The other day I posted a review about Season 1 of Frieren, which in summary was a great anime. However, when I watched the first episode I had English subtitles turned on, and at the time there were a few translations that I had minor concerns about. I ended up shutting off the English subtitles for the rest of the series and this distraction went away.
But I thought it would be nice to take a few of the translated phrases from Episode 1 (around twenty) and talk about them. Before I start I want to make it clear that overall, even in Episode 1 I think the translations are pretty good, and for the most part the issues I saw were not due to lack of understanding, but rather an artistic choice on the translator’s part. I don’t think my translations are better in any objective way. Rather I wanted to point out the literal meanings of each phrase, and some of the tradeoffs of translation.
I have tried to give information about the context in some cases, but you might understand some of them better if you watch the first episode before (or after) reading through. Also, I should mention that I first wrote out a bunch of suspect lines, but I ended up agreeing with a few of them after I went through things again.
Also, I want to clarify that what I have put for each “literal translation” isn’t as clear-cut as that sounds. Often words have multiple meanings or cannot be directly translated, so there is an element of subjectivity even in those. In some cases I’ve put words that are implied in brackets to make that clear (this is especially relevant for subjects and objects since they are often omitted in Japanese). Having said that, I think the literal meaning for most of the phrases here are straightforward.
I also wanted to make it clear this is not an exhaustive list for the first episode. I found a bunch of suspect phrases in the first part of the episode, and then jumped to the end to include a few phrases from there that I remembered.
(Note: after going through this I made an important discovery which I mention at the end.)
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Original line and translation: 盛り上がってるでしょうね “I can feel the excitement from here”
Literal translation: “[I] bet it’s getting excited.”
Notes: While not a very literal translation, I think the original translation captures the feeling pretty well. However, there is a slight nuance difference vs. thinking there is excitement vs. feeling that.
Suggested translation: “I imagine things are getting pretty lively.”
Original line and translation: 帰ったら仕事探さなきゃな “We’ll have to start looking for work soon”
Literal translation: “When [we] get home, [we’ll] have to search for work.”
Notes: This is a reasonable translation, however I don’t see any reason why the part about getting home should be omitted.
Suggested translation: “After we get home, we’ll have to search for work.”
Original line and translation: もうそんなこと考えてるんだ ”You’re already concerned about employment?”
Literal translation: “[You]’re already thinking about that kind of thing.”
Notes: While the translation fits the flow of the conversation, it seems like an unnecessary deviation from the original text. Also the “んだ” here has more of the nuance of “the fact is…”, and it is not a question.
Suggested translation: “I see you’re already thinking about work.”
Original line and translation: 大事なことさ ”As we all should be”
Literal translation: (It)’s important.
Notes: While the translation does fit the flow, I don’t feel it matches the sentiment of the speaker. Also “さ” has a bit of a manly/aggressive nuance that is not captured.
Suggested translation: “It’s a big deal.”
Original line and translation: 仕事か “Lives full of work”
Literal translation: “Work, huh?”
Notes: Again, the translation fits the context and is reasonable, but I feel there is no reason to embellish something that is not in the original text here. The above literal translation should be sufficient here.
Original line and translation: お前僧侶だろう？ ”Very priestly, sir.”
Literal translation: “You’re a priest, aren’t you?”
Notes: While somewhat close in meaning, the translator’s nuance is significantly different. In particular, the original text is more aggressive and rough, and the translation is more matter-of-fact and polite.
Suggested translation: “Dude, you’re a priest, aren’t you?”
Original line and translation: こたびはよくぞ魔王を倒した “You have our wholehearted thanks for defeating the Demon King.”
Literal translation: “This time, [you all] have well defeated the Demon King.”
Notes: The translation sounds good in context, but it’s a bit of an exaggeration over the original text. Despite fitting the atmosphere (they are in a regal church), I would go with something more literal.
Suggested translation: “You all have valiantly defeated the Demon King.”
Original line and translation: これで、世界に平和な時代が訪れよう “Your efforts have launched our world into an age of prosperity and peace.”
Literal translation: “With this, an age of peace will surely come to the world.”
Notes: There are some liberties taken to add things that are not in the original line, even though they can be arguably implied. I’d prefer to render things a bit simpler, as the above literal translation. Note that there is a difference in that the original translation has a more definitive meaning. 訪れよう is roughly equivalent to 訪れるだろう
Original line and translation: 甚だ疑問だね “How I pity the poor sculptor”
Literal translation: “There is a significant doubt that…”
Notes: Overall, the lines before this were properly translated, but there was space left so it looks like the translator decided to insert this line that is in line with the overall topic here. Overall, I think this is a fair tradeoff.
Original line and translation: 現金なもんだ “It’s a self-serving tribute”
Literal translation: “(He) is a calculating thing.”
Notes: 現金 is usually used in the context of money, but I believe in this case an alternate meaning is being used which is roughly equivalent to “calculating”, in the sense of being able to change one’s mind depending on the decisions (even if it is morally wrong). Taking into account the lines before and after, it seems to refer to how the king only gave them a little money before their trip, but now he wants to spend a huge amount of money on their statues. This is a bit tricky to translate and I think the translation used here isn’t bad, and I can’t think of a translation I find to be more appropriate at the moment.
