#how to use によると in Japanese

[mayoi-inu]

Surprise surprise, this translation is wrong

As many of you already know I’m in a crusade against bad translations. I see this panel going around very often but the translation makes me cringe so bad everytime. I'm sure many people are already aware of the mistranslation but I have never seen it explained anywhere so I decided to do it myself.

Disclaimer, English is not my native language.

Let’s start from the previous panel, because ✨context✨ The order is Japanese -- the fan translation I found -- and the official translation.

I will write down the literal, weird, almost word for word translation for comparison purposes:

判った　答える　答えるから近くに寄らないでくれる？連れだって歩いてると思われたくない

Understood I’ll answer. I’ll answer so, could you not come any closer? I don’t want it to look like we are walking together (I don’t want it be thought we are walking together)

はっ　心配すんな　俺もおもわれたくねえから

Ha, don’t worry. Because I don’t want it either (I also don’t want it be thought)

うふふ　気が合うねえ

ufufu ki ga au nee

Ok first explanation needed. First, the Japanese definition of ki ga au

気が合う -- 考え方や感じ方が通じ合う (kangaekata ya kanjikata ga tsuujiau)

way of thinking and feeling mutually understood.

"Ki" means mind, spirit, "au" means to meet. The English definition in many dictionaries and google is “to get along” and that’s what the fan translation uses (friendly reminder to ALWAYS use a monolingual dictionary once you reach a level high enough), but the "so well" comes from nowhere. The official translation uses "to see eye to eye". IMO it's more accurate in this context than to get along. But the “glad” also comes from nowhere.

Anyway, now you get the feeling of what it means. I think it's more like Dazai commenting how Chuuya shares with him the same feelings about the situation.

“fufu you agree, I see…”

そんな君が大好きだよ

sonna kimi ga daisuki dayo

And we got to the important part.

We have "sonna" that means “such”, “that kind of”. It's a spoken synonym of "sou iu" ("such, like that, that sort of"). As a pre-nominal adjective that goes with kimi, "sonna kimi" it means that you. It has a nuance of surprise when used in sentences like this.

And then "daisukidayo" that of course means I like so much, I love.

What does he loves? "sonna kimi", that is, a specific Chuuya, the Chuuya who is of the same mind that he is about not wanting people to think they were walking together. Or maybe simply the Chuuya that agrees with him, generally speaking.

In both translations the concept is all wrong. It’s presented as if loving Chuuya was the fact and Dazai was explaining the why. But in Japanese, Dazai is singling out the kind of Chuuya he likes/loves if you wish.

Now ask yourselves why specially the official translation chooses to make up the dialogue like that. I'm sure the translators knew enough Japanese to understand it correctly and I don't think it's a matter of cultural adaptation because it never justifies chaging the meaning. The correct answer is fanservice, sales and money 😭

If I had to translate it, I would say “oh I love/like so much that Chuuya!”.

It’s VERY in character for Dazai to say that. And the protest that follows is VERY in character for Chuuya.

うわ……やめろ！気色悪くて死ぬ！

Uwaa… stop it! It’s so disgusting I am going to die!

僕もだ

Me too.

Yes, Dazai sounds crestfallen.

This is getting too long, so my personal non-grammatical opinions under the cut

I have two, even three theories.

First case, Dazai was honest when he said that.

But he didn't register that's not something you go saying around like that, and he was hit with Chuuya's reaction. Because Chuuya had lived with other kids, so he understood social interactions. But Dazai didn't understand.

I've seen infinite analysis about Dazai and ND, mentall illnesses but not even one analyze this scene. So what if he really loved when Chuuya agreed with him, expressed it without any filters and recoiled when he was met with Chuuya's reaction and realized "that was not a normal thing to do". Remember the scene when he shoots the dead soldier? He seemed to be taking notes of what is and isn't normal. This option breaks my heart.

The criticism would be that what Dazai says doesn't sound so honest. This theory would fit better with the English translations but in Japanese he's very clearly informing Chuuya of the kind of Chuuya he likes, which is a twisted thing to say in any language. So maybe Chuuya's reaction is a response to both the nasty observation and the words chosen.

Second option, Dazai knew what he was doing

He used daisuki to provoke Chuuya, to mess with him and make him angry.

That's something 22!Dazai would do easily but I don't know if 15!Dazai was already so good at it. Anyway in this case the surprise would come from the genuine disgust in Chuuya's reaction instead of the expected anger. Chuuya is Chuuya, and he is immune to Dazai's manipulation schemes, except Dazai didn't know it yet. Also once he said it, daisuki was so cringe (and he was 15 😂). Absolutely in character for both of them.

Third option. Dazai said he wanted to make Chuuya his dog.

Dazai was a very messed up kid at that point. The first thing he thinks when he meets another (very powerful) boy his age is to dominate him and make him obbey his orders as his dog. The way he says that to Chuuya can sound very domineering, oh you agree, that's the Chuuya I love. That's a good boy 🐕. And then he felt down when Chuuya rejected that praise with disgust. In the manga it really looks like this option, with a very close and pushing Dazai and an uncomfortable looking Chuuya. I hate that vibe.

Or... possibly it's a bit of all three because after all, nobody knows what's in Dazai's mind 😌

[noxiatoxia]

Komaeda Nagito, and His Tendency to Use Filler Words

I've talked about this here and there, but I want to make an in-depth post with examples.

So, something that's always bothered me about the Eng release of SDR2 is the fact that Komaeda...does not use filler words as much as he should.

Let me explain.

I'm sure you know words such as "uh" "um" "ah" "er" and suchlike. When you don't know something or are thinking, you tend to say something like, "Um...yeah, so..." or "My, um, appointment is tomorrow."

These words add no "value" to the sentence, and are only placed involuntarily while speaking because you are trying to think as you speak.

Japanese has plenty of these, too. Words like えーと(etto), あの (ano), ううん (uun), ええ (ee), and so forth.

But there's other "filler" words out there. Like our earlier sentence, "Um...yeah, so..." "Um" is not the only filler word. "Yeah, so" is also a filler word, as it adds nothing to the overall sentence. It can be removed.

Really, any word can become a filler word. "You know" and "like" have real applications, but if you, like, start, like, talking like this, it's, you know, kind of repetitive, you know?

I think the vast majority of people on Earth are guilty of speaking like this in their day-to-day lives. It's just easy to do. But when it comes to media, you'll notice characters rarely stutter or repeat words. When they do, even if it's a small amount, it's noticeable because the surrounding context is that nobody else is doing it.

With all this information in mind, let's talk about Komaeda Nagito's dialogue.

実はさ、ボクは入学前に、ネットでみんなの情報を調べてきてるんだよね。

さ(sa), is a normal sentence particle in Japanese. It's used for a myriad of purposes, although many people seem to liken it to the American "Valley Girl" accent when overused, especially with another conversation particle, ね (ne).

It is a misconception that sa is "masculine". It used to be masculine way back, but nowadays it's more or less gender neutral.

This will be the topic of the post. Komaeda tends to use sa and ne in a way that is seen as "filler". These particles can be likened to "you know?" and "like" in the sense that they are real words that serve purposes, but can be repetitive.

In the sentence above, I would say the ne is not being used in a filler-like way. Sa, however, is.

"So, to be honest, before I arrived at this school, I, um, did a little research about everyone on the internet."

In this way, sa, ne, or any other particle when overused (な na is another big one, and I see Souda using it a lot) can be any filler word. Some would argue that the sentence should maybe look more like...

"So, you see, to be honest, before I arrived at this school, I did a little research about everyone on the internet."

And this is equally as correct. It's more in-line with how sa as a particle is normally used, but when translating it as how it's being used here - as a filler word - "um" may sound more appropriate in English. Neither is incorrect however, and there's a myriad of other ways you could go about writing this.

"So, you know, to be honest..."

"So, like, to be honest..."

"...I kind of did a little research..."

"...I, well, did a little research..."

etc.

ううん、いいんだよ。複雑なのはボク自身もそうだからさ。

Here, I wouldn't describe sa as being a filler word...necessarily. It adds emphasis, but it's still completely optional. Thus, I wouldn't translate it as a word imperative to the sentence's meaning.

"No, no, I totally get it. I have pretty mixed feelings about this, too."

最初はね…恐れ多いって断ったんだよ。でも、どうしてもって言われてさ。

Here is an example of him using ne in a filler-like way. You've probably caught on that particles which stand-in as filler are used usually at the beginning of a sentence before a comma or ellipses.

Komaeda actually uses ne in this manner fairly often. One of his default voice lines is "boku wa ne..." - I am unsure how this was recorded in the English dub. Probably just "I..." but personally I'd go with "Well, I..." or "I, uh..."

And unlike earlier, I would say the sa here at the ending is indeed more filler-like (not entirely still, though. Akin to the usage above).

"Um, honestly, at first…I was humbled, but I refused. But, well, they wouldn't stop insisting on it…"

By the way, Komaeda is not putting himself down in this scene. Japanese culture emphasizes being polite in a way Western spaces do not. "I don't deserve it" is a very direct translation, but in English, it makes more sense to read it as "I humbly declined".

And all these examples are just in the first conversation you have with him! You can imagine how many more there are through the whole game.

Now, here's a big question I'm sure you're thinking: "Why was this left out?"

I don't know to be honest, because...they did it with other characters.

Such as Koizumi in the same game:

だってさ、なんだか変なヤツばっかりじゃん。天才だか超高校級だか知らないけどさ…

Although Koizumi suffers from some of the same translation choices made with Komaeda, hers appears to be more consistent.

Finally, we need to talk about Naegi Makoto. He and Komaeda share beyond a voice actor - they talk the same, too. They both use the same self pronoun and you pronoun, use the same script, and also have a habit of using ne and sa in excess...though Naegi maybe does it slightly less.

Also confusing, this sometimes gets translated, like here:

そうそう、こんな危険な学校だしさ、何があるかわからないでしょ？ だから…念の為にさ。

The only reason I can think it only happens sometimes or, in Komaeda's case, not at all, is some translators on the team either didn't feel it was important to include/didn't think about it, while other translators did. Game translation typically has more than one person at the helm. A lack of good management can lead to weird discrepancies like this.

Anyways, that's all I got for now. I hope you find it interesting, because it's one of my absolute favorite character quirks of Komaeda and I am so sad it doesn't get any love in English...

[croquis-el]

Well, um, hiya☆

I've come to life a little here and brought you some interesting features in the characters' spoken language

To begin with, let's look at the male trio of main characters: Naruhodō, Mitsurugi, Odoroki (Wright, Edgeworth, Justice)

Some people know it, some don't, but in Japanese there are many options for how to refer to yourself, i.e. "I" can be said with different pronouns and they are all ranked by gender (there are also gender-neutral ones) and the level of politeness.

The first one we have is Naruhodō.

He always, regardless of the situation, uses the pronoun "boku" (ぼく) in relation to himself.

僕 (ぼく)

僕 (boku) is a first-person pronoun often associated with male speakers. It has earnest, polite, cultured connotations. Overall, 僕 (boku) has a softer, less aggressive than 俺 (ore), another common pronoun with masculine connotations.

Naruhodō uses it both in the first trilogy, when he is 24-26 years old, and after the 7-year gap, when he is 33-35. It doesn't matter if he is in the courtroom or talking to friends - he always uses "boku".

言わずと知れた、ぼくだ。 若手実力派弁護士として、 今年で3年目に入る。

Iwazu to shireta, bokuda. Wakate jitsuryoku-ha bengoshi to shite, kotoshi de 3-nen menihairu.

It goes without saying that it is me. I am a young and talented lawyer, and this is my third year in the industry.

___________________________________________

ぼく････今、弁護士を 目指して、勉強してい��んです。

boku ima, bengoshi o mezashite, benkyō shite iru ndesu.

I'm studying to become a lawyer.

___________________________________________

いいや。ぼくは、 大学は芸術学部だったからね。

Ī ya. Boku wa, daigaku wa geijutsu gakubudattakara ne.

No. I entered the arts department at the university.

___________________________________________

When addressing someone, Naruhodo uses pronoun "omae".

お前 (おまえ)

お前 is a second-person pronoun that's masculine and rough — it's often used for cussing! It could also be a way to show affection to close friends, partners, and family in a very casual manner.

It is curious that he only addresses Mitsurugi this way, while he addresses the others (Mayoi, Odoroki, etc.) by name + suffix (Mayoi-chan, Odoroki-kun).

もしかして、おまえ････ やったんじゃないの?

Moshikashite, omae yatta n janai no?

Maybe you... did it?

___________________________________________

そういうおまえだって、捜査の時は 証拠品をつきつけまくってたとか。

Sōiu omae datte, sōsa no toki wa shōko-hin o tsukitsuke makutteta to ka.

Even you, who is like that, apparently presented a lot of evidence during the investigation.

___________________________________________

おはよう。思ったより早かったねえ ････オドロキくん。

Ohayō. Omottayori hayakatta ne e Odoroki-kun.

Good morning. It was earlier than I thought... Odoroki-kun.

___________________________________________

Next up we have Mitsurugi.

Mr. Politeness uses the pronoun "watashi" when referring to himself.

私 (わたし/わたくし)

わたし (watashi) is quite a common first-person pronoun as it's used regardless of gender, and both in casual and formal situations.It also has a certain elegant, sophisticated feel to it.

