RD 4-5-F Base, "Soren" - English, Japanese, Translation side-by-side

[amielleon]

I decided to do this now, because I keep referring to the Japanese script while writing visitor and I figured I'd just get this out of the way.

This took forever.



I have tried, at all times, to be as faithful to both the letter and the spirit of the original Japanese. When doing so would make the translation intolerably clumsy, I provide the literal translation in brackets alongside the smoother one. I put accuracy first, as that is the point of this project. Please do not go on about style at me. :P

Japanese script
English script

NOTE: % at the end of a line means that the above two lines correspond to those two lines in the Japanese taken together, but not each to their corresponding line. (That is, some elements were transposed to make the translation more natural.)

Character	English	Japanese	My Rough Translation
Soren	Ike... Um... Were you joking when you said you couldn't remember how we met?	アイク……　その… あなたは…もしかして……	Ike... that, um... Do you, perhaps...
Ike	Well, sorta. It was a long time ago.	忘れてて、すまなかった。	I'm sorry. For forgetting.
Soren	How could you forget?	！	!
Ike	Relax, Soren. I got to thinking, and I remembered. I remember what happened in Gallia on the day we first met.	思い出した、全部。 ガリアでのことを…… お前と出会った時のことを。	I remembered. All of it. About what happened in Gallia... that time when I came across you.
Soren	Ike...	………あ……………	... Ah...
Ike	Mother had gone shopping with Mist that day. I was wandering around the village all alone. I walked to the edge of the forest, looking for a stick I could pretend was a sword. There was a raven-haired boy lying on the ground.	あの日…… 母さんはミストを連れて 買い物に出かけ、▼ 俺は…街をぶらぶらしながら 森の入り口のほうへ向かった。 そこに黒い髪の男の子が倒れていた。	That day... Mother had taken Mist out shopping. As for me... I was roaming about the streets while going in the direction of the forest's opening. There, a black-haired boy had collapsed.
Soren	I remember the huge oak tree by the clearing... I'd been sleeping in the hollow by the roots.	…………	...
Ike	He looked like he was my age. He was as skinny as a twig, wearing rags and covered in dirt. He looked like he was near death. I took out my lunch and I handed it to him. He made a noise like a scared animal and shied away. He was suspicious of me at first, but eventually he took my sandwich and started to eat. It was like he'd never eaten before in his life. I didn't have anything else to feed him, so I told him to come to my house. But he kept shaking his head no.	俺と同じぐらいの年に見えたが…… ひどく細くて汚れていて いまにも死んでしまいそうだった。▼ 俺は自分の昼飯を差し出した。▼ 最初は警戒していたようだが おそるおそる俺の手から 食べ物をひったくると夢中で食べていた。▼ 俺はもう食べるものをもってなくて うちに来ればいいと誘ってみたが その子は首を振るばかりだった。	He looked about the same age as me, but... he was horribly thin and dirty, and looked like he could die at any moment. I held out my own lunch. At first he looked like he was keeping up his guard, but timidly, from my hands when he snatched the food he ate with ecstasy. I didn't have any more food, and when I tried inviting him to come to my home, but the child only shook his head.
Soren	I was afraid you were going to trick me. Afraid that you were going to chase me away after taunting me with food, just for a laugh...	…………	...
Ike	I told the boy that I'd bring him some food the next day at the same time and place. He finally nodded when I said that. It made me happy. I felt like I was doing something right, helping this boy. Like I was the only one who'd do that.	じゃあ明日また同じ時間に ここに食べ物を持ってくるからというと、 ずいぶん時間をかけてからやっと頷いた。▼ あのとき俺は、自分がはじめて 人の役に立った気がして嬉しかったんだ。	Well, when I told him that I would again bring food here at the same time tomorrow, % after a long while, at last he nodded. At that time, for me, it was my first time feeling the pleasure of helping someone.
Soren	...I was happy, too. Not just because I wasn't hungry anymore. Because someone finally would talk to me. So I went back to the village again the next day. I was scared of the other villagers and their rocks and sticks, but I still went back.	……僕も…嬉しかった。 飢餓が満たされたことより、▼ 自分に声をかけて 助けてくれる人がいたことが…… とても…嬉しかったんです。▼ だから次の日も…村へ。 村人たちの冷たい仕打ちにあうのは 怖かったけど…それでも……	... I was also... happy. More than that my hunger was satisfied, that there was a person who would greet and help me...% I was very... happy. So the next day... I went to the village again. As I had met the villagers' cruel treatment, I was scared, but ... even so ...
Ike	That's right. That was Gallia back then. The beorc abused and tormented the Branded because the laguz shunned them. They wanted to avoid upsetting the laguz.	………そうか。 あそこはガリアだったからな。▼ べオクたちは ラグズとの揉め事を避けるために “印”のある子供に冷たかったんだな？	... That's right. Because that place was Gallia, huh. The beorc, in order to avoid friction with the laguz, were cold to children with the mark, right?
Soren	The villagers threw stones at me, called me an animal and a devil. But on the next day, the village was littered with corpses. Soldiers and peasants were in a panic.	ええ…疫病神だと言われ 石をぶつけられました。▼ だけど、村は様変わりしていた。 そこら中に散らばる死体。 村人と…鎧をつけた兵士たち……	Yeah... I was called vermin and struck with rocks. However, the village had changed completely. Corpses were scattered everywhere. Villagers and ... armored soldiers....
