The usual disclaimers:
I’m an amateur. My advantage over the original translation is that I have no deadline pressure, and I have the modern internet to help me. I’m assuredly wrong about some of my translations.
Translation is hard. When I point out a mistranslation, it’s not a judgment of the original translators. They had a deadline and poor resources.
Please no jokes in the comments about Karen being a Karen. I really hate that trend.
We’re leaving Fallen Angel Village. On the world map:
Interesting. In JP the world map says Dark Angel. Unsurprisingly, they changed it to Angel Vil. in US.
The party heads over to…
Watermia. I tried to find any way this was a reference to a real place and came up with nothing. The Japanese name could be translated as Watermere, which does correspond to some real places, and the town-ending name of mere is a common one in the UK. But Watermia is near the Great Wall of China in this game’s universe. So… probably not British. I’m gonna stick with Watermia.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
水上都市ウォータミア | Watermia | Floating City Watermia |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ぼくらは 水上都市ウォータミアに やってきた。 イカダの上に 家が たちならび それは 美しい町だった。 | We went to the Water City, Watermia. A beautiful town with houses built on rafts. | We arrived at the floating city, Watermia. It was an extremely beautiful city with houses built on rafts. |
町の人々も 親切で ぼくらは ルークという青年の家に とめてもらうことになった。 | The townspeople have kindly put us up at the house of young Luke. | The townspeople were kind, and it was arranged that we would stay at the house of a young man named Luke. |
Interesting that OE called it the Floating City repeatedly in Angel Village, but now translates the same words as Water City.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
そして ここが ルークの家。 彼は 漁師をやっている 好青年だ。 | This is Luke’s house. He is a loveable young fisherman. | This is Luke’s house. He’s an affable young guy who works as a fisherman. |
遠洋航海で 長期間 海に出るため その間 家を使わせてもらうことに なったというわけだ。 | I am going out on a long fishing voyage. You can use my house while I’m gone. | He was going to be out at sea for a long time on a fishing voyage, and we were allowed to use his house in the meantime. |
In the first sentence, OE translates 好青年 (kouseinen) as loveable young and nabs fisherman from elsewhere in the sentence. My dictionary translates it as good young man or agreeable youth.
In the second sentence, OE puzzlingly switches to the perspective of Luke without putting it in quotes. Tim is supposed to still be relating what happened in 3rd person.
Inside Luke’s house, we gain control immediately and can talk to everyone.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
カレン： ウォータミアは すごく きれいな町だけど ちょっと いやな うわさを 耳にしたの．．． | Kara: Watermia is very pretty, but I’ve heard a terrible rumor. | Karen: Watermia’s an extremely beautiful city, but I overheard a nasty rumor. |
人の命を もてあそぶとか．．． なんだとか．．． | They play games with human lives… | The word is that they play a game with human lives. |
We later find out that they play a drinking equivalent of Russian Roulette, in which a single glass is poisoned. I’ll promise I’ll spare you The Deer Hunter jokes, when the time comes.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
花の都も そうだったけど 美しいものには 必ず 裏の顔が あるのかしら．．． | Freejia was the same way, but beautiful. Things always have another side to them… | The City of Flowers was that way as well. I wonder if all beautiful things have such a hidden side. |
Karen’s sentence is made of two clauses conjoined by けど (kedo - but), and OE mixes them up a little. Beautiful belongs in the second clause, modifying things, rather than the first clause, modifying Freejia/City of Flowers. And OE leaves out かしら (kashira - I wonder/don’t you think?) entirely.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リリィ： ロブはね なんか 町の中で だれか 知っている人を 見かけたんだって。 | Lilly: I heard that Lance saw someone he knew in town. | Lily: Rob said that he caught sight of someone he knew in town. |
で その人を さがしに 行ったみたいだよ。 | I guess he went to look for him. | I guess he went to look for him. |
It’s not certain who it is who said that Rob saw someone he knew, but Rob is the topic of the sentence, and is otherwise logically the most likely person to have told Lily about something he saw. I chose Rob as the speaker, OE left it unknown.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
エリック： えへへ。 さっき いいもの 見つけちゃった。 | Erik: Heh heh. I’ve found something good. | Erik: Heh heh. I came across something good a moment ago. |
そとへ出て この家の裏側を 調べて ごらんよ。 ちょっとばかり 良心が とがめるけどね．．． | Go outside and look behind the house. I feel a little guilty, but… | Go outside and look behind the house. I feel a little guilty about it, though. |