It also does not change over time, and is used by him both at 24-26 and at 34-35 years old.

私が異議をとなえれば、裁判長は かならず聞き入れるだろう、と。

Watashi ga igi o tonaereba, saiban-chō wa kanarazu kikiirerudarou, to.

If I raised an objection, the judge would certainly listen.

___________________________________________

私が検事の職をまっとうできるのも、 周りの誰かの支えがあってこそ。

Watashi ga kenji no shoku o mattō dekiru no mo, mawari no dareka no sasae ga atte koso.

It is only thanks to the support of those around me that I am able to carry out my duties as a prosecutor.

___________________________________________

礼を言うのは････ 私のほうだ、成歩堂。

rei o iu no wa watashi no hōda, Naruhodō.

I should be the one to thank you, Naruhodo.

___________________________________________

But he has a special attitude towards the informal address "you". And by the way, it depends on the situation Mitsurugi is in, and not on who he is addressing.

Because he uses at least 4 (maybe more, I couldn't catch them all) options of address!

The first is "omae". We have already discussed it, so I will not repeat myself. But the situation in which it is used is when Mitsurugi tries to be cheeky, when he makes fun of others (most often, of course, Naruhodō)

お前のせいだぞ。成歩堂。

Omae no seida zo. Naruhodō.

It's your fault, Naruhodō.

___________________________________________

異国でも証拠品のつきつけとは、

お前も相変わらずだな。

Ikoku demo shōko-hin no tsukitsuke to wa, omae mo aikawarazuda na.

You're still the same, presenting evidence even in a foreign country.

___________________________________________

Next, the address "kimi".

君 (きみ/キミ)

君 (kimi) is a second-person pronoun with various nuances. Some dictionaries define 君 as a pronoun you can use in a friendly way towards someone of equal or lower status. These days, however, the way 君 is perceived varies quite a bit from person to person.

Outside of hierarchical situations like the workplace, 君 is used a lot to sound literary or poetic.

成歩堂。折り入って キミに頼みたいことがある。

Naruhodō. Oriitte kimi ni tanomitai koto ga aru.

Naruhodō. There's something I'd like to ask you.

___________________________________________

キミのいない法曹界は 平和そのものだったよ。

Kimi no inai hōsōkai wa heiwa sonomonodatta yo.

The legal profession would be at peace without you.

___________________________________________

いや。････････だが、結局 キミの力にはなれなかった。

Īya. Daga, kekkyoku kimi no chikara ni hanarenakatta.

No... But in the end, I couldn't be of any help to you.

In the example, Mitsurugi asks Naruhodō for help, so I don't think it's a hierarchy thing. It's more of an equal thing. (Correct me if I'm wrong)

___________________________________________

And then comes the most epic part. Kisama.

貴様 (きさま/キサマ)

貴様 (kisama) is a second-person pronoun that's masculine and rough, it's often in combination with vulgar language!

Although it's associated with masculinity, that doesn't mean it's a pronoun only for men. Even if you don't use 貴様 regularly, it's a great way of expressing your anger.

貴様 can also be a way to show affection in a very casual way towards close friends, partners, and family. In this case, the above example would be playful, rather than showing genuine anger.

Mitsurugi uses it when he gets angry (usually in the courtroom) and sometimes in relation to friends. So, the area of ​​application is justified by its purpose as a pronoun.

キサマの娘が、人を小さなハコに 詰め込むというショーをな!

Kisama no musume ga, hito o chīsana Hako ni tsumekomu to iu shō o na!

Your daughter puts people into tiny boxes in a show!

___________________________________________

き、キサマなどに、美的感覚を 非難されるイワレはない!

kisama nado ni, biteki kankaku o hinan sa reru iware wanai!

You have no right to criticize aesthetic sense!

And the last one - addressing by name + suffix or without suffix (Mayoi-kun, Naruhodō)

___________________________________________

Next - Odoroki Hosuke (Apollo Justice)

He's a real manly man, haha. He always uses the pronoun "ore".

俺 (おれ/オレ)

俺 (ore) is a first-person pronoun with a strong masculine feel. It sounds "manly" and less gentle than 僕. 俺 is also a pretty casual pronoun and can be seen as vulgar, especially when used in formal situations. In order to use 俺 naturally, the speech style also needs to match the manliness of 俺.

オレは、ここの事務所の 所長さんに会いに来たんだよ。

ore wa, koko no jimusho no shochō-san ni ai ni kita nda yo.

I came here to see the director of this office.

___________________________________________

オレも、ちょっとならできるよ。

A odoroki ore mo, chottonara dekiru yo.

I can do it a little bit magic too.

___________________________________________

But he doesn't bother with addressing others, and always addresses them by name + suffix (Naruhodo-san, Minuki-chan, Garyu-kenji, Mitsurugi-kenji)

成歩堂さんが 弁護士をやめたのって････

Naruhodō-san ga bengoshi o yameta notte

Naruhodō-san quit being a lawyer...

___________________________________________

(みぬきちゃん。 片付け始めたぞ････)

(Minuki-chan. Katadzuke hajimeta zo)

(Minuki-chan, you're starting to clean up...)

___________________________________________

P.S.

I hope this will clarify the characters a bit and give you a new perspective on them.

One day, I'll do the same with the main female characters (because it takes a lot of time, but I bless those who post screen recordings and screenshots, thanks to them I can quickly find the right moment).

There may be errors and typos, don't be afraid to point them out to me

[tokidokitokyo]

Compliments in Japanese

How do you give compliments in Japanese? Japanese tends to be a very 曖昧 (あいまい) or vague language, so direct compliments tend to be less common.

お世辞 おせじ compliment

誉め言葉 ほめことば compliment, praise

Here are some compliments that can be used in most situations.

Appearance・見た目

Polite 髪の毛切りましたか？似合いますね。 かみのけきりましたか？にあいますね。 Did you cut your hair? It looks good on you.

Casual 髪の毛切った？似合うよ。 かみのけきった？にあうよ。 Did you cut your hair? It looks good.

Polite そのシャツ／ワンピース／服いいですね。 そのシャツ／ワンピース／ふくいいですね。 That shirt/dress/outfit looks good.

Casual そのシャツ／ワンピース／服いいね。 そのシャツ／ワンピース／ふくいいね。 That shirt/dress/outfit looks good.

Polite いい笑顔ですね。 いいえがおですね。 You have a nice smile.

Casual いい笑顔だね。 いいえがおだね。 You have a nice smile.

Work・仕事

Polite 良くやりましたね！ よくやりましたね！ Good job! / Well done!

Casual 良くやったね！ よくやったね！ Good job! / Well done!

Polite お見事です！ おみごとです！ Great work! / Excellent!

Casual お見事！ おみごと！ Great work! / Excellent!

Polite 今日のプレゼン／スピーチ／アイディアとても良かったです。 きょうのプレゼン／スピーチ／アイディアとてもよかったです。 Today's presentation/speech/idea was very good.

Casual 今日のプレゼン／スピーチ／アイディアとても良かったよ。 きょうのプレゼン／スピーチ／アイディアとてもよかったよ。 Today's presentation/speech/idea was very good.

Skill・腕前

Polite 料理上手ですね。 りょうりじょうずですね。 You are good at cooking.

Casual 料理上手いね。 りょうりうまいね。 You are a good cook.

Polite 写真を撮るセンスがいいですね。 しゃしんをとるセンスがいいですね。 You have good photography sense.

Casual 写真を撮るセンスがいいね。 しゃしんをとるセンスがいいね。 You have good photography sense.

Polite ��語がペラペラですね。 えいごがペラペラですね。 Your English is very fluent.

Casual 英語がペラペラだね。 えいごがペラペラだね。 Your English is very fluent.

[haru-dipthong]

Fansub Release + Analysis of Utena Ep 14

This is a big one!!

My fansub release posts aren't usually like this, but this episode is so jam packed with stuff I want to talk about that I had to write my translation notes as a series of essays. It's longer than usual so strap in!

First, a word on “The Mikage Seminar”

I’ve always found the translation “the Mikage Seminar” very strange. In English, a seminar is an event — a lecture. Yet “the Mikage Seminar” is discussed as though it’s not a recurring lecture, but a society or a school of therapy, or a cult (like scientology). In fact I did a bit of reading about scientology to try and find an alternative translation, and discovered that the origins of scientology, namely a set of ideas and practices called Dianetics, bears a lot of similarities to “the Mikage Seminar”. Both involve a type of therapy where one person looks into their mind and talks to an “auditor”.

The auditor coaxes the preclear to recall as much as possible. — Wikipedia

This in particular stood out to me! Mikage often says 「深く。もっと深く」 during his interviews (”Deeper. Dig deeper.”).

The Japanese word ゼミナール doesn’t actually come from the English “seminar” but the German “Seminar” (capitalised). According to Wikipedia, in Germany, and often in Japan, Seminar/ゼミナール is used to refer to a university course that includes a thesis project. So ゼミナール refers to a course of learning, rather than a talk or lecture. And it would make a lot of sense to call a system like Dianetics a “course”. Almost like a “course” of medicine — a “course” of psychological practices that you can join but never complete.

So it would make sense to translate it as “the Mikage Course”. But “course” has more meanings in English than just this, and in the context of a university this makes it sound more like a mundane teaching course. So I tried some other words: the Mikage Sessions, the Mikage Method, Mikage Psychotherapy, Mikage Therapy, the Mikage Movement. None seemed quite right. Until I remembered this post. ゼミナール is a foreign word in Japanese, why not find a foreign word for the translation? And so I settled on this:

The Mikage Seminarium, AKA The Society of the Black Rose…

Seminarium is Latin, and is where both the German and English derive seminar from. Its original meaning is “seed plot”, but it’s also just the Polish word for seminar. I really like how the Latin makes its meaning ambiguous — it kind of sounds like a location, kind of sounds like a society, and kind of sounds like a learning course. Because it is all of these things.

Anthy: では、香苗さん。失礼します。 Kanae: ね、あたしの事、お姉さんって呼んでいいのよ。もうすぐわたしはあなたの本当のお姉さんになるんだから。

A more literal translation:

Anthy: Thank you for having us, Kanae-san. Kanae: Please… you can just call me “sister”. I’m going to be your real sister soon enough anyway.

The translation I ended up going with:

Anthy: Thank you for having us, Miss Ohtori. Kanae: Please... you can just call me Kanae. We're going to be family soon. There's no need for the formalities.

Japanese honorifics strike again!

In English, sisters-in-law don’t ask to be called “sister”. That would be super weird in most scenarios, and this scene is trying to evoke a particular familiar feeling of closing a distance gap in a relationship. The audience is meant to relate. Changing how Anthy addresses Kanae was pivotal to this scene working properly.

わかりました。あなたは世界を革命するしかないでしょ。

I understand. Your only choice is to force the world to change around you.

This line is translated as “Your only choice is to revolutionise the world” by basically every other translation. The reason is clear — the Japanese is the same as when Utena pulls the sword out of Anthy, or when any of the other characters talk about “revolutionising the world”. However, in this context, I don’t like it. The nuance of the English phrase is quite different to the Japanese phrase. In English, it’s often used to describe new commercial products: “This new device will revolutionise the world!” It comes with an implied “for the better”, but has used to describe technological developments so unexciting that it can also feel hollow. When the student council talk of revolutionising the world, they sound like revolutionaries — the context makes it work. But in this context, it comes out of nowhere and doesn’t have any of that fervour, which makes it sound hollow and flaccid when it should sound sinister and manipulative.

I think a pervading throughline for all the Black Rose duelists is that they see their problems as caused by other people, with themselves being blameless. Rather than change how they approach their situation, Mikage tells them they’re in the right.

Your behaviour will set you down a path. If that path leads to your goals, well done! However, if your path does not lead to your goals, there’s only two ways you can achieve them.

The first is to change your behaviour so that it does align with your goals. The second, impossible way, is for the rest of the world to change such that your current path DOES end up leading to your goals. This second way is not possible in the real world. But it is possible in Utena.

Also I’ll just leave this here: “around you” → “revolve” → “revolution” 👀

Kanae tried to build a relationship with Anthy in a passive, non-confrontational, extremely Japanese way — the way she has been taught to behave, the “proper” way, a mechanical following of the social scripts. We don’t see a lot of their relationship, but the way she behaved and spoke of behaving towards Anthy is very very similar to the way my Japanese grandmother has behaved towards my and my brother’s partners.

It was unthinkable to her to change this pattern of behaviour. Her only choice was to change Anthy, change the rest of the world, so that her behaviour would lead to the outcomes she wants. You could describe this forceful bending of reality to be “revolutionising the world”.

この黒薔薇のある限り、私はこれから嘘の私を演じなくて住む。

As long as I have this Black Rose, I'm free from the lie I was living before.

Besides gender, growing up, and resisting change (which exist as separate themes but also all intertwine as one), another major theme present in Utena is the self and subjective reality. The self is explored within those first major three themes, but also in terms of how the self dictates reality with the Black Rose duellists.

Black Rose Kanae says that her past self was a lie.

It reminds me of all the times when I’ve been going through a personal trial and I’ve looked back on my past self and thought “How naive I was. I understand things better now.” And then after a while I realise I was wrong, and my first self was more right. And then later still, maybe I re-realise that the second self was more right! And so on! The reality of truth (or to use Kanae’s language, “lies”) is so subjective.

