âYo a ti, Casâ Or how mexican dubbing gripped us tight and raised us from Despair.
Ok. So I promised a big meta about the dubbing thing and so while I donât have all the answers YET, hereâs a bit of perspective on the differences between Despair and The Truth.
First, a little background. I am a former professional dubbing translator. While I worked on anime series from Japanese to Spanish, rather than in live action ones from English to Spanish, the process is not that different. Also, I worked in Mexico, where Supernatural is dubbed, so thatâs why I can make the assumptions I make. Finally, my specialization in college was translation from English to Spanish, so I guess I know what the hell Iâm talking about.
So letâs start on HOW you translate something for a dub. Back in the day, you got a ton of VHS tapes with the episodes on them with time codes, and, if you were lucky, a shooting script. This is to say, it was not a transcript of the actual words said in the episode, but the script BEFORE the actors, directors, and everyone else had a hand on what was said and changed. And thus, anything adlibbed? Is not going to be in that script which, at least for the anime side of things? Was a nightmare as the script was usually âAnd here X actor can say whatever they wantâ and I had to go and listen to the scene ten thousand times. Now a days, you get either a video file or a streaming link, and sometimes, the shooting script. If you get a script, btw, you can also not get a script in the original language. I know that the person who had to translate Sprited Away to Spanish was working off a German script, not the Japanese one. So yeah, some things can be lost in translation there.
THEN you get to translate. BUT you canât just translate word by word. You have to adapt it so that it will sound like something a person will say, and sometimes, literally is not the way to do it. And in particular, Mexican dubbing has a reputation to uphold as the âNeutralâ dub that is send to most Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, so we canât use certain words (I donât have the list at hand, but I remember that I couldnât use âLlantaâ for Tire, and so I had to use âNeumaticoâ. And no âsweatersâ or âhotcakesâ or stuff like that), AND we have to match the lips of the original video. Which is like, the worst nightmare ever because of what we call âlabialesâ, that is to say, the letters where lips close.
I canât tell you how much we all loved when a character gave a long winded speech with their back to the camera due to those damned closed lip letters.
All this is to say that sometimes, the line could be âWe are all in this together for good or badâ, and the translation become something more like âEstamos en esto, por las buenas o las malasâ (Weâre on this, the good way or the bad way) or âEstamos juntos en las buenas y en las malasâ (Weâre together in the good and the bad), depending on the translator, dub director, and voice actor.
Depending on the client, that is, the original owner of the series, sometimes they will review the translation once itâs all dubbed and edited. I know that in the Avengers movie, a Disney rep was present on the cabin and forbade any changes from the script, which resulted on a couple of awkward lines in the end result. I donât know if thatâs the case for Supernatural, but I honestly doubt it. Still, translators canât make huge changes for the dialogue. One couldnât just ADD a relationship that wasnât there, no matter what.
(As an aside, due to the very conservative mindset of some tv stations, itâs more common that gay relationships become more ambiguous, by changing âI love youâ to âTe quieroâ which can be more of a filial love than a romantic one. And well, that one case in Sailor Moon where a gay character was changed into a woman because the dub director honestly thought the character was a woman. But that was in the nineties)
Now, letâs go to how Castielâs speech was translated.
The original, according to Superwiki, went like this:
Castiel:Â Youâre the most caring man on Earth. You are the most selfless, loving human being I will ever know. You know, ever since we met, ever since I pulled you out of Hell, knowing you has changed me. Because you cared, I cared. I cared about you. I cared about Sam. I cared about Jack. I cared about the whole world because of you. You changed me, Dean.
Dean:Â Why does this sound like a goodbye?
Castiel:Â Because it is. I love you.
Dean:Â Donât do this, Cas. Cas.
And the translation, as it was aired, went like this (And people, you have no idea the war flashbacks transcribing this gave me, so I hope you appreciate it):
Castiel: Eres el hombre mas amoroso sobre la Tierra. Un hombre sin egoismo; el hombre mas generoso que haya visto, y que jamas vere. Sabes que desde que nos conocimos y desde que te saque del infierno, el conocerte me ha cambiado. Porque a ti te importa. Y a mi me importa. Me importas tu. Y me importa Sam, me importa Jack, me importa todo el mundo. Y fue por ti. Tu me cambiaste, Dean.
Dean: Porque suena esto a despedida?
Castiel: Porque asi fue. Te amo.
Dean: Yo a ti, Cas. (The empty appears and Billie opens the door) CasâŠ
Ok. So⊠At first glance, theyâre pretty much the same until we get to the I love you. BUT letâs dissect it a little bit.