Ike	It was my dad. He went crazy when the spirit of chaos in the medallion touched him.	…メダリオンの【負】の気で 暴走した親父が…やったことだ。	... Because of the medallion's chaotic spirit my rampaging father... did that.
Soren	I walked through the empty streets, checking bodies to see if you were dead. But I couldn't find you. I decided that you had to be alive. I took money and food from the village and headed for Crimea, a land of beorcs.	僕は、あなたがいないかと 死体を1つ1つ調べてまわりました。 そして…そこにあなたはいなかった。▼ だからきっと生きていると思い 村にあるお金と食べ物を持って べオクの国クリミアを目指したんです。	To make sure you weren't there, I turned the corpses about one by one to examine them. And... you weren't there. So I was certain you were alive, and carrying the money and food that was in the village, I set my sights on the beorc country of Crimea.
Ike	Soren...	…セネリオ……	... Senerio...
Soren	On my way to Crimea, I kept seeing laguz from the beast tribe. They were terrifying, but after a while I realized something. They never attacked me. They all seemed to notice something about me, and then pretend they couldn't see me. That look was burned into my mind, and it was always the same. They'd scowl, then walk away like they'd never noticed me. In a way, that left me feeling colder and more alone than if they'd attacked me. Hate... That I could understand. This was denial. They made me feel like I wasn't supposed to exist at all. That my simply being alive was an affront to the world. That was how the beasts treated me. And I hated them for it. It sat in my heart like a lead bar. Like a glacier.	その道中の樹海で、 幾度も獣牙族に遭遇しました。▼ 初めは恐ろしくて震えましたが、 襲われたことは ただの一度もありませんでした。▼ 何度めかに気付きましたが…… 獣たちは、僕の何かを察知し それで見えないように振舞うのだと。▼ 見る目でわかるんです。▼ いきなり、さも汚い物を見るような 蔑んだ冷たい眼差しを向け その後、何も見なかったかのように去る。▼ それは…ある意味、襲われるよりも ずっと心を冷たくする行為でした。▼ 自分はこの世に存在してはいけない者。 ただそこに居るだけで 嫌悪されるモノなのだと………▼ 僕は…自分にそんな思いをさせる 獣を憎みました。	In the sea of trees along the way, I encountered the beast tribe countless times. At first, I trembled in terror, but, as for being attacked, it didn't happen even once. They noticed me many times, but... it was as if the beasts sensed something about me, then they acted like they didn't see me.% With a discerning eye, they understand. All of a sudden, they give me a cold look, scornful like they see something extremely filthy, and % after that, they leave like they saw nothing. That... in a sense, even more than being attacked, was the act that forever chills my heart. I am a person who should not exist in this world. When, in most places, by just being there I am a thing deemed repugnant... % I... because they made me feel like that about myself, I hated the beasts. *1
Ike	...	…………	...
Soren	When I reached Crimea, I took refuge in a church along the way. They took my brand to be a sign that I had been trained in the arcane arts. They took good care of me, and taught me things. Once I had learned to speak and behave like other people, I wandered Crimea for several years. Then I finally found you.	クリミアについた僕は 一番近い教会を訪ねました。▼ そこでは、僕の“印”が役立ち 魔道の才のある子だということで それなりの世話が受けられました。▼ 話し方や一般的な常識を学んだ僕は、 クリミア国内を数年さ迷って…… やっと…あなたを見つけた。▼	When I reached Crimea, I visited the nearest church. There, my mark was useful and because it says I am a child with magical talent, I received a fair amount of care. Having learned things such as how to speak and typical common sense, I wandered within Crimea for several years... and at last ... I found you.
Ike	But I'd...	…だが、俺は……	... But, I...
Soren	Yes. You'd forgotten that day in Gallia. But I didn't care. My only wish was to see you again. I just wanted to see the only boy who had held out a warm hand when I had nothing.	あなたは記憶を失くしていた。▼ だけど…それでもよかった。 僕はただもう一度だけ あなたに会いたかっただけだから。▼ ただ1人だけ…僕に 暖かい手を差し伸べてくれた 少年に会いたかっただけだから。	You had lost that memory. *3 But... even so, I was happy. Because I merely... just one more time, I only wanted to see you. % *4 Just that one person... The one who reached out to me with a warm hand -- % I only wanted to see that boy.
Ike	Soren... Don't cry.	セネリオ、泣くな。	Senerio, don't cry.
Soren	Don't cry? What? I'm not crying...	泣く…？ 僕は……泣いて…？	Cry...? I'm... crying...?
Ike	Soren, you're smart, but you're no good when it comes to your emotions. Come over here.	おまえ、頭がいいのに 普通のことが下手くそすぎだ。▼ ほら、来い。	You're so smart, and yet you're completely hopeless when it comes to normal things. Look, come here.
Soren	D-don't treat me like I'm a child! I'm not that--	こ、子供扱いしないでください。 僕は……そんな…………▼	P-Please don't treat me like a child. I'm not that...
Ike	Come on.	いいから。	Come on.
Soren	Shut up! Shut up...	………	...
Ike	Then I'll come over to you. [Sprite reappears closer.] It's all in the past, Soren...	ったく、世話の焼ける。 [Sprite reappears closer.] ほら。	--Sheesh, you're such a pain. [Sprite reappears closer.] Here.
Soren	...Sniff... Sniff... Gwuh... Wahhhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhh!	……っ… う……っ　う…うぅ…… うわぁああああああああああ うわぁああああああああああぁっ	... hic... Uw... hic. Uh... uw... Uwaaaaaaaaaah Uwaaaaaaaaaah!!