Who dictates knowledge production? Who decides what is true; what is valid knowledge? This is a question of sociology - and at the moment that answer is "science does, kinda". But science and academic systems are supported by capitalist structures and tainted by capitalistic incentives — needing to be published in a journal, issues of replicability, the barrier to entry into academia in the first place, etc, etc. In the future we may find our current way of organising knowledge to be archaic and primitive in the same way we look back at medieval scholars.

But what about organising self-knowledge? Knowledge where the only one who can really decide what is true is yourself. And the only one that can decide what yourself even IS is yourself. I feel like I have looked back on my old ways of conceptualising myself many times (not even counting the gender-based revelations) and thought it primitive and archaic, and NOW I truly understand who I am and how to think of myself and how my thoughts interact with my other thoughts. But I have no doubt that I’ll look back on this current self of mine and reject their way of thinking too.

After their heart is replaced by the Black Rose, the duellists themselves frame this change as a moment of self realisation, of clarity. Once the rose is inside them, they wake up from themselves, like I have countless times. Kanae says herself, “This is the true me.” Honestly, I don’t doubt it. I think that version of Kanae was her true self at that moment, given the things influencing her. Being brainwashed doesn’t make you less of a person, or less yourself. It just makes you organise your reality differently.

心を凍結させて作っただけの間に合わせのデュエリストでは、彼女は破れないな。

We won't be able to defeat her by simply freezing someone's heart and forcing them to duel.

Anya and I discussed this in depth. I originally translated 心 as “mind”, because that was the first thing that popped into my head and I thought that was the simple part of the translation. However, Anya pointed out that it didn’t make sense with the themes of self and subjective reality, and I strongly agreed, so I changed it to “heart” instead.

Anya suggested “conscious mind” instead of “heart” but I think heart is more accurate. 心 (kokoro) can mean heart or mind in Japanese (I find it interesting that those two things are portrayed as opposites in English), and that kanji is found in the word for biological heart, 心臓 (shinzou). When they say of the Black Rose "This is your new heart" they use 心臓. They also say "Your new 命 (life/lifeforce)" which I translated as soul since it sounded more hardcore and because "your new life" is a set phrase in English meaning a new chapter in your life rather than your life force. I think the idea is that they're freezing the duellists' ability to love and feel empathy, which in my opinion is necessary for them to commit to the unbelievably selfish act of revolutionising/reconstructing/bending the entire structure of the world for their own convenience.

A very special thanks to @dontbe-lasanya for being there to talk through all these themes and ideas. I'm incredibly proud of this episode's translation and I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.

If you want to see more analysis like this, let me know! And also follow this blog to see episodes of the fansub as they're released. You can find all episodes released so far here:

Rose divider taken from this post

[nihongonotabi]

About how to say "to try" in Japanese

In English, the verb "to try" can have different connotations depending on the context. Among its various meanings are the following:

Experimenting or testing something: this implies attempting to do something to see what happens, often with an open mind and no guarantee of success. For example, "I'll try this new recipe" suggests that you're testing out the recipe, perhaps for the first time, to see how it turns out.

Attempting with effort: this implies making an effort to accomplish something, even if the outcome is uncertain. For example, "I'll try to finish this project by tomorrow" suggests that you're putting in effort with the hope of succeeding, but there's a possibility you might not.

In Japanese, these nuances of "to try" are expressed using different grammatical forms:

1. ～てみる (te miru) This form is used when you want to "try" something in the sense of experimenting, testing, or doing something for the first time to see the result. You use ～てみる when you're not sure about the outcome and want to see what happens, often in a casual or exploratory sense. For example, you use it when trying a new food or testing a new activity: 初めて寿司を食べてみる (hajimete sushi o tabete miru) - I'll try eating sushi for the first time; テニスをしてみる (tenisu o shite miru) - I'll try playing tennis.

2. ～ようとする (yō to suru) This form is used when you're making an effort to do something, with the understanding that the result is uncertain or difficult to achieve. You use ～ようとする when you're expressing your intention to make an effort, especially in situations where success is not guaranteed. For example, you use it when you're attempting something challenging or you're making an effort with uncertain results: 明日早く起きようとする (ashita hayaku okiyou to suru) - I'll try to wake up early tomorrow; 宿題を時間通りに終わらせようとする (shukudai o jikan dōri ni owaraseyou to suru) - I'll try to finish my homework on time.

In the ～てみる (te miru) form, the use of 見る (miru), meaning "to see," suggests that the speaker is metaphorically "seeing what happens" by performing the action. It implies a lower level of commitment to a specific outcome; the action is undertaken with curiosity or a desire to experience something new. The result is not the primary focus; rather, the process of doing or experiencing something is emphasized. In contrast, the ～ようとする (yō to suru) form uses the volitional form よう (yō) to signal a strong intention or will to carry out the action, and する (suru), meaning "to do," emphasizes the attempt. This form conveys a higher level of personal involvement and responsibility, focusing on the effort required to reach a desired goal. While the outcome is uncertain, the focus is on the attempt itself, with an underlying hope or expectation that the effort might lead to success.

In conclusion, we can say that in English "to try" is a verb that must rely on context or additional modifiers to convey whether the action is exploratory or effortful. On the other hand, Japanese uses separate constructions to encode these nuances directly within the verb forms, reflecting a more fine-grained linguistic approach to expressing different types of attempts.

[aliceslanguagediaries]

❁My favourite Japanese YouTube channels for advanced learners ❁

(Part one because tumblr is showing glitches when I try and edit further)

1.

Their JLPT lives and classes have saved my life on many occasions! When I started watching their videos they had only N3-N1 lessons taught in Japanese, but I believe they now also have N4 lessons in English. I also like their お金になるJLPT series a lot!

2.

Their N2 kanji playlist is the best I’ve seen on YouTube!

3.

I mentioned her podcast in the previous post, but she also has a lot of grammar and vocabulary lessons posted

4.

Her keigo and business Japanese playlists are really helpful, I always watch them when I need to brush up on it!

5.

The N1 grammar playlist is a lifesaver and covers everything

6.

Her vocabulary videos are really useful, I also love how she covers a lot in every lesson. Her vlogs using N1 vocab are great too!

7.

I will probably make a whole post on their 3 rules of onomatopoeia video because it has saved my life for JLPT, I’m now able to guess the answer based on these rules even if I have never seen the word before (and I used to struggle with onomatopoeia a lot)

8.

I love her conversation videos and vlogs! Probably suitable for intermediate learners too

9.

Amazing for kanji, especially if you’re also learning to write them!

10.

Also really helpful for JLPT preparation!

Please let me know in the comments if you know any others :)

[romeolucci]

What the ghouls from the same house think about each other

It’s one of the questions that appeared in the latest B’s-log magazine issue. I decided to share this one because it’s fun.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not a translator, so please take this with a huge grain of salt because I don’t speak let alone read Japanese very well. I mostly used machine translation and some of the little knowledge I have to get through this. I added the original Japanese script if you wanna read that on your own.

Jin, Tohma, Ren and Subaru didn’t receive the question unfortunately

Frostheim

Lucas: “Ever since I transferred to this school, Kaito has been my first friend and has always been very kind to me. I'm also grateful to Ishibashi-san for all his help. As for Kamurai-san, I hope he'll just fulfill his duties...”

「この学園へ転校してきた日から、魁斗は俺の初め ての友人として、ずっと仲良くしてくれている。そ れに磴さんにも、とてもお世話になっているよ。あ とは、冠氷さんが責務さえ果たしてくれれば良いん だけど･･････」

Kaito: “Hmm... To be honest, the captain and vice-captain seem like people way above the clouds... Rumor has it that the two of them are in collusion with the school and are doing terrible things. What? Luca? ...I've never heard of such a faceless bastard.”

「ん~………………寮長と副寮長は、正直雲の上の人って感 じだしな〜………………噂では、ふたりとも学園と癒着して、 えげつないことやってるって聞いたことあるけど。え? ルカ? ………………あんな顔面無双野郎なんか知らね」

*I’m really not sure what あんな顔面無双野郎 means.

Vagastorm

Alan: “We're just half-baked people who happened to have powers. But they're willing to die and crawl back up... they have the potential.”

「俺たちは、たまたま力を持っただけの半端もんだ。 だが、死ぬ気で這い上がる･･････あいつらには、その 素質がある」

Leo: “No matter how you look at it, our captain is a complete loser. As for Sho-chan... I guess he's my slave♡”

「誰がどう見ても、うちの寮長サマはポンコツでし ○よ。え~、翔ちゃんはね･･････オレの奴隷、かな♡」

Sho: “Ahh... Leo and I are just old friends. We've been hanging out since middle school. Mido-senpai... I don't really know what he's thinking. He's a man of few words, right?”

「あー…………………玲音とはただの腐れ縁な。中坊の頃か ら、なんとなくつるんでるっつうか。御堂センパイ は･･････何考えてっかよくわかんねぇわ。あいつ、言 葉が足りねぇタイプじゃん?」

Jabberwock

Haru: “Both Ren and Towa have good bodies, so if they could put that into use and work, they'd be a lot more reliable than they are now...huh? What's that sound...Hey Towa! Wait a sec!!”

「蓮も��空も、せっかくええガタイ持っとるけぇ、 そいつ活かして働いてくれりゃ、今よりずっと頼も しいんじゃがのう･･････ん?この音は･･････おい叶空! ちょ~~~待て~~~~~~~!!」

Towa: ~~~~♪~~~~!!

Sinostra

Taiga: “That Lulu gets so angry every day, I don't know how he never gets tired of it... Ah? Shinjo? Who’s that?”

「ルルのやつ、毎日あんなキレまくって、よく飽き ねぇよな~･･･････あ〜? シンジョ? 誰だそれ」

Romeo: “I’m disgusted by my boss. No matter how many times I say the same thing, it's WEFCP. What? It's "waste of effort", "fist-clenching" and "pressing". As for Shinjo, I'm going to give him a thorough training from now on, and we'll see how he turns out.”

「うちのボスには呆れる。なんべん同じこと言った って、N・U・Oだからさぁ。は?「暖簾に」「腕」「押し」 だよ。まぁ針条に関しては、これからみっちり教育して、 どう化けるかってとこだねぇ」

*I tried my best to translate Romeo’s abbreviation but it’s still bad I’m sorry…

Ritsu: "I have concluded that it is futile to try to change the tyrannical behavior of our Sinostra’s captain, Taiga Hoshibami, and vice-captain, Romeo Scorpius Lucci. From now on, I will defend them and definitely obtain the 'Laurel Crown'."

「我がシノストラ寮長の星喰大我、および副寮長 のロミオ・スコーピウス・ルッチについて、その横暴 な素行を改めることは不毛という結論です。今後は、 私が彼らを弁護することで、必ず『栄冠賞』を手に入 れてみせます」

Hotarubi

Haku: “Another difficult question. Hmm... Subaru-san is simply great. However, his tendency to take on too much is his only flaw. Zenji-san... Well, you see, being with him makes me feel energized. I'm grateful for that.”

「また難しい質問ですこと。うーん･･････昴流さんは とにかく出来が良い。ただ、何かと抱え込みすぎる のが玉に瑕だな。善治さんは･･････まあ、あれだ、一 緒にいると元気になる。ありがたいことですよ」

Zenji: “If I had to describe Subaru-kun in one word, it would be...heart of glass...but in contrast, I can't help but worry about Haku-kun's lack of enthusiasm. As my manager, I would say he should be a bit more considerate.”

「昴流クンを一言で表すならば･･････ハート・オブ・グ ラス･･････それに引���替え、伯玖クンのスコドンぶり には気を揉まずにはいられないよ。ボクのマネージ ャーならば、もう少し気が利くべきだと言っている のだがねえ」

*Zenji says “hāto obu gurasu”, I’m not sure, but I think he means to say heart of gold? lmao

Obscuary

Edward: These two are young and strong, I'm so envious of them. When I was their age... Oops, it was so long ago that I’ve completely forgotten."

「ふたりとも、若くて体力もあって羨ましい限りだよ。 俺があの子たちと同じ年頃の時は･･････おっと。もう 随分昔のことだから、すっかり忘れてしまったな」

Rui: “Ed-san has no ability to live on his own, so he's really a pain to look after. At this point, I’m in charge of nursing care... and then what about Lyca-kun... Huh? I'm taking care of the kids... What do those two think of me!?”

「エドさんは生活力なさすぎて、ほんと世話が焼け るんよね。もはや介護っしょあれ･･････そんでライカ くんは~･･･････あれ? こっちは子供の世話だ･･････あ のふたり、俺ちゃんをなんだと思ってんの!?」

Lyca: “They're that moth-eaten Casanova and that blond gigolo. I'm human, so why am I not in the same place as Suba-kun and the others!!”

「色魔ジジイと金髪ジゴロだろ。おれは人間なのに、 なんでスバくんたちと同じとこじゃねーんだよ!!」

Mortkranken

Yuri: “You're talking about Jiro-kun, who is both Yuri Isami's assistant and patient? He's still in training. He still lacks knowledge, skills, experience, and culture. It'll probably take another 100 years for him to become a doctor at my level.”

