Behind the Subtitles

The stuff I hear and read mismatch and I am not suffering through this alone.

[subehind]

[subehind]

It's a pun <3 Japanese phrase 猫の手も借りたい (Neko no te mo karitai) literally translates to "I'd like to borrow even a cat's paw", and is an idiom used to express "I am so busy I'd appreciate anybody's help right now".

See the cat? Imagine watching The Addams Family and having somebody say "I need a hand", followed by Thing showing up.

Hehe

[subehind]

いや、ヴィクトルも泣くんだと思って。(Iya, Vikutoru mo naku n da to omotte.)

Since the whole tumblr is weeping for it's long lost lover, I decided to commemorate this day with a little note on this scene.

The thing here is the "mo" - that means "too" and is very often used contextually. We all know Yuri is a crybaby, he basically cries for sport next to skating. Knowing this, what he says here is more like: "I just though you can cry too, that's all."

Yuri is used to himself crying and Victor being the strong one and he's so taken aback by Victor being emotional that his first instinct is not "oh shit, please don't cry", but "wtf, you can cry too?" Little shit.

So... yeah, it ain't much and I will very likely be re-watching Yuri on Ice soon, so I will come up with something more interesting. Later, keep the candles burning.

[subehind]

Keigo saves lives

(Keigo being the system of humble/polite/honorific speech in Japanese)

A several times already I stumbled upon a posts saying this is the one thing they cannot forgive Sukuna.

Fucker burns down half of Shibuya and this is what overcooks your pasta? Smh

Anyway, he was right to be insulted by the twins‘ request and you know why?

Because the phrasing of the request was shit.

The level of politeness they used was basic at best and lazy at worst. The form (koroshi)te kudasai is a grammar form you learn fairly early on just to not sound like a complete degenerate, but you only use it casually with people you know. A cashier would not use it towards a customer, business partners would not use it towards each other. That's how basic and lazy it is.

And these two said it to a king. When asking for something that benefits them and burdens him. Fuckin' hell, like what were they expecting? Them kneeling, head on the floor and saying *this* is the linguistic equivalent of wearing a ball gown with sneakers.

And it's also clear they know how to speak properly, because a moment later they one says "o oshie shimasu" (for "we'll tell you"). That's a humble form, that's proper given the circumstances.

THEN WHY THE HELL DID THEY GO WITH THE BASIC FORM WHEN ASKING FOR THE FAVOUR IN THE FIRST PLACE!

It's laughable. And it is an insult not only to Sukuna, but also to all the Japanese language learners, who spend hours writing a formal e-mail trying to get it as right and polite as possible, because there is so much you can fuck up it is an excuse to do a tequila shot in 10 am. They were stupid and they had it coming because they should have known better. Sukuna would probably still kill them anyway, but at least they would not have embarrass themselves as they did.

Why not just straight up tell him "korose" as if he were dog.

So next time, ladies, go for something better. Such as "koroshite kudasaimasen ka", "koroshite itadakemasen ka", "koroshite itadakemasen deshō ka" or "taihen otesū o okakeshimasu ga, okoroshi itadakemashitara saiwai de gozaimasu" (and the list goes on and on and on). Hell, even "okoroshi kudasai" would have been better then this disgrace of a politeness. A big difference is the "ka" at the end, which makes it grammatically a question (=> request), not an order.

Remember, kids, when speaking in Japanese - the longer, the more polite. And when talking to this asshole, you might wanna take it up a notch.

[subehind]

Today I learned something and I need to inflict the knowledge on others.

So I went through the JJK manga to catch on some kanji study and stumbled upon the term 呪物 (jubutsu = cursed object).

The kanji are fairly straightforward, you got 呪い (noroi = curse) and 物 (mono = object), so I am like, sure, that makes sense. So I put it in the dictionary to figure out if the word is legit or made up by the author. And I found this

and I was like...???... Either I have shitty dictionary or Gege has a problem. Now bear in mind that I am not native in English, so the word fetish has had only one meaning for me, that one being connected to sexual desires. So I told my bf as a funny trivia and he's like "Well yeah, fetish in English is also used to mean cursed objects, it is in WoW all the time." and I thought, that can't be right, so I googled it and wtf, how did I ever missed that

and now I found out that the meaning exists in my native as well, so I guess I am just stupid.

So I naturally started digging in Japanese dictionary to find out if the word 'jubutsu' has double meaning in Japanese as well and the answer is no. So, Gege is not a creep, but I am ignorant (but now less than I was).

Sorry to waste 2 minutes of your time if you knew. If you didn't, well, now you do.

Out of curiosity, English natives - is this a common knowledge? Please say no and make me feel better about my dumb self.

