FE Echoes: SoV Localization: “Shut up, Tobin.” [JPN vs ENG]

This post is part of a series on reader requested (and personal curiosity) comparisons between Fire Emblem games’ Japanese and English scripts. Last time, I covered some dialogue Mae says during her recruitment. This time, I check out a scene with Tobin and Gray.

Today’s post has minor spoilers from part one of the game.

Two readers on twitter requested for me to check a line from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia:

I think a lot of people would like to hear what Gray’s “shut up Tobin” was in Japanese too. It’s in Act 1, during the visit to the Deliverance Hideout where Clive reunited with Clair. Gray fanboys over him, Tobin questions why he’s revered if he’s losing the war and Gray just says “Shut up, Tobin.”

Please remember this is not a criticism of the localization, nor do I aim to purport which is necessarily better or that you should/must like better. Any comments I make along those lines are simply my personal opinion that you can feel free to disagree with as need be. : )

Now let’s get to it!

When Alm and his group (including Gray and Tobin) encounter the knight Clive for the first time, the following exchange happens:

Official Localization:

Gray: I can’t believe it. That’s THE Clive! In the flesh and everything!

Tobin: What, is he famous or something?

Gray: Tobin! I am sorely disappointed in you. Sir Clive captains the Knights of Zofia! He’s the finest knight in all the realm! Seriously, man. Read a book.

Tobin: Okay, okay. He’s clearly a big deal. But then why is the “finest knight in all the realm” LOSING the war?

Gray: Well, he’s obviously… I mean, he…Shut up, Tobin.

The line in question is the last one Gray says, but the entire scene is interesting. The part I figured was only in the localization was the “Seriously, man. Read a book.” It has the tone of natural English to it, and I figured the original text would either have an equivalent saying, or nothing at all. It gives the dialogue a bit of a “modern” feel for sure, however.

Let’s take a look at the original dialogue before any additional commentary:

Original Japanese:

Gray: すげー…本物のクレーベだぜ。

Tobin: えっ？あの人、有名なのか？

Gray: お前、知らないのかよ。クレーベっつったらソフィア騎士団の指揮官で王国一の騎士とまで言われてるんだぜ。

Tobin: へ、へえ…すごい人なんだな。 でも、そんな人がいるのにドゼーに負けてるのか？

Gray: それは……言ってやるなよ。

Now my translation (minor liberties taken for the sake of English flow. See the super literal translation at the bottom).

Translation:

Gray: Holy… it’s Clive. It’s really Clive!

Tobin: Huh? Is he famous or something?

Gray: You…you really don’t know?! Clive is the head and finest knight among all in Zofia!

Tobin: Wo-woah… he sounds amazing! But…how is someone like that losing to a guy like Desaix?

Gray: Th-that… alright let’s not talk about this anymore.

As you can see, the general meaning of the conversation is the same. Gray is awed being in the presence of Clive, who he puts on a high pedestal. Tobin has no idea who he is, and after being told, wonders how someone like that is still losing to Desaix/the enemy. Gray promptly cuts the conversation off.

Now where it differs however is in several places:

• Gray is not “disappointed” in Tobin, nor does he say anything like “Seriously, man. Read a book.”
• Tobin comes off as genuinely amazed in Japanese, and rightly wonders how such a person could be losing this war. In the localization, you can see they turned this into more obvious and rather biting sarcasm.
• Gray (literally) tells him to “stop talking.” To preserve a sense of humor in this contradiction Tobin points out, I felt “let’s not talk about this” was a better way to end the conversation (compared to just “Quiet you.”) Generally the “Shut up!” phrase is used with a different term that wasn’t said here. However he still does say “quiet” in a rather super informal way, so the “shut up” could be appropriate in that sense, and is actually more toward a literal meaning.
• It’s minor, but one part of the joke revolved not around losing the war in general, but losing to Desaix of all people, which did not come into the localization.

Now, with the above points in mind:

• The localization was likely adding flare to Gray’s character to add contrast between the two. Instead of simply being in awe, he was in awe and condescending (i.e. disappointed in him, telling him to read a book, or more aptly, not to live under a rock). This also sets up for Tobin’s snappy remark, which leads to point B.
• In Japanese the grammar he uses isn’t the most negative to use, which is why Tobin could be genuinely surprised and curious why someone like that is losing the war. There are other forms to better express biting sarcasm (or more accurately, saying something along the lines of “in spite of the fact of ____, ____ happened” that are not used here. So, with Gray’s more condescending line added, that sets up Tobin to give a biting comeback rather than agreeing but then wondering why this issue even exists.
• Now that the conversation has a more hostile tone to it (for comedic effect between the two), Gray is now set to shut Tobin up as a way to break this conversation and line of thought that his idol may not be all that. It shows how the little things in the conversation build up to a slightly different end, and so, characterization between the two.
• As the focus of the joke changed to the punch line of shutting Tobin up, they likely didn’t feel the need to point out Desaix specifically, so left it as “losing the war.”

What it does achieve however is characterizing the two in a more defined way. It makes for contrast that readers will indeed remember while sounding a little “modern” in its execution. Perhaps that will resonate with younger readers? Regardless it was memorable enough for people to request me to look into!

One nice touch in the localization was how the normally rough Gray refers to Clive as “Sir Clive,” which was a great way to show a touch of respect and how much he looks up to him –even the original language oddly kept him roughly referring to Clive as if he was on good terms with him, which was interesting.

Either scene can be humorous depending on one’s taste. The localizers still got a joke through –one with Desaix, one with Tobin.

In short:

The conversation goes in a slightly different way. The original sees Gray amazed, sharing the knowledge with Tobin, who then points out a contradiction that makes Gray not want [him] to talk about this anymore. The localization adds a contrasting spice to it, pitting the two more against each other, with a generally more hostile tone (likely for the sake of humor and contrasting the characters).

Below is an isolated table with direct comparison for reference, and a shareable infographic is at the end of this post.

Original (Japanese)	Translation (Lit/Flow)	Official Localization
Gray: すげー…本物のクレーベだぜ。 Tobin: えっ？あの人、有名なのか？ Gray: お前、知らないのかよ。クレーベっつったらソフィア騎士団の指揮官で王国一の騎士とまで言われてるんだぜ。 Tobin: へ、へえ…すごい人なんだな。 でも、そんな人がいるのにドゼーに負けてるのか？ Gray: それは……言ってやるなよ。	Gray: Holy… it’s Clive. It’s really Clive! Tobin: Huh? Is he famous or something? Gray: You…you really don’t know?! Clive is the head and finest knight among all in Zofia! Tobin: Wo-woah… he sounds amazing! But…how is someone like that losing to a guy like Desaix? Gray: Th-that… alright let’s not talk about this anymore.	Gray: I can’t believe it. That’s THE Clive! In the flesh and everything! Tobin: What, is he famous or something? Gray: Tobin! I am sorely disappointed in you. Sir Clive captains the Knights of Zofia! He’s the finest knight in all the realm! Seriously, man. Read a book. Tobin: Okay, okay. He’s clearly a big deal. But then why is the “finest knight in all the realm” LOSING the war? Gray: Well, he’s obviously… I mean, he…Shut up, Tobin.

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Easy references:

Infographic summary:

Super Literal Translation:

Here is a super literal translation of the Japanese dialogue to give you an idea. Note this is by no means how it comes off to people who read Japanese, and (I would hope) no translator would ever translate it this way. It is purely for meaning reference:

Gray: Wow… it’s the real Clive!

Tobin: Huh? Is he famous?

Gray: You don’t know?! Clive is said to be the leader of the Zofia Knights and number one knight in the kingdom!

Tobin: W-woah…what an amazing guy. But, despite being like that he’s still losing to Desaix?

Gray: That… stop talking.

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So what do you all think of this slight change up? How would you have written the dialogue with the literal meaning in mind? Let me know!

I will continue to look at fun differences between the versions of Shadows of Valentia as well as other Fire Emblem games!

Any dialogue you’re interested in? Let me know in comments or via email!