「この衣佐美佑理の助手であり、患者でもある次郎 くんのことです? 彼は研修中の身ですからね。ま だまだ、知識も技術も経験も教養も足りていません。 僕レベルの医師になるまで、あと100年は必要でしょう」

Jiro: “Oh, the only ghoul in my house is Yuri. He's my doctor. If it weren't for Yuri, I'd probably be dead by now. Well, I'm grateful.”

「はあ、同じ寮のグールは、佑理しかいませんけど。 俺の主治医ですね。佑理がいなければ、俺、今頃死 んでるらしいんで。まあ、感謝してます」

If a professional sees this, feel free to translate it yourself

[evilkitten3]

Tajima Uchiha's relationship with his sons are so interesting to me like most of the fandom thinks that he was a better father than Butsuma but we haven't seen any of it on-screen and his databook description says another story ...

i don't remember where my copy of the databook is at the moment, but i mainly remember him being described as calm/stoic, and a mention of confidence in relation to madara.

that said, he likely wasn't too different from butsuma since they seemed to parallel one another.

...i typed all that then looked up and saw my databook lmao. let's take a looksie

LONG POST AHEAD YOU WERE WARNED

「・・・代わりにいいものをこちらは手に入れられたようだ・・・」

"...it seems we got something good instead..." (referring to madara's sharingan awakening)

birthday march 28th. died at age 42. aries. 179.0 cm (~5'8"). 60.3 kg (132.9 lbs). blood type a.

his personality is described as 生真面目 (kimajime), which means "overserious", "deeply sincere", or "very earnest".

the text:

冷徹なまでに勝利への算段を講じるうちはの主

the head of the uchiha who level-headedly (alternatively "cool-headedly" or "hard-headedly"; it's an adjective but i kinda have to translate it like it's an adverb so it makes grammatical sense in english sorry) works out a means to victory (no part of this sentence is easy to translate into english - we would use 算段 (sandan) as a verb but here it's used as a noun presumably bc i was put on this earth to suffer)

うちは一族を束ねるマダラの父。一族の隆盛のためには、我が子を利用することも厭わず、自身の息子への愛を客観視し、巧みに用いるをよしとした。愛情に深く、ゆえに非情。ーーー彼もまた、うちはの血の体現者である。

madara's father who governs the uchiha clan. for the sake of the prosperity of the clan, he did not balk at using his own child(ren), took an objective view of his love for his son(s), and made skillful use (of them). he loved deeply and therefore was callous (can also be "cruel", "cold-hearted", or "unfeeling"). ---he too was an embodiment of the blood of the uchiha.

[image is of tajima and izuna arriving to face butsuma and tobirama by the river] text below reads:

長男マダラと千手家の息子の交流さえも、タジマは敵を討つ千載一遇の機と捉えた。

tajima even (or "only") saw the interaction between his eldest son madara and a son of the senju family as a once in a lifetime opportunity to defeat an enemy.

---

all in all, i'd say that more or less matches up with what little we saw of him in the manga. i've talked about this before, but i think a lot of english-speaking fans struggling with viewing relationships in manga through viewpoints outside of their own, and that kinda has a doubled effect when it comes to the founders era, since the japanese lens we need to be looking through to properly understand what the author is trying to convey also has a historical filter attached.

entirely isolated of context, i would personally call them both terrible parents, as well as pretty much everyone else in naruto who is both a shinobi and a parent (fun fact: it is not good parenting to send your child to child soldier academy). in context, though, things change a bit.

first off, tajima and butsuma are the heads of their clans - that means their duty to their clans comes before their responsibilities as parents, something they both embody in their own way. however, i would argue that - possibly just due to how much more of him we see, which still isn't much - we see more of butsuma's love for his children than tajima's (i'll come back to this).

tajima shows us that he has strong confidence in madara's capability as a shinobi (even without the sharingan) and also completely trusts his analysis of their chances against the senju, even knowing of a potential conflict of interest. as soon as madara says they can't win, tajima retreats without question, seemingly just happy that his son has finally awakened the sharingan (the uchiha clan's inter-clan glorification of trauma is. a whole other post i think). he shows no interest in punishing madara for what could be argued was serious treason against the clan.

tajima's trust in madara is probably the most interesting thing about him to me - if you compare him to madara, he's easily winning in that regard. tajima as a leader understands the strengths of those he leads and is able to trust them to do what's best for the clan. tajima believes madara will end his friendship with hashirama for the sake of the uchiha clan, and once madara is presented with unavoidable evidence that hashirama is a member of the enemy clan which remains a direct threat to his brother, madara does so. however, madara is not able to trust the same way. he shows no faith in izuna's abilities as a shinobi in childhood, and as an adult seemed pretty well-primed to jump to izuna's side the instant anything happened (which. when you're fighting senju hashirama. splitting your attention is probably not a good idea).

i think tajima and madara showcase the effects of war trauma in different ways. tajima has lost three of his children, all at ages younger than however old madara is supposed to be there (my guess is 12/13; basing that off of how the ame orphans looked at 15 vs how naruto and co looked at 12/13). he's also likely lost many other people, possibly siblings and definitely at least one parent (somehow i doubt the warring states era in ninjaland had a particularly good retirement rate). tajima is used to loss, has accepted it as an inevitable part of reality, and has accepted that it will happen again. there is a strong likelihood that he will outlive another of his children. thus, as their father and clan head, he wants them to do as much for the uchiha clan as they can while they're still alive. the enemy won't hesitate to cut them down regardless, so all he can do is make them strong and hope it's enough. given that we don't really see madara or izuna interacting with any other uchiha (bc we don't see anything from their perspectives but also madara just Does Not Have Friends), it's likely that tajima's death was what awoke the mangekyou for one or both of them, which would show a very deep bond between them in spite of everything. that's my guess, anyhow.

whereas tajima has accepted and even embraced the risk to his loved ones, madara very much hasn't. he has trust issues from the moment we meet him (we never do learn if that stemmed from something specific, from just general Everything Sucks Ass Always trauma, or from just who he is as a person. i lean towards a mix of the last two), and those never go away. possibly in part bc he's repeatedly proven to be right - he can't trust izuna to take care of himself. he can't trust hashirama with his beloved clan. he can't trust said clan to have his back. he can only trust himself. unfortunately for him he also deeply wants comrades that he can trust, leading him to deciding that other people actually are him and are therefore ok to trust and unfortunately neither of those people are a) him or b) trustworthy.

jumping back to butsuma, the scene that gets most people on the Evil Dad train is the scene where he punches his son in the face. which is understandable bc you should not be punching your kids (or anybody's kids). however, it should be noted that while his sons are young, they're also shinobi. to call them children - as butsuma himself states - disrespects them as ninja. in spite of the use of burial mounds (which iirc japan began to stop using sometime after the introduction of buddhism in the 6th century), the senju clan is heavily implied to be buddhist, or at least whatever the ninja equivalent of mahayana buddhism is.

as @komehyappyou discusses here, butsuma as a japanese buddhist cannot mourn his deceased children because doing so will literally cause them harm in the afterlife. the sooner he moves on, the sooner his dead children are free to do the same. i imagine there's also a shade of this in his refusing to acknowledge kawarama as a child at all, but i think it's still mostly the respect thing. (unfortunately, i don't know nearly as much about japanese buddhism - or any other kind of buddhism, or other religions for that matter - as i would like to, so definitely check out blogs like the one i just mentioned, or @al-hekima-madara-blog for some thoughts on how hinduism shows up in relation to madara!)

[3600frames]

Was it confirmed that Acht speaks inklish in bancala or anywhere else? In a post, you also mentioned the accent being an intentional tone. Is it a mix of both tone and octarian accent or explicitly just the tone?

I hope this ask doesn't sound too confusing. I wanted to make a note of how Acht comes off in speech. Thank you.

short answer: there’s no canon info specifying whether Acht speaks the inkling language. however, in the JP version, Acht speaks in a similar way to other Octarian characters, with said specific way of speaking for these other characters very likely denoting accented speech. but...

long answer:

using katakana, which is otherwise used for loanwords and foreign names (in modern times) for words that are written in hiragana/kanji gives a feeling of "difference". it’s very commonly used to denote accented speech or a foreign language in media. examples of its usage by Octarian characters that canonically originate from the domes:

(1) DJ Octavio:

throughout all three games, DJ Octavio speaks in all katakana, and seemingly in a slow, deliberating way, as every word is separated by a space (rather than a space after a few words like with the rest of splatoon's text, which is instead of no spaces like normal JP writing, which is likely done for readability purposes)

サイキ��　シモベタチガ　シッソウ　シテイタハ

(2) Marina:

how Marina speaks in the JP version has been fairly well-documented, but just in case: she speaks in the polite keigo, specifically teinei-go; the literal textbook Japanese that people learning it as a second language are first taught. however, she uses tame-guchi/casual speech with Acht exclusively (in both Side Order and #3-etude), and it’s unknown whether she used it with her other Octarian peers. she also very occasionally uses katakana for some words that are otherwise written differently.

side note: her lyrics in Off the Hook are written in katakana, and are canonically in the “octo language” (イイダが歌うタコ語はカタカナになっている).

the JP version of Octo Expansion explicitly states that Marina spoke in “broken Inkling” when she first met Pearl (more directly translated version here). Marina’s "let's start a band” quote as per Pearl:

MC Princess >思い出した！山でノドのウォームアップしてたらいきな り「アナタ探シテタユニット組ミタイ」って言われて、ストーカーかと 思ったわ

is written in all katakana besides the kanji portions, and is more blunt than the teinei-go we see her using otherwise. 

(3) Agent 8:

as a silent protagonist, Agent 8 obviously doesn’t get a lot of opportunities for dialogue, but there are some. their Mem Cake poems are all written normally. however, in both of their relationship charts, they speak in full katakana with spaces between every word.

スゴイ センパイタチ

(4) Acht, in chronological order:

#3-etude: narrates and speaks with no katakana (*)

Side Order: uses katakana instead of the hiragana for sentence endings, as well as inconsistently using katakana for nouns/adjectives/verbs/etc. in both spoken dialogue and the letters they write to Marina. some examples:

イイダは外に出て　良い仲間に出会えたようダナ ...ま、カノジョのコトだし、心配はしてなかったケド

カラーチップは、その結果によっていくつかの系統に分けられル系統ごとに　色や模様もチガウんダ

Ordertune: writes with no katakana

considering all the above examples, it’s easy to imagine that they’re speaking the Inkling language in Side Order, as they’d obviously be speaking the Octarian language in #3-etude. however, their speech patterns are rather casual/laid-back and don't have the faltering nature of other examples. it’d also make you wonder when Acht would’ve had the opportunity to learn the Inkling language before being sanitized, since Marina needed to be taught it by Pearl. the fact that it isn’t present in Ordertune could be a reflection of it being written rather than spoken meaning that an accent wouldn’t express itself… but they do use it in their written letters to Marina (I guess it could indicate they improved at the language that much in a short amount of time)

(if it doesn't represent an accent or different language, than it'd still beg the question of what language they're all using in the elevator... and this is probably going beyond the scope of the question, but maybe Marina is really enough of a genius to design the Memverse in such a way that anything said can transcend language barriers?)

there’s other examples of atypical katakana usage that likely represent an accent besides Octarian characters (jellyfish store owners, Spyke and Murch), but also likely other distinct usages (Tartar, as robot characters speaking in katakana in media is a staple. also whatever reason Frye's lyrics are written in katakana). the few line of dialogue from sanitized Octarian enemies in Octo Expansion are written in all katakana:

タイショウヲ カクニン... シマツセヨ

So finally getting to that asterisk: despite no other atypical katakana usage throughout #3-etude, the very final line is this:

イイダがボクたちの前から姿を消したのは、それから少しだけ後の話ダ。

a single katakana sentence ending finding its way in, as Acht narrates on how Marina would soon leave all of their lives. considering the subject matter of where this comes up, it makes me view their katakana usage as chiefly representing their hollowness post-sanitization, which they're eventually able to start recovering from. though ultimately that's just my interpretation.

[heliianth]

Hi, I saw your repost of @i-heart-hxh and wanted to ask you a question of why you consider the zoldycks patriarchal in nature. Someone here pointed out that while the ones with the most authority in the family are indeed men (silva, zeno, killua who is a boy who is the heir, etc.) they aren't explicitly sexist in nature because means they would hate any sort of non gender conformity. They allow kalluto to dress in feminine clothing, illumi to have his pseudo sexual alliances with hisoka, and the alluka misgendering seems to come more out of fear of her then explicit transphobia (still not okay though, obviously). Of course, this is assuming that gender norms are the same in hxh verse/Japan (I think the wiki says that japanese boys used to dress like kalluto did?) or that the zoldycks are just androcentric but not necessarily sexist/homophobic. Sorry for the wordy post, just wanted to see your pov.

Hi thanks for asking !!!!

I'm not sure how organized this will be because I have a lot of thoughts. First I want to talk about how Kikyo is treated.

Here we can hear Kikyo's thoughts on it herself—"No one ever asks me first!" The context is that Zeno is releasing Killua from his cell, and she's lamenting that he just does it without her permission. This is of course because Zeno ranks above her. But the way she says it—"ever"—implies this is a reoccurring problem, that her views or opinions (maybe just on parenting, maybe in general) are frequently dismissed or minimized.

There is also the case that Milluki is deliberately made a mama's boy in order to make his character more comical, or to degrade him in the eyes of the audience.