Ruh roh.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ニール： このイカダの家は 新たな 発明の ヒントに なりそうだなあ．．． | Neil: The house on this raft gives me an idea for a new invention. | Neil: I think this raft house gives me an idea for a new invention. |
Time to explore the town. Immediately outside, we can talk to Luke:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ルーク： やあ。 家は 気に入ってくれたかい？ ぼくが 航海にでてるあいだは 自由に 使ってくれよ。 | Luke: Take care of my house. Make yourself at home while I’m gone. | Luke: Hey there! I trust you’re happy with the house? You can use it as you like while I’m on my trip. |
I’ll check behind the house as Erik suggested:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
カレンの日記が かくしてある．．． 読みますか？ | Kara’s diary is secret. Read it? | Karen’s diary is hidden here. Read it? |
そうだな。 勝手に読むのも 気がとがめるし やめておこう．．． | OK. You’d feel guilty reading it without permission… | Yeah, I’d feel bad reading it without permission. I’ll leave it alone. |
PSA: Breaking into a loved one’s phone, journal, computer, email, or other private communication medium for the purpose of spying on them is abusive. Don’t do it. Ok?
Anyway, I’m gonna read Karen’s diary now. Hey, at least it’s not as bad as turning in an escaped slave!
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
Ｘ月 Ｘ日 | X Month X Day | X Month X Day |
とちゅう のどがカラカラだったけど がまんしたし、 くつずれが できたけど ハンカチで 包帯をして がんばったわ。 | I was parched after the journey. Blisters on my feet, but I wrapped them in my handkerchief. | On the way, my throat got bone dry, but I toughed it out. I also got a blister on my foot, but I held out by using a handkerchief as a bandage. |
Oddly, here the JP actually does say water city instead of floating city, but the OE translates it as floating city. It’s not a big deal, just a curiosity.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
前だったら 文句ばっかり 言ってた かもしれないけど 言わなかった。 あたしって この旅で ずいぶん 変わったと思う．．． | Before, I would have complained, but I didn’t say anything. I think I’ve changed a little. | Before, I would have done nothing but complain, but I didn’t say anything. I think I’ve changed a whole lot on this journey. |
だれかのために いっしょうけんめい になれる 今の 自分が ちょっぴり 気に入っているの。 | I’m pleased that I can be so concerned with someone else. | I kind of like the way I am now, being able to put so much effort in for the sake of someone else. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
さっき 町の人から こんな 言い伝えを 聞いちゃった。 | I’ve heard this saying from a villager. | I just heard some folklore from a villager. |
「満月の夜に ハスの葉の上で おいのりすると 好きな人が 自分に ふりむいてくれる．．． | “If you wish over a lotus leaf on a full moon night, your love will notice you.” | “If you make a wish on top of a lotus leaf on a full moon night, the person you love will love you back.” |
I really do appreciate the modern internet, in which I can google a phrase like ふりむいてくれる (furimuitekureru), which means turns around or will turn around, and see if it has any special meanings. Turns out, yes, it can indeed mean to fall in love with someone.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
すてきな 言い伝えよね。 そのうち ためしてみよっかな．．． | A good saying. Maybe I’ll try it… | That’s a wonderful legend. Maybe I’ll give it a try one of these days. |
Now I’ll run around and talk to everyone in town.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
子供： ヘビにかまれたら めちゃくちゃに 走りまわれば いいのさ。 そしたら ポロっと 落っこちるよ。 | Child: If you’re bitten by a snake, you should run around like crazy and he’ll let go. | Child: If you’re bitten by a snake, run around like crazy. If you do, it will fall off. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
子供： 前に 万里の長城に 行ったとき ヘビに かまれたんだ．．． | Child: I was bitten by a snake when I went to the Great Wall of China. | Child: The last time I went to the Great Wall of China, I was bitten by a snake. |
このあたりの ヘビは 一度 かみつくと なかなか はなさないんだよ。 | Once the snakes around here bite you, they don’t let go! | Once the snakes around here bite you, they don’t let go. |
There’s another pair of kids around, a boy and a girl:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
サーバス： ぼくの お父さんは 探検家なんだ。 もうじき 黄金の船を 見つけて 来るんだよっ！！ | Sabas: My father’s an explorer. Soon he will find the Gold Ship and come home!! | Servas: My father’s an explorer. Soon he’ll find the Gold Ship and come back home! |
Um.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ナナ： お父さんの 最後の手紙を 受けとってから もう 半年も 音さたがないの．．． | Nana: We haven’t heard from our father since his last letter six months ago… | Nana: It’s been half a year since we last got a letter from our father, and we haven’t heard from him since. |
無事だと いいのだけれど．．． | I hope he’s OK… | I hope he’s ok. |
Ummmmmm.
