/jam/ - Japan, Anime, & Manga

Please consider donating! Thanks!

Thread stats: 17 posts, 4 files (4 image(s))

Toggle poster info Replying to /jam/91060 Close window
Options
save file
image:142607682300.png(72kB , 230x230 , 1426018827370.png)
What's the stupidiest translation you've ever encountered?

For me it's in the English dub of Knights of Sidonia, which is pretty good despite some of the female voicing being far too high pitched but they make the dumbest decision I've ever encountered.

instead of saying "Placenta" which is literally and explicitly what the skin of a Gauna is called, the call it an "enta" which is so fucking stupid for so many reasons.
No.91061
Anonymous
Replies:>>91062
If that's the worst, you've been spoiled.
No.91062
The Sneaky Tiki
>>91061
It's the worst to me because it's a really pointless change that really takes you out of what is otherwise a decent dub.
No.91063
Mr. Stone !zWb42fBPMM
I wouldn’t call it the stupidest, but the KLK dub cutting the ‘u’ off of names such as Senketsu (e.g. pronouncing it ‘Senkets’) is rather fucked up.
No.91064
Anonymous
>>91063
That's how it sounds in the native Japanese, though often it does seem like they're trying to overcompensate in the other direction (Death Note English dub often pronounced "Kira" as outright "Kida" when native Japanese is a much more neutral sound for example).
No.91065
Anonymous
>>91063
As said by >>91064, they also drop the u in Japanese. In Japanese, those ending vowels are often said quietly/quickly (as far as I can tell). Go back and watch anything where they say "desu" and pay close attention. What you'll find is that it's not a hard "u" as in "you" ("dez-oo"), but the sound is softer and cuts off halfway if said at all so it sounds more like "des". Even when it's not the end of a phrase, like "desu ne", the "u" sound is soft and quick. When we look at the text from an English standpoint we want to give equal weight to all the syllables, so the "u" comes out very clearly, but that's now how it's actually said in the show.
No.91066
Anonymous
Replies:>>91073
>>91064
In a lot of ways the "r/l" sound in Japanese *is* like a soft "d" though. It's not really "r" OR "l," but halfway between.
No.91067
Sharkman Jhones
Mine's kind of more a pet peeve. Some of the early Berserk scanlations had Guts written as "Gatts" or "Gattsu." When the official spellings were made known the group got pissed, felt it was wrong. I'll say that again, they thought Miura was wrong on how he spelled his character's name. Had other shit like "Griffisu."

Also, since I'm bitching, calling him "Black Swordsman-dono." It's fucking Berserk, call him "Sir Black Swordsman." Localize it a little, the setting is European as fuck, the honorifics aren't as important.
No.91068
Omegon
>>91063
IIRC, they actually say "Senkets" frequently in the sub.
No.91069
Anonymous
>>91067
>they thought Miura was wrong on how he spelled his character's name.
Japanese authors are often wrong about the English spellings of their characters names. Most Japanese people speak English only in the form that's taught in Japanese public school, which is shitty English. And I don't just mean "poorly taught," I mean they actually teach English in a way that is different than it is actually spoken anywhere. Anglophone spelling is not a skill that the majority of Japanese speakers have.

That said, fan translators get up their own asses about this sort of thing all the time, so I'm not necessarily siding with them either. I'm just saying that a Japanese author giving an anglicization of a name should not necessarily be said to trump an english spelling given by professional translators. Amateur translators though, yeah, they can go fuck themselves.
save file
image:142613787200.jpg(113kB , 550x309 , bad translations.jpg)
No.91071
Anonymous
Replies:>>91072
>>91067
Fan translators pretend to be superior about literally everything they can, but if you want to see why they don't ALWAYS trust the official Romanizations go look at Hunter X Hunter and what Togashi thought the English names would be. Watch Curarpikt and his quest for vengeance against Hyskoa, Fulunki, Phalcnothdk, and Quwrof Wrlccywrlir.
No.91072
Anonymous
>>91071
>Quwrof Wrlccywrlir.
Man, a Welsh character? That's some Westabooism right there.
No.91073
Anonymous
>>91066
Exactly. Rather than doing the intermediate sound the dub voice actors often went for something that sounded more like the Spanish "d" sound.
Replies:>>91154
save file
image:142693835800.jpg(867kB , 2356x1792 , what_a_beautiful_duwang.jpg)
No.91154
Anonymous
>>91153
Ugly image quality aside that translation was actually pretty decent once you got to the second half. Only problem was the diction.
save file
image:142696316400.jpg(102kB , 550x367 , 1287771293567.jpg)
Kisama-tachi style subs?