Hello! I came across a post you did a while back analysing how Tatsuya and Katsuya speak to each other. I was wondering, are there any differences in how they interact in IS and EP? I know Katsuya isn't hugely in IS (And we don't see Tatsuya's dialogue), but I do remember Katsuya being slightly harsher in IS in my memory (possibly because in the IS timeline, Tatsuya was attacked as a child, maybe influencing Katsuya's protectiveness?). Thanks for your time, and no worries if you can't answer
Hi Anon!
I'm happy to answer anything regarding Katsuya so no worries!
I'll only use his introduction scene in Innocent Sin for this because I'm p busy ;;; I can't play around my save files to look for dialogues like I used to <//3
To answer your question, yes! There is a big difference in how they interact in Innocent Sin. Personally, I think Katsuya is harsher in Japanese. I can't really talk for Tatsuya since he doesn't have dialogue and when he does, it's the player's choice.
The things I talked about in my original post about Katsuya's word choice still applies, particularly his pronouns and how emotionally he talks to Tatsuya.
BEFORE YOU READ THIS PLEASE CHECK OUT PART 1
This is what Katsuya says when we meet him in game. The meaning of the sentence doesn't change but the nuance for how Katsuya chooses his words in Japanese is very particular.
First dialogue.
English: Tatsuya... Don't see you here often. But you probably didn't come to visit me.
Japanese: Tatsuya... It's rare for you to come here. But it's not as though you've come to see me, your elder brother.
The first line is very interesting to me. First, in Japanese, Katsuya goes "珍しいな (that's rare)", it's very observational and calm. It's subtle but you already catch that there's distance between them.
Then it further hammers that feeling by Katsuya using "兄の僕 (me, your elder brother)" to refer to himself. As if he wants to point out that Tatsuya is normally disrespectful and he doesn't really give Katsuya, the person of authority between the two of them, any time of the day.
He also uses "わけでもあるまい(It's not as though)" which has this self deprecating vibe, as if to say "OBVIOUSLY, you didn't come here for me."
He doesn't just directly say that Tatsuya doesn't visit him. He specifically points out that it's impossible that Tatsuya went out to see his elder brother.
English: What's up? Did something happen?
Japanese: What brings you here in the police station? Did something happen?
In Japanese, Katsuya is direct. Straight to the point. Professional. He understands that Tatsuya needs him for his profession as a police officer and acts accordingly.
But then he follows with,
"何があったのか? (did something happen)" Which shows that he's worried and attentive still.
Second dialogue.
English: Hmph... You never change. How much longer are you going to keep worrying our parents?
Japanese: Hmph... Still the same... Honestly, that's exactly the kind of guy you are. How long are you going to keep making [our] parents worry?
There's a very obvious change here. Katsuya judges Tatsuya's character in Japanese. He uses "お前というヤツは (Someone like you)", I translated it according to nuance in the sentences though. I'll break down the word choices.
お前 - you. Extremely blunt and familiar. Shows familiarity but as I mentioned in my original post, Katsuya doesn't normally use this.
ヤツ - there are a lot of translations for this. Some people just use guy, some people say it's bastard. Personally, either way, I think it's a rude way to refer to a person. Seeing the context here, we can tell that it's used to show how Katsuya looks down on Tatsuya's character.
Then we get to the last line which is Katsuya pointing out how worried their parents are.
But with the background context we have in the Japanese, it's not a matter of question anymore but a rough way of saying "How long are you going to keep doing this to [our] parents?"
Notice how I've been putting brackets in "our". Japanese doesn't require the usage of subjects or pronouns so the "our" is implied. Another interesting take on this is to say that Katsuya may not be using "our" but saying "your" as an extra blunt way to attack Tatsuya's character.
As if to say, "They're your parents too remember? Show some respect."
Third dialogue.
English: I'm not asking you to understand me or our father's position. But you have nothing to gain by running away.
Japanese: At this point, I don't expect you to understand someone like me or someone like father. But if you merely run away, you won't gain anything.
This is extremely loaded. Let's start with how Katsuya refers to himself and their father.
Katsuya says "この僕の事 (kono boku no koto)" to refer to himself. The usage of "kono" here is interesting because it shows that he isn't referring to himself but rather, he is referring to his stance or positionality, particularly from Tatsuya's perspective.
He does the same for their father he says "父の事 (chichi no koto)". That's a very formal way to refer to your father. He's not talking about their father as a familiar relationship but rather the position that their father is in.
There's distance in how he describes the both of them, especially in regards to Tatsuya. This is further pushed by how he says "今更 (at this late stage)" because he understands how distant Tatsuya is now from him and their father.
Then he goes to "理解してもらおうとは思わん (I don't intend to ask for your understanding)" as a sign of resignation. He understands that it's too late and they've gone too far. He knows that he can't do more for Tatsuya. The usage of 思わん is unconventional too, it shows that he's quite stern and old fashioned in how he's saying things.
Then we're hit with the last line, "But if you merely run away, you won't gain anything. " This is Katsuya's final plea to his younger brother. I just want to point out he uses "ぞ(zo)" at the end of the final line. It gives the impression of "hey, I'm telling you this seriously."
Similar disclaimers as the first post. I'm not formally trained in Japanese, I learned by consuming their media! All interpretations are biased to my understanding.
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