Their names are Servas and Nana? And their father went to find the Gold Ship? The one that was in the Incan ruins?
Oh, no. Remember that skeleton with a locket that Tim had no qualms about digging through and reading?
Well, bad news, kids.
Of course, Tim doesn’t bother to tell these two children that their father is never coming home. Just leave them holding onto hope forever, Tim, it’s no big deal! They don’t need stupid things like “closure”!
I guess if he did tell them, they might disbelieve him. Why believe some dorky kid who claims to have conquered the legendarily dangerous ruins and to have set foot on the Gold Ship?
Still. Come on, man.
I was curious whether it was realistic for their father to have already decomposed to a skeleton by the time Tim finds him. (A: Yes, definitely so.) While reading about decomposition rates, I found a paper about how climate change will affect open-air human decomposition. The internet is full of wonderful things, if you let silly questions lead you to them.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
２年前 頭のおかしい じいさんが この町へ やってきたんだ。 それ以来 バベルの塔が どうとか 変なことを 口走ってばかりさ。 | A crazy old man came here two years ago. He just talked on about the Tower of Babel. | 2 years ago, a crazy old man showed up at this village. Since then he’s only rambled weird things about the Tower of Babel. |
Wait, 2 years? At the start of the game, it said it was the 1 year anniversary of the Tower of Babel incident. Is it supposed to have been a year since the game’s beginning at this point? We only lost about 2 months to the raft and the undersea tunnel. It must take a really long time to travel between locations in this game.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
男： 万里の長城には サンドファンガー っていう でっけえ むかでが 生息してるって話だ。 | Man: I heard that a huge centipede called a Sand Fanger lives in the Great Wall of China. | Man: They say that a huge centipede called the Sand Fanger lives in the Great Wall of China. |
そいつの体液は どんな 病気も 直す力が あるらしいぜ。 | They say fluid from it’s body can cure anything. | Apparently its bodily fluids can cure any illness. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
漢方薬の原料には 不気味なもんが 多いけど 虫の生き血だけは 飲みたかねえなあ．．． | Chinese medicine has many strange things, but drinking an insect’s bodily fluids… | Chinese herbal medicine uses several bizarre ingredients, but I haven’t ever drunk an insect’s lifeblood. |
The Japanese name for the Great Wall of China is 万里の長城 (banri no choujou) which means thousands of miles long defensive wall. So I was all set, in my translation, to exclude the word China from the name and call it the Great Wall. It’s not like this game to include modern country names relating to its ruins. But then this guy comes along and talks about 漢方薬 (kanpouyaku - Chinese herbal medicine). 漢 is a kanji commonly used to refer to China. For example, 漢和 (kanwa - China and Japan), 漢字 (kanji - Chinese characters), 漢文 (kanbun - Chinese classical literature), and so on. So screw it, I’m gonna call it the Great Wall of China and call this Chinese herbal medicine.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
子供： いいことを 教えてあげる。 | Child: I’ll tell you something. | Child: Let me give you a tip. |
とばく場の 右の裏手で しばらく 持っててごらん。 ハスの葉が やってくるよ。 | Wait on the right side behind the gambling house. A lotus leaf will come. | Wait a little while on the right side behind the gambling den. A lotus leaf will come around. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
この町の おくの家には 頭が おかしくなっちまった じいさんが 住んでるよ。 | There’s an old man in the town who’s a little bit crazy. | There’s a crazy old man living in a house in this town. |
なんでも オールマン探検隊の バベルの塔 調査に参加してただとか 何だとか。 | He was with the explorer, Olman, on his expedition to the Tower of Babel. | I hear that he went on the Allman expedition to the Tower of Babel. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
