Why do western translators get Japanese supernatural beings such as Oni wrong.

I've seen time and time again in Japanese anime the usage of supernatural beings being totally translated wrong by westerns. Wheither it be subtitles or dubs there is often wrong termonology. For basics terminology words in Japanese for the supernatural we have bakemono, obake, yurei, yokai, akuma, oni, mazoku, followed by using actual English words like ogre and gobllin. I don't feel like I need to explain the last two as they pretty much mean what they are. Lets start with the terms used specifically in Japanes lore. Okabe means ghost/specture, but it's more tied to the Japanese mythology side of things. Obake is a monsterious ghost or something that is used to be a malevolent ghost. An etheral type beings. This doesn't include demons or devils. In Japanese lore there are many subnames for obake. Then we have youaki which are specific Japanese monsters tied in the occult and can cross over with the term obake. If we speak of youkai, some common ones are Nyurarihon. Anime fans might know this from nurarihyon no mago. Or the if we think of a yokai we can think of the kappa. Now there is a difference betwween teh two. Nurariyon is closer to a spirit type monster of the obake class while a kappa has a more physical body. But Obake is arelatively old term. Now if you hear in anime people calling others or creatures bakemono, its ususally translated as monster. This is someone correct as monster is a being we can't describe but bakemono is taken from obake. Bake = ghost and mono = thing or being. Thus, yelling bakemono is calling someone a monster with no defition or history. THe unknown. They are spectre like and don't have explaination in the human world. As for yurei. Yurei is a very very specific term and it means ghost. However, yurei is only used to describe human ghosts of humans who passed on. As for why I stated how bakemono, obake and youkai are interchangable between the physical and etheral worlds is because again they are from mythology and reside in their own realm and are typically used in Japanese settings. It's rare to see these terms, aside from bakemono, used in a Japanese anime that takes place in a european setting. Bakemono should never be translated as demon or devil as it has zero ties to religious context. Demon and Devils fall under monsters tied to western supernatural beings that have direct correlation to Christainity or a relgiion that has a church. Even if a Japanese anime is in a western setting and there is a cleric that is part of a church calls a creature a bakemono it should never be translated as demon. Now where is where things get a bit confusing. Demon is an English word and used in anime by Japanese voice actors, but when demons often refer to the Western equvilent. Before demon became a common term, akuma was used. Akkuma means devil or demon, but it's more accurate to translate akuma to devil. Akuma is commonly used in things like D. Gray man, Marimashita Iruma-kun and Blue Exorcist. Akuma refers to the typical depection of european devils from hell as depecited in christainity. Akuma have the horns, bat-like wings nad the tail. Akuma can be translated as demon too, but only in the context if it's directly referring to setting of the type of demon used in Christainity such as the beings that follow Satan. Akuma is in a sesnse similar to bakemono is that it is used to describe the occult or supernatural beings that have great fear. THe things that can't be explained. Succubus and others can be referred to as akuma if the anime is tying them to religion. you'll never see western creatures like a succubus be called a youkai. You might see them called a bakemono but their classification is either a akuma or what I'll get into later is mazoku. Mazoku is referred to monsters in a western setting that are not spiritual in nature that part of the physical world that humans live in and akin to other animals. Mazoku takes two terms the ma and zoku. Zoku = tribe and ma is a prefix of the word mahou. Ma + zoku eqquals magical monsters. So it's a monster that is magical. Do not confuse this with youkai as while youkai are supernatural they are not magical. The "magical" that mazoku refers to is i nteh sense of magic like Dugeons and Dragons or things we see in Western fantasy. Things like trolls, orgres, goblins, etc are all mazoku. If mazoku are part of the natural existence of the world then obake, bakemono and youkai are the unnatural. Though mazoku can also be referred to demons but will not be translated as devil. The reason is because it's not tied to Christainity or any other type of relgion. Mazoku can be translated as demons only because of a fantasy setting that has a creatuere called a Maou. Maou can be translated as Demon King or Demon Lord. Intreesting enough Maou cna be translatedc as Magic King. Ma is the prefix to mahou and ou means king. SO Ma (magic) + ou (king) = magic king. In fact anime with demon lords and demon kings has ruined the classificaiton and translation of supernatural beings nad monsters. Usually in fantasy settins with Demon Lords and Demon Kings, it's usually opposed by a country that has ties with a relgious church that worships a god. Because a church opposes the demonlord i feel like Westerners feel like it's easier to just translate all monsters as demons but again this is incorrect. Fantasy has roots in things like Dungeons and Dragons, Tolkin's Lord of the Rings, etc, where little Christain type religous organizations existed. Even in RPG fantasies still keep the roots of classificaitons. I do believe that Japanese words should not be used interchangably If an ogre, troll or goblin is called an akuma or bakemono, this is not their class. If certian monsters are called a bakemono or akuma, it's out of deep hatred and fear because they are akin to a plague. Uncontrollable existences. Thus unless stated so, a Goblin. orgre or troll should never be translated as demon unless general blanket term is akuma. Oni is a monster typically seen in Japanese mythology. Oni is translated as Japanes ogre, but often times we see it translated as demon. This highly in accurate. A oni is a subset of a class of a typeof monser/supernatural being. Translating Oni as demon is wrong. Of course translating an oni as a Japanese ogre is akward but it's better to call them ogre. Unless the setting has a european ogre then oni should just be left as is. Oni is a monster not a demon. The reason for this confusion is that in the Japanese version of hell, oni are the wardens of hell that punish sinners. Hence why western confusion of oni being demons. Oni are a type of monster and should never be called a. You wouldn't call a a Lich a demon. Demon,devil or monster are blanket terms. Lich, Oni, Wright, Troll very specific types. So in wrap up. Bakemono, obake, youkai and mazoku should never be translated as devil. Devil is only used for Akuma. Obake and Bakemono should never be translated as demons. Akuma should never be translated as monster. In English we have blanket supernatural words demon, devil and monster, spirit, ghost. The same can be said to Japanese except they have classes. Obake and bakemono are the closest blanket terms that can be wide reaching. Youkai and Mazoku are not universal though. Monsters, spirits and ghosts that have specific species names should never be translated using a blanket term. Oni is one of those. Youkai is another as Youkai is a subspecies of a broader term obake/bakemono.

