Mistranslation, Ch 197: What’s In A Title?
Once again I have a major issue with the official translation. This time it’s the way they translated the title of ch 197.
The title of the chapter is:
その執事、烏合
My translation:
That Butler, Ragtag Group
Official Translation:
The Butler, Flocking
Literally, 烏合 means “a gathering of crows.”
Interesting when you recall in the anime, Sebastian is a crow demon.
But what it really means is:
烏(からす)の集まりの意》規律も統一もなく寄り集まること。
In English:
A gathering of crows means to gather together without discipline or unity.
“Flock” in English has many meanings, but the one that’s relevant here is:
to gather or go in a flock or crowd (x)
a group under the guidance of a leader (x)
The word “flock” implies order, sameness, and often that they’re guided by someone. This is a very different, almost opposite connotation from the Japanese word Yana used.
I think my translation of “ragtag group” is a better fit.
Ragtag means:
messy and not similar or organized (x)
a disorganized or motley group of people. (x)
I know I’m just a fan translator, but I really think the official translation did an an injustice to Yana’s intent.
Though it does make me curious as to why she titled it this way. The English word “rag tag” has a connotation of a varied group of people, but that’s not necessarily in the original.
Yana could have picked a lot of other words to imply a gathering of a group. But she chose “gathering of crows.”
Crows have a significant role in Japanese mythology:
crows are a major player across Japanese folklore and have a heavy symbolic meaning. Traditionally known as spiritual birds that carry spirits, a famous folklore depicts crows as the birds of death. It was believed that when a crow cawed loudly, there was a death nearby.
Aren’t Bizarre Dolls dead things that “carry spirits”? Could her title be a hint at Undertaker’s purpose for the orphans, using them as vessels?
I highlighted “when a crow cawed loudly… death [is] nearby” because could she have chosen that particular phrase precisely as a hint that someone is going to die soon??