頭のおかしい おじいさんって すごい しらがだけど 本当は まだ 若いんですって。 | The crazy old man has grey hair, but they say he’s still young. | The crazy old man has really white hair, but they say he’s actually still young. |
何か よっぽど こわいめに 会ったのかしら．．． | Maybe something bad happened to him. | I wonder if something scary happened to him. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
女： ここは ウォータミア。 家は みんな イカダの上だから ひっこしなんて 楽なものよ。 | Woman: This is Watermia. The houses are built on rafts. We like to move around. | Woman: This is Watermia. The houses are all on rafts so it’s easy to relocate. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
女： もうじき 赤ちゃんが生まれるの。 うちの人ったら 楽しみにしちゃって はりきって 仕事をしてるわ。 | Woman: Soon the baby will be born. Our family goes about their jobs in high spirits. | Woman: Our baby will be born soon. My husband is working enthusiastically in preparation. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
男： ゴホッ ゴホッ なーに ちょっと カゼをひいた だけさ。 | Man: Cough, cough. I seem to have caught a little cold. | Man: *Cough* *cough*. I caught a small cold. |
In fiction, coughing means dying. So, uh… we’ll be seeing this guy again. When he dies.
This guy by the entrance just repeats the line about moving.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
子供： ぼくたちは この水を 飲んで この水で ごはんを作って この水で せんたくをするんだ。 | Child: We drink this water, cook with it, wash with it. | Child: We drink this water. We use this water to make meals. We use this water to wash clothes. |
The OE is fine but there’s some repetition in the JP I wanted to capture. The kid is describing how their whole lives are centered around the water they live on.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
水は 同じ場所に とどまって いないわ。 たえまなく 動いて 自分を きれいに しようとするの。 | Water never stays in the same place. It’s always moving and cleansing itself. | Water never remains in the same place. It’s always moving, making itself clean. |
わたしたちも 水のように 生きたいものね．．． | We want to live like the water. | We want to live in the same way. |
If you wait next to this person, a dude floating on a lotus leaf will pop by.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
このハスの葉は 定員オーバーだよ。 乗るなら 他を あたってくれ。 | This leaf is full. Find another if you want to ride. | This leaf is full. Find another if you want to ride. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
男： この動物は クルックっていうんだ。 | Man: This animal is called a Kruk. | Man: This animal is called a kruk. |
長期間 飲まず食べわずでも 生きて いられるから 砂ばくを わたるのに ちょうど いいんだよ。 | It’s good for crossing the desert. It can live without food or water for a long time. | Since it can go a long time without food or water, it’s perfect for crossing the desert. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
キューイ キューイ | Kyaah!!… kyaah!!… | Kyooee kyooee |
I translated the JP phonetically. But OE is right to choose something closer to what an English speaker would think of as an animal sound. We tend not to give animals sounds that are uncommon in our language. The oo-ee sound is rare in English. The yoo-ee sound is even less common; the only thing I can think of offhand is the name Huey.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
男： ここは とばく場。 子供なのに こんなところへくるとは よっぽど お金に困ってるんだな．． | Man: This is a gambling house. A child would have to be very poor to come to this place. | Man: This is a gambling den. If a kid like you needs to come to a place like this, you must be real hard up. |
Let’s take a close look at the sign above the door in both versions:
Oh, huh. No changes at all. Anyway, I can’t make out what it says. Feel free to educate me. Anyway, let’s go in:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
とばく場 | Desert | Gambling den |
Desert?