Tsujidou-san no Jun'Ai Road Translation project announced! The birth of CloverRibbon Translation group?

So there has been a special project in the works for about a few months now. I'm starting a translation of the Visual Novel, Tsujidou-san no Jun'Ai Road by MinatoCarnival.  It's taken me a while to grab funding for a website, buying a game and dong research on legal course of action should anything go wrong. Currently I'm looking for programmers in python and translators.  I'll be the one funding the project and doing over all grammar and translation checks.

The project will be done over a multitude of programs. TeamViewer, and Skype will be used in conjunction to help manage this project, TeamViewer to provide screen sharing or remote desktop connection so work flow is easier. TeamViewer has a built in system to allow voice chat. However it does not do group calls. Skype will be used for group voice chat.

If you don't know how to get the programs just follow the hyperlinks above.

If anyone is interested in this project, please contact me at Belgarion108@yahoo.com.  After I am notified by email, I'll hand over my Skype user name and we'll discuss the project over chat.  Project work days will be Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.  I will usually be online for 12:00pm Pacific/1PM mountain/2PM central/3pm Eastern Time zone (US Time Zones).

Projects updates and actual patches will all be released on a separate site CloverRibbon Translations. The site is still in construction, so for now update posts will be labeled here.

Hopefully this project will get off the ground and start a nice translation group. Other translation projects that I hope to translate some day are:

Lump of Sugar Titles

• Tayutama: Kiss My Diety
• Tayutama: It's Happy Days

Minato-soft Titles

• They are My Noble Masters

Navel TItles

• Shuffle: Love Rainbow
• Shuffle! Essence+
• Shuffle! Essence+ FanDisk

August-soft Titles [I have all these games but they are not Windows 7 version.]

• Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na [Need to get Windows 7 Ver.]
• Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na ~Brighter than Dawning Blue (PS2 to PC port) [Need to get Windows 7 Ver.]
• Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na: Moonlight Cradle [Need to get Windows 7 Ver.]
• Operation Sanctuary
• Fortune Arterial [Need to get Windows 7 Ver.]

Lose Titles

• Monobeno
• Monobeno Happy Days
• Maitetsu

Unisonshift & UnisonAccent Titles

• Chu x Chu Idol
• Chu x Chu Idol Paradise
• Chu x Chu Idol 2
• Nanatsuiro Drops
• Flyable Heart
• Unity Marriage
• Forget Me Not
• Peace@Pieces
• Wagamama Capricho

Shining Resonance PS3 Game's Story, Characters Revealed

     Gaming news website Inside Games revealed details on Sega's upcoming Shining Resonance game for PlayStation 3 on Tuesday. The game is slated to ship in Japan on December 11, 2014 for 8,222 yen (about US$80), and a limited edition will also ship for 16,800 yen (US$164).

    The story takes place in a land of the gods known as Alfheim. The once proud race of dragons are ruined, and their souls are crystallized and scattered across the world. One day, a dragon named Kōryū Irvan is discovered, and dragon slayers from the imperial army and church set out to find him.

    A girl saves the dragon from the dragon slayers and they soon collect "Dragonars," or warriors that play musical instruments called "Armonics" that resonate with the dragon's soul. The characters include:

Kōryū Irvan, the dragon and the game's protagonist. 

 

Kōryū Irvan, the dragon and the game's protagonist. 

Kirika Towa Aruma, the other heroine, and a girl who inherited an ancient song. 

Agunamu Brethart, a hot-blooded man who wields fire.  

Georg Zalbart, leader of the church's elite forces.

 

    Another main character has yet to be introduced.

   The player will command a party of four to battle various enemies, including rival artificial dragons created by the empire (pictured below). Billed as a "Dragon and Musical Instrument" game, Shining Resonance will feature seamless transitions from field to battle sequences.
 
