NationStates Jolt Archive

I dont know whether to be happy or sad. My favorite anime is coming to the USA, and a decent company is going to be doing the translations.
But...its still a company. So, basically, I see two possible futures:
1. They translate with the fans in mind, produce a decent dub (and leave desu in), and make some cash. Not a whole lot of cash, but most likely enough to justify what they paid for it.

2. They translate for people who havent seen the series before, anger the fans and make very little money becase few people outside the current fanbase in the US are going to be interested in the series.

Either way, the odds of my seeing 'desu' in the dubs look slim. Apparently most people think that it will become something like 'yes', or a nonsense word.

Ah well.

(For those who have no idea what Im talking about, wikipedia is your friend :P
If you have issues with Wikis, try google.)

I just googled 'desu'... and I don't see your point? Why should translaters pointlessly abuse the English language by trying to force in a verb modifier that doesn't belong just to appease some otaku?

Because one of the trademarks of several of the characters in Rozen Maiden is to constantly end their sentences with a unique word. The most (in)famous is Suiseiseki's "DESU!" ending.


.....

.....

...
DESUDESUDESUDESU!!!

As the above poster said, certain untranslatable phrases are a bit important (at least, to some people) in relation to some of the charecters.
Fer'instance, one of them refers to herself as 'Boku', which is essentially 'I (male)', which has no English equivalent at all, without saying something silly and cumbersome.
This, in turn, leads to untranslatable jokes and wordplays. The main charecter calling his sister 'laundry maid' or 'laudnry starch' in English makes no sense, but in Japanese its a moderatly clever word play on her name.

I dont know whether to be happy or sad. My favorite anime is coming to the USA, and a decent company is going to be doing the translations.
But...its still a company. So, basically, I see two possible futures:
1. They translate with the fans in mind, produce a decent dub (and leave desu in), and make some cash. Not a whole lot of cash, but most likely enough to justify what they paid for it.

2. They translate for people who havent seen the series before, anger the fans and make very little money becase few people outside the current fanbase in the US are going to be interested in the series.

Either way, the odds of my seeing 'desu' in the dubs look slim. Apparently most people think that it will become something like 'yes', or a nonsense word.

Ah well.

(For those who have no idea what Im talking about, wikipedia is your friend :P
If you have issues with Wikis, try google.)

I'd say it's likely to hit the cutting room floor. Geneon tends to try to please as many people as possible, and that unfortunately means the general public, not the otaku.

I'm not sure why you think the hardcore otaku is likely to be a bigger market than the casual 'japanimation' fan, anyway.

Also, it has to be said if you are a real fan of a series, you'd have to be pretty miffed at the import not to buy it...

They could set in Canada and have them say, 'eh?' at the end of their sentences, eh?

As the above poster said, certain untranslatable phrases are a bit important (at least, to some people) in relation to some of the charecters.
Fer'instance, one of them refers to herself as 'Boku', which is essentially 'I (male)', which has no English equivalent at all, without saying something silly and cumbersome.
This, in turn, leads to untranslatable jokes and wordplays. The main charecter calling his sister 'laundry maid' or 'laudnry starch' in English makes no sense, but in Japanese its a moderatly clever word play on her name.

obviously you understand the japanese version, why care about the translated version then?

Anime should be subbed and not dubbed anyway.. :rolleyes:

As the above poster said, certain untranslatable phrases are a bit important (at least, to some people) in relation to some of the charecters.
Fer'instance, one of them refers to herself as 'Boku', which is essentially 'I (male)', which has no English equivalent at all, without saying something silly and cumbersome.
This, in turn, leads to untranslatable jokes and wordplays. The main charecter calling his sister 'laundry maid' or 'laudnry starch' in English makes no sense, but in Japanese its a moderatly clever word play on her name.

There are ways of achieving similar effects already existant in the English language, translaters just need to think their way out of the linguistic trap they have gotten themselves into, failing that, quite a bit can be expressed in one's vocal qualities, one's intonation, one's gruffness, one's pace, etc. But loaning a completely alien word without trying adequately to translate its semantics is rightly seen as a cop-out in the translation industry.

Anime should be subbed and not dubbed anyway.. :rolleyes:

Seconded. The same with all foreign media, really. When it comes to expressing the feelings of a character, having the indigenous soundtrack brings you one step closer, subs are all you really need to follow the plot anyway.

obviously you understand the japanese version, why care about the translated version then?

I understand about twenty words in Japanese, and the grammar is totaly beyond me. Stuff like 'Kuso' comes fairly easily because it tends to be used by itself, instead of in long and confusing sentences.

I'd say it's likely to hit the cutting room floor. Geneon tends to try to please as many people as possible, and that unfortunately means the general public, not the otaku.

I'm not sure why you think the hardcore otaku is likely to be a bigger market than the casual 'japanimation' fan, anyway.

Also, it has to be said if you are a real fan of a series, you'd have to be pretty miffed at the import not to buy it...
Eh, I would most likely buy it, but the dubs section may or may not get viewed much :P
And there has been much discussion as to whether nor not RM can appeal to the general public in America. The series is about dolls after all. And it portrays nerds in a more realistic fashion (IE: Antisocial, rude, shut ins :P) than most people are used to. The general conclusion is that the series isnt action-oriented enough for the general American audience. It HAS action, but that isnt really the series strong point.

There are ways of achieving similar effects already existant in the English language, translaters just need to think their way out of the linguistic trap they have gotten themselves into, failing that, quite a bit can be expressed in one's vocal qualities, one's intonation, one's gruffness, one's pace, etc. But loaning a completely alien word without trying adequately to translate its semantics is rightly seen as a cop-out in the translation industry.
Vocal qualities is one issue people had with the German dub. Apparently they had some difficulty finding voice actors, because one of the dolls has the voice of a 40 year old woman who apparently served as a sergeant in the German military for a while. (Although there were good moments. Suiseiseki shouting "TOTALER KRIEG!" practically makes up for the lack of desu :P)
I wont even get started on the English fandubs. If you could call them dubs. More like scary people screeching into a cheap microphone.

Eh, I would most likely buy it, but the dubs section may or may not get viewed much :P
And there has been much discussion as to whether nor not RM can appeal to the general public in America. The series is about dolls after all. And it portrays nerds in a more realistic fashion (IE: Antisocial, rude, shut ins :P) than most people are used to. The general conclusion is that the series isnt action-oriented enough for the general American audience. It HAS action, but that isnt really the series strong point.



Dolls don't necessarily hurt a franchise. Saber Marionette, for example. Also, if Geneon can make a success out of a franchise based on a 4" tall snow fairy witha a passion for waffles, they can probably market dolls.

Dolls don't necessarily hurt a franchise. Saber Marionette, for example. Also, if Geneon can make a success out of a franchise based on a 4" tall snow fairy witha a passion for waffles, they can probably market dolls.

Ah, but a SERIOUS show about dolls proves something of a challenge. RM has its comedy moments, but its primarily a drama. I've seen a lot of people who simply went DOES NOT COMPUTE and shut down towards the series, or at least, claimed to have done so, simply because of that.

Screw it, you've presumably alrerady torrented yourself some subs, what should you care?

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Desu?

Screw it, you've presumably alrerady torrented yourself some subs, what should you care?

I like dubs to. Unlike certain persons I prefer not having to read/watch at the same time :P


Breakfast Pastries:
No, ur doin it rong.

Its:
DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU etc.

I like dubs to. Unlike certain persons I prefer not having to read/watch at the same time :P


Breakfast Pastries:
No, ur doin it rong.

Its:
DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU DESU etc.

http://pr0n.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/7/75/Typeagain.jpg

http://pr0n.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/7/75/Typeagain.jpg

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/3609/desushockri3.jpg

It seems you're in the wrong forum...

It seems you're in the wrong forum...

We did it for the lulz, please dont kill us!

We did it for the lulz, please dont kill us!

Believe me, im trying my hardest not to.

Just a random thought: What's with the girl's heterochromia? Is there any significance to it at all or is it just there for the hell of it/to look cool?

Just a random thought: What's with the girl's heterochromia? Is there any significance to it at all or is it just there for the hell of it/to look cool?

Just let this die... for the love of God...

They can solve the whole thing with a translator's note that says what "desu" means.

Just a random thought: What's with the girl's heterochromia? Is there any significance to it at all or is it just there for the hell of it/to look cool?

Well, her twin Souseiseki has the same colours switched around (here: http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f70/AikoAkazuma/souseiseki.jpg ). Other than that, no real significance.
Some people think its hot though.
>_>
<_<
*cough*