The JP has once again done that thing where it represents a word as part kana/part kanji, when it would normally be represented as all kanji. It says とばく場 (tobakujou) which would normally be written as 賭博場 (same pronunciation). Had they used all kanji, there’s no way we would have gotten this mistranslation.
The Japanese word for desert is さばく (sabaku) which is one kana different from the word for gambling, とばく (tobaku). I can understand misreading the first part of the word, especially since someone outside the gambling den had just talked about crossing the desert on kruks. (Though there it was spelled as 砂ばく rather than the normal all-kanji 砂漠 or all-kana さばく.) The kanji 場 means place. I guess if it had been misread as desert place you might simply translate that as desert.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
人生なんて かけごとと同じさ。 ちょっと 判断を まちがえれば じごくへの道を まっさかさまだ。 | Life is like a gamble. Make one mistake, and you’re on the road to ruin. | Life is just like gambling. A small misjudgment can ruin everything. |
人間 それを 無意識のうちに やってるもんさね。 | People do that unconsciously. | Nevertheless, people do so involuntarily. |
He literally says you’ll go headlong on the road to じごく (jigoku - hell).
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
見てのとおり お酒の飲みくらべよ。 どっちが かつか かけてるの。 | As you can see, it’s a drinking contest. They bet on who will win. | As you can see, it’s a drinking contest. They bet on who will win. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
人の命って そんな かんたんなもの じゃないはず。 | Human life is not such a simple thing. | Human lives shouldn’t be so short. |
つまらない かけごとで 命を そまつにしないようにね。 | You shouldn’t waste your life on gambling. | Don’t waste your life on a stupid gamble. |
かんたん (kantan) as a na-adjective often means simple or easy, but it can also mean brief or quick. She’s definitely saying that life should not be かんたん, so I’m pretty sure it has the latter meaning.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
もし 大きな金が 欲しいのなら この建物の 裏側に うかんでいる イカダへ 行ってみるんだな。 | If you need a lot of money, go to the raft at the outside of this building. | If you want to make big money, check out the raft hidden behind this building. |
裏側 (uragawa) wouldn’t normally mean outside. It means the reverse side, the back side, or the hidden side.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
少しばかりの金を かけても 大きな金は 手に入らないものさ。 | Betting small money won’t make you big money. | You’ll never make big money with small stakes. |
もし 命をかける気があるなら ばく大な財産が 手に入るかもな。 | Of course, if you want to risk your life, you can make a fortune. | But if you’re willing to put your life on the line, you might make a fortune. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
うーん うーん | Uhnn… | *Moan* |
The original says uun uun. It’s tough to translate these kinds of grunts and groans. I guess the idea is that this man is getting so blotto that he can’t speak.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
うおーーーーーっ！ まだまだ いけるぞっ！！！ | You can still do it!! | Let’s gooooo! I can still hold my drink! |
まだまだ (madamada) means still and いける (ikeru) means to hold one’s liquor or to be able to do so. ぞ (zo) at sentence end can mean: to express intent, to persuade or encourage someone to do something, or to indicate resolution. The original translated it as the second meaning, as if this man is saying that someone else can still do it. In the past I assumed he was speaking to his opponent, which didn’t make any sense. Nor would it make any sense if he were speaking to Tim. No, it’s the third meaning. He’s speaking to himself, psyching himself up.