Note: Japanese crying onomatopoeia is less hilarious to a Japanese reader.

*1 Lit. "As for me... I hated the beasts who made me think such things about myself. %" I tried to mirror the phrasing with respect to line breaks.

*2 [corrected and removed 6/27/19]

*3 In the original, it is not specified whether this line refers to his memory (in general) or that memory, or even memories. I interpret that here, Soren is interested in Ike's loss of this specific memory.

*4 "see": The Japanese verb 会う means "meet" in "meet up with" sense. Additionally, this line and the last in this cell are also parallel in the original. 6/27/19: Also, this phrase is very frequently understood as meaning something equivalent to English "I miss you".

*5 [corrected and removed 6/27/19]

Slightly updated 6/27/19.

Comments

[raphiael]

In addition to Soren, I find it pretty interesting how much less. . . oafish? Ike comes off as.

[amielleon]

Indeed. Less derp derp chum, more abrasive machoness.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if I like original!Ike and Soren better or not. I think maybe not.

[amielleon]

Oh?

I vastly prefer original!Soren. More stoic, less PMS.

Of course, with respect to this particular conversation, it's more like "more squish, less PMS".

I very vaguely prefer original!Ike, mostly because I feel like he was more sharply defined, but I don't feel strongly about it.

EDIT: I should mention -- some of his angry moments are still there, but they're clearly triggered instead of being a significant part of his personality. For example, his angry rant in Chapter 11 was translated very closely.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

The squish factor is a turnoff. That conversation makes them feel a little bit more like a stereotypical seme and uke, which I don't find appealing.

[amielleon]

I thought you'd say that. :P

Personally, I'll take closer adherence to stereotypes over contrived and occasionally almost immature snark any day. He has enough too-blunt cold moments elsewhere in the Japanese to maintain that aspect of his charm, IMO.