Cas begins with a âEres el hombre mas amoroso sobre la Tierraâ which is not how I wouldâve translated âThe most caring man on Earthâ since âcaringâ is more like âCariñosoâ rather than âamorosoâ which would be âlovingâ, and yes, thereâs a difference. Plus, âel hombre mas amorosoâ sounds a bit clunky, so Personally, Iâd have gone with âEres el hombre mas cariñoso en la Tierraâ, that wouldâve given us more time for the rest of the speech, but I wonder if the translator choice for Amoroso instead was more due to the fact that âamorâ (love) is more clearly romantic than âcareâ (cariño, in a sense, more on this later) and so it foreshadows the end.
Again, with the literal clunkyness we have âUn hombre sin egoismoâ (A man without egoism) which sounds weird no matter what language you speak, and it shouldâve been âUn hombre dadivosoâ (A giving man) or âun hombre desinteresadoâ (a selfless man) although the second could be mis-construed as âa man without interestsâ so âdadivosoâ wouldâve better. But the more puzzling is that the Spanish separates the selfless man from the next, which is REALLY confusing as the English is âthe most loving manâ, which would be âel hombre mas amorosoâ making it quite redundant, so the Spanish changes it to âthe most generous manâ, âel hombre mas generosoâ. To add to this, Cas continues with âthat I have seen and I will ever seeâ instead of âThat I knowâ, because itâs far more poetic. And loving.
So yeah, Mexican Cas is basically saying that Dean Winchester is made of love and puppies.
The next part âYou know, ever since I pulled you out of hell, youâve changed meâ is more or less word for word, and the only thing that changes is that the English sounds more like a question and the Spanish one is an affirmation. YOU KNOW that ever since I pulled you out of hell, you changed me.â Little verb tense play, that doesnât change much except Casâs resolution to say what he has to say.
And then we get to the part that made me squeal out loud. Because we go from
âBecause you cared, I cared. I cared about you. I cared about Sam. I cared about Jack. I cared about the whole world because of youâ
âPorque a ti te importa. Y a mi me importa. Me importas tu. Y me importa Sam, me importa Jack, me importa todo el mundo.â Which at first glance is the same, but NOPE.
First change: The original is in past tense âI caredâ. Spanish version is in present tense: âI careâ.
Which is a little non important thing except when you remember that simple present means âimmutable absolute truth that wonât change with timeâ
Second, the choice of word for care.
I mentioned before that Care can be Cariño, as in filial, non romantic love (Or romantic love pet name, as it can also be Darling. Itâs one of THOSE words). Other translations for care include âcuidadoâ (as in attention, concern, keeping, and worry), and of course âinteresarseâ (Which also can be care), âpreocuparseâ (care, bother, trouble, mind, fuss), and yes, âimportarâ but âimportarâ ONLY translates to English as a verb as âimportâ, âmatterâ âamount toâ and notice how none of those words include âloveâ.
Mexican Cas is not saying âyou love the world, and so I doâ. Mexican Cas is saying âThe world matters to you, and thus it matters to me, but my feelings for the World (and Sam, and Jack) are not in the same league as my feelings for you.â
And then Dean asks âWhy does this sound like a Goodbyeâ, just like in English, in present tenseâŠ
And Mexican Cas replies in PAST tense. âPorque asi fueâ. And THIS is important because it means that everything he said before WAS the goodbye, and not what comes next. All the rest? Is in the past. âBecause it wasâ. Not âBecause it ISâ. And the next part? Is their future.
Simple present. No ambiguity like âte quieroâ. Spanish Te amo is for romantic love. Not brotherly, not family, not bro-mantic. ROMANTIC.
Itâs like âIâm IN love with youâ (Although thatâd be âEstoy enamorado de tiâ and I doubt that wouldâve fit in the time Misha spoke)
And of course, the answer. âYo a ti, Casâ. Not âAnd I, youâ as Iâve seen it before (And I also thought it was, until transcribing the scene) but a simple âI, you, Cas.â Which ok, pretty cave-speak, but the meaning is pretty clear. Dean Winchester loves his gay angel.
It is also telling that the empty doesnât appear until AFTER Dean confessed, so no, Mexican Cas is not âhappy with the sayingâ, he had to get to the âhappy with the havingâ.
And when Billy appears, it does seem as if he wants to say something more, but Cas is a love-sick selfsacrificing dumbass and so we all get our hearts broken.
I did get in contact with Dean Winchesterâs mexican voice actor, and am waiting for answers to a small interview I did with him which includes the question âdid that And I you, Casâ was in the script, and am trying to contact Castielâs mexican voice actor. So I will be updating you on that. But I hope this clears up some of the questions about how Mexican dubbing made Destiel Canon :D
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