Also a note to all language learners - if something smells fishy, dig deeper. It might just be a dead fish.

[subehind]

Hi!! This may be a difficult question. When Sukuna is about to defeat Jogo, he says something like "fuuga", while casting his Opening (secret spell). I tried to find the real Japanese word that he use (according to the subs it means open/opening) but I couldn't find it. Would you help me, please? Thanks in advance.

I don’t have a proper answer, but I will give you my best.

First, let’s look into the manga for more info (my general advice for Japanese - when unsure, look at how the information is written.)

The last bubble is what we are looking for. You’ll notice the kanji “開” generally meaning “to open”, and a katakana フーガ (fūga) right next to it - this is a form of furigana, i.e. “how the kanji is read”.

But Japanese writers are playful beings and wordplay is a kind of sport English doesn’t quite have the same rules for. The author will add a different kind of “reading” to the kanji, that is not necessarily correct and “by the book”, but gives a whole new meaning to it, a second layer. It is like telling two information at the same time. Imagine:

(Yes, I did this in MS Paint, and yes, I did just spent 10 minutes trying to pick the right font for Sukuna only to settle on Comic Sans, because you know what? Screw him.)

BACK TO BUSINESS!

This operation is not something you’ll find in translation (as far as I know of), because it just looks weird? But essentially, that is what you have in Japanese.

So the translation “open” is not wrong here - it is just not everything that is being said.

And when you search (Japanese) for the meaning of fūga, you’ll end up with “fugue”, which, as I came to learn today, is:

Now is the right time to admit I am not caught up with manga. I don’t know shit about Sukuna’s technique, I am not sure if this makes any sense at all. It is entirely possible I am off by a mile, because I am lacking some context/knowledge. (It is also possible Gege made up the word to sound cool and mysterious and it doesn’t mean anything.)

As I am now, this is the best I can offer. I hope it helped a bit, let me know what you think.

[subehind]

"Ore no koto wa otōsama to yobu yō ni." "Kin o yabureba mochiron korosu."

"Chichi!" "Mada. Mada mada."

"Yoshi!" "Yoshi!"

I included the original script so that you know what I mean...

I know this is an "of course" kind of information, that different words depending on context mean different things, but... you know. I just find it funny.

The first is like "Good enough, I did my best", while the next is like "I am having the best time in a thousand years, look how whimsical I am!"

"Yoshi" is basically a linguistic equivalent of this "all done, good job everybody" motion.

[subehind]

"We use when to refer to a future situation or condition that we are certain of." - Cambridge Dictionary

Did Sukuna think Megumi would be able to land a hit? LOL, nope.

In the second panel, Sukuna says "utte miro" (打ってみろ), which literally translates to "try to strike (me)". So, yeah... Sukuna's mocking him.

Fun fact from the first panel - the verb "komeru" in "Motto noroi o komete" (this is translated just fine) is also being used as "to load a gun". I just think this is neat if you imagine curses as sorcerers' firepower. It's like Sukuna saying "you're short on bullets".

[subehind]

(Suguru is reacting to Satoru's "We're the strongest after all." - "Oretachi saikyō da shi.")

Translating matters of politness in Japanese is always a pain and while this is quite elegant, because Suguru is literally telling Satoru "Use I, or at worst, I." (which makes no sense), he means "When addressing yourself, use watashi (which is neutrally polite and Suguru himself is using it whilst talking about himself), or at worst boku (which is moderately masculine, but still quite polite in casual setting)."

But Satoru, the little shit that he is, is using ore no matter who he talks to, which is rough and, depending on the setting, may be viewed as rude and/or arrogant.

Rule of a thumb, when talking to a superior, use watashi (or humble watakushi).

At this point, Satoru basically tells Suguru to fuck off, but guess how he says his favourite phrase in the second episode of the anime?

"Daijōbu, boku saikyō da kara."

So if you want to be heartbroken that Satoru no longer says "we", but only "I", you can add up the information that he took on Suguru's advice and now speaks in a more polite manner.

I'll see myself out.

[subehind]

Gojo Satoru is just Viktor Nikiforov dialed up to eleven.

strongest

extra™

both serious and childish

famous and adored by fans

their students are so done with them

no respect for authorities

or anyone for that matter

white hair & blue eyes

brought to you by MAPPA

[subehind]

In modern Japanese, camera is just called 'camera' = カメラ - the same as English, it is a borrowed word.

But Sukuna is old af. He calls it 写真機 (shashinki) - literally 'photography device' - an outdated word from Meiji period I don't think anybody uses anymore.

Aw, A++ writing, my inner linguist nerd is purring