Original line and translation: まあまあフリーレン “Ah, don’t keep your head in the past.”
Literal translation: “Well well Frieren”
Notes: this is a case where a line that was used more for emotion was replaced with something a direct statement. I think it’s making too many assumptions about that character, and trying to spoon feed the viewer. I’d prefer a simpler, more literal translation.
Suggested translation: “Well, well, Frieren…”
Original line and translation: 生臭坊主 “I’m not a corrupt priest”
Literal translation: “Corrupt priest”
Notes: This is another case where the literal meaning was expressed, except from a different point of view that is different from the original text. I don’t see any reason to make this change, and prefer something more literal and honest to the original Japanese.
Suggested translation: “You corrupt priest”
Original line and translation: 大丈夫？ “Are you passing?”
Literal translation: “Are [you] alright?”
Notes: this line is after one about how the hungover priest has a pale face like a zombie. I’m not even sure what “are you passing?” is supposed to mean here (perhaps something related to zombies?), and I don’t see any reason to try and embellish things.
Suggested translation: “Are you alright?”
Original line and translation: その点、私は優秀 “Well, I was exceptional in every way”
Literal translation: “To that point, I am superior.”
Notes: The “To that point” part was a reference to the previous line about someone who wasn’t exceptional, and while I think “Well” sort of captures this nuance, it’s a bit of an embellishment. My bigger point is that the “in every way” part is just not present in the original text, and I feel this is not being honest to that character. I think the above literal translation is better for this case.
Original line and translation: 僕は君たちと冒険できて。。。よかった “You made this quest the journey of my lifetime.” “Thank you all.”
Literal translation: “I’m glad I was able to adventure with you all.”
Notes: Here the translator is again reading into the character’s emotions (and perhaps tone of voice), and expressing things that are by no means in the original text itself. While I think it has a nice ring to it, I don’t like how it exaggerates his feelings to such an extent.
Suggested translation: “I’m happy I was able to go on an adventure with you all.”
Original line and translation: 何を言ってるんだ。十年だぞ ”But that’s a full decade spent on one job.”
Literal translation: “What are you saying? It’s ten years.”
Notes: The overall meaning of the discussion here, about how Frieren feels a 10-year span is short, is captured well. However, I think this omission of the phrase here reduces the emotional nuance in an undesirable way.
Suggested translation: “What are you talking about? It’s ten years.”
Original line and translation: 失礼ですよ “Even less nice”
Literal translation: “[That]’s rude.”
Notes: The “even less” part is an interesting addition by the translator to skillfully connect with the previous dialogue in this part. Overall I like it.
Original line and translation: エーラ流星。。。でしたっけ？ “We’re here on a special night. How enchanting.”
Literal translation: “ ‘Era Meteor(s)’…is that what they were [called]?”
Notes: The overall meaning of the dialogue is conveyed well in this part, but this part where a character is trying to recall the name of the meteors is totally omitted. The replaced text is a total embellishment that I think is unnecessary and overkill.
Suggested translation: “Was it…’Era Meteor(s)’?”
Original line and translation: じゃあ、私はここで “I suppose I should be leaving.”
Literal translation: “Well, I [should be going] now”
Notes: While not perfectly literal, the translation is a reasonable one and accurately captures the nuance.
Original line and translation: エルフの感覚はわかりませんね。 “The way elves see this world is a mystery.”
Literal translation: “I don’t understand the sensibility of elves.”
Notes: The translation sounds good and does roughly capture the meaning in this case, so I think it’s good.
Original line and translation: ハイターわかってんじゃん “His idea is a decent one.”
Literal translation: “Heiter understands, doesn’t he!”
Notes: This translation sounds nice and roughly captures the meaning here. However, it has a bit more vague or uncertain feeling from the Japanese.
Suggested translation: “Heiter actually knows what he’s talking about.”
Original line and translation: なるほどね “I see the issue.”
Literal translation: “Indeed.”
Notes: This translation is perhaps (in my opinion) the worst of the bunch and is one of the reasons I wanted to do this little analysis. The original Japanese gives a vague feeling of understanding or following along with what someone said, in the case of “I see.” In contrast, the English translation makes it sound like Frieren understands the exact solution to the problem (this is about why Fern is unable to do something with her magic). While Frieren may understand the solution to the problem at this point, from her tone I feel she is simply acknowledging she understands the problem. While “I see the issue” may sound like it is what I am saying, that phrase can have the nuance “I understand the answer to the problem”, which is misleading.
Suggested translation: “I see.”
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As I was going through these, I wondered how much of the translation differences I noticed were due to trying to match up with the character’s mouth movements. In the past I have seen cases where the spoken English and the English subtitles were completely different translations, which I think is best, but out of curiosity I checked.
It turns out the spoken English and the subtitles (at least in the first episode) are in fact the same, which goes partway to explaining things. However, for at least some of the above lines there were no mouths being shown, so it doesn’t account for everything.
If the audio translation and subtitle translation must come from the same source (perhaps due to budgetary reasons), ultimately I think there are certain compromises that must be made, because clearly making the mouth match up with the spoken words is an important requirement. But in cases like this, ultimately the translation quality is likely to suffer in some sense.