A Brief Translation Rant

Wed, 10 Jul 2019 16:37:31 GMT

I am not anywhere near a Japanese language expert. I mean, I am studying Japanese on Duolingo, having taken one or two community education classes with a native-speaker. That's it.

But, there I am, doing the dishes, watching the third season of "Free!" when we get to this really poignant moment. This friend of the hero's, who has been struggling with swimming (it's a sports anime about competitive swimming), ends up having a break-through because a friend he thought lost to him (the hero) makes a big personal sacrifice in order to swim with him/compete with him. The hero looses this particular race, but the friend is turning around, towards healing. It's a BIG moment. I was already crying, because one of the things that I love about sports anime is that always, ALWAYS about The Team, and how we don't win alone, even when we compete on an individual basis. You always fight for your friends. ALWAYS.

At any rate, my rant is this.

When friend turns to hero after winning the race, he says:

Haru. Tadaima.

The translators chose to write this as: Haru, I'm back.

NO.

Tadaima is something you ONLY say TO YOUR FAMILY, when you walk in the door to YOUR HOME (when you walk into anyone else's house, you would say, "Pardon the intrusion," though literally "I am disturbing you," Ojamashimasu).

So, what his friend is saying, which is far, far more meaningful in this context is: "Haru (my family, hence NO honorifics). "I'm HOME."

It is even more important, that Haru replies: Okaaeri which is the intimate, familial form of Okaerinasai. "Welcome home."

That's how your FAMILY greets you when you return home. YOUR FAMILY. Your mom says okaeri. The butler or your auntie you haven't seen in a decade would say okaerinasai. Your BEST FUCKING FRIEND would probably say okaerinasai.

These two men not only acknowledge that this friend is home, but that they are family because they share this love of the sport.

This is so much more powerful then, "Haru, I'm back."

What the hell, Viz Media translators? TOO GAY FOR YOU??? I mean, it's the only thing I can figure. Free! is a fan favorite for all the slash, so I can only figure that someone at Viz Media said, "Oh, you can't have him say: I'm home. Too gay! Besides, those dumb English-speaking fan fic writers don't need any more fuel!" Although, I thought the second season of Free! was all about the gay subtext, but maybe there was backlash? Except the Japanese would feel this like a gut punch, like I did (which, frankly, is rare since most of the time I catch one word out of six hundred and five billion.)

/rant.

I will return to the regularly scheduled programming next blog.

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Day in the Life of an Idiot

A Brief Translation Rant