TRC Translation Notes Volume 14 (Chapters 100 - 108)
The continuation of @giniroangou making all of our lives better and saving us from mistranslations, now for Volume 14.
Highlights include: distant crying in New Zealand over Kurogane, Mokona being a better liar than me, Fai being Fai the best he can, and what about the books??
Chapter 100
p.1 - “That one” referred to in the line here is definitively Fei Wang - the kanji for his name are written below the reading of “that person.” This connects directly to his dialogue on the next page.
p.9 - The line that’s been translated as, “There will be no second time!” is a bit literal IMO. It’s more like, “Never again…”/“You can never again…” There’s no ellipsis in the original text (no exclamation point either though) and it’s written in such a way that it looks final, but Yuuko doesn’t really complete her sentence here. It’s also intended as a direct mirror to Fei Wang’s “Once more” at the end of his monologue, which also wasn’t a complete thought. (In Japanese, Fei Wang ends with “Mou ichido,” and Yuuko ends with “Mou nido to.”)
p.10 - Kurogane’s question about Clow Kingdom here is less of a question and more of a confirmation - in the Japanese version I wouldn’t say it gives the impression that he needs to ask, just that he’s reaffirming information he already knows.
p.12 - There are some subtle differences in nuance during this conversation. In the Japanese version, Kurogane tells Syaoran that now there’s even less reason to feel bad about seeing his memories (making it clear he had no reason to feel bad in the first place.) Then he says it’s precisely because Syaoran saw his past that he was able to notice the markings on the sword. Not that this isn’t obvious, but it has a slightly different tone than the translated version.
The word Syaoran uses when he calls Kurogane a nice guy is the same one Kurogane’s mother used in the flashback - “yasashii.”
Syaoran’s final line on this page is actually in direct response to Kurogane’s WTF reaction to being called nice - “My father said that truly nice people will try to dodge the subject if you say that to them.” So basically he’s saying Kurogane just proved how nice he is by reacting that way, lol.
Chapter 101
Cover page - The fan translated title is more accurate than the official title. “The Book in Which Magic Dwells” is the gist of it. Also, re: the splash text - keep in mind that Japanese doesn’t have a capital/lowercase distinction and often doesn’t distinguish between singular and plural, so if you see “God” or something similar that’s purely the translator’s choice. Sadly I can’t see the original text for these pages, but generally in cases like this I prefer more general translations like “divine light” rather than “God’s light.”
p.26 - Fai’s comment on the flying train is less wondering than it appears in the translation - he’s just like, “So these are flying by magic too, huh.”
p.28 - I suppose the wording is ambiguous, but I’m pretty sure the actual meaning of Mokona’s line here is that Kurogane did something unspeakable to her, lol.
p.32 - I’m assuming this city’s name should be rendered as “Biblio” rather than “Viburio,” for obvious reasons.
p.38 - Because Mokona is THE WORST LIAR IN THE WORLD (or just a gigantic troll) the thing she’s singing as they walk in is, “We’re just borrowing, we’re just borrowing~” Subtle.
p.42 - While “funt” is a possible transliteration for the name for the guard creatures (exact katakana being “funto”), the Japanese “f” is very close to an “h,” and “hund”/“hunde” (ie “dog”/“dogs” in German) makes much more sense. In the original explanation, these are included among the “soldarts” protecting the library, hence why they’re referred to that way later.
Chapter 102
p.46 - Fai’s totally fake line about the books is more along the lines of, “I wonder if we can find any interesting-looking books here?” as if they’re just regular folks casually browsing the library who don’t already know exactly what book they’ve come there for. Sakura’s agreement is a weak attempt to keep up the pretense.
p.47 - Fai’s “That looks fake” uses the exact same wording as Kurogane’s on the previous page. THIS IS REVENGE.
p.54 - Fai’s original line about his magical experience is, “Anyone who’s studied even a little bit of magic would know that.” Of course, this is untrue and it does make implications about his knowledge being less than it really is, but it feels a lot smoother than the English version, like a natural answer to brush off Sakura’s compliment. (All of which just makes me love Kurogane’s suspicion even more.)
Chapter 103
Cover page - The “ruins” referred to in the chapter title are physical ruins based on the kanji (referring to the Clow ruins that show up a little later), and I don’t think this word would have other meanings unless you got very poetic about it, but I love all the layers in the English translation.
p.65 - After Fai says that running will be faster than fighting, he adds that there seems to be no end to the things coming after them (implying there’s no point in fighting anyway.)
p.71 - Fai’s deflection about studying a little magic is in the same vein as the one from the previous chapter.
p.72 - Kurogane isn’t talking about Fai protecting himself here - he’s reasoning that it wouldn’t make sense for the library to use basic magic for its protective spells.
p.76-77 - The time-measuring gadget on these pages might not actually be a sundial. In the Japanese version they just call it a “tokei” (時計) meaning “clock” or more generally “timepiece.” It’s still keeping time when Sakura turns it away, the kids just literally can’t see it anymore so they don’t know what time it is.
Chapter 104
p.89 - Syaoran’s “Princess, please…” in the translation was much less infuriating than his original line, which was, “Please take care of the Princess” (presumably spoken to Fai.)
Chapter 106
Cover page - The official translation for this chapter title of “The Escape with no Tomorrow” is correct. I feel like “Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire” could be an alternative, tbh. It’s certainly not a literal translation, but it feels like that’s the idea.
p.123 - In the Japanese version, after Syaoran says he’s fine his line is, “More importantly, the books…!” Bless this child and his priorities.
p.132 - Kurogane is not suggesting jumping over the water here, but jumping into it.
Chapter 107
p.145 - It seems like the meaning got across just fine, but when I first saw the English translation Kurogane’s, “Isn’t all magic the same?” felt a bit obtuse, as if he’s just questioning that different types of magic exist. His original line is, “Magic is magic, right?” which I think makes it clearer that he’s seeing through Fai’s nonchalant facade - whatever Fai might say, he still used magic when he swore he wouldn’t, and that’s a big deal.
p.154 - Fai is actually saying that if Kurogane carries Sakura over his shoulder all the time the blood will rush to her head. Cute aside: in Japan they refer to carrying a person in your arms as a “princess carry” so that would be the literal translation of Mokona’s line.
p.155 - In the translation it seems like Fai has already given up on finding anything else in this world, but in his original line he’s just hoping they can find a place where they can treat Syaoran’s wounds.
Chapter 108
p.168 - Syaoran’s last line on this page is, “But I wonder what could have happened to destroy them like this.” I think the translator was trying to show the connection between that and his previous thought about the age of the buildings by adding in “What other than time” but it comes off sounding a little too naive.
p.169 - Syaoran notes that there was a little bit of the hard road left, not the entire thing.