This attitude toward Kikyo seems pretty pervasive to me as well. The butlers don't seem to think too highly of her—I showed this panel ^ in my response. At the very least, Tsubone doesn't seem to be fond and considers her lesser than Silva or Zeno, probably in regards to composure and conduct.

This exchange also colors my perception of Kikyo's place in the family. Viz translates it a little differently than the 2011 anime, which I watched first. I went back to grab the raws for it and double check, as is responsible when there's a translation discrepancy like that.

This is how Viz translates it:

Now in the 2011 anime, Silva is a lot more vulgar—or harsh, I suppose—to Kikyo. I recall he tells her to shut her trap, or to stop whining, or something similar. That is actually the more accurate translation.

This is the extracted raw text:

Silva: しばらく好きにさせとけよ Kikyo: だめよ何言ってるの (next bubble ->) キルが立派な後継者になれるかどうか今が一番大切な時期なのよ Silva: わかってるじゃねーか (next bubble ->) じゃあつべこべ言わず黙ってろ

It's the final bubble which conveys that vulgarity.

DeepL's translation gives: "Then shut the fuck up and keep your mouth shut," and when both speech bubbles are conjoined, it gives "You know what I'm talking about, so why don't you shut the fuck up?"

QuillBot's results are pretty similar: "You get it, so stop whining and just be quiet."

What a way to speak to your wife, huh? Killua's little mental chart in the Election Arc shows that he seems to think they love each other, but Killua is also an unreliable narrator when it comes to his family's dynamics. In fact, Killua himself also reflects this attitude—he's very dismissive of her. He openly threatens Kikyo on multiple occasions and calls her annoying, etc. He also canonically has behavioral problems around older women who hold authority over him. This is probably learned behavior, mirroring the way other people treat his mother. It just sort of adds to the idea that she's not very well respected.

Now, maybe this is just because Kikyo married in. Maybe if Silva had a sister or something, she would be treated better. All we can do is speculate on that, but everything with Kikyo is canon.

When it comes to the issue of gender nonconformity, it's way more vague and up in the air. I think I see it differently than many people. We don't know much about Kalluto, but he's introduced as joined at the hip with Kikyo, and Killua seems to think they love each other. Though as we've established, he's not the best source.

However, he is practically the only source just because we see so little of Kalluto.

My interpretation is that Kikyo dresses up Kalluto in clothes she likes herself, or at least heavily influences his style, because they are so close. It may be because Kikyo has such little respect, that she clings onto Kalluto, her youngest. If that wasn't the case, Kalluto might dress differently.

I went to search the HxH fandom wiki for something similar to what you said and found this in the trivia section: "The furisode was born in the mid-1500s as a garment for both male and female children of middle- and upper-class families. Only around the 20th century did it become a strictly feminine type of kimono, although gender differences existed before that. Therefore, Kalluto's choice of clothing could be in keeping with his mother's tastes since she was introduced wearing a very outdated (by real-world standards) bustle gown. / How the obi (sash) is worn can depend on the wearer's sex where wearing around waist is done by males, while wearing underneath the breasts is done by females."

There's no citation so I did a cursory google search, and this information seems to come from the wikipedia page on the furisode, which elaborates: "According to one 17th century text, boys could wear furisode until their 18th year, or until they went through their coming-of-age ceremony, which usually occurred in late adolescence. Girls were supposed to cease wearing the furisode upon marriage, or upon reaching their 20th year.[4] Initially, furisode did not differ noticeably between the sexes, but fabric designs started to become more gendered in the 19th century.[5] In the 20th century, furisode became restricted to women and girls only, as part of the increasing gender-specificity of children's clothing that developed in the wake of Western influence.[6]".

So in the case of the Zoldyck family, I do believe that Kalluto's is moreso a case of tradition, rather than gender nonconformity. But that's not to say this is the only interpretation. I think it's reasonable to conclude Kalluto dresses like that himself, considering he continues to do so once joining the Phantom Troupe. Again, all we can do is speculate.

I admit my conclusions on Illumi are similar, we just don't have enough information. Based off what I know and can remember, I'm not even sure if the Zoldycks are aware he's technically engaged to Hisoka, though I could definitely be wrong (because Hisoka hired him, right?). I also fail to see how their relationship would be a problem before that engagement—I never got homoromantic vibes between them beforehand. I know people do ship them. It just goes over my head I suppose.

As it pertains to Alluka, it's very hard to say whether Nanika is the cause for their transphobia because Nanika is effectively the vehicle that creates an allegory for transness in the first place. We can't exactly ask, "If Alluka didn't have Nanika but was still trans, would the Zoldycks accept her?" because, again, Nanika is the way the Togashi has decided to deal with these themes. Nanika is the transness and within the allegory, the Zoldycks (minus Killua) are transphobes. It's also worth it to point out that Illumi uses 「弟おとうと 」 (otouto—younger brother) when referring to Alluka, which doesn't seem to me to be a result of fear the way the English pronoun "it" might be. More info on gendered terms in reference to Alluka in this google doc.

Finally, the values of the Zoldyck family in of themselves are sexist. They clearly value physical strength, obedience, and disparage empathy/compassion. Killua is considered "weak-minded" "moody" or "erratic" (depending on your translation of 「でも暗殺者としては失格だよムラッ気があってさ 」) for his kindness and rejection of his hierarchical power in favor of his desire for connection.

These are not inherently female traits and I'm not trying to say they are, but within sexist society, they are perceived as feminine, meaning women are devalued and men are ridiculed for displaying them. Women in the Zoldyck family are given respect and power in regards to their proximity to traditional masculinity—strength, loyalty, maybe whether they are blood-related to the current head of House—and obedience to the family. In my eyes there's clearly a misogyny problem here.

I do believe that if a woman happened to be the strongest of the Zoldycks, she would be head of House. I've previously said in a genderbend scenario with Killua as a cis girl, I believe she'd still be heir. But I also believe she'd have more familial expectations in regards to dress and conduct—not too masculine because that's queer, but not too feminine or else that's weak. Maybe patriarchal was too strong of a word because it implies there's some rule that the male father is always on top, regardless of strength. But you see what I'm saying, right?

Hopefully this clarifies my stance :3

[pumpkinhimiko]

"Mistranslations" that are not mistranslations

Now with an additional part 2.

NISA has made plenty of mistakes while translating the Danganronpa series (and I've complained about them before), and so they have a reputation of being untrustworthy. But because of this reputation, I feel like fans are too quick to trust whatever anyone that isn't NISA states as absolute fact. So, I want to examine some instances of fan translators claiming NISA has mistranslated something, when, no, actually, they didn't.

Kokichi's last words

人にやらされるゲームなんて…楽しい訳あるかよ… A game you're forced to play... how could that be fun...

This is probably the most widespread myth in terms of "mistranslations that aren't", with the original post that makes this claim having over 2k notes: that Kokichi in the original Japanese actually says, "How could a game where you're forced to kill people be fun...?" Unfortunately, it's just not true. Fortunately for me, there's a reddit post here that breaks the line down in detail, so I don't have to do any work.

Anyway, I really wanted to make this post because of this thread, which makes several false claims.

 Kokichi says he's afraid of friends in general

オレは、そういう『仲間』が他人よりも怖いけどねー。I'm more afraid of those kinds of [friends] than strangers.

So... souiu, meaning that type of/that kind of is right there, directly before nakama (which can mean friend, especially if it's in a shounen anime, but can also just mean companion/member of a group). I don't understand how you can miss this. Not only is it right there, this claim on its face doesn't make sense. Why, in this context, would Kokichi suddenly blurt out that he's afraid of having friends? It has nothing to do with the conversation they're having.

Shuichi's words to Kokichi after the 4th trial

王馬くん、もういいだろ ? Ouma-kun, isn't this enough? その話を聞かせてくれよ。Tell us about that.

Okay, you've probably heard the phrase mou ii a lot if you watch anime, and it's almost always accompanied by a frustrated huff. Because it is, in fact, something you say when impatient, fed up, what have you. It literally means "good already", carrying pretty much the identical meaning of the English phrase, "that's enough" or "I've had enough". Shuichi does not say it's okay as in it's daijoubu, which is the word you use when trying to comfort someone. He is very much frustrated here and telling Kokichi to fess up.

Citation needed

I couldn't find a line like this in Kokichi's FTEs, but maaaaaaaybe I missed it? Shuichi's narration comments quite a few times on Kokichi acting childishly throughout the game, but I couldn't find anything like this in specific.

EDIT: Correction, I did find it, and it's covered in part two. Suffice to say, the OP got this line completely wrong.

That Kaito thing

Yeah this is patently false. It's also already been touched on in this thread with comments backing it up, so there’s another thing I don't have to get into. I'll put the text here though.

オレはテメーみて一に胸クソ悪い真似までして、If I have to mimic your sickening behavior, 生き残りて一とは思わねーんだよ。I don't think I want to survive.

Shuichi's words to Kokichi after the 4th trial part deaux

I've seen varying claims on how these lines were translated, from them being slightly tweaked, to the claim they were completely butchered to make Saihara too aggressive. I'm just going to leave it here and let you come to your own conclusions.

ダサいのはキミの方だよ…王馬くん。The lame one is you... Ouma-kun.

百田くんの周りにはいつも人が集まってくる… Momota-kun always has people around him... でも、キミの周りには誰もいないじゃないか。But, there's no one around you.

キミは…その程度のヤツって事だよ。That's... what kind of person you are.

This is snappy in its own way, though, if you consider that 程度 is closer to meaning grade/level/degree rather than simply "type of". "That's the level of person you are," basically.

And if you doubt me on any of this, I encourage you to do your own research, get second opinions if you can. I know not everyone knows Japanese, in which case you can't really help but rely on someone else and hope their translation is accurate. That said, at the bare minimum, I think people should provide screenshots and the original Japanese text if they're going to claim something is a mistranslation. Like, I don't think you should be able to say "actually in Japanese Kokichi says he volunteers at animal shelters in his free time but NISA cut it!" and have half the fandom believe you with no proof.

[periwinkla]

Phoenix's careful wording in 4-1

I noticed something about 4-1, Turnabout Trump. Phoenix uses very careful wording. He never outright lies, mostly misdirects. Like when he's asked if the locket is his, and he says the locket has his daughter's photo inside. But the most important misdirection here is about the forged card. He never shows it as actual evidence from the crime scene: if you look carefully at his words, he actually shows it as evidence of the reason why the killer would have taken the card. He's even meticulous about verb choices. In the ENG ver,, he even outright says the card is his. Everyone simply assumes. Also Apollo, unknowingly, doesn't present it as evidence from the crime scene, either. Anyway, here are some parts I found particularly incriminating. JP text beside ENG for comparison's sake. I'll only provide translation for the relevant parts (or the parts that differ between versions). But as you can see, the misdirection is there in the JP version as well. Disclaimer : I only studied Japanese for a little while. AA dialogue is pretty simple though. Also English isn't my native language either. Feel free to correct me on anything wrong here. Also note that I'm not trying to make the translations sound natural, I'm mostly trying to explain what the words are saying, sometimes I'll be more literal than others. Translation =/= localization. Translation notes and musings are in small text.

Judge いかがですかな？　弁護人。 Well, Mr. Justice? カードがスリ替えられて、 持ち去られた“理由”‥‥ The question of why the killer would swap out a card has been raised. そのコンキョを提示できますか？ Can you point to a reason? Apollo (‥‥どうやら、 　ここが“勝負どころ”だ！） (…It's now or never!) なぜ、カードは スリ替えられたのか‥‥。 Naze, kaado wa surikaerareta no ka... The defense would like to present evidence to the court… Naze, kaado wa surikaerareta no ka... Why the card was switched... 弁護側は、その“理由”を 提示したいと思います。 Bengogawa wa, sono "riyuu" o teiji shitai to omoimasu. Evidence showing the reason why a card was swapped out! Bengogawa wa, sono "riyuu" o teiji shitai to omoimasu. The defense would like to present that "reason".

Judge これは‥‥まさか！ Could… this be…!? 現場から持ち去られた “５枚目のＡ”ですかッ！ Could this be the missing fifth ace!? Kristoph ば‥‥バカな！ なぜ‥‥なぜ、キミが‥‥ In-Inconceivable! How could you… そんなものを持っているのだッ！ What are you doing with that card!? Apollo そ、それは‥‥その。 （なんだ、このあわてようは‥‥） Um, well, that's the thing… (Why's Mr. Gavin so upset?) （アヤシイ女の子からもらった、 　ただのアヤシイカードなのに） (Ayashii onna no ko kara moratta, tada no ayashii kaado na noni) (It's just a fishy card from some fishy girl…) (Ayashii onna no ko kara moratta, tada no ayashii kaado na noni) It's just a suspicious card given by a suspicious girl... Apollo doesn't even understand the weight of the card when he presents it. He's just doing what Phoenix is pointing him to. He thinks it's just a suspicious card, and he's only using it to provide a "reason". At first, I was confused by this, because he seemed convinced later on that the card was real. But it appears that at first, he was indeed suspicious of it. It's just as the trial goes on, he's manipulated to think the card is indeed real. Because he trusts Mr. Wright, which *seems* to say it's real. Phoenix そのカードはね。 あの晩、事件の後‥‥ 《ボルハチ》で、 ぼくが拾ったんだよ。 Sono kaado wa ne. Ano ban, jiken no ato... "Boruhachi" de, boku ga hirotta n da yo. Oh, that card? It's mine. That is, I picked it up at the Borscht Bowl Club that night after the murder had occurred. カードは商売道具だからね。 ‥‥ムスメにわたしておいたんだ。 Kaado wa shoubai dougu dakara ne. ...Musume ni watashite oita n da. I gave it to my daughter. Cards are her stock and trade, after all. In the ENG, 'It's mine' is actually an addition. Maybe to drive the point home more? The rest is the same though.