If you check out the raft behind the gambling den, there’s a single person there:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
命をかけた 人生最大の かけごと ロシアングラスは 毎月 満月の夜に 行われるのさ。 | On full moon nights they play Russian Glass, the most dangerous game you can play. | Every month on the night of the full moon, they play a game called Russian Glass where they stake their lives on the ultimate gamble. |
でも ぼうやは まだ 若い。 わざわざ 命を すてることは ないと 思うけどな。 | But you’re still young. I wouldn’t think you’d throw away your life. | But you’re still young. I don’t think you’d throw your life away like that. |
Now I’m going to backtrack to the northwest side of town. Everyone’s been talking about a crazy guy, so let’s meet him. Oh, hey, Rob is there:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： テム．．． この人に 見覚えはないか．．．？ | Lance: Will, do you recognize this person? | Rob: Tim, do you recognize this man? |
そう おれの おやじだよ．．． | He’s my father. | Yeah, it’s my dad. |
Hey, let’s back up a second. Earlier, didn’t someone say…
Computer, enhance:
There are a few white pixels there, but they look like ordinary shading to me, like light reflecting off his hair. I call shenanigans! Let’s talk to shenanigans and see what he has to say:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブの父： ぼくね こないだ おともだちと たんけんにいったの。 こわかったけど たのしかったあ。 | Lance’s father: I went on an expedition with Olman. It was scary, but fun. | Rob’s father: You know what? The other day I went out exploring with some friends. It was scary, but fun too. |
It always bothered me that everyone in town talks about how crazy this guy is. Then when you talk to him, he says something indicating his memory is fine, the only weirdness being that he thought the disaster was fun.
In JP he seems to have lost sense of time. He sounds like a child.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： どうやら 頭を やられちまっているみたいだ．．． | Lance: He seems to have lost his memory. | Rob: He must have suffered a head injury. |
行方不明のおやじに やっと 会えたと思ったら これだもんな．． | I finally met my lost father, but… | Just when I thought I’d finally found my missing father, it turns out he can’t remember me. |
Hey, remember that time we finally found Rob and he had lost his memory? Fun times. And remember when you had a cure for him? Maybe you should play the melody of memories, Tim?
Oh? It’s inexplicably not in my inventory anymore. Ah, well, what can you do. Sometimes the song disappears from your inventory, and then you don’t know it anymore. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
When you try to leave:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： テム まってくれ。 おれも いくよ。 | Lance: Will, wait. I’ll go, too. | Rob: Tim, wait. I’ll go, too. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
今日は これから リリィの たんじょう日 パーティーだしな。 暗くなっちゃいられないさ。 | I’m preparing Lilly’s birthday party. I want to finish by dark. | Lily’s birthday party is coming up today. We can’t afford to wait for it to get dark. |
さあ 部屋へ もどろうぜ。 | Let’s go to our room. | Let’s head back to our room. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ：さあ みんな そろった ところで リリィのたんじょう日を 祝うとしようか。 | Lance: Let’s have Lilly’s birthday party while we’re all together. | Rob: Now that we’re all here, let’s celebrate Lily’s birthday. |
リリィ： えっ？ えぅ？ みんな あたしの たんじょう日を 覚えてて くれたの．．．？ | Lilly: What? Everybody remembered my birthday? | Lily: Huh? What? You all remembered my birthday? |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
エリック： あたりまえじゃない！ | Erik: Didn’t you expect it? | Erik: Of course we did! |
びっくりさせようと思って みんなで ないしょに してたんだ。 | Everybody kept it secret to surprise you. | Everybody kept it secret to surprise you. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ニール： ほら カレン。 あれを もっておいで。 | Neil: Hey Kara. Bring that. | Neil: Hey, Karen. Bring it on out. |
Karen goes over to the nearby shelf and takes something off:
At this point, it’s traditional to sing a song!
