Simmons' subtitles

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How accurate are they really? Maybe it's just some minor errors, but when Vegeta kills Nappa, the subtitles said "Thanks..." when Vegeta grabbed Nappa's hand, and Vegeta replied "Not at all." But the word Nappa said meant "I'm sorry," and Vegeta's reply meant "What?" I also hear some words throughout the episodes that are translated differently than earlier. Is this because they have more than one meaning?

[VegettoEX]

How accurate are they really? Maybe it's just some minor errors, but when Vegeta kills Nappa, the subtitles said "Thanks..." when Vegeta grabbed Nappa's hand, and Vegeta replied "Not at all." But the word Nappa said meant "I'm sorry," and Vegeta's reply meant "What?" I also hear some words throughout the episodes that are translated differently than earlier. Is this because they have more than one meaning?

First question that needs be asked...

Do you have the right subtitle track on?

[Synapse]

Lol yessir.

Believe me, I would notice it if the subtitles translated "Ta suke te" into "Give me a hand, I can't get up"

[Conan the SSJ]

There are small moments where Daimao seems to use his own interpretation of the context of some dialogue, such as Chichi's "Gohan yo" becoming "Lunch is ready". However, you should be full aware that his translation work on the DragonBall series is the most accurate you're going to find anywhere in the world, as not only was he a big DBZ fan when he started his job, but he also has a masters in Japanese; certainly the best choice to do the translating IMO. You gotta keep in mind, the man is human, just like the rest of us, of course his work is gonna have a possible flaw somewhere (I know he's not proud of a certain movie 9 incident) and converting Japanese to a translated form properly in English is hard to do. I'll never question his work and I also say thank you to Steven J. "Daimao" Simmons, your work on the series is fantastic and FUNi made their smartest choice about DBZ by hiring you.

[Adamant]

There are small moments where Daimao seems to use his own interpretation of the context of some dialogue, such as Chichi's "Gohan yo" becoming "Lunch is ready".

That's... you know, pretty much what it means. Yeah.

[Synapse]

There are small moments where Daimao seems to use his own interpretation of the context of some dialogue, such as Chichi's "Gohan yo" becoming "Lunch is ready". However, you should be full aware that his translation work on the DragonBall series is the most accurate you're going to find anywhere in the world, as not only was he a big DBZ fan when he started his job, but he also has a masters in Japanese; certainly the best choice to do the translating IMO. You gotta keep in mind, the man is human, just like the rest of us, of course his work is gonna have a possible flaw somewhere (I know he's not proud of a certain movie 9 incident) and converting Japanese to a translated form properly in English is hard to do. I'll never question his work and I also say thank you to Steven J. "Daimao" Simmons, your work on the series is fantastic and FUNi made their smartest choice about DBZ by hiring you.

Oh, all right. Wait, what's this Movie 9 incident?

[Daimao]

Sumimasen
Couldn't find a tidy page addressing the "nani" being a negative interjection thing, so take my word for it, I guess.

[Obi-Wan]

I went ahead and checked this scene on my R2s and here's my intepretation of it... I don't have the Season 1 or UUE version of FUNi's release so I can't really check it against Steve's, but from what you say Steve's just deviated from the literal translation a little. I wouldn't say his is wrong. But this is what I got from that.

Nappa: H-Help me, Vegeta! {Vegeta...t-tasuketekure!}
Nappa: Sorry [that I lost]... {Su...suman ne...}
Vegeta What are you talking about?! {Nani...SORE?!}
Nappa: What are you doing?! Vegeta! VEGETA! {Nani o?! Vegeta! VEGETA!}
Vegeta: I have no need for a Saiyan who can't move! {Ugokenai Saiya-jin nado shitsuyonai!}

The third line in the scene is when Vegeta tosses Nappa into the air and there is a pretty decent break between when he says "Nani" and "sore" but the way I translated it could also be interpreted as "Sorry...FOR WHAT?!" but I wanted to keep this as by-the-book as possible. It's important to note that "suman" can also be translated as "thank you" when it's used in the context of giving and receiving...such as Vegeta offering Nappa a helping hand here. So if Steve translated it that way, it's not wrong. Vegeta's "Nani sore?!" wouldn't exactly translate to "Not at all." literally... in that context I would go with something like "Why are you thanking me?" or something like that. But you could warp that into "Not at all," so I can see where Steve was coming from with his work on that particular scene. It's not wrong, just a little different from the exact words spoken.

