Differences between English and Japanese MSQ Dialogue (bit of a rant)

[Shura]

To those who play in English with Japanese voice and can understand Japanese, has anyone else noticed the major differences between the English and Japanese dialogues in Shadowbringers? There has always been some differences but this time around, as I'm playing through the MSQ, it just feels very strange as what the Japanese voice is saying and the English dialogue is completely different.

While there are many instances of this throughout the MSQ, one is when the Exarch meets Vauthry; In the Japanese version, the Exarch says something along the lines of, you've gotten really big since I last saw you. Where as the English version is something like your as "enormous as ever". Differences like this are all over the MSQ this time, especially during CS of past events or when a character is explaining something deep, it feels like they are saying/implying two completely different things.

This doesn't really matter unless you are someone who plays the English Version with Japanese voice and can understand Japanese but just think for a game where the story is so deep and hints in dialogues play a important role in foreshadowing, they should make the dialogues more similar.

End of Rant.

[DumdogsWorld]

It cannot be any worse than dual-audio releases of anime on Blu-Ray.

They only need to get so much of the point across in order for the plot to still make sense. As long as they don't go into "butcher territory" *cough* 4Kids Entertainment *cough* then we're good.

Be very, very alarmed if you ever see a rice ball replaced with a jelly doughnut.

[Mahoukenshi]

Be very, very alarmed if you ever see a rice ball replaced with a jelly doughnut.

Like it or not but something like that is perfectly normal and common in a localization, even though Onigiri may have become more well-known in western countries. You replace stuff and referencere your target audience is not familar with with something they are familar, unless the foreign concept IS a core element of the game (see Persona's decision to keep honorofics or Okami games). Many professional academic books about video game localization (including MMOs) will confirm this.

[DumdogsWorld]

Like it or not but something like that is perfectly normal and common in a localization, even though Onigiri may have become more well-known in western countries. You replace stuff and referencere your target audience is not familar with with something they are familar, unless the foreign concept IS a core element of the game (see Persona's decision to keep honorofics or Okami games). Many professional academic books about video game localization (including MMOs) will confirm this.

Being common doesn't make it any less stupid. This isn't some obscure, foreign figure of speech we're talking about here. We're talking about food. There is absolutely no good or sane reason to edit footage frame by frame to replace food. It's obnoxious, doesn't make the work of fiction any more relatable, and is a flat-out insult to the untranslated material.

[Mahoukenshi]

Being common doesn't make it any less stupid. This isn't some obscure, foreign figure of speech we're talking about here. We're talking about food. There is absolutely no good or sane reason to edit footage frame by frame to replace food. It's obnoxious, doesn't make the work of fiction any more relatable, and is a flat-out insult to the untranslated material.

Welcome to real life, where a translator's job isn't all fluff like with fanmade translations (no matter if the fantranslation is excellent or subpar). Some decisions are within the freedom of choice a translator may or may not have, but you not liking it, doesn't make it as the only opinion that (should) matter.

[DumdogsWorld]

Welcome to real life.

Real life = voting with your wallet.

4Kids Entertainment, any several other companies who do equally hideous translations, went out of business.

Funimation, as much as I hate to admit it, is much more faithful to the untranslated material. They're doing really good in terms of business. Various other dubbing companies follow.

And this isn't specific to the anime industry. I can't tell you how many people I know modded their Nintendo 3DSs to run bootleg games, just so they can play fan translations for games they already purchased. Why? Because the localization is stupid, and they know it.

[Krotoan]

Being common doesn't make it any less stupid. This isn't some obscure, foreign figure of speech we're talking about here. We're talking about food. There is absolutely no good or sane reason to edit footage frame by frame to replace food. It's obnoxious, doesn't make the work of fiction any more relatable, and is a flat-out insult to the untranslated material.

There's an example of this reversed in the pixar movie "Inside Out". In the US it's common for kids to dislike broccoli, in japan it's much more common for kids to not like bell peppers. In the US version baby Riley is being fed broccoli which Disgust rejects, in japan it was changed to bell peppers to be more relatable to the audience.

You might consider it stupid, but the idea is to be the most relatable to the largest audience. Most english speaking countries large user bases aren't intimitely familiar with Rice balls as a staple but will instantly recognize and have experience with a doughnut.

[DumdogsWorld]

There's an example of this reversed in the pixar movie "Inside Out". In the US it's common for kids to dislike broccoli, in japan it's much more common for kids to not like bell peppers. In the US version baby Riley is being fed broccoli which Disgust rejects, in japan it was changed to bell peppers to be more relatable to the audience.

You might consider it stupid, but the idea is to be the most relatable to the largest audience. Most english speaking countries large user bases aren't intimitely familiar with Rice balls as a staple but will instantly recognize and have experience with a doughnut.

So...we have to alter stories to be more relatable, now? Just because you don't know about something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Where do we draw the line? Should we remove fictional food from fantasy franchises because people might not know what they are?

Just...don't mess with the story. It's the logical thing to do.

[Hezzlocks]

It cannot be any worse than dual-audio releases of anime on Blu-Ray.

They only need to get so much of the point across in order for the plot to still make sense. As long as they don't go into "butcher territory" *cough* 4Kids Entertainment *cough* then we're good.

Be very, very alarmed if you ever see a rice ball replaced with a jelly doughnut.

Hey, Brock might have been special, but at least he was smart enough to turn a frying pan into a drying pan! The real problem comes up when the bad guys run up and threaten you by pointing their fingers at you menacingly

[Kurando]

Some things cannot be directly translated, and in some other cases the translation will be tailored to their intended audience. A Japanese (native) speaker playing the game with English voices would be very surprised by the use of the language, mostly because it's something they may not be used to hearing (i.e Shakespearean type words), and there may not be a direct equivalent in their own tongue. It does specifically state in the settings that having audio different to your client may not always match so it's to be expected that is not entirely the same in all languages (because it's just not always possible to do that).