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
カレン： はいっ。 バースディケーキ！ ニールが 作ってくれたの。 | Kara: Yes. Birthday cake! Neil made it. | Karen: Here you go. It’s a birthday cake! Neil made it. |
はい (hai) usually means yes. It can also mean no. Or I understand or ok or what? or here/here you go.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ニール： ははは。 ケーキを 作ったのは 初めてさ。 | Neil: Ha ha ha. My first cake. | Neil: Hahaha. It’s the first cake I’ve ever made. |
飛行機を作るより ずっと むずかしかったよ。 | It was harder than building an airplane. | It was way harder than building an airplane. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リリィ： ありがとう．．． みんな．．． | Lilly: Thank you, everyone. . . | Lily: Thank you, everyone. |
あたし 今日は 世界でいちばん しあわせな 女の子かも。 | I’m the luckiest girl in the world. | Right now I might be the luckiest girl in the world. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
こうして リリィの ささやかな たんじょう日パーティーは はじまった。 | So began Lilly’s little birthday party. | So began Lily’s modest birthday party. |
そして パーティーが終わるころ．． | The end of the party… | Then, as the party was wrapping up… |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： リリィさあ。 ちょっと 話があるんだけど いいかな？ | Lance: Ah, Lilly. Can I talk to you for a minute? | Rob: Hey, Lily. Can I talk to you for a minute? |
先に 外で 待ってる。 | I’ll wait outside. | I’ll be waiting outside. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リリィ： ？？ なんだろ？ いったい．．． | Lilly: Huh? I wonder what? | Lily: Huh? What the heck’s this about? |
リリィ： ごめんね。 ちょっと いってくる。 | Lilly: Excuse me everyone. I’ll be right back.. | Lily: Excuse me. I’ll be right back. |
Y’know what? I’m feeling really positive about this. Rob is sure to woo her, right?
Yeah! That guy know what up.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リリィ： なあに？ | Lilly: What? | Lily: What’s up? |
いつもの ロブらしくないよ。 なんだか かしこまっちゃってさ。 | You’re not yourself. Relax. | You’re not your usual self. You’re acting all proper. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： そうだろ。 おれも 自分が 自分じゃない みたいだよ。 | Lance: You’re right. I’m not myself right now. | Rob: Yeah, you’re right. I’m not acting like myself. |
それ たんじょう日の プレゼント。 いろいろ 考えたんだけど 気に入って もらえるかな？ | This is your birthday present. I hope you like it. | This is your birthday present. I put a lot of thought into it. I hope you like it. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リリィ： わあ。 すごおおい。 バラの 花たばだっ！ | Lilly: Oh, Lance! A bouquet of roses! | Lily: Wow! It’s wonderful. A bouquet of roses! |
つぼみのバラ．．． これから 花が開くところなんだね。 | Rose buds. They’ll open up into roses. | The buds are just about to bloom! |
ところ (tokoro) frequently means place, but following the plain form of a verb often means about to or on the verge of.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
リリィ： すてきな かおり．．． | Lilly: They smell wonderful… | Lily: They smell lovely. |
ありがとう。 すっごく うれしい．．． | Thank you. They’re beautiful… | Thank you. I’m delighted. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： それからさ．．． プレゼントといっしょに どうしても 伝えたい 言葉があるんだ．．． | Lance: I have another present. Something I want to tell you… | Rob: There’s something else. Besides the present, there’s also something I have to tell you, no matter what. |
リリィ： なあに？ | Lilly: What? | Lily: What is it? |
It’s minor, but Rob doesn’t say that he has another present. He says プレゼントといっしょに (purezento to isshoni) which means together with present or at the same time as present.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： うん。 早口言葉なんかより ずっと むずかしい 言葉なんだけど．．． | Lance: Yes, the words are harder to say than a tongue twister. | Rob: Oof. The words are harder to say than a tongue twister. |
ロブ： リリィ．．． 君のことが 好きだ．．． | Lance: Lilly… I love you… | Rob: Lily, I’m in love with you. |
うん (un) generally means yes but it’s also used as a filler, the same way people use um. That’s how I would have translated it here, except that it’s followed by a period instead of a comma. Oof is given as the third sense in the dictionary I’m using, and I like that interpretation.
Yep, I totally agree, generic guy from Final Fantasy Tactics! Rob is nailing his profession of love to the 15 year old.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： すぐ 返事を してくれなくても いい．．． | Lance: You don’t have to answer right away… | Rob: It’s fine if you don’t want to reply right away. |
でもさ 自分の気持ちを 伝えて おきたかったんだ．．． | But, I wanted to tell you how I feel… | But I had to tell you how I feel. |
At this point, there’s an awkward pause. Then Lily turns into a dandelion seed and flies away.
