FE9 Path of Radiance Localization: “I guess I’m a fish out of water myself…” [JPN vs ENG]

Today we look into what a reader brought up as part of a larger discussion of localization of the FE games:

Idioms tend to lack perfect equivalents in other languages, so what of Ranulf’s use of “fish out of water” in his Ike support in PoR?

They are referring to Ike and Ranulf’s C Support in Path of Radiance, where Ranulf says the following:

Then again, worrying about a beorc like this is definitely not normal laguz behavior. I guess I’m a fish out of water myself… Wait, did I just call myself a fish?

Short answer: Surprisingly, this idiom was rather well placed. He was still talking about being an oddball when it comes to laguz, and using imagery of floating on water like a fish in Japanese.

Let’s take a closer look!

Advertisement

FE: Shadows of Valentia Comic Anthology 4Koma Page 108 Translation

The latest of my daily scan/clean/translation of the 4komas (four panel comics) featured in the Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Comic Anthology.

This is an individual post for Page 108.

The compilation post that features all pages thus far is here!

I do everything myself (scanning, editing, translating, etc) and it takes a lot of valuable free time, so if you’re feeling generous, then…

Please consider donating! It helps fund future projects!

Notes:

• Gray was called a “nanpa” which is usually a negatively associated trait with flirtatious/playboy sorts. Since that may not really represent his official localization as much. I decided to go with secondary meanings to arrive at “carefree” (in relationships, tact, etc) which made enough sense, I think.
• The part with the “pitchfork” was a little strange. In Japanese, the item is simply called “Villager’s Fork.” So, one can depict it as a tiny fork or a big pitchfork. However, the official localization called it a Pitchfork (and indeed, its sprite resembles a Pitchfork).While one could call a “pitchfork” a “fork” too –I’m sure the first image that comes to mind with “fork” is the regular eating utensil. One cannot say the same thing the other way around (“this pitchfork” when referring to the eating utensil).

  Anyway, thankfully the rest of that panel is about Alm being passive aggressive with Clive’s love for status and such. So it was easy to work in both Villager’s Fork and Pitchfork without the need for sub note on the matter while also fueling that passive aggression! That’s a lucky coincidence that usually doesn’t happen.

 

FE: Shadows of Valentia Comic Anthology 4Koma Page 107 Translation

The latest of my daily scan/clean/translation of the 4komas (four panel comics) featured in the Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Comic Anthology.

This is an individual post for Page 107.

The compilation post that features all pages thus far is here!

I do everything myself (scanning, editing, translating, etc) and it takes a lot of valuable free time, so if you’re feeling generous, then…

Please consider donating! It helps fund future projects!

Notes:
Clair uses an idiom that I couldn’t really find an equivalent English phrase for. She says, “上ばかり見てはキリがありませんわよ”

The full phrase being something more like: “「上も見ても下を見てもきりがない」” (Ue mo mitemo, shita o mitemo kiri ga nai)

Which literally translates to “Whether you look up or down, there’s no end” (in a cyclical sense but also infinite sense. “No clarity” can be said too).

Upon looking into it, a Japanese user wrote out a more detailed meaning:

“お金持ちであるかどうか、生活水準は高いか低いか、社会的地位はどうか、学業の成績はどうか、など上の者や下の者と比較したところで何にもならない・。大切なのは自分自身の心構えだ”

“Whether one is rich or poor, well off or not, high or low in social status, great or poor at school, it doesn’t matter. There is no point to comparing those “high” or “low.” All that really matters is one’s own frame of mind [and what one] finds important.”

And so if you ever see that phrase pop up, now you know what it means!

Anyway so in this case she is telling Delthea to not worry about comparisons and instead focus on what she personally thinks is important. A misunderstanding may arise from the fact Clair only said the first part of the quote (“looking up”) and hence Delthea takes it to mean “find someone your brother is better than.”

Once again it shows how much consideration must be taken into the smallest of things in these translations!