Translation Review: [gg] Valvrave the Liberator – 11

This post was written by kokujin-kun. He is not Dark_Sage.


I said I’d only start reviewing Summer Anime. Well I lied. But I promise this will be the last review of a back number.

Table of Contents

Release Information

Translation

Other Observations

Final Grade

Release Information

Episode details.

Release format: MKV ( 487MB, 10-bit)

Wap Level: Eastern name orders, but otherwise none

English style: American English.

Speed: Quick (<48 hours)

 

External links.

Group website: http://www.ggkthx.org/

IRC channel: #[email protected]

Fansub.co screenshot comparisons:

Subbusu screenshot comparisons:

 

Translation

Karaoke.

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_01.35_[2013.06.25_18.36.26][gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_22.55_[2013.06.25_18.36.07]

Karaokes for both the OP and ED are good. Just so you know, OPs and EDs are places where I hope you get experimental. As this site has demonstrated repeatedly, simply sticking to the literal meanings of the lyrics will result in some embarrassing confusing lines. gg made the right call and decided not to be slavish to the literal meaning of the lyrics and got creative with the wording.

Main Script.

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_03.45_[2013.06.24_21.23.39]

As expected of gg. They realized that the “correct” way to translate つまんない (boring) is for candyasses and instead found a way to make the line fit the character, whom I assume is an unapologetic douchebag. This is just one of many examples of how gg delivered on the freshness and enjoyment I seek in a subtitle script all throughout this release. If I showed you more examples of lines I liked, I’d spam this blogpost with about a hundred screenshots.

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_04.53_[2013.06.24_23.46.04]

Uh, not quite. The line should be “They made the first letter into a picture! Isn’t it cool?!” The word written on her Totally Boss Shirt is medamayaki (目玉焼き or egg sunny-side up) for some reason, and since the first character in that word stands for “eye,” they made the corresponding kana on the shirt into an eye as well. Yeah, joke gets lost in translation, but as they say, it can’t be helped ┐( ̄ー ̄)┌

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_05.13_[2013.06.24_21.37.00]

The way she said it indicates she had a certain place in mind, so the line should be “No. We’ll talk once we get there (the bar).”

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_10.29_[2013.06.24_21.58.24]

Lesser groups would translate “hai” with “Yes, sir!” or something similar. Based gg realized that these people are space Nazis and wrote the script accordingly, to my pleasure.

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_13.10_[2013.06.24_22.14.23]

Why in the actual fuck did they NOT typeset that… thing she’s holding? They couldn’t even bother to do a jaka and {/an8} it. Shoko was contemplating the huge responsibilities she’s now shouldering while fiddling with that placard that says “Prime Minister.” Why wouldn’t you typeset that? I consider this the equivalent of leaving an entire scene of dialogue blank.

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_14.04_[2013.06.24_22.17.56]

Yes, “coward” is an acceptable translation for hikyoumono (卑怯者) and all three subs I reviewed for this episode used the same word. However, using “coward” for that term comes dangerously close to the ever-dreaded generitranslation that would simply sound weird and out of place if used liberally. For example, the last series I did features a delinquent kid who is proud of being this so-called hikyoumono and constantly uses dirty tricks to win fights or get off scot free. Since he wears his “cowardliness” as a badge of honor, I went with the terms “rat bastard” and “rat prick” since I can imagine people of his stripe enjoying being called that. “Coward,” not so much.  Indeed, the Rear Admiral dude Shoko is shouting at similarly tries to turn the word hikyoumono into a badge of honor, so you should find an English word that is a better fit for this situation. My suggestion starts with “scum” and ends with “bag.”

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_15.30_[2013.06.25_00.21.25]

They say “Waffe” (or however the fuck you pluralize that word in German) here.

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_15.31_[2013.06.25_00.23.29]

The girl actually says teki kantai sokudo 20 ni joushou (敵艦隊速度20に上昇). They must have heard “nijuuni” (22) rather than “nijuu ni” (to 20), and to be honest I could imagine making the same mistake on a bad day. Hell, people do actually omit the “ni” particle and just say the number and the joushou together, but unfortunately adding the “ni” is more correct than omitting it, so…

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_16.00_[2013.06.24_22.23.33]

Yes, they say souri daijin 総理大臣, or “prime minister” here, but gg realized that “president” rolls off the tongue better. However, hopefully this nation isn’t like most other nations that have parliamentary systems with both a prime minister AND a president.

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_17.28_[2013.06.24_22.26.35]

This is one of the rare instances where I felt gg dropped the ball. It’s like an article of faith for subtitlers of Japanese media to shoehorn the phrase “so easily” into a line whenever they hear kantan (簡単) and I for one am sick of it. Hell, I would have been happier if they just made her say “You can’t give up!”

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_18.10_[2013.06.24_22.29.06]

Come on, they are space Nazis. Come up with a term for jakusha 弱者 which implies that they think he’s part of the lesser Mongoloid race. Personally, my uterus would drop if someone utilized the term Untermensch.

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_19.15_[2013.06.24_22.31.13]

Whatever-his-name actually says “Did you see that, Dorssian dogs?!” (見たかドルシア野郎), plus editan.

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_20.19_[2013.06.24_22.57.32]

“An Ideal-class ship is breaking through!” though I’d go with “It’s an Ideal-class ship!” due to length.

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_20.26_[2013.06.24_22.58.31]

“They’re in the pit! Now the Valvraves can’t return!”

[gg]_Valvrave_the_Liberator_-_11_[216044B1].mkv_snapshot_20.28_[2013.06.24_22.58.49]

“And we can’t cool them down either! What’ll we do now?!” (これじゃ冷却も出来ない、どうするのさ?)

 

Other Observations

All I can say is I shouldn’t really review an episode that’s halfway into a series I haven’t watched, unless I want to do a an asston of half-assed research or just marathon the bitch.

 

Final Grade: B C

Like I said previously, this is a really solid script which should really get an A if it weren’t for the few too many translation derps in it.

 Edit:  I let myself be dazzled too much by gg’s creative editing. But the truth of the matter is I still found 8 mistakes in gg’s scripts, and my threshold for B-level accuracy is 3 mistakes, maybe 4 if the mistakes are minor enough. Like I said in my introduction, a script may look nice, but that shouldn’t matter if it’s riddled with errors. From now on I will look at accuracy first before I decide if the script is creative and professionally written enough for an A-level grade.

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10 thoughts on “Translation Review: [gg] Valvrave the Liberator – 11”

    • I’ll generally go down real hard on literal subs, unless they can find a way to make it sound good and it fits the mood (e.g. if you’re doing a period drama). I want to enjoy the show along with or because of the subs, not despite the subs.

      Reply
    • Okay, just saw that episode.

      Yeah, they are technically right, and it’s less trollish than “vagina bones”. The only problem is that they may have dated themselves pretty hard.

      Reply
  1. >They say “Waffe” (or however the fuck you pluralize that word in German) here.
    Waffen would be the correct plural, actually. But thanks for pointing that out, didn’t realise it while watching the show.

    And nice review! Keep it up.

    Reply

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