Phoenix じゃ、ハナシをつづけようか。 Ja, hanashi o tsuzukeyou ka. Allow me to elaborate. Ja, hanashi o tsuzukeyou ka. Well then, let's continue this discussion? (fun fact: hanashi can also be traslated as 'story', or even 'fable', you could say hanashi is the noun version of the verb hanasu (to talk, tell) so it's basically anything you 'talk' about) この“血痕”が原因だった としたら、どうでしょう。 Kono "kekkan" ga gen'in datta to shitara, dou deshou. What if this trace of blood was the reason? Kono "kekkan" ga gen'in datta to shitara, dou deshou. (what) If this ''bloodstain'' was the cause... what do you think? The 'dou deshou' is usually also traslated as 'what do you think?' - it's used after you make a statement and you want to ask for the other person's opinion. But mostly it's a rethoric question. 'What about it?' would also fit. Also interesting how "bloodstain" is in quotation marks...

Phoenix 現場写真‥���被害者の頭部を もう一度、よく見てください。 Take another look at the photo… and at the victim's head. 犯行の瞬間、帽子は床に落ちて、 このとおり‥‥ At the moment of the crime, his hat fell to the floor… ひとすじの血が、 後頭部に向かって流れています。 …and a trickle of blood ran from his forehead down the back of his head. この血が、一滴。カードに落ちた。 ‥‥そうは考えられないでしょうか。 Kono chi ga, hitoshizuku. Kaado ni ochita. ...Sou wa kangaerarenai deshou ka. Couldn't a drop of that blood have fallen on one of the cards? Kono chi ga, hitoshizuku. Kaado ni ochita. ...Sou wa kangaerarenai deshou ka. This blood, this drop. Fell on the card. ...Is that unthinkable? / ...Is that unimaginable? He's basically proposing a theory. Not said the card in Apollo's hand is actually the one. Apollo カードに、血が‥‥ Kaado ni, chi ga... I suppose… Kaado ni, chi ga... On the card, the blood (fell)... Apollo is following along with what he's saying. Phoenix ハンニンは、それをかくすために カードを持ち去ったのです。 Hannin wa, sore o kakusu tame ni kaado o mochisatta no desu. The killer then took the card to hide the blood. Fun choice of words. 'no desu' = 'the explaination is that...' or, in this case: 'the explaination would be...' This is the more literal translation just to make it more obvious how he phrases it: The culprit, in order to hide that he took the card the explaination would be So in a way that it's actually comprehensible: The explaination would be that the culprit took the card in order to hide that (the blood).

Kristoph 成歩堂！　キミも 一度は法廷に立ったオトコだ。 Wright! Regardless of how you wasted the last seven years, you used to be a lawyer! 証拠品を隠すことが、 どれだけ大きな“罪”であるか‥‥ You know what a serious crime it is to conceal evidence! Phoenix そのギロンはあとだよ、先生。 それよりも‥‥ Sono giron wa ato da yo, sensei. Sore yori mo... Oh, we can discuss the finer points of our legal system later… Found it funny how he calls him 'sensei' but in a way that is very mccking. 'Sensei' means someone who is masterful/very knowledgeable in something, in this context, law. He says 'Let's leave that discussion for later, sensei. More importantly...' これで、きみの疑問に 答えるコトができたようだね。 Kore de, kimi no gimon ni kotaeru koto ga dekita you da ne. What's important now is that I've answered your question. Kore de, kimi no gimon ni kotaeru koto ga dekita you da ne. And with that, I was able to answer your question, wasn't I? Basically says the same thing, but uses 'dekiru' = 'to be able to' Kristoph な。なんのコトですか？ Wh-What are you talking about? Phoenix ハンニンがカードを 持ち去った“理由”だよ。 Hannin ga kaado o mochisatta "riyuu" da yo. You wanted to know why the killer would have taken a card from the crime scene. Hannin ga kaado o mochisatta "riyuu" da yo. The "reason" the culprit took the card. カードに残った、１滴の血。 Kaado ni nokotta, hitoshizuku no chi. And now, I've told you. A drop of blood, it feel on the card. (That was why) 彼にとっては“致命的”だった。 ‥‥だから、持ち去った。 Kare ni totte wa "chimeiteki" datta. ...Dakara, mochisatta. That one drop of blood would have been decisive evidence, you see. Kare ni totte wa "chimeiteki" datta. ...Dakara, mochisatta. For him, that (the drop of blood) was 'fatal'. ...So, he took it.

Overall, the word choice in both JP and ENG is very careful, but in different ways since... obviously they're different languages with different idiosyncrasies. In conclusion....

Phoenix basically treated the card not as evidence from a crime scene, but more of an example, a recreation, a construction. Never said that was the actual card. Made people assume. Didn't correct them. So... he manipulated their thoughts. He's like 'oh, you want to know the reason? well, let's see, why would the killer take the card...? well maybe it had incriminating evidence on it - oh what kind of evidence? look at this card here - see this drop of blood? what if the blood fell from the victim's head on the card? so he had to take it - because it would have made it obvious the killer entered from the secret passage and how the murder actually happened' Something that breaks my heart immensly about all this is that Apollo is so adamant at the start of the trial that Mr. Wright would never lie... and he's furious and heartbroken that he basically manipulated him (and everyone else), instead. Phoenix literally couldn't lie anyway, because then Apollo would have known. If you think about it, it's kind of how Engarde was able to lie to Phoenix even though he had the magatama. He purposefully and meticulously manipulated people to think the evidence was real, without ever saying it. Putting the words in other people's mouths. (Also... at least to me, this seems a very prosecutor-like tactic. Perhaps even Von Karma-like.)

Why does he even tell Apollo that he forged it? (He didn't have to.) Because he felt guilty. Apollo asks how he can call himself an attorney and he tells him he, in fact, doesn't call himself one. Doesn't have the right to. Phoenix isn't a liar - he says so himself after the trial, he never lied - but he sure is a manipulator here. But he does feel guilty. He lets Apollo punch him. And he smiles. I think this shows how even when we believe that what we're doing is wrong, we might do it anyways. Out of desperation, anyone might cave and go against their own morals.

[croquis-el]

Naruhodō vs Art

As we well know, our lawyer is not only distinguished by his sharp mind, but also by his sharp tongue. He can be very categorical in some things, such as correct pronunciation or moral principles. However, the objects of art receive the greatest share of criticism from him. And he has the right to have his own opinion on this matter, especially since he graduated from the Faculty of Arts. (jp. 芸術学部 [geijutsu gakubu] )

Let's look at his comments in the original.

Painting in the office

The first thing that shows us one of the striking traits of Naruhodō's character is the painting that hangs in the reception area of ​​the office where he works. You can only interact with it in Case 1-2 of the first part of the game. I know that many did not pay attention to it because of the rush and disturbing music, so I'm showing it here.

大きな絵画だ。

モダン・アートというのだろうか。

It's a big painting.

Is it called modern art?

ぼくには、ただの 失敗作にしか見えない。

To me, it just looks like a failure.

Here Naruhodo uses the word 失敗作 [shippaisaku] - failed creative work, flop, dud

This is a very specific and rude word for something man-made. Literally useless trash that is not worth even a second chance

Now do you understand HOW much he dislikes this painting? And the fact that his work station in the office reception area was at the table that stands directly in front of this huge "something" tells us that for Naruhodo, his days were spent under pressure on his sense of beauty.

Now tell me, what are the chances that he threw this painting to hell when he inherited the office? I believe he got rid of it without regret.

___________________________________________

Tasteless Christmas decorations

和風のたたずまいに、悪趣味なクリスマスのかざりつけ。

A Japanese-style atmosphere with tasteless Christmas decorations.

悪趣味 [akushumi] - bad taste, vulgar, gross

Naruhodo doesn't mince words at all, as you can see.

___________________________________________

Magnificent screen

リッパなビョウブだ。

ずいぶん古そうに見える。

That's a splendid folding screen.

It looks pretty old.

････お経････のようなものが書かれているな。読めないけど。

It looks like a sutra. I can't read it though.

立派 (リッパ) [rippa] - splendid, fine, handsome, elegant, imposing, prominent

屏風 [byoubu] - folding screen

As you can see, he not only scolds, but also admires art. And even gives high marks to the folding charm in the Ayasato estate.

___________________________________________

Horrors of handicrafts

あそこに捨てられてる

粗末な木バコは、もしかして････?

That crude wooden box that was dumped there, could it be...?

(仮面マスク････いっしょに盗んであげればよかったのに)

(Mask... You should have stolen it with you)

粗末 [somatsu] + な [na] - crude, rough, plain, humble, shabby

Naruhodō was shocked to see the wooden box for the urn, and even when he learned that Mayoi made it, he did not change his mind, and only wished for Mask to steal the urn along with the box.

___________________________________________

Painting in the defendant's lobby

“絵を見る”というココロのゆとりすら、なかったんだ。

I didn't even have the mental space to "look at the picture."

ゆとりを持って、あらためてゆっくり鑑賞してみよう。

Take my time and appreciate it again.

たいした絵じゃないな。

Not a great picture.

Naruhodo says that the painting is not 大した (たいした) [taishita] - considerable, great, important, significant, a big deal

He literally says that it was not worth his time. It was nothing. And he should have continued to ignore it, as he did during those years.

Naruhodo also uses very interesting words 見る [miru] and 鑑賞 [kanshou]

And if 見る [miru] means to see, to look, to watch, to view, to observe, then 鑑賞 [kanshou] implies appreciation (of art, music, poetry, etc.)

I suggest you read a short explanation from an archived article from Studio Ghibli from January 7, 2006, titled:

見ると観るは、どう違う？(What is the difference between "miru" and "kanshou"?)

While "miru" means to see an object through one's eyesight, "kanshou" seems to mean to get closer to the truth while looking at it from a bird's-eye view. There is no point in just casually looking at the picture being drawn. You have to observe the whole picture from the details to the smallest details and think carefully about what is necessary for the picture.

(https://www.ghibli.jp/ged_01/10log/000231.html)

In other words, Naruhodo says that he didn't have time to even "miru" (look at) the painting, so he'll do it now. And not just look at it, but appreciate it. And... he didn't like it. It's a shame about the time he wasted.

Based on the above, one can make a modest assumption that Naruhodo is more attracted to traditional Japanese art (plus check out his posts with comments on authentic things).

I hope you found it interesting and learned something new about the main character.

[vashtijoy]

This one is extremely strange, so strange that I think I must have got it wrong somehow? Here's a line from Akechi's Black Mask navigation. Yeah, you know which one this is going to be:

Here's the English audio:

Is it me, or is something a little... off, here? Look at the portrait. Doesn't he look a little... calm? Downbeat, even?

Here's another use of the same portrait. This is not a laughing statement:

Akechi has a laughing navigator portrait, of course:

it's okay goro we know you're very normal

So we've got a mismatch between the portrait and the English line. Let's have a listen to the Japanese audio:

They're a bit... different? He's not laughing, he's not gloating. Just "Huh, I guess that was a thing that happened..."

So what's going on here?

translation time

Akechi 敵1体逃走！仲間に見捨てられたようだね。 teki ittai tousou! nakama ni misuterareta you da ne This one just got betrayed by its teammate! Ha, imagine how that feels! [lit. One enemy fled! Looks like this one was abandoned by its friend, huh?] One more enemy out of the way! So this last one got dumped by its friend, huh?

Let's talk about 見捨てる misuteru—"to abandon". misuteru pops up regularly in the P5R script. It comes up when someone's being ditched, bailed on, forsaken by God—generally left behind: if your friends run out on you, you are being misuterued.

Are there any contexts where misuteru can mean betray? Sure. If you leave a friend held hostage to die, the shadow will accuse you of misuteruing them. nakama o misuteru is used consistently here, similarly to Akechi's line above—"you betrayed your friend by leaving them to die".

Here's Kawakami, at the end of her confidant, resolving to never abandon any of her students again:

Kawakami でも、これからは君のことも守るよ。教師として、絶対、見捨てたりしないから。 demo, kore kara wa kimi no koto mo mamoru yo. kyoushi toshite, zettai, misutetari shinai kara. But from now on, I'm going to protect you too. As your teacher, I will never betray you.

What does Kawakami do? She tries to help her student Takase, but in the end abandons him; she believes she betrayed him to his death. But she betrayed him by giving up on him; by abandoning him. She misuterued him.

Here's Futaba, during her apology to Joker for dumping him at the start of Maruki's reality:

Futaba てかむしろ怒るだろ!{F1 82}のこと見捨てたんだぞ!? te ka mushiro okoru daro! <given name> no koto misuteta n da zo!? Why wouldn't you be!? I betrayed you! Don't you get that!?

