having read nearly all of the Jeeves short stories, it’s so funny to me that Bertie’s bisexuality manifests as casting a wide but shallow net at girls and a narrow but ridiculously deep net at men. He thinks girls are pretty on a reasonably frequent basis, and has tried to marry at least four women thus far (not counting the unwanted engagements), but when it doesn’t work out he’s over it in 24 hours. Meanwhile he shows absolutely no interest in and never gives flattering depictions of 99% of the men in his life, but will praise Jeeves to anyone who will listen, wax poetic about his appearance (and get defensive on his behalf about it when a child insults it), and is absolutely inconsolable when they are separated.
(also Bertie is in no way allosexual. he is canonically terrified at the thought of reproducing. and due to the narrow but deep net on the other end I don’t imagine he’s going around sleeping with loads of men, either. that man’s either demi as hell or just entirely ace)
Nobody Expects The Japanese Jooster: Some Fun Translation Notes
Hey, guys. Are y'all aware that in the Japanese translation of "Bertie Changes His Mind", the line where Jeeves says "I'm fond of Mr. Wooster" is translated as 「私はウースター様が好きでございます」 (or, "watakushi wa Wooster-sama ga suki de gozaimasu")? Because I'm sure not normal about this.
Tl;dr: this line now reads like a love confession. (If an amusingly keigo-ridden love confession, because even in his internal dialogue Jeeves is physically incapable of not sounding aggressively polite.) More under the cut.
Now, please note that I am not fluent in Japanese, so take all my words with a grain of salt. But I have, at the very least studied it for several years, am currently living in Japan, and have listened to a great number of Japanese love songs. And this is how I would like to share that if you "ga suki" a person, this can and very often does mean you are in love with them.
Technically, "suki" just means "like". If you like apples, you'd say "ringo ga suki". If say, tennis is your favorite sport, you'd say "tenisu wa watashi no ichiban suki na supootsu" - with "ichiban suki" literally meaning "number one like". "Daisuki", or "big like", is the one that is often used for love - but boy is just plain "suki" used a hell of a lot.
Take this translation of "Ano Yume o Nazotte" (or "Tracing That Dream"), for example. Here, the translator has written it literally as "I like you", but contextually the song makes it pretty probable that it's a confession of romantic love. Or have a look at the Project Diva translation of "Suki Kirai" ("Like-Dislike" or "Love-Hate"), which makes "suki"'s usage in romantic love quite clear. There's even a whole conversation about the subject of love confession and translation in The Great Ace Attorney - this links to a fan-translated Let's Play so the original Japanese dialogue is visible, but the conversation happens similarly in the official localized version, though it manifests a bit differently. Regardless, both versions discuss "suki" as used to confess feelings of love.
What I'm saying is, wow, holy shit, Tamaki Morimura made a rather strong choice when using "suki". Because no matter the intent, that potential implication is absolutely going to be present in a reader's mind. And if you're wondering why I know this in the first place, it's because this line is used (in very slightly altered form, as "Wooster-sama" is exchanged for "the young master") in the manga, Please, Jeeves, which in large part uses Morimura's translation for its text, and... well. Let's just say our good pal Bun Katsuta seems to rather leaned into that with the expression.
Yeah.
And this goes in tandem with other aspects of the manga, like an added line that, to my knowledge, is not present anywhere in the original text (certainly not in the story that chapter adapts, "Jeeves in the Springtime"), in which Jeeves says that Bertie's shortcomings do not prevent him from being "beloved as a person". Not to mention the other choices the manga makes, such as having Jeeves wink at Bertie incessantly, or occasionally having hearts float around Bertie when he talks about Jeeves, or the panel at the end of "Without the Option where I swear to God it looks like Jeeves is trying to reach for Bertie's hand.
So, between the official translation and the manga adaptation, I'm not saying we have a Spanish Destiel situation on our hands... but I'm certainly implying it.
(My final note is that this is one of the favorite book series of Empress Emeritus Michiko. Which, with this added context, is very funny to me. I wish she had an open email address so I could ask her if she thinks they're in love.)
You tagging that post about a guy Nairing his nips clean off as “Bertie Wooster” is so funny bc I can only imagine that Jeeves left Bertie alone in the bath too long, probably expecting nothing to happen, only to be startled by a scream and run in to find his master as smooth and nippleless as a dolphin like “Jeeves, old fruit, I believe I have made an error”
LMAO see exactly. I could see it being an accident like, Bertie thought it was body wash type deal. And then he just screeches and Jeeves trots in like "sir, what seems to be the problem?"
Also love calling Jeeves an old fruit btw that's peak.
This movie - the earliest extant Jeeves adaptation - is overwhelmingly terrible and you shouldn't watch it. However, despite being completely out-of-character, about 25% of it is honestly still kind of fun. So as a collaborative effort between myself and @beetle-goth, we are happy to present you with a supercut of all of the scenes in this movie that are entertaining, with nearly all the rampant racism and sexism cut out. Will it make the movie good? Maybe not! But at least it will be... better.
This version has a few silly editorial comments inserted in by the both of us. If you want the version without our silly comments, you can find it here.
Bertram “Bertie” Wooster, writing stories about Jeeves: My man is a genius. The most brilliant chap I’ve ever known. I would probably die without him. We have our little spats, and he’s got a rummy sort of schadenfreude in the soul, if that is the word I want, but my life with him is so pleasant that it’s all worthwhile. I am also passionately in love with him
James “Corky” Corcoran, writing stories about Ukridge: My best friend is literally the most annoying person alive. Can’t stand his dumb ass. Every problem I have ever had in my life is his fault. There is no interaction I come out of with Ukridge in which my wallet, my belongings, and my pride are intact. It is usually all three. I am also passionately in love with him
just purchased volume 4 of the Jeeves manga and my god. if i took a shot for every time Jeeves winked at or about Bertie Wooster. it's like at least once per chapter if not more. and it's almost always with such ridiculously fond looks. i'm beginning to think Katsuta-san and i are on the same page about the nature of their relationship. once the other four volumes come in the mail i'm uploading a winking compilation for the people
also the character designs are a delight...
...except for the black elevator attendant in Chump Cyril. Jesus Christ. That was not a delight. Bestie that was a jumpscare. Begging manga artists to draw black people like normal humans instead of minstrel show caricatures. Good Lord.
Additional Tags: Crack, but aren’t both these series basically crack anyway?, Sexual Humor, this is essentially just a narrative series of sex jokes. you're welcome
Summary:
Bertie tries a new tailor. The employees make some deuced rummy comments. Jeeves does not approve.
