Do you think Cater is a playboy or a womanizer? In the Phantom Bride event, Vil uses the word "Chara otoko" to refer to him after Eliza slapped him for being too shallow. I know that "charai" carries the meaning of being frivolous/superficial, like Cater is, but the YouTube subs don’t help much since they just literally translate it as "playboy." Please clarify this . I know that guy is just flirty with everyone.
In the Ghost Marriage scene being referenced, there’s a slight difference between EN and JP! In EN, Vil calls Cater’s behavior shallow. In JP, Vil more directly calls Cater a “チャラ男” (charaotoko).
チャラ comes from チャラい (charai), an adjective meaning “talkative”, “frivolous”, “shallow”, “flirtatious”, “superficial”, “playful”, etc. I want to mention that チャラい could also refer to “looking for a good time”, but I also want to stress this is NOT necessarily in a sexual or a romantic way. It means you want to do something fun. 男 is a man.
The phrase チャラ男 can therefore mean a man with any of those adjectives. It describes a person who is “fake”, but not necessarily in a malicious way. Rather, they are someone who can put on an easygoing persona in social situations or when the going gets tough. I guess maybe an English equivalent might be “poser”?
チャラ男 can also be a slang term which refers to playboys. A playboy (at least as they are understood in Japan) is someone who is fun and easy to talk to, but may come off as insincere and very likely to cheat or fool around with many girls.
In the context of Cater trying to win over the Ghost Bride, I think any interpretation could work. Eliza could have been put off by Cater’s chattiness + fakeness (which she did also clock with Azul), or she could have gotten the impression that he flirted with others too (which is also true, given the frequency that Cater does this with both men and women).
… Seriously, Cater has a LOT of flirty moments. Off the top of my head, I recall:
Cater’s Platinum Jacket — A little girl (Ruggie estimates her to be about 5 years old) gives Cater a flower and jokes that Cater was probably her first crush. In EN, this was changed to the little girl probably thought Cater was so cool.
Book 7, Cater’s dream — He says that he was woken up by a prince (something typically associated with kisses and the romanticism associated with fairy tales), Leona. Cater calls it a “stirring development”!
A Firelit Sky — Cater says he danced with Trey because he was excited about how big Kalim’s home is. Trey insists it was NOT dancing. Cater also compliments Trey on how he looks in the Yasmina Silk. Although, to be fair to Cater, he usually compliments others on how they look; he has no problem calling people cute, be it underclassmen like Adeuce or fellow third years like Lilia.
Stage in Playful Land — Cater says that Trey has a nice face and a cool smile, which makes his heart pitter-patter.
Cater’s School Uniform — Cater wants to throw a party for Rosaria, whom he describes as a beautiful portrait in the west hall.
Epel’s Lab Wear — Cater calls Epel a “cutie-pie” and invites him to hang out + make a Magicam account.
Book 1 — Cater offers to go on a “phone-shopping date” with the player.
Cater’s Ceremonial Robes — He tells Trey how pretty Epel’s hypothetical sister would be. Cater then jokes about how there’s always Epel’s mom too. (EN scrubs this out and replaces it with a line about how Epel looks like he does his chores.)
Vil’s School Uniform — Cater teases Vil by saying he might want to date him. (EN removes this.)
Ghost Marriage — Cater asks Ace for a card trick “that’ll impress the ladies”. He also says it suits him to “woo cuties” (Eliza).
And, mind you, these aren’t even ALL cases of Cater flirting or saying something that borders on flirting. These are just the ones I automatically think of. The fact that there are so many examples that come to mind should already be an indication of something.
Cater in general references girls more than any other character. For example, he says that He also tends to nickname people by inserting a -chan at the end of their name in JP. In EN, this typically becomes a -y or -ie at the end of people’s names, or entirely new names in other cases (like Lils for Lilia).
Despite how many examples there are of Cater being flirty, I don’t think we can really take him at face value. It’s not clear if Cater actually is being flirtatious or if there’s another meaning or motive behind it. For example:
By being friendly with everyone, Cater could intentionally be keeping relationships surface-level. He expresses in his Halloween Dress vignettes that he “tries to be on good terms with everyone, rather than forge strong bonds with a chosen few.” Cater also says that he “doesn’t really do long-term friends or found family.”
Twst intentionally keeps romantic interest vague in order to allow the player to fantasize about whatever scenarios most appeal to them. This is also true of the romantic ideals shared by other characters, like those mentioned in Ace’s Suitor Suit vignettes.
Cater may be teasing Trey specifically in many cases because he longs for the tight-knit friendship and support that Trey and Riddle have. Additionally, Trey often gets embarrassed by the attention, so it could be argued that Cater loves seeing that reaction.
Trey is also the only person who seems to be able to consistently see through Cater’s walls. Could acting flirty really be Cater’s way of crying out for help?
Cater cozying up to others tends to come with ulterior motives. For example, he wants a selfie with Vil and to use Epel’s cuteness to boost his own presence on Magicam. With Rosaria, Cater blatantly states he intended on getting close to her so she could “tell [him] what was gonna be on that history exam […]”
Reacting cutely or with a focus on cuteness + acting friendly may be something Cater learned from growing up with his two older sisters, who place great importance on looks. Acting as flirty as he does, then, might be a reflexive behavior.
I think it’s worthwhile to mention that チャラ has been used to describe characters OTHER than Cater too. For example, Grim calls Ace チャラチャラ (charachara) in Lost in the Book with Stitch. (チャラチャラ has the same meanings as what I already detailed for チャラい!)
And yeah, it makes sense given how Ace acts. Who could ever forget his infamous line about sleeping over in the same bed 😭 or frequently having voice lines where he teases both the players or his peers…
Anyway, back to Cater. My point is, we can’t be sure that Cater is for real a playboy or not; he just happens to talk like a stereotypical one. This indicates very little about his true intentions.
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