What exactly is wrong with TV-Nihon subs?

[KingRanger]

So, I want to ask KingRanger. Is the whole leaving words like "tachi" untranslated, like in this pic...



...a thing that they did back when you were working with TVN, or is that only after you left?

And WHY would they do something like this? They have it like 80% translated already! Just have it say: "What are you doing there, fools?"

Myself and others like adekii often argued with takenoko about leaving words and phrases untranslated. But you see... Back then I thought takenoko was a friend, I didn't find out until much later that he was talking behind my back about me the entire time.

Anyway. I listened to takenoko because I thought him a friend. I also didn't really try and push the issue because, AT THE TIME, I thought being a fansubber was cool and put me above other people. It was an ego thing. I have since then come to realize how fucking retarded that mind set is. But as I was saying, I thought he was a friend. So when he told me that it was best to leave those things alone, I believed him.

Just prior to myself and others leaving the group I spoke with some other translators. They explained a lot to me. When I took these concerns to takenoko he pretty much stopped talking to me. Then other crap happened, and in the end I left the group.

People can say I have sour grapes, and maybe I do, but I stand by my thoughts about unneeded karaoke, not translating words, and all the other things T-N does like jumping subs.

 

[Hobo ODST]

I've never understood the whole "leave the word untranslated because it sounds cooler in Japanese" thing. I mean, you can still hear the Japanese word being said. You're still going to hear "Henshin!" even if the subtitle says "Transform!"

 

[Painted_Outlaw]

Huh. Is this trend specific to Toei or is unrealistic dialogue a thing with Japanese childern's TV in general?

I'm curious on this, too. :hmm:

 

[Solari]

^I think quirks are purposely added to the characters' dialogue, which could make it sound artificial?
The dialogues are definitely spoken slower and clearer.(comparing the speed of speech in jdrama, anime, toku and radio shows) The spoken Japanese in Anime and toku is easier to understand. (then again, some of the speech in Blade was so unclear it got turned into a meme)
I have heard that some untransformed scenes in sentai also get afureko like the transformed scenes..

 

[Ice Ixa]

Throwing in my opinion quick.

I started with Nihon (Tomica Hero Rescue Force), and at the time, I knew nothing of fansubs, barely of Sentai, and almost nothing of Rider. As far as I know, nobody else subbed Tomica, so I used Nihon for the entire run (and then moved onto Decade when DK started, along with Ryuki and Geki). I never looked into anything else because while I was getting my Tomica, the rest was just there. I grew accustomed to the colorful graphics and lines of the subs.

I've used Over-Time probably twice (I think for both All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker and Movie Wars 2010) since they got it out sooner. There's nothing wrong in those that I ever saw, as some have mentioned regarding some wording choices or something, but again, I've only seen two things from them (if two; maybe only one).

I still stick to only Nihon because, well, that's what I got used to. It's not that I don't want to give the other ones a chance, it's that it's just what I've done for years, and it's what I just continue to do as a result. Need be, I'd go to another subber (like, Midnight for Stronger, when I get around to that), but at this point, it's more of habit to me, and the superficial likes of seeing those graphics and colors.

Had I known about other subbers when I started in Japanese Toku, then maybe it would have gone differently and I'd be more willing to use others. But sheer habit and loyalty, arguably, is keeping me with Nihon, for the time being.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

I've never understood the whole "leave the word untranslated because it sounds cooler in Japanese" thing. I mean, you can still hear the Japanese word being said. You're still going to hear "Henshin!" even if the subtitle says "Transform!"

Unless you are completely deaf or something, but you do have a point. And it's easy to find out "the Japanese word for Transform" if you have Google or any basic search engine.

The way I see it, even if you think a certain Japanese word sound better, at least you know what it's translated word means. Even if I know what "nakama" translates into and think it sounds better than the word Friend/Comrade/etc., that doesn't mean I'm going to go around using it around random friends or strangers who only speak English. Most of them will either get frustrated or think I'm crazy, and if you ever speak in that kind of weeaboo broken English around an actual Japanese person, they'll probably get very offended. If it's not a language you are fluent in, then you are probably using it wrong. (Case in point: Engrish. Funny to look at or read, but REALLY annoying if you are trying to have a serious conversation with someone who speaks like that.)

I'm not trying to offend anyone who likes the language and genuinely wants to learn more, but there is a time and place for it. Broken English with random Japanese words might be fine in a classroom or a convention, but outside of those few crowds, know your audience, pick a language, and stick to it.

 

[KingRanger]

Unless you are completely deaf or something, but you do have a point. And it's easy to find out "the Japanese word for Transform" if you have Google or any basic search engine.

The way I see it, even if you think a certain Japanese word sound better, at least you know what it's translated word means. Even if I know what "nakama" translates into and think it sounds better than the word Friend/Comrade/etc., that doesn't mean I'm going to go around using it around random friends or strangers who only speak English. Most of them will either get frustrated or think I'm crazy, and if you ever speak in that kind of weeaboo broken English around an actual Japanese person, they'll probably get very offended. If it's not a language you are fluent in, then you are probably using it wrong. (Case in point: Engrish. Funny to look at or read, but REALLY annoying if you are trying to have a serious conversation with someone who speaks like that.)

I'm not trying to offend anyone who likes the language and genuinely wants to learn more, but there is a time and place for it. Broken English with random Japanese words might be fine in a classroom or a convention, but outside of those few crowds, know your audience, pick a language, and stick to it.

This exactly. Also.. Yeah a lot of the people that like the weaboo sub style also use words like nakama, onii-chan etc in public. They don't even know Japanese, they just do it because to them it sounds cool.

 

[Terthna]

This exactly. Also.. Yeah a lot of the people that like the weaboo sub style also use words like nakama, onii-chan etc in public. They don't even know Japanese, they just do it because to them it sounds cool.

Which is ironic when you consider that the Japanese do the same thing with our language.

 

[Frumix]

With DISASTROUS results I might add.

 

[Lynxara]

Huh. Is this trend specific to Toei or is unrealistic dialogue a thing with Japanese childern's TV in general?

I would say it's a Toei thing. Toei doesn't make a ton of tokusatsu product a year anymore. So when Toei decides to really chase a trend, it usually ends up coloring all of their output to some extent. That's not to say that individual creators won't be exceptions to the rule, or that some producer will decide to do something to buck a trend. It's just rare.

In a broader sense, I would say that there's TV shows written for children all around the world where the dialogue is pointedly unrealistic in some way that's thought to be appealing. People don't have any sort of natural desire for realism in entertainment, and especially not kids, who are still figuring out how reality works.

Which is ironic when you consider that the Japanese do the same thing with our language.

Not exactly. The meaning Japanese attach to a lot of English loanwords isn't their original meaning, anymore than English-speakers use "tycoon" in its original sense. That's just part of linguistic drift.