Under Maruki's influence, Futaba loses herself in her happy family life, and leaves Joker to handle things essentially alone. Futaba betrays Joker by abandoning him; she misuterus him.

how does akechi use misuteru?

Besides the usage above, Akechi has two other uses of misuteru in P5. One is in his deleted Mementos mission from the third semester:

Akechi 君たちのことだしこういう人間は見捨てておけないだろう? kimi-tachi no koto da shi kou iu ningen wa misutete okenai darou? Well, considering what you and your group do, I imagine you could hardly abandon him to his fate...

This doesn't mean "betray". There's no relationship between Joker and the mission target—there's no betrayal. There's just an abandoning—a refusal to help.

Akechi やっぱり馬鹿は⋯お前らだ。見捨てて行けば、よかったのに⋯ yappari baka wa... omaera da. misutete ikeba, yokatta no ni... The real fools... are you guys. You should have just abandoned me here a long time ago... [lit. the real fools... are you guys. if only you'd [just] abandoned me here...]

Now this line is a doozy. Look at that use of misuteru here; in vanilla, it was his only use of this word. Akechi has just got done explaining that being unwanted and cast aside is the thing he fears most of all. He has shaped his life around it. He's done murder for it. Everything he's become, he became, at base, because he was abandoned—because he was misuterued.

It's here, at the very end, that he turns his back on that. This unwanted child who has killed to be wanted—he looks at Joker and the Phantom Thieves on the other side of the engine room shutters, people who've proved that they value him and want him around, for himself. And he says to them—no; you're idiots; why didn't you abandon me, like everyone else has? He says to them, I won't let you die here, and I care about that more than I care about being abandoned.

Everything about Akechi is resolving at this moment. He transcends his obsession, fear and trauma. And that word misuteru is doing a ton of heavy lifting—because if Akechi can't have what he wants, then he'll reject it. He makes a free choice, for once in his life.

This moment influences him for the whole of the third semester. And when we hear him say misuteru later on, we should remember this. When black mask navigator Akechi notes the Shadow being abandoned to its fate, he isn't laughing about it; he's thinking about it. In his head, he isn't the betrayer, thinking of Joker in the interrogation room; he is the betrayed, being left behind by everyone he ever hoped would care about him. He's being left behind behind that engine room door.

This line as localised, taken in isolation, can transform your reading of Akechi's character and motives—which is why it's so important to look at the whole of canon, and not single cherrypicked lines. Step forward, "I hate you"

unhinged ranting

Lemme be clear here: this line has always pissed me off for its inconsistency. Akechi reacts against the engine room ending in the third semester, sure. Almost the first thing he does is to rub that deal they made in Joker's face. He's desperate not to be viewed as that pitiful object on the floor. He's desperate to keep up walls between himself and the others—for whatever reason.

But after 1/2, he doesn't really gloat about what he's done. He doesn't argue with Futaba's threat to him on 1/11—"if you ever betray us again, we'll make sure you regret it."; he just agrees to her terms, which he knows are well deserved. He's not walking around like "lol, I got you arrested and tried to murder y'all and there was that whole thing"; even unhinged combat Akechi doesn't do that. Except for this one line. When he suddenly reveals that, deep down, he thinks the whole thing was hilarious.

Except he didn't do that at all. If he did, I think he'd find the others tolerated him a lot less. And he's already walking a knife edge with many of them.

What was the translator's brief here? Honestly, I have no idea. Did they even have access to the original audio? Did they have time to play it? Did Atlus give them a brief to make this guy just as crazy insane as possible?—because we know they told Akechi's JP VA, Soichiro Hoshi, to underplay it.

Either way, I don't think the line as localised (and as delivered, excellently, by Robbie Daymond) corresponds to the Japanese audio. traduttore, traditore—translators are traitors. Even me

revision history

Click here for the latest version.

v1.1 (2024/6/18)—it's 1/11, not 1/13!

v1.0 (2024/6/18)—first posted.

[danieyells]

@mayoigotokurousagi asked for a few more of the home screen dialogues I liked from a couple of characters, so here's Leo! Also included are the Japanese versions of the text for this one.

I LOVE HIM HE'S SUCH A LITTLE SHIT. . . . Once again this is nearly now all of them because this mfer has such personality lmao his also go with a few other characters', so there's i think one for Romeo and two or three for Sho in there too.

Also as a warning. . .i got a little horny in my commentary for some of these. But it's not my fault, Leo's the one who's saying things like that lol

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"Nice timing, Honor Roll. Give me your hand. Come on, just do it." あ、特待生サマちょうどよかった。手、貸して。早く早く

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"Hey, your messages are piling up. Hurry up and open them, it's annoying." ねぇ、さっきからずっと未読の通知来てんじゃん。うざいから早く読んじゃってよ

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"Ugh, you're so loud. Ask for permission if you want to talk to me. ...Nope, denied." うるさ……オレに話しかけんなら先に許可取ってくんない？ ……はい駄目

This isn't the only time he complains about volume. Maybe his ears are always sensitive even without using his stigma?

"I'm thirsty, go buy me a drink. What kind? Why don't you take a guess?" 喉乾いた。ジュース買ってきて。 なに系がいいって？ じゃあ、オレが飲みたい味、当ててみてよ

he likes spicy stuff, do you think he likes bitter stuff too? Maybe lemonade? Do you think he's one of those influences who's like 'i never eat anything bad for me' so he either drinks diet soda or no soda at all? I feel like he wouldn't be able to handle restrictions like that--also he loves Painfully Spicy Food so. . . .

Hey Honor Roll! ...Don't make that face at me. I'm being totally genuine right now. ね、特待生サマ♡ ……なにその顔。別になんも企んでないよ

We were deprived of a cute heart in his localized text to emphasize how saccharine he was being. How dare they.

"Have you seen Cap? Ugh, bet he's lurching around lost again..." ねぇ、うちの寮長サマ見なかった？ ……あいつ、また迷子にでもなってんじゃないの

the real question is, does Leo then go look for him himself, wait for him to come back on his own, or get Sho, the PC, or someone else to bring him back for him?

"We're fighting again? Which house? ...Ugh, pass." ……なになに、また揉めてんの？どこの寮？ なんだ……つまんな

I wonder which houses he wouldbe up to fight. Probably Hotarubi since he's kind of invested in Subaru's suffering? Maybe Frostheim since they already have beef--on the other hand, maybe that'd be boring for him. But man he seems pretty ready to go with that, Sho wasn't kidding when he said they got kicked out of every club in Shibuya because Leo's always picking fights.

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"Ugh, I'm so tired... I'm done with these classes already. I'll just show up for tests and skip the rest." は～……ねむ…… なんか怪異の授業も飽きたし、テスト以外もう出んのやめよ……

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I'm starving! Huh? Where'd Sho go? I swear he was here a second ago... Whatever. I'll make that NPC go buy something for me." お腹空いた～�� あれ、翔ちゃんは？ここにいると思ったんだけど…… ま、いっか。モブ女に購買行かせよ

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"That fucking himbo left me behind again..." あのポンコツ朴念仁……またオレのこと置いて行きやがって

he really wants to get involved in the spy situation huh. That or it's something administrative. Even at affinity 3 Alan leaving him out of something interesting upsets him a bit, which is interesting.

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Right now? I'm programming an app. I'm not doing anything that complex, just making an ordering system." 今？　アプリのプログラミング中。 別にそんな難しいことしてないよ。オーダーシステム作ってるだけ～

Of note, this is Sho's Affinity 7 line:

"Nice, got an order. More demand than I thought. Getting Leo to make this app was a good call." お、出前の予約が入ったわ……思ったより需要あってよ。 玲音に予約アプリ作らせたの正解だったな

So he made Sho an app for his food truck! Probably not for free of course--good to get the occasional reminder that Leo's both really smart and really good with technology lol

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Ugh... Cap smashed my woofer. I was just playing music in the Pit since we can't go clubbing..." だっる……クラブ行けない代わりに地下で音楽流してたら、寮長サマにウーハーぶっ壊されたんだけど……

That was kinda mean on Alan's part haha

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Who's DMing me? Oh, it's this account. Huh... Now that's interesting."

the tea has arrived, piping hot i see. . . .

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Hey, over here. Give this tabloid to that national treasure wannabe in front of the food truck. Just do it!" キミ、こっちこっち。 あのキッチンカーの前にいる国宝気取りに、この週刊誌渡してきて。いいから早く！

My guy does not like Subaru huh lmao or rather he loves tea and wants to set Subaru off or something. . . .

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Hey, Cap, could you open this bottle for me? Do it yourself? I can't, that's why I'm— hey! Where are you going?! ねぇ寮長サマ～、このペットボトルの蓋開けて～♡　 いや、無理だから頼んで…… ちょっとどこ行くの！？

Leo really said 'i need a big strong man in my life' and Alan said 'good luck becoming one' kekw ONCE AGAIN DEPRIVED OF HEARTS

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Time to see what the bug I planted in his car picked up... Huh? What the fuck?! Someone broke it!!" さてと、あいつの車に仕込んだ盗聴器の収穫は～…… は？　なにこれ！壊されてんだけど！！

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"This pillow mist? I only bought it because it was trending, but it's better than I thought it'd be. Ro-Ro's hooked on it too." あ、この寝香水？　バズってるから買ったんだけど、意外とよくてさ。ロミサマもハマってるみたいよ？

Romeo's Affinity 8 line references this:

"You're smelling the bedtime fragrance I bought from Kurossa earlier. He has a good eye, so I often ask him to pick things out for me." この香り？　さっきクロッサから買った寝香水だよ。あいつセンスいいから、よく見繕ってもらうわけ

"Kurossa" obviously being from "Kurosagi", Leo's surname. These two became fast friends, huh. Maybe they already knew each other from social media, since Romeo has an Instagram too. I bet they take the prettiest selfies.

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"Night, then. What? I haven't slept yet. Unlike you, I actually have shit to do." じゃ、おやすみ～…… なに？　今から寝るんだけど。オレ、キミと違って忙しいの

Sho also stays up pretty late lmao. I assume Leo does much of his hacking in the dead of night. . .then again why's he using his sleep mist before he goes to bed?

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Why is this place so overrun with fucking losers?! My eardrums are going to burst!! ...I'm going back to the garage to play with Cap." どこいても雑魚どもがうっさい！！この学園、マジどうなってんの！？ ……ガレージ戻って寮長サマで遊ぼ

The word "雑魚" which was translated as 'loser' means "nobody" or "unimportant person" lol which means Alan is someone of greater importance than others to him? Or just more bearable? Or maybe just likes that he's quieter or finds him more entertaining lol it's kind of nice to see that they're "getting along" in the loosest sense of the term i guess. . . .

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Huh... The little kabuki prince's sister married an actor from a different troupe? Bet there's something going on there." ふ～ん……梨園の御曹司サマには、別の屋号の歌舞伎役者と結婚した姉がいる…… なんか、超匂うわ～……

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"You think I smell good? It's L'Occitane body lotion. I just throw some on after showering in the morning." この匂い？　ロクシタンのボディーローションだけど。 朝シャンの後、ぱぱっとつけてるだけだよ

the pc mentions that Leo's hair smells floral, so I bet he smells super nice. And I guarantee you he's not using men's fragrances either, he wants to smell pretty, leave that hypermasculine shit to Alan and Sho.

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"Okay, okay, I'm coming... Ugh. Calling the whole house out at the ass crack of dawn... What is wrong with that himbo?" はいはい、行くってば…… はぁ。朝っぱらから寮生集会とか、あのポンコツ朴念仁なに考えてんの？

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Ugh, I totally missed out on that ultra-spicy chicken thing they had in Shin-Okubo. Guess I'll read the reviews and get Sho to recreate it." あ～新大久保の激辛チキン、完全に食べ損ねてる…… ネットのレビュー調べて、翔ちゃんに再現させるか

I feel like, if not for that it'd have all the flavor sucked out of it from the spiciness, Sho would probably have a good time replicating flavors like that. He likes to make different cultures' foods after all.

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Wow, so late already. Better get a bath going and get ready for bed. Here you go. It's for scrubbing the bath." やば、もうこんな時間じゃん。さっさと風呂溜めて寝る支度しよ。 はいこれ、風呂掃除用のブラシ♪

If you do a real good job of cleaning the tub for him, he may even let you have some of his bathwater! Isn't he generous?