[MagicBox]

Wait, what's this Movie 9 incident?

I think Conan's referring to the "Cell defeating Cell" incident. Not sure, though.

[Conan the SSJ]

[I think Conan's referring to the "Cell defeating Cell" incident.

That'd be it.

[desirecampbell]

Yeah, it's a difficult job to translate from one language to another and keep a good 'flow' about it. Personally I'd rather a more literal translation (even so far as preferring "Vegeta... help me!" over "H-Help me, Vegeta!" for {Vegeta...t-tasuketekure!} ) but Steve is trying to reach a wider audience, and thus a more 'loose' translation is probably better.

It's like translating {Nee?} as "Isn't that right?" (I saw that somewhere the other day, damned if I can't remember where). It's what the character means, but it's not what's being said. I think (and maybe it's just me) a better translation would be "Eh?" or "Right?" or "Yes?" - but that would leave what the character means by "yes?" to interpretation.

For a general audience, it's probably best not to leave too much unclear as it could lead to confusion and make the dialog appear awkward to English speakers which, again, would be confusing. Plus, anyone who notices that the translations not 'exact' is probably smart enough to understand why.




Oh, and I'm too scared to even ask what the story behind that avatar is. (I hope it's not another crazy man).

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Woah wait a minute...that Daimao dude who responded...is that THE Daimao? Thanks for the clarifications by the way.

[Acid_Reign]

Woah wait a minute...that Daimao dude who responded...is that THE Daimao? Thanks for the clarifications by the way.

lol, I asked the very same question when I first encountered him. Yes, it is.

[Synapse]

Holy crap.

All right, well I'll take your word (along with a bunch of other people apparently) for it then.

[kenisu3000]

I've always kept this particular line of Vegeta's in the back of my head ever since I first saw that episode in Japanese. It intrigued me because here, he says "Naani" (a drawn-out "nani") when he smirks that evil grin, and then, as if it was still the same sentence, adds "SO-RE!!" when he tosses Nappa into the air; whereas in the manga, Vegeta simply says "Naani", but then is absolutely silent when he throws Nappa. It seems to me that the anime producers threw in the "SO-RE!!" as kind of a psychotic pun, because it can be connected with the "Naani" to make a sentence (pretty much meaning the same thing as "Naani" alone), but unless I'm mistaken, doesn't "Sore" often also mean such things as "Here goes!" "Off we go!" or in this case, "Away with this/you!" when throwing something?

[Adamant]

Another way of look at the conversation is somewhat like this:

Nappa: Vegeta... help.. me.
Nappa: Thanks, sorry for bothering you like this, losing that battle and all.
Vegeta: What, you're sorry about that? No, no, that's quite okay, no problem.

...just in, you know, a lot less words. But Daimao's translation is quite correct, yes.

Also, not having actually seen said scene (stupid FUNi stopping the Ultimate Uncut releases), I'm just interpreting tone and all that from what I'm reading here, but meh.

[Lavender Saiyan]

Wait a second. Not to contradict people who know Japanese, but the Manga stated "Thank you.....Vegeta" & Vegeta replied "No Problem". Did the Anime fudge up the line?

[Tatsunoboshi Horoko]

Daimao, if I may cite a definition from the Yahoo dictionary to back up your statement. (It is pretty hard to find something already in English.)

2. 意に介さない、懸念するに及ばないという気持ちを表すときに発する語。なんの。いや。「―、ちょっとしたことさ」

To sum it all up, it can be used as in a "Why, what ever do you mean" or "That's quite all right" kind of way. Basically, the word used in this way is used to express a feeling of "What for?" or "Don't mention it."

Now, the "Sore" used in that sentence could just very well be the "Sore" used as a "heave-ho" chant. (Like "sei-no" or "kora" or "tore.") I could be wrong, but I'm basing this off of my own assumption. Correct me if I'm wrong because I very well could be.

[Obi-Wan]

Now, the "Sore" used in that sentence could just very well be the "Sore" used as a "heave-ho" chant. (Like "sei-no" or "kora" or "tore.") I could be wrong, but I'm basing this off of my own assumption. Correct me if I'm wrong because I very well could be.

You know, you're probably right. I completely forgot about that.

[Acid_Reign]

So...what is the correct translation for this line? I realize that there are many interpretations, but in the context of the style used for rest of the subtitles, which one fits most accurately? Is it able to be determined, even for Japanese speakers?