   Tony Taka will return to the Shining series as the character designer along with Tsuyoshi Sawada as the game's producer.
 

  Sega launched its Shining game franchise with Shining in the Darkness in 1991, and the latest games, Shining Blade and Shining Ark, shipped for the PSP in 2012 and 2013. One of the role-playing games, Shining Hearts, inspired the Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan- television

Images © Sega

 

 

Clara: ClariS Will Not Disband

Singer Gero interviews musical duet member after Alice left the group earlier this month

        Singer Gero (Brothers Conflict) interviewed Clara of the musical duo ClariS on the Japanese television program Mezamashi TV on Sunday. During the interview, Clara announced that although the second member of ClariS Alice has left the group, the unit ClariS has not ended. She explained that the unit ClariS will continue to work to convey its feeling of gratitude to fans. She told Gero that Alice made the decision to “graduate” from ClariS after giving it a lot of thought, and Clara decided to cheer her on.

You can check out the video below.

       In addition, Clara revealed that while she is a third-year high school student, no one in school knows that she is part of the musical duo. When a ClariS song plays on the school's speakers, she gets excited in her head and wants to sing. Clara added that she first met Alice in first grade at the music school the two attended. The two often go out together, eating dinner or taking purikura ('Print Club' photo sheets or stickers) together.

     Alice of the ClariS duo announced her graduation from the unit to focus on her studies at the end of last month, and formally left the unit on June 4 when their PARTY TIME album was released in Japan. The album reached the number two spot on the Oricon's weekly charts.
The duo ClariS debuted in 2010 as middle-schoolers with their single "irony," which served as the opening theme to the Ore no Imōto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai TV anime. From there, they performed the theme songs for the Puella Magi Madoka Magica TV anime and films, as well as the themes for Moyashimon Returns and Nisemonogatari. ClariS also performed the theme song for the Akiba's Trip PlayStation Portable game. Most recently, the duo provided two theme songs for the Nisekoi anime.

     The duo has made one live performance, but they were only visible as silhouettes behind a curtain to their fans during the concert. Instead, ClariS is normally illustrated as anime characters by various artists, including Akio Watanabe, Ume Aoki, and Hiro Kanzaki. Alice is portrayed in the color blue, while Clara is represented by the color pink.

Sailor Moon Crystal Trailer now available to public!

Whether or not you are an anime fan, most people growing up in the 90s up to today have heard of Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon, or better known in Japan as "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" was published in manga magazine Nakayoshi from the February 1992 issue to the March 1997 issue, with the 52 chapters published into 18 and later 12 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The manga then was made in to an anime by Totei Animation and was broadcasted from 1992 to 1997. America got it's version in 1995.

Since those times Sailor Moon has become a world wide icon for young girls and any other anime fan out there. Now in 2014, we are seeing a reboot of Sailor Moon in the form of Sailor Moon Crystal. Artwork has been revamped. Returning for her role as Usagi/Princess Serenity/Sailor Moon is Kotono Mishuishi. Sadly, the rest of the cast has been been replaced below is the line up of the roles. The new cast are all high profile and famous voice actors but are fairly young, aside from Kotono Mishuishi. The list is below.

Ami Koshimizu as Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter Hisako Kanemoto as Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury Rina Satou as Rei Hino/Sailor Mars Shizuka Itou as Minako Aino/Sailor Venus Kenji Nojima as Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Kamen Ryou Hirohashi as Luna

 The official website for the upcoming Sailor Moon Crystal anime began streaming a trailer for the series this Friday. The video features the theme song "Moon Pride" performed by Momoiro Clover Z and composed by Revo of Linked Horizon (Attack on Titan opening themes). Akiko Kosaka, who composed the first anime's ending theme "Tuxedo Mirage" will also compose the new show's ending theme, "Tsuki Niji" (Moon Rainbow) also performed by Momoiro Clover Z.

 

With everything that that trailer now presents, hopefully this reboot will turn out alright. All you fangirls and fanboys out there, eat your heart out! 

Impressions of Spiderman 2 and Godzilla

 
I went out and saw "The Amazing Spiderman 2" and "Godzilla" recently and I'll have to say I'm impressed. The movie I'm impressed with the most is Godzilla of course. But these movies were excellent in my opinion.  If you want to see my full impression of the movie check out the YouTube video below.

"Shining Resonance" RPG is in the Works for PS3

    For all of you Tony Taka fans, it was confirmed in this week's issue of Japanese gamers magazine, Famitsu, that Wild Arms developer, Media Vision is actually in middle of development of a newShining RPG called Shining Resonance.
  
   While Tony Taka returns to do character designs, the actual models will be done by Flight Unit.

      Other details about the game reveal a character named Kirika Towa Alma, a girl who inherits the ancient song. "I'm sorry, but I have no interest in humans," she says. "I only want to understand the heart of the dragon." Kirika is a Song Maiden class who uses a Dragon Wing Bow and Sacred Magic, and is a better healer than a fighter.

    While there is little info on what the Shining Resonance game is going to be about, it seems the transitions between field and battles will be seamless.