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"That dumb video got over 10k interacts? God, you're all so basic... Muting." あんな適当な動画が万バズとか、本当ちょろすぎ……うるさいから通知切ろ……

No respect or love for his fans is2g

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"I can touch you, but you can't touch me. That's how this works, got it?" オレからキミに触るのはオッケー。キミからオレに触るのはダメ。 いい？　これがオレたちのルールね

This is probably so much more innocuous than it sounds--like literal touching, or maybe him holding his fame as an influencer over you--especially since he's saying it with a straight face but. . .it's so easy to imagine this as Leo cuffing or tying your hands and when you ask what he's doing he climbs in your lap and moves your clothes out of his way and says this. . .and at this point you've probably never fucked or kissed or anything before so it's a little out of the blue but you can't really stop him and he just toys with you until he's satisfied. . .one of my favorite of his lines just because it's a little dirty lol

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"There she is. Hey, Honor Roll! You free? There's something I was really hoping you could help me with." あ、いたいた。ねぇ特待生サマ～、今日って暇？　 ちょっと付き合って欲しいことがあんだけど♪

given this is his expression in the first line(and the little music note with his second line) he's probably up to no good lol there's either something he really needs to hear or something he really wants to do to you specifically. in Japanese he says "I just want you to keep me company for a while♪"

BUT MAYBE I'M ASSUMING TOO MUCH MAYBE HE JUST DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO ASK YOU TO HANG OUT OTHERWISE. Like how the PC asks Sho if they need help on the food truck and he immediately clocks "you don't have to offer to help just so you can spend time with me you know"

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Hey, Honor Roll, come sit down. Not over there, next to me. Good, you're comfy. Don't move, I'm taking a nap." 特待生サマ、ちょっとここ座って。 違うよ、オレの隣。 あ～気持ち～♡しばらく昼寝するから動かないでね

Lap pillow hours! Whether you like it or not! He said no touching him, so no moving him off your lap, either! He might make an exception for having his hair pet though.

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"They went to the Pit again? Must really get a kick out of it... Like big, dumb animals throwing themselves at each other." あいつら、また地下に行ってんの？好きだね～本当…… やってること、虫相撲とほぼ変わんないじゃん……

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"The whole demon nickname? People can call me whatever they want. I know who I am." 悪魔って呼ばれてること？ 別に、好きにすればって感じ。オレが何者かは、オレが一番わかってるもん

His expression saying this is his default one where he's smiling, so I guess it really doesn't bug him, which is good. He probably gets a kick out of it.

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Stay like this till I tell you to leave, okay? Got it? I didn't hear an answer." オレが行っていいって言うまで、キミはずっとこうしててね♡ ……わかった？　返事は？

Again, this one's a little dirty which makes me like it a lot hahaha. . .this is a late night one(it's labeled "GoodNight" and only pops up between 10pm and midnight) is he telling you to sit still while he sleeps on your lap or uses you as a body pillow? Is he making you sit still with a toy in you while he ignores you or pretends he's not tormenting you sexually? SORRY I FIND SEXUAL THINGS SO AMUSING BUT HE'S MAKING IT SOUNDS SO HORNY. The audio doesn't sound as horny as i'm making it sound off but like LOOK AT IT.

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"Wanna make a bet, Honor Roll? Over which will come first—me falling for you, or you getting hooked on me." 特待生サマさ、オレと賭けない？ オレがキミを好きになるのが先か、キミがオレに沼るのが先か

I think it's a little late for you, sweetheart. I think you've already caught the feels and that ship is sailed.

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"Why the hell would I go to class? I already learned all the first year material." 授業なんて出るわけないじゃん。１年で覚えなきゃいけない範囲は、もう全部やっちゃったし

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Cap really puts the "him" in "himbo..." Look at him, he's got a flower stuck in his hair." 寮長サマってさ、あんな見た目してなんでポンコツなんだろね…… ほら見てよ。頭に花くっついてるし

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Quick Honor Roll, stand over there. Perfect. Now hold my phone. You're the cameraman." ちょっと特待生サマ、そこ立って。そそ、いい感じ。 で、オレのスマホ持って。はいキミ、カメラマンね

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Can't believe how many gross dudes this account keeps reeling in. AI-generated pics make it so easy! "Could you send me some more money ♡?” Send." このアカ、変態ジジイ釣れすぎなんだけど。ＡＩ美女画像マジ便利～！ もっとペイペイちょ～だい♡っと

I find it funny that they use AI generated images for their backgrounds and also have a character who scams people with AI generated images. . . .

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"That rule about having to wear your academy or house uniform on campus is so outdated. I'm going to die wearing all this crap in this heat." 学内は基本、制服か寮服じゃなきゃ駄目ってさ、今時そんな校則あり？ 暑くて死んじゃうんですけど

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I can't believe Sho seriously ran out of my Killer Sauce. It's summer, this is when I want to eat spicy stuff." 翔ちゃん、オレのキラーソース切らしてんのマジあり得ないんだけど。夏こそ辛いもん食べたいのに

well maybe if you didn't dump so much of it on whatever you ate. . . .

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"I keep telling Sho we should let off some fireworks and he keeps saying no! You want to do it too, don't you, Honor Roll?" 翔ちゃんに花火したいって言ってんのに、全然付き合ってくんないの！ 特待生サマも、やりたいもんね～？

One of Sho's summer lines references this:

"Leo won't shut up about wanting to let off fireworks, but no way am I doing that shit with him again. I'm sure you can guess why." 玲音が花火してぇってうるせぇんだけどよ、俺は二度とあいつとはやんねぇって決めてんの。わかんだろ？

I guess Leo isn't a very responsible fireworks user.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Yeah, apparently there's more anomalies around in summer. Statistically speaking. It's just fucking annoying more than anything else, really." ああ、なんかこの時期って、日本は怪異が増えるらしいね、統計的に。 普通にめんどくさいだけなんだけど

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"Thought I could have some fun here at Japan's most elite educational institution. What a let down." 日本有数の名門校なんて言われて、期待して入ったのにさぁ。 結局この学園も、つまんないやつばっか

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Sports? Hard pass. I hate getting sweaty. Ask Sho instead." スポーツ？　パス。オレ、汗かくの嫌いなの。 翔ちゃんでも誘ってきなよ

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Sho hurt himself playing basketball? How unfortunate." 翔ちゃんがバスケ中に怪我した？ へぇ、そうなんだ。大変だね

He gives so few fucks about his best friend lmao then again they're ghouls, Sho'll probably be fine in like two hours.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Ugh, I want to go clubbing... We should make one in the Pit. Sinostra's got a casino, can't be that hard to get a permit." あ～クラブ行きて～…… いっそさ、地下改造して箱にしちゃうのどう？カジノがありなら余裕じゃない？

Leo pointing at sinostra: if the criminals in there can have a fucking casino there's no way it's hard to get a business permit here. They kill people like on a weekly basis and no one's shut them down. The standards must be in the ground.

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"This coat? Cute, right? I knew it'd look good on me, so I bought it." ああ、このアウター？可愛いっしょ。絶対オレに似合うと思って買ったんだ～♪

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I'm freezing... I'm having a carbonated bath tonight. Wanna join, Honor Roll? Of course I'm serious." あ～、さぶ。今日の風呂は強炭酸にしよ…… 特待生サマも一緒に入る？ 別に、マジで言ってんだけど

This one happens regardless of affinity which is kinda funny to think about. then again, Japanese bathhouse culture probably means that's not super weird if you have a tub big enough, maybe? Then again a bathhouse and just having a bath with someone are different things. I bet he has lots of baths with Sho.

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Hey, everyone! It's me! Ugh, my throat's all dry from the cold. I'll just stream tomorrow..." こんばんは。ＬＥＯだよ～！ ……やば、乾燥で喉死んでるわ。配信は明日にしとこ……

Of note here, Leo's online handle is just "LEO" in Japanese. In English his name probably had to be given just as Leo to prevent this being lost in translation, because his actual name, in kanji, is 玲音, which is pronounced "Reio"(the same as 'leo' but with an r). But "Leo" is stylized since Japanese doesn't have the L sound and the R sound is closest. So in Japanese he says "It's LEO!" whereas in English he just says "It's me!" since his handle and his name are the same. Although, as someone who follows streamers, introducing yourself again at the top of a stream isn't too uncommon i think? But I also don't watch the influencer types, so the culture is probably very different haha.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"The ghouls won't listen to you? No shit. You realize we were hand-picked by demons, right?" グールが言うこと聞いてくれない？そんなの当たり前でしょ。 だって、オレたち悪魔に選ばれた人間よ？

He's one of the only ones who mentions something like this on the homescreen(off the top of my head Haku is the other one who really mentions how none of them are normal). And he's absolutely right--they were chosen by demons, made pacts with those demons, and ultimately overcame them somehow. Most of them are gonna be kinda stubborn. A demon probably wouldn't choose someone who'd be influenced easily. . .except the demon who chose Kaito apparently. Probably just looking for easy pickings, that one. Or maybe Kaito wasn't always such a coward. . . .

His birthday (Year 1): (May 23rd)

"You got me a birthday present? Oh, thanks. Just put it over there, I'll look at it later.  I will, I promise." オレに誕生日プレゼント？　あ～、ありがと。そこらへん置いといて。 大丈夫だよ、後で見るってば

Rude ungrateful little shit lmaoooooo "yeah yeah my fans sent me a bunch of gifts already. I'll get to it."

His birthday (Year 2): (May 23rd)

"Yeah, it's my birthday. What do I want? …How about you give me your bank card?" そう、オレ今日誕生日なの。 なにが欲しいって？ ……じゃあ、キミのキャッシュカードちょ～だい♡

he's gonna be so jealous of that Taiga just hands you his wallet and goes 'get yourself something nice' lmao LEO YOU ARE A FAMOUS INFLUENCER AND A HACKER AND A SCAMMER YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ASK HER FOR MONEY LMAO i love him so much chat

Your birthday (Year 1):

"It's your birthday? I'll help you celebrate.  Meet me behind the garage later." へぇ。今日キミ、誕生日なんだ。 そうだ……オレが祝ってあげる♡後でガレージの裏においで

Your birthday (Year 2):

"Hey, Honor Roll. Heard it's your bday. I'll make you one of those surprise birthday videos. Shut up, just go stand over there." ねぇ特待生サマ。今日キミの誕生日らしいね♡ 　じゃ、サプライズ動画撮るから。 うるさい。そこ立って

i know the surprise is probably whatever the gift is and not the video itself but when he announces it it sounds like so much less of a surprise lmaoooo and then he's snippy with you like you are not going to ruin my video for you

New Years: (January 1st)

"Happy New Year! I prefer digital payment.  What do you mean, what do I mean? I'll be nice to you again this year, so pay up." ハッピーニューイヤー♪　はい！ なにって……今年も仲良くしてあげるから、お年玉ちょ～だい？

He's referencing otoshidama, money you're given on new years(usually as a child) but it sounds like you've just got a recurring subscription to Leo's friendship lmaoooo "We can still be friends, so compensate me monetarily" lolol i swear if he weren't vice captain i wouldn't be surprised if he eventually transferred to Sinostra in his second or third year. I think he'd fit in.

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"This is that ultra-spicy chocolate they only sell this time of year... I'm actually genuinely stoked right now." これ、毎年この時期にしか買えない激辛生チョコレートじゃん…… え、普通に嬉しいんだけど

White Day: (March 14th)

"Here, as thanks for the chocolate. You're not going to tell me you don't know Godiva, are you? All right, now we're even." はい、これお返し。キミ……まさかゴディバ知らないわけないよね？ じゃ、これで貸し借りはチャラね

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"Ha ha. You were photobombing one of my pics so I uploaded it and said I had a new girlfriend. 10K interacts in less than an hour. Suckers." あはは。新しく彼女できましたって特待生サマのこと匂わせたら、一瞬で万バズしたんだけど。嘘なのに～

Comments section like "gee Leo how come your boyfriend lets you have two partners?"

Halloween: (October 31st)

"Trick or treat!  Ugh, the only good thing about this dumb event is the video content it provides." トリックオアトリート！ 　って……こんなくだらないイベント、動画のネタになるだけマシなんだけどさぁ

Not much of a halloween guy. . .even though this is Sho's halloween dialogue???

"You really need an explanation? Leo made me wear it! Shit, why am I always the girl..." ああ？　言わなくてもわかんだろ。玲音に着せられたんだっつの！ クソ、なんで毎年女装なんだよ……

You're making your boyfriend best friend crossdress for your halloween vids? When you don't even like Halloween? And this is a REGULAR occurrence??? Like I get that he doesn't like sweets I guess but lmaoooo

Christmas: (December 25th)

"This Christmas-themed food Sho made might pull some traffic.  All right, uploaded. You can eat the rest, Honor Roll. Say "ah"!" 翔ちゃんのクリスマス映えごはん、適当にあげて…… はい終わり。後は特待生サマが食べてね。あ～ん♡

what you want him to eat all of that? and mess up his figure?

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"Was that on purpose?  Are you seriously ignoring me right now?" あのさ、それわざと？ キミ今、オレのこと無視してるよね？

(13 affinity and above)

"Ugh, everyone's so loud.  I'm putting my headphones on, so tap here if you need me, okay?" はぁ……どこもうるさ…… オレ音楽聴いてるから、なんかあったらここ触って呼んでね～♡

oh no he's becoming self aware i like that he's not like. 'hey pay attention to me!!' instead he's like 'okay we can sit here in silence that's fine, i'm gonna listen to music so if you want something let me know'. Parallel play with Leo! He's content to just vibe out with you--and he likes you enough that he'll give you attention if you ask too.

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"Who are you? Ah ha ha! I'm kidding. Have you got a good excuse for why you've been gone so long?" ……キミ、誰？ ……あはは！冗談だよ。 で、しばらく来なかった言い訳、ちゃんと用意してきた？

MAN THAT TOOK A LONG TIME. He really just has a lot of personality lol or maybe i just like his personality a lot? Either way I like a bunch of his lines so that's honestly like 90% of them. Bit of a goober. I'll do Sho's in a few hours! Since i already have his japanese file open from doing Leo's lol this is now all of his lines, and Sho's is partially done as well as of writing this! I love Leo so much haha