You said it, buddy!
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： リリィ！ まってくれっ！！ | Lilly! Wait! | Lily! Wait! |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
テム： そんな 事件があったなんて ぼくらは ちっとも 知らなかった。 | Will: We had no idea what had happened. | Tim: We had no idea what had happened. |
その日 リリィは 部屋へ もどってこなかった．．． | That day, Lilly didn’t come back to her room. | That day, Lily didn’t come back to her room. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
そして 翌朝．．．． | Will: So in the morning… | Tim: Then, the next morning… |
テム： 目がさめたとき ロブの姿も 消えていた．．． | When I awoke, Lance had disappeared… | When I awoke, Rob was nowhere to be found. |
Erik and Neil have nothing new to say. Karen says:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
カレン： ロブと リリィ どうしたのかしら。 心配よね．．． | Kara: What happened to Lance and Lilly? I’m worried. | Karen: I wonder what happened to Rob and Lily? I’m worried. |
Rob and Lily aren’t in town anywhere. It’s easy to get stuck here if you don’t think to check your inventory. There, you’ll find a letter that wasn’t there before:
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブのてがみ | Lance’s letter | Rob’s letter |
You have to equip it and use it. (lol look at how many more herbs I’ve used in the US version. I told you it was harder.)
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブの手紙を 開いた。 | He opened Lance’s letter. | Opened Rob’s letter. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
ロブ： おれは ちょっと 万里の長城まで 行ってくる。 | Lance: I’m going to the Great Wall of China. | Rob: I’m off to the Great Wall of China. |
みんなは ないしょのつもりだった けど テムにだけは 伝えておこうと 思う．．． | I intended to keep it secret, but I told Will just in case… | I was going to keep it secret from everyone, but I thought I’d tell you alone. |
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
テムの荷物の中に この手紙を 入れとくけど 気づいてくれたかな。 テムは にぶいからな。 | I’m putting this letter in his luggage, but he probably won’t notice. | I’m putting this letter in your luggage, but I doubt you’ll notice, since you’re so obtuse. |
町の人の話から おやじの病気を 直す方法が わかったんだ．．． 万里の長城に その薬があるらしい。 | The townspeople say there’s some kind of cure for my father at the Great Wall. | I found out from a townsperson that my father’s illness can be cured. It seems there’s a medicine at the Great Wall of China. |
Yeah, he insults Tim in the letter in JP. He calls him にぶい (nibui) which means obtuse, thickheaded, stupid. It means dull like a knife, but it’s used to mean dumb the same way it is in English. Rob’s in a mood, I guess. I wonder why?
I chose to render townsperson as singular because there was one person in town yammering about the centipede’s blood. I’m assuming Rob heard from the same person. But townspeople is a valid interpretation.
Japanese | Original English | Translation |
|---|---|---|
道のりは 長いけど マラソンでも するつもりで 行ってくるよ。 心配しないでくれ。 | It’s a long journey, but I’d go anywhere if it would help him. Don’t worry about me… | It’s a long journey, a marathon even, but I plan to go anyway. Don’t worry about me. |
追しん： あ そうそう．．． リリィに ふられちまったよ。 | P.S.: By the way, Lilly has left me. | P.S.: Oh, one more thing: Lily rejected me. |
Rob, I’m gonna worry about you, buddy. You stand no chance against the giant centipede. You don’t even have a flute to hit it with!
OE translated リリィに ふられちまった (ririi ni furarechimatta) as Lilly has left me. I always thought this was funny. It describes what happened literally: she ran away, she left. But she left me usually has the implication that you were a couple and she broke up with you. Rob and Lily were never a couple, so it’s a weird way to phrase it. Dictionary definitions for this word include to be given the cold shoulder, to be jilted, to be rejected, and to be dumped. Lilly has left me sounds like the second or fourth definition, but either of the other 2 would be more appropriate. Rob was rejected, not dumped.
And that covers the events of Watermia. In the next entry, we go through the thousands of miles long defensive wall. Exciting!