the people"--it's kinda in the job description.
SS: As an officer of the law, protecting the people in this city is my job.The meaning is *exactly* the same, but props to the TP translator for having Leon invoke a specific Police Catchphrase along the way.
D explaining Leon to his dentist (there's context for this, but it doesn't help):
TP: His name is Leon. I'm trying to tame him.
SS: «A lion I recently acquired. I'm giving him manners training.»(Points to the SS translation for including angle brackets around the dialogue that's supposed to be in Chinese. Points to TP for having D use the phrase "tame him.")
...So obviously the name "Leon" means "lion". And the pronunciation is close enough, I'm sure there are dialects where they come out the same. But going by Japanese Wikipedia, they're still different enough to have different katakana: the English word "lion" is ライオン, and the name "Leon" is レオン or リオン.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AA%E3%83%B3
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%B3_(%E4%BA%BA%E5%90%8D)Which one did you use here, D?!
(He can't be using the Japanese/Chinese word for "lion", 獅, because that's so radically different, there's no way TP would've mistranslated it as "Leon".) (...Right?)
-
D explaining Leon to his dentist (there's context for this, but it doesn't help):
TP: His name is Leon. I'm trying to tame him.
SS: «A lion I recently acquired. I'm giving him manners training.»(Points to the SS translation for including angle brackets around the dialogue that's supposed to be in Chinese. Points to TP for having D use the phrase "tame him.")
...So obviously the name "Leon" means "lion". And the pronunciation is close enough, I'm sure there are dialects where they come out the same. But going by Japanese Wikipedia, they're still different enough to have different katakana: the English word "lion" is ライオン, and the name "Leon" is レオン or リオン.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AA%E3%83%B3
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%E3%83%B3_(%E4%BA%BA%E5%90%8D)Which one did you use here, D?!
(He can't be using the Japanese/Chinese word for "lion", 獅, because that's so radically different, there's no way TP would've mistranslated it as "Leon".) (...Right?)
There's a reference to Kowloon Walled City, which TP translates as "Kulong Castle." I definitely had no idea that was a real place from the TP version. "It got torn down a few years back" -- the demolition was in 1993-1994, which I think is the first PSOH reference to something with an identifiable date.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City
...apparently the place-name "Kowloon" means "Nine Dragons." Dammit, Matsuri Akino.
-
There's a reference to Kowloon Walled City, which TP translates as "Kulong Castle." I definitely had no idea that was a real place from the TP version. "It got torn down a few years back" -- the demolition was in 1993-1994, which I think is the first PSOH reference to something with an identifiable date.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City
...apparently the place-name "Kowloon" means "Nine Dragons." Dammit, Matsuri Akino.
After the dragon hatches, D explains to Leon that the dragon's form is influenced by the people who take care of the egg:
TP: Thanks to you, it turned out to be a very fine dragon.
SS: Thanks to you, he was born with wings!Aww, TP, how could you leave that out? I didn't even register it was meaningful when she hatched with wings. That's just Default Dragon in my head! But D has been picturing a classical snakey Eastern dragon all chapter, and Leon has been picturing a default Western dragon, and that's why she has wings--? This whole time!
-
After the dragon hatches, D explains to Leon that the dragon's form is influenced by the people who take care of the egg:
TP: Thanks to you, it turned out to be a very fine dragon.
SS: Thanks to you, he was born with wings!Aww, TP, how could you leave that out? I didn't even register it was meaningful when she hatched with wings. That's just Default Dragon in my head! But D has been picturing a classical snakey Eastern dragon all chapter, and Leon has been picturing a default Western dragon, and that's why she has wings--? This whole time!
The dragon isn't a "he", btw. I'm guessing none of this text was gendered in the original Japanese, and the SS translators just picked a pronoun, without checking if the character would come back later with a different one.
D doesn't seem likely to mis-identify an animal's physical sex, though...so, hey, if you've ever wanted to make a trans headcanon for a dragon? Here's the perfect setup.
-
The dragon isn't a "he", btw. I'm guessing none of this text was gendered in the original Japanese, and the SS translators just picked a pronoun, without checking if the character would come back later with a different one.
D doesn't seem likely to mis-identify an animal's physical sex, though...so, hey, if you've ever wanted to make a trans headcanon for a dragon? Here's the perfect setup.
When she comes back in TP, other characters refer to her as "Honlon", which I always took as her name. Or, well, *their collective* name. They describe themselves as "three sisters who were born in the same body," and each one has her own name individually -- but it's still convenient if they have a "system name" for addressing the whole group.
The current SS chapter finally clued me in that "Hónglóng" is just D saying her species, "red dragon," in Chinese.
The name Gidora will also be invoked for them at some point...and, wait, that's just her species again, it's the Greek word that in English is pronounced "hydra." Huh.
-
When she comes back in TP, other characters refer to her as "Honlon", which I always took as her name. Or, well, *their collective* name. They describe themselves as "three sisters who were born in the same body," and each one has her own name individually -- but it's still convenient if they have a "system name" for addressing the whole group.
The current SS chapter finally clued me in that "Hónglóng" is just D saying her species, "red dragon," in Chinese.
The name Gidora will also be invoked for them at some point...and, wait, that's just her species again, it's the Greek word that in English is pronounced "hydra." Huh.
6) Dice
D showing up at the precinct to post a customer's bail, #PetShopOfHorrors Tokyopop translation:
D: Oh don't worry, my friend, it's nothing for you to be concerned about.
Leon: Who you calling "friend"?!Seven Seas translation:
D: Now, now, darling, there's nothing going on between us you need to worry about.
Leon: Who're you calling "darling"?!No prizes for guessing which version is my favorite :3
-
6) Dice
D showing up at the precinct to post a customer's bail, #PetShopOfHorrors Tokyopop translation:
D: Oh don't worry, my friend, it's nothing for you to be concerned about.
Leon: Who you calling "friend"?!Seven Seas translation:
D: Now, now, darling, there's nothing going on between us you need to worry about.
Leon: Who're you calling "darling"?!No prizes for guessing which version is my favorite :3
B-plot customer for this issue, demanding a cat:
TP: I want the same kind of cat as the one you sold to the King of Morocco...
SS: The exact same kind as the one you sold the president of the K Republic!!Does the Japanese for "K Republic" sound like a pun on "Morocco", or...?
In cat-meeting flashbacks, the setting is broadly Middle Eastern, although I would not put money on it being Morocco-accurate. Poked at some history articles, the king at this point was Hassan II, and he doesn't seem to have anything in common with the ruler here ("King Muhammad" in TP, "President Muhad" in SS).
-
B-plot customer for this issue, demanding a cat:
TP: I want the same kind of cat as the one you sold to the King of Morocco...
SS: The exact same kind as the one you sold the president of the K Republic!!Does the Japanese for "K Republic" sound like a pun on "Morocco", or...?
In cat-meeting flashbacks, the setting is broadly Middle Eastern, although I would not put money on it being Morocco-accurate. Poked at some history articles, the king at this point was Hassan II, and he doesn't seem to have anything in common with the ruler here ("King Muhammad" in TP, "President Muhad" in SS).
Meanwhile, the A-plot customer when he gets a cat, and she looks like an adorable toddler girl in a frilly dress:
TP: Huh? Why do I feel like this? I don't even like kids.
SS: Hold it! What's with this feeling?! I don't even like kids! And I swear on the devil's name, I'm no lolicon!!...I'm guessing SS is more literal, while TP is more culturally-accurate. A random deadbeat young guy in the US isn't going to recognize "this girl looks like a loli-bait manga character." And there's no comparable American trope he could be picturing instead.
(In the 2020s, you could *maybe* make it believable that the character is such a big anime nerd, he would think of the Japanese trope in reaction to an IRL situation? In the 1990s, no way.)
-
Meanwhile, the A-plot customer when he gets a cat, and she looks like an adorable toddler girl in a frilly dress:
TP: Huh? Why do I feel like this? I don't even like kids.
SS: Hold it! What's with this feeling?! I don't even like kids! And I swear on the devil's name, I'm no lolicon!!...I'm guessing SS is more literal, while TP is more culturally-accurate. A random deadbeat young guy in the US isn't going to recognize "this girl looks like a loli-bait manga character." And there's no comparable American trope he could be picturing instead.
(In the 2020s, you could *maybe* make it believable that the character is such a big anime nerd, he would think of the Japanese trope in reaction to an IRL situation? In the 1990s, no way.)
Latest example of the "SS translation is better at incidental text" trend: D comes out of a casino wearing a sash, with Japanese that TP leaves untranslated, but SS replaces with "New Owner".
(Yes, D uses magic-fueled gambling to win so much money that he buys a Vegas casino. No, neither the winnings nor the casino are ever mentioned again.)
-
undefined oblomov@sociale.network shared this topic on