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

[Enla]

On ShB instead of Master Matoya in japanese we have Big Sis or Big sister Matoya which imo is far better since it shows respect AND how liked she is between the community.

Sadly that's another thing that just doesn't translate well to English. Big Sister Matoya is really, REALLY awkward in English and not something most native English speakers would say to someone in that position. At least not if they were older than five years old. There's really no natural equivalent in English for it that doesn't come off as forced.

Mind 'Master' isn't a good equivalent either as while it denotes respect it's also cold. I'm not quite sure how they could have translated that better honestly, except maybe 'Miss Matoya'.

[Bhearil]

Exactly, "Master" denotes respect, but often also detachment, which is certainly not the case here (Also remember that she should be near or over 30 already)

[Dualblade]

Exactly, "Master" denotes respect, but often also detachment, which is certainly not the case here (Also remember that she should be near or over 30 already)

She's Forever 23.

[Krotoan]

There is one thing that stood out in all the stories I've ever played in FFXIV as jarring. I can't even remember exactly which encounter it was.. but I remember the English text for an enemy I had just defeated was bravado and cursing, while I could hear the japanese voice lines screaming for help and forgiveness. It was a little weird, but understandable since usually badguys in english media have to be hateable not pitiable. I grew up with a mix of japanese and english media since where I live is an amalgamation of cultures, so I like being able to experience both to a certain degree and appreciating both stories in their own context is fun.

[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

[Mahoukenshi]

Sadly that's another thing that just doesn't translate well to English. Big Sister Matoya is really, REALLY awkward in English and not something most native English speakers would say to someone in that position. At least not if they were older than five years old. There's really no natural equivalent in English for it that doesn't come off as forced.

Mind 'Master' isn't a good equivalent either as while it denotes respect it's also cold. I'm not quite sure how they could have translated that better honestly, except maybe 'Miss Matoya'.

Pretty much. In such cases, cultural notes are bound to get lost in translation. Especically in JP where there's not always a fitting equivalent correspoding to every finer nuance, like using onee-sama/nee-san or whatever after the name. I know it, for example, from countless of Visual Novels where the female role model student is called "Nee-sama" or her name + nee-sama. Where I am from, this kind of adressing someone simply doesn't exist. If we know someone by first name, we call them so, unless requested otherwise. In a professional environment or at school / university, it depends on the teachers / professors if they offer their first name to be used etc... Important persons excluded

[Exitos]

So this is the third thread in like two or so days about differences between languages, specifically for Japanese and English.

Something to remember is that both versions are essentially being worked on at the same time, with a slight preference towards the Japanese version. I'm not sure where the French and German ones stand on their importance, if they are also equal or if they are more "hard" on their translations compared to English's localization.

Basically though you will be getting the same amount of forshadowing and plot, even if one version sometimes can seem a bit more vague. Usually the English one to my understanding but its almost always figured out before people can even chime in on how more direct the Japanese version is.

At least the german translation is pretty on spot with the japanese version. I didnt really get any bigger differences, not more then the normal stuff you need to get the length of the sentences and stuff in line with the animations.

[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.