Today is a brief comparison post of a small bit of dialogue in Pokémon Sun/Moon that a reader was curious about.
There’s a bit of silly dialogue from the café (within the Pokémon centers). They wanted to know if the Japanese is the same, so I went to the spot in the Japanese version to check, and wrote the results below!
Today I wanted to make a quick post talking about song translation and the difficulties/challenges people face when actually localizing it (officially or not). For reference, what I mean is beyond the simple translation, a way that works in the spirit of the original while still applying to the target audience/medium.
I felt it was a perfect opportunity to talk about after posting several different versions of the Mimikyu Song
I post every version in order below with some brief comments describing the step by step. A big thanks to aria and Alisha Lyn for doing the rhyming & rhythm fitting respectively. : )
Check out aria’s twitter here!
Check out Alisha Lyn’s twitter here!
Here is the song for reference:
I posted a literal translation of the Mimikyu Song earlier. Then a reader named aria came along and took up my challenge of making it rhyme and flow like a song should in English while keeping to the original meaning, which can be seen here.
And now, a reader on twitter named Alisha Lyn came along and did the last step: The rhythmically flowing version! So not only does the song stick to the original meaning, but it rhymes and flows in line with the music. Try singing along in English to the song above, it should work.
Check out aria’s twitter here!
Check out Alisha Lyn’s twitter here!
Update: Here’s an example of what it sounds like in practice!
Enjoy!
I’m not Pikachu, I’m Mimikyu, you know?
The lonely and friendless Mimikyu, you know?
Sunlight and brightness is all that I fear,
So shade and darkness is where I’ll appear.
Lonely and sad, I just want some friends,
And that’s why I chose this look: to pretend.
A Pikachu disguise, doesn’t it look good?
I made it myself, were you nearly fooled?
But don’t take it off, oh no don’t even try,
You could get cursed, or worse, could even die!
I’m not Pikachu, I’m Mimikyu, you know?
I’m not a monster, I’m Mimikyu, you know?
My claws will protect you from any sort of danger,
My thunderbolt will always help my kind and friendly trainer.
A loyal Pokemon that will follow ’till the end,
So come right over here and make me your friend.
I’m not Pikachu, I’m Mimikyu, you know?
Let’s all be friends, I’m Mimikyu, you know?
I’m not Pikachu, I’m Mimikyu, you know?
The lonely and friendless Mimikyu, you know?
I’m not Pikachu, I’m Mimikyu, you know?
I’m not a monster, I’m Mimikyu, you know?
I’m not Pikachu, I’m Mimikyu, you know?
So let’s all be friends, I’m Mimikyu, you know!
They did a great job huh? : ) I would’ve thought it was an official write up. A big thank you to them!
Please feel free to use these lyrics for your own purposes, whether it be for singing or what have you. All I ask is you link back here to give the proper people credit : )
I posted a literal translation of the Mimikyu Song earlier. Then a reader named aria came along and took up my challenge of making it rhyme and flow like a song should in English while keeping to the original meaning.
Enjoy!
Pikachu? Nope, I’m Mimikyu
The lonely and friendless Mimikyu
Sunlight and brightness is what I fear
Shade and darkness is where I’ll appear
Lonely and sad, I just want to have friends
And that’s why I choose to pretend
A Pikachu disguise, does it look good?
I made it myself, weren’t you nearly fooled?
But don’t take it off, oh no, don’t try!
You could get cursed, or worse, even die!
Pikachu? Nope, I’m Mimikyu
A monster? No, I’m just Mimikyu
My claws will protect you from any danger
My thunderbolt will always help my trainer
A loyal Pokemon that will follow you to the end
Come on now, won’t you be my friend?
Pikachu? Nope, I’m Mimikyu
Let’s be friends, I’m Mimikyu!
Pikachu? Nope, it’s Mimikyu
The lonely and friendless Mimikyu
Pikachu? Nope, I’m Mimikyu
A monster? No, I’m just Mimikyu
Pikachu? Nope, I’m Mimikyu
Let’s be friends, I’m Mimikyu!
They did a great job huh? : ) I would’ve thought it was an official write up. A big thank you to them!
If anyone else out there wants to give a shot at making the above rhyme while keeping to the meaning, by all means please do! I would love to see what you could come up with.
(Or even sing the above lyrics! That would be so awesome).
Earlier, the Pokémon Company posted a new song featuring Mimikyu (from Sun/Moon).
Like with the Koiking song, I translated the lyrics (literally) below. It is meant to be a rap, so I eventually really want to work on a version that works rhythmically too, and that keeps a few puns. But as that will take a bit longer, I give the literal translation for those curious and want it faster.
The original Japanese lyrics can be found in the video description. (Or below). I added Romaji lyrics below my translation too if interested!
I assume there will be an official English translation that comes out… but that remains to be seen.
UPDATE II: An English version that is singable and goes with the song rhythmically too!
Earlier, the Pokémon Company posted a new song much like the Slopoke/Yadon song. This time, it features Magikarp. See it above!
I translated the lyrics (literally) below. I really want to work on a version that works rhythmically too, and that keeps a few puns. But as that will take a bit longer, I give the literal translation for those curious.
The original Japanese lyrics can be found right here on the official website.
I assume there will be an official English translation that comes out… but that remains to be seen.
Helpless and pathetic
Famous for being incredibly weak
Was it extremely powerful in ancient times? There are legends that say so, but
Today it’s extremely weak. So weak that it makes you cry!
The weak Pokémon Magikarp, the weakest of them all
The weak Pokémon Magikarp, so shockingly weak
Splashing about, always splashing
It can splash and splash up and through entire mountains
Why does it splash? Splashing for no reason, splashing even in battle with no purpose
Splashing in rhythm, on and on, and sometimes getting caught by a Pidgeotto!
The splashing Pokémon Magikarp, splashing the most of them all
The splashing Pokémon Magikarp, always jumping with a “flop flop!”
You can first encounter it anywhere
Using an old rod will make you fish out way too many
The sea, river, or even a dirty puddle –It will be found swimming in any body of water
It paddles along regardless of if the river is calm or flowing
If you manage to catch one: “Catch and release?” will probably cross your mind soon
If you manage to catch one: “Catch and eat?” What nonsense!
Even when it is shiny, with a golden color
It is still exactly the same on the inside
When it evolves into Gyarados, it becomes super strong. But waiting until then is really tough!
That old guy sold it for 500P! And with no refunds!
The unfortunate Pokémon Magikarp, it gets booed even when trying to help people
The unfortunate Pokémon Magikarp, nowhere near the top ranks
My Pokémon Magikarp, the one I’ll still continue to raise!
My Pokémon Magikarp, I’ll raise a party of six and fight with them!
The Magikarp we love, the one we love most in the world
The Magikarp I love, I dedicate this love song to you!
Notes:
Taking a break from translations and such today to consider this a holiday. Some good memories with this franchise, and hope to be part of it (officially) in the future, too!
I started back with Blue version, and managed to 100% it (with the help of Pokemon Stadium which released later, of course) and have been at it ever since. Loved the TCG, and like many others adored the show (which is still going!)
What are your fond memories of the series? What was your first game? Would love to hear what you have to say!
Well, that assumes you’re even a fan. xD
It’s back to Fire Emblem stuff from tomorrow onward! But after that’s all settled I hope to cover a ton more Pokemon stuff this year. : )
Woke up pretty early to watch this announcement, and was pleased with the six minutes they showed.
Pokemon Sun & Moon are official, and that is nice to hear for worldwide Holiday 2016. That comes with all languages and worldwide. My favorite kind of release! I look forward to a new adventures and what comparisons can be drawn.
More exciting for me however, at the moment, is the Pokebank functionality for Pokemon Red, Blue, & Yellow releasing on Pokemon Day tomorrow! That’s something to look forward to.
I took some screenshots of what little they showed of Sun and Moon from the video. I’m sure there’s a lot of speculation to be had:
Time for some more Pokémon move trivia! Today’s post is was a request to compare the Pokémon move name: “thunderbolt.” Many have written on the subject already, I’m sure, but I was requested to add my own post about it.
In Japanese, the move is called 10まんボルト (jyuumanboruto). It literally means “100,000 Volts.” However, it can also be read as “100,000 bolts.” So the question from the reader was whether or not it’s “volt” or “bolt”? It sort of makes sense both ways, getting hit with a 100,000 volt attack, or getting hit by 100,000 individual bolts, well, that’s going to hurt!
A brief post on Pokémon #151, Mew! A reader emailed me asking a simple request to see what I thought about the English and Japanese names, as well as the theories (as listed on Bulbapedia) as to where the name comes from.
In Japanese, the Pokémon is named ミュウ (Myuu, or…Mew). In English, it is the same (Mew). So that gets that out of the way!
The question is why did the Japanese name it Mew? Any reason simply